190 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
request that you will be good enough to bring 
the subject before them at their next meeting. 
—Yours, &c., C. Grey. —A. Murray, Esq.” 
Mr. Murray, in reply, states that having sub¬ 
mitted General Grey’s letter to the Council, 
the latter will take immediate steps towards 
carrying out Her Majesty’s wishes.-A 
Strawberry Fete took place at Chiswick on 
the 27th of June, and was attended by 1500 
visitors, to whom it gave general satisfaction. 
A f&te of a similar character was to have been 
held at South Kensington, on the 13th of last 
month, but it, as well as the exhibition of 
bouquet-holders, which was to have been 
opened the same day, proved complete failures. 
Certificates of three degrees of merit were 
offered for Strawberries in twenty-five classes, 
according to which, and the space occupied 
by the exhibitor, a certain proportion of the 
money received for the admission of visitors 
was to be distributed; but in only seven of the 
classes were entries made, and of the ten cer¬ 
tificates awarded, seven were taken by Mr. 
Lydiard, of Batheaston, near Bath. The 
heaviest single Strawberry was a British 
Queen, from Mr. Lydiard, weighing 1 oz. 
8 dwts. Of the bouquet-holders the only 
worth mention was that presented to Her 
Boyal Highness the Princess of Wales, by the 
Maharajah Dhuleep Sing. On the evening 
of the same day the Duke of Buccleuch, the 
President, gave an evening party in the con¬ 
servatory and arcades, which were lighted up 
by 3000 gas-burners, at which the Prince and 
Princess of Wales were present, and about 
2000 visitors. 
The Gardeners’ Koval Benevolent 
Institution. —The 21st Anniversary Meeting 
of this Institution was held at the London 
Tavern, on the 8th of last month, the Right 
Hon. Charles Lawson, Lord Provost of Edin¬ 
burgh, being in the chair. The usual loyal 
toasts having been given, the Lord Provost 
in proposing “ Success and Prosperity to the 
Institution,” after pointing out the necessity 
of such an institution for gardeners said, that 
in its early years little or no good was effected; 
but in 1843 some beneficial changes in the 
management were introduced, and it ha 3 gra¬ 
dually progressed in usefulness, affording an- 
nuites to deserving applicants above sixty 
years of age, of <£16 and <£12 to men and 
widows. At that moment there were fifty- 
five persons supported by the charity, the 
funds of which were derived from annual 
subscriptions, collection at the anniversary 
dinner, and the dividends on £5500 funded 
stock. He hoped that all well-to-do gardeners 
would come forward and subscribe their mite 
towards an institution eminently their own, 
and that all our landed gentry would become 
subscribers—every one should, indeed, who 
enjoys the luxury of flowers, fruit, and vege¬ 
tables. He trusted that ere long su« h would 
be the success of the Institution that not a 
single gardener, or gardener’s widow, in the 
country, who might be in true misfortune, 
would have to ask twice, or ask in vain, for 
its sheltering protection. The amount col¬ 
lected at the dinner was upwards of £400. 
Gardeners’ Society. —In the department 
of the Seine there is a Gardeners’ Mutual 
Benefit Society counting 607 members, and 
the funds amount to £1049. An attempt was 
recently made in this country to start a Gar¬ 
dener’s Society on the principles of assurance, 
but, whether in consequence of the Govern¬ 
ment Annuities Bill, or from an unaccount¬ 
able apathy on the part of gardeners, the 
project did not meet with that response which 
it deserved. 
The Cocoa-Nut produced by the tree at 
Syon, of the setting of which an account was 
given in our January Number, having ripened, 
was shown by Mr. Fairbairn, Mr. Smith’s 
successor in the management of the gardens 
at that place, first at South Kensington on the 
29th of June, and again at the Royal Botanic 
Show on July 2nd. 
Dandelion Culture. —The French use 
this plant in salads, and very good it is said 
to be when blanched. M. Lebeuf gives in the 
“Journal of the Imperial and Central Society 
of Horticulture,” the following as the mode 
of treatment which he pursues. He sows 
from April to June, or even later, according 
as the ground is at liberty. If the soil and 
weather are dry, water is given till the plants 
come up and have made a few leaves. They 
are then left to themselves, and merely kept 
free of weeds. If required for use in Novem¬ 
ber, the plants are earthed over in the end of 
September; if in February or March, this is 
done in November or December, covering in 
the former case 2 inches, and in the latter to 
3 inches deep. The produce in a very light 
dry soil is from 2| lbs. to 3| lbs. per square 
yard, according as the consumption takes 
place in December or March. The Dande¬ 
lion, M. Lebeuf considers, is superior to corn 
salad, and much more productive. To the 
above M. Louesse adds, as a note, that ac¬ 
cording to his experience, and the practice 
adopted in the kitchen gardens at Versailles, 
the seeds should be sown in March, and the 
most vigorous plants pricked out. These 
should be earthed over in December, with 
4 inches of old hotbed soil. Cutting may be 
commenced about the third week in February, 
and continued till April, when the covering 
should be taken off. The plants w r ill last for 
many years, and a greater produce will be 
.obtained as their size increases. M. Louesse 
not only considers Dandelion when treated 
as above as excellent, but superior to Barbe 
de Capucin, being quite as tender, and not 
nearly so bitter. 
Black Prince Grapes, such as those ex¬ 
hibited by Mr. Hill, gardener to R. Sneyd, 
Esq., Keele Hall, have, to the best of our 
