456 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 16, 1889. 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
Potting New Holland Plants. —All hard-wooded 
plants, whether coming strictly under this designation 
or not, should receive attention before the season is 
farther advanced. Should any require potting, the 
operation had better be set about and completed as 
early as possible before growth is too far advanced. 
Turfy loam should be used that has lain for some time 
to become mellow ; it should be tolerably dry, so as 
to prevent puddling in mixing and in the potting 
operation. A greater or less amount of peat will 
be required according to the kind, and a liberal 
use of sand. Break the loam and peat into a 
lumpy condition and mix the whole well together. 
The surface of the ball should not be torn about, as a 
great many of the young and most active roots get 
destroyed by this process, to the disadvantage of the 
plant. It must also be remembered that the roots of 
hard-wooded plants are generally firmly interlaced 
forming a hard ball, so that in giving the plants a 
size larger pot, the soil should be well pressed home 
with a piece of wood, otherwise any water that may be 
given will pass away by this, leaving the old soil 
unmoistened. Successful results can never be obtained 
when such is the case. 
' Forced Shrubs in the Conservatory. —There 
should now be no lack of these, and at no time of the 
year may the conservatory be kept in a more gay, 
varied and interesting state. Foremost amongst these 
are the Lilacs, such as Charles N., also Syringa 
vulgaris alba and a more popular variety for forcing 
purposes—namely, S. v. virginalis. The Persian Lilac 
(Syringa persica) also constitutes a useful subject by 
way of contrast to the above. Then there are 
Forsythia suspensa, F. viridissima, the Snowball Tree 
(Viburnum opulus sterilis), and the common Laurestine 
(Viburnum tinus), which when flowered under glass 
comes of the purest white. Staphylea colchica, Azalea 
mollis and a host of the varieties of A. indica, and 
Ehododendrons may be called into requisition, as well 
as Spirma prunifolia, the double dwarf Peach, Deutzia 
gracilis, and Prunus Pissardii, which has recently come 
into favour as a forcing plant. Camellias, Oranges, 
hybrid greenhouse Rhododendrons, as well as the new 
Carmichael strain of hybrids of Azalea amoena, swell 
the list of good things now at the cultivator’s command. 
Primulas and Cinerarias. — Where batches of 
these are required to be in flower early in autumn a 
pinch of seed should be sown at once. As soon as the 
seedlings are fairly well through the soil, remove them 
to a light position near the glass, otherwise they will 
get drawn and subject to damping, while at the same 
time their constitution will be greatly deteriorated. 
THE FORCING HOUSES. 
Vineries. —In the earliest house a brisk fire should be 
got up early in the morning, in order to raise the day 
temperature to 75°, so as to reap the advantage of 
what little sunshine we get early in the day. A night 
temperature of G5° will be quite sufficient, and on frosty 
nights, such as we have experienced lately, a little 
lower than that figure is to be preferred, in order to 
avoid an arid and drying atmosphere owing to the 
great heat of the pipes. In sunless cloudy weather, a 
lower temperature during the day is also to be preferred 
to that advised for bright days. Ventilate as early in 
the morning as possible, increasing it gradually as the 
temperature rises. Avoid having to admit large bodies 
of air suddenly for the purpose of reducing the tem¬ 
perature, and close early in the afternoon, when the 
temperature may be allowed to run up to 85°, at the 
same time damping down the paths and borders 
thoroughly, so as to secure a sufficiency of moisture. 
Attend to the thinning of the bunches in later houses. 
Strawberries. —Owing to the cold and sunless 
weather of last summer and autumn, cultivators will 
probably experience difficulty in getting their plants to 
behave properly, as the buds ripened badly. The leaves 
will have a tendency to become greatly developed at the 
expense of the proper maturation of the flowers. In 
such cases the maximum temperatures allowed in 
ordinary cases should not be employed here. By 
lowering the temperature a little and increasing the 
ventilation, matters will right themselves, and both 
flowers and foliage will develop more uniformly, or at 
relatively more equal rates. One of the best Straw¬ 
berries for early forcing is Vicomtesse Hericart de 
Thury, a3 it responds well to forcing before as well as 
after the setting of the fruit. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Seed Sowing.— No time should now be lost in 
getting, whenever the soil is suitable, the main sowings 
of Onions, Carrots, Scorzonera, Salsafy, and Parsnips 
into the ground. Onions especially should be seen to 
in the first instance, as the ground requires so much 
treading and working to get it in order for the seed. 
There is, therefore, all the greater necessity for its 
being in good workable condition. A sowing of Beet 
may be made for early use, but the main crop should 
not be sown till later on, as it is liable to grow coarse, 
attaining too large a size. Make successional sowings 
of Peas, Beans, Turnips, &c. Sow the main crop of 
Celery in boxes under glass. 
-- 
TH E NURSERY^SEED TRADE. 
Annual Meeting of the Trade Association. 
The annual meeting of this association was held on 
Monday evening last at the office, 25, Old Jewry, E.C., 
Mr. N. N. Sherwood, the president, presiding. The 
minutes of the last annual meeting having been read 
by the secretary, Mr. Goodchild, and confirmed, the 
president called attention to the salient features of the 
report and statement of accounts, which were considered 
to be of a satisfactory character, as showing that the 
association was steadily growing in usefulness. In our 
last issue we quoted from the report an important 
statement with reference to the question of the assess¬ 
ment of nurseries to the Poor’s Rate, and now give 
some pertinent remarks with reference to “long firms ” 
and payment on account. 
Long Firms .—The year has been remarkable for the 
numerous attempts on the part of persons (pretending 
to belong to the trade) to obtain goods fraudulently 
from members of the trade. In some instances they 
have been successful, and it has subsequently been 
discovered that the goods so obtained have been sold 
either by public auction or privately on the first oppor¬ 
tunity. The course usually adopted is to write or 
telegraph, requesting the immediate dispatch of the 
goods ordered, and intimating that a cheque has been 
posted. Occasionally a more deliberate course is 
pursued, and a small order, accompanied by cash, is 
followed by a larger order, for which credit is desired, 
and too frequently given. The amounts of the orders 
vary from a few pounds to a few hundred pounds, and 
in one case it amounted to over a thousand pounds. 
Your committee would strongly recommend members 
in such cases to communicate with the secretary the 
names of all such persons before executing the orders, 
as a safeguard against bad debts. The secretary, 
through the information given by members, and other¬ 
wise obtained, has enabled members to avoid dealings 
with such persons. 
Payment on Account .—As much loss is sometimes 
occasioned to members by their using cheques sent by 
customers for amounts less than those due, your com¬ 
mittee wish to call their attention to the subject. If a 
customer sends in payment of an account a cheque (or 
other negotiable instrument) for an amount less than 
the account applied for, and states that it is sent in 
settlement of the account (or words to that effect), and 
if it be not the intention of the member to accept such 
cheque, &c., in settlement, he must at once return it, 
otherwise he cannot recover the balance of the account. 
It is not sufficient for him to acknowledge it on account 
of the amount due, as by so doing, and by using the 
cheque, &c., the customer is released in respect of the 
balance. Members, therefore, must either accept it in 
full discharge or return it. 
On the motion of Mr. William Paul, seconded by 
Mr. John Laing, the report was unanimously adopted. 
The committee was next re-elected, with the substi¬ 
tution of Mr. Huggins (Messrs. Cooper, Taber & Co.) 
for Mr. F. Taylor, resigned ; and a hearty vote of 
thanks having been accorded to the auditors, Messrs. 
W. J. Nutting and T. S. Ware, on the motion of Mr. 
Harrison, Leicester, seconded by Mr. Harry Turner, 
these gentlemen were also re-elected. 
A letter was read from Mr. H. W. Williams (Messrs. 
Keynes, Williams & Co., Salisbury), suggesting that 
some action should be taken by the association with 
reference to the new lists of rates recently put forward 
by the various railway companies, and a discussion 
followed, with the result that on the motion o f Mr. 
Harrison, seconded by Mr. Ware, it was resolved that 
a committee be appointed to consider the various new 
Railway Rites and Classifications, and to give notice of 
objection to the Board of Trade if it should be found 
necessary to do so. The following gentlemen were 
subsequently elected to serve on the committee:— 
Messrs. N. N. Sherwood, J. Harrison, G. Bunyard, 
W. J. Nutting, W. Paul, T. S. Ware, A. Pearson, and 
H. Williams. 
Mr. William Paul, who considered it wonld be 
greatly to the benefit of the association if disputes 
arising between any of the members could be settled 
by arbitration, instead of appealing to a court of law, 
moved “ That a committee be appointed to arbitrate 
in any cases of dispute that may be submitted to it; 
but in all cases so submitted, one at least of the 
disputants must be a member of the association. ” This 
was seconded by Mr. Harrison, and agreed to nern. con. 
It was also resolved that the committee should consist 
of Mr. H. J. Veitch, Mr. H. Turner, Mr. Protheroe, 
and Mr. W. Paul, to deal with cases arising in the 
nursery trade ; and Mr. Sherwood, Mr. Nutting, and 
Mr. Taber, to act in a similar capacity for the seed 
trade, an umpire to be appointed in each case before 
proceeding to arbitration. 
The meeting was then made special in order to deal 
with a motion submitted by Mr. Harrison, and seconded 
by Mr. Ware, to alter the date of holding the annual 
meeting to April, and after some discussion an amend¬ 
ment moved by Mr. Sherwood and seconded by Mr. 
William Paul, that in future the annual meetings be 
held in May, was carried by a good majority. A cordial 
vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the business 
of the meeting. 
The Seed Trade. 
Messrs. Hurst & Son, 152, Houndsditch, report a brisk 
sale for Agricultural Seeds. White Clover being in 
full supply, offers on easier terms. Trefoil scarce and 
dearer. Red Clover and Alsike steady. Grass Seeds 
dull. 
From The London Gazette. —March 1 2th. 
Adjudications in Bankruptcy. —William Foster, 
Nurseryman, Stroud; Henry Stringer, late Nurseryman, 
Aldrington, Sussex. 
Partnerships Dissolved. —F. A. Morgan, R. G. 
Smith and C. F. Walsh, Strand, London, trading as 
The Horticultural Times Publishing Company. 
-->=£<-*■- 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Royal Horticultural. —March \2th. 
The display at the Drill Hall, Westminster, on 
Tuesday, was a considerable improvement upon recent 
gatherings, and this notwithstanding the fact that the 
weather was not all that could be desired for tender 
stove and greenhouse plants. Daffodils and other 
hardy flowers occupied the side stages, while Cyclamens, 
Camellias, Alpine Saxifrages, sundry Orchids, and a 
grand lot of Nepenthes occupied the central table. 
Fruit was exhibited in small quantity, but was not 
a feature of the meeting. 
A Silver Banksian Medal was awarded to Messrs. 
J. Yeitch & Sons, Chelsea, fora collection of Nepenthes, 
containing such grand and well-known forms as N. 
Rafflesiana, N. Chelsoni, R. Mastersi, N. Veitchii and 
its striped variety. The new N. Dicksoniana was also 
there in grand form, and N. Wrigleyana, like a large 
form of N. Hooker®. They also showed some 
Amaryllis, including Cato, Vandyke and Acquisition, 
(the latter receiving an Award of Merit), and a 
magnificent sort named John Ruskin, which was 
certificated. A beautiful hybrid was Dendrobium 
Schneiderianum, and the hybrid Cymbidium eburneo- 
Lovianum was a’so certificated. 
A similar award was made to Messrs. V m. Paul & 
Son, Waltham Cross, for twelve boxes of cut blooms of 
Camellias. Good white sorts were Centifolia alba, 
Montironi, Candidissima, Fimbriata, Alba plena, and 
Princess Charlotte. Choice red kinds were Mathotiana, 
Reine des Fleurs, and Marchioness of Exeter ; beautiful 
pink sorts included Contessa de Hainaut and Madame 
Ambroise Verschaffelt. There were a grand lot of blooms 
and made a fine display. To Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm 
Nurseries, Tottenham, a Silver Banksian Medal was 
awarded for a collection of hardy flowers chiefly 
Daffodils. Amongst them were all the leading yellow 
trumpet kinds, such as Golden Spur, Spurius, Maximus 
and Nobilis, also N. bicolor Horsefieldi, N. b. Empress ; 
the hybrid kinds, and the Poet’s Narcissus in its 
various sections, as well as the smaller varieties, such 
as N. triandrus albus, N. monophyllus and the beautiful 
N. cyclamineus, were represented. There were some 
other hardy bulbous subjects of great interest. A 
Bronze Banksian Medal was awarded to Messrs. Barr & 
Son, for Daffodils and Crocuses. The leading kinds of 
