288 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 14,1887. 
“ W. D. B.” wishes to know whether Rhododendron Cun- 
11 very thing being right, beds ought to bear in five or six weeks after 
spawnings and when few are produced in eight, ten, or twelve ’weeks 
the cultivator is apt to conclude that the bed is a failure ; it is broken 
up, and the manure used for other purposes. At certain times this 
mwlit be the correct thing to do, as a bed which in favourable wjeather 
failed to bear in eight or nine weeks may be treated as useless ; but I 
would never consider a bed which was late in bearing in winter a failure 
until I had seen what the more favourable weather in spring projduced, 
and all beds at the present time which have failed to bear in (season 
ought to be retained until May at least. . j 
Occasionally, again, we have had beds in cool sheds which have failed 
to produce Mushrooms at the proper time in January, February, and 
March, but which in April and May have produced them in abundance — 
in fact., as freely as if they had never lost a week or a month, and I would 
strongly advise all who have had to deal with unsatisfactory; crops 
during the last three months to give the beds another chance. Beds, 
however, which do not bear are always liable to become too dry, and 
before anticipating any Mushrooms they ought to be well soaked with 
water at a temperature of 90°. This water cannot be given to penetrate 
the bed at one watering, but a little must be applied at intervals for 
perhaps a whole day, then cover the bed with a thick coating, of hay, 
and look out in a week or two for useful little buttons and large fleshy 
heads.—J. Muir, Margam Park , outh Wales. 
At a General Meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 
held April 12th, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, F.R.S., in the chair, the 
follpwing candidates were duly elected Fellows—viz., Arthur H. Easton 
J. T. Hazeldine, F. T. Daniel. 
- With regard to the “Frost Report,” we are desired to state 
that any Honorary, Foreign, or Corresponding Member of the Society 
may obtain a copy of this work free of charge by applying to the: Secre* 
tary of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, S.W. Mr. 
Geo. Maw, F.L.S., of Benthall, Kenley, has been elected a Member of 
Council vice Mr. A. B. Mitford, C.B., who has resigned. It hais been 
decided to hold a Chrysanthemum Show on the 8th and 9th of November 
next. The idea of holding a Conference on Grapes has been abandoned 
for this year. Arrangements will shortly be made by which residents 
in the neighbourhood of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Gardens at 
Chiwick, who are not Fellows of the Society, will be admitted to the 
Gardens on easy terms. 
- The Proposed Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.—A wcll-atiteuded 
meeting was held at South Kensington on Tuesday last, Mr. (g. Deal 
presiding, at which the draft scheme prepared by the Special Conjimittee 
was revised and ordered to be printed for distribution amongst gardeners, 
with the object of gaining their adherence to the project. 
- We are desired to note that Mr. Benjamin Field, dealer in 
horticultural requisites, has established a central office and sales room 
at 75a, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., his goods depot remaining, 
as usual at Swan Place, Old Kent Road, S.E. 
- Rating Nurseries and Market Gardens.— Mr. W. Piercy 
Forest Hill, sends the following note “ At the Greenwich Police 
Court on Wednesday, April 6th, 1887, before Mr. Montagu Williams, the 
Overseers of Lewisham v. Henry James Cobb of the Derby. Villas 
Nursery, Forest Hill. This was an application by the Overseers for the 
payment of £2 11s. for rates in respect of his cottage and nursery 
grounds, Derby Villas, Forest Hill. Mr. Coxwell of 15, Walbrook, 
appeared for Mr. Cobb, and contended that after the decision of 
Purser v. the Worthing Local Board, heard in the Division Court before 
Mr. Justice Day and Mr. Justice Wills, reported in The Times of the 
21st of March, 1887, Mr. Cobb could be assessed in respect of the 
nursery grounds at one-fourth only, but as regards the cottage occupied 
by him at the full value. This was opposed by Mr. Clutty, the col¬ 
lector, on the grounds that there was one assessment only. Mr. 
Montagu Williams, after considering, said that there should be separate 
assesssments for the land and cottage, and having reference to the In¬ 
habited House Duty Act of 1881, adjourned the case to allow the parties 
to come to terms.” 
- • I | 
NINGHAM’S Dwarf White is a distinct variety from the Old Cunning¬ 
ham’s White? If not, was it not raised, or at least sent out, by the late 
Mr. George Cunningham of Liverpool ? Cunningham’s White is a fine 
forcing plant, but will Mr. Carter please say if the variety he alludes to 
is distinct. 
- We are requested to announce that Mr. George Willers of The 
Nurseries, Trumpington Road, Cambridge, has been appointed florist to 
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales by special and Royal 
warrant. 
-- Slag as a Manure.— A new industry, says the Standard , is 
being established in South Staffordshire in connection with the steel 
trade. A complete plant has just been laid down at the works of the 
Staffordshire Steel and Ingot Iron Company, Bilston, for the grinding of 
basic slag for agricultural fertilising'purposes. A slag house, 140 feet long 
by 50 feet, has been built for the accommodation of grinding machinery. 
The process is divided into three stages. The last completely pulverises 
the slag, making it of such a fineness that it will pass through a mesh of 
10,000 holes to the square inch. The slag, being composed of 40 per 
cent of lime, and from 15 to 20 per cent, of phosphoric acid, its value as 
an agricultural fertiliser is becoming increasingly appreciated. 
- Messrs. J. Carter & Co., 237 and 238, High Holborn, have 
issued the fourth edition of their essay on “ Lawns, Lawn Tennis, and 
Cricket Grounds,” in which much condensed useful information is 
given on these subjects ; preparing the soil, sowing the seed, and after 
management are discussed and elucidated. 
-- A Buckinghamshire correspondent sends us an example of 
what he terms a Feathered Cyclamen, in which the lobes of the 
corolla are furnished with a kind of crest formed of deeply and 
irregularly cut segments, imparting a very peculiar appearance to the 
flower. It cannot be regarded as much more than a monstrosity in its 
present condition, but it might develope into something of an orna¬ 
mental character. 
- Rhododendrons in Pots. —“ I have often wondered,” writes 
a southern gardener, “ why Rhododendrons are not more generally 
grown in pots, especially seeing what capital plants can now be pur¬ 
chased at a comparatively cheap rate. Recently I saw a large number 
in the show house at Garaway’s nurseries, Clifton, Bristol, many ef 
them in full bloom and others advancing. They are very dwarf, and 
nearly every shoot is furnished either with a bud or a beautiful truss of 
blooms. Some of the best varieties were Cynthia, Boule de Neige, 
Madame Wagner, Blandianum, John Waterer, Joseph Whitworth, Prince 
Camille de Rohan, Henry Bohn, Cunningham's White, Michael Waterer 
Concessum, John Spencer, and Sherwoodi.” 
■-- Gardening Appointment.— We learn that Mr. Joseph 
Godseff, who has for the past sixteen years had the management of 
Mr. William Bull’s nurseries at Chelsea, has been appointed manager 
of Mr. F. Sander's extensive Orchid establishments at St. Albans. 
- At the ordinary meeting of the Royal Meteorological 
Society, 25, Great George Street, Westminster, on Wednesday, the 20th 
inst., at 7 P.M., the following papers will be read :—•“ The Storm and Low 
Barometer of December 8th and 9th, 1886,” by Charles Harding, 
F. R.Met.Soc. “Report of the Wind Force Committee,” drawn up by 
G. Chatterton, M.A., M.Inst.C.E., F.R.Met.Soc. “ A New Form of 
Velocity Anemometer,” by W. H. Dines, B.A., F.R.Met.Soc. “ Descrip¬ 
tion of two Maximum Pressure Registering Anemometers,” by G. M- 
Whipple, B.Sc., F.R.Met.Soc. The three latter papers will be in type 
before the meeting. Any Fellow wishing to take part in the discussion 
can obtain a copy on application to the Assistant Secretary, Mr. William 
Marriott. 
-- The third edition of Messrs. Sutton & Sons’ work on “ The 
Culture of Vegetables and Floivers from Seeds and Roots ” 
has just been issued. The main portion of the book continues the same 
as in the previous edition, but it has been carefully revised and enlarged 
by about 100 pages, including a useful chapter on “ Lawns from Seed,’’ 
with several others on flowers that were only incidentally mentioned 
before. The instruction is of a thoroughly practical character, full and 
simple. In the 406 pages the leading chapters are “ The Culture of 
Vegetables,” “ A Year’s Work in the Vegetable Garden,” “ The Rotation 
of Crops in the Vegetable Garden,” the “ Chemistry of Garden Crops,’’ 
