304 
THE GAEDENING WOELD. 
January 12, 1889. 
Our old Christmas day, the twelfth day of the 
new style, was—minus the snow, and plus 
the fog—all that the most traditional of 
artists could desire. There was a low 
temperature, sharp frost, ample skating and 
sliding, the trees and shrubs beautifully 
silvered with dense hoar ; and whilst the well-to- 
do, wrapped up, rejoiced in the coldness, the 
poor shivered and shook under its influence. 
Clearly a great mistake was made in putting 
Christmas so much forward. Winter does not 
really begin now, as a rule, until the new 
year opens, and yet we talk of Christmas as 
being in mid-winter. Perhaps it may be so 
astronomically, but it is evident that meteorology 
and astronomy do not in the matter of 
seasons run well together. As a result we 
ought to finish up -winter by the end of 
March, but instead thereof, it ends several 
weeks later. Thus, because Christmas has 
been hurried forward, the winter seems to 
be unduly prolonged. There seems to be 
much that is absurd in thus shifting the 
anniversary of what is held to he the greatest 
Christian festival in this reckless fashion. 
To gardeners, however, the matter is objection¬ 
able, because it seems to have turned the 
winter season topsy turvy. 
orticultural Literature. —Our contempo¬ 
rary, The Gardeners' Chronicle, has done 
good service to all inquirers after gardening 
books of every kind in publishing a list of 
about 100 standard works, more or less 
costly, but eminently representative, and 
covering fully every topic capable of being- 
written upon that is horticultural, or strictly 
allied thereto. Even farther, this useful list 
gives the names of the publishers, with addresses, 
thus facilitating inquiry on the part of pur¬ 
chasers, and it would have been even more 
helpful had the publishing prices been added, 
though well we know the difficulty of getting 
such information as this. Of course there are 
many more gardening books than are included 
in this list—some good and some worthless— 
and we note some on the list which are now 
out of print and not readily obtainable, still 
the cream has been well skimmed by the com¬ 
pilers. 
It is interesting also to notice that there 
are no less than nine weeklies devoted to 
horticulture, all being published in London, 
some two or three monthlies, and several 
annuals ; also a really goodly company of serial 
literature, and all devoted to the advocacy of 
our profession. Ho other purely practical 
vocation can show such a wonderful array of 
literary organs, to say nothing of the general 
newspapers, which either have on their staffs 
gardening contributors, or publish gardening 
matter extracted from the professional publi¬ 
cations. These, indeed, are legion, and found 
not only in the metropolis, but in all parts of 
the United Kingdom. Outside of Great 
Britain, France, the United States, Belgium 
and Germany follow in their order, as having 
the next chief numbers of gardening publi¬ 
cations. It is just possible that Belgium, 
having regard to its limited area and population, 
may after all be the most horticultural of 
nations, but Great Britain has little reason 
to fear comparison with any other country. 
uel for Heating.— It is not a matter for 
surprise that fuel for heating furnaces 
should just now form a prominent subject for 
discussion. The weather, having at last 
assumed a winterly aspect, though the frost 
has not been intense, has yet pressed upon our 
notice the fact that we are in the midst of 
Avinter, and provision for severe weather must 
be made; but more than that, the forcing 
season is close at hand. In many gardens not 
a great deal that is important is done during 
January, but February and the following 
months are fully utilised for forcing, and 
furnaces as well as boilers are tested to their 
utmost capacity. To provide for them the most 
desirable form of fuel is, therefore, of the first 
importance. To have desirable fuel signifies 
the possession of a kind which is very easily- 
obtained, is fairly cheap, and eventually does 
its required work well. The very cheapest 
may'- not be always the best, for the real test of 
value is found in heat-giving and sustaining 
capacity, so that dearer fuels may, paradoxically, 
prove to be the cheaper in the end. 
Horticulturists all over the world seem to 
favour coke as furnace fuel, but although opinions 
differ appreciably, anthracite could find many 
champions. It seems odd that in a matter 
which all can soon submit to practical test, 
there should be difference of opinion, but form 
of boiler, nature of draught and method of 
stoking may largely account for divergencies. 
Coke is a cheap and cleanly fuel, it is also a 
reliable fuel, for any well-made fire of coke 
will endure for a long period, and so far may 
be fully trusted. Coal, on the other hand, 
possesses greater heat-giving powers, but is in 
effect less enduring than coke, and stoking 
must be very active But whilst some boilers 
seem to favour one form of fuel to another, so 
also is one form often more readily obtainable 
in one district than in another, and so on. 
Probably as many persons find one fuel to be 
as good as another, much may depend upon the 
nature of the warmth required from the fuel. 
he Scientific Committee.— This section of 
the Eoyal Horticultural Society’s labours 
has recently come in for sharp criticism in 
an unexpected quarter, some of which seems 
to be well merited. The committee does 
concern itself largely with trivialities, but it 
may be pleaded that the scientific associations 
of horticulture are generally trifles. Botany 
is pure science, but horticulture is applied 
science, or science in practice, and it is very 
difficult to define what portion of it merits 
the appellation of science theoretically. 
Thus many matters seem to be gravely 
discussed by the sages of the scientific 
committee, which a little of the sound 
knowledge of the practical man Avould 
soon satisfactorily determine. This is 
especially the case in that part of science found 
in vegetable physiology, or the science of 
plant life, with respect to which our unlearned 
men, or let us say non-scientific men, often 
blunder into great truths or facts, which the 
pure scientists would fail to discern. Still, 
the Scientific Committee, whatever its labours, 
means well, and is only anxious to be useful. 
So far, perhaps with a desire to exhibit its 
activity to the world, it has published reports 
of its proceedings, and in doing so has very 
often done that which has not tended to create 
for its deliberations great respect. All the 
same, courtesy to all renders it difficult to 
refuse consideration even to trifles. We 
wish to see this committee, whilst willing to 
retain its scientifically consultative form, yet 
displaying more anxiety to make its scientific, 
and in some cases practical knowledge at once 
more practical and more useful to horticulture. 
The effort made to discover how much of 
scientific truth there is in the Jensenian theory 
of earthing Potatos for the prevention of the 
Potato disease, is an admirable illustration of 
what a really horticulturally scientific and 
experimental body might do ; and must have 
been a welcome change to the members after 
so much wasting of precious time over weeds 
“ gone wrong ” and similar trivialities. If 
the committee will look around in a practical 
spirit, they may find many similar subjects 
which need scientific elucidation. 
-- 
Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Institution.—We may 
remind our readers again that the annual general 
meeting of the subscribers of this institution, and 
the election of nine pensioners, will take place at 
“ Simpson’s,” at 3 p.m. on Wednesday next, at 6 o’clock 
sharp. The Very Rev. S. Reynolds Hole, Dean of 
Rochester, will take the chair at the annual friendly 
dinner, and we are requested to state that no tickets 
will be issued after this day, Saturday, so that those 
who intend to he present should apply to Mr. Cutler 
at once. This being the fiftieth, or jubilee year, a very 
pleasant gathering of friends and supporters of the 
institution is anticipated. An entertainment, con¬ 
sisting of vocal and instrumental music, was given in 
the Town Hall, Downham, on Thursday, in aid of the 
funds of the institution, the moving spirit in the 
matter being, we believe, Mr. James Bird. 
A New Use for the Dahlia.—The French are 
always amongst the foremost to use and recommend 
some new vegetable or other as an article of human 
food. How they advise epicures who are tired of 
Potatos to abandon the latter and replace them with 
the tubercules of the Dahlia. When prepared in the 
same way they constitute an excellent dish. We 
should rather say they should receive the same culinary 
preparation as the tubers of the Jerusalem Artichoke, 
with which they have some natural affinity. We are 
afraid, however, that the tubers of the Dahlia in this 
country will alw-ays prove too costly an article to come 
into general use as human food. The new vegetable 
(Stachys tuberifera), which has recently been rescued 
from obscurity, has tubers with qualities similar to the 
Jerusalem Artichoke ; but it never seems to have 
occurred to anyone to utilise the underground fleshy 
rhizomes of our native Stachys palustris in the same 
way. 
Nottinghamshire Horticultural and Botanical 
Society. —At the monthly meeting to be held at the 
Arboretum Rooms, Nottingham, on Wednesday next, 
at 7-30 p.m., Mr. J. H. Walker, the Gardens, Hardwick 
House, Nottingham, will read a paper on the Rose, its 
history, its culture, and its habits. The annual dinner 
of the society will be held on Wednesday, January 30th, 
at six o’clock. 
Tricks of Trade.—A correspondent sends the follow¬ 
ing cutting from a local paper :—“ It has been a 
mystery to many people how it is that the London 
hawkers have a perennial supply of plants at such cheap 
prices. It appears that evergreen shrubs are manu¬ 
factured for the barrow trade in an ingenious manner. 
Some large plants are stolen and cut up, and the stems 
of the divided portions are thrust intojCabbage stumps 
with roots attached. Two ingenious manufacturers 
were prosecuted at Wandsworth a few days ago for 
selling evergreen shrubs grafted on Cabbage roots.” 
Shropshire Horticultural Society.—We learn from 
the annual report of the committee of this remarkably 
successful provincial society, which was read at the 
annual meeting on the 31st ult., that the receipts during 
the year showed an improvement on all sources of 
income, and that the actual profit on the year’s working 
was no less than £870. In addition to the regular 
expenses connected with the exhibitions the society 
gave during the year, donations of £50 to the Local 
Angling Society, and £300 to the Shrewsbury Public 
Bath Fund; and it was unanimously resolved at the 
meeting that in consideration of the valued services 
rendered to the society since its establishment in 1875 
by the four honorary secretaries and treasurers, the 
sum of £200 be presented to them, to he applied in 
such manner as they might individually select, to 
record the society’s appreciation of their services. 
The Smoke Plant in Winter.—Those who have 
observed the bushes of Rhus cotinus (often called 
the Smoke Plant) during the recent foggy and 
frosty weather, cannot but have observed then- 
feathery and graceful appearance, hung as they were 
by the minute particles of snow. With the exception 
of the leaves, the bushes had assumed much of their 
summer aspect, but were rather whiter. The fine 
particles of snow deposited on the partly decayed 
pedicels of the inflorescence made good the loss of the 
short, glandular, bristling hairs, which gives the plant 
such a characteristic appearance in summer. For 
this reason the pruning away of the old inflorescence 
should be deferred till spring. 
Heliotrope, White Lady.—“ Oh, what a beautiful 
scent ! Cherry Pie, is it not ?” exclaimed a lady on 
entering our greenhouse the other day, and certainly the 
perfume was delightful, though there were only a few 
plants of this Heliotrope in the house. White Lady 
is well adapted for winter work, and cuttings struck 
in spring and .grown on with, and treated the same as 
Zonal Pelargoniums for winter flowering have been 
found to give good results.—2>. L. 
