August 27, 1831. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
170 
- Antwerp Exhibition. —A temporary Horticultural Exhibi¬ 
tion will be held in connection with the International Exhibition at 
Antwerp from the 13th to the 20th of September, consisting mainly of 
plants from North America, the tropical Andes, Brazil, Mexico, Northern 
and Central Africa, Cape of Good Hope, China, Japan, British and 
Dutch Indies, Central Asia, Central and Mediterranean Europe, Belgium, 
Australia, and Oceania. Entries are to be sent to Le President du 
•Comity ExGcutif de l’Exposition Internationale d’Anvers, h Lierre, lez- 
Anvers, Belgique, by the 5th of September. 
- Ware and District Horticultural Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Society. —On Wednesday, the 19th inst., a large number of the 
members of this Sociely paid a visit to the Royal Horticultural 
Society’s gardens, Chiswick, when by special arrangement they were 
•enabled to inspect the varieties of Tomatoes on trial, the vineries, 
and other houses, also the various plants and crops on trial in the 
grounds. The Royal Gardens, Kew, were also visited, and the 
afternoon well spent in the houses, museums, and grounds. After a 
very interesting and instructive day the members returned well pleased 
with the visit to these places of interest. 
- Globe Flowers (Trollius) are useful in the herbaceous 
borders. T. europaeus major, which is said to be an improvement on the 
old form, and T. japonicus plenus (Fortunei), orange scarlet, give colours 
which are scarce at any time in the border. The foliage of the Trolliu9 
is interesting in itself, while the growth and freedom in flowering arc 
all that could be desired.—M. 
- Hollyhocks. —Messrs. Stuart & Mein write :—“ We beg to 
«end herewith some blooms of Hollyhocks of which we make a specialty. 
Our plants are from 8 to 12 feet high, and the blooms enclosed can give 
you only a slight idea of the beauty of the spikes. We have been more 
•successful with them this season than we have been for twenty-five 
years, and an old grower, when amongst them the other day, said h£ 
hadn’t seen such Hollyhocks since be was a boy, so the future looks 
brighter.” The varieties sent were as follows Grace Darling, rose ; 
Octoroon, rich crimson ; Cygnet, pure white ; Mrs. Maynard, pale 
yellow ; Pride of Layton, rosy salmon ; Favourite, soft pink. All the 
flowers were of excellent form and substance. 
- The Wakefield Paxton Society. — With the object of 
promoting a taste for domestic floriculture, a “ Window Garden 
Exhibition ” is annually held under the auspices of this Society. The 
Show of last week appears to have been a great success, and was 
attended by 5000 or 0000 people. Commenting on it the “Wakefield 
Express” says :—“The Paxton Society keeps up its high reputation as 
an educational agency in a centre whose traditions are somewhat out of 
harmony with the objects of the organisation. In these days of ‘ free 
• "education ’ the Society may claim the honourable distinction of having 
always acted upon that principle. Their exhibitions have been open 
gratuitously to the public at large, as a rule they have relied upon 
themselves rather than on the public for funds, and it is literally true 
to say that the educational and refining influences which they have 
called into action are to-day permeating the homes and moulding the 
•dispositions of families in hundreds of the more humble homes in the 
city and its suburbs. It is an honourable record, and deserves to be 
held up every year as an incentive to others to go and do likewise, 
according to the measure of their ability and opportunities.” To those 
observations we say hear, hear. 
- Heavy Rains near London. — The heavy rain which set in 
over the southern counties of England last Thursday continued steadily 
throughout the ensuing night, and by 8 A.M. on Friday some very large 
amounts had been measured. In the London district the quantity 
varied from 1 - 1 inch at Westminster to 13 inch at Wandsworth Common, 
and l - 4 inch at Clapham and Brixton. The meteorological correspon¬ 
dent of the “ Daily News ” says the amount of rainfall in London was 
the heaviest recorded on any one day for more than a year past, the most 
recent instance of so large a fall being that of the 17th of July, 1890, 
■when as much as 1‘8 inch was measured as the result of a tremendous 
thunderstorm which visited this part of the country. From an exami¬ 
nation of the London records for many year3 it would appear that a 
daily rainfall of over an inch occurs on an average scarcely more often 
than once in twelve months. Daring the past twenty years there have 
been just twenty-four such occasions, the number per annum varying 
from four in 1879 and three in 1878 and 1886 to none at all in 1872, 
1874, 1877, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1887, and 1889. In eight years of the past 
twenty, in fact, there was no instance of so heavy a rainfall as that 
which visited the metropolis on the days named. 
- Top-heating.—I wonder more hothouses and pits are not 
heated from the top as well as the ordinary way. I have a 2-inch 
socket pipe running along the purlinc and along the point towards 
the eaves, inside of course. All persons know that hot water rises to 
its highest part first, consequently these pipes become hot first’, and 
we have a stratum of the hottest air along the glass, and consequently 
there is no condensation. As this stratum of air is first heate 1 it acts 
as a kind of cushion ; the air subsequently heated rises to this, and is 
then deflected and falls like dew on the plants instead of condensing on 
the glass and creating a drip. I have used this mode of heating in 
Orchid houses, vineiies, plant houses, and pits now some four or five 
years, and the houses were put up by Messrs. Foster & Pearson of 
Beeston. My gardeners like the mode of heating much, and say that 
no other form of heating is so perfect. They never have anything 
damp off; in fact, take just the number of cuttings they want, 
and never think of any loss from the cause just named. Melons, 
Cucumbers, Tomatoes, grow wonderfully well and bear correspondingly. 
We have been picking Tomatoes since March, and Cucumbers also. 
The Vines (early) have borne well, but the late ones have only small 
crops.—J. 
-Newcastle and Tyneside Horticultural Mutual Im¬ 
provement Association. —On Friday last the inaugural meeting of 
this Association was held in the Lecture Room of the Literary and 
Philosophical Society, Newcastle. There was a large attendance. The 
following officers were elected :—Mr. Norman C. Cookson, President; 
Mr. Thos. Bell (Ex-Mayor) and Mr. Wm. Angus, Vice-Presidents ; 
Chairman of meetings, Mr. Bernard Cowan ; Vice-Chairmen, Messrs. 
P. II. Irvine and A. Heslop ; Treasurer, Mr. R. Moffitt ; J. Hood, Jun., 
Secretary. Gardeners’ Committee, Messrs. Pringle, Russell, Spalding, 
and Adamson; under gardeners, Messrs. E'lio't, Robertson, Kennedy, 
and Bell; amateurs, Messrs. Jackson, Scott, Harwood, and Nicholson. 
After the election of officers under the presidency of Wm. Angus, Esq., 
Mr. Bernard Cowan of South Shields gave the inaugural address. He 
dwelt upon the advantages of a Society like theirs, where mutual 
intercourse with each other was useful, both for imparting informa¬ 
tion and forming friendships, he mentioned that young gardeners 
might gain a great deal of knowledge by attending the meetings, and 
particularly urged on them the necessity of constant study to keep 
pace with the times. He hoped as many amateurs as possible would 
join, and pointed to the necessity of a Society for imparting knowledge 
that might be usefu', a3 the County Council were affording easy 
facilities for obtaining land for garden purposes. The speaker addressed 
them over forty minutes, when the Chairman and he both received a 
vote of thanks. 
- London Park Superintendents.—S ome changes are taking 
place in the superintendence of the London public parks, and this, with 
the opening of a new enclosure, has created two vacancies for superin¬ 
tendents. After twenty-two years of service at Finsbury Park death 
has ended the career of Mr. Cochrane. He discharged his duties with 
credit to himself and advantage to the public, and the park had become 
famous for general high keeping and the special excellence of Chrys¬ 
anthemums. The vacant post has been filled by the appointment of 
Mr. Melville, who has done good work at Dulwich Park, and deserves 
his promotion. The position be vacates has been offered to and accepted 
by Mr. J. W. Moorman, now at Brock well Park, and who so ably 
superintended the laying out of Myatt’s I ields, a small park at Camber¬ 
well. By bis appointment the excellent collection of alpines and 
herbaceous plants got together at Dulwich Park by Mr. Melville will 
fall into good hands, and there can be no doubt that this beautiful 
South London enclosure will increase yearly in interest to the flower 
lover and attractiveness to the public. Mr. Moorman’s po-t at Brock- 
well Park, together with the superintendence of Waterlow Park, 
Highgate, will be filled by fresh appointments, applications for which # 
are now being invited by the London County Council. J lie salary 
at Brockv/ell Park, which is at Herne Hill in the south-eastern 
district, will be £100 a year, rising to £125; and that at Waterlow 
Park £80, rising to £105, a residence free of rates and taxes and 
supplied with gas and water being included in each case. Brock- 
well Park is possessed of great natural beauty, and it is hoped and 
expected that the Council will retain its present character. There is 
no flower gardening. Waterlow Park is, we understand, beautifully 
laid out, and will give plenty of scope for taste and skill on the part of 
the person appointed. Forms of application may be obtained fiom 
Mr. II. De la Hooke, Clerk of the Council, Spring Gardens, London, 
S.W., and must be sent in by September 13 h. 
