May 22, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
599 
INTERESTING PRESENTATION 
AT PRESTON. 
On Saturday evening a meeting was held at the 
“ Old Legs of Man ” Hotel, Preston, for the purpose of 
presenting a testimonial to John Atherton, Esq., hon. 
secretary of the Preston and Fulwood Floral and Hor¬ 
ticultural Society, in recognition of his valuable services 
for a number of years. There was a good attendance. 
Mr. John Newton presided, and he was supported by 
E. Garlick, Esq., J.P., J. B. Dixon, Esq. (treasurer), 
W. WillanJ Esq., Messrs. J. Starkie, E. Paine (Ful- 
wood), T. Moss, W. Swan (Howick House), W. P. 
Koberts (Cuerden Hall), E. Frisby (Worden Hall), 
J. Eobinson (Penwortham Priory), J. Leets (Fulwood), 
J. Royle, J. Healey, H. Terry (Ashton Park), H. Win- 
wood, and Waters (Farington House). 
Mr. Garlick, after stating the objects of the meeting, 
said that it was not his intention to explain anything 
about flowers or their culture, or make a dissertation 
upon the beauties of nature’s choicest products. He 
had simply to inform them why it had been decided to 
make the presentation. Mr. Atherton had been, he 
believed, connected with horticulture for more than 
twenty years, and •during that period had exhibited 
many valuable plants and flowers. He had done all he 
could for the benefit of the community by which he 
was surrounded. He -was the originator of the Fulwood 
Floral Society in 1379, and for five consecutive years 
performed the onerous duties of secretary ; in fact, he 
was the mainspring of the society and kept it going. 
After that the Fulwood and Preston Societies became 
one, under the title by which it was now known. For 
a year or so the secretaryship was held by another ; 
but on account of failure Mr. Atherton was again got 
into harness, and since 1884 he had had the management 
of the joint society. They all knew the result, as 
exemplified in the exhibitions of 1885 and March, 1886 
being the most successful ever held. Thus he had done 
active work for seven years, but with the exception of 
receiving their hearty thanks, he had not got anything 
in recognition of his valuable services. At last, how¬ 
ever, it had been decided to give practical expression to 
then - feelings on his behalf. He had borne all the 
expenses of his office, and now it was only right that 
he should be the recipient of the present before him. 
The speaker might say that Mr. Atherton had 
performed his duties with such ability and success 
that others had looked to him for advice relative to the 
management of floral displays, and especially those in 
the spring. The shows held in their public hall had 
been beautiful beyond measure, and there was no doubt 
that great good had resulted from them in the dis¬ 
semination of useful information relative to the culture 
of flowers. Mr. Atherton could not have carried out 
his duties to such perfection if it had not been for the 
valuable assistance afforded to him by his wife by her 
counsel and advice ; hence the committee had decided 
that she also should, in a certain degree, be rewarded 
for her efforts. He hoped that Mr. and Mrs. Atherton 
might live long to hear the never-ceasing tick of the 
timepiece, and to take tea and coffee from the service 
which he had pleasure in giving to them on behalf of 
the members of the society with which they had so 
long been connected. 
The present to Mr. Atherton took the form of a 
massive drawing room clock, of beautiful design, under 
a glass shade, on which was inscribed “Presented to 
John Atherton, Esq., Fern Bank, Codley, by the 
members of the Preston and Fulwood Floral and Horti¬ 
cultural Society, in recognition of his long and valued 
services as hon. secretary, May 15th, 1886.” The gift 
to Mrs. Atherton consisted of a valuable hand-painted 
china tea and breakfast service composed of sixty-four 
pieces, on each of which "was illustrated a different 
subject. 
Mr. Atherton in acknowledging the gifts, expressed 
his inability to find suitable language to explain his 
deep sense of gratitude to them. Mr. Garlick had 
referred to his services. He certainly had been 
intimately connected with horticulture for twenty-two 
years, and with reference to the society, he and Mr. 
Paine, W'ith two or three others, were instrumental in 
forming the Fulwood Floral Society in 1879. At that 
time they had no idea it would ever attain the im¬ 
portant position which it had done, for without fear of 
contradiction he dare now claim it to be second if not 
the first society in Lancashire as a spring show. What 
he had done had been to benefit the society as far as he 
could ; his intention had been to get it as strong as 
possible. In this, thanks to the mutual assistance of 
each member, they had been successful; when he looked 
at the dial of the clock it would remind him of many 
happy hours he had spent in horticulture, and would 
tell him what he had to do in the future. The present 
they had made to his wife he assured them would be 
greatly treasured. On behalf of himself and his wife 
he returned to them his heartfelt thanks for the 
valuable presents. 
-- 
Scottish Gardening. 
Seasonable Notes. —Planting out crops of 
all kinds will soon claim a considerable amount of 
attention and time. Opinions vary much as to which 
is the' best condition of soil to plant in, many preferring 
to do the work while the ground is drenched with rain. 
We prefer to plant when the land is neither wet nor 
dry, and with a flat trowel instead of a dibber, especially 
if the soil is wet and of a tenacious character. If the 
ground is very dry, a good watering may be given 
while planting is going on, and a little dry soil drawn 
over the moisture prevents evaporation and saves 
labour. Curled Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, 
Cauliflower, and Lettuce, will be put in, and the latter 
should be sown every ten or twelve days. I have seen 
none do better in the cold districts than Bath Cos, 
Hick’s Hardy White, and All the Year Round. Rich 
deep soil makes a great difference to the quality of 
Lettuce compared with dry poor land. A good breadth 
of French Beans may now be sown ; He Plus Ultra 
holds its own against all others; Sion House, Osborn’s, 
and Negro, are good kinds, the latter being a favourite in 
many parts because of its hardiness. Turnips, Spinach, 
and Radishes may be sown among bushes or between 
rows of other crops. Peas for main late crops should 
now be sown ; Veitch’s Perfection, Wonderful, and 
Waterloo are sure bearers. Blue Peter is a very useful 
dwarf kind for sowing in spare corners where taller 
kinds would be out of place ; deep rich land and 
careful mulching is necessary to grow good Peas. 
Much of the mildew often seen is from dry shallow 
and poor soils in which the collars of the plants get 
encrusted. Topping Peas is conducive to free cropping. 
If watering should become necessary, mulching should 
follow'. 
Late kinds of Peas sown in May on deep well-manured 
land will keep on bearing far into October, providing 
frost does not attack them. Two years, come autumn, 
we had Peas in abundance to the end of October, but 
last season a very severe night’s frost at the end of Sep¬ 
tember put an end to a promising lot, and thus closed 
the pea season. The fine rain which has fallen of late 
has done wmnders for vegetation in general, and much 
in the way of planting and thinning has been facilitated. 
Pricking out young plants for autumn and winter is 
much in their favour, by strengthening them, keeping 
them sturdy and able to resist to a greater extent severe 
rveather. Celery trenches will now be made, or are in 
course of formation. Some prefer single ridges, and 
others wide enough to contain from two to four rows; 
we have before now placed six rows in a ridge, but 
think three or four rows suit well, as earthing can be 
easily done when not too wide. We have sent to-daj r , 
(May 18th) to the family good solid Celery, not large, 
from ridges in which were four rows, and had only the 
protection of snow. Celery should be well treated from 
seed-sowing, as neglect at first means failure in the end. 
The seedlings should be pricked out before they become 
matted, and shaded from hot sunshine till they are in 
active growth. Where rain-water storage is abundant 
there is much gained. 
Bedding-out will now be in full force, and where 
plants are well prepared, strong, and hardy, much 
difficulty will be reduced. All hardy kinds may be 
dealt with first, and the desire, from frequent disap¬ 
pointment, to plant hardy plants which will be orna¬ 
mental late in the season is greatly on the increase. In 
sunless and the colder districts a goodly display of 
foliage should be made. Among some of the best of 
the Pelargoniums one cannot secure a good bloom, and 
such must, in some measure, be compensated with extra 
quantities of kinds with striking foliage. There are 
many among the yellows and bronzes which do extra 
well in the north, and Flower of Spring is much valued 
in that class, so is Bijou and Old Favourite. Last 
season we found John Gibbons, Henry Jacoby, Mrs. 
Turner, Rev. H. Atkinson, and Little David (used for 
small beds) were all that we could desire. The ground 
was made very firm, it being extra rich, and when the 
plants were well closed up the thinning of leaves was 
frequently done. The planting of Pelargoniums in 
pots, as practised by some, has its advantages where 
soil is strong and seasons notconducive to free flowering. 
Pansies are now in bloom, and on rich deep land, with 
plenty of room for the growth of the plants, one might 
easily calculate on six months’ bloom. A dash of peat 
in the soil, we noticed last season, had a capital effect 
on continuous bloom. Now is a good time to sow 
any of the annuals which are valued for covering spaces. 
Nemophilas especially do well when sown now and well 
tended afterwards. Sweet Peas and Mignonette for 
scented flowers may again be sown. The herbaceous 
border now demands attention by staking and regu¬ 
lating growth.— M. T. 
-->X<—-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN 
Though the ‘ 1 bedding out” system has been so much 
condemned by some critics, it still finds favour with 
a large number of amateurs, especially around cities, 
and the quantities of Pelargoniums, Lobelias, Calceo¬ 
larias, and similar plants grown in nurseries to meet 
the annual demand in spring would be astonishing to 
many persons. The massing of brightly coloured plants 
may not be strictly in accordance with modern artistic 
taste, and the combination of discordant tints is un¬ 
doubtedly objectionable ; but by the exercise of a little 
judgment in arrangement, plants of the ordinary bed¬ 
ding-out character can be employed with excellent 
effect. 
The principal point is to avoid having too much of 
this style, and it is very difficult to prevent a large 
number of beds associated together in geometrical 
designs—as is usual in old gardens—having a rather 
glaring appearance. The bright scarlet zonal Pelar¬ 
goniums are most telling, but they have been used too 
freely at times, and the pink-flowered zonals have come 
into favour on account of their softer pleasing tints. 
Calceolarias require to be employed with considerable 
care, and, perhaps, they never look better than when a 
bed is devoted to them, with some neutral colour for 
the margins, as it is difficult to mix them with other 
brightly-coloured plants satisfactorily. Lobelias are 
used exclusively as margins, or as outer bands, with a 
neutral tint between them and the others. Cerastium 
tomentosum and Echeveria secunda glauca furnish good 
neutral plants for margins, and for separating bright 
colours in the outer bands ; Centurea ragusina and 
Cineraria maritima being similarly employed for the 
central portion of the beds. Either of the two latter 
planted in alternate oblique lines with Yerbena venosa 
have an excellent effect. 
The purple, scarlet, and white Verbenas, make 
capital beds, if strong plants are placed out in good 
soil, pegged down and well attended to subsequently. 
The Iresines Lindeni and Herbsti and Coleus Ver- 
schaffelti, furnish the best dark-leaved plants, and serve 
admirably to increase the variety of beds, especially 
when in contrast with the white-leaved plants. The 
red and crimson and yellow dwarf Alternantheras, the 
light green Mentha pulegium gibraltarica, the dark 
green Herniaria glabra, the silvery Leucophyton 
Browni, Sedum glaucum, Sedum acre elegans, and 
Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum are chiefly 
used for carpet-beds, and are planted in more intricate 
designs than the former. 
The third and fourth weeks in May are generally the 
busy months for bedding out in the South of England, 
when the weather is favourable; but in the north 
it has to be delayed a week or two later, and in any 
case it is better to lose a short time at the commence¬ 
ment of the season than to risk the plants being injured 
by frosts or winds. Harden the plants as much as 
possible, prior to placing them out, if in frames have the 
lights off constantly, except when there is danger of 
frost, or they can be placed outside in a sheltered 
position where they can be protected with mats or 
tiffany if necessary. Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, Eche- 
verias, and Pyrethrums, can be planted out first, but 
the former must be well-hardened, as they will be liable 
to suffer from slight frosts, which often occur at this 
time of year. 
The soil in the beds will be thoroughly moistened 
after all the rain we have had in the past week, but care 
must be exercised that the soil in the pots is also suffi¬ 
ciently moist, or the roots will be damaged when 
turning them out. Endeavour to secure as good a ball 
of roots as possible, and plant them sufficiently deep 
to allow room for extension, for much of success in 
bedding depends upon attention to the planting. Firm 
