82 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, May 10, 1859. 
air, to let off tlie clamp, and to reduce the temperature in hot 
weather ? If not, be sure and adopt some contrivance for that 
purpose. 
Also, have the roof made removable, for the convenience of 
removing decaying fronds and weeds, watering, &c. You will 
find this point, if attended to, very convenient. 
The following kinds we have selected out of an immense num¬ 
ber, as being suitable for your purpose. Nqne of them are very 
expensive, and all of them are very beautiful:— 
Adiantum pedal am. Deciduous. One foot. 
Aspleniumfontanum. Evergreen. Four inches. 
„ Odontites. Deciduous. One foot. 
„ marinum trapeziforme. Evergreen. One foot. 
„ septentrionale. Evergreen. Four inches. 
„ Jilix-femina multifidum. Deciduous. One foot. 
Cystopteris sempervirens. Evergreen. Nine inches. 
Lastrcea filix-mas cristata. Deciduous. One foot. 
„ polyphylla. Deciduous. One foot. 
Otiychium Jciponicum. Deciduous. One foot. 
l J olystichum Lonchitis. Evergreen. Nine inches. 
Scolopendriutn crispum. Evergreen. Six inches. 
„ ramosum. Evergreen. Six inches. 
„ undulatum. Evergreen. One foot. 
In addition to these Ferns, a few Lycopodiums might be 
planted among them. The following are suitable:— 
Lycopodium denticulatum. Lycopodium clavatum, 
,, stoloniferum. ,, selagod\ 
„ alpinum. 
ARABIS YARIEGATA—PRIMULA SCOTICA. 
“ A few hints respecting the management and increase of the 
Aralis varieyala , and the Primula Scotica, will be gratefully 
received by ‘An Old Subscriber,’ who, in trying to divide 
them, has twice lost them. The Primula flowered beautifully last 
spring ; the plant was large and healthy, and he divided it into 
three ; but two of the plants died, and the third has flowered 
well this year, but the plants now look very sickly. Every plant 
of the Arabis is dead. Is the ‘ Old Subscriber.’ mistaken in 
believing both plants hardy, or are they frame plants ? ” 
[These delicate little alpine plants should be kept in pots, in 
one-half peat and half loam, and be plunged in a cold frame 
till they arc of good size. About the middle of April is the best 
time to divide them ; and, after that, they should not see the sun 
for a month. Good established plants of them will do well 
turned out on rockwork, and attended to in watering during the 
summer ; but some of them should be kept in pots, to make 
more sure of them in winter.] 
WHEN PEACHES IIAYE FORMED THEIR STONE- 
YINES GOING BLIND. 
“Will you be so good as to tell me when Peaches have really 
stoned P 
“ Will you also tell me what is meant by Vines going blind ? 
I saw a house some weeks ago in which there seemed to me a 
great show of fruit; but I have seen the same house again, and 
only few bunches appear to be coming forward. Still the Vines 
look healthy. I fancy that here is a case of going blind. Can 
you tell me why ? Is it a case of too little heat, or too much 
heat ? or what ?”—W. C. 
[We hardly understand your first question ; but if you pierce 
a fruit with a pin, and find that you cannot penetrate the centre, 
you may be sure the fruit is stoned or stoning. Gardeners 
always know the time; as, during that period, the size of the 
fruit remains stationary, and it is important not to hurry them 
until they begin to swell of their own accord. 
Yines are said to “ go blind” when the incipient bunches turn 
up like tendrils, or the flower-buds turn yellow, or droop, in¬ 
stead of opening or setting. Heat, or want of heat, has little to 
do with this disappointment. It is chiefly owing to one of two 
reasons—1st, want of maturation of wood last season; 2nd, want 
of relative action between the roots and the branches at the 
critical period, whether owing to want of heat at the roots, their 
depth, or over-moist condition. In either case, the Vine, so far 
as growth is concerned, may seem to be in the highest health ; 
*but the fruit will suffer before the leaves, and luxuriance and 
fruitfulness are not correlative.] 
REMOVING SHRUBS FROM A FARSONAGE 
GARDEN. 
“ I should thank you to let me know whether there is any way 
of securing permission to remove costly plants and trees which 
have been collected by a resident Vicar in the vicarage-grounds 
attached to his parsonage. I have built a parsonage-house, and 
laid out the pleasure-grounds, perhaps more expensively than 
others would approve ■— I have planted good specimens of costly 
trees, &c. The benefice is very poor, and probably I may leave 
in the course of a few years, and my successor will not be 
disposed to take my hobby at a valuation for the plants ; whereas 
plenty of nurserymen would be glad of the chance.”— The Poor 
Parson. 
[VVe do not think there would be any difficulty in the way of 
your removing the shrubs during your incumbency. It would 
be quite a different case after your death or resignation. Whilst 
you are the incumbent you may move the shrubs at your pleasure 
without much fear of interruption. There is no one who can 
• secure to you permission to remove them after your successor is 
appointed, and we think he could prevent your removing even a 
Box-edging.— Eds.] 
LONDON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The Anniversary Meeting of this Society was held in the 
room of the Society of Arts, John Street, Adelphi, on Monday, 
the 2nd inst. Rev. L. Vernon Harcourt in the chair. 
Dr. Lindley, as Secretary to the Society, read the Report from 
the Council. It stated that “ a gardener, most strongly recom¬ 
mended as a man of great intelligence and experience, was 
appointed, with a liberal salary, and the entire management 
of the establishment was entrusted to him ; ” that “ considerable 
altei'ations were made in the garden, at a great cost;” that the 
Exhibitions were continued; “ collections unsurpassed for beauty, 
utility, and interest, were brought together;” but that, not¬ 
withstanding all that, the debt of the Society had risen from 
T9,388 10s. id. in 1856, to T9,980 18s. lid. 
The Report then adverted to the great item of expense in¬ 
duced by the house in Regent Street, which cost £233 per 
annum for ground rent, land tax, and rates alone, exclusive of 
the money borrowed on its security, and the charges incident 
to so large a residence. This, however, was now disposed of 
at sale by auction; and with fixtures, fittings, and useless fur¬ 
niture, produced -£3,061 4s. 6 d. (from which, however, the 
Secretary does not seem to have deducted the charges attendant 
on the Sale). In exchange for this expensive house, chambers 
at No. 8, St. Martin’s Place, have been taken, at a total rental of 
£80 a-year, including taxes. The Council do not attempt to 
conceal their regret at the sale of the large and valuable library 
which had been forming during a period of forty years; but 
they considered it would produce a considerable sum towards 
the extinction of the debt, and “ in the opinion of the officers of 
the Society, scarcely more than twenty Fellows ever consulted 
it during the year.” 
It is intended to divest the garden of its ornamental character, 
and reduce it to one of mere utility; to abandon the Exhibitions 
there, and to hold them in St. James’s Hall; to substitute 
ballots for seeds and plants, instead of distribution as formerly ; 
and by those changes it is expected the Society will be improved 
in utility. 
While the ordinary expenditure for 1858-9 has been about 
£120 below its estimate, the ordinary income for the same 
period fell short of the estimate, stated in the last annual report, 
by £901 15s. lid.; still it was upwards of £400 in excess of 
the previous year; aud in the coming year the Council have so 
arranged it, that there will be a surplus of £1,300 available for 
the reduction of the debt, or for meeting contingencies. 
Last year, the number of Fellows on the roll was 978, and this 
year it is 085; but small as this increase may be considered, 
the Council trust that it may be taken to indicate a determina¬ 
tion on the part of the public to sustain this valuable Associa¬ 
tion. Sixty-two new members were elected during the year; 
thirty resigned ; and twenty-five deceased. 
From the Balance Sheet of the Society, it appears that the 
debt now amounts to £10,752 0s. id., and the assets (which in¬ 
clude the sale of the house in Regent Street, and the Library, 
and supposing all the subscriptions are paid), to £6,057 9s. 8d. 
showing a balance against the Society of £4,694 15s, 8 d., being 
£2,524 3s. 2d. more than it was last year. 
