264 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 24,1891. 
even some of the earliest bloomers—Atlas, Baroness Burdett 
Coutts, Ondine, &c , are hardly showing colour. There is but 
little to be done with them saving putting sticks to them so as to 
prevent their being loosened in the ground. We have had such a 
quantity of rain during July and August that I stand in some 
doubt how the corms will fare. If I find that towards the end 
of the month the weather becomes cold and adverse to the opening 
of the flowers I shall cut off the spikes, so as to give the plants a 
better chance to mature. 
Pansies. —These should be now potted, whether cuttings have 
been made or the roots planted out. This latter is my method 
as being easier, and I manage to get very good blooms and nice 
plants. In taking them up I divide the plants, cut off the long 
shoots, and then place two in a pot to be potted singly in the 
spring. Of course this is contrary to all propriety, but where many 
things have to be done at once some are apt to be scamped, and I 
suppose I must lie under the imputation of scamping my Pansies. 
I find it is of very little use to grow them in beds, for they do not 
thrive here as they do in the north of England and in Scotland. 
In potting them I use loam and leaf mould with very little manure, 
giving them richer material in the spring. 
Roses. —I have never known a season when the growth has been 
better or the plants freer from mildew and aphis. The former is, I 
am convinced, more abundant in hot and dry summers than in a 
moist and cold one like the present. The presence or absence of 
the latter is unaccountable. The rostry should now be kept, as 
always, clear of weeds, and I think it is now a good plan to cut 
clean out the old flowering wood of this year, and allow full light 
and air into the plants, thus securing ripeness of wood to the 
vigorous young shoots of the present year, which are to be the 
sjges gregis for next season. I do not shorten these now, but if they 
are very long stake them, and shorten them later on in the autumn, 
for many of them will have good flowers which it is a pity to lose, 
as they in no wise injure the shoots. There are, I fear, some very 
considerable gaps in Rose beds this season, and amateurs will be 
considering how they may be filled up. The really good varieties 
are few, but for them and the older sorts also I should imagine 
higher prices will have to be paid. Should the weather hold fine 
for the present month we may expect to have a good show of late 
blooms. 
Ranunculus. —Although nothing can be done at present in 
the cultivation of these beautiful flowers, I mention them because 
at this time of the year bulb catalogues from the Dutch growers 
are pouring in, and it is a good time to commence making a collec¬ 
tion. As in the case of Tulips, they are not nearly so particular 
as to the quality of their flowers as we are. The best plan will 
be, I think, to get a collection of named sorts, and then eliminate 
from them when they flower such as are second-rate and increase 
the stock of the good ones. This I was obliged to do with Tulips 
as well as these ; and, indeed, in the case of the former it will be 
far better to begin at once with English rectified ones than to 
encumber oneself with the Dutch kinds, which are mostly foul at 
the base, and many of them parti-coloured.—D., Deal. 
SHOWING SPRING SOWN ONIONS. 
Mrt. Pownall having opened the above subject, which I understand 
was first discussed at Shrewsbury, I venture to give my opinion, which 
is in favour of a continuance of the present system. If the clause “ to 
be sown in the open” were added to the schedule as suggested by your 
correspondent, unless the competition was localised in this and northern 
counties, gardeners would be placed at a disadvantage, as it is only by 
sowing the seed early and forwarding the plants under glass that they 
can cope successfully with exhibitors from the more favourable southern 
counties. Mr. Pownall’s desire is laudable, but the remedy I would 
suggest is that those who see their productions set aside should follow 
the example of their more successful and elastic-minded brothers. Ex¬ 
hibitors of vegetables have generally a command of glass, and do not 
usually confine themselves to Onions alone, and if they treat Cauliflower, 
Celery, Leeks, and many other vegetables similarly they ought not to 
begrudge the time and space which Onions require. 
I am not an exhibitor, but early next year we intend sowing a few 
boxes of Onions, and the bulbs will remain in them until planted out. 
Though they may not make exhibition specimens we think they will 
repay the trouble, but they will go first to the kitchen. We shall not 
neglect to sow in the open for later use, but shall not bind ourselves to 
wait for the calendarial spring.— S. Backhouse, Shrewsbury. 
Regarding the question of how spring Onions should be shown as 
referred to by Mr. Pownall (page 239), I would ask why cannot those 
who have hitherto been content with sowing the seed out of doors in 
the ordinary way advance a step and, like others, sow the seed under 
glass ? Surely more credit is due to the man who cultivates the present 
year’s bulbs, each weighing say 1| lb., or perhaps 2 lbs., than there is 
to the man who is content with those which will not bring down the 
scales at more than half the weight, and generally not that much in the 
ordinary method of growing them. Visitors go to shows to see produce 
a little out of the ordinary quality. One dish of Rousham Park Onions 
of the weight of those quoted would be more attractive than a bushel of 
the ordinary. Where would be the interest in seeing an array of bulbs 
grown under the conditions suggested by Mr. Pownall ?—E. Molyneux. 
Royal Horticultural Society. — An exhibition of Asters* 
Sunflowers, and Conifers will be held in the Chiswick Gardens on 
October 6th, 7th, and 8th, 1891. Fellows of the Society are particularly 
invited to assist in making the Exhibition a great success, either by 
contributing specimens of Asters, i.e., Michaelmas Daisies, Sunflowers* 
or Conifers themselves, or by inducing others to do so. On October 
6th a Conference will be held at 2 p.m. on Asters (Michaelmas 
Daisies) and Perennial Sunflowers, and the following papers will be 
read :—Opening address, by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., &c., Chairman p 
“ The Genus Aster,” by Professor G. L. Goodale, Director of the Botanic 
Gardens, Harvard University, U.S.A. ; “ Michaelmas Daisies,” by the 
Rev. C. Wolley-Dod, M.A.; “ Perennial Sunflowers,” by Mr. D. Dewarp 
“Cultureof Sunflowers,” by Mr. E. H. Jenkins. On October 7th a Con¬ 
ference will be held at 2 P.M., on Cone-bearing Trees and Shrubs, and 
the papers to be read are as follows :—Opening address on the Special 
Features of Interest in the Order of Conifers, by Dr. Maxwell T. 
Masters, F.R.S., <Stc., Chairman; “Japanese, Chinese, and Californian 
Conifeis,” by Mr. H. J. Veitch, F.L.S., kc. ; “Conifers as Specimen 
Trees and for Landscape Gardening,” by Mr. George Nicholson, A.L.S. p 
“ Conifers for Timber and in Plantations,” by Mr. A. D. Webster ; “ The 
Decorative Character of Conifers,” by Mr. Edmund J. Baillie, 
F.L.S. ; “ Conifers at Bicton, Devon,” by the Hon. Mark Rolle p 
“ Conifers at Dropmore,” by Mr. Charles Herrin. On October 8th the 
Conifer Conference will be resumed at 2 p.m., the papers to be read 
being Opening Address, by Professor Bayley Balfour, M.A.,' F.R.S., &c., 
Chairman ; “ The Value in the British Islands of Introduced Conifers, ,r 
by Mr. Malcolm Dunn, F.R.H.S. ; “The Quality of Coniferous Timber 
as affected by Sylvicultural Treatment,” by Dr. William Somerville p 
“ The Timber of Exotic Conifers Grown in Scotland : its Uses and 
Comparative Value,” by Mr. D. F. Mackenzie ; “ Fungoid and other 
Diseases of Conifers,” by Professor Marshall Ward, M.A., F.L.S. p 
“ Insects Injurious to Conifers,” by Mr. W. F. H. Blandford, M.A. In 
addition to the prizes offered in the schedule, awards will also be made 
to coniferous plants plunged in banks or beds of cocoa-nut fibre. 
- Royal Presentation to Mr. T. Jones. —We learn that the 
Queen has presented a silver tea set to Mr. T. Jones, the recent head 
gardener at Frogmore, on his retirement from Her Majesty’s service. 
- With much regret we have to announce the death of M. Jean 
B. J. Van Volxem op Brussels, which took place on September 14th* 
in his sixty-second year. M. Van Volxem had travelled widely in 
Asia and America, and collected many plants, of which Tacsonia Van 
Volxemi is perhaps the best known. He also formed an arboretum 
near Vilvorde, which contained an interesting collection of trees' 
and shrubs. M. Van Volxem had a large circle of friends, and was- 
highly respected amongst Belgian horticulturists. 
- Fruit Culture. —Towards the Mansion House Fund which 
the Lord Mayor, in conjunction with the Fruiterers’ Company, recently 
opened for the promotion and encouragement of fruit culture in this 
country, the following among other sums have been received :—Messrs. 
Crosse & Blackwell (second donation), £52 10s.; Mr. John Corbett, M.P. p 
£21 ; Sir Humphrey de Trafford, £10 ; Mr. Hope Edwardes, £5 ; the 
Duke of Newcastle, £10 ; Mr. Chaplin, M.P. (Minister for Agriculture)* 
£10; the Misses Fleming, £10; and the Marquis of Bristol, £10. 
According to ancient custom the Fruiterers’ Company will, on October 
7th, present to the Lord Mayor specimens of English-grown fruit. The 
origin of this practice is that the Lord Mayor’s meter was formerly 
entitled to receive a portion or sample from every load of fruit coming 
into the City, which practice became the occasion of much controversy 
between the collector and the persons bringing in the fruit. The dispute 
