DECEMBER. 
277 
set a fruit. This fruit, in a matured condition, though of small size, was 
exhibited on the 29th of June, 1864, at South Kensington, by the present 
gardener, Mr. Fairbairn. 
The plant has since that time continued to thrive, and has now not only 
a crop of flowers, but also a couple of nuts, quite fully grown, and beginning 
to ripen off. These nuts are larger than the first, one of them measuring 
18 inches in diameter and 12 inches in length from the base to the apex. 
The smaller of the two has been about sixteen months, and the larger 
fourteen months, in arriving at its present stage. The stem is now about 
6 feet in height, supporting a noble head of its plumy fronds, which stretch 
quite up to the roof. M. 
OUR MONTHLY CHRONICLE. 
Testimonials.—T he testimonial to Mr. 
Findlay, adverted to at p. 186, has been pre¬ 
sented, and consists of a silver salver, and a 
purse of £210.-Mr. D. Mitchell has been 
presented with a parting gift on his leaving 
the gardens at Hamilton Palace, to commence 
business as a nursery and seedsman (in con¬ 
nection with M. Lamont), in Edinburgh. The 
testimonial consisted of a timepiece in marble, 
and a tea and coffee service with tray and 
salver, and a “ beautifully embroidered cozie.” 
Aristolochia Goldieana. —This remark¬ 
able West African species flowered for the 
first time in this country last July in the Glas¬ 
gow Botanic Garden ; its flowers from the base 
of the tube to the apex, measuring along 
the curvature, are 26 inches in length, and 
across the mouth, 11 inches in breadth. It 
was managed thus:—Early in spring the 
tuber was repotted in a mixture of two parts 
turfy loam, one of leaf mould, and one being 
of sharp sand, being watered but sparingly at 
first. In autumn the stem died back to within 
3 or 4 inches of the pot, from which water 
was entirely withheld, during winter. The 
temperature of the pit in which the plant was 
brought into bloom ranged from 65° to 70 9 , 
with a slight bottom heat. 
Hardy High-flavoured Pears. —It has 
lately been remarked that if the fashionable 
test of tasting fruits when judging, were 
applied to Pears, the new and larger varieties 
would have to give way. The smaller Pears, 
moreover, if not the most showy, are the most 
convenient. Take for example the Hessel, 
a variety no one knows how old ; if this were 
brought to market or to table when gathered, 
its place might as well be supplied by as many 
pieces of wood, but if kept till properly 
ripened, there is more real Pear-flavour in 
one of these fruits, small as it is, than in 
many of the large-sized new varieties, one 
half of which never ripen, and the other half 
frequently prove to be so gritty as not to be 
fit for table. The writer suggests that some¬ 
thing would be gained by the raisers of new 
Pears keeping hardiness in view. Then, if 
such all-but-totally-neglected old varieties as 
Croft Castle, Knight’s Monarch, Thompson’s, 
Swan’s Egg, Seckel, Suffolk Thorn, Winter 
Nelis, &c., were more encouraged for orchard 
planting, we might find the markets with a 
better supply of Pears, not indeed good-look¬ 
ing, but to the taste infinitely superior to 
most of the sorts now obtainable, as regards 
the property of a rich, melting, perfumed 
Pear-flavour. 
Pinning Dahlia Blooms. —The existence 
of this practice, which does not seem to be 
generally known, has been lately brought to 
light, and whilst some persons maintain that 
it is legitimate, others hold that it is unfair : 
indeed it is certain, that pinned flo wers are 
not in a natural-grown state. Mr. Keynes, a 
well-known authority on all matters relating 
to the exhibition of. Dahlias, has lately 
observed:—Should I ever judge Dalihas 
again, I promise all “pinners” that their 
labour and ingenuity in that respect shall be 
lost. I will, however, tell them of a far more 
effective and legitimate way of keeping the 
petals firm. There are only a few sorts that 
in travelling are apt to shed their petals. 
Let all such flowers be placed in the box with¬ 
out water, and they will neither receive in¬ 
jury, nor shed their petals. Perhaps a know¬ 
ledge of this may deter pinners from their 
clever contrivance, which I cannot consider 
fair. People talk about “dressing” Dahlias; 
but the form of the flower now-a-days com¬ 
pletely obviates the necessity for doing this, 
for in nine cases out often you injure the flower 
by attempting to touch a petal. 
Hooley’s Conqueror Celery.— This is a 
very fine new Celery selected by Mr. S. 
Hooley, a mechanic of Nottingham, who has 
taken the first prize with it at each of five 
shows last year, against one hundred and 
twenty-nine competitors, and at four shows 
this year, against one hundred and twenty- 
six competitors. The largest pair exhibited 
weighed 11 lb. 2 oz. The variety has been 
