November 10, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
161 
the Pine-Apple ; Mr. R. M’Keller on Vegetables ; Mr. 
R. Plant on the Horse-Radish ; Mr. J. Booth on 
Modern Gardeners and Gardening ; Mr. Birkenhead on 
the Functions of Leaves under the influence of Sunlight; 
Mr. R. Tait, jun., on Liliums and Cyclamens ; Mr. W. 
Elgin on Floral Decoration Work ; Mr. W. Adams, 
on the Mixed Border ; and Mr. Samuel Barlow on 
Garden Gossip. The following were elected officers for 
the ensuing year :—President, Mr. Bruce Findlay ; 
vice-president, Mr. A. Stansfield; treasurer, Mr. R. 
Tait ; and honorary secretary, Mr. W. B. Upjohn. 
Messrs. J. Briddon, W. Elkin, G. Lunt, W. Plant, and 
F. Robinson were elected members of the committee. 
Royal Horticultural Society.—We understand that 
a special meeting of the council was held on Wednesday, 
October 31st, when it was resolved that a cordial vote 
of thanks be sent to all those who were kind enough to 
read papers, or to exhibit fruit, or in any other way to 
assist in making the late Apple and Pear Conference at 
Chiswick a success. It was resolved that a report of 
the conference be forthwith prepared, with a view to 
its publication as a number of the Journal of the 
Society. The two resolutions passed at the Chiswick 
Conference were then read and considered, and with 
reference to the suggested sub-committee on Law and 
Parliamentary matters it was resolved, “That the 
Government having, at the suggestion of the council of 
the R. H. S. and others, expressly included Horticulture 
in the bill for the establishment of a Department of 
Agriculture, it would be unadvisable to appoint a 
separate Law and Parliamentary Committee, the council 
considering itself to be in a position to fulfil the duties 
of such proposed committee more advantageously than 
a subsidiary body.” With reference to the second 
conference resolution, relating to the society’s garden at 
Chiswick, the following resolution was passed, viz., 
“That the council of the R. H. S. fully appreciate the 
value of the Chiswick Garden, and are anxious to 
extend and develop its resources to the greatest 
possible extent in every direction, for the advancement 
of Horticulture as far as the means placed in their 
hands will allow.” It was resolved to invite the 
members of the present Fruit and Floral Committees, 
and also the principal exhibitors, to attend a meeting 
in the council room on Tuesday, November 13th, at 
11.30 a.m., to discuss as to the best place in which to 
hold the fortnightly meetings for 1889. Tt was further 
resolved to hold a general meeting of the Fellows of 
the society in the council room on Tuesday, November 
13th, at 2 p.m,, in order to submit to them the draft 
of new bye-laws with a view to their adoption. It was 
determined that at the two next meetings of the 
society, on November 13th and December 11th, any 
tender plants may be placed in the council room, where 
they will be free from exposure to cold. By kind 
permission of the Treasurer and Benchers a grand 
Flower Show will be held by the R. H. S. in the Inner 
Temple Gardens on the 30th and 31st of May, 1889. 
It was resolved to contribute £10 to the funds of both 
the Auricula and Carnation Societies if their exhibitions 
are held under the auspices of the R. H. S. in the year 
LAWNS. 
This season will long be remembered for the excessive 
rainfall, which—among other drawbacks to successful 
issues in gardening operations—caused the grass on 
lawns to grow rapidly, thereby entailing a great amount 
of labour in mowing. Some weeks were really so wet 
as to prevent such work being performed, and most of 
us know the difficulty of mowing with a machine when 
the grass is damp, so that the old advocates of the 
scythe have had the better opportunities this season. 
The advice was given in a contemporary, nearly a 
month ago, October 13th, that mowing machines should 
be cleaned, oiled, and put away in a dry place. “When 
reading the paragraph 1 thought the writer must have 
a dry lawn, composed of good turf, to be able to 
recommend the discontinuance of cutting at such an 
early date. The frosts in the early part of October 
certainly put a check to grass growing, but the 
subsequent fine and bright weather gave it a fresh 
impetus, greatly helped at this season by heavy dews, 
even if there is a total absence of rain, of which we 
have had another instalment this last week, so that 
lawns that are naturally wet and at all coarse have 
required mowing again. 
All pleasure ground men know the advantage of a 
well-shaven lawn, for when the leaves are falling, 
which entails a lot of labour to keep a place anything 
like tidy, long grass, makes sweeping much harder 
Work, and takes double the time. One practical 
gardener, and an excellent writer, said that he kept 
the machine going from March to November, and even 
at the latter date the mowing machine gets a good 
“ bite ” on a wet and coarse lawn, and Talso collects a 
good many leaves, though at the same time all dead 
wood that may have blown down must be picked up. 
A good machine will take up a lot of rubbish, but it is 
well not to hazard too much .—George Potts, Junr., 
Northiam. 
-*> 3 =<-- 
FRUIT TREE TRAINING. 
We give two illustrations for the pruning and training 
of fruit trees suitable for small gardens. The pyramid 
is a popular shape for Apple trees on the Paradise stock, 
and Pears on the Quince, and with careful pruning and 
occasionally lifting the trees when growing too much 
to wood, they may be maintained in a manageably 
small state for many years. A considerable number of 
varieties may thus be grown in the borders of gardens 
of limited dimensions. Amateurs could find space for 
a large number of trees grown in this way, and they 
would afford not only great variety of fruit for the 
table, but much profitable amusement could also be 
obtained by a study of those which prove most suitable 
for any particular locality. The finest-looking, largest, 
and best-quality Apples are also obtained from trees 
like these by pursuing good methods of culture. The 
two-stemmed tree represents a popular method of 
training Pear trees, and is known as the double 
upright cordon. Trees can be obtained from the 
nurseries already commenced in this shape, so that 
amateurs would find little or no difficulty in keeping 
them to it. A small amount of wall space would afford 
accommodation for a great many varieties, and should 
one tree happen to die, its place can easily be supplied 
without any loss of wall space, such as happens when 
large trees die or have to be uprooted. Another 
system of training is the single oblique cordon, and 
Pears may be grown profitably on this system, 
and are probably as often so trained as oblique 
and single-stemmed cordons, as they are grown in 
the upright form. There is no difference in the system 
of pruning Pear trees, whichever of the methods is 
adopted ; but when grown to single or even double 
stems, the trees should be grafted on the Quince stock. 
-- 
THE “LITTLE NATIONALS.” 
May I be allowed to raise my humble voice in mild 
deprecation of the noble wrath of Mr. “Leo.” He 
calls me unkindly a “little National.” Well, I sup¬ 
pose I must admit that some eleven years ago my 
friends did choose a rather large hat for a small infant 
such as I was then ; but, Sir, I was expected to grow to 
it, and I should have grown to it if I had had a fair 
chance, which I never had. 
Sir, I was born at Westminster (under the sign of 
Aquarius) in the year of grace 1877, and though small, 
all my friends said I was a very healthy and promising 
child. When I was barely a year old, I was taken 
away from my native air, and placed with an old lady 
who had seen better days in the aristocratic but relaxing 
atmosphere of Kensington. As might be expected, I 
never throve there. 1 have not grown as I ought to 
have done, and unthinking people often make fun of 
me on account of my big hat, while there is my young 
cousin National Chrysanthemum, ever so much younger, 
who keeps growing out of his clothes every day ; but 
his friends did not send him to Kensington. 
1 have nothing to say against the old lady sister 
Auricula and I were sent to. As I hinted already, she 
had been a grand dame in her time, and accustomed 
to tip-top society; but she had fallen on evil days, 
and had been in reduced circumstances for some time. 
She was very kind to us children, gave us many useful 
things, and tipped us regularly on our birthdays when, 
as I have since come to know, she could but ill afford 
it. All the same, it was a mistake our ever being sent 
to live with her. We ought to have stayed at West¬ 
minster, or gone to Sydenham, and who knows but 
that I at least might have been nearly as big as cousin 
Chrys by this time. 
Latterly, as I dare say you know, our old lady got 
very sadly indeed, and saw almost no company at all, 
until at last we used to have to keep our birthdays—• 
Auricula and I—all by ourselves, and there was not 
much fun or good either in that. Finally, our good old 
friend got dreadfully behind with her rent, as I am told, 
and was made to turn out just like an ordinary person in 
similar case, in spite of all her grand connections. The 
old story, you know—“ put not your trust in Princes.’ ’ 
But it is natural for children always to look at the gay 
side of things, and so you may judge my delight when 
I heard we were going to live at Westminster, within 
a stone’s throw of the spot where I was born. Thither 
we went, and though I had been suffering dreadfully 
from cold as you know all through the season, I did 
my best to look cheerful and nice, and we had quite a 
large company to our little affair on the 24th of July 
last. I thought to myself, well here’s the old lady 
waking up, and sister Auricula and I, instead of leading 
the lives of two Cinderellas, will go into society and get 
to be known among people after all. But whether the 
exertion was too much for the poor dear soul, or what, I 
am sure I don’t know, but it seems there is some talk of 
her going to live altogether at her old place at Chiswick, 
where I am told some of her best friends say she ought 
to have been content to have stayed from the first. 
Town life never suited her, whereas Auricula and I 
both enjoy it (ask uncle Ben). 
Well, though in my humble opinion two young 
children like sister Auricula and me, full of natural 
spirits, longing to get out into the world and play our 
part in it, ought never to have been forced on the good 
old lady in her infirm state of health, still, I hold 
that those were quite right who said we ought to stick 
by her, and try and cheer her up when she was in such 
trouble. Of course, if she is going to live at Chiswick 
altogether we cannot go there. We might as well be 
sent to a convent or a prison at once. What is the 
use of talking to us about Chiswick being a centre of 
horticulture ? These horticulturists are much too fine 
people for us. It is not so very long ago that a 
Journal-of-horticulture-ist who called himself a ‘ 1 Border 
Flower ” denied our right to existence at all, though 
he would have magnanimously granted it to us could 
we have turned ourselves into Potatos or Cabbages to 
please him ! Another rude fellow, a Garden-e r, called 
my sister Auricula in her lovely green dress a “ mon¬ 
strosity ” 1 I should just like to have cropped his 
ears, and put him in the pillory for a spell for talking 
like that of a lady. 
But Mr. “Leo” asks whether Chiswick is further from 
London than Sydenham. Why, sir, of course it is not. 
But while Chiswick may be a centre of horticulture, 
Sydenham is a centre of humanity, and that is the 
sort of centre that is most congenial both to sister 
Auricula and to, Sir, your humble servant, National 
Carnation. __ 
I think “Leo” is a trifle hard on the poor “little 
Nationals” in your last week’s issue. They can 
hardly be accused of ingratitude, seeing that the 
R. H. S. said to them last spring, “We can no longer 
subscribe £15 to each of your societies, but will find 
you a place for your exhibitions.” The “ little 
Nationals” consulted among themselves and decided 
not to leave the R. H. S., but to hold their exhibitions 
in the place found by the society, and what a place 1 
At all times cheerless, it was almost dark at the 
show of the National Auricula Society last April, and 
difficult to distinguish grey from green edges. 
With regard to “Leo’s” proposal to go to Chiswick 
instead of the Crystal Palace, is the fine vinery a fit 
place in which to exhibit Auriculas at the end of April 
when the Vines are growing in steam and heat; and 
is a vinery the coolest place at the end of July in which 
to hold a show of cut flowers? The vinery is well 
adapted for fruit shows in the autumn, and Chiswick 
Gardens are always interesting to horticulturists, and 
it is a great pity that they cannot be more utilised for 
exhibition purposes, but will the London public go to 
Chiswick ? Perhaps “ Leo ” can suggest another place, 
as he evidently does not like the Crystal Palace.— 
Exhibitor. 
