THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, February 9, 1858. 289 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
D 
M 
D 
W 
FEBRUARY 9—15, 1858. 
Weather n 
Barometer. 
ear Lon 
Thermo. 
DON IN 1 
Wind. 
857. 
Rain in 
Inches. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon 
R.andS. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
afterSun 
Day of 
Year, i 
9 
Tu 
Brachvsema latifolium. 
29.591—29.475 
46—35 
S. 
.06 
28 a. 7 
1 it • 5 
5 a. 26 
25 
14 
30 
40 
10 
W 
Queen Victoria Married, 1840 
29.753—29.642 
51—33 
S.W. 
.01 
26 
3 
6 12 
26 
14 
31 
41 
11 
Th 
Brachysema undulatum. 
30.009—30.821 
52—27 
s.w. 
.03 
24 
5 
6 46 
27 
14 
31 
42 
12 
F 
Brachysema villosum. 
30.348—30.262 
50—23 
w . 
.00 
22 
7 
7 12 
28 
14 
31 
43 
13 
S 
Baronia primata. 
30.291—30.262 
46—25 
w. 
— 
21 
9 
sets 
® 
14 
29 
44 
14 
Sun 
Shrove Sunday. Valentine. 
30.249—30.187 
47—22 
w. 
.01 
19 
10 
5 58 
1 
14 
27 
45 
15 
M 
Cytisus filipes. 
30.112—30.066 
48—26 
E. 
1 
17 
12 
7 18 
2 
14 
25 
Meteorology of the Week. —At Chiswick, from observations during the last thirty-one years, the average highest and lowest 
temperatures of these days are 45.0° and 30.7°, respectively. The greatest heat, 65°, occurred on the 10th, in 1831 ; and the lowest cold, 3 J , 
on the 11th, in 1845. During the period 135 days were fine, and on 82 rain fell. 
MEETING OF THE 
LONDON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
February 2. 
This miglit be said to be the first day of real 
wintery weather round London. The “ glass ” fell 
from 10° to 12° below the freezing point on the previous 
night; the wind was north-easterly in the morning; 
and it began to snow before noon, and continued 
till night. On reaching the bottom of Regent Street, 
I was inoculated with the spirit of the times, and 
could no more turn up to the rooms of the Society 
than I could fly—I must see the Princess William of 
Prussia, and bless her, like the rest of them, ere I 
could settle down to think of other flowers : so along 
St. James’s Park I went to meet the procession. The 
entrance into London by this route is more mean and 
more shabby than any entrance I know of to a town 
or country village in England—two sharp turnings 
round two corners, a narrow carriage-way through 
a paltry gate, and a run through the “back yard” of 
the Duchess of Sutherland’s, lead from the open Park, 
in front of Buckingham Palace, to St. James’s ; and 
must have given the meanest idea of London to those 
foreigners who crowded that way for the first time on 
the late occasion. Close to that narrow gate stood the 
Duchess of Sutherland with her ladies in waiting ; and 
a thin tall gentleman, perhaps his Grace, under an 
open canopy in the south-east corner of the garden of 
Stafford House, just overlooking the gate, by which 
one carriage only can go into, or go out of London, at 
one time. The procession soon passed through the 
gate. The Princess was most deeply affected; but 
a thick dark veil hid her emotions considerably from 
the crowd. The Prince William of Prussia by her side, 
and Prince Albert and the Prince of YVales, with their 
backs to the horses, all looked very grave, and very 
thinly clad in dark grey travelling-wrappers, the car¬ 
riage wide open, and the snow just beginning to spin 
slowly in broad thin flakes. 
I could not hear of Mr. Stevens, at his sale-rooms, 
for the awful noise of the poultry, which they were 
then sorting; and I Oould not wait to see the sale on 
account of the Horticultural Meeting; but I ran 
through Covent Garden Market, that 1 might be able 
to compare the show of cut flowers with our compe¬ 
tition of flowering plants* The market was very well 
supplied with flowers ; but the Camellias, which were 
the most numerous, were not even second-rate in size. 
Azaleas were as good as we see them in May ; the 
double earlyTulips were first-rate; Narcissusverybadly 
forced indeed; Hyacinths capitally done; TreePceonies 
most capitally forced ; Mignonette not amiss. There 
were three kinds of Tropseolum, of the Lobhii section, 
very rich indeed; a f ew Alba multiflora, and Gauntlet , 
and common scarlet Geraniums, Cyclamens, common 
border Anemones, Snowdrops, Acacia aftinis, Bignonia 
venusta, Dcndrobium nobile or momliforme, Bichardia 
or Arum Plant, immense quantities of the China Prim¬ 
rose, principally double white, and hosts of Violets; 
but nothing particularly new in nosegays. They make 
the nosegays exceedingly well in Covent Garden ; but 
they are all of one stamp—jolly good nosegays for 
dairymaids’ weddings ; and wliat could a duchess want 
better ? Or if she did, she could not be better sup¬ 
plied if she lived within fifty miles of London. 
The best nosegay in the market that day was made 
thus:—A fine large white Camellia for the centre ; then 
two bunches of the Gauntlet Geranium opposite each 
other, and two other bunches of Tropseolum, Triomphe 
de Gand, the same giving, as it were, a crimson-shaded 
ring round a white ; and the- third ring was of bunches 
of double-white Chinese' Primrose, set in between the 
common ones, ‘so as not to appear like a band , all 
round; then a border of sweet-scented Geranium 
leaves, and the lace-like paper envelope. 
There was not a singleRose-bloom to be seen in all the 
market that day; but forty or fifty years ago people used 
to have Cabbage and Moss Roses to sweeten the Christ¬ 
mas Holly, according to one of our best authorities 
on such things (my late employer, Sir W. Middleton). 
I made a diligent inquiry among the best practicals 
at the horticultural Society respecting the poverty of 
the London flowers in winter, as compared with our 
country “establishments,” and the answers were quite 
satisfactory. They amounted to this—-that to grow 
them would not pay ; that the “ establishments ” were 
not in town at that season; and that all that was 
“doing” in Covent Garden in winter flowers was 
principally for theatre-going people, and for young 
swans or cygnets of the city. Therefore, said I, we 
must not be so hard on the Horticultural Society for 
not endeavouring to promote winter-flower forcing; 
although it seems hard to be compelled to use artificial 
flowers, and to recur to our old notions of fine-leaved 
plants at a royal wedding, if it happens to “ come off” 
when the “ establishments ” are not in “ town.” And 
with this softened view of the subject, let us approach 
the February meeting in Regent Street. 
There were handsome prizes offered, this time, for 
certain plants in bloom; but “ they would not pay,” 
and we had them not; and so we had more money to 
spend on very deserving effects, in other things. The 
best new plant was a charming one, from the Wel¬ 
lington Road Nursery — a grand emporium for no¬ 
velties, for arrangements of business details, and for 
the one-boiler system of heating by Mr. John Weeks, 
which I must go and see with my own eyes. Another 
nurseryman, the head of the Pine Apple Nursery 
firm, told mo in the meeting-room, that the one-boiler 
system, which I should see in the Wellington Road 
Nursery, was the most effectual, and the most complete 
thing of the kind in the kingdom. It is worth re¬ 
cording this, as it is not often we meet with one 
tradesman who speaks well of a rival, and of a third 
party in the same line. I, myself, have been called 
No. 489. Vol. XIX 
