December 14, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
237 
The hot weather in September last is blamed for 
making the Chrysanthemums four or five days later 
than last year at Philadelphia. 
Drought, caterpillars, thunderstorms, hail, &c., 
have done their worst, yet our harvest of fruits has 
been abundant, and the vegetable crops heavy, leav¬ 
ing little room to grumble on that score. 
Lecture on Fruit Culture. —Mr. J. W. Lawry, C.C., 
of St. Mellion, gave an address at Cardynham, 
Devon, on the 3rd inst., on " Fruit Culture.” Mr. 
John Bate (member of the Technical Instruction 
Committee) presided over a good audience. Great 
interest was manifested in the fruit exhibited. It 
was grown on the Callington allotments on trees not 
yet grown two years. The lecturer was thanked on 
the motion of Rev. W. Collins, seconded by Rev. A. 
Coode, and supported by Mr. Lander, of Cabilla. 
The Dunfermline Chrysanthemum Society held 
their annual show of Chrysanthemums and vege¬ 
tables in the Drill Hall on the 30th ult. The show 
was one of the finest ever held under the auspices of 
the society. A piece of plate offered by the society 
for the best Japanese blooms in the show was carried 
off by Mr. James Dunnigan, Pittencrieff. The 
chief prize-winners among the gardeners were— 
Messrs. James Dunnigan, John Walker, Robert 
Spiers, and James M. Proctor, Dunfermline; Mr. 
J. Reach, Luscar ; and Mr. W Lumly, Broomhall. 
Among the amateurs the following came to the 
front:—Messrs. John Marshall, A. Allan, James 
Harrower, James Meldrum, T. Morrison, and R. 
Boag. 
Mr. A. F. Barron's Retirement. —At the meeting of 
the Royal Horticultural Society on Tuesday last, the 
following resolution was proposed by Dr. Hogg, and 
seconded by Mr. J. Smith:—“This committee 
desires to record its high sense of the valuable 
services which Mr. Barron has rendered to it during 
his long occupation of the position of secretary, from 
which he is now retiring, and to congratulate him 
on the distinction of having been placed by the 
Council on the roll of Honorary Fellows of the Royal 
Horticultural Society. The committee will also 
heartily welcome him to a seat at this table, and 
expresses an earnest hope that he may long enjoy 
health and happiness, and find many opportunities 
for continuing to render distinguished service to 
horticulture and to the society.” 
National Chrysanthemum Society. —At a meeting of 
the General Committee, held at Anderton's Hotel, 
on Monday evening, Mr. B. Wynne in the chair, it 
was unanimously resolved, on.the recommendation of 
the Jubilee Sub-Committee, that in future the show- 
boards used in the Japanese classes at the society’s 
exhibitions shall be restricted to the following 
dimensions;—For 12 blooms, length, 28 in. ; depth 
from back to front, 21 in. ; height at back, 7 in. ; 
and the holes for the tubes, 7 in. apart from centre 
to centre. The dates for the September, October, 
and December shows of 1896, were also fixed as 
follows :—September 9th, 10th, and nth; October6th, 
7th, and 8th, and December 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Five 
Fellows and thirty-four new members were elected, 
and the following societies admitted into affiliation : 
—St. Botolph (Colchester), Amateur Chrysanthe¬ 
mum Society, the Newton Abbot Chrysanthemum 
Society, and the East of Fife Chrysanthemum 
Society. 
Manchester Horticultural Improvement Society. — 
There was a large attendance of members on Nov. 
28th, under the presidency of Mr. Abraham Stans- 
tield, of Kersal, when Mr. Richard Dean, the 
Secretary of the National Chrysanthemum Society, 
read a paper on “The Chrysanthemum,” in the 
course of which he said the culture of this queen of 
winter flowers did not enter within the scope 
of his address, as he had largely confined himself to 
the incidences of it. The flower was well known 
in China and Japan 2,500 years ago. Confucius, in 
one of his works, mentions it by saying, " The Chry- 
themum has its yellow glory ; ” and the Japanese 
have adopted it as the most exalted of its order. In 
the far East it was an object of delight for centuries 
before Europe knew of its existence. To-day it is 
known and admired by all the world. Its distribu¬ 
tion and development forms an interesting and 
fascinating chapter in horticultural literature. The 
National Chrysanthemum Society has now 120 
societies affiliated to it, some in remote parts of the 
world. Its members number nearly 800. It holds 
four exhibitions and a number of minor meetings in 
the year, and it is raising a fund of £1,000 to 
celebrate its jubilee in 1896. The paper was com¬ 
prehensive and excellent, and led to a pleasant and 
instructive conversation, rather than discussion, in 
which Mr. Leo H. Grindon took a most conspicuous 
part. 
Hardy Ferns should not be kept dry in winter. It 
is a mistaken notion that keeping the pot plants per¬ 
fectly dry in winter will prevent their being killed. 
More hardy Ferns are killed throngh being kept dust- 
dry during that time than from any other cause. 
Frost has little or nothing to do with the death of 99 
percent, of them. 
A run of ill luck.—The Durham, Northumberland, 
and Newcastle Eotanical and Horticultural Society 
held their annual general meeting on the 5th inst., 
Alderman Joseph Baxter Ellis, J.P., presiding. The 
secretary, Mr. J. J. Gillespie, Jun., then submitted 
the report for the year showing a loss upon the 
Chrysanthemum show held at the end of last year, a 
further loss upon the spring, and a heavier less upon 
the summer show. In each case this was due to 
heavy rain on one or more days while the shows 
lasted, thus preventing a good attendance of visitors, 
and resulting in a poor amount of gate money. The 
total loss to the society for the year is ^444 13s. 6d. 
Notwithstanding this, the council is determined to 
go on, relying on the increased support of the public 
in becoming members. 
Southport and Birkdale Gardeners’ Society. —Pre¬ 
vious to the ordinary meeting of the society on the 
26th ult., a lecture was given by Mr. G. Lee, of 
Ainsdale, on “ The circulation of hot water for heat¬ 
ing purposes, and how to obtain it.” The lecture 
was in connection with the Mutual Improvement 
branch of the society, and there was a capital 
attendance. In the course of his paper, which was 
divided under three heads—the kind of apparatus, 
the fixing of apparatus, and firing—Mr. Lee spoke cf 
the different kinds of boilers, recommending the 
horizontal in preference to the vertical, the best 
method of fixing the pipes, and the cistern for 
supplying the boiler, and many other matters of 
practical utility to his auditors in the carrying out 
of their ordinary employment. A short discussion 
followed the paper, and a very hearty vote of thanks 
was passed to Mr. Lee on the motion of Mr. T. 
Smith, seconded by Mr. Swift. 
-- 
TETWQRTH, SUNNINGDALE. 
Numerous country seats are scattered about the 
beautifully-wooded district of Sunningdale, Berks, 
and Tetworth, the residence of Lord Harlech, is one 
of them. Visiting this place some time ago we found 
Chrysanthemums enjoying a due share of space and 
attention, but not monopolising houseroom. Mr. 
Edge, the gardener, adopts different styles of growing 
them, but in all cases they must be dwarf. He had 
grown a number of them as trained plants, and a fine 
specimen of Baron Hirsch bore 160 good sized 
blooms. It is evidently well adapted for this kind of 
culture. A specimen of Col. W. B. Smith bore 100 
blooms. Bertier Rendatler and several others were 
also treated in the same way. Another method 
adopted for keeping them dwarf is to cut them back, 
and amongst those so treated we noticed W. H. 
Lincoln, Mons. Freeman, Viviand Morel, Charles 
Davis, Wm. Holmes, Wm. Seward, and Baron 
Hirsch, all with large and well-formed flowers. W. 
H. Lincoln was only 16 in. to 18 in. high. 
Very interesting was a huge specimen of Stapelia 
gigantea, suspended in a basket from the roof of a 
stove, and bearing several expanded flowers, each 
about a foot in diameter, with six buds on the point 
of expansion. Cape bulbs were represented by 
Haemanthus natalensis and Cyrtanthus Mackenii, 
both in bloom. Another stove contained a collection 
of Dracaenas, Pandanus, Crotons, Caladiums, in¬ 
cluding the useful C. Argyrites and C. erubescens 
minor, all in healthy condition and of a useful 
decorative size. A fine specimen of Cocos wed- 
deliana with a stem 3 ft. high, was furnished with a 
fine head of leaves. In another house were large 
bushes of Bouvardia Vreelandi loaded with their 
pure white blossom. Chinese Primulas were also 
flowering in the pits. 
-—*•- 
PEACH BUDS DROPPING. 
The season for starting the earliest Peaches has now 
arrived, and when the buds begin to swell, the 
earnest cultivator looks anxiously to see what 
success he is likely to have, as it is on a good strong 
set that he depends for a reward to his labour. So 
many reasons as to the cause of buds dropping have 
been given of late years (the writer has added his 
quota) it may not be worth while suggesting yet one 
other cause. It is not uncommon to read in garden 
calendars of late years that as soon as the fruit is 
gathered all shoots for next year's supply only should 
remain, and all others should be removed. This 
seems a somewhat unnatural practice to make such 
a ruthless clearance. I have not always been guilt¬ 
less in this matter, but prefer, at the earlier stages of 
growth, to remove such shoots as are not wanted, 
frequently disbudding them as soon as it is seen that 
they are wood buds before any check to the tree can 
be given. When the crop is removed there is next 
to nothing in the way of shoots for removal. Ample 
moisture at the roots is maintained, and the foliage 
kept healthy till it drops naturally. What prompts 
me, however, to make the foregoing remarks is: I 
know a number of very successful Peach growers 
who do not disbud severely, and never have failures 
from bud dropping, and who never at any time made 
a clearance of all shoots not required for next season. 
Their trees are always in perfect health ; much 
thinning of fruit is always necessary, size and quality 
always first rate.— M. T., Stirlingshire. 
MR. ROBERT NEAL’S NURSERIES- 
These nurseries, which lie within a few minutes’ 
walk of Wandsworth Common and Clapham Junc¬ 
tion Stations, are upwards of thirty acres in extent, 
the greater part of this area being devoted to the 
culture of hardy trees and shrubs of all kinds, for 
the successful treatment of which Mr. Neal is so 
well known and so widely famed. As we are now 
in the thick of the planting season it is obvious that 
in establishments where trees and shrubs reign 
supreme, everything is all agog at this time of the 
year; for orders have to be executed with all the 
despatch possible. It is more than likely that the 
rigours of the past winter are to a large extent 
responsible for a great deal of the demand that now 
exists for shrubs of all kinds. But whether this be 
so or not it is evident that an almost unprecedented 
demand for some subjects is experienced in many of 
our large nurseries. Mr. Neal’s establishment has 
been kept particularly lively this season, and we saw 
unmistakeable tokens on all hands that an extensive 
business is carried on. 
The phenomenally rapid growth of the metropolis 
on all sides that has taken place of late years, has 
brought many once-outlying gardens and nurseries 
well into the district where smoke and fog, dark, 
dismal, and sunless days are unwelcome but frequent 
visitors. The ultimate result of this is apparent in 
the growing difficulty, experienced year by year, in 
dealing with a large portion of both the deciduous 
and evergreen elements. Many of* the most beauti¬ 
ful of the Conifers particularly absolutely refuse to 
grow and thrive in the partially polluted atmosphere, 
and Mr. Neal has practically given up attempting 
to grow some of them at the Wandsworth Nurseries. 
Our old friend Cyptomeria elegans is particularly 
touchy, and promptly resents the attentions of the 
fog fiend by departing this life. Others might be 
mentioned that are just as impatient of London fog 
and smoke. Even Cedrus Deodara, although a 
fairly good town plant, is not at all improved by 
vitiated atmospheres. The Cypresses, on the other 
hand, stick to their guns bravely, and it is scarcely 
necessary to say that hosts of Cupressus lawsoniana 
are sent out each year to various parts of the 
country. 
The Arbor Vitaes, also, are grand town plants, and 
Thuja orientalis, T o. aurea, T. o. variegata, T. o. 
elegantissima, and T. stricta are all in great request. 
The last-named plant is exceedingly pretty in a small 
state, and a large breadth of plants barely one foot in 
height attested to the fact that it is a favourite in a 
good many quarters. Of the beautiful Retinosporas, 
R. obtusa plumosa aurea despite its long high- 
