January 25,1894. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
69 
I incline to that opinion myself 1 do not follow it entirely, for I have 
repeatedly seen instances where it has not occurred. This season I 
know a very fine quarter of the Aigburth, a well-known variety, and 
particularly adapted for certain classes of soil. To look at the sprouts 
they appear as firm and sound as one could desire ; but on cutting them 
open with a knife they are found to be decayed, not the heart as it were, 
but at the dome of the sprout. I found the younger sprouts were quite 
free from this evil; it was only to be found in the older ones. To show 
this state of things is by no means general I looked over another plot 
of the same variety in a different district; the sprouts were equally 
well grown, but I failed to find a single bad one.—J. B. R. 
The Weather in London. —Mild, damp weather prevailed in the 
metropolis during the past week, the daily mean temperature being, 
according to the official records, between 6'’ and 7° higher than 
the average of the corresponding week for the past fifty years. 
On the 22nd it rained nearly all day, but since that date a change has 
taken place. At sunrise on Wednesday morning the thermometer 
registered 8° of frost in London, and at the time of going to press the 
weather appears settled. 
- Weather in the North. —There has been a good deal of 
tain during the last week, and high winds have been frequent. 
Scarcely a day has been dry throughout. Sunday was particularly 
disagreeable from heavy rain, but improved somewhat in the evening. 
Monday was a little showery ; the evening was fine, and on Tuesday 
morning there were 6° of frost. The hills are again white with snow. 
—B. D., S. Perthshire, 
~— Knowsley Hall Gardens.— After having had charge of 
these noteworthy gardens for many years, Mr. F. Harrison the highly 
competent gardener has retired. Mr. Harrison’s work has been of the 
best, and he was much respected in the neighbourhood. He is succeeded 
in the important charge by Mr. Robert Doe, who has managed Lord 
Savile’s gardens at Rufford Abbey so well for a number of years, and 
whose excellent work was described in the Journal of Ilortieulture^ 
page 308, October 5th, 1893. 
- The Late Mr. W. Ingram. —We are informed that the 
Duchess of Rutland attended the funeral on the 13th inst. of 
Mr. William Ingram, the late head gardener at Belvoir Castle, and 
in accordance with the custom on the estate, for rich and poor 
alike, the coffin was borne on a low platform having sloping 
sides dressed in black on a lorry drawn by two black horses. 
All the servants attended, as also a squad of the 1st Battalion 
of the Leicestershire Regiment. Knipton church was crowded, and the 
interment took place under a Yew tree planted by the deceased thirty- 
five years ago over his son’s grave. As mentioned in our issue for the 
18th inst., Mr. Ingram, who had been at Belvoir since 1852, and was 
known to numberless visitors of distinction, was the eldest son of the 
head gardener at Windsor Castle at the time of William IV., and was 
himself in the gardens at Frogmore, and in the service of the Emperor 
Napoleon III. 
-The Earl’s Court Prize Money — An Appeal to Mr. 
H. Turner. —It is some months since that a letter appeared in your 
paper from Mr. Harry Turner, that owing to the illness of the Financial 
Director of the Earl’s Court Flower Shows the money due to prize¬ 
winners was not forthcoming, also leading them to suppose that on 
his recovery the amounts due would be paid. The death of this official 
has been announced, are we therefore to conclude that the payment of 
the money for prizes is as far off as ever? Surely we may expect that 
after what Mr. Turner has stated he will be glad to take steps to have 
justice done to those successful gardeners who did so much for the 
shows under his control.— Disappointed. 
- The Wolverhampton Floral Fete.—A s mentioned in the 
Journal of Horticulture for January 4th, the dates fixed for this 
important Exhibition are July 10th, 11th, and 12th, and the schedule to 
hand shows that the liberal prizes have been still further augmented. 
An additional £20 have been added to the large groups, and special 
prizes are offered for groups of hardy flowers, and collections o^ 
Violets and Pansies are to be encouraged. Increased prizes are also to 
be given to collections of vegetables. There is a reserve fund of £1800. 
The leading prizes offered include for sixteen stove and greenhouse 
plants : £20 first, £15 second, £10 third. For a group of plants : £20 
first, £15 second, £10 third, and £5 fourth. These and others 
proportionately large should bring forth a good display. 
- Mr. Bruce Findlay. — In recognition of his services to 
horticulture, especially as one of the most successful organizers and 
promoters of exhibitions, a movement is on foot for providing an 
appropriate presentation to Mr. Bruce Findlay on the completion of his 
thirty-sixth year as Curator of the Manchester Botanical Gardens. A 
representative Committee is being formed, with Dean Hole as President, 
for carrying out the project. Mr. J. H. Goodacre, Elvaston Castle Gardens, 
Derby, is Honorary Secretary ; and Mr. Owen Thomas, Royal Gardens, 
Frogmore, Treasurer of the Fund. We commend the project to those 
of our readers who may like to share in the honour of recognising the 
valuable services of an indefatigable worker and an estimable man. 
- Horticultural Club.— The usual monthly dinner and 
conversazione took place on Tuesday evening last week at the rooms. 
Hotel Windsor; Mr. George Paul occupied the chair. Amongst those 
present were the Rev. F. H. Gall, Messrs. Cousens, Shea, Ashbee, 
H. Selfe Leonard, H, Seebohm, Bunyard, Cockett, and the Secretary. 
The subject for discussion was “ Bees and their Agency in Horticulture,” 
which was opened by the Secretary, who detailed the experiments 
carried out by Sir John Lubbock and others, and showed that some of 
the ideas entertained on the subject had been either exaggerated or were 
erroneous. Thus it was clearly proved that when bees had found honey 
they did not communicate it to their fellows. He also questioned the 
notion that they preferred blue flowers, from observations in his own 
garden. The agencies of bees in fertilization had, he thought, been 
over-estimated, believing that this is more carried out by currents of 
air than by them. A very interesting discussion followed, in which 
most of the members took part, and Mr. Bunyard, in detailing his 
experience with regard to orchard houses, stated that bees were utterly 
useless, as they immediately flew to the glass. Mr. Ashbee also stated 
some of his experiences in bee-keeping, and a vote of thanks was given 
to the Secretary for his address. It was announced that the annual 
meeting would be held on February 13th. 
- Stachys tuberifera. — There can be no doubt that this 
tuberous root owes its position on the dinner table very much to the way 
in which it is cooked. When at one garden recently, where this Stachys 
is largely and well grown, I found that it was not at all popular with 
the family, and at another place the gardener finds it very difficult to 
keep up the supply, the root, doubtless because so efficiently cooked, 
being so popular in the house that it is looked for almost every day. 
There, on a warm border that is well prepared by trenching and 
manuring, the selected tubers for the purpose are planted in rows 
18 inches asunder and 12 inches apart in the rows, the tubers being 
the finest I have seen, but then they are not so numerous as is usually 
the case. 1 have had some of these cooked by gentle boiling first in a 
little quantity of water. This was poured off, then milk was substituted, 
and finished in the oven; with a little melted butter and some salt 
the roots were very delicious.—A. D. 
- The Price op New Pansies.—I t is refreshing to read 
the remarks of “ W. D.” (page 56) on this subject. It is quite time an 
innovation took place in this respect. All my Pansy catalogues have 
arrived during the past three weeks, and though I have not yet scanned 
them through, I noticed at once that some of the growers are quoting 
the new varieties at half the usual price, and I hope after “ W. D.’s” 
remarks the large growers will also take the hint. I feel quite sure that 
many more plants will be sold under the new system, for many would-be 
growers are deterred from purchasing novelties in any number under 
the old price. The demand for new fancy Pansies in the south has 
largely increased during the past five years. No doubt the London 
Pansy Society with its large membership will also increase this demand. 
I am inclined to think the certificates issued by the Pansy societies do 
not carry the same weight as those issued by similar organisations—take, 
for instance, the National Chrysanthemum Society. If they did I feel 
sure it would materially stem the tide of new varieties. Some firms are 
offering eighty new varieties for the first time. It is almost an 
impossibility to pick out the best forms from such a list. After the 
exceptional w'eather of last season, when Pansy seed was produced so 
freely, I am afraid next year we shall see a greater influx of new sorts 
I shall welcome any scheme brought forward to check, or rather select 
in a rigorous manner, the productions of our Pansy raisers.—J. B. R. 
