48 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January , 1889. 
mediate forms are cultivated, differing in. the size of the flowers and 
colouring. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
January 15th. 
The first meeting of the Fruit and Floral Committees for 1889 was 
held on Tuesday last at the Drill Hall, James Street, Victoria Street, 
Westminster, when there was a good gathering of members but very 
Tew exhibits. In the latter respect it was in fact one of the least 
interesting meetings the Society has held for a long time, the season and 
the weather no doubt being responsible to some extent for the 
■deficiency. Before the Committees commenced their duties the Rev. W. 
Wilks called attention to some alterations which the Council had made 
in the arrangements for the present year, the principal being that the 
votes for and against certificates should be counted, recorded, and 
published ; the other, that an additional recognition should be provided 
for plants or fruits that were not sufficiently new or distinct for a first- 
class certificate in an “ Award of Merit.” Considerable discussion took 
•place subsequently respecting the last-named honour, but the majority 
were in its favour, and no doubt many cases will occur when it will be 
much more appropriate than a certificate. Votes of thanks and 
cultural commendations will continue to be awarded as before, while for 
•objects of exceptional merit medals may be adjudged. The Committees 
now include forty members each, but are restricted to Fellows of the 
Society. 
Fruit Committee. —Twenty-one members were present, including 
R. D. Blackmore, Esq. (in the chair), and Messrs. H. J. Veitch, J. 
Roberts, W. Bates, J. Cheal, G. Cliffe, W. Denning, J. Burnett, T. J. Salt- 
marsh, W. Warren, G. T. Miles, S. Ford, G. Bunyard, C. Ross, G.Wythes, 
Harrison Weir, F. J. Lane, J. Willard, F. Moore, P. Crowley, and P. Barr. 
Mr. William Allan, Gunton Park Gardens, Norwich, exhibited several 
bunches of Mrs. Pearson Grape, well coloured and preserved (vote of 
thanks). Mr. Allan wrote that he considers we “ have no white Grape 
■of the same quality that will keep so long in such good condition. Black 
Hamburghs ripened in the same house were beginning to shrivel at the 
■end of October from over-ripeness. In point of quality it comes next 
to the Muscat.” Mr. J. Davis, gardener to the Rev. H. Arkwright, 
Bodenham, Leominster, sent a seedling Apple named Bodenham, a 
conical fruit with a deep eye, yellow streaked with crimson. It was 
said that “ The tree is of large size, vigorous growth, and erect habit, 
•with broad leaves, after the style of Warner’s King, and a good bearer 
every year.” The Committee requested further information respecting the 
age of the tree, from what it was raised, and by whom, and asked to see it 
again earlier in the season. The Rev. W. Wilks, Shirley Vicarage, Croy¬ 
don, showed good fruits of Doyenn4 d’Alengon Pear from a tree in a pot, 
for which a vote of thanks was accorded. 
Floral Committee. —Twenty-eight members were present, in¬ 
cluding W. Marshall, Esq., in the chair, and Messrs. J. Fraser, C. 
Pilcher, H. Ballantine, J. Dominy, H. M. Pollett, J. O’Brien, E. Hill, 
R. B. Lowe, T. W. Girdlestone, W. H. Williams, J. Douglas, C. Noble, 
R. Dean, W. Holmes, B. Wynne, L. Castle, H. Herbst, J. Laing, H. 
Cannell, H. Williams, E. Mawley, G. Nicholson, D. Ross, G. Paul, T. 
Baines, Shirley Hibberd, W. C. Leach, and J. Walker. 
Mr. Hill, gardener to the Rffiht Hon. Lord Rothschild, Tring Park, 
Tring, was awarded a vote of thanks for Phalfenopsis Rothscbildiana, a 
hybrid between P. Schilleriana and P. Aphrodite ; the flowers are some¬ 
what like P. amabilis, but a little more spotted in the lip, the sepals and 
petals white, except the lower halves of the sepals, which have numerous 
small dots. Messrs. Seeger & Tropp, Dulwich, were awarded a vote of 
thanks for Cypripedium Savageanum,a hybrid between C. Harrisianum 
and C. Spicerianum, showing a combination of the leading characters of 
both parents. The dorsal sepal is broad, rounded, rich purplish crimson, 
edged white. It is a pretty form and the colour is very pleasing. Mr. 
Parker, gardener to H. M. Pollett, Esq., Fernside, Bickley, sent a plant 
of Odontoglossum crispum rubro-maculatum, a distinct variety, the 
sepals deeply spotted with reddish brown, the petals white and serrated. 
A large flowered variety of 0. crispum named bickleyense was also 
shown, the ground colour creamy white, the spots and blotches light 
brown. Votes of thanks were awarded for both these varieties, which 
are decided acquisitions, especially the first named. 
Messrs. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, sent several new Primulas, includ¬ 
ing Her Majesty, white; Punctata carminata elegans, deep rose; 
Princess Mary, blush ; and Queen’s Favourite, pink, all having large 
flowers of good form. Flowers also were sent of a double yellow 
Bouvardia named flavescens fl. pi., quite distinct and promising. The 
Committee wished the plant to be shown, but in the opinion of many of 
those present it should have had some recognition. Mr. F. Ross, Pendell 
Court Gardens, Bletchingley, exhibited a portion of a plant of Billbergia 
decora, with long broad white spotted leaves, and a long spike of greenish 
flowers, and large rosy bracts (vote of thanks). Mr. J. Knight, The 
Oaks, Epsom, sent plants of a double blush variety of Primula sinensis, 
named Miss Inez, the leaves crinkled round the margin. 
Mr. A. Newell, gardener to Sir E. Saunders, Fairlawn, Wimbledon 
Common, brought a fine healthy plant of Eucharis grandiflora, bearing 
ten spikes of four to five flowers each. It was said to have been infested 
with Eucharis mite, and had not flowered until the present season for 
three years. Mr. Newell sent a letter describing the treatment he had 
found successful in restoring the plant to health, but it was not read to 
the meeting. The principal points were that the plants had been plunged 
for sixty hours in a mixture of water and Gishurst compound, 2 ozs. of 
the latter to three gallons of the former, at a temperature of 70°. They 
were then removed and stood on a bed of gravel in a Cucumber house 
for three weeks. The soil was top-dressed with rough fibrous loam, and 
the plants plunged in a bed of cocoa-nut fibre refuse over hot-water 
pipes, being supplied with warm water and syringed freely. The result 
was that the subsequent growth was quite satisfactory, and the plant 
flowered as described. 
CERTIFICATED PLANTS. 
Vanda Ameiiana (Lord Rothschild). — A neat little Orchid with 
narrow arching channelled leaves and a spike of five flowers, the sepals 
and petals narrow, blush tinted, the lip crimson in the centre fading to 
a lighter margin. This gained a certificate by sixteen votes against 
three. 
Primula sinensis Swanley Mauve (H. Cannell & Sons).—An im¬ 
provement on the blue type of Primulas, much deeper than most 
varieties, the flowers large and of good shape. This gained a certificate 
by eleven votes to eight. 
Awards of merit were adjudged for the two following :— 
Primula sinensis Princess Mary (H. Cannell & Sons).—A pretty 
blush tinted single variety ; the flowers large and well formed. 
Primula sinensis Miss Inez (J. Knight).—A semi-double blush 
variety, the award being made for the strain. 
WINTER CUCUMBERS AND VENTILATION. 
Though Mr. W. H. Ward may be sincere in his belief that fresh air 
is quite as essential to the health and vigour of plants at all seasons of 
the year as it is to animals, yet without running the danger of falling 
foul of the “ Allisonian ” theory of “ fresh air and brown bread ” as the 
fundamental law of hygiene, I will venture to point out where I take 
exception to the coupling of plant and animal life together for the 
purpose of defending a theory on which the practice of ventilation of 
plant houses is supposed to be founded. 
Unfortunately for Mr. Ward’s argument, he has evidently overlooked 
the fact that the respiratory functions of plants and animals are con¬ 
ducted on widely different principles, in fact on almost opposite lines. 
For instance, a healthy plant under ordinary conditions absorbs carbonic 
acid from the atmosphere, which it decomposes by the aid of solar 
light, retaining the carbon, and exhaling oxygen. Animal life, on the 
contrary, inspires oxygen chiefly, replacing it with carbonic acid. Yet 
it may" be argued that inasmuch as both forms of life draw their 
requirements from the pure atmosphere they must necessarily have an 
unlimited supply to keep them in good health. For animal life such 
undoubtedly is the case, but for plant life I have a notion that the 
traditional “ chink of air ” theory is a farce, though some few cultivators 
still persuade themselves that all their success is due to the careful 
obsevance of this rule. 
The question of temperature is, I consider, the pivot on which the 
whole theory of ventilation turns. This Mr. Ward admits by his note 
that “experienced and thoughtful cultivators give air during March 
and the following five or six months to prevent the internal temperature 
of their houses getting too hot from the sun’s rays,” so that apparently 
he does not give air except in winter for the purpose of supplying the 
plants with a thoretically absolute requirement for their existence. If 
this is the object I consider that such a course is decidedly unscientific 
in its application. Granted that we know what the chief constituents 
of the fresh air are, and also what particular portions of it the plants 
require, cannot we bring this knowledge to our aid to produce and 
maintain the subjects under control in a more healthy condition with 
less difficulty than if such means was beyond our power to obtain? 
To explain my meaning. We are aware that respiration is performed 
by plants in a certain way, and certain constituents of the atmosphere 
are required more than others—carbonic acid, for instance—so that if 
we take steps to afford this we are doing something for the plants’ good. 
The usual way cultivators who are cognisant of this fact generally per¬ 
form this operation is to introduce fermenting material, or pour liquid 
manure over hot-water pipes. The resulting atmosphere, obnoxious as 
it is to animal life of any description, is a suitable one for plant life, 
provided, of course, that the requisite amount of sun light is afforded to 
enable the plants to assimilate the food-laden atmosphere that is artifi¬ 
cially raised for their benefit. This, then, is the gist of my argument, 
that winter ventilation of plant houses is both unscientific and unneces¬ 
sary. And now, as to a few cultural details of winter Cucumbers. 
Mr. Ward appears to be under the impression that I have advocated 
a day and night temperature of 60° or thereabouts throughout the winter 
months. This, I think, is due to his not having carefully read my notes, 
and to a comma being placed after “ onwards ” instead of after 
“ November.” The idea of a low temperature during the early part of 
the season is identical with Mr. Ward’s practice of giving air—viz., to 
promote a solid growth. This I am well aware is one of the chief 
cultural items ; but what to my mind is more powerful is judicious 
cropping. Let the plants be ever so well cared for in other respects, only 
permit a heavy crop of fruit to swell off on the youthful vigour of the 
plants, and no skilful attention afterwards will induce a satisfactory 
bearing condition. 
In reference to the cause of mildew your correspondent does not ex¬ 
plain in an altogether satisfactory manner how he arrives at or on what 
basis he forms his conclusions. True, I may have quoted him in a way 
that was not intended, but the inference I drew from his remarks was, I 
think, the only one open to an ordinary reader. As given, the advice 
