1881 . ] 
GARDEN GOSSIP. 
47 
creased. The continued efficiency of the Chiswick 
garden and of the labour of the several committees 
were made subjects of gratulation. In the vegetable 
department, collections of Aubergines, Capsicums, 
Brussels Sprouts, and Parsnips, have been grown, and 
when the several reports are published we shall learn 
how to correct erroneous nomenclature, and to dis¬ 
card worthless varieties. Collections of Pelargo¬ 
niums, Fuchsias, Gloxinias, Begonias, Pompon 
Dahlias, and a number of miscellaneous plants have 
also been examined, and special attention has 
been given to the varieties of tuberous-rooted 
Begonias as decorative plants; ten seedlings raised 
by Mr. Barron have received First-class Certificates. 
The Society now possesses, perhaps, the most exten¬ 
sive and complete collection of the species and 
hybrid forms of the genus Pelargonium that is to be 
found in this country. Of the shows of Specialities 
fostered by kindred associations, the Report states 
that the Auricula Society’s Exhibition was very well 
attended, and excited great interest; the Society’s 
Bose show and the Pelargonium Society’s show were 
held in conjunction, and were in every respect a 
success, the show of Pelargoniums being the best 
hitherto held; the Carnation and Picotee Society’s 
show, and the exhibition of the British Bee-keepers’ 
Association, which were held simultaneously, at¬ 
tracted many visitors; besides which, the exhibition 
on Whit Monday for flowers grown specially for 
Covent Garden Market was visited by upwards of 
19,000 persons; and that on the August Bank Holi¬ 
day, for flowers grown by artisans and cottagers, 
was attended by 11,370. The roll of Fellows now 
consists of 808 life Fellows, 435 Fellows paying 
£4 4s. annually, and 860 paying £2 2s. annually. 
The number of members paying 1 guinea annually 
is 87. 
— SThe Schedule of the Manchester Great 
International Horticultural Exhibition, to 
be held on August24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th, is 
now issued; and handsome prizes are offered, both 
for Fruits and Flowers. In the open class for collec¬ 
tions of Fruits, the prizes amount to £125 ; for 
Grapes alone, £106 are given; Pine-apples, Peaches, 
Nectarines, Apricots, Plums, Pears, Apjfles, &c., 
have £182 allotted to them ; fruit-trees in pots, £30; 
fruits of foreign growth, gold medals and money 
prizes to the value of £143 ; cut flowers, bouquets, 
and table decorations, £208 ; besides the prizes 
given by the National Rose Society and the Carna¬ 
tion Society, who each issue separate schedules for 
exhibitions of their special flowers to be held at the 
same time; plants, £638; vegetables, £113. Amongst 
the leading prizes are :—£20 for 15 kinds of fruit; 
£12 for 10 varieties of grapes, one bunch of each; 
£10 for six pine-apples ; £10 for 20 sorts of veget¬ 
ables ; £20 for 20 miscellaneous plants, flowering 
and fine-leaved; £20 for groups of miscellaneous 
plants, arranged for effect, amateurs and nursery¬ 
men showing separately ; £12 for 12 new plants ; 
and £15 for a dinner-table, laid out for 12 persons. 
The General Horticultural Company (John Wills), 
Limited, offer 30 guineas and 20 guineas for six 
kinds of grapes, two bunches of each; and 30 
guineas and 20 guineas for 12 dishes of fruit. There 
are 10 Veitch Memorial prizes, of £5 each, with a 
medal, offered for various Flowers and Fruits; and 
other special prizes are to be given by Messrs. 
Sutton, Messrs. Dickson, Brown, and Tait, Messrs. 
Dickson and Robinson, and Messrs. G. and W. 
Yates. There are in the schedule 237 classes, the 
prizes reaching a total of about £2,000. 
— #rlR. Pettigrew’s Handy Book of Bees 
(Blackwood and Sons) commends itself to tbe 
notice of bee-keepers, as a plain, practical, and 
perspicuous treatise on bee-management—as ouo 
which may safely be recommended to country 
residents and others who may be desirous of obtain¬ 
ing reliable information on the subject. The issue of 
a fourth edition is itself good evidence of the value of 
the work. The volume is neat and convenient in size, 
and the contents are divided into some thirty-four 
chapters, devoted to such subjects as the natural 
history of bees; the bee-garden, or the pasturage 
of bees; the hives, supers, nadirs, and other- 
requisites of bee-keeping; the swarming, feeding, 
and other details of bee-culture; the diseases to 
which the busy little insects are subject; the 
enemies they have to contend with ; the selection of 
stock hives, &c. All this and much more is fully 
and lucidly explained; while to the present edition 
has been appended a supplement, containing, 
amongst other useful additions, a calendar of bee- 
management. 
— {Hue following mode of dealing with 
Frozen Potatos, cut from a Scotch news¬ 
paper, is worth reprinting — Mr. Gordon, 
Curlusk, Boharm, on opening one of his Potato pits, 
found that the frost had penetrated through tho 
earth, and frozen the Potatos into a solid mass. 
He put about forty bushels of them into bags, and 
placed them in the bottom of his mill-dam. After 
remaining there three days they were taken out, 
and put between layers of straw and dried, and 
were found to be as fresh and good as ever. 
— J£n reference to the list of Select 
Potatos published at p. 20, Messrs. Carter 
and Co. ask us to state that they exhibited the 
Scotch Champion Potato before the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society, in December, 1879, and that a First- 
class Certificate was unanimously awarded to it. 
They add :—“ Those who so freely abused this 
excellent Potato, would have fared but badly during 
the past and present season if its cultivation had 
been restricted; for it is a fact that this Potato is 
almost exclusively used in all the best restaurants 
in London, and tbe manager of one of these esta¬ 
blishments, to whom we have supplied a large 
quantity of our select Scotch Champion, informed 
us that his chef pronounces them to be the best 
Potato he has ever cooked.” 
— $:Tr. H. Oannell, of Swanley, sends us 
flowers of a pretty and novel variety of 
Primula sinensis, a large, well-formed, stout, 
fringed flower, in which the centre portion is white, 
with a yellowish-green eye, and the outer part, for 
about one-third the width of the limb, is laced with 
a clear pale rose-pink. The effect is very chaste 
and pleasing. 
— ®iie Rev. C. Wolley Dod, writing of the 
Double Lychnis, describes it truly as a very 
ornamental and very liardy garden plant, of 
easy cultivation, provided it is frequently renewed, 
otherwise the shoots become so crowded as to ex¬ 
haust one another, and the plant dies. The best is 
the double scarlet, Lychnis chalcedonica; the double 
white variety is not so good, not being pure white. 
These should be treated like tall Phloxes, and in¬ 
creased by cuttings, which will strike at any time ; 
the best are those taken off close to the root in spring, 
when about 3 in. high. There are other kinds, all 
varieties of native plants—namely, the double of the 
common Rose Campion, L. diurna or dioica, which 
makes luxuriant growth any where,but flowers best on 
a rockery ; the double white Campion, L. vespertine, 
which is less free in its growth ; the double white 
