276 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 28, 1895. 
exhausted. In cases where buds were required 
after midsummer, it was advisable to set a 
portion of the bed apart for late cutting. This 
would furnish heads until the middle of September, 
after which the roots may be taken up and 
thrown away, as they would be of no further value. 
The lecturer concluded with a few remarks upon the 
easiness with which cottagers might cultivate 
Asparagus for themselves with every hope of reaping 
a substantial reward for their labours. 
SCOTTISH PANSY AND VIOLA ASSO¬ 
CIATION. 
The general meeting of the Scottish Pansy and 
Viola Association was held in the Mikado Tea 
Rooms, Glasgow, Mr. Wm. Cuthbertson presiding. 
The reports of the treasurer and secretary for 1895 
were read and adopted, and the office-bearers were 
specially thanked for their services. The following 
office-bearers for 1896 were appointed, viz. : —presi¬ 
dent, Mr. Wm. Cuthbertson, Rothesay; vice-presi¬ 
dents, Mr. John Baxter, Daldowie, and Mr. John 
Stewart, Lennoxtown ; treasurer, Mr. James Robert¬ 
son, Carluke; and secretary, Mr. John Smellie, 
Busby. 
The rules were revised, and a few slight altera¬ 
tions were made, the principal one being on No. 4 :— 
instead of one committee of seven judges to examine 
all flowers, that two committees of five be appointed, 
one for Pansies and one for Violas. Over 300 
varieties were at some of the meetings in 1895, and 
jt took the committee a good while to go over them, 
so the appointment of two committees should greatly 
facilitate the judging, and give more time to members 
to examine the exhibits. 
After business the members partook of a substan¬ 
tial tea, and with song and sentiment a very pleasant 
evening was spent. The following is a full list of 
certificates awarded in 1893 :—First-class Certifi¬ 
cates to fancy Pansies—Mr. Toots, A. Struthers, 
Col. M. R. G. Buchanan, Mrs. Wm. Steele, Sir 
John Watson, Jeannie R. Kerr, and Frank. Certifi¬ 
cates of Merit were awarded to fancy Pansies—Mrs. 
Gamp, The Barron, Lady M. Hozier, Mary Bennett, 
Jessie Gillespie, Alex. Lister, John Mackie, James 
Smellie, Maggie Goodlet, Mrs. Robt. Stewart, John 
Jackson, Lord Salisbury, Geo. Sproul, Willie Park, 
Mrs. R. G. Moir, James Stewart, Alice Lister, 
Liz. Barron, Miss Blair, Bessie Mary Bain, Miss 
E. C. Melvin, John Crawford, Mrs. Jas. Muir, and 
Jeannie B. Smith. 
First-class Certificates were accorded to Violas— 
Fortuna, Garryowen, Jessie Pretswell, and Wm. 
Haig. Certificates of Merit were given to Violas— 
Sunray, Nellie, Mrs. Wm. Haig, A. J. Row- 
berry, Amy Barr, Pickle, Lady Reay, Hamlet, 
Zebra, Agnes Harris, Katrina, Aroon, Maria, Creme 
de la Creme, Stcbhill Gem, Liz. Barron, Princess 
Ida, Pollokwood, Dandy Dinmont, Bella Duncan, 
Mrs. R. K. Mitchell, and Duke of York. 
HOW TO MAKE A WREATH. 
Every gardener should have this accomplishment at 
his finger ends ; I mean to some extent, of course. 
The more practice a person gets the easier he does 
his work, and it in time becomes a pleasure to him, 
instead of a thing to get away from, as is the case 
in many private places. I expect it is the want of 
training that makes many think themselves unfitted 
for the purpose, ending in the order going to the 
florist. Now, although it is something like taking 
the bread-and-butter from my own mouth for me to 
cry out against it, this is not as it should be. 
A gardener, provided he has the material, should 
at any time be able to make a simple wreath, cress, 
spray, or button-hole. Practice in the making of 
these will lead him to higher things, such as 
bouquets, anchors, harps, lyres, &c., where 
the more difficult blending of colours is required. 
To begin with, the old way of laying on and 
wrapping with twine is knocked out, and has given 
place to something better. A wire form should be 
selected in preference to anything for a foundation ; 
but as a substitute, anything that you can make 
round, and that is not too heavy will do, as, in 
passing the wired flower stems through a proper 
form, they meet with no obstruction, whereas in 
the case of a wooden hoop or any other makeshift, 
this is constantly occurring, causing, in some cases, 
unpleasant language. The next thing is to wrap the 
form with the freshest moss procurable, for this is 
the best of all things for the purpose. It must not 
be left at all loose, but fastened as tightly as possible 
in order to give a good hold for the wires when 
turned underneath. When this is done put a row 
of nice pieces of such a valuable evergieen as 
Cupressus lawsoniana all round the form, laying 
some neat sprays of Adiantum on the top of them. 
A. cuneatum, A. elegans, and A. elegantissimum are 
three of the best for the purpose. To put the 
greenery on this is much better than to work it in 
piece by piece along with the flowers. Meanwhile, 
your assistant, if you have one, will have got many 
of the flowers ready for use. 
There is not much to be said about wiring, as 
nothing but constant practice can instruct the 
operator what every individual flower requires. For 
instance, a Rose, Camellia, or any other heavy 
flower needs a stout wire, whereas blooms of 
Primula, Tuberoses, Lily of the Valley, and 
Chrysanthemums require a lighter one to give a 
graceful, wavy appearance. 'I he largest flowers 
should be used for the base of the wreath or cross- 
the proper height being set up with the first flower 
put in, and faithfully followed right through; this can 
easily be done by passing the wire through : and then 
turning its end on the underside out of sight. Most 
flowers require the stalk wire to have a small 
hook made on the end to keep it from pulling 
through again. 
I will now finish with a few flowers that should be 
grown for the above purpose. Among Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, Elaine cannot be excelled, either for early or 
late work. Florence Percy, Mdlle. Lacroix, and 
Snowdrop are also extremely good. Lily of the 
Valley, Hyacinths Early Roman and Madame Van der 
Hoop, are both very useful for pips, and capital for 
mounting; Tuberoses, Schubertia grandiflora alba, 
a splendid thing with the fragrance of Almonds; 
double-white Primula, Azaleas Deutche Perle, and 
Bernard Andre; and Liliums Harrisii and lanci- 
folium album. 
Lightness, combined with firmness, are the two 
principal points to watch, nothing being more im¬ 
portant than a firm hold for the wires, which can 
only be got by wrapping the moss in a workmanlike 
manner, a nice light placing of the tiers of flowers 
following.— J. G. Pettinger, Strawberry Bale Nursery, 
Harrogate 
-- 
EALING GARDENERS’ SOCIETY. 
The usual weekly meeting of this society was held 
in the Victoria Buildings on the 10th inst., when, 
instead of a formal paper, a number of questions 
(of which previous notice had been given), were 
submitted for information and discussion. This 
process is a highly interesting one, and although it 
partakes somewhat of the Socratic method of in¬ 
struction, it is perhaps all the more valuable on that 
account. As a matter of fact it does good all along 
the line, for the meeting being, as it were, free and 
open, some are thus induced to add their testimony 
who would otherwise maintain a discreet silence. 
The questions themselves were of very varied charac¬ 
ter, and, therefore, covered a wide field of observation. 
The principal were: “ Do vine leaves absorb 
ammonia?” “How do plants breathe under 
water ? ” “ Do birds eat earwigs, and if so, what 
species?” "Is there any other Orchid besides 
Vanilla planifolia which is of economic value?” 
Which is the best way to increase Chrysanthe¬ 
mums that are shy in producing suckers ? ” 
It must be admitted that the above queries cover 
a large area, and in consequence are capable of a 
variety of interpretations. The meeting, however, 
was a large and representativejone, and the ample 
discussion which ensued proved, beyond a doubt, 
the resources and capacities of the members for 
mutual improvement. J. Hughes, Esq., presided, 
and received the customary very hearty vote of 
thanks. The principal speakers were Messrs. 
Bridges, Burgess, Cannon, Fountain, Edwards, 
Green, Simpson, Harding, Cox, and the Chairman. 
An additional feature on this occasion was the 
competition for twelve table plants, the “ sinews of 
war” being chiefly provided by J. Harris, Esq., 
one of the vice-presidents of the society. There 
were six exhibitors, representing seventy-two plants, 
all of which were more or less meritorious, and 
suitable for the purpose of table decoration. 
The coveted place (which also carried a certificate) 
was secured by Mr. J. Simpson, gardener to C. T. 
Sutton, Esq., The Beeches, East Acton, who staged 
a well-grown and highly decorative collection. His 
most conspicuous plants were Dracaena (Cordyline) 
terminalis, D. stricta congesta, Eulalia japonica 
variegata, Pandanus Veitchii, Carex japonica, and 
C. j. variegata. The second award was given to Mr. 
Brockwell, gardener to T. Shepherd, Esq., The 
Woodlands, Ealing, Cocos weddeliana and Lomaria 
gibba being particularly good. The hon. secretary, 
Mr. W. Roberts, gardener to J. Harris, Esq., 
Braemar, Ealing Common, had to be content with 
third, which, however, was no discredit to him, but 
rather the reverse, the competition being very keen. 
In addition to the usual table plants Mr. Roberts 
had a fine seedling Adiantum Lathomi, with 
large, deeply-cut pinnules, on stiff, upright-growing 
fronds. 
-- « - " 
POTATOS. 
(Concluded from p. 261.) 
While Gerarde’s Potato is before us it may be in¬ 
teresting to note that the acreage planted in the 
United Kingdom in 1894 amounted to 1,232,055 
acres, averaging 3 tons 15 cwt. 2 qrs. 20 lbs. per 
acre, or a total of 4,662,147 tons grown in the United 
Kingdom besides a large quantity imported (for 
1893 the figures were 14,140 tons). Reckoning the 
entire population as 37,880,764 this would allow 
about 2 cwt. t qr. 24 lbs. for every man, woman, 
and child per annum, but these figures make no 
allowance for the quantity annually consumed in 
feeding cattle, which is always considerable and 
varies chiefly in proportion to the market value of 
Potatos. 
My friend Monsieur H. de Vilmorin has very 
kindly sent me the figures from France, and he tells 
me that the acreage under cultivation is annually 
about 3,342,500, and the total yield for the whole of 
France is 10,100,000 tons, or making allowance for 
the quantity exported and imported the figures 
stand at 10,000,000 tons. Whilst in England 
Potatos are grown almost entirely for us as a 
vegetable, Monsieur Vilmorin estimates that about 
two-fifths or 4,000,000 tons are annually used in 
France in the manufacture of starch and alcohol. 
I have also learned from my friend Herr Fritz 
Benary, of Erfurt, who forwards me very valuable 
statistics, that the total acreage devoted to Potatos 
in the German Empire in 1893 was 7,592,165 
acres, and the total quantity of Potatos harvested 
amounted to 32,277,851 tons, or allowing for the 
quantities imported and exported, 32,376.497 tons, 
which was the total quantity available. Out of thi s 
total 6,074,732 tons were used for seed purposes to 
plant the crops of the following year, leaving 
26,301,765 tons for consumption. Of this enormous 
quantity, 26,301,765 tons, Herr Benary says that 
1,313,584 tons were used for distilling purposes but 
he is unable to say how much of the remaining 
24,988,180 tons were used as a vegetable, and how 
much in the manufacture of starch, as no statistics 
are available. 
From the figures above quoted we get some idea 
of the enormous commercial and economical advan¬ 
tages which have resulted from the scientific re¬ 
searches of those who first discovered and intro¬ 
duced the Potato into Europe. How marvellously 
has the Potato grown in popularity since Gerarde’s 
day! 
I think that it would be interesting now to trace 
the steps by which the great improvement in the 
cultivated forms of the Potato has been brought 
about. Fortunately in this instance it cannot be 
said the old rule that “like produces like” holds 
good, for had the development of the Potato been 
restricted by such limitations it is probable that our 
present supply of Potatos would be similar to those 
of which Gerarde speaks. And here it is necessary 
to refer to a misunderstanding arising from the 
fact that " Seed Potatos ” and “ Potato Seed ” are 
often supposed to be one and the same thing. Seed 
Potatos may be either a crop of Potatos grown with 
the special object of producing tubers to plant again 
the following year, or else, as is frequently the case, 
they are merely the smaller tubers, which, being too 
small for market, are therefore kept back for plant¬ 
ing. Now it is well-known that Potatos are merely 
the enlargement of underground stems, shortened 
and thickened, in which starch is stored up in 
greater or less proportion according to the several 
varieties. Like other stems, the tubers produce 
