752 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 27, 1889. 
welfare and convenience of our provincial 
friends. 
We could not but remark that at the dinner 
the Royal Horticultural Society’s Council, as 
such, was utterly unrepresented—we looked in 
vain for those nurserymen and gardeners who 
have been so prominently associated with that 
body. Well, the Orphan Fund will grow and 
prosper without their countenance, and we 
believe in a few years will constitute the most 
popular of all the institutions associated with 
horticulture. 
/Colour in Flower Gardens. — Plants of good 
habit, free-blooming, and productive of 
rich, striking masses of colour are still highly 
favoured in summer flower gardens. A few 
days ago wc looked in upon Mr. Dean, at 
the Bedfont Seed Grounds, and were struck 
with some things grown there as presenting 
the most effective masses of colour we have 
ever seen. To begin with, there was a large 
mass of the orange-yellow flowered, Venidium 
fugax, a fine hardy annual of free spreading 
growth, the plants having been dibbled out 
into the open ground 12 ins. apart. This 
presented, without exception, the most remark¬ 
able blaze of yellow colour we have seen, the 
two rows forming a perfect body of flowers and 
foliage about 3J ft. in width, and promising to 
bloom as freely for months. Then, a little 
way removed, were rows of the dwarf FTastur- 
tium compactum Lustrous, the foliage dark, 
and the flowers of an intense crimson-scarlet, 
produced in wondrous profusion, glowing like 
fire. This again, is one of those constant 
bloomers which endure until cut down by frost. 
The plant in bloom is about 10 ins. in 
height, and of its kind forms one of the most 
effective of bedding plants. Then there was 
seen a wonderfully fine strain of dark blue 
compact Lobelia, which comes almost as true 
from sc-ed as from cuttings. For the production 
of a fine mass of blue from seed this splendid 
strain of Bedfont Lobelia could not be excelled. 
We shall never tire of rich hues of blue, yellow 
and scarlet in our flower gardens if judiciously 
disposed, but especially desirable are they when 
colour is needed for distant views. In such a 
case mixed beds are utterly lost; but big 
masses of striking colours give wondrous life 
and beauty to the garden picture. Like the 
rich colours in the paintings of the old masters 
they charm with their glow and effect. The 
earth is of itself none so gay, and gladly do 
we hail masses of colour here and there thrown 
into the landscape, even if they be but of 
the scarlet Poppy or the Golden Charlock. 
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The Eccles, Patricroft, Pendleton and District 
Chrysanthemum Society will hold its third annual 
exhibition on November 15th and 16th. 
A New Race of Annual Chrysanthemums.—At the 
meeting of the Floral Committee on Tuesday, Messrs. 
Hurst & Son exhibited cut blooms of some new double- 
flowered varieties of Chrysanthemum carinatum. They 
may be described as Anemone-flowered, having full, 
double, but somewhat flat centres, with well-defined 
guard petals. The colours, bronze and lilac, were not 
particularly attractive, but having got the form this is 
a defect that will soon be remedied, and the process of 
improvement may he expected in due time to give us 
some very fine things. 
Lady-birds as Aphis Destroyers.—Mr. John Thorpe 
writes in the American Florist -.—“It seems strange 
that so few know what a friend the lady-bird and its 
larva is to florists. It is not only the black aphis that 
they destroy, hut thrip, green-fly, and the eggs of many 
other insects injurious to plants. It is amusing to see 
the larvae clean out a colony of aphis. They pitch right 
in and seize each individual as a terrier does a rat, and 
it takes only a few minutes for them to kill hundreds, 
for there is no escape. The first lady-birds appeared 
here about June 2nd, about thirteen days earlier than 
last year. I have in previous years sent lady-birds to 
many growers to do police duty among their Chry¬ 
santhemums.” 
Destructive Hailstorm.—On Wednesday afternoon 
of the 17th inst. a sharp thunderstorm broke out over 
the western part of London, the suburbs, and the 
country lying immediately beyond. It was accom¬ 
panied by a tremendous downpour of hail, which fell 
with sufficient force to do a considerable amount of 
damage to tender foliage of all kinds exposed to the 
fury of the blast. A collection of many kinds of 
Tobacco at Kew suffered great harm by the leaves 
being completely riddled as if with buckshot, and in 
some cases the larger leaves were snapped through the 
middle. Broad-leaved trees, such as Planes and Limes, 
were considerably damaged on the side facing west, 
and this notwithstanding the advanced period of the 
season and the firm or matured condition of the foliage. 
Softer-leaved subjects, such as Vegetable Marrows, were 
very much smashed up, and must present a rather sorry 
appearance for a long time to come ; while Limes and 
Planes can hardly recover their wonted freshness till 
the leafage is renewed next spring. 
Ancient Society of York Florists.—The Rev. F. 
Umpleby, chaplain of this society, conducted, on 
Sunday, July 12th, a special flower service, at his 
church at Osbaldwick, York, the main object of which, 
we may say, apart from the primary object of worship, 
was to assist by a collection the Gardeners’ Orphan 
Fund. The text for the sermon was “Consider the 
Lilies of the field,” and an interesting feature on the 
occasion was the elaborate and tasteful decoration of 
the interior of the edifice with flowers, sent by the 
members of the society. A special choir, brought 
together and acting under the direction of Mr. J. E. 
Wilkinson, of l r ork, consisted of Miss Marian Stead, 
Miss Ingram, and Miss Brown (sopranos) ; Mr. J. E. 
Wilkinson and Mr. J. Haigh (altos); Mr. F. Newey, 
Mr. T. Laverack, and Mr. A. Jubb (tenors) ; Mr. E. 
Tuke and Mr. E. Cox (basses). Mr. W. S. Child 
officiated at the harmonium, and very ably led the 
musical part of the service, which included the anthem, 
“ God is a Spirit,” from Sterndale Bennett’s cantata, 
“The Woman of Samaria.” The hymns sung were, 
“Onward, Christian Soldiers,” “All hail the power of 
Jesu’s name,” and “ All people that on earth do dwell,” 
in which the congregation very heartily joined. The 
collection taken amounted to £2 10s., all present being 
highly pleased with such an interesting service, which 
together with the beautiful walk of about two miles 
into the picturesque country was most enjoyable. 
Orchid Nomenclature.—On Wednesday afternoon a 
meeting of Orchid growers and others interested in the 
nomenclature question was held in the Council Room 
of the Royal Horticultural Society, Sir Trevor Law¬ 
rence presiding. The chairman explained the object 
of the meeting, which was to endeavour to lay down 
some general rules for the correct naming of species and 
varieties of Orchids, and after some discussion, in which 
Mr. D. Morris, Mr. J. G. Baker, Mr. Harry Veitch, 
Major-General E. S. Berkeley, Mr. Sydney Courtauld, 
Mr. A. H. Smee, Mr. O’Brien, Mr. Rolfe, and Mr. J. 
C. Bowring took part, Dr. Masters moved, “That the 
Council of the Royal Horticultural Society be requested 
to nominate a committee in which botanists, importers 
of new plants, raisers, and growers he represented, to 
draw up a code of regulations applicable to plants 
introduced into and cultivated in gardens, such code, 
when duly approved, to he considered binding on the 
officials and committees of the society, and recom¬ 
mended for universal adoption.” This was seconded 
by Mr. Courtauld, and carried unanimously. 
The Manchester Rose Show.—The annual Rose 
show, held at Old Trafford, on Saturday last, was 
exceedingly interesting, every country in the Union 
being well represented, and Scotland and Ireland 
especially so. There were eight competitors each 
in the nurserymen’s classes for seventy-two singles 
and thirty-six trebles, these alone bringing out 
the grand total of 1,430 blooms, and all of fine 
quality. In the first-named class the competition was 
very keen between the winning collections, but Messrs. 
Harkness & Sons again secured the highest award ; 
Messrs. James Cocker & Sons, Aberdeen, being second ; 
Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, third ; and Mr. H. 
Merryweather, South-well, Notts, fourth. The premier 
award for the thirty-six trebles went to Messrs. Alex. 
Dickson & Son, Newtownards, Ireland, who were in 
rare form, not having a single second class bloom in 
their stands. The other awards went to the Messrs. 
Harkness, Mr. G. Prince (Oxford), and Messrs. J. 
Cocker & Sons. With Teas and Noisettes Mr. G. Prince 
was invincible, hut in a grand class of Merveille de 
Lyon the first award went to Dundee, the second to 
Aberdeen, and the third to Newtownards. Mr. Prince, 
with Alfred Colomb, also secured the winning bracket 
in the class for any crimson Rose. In the amateurs’ 
division, the Rev. J. H. Pemberton, Havering-atte- 
Bower, Essex, secured all the first prizes, and Mr. 
W. J. Grant, Ledbury, all the seconds. Miscellaneous 
contributions were furnished by Messrs. Harkness & 
Sons, Mr. S. Barlow, Mr. Frank Low (Rochdale), 
Messrs. Dickson, Brown & Tait, and Messrs. Dickson 
& Robinson, who all received extra prizes. 
Silene Armeria.—The deep rosy purple flowers are 
very conspicuous and showy when grown in a mass, 
for the simple reason that they are produced in 
umbellate cymes well above the foliage, and therefore 
quite different from the other cultivated species. There 
is a pure white variety, as well as one named S. A. 
compacts, which is of dwarf habit, and has pink or 
blush-coloured flowers. They may be sown in autumn 
to flower early, or in spring to come on later. 
Cucumber, Allan’s Favourite.—A number of large 
well-formed fruits of this variety were exhibited at 
the meeting of the Fruit Committee of the Royal 
Horticultural Society on Tuesday last, when an 
Award of Merit was accorded it. The fruits measured 
from 18 ins. to 22 ins. in length, and were cylindrical, 
smooth, or nearly so, and of a rich dark green colour. 
They presented an even thickness nearly throughout 
their length, and contracted near the base only, so as 
to form a very short neck. Although of the size 
stated, the fruits preserved as fresh an appearance as 
if they had been only half the size. The exhibitor 
was Mr. Wm. Allan, Gunton Park, Norwich. 
African and French Marigolds. — From Messrs. 
Dobbie & Co., florists, Rothesay, we have received 
a box of Marigold blooms, which deserve more than 
a passing acknowledgment. Two years ago this 
enterprising firm was awarded two certificates by the 
Royal Horticultural Society for their Marigolds, and 
since then the strains appear to have been very carefully 
handled. The blooms before us are as near perfection 
as we can imagine them to be. The African variety, 
named Prince of Orange, is of a deep rich orange 
colour, faultless in form and petal, and measuring nearly 
5 ins. in diameter. Its companion. Lemon Queen, is 
of a pale lemon-yellow colour, quite as perfect in form 
and finish as the orange variety, and, what is of rare 
occurrence, quite as large. The blooms of the French 
variety sent are all striped flowers. The ground colour 
is of a clear lemon-yellow shade, while the stripes are of 
the deepest chocolate-brown, making a contrast very 
decided, but withal very pleasing. The blooms are 
deep, the florets being very numerous and smooth. 
Messrs. Dobbie inform us that they grow an acre of 
French Marigolds alone to select and save seed from, 
and this will account for the purity and beauty of 
their strains. 
Bouvardia, Mrs. Robert Green.—A basket of a 
new variety under the above name was exhibited 
by Mr. H. B. May, Upper Edmonton, at the meet¬ 
ing of the Royal Horticultural Society on Tuesday 
last, when the Floral Committee awarded it a First 
Class Certificate. The flowers are of a clear soft pink, 
with red tubes, and are of large size. The chief merits 
of the variety are its dwarf habit, floriferous character, 
and suitability for market purposes, or the decoration 
of private establishments. The stems vary from 12 ins. 
to 15 ins. in height, and branch very freely from near 
the base. 
Nottingham Gardeners at the Palace of the Peaks. 
—On Thursday the 18th inst. a party of members and 
friends of the Nottinghamshire Horticultural and 
Botanical Society, to the number of 250, visited 
Chatsworth House and grounds, the delightful Derby¬ 
shire home of the Duke of Devonshire. The party 
left Nottingham by special train, and on arriving at 
Rowsley entered twenty brakes and carriages which 
were ready waiting, and after a pfleasant drive of about 
four miles, arrived at Chatsworth House, which was 
thoroughly inspected, a ramble following through the 
well-kept pleasure gardens, with the magnificent con¬ 
servatory, the cascade, the waterfalls, and fountains. 
The kitchen gardens were also visited. The long ranges 
of greenhouses, vineries, Peach houses, and other glass 
structures necessary for keeping up a good supply of 
fruits, vegetables, and flowers, were all inspected. 
After partaking of needful refreshments in a marquee 
erected near Edensor Church, the party greatly enjoyed 
the drive back to Rowsley, and reached Nottingham 
soon after nine o’clock. The whole of the arrange¬ 
ments were admirably carried out by the secretary of 
the society, Mr. Edward Steward. 
