MARCH. 
61 
The Hyacinth and Camellia Show, which 
was to have been held on the 18th of March, 
and the Azalea Show, announced for the 
8th of April, have been put otf to the 25 th of 
March and 15th of April. 
The Annual General Meeting was held at 
South Kensington on the 14th of last month, 
Lord Henry Gordon Lennox, M.P., in the 
chair. The report of the Council states that 
the number of Fellows has increased to 3380, 
recounts the steps which have been taken 
towards improving the Kensington Garden, 
defends the course pursued with regard to the 
Exhibitions, and congratulates the Fellows 
on the improved condition and efficiency of 
Chiswick, which,, it is stated, has supplied 
quite £1400 w.orth of plants, grafts, and seeds, 
as well as realising upwards of £730 by the 
sale of surplus produce. The report further 
states that ‘‘arrangements are being made 
with the Society of Arts for adding an ex¬ 
amination in gardening to the examinations 
which they now conduct throughout the 
United Kingdom; and the Council intend to 
offer prizes to successful candidates, and io 
allow them, in cases of great proficiency, the 
means of gaining experience at Chiswick.” 
It is also announced that the services of the 
Lev. M. J. Berkeley have been secured to act 
as a botanist to the Society, and to conduct a 
journal, which is to appear periodically, and 
be entirely devoted to papers on theoretical 
and practical horticulture. On the adoption 
of the report being moved, Mr. A. F. Godson 
proposed, as an amendment, that a committee 
be appointed to inquire into the true financial 
state of the Society, at the same time com¬ 
menting severely on the manner in which the 
accounts were presented in the balance sheet, 
by which, he contended, a large deficiency 
was shown. He also complained of the sum 
of more than £4000 having been taken from 
the life compositions to restore the balance. 
A warm discussion ensued, in which Mr. 
Thring, Mr. Clutton, Mr. Cole, and Mr. 
Bateman defended the course pursued by the 
Council, and eventually the adoption of the 
report was carried by a large majority. 
Cinchona Culture in Ceylon. —From the 
report of Mr. Thwaites, the Director of the 
Botanic Garden, Peradenia, Ceylon, it appears 
that the introduction of Cinchonas into this 
island has been attended with complete suc¬ 
cess. Of Cinchona succirubra, one of the 
most robust and valuable species, there are 
now, planted out in the forest, 1345 plants, 
the largest of which is now 13f feet high, 
with a stem 8f inches in circumference. 
There are, besides, 2380 plants for taking 
cuttings from, 42,450 ready for distribution, 
and 32,800 in different stages of rooting. Of 
Cinchona officinalis there are 1044 planted 
out in the forest, the largest being 6^ feet 
high ; 1934 for taking cuttings from, 58,747 
ready for distribution, and 47,400 in different 
stages of rooting. Of Cinchona macrantha 
there are 300 planted out, 320 for taking 
cuttings from, 329 in different stages of root¬ 
ing ; and of C. calisaya and Pehudiana 106. 
Planters on the island have already applied 
for upwards of 28,000 plants, and, if required, 
as many as 20,000 a-month could be supplied. 
Some plants of Cinchona officinalis were de¬ 
stroyed by a temperature of 24° ; it would 
not, therefore, be safe to plant at a greater 
elevation than 5000 feet above the sea-level. 
OBITUARY. 
The Duke of Northumberl4nd.— This 
nobleman died at Alnwick on the 12th of last 
month, in his 73rd year. Descended from a 
race which had long been liberal patrons of 
gardening, the late Duke took great interest 
in horticulture; and under him the fine col¬ 
lections of hardy trees and shrubs, and of 
tropical fruits, which exist at Syon, were 
fully maintained. It will be recollected that 
it was there that the Mangosteen was fruited, 
and more recently the Cocoa-nut. The Stan- 
wick Nectarine was raised at Stanwick Park, 
one of his seats, from a stone sent home from 
Suedia by Mr. Barker; and the Duke gave 
the proceeds—no inconsiderable sum—to the 
Gardeners’ Benevolent Institution. 
Dr. Hugh Falconer, Vice-President of 
the Loyal Society, and formerly Superin¬ 
tendent of the Calcutta Botanic Garden, died 
in London on the last day of January, aged 
56, twenty of the most active years of his 
life having been spent in India. “ During 
the few years in which he has been at home,” 
says the Times , “he quickly became known 
as the possessor of one of the most scientific 
intellects in England. His chief field of 
study was paleontology, but he was also 
favourably known as a student of botany, and 
indeed generally of natural history. His 
scientific memory was prodigious, and he had 
such stores of knowledge at command, that 
men of science in London speak of his loss as 
if with him had perished a great treasure of 
information which is not likely to be soon 
amassed again. From this enormous know¬ 
ledge of his great things were expected ; but 
he was cautious to a fault—never liked to 
commit himself to an opinion until he was 
perfectly sure of it; and he has died in the 
fulness of his power, before his race was run. 
He was born at Forres, in the north of Scot¬ 
land. He studied successfully at the Univer¬ 
sities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and went 
out to India in 1830. His two official ap¬ 
pointments there, in which he became best 
known, were those of superintendent of the 
Botanic Gardens at Suharunpore, in succes¬ 
sion to Dr. Loyle, and afterwards of those of 
Calcutta. It was to information supplied by 
him that we owe the cultivation of tea in the 
district of Assam. It was through his exer¬ 
tions, also, that the Cinchona plant has been 
introduced into India. The South American 
supply of quinine, threatened failure through 
