596 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 19, 1888. 
is expected annually. A matter which he deplores, 
however, is the neglected appearance of the Hereford 
orchards, and the indifference that prevails generally 
with regard to the planting only of first-class kinds 
and those suited to particular localities. These state¬ 
ments we heartily endorse, and hope the time is not far 
distant when more careful gardening, and more 
scientific methods will prevail than do at present. The 
publisher is Mr. John Hey wood, Deansgate and 
Ridgefield, Manchester, and 11, Paternoster Buildings, 
London. 
Rugby and District Chrysanthemum Society.— 
The annual exhibition of this society will take place on 
November 21st and 22nd. 
Royal Visit to Mr. Bull's Orchid Exhibition.—Her 
Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg- 
Strelitz paid a visit on Monday last to the Orchid 
Exhibition at Mr. William Bull’s Establishment for 
New and Rare Plants, 536, King’s Road, Chelsea, S.W. 
During the last few days the exhibition has also been 
visited by many members of the aristocracy. 
Gardening Engagements.—Mr. D. Downes, late 
foreman at Summerville, Limerick, has been engaged 
as gardener to Frederick Maple, Esq., J.P., Marino 
Park, Blackrock, co. Dublin. Mr. Geo. Potts, late 
gardener to Sir W. Anderson Ogg, South Dulwich, 
has been engaged as gardener to Dr. Harris, Elmside, 
Northiam, Sussex. The Duke of Northumberland has 
engaged Mr. Wythes, gardener at Teddesley Park, 
Staffordshire, to succeed the late Mr. Woodbridge, at 
Syon House. 
The Chester Nurseries.—We understand that on 
the 1st of July next, the extensive nursery business 
carried on during the last thirty-five years by Messrs. 
Francis and Arthur Dickson & Sons, and Messrs. 
James Dickson & Sons, will be amalgamated. The 
original firm traded under the title of Francis & James 
Dickson, and their descendants, now living in Chester, 
are, we believe, the only members of the original 
Edinburgh family that are left. 
The Acton Horticultural Society's twenty-first 
annual exhibition will be held on August 1st. 
English Tobacco Cultivation.—The judges appointed 
to determine the award for the prize of £50 offered by 
the London Chamber of Commerce for the best speci¬ 
mens of British grown Tobacco met on Monday last in 
the Fenchurch Street Warehouse of the East and West 
India Dock Company. There were eleven entries 
submitted, but only four of these fulfilled the con¬ 
ditions of the competition so far as weight was 
concerned, the minimum quantity being fixed at 
400 lb. In the result these were placed in the 
following order of merit:—(1) Messrs. James Carter & 
Co., High Holborn, W.C. (to whom the judges recom¬ 
mended that the prize should be awarded); (2) Mr. W. 
L. Wigan, Larkfield House, Maidstone ; (3) Sir Edward 
Birkbeck, Bart., M.P., Norwich; (4) Mr. John Graves, 
Church Yilla, Skirbeck, Boston, Lincolnshire. We 
understand that none of the samples of Tobacco 
submitted were really in a merchantable condition, so 
that it would appear that English growers have a great 
deal to learn, especially as regards curing. 
Cultivation of the Pansy.—In a modest treatise 
before us it is stated that the present prominent position 
of the Pansy in gardens is more due to the efforts of 
amateurs than professionals. Whether this is actually 
the case or not, a similar statement might be made 
with regard to Auriculas, and other common garden 
flowers that have been equally extensively cultivated 
by shoemakers, tailors, and weavers. The writer, Mr. 
Alex. Lister, treats of the cultivation of this plant in a 
way suitable to initiate the amateur into its mysteries, 
and enable him to observe and improve himself in the 
art. The information is given under the headings of 
propagation from seed ; from cuttings ; culture; and 
the gathering and preparation of blooms for exhibition; 
as well as some hints concerning the properties of show 
and fancy varieties. The publisher is Mr. Alexander 
Gardner, Paisley. 
New Roses.—The new Rose, “ Oakmont,” raised by 
Mr. James Comley, of Lexington, Mass., seems likely 
to be quite an acquisition to our stock. It was first 
exhibited in New York, at the Orchid Show last year, 
and Mr. Comley says that subsequent experience with 
it shows all the vigour and free-blooming qualities so 
desirable in a trade flower. It is a hybrid Tea, a cross 
between President and Baroness Rothschild, and has 
been in existence about five years ; the grower has 
spent all this time in perfecting it. It has the same 
smooth globular petals and soft pink as Paul Neyron, 
though with a silvery tinge on the outside of the petals 
more suggestive of La France. It possesses the cha¬ 
racteristic Tea fragrance to a marked degree, though 
its general appearance is suggestive of its hybrid 
Remontant parent. The bud is the regular conical Tea 
shape, though not excessively pointed. The colour 
stands very well after cutting ; it does not seem to 
acquire the blue tinge so often seen in pink Roses. In 
some respects Oakmont is rather suggestive of pretty 
Mrs. John Laing. Mr. Peter Henderson had a new 
Rose at the last meeting of the Florists’ Club—an un¬ 
named hybrid Tea, raised by Mr. Bennett, of Shepperton. 
It was the first flower developed in America, and as it 
was from a very small plant, it could only give the 
least idea of the Rose. It was very double, very 
fragrant, and soft light pink in colour .—American 
Florist. 
Irish Exhibition in London.—The design and plan 
of the Irish village to be erected in the garden of the 
forthcoming Exhibition at Olympia are now complete. 
The village, which will no doubt prove of remarkable 
interest to Londoners, is being organised by the Earl 
of Leitrim and Mrs. Ernest Hart, and will consist of a 
dozen cottages built and thatched by native workmen 
in the true Donegal fashion. They will be arranged so 
as to form a picturesque village street, irregular in plan. 
In the centre of the street will be seen the “Holy 
Well,” and a veritable cross brought over from Ireland. 
At the western part of the village, facing the visitor on 
entering, will be the ruins of a low Irish tower. The 
cottages themselves will be occupied by native Irish 
workers, men, women, and children, who will pass in 
them their ordinary daily routine of life, and, of course, 
the familiar pig will be seen. The Irish farm house 
and dairy, of sixty cows, will be an equally interesting 
and instructive object. The Rev. Canon Bagot has 
undertaken the superintendence of this section, and 
proposes to give a regular series of lectures on dairying, 
and will illustrate his lectures by demonstrations. He 
will bring over a party of the prettiest and most expert 
of Irish dairymaids, who will appear in the cleanest 
and neatest of native costumes. Canon Bagot will 
also be prepared, under certain regulations, to take 
advantage of this opportunity, during the five months 
the exhibition will be open, to train English girls in 
Irish dairy work, the Government having agreed to 
send over one of their staff of official instructors. The 
exhibition will be opened on Monday, June 4th. 
-->®e-- 
THE GARDENERS’ ORPHAN 
FUND. 
Ox Monday evening last a meeting of the stand-holders 
in the flower market, Covent Garden, was held at the 
New Hummums Hotel, to consider the question of the 
proposed evening fete or promenade to be held in the 
market, in aid of the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. Mr. 
George Deal, chairman, and several members of the 
Executive Committee of the Orphan Fund attended, 
and there was also a good attendance of the growers. 
Mr. J. R. Bourne (the Duke of Bedford’s agent), who 
was called upon to take the chair, said that as His 
Grace, fully sympathising with the objects of the 
movement, had generously given his consent to the 
flower market being used for one evening in aid of such 
a good object, it only remained for the stand-holders to 
agree to the propositions which would be made for 
carrying out the objects they had in view, and which, 
fully deserving their warmest support, he felt sure they 
would freely do all in their power to promote. 
Mr. Deal gave a brief history of the movement which 
brought about the establishment of the fund about ten 
months ago, and some statistics showing the almost 
unprecedented success which had attended the efforts 
of the promoters. With reference to the special object 
for which the meeting had been called, Mr. Deal stated 
that the idea was that as the flower market was, perhaps, 
the finest in the world, and so few persons had really 
any idea of the singularly novel and interesting sight 
it was at this season especially, or had any conception 
of the vastness of the market trade in flowers, and the 
immense amount of capital invested in the business, 
the stand-holders should, on a date to be fixed shortly, 
stage their market produce a few hours earlier than 
usual, so that the elite of London society could be 
invited to come and see the novel sight at a late hour 
of the night by invitation of the president and executive 
of the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. No charge would be 
made for admission, which would be by ticket, and it 
was hoped that the gathering would be honoured 
with the presence of some member of the Royal 
Family. Mr. Deal concluded by moving the fol¬ 
lowing resolution :—“ That in the opinion of this 
meeting the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund is in every 
respect worthy of the sympathy and support of all 
horticulturists, and those present hereby pledge them¬ 
selves to render every assistance in their power to 
successfully carry out an evening floral promenade fete 
suggested to be held in the wholesale flower market, 
Covent Garden, kindly offered for the occasion by His 
Grace the Duke of Bedford.” The resolution was 
seconded by Mr. Rochford, and carried unanimously. 
Mr. Hawkins (Messrs. Hawkins k Bennett, Twicken¬ 
ham) moved, that in order to carry out the preceding 
resolution, a committee, consisting of Messrs. J. R. 
Bourne, Assbee, Hayes, Walker, Sweet, Poupart, and 
Munro (with power to add to their number), be 
appointed to act in conjunction with the committee of 
the Orphan Fund. Seconded by Mr. Herbst, and 
carried unanimously. The proposed scheme having 
een ably supported by Mr. Assbee, the superin¬ 
tendent of the market, a hearty vote of thanks to the 
chairman brought the proceedings to a close. 
-- 
THE NIGHT-SCENTED TOBACCO 
The cause of opening at night. 
When plants of Nicotiana affinis are grown in the 
open air (during summer of course in our own country), 
and, therefore, under the most natural conditions, the 
flowers exhibit the phenomena of closing by day and 
opening by night with regular recurring frequency. 
The popular belief in plants that behave in this manner 
is that they dislike the sun, or in other words that sun¬ 
light is too strong for them, causing them to close. 
This is true to a certain extent, but only from a 
secondary or indirect cause, and not depending on the 
direct influence of sunlight upon the flowers themselves, 
if indeed the effect of sunlight upon them alone would 
be appreciable at all. 
The experiments upon which the following obser¬ 
vations are based were made with plants grown in a 
dwelling-room and stood in a window facing west, or 
at some distance from the source of light, and therefore 
under conditions not altogether natural. The advan¬ 
tages of this method of procedure are that the 
behaviour of the plants may be noted in the absence of 
direct sunshine—a kind of negative evidence that is 
often fruitful of important results. All conditions 
being equal, the expansion and closing of the flowers 
proceeded with tolerable regularity, exhibiting, in fact, 
a daily periodicity, whether the plants were stood in 
the window or not. But seeing that they were 
subjected to direct sunshine for a short period of the 
day only, that is, in the afternoon, the phenomenon of 
closing during the day was not so decided or complete 
as when the plants are grown in the open air and 
exposed all day, or even in glass hot-houses. At 
a distance from the window, where direct sunlight 
never fell upon the plant, the greater number of the 
flowers remained open all day, even when the light 
was good, the sun shining out of doors and the tem¬ 
perature moderately high. 
All this would on superficial examination seem to 
imply that strong sunshine was hurtful to the flowers, 
and that their closing was a direct result of this effect. 
A more correct reading of facts, however, shows this to 
be erroneous, and that it really depends upon the dis¬ 
tribution of water in the tissues of the plant, and that 
the expansion of the flowers coincides with, and there¬ 
fore depends upon the period of greatest tension. From 
dawn till late in the afternoon it diminishes, and from 
sunset till dawn it increases. This also corresponds 
with the daily periodicity of growth, and by closely 
observing the behaviour of the flowers from the first 
time they expand till they have attained their full size 
it will be seen that their opening and closing depends 
upon irregularities of growth. Later on, when the 
blooms have attained their full size, their expansion is 
simply due to tension, that is, to the cells of their 
tissues being gorged with water. 
When exposed to a moderately strong light during 
the day, even without sunshine, the younger flowers 
will close while the older ones remain open. Bright 
sunshine will, however, cause all the flowers to close. 
Under these conditions the leaves of the plant are 
transpiring rapidly, that is, losing water at a greater 
rate than the roots can supply, consequently the tissues 
of both leaves, stems and flower become flabby, causing 
the latter to close. As already mentioned, however, 
it will be well to bear in mind the different behaviour 
of the young and old flowers. The former have not 
completed their growth in length, and during the day 
