February 13, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
309 
practice of opening a discussion in this manner is 
much to be preferred to the reading of lengthy papers. 
At the close of the proceedings a hearty vote of 
thanks was accorded Mr. Hoadley, and a similar 
compliment was paid to the chairman. Early in 
March the society proposes to pay the Tonbridge 
gardeners a visit. 
Bouille Bordelaise and the Potato Disease. —At the 
meeting of the council of the Royal Agricultural 
Society held last week, the seeds and plant diseases 
committee recommended renewed and extended ex¬ 
periments on Potatos with Bouille Bordelaise during 
the forthcoming season. It was also stated that Mr. 
W. Carruthers, F.R.S., had undertaken to carry out 
a separate enquiry into the exact nature of the effect 
of the Bouille Bordelaise upon the Potato disease 
fungus, especially as to wherein lies the efficacy 
of the mixture in the destruction of living organisms. 
The National Amateur Gardeners’ Association held 
its first annual general meeting at the Memorial Hall, 
Farringdon Street, E. C., on the 2nd inst, under the 
presidency of Mr. T. W. Sanders, F.R.H.S. Not¬ 
withstanding the somewhat inclement weather, and 
the severity of the prevailing epidemic, there was a 
capital attendance of members. The report of the 
committee showed that the roll of membership was 
240, and that although the annual suscription, only 
half-a-crown, rendered the source of income somewhat 
limited, the association was, financially, in a very en¬ 
couraging position, which augured well for its future 
success. The visits paid to various nurseries had 
been most interesting and instructive, and hearty 
votes of thanks were accorded the nursery and seed 
firms for the courteous manner in which the visitors 
ere received. Steps were being taken, it was stated, 
to inaugurate branch societies at Reading, Liverpool, 
xeter, and Bow, and already the Lady well Cottagers’ 
Floral Society had been affiliated to the association. 
Mr. T. W. Sanders was unanimously re-elected presi¬ 
dent, as also were Mr. Crane as secretary and Mr. 
H. Needs as treasurer. 
Fixation of free nitrogen by plants.—It results 
from conclusive scientific experiments that certain 
plants of the family of the Leguminosae, amongst 
others Peas, make large borrowings of the nitrogen- 
contained in the atmosphere. The most recent in 
vestigations made by Messrs. Th. Schloesing and 
Em. Laurent, and communicated to the Academy of 
Sciences of France, have once for all verified this]fact. 
An analogous phenomenon has been established by 
them for several green plants of lower organisation. 
In the divers experiments, the roots of Peas have been 
found provided with strong nodosities or tubercles. 
— L'Illustration Horticole. 
Botanic Garden at Paris. —Le Jardin des Plants at 
Paris, as stated by L'Illustration Horticole, in spite of 
the beneficial modifications introduced by its skilled 
and learned director, M. Maxime Cornu, does not 
respond to the needs of instruction which in our day 
demands more vast and perfectly aerated grounds. 
It is a vague question of transferring the scientific 
part of the establishment to the gardens of Versailles, 
which without losing anything of their particular 
and actual stamp, nor their historic character, could 
acquire as a result an importance and a utility com¬ 
parable to those of the gardens of Kew. 
J.aced Chinese Primulas. —We received the other 
day from Robert Owen, Castle Hill, Maidenhead, 
some blooms of his imperial strain of Chinese Pri¬ 
mulas. Amongst them were some beautifully laced 
varieties, preserving the same pleasing colours and 
their arrangement as when we spoke of them some 
three years ago, but they are now inclined to become 
semi-double. One variety had a very broad, deep 
pink margin surrounding a central white zone ; an¬ 
other was white with a narrow pink lacing; and a 
third had a broad, somewhat mottled lacing of pink 
with a large yellow eye. A deep rose and a Vermil¬ 
lion coloured flower were also fine. 
Primula Floribunda. — The bright yellow flowers of 
this Western Himalayan Primula are very serviceable 
and attractive during the winter and early spring 
months, for the decoration of the conservatory or 
greenhouse. They are produced in whorls, tier above 
tier, on shortly elongating flower stalks that vary from 
4 in. to 8 in. high when fully developed. Thelanceo- 
late elliptic leaves are deeply and irregularly jagged or 
toothed, and form a background that shows off the 
bright colour of the flowers to advantage. Whether 
this species is capable of improvement remains to be 
seen ; but if the individual flowers could be develo¬ 
ped to a larger size, it would certainly tend to popu¬ 
larise the species, and cause it to be more largely 
grown for decorative purposes. ‘ - 
ASPARAGUS CULTURE 
FOR AMATEURS. 
What kind of Asparagus was that which is said to 
have been cultivated in the time of Cato the Elder, 
200 years b.c. ? That appears to be about the first 
historical record of its culture we possess ; and as it 
is a vegetable much esteemed by the Greeks and 
Romans we must assume it was extensively grown. 
I wonder if there were horticultural exhibitions in 
those days, or 300 years or so later, when the old Roman 
historian, Pliny, made note of a sort growing in his 
time near Ravenna, three heads of which would 
weigh a pound. Cannot some enterprising seeds¬ 
man re-introduce this fine variety, but not merely on 
paper. 
That Asparagus has long held a place among the 
oldest and most delicate of the culinary vegetables 
grown in this country is well known. More than 
200 years ago forced Asparagus was supplied to the 
London markets, but one searches the files of The 
Gardening World of those days in vain to discover 
the methods of culture adopted by our fathers, who 
probably grew it pretty much as we do in these days. 
An old Chinese name for the Asparagus is Lung suts' 
ai, which means Dragon’s Beard. 
There is a tendency to regard Asparagus as a 
luxury to be enjoyed mainly by the wealthy. This 
is probably owing to the expense of culture and the 
limited area of its general cultivation. It is held to 
be a plant requiring large supplies of manure, 
though the late Mr. Shirley Hibberd, in the paper 
he read at the Vegetable Conference at Chiswick in 
1890, on the culture of Asparagus for autumn, said 
that he was fully satisfied that the extravagant 
manuring practised in the cultivation of Asparagus 
is in very many instances extravagant waste, for the 
plantis thereby fed with but a little of what it requires, 
and very much of what it does not require. 
I think that some amateurs who have an Asparagus 
bed in their gardens might have early Asparagus at 
a comparatively small expense, and with a limited 
out lay of labour, and in this way. He should have 
an ordinary garden frame with one or two lights ;and 
he should be able to procure, if he has not got them, 
some good plants of Asparagus, two years certainly, 
and better still if three years from seed. Having 
the frame and plants, the next requirement is some 
heating material ; the best for his purpose is some 
fresh stable dung, and leaves that are only partly 
rotten. The stable manure should be placed in a 
heap and turned over twice, shaking it well to¬ 
gether, there being an interval of from four to six days 
between the two turnings. The necessity for the 
turnings lies here, if the fresh dung be made into a 
bed at once, it will heat fiercely, and dry up quickly, 
and thus render a very slight service. But when 
well shaken and turned, it heats much more slowly, 
the warmth is well distributed, and it is retained for 
a much longer period. The manure should then be 
built up in the form of a bed, 3 ft. deep if possible, 
but 6 in. wider all-round than the frame, beating the 
manure down in order to make it as firm as possible. 
The frame placed over the bed, there should be next 
laid upon it a layer of good soil, 3 in. or so in depth, 
and upon this, the roots of Asparagus can be placed 
thickly together. If the roots are taken from an 
Asparagus bed, they should be carefully lifted, so as 
not toinjure therootlets; and if they are obtained from 
a nursery, plants free from injury as far as possible 
should be selected. It does not matter if the root¬ 
lets overlap each other, provided the crowns are 
free. The roots thus arranged, they should be 
covered with 3 in. of good soil, and the bed is then 
complete. 
How much of air should be admitted depends in 
great measure upon the degree of heat given forth 
by the bed .A moderate warmth is sufficient, and the 
grower will, no doubt, be able to regulate it so as to 
bring on his crop of Asparagus without drawing the 
stems, and causing them to become lanky. The 
cooler the temperature in reason, the stronger will 
be the heads of Asparagus. If the weather becomes 
mild and sunny it will be best to tilt the lights an 
inch'or two at the back during the middle of the 
day, keeping them close at other times. But light 
and air are as necessary to produce good Asparagus 
in a frame as in the open ground. 
Such a bed can be made useful in many ways. 
While the asparagus is growing, a crop of an early 
Radish such as the Ne plus ultra; if the seeds be 
scattered thinly over the surface, they will soon 
germinate and grow into size; then half-hardy 
annuals, and seeds of even tenderer plants can be 
brought on, and cuttings struck ; when the Asparagus 
is done with, the frame can take a Cucumber or 
Vegetable Marrow ; and lastly, if not least, the beds 
will supply some excellent manure for potting and 
top dressing purposes. — R. D. 
-- 
INTERNATIONAL HORTI¬ 
CULTURAL EXHIBITION, 1892 . 
On Tuesdaylast a meeting of horticulturists was held 
at the Hotel Windsor, Victoria Street, S.W., to pro¬ 
mote the interests of the great International Horticul¬ 
tural Exhibition, which it has been decided shall be 
held at Earl’s Court during the coming summer. Mr. 
H. E. Milner, the chairman of the executive com¬ 
mittee and manager of the exhibition, presided ; and 
there were present Mr. William Paul, Waltham 
Cross, Mr. John Lee, Kensington, Messrs. H. & A. 
Turner, Slough, Mr. F. Q. Lane, Berkhamstead, 
Mr. H. Williams, Holloway, Mr. E. Owen Green¬ 
ing, Mr. Pearson, Chilwell, Mr. William Bull, Chel¬ 
sea, Mr. W. Marshall, Bexley, Mr. B. R. Cant, Col¬ 
chester, Mr. H. Herbst, Richmond, Mr. Peter Barr, 
Covent Garden, Mr. H. Cannell, Swanley, Mr. H. 
W. Williams, Salisbury, Mr. McKellar, Sandring¬ 
ham, Mr. J. Hudson, Gunnersbury House, Mr. J. 
Smith, Mentmore, Mr. G. Wythes, Syon House, Mr. 
Jennings, Ascot, Mr. Hill, Tring Park, Mr. Myles, 
Wycombe Abbey, Mr. R. Dean, Ealing, Mr. J 
Assbee, Covent Garden, &c., &c. 
Mr. Milner explained the objects for which the 
meeting had been called, which were to promote the 
success of the great display of horticultural products, 
accessories and requirements which it had been 
decided by the owners of the exhibition site at Earl’s 
Court should be held this year, commencing on the 
7th of May. The management of the exhibition had 
been placed in his hands by the promoters, who had 
provided for the whole of the expenses, and had 
already placed at his disposal the sum of £10,000 to 
go on with. It was his desire to have the assistance 
of a strong executive committee of experienced 
horticulturists, so that in the conduct of the exhibi¬ 
tion throughout the season, the advancement of 
horticulture should be kept well to the front. In 
addition to the permanent exhibition it was proposed 
(as announced in our last) that a series of monthly 
shows should be held, at which liberal prizes would 
be given. A large extent of the flooring of the main 
building would be removed, so that a beautiful, 
undulating sub-tropical garden could be made 
thereon. The gardens as at present existing would 
so far as possible be re-modelled, and with the aid 
of music, the electric light, etc., everything would 
be done to draw as large a number of people as 
possible to the exhibition during the season. He had 
every reason to believe that the result would be agreat 
financial success, in which case the entire net profits 
would be devoted to the gardening charities. The 
arena had been let to Col. Cody (“ Buffalo Bill ”), 
but would be a feature apart from the horticultural 
exhibition, though with means of access thereto. 
The schedules of prizes were in hand, and would be 
issued at as early a date as possible. 
Mr. William Paul said that the statement made by 
Mr. Milner had completely satisfied him that there 
was nothing in this movement w-hich could be con¬ 
sidered antagonistic to any other horticultural move¬ 
ment or society. Horticulture had become so exten¬ 
sive in its ramifications that no one society or special 
movement of any kind could hope to cover all the 
ground, and therefore as he felt that this particular 
effort would be to the interest of horticulture 
generally, he would be glad to join the Executive 
Committee, and do his best to assist Mr. Milner in 
carrying out the exhibition to a successful issue. 
Mr. Paul concluded by moving the following resolu¬ 
tion :—" That this meeting of representative 
nurserymen and gardeners of the United Kingdom 
desires to express their appreciation of the objects of 
the International Horticultural Exhibition, and will 
do what they can to secure its success, and also to 
extend a cordial greeting to their continental friends.” 
The resolution was seconded by Mr. McKellar, and 
carried unanimously. 
Several questions having been asked with regard 
to various points of detail and satisfactorily answered, 
Mr. Dean moved and Mr. Hudson seconded a cordial 
vote of thanks to the chairman, who suitably acknow¬ 
ledged the compliment. 
