152 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 21,1819. 
out a smile, or a feast without a welcome. The love of flowers was a 
naturally implanted passion. The cottage had its Pink, its Rose, or its 
Polyanthus; the villa its Geranium, its Dahlia, or its Clematis. We 
cherished flowers in our youth, and admired them in our declining days. 
Flowers ! of all created things the most innocently simple and yet the 
most superbly complex. Flowers I beloved by the wandering idiot and 
studied by the deep-thinking man of science. Flowers! of perishing 
things the most heavenly. Flowers ! that increasingly expanded to 
heaven their grateful and to men their cheerful looks. Partners of 
human joy, soothers of human sorrow, fit emblems of the victor’s 
triumphs and the young bride’s blushes. They were welcome to the 
crowded halls, and they were graceful upon the solitary graves. 
- Me. W. H. Williams in responding said, the object of that 
Society was not only to award prizes, its objects were also to try to 
create a taste for the love of nature in those who before had had no love 
at all. There were many -ways in which they could civilise the world. 
This was the way they adopted, and they thought they had considerable 
reward in the success that they had in their good work. If a man had 
the same views in his mind as the Society had, success was already 
assured him, for although prizes would make an additional interest, and 
be an additional reward, yet they were only additional rewards. If, in 
short, a man’s only idea was to take the first prize—no matter how suc¬ 
cessful he might be —he ventured to say he would be disappointed. The 
Committee considered that if the Society could encourage one man to 
cultivate a plant to perfection, who before had never had any love for 
nature or anything that was beautiful, they considered that they had 
not lived in vain. Look at the influence of a Society like this upon 
everybody with whom it came into contact. Go into the country and 
look at the gardens flourishing with flowers, or go into the town and look 
at the windows full of beautiful plants. He maintained that if inquiry 
were made it would be found that it was the exception to the rule that 
the owners of those gardens or window plants were not industrious, 
happy, and hard-working. Come nearer home, and look at the gar. 
deners themselves. They would agree with him that there were men 
amongst them chat evening who were gardeners and who were gentle¬ 
men to the backbone. In fact, he failed to see how they could help 
being inspired above the ordinary run of their fellows by the work which 
they had in hand. He was referring more particularly to those gar¬ 
deners who cultivated things to such a high state of perfection, rather 
than to those who did not take such an interest in their work. Mr* 
W. H. Ward, in replying to the toast of the Earl of Radnor, who is Pre¬ 
sident of the Society, stated that in his lordship the Societj- had a 
President of high position and generous disposition, who had a thorough 
knowledge of horticulture, who took a great interest in horticultural 
matters, and who was therefore thoroughly qualified for the position he 
occupied. 
- Effects of Feost on Vegetables. —When your corre¬ 
spondent “ H. 0.” or indeed any other such, refers to the effects of the 
winter upon vegetables, permit me to suggest that the place from which 
the writer hails should be specified. I read of “ H. O.’s” experience 
with surprise, as it differs so much from ours here in Middlesex, where 
not only have green crops of all kinds not suffered, but never looked 
better at this time of the year than they do now. We have been endur¬ 
ing literally a glut of all kinds of green vegetables, and the market 
returns have been so low that growers where they cannot get sheep to 
feed off breadths of Brussels stems and Coleworts are chopping them 
down and digging them in. There must be something wrong in the con¬ 
dition of our metropolitan markets system when beautiful hardy green 
Colewort heads, carefully cut and basketed, fetch only 3d. per 
bushel. I would not aver for a moment that there has been too large a 
crop of green vegetables for the enormous needs of the metropolis ; but— 
and this is the point which demands inquiry—there has been too large 
a supply for the markets. We see no harm done to Lettuces planted out 
in the fields, the slugs have been so far their worst enemies, nor to 
Parsley, Spinach, autumn sown Onions, or similar crops, nor has Celery 
suffered. The recent snowfall has left behind very few impressions of 
its visit. Indeed, all vegetation looks up after the thaw with wonder¬ 
ful freshness ; and in spite of the check were we, after the cleansing rain 
which has fallen, to get a week of open weather, the acceleration of 
vegetation would be as rapid as for the time of year it would be un¬ 
desirable.—A. D., Felt ham. 
- The Wakefield Paxton Society.—A t the ordinary weekly 
meeting of the members of the above Society, held at the Saw Hotel. 
Mr. B. Whiteley presided, and Mr. Herbert Chapman occupied the vice¬ 
chair. The essayist was Mr. J. G. Brown, one of the Vice-Presidents of 
the Society, and gardener to Mr. J. B. Charlesworth, J.P., of Hatfeild 
Hall. The subject of Mr. Brown’s paper was “ Hardy Flowering Shrubs 
for Forcing,” and he dealt with it in a thoroughly practical and in¬ 
teresting manner, and gave much valuable advice to professional and 
amateur gardeners as to what to grow and how to propagate and 
cultivate shrubs in order to secure good plants and a profusion of 
bloom. A short discussion ensued, in which Messrs. Hudson, Gill* 
Fenner, and Parkin took part. Mr E. Fenner moved a vote of thanks 
to Mr. Brown for his very admirable and most exhaustive paper. Mr. 
H. Chapman, in seconding the motion, remarked that the Paxton 
Society owed much of its success to such members as Mr. Brown, who 
was always ready to give good, thorough, and sound papers. Mr. 
Twigge supported the motion, and said that Mr. Brown’s practical 
papers always contained information of great benefit both to professional 
and amateur gardeners. The motion was heartily and unanimously 
carried and duly acknowledged by Mr. Brown. Mr. Squire Pickersgill, 
who had during the week attended as a delegate from the Society 
the annual dinners of the Barnsley and Bradford Societies, gave an 
interesting report with regard to those Societies, from which it seemed 
that the Barnsley Society is making good progress, whilst the Bradford 
Society, in consequence of its refusal to admit amateur gardeners as 
members, appears to be on the downward path. Mr. G. Gill and Mr. 
L. Twigge, the former of whom had attended the gathering at Barnsley 
and the latter the Bradford event, endorsed the remarks of Mr. Pickers¬ 
gill. It was stated that Councillor Milnes, the President, was assisting 
at the inauguration of a Paxton Society at Rothwell, and that Mr* 
T. Garnett was reading a paper at the Leeds Society. 
- The Acton Conseevatoey Case. —In the Court of Appeal 
was heard the appeal of the Local Board in the case of Hibbert v. the 
Acton Local Board. This was an action for damages for trespass for 
pulling down a conservatory erected at the side of the plaintiff’s house. 
The plaintiff, without the consent of the defendants, built a conser¬ 
vatory at the side of his house at Acton. The house was at the corner 
of a road, and the conservatory was built against the side of the house 
and inside the boundary wall of the garden. The conservatory was 
15 feet in length and 9 feet in depth, and was built of wood and glass, 
but was not heated in any way. The defendants pulled the conser¬ 
vatory down, as being contrary to their 36th bye-law, which provides 
that “ Every person who shall erect a new building shall cause such 
building to be enclosed with walls constructed of good bricks, stone, or 
other hard and incombustible materials, properly bonded and solidly 
put together; (A) with good mortar, compounded of good lime and clean, 
sharp sand, or other suitable material ; or (b) with good cement ; or 
(c) with good cement mixed with clean sharp sand.” The plaintiff 
thereupon brought this action, and Mr. Justice Field, who tried the case 
without a jury, held that this conservatory was not within the bye-law, 
and gave judgment for the plaintiff for £7 damages. The defendants 
appealed. For the defendants it was contended that the bye-law was 
authorised by section 157 of the Public Health Act, 1875, and that this 
was a “building” within the meaning of the bye-law. The object of 
the bye-law was to prevent danger of fire. The Court dismissed the 
appeal, and the Master of the Rolls said that the question was whether 
this conservatory, which was really only a large glass frame, was a 
‘building” within the meaning of the bye-law. In his opinion it was 
not such a building. They were not going to say that no conservatory 
could come within the bye law ; but this conservatory had not a single 
element of a building within the bye-law. How the Local Board 
could go and pull it down he could not conceive. Lord Justice Bowen 
agreed that this conservatory was not within the bye-law. He abstained 
from saying that a bye-law might not be made as to conservatories, and 
that conservatories might not come within the Act. He also abstained 
from saying that some conservatories might not come within this bye¬ 
law. This seemed nothing but a magnified g’ass frame, and the wording 
of the bye-law was not applicable to it. Lord Justice Fry concurred. 
The bye-law dealt with buildings capable of being enclosed with walls. 
Conservatories were not capable of being so enclosed, as they required 
light. The very language of the bye-law was not applicable to such 
structures. He was far from saying that a bye-law might not be framed 
applicable to conservatories.—( Gardeners' Magazine.') 
HARDY FLOWER NOTES. 
Hakdy Wintek Flowers. —Of these there are few, if any, 
which can be ordinarily relied on in the open for January, and not 
many more for February ; but this year, more than in most, there 
has been good sprinkling of early favourites showing themselves in 
