January 21, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
327 
foot in length. The plants were standing amongst 
crocks about this time last year. About 2,000 spikes 
of A. citratum are now ready to expand, and will exhale 
a delicious odour presently. A. hyaloides is notable for 
the number of horizontal flower spikes that are given off 
from quite small plants. A rare plant is the new A. 
calligerum, with wholly white flowers, including the 
spur, which is 5 ins. long. The flowers ar.e somewhat 
smaller than those of A. caudatum, but of a purer white 
Cattleyas are represented by C. Percivaliana, one of 
the first to flower. C. maxima, with its petals and lip 
beautifully reticulated with rosy purple on a blush 
ground, is flowering late. A bold-looking flower is C. 
Warscewiczii, with white sepals, very broad white 
petals, and a pale rosy blush lip, marked with a large 
golden yellow blotch in the throat. Amongst a number 
of plants of Ltelia peduncularis in full flower was a 
nearly pure white variety, having a pale purple blotch 
in the throat, which becomes very dark in the typical 
form. Several of the Calanthes are grown, of which 
C. vestita gigantea is very noteworthy. The flowers 
are as large again as those of the type, and the flower 
scape 5 ft. or 6 ft. in height. A variety of Dendrobium, 
which might be described as a dwarf form of D. hetero- 
carpum philippinense, was characterised by the pale 
almost scentless flowers of that variety, but the pseudo¬ 
bulbs were dwarf and very stout. 
The best of the Phalrenopsis flowering at present are 
P. amabilis, P. Schilleriana, and P. Stuartiana. They 
are, no doubt, particularly acceptable at this season, 
but the foggy weather plays sad havoc with the 
expanding buds. The last two mentioned are scarcely 
in season yet however, and we may hope for them a 
clearer atmosphere. 
-- 
THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 
Ivew to the Rescue ! 
Ix the statement issued by the council before the 
meeting, held in December last, the Fellows were 
reminded that Sir Joseph Hooker is the chairman of 
their Scientific Committee. It was, so far, clever, and 
does credit to the author of the report. The Fellows 
were dissatisfied at the mismanagement of the affairs of 
the society, and the council thought that the good name 
of Sir Joseph would, to some extent, shield them and 
inspire confidence; yet during the last two years I 
have pretty regularly attended at South Kensington, 
and I have never had the pleasure of seeing Sir Joseph 
there. 
However, he has now given signs of life, and has 
written a letter to the Gardeners’ Chronicle, which is 
very much the same in substance as the statement made 
by Mr. Thiselton Dyer at the December meeting. Mr. 
Dyer is Sir Joseph’s son-in-law, and succeeded him as 
director of Kew Gardens. In a circular just issued by 
the secretary of the R. H. S., I find that Mr. Dyer has 
given notice of his desire to resign his seat on the 
council; yet I see also that he is re-nominated for election 
on the new council. This, perhapsjwas not to be unex¬ 
pected ; but I see also that Mr. D. Morris, his own 
lieutenant at Kew, is also placed among the new 
council, and actually proposed for election as treasurer. 
No doubt Sir Joseph Hooker, Mr. Dyer and Mr. 
Morris are excellent men, and constitute a powerful 
botanical triumvirate, so far as science goes, but do we 
want so much science ? Kew is managed at the public 
expense, therefore without any risk of failure. The 
director and his second are well backed by a legion of 
employes all paid by the country, and who sing their 
own praise in the columns of The Gardeners' Chronicle 
pretty well all the year round. Do we want to be 
taken in tow by Kew, and play second fiddle ? Already 
the scientists have answered the appeal of Sir Joseph ; 
in the last issue of The Gardeners’ Chronicle, Mr. 
Burbidge, F.L.S., has joined in the chorus of praise. 
Where will it end ? Do we want so much science ? 
Scientific botany is the province of the Linnean Society 
and of Kew Gardens. Keep it there! What the R.H.S. 
requires is the guidance of the practical men of the 
horticultural world—respectable nurserymen and seeds¬ 
men, practical gardeners and gentlemen amateurs such 
as Mr. Wilson and others—not that of the mere 
botanists. Let us, therefore, think the matter over 
seriously before the next general meeting, and see if it 
be not possible to avoid the despotism of Kew, which is 
looming in the distance .—A Fellow of the R.H.S. 
Me. Editor, I am sorely puzzled by a printed 
communication I have received from the honorary 
secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society. It is 
called “ A Balloting List for Council,” and seems to me 
to be a most extraordinary document —an incompre¬ 
hensible mystery. At the last general meeting but 
one, I was informed that three members of the council 
had resigned their seats, viz., Mr. W. Haughton, 
Major Mason, and Colonel Trevor Clarke, and from the 
statements made by the two first-named gentlemen, 
and the excited speech of Mr. Dyer, I came to the 
conclusion that the council had not been “a happy 
family.” I also concluded that our good natured 
president had not sufficient strength — -the necessary 
“ quos ego ” needed to work the heterogeneous elements 
of his council into an harmonious whole. 
However, to return to this balloting paper. A.m I to 
infer that the three gentlemen named above have 
resumed their seats for the time, since the meeting, in 
order to enable the council to resign cn masse ? I am 
decidedly puzzled, Mr. Editor, and I require your 
assistance. If these three gentlemen have not joined 
again, I should have thought, in my simplicity, that it 
would have been the correct thing to affix R.S. to their 
names in large type, and more diminutive letters to the 
remainder. I cannot realize the fact that these R. a. 
members are in earnest, and my argument is, that if 
they were, they would not in the same breath resign 
and re-appeint themselves. 
The more I reflect, the more muddled I grow. If 
the council have resigned, there is no longer a council ; 
why, then, should they take such an important step 
as to offer us a list with their own’names included? 
Why should they not leave it to the Fellows to settle ? 
It is puzzling, it is mysterious, it has a smell of brim¬ 
stone, and I feel that I am treated like a fool by that 
blue piece of paper. Pray, Mr. Editor, help me to 
understand what this extraordinary paper means before 
I go to the ballot. Stay, though, why should I take 
the trouble to go to the annual meeting, and go through 
the farce of balloting ? There is no printed list of the 
names of the ■ Fellows, consequently, there is no 
possibility of their acting in concert. Why, then, 
attend the meetings of the society merely to register the 
decrees of the council ? The new council, with a few 
exceptions (four out of fifteen), is, on the face of the 
ballot paper just issued—a self-elected one. Through 
their mismanagement, these eleven members have 
brought the society to the verge of ruin, and so low in 
funds has its exchequer become that they have had 
to go round with the hat. Why, then, should they 
cling so tenaciously to their seats ? What is there 
behind the scenes, that they should nominate the 
majority from among themselves ?— A Puzzled Fellow. 
[We cannot tell you all that it means, but may say 
that the members of the council have not resigned ; 
they have simply given notice of their wish to resign. 
It is for the Fellows to accept their resignation, and 
appoint their successors, provided they are sharp 
enough to conform to the bye-laws. See some further 
remarks on the subject at p. 323 .—Ed.] 
--- 
MEDLAR JELLY. 
The Medlar Jelly, which was exhibited at the last 
meeting of the Fruit Committee of the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society, by Messrs. T. Rivers & Son, nurserymen, 
Sawbridgeworth, was, as already stated, manufactured 
from the fruit of the Royal Medlar, a medium-sized, 
free-bearing variety with a pleasant acidity. Mr. T. F. 
Rivers informed us that some time ago he cut down a 
Hawthorn hedge, and grafted upon it the Royal 
Medlar, and having a good deal of fruit, a portion of it 
was converted into jelly ; and it was found to be of a 
good consistency and highly flavoured, resembling that 
made from the fruit of the Guava. Now, although the 
conversion of Medlars into jelly is by no means a new 
practice, it is yet not generally adopted ; and it is 
well to give the method of manufacture as practised at 
Sawbridgeworth. The fruits are taken for the purpose 
when they might be said to just commence the process of 
softening, they are washed in water and placed in a 
preserving pan with as much water as will cover them ; 
they are then allowed to simmer gently and slowly 
until they become a pulp. Some recommend crushing 
the fruit previously ; but it is not done at Sawbridge¬ 
worth. As a matter of course, frequent stirrings are 
necessary to prevent any portion of the pulp becoming 
burned. Then it is strained through a jelly-bag, and to 
every pint of the juice so obtained, one pound of lump 
sugar is added, though some people prefer a lesser 
quantity ; then it is boiled for an hour and a-half or 
rather less ; and when ready, put into glasses and jelly 
shapes. Seeing that so few persons care to eat Medlars 
in an ordinary ripe state, it is well that the methods of 
converting the fruit into good wholesome jelly should 
be more widely known.— R. D. 
otes from Scotland. 
Insch Horticultural Society. —A meeting of 
the committee of this society was held in the Town 
Hall, Insch, Aberdeenshire, on Friday evening, the 
13th inst. There was a good attendance, and the 
president, Mr. Beaton, Station Hotel, occupied the 
chair. There were submitted for the inspection of 
members two handsome Silver Medals from the High¬ 
land and Agricultural Society of Scotland, one of which 
was awarded to Mr. James Eddie, gardener, Freefield, 
for garden produce, and the other to Mrs. Kennedy, 
Wardhouse. An elegant Silver Medal has been 
awarded by the Insch Hortus Club to Mr. Thorn, Old 
Logie, for a basket of vegetables. It was unanimously 
agreed to hold a concert and dance on February 10th, 
under the auspices of the society. The usual vote of 
thanks to the president terminated the proceedings. 
Outdoor Chrysanthemums in Argyle- 
shire. — I was pleased to see the well-written article 
on outdoor Chrysanthemums by your esteemed corre¬ 
spondent, Mr. Murphy (p. 276), and I trust it will be 
the means of inducing many to give it a fair trial. 
While living with Mr. Russell, at Poltalloch Gardens, 
Argyleshire, 1 had the pleasure of seeing it tried, first 
in 1886. A long south wall had recently been planted 
with a choice selection of ornamental and flowering 
climbers, and in order to hide the bareness of the wall 
for the time being, as well as to give Chrysanthemums 
out of doors a fair trial, Mr. Russell decided to put a 
plant between every climber, those used being old 
ones, which, after having flowered, were kept in a cool 
frame until all danger of injury from frost was over. 
They were planted out at the end of March, after which 
they were carefully tied as growth proceeded—not on a 
trellis, but by means of loop-headed nails. 
Out of the many varieties planted, the following 
were found to do well—namely, Empress of India 
(white), by far the best, many of the blooms being over 
5 ins. across ; Ne Plus FItra, White Yenus, James 
Salter, Golden G. Glenny, and Mrs. G. Rundle were 
good; also Cassandra, Chevalier Domage, Golden 
Beverley, Golden Fair Maid of Guernsey, Julia La- 
gravere, To Kio, &c. They were at their best at the 
end of November, and continued to bloom until 
Christmas, when most of them were cut for decorative 
purposes at that festive period. The same plan was 
tried last season, but on a larger scale; and up to 
November, when last I saw them, they looked very 
promising indeed, some of the earliest being then at 
their best and the others well forward. All of them 
were well set with buds, and the only protection they 
received in frosty weather was a thin covering of tiffany. 
Some that were planted on the garden wall, wherever 
an opening could be found between the fruit trees, 
did equally as well, so that when one sees them thus 
grown successfully in Scotland, one cannot but expect 
that they will do much better in the more favoured 
south.— TV. 0. 
Vines and Manure.— It is very noticeable, 
especially among the amateur classes, that Yine borders 
are ruined by excessive manuring with putrid and very 
unwholesome material, just in the same manner that 
they, together with forced Strawberries, Melons, &e., 
are ruined by the application of drenchings of thick 
poisonous liquid from tanks, where it may have been 
conserved for a great length of time. We have never 
seen those whose names are conspicuous amongst suc¬ 
cessful cultivators follow such a practice. The surface 
of the soil in which roots are embedded, when plastered 
over with questionable material, rendering the whole 
impervious to the action of air and solar heat, must be, 
in course of time, attended with the worst results ; 
rotting of the roots cannot be avoided. We once dug 
out a border in which Yines had been planted for 
many years, and great care had annually been 
exercised in placing rich adhesive material over the 
surface ; but there had been for many years no roots to 
consume any of the food so carefully supplied. They 
had found more congenial quarters in the huge foun¬ 
dations of the old building, and there they also 
perished. We admit the necessity of systematic 
dressing from the surface, but not with the material 
which is so commonly used, in the vicinity of towns 
especially. Were this matter more duly considered, 
there would be less shanking, premature shrivelling, 
bad flavour, and deficiency of colour among Grapes. 
Amateurs who seek for information may take warning, 
and not apply to plants that which they cannot 
assimilate. Mulching is of great benefit to plants or 
fruits which require much moisture, but is sometimes 
carried too far in cold and damp localities.— Caledonian. 
