406 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 7, 1889. 
to celebrate its annual dinner, a meeting to be remembered by every 
one who had the pleasure of being present. 
In the course of the speeches I noticed two grand points of the 
Society—viz., that should a member be unable to keep up his sub¬ 
scription of fid. or 9d. per week, what he has paid is not lost, but at his 
decease or on attaining an old age he has what is due to him. Another 
thing, should any honorary member paying one guinea a year or more 
unfortunately get into straitened circumstances he is helped from the 
Society, and as we never know what the future may bring forth 1 con¬ 
sider that a grand provision. I was very pleased to hear that over 
twenty friends gave their names to become honorary members. It was 
said during the evening that of the 300 members on the books not one 
was on the sick list, speaking well for the gardener’s occupation, and indeed 
judging by the splendid flowers and fruit displayed it must be a very 
pleasant work as well. One of the Committee invited any member to 
attend their meetings held at the Caledonian Hotel on the second 
Monday in each month to see the way in which they conduct their 
business. Their dinner arrangements were certainly carried out in a 
perfect manner, and great credit is due to them. 
The chairman spoke of a convalescent scheme, which would be a 
grand thing if in accordance with the rules, and he promised a donation 
of £25 to form a nucleus of such a fund, which all must consider a very 
handsome act on the part of the worthy gentleman who occupied the 
■chair. I should say that it will not be long before every gardener under 
the age of forty-five will avail himself of such a society, and instead 
of 300 we shall see 3000 members, the only qualification being a doctor’s 
certificate of good health, with age and address, forwarded to the Secre¬ 
tary, 9, Martindale Boad, Balham, at the next meeting they are 
proposed and seconded, and become members of this excellent body of 
men, banded together for mutual good. I hope I have not taken up 
too much of your valuable space.—A Well Wishes. 
LEAD CAPPED GLAZING. 
Various methods of glazing without putty have been devised from 
time to time, and amongst them the plan of Mr. T. Page of Banbury 
is worthy of being placed before our readers. The annexed illustration 
will render the method plain to all. A A is section of the bars, either 
■of wood or iron ; B shows section of the glass between two adjacent 
bars ; and C D, C D that of lead capping ; at C illustrating the flange 
turned up to receive the glass, and at d the lead turned down on the 
glass to secure it. Any section of bars can be used, either in wood, 
iron, or other metal. The lead being self-sustaining when rolled on to 
the bars, without the use of nails to fix the same, enables iron to be 
used as easily as wood. The glass can be quickly inserted, and is said 
to be held firmly against wind and will not slip. 
THE SOURCES OF THE NITROGEN OF VEGETATION. 
(Continued from page 3So.) 
The authors in conclusion point out that, since experimenting in 
Tree air instead of in closed vessels, as in Boussingault’s and their own 
researches, has become common, there has been a great accumulation 
■of evidence tending to indicate the fixation of free nitrogen. The 
modes of explanation of the gain of nitrogen are : that it has been 
absorbed from the air, either by the soil or by the plant; that there is 
fixation of free nitrogen within the soil by the agency of porous and 
alkaline bodies ; that there is fixation in the soil by the agency of 
electricity ; that there is fixation by the plant itself ; that there is 
fixation under the influence of micro-organisms within the soil. The 
balance of recorded evidence is undoubtedly in favour of the last- 
mentioned mode of explanation. “ Indeed, it seems to us,” say Lawes 
and Gilbert, “ that, if there be not experimental error, there is fixation 
of nitrogen within the soil, under the influence of micro-organisms, or 
other low forms of life.” But they think that final judgment must be 
held in abeyance for the present. Most of their own and Boussingault's 
previous experiments excluded, by their conditions, the action of 
electricity or of micro-organisms. 
They then consider some of the facts of agricultural production in 
-their bearing on the question as to how far the establishment of the 
reality of the fixation of free nitrogen is necessary to the solution of 
problems of agricultural production. They point out that the loss of 
nitrogen in ordinary farm practice is not so great as Berthelot and others 
have assumed; the annual loss of nitrogen by cropping in Great 
Britain, for example, is probably under 20 lbs. per acre. The loss by 
drainage may in some cases be considerable, and in special cases there 
may be loss by evolution of free nitrogen. Probably the loss of free 
mitrogen from the plant itself during growth, which is assumed by some 
does not occur. The accumulation of combined nitrogen which occurs 
in the surface soil of pastures is not conclusively explained, but it may 
have a subsoil origin, and this assumption has as much evidence in its 
favour as that it has an atmospheric origin. In the soil and subsoil of 
Rothamsted, to a depth reached by the deeper-rooting plants, there is 
20,000 lbs. of combined nitrogen per acre ; in very many of the soils of 
this country there is more, though in some less than this : the accu¬ 
mulation of nitrogen in the surface soil may well be due to nitrogenous 
crop-residue, the nitrogen of which comes principally from the subsoil. 
Again, the natural fertility of most, soils is without doubt due to the 
accumulation of ages of natural vegetation with little or no removal ; 
and the amount of nitrogen even now brought into combination under 
the influence of electricity, over a given area, would be sufficient, with 
growth and little or no removal, to account for the accumulations in 
natural prairie or forest lands even of the richest. 
The Rothamsted experiments have shown that after growing crops 
for many years without nitrogenous manures there has always been a 
diminution of nitrogen in the top soil; this has been found to be the 
case with diverse crops, including gramineous, cruciferous, chenopodia- 
ceous, and also leguminous crops, and frith a four-course rotation of 
crops. There has not been compensation of nitrogen from the air, or at 
all events to the extent of the annual losses. “ The agricultural pro¬ 
duction of the present age is, in fact, as far as its nitrogen is concerned, 
mainly dependent on previous accumulations ; and as in the case of the 
use of coal for fuel there is not coincident and corresponding restora¬ 
tion, so in that of the use or waste of the combined nitrogen of the soil, 
there is not evidence of the coincident and corresponding restoration of 
nitrogen from the free to the combined state.” 
CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOWS. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM CENTENARY CONFERENCE AND 
EXHIBITION AT CHISWICK.—Nov. 5th and 6th. 
Enough has perhaps been said in preliminary announcements of the 
Chrysanthemum Centenary at Chiswick to indicate its character and 
objects fully, but as these were tersely summarised in the schedule it 
may be well to recapitulate them. “ The object of the Conference is to 
get together as large and as representative a collection of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums of all descriptions as possible ; to form an exhibition of all 
subjects pertaining to the Chrysanthemum, whether in its botanical, its 
horticultural, its literary, or its artistic aspects ; and to bring together 
for the purposes of reciprocal information and fellowship all those 
interested in the Chrysanthemum and its culture.” The Society were, 
in fact, following the plan of the Rose Conference held in summer 
in endeavouring to find something of interest for all Chrysanthemum 
lovers, growers and non-growers ; those interested in this section or in 
that, or in no section at all. The Chairman of the Committee was Mr. 
T. B. Haywood of Reigate; the Secretary, Mr. E. Molyneux, Bishops 
Waltham, both men of influence in the Chrysanthemum world. The 
schedule had been arranged in a very comprehensive manner, and 
nothing that forethought could provide was wanting to make the Con¬ 
ference a great success. Bearing this in mind, it was satisfactory to 
note that the gathering was a really successful and interesting one. 
Competition was lacking with specimen plants, but the groups formed a 
grand feature, nearly filling the large vinery, and the side stages were 
well filled with cut blooms. Altogether they presented a splendid 
display, seen at their best under the lofty Yine-clad roof, and with a 
brilliant sun shining down upon them. 
Turning to a consideration of the exhibits, it may be noted that 
although the absence of specimen plants marred the completeness of 
the Exhibition in one point of view they were not much missed, as few 
could regret the absence of formally trained specimens when inspecting 
the free and beautiful grouping of decorative plants. The groups were 
without doubt a most striking feature of the Exhibition. The first 
to be observed on entering the conservatory was that from Mr. Turner, 
Royal Nurseries, Slough. It was not large, but well arranged, and 
presented an effective appearance. The plants were in good condition, 
with foliage well down to the pots. Mr. G. Stevens, St. John’s Nursery, 
Putney, London, S.W., had a larger collection, in which Pompons were 
freely—perhaps too freely—employed ; the back Japanese and incurved 
included some fine blooms. Baron Schroder, The Dell, Staines (gardener, 
Mr. H. Ballantine), had taller plants bearing larger blooms, more note¬ 
worthy for the quality of the flowers than the general effect of the 
group. Elaine, Avalanche, Mdlle. Lacroix, Madame J. Laing, Bon- 
nington, and Criterion were finely shown amongst others. A group 
exclusively composed of Japanese came from the Royal Horticultural 
Society’s Gardens, and showed the free, graceful character of this 
beautiful section. Messrs. W. Fromow & Sons, Sutton Court Nursery, 
Chiswick, had a loosely arranged group not quite up to their best 
standard, and perhaps marred by a fear of overcrowding carried to 
extremes. Freely branched, well-flowered plants, irregularly arranged, 
represented the Royal Gardens, Kew, and the remaining groups com¬ 
prised separate collections of incurved, Pompon, Anemone, single, 
reflexed, and Japanese reflexed from the Society’s Gardens, all tastefully 
arranged and presenting a very bright and cheerful effect. 
Collectively considered the cut flowers formed a splendid feature, 
covering the side stages all round the huge vinery. Far the most interest¬ 
ing class was that for flowers of all sections, not more than three blooms 
of any large variety in a bunch. Mr. E. Molyneux, gardener to W. H. 
Myers, Esq., Swanmore Park, Bishop’s Waltham, had a splendid col¬ 
lection, reflecting the utmost credit on him. Amongst the incurved were 
