April 12, 188«. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
299 
the soil. The timber is excellent for fuel, and the trees bear lopping 
well. It is such an enormous water-absorber that it would most pro¬ 
bably be very useful in swampy places as a fever preventive, like the 
Willow, which is planted in China around the villages in the Kice 
districts.” 
-A Weeping Russian Mulbeeby.—A n American paper gives 
an illustration from a photograph of a specimen seedling Russian Mul¬ 
berry, raised by J. J. Meascr, Reno County, Kansas, and remarks that 
“ The tree, which is growing on its own roots, came up together with a 
large number of seedlings and attracted attention by its graceful droop¬ 
ing habit, which distinguished it from all others. When one year old it 
was transplanted and cut off close to the ground, and in its second year 
it was trained to a single stem. From that time till now—its fourth 
year—it has received but little care. Its fruit and general character are 
those of the common Russian Mulberry, and having survived a tempera¬ 
ture of 20° to 22° below zero it may safely be termed ‘ hardy.’ It is a 
rapid grower, bears almost any amount of pruning or cutting back, and 
makes a desirable lawn tree. To grow the Russian Mulberry in tree 
form the lower branches have to be cut off, else it will become shrubby, 
as grasshoppers and other insects feed upon the tips of the young shoots,” 
In the engraving the tree closely resembles a Weeping Ash, the long 
slender branches drooping to the ground, totally different from the 
ordinary Mulberry. 
- At the ordinary meeting of the Royal Meteeological 
Society, to be held at 25, Great George Street, Westminster, on Wed¬ 
nesday, the 18th instant, at 7 P.M., the following Papers will be read :— 
“Jordan’s New Pattern Photographic Sunshine Recorder,” by James B. 
Jordan. “ On the Meteorology of South-Eastern China in 1886,” by 
William Doberck, Ph.D., F.R.Met.Soc. “ Lightning in Snowstorms,” 
by Prof. A. S. Herschel, M.A., F.R.S. “ Insolation,” by Rupert T. Smith, 
M.Inst.C.E., F.R.Met.Soc. 
- The following Summaey op Meteoeological Obseeva- 
TiONS AT Hodsock Peioey, Wobksop, Notts, for March, 1888, have 
been received from Mr. Joseph Mallender :—Mean temperature of 
month, 37'7°. Maximum on the 9th, 67'6° ; minimum on the 24th, 25'2°. 
Maximum in the sun on the 27th, 106'8° ; minimum on the grass on the 
24th, 15'1°. Mean temperature of the air at 9 a.m., 37'0°. Mean tem¬ 
perature of the soil 1 foot deep, 37'6°. Nights below 32°, in shade, nine¬ 
teen ; on grass, twenty-four. Total duration of sunshine in month, 
7P5 hours, or 20 per cent, of possible duration ; nine sunless days. 
Total rainfall, 2'48 inches. Rain fell on eighteen days. Average 
velocity of wind, 12‘7 miles per hour. Velocity exceeded 400 miles on 
nine days, and fell short of 100 miles on one day. Approximate 
averages for March :—Mean temperature, 41 8 ; rainfall, 1'61 inch; 
sunshine (seven yeare) 104 hours. A very cold month with a good deal 
of snow. The mean temperature is lower than any previous year except 
1883. Rather more rain than in any year since 1877, and the first 
month since January, 1887, that the fall has exceeded the average ; less 
sun than any of the last seven years. 
-The Late Me. John Hollingwoeth.—“ D., Beal" sends 
the following note:—“Amongst those who have succumbed to this 
terribly severe winter we have now to reckon my very dear and valued 
old friend, Mr. John Hollingworth, of Turkey Court, Maidstone, the 
doyen of Rose growers, and one of the most enthusiastic lovers of 
the fiower that I ever knew, and, more than that, one of the tenderest 
hearted and most generous of men, one whom his native town will ter¬ 
ribly miss, for his hand was ever open, and his most liberal gifts to his 
noble parish church testify to the love that he bore to the church of 
which he was a member, and the pride which he took in the splendid 
building which adorns his town. Some years ago I gave a short notice 
of my visit to his garden, and in it spoke of the two brothers so 
deeply attached to one another, and so ready in every good work. Since 
that time age had told upon him, or, as he said in a letter to me some 
time ago, “ Old man has got a strong hold of me,”—and then, at last^ 
somewhat suddenly the end came. How he will be missed by hundreds 
who were the recipients of his kindness no one knows, for the two 
brothers were men who, while not suffering a false modesty to withhold 
their names where it might be of use to do so, yet “ did good by stealth.” 
I often wonder whether Charles Dickens had them in his mind when he 
drew the character of the Cherryble Brothers, but there was much that 
often reminded me of them in my good friend. In his nephew. Colonel 
Pitt, who will, I believe, ultimately succeed to Turkey Court, we have, 
I am glad to say, a thoroughly good rosarian, and one who will, I think, 
keep up the old traditions of the plaoe.” 
- The quarterly meeting of the United Hoeticultueal 
Benefit and Peovident Society was held on Monday evening last, 
April 9th, at the Caledonian Hotel, Robert Street. Adelphi Terrace, 
Strand. Mr. E. Berry in the chair. The Committee are glad to say 
that the number of members still continue to increase, twenty-four new 
members having been elected during the quarter, making a total of 250 
benefit, and thirty honorary members, including two life members. The 
Committee earnestly hope that many more gardeners and persons con¬ 
nected with horticulture generally will avail themselves of the oppor¬ 
tunity of joining this excellent Society. A copy of the rules will be sent 
to any address for six stamps on application to the Secretary, W 
Collins, 5, Martinhoe Terrace, Martindale Road, Balham, S.W. 
- The death has been recently announced of Me. Augustus 
Mongeedien, which took place on March 30th, at Forest Hill, in his 
eighty-second year. He was the author of “Free Trade and English 
Commerce,” and “ History of the Free Trade Movement in England.” 
He also published a number of works of a more general character, in¬ 
cluding “ The Western Farmer of America,” “ England’s Foreign 
Policy,” and a treatise on “ Trees and Shrubs for English Plantations.” 
In 1878 Mr. Mongredien published a work in three volumes, entitled 
“ Frank Allerton : an Autobiography.” He established a nursery at 
Ascot, and an experimental farm at Bratton Clovelly, and engaged at 
one time rather extensively in the cultivation of the Ailantus, with a 
view to the promotion of silk production in this country, but was 
unsuccessful. 
AMAEYLLISES AT CHELSEA. 
The weather this season has been very unfavourable to the develop¬ 
ment of plants of all kinds under glass, and the flowering period of 
many has been greatly retai’ded. This has been the case with the 
Amaryllises in Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons’ nursery, King’s Road, Chelsea, 
which are fully a fortnight later than usual ; but ample compensation 
for the delay will be derived by visitors during the present and follow¬ 
ing weeks. These plants invariably form one of the most brilliant of 
numberless attractions at the famous Chelsea nursery, and the wonder¬ 
ful progress made with them in recent years has been frequently 
recorded. Every season novelties of exceptional merit and distinct 
chiUracters have been obtained, and the limits to the range of variation 
are evidently not yet reached. When taken in hand Amaryllises had 
small flowers with thin narrow petals and star-like shape, and the first 
efforts were directed to improving the form .and increasing the size of 
the flowers. This was soon accomplished, and having secured a good 
foundation to work upon, the colours came in for consideration next 
with equally satisfactory results. Breaking away from the stereotyped 
shades, rich tints in crimson, scarlet, and ro.se have been secured. Lading 
through delicate blush tints to white, and still further diversified by a 
charming reticulation in scarlet or crimson on a white ground, or re¬ 
lieved by bold bars of white through the centre of the petals. Grand 
massive flowers are now obtained that produce a magnificent display, 
the colours being .almost d.azzling, and the rich green foliage produced 
with them in many cases is valuable as a foil. 
The span-roof house in which the Amaryllises are grown and flowered 
has been repeatedly described, but it may be mentioned that there 
IS a wide centre bed and two narrow side beds, the former con¬ 
taining 1044 flowering bulbs in pots, and the latter some 2000 younger 
bulbs, some of which have, however, reached the flowering stage. Over 
1500 spikes are borne by the bulbs in the centre, and .as these have 
mostly three to four flowers each there is a total exceeding 4500 of these 
grand flowers either expanded or rapidly advancing. As Messrs. Veitch 
and Sons are equally as successful in the culture of these plants as in 
raising new varieties a few rem.arks on the system adopted may be 
useful. The bulbs raised from seed flower in .about three years, though 
when planted out in beds they have been known to flower in nineteen 
months, but this is quite an exceptional occurrence. They are 
potted in the middle of January in a compost of good turfy loam, old 
cow manure, and silver sand, and the pots are plunged in a bed of old 
tan. The bulbs are a little more than half buried in the .soil, pots being 
employed proportionate in size to that of the bulbs, but care is exercised 
to avoid employing too large pots. No water is supplied until about the 
end of February, when the flower spikes or growth are sera to be starting. 
A temper.ature of 55° to 60° is then maintained, and a little bottom heat 
is afforded by pipes under the bed. Growth advances in most cases 
with the flower spikes ; in some inst.ances, however, the latter develope 
fully before the foliage, and the flowers last about six weeks, and when 
they have been removed from the plants the growth is encouraged as 
much as possible ; a layer of tan is placed over the bulbs, and the roots 
spread strongly into this both from the base and over the top of the pots. 
Free ventilation is afforded during the summer and autumn months with 
a little shade from the hottest sun, .and from the middle of August until 
the end of Febru.ary no water is supplied to the plants, the bulbs thus 
