388 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 19, 1887. 
from coal. It would be pottering with the 
subject to assert that gardeners chiefly used 
coke because that is a coal product, and it is 
thus obvious that enhanced price of coal means 
at once dearer gas and dearer coke. However, 
the fact is clear enough that all who use coal 
or its products—coke or gas—for horticultural 
uses, within the Metropolitan area, are deeply 
concerned in the question. It is not general!} 7 
known that this Metropolitan area extends over 
the whole of the Metropolitan Police district, 
and reaches nearly twenty miles round London. 
It includes a population of nearly or quite 
5,000,000 of inhabitants, and tens of thousands 
even of considerable coal consumers in that 
area have hardly the least knowledge that the 
indispensable coal consumed by them is increased 
in cost in that area some 10 to 12 per cent, 
through the imposition of the tax. Actually 
the amount charged per ton is Is. 1(7., and as 
merchants must insure themselves against con¬ 
tingencies, as also to cover the inevitable 
difficulties which follow upon such an impost, 
the real tax is not less than Is. 3c7. per ton ; 
whilst it is estimated by competent judges, 
having regard to existing coal prices outside the 
Coal Dues area, that as much as Is. 6(7. per 
ton reduction would be made all over the 
Metropolitan area were the Coal Dues dis¬ 
continued. 
Then the tax is a peculiarly oppressive one, 
because it is not differential according to 
quality and value, but equal, let the coal be 
what it may. Thus the nurseryman or florist 
who uses common furnace coal at, perhaps, 15s. 
per ton, pays just the same tax per ton as does 
the rich man who consumes the best coal in 
his drawing-room at 20s. per ton. Thus it is 
a tax which presses with special hardship upon 
trades and manufactures, and the poor are 
essentially very heavy sufferers. We will not 
now stop to discuss the vicious nature of an 
impost upon a great home industry ; but when 
so many of a certain class of politicians are 
calling for relief to home industries by taxing 
foreign imports, it is strangely inconsistent on 
their part to be as readily supporting one of 
the worst imposts upon a great home industry 
ever met with. Market florists, and, indeed, 
gardeners of every degree in tire vast Metro¬ 
politan area, find it hard enough to contend 
with the foreigner, blessed as he is with greater 
natural warmth and brighter sunshine ; but it 
is a monstrous thing that he should have 
added to his burthen the additional one of a 
tax upon the coal he is, of course, compelled 
largely to consume. 
It is begging the question to assert that the 
City Corporation and Metropolitan Board of 
Works apply the Coal Dues in the carrying out 
of great Metropolitan improvements. It is 
enough to retort that great toxvns like Glasgow, 
Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and 
many others have carried out improvements 
relatively as great and costly, and have done 
so without the aid of a coal tax, or in an} 7 
other Avay than through the ordinary rates. 
All these Metropolitan improvements have 
done much to benefit land and property, often 
creating for these prices once thought in¬ 
credible, and yet land and property pays 
nothing towards them practically, but the 
burthen of cost in rates and the Coal Tax falls 
upon the tenant or the consumer. It seems 
but needful that Ave should thus draAV attention 
to this vicious and most unjust impost upon 
horticultural enterprise in the vast Metropolitan 
area, to induce all interested in horticulture to 
combine and agitate for the entire cessation of 
the Coal Dues. AYe cannot afford to remain 
handicapped by imposts of this sort any longer. 
AYhen Ave see that the entire carriage-building 
trade is demanding the cessation of the Carriage 
Tax (Avhich, it Avould seem, presses almost 
exclusively upon the wealthy), because it is 
an impost ^upon a home industry, and is 
materially checking its expansion; when Ave 
see even the goldsmiths asking for relief for 
their articles manufactured; for the same 
reason is it not certain that a gigantic impost— 
not, be it understood, levied by the Govern¬ 
ment for national purposes, but by a couple of 
non-representative and irresponsible civic bodies, 
upon, perhaps, the most important article of 
home commerce and consumption—affecting so 
seriously as it does the coal trade directly, and 
of all other trades horticultural especial!} 7 using 
coal indirectly, is it not time that some com¬ 
bination Avas made against the tax, and the 
support of horticulturists universally given to 
the Government in its expressed determination 
to refuse the continuation of the tax beyond 
1889. As Ave have said happily the subject is 
not one of a party kind, it is essentially an 
economic one, and needs to be understood to 
eA 7 oke against the Coal Tax a poAverful ex¬ 
pression of condemnation. 
- -^£0 - 
A special meeting of the council of the Royal 
Hop.ticultup.al Society has been summoned for 
Tuesday, the 22nd inst., Avhen part of the business 
will be to appoint a sub-committee of the council to 
confer AA’ith the committee nominated at the annual 
general meeting to consider the future of the society’s 
affairs. 
The following dates have been fixed for the meetings 
of the Narcissus Comjiittee —viz., March 22nd and 
April 12th and 26th. Should the season he backward, 
it may be found desirable to hold another meeting on 
May 10th. 
Mr. X. Fletcher, senior partner of the firm of T. 
Fletcher & Son, nurserymen, Chesterfield, has retired 
from the firm, the partnership being dissolved. 
The ninth spring show and floral fete of the Preston 
and Fulavood Horticultural Society is announced 
to be held, on March 17th and 18th, in the New 
Public Hall, Preston. 
The Ludloav Horticultural Society’s annual 
exhibition will be held on Thursday, August 25th. 
Mr. Arthur Ocock, formerly gardener to Major 
Roberts, Holborough Court, Rochester, has succeeded 
Mr. Bones as gardener to Mrs. McIntosh, Havering 
Park, near Romford, Essex. 
Mr. J. H. Millard, for many years with Messrs. 
Sutton k Sons, has joined the firm of Messrs. Oakshott 
& Co., of Reading, Avhich will in future trade uuder 
the style and title of Oakshott & Millard. 
AYith a view mainly to ascertain wffiat Late Keep¬ 
ing Apples and Pears may be got together in the 
district, it is proposed to hold an exhibition of hardy 
fruits in Chester earl} 7 next month. 
The Crystal Palace Company have just issued a 
schedule of prizes for competition at the following ex¬ 
hibitions, to be held at Sydenham this year :—Spring 
Show, March 26th, ; Summer Show, May 21st ; Rose 
show, July 22nd ; Fruit and Dahlia Show (grand 
national), September 2nd and 3rd ; Autumn Fruit 
Show, October 6th to 8th ; and Chrysanthemum Show, 
November 4th and 5th. 
On Friday, the 11th inst., Mr. Sidney Summers 
read an interesting paper on The ATne before a full 
meeting of the Chiswick Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Association. He dwelt at length on the history 
of the A T ine, its propagation by seeds, eyes and grafting, 
the diseases and insect pests that infest it, and other 
matters. The paper elicited a lively and protracted 
discussion, in Avhich many of the members took part. 
The National Chrysanthemum Society has 
fixed their three exhibitions to be held at the Royal 
Aquarium as follows : — Exhibition of early Chrysan¬ 
themums, 14th and 15th September, 1887 ; grand 
Chrysanthemum, fruit, and A r egetable exhibition, 9th 
and 10tli November, 1887 ; and mid-winter exhibition, 
11th and 12th January, 188S. The Floral Committee 
will meet at the Royal Aquarium for the purpose of 
awarding Certificates to meritorious varieties on the 
14th September, 12th and 26th October, 9th November, 
and 7th December. 
CHINESE PRIMROSES. 
A recent visit to AYoodside, where Air. J. James is 
now engaged in perpetuating his famous strains of 
florists’ flowers, showed Chinese Primroses in great 
abundance, and in exceeding beauty, and, without 
exception, of the very finest form. That much is to be 
expected from AYoodside, because Air. James has the 
finest strains of Cinerarias and Calceolarias in the world, 
and his Primulas, either in the matter of culture or 
quality, could hardly be excelled. It cannot be doubted 
but that in the bright clear atmosphere of Farnham 
Royal, not only do plants thrive better than in low- 
lying districts, but the colours stand out so much purer 
and brighter than they would within the smoke of 
London and other great towns. 
The houses, too, are low, light, airy 7 , and seem for the 
purpose to which they are applied, almost perfect. 
Each house is 111 ft. long, and 12 ft. in width, span- 
roofed, and fitted up with the most modern improve¬ 
ments in staging. In two houses a 1-in. pipe runs 
along the entire length on either side, half-way down 
the slope, and, indeed, helps to form support to the 
rafters. In the third house there is but one top pipe. 
These are fed by upright pipes, 6 ft. high, fixed in the 
main flow-pipe from the boiler, which runs across 
beneath the floors of the houses, and when turned on 
the water rushes up this erect pipe, and soon heats the 
top pipe admirably. It is worthy of note, as showing 
how much the system impresses practical men, that 
Air. H. A r eitch, who recently saw it in operation here, 
warmly approved of it. As the plants of all kinds grown 
at AYoodside are for the production of seed, it is very 
important that a dry atmosphere during the blooming 
season should be had, for without such fertilisation 
would be difficult, and often a failure. 
The Cinerarias will in a couple of months or so be a 
grand sight, as there are upwards of 2,500 plants all 
in from 5-in. to 7-in. pots, whilst there are about three 
dozen plants growing as specimens in 10-in. pots, 
which will later be as fine examples of plant culture as 
can be desired ; already some measure over the leafage 
quite 2 ft., and when in full bloom will be about double 
that width. How much these Cinerarias like the 
houses and the soil is evident. Two of the spans and 
a lean-to are already quite full, and many of the 
propagated plants are in bloom. However, we leave 
Cinerarias to a more later period, and give but a 
passing glance at the Calceolarias, which will be a 
brilliant sight to see about the middle of May. Of 
these some fifty in 9-in. pots, and yet to be shifted into 
larger ones, will make splendid specimens by-and-bye, 
such as cannot, perhaps, be excelled in the kingdom. 
These are, of course, from selected old bottoms of last 
vear, thinned in each case to three shoots, but already 
these plants are some 15 ins. over, and robust, clean, 
and breaking in full vigour. 
AArith the Chinese Primroses, our chief present theme, 
Air. James has been remarkably successful in strains 
and in cultivation. Nearly all the plants are in large 
32’s, and in the elements of rude health, stoutness, 
compactness of habit and floriferousness, could not be 
beaten ; indeed, the plants throughout rank amongst 
the most perfect examples of Primula culture we have 
seen. But, beyond this, the quality of the bloom is of 
the very highest; indeed, on many plants plenty of 
flowers fully 2J ins. over may be found, and of great’ 
substance and well fringed also. Then the trusses in 
all cases, due both to culture and careful selection in 
previous years, are borne on stout stems of nice even 
height, the heads being finely rounded and full. It 
is worthy of remark that none of the blooms exhibit a 
feature not uncommon in large flowers—too crowded 
or crumpled petals. AA ithout being too flat there is, 
none the less, in all good rotund, well-presented faces 
and with good fringing. It is worthy of note also, 
that we prize fringing in the Chinese Primrose as an 
element of special beauty, whilst so strongly deprecating 
it in many other florists’ flowers. In one or two instances 
flowers display even more of this feature, for some are 
deeply laciniated, and these will be carefully fertilized 
as developing a feature worthy of farther extension. 
One of the finest strains in the collection is a grand 
Fern-leaved kind carrying ivory-white flowers of great 
size, substance and purity. As none of these strains 
have special appellations, it cannot now be farther dis¬ 
tinguished, but a basket of it was shown on the 3th 
inst., before the Floral Committee by the Alessrs. James 
A’eiteh, who have purchased the entire seed stock ol 
what is, wdthout exception, one of the best pure white 
