March 21, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
463 
GARDENERS’ ASSOCIATIONS 
AND BOOKS TO STUDY. 
There can be no question as to the value of a gardeners’ 
association in a district, if undertaken with spirit by 
some of the more influential members of the fraternity 
with a view to the benefit of the community at large. 
In all times and in all nations public-spirited men are 
to be found ready to assist their fellow men for the 
common weal independently of any immediate benefit 
to themselves, either pecuniary or otherwise. This 
may be done in a national spirit, or it may be done for 
the advantage of human kind irrespective of nationality, 
and such men may be looked upon as the benefactors 
of their race. “ Poets are born, not made,” as the 
proverb has it, and it is impossible for all gardeners to 
be either a Paxton, a Lindley, or a “ Capability Brown”; 
but hundreds of men are born who can be made the 
best of gardeners in their respective spheres, and able 
to assist not only themselves, but their fellow 
gardeners. 
This making of gardeners does not solely depend 
upon means nor the help of others. The facilities that 
now exist for self help are abundant compared with 
those.that existed 100 or 150 years ago, and yet we find 
ample evidence that the horticulturists of those days 
achieved results in the culture of various subjects that 
would be an acquisition to hundreds of gardeners even 
at the present day. I say this in no carping spirit, 
notwithstanding the statements that are occasionally 
put forward to the effect that gardeners, as a race, are 
degenerating in the matter of cultural ability from that 
of their confreres of fifty years ago. To such wiseacres 
I would reply, “No doubt but ye are the people, and 
wisdom shall die with you.” The times and the 
fashions change, and gardeners are no longer called 
upon, generally, to grow giant specimens of Heaths, 
Azaleas and Pelargoniums. Nor.can years of time and 
unlimited space be devoted to the fruiting of the 
Coco-nut or the Mangosteen. Orchids are the aristo¬ 
crats and the highly favoured amongst flowers at the 
present day. Soft-wooded plants of many kinds are 
extensively grown for the production of flowers in 
quantity ; aud fruit culture is calling loudly for 
extension. Vegetables will 'also hold their own, that 
is, they cannot be overlooked. These and others of a 
like nature are the questions of the day for the gardener 
to solve, and they require men of no mean ability to 
do it. 
Here then is a wide field of labour open for tillage by 
gardeners’ associations. Men who have attained some 
measure of success in any one branch of gardening 
should be encouraged to come forward to speak, or read 
a paper to be discussed afcerwards by the members. I 
have heard a man say, after having attended one of 
these meetings, that after returning home he felt as if 
he could sit down and write a good paper on what had 
been the subject of discussion for the evening, although 
he had hitherto been somewhat hazy on the point. 
Independently of being able to write a paper, the mem¬ 
bers of such an association are led to take a much more 
lively interest in their daily work, and a keener observa¬ 
tion is awakened even if it does not rise to enthusiasm. 
The leading object of such gatherings is for the diffusion 
of knowledge by experts in any particular branch of 
knowledge, and members cannot fail to benefit them¬ 
selves who, if they cannot lead in matters horticultural, 
yet disdain not to follow practical instruction and apply 
it as far as circumstances will allow in their several 
spheres of action. As the timesand the mannerschange, 
so must gardeners not be too conservative, nor adhere 
too closely to the beaten track of their ancestors, but 
endeavour by gardeners’ associations, by self help and 
other means at command to strike out new paths, or to 
follow in those made by the leading men of the day, so 
as to be able to serve their day and generation in such 
a manner that will reflect no discredit upon them when 
looked back upon by posterity. 
In speaking of books, I am not surprised that there 
should be a little difference of opinion between your 
correspondents, Mr. Wright and Mr. Green, as to 
the respective value of The Gardener's Assistant by 
Thompson, and Nicholson’s Dictionary of Gardening. 
There is a mine of wealth for the gardener in either of 
them, and reward will certainly wait upon him who 
studies either of them thoroughly. The last named 
is no doubt the most attractive, and seems the best 
adapted to the requirements of the present time, as it 
deals largely with the more important plants under 
cultivation, and the genera and species being arranged 
in alphabetical order there is no difficulty in referring 
to them. On the other hand The Gardener's Assistant 
is an encyclopedia in itself in all matters relating to a 
garden. Lists of subjects are occasionally put forward 
for gardeners to study, such as chemistry, geology, 
landscape gardening, pomology, &c., but the book in 
question contains not only lengthy chapters on these 
subjects, but also upon manures, tools, pruning, train¬ 
ing, the kitchen garden and the subjects grown there, 
herbaceous plants, florists’ flowers, trees and shrubs, 
forcing, conservatory, stove, floral decorations and other 
subjects. In fact there is a “collect” for every day 
of the year for those who like to read it. The length 
of some of the articles may deter some from reading 
them, but there is little that is actually superfluous. 
Moreover these books are not intended for reading from 
end to end as one would a novel ; but each separate 
article should be real and studied by itself until the 
facts it contains are made part and parcel of the reader’s 
knowledge; in a word, they should be treated as books 
of reference when any particular gardening operation is 
contemplated, or any (to the reader) new culture is 
undertaken. 
Without pretending in this instance to augment 
the lists of excellent books brought under notice by 
your correspondents, I would suggest what seems to me 
to be omissions—namely, a good English dictionary 
(if etymological and pronouncing all the better) and an 
English grammar. We have not all had the advantage 
of being educated under the supervision of the School 
Board ; and throughout the length and breadth of the 
land there are or have been parents who, from the force 
of circumstances, were unable to give their sons a good 
elementary education, while there are others who are care¬ 
less, indifferent, or indulgent from motives of mistaken 
kindness ; and there may be gardeners who lost their 
parents while yet in their infancy, and therefore failed 
to get that start in life which was the lot of their more 
fortunate confrires. In the ordinary routine of garden¬ 
ing, there is little inducement per se for acquiring the 
rudiments of the language of one’s fatherland. Some 
gardeners plod on through life without it ; others have 
or acquire a natural inclination for self improvement ; 
but above all, there are many who require the stimulant 
of friendly encouragement. If this sort of education 
can hardly come within the scope of gardeners’ associ¬ 
ations, it can at least be encouraged by them, and the 
better educated can assist the less fortunate in bothies 
and lodgings during winter evenings. The effect of 
this could hardly fail to be apparent in after-life, when 
one is called upon to read papers at different meetings, 
and will render the possessors of a fair elementary 
education good service when applying for situations, 
and when writing to or addressing exacting employers, 
as well as in various other walks of life.— Eortus. 
-- , 
THE LATE SEVERE WEATHER. 
We experienced exceptionally severe weather here from 
the 6th to the 13th inclusive. Snow lay to the depth 
of 6 ins. and the thermometer registered 16° Fahr. on 
the morning of the 7tb, and on three succeeding nights 
we had 15°, 14° and 13° of frost respectively. Vegeta¬ 
tion was in an advanced state owing to the rxtremely 
mild weather in the latter half of February. The 
flower buds on fruit trees were bursting rapidly, 
notably Pears and Plums, and I am afraid a good deal 
of damage has been done in that department, except in 
the case of Plums which had the benefit of a covering 
of Spruce branches. Amongst shrubs I notice that 
Jack Frost has also left his mark. The young shoots 
of Portugal Laurel are severely blackened, also Rhodo¬ 
dendrons, of which Nobleanum was in flower. Kerria 
japonica, with young shoots almost in flower, has 
been quite cut back ; and the Fuchsia hedges (variety 
Riccartoni), which are one of the features of the 
island in the summer months, standing as they do 
6 ft. to 7 ft. high, and 4 ft. wide, clothed with flowers 
from top to bottom, have had their young shoots, 1 in. 
or 2 ins. long, cut quite back to the old wood. 
Vegetables of the Brassica tribe are more or less 
damaged, although they are perhaps not in such a 
pitiable condition as those in the south of England. 
Altogether this has been the most severe weather we 
have had this winter, and in fact quite exceptional to 
the island of Raasay.— William Minty, The Gardens, 
Isle of Raasay, Strome Feiry, N.B. 
The weather last week in Devonshire was perfectly 
phenomenal. It was not a mere snowstorm, nor a 
storm of wind and rain, but the elements seemed fairly 
to have broken loose for twenty-four hours. Now, when 
it is all over, and “ ethereal spring ” is beginning to 
assert itself ever so mildly, we find that there is not so 
much damage done after all. Trees have suffered here 
and there, of course, but there are few breakages of any 
consequence that I have heard of. Passing along the 
road between Escot und Ottery St. Mary, I found that 
a very noble specimen of the Scotch Fir, about 60 ft. 
in height, had been blown down, right across the road. 
It must have seen at least a hundred and twenty 
summers. On Sir John Kennaway’s beautiful estate 
at Escot there is some fine timber, and the Rhodo¬ 
dendrons in June are the admiration of the whole 
country side. Both the woods and the gardens are 
under the charge of Mr. Geo. Underwood, a good all- 
round gardener of the old-fashioned sort.— Devoniensis. 
The exceptionally fine weather of February has been 
fully counterbalanced by a correspondingly severe 
period in March. On the night of the 7th Lost set in, 
accompanied with a fall of snow fully 6 ins. deep at 
various places in the Ayr district. On Monday morniDg 
the 9th, which was the coldest, the thermometer 
registered from 21° to 24° of frost, while at Dumfries 
House Gardens, Old Cumnock, it was reported to have 
fallen as low as 8° below zero. [?] On Tuesday the 
reading was 22° of frost; Wednesday, 16^°; Thursday, 
13£° ; Friday, 14°, and on Saturday, 10°. It is feared 
that much havoc will have been wrought among the 
buds of early Pear trees, which were in a promising 
condition. A thaw has now set in.— M., Ayr, March 
mh. _ 
We had 22° of frost here on the 12 th of this month, 
and strange to say we had 22° on March 4tb, 1890.— 
W. Driver, Longfords, Miachinhampton, Gloucestershire. 
Ox Monday, the 9th inst, wc had 24° of frost, on the 
10th, 20 Q ; on the 11th, 10° ; and on the 12th, 20° 
again, a pretty good record for the month of March.— 
G. MacKinnon, Melville Castle Gardens, Lasswade, 
N.B. 
-- 
THE EFFECTS OF FOG ON 
PLANT LIFE. 
I have occasionally stated in The Gardening World 
and other gardening papers that it is becoming more 
and more difficult to grow certain plants within easy 
distance of London, owing to the injurious effects of 
the London fogs ; and of all the plants I attempt to 
grow, the dire effects are most seen in the case of gold- 
laced Polyanthuses. Even when placed in a glass 
structure the leaves turn brown, and then rot, and 
they look as if they had been dipped in some strong 
acid that causes decomposition. An ill-natured critic 
once hinted that this statement is put forward as an 
apology for failure as a cultivator ; so I am glad to 
have an opportunity of backing up my statement by 
instancing a declaration to the same effect from so high 
and unimpeachable authoiity as Mr. Geo. Wythes, of 
Syon House Gardens, Brentford, a mile or so further 
west of “ London’s rich and famous town” than I am, 
but lower in position, and nearer the river. 
At the recent meeting of the Ealing Gardeners’ 
Society, the question of “ The damages caused to plant 
life by the fogs of the past winter ’’ was considered. 
General testimony was borne to the unfortunate 
prevalence of damage. One speaker stated that show 
and fancy Pelargoniums had been much affected, the 
leaves all turning yellow. Another had visited a 
large house where crops of Cucumbers and other plants 
were destroyed, causing great loss to the owner, who 
grew them for market. The statements made by Mr. 
Wythes were decidedly alarming. He stated that his 
first crop of forced Strawberry plants had made con¬ 
siderable progress, but after the fog they all turned 
black and decayed. The next crop of 300 plants was 
in bloom; another visitation of fog so injuriously 
affected them that they were thrown away. Cucumbers 
had been planted five times, and now there was not a 
plant worth seeing. Tomatos had been very much 
affected, and many had succumbed, but a few plants 
were probably safe. Peaches in bloom were much 
injured, and those that had set their fruit were falling 
off. Early Grapes had been entirely destroyed, but a 
crop would possibly be obtained from the pot Vines. 
Forced Potatos were also affected, and the foliage was 
turning yellow. He had tried Violets for three years, 
and had determined to give up ; the only remedy he 
could suggest was that early forcing must be abandoned 
in the London locality. Mr. Chadwick, the gardener 
at Hanger Hill House, stated that, though in a higher 
locality than Mr. Wythes, he had to record the loss of 
Strawberries, French Beans and early Grapes, but he 
hoped the Peaches and Nectarines would all be saved 
through keeping a higher temperature to dispel the fog 
inside the houses. Mr. Denison, gardener to T. A. 
