•562 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Ya, 1,1890. 
'freedom of flowering. The earliest variety to flower is the mauve purple 
platypetala plena, which does not grow more than 6 inches high, opens 
'its flowers early in March, and continues to do so for nearly three 
months. Lilacina fl.-pl. produces deep lilac double flowers in great 
profusion. This is more robust than any other. The old alba plena 
needs no praise to recommend its qualities, which are well known. 
Where the yellow sort thrives it is a desirable plant to encourage, 
because there are few flowers of its colour to be had then. The best 
time to increase the stock is in May, when flowering is over. Every 
-single crown with a root attached will grow if planted in a suitable 
position. A north border answers well, where they will obtain shade 
'for a time until new roots are formed.—E. 
-- Effects of Feosts upon Broccoli.—I t is a curious fact 
but which I have frequently noted, that the youngest Brocco’i plants 
■are usually the least affected by frosts. Last year we prepared an ex¬ 
ceptionally strong yet most sturdy lot of plants from which great things 
-were expected. All were given abundance of room, and the ground 
'being firm and fairly rich, extra stout stems resulted, or such as only 
'■unusually severe frosts would cripple. Apparently these stems are 
< quite uninjured, but not so the leaves. First very severe hoar frosts 
much injured the young central leaves, and subsequently the older 
■leaves also gave signs of collapse, very little green being left in them. 
-At the present time the greater portion of the plants look much as if 
"they had been scorched by fire, and rustle in the wind like leaves on 
trees in the autumn. Not more than a dozen plants were killed, and we 
■shall have hearts from all that survived, but theyare or will be less than 
‘half their usual size. Not many yards from this quarter a number of 
Plants were put out a month later on ground just previously cleared of 
Strawberries. These made but poor progress at first, but grew consider¬ 
ably in the autumn. They are not nearly so sturdy as the older plants, 
being taller when put out, but not one has been killed, and only a very 
few leaves lost, the majority being quite green and healthy, while the 
hearts we have already cut have been of a useful if somewhat small 
size, and of excellent quality. I do not profess to be fully able to ex- 
' plain why the young, and what we might reasonably assume the most 
tender. Broccoli plants should escape while the apparently most matured 
plants suffered badly, but merely chronicle the fact that such is really 
■the case.— W. Iggulden. . ■, j 
- The Ancient Society op York Florists recently held 
its first show of the season at the Guildhall, York, the public being as 
usual admitted free, a privilege of which a large number of people 
-availed themselves. The arrangements were admirably made by the 
members of the Committee. Over 500 specimens were staged by some 
twenty exhibitors. The disp'ay of Hyacinths was exceptionally fine^ 
All the blooms were of good quality. There was a fair average collec¬ 
tion of varieties of Auriculas, good Tulips (in pots), and excellent 
'Specimens of Polyanthus Narcissus. The new rules of the Society for 
restricting Auriculas and Polyanthus to pots not exceeding 4-inches 
lent uniformity to the exhibition. In cut flowers the hand bouquets, 
gentlemen’s buttonholes, ladies’ spray bouquets and bunches of flowers 
were much admired. The chief winner in the classes for Auriculas 
and Polyanthus was Miss Steward, other awards being gained by 
Dr. Baker, Mr. T. Smith, Mr. G. Cooper, and Mr. G. Hudson. Mr. S. 
Hardcastle, Mr. J. Nicholson, Mr. B. Pannett, Mr. Fielden, Mr. W. 
©ouglas were also winners in these classes. Dr. Baker took all the first 
prizes for Tulips and most of the premier honours for Hyacinths, in¬ 
cluding a prize given by Messrs. Clues Bros., of 23, Market Street, for 
six Hyacinths dissimilar. Miss Steward and Mr. E. Gray being second 
and third. Miss Steward, Mr. W. Douglas, Mr. Fielden, and Mr. Leadley 
took prizes in Hyacinths. Mr. S. Hardcastle, Dr. Baker, Mr. W. Heppell, 
Miss Barstow, Miss Steward, Mr. B. Pannett, and Mr. J. Nicholson 
shared honours in the classes for Primulas, Cyclamens, Cinerarias, 
Spirma, stove plants, &c. Other awards went to Mr. M. Dyson, Mr. 
H. E. Wilkinson, Mr. G. Horner, Miss Kirlew, and Mr. W. Heppell. 
The next show will be held at the Guildhall on May 28th. 
■- Mr. Eichard Dean and the Ealing Horticultural 
Society. —A copy of the Middlesex County Times has been sent to us 
containing the report of a presentation of a gold watch and a purse of 
gold to Mr. Dean in recognition of his services rendered to the Society 
during a period of upwards of twenty years. In another column of the 
above paper he gives a short lecture to the members of the Gardeners’ 
improvement Society, and makes a suggestion worthy of their con¬ 
sideration. He says :—“ The Gardeners’ Society professes to be an 
organis.ation for mutual improvement; yet but very few of its members 
•contribute information for the benefit of their fellow members; they 
prefer to compete for prizes rather than writing and reading papers at 
their ordinary meetings—doing for gain what I think they should do 
for the love of knowledge, and a desire to impart it to others. The 
readers of papers at the weekly meetings are mainly from the outside 
—gentlemen who put themselves to some expense and trouble to 
undertake what is asked of them. The best educational test would be, 
when a paper is read—such a one, for instance, as that by Mr. Hudson, 
on the culture of Grapes—the members should prepare an abstract of 
the paper, and send it in on the second day after. This would require 
close attention to the reader, the practice of note-taking, and the 
exercise cf the useful power of condensation in compiling an abstract, 
which should set forth the main argument and method of the reader. 
This would encourage mental concentration, cultivate the memory, 
impart the faculty of summarising, and lead up to the capacity of 
writing for the Press—all solid educational advantages of a very high 
order and value. If the young members could be induced to keep a 
common-place book, in which to set down under appropriate headings, 
and arranged for ready reference, such scraps of information as they 
can gather up at the meetings of the Society, they will have much 
reason to rejoice in after life. It is by such means as I have indicated 
that so many gardeners have risen to foremost positions on the horti¬ 
cultural Press.” 
HONOURS TO HORTICULTURISTS. 
Suggestions have been repeatedly published in this Journal 
during recent years with regard to the desirability of bestowing a 
proportion of the medals at the disposal of societies and others 
upon general horticulturists of note outside the ranks of the exhi¬ 
bitors. The Yeitch Memorial Trustees gave some attention to this 
matter last year, with the result that one of their medals was 
awarded to Mr. A. F. Barron, who well merited the public recog¬ 
nition of his services. This year the Trustees selected for similar 
honours two northern representatives of horticulture—namely, Mr. 
David Thomson of Drumlanrig Gardens, and Mr. Bruce Findlay, 
Curator of the Manchester Botanic Gardens. As recorded in our last 
issue, the presentation to these gentlemen was made by Sir Trevor 
Lawrence, Bart., M.P., at the meeting of the Eoyal Horticultural 
Society on April 22nd, and the hearty applause with which the 
recipients were greeted proved convincingly the general opinion as 
to the honours being correctly bestowed. The awards have, in fact, 
given much satisfaction, and the action taken by the Trustees in 
departing from conventional methods has secured general approval. 
ME. BEUCE FINDLAY. 
As the occasion is a suitable one, we reproduce a portrait of Mr. 
Bruce Findlay, published in this Journal nine years ago on the 
occasion of the great International Horticultural Exhibition in Man¬ 
chester. It is still, however, a faithful likeness, as the lapse of time 
has but little altered Mr. Findlay’s appearance, and certainly does 
not seem to have decreased his characteristic energy in the slightest 
degree. The following is an abstract of what previously appeared in 
these pages regarding Mr. Findlay and the garden over which he 
presides. 
The original proposal to establish botanical gardens in Manchester 
appeared in 1822. There were then very few establishments of the 
kind in England, but there was one at Liverpool, and it was in order to 
be on a par with the last-named that the proposal for a Manchester 
garden was issued. But the project was mooted before its time. 
Nobody cared to take it up, and not until about 1829 was it started 
anew. A Botanical and Horticultural Society was then established. 
Dr. Dalton went all round the suburbs of the town testing the com¬ 
parative cleanliness of the leaves of the trees w ith a cambric handker¬ 
chief, so as to be sure of the purest atmosphere, and this being found at 
Old Trafford, the existing site was chosen. In 1831 the gardens were 
ready, and about midsummer that year there was a grand procession 
and an opening exhibition. With the original Curators we need not 
here concern ourselves. They were estimable men—Mr. Findlay’s 
immediate predecessor, the late Mr. Campbell, was one of the most 
genial gardeners that ever lived. Mr. Findlay himself came upon the 
scene in 1858. He was born at Streatham in Surrey. Some of his 
earliest experience, we believe, was gained in Eollisson’s nurseries at 
Tooting. When he received the appointment he has now held with so 
much credit he was only twenty-three years of age. Flower shows, 
when Mr. Findlay came to Manchester, were for the select few, the 
connoisseurs in plants, the fashionable and the wealthy. Taking up 
with his accustomed promptitude the capital idea set forth in the Great 
International Show at South Kensington in 18G6, he determined that 
