768 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 3, 1889. 
with, water through the winter, the soil in 
the summer becoming baked hard like bricks, 
and yet growing with wonderful strength, and 
blooming beyond all praise. The fact is that 
whilst the Carnation may habitually in its 
wild state be found in association with stone 
and mortar, with old ruins, or in some locali¬ 
ties with chalk and granite, yet it is in the 
cultivated form a very accommodating plant, 
and if it gets plenty of sunshine, pure air, and 
ample room, will do very well almost any¬ 
where. 
If the pot soil in which the plants are grown 
was made up on the calcareous notion, 
thousands of such plants would soon starve. 
Really the chief ingredient in Carnation pot- 
soil is found in strong turfy loam, mixed with 
old decayed manure, and a little sand. A 
somewhat amusing hypothesis was put forth 
by Mr. Hibberd in relation to the calyx of the 
Carnation flower. He said, that as if Nature 
anticipated some later crowding of petals into the 
calyx when the process of doubling began, 
she had placed at the base of each calyx 
certain stout scales, as though for the purpose 
of supporting the tube when the pressure of 
petals became too great. Now, oddly enough, 
the calyx of Carnation flowers gives way in 
the cases of overcrowded petals, or as commonly 
called, hurst flowers, just where the scales can 
render no help. Probably the scales do help 
to stiffen and sustain the calyx, but so far no 
benefit has resulted from their presence in 
preventing that abomination—the splitting of 
the pods. Growers find the best help to come 
from a piece of bast tied round the calyx, or 
a small india-rubber ring, hut these arc essen¬ 
tially artificial and not natural aids. 
^arnation Development. — The exhibition 
by Mr. Hibberd of illustrations of a 
flaked Carnation taken reputably 350 years ago, 
leads to the inference that, after all, progress 
in the development of good double varieties 
has been slow indeed. Mr. Hibberd thinks 
that the Carnation has been under cultivation 
in Europe some 2,000 years. The flower 
portrait showed, that what presumably was a 
faithful likeness of a flaked flower of the date 
named, would certainly have passed muster 
to-day ; and even under the form of culture 
in pots now in vogue, and specially beneath 
the dresser’s art, might have even found a place 
in a prize group. We have perhaps got larger 
flowers, we have greater variety of hues and 
markings, we have in both flaked Carnations 
and in Picotees obtained greater purity of 
colouring and marking, and not least, we have 
learnt so to dress flowers that even indifferent 
ones may be made to look presentable. 
Still it is very obvious that pace in develop¬ 
ment has been wonderfully slow; very likely 
there has been no period in the history of the 
cultivated Carnation when such interest in its 
welfare was created as now. It is not merely 
as a florists’ flower that Carnations are admired, 
they have become one of the most popular and 
widely grown of garden flowers, and are being 
raised from seed yearly in such enormous 
quantities, that progress must he assured, even 
if still but slow. 
The greatest modern progress has been made 
in the production of yellow-ground flowers, a 
very lovely break, and one open to considerable 
development. Especially do we wish to see the 
yellow seifs deepened in colour • at present 
our best, perhaps, is Germania, hut it is a 
straw-yellow, and there is much room for the 
deepening of its colour. Rich yellow seifs are 
more useful than are flaked or edged yellows. 
The Carnation societies of to-day may find 
ample work in the further improvement of their 
particular flower, as well as in presenting the 
best samples of their culture on the show table, 
--MK*-- 
Non-Warranty of Seeds.—The American Florist 
states that at the recent meeting of the Seed Trade 
Association, the following general disclaimer of responsi- 
© nity for seeds sold was unanimously adopted to he 
used the coming season:—“While we exercise the 
greatest care to have all seeds pure and reliable, we do 
not give any warranty express or implied. If the pur¬ 
chaser does not accept the seeds on these terms and 
conditions they must be returned at once, and the 
money that has been paid for the same will be refunded. 
Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.—At the usual monthly 
meeting held on the 25th ult., the first after the 
annual meeting, Mr. George Deal was again unanimously 
elected chairman. After according votes of thanks to 
the president, Mr. Shirley Hibberd, Mr. Hudson, and 
the donors of plants and fruits at the late annual 
dinner, the committee resolved to invest immediately 
another sum of £500, bringing up the amount invested 
to £3,025 19s. 1 Od. It was also resolved in accordance 
with the new rule that forty special life votes be given 
to the committee of the Covent Garden standholders, 
for distribution amongst that body. Mr. W. Channing, 
Grosvenor Lodge, Thornton Heath, was appointed 
local secretary for that district. 
The Scottish Centenary Chrysanthemum Exhi¬ 
bition.—We have before us a copy of the recently- 
issued schedule of prizes offered for competition at the 
great Chrysanthemum Centenary Exhibition organised 
by the Scottish Horticultural Association, and to be 
held in the Waverley Market from the 21st to the 23rd 
of November next. The schedule includes eighteen 
classes for plants—fourteen for gardeners and amateurs, 
and four for amateurs only. The greatest amount of 
interest, however, will be centred in the cut bloom 
classes, of which there are twenty-eight. The principal 
prize, open to all, is the City of Edinburgh Cup, value 
£20, for forty-eight Japanese, followed by awards of 
£7 and £3 10s. for the second and third. The Scottish 
Challenge Cup (to bo held for a year by the winner) and 
five guineas are offered for thirty-six blooms, thirteen 
each of Japanese incurved and Japanese reflexed, open to 
Scottish gardeners and amateurs only. In classes open 
to all gardeners and amateurs, a well-varied selection 
of subjects is called for, and numerous special prizes 
of a useful character are offered. Various classes for 
fruits and vegetables are also included, so that if the 
fates only be propitious, an exhibition worth seeing 
should be the reward of those who are so spiritedly 
organising it. 
The coming Fruit Show in Belgium.—We under¬ 
stand that the programme for the coming fruit show 
at Ghent, as finally revised, will shortly be ready 
for distribution. The exhibition will be opened on 
Saturday, 28th of September next, and in order to 
give the show an immediate import of general utility, 
there will be a special demonstrative exhibition in a 
room set apart for the purpose, where cultivators and 
amateurs will be allowed to show directly or in 
proximity exhibits covering a great number of points 
of the programme. For instance, there will be a 
collection of varieties of fruit trees most suitable for 
small gardens ; a selection of Pears recommended for 
culture for exportation ; a selection of Pears to plant 
along roadsides ; an exhibit of Pears to be discarded 
from cultivation ; a collection of Apples to cultivate 
by roadsides, for culture as bushes and as standards ; 
an apparatus for the drying of fruits ; a series of objects 
for the packing of fruits ; a collection ot destructive 
insects, and specimens of machines for the destruction 
of the same ; and a collection of stuffed birds, useful or 
insectivorous. An explanatory prospectus will be 
placed gratuitously in the hands of visitors. The first 
meeting of the congress will take place on Sunday, 
September 29th, at 11 a.m., in the hall of the Academy 
of the University of Ghent. The subjects to be dis¬ 
cussed are modifications of the operation of pruning in 
summer, in general, and in particular of the vineyard ; 
means of developing the culture of fruit trees for great 
production and exportation ; and the utilisation upon 
the spot of fruits of every kind from a commercial and 
alimentary point of view. 
Lancashire Gardeners at York.—The members of 
the Manchester Horticultural Improvement Society had 
their annual outing on the 17th ult. Last year the 
trip was to Bolton Abbey, so that the trees for which 
the neighbourhood of that celebrated ruin is so remark¬ 
able might be examined ; this year, in turn, it was to 
York, so that the little less celebrated nurseries, known 
almost all the world over as “ Backhouse’s,” might be 
personally and deliberately explored. Mr. Robert Tait 
kindly undertook the arrangements, and that they were 
carried out in the most admirable manner needs no 
saying. Leaving Manchester by the 9.10 a.m., the 
party, about fifty-six in number, including Mr. Bruce 
Findlay, of the Botanical Gardens, and two or three 
personal friends, reached the famous old city at noon. 
Lunch disposed of, all moved on to the special destina¬ 
tion, and truly a spectacle more delectable, not to say 
wonderful, it would be difficult to find. Messrs. 
Backhouse's nurseries were established, we believe, 
nearly, if not quite, a century ago. Not a year has 
passed without great and important additions and 
improvements being made, so that the grounds are at 
once a storehouse of the excellent old, and of 
all sorts of the new and curious. The hot¬ 
houses, the greenhouses, the ferneries, some of the 
latter literally “underground,” 30 as to resemble the 
moist and shady caverns of New Zealand and the 
Indian Islands, teem, without exception, with the “rich 
and rare.” The rockery is itself worth all the journey 
to see ; to say that its contents are inexhaustible would 
be no exaggeration. Such of the party as had not 
previously visited York, devoted a portion of their time 
to the Minster and the old city walls. A prompt 
muster was eventually made for tea, and all were safe 
in Manchester again soon after nine. 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution. —¥e have 
much pleasure in announcing that as a result of the 
recent most successful Jubilee celebration, the committee 
of management are able to carry out their original 
proposal to place on the funds of the institution all the 
candidates, seventeen in number, who were unsuccessful 
at the last election. We give below a list of the new 
pensioners, and may add that they have been placed on the 
fund as from the 24th of June last, so that the first 
payment to be made to them will be due on October 1st. 
The list itself is of interest to subscribers, as showing 
that with the exception of three, all the candidates 
come from the provinces, a fact which completely 
refutes the assertion, often made, that only Londoners 
stand any chance of getting on the fund. We would 
call attention also to the 'great ages of the majority of 
the candidates, as showing how deserving of support is 
the institution which enables so many old gardeners and 
their widows to end their days in comfort. The 
committee and Mr. Cutler alike deserve the hearty 
thanks of the gardening community for their unwearied 
labours on behalf of the charity. 
James Browne.Aged 71...Croydon 
Edward Spivey . ,, 76...Sawbridgeworth 
George Lambert. ,, 71...Chichester 
Stephen Evans .. 74...Chichester 
Thomas Morley . ,, 80...Cambridge 
Joseph Norval.. ,, 63...Chester 
Elizabeth Snow.. 74...Taunton 
James Manderson ... ,, 66...Stoke Newington 
Elizabeth Pollard ... ,, 76 ..Croydon 
Henry Berry . ,, 73...Dromore, Ireland 
James Edmonds.. 83...Fulham 
William Fowle . ,, 69...Southampton 
George Fricker . ,, 73 ..Bourne Yalley 
John Grimshaw. ,, S0...Huyton, Liverpool 
John Hooper .. 80...Bristol 
Clement Preston. ,, 77...Bristol 
James Priest ... . ,, 65...Long Eaton, Notts. 
->rT-<- 
THE COMMON NETTLE. 
It would appear from the incidental remarks of some 
writers that the much despised common Nettle (Urtica 
dioica) was formerly cultivated in some places as a 
culinary vegetable. Burnet mentions this circumstance, 
and Andrew Fairservice, in Sir Walter Scott’s Fob 
Boy, says, “ Nae doubt I should understand my own 
trade of horticulture, seeing I was bred in the parish of 
Dreepdaily, near Glasgow, where they raise large Kail 
under glass, and force early Nettles for their spring 
Kail.” From this it seems that early-forced Nettles 
were not only grown in gardens, but must have been 
much appreciated in those days, or Sir Walter Scott 
would scarcely have noticed it in this way. They are 
still used largely at the present day. In their wild 
state the tops are gathered in spring, when young and 
tender, and when cooked are generally considered very 
wholesome, although a year or two back a man whom I 
knew was suddenly taken ill after partaking of cooked 
Nettles for dinner. The doctor who attended him said 
it was caused through the Nettles, as they were dan¬ 
gerous things to eat. Perhaps he had partaken of too 
many. 
It has been shown by experiment that the fibres of 
Nettles can be used for the same purpose as Hemp or 
Flax, and that cloth of the finest texture down to the 
coarsest quality, such as sail-cloth, sacking, cordage, 
and so forth, also paper of various qualities, can be 
manufactured from it. It thus appears to be a most 
useful plant, and as it is so very common, thriving 
almost anywhere where nothing else will grow, it seems 
strange that its useful properties should not be more 
generally appreciated and utilised. Domesticated 
animals, except the ass, refuse to eat it in its green 
state ; but as it is the home of many insects at their 
