THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
351 
March (i.J 
that under these circumstances, the glass ceases to assist 
just when its assistance can best be dispensed with. 
“ The most unfavourable weather is continued, haze and 
| snow, from the north-east. In this case, the greenhouse 
! gradually parts with its heat, and, after a few days, becomes 
reduced almost to the temperature of the surrounding air. 
“In order to encourage those who may be inclined to erect 
a similar structure, I may observe, that last year, though the 
season was far from favourable, the Purple Constantine 
Grape ripened perfectly. The mention already made of 
having damped the air, though during the growing season 
only, with hot water, certainly admits the use of a little arti¬ 
ficial heat; but it must be remembered that the introduction 
of spring water into a warm greenhouse would, in reality, be 
an artificial chill-, and the heat of the water, however great, 
will hardly compensate for the cold which is produced by its 
evaporation.” 
GARDENING GOSSIP. 
The Norfolk and Norwich Horticultural Society is 
proceeding this year under a new management. We hope 
they will give cottagers’ prizes for vegetables and fruits, 
instead of for flowers only, as heretofore. It must 
strike any reasonable man, that we ought to encourage 
the cottager to cultivate his cabbages, carrots, parsnips, 
potatoes, and onions, in preference to his taste for pinks 
and pansies, over which he must lose more time to show 
half-a-dozen, than it would take him to cultivate two 
rods of vegetables. Mr. Hussey, of the Horticultural 
Gardens, Norwich, is the newly-elected secretary. 
The difficulty which an amateur must experience in 
choosing new flowers, may, in some measure, be esti¬ 
mated by the fact, that £100 will not buy one of a sort 
of dahlias, fuchsias, verbenas, and geraniums, that are 
described with the most tempting properties ; yet there 
are thousands who cannot afford to lay out one-tenth of 
1 the money. How necessary is it, then, that some au- 
| tliority should give the floral public the benefit of sound 
I judgment as to the few very choice things they ought 
! not to miss. What a puzzle, to lay before a man of 
limited means lists comprising fifty or sixty new dahlias, 
all of which are described as “ first class,” as “ fine 
show flowers,” the “ best of their class,” the “ crack 
| flowers of the season,” and so forth; the most, perhaps, 
the purchaser can command being half-a-dozen. The 
great difficulty in obtaining the information that is so 
desirable is, that whoever ventures to point out the few 
that are really worth buying, makes enemies of the 
owners of the rest, and few men would feel inclined to 
I encounter such a test; nevertheless, there is the great 
i fact before us. We must choose the few we require from 
I the hundreds that are offered, and must risk whether we 
buy the best or the worst. Surely societies may in time 
cure this enormous evil. 
The Gardeners' Benevolent Society, at their annual 
meeting, made no addition to the number of pensioners 
on the funds. So far so good. Many an institution has 
failed in consequence of the illusive nature of “ elections 
of objects.” Scores of new subscribers join for the 
purpose of voting for some favourite candidate, and 
never pay a second subscription; and Committees of 
Management rarely consider the real value of an an¬ 
nuity. Perhaps, one with another, every pension voted 
may be worth .£150; and we remember, two or three 
years ago, the Benevolent Society was warned that they 
were going too fast, for they were electing two or tlnee 
pensioners twice a-year. We also remember that some 
of the managers were quite offended at what they con¬ 
sidered a very hostile attack. It had, however, the effect 
of drawing the attention of some judicious members to 
the state of accounts, and the result was, dropping the 
half-yearly elections, and having only one a-year. It 
has now been found expedient to suspend even that. 
But had the caution been acted on at once, and the 
reduction been made at the time, there would have been 
no occasion to suspend the elections altogether. 
The subscription for a great Northern tulip show goes 
on swimmingly, and there is no doubt of a great meeting. 
There seems, however, to be repeated hints, and frequent 
sentences of ambiguous import, on the subject of strin¬ 
gent rules to compel men to show their own flowers; in I 
fact, our Northern friends, as indicated by their own 
publications, are, month after month, writing at some 
body, or, perhaps, at several, to whom this trick of 
showing flowers grown by others is imputed; and we 
seriously advise those who are in the habit of contri¬ 
buting to floral periodicals, to drop all inuendoes, and 
at once denounce such persons by name, or to say 
nothing more about it. We bate j^rsonalities; but 
implied charges against nameless persons are infinitely 
worse, because offensive to the wide circle of exhibitors 
alike—the innocent and the guilty. Besides, strangers 
to the science of floriculture, who might desire to join 
the ranks, must have an ill opinion of any class that are ! 
perpetually assailing one another. One society in the ! 
North has spoken out, and expelled certain persons, by 
name, and advertised a prohibition to their showing. 
We hope this has not been upon slight evidence; for 
although, under justifiable circumstances, it may work a 
j reform, the public cannot but know, that for the two or 
three victims now punished, scores of equally culpable, 
and, from their better circumstances, less pardonable 
delinquents, have escaped. There is nothing does more 
mischief than unfair showing; but we dislilce the vague 
charges which are made against persons not mentioned, 
and the consequent injustice done by the conjectures as 
to who are the parties—as often wrong as right—we, 
therefore say, “ speak out unequivocally, or say nothing.” 
—E. Y. _ 
THE BOSAEY. 
[Under this head we purpose publishing such in¬ 
formation relative to the Rose as we may be favoured 
with. We are induced to do this from our knowledge 
of the increased and increasing interest taken in its 1 
cultivation.— Ed. C. G.] 
Soil for Roses. —Whoever wishes to cultivate the rose 
successfully, must either choose a situation where the soil 
is suitable, or make the ground he chooses for the purpose 
of the proper quality. If he is so fortunate as to have a 
garden, the staple soil of which is a good strong loam, of not 
less than a foot deep or more, with a dry subsoil of gravel or 
shale, he may plant roses with every prospect of their grow¬ 
ing and blooming well. A good dec-p loamy soil, ivith a dry 
bottom, is the best soil for the rose. But it is not always in 
the rose grower’s power to choose a situation where the rose 
