336 
[ April 24, 1890i 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
shelter from the strong gales that prevail from the west very often 
in late summer and autumn being counterbalanced by the inci¬ 
dental deprivation to the site of the afternoon and evening sun. A 
due west incline is even more objectionable, by reason of the winds 
that prevail from that point during the late summer and early 
autumn months, a “windfall” of Apples being a serious disaster. 
A south-west aspect is also inadvisable, on account of the strong 
gales occurring about the time of the autumn equinox, otherwise 
it is the most desirable, as westerly breezes are always warmer and 
moister than easterly. Tolerable results may attend planting on 
slopes inclining northwards. Trees so located may have the blos¬ 
soming period retarded so as to escape frosts, which destroy the 
crops of those on southern exposures, but the crop thereby insured 
will not compensate for the greater perfection those on the southern 
incline generally attain, as fruit on cold exposures does not acquire 
the size, colour, or quality of that grown in locations having the 
full benefit of the sun, particularly the late summer and autumn 
rays. 
Slopes should not be other than commanding a majority of the 
solar rays and not too steep, as we have to consider the supply of 
moisture—the rainfall and its appropriation as well as catching 
sunbeams. For orchards the incline ought not to exceed a fall of 
1 foot in 10 feet, but with dwarf culture and ridge or terrace 
planting the incline may be considerably more, as the steeper the 
slope up to 65°—the perpendicular in that case being about half 
the base—the greater benefit will be derived from the sun’s rays, 
and being elevated the trees would not be as liable to suffer from 
spring frosts as those on low ground, as increased surface for 
absorbing correspondingly enlarges the radiating, which will counter¬ 
act condensation. Granted slopes facing south-east to south-west, 
properly sheltered from west to north round to east, it is certain 
as large, highly coloured, rich, and better—because juicier—Apples 
could be grown as any imported. Elevation, however, makes a dif¬ 
ference of about h° in every 100 feet of altitude, but the inclination 
of the ground to the sun more than compensates for any loss of 
heat through altitude, and the rarefaction of the atmosphere is 
singularly solidifying of the growth and concentration of colour 
and quality in the fruit. 
The lower part of a gentle declivity in sheltered localities is 
perhaps to be preferred for an orchard, yet where the ground is not 
liable to suffer from drought, a slope of not less than 1 foot in 30, 
at an elevation fully one-third of the hollow or total depth, is 
decidedly preferable to a site at the foot of a slope, as there is not 
only danger to be apprehended from spring frosts, but the water 
draining from the higher ground making it wetter (I readily 
admit richer, and securing greater uniformity of moisture), con¬ 
duces to a late growth, with its attendant immaturity of wood 
and resulting canker. A very low situation may have an alluring 
depth and richness of soil, and efficient draining present no ob¬ 
stacle, yet it is not a good site for an orchard, as it occasions the 
condensation of moisture—with fog and frost. Level ground 
has the advantage of being easily worked as compared with 
inclining, and is not so liable to suffer from drought, as the rain does 
not run off as after a dry period on slopes, but penetrates and keeps 
the subsoil moist at all seasons, superfluity being carried off by 
efficient drainage. A rainfall of 24 to 26 inches will meet all re¬ 
quirements of the Apple as to moisture on the lower part of slopes 
as well as on level ground, as also slopes that have not a sharper 
incline than 1 foot in 30. It is necessary, however, to take into 
consideration the nature of the subsoil, for where there is a stratum 
of gravel or other natural drainage under the loam the rainfall, 
though it be 24 to 26 inches, may be inadequate, and in the case of 
slopes sharply inclining something more, through the drying in¬ 
fluence of the under strata, it may be necessary to afford the requisite 
moisture in dry periods during the growing season. A command of 
water from a higher source should always be kept in view when 
treating with slopes. In planting slopes much may be effected by 
furrows between the rows of trees in preventing the water running 
off in summer without staying so long as to be absorbed by the 
soil, and in localities where the rainfall is excessive, slopes and the 
ridge system of planting may be a necessity alike of getting it into 
the soil when wanted, and causing its equal diffusement throughout 
the slope, for it necessarily follows when there is no such provision 
for catching and keeping the rain, that it will pass off according to 
the inclination, and whilst the base is saturated the upper part is 
“ dry as dust.”—G. Abbey. 
(To be continued.) 
THE DAFFODIL CONFERENCE. 
The real business of the Daffodil Conference, in the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society’s garden at Chiswick, commenced on Wednesday, April 
Ifith, when Professor Michael Foster took the chair at 2 p.m. in the 
conservatory jor vinery, and opened the proceedings with an address. 
He vras supported by the Rev. W. Wilks, the Rev. G. H. Engleheart,. 
Mr. F. W. Burbidge, Mr. James Walker, and Mr. C. R. Scrase-Dickens, 
Secretary of the Narcissus Committee. There was a good attendance 
of Fellows and visitors, and much interest was manifested in the- 
proceedings. 
Professor Foster said he had some connection with the first Daffodil 
Conference in 1884, which took place at South Kensington, and be¬ 
thought that regarding the Exhibition provided this year, and the place 
where it was being held, they had good reason to congratulate themselves^ 
for if they were not sitting under their own Fig tree, they were at least 
under their own Vines. “ We are,” said Professor Foster, “essentially 
gardeners brought together by our love of flowers, and the object of 
the meeting is to increase our love of the Daffodil in particular. It has 
been rightly said that we can safely let alone the good and the true, but 
what we have to do is to take care of the beautiful. So it is our desire- 
to take care of the Daffodil.” He then referred to the importance of 
correct and systematic nomenclature, and remarked that the leading; 
pointS'in a good name are that it should be one which can be written^ 
read, spoken, and remembered with ease. Where possible the name 
should indicate the nature of the plant or its chief characteristics, but 
the difficulties in the way of the general adoption of such a scheme are 
often insuperable. The Narcissus Committee had, however, performed 
useful work and simplified the names to a great extent, as well as 
pointing out the synonyms and assisting in the removal of much con¬ 
fusion. Much valuable information had also been gained respecting the- 
Daffodils, some of which they would be entertained with in the lectures 
to follow. 
The Chairman then announced the awards of the Judges as follows : 
The silver cup offered by the Rev. W. Wilks was presented to the donor. 
Two silver medals offered by Messrs. Barr & Son were awarded to Mr. 
C. W. Cowan, Valleyfield, Pennycuick. A gold Banksian medal was 
awarded to Messrs. Barr & Son, King Street, Covent Garden, for their 
large collection of Daffodils; a silver-gilt Flora medal to Mr. James 
Walker, Ham Common ; a silver Flora medal to Messrs. J. Veitch and 
Sons, Chelsea ; and a silver Banksian medal co Mr, W. Poupart of' 
Twickenham. 
The Secretary, Mr. C. R. Scrase Dickens, then presented a report of 
the work performed by the Committee since its formation in 1886. The 
desirability of adopting some uniform system had led to the institution, 
of a committee of specialists, which held meetings in March, April, and 
May of 1886, and each succeeding year. The first and chief part of the- 
business was the substitution of English names for Latin titles in the 
case of all seedlings raised under cultivation. They had also adopted a 
method of registering the names of those varieties considered most dis¬ 
tinct. In this way fifty-four had been recognised, the names of which 
follow :— Pseudo-Karoisms —Automedon, Ard Righ, Challenger, Captain 
Neison, Troilus, Achilles, Vicar of Lulworth, Golden Prince. Major — 
Henry Irving, Emperor, P. R. Barr, Distinction, The Czar, Glory of 
Leyden, Madame de Graaff, Samson, Santa Maria. Bicolor —Empress,. 
John Horsfield (Horsfieldi), Camoens, Dean Herbert, J. B. M. Camm. 
Moschatvs —Leda, Minnie Warren, Gladys, Niobe, Little Nell. Incom- 
]>araiilis — Sii Watkin, Autocrat, Queen Bess, Gloria Mundi, Mary An¬ 
derson, Lulworth, C. J. Backhouse, Princess Mary. BaeTihovsei —William 
Wilks, Nelson’s Orange. Bernardi —H. P. Buxton. Tridynnis —A. Raw- 
son. Duchess of Westminster, Acis, Beatrice, Gem, Minnie Hume, 
Madge Matthews. Aarri—Conspicuus. hUermcdius —Sunset. Also 
Madame Plenp, Lena, Mrs. Walter Ware, Duchess of Teck, Golden Vase,. 
Miss White. The Committee does not attempt to deal with sub-species, 
or those to which the botanist would apply Latin names. Mr. Dickens 
mentioned that in 1887 attention was called to a disease that caused 
much loss amongst the Narcissi, but since then there had been no oppor¬ 
tunities of investigating the matter. 
The next business was the reading of the following admirable paper 
by Mr. Burbidge. 
HISTORY OF CULTIVATED NARCISSUS. 
[Abstract of a paper read at the Narcissus Conference held at the Chiswick Garden- 
of the Royal Horticultural Society on April 16th, 1890, by F. W. Burbidge, M.A^ F.L.S.,. 
Curator of Trinity College Botanical Gardens, Dublin.] 
Mr. Burbidge prefaced his lecture by quoting the sing-song lines- 
of the children— 
“ Queen Daffadowndilly has come into town 
In yellow petticoats and a green gown,” 
and remarked how singularly appropriate it seemed to him, this holding 
of a four-days tournament, under the auspices of Queen Daffodil, in the 
time-honoured and memory-haunted precincts of the Chiswick Garden, 
a garden visited years ago by Hawarth and Herbert, Salisbury and 
Sabine, Lindley, Sweet, Ellacombe, and many others of the former 
lovers of the Narcissus as a beautiful spring flower. The lecturer then 
pointed out that a love for these fragrant blossoms was almost as old as 
human history itself, and gave quotations from the Homeric “ Hymn to 
Demeter” (b.c. 1000), and from the “ (Edipusat Colonus ” of Sophocles, 
both of whom mentioned Narcissus Tazetta for its glittering beauty and 
fragrance nearly 3000 years ago. It was next observed that the written 
history of this delectable flower showed the duality of human progress,, 
since all the most noble objects of human interest had first of all 
obtained honourable notice (as in the present instance of the flower 
Narcissus) from the great poets, who were realiy seers or prophets, in¬ 
stinctively gifted or inspired ; hence the bards had ever been, and were 
still, the true and reliable guide posts or milestones along the great 
highway of human life. Again Mr. Burbidge emphaased the fact that- 
