April 4, 18*9. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
27-7 
-At a recent meeting of the Rugby and District Chrysan¬ 
themum Society, held in the Eagle Assembly Rooms, Mr. Linnaeus 
Cumming, M.A., of the Rugby Schools, gave an interesting lecture on 
gardening subjects. The principal points dealt with were plant roots 
and their functions, the germination of seeds, soils, drainage, and 
manures, all of which were discussed in a practical and scientific 
manner. Referring to the difficulties encountered in gardening Mr. 
Cumming said he “ had much faith in failures. Most of the successes 
he had scored in life had been through failures at first. One’s life was, 
generally speaking, made up of failures, but his feeling was that if they 
failed they should not give the subject up and think life too short to 
carry it out, but go on with their work as if they were goiug to live for 
ever. A gardener ought to be a man of learning, industry, and 
perseverance, and a man who never knew when he w-as beaten.” There 
was 3ome discussion, in which the Chairman, the Rev. W. 0. Wait, M.A. 
joined, with Mr. Robinson and others, and the proceedings terminated 
with a vote of thanks to the lecturer. 
- Mr. Cumming is an enthusiastic amateur gardener, and has 
succeeded in rendering his Rugby garden, though situated quite in the 
town, and necessarily of moderate extent, very interesting. Hardy 
plants are among his chief favourites, and in one little sheltered nook 
are stored some treasures that are beyond all money value. These are 
mostly choice alpine plants collected by himself in vacation tours, care¬ 
fully preserved, planted, and tended with very satisfactory results in 
the majority of cases, for they are flourishing as they might do under 
the most favourable circumstances in their native haunts. These re¬ 
sults have not been attained without a careful study of the plants’ 
requirements and close observation of their partialities for particular 
sites and soils. On a larger scale this also is how M. Everaerts has 
accomplished so much success with his alpines at Vieux Dieu in 
Belgium, where every plant has an individual history. 
- Gardening Appointments.—M r. J. H. Witty, who has 
gained some reputation as a Chrysanthemum grower, has, after eleven 
and a half years service as gardener at the Highgate Cemetery, been 
appointed Superintendent of the gardens at the Nunhead Cemetery. 
- The report and balance-sheet for 1888 of the United Horti¬ 
cultural Benefit and Provident Society has just been issued, 
and can be had from the Secretary, Mr. W. Collins, 9, Martindale Road, 
Balham, S.W. In addition to the particulars of each fund, to which we 
referred some weeks since, lists of life, honorary, and benefit members 
are given, together w-ith an outline of the rules. 
-We learn from the schedules that the Exhibitions of the follow¬ 
ing Societies will be held on the dates named :—Highgate, at Caen Wood 
Towers, July 11th ; Southwell, July 25th ; Haverfordwest, August 16th ; 
Taunton Deane, August 15th ; and Kettering on July 1st. The Ancient 
Society of York Florists, in addition to the Chrysanthemum Show noted 
on another page, will hold Exhibitions on the following dates :—April 
24th, May 29th, July 10th, August 14th, and September 11th. 
- Spring Flowers in the Scilly Isles.—A Show of spring 
flowers was held in the Scilly Isles last week, when numbers of prizes 
were offered for Daffodils, and the exhibits were abundant. A special 
prize, consisting of a challenge cup, value 40 guineas, presented by Mr. 
T. Dorrien Smith, for the best collection of Daffodils, was won by Mr. 
Hugh Watts with 100 varieties. Many other special prizes were also 
offered, hut of less value. 
- The Weather in March.—A cold month up to 24th, but 
not so much wind as usual. Dry from 20th to 30th, and the ground in 
capital condition for sowing, during the last fortnight. Total rainfall. 
2'36 inches, which fell on sixteen days, the greatest amount being 
0‘76 inch, which fell on the 7th. Highest shade temperature, 62° on 
24th ; lowest, 14° on 4th ; lowest on grass, 12° on 4th. Barometer 
highest, 30’59 at noon on 15th ; low T est, 28'85 at 9 A.N. on 20th. Wind 
in a westerly direction twenty-one days. Garden spring running 3G 
gallons per minute at end of the month, as against 15 gallons per minute 
in 1888. Gooseberries and Whitethorn hedges coming into leaf very 
Slowly on 31st.—W. H. Divers, Kctton Hall , Stamford. 
- The weather in the metropolitan district has been Eome- 
what variable, but fairly bright, with cold winds on several days. 
Writing from the north, “ B. D.” says, “ March has closed with a week 
of fine weather. On the morning of the 27th there were 8° of frost. 
Farming operations in South Perthshire are far advanced under highly 
favourable conditions.” 
- The Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.—T he usual meeting of the 
Committee took place at the Caledonian Hotel on the 29th ult., Mr. 
George Deal presiding. The Secretary, Mr. A. F. Barron, announced 
that the sum of £83 7s. lid. had been received during the past month, 
including £51 0s. 6d. from M. PI. B. May (the proceeds of an entertain¬ 
ment at Edmonton), £7 Is. 6d. collected by Mr. W. G. Head at the 
Crystal Palace, and £5 6s. lid. the proceeds of a flower stall held by 
Mrs. Ford at the recent Spring Show of the Richmond Horticultural 
Society. Mr. Lawton, The Gardens, Wilton House, Brough, Yorkshire, 
was appointed Local Secretary for that district. The Chairman 
announced that the President, Sir Julian Gohlsmid, would preside at the 
annual dinner on July 19th, and it was resolved that the arrangements 
of the dinner should be on the same lines as last year, the tickets to be 
5s. each. The following were announced as Stewards : —Messrs. Assbee> 
Bates, Bishop, Cannell, R. Dean, W. G. Head, Herbst, Laing, Richards 
Roberts, Roupell, Walker, and Wynne. A cheque was drawn for the 
children’s allowances for the current quarter—viz., £35 15s. The usual 
vote of thanks was passed to the Chairman for presiding. 
- The fortnightly meeting of the Reading and District 
Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Association was held on 
Monday, April 1st, and was, as usual, well attended. Mr. W. Lees, 
Chairman of the Association, presided, and Mr. George Stanton, of 
Park Place, Henley-on-Thames, read a paper on “ Gardeners and Gar¬ 
dening.” The subject was dealt with in an able manner. Mr. Stanton, 
contended that although we have no schools of gardening supported in 
part or entirely by the State, as they have in most continental countries, 
yet the gardeners of this country w-ere the best as a body, the most 
numerous in the world. Our garden literature and horticultural press had 
helped much to raise the standard of gardeners. He hoped the gardeners 
would endeavour to disseminate knowledge among the cottagers, so 
that their gardens might become more profitable to them, there being 
much room for improvement in this way. At the conclusion a hearty 
vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Stanton. 
- Arrangement of Hot-water Piping. —Much has been 
written during the past winter in various gardening periodicals on 
“ Fuels and Stoking,” items of no small importance both to the gardener 
and his employer, but I am induced t.o make a few remarks upon the 
hot-water pipes which are not fitted up at present so as to gain the 
greatest amount of heat with the smallest amount of fuel. My 
experience as a practical gardener is somewhat considerable. I have 
met with a great variety of heating apparatuses in different parts of 
the country, and have spent much time in studying them. The con¬ 
clusions that I have come to are that return pipes are on a wrong 
principle. What is aimed at in all cases is to send the hot water 
where it is wanted for the purpose of keeping up the temperatures in 
the different compartments it is carried to with the smallest amount of 
fuel. To obtain this object I would do away with all return pipes, but 
would make every pipe a flow and reduce the back flow say to 
1 inch or 11 inch, according to the distance from the boiler. By adopting 
this method I am positive heat can be got from a smaller amount of 
piping and a much smaller quantity of fuel than is at present consumed. 
In my observations it has been the quantity of cooling water returning 
to the boiler that swallows up the firing, causing a great strain on the 
apparatus.—A. Harrow, Westgate-on-Sea. 
- The Essex Field Club maintains a vigorous existence, and 
is steadily increasing its sphere of interest and usefulness to its nume¬ 
rous members. During the present year it has commenced “ winter ” 
meetings in the principal large towns of Essex, the first being held in 
Chelmsford in February last proving very successful, and the second 
was held on Saturday, March 30th, at Colchester. The trip included a 
visit to the Castle Museum under the charge of the Rev. C. L. Ack- 
land, M.A., also a visit to Mr. G. Joslin’s museum of Roman antiquities. 
After tea at the Cups Hotel an ordinary meeting of the Club was held, 
when the following papers were read :—“ The Fishes of Essex,” by 
Henry Laver, M.R.C.S., F.L.S., F.S.A. “ Notes upon and Exhibition of 
Foraminifera and Diatoms from the Mud of the Oyster Beds of the 
Essex Coast,” by J. C. Shenstone, F.R.M.S., and C. E. Benham. “ Notes 
on some of the Rarer Coleoptera Found in the Colchester District,” by 
W. II. Harwood. “ Notes on Result of Examination of a Red Hill near 
Burnham,” by E. A. Fitch, F.L.S., and W. Cole. “Some Essex Well- 
sections,” by W. Whitaker, B.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., &c. Various objects of 
interest were also exhibited, and a most agreeable day was spent. 
— Begonias. —Beyond the varieties of Begonia semperflorens and 
a few other species this genus is not largely represented in gardens, the 
