560 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 4, 1889. 
else, so that when June is over, the beauty of 
the place has departed also. That error should 
he avoided just as much as a wise planter will 
repress the too common tendency to overdo 
Coniferae, ornamental-foliaged trees, and shrubs. 
A tremendous blaze of Rhododendrons may 
he something to he proud of for the moment, 
but the blaze may be a little overpowering 
after all, while it does hut serve to bring out 
in all the greater contrast the general absence 
of bloom or colour in the place afterwards. 
For that reason we like to see early-blooming 
varieties planted with a fairly liberal hand, as 
then the gorgeous tints of the flowers are found 
over a long season. 
ight on Flowers.— Whilst our town friends 
intensely admired the beautiful Auriculas, 
Primroses, &c, at the Drill Hall, Westminster, 
last week, it will be well to advise them 
that one-half only of the beauties of these 
exquisite flowers is seen in that dull building. 
Light is the very life and soul of colour in 
flowers. It hallows them with an effulgence 
which is almost divine, it produces in them 
the reflex of that which is loveliest in nature, 
and without light the soul of flowers seems to be 
wanting. Those rich yellows, reds, crimsons, 
indeed, all and every hue come out in the 
bright sunlight of the country with wondrous 
fullness and beauty. 
Every now and again, while the exhibition 
was open, when a kindly gleam of sunlight, so 
rare a visitant in that gloomy Hall, fell upon some 
flower here and there, it was at once seen that 
a new and more glorious beauty lit it up, and 
created for the onlooker new joys. What a 
lovely show would the collection of plants 
and flowers seen at Westminster have made 
in the big vinery at Chiswick, where, with 
ample light falling upon them on all sides, 
they would have been seen as they are by the 
growers in their various rural homes ! 
The Auricula proper is a flower so quaintly 
and yet so artistically constructed, that full 
light is specially needful to enable all its 
distinctive characteristics to be fully brought 
out. It is sometimes said that Auriculas are 
good town flowers. That may be so, but the 
town dweller rarely realises the wealth of 
beauty found in them which the rural grower 
does. 
TJew Gardens. — Since the throwing open 
of the whole of the outer grounds of 
these gardens, and thus giving to the public 
ample room for perambulation and freer 
intercourse with nature than can be found in 
the gardens proper, Kew has become exceed¬ 
ingly popular, and is now one of the specially 
favoured resorts of the masses on holidays. 
The addition of a refreshment chalet to the 
other attractions of the grounds is a great 
gain, because it indicates some regard for the 
comfort of the people, as well as for botanical 
interests. 
Having regard to the enormous number of 
people who frequent the gardens on certain 
occasions there seems to be no reason why 
some two or three other chalets might not 
be erected in diverse and retired parts of the 
outer grounds, thus offering such accommoda¬ 
tion as tired sightseers naturally require, the 
temperate nature of the viands dispensed in 
these chalets affording ample guarantee that 
no harm will result to anything from the 
privilege. But we go a little further, and 
venture to suggest that some music should 
be added to the garden attractions on specified 
days. The Government has an ample num¬ 
ber of military bands at command, and some 
of these might well be utilised as suggested, 
or bands which could be engaged for the 
purpose at moderate cost; the expense incid¬ 
ental thereto being partially recouped by the 
gale of programmes to the public. The strains 
of instrumental music floating softly and 
sweetly through the grounds would detract 
nothing from the scientific work conducted 
at Kew, whilst it would add enormously to 
the happiness of myriads of people. It is a 
great reflection upon our public life that we 
find so little real musical harmony associated 
with it. We cannot imagine such harmony 
to be more pleasantly dispensed than in the 
beautifully wooded groves and glades of the 
noble gardens at Kew. 
©iebold’s Primula.— -The fine group of these 
pretty Primulas brought up from Sale, 
near Manchester, and exhibited at the Drill 
Hall on the 23rd ult. by Messrs. Kyder, 
merited wider notice and greater attention 
than perhaps it received. The enterprise 
which could thus send up such a big lot of 
those plants in full bloom, and all grouped 
into large pans, merits all praise. We hope 
it may lead to the wider erdture of this 
interesting member of a very cosmopolitan 
family : one that is hardy and pleasing, as it 
is also somewhat varied. A 7 ery effective under 
outdoor culture are several of the varieties, 
notably the reds and deeper mauves, as also 
the pure whites — colours always acceptable 
in the spring, the two former being rather 
scarce at that season. Messrs. Ryder perhaps 
robbed their collection of some charms by 
arranging it so flatly, but those who grow pots 
of P. Sieboldi in variety well, and use them 
for greenhouse decoration, know their value 
for such purposes. 
he Spring. —It is too early to determine 
the nature of the weather which the 
merry month of May will give us, but we 
part with April without regret. It has been 
a very ungenerous, dull, cold month generally, 
and the latter portion unusually wet, whilst the 
sun has been coy in exhibiting its face almost 
beyond precedent. Lateness in the general 
aspect of nature is still the order of the day; 
indeed, it is long since April closed upon 
such a remarkably sluggish state in nature’s 
operations. Remembering the very sharp 
frosts which destroyed all tender things last 
October, we are alarmed to realise how 
evidently the spring and autumn are shutting 
out summer ] indeed, almost how winter calls 
to winter, and is apparently aiming at mutual 
embrace. If May shows no more relative 
progress than April has, we shall find mid¬ 
summer with us long before growth has 
attained to its ordinary perfection. 
-- >x< —- 
Destruction of English-grown Tobacco.—A large 
quantity of English-grown Tobacco, belonging to Mr. 
0. E. Newman, wine merchant and farmer, Rayne, 
near Braintree, was burned on the 25th ult., under an 
order from the Excise authorities. The crop was of 
last year’s growth, and a very line one, but damaged in 
drying. The owner preferred burning it to paying the 
duty, which would have exceeded its market value. 
The plants in bundles were piled in a field, and destroyed 
by fire in the presence of the owner and Excise officers. 
The crop was an experimental one. 
The Season.—At the last meeting of the Scientific 
Committee, Mr. Dyer presented a note from Mr. Scott, 
the Director of the Meteorological Office, relating to 
the “useful” temperature as reckoned in “day 
degrees,” and to the amount of sunshine since January 
1st of the present year, as compared with recent 
years:— 
Results from the Weekly Weather Report. Total since 
January 1st. 
Accumulated Tempera¬ 
ture in Day Degrees. 
Sunshine: 
Total 
Above 42°. 
Below 42°. 
Hours. 
Up to April 7th, 1884... 
394° 
119° 
218 
,, 6th, 1885... 
238° 
368° 
234 
,, 5th, 1886... 
141° 
557° 
207 
,, 11th, 1887... 
208° 
468° 
300 
,, 9th, 1888... 
88° 
556° 
195 
,, 8th, 1889... 
180° 
435° 
210 
This shows that the present season has been much 
better than the last, except as regards the amount of 
sunshine, in which there is not much improvement. 
The figures are not rigidly comparable, because the 
weeks of different years, of course, do not end on the 
same day. 
The Railway Rates Question.—l\ T e learn from Mr. 
Goodchild, the secretary 7 of the Nursery and Seed Trade 
Association, that a public meeting of the trade will be 
held in the Rooms of the Horticultural Club at the 
Hotel Windsor, on Tuesday, May 14th, at 3.30 p.m., 
to consider the proposed Railway Rates and Charges, 
with a view to lodging objections with the Board of 
Trade before the 1st of June, after which such rates and 
charges, unless altered by the Board, will have the 
force of an Act of Parliament. Mr. Goodchild has 
been at great trouble to prepare a valuable classified 
summary of the rates and charges which affect the 
nursery and seed trade, and we hope the meeting will 
be well attended, and that som eaction will he taken 
in the matter ere it is too late. 
The Late Hr. William Court.—The friends of the 
late Mr. William Court (for so many years with 
Messrs. Veitch, at Chelsea) will be pleased to hear that 
his young son, left slenderly provided for, was elected, 
on the 26th ult., to the benefits of the Royal Masonic 
Institution for Boys—thanks, in a great measure, to 
the unwearied exertions on his behalf of Mr. E. R. 
Cutler, secretary of the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent 
Institution. On the boy’s behalf, we tender our best 
thanks to all who favoured us with their votes. 
Novelties in Garden Hose.—Amongst recent improve¬ 
ments in garden hose, Merryweather’s Sphincter Grip 
has taken a high rank. This firm’s latest introduction, 
however, seems to be another advance in the right 
direction. The “ Non-kinkable Red-Grey” is the 
well-known Red Rubber Hose armoured with a flexible 
coating of strong grey india-rubber. It is claimed for 
it that it is very durable, non-kinkable, and easily coiled, 
while the materials used are of high quality to pass the 
Government tests. 
Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.—At the meeting of the 
Committee, held on the 26th ult., satisfactory progress 
was reported with regard to the arrangements for 
holding the Floral Fete in the Covent Garden Flower 
Market on the 22nd inst., and which will be opened, at 
8 p.m., by the Baroness Burdett Coutts. The secretary 
read a goodly list of contributions received during the 
previous month, and which included donations of £5 
from Mr. Dunn, Dalkeith, and Mr. Elliott, Senr., 
Fulham Fields ; and £8 17s. collected by Mr. Henry 
Allen, gardener, Brookhill, Kingswear, Dartmouth. 
The financial resources of the fund were carefully 
considered, and it was unanimously agreed that another 
sum of £500 should be invested at once. Mr. John 
Lemon, Miles’ nursery, Dyke Road, Brighton, was 
appointed a local secretary for that district. The 
Committee also carefully considered the applications of 
fourteen candidates for the benefits of the fund, and as 
each complied with the rules in every respect, the 
whole were accepted, and the voting lists will be issued 
at an early date. Five candidates will be elected in 
July at the annual meeting, and we may remind those 
whose subscriptions are in arrear, that Mr. Barron 
would be glad to hear from them before the end of 
June, when the financial year closes. 
Primroses from Wantage.—A boxful of Primroses 
and some Polyanthuses has reached us from Mr. 
William Caudwell, The Ivies, Wantage. They 
were tied up in small trusses or bouquets, each 
accompanied by a leaf, and the effect produced was 
lively and striking. The flowers were of large 
size, good substance, and presented a considerable 
range of variety, including white, with a five-lobed 
yellow eye, yellow, pink, mauve, rose, red, purple, and 
crimson up to the deepest maroon shades. Yellow is 
considered by some people to be the colour most suited 
to the present dull time, on account of its brightness 
and warm appearance. For ordinary decorative pur¬ 
poses, however, we prefer a goodly proportion of mixed 
colours, by reason of the pleasing variety they afford, 
and the interest attached to a frequent examination of 
the beds or borders in which they are grown, so as to 
detect and preserve varieties of superior merit, both for 
preservation and also for seed-producing purposes, to 
afford seedlings for selection of improvements upon 
those already existing. Some of the crimson varieties 
were mottled with ) T ellow at the margin, tvhile others 
of the Polyanthus kind exhibited'some lacing, but both 
kinds might be improved. 
Choisya ternata.—It is rather to be regretted 
that the popular name of Mock Orange has been 
applied to an altogether distinct plant—in fact, to 
one which does not belong to the Orange family 
at all—namely, Philadelphus, a member of the Saxi¬ 
frage family. The pure white sweet-scented flowers 
of Choisya bear a strong resemblance to those of 
the Orange, with the exception that they are more 
