468 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
Harch 27, 1886. 
and it does serve admirably to concentrate for 
us many striking floral charms which might 
otherwise never he found. But with all our 
appreciation for the beautiful in gardening, we 
are not without some considerable appreciation 
also for the beautiful in nature. Hence there 
is ever enjoyment of the highest form when we 
are permitted to gaze upon glades gay with 
Primroses, dells brilliant with Bluebells, hedge¬ 
rows bedecked with Foxgloves and Dog Roses, 
or even fields literally masses of scarlet Poppy 
or golden Charlock. Ho gardening, however 
beautiful, can hope to excel in sweetness and 
beauty such refined yet wild elegancies as these. 
It is worth our while, therefore, wherever 
found, that some effort should be made to pre¬ 
serve these natural charms, in which wild flowers 
play so important a part, and any effort in that 
direction, however trifling it may be, will be 
welcome. But it is certain that in the process 
of extermination of wild flowers, which is un¬ 
doubtedly proceeding, there is some blame to be 
attached to those who so absurdly encourage 
children and others to promiscuously gather 
wild flowers in bulk, as seen at most flower 
shows. It is not that there may be, and in 
many districts are, plenty of flowers and to 
spare ; but the present system serves to breed 
in the minds of children a distressing disregard 
for our natural plants ; indeed, they have no 
intelligent appreciation for them whatever, but 
just learn to regard them as convenient means 
to earn a money prize or two, and nothing more. 
How, if it were possible to sweep away at 
once the system of giving prizes to huge hand¬ 
fuls or basketfuls of flowers, and invite compe¬ 
tition for collections of twelve or twenty kinds, 
to be shown separately in small bunches, and 
all as correctly named as possible, with something 
affixed to each on cards with respect to family, 
habit, and other useful information, a new and 
intelligent interest would be at once created in 
flowers that would prove most conducive to 
their future preservation. Boys, it is notorious, 
will cruelly, ignorantly, and without any in¬ 
telligent purpose, pillage birds’-nests of their 
pretty eggs, even at the risk of utterly destroy¬ 
ing some of the sweetest of our woodland song¬ 
sters. Teach them to become ornithologists, and 
they at once learn to love and preserve that 
which before they stupidly destroyed. The same 
good results may be hoped for when children of 
both sexes are taught that wild flowers have 
names, and many elementary interests full of 
pleasurable enjoyment if properly studied. TCe 
may thus hope to benefit our children, and at 
the same time preserve our wild flowers. 
-- 
GARDENING MISCELLANY. 
Meetings for Next Week. —Tuesday and 
Wednesday. Spring Show at the Eoyal Aquarium, 
W estminster. 
Spring at Length. — The delightful change 
which has taken place in the weather amply justifies 
the declaration that now is the winter of our discontent 
past and the summer of our aspirations well nigh come. 
Truly we have passed through a long and trying winter; 
one, as far as inclemency was concerned, easily endured 
by those surrounded with comforts, but hard, indeed, 
for those whose labour has been arrested by the frosts. 
Gardeners especially felt its inclemencies ; and whilst 
those working the soil have found day after day only 
an implacable crust, too hard to break, and rendering 
work impossible, the vegetation, which a dry summer 
had spared to us, has suffered fearfully, and in many 
cases has been swept absolutely away. Happily, we 
are naturally endowed with sanguine temperaments, 
and in the delightful awakening into life and activity 
seen in nature now, may soon forget all our previous 
losses, privations, and discomforts. Some little extra 
activity is needed on our parts to make up leeway in 
gardening matters; but with continued favourable 
weather that will be done, and very soon shall we see 
the ground cropped, and the earth giving forth to in¬ 
dustrious man her increase. Nothing will so materially 
tend to solve the problem of how to provide for the 
wants of starving myriads as this new break of weather, 
for it calls us all, as it were, to arms, or, rather, if more 
peacefully put, to dig and to plant. The few weeks 
needed to obliterate the evidences of the harshness of 
the past winter will also bring in the summer, and if 
the spring proves as favourable as its opening days 
have, we may yet see a glorious and a fruitful year. 
The Orchid Conference. —We are requested 
to state that Messrs. Thomson and Son, of Clovenfords, 
N.B., have written to the Eoyal Horticultural Society 
to draw attention to the fact that no notice of their 
extensive and valuable collection of cut orchids, shown 
at the Conference, in May, 1885, appears in the Con¬ 
ference Eeport. The Conference committee regret the 
inadequate recognition contained in the Eeport of many 
rare and beautiful plants and collections, and that of 
many others there should be no mention. This was due 
in a great measure, to the difficulty of doing full justice 
to so large and varied a collection of plants, and to the 
necessity of keeping the horticultural part of the 
Eeport within moderate dimensions, having regard to 
the space required for the botanical part. 
New Plant Certificates, in Ghent. —At a 
meeting of the Belgian Chambre Syndicale des Horti- 
culteurs, held at Ghent, on Monday last, Certificates 
of Merit were awarded to Mr. Yervaefc-Yervaene, for 
Imantophyllum Madame Vervaet ; to Mr. A. Peeters 
for Oncidium Jonesianum ; to Mr. Joseph Yervaene, 
for Azalea Yervaeneana ; to Messrs. Yervaet & Co., for 
Cypripedium Leeanum, Odontoglossum Pescatorei 
Yervaeteanum, and Od. Halli leucoglossum ; to Mr. 
Jules Heye, for Cypripedium Sallieri ; and to Messrs. 
Desbois & Co., for Amasonia punieea. 
Private Spring- Exhibitions.— Messrs. James 
Yeitch & Sons annual spring exhibition of Amaryllis, 
Orchids, Hyacinths, Cyclamens, and other miscellaneous 
forced flowers is now open, and will be continued to 
the end of the month. Messrs. William Cutbush & 
Co., announce that their annual display of Hyacinths, 
Tulips, Azaleas, and other spring flowers, will com¬ 
mence on Monday next, and be continued to April 
10th. Mr. B. S. Williams’ annual exhibition of 
spring-flowering plants was opened yesterday, and will 
also be continued to April 10th. 
Hardy Spring Flowers— Such weather as we 
have lately experienced proves the value of cold houses, 
frames, and plant protectors generally for sheltering 
from the rigors of our climate, and bringing on in per¬ 
fection our favourite hardy flowers. A box of flowers 
before us, gathered in an unheated house in Mr. B. 
Gilbert’s, Anemone Nursery, Dyke, Bourne, Lincoln¬ 
shire, contains a delightful array of blossoms of Ane¬ 
mone fulgens, Anemone King of Scarlets, a beautiful 
new double scarlet of the brightest hue ; the very fine 
white primrose, Harbinger ; Marie Louise, and Compte 
Brazzas double white violets, &c., all of great size and 
purity of colour, and which with Mr. Gilbert are flower¬ 
ing in great abundance. 
Messrs. James Veitch & Sons again 
announce a series of exhibitions of popular flowers, 
which will be held at their Chelsea establishment from 
the present time to July inclusive. The arrangements 
made are as follows:—To March 31st, Amaryllis, 
Orchids, Hyacinths, Cyclamens, Miscellaneous forced 
flowers ; April 1st to loth, Orchids, Amaryllis, Iman- 
tophyllums, Greenhouse plants ; April 16th to 30th, 
Eoses in pots, Orchids, Miscellaneous forced flowers ; 
May 1st to 15th, Orchids, Azaleas, Eoses in pots, 
Greenhouse Bhododendrons ; May 17th to 31st, 
Azaleas, Tree Carnations, Gloxinias, Begonias, Orchids; 
June 1st to 15th, Orchids, Anthuriums, Pelargoniums, 
Eoses ; June 16th to 30th, Orchids, Miscellaneous 
flowers, Pelargoniums ; July 1st to 31st, Orchids, 
Nepenthes, Flowering Stove Plants, Hybrid Bhodo¬ 
dendrons, Carnations, and Picotees. 
Prices of Fruits and Vegetables in 
Govent Garden Market.— The mouth of many 
a countryman will water when he is informed that 
during the week ending March 20th, Strawberries were 
realising Is. 6(2. to Is. 9 d. per oz., or 24s. to 28s. per 
lb. Trade was not particularly lively at these prices, 
but they sold, though slowly. The highest price paid 
for Strawberries this season was 32s. per lb. ; bur as 
some buyers objected to the price, it fell to 28s. Late 
Grapes are still to be had, but meet with a slow sale, 
and Tomatos are by this time nearly over, and buyers 
are waiting for the new fruit of the latter, ^but up to 
the time mentioned only one punnet or so had been 
received, and they were sent by the Channel Island 
Company ; which also, it is said, sent about the 13th 
ult. a basket of new Grapes, but being white, and the 
samples small, they did not appear to go. Leeks are 
fetching unusually high prices, as much as 9s., 10s. 
and 12s. per dozen bunches; the usual price for which 
is about 2s. or 2s. 6 d. This may be accounted for from 
the fact that Leeks—good Leeks at any rate—are some¬ 
what scarce, owing to the drought of the past summer, 
which affected their growth, and it was not until late 
in the season that they were able to make much of a 
start It is said that Londoners are out-stripping their 
Welsh fellow-countrymen as eaters of the Leek. 
Cucumbers have fallen in price, as a fortnight or three 
weeks ago they sold at good remunerative prices, but 
good samples can be had at 3s. and 4s. per doz. 
Broccoli and Badishes have declined, although they 
recently fetched good prices. New Potatos from the 
Channel Islands have fallen in price, and have been 
sold as low as id. and 5 d. per lb. Now that a change 
of weather of a highly desirable character has set in, 
there is every probability of a decided improvement in 
trade. 
The Royal Horticultural Society's Pro¬ 
vincial Show. —A special general meeting of the 
members of the Liverpool Horticultural Association, 
was held in St. George’s Hall, Liverpool, on March 
18th, to determine the advisability of entering into an 
agreement with the Eoyal Horticultural Society for 
the admission of the subscribers and members of the 
association to the proposed provincial exhibition of 
“ The Eoyal,” to be held in the Botanic Gardens, and 
Wavertree Park, in June and July of the present year. 
Mr. Thomas White presided over what was probably 
the largest meeting of gardeners ever held in Liverpool. 
The chairman gave an outline of the negotiations 
which had passed between the two societies, the 
substance of which was that “ The Eoyal ” had offeree 
for the sum of £250 to admit 1,500 subscribers on the 
first or second day, and 2,000 members on the third or 
following days. A resolution was submitted to the 
meeting by Mr. W. Bardney, seconded by Mr. K. 
G. Waterman, and supported by several members 
present to the effect that the sum of £250 be offered to 
“the Eoyal” for 1,500 admissions for the first day, 
and 2,000 for the second or following days. Mr. 
Bardney in supporting his resolution, urged the necessity 
of amalgamation as being conducive to the best interests 
of the association, and to horticulture generally. Mr. 
Waterman contended that by making such an arrange¬ 
ment as that proposed, the future stability of the 
association would 'be increased, as the subscribers’ 
interest would be enhanced by the invitation to -view 
the finest horticultural display of the year, as ' 1 The 
Eoyal” would undoubtedly prove. Mr. E. P. Ker 
suggested that the committee should endeavour to 
arrange for the admission of the members on the first 
or second day at four o’clock, as after this hour hut 
little admission money would be received. Several 
speakers addressed the meeting, some advocating the 
holding of the usual summer exhibition, others sup¬ 
porting the resolution, which was finally carried by 
acclamation. 
Mr. "W. J. Ireland leaves Headfort Gardens, 
Kells, about April 12th, having been engaged by Lord 
St. Oswald, Nostell Priory, Wakefield, York. 
-->X<-- 
INDIAN AZALEAS. 
The spring months of the year give us an abundance 
of choice in showy and attractive flowers for furnishing 
the conservatory, &c., but scarcely any plant makes a 
greater display than the varieties of Azalea indiea, and 
with a good assortment of plants they may be had in 
flower from Christmas till June, but the general col¬ 
lection will be at their best during April and May. 
That the plants are worth growing well there can be no 
question ; but how often do we see the Azalea thrown 
on one side, or placed in some corner after it has done 
blooming, and who can expect his plants to flower well 
the next season under such treatment. The amateur 
grower is often forgetful that all these kind of plants 
require room to grow them after they have done bloom-" 
ing, and this one particular item is often the cause of 
many failures. The following remarks will treat on 
the cultivation in a liberal spirit, and if followed out, 
cannot but ensure satisfaction. 
