157 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, June 14, 1859. 
The rev. gentleman in ascribing those motives to me has done 
me honour, for 1 feel they might be open to a different inter¬ 
pretation to that he has put upou them, and again thank you 
for the manner in which you have received the toast.” He then 
resumed liis seat amidst every manifestation of applause, but 
in a few minutes rose to proceed with the business of the day. 
The Chairman. “ Ladies and Gentlemen,—The next toast of 
the evening is, ‘ The Vice-Presidents of this Institution,’ coupled 
with the names of Mr. Bohn and Sir Joseph Paxton [cheers]. 
Two better names could not have been selected out of the whole 
country to have been Vice-Presidents of this Society than these 
two gentlemen. The former is distinguished alike for his taste 
in gardening, his literary judgment, his knowledge of ancient 
pottery, and almost every subject there is. Whilst Sir Joseph 
Paxton has only to rise and say, ‘ Circumspice ’ [cheers]. ‘ I 
am the architect of my own fortune, and I am the architect of 
this building ’ [cheers]. Speaking of practical men, I have 
again to mention how much I am indebted to the writers of 
The Cottage Gaiuiener. Sir J. Paxton’s ‘ Cottage Calendar ’ 
is also very welcome to us [hear, hear]. With respect to the 
\ice Presidents, I don’t know any men more respected in the 
community than Mr. Bohn and Sir Joseph Paxton [hear, hear]. 
Mr. Bohn, in returning thanks, said he felt very fully the 
honour in being selected to respond to such a toast. The Vice- 
Presidents were very numerous, and amongst them were some 
of the most distinguished men iu the country [cheers]. He 
begged to congratulate all on the presence of the ladies, who 
occupied so much space that it was larger than they could ac¬ 
commodate. To our gardeners we owed a great deal, as they 
contribute so much to the delights we enjoy. They were a very 
ill-paid body of men—no men so ill-paid as the working gar¬ 
deners. Day by day he saw them emigrating from us, and we 
deserved it. A man had only 14a. or 15s. a-week for his labour 
and skill, instead of 40s. or 50s. He was glad to see the Society 
increasing so very fast; and he hoped it would continue to do 
so in order to obtain for each gardener an asylum for old age. 
He begged to thank them for the mannerin which his name had 
been received. 
Sir Joseph Paxton next rose; and when the applause had sub¬ 
sided, he said, that in this great centre of civilisation—London, 
was contained a vast amount of benevolence, and it was the 
fittest place for a society such as theirs to take up its position iu 
[hear, hear]. He had a toast entrusted to him, which would 
meet their approval. He felt long since that the Crystal Palace 
was the proper place to have a gardener’s dinner in, and that 
day’s result had convinced him that he was right. They had 
100 more than on any previous occasion [cheers]. They had 
had the advantage of the presence, of the ladies, who, if they had 
not been present, would have lost a great treat in the observa¬ 
tions which had fallen from his friend the Chairman. After 
settling that the dinner should take place in the Crystal Palace, 
it was decided that the best time would be at the Flower Show. 
When the proposal was made to the Directors of the Company, 
they met it in the most liberal spirit, and on terms, that if they 
were known, would, he felt sure, meet with their entire approba¬ 
tion [cheers]. In proposing the health of the Directors of the 
Crystal Palace Company, he would combine with it the name 
of the Chairman of the Company, his friend Mr. Farquhar 
[cheers]. The Company was taking a great interest iu horti¬ 
culture, and during their existence, had given every encourage¬ 
ment to the art, which encouragement was being productive of 
the best consequences outside of the building ; extending its 
influence everywhere [cheers]. 
The toast was drunk with cheers. 
Mr. Farquhar, in replying, thanked the Meeting for the honour 
done him and his brother Directors; and assured them there 
was no subject that more earnestly engaged the attention of the 
Company than the cultivation of gardening [cheers]. He again 
thanked them for the honour they had conferred upon him. 
The Chairman, in very eloquent terms, proposed “the health 
of Mr. Cutler, the Secretary,’’ than whom no more useful public 
servant could possibly be. 
The toast was drank enthusiastically. 
Mr. Cutler returned thanks, and, in doing so, read the 
subscription list, from which it appeared that the amount in 
the total was A*34Q. 
The Chairman said, “ I have another toast to propose, and 
he who will not wait for it may walk himself off; he is no man, 
and we don’t want him [loud cheers, as the company were 
departing] : that toast was ‘ the Ladies ’ ” [great cheering]. 
The toast was drunk with rapturous applause: after which 
the Chairman pronounced ‘ To our next merry Meeting,’ and 
the company separated. 
Mr. Strange was indefatigable in his attentions upon the com¬ 
pany ; which is saying a great deal for him, when it is considered 
upwards of3000persons had dined in the Palace that day, apart 
from the general refreshments. 
Mr. Harker was toastmaster with his usual effect; and the band 
ol the Coldstream Guards under Mr. Godfrey played during the 
dinner. Every one seemed thoroughly to have enjoyed the feast 
of the day, and went away fully satisfied. 
Dr. Uhler’s way of Reviving IIotueds. — Having read Dr. 
Uliler’s account of a new way of reviving the heat in hotbeds, 
by saturating them with a weak solution of glue or any liquid 
containing gluten, I concluded to test the matter myself this 
spring. In the latter part of October 1 filled a range of hotbeds, 
of about ten lights, with manure, mixed with about one-fourth 
leaves, and planted them with Lettuce, Radishes, Dandelion, 
and Endive. By the first of January the heat in the bed had 
entirely declined, and most of the crop consumed. Wishing to 
use the same bed for early vegetable plants, such as Tomatoes, 
Ac., I concluded to try Dr. Uhler’s plan on part of the same 
beds, and partitioned off two lights, and, throwing back the 
top soil, gave the bed a good watering with about two barrels of 
“swill” or “slop” from an alcohol distillery in the vicinity. 
We pay six cents a barrel for it, and haul it about a quarter 
of a mile. Before putting the “ swill” on, I made a hole down 
two feet in the bed, put a thermometer in it, and covered it 
closely, and, on examination, found the temperature 44°. The 
“ swill ” was applied on the 10th of February at noon, and on 
the evening of the 12th the temperature had risen to 70°, on 
the evening of the 13th to 70°, and on the evening of the 14th 
February to 80°. This is the last observation made ; but as 
you wished to have the result, as far as ascertained, for this 
mouth’s paper, I send it to you. I also yesterday tested the 
temperature of the remaining lights of the bed, (not saturated 
with the swill,) and found, by placing the thermometer in a 
closely-covered hole, that it was still 44°. The heat of the 
bed is evidently still increasing. — J. H. (American Gardener's 
Monthly .) 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Finching Fecit Tele Shoots (A Reader). —We pinch the shoots of our 
fruit trees now, and throughout the summer ; both wall trees and dwarf 
standards. We take off one-third of the shoot if weak, only one-fourth 
if of average strength, and merely the point if strong. It is quite true 
they usually break again; but what of that? We stop these secondary 
growths by nipping them aft' entirely. 
Sulphuring Mildewed Vines (.4 Country Subscribe/ ).— l)o not syringe 
the Vines either before or after applying the flowers of sulphur. Apply 
the sulphur by means of a Boite a FIouppc, sold by Messrs. Burgess and 
Ivey, Newgate Street, price two or three shillings. Keep the air of the 
vinery moist by watering the paths and borders. 
Figs in Pots ( Anne P.). —You are very wrongly informed about the 
Fig gardens near Worthing. There is no pot culture there. A chief point 
is to keep the roots unfailingly supplied with moisture. We strongly 
recommend you to buy Mr. Rivers’ little pamphlet, “ The Orchard-house.” 
The following is an extract from it:—“To keep your trees as compact 
hushes, never allow any shoot to make more than five leaves without 
pinching out the terminal bud—i.e., as soon as the five leaves arc de¬ 
veloped take out the terminal bud with the nails of the finger and thumb. 
The tree will, in a year or two, become too much crowded with young 
shoots; thin them with a sharp knife, leaving no spurs, but cut close to 
the main branch or stem. Figs require more heat than any other fruit 
yet mentioned; they must have the warmest corner of the house, as they 
do not require much ventilation ; a house with fire-heat is, indeed, the 
most eligible place for them ; and they must have abundance of water, or 
the fruit will all drop when nearly full grown, without ripening. [The 
varieties best adapted for pot culture are the White Ischia and the Rally 
Violet —both most abundant bearers.” 
Commonest Plants fou an Aquarium (Potamogeton) —The following 
may be found in most watery places, and are grown in aquariums. See our 
reply to a correspondent last week :— Alisma plantago, Anacharis atsinas- 
trtirn, CaUitriche verna, Conferva fluviatitis, Lenina minor, Ranunculus 
aquatilis. . 
Youno Cucumbers dying ( Black Spine). —If you have plenty ot heat, 
leave air on now at night, as well as during the day, and see that the 
roots are not suffering from dryness. Do not he satisfied with mere 
surface moisture. We examined a plant under similar circumstances, 
and three inches below the surface found the soil dry. 
Rose with Green Centre (IF. IF.).—This is known among gardeners 
as “the green centre,” but they have failed to discover the cause or a 
remedy. It is a case of morphology, the stamens and pistils being changed 
into a leafy form. Souvenir dcMalmaison is one of the varieties very 
subject to this malformation. We think that the most vigorous are most 
liable to it; and if so, root-pruning would prevent it, probably. Thanks 
for the note, which you will see we have published. 
Waltonian Case (Z. Z.). —In the summer months it needs no heat. 
Apply to Mr. G. West, Surbiton, Surrey. 
Indian Gardening (.Boughspring) .— VYe have a little work on the sub- 
