January 17, 1895. 
JOURNAL OF HORTIGULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
49 
- Brownka Ckawfordi. —This plant 'is again flowering in the 
Palm House at Kew, and a few days ago it carried seven huge clusters 
of deep salmon or rosy-red flowers and numerous unexpanded heads. The 
terminal clusters are from 6 to 10 inches across, and contain sixty or 
more flowers each 2 inches long, and the beauty of these is enhanced 
by the long and conspicuous red stamens, of which each bloom has 
•eleven. 
- The Weather in Co. Dublin. —Mr. Moore, writing from 
the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, to the “ Irish Times,” on the 
10th inst., says :—“The night of Tuesday last, the 8th inst., was the 
coldest night registered since 15th December, 1882, On Tuesday last 
the thermometer, in a regulation screen, fell to 116, indicating 20'4° 
of frost. On the night of December 15th, 1882, the number of degrees 
of frost registered was 22 4, the thermometer falling to 9'6.” Last 
week also given us the heaviest snowfall since January, 1865. Consider¬ 
able damage appears to have been done amongst evergreens and 
Coniferse, to what extent is not yet easy to see. In an open part of the 
lawn the depth of snow was 17^ inches.—E. K. 
-Lawns for America.— With the increasing development of 
civilisation in the States, there is a pressing demand for lawns such as 
adorn our country residences and suburban villas ; and as the American 
gardeners find it extremely difficult to raise lawns from seed in many 
parts, one of their government experimental stations has actually voted 
a sum approaching £200 to meet the expenses of an expert, who is now 
on a foraging expedition to this country, and actually taking turves from 
our old parks and commons—choosing the choicest piece of fine grass he 
can lay hands on. If reports are correct, he has shipped many heavy 
loads for the purpose of ultimately putting a verdant surface on the 
burnt-up face of his sun-cured country. As he has been here before on 
the same errand, no doubt the initial experiment was successful, or his 
enthusiasm would not be so great. What next ? 
- The Russian Wine Harvest.— During the last season the 
Russian wine harvest gave a total yield of 100,000,000 gallons of wine 
of various qualities, all of which was produced in European Russia, 
with the exception of 75,000 gallons from Turkestan. The chief wine¬ 
growing regions are the Caucasus and Bessarabia. The Caucasian vine¬ 
yards cover a total area of 230,000 acres, and those of Bessarabia 
154,000 acres. The other principal wine-growing districts are the 
Crimea and the governments of Kherson, Podolia, Yekaterinoslav, the 
Don country, and Astrachan ; but for home consumption and local sale 
wine is raised in nearly the whole of the southern and south-western 
governments. In European Russia there are altogether about 
half a million acres under wine culture. During recent years France 
has become the largest foreign importer of Russian wines, which she 
uses chiefly for blending purposes. 
-Exciting Chase After a Convict. — The village of 
Sproughton, near Ipswich, has been the scene of an exciting occurrence. 
Shortly after one o’clock in the morning of the 9th inst. Mr. C. W. Bragg, 
the coachman to the Rev. A. Foster-Melliar, having put up his horse 
on returning home from a party, found a man standing in the henhouse 
in his cottage garden. He asked the intruder what business he had 
there, of course, and was promptly knocked down by way of reply, the 
man then running away. Bragg called for help, and pluckily started in 
pursuit. His cry of alarm was fortunately heard by a young fellow 
lodging at his cottage, named Bailey, who is groom to Colonel Woodward, 
and was at one time in the Gordon Highlanders. In naked feet, with 
nothing on but shirt and trousers, Bailey soon joined Bragg, and they 
pursued the man at break-neck speed across a 20-acre field, newly 
ploughed and hard from the frost. The runaway jumped the hedge on 
the far side, but fell into the ditch ; his pursuers were on him in a 
twinkling, and a desperate fight followed. Bragg was twice kicked on 
the head, being thereby rendered nearly insensible, and Bailey was 
bitten in several places. The last-named was too good a soldier, how¬ 
ever, to let his man go, and eventually the postmaster (Mr. Charles Mee) 
coming to their assistance with a rope, the prisoner’s arms and legs 
were bound, and he was conveyed to the gaol at Ipswich. He was at 
once identified as a ticket-of-leave man named Soar, who was sent to 
penal servitude for burglary three or four years ago. On that occasion 
he gave the police a rare chase, getting away and swimming twice 
across the river Gipping before he was captured. Bragg is a brave 
man, and Mr. Foster-Melliar’s good helper at Rose shows, and not 
less brave was the tenacious Bailey. “The wars of the Roses ” are as 
nothing in comparison with this struggle with and victory over a savage 
burglar. 
The National Rose Society and Portsmouth. 
Without intending to enter into the present controversy, I would 
point out that your correspondent, “ J. B.,” is in error in saying that 
“ neither Mr. D’Ombrain nor anyone else at the annual meeting said 
a word on this subject”— i.e,, the railway communication with Ports¬ 
mouth. The question of the selection of the town for the southern show 
in 1896 was brought up almost at the close of a meeting, which had 
been long, and not without exciting episodes, and in certain parts of 
the room a little conversation was going on which may have prevented 
your correspondent from clearly hearing everything that was said. 
Certainly remarks concerning the bad cross-country railway communi¬ 
cation with Portsmouth reached my ears, but by whom these remarks 
were made I am not prepared to say. 1 wish to limit my intervention 
to the record of this single fact, and to say the subject might well 
receive the editorial quietus now.— One who was Present at the 
Meeting. 
Without taking much notice of your anonymous correspondent, 
“ J. B.,” I may say that I can place implicit confidence on those who 
furnished me with the account of the annual meeting, as they are 
gentlemen, and men of undoubted probity, position, and intelligence. 
“ J. B.’s” letter is full of statements without any basis, except his own 
imagination. You, sir, very properly say, “if no official application 
has been received ” (from Portsmouth), that will end the matter.” But 
suppose it is just the other way, what then ? You also state that strong 
language does not strengthen the case, but this is a case where great 
indignation is felt, and I, for one, must decline to withdraw a word I 
have written on this subject.— Charles J. Grahame. 
[We have not suggested that Mr. Grahame should withdraw 
anything, nor certainly do we withdraw one word of our appendage to 
“J. B.’s” letter on page 36. Taunting remarks, by whomsoever made, 
are incompatible with harmony of personal feeling, which should 
prevail even in keen discussions on matters of public interest. Long 
experience in public controversies has also thoroughly convinced us 
that language which is “needlessly” strong is not the most effective. 
Either Portsmouth did, or did not, make an application of the nature 
suggested. “ J. B.” says distinctly that “ nothing official has ever come 
before the Committee ” from Portsmouth; and thereupon asks 
“Could they (the N.R.S. Committee) possibly have accepted an 
invitation which has never been given ? ” Those are definite statements, 
and are the more remarkable, as following an equally definite statement 
furnished to us by Mr. Jeans, page 585, December 27th, namely, that 
one of the Secretaries of the N.R.S. informed him that “the 
question of place for 1896 was submitted to the annual general 
meeting, and Reading chosen by an unanimous vote on account of 
priority of application ”—over what application i We are bound also 
to notice that in the same letter of Mr. Jeans that his friend informed 
him “ the place of the southern show would not be dealt with at the 
general meeting, but in committee.” We should not think of reflecting 
on the opposite nature of these statements, because we have often known 
questions brought before a general meeting which were not expected to 
be discussed there even up to the moment of the meeting being held. 
But so long as conflicting statements semain unexplained disquietude is 
bound to prevail. We have no feeling in the matter in dispute what¬ 
ever, and lean neither to one side nor the other. We have given both 
sides equal opportunities for expressing their views. It is now clearly 
in the power of the Secretaries of the N.R.S. to settle the controversy, 
because they can speak, as no one else can with equal authority, both as 
to the accuracy, or otherwise, of the statements of “ J. B.” (who is, of 
course, convinced of their truth), and their reconciliation with the 
citations from Mr. Jeans’ letter, and these with each other. The case 
is now in a nutshell, and cannot be very difficult to deal with by the 
officials. N.B.—Since the foregoing was printed we have received the 
following explanation from Mr. Mawley. It appears from this letter 
that both Mr. Jeans and “ J. B.” were misinformed on questions of 
procedure ; but mistakes are incidents of life. The discussion had 
better end now, and Portsmouth’s turn will no doubt come in time.] 
N.R.S. Southern Show in 1896. 
The leading facts as regards the above exhibition are as follows 
During 1893 applications for holding the Society’s southern show in 
their respective districts in 1894 were received from Reading and 
Windsor, and ultimately that from Windsor was accepted. In 
November last the question of the southern show in 1896 was brought 
before the Committee, and the rival claims of Portsmouth and Reading 
duly considered. At this meeting Mr. Spittal’s two letters to one of the 
Secretaries were read, no direct application from Portsmouth having up 
to that time been received. The Committee decided in favour of 
Reading, and Mr. D’Ombrain was requested to proceed to that town in 
order to make further enquiries. At the annual general meeting the 
same question was again brought forward, and the decision of the 
Committee confirmed. At both meetings, as far as I was able to judge , 
