486 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 5, 1890. 
ORTICULTURAL EDUCATION IN PUBLIC 
"V Schools.— In another column we give 
the text of a bill which is promoted by 
members of the several political parties in the 
House of Commons, and which is of a nature 
to command earnest sympathy and support, 
provided the promoters make clear the method 
by which the provisions of the Act can be 
practically utilised under the existing diffi¬ 
culties, amounting almost to chaos, which 
beset our system of national elementary 
education. We cannot just now ignore the 
existence of the movement in favour of free 
education, and with that freedom from the pay¬ 
ment of fees by parents of children must of 
necessity come absolutely popular control of 
the elementary schools, because the deficit con¬ 
sequent upon the non-payment of fees will 
have to be made up from the imperial 
taxation. 
It does therefore seem evident that we 
must have all our elementary schools under 
popular control before we can profitably associate 
with the existing educational work, technical 
education of the kind which is specially set 
forth in the “Agricultural Education Bill.” 
The cost of technical education of whatsoever 
form will, so far as elementary schools are 
concerned, have to be borne by the nation 
and not by the ratepayers. That point 
determined, then will have to be considered 
the difficult subject of providing land for 
gardens, and teachers capable of giving 
practical expositions of agricultural and horti¬ 
cultural knowledge ; all of which difficulties 
may be overcome as popular control over 
education increases. 
Brighton and Hove Chrysanthemum Society.—The 
committee of this society have been unavoidably 
obliged to change the date originally fixed, Nov. 4th 
and 5th, to Nov. 11th and 12th. 
Carter’s Practical Gardener.—This cheap and use¬ 
ful little work has reached the 14th edition, a copy of 
which has been sent us by the publishers, Messrs. 
James Carter & Co. The new matter includes chapters 
on Chrysanthemums, Cucumbers, and Tomatos, and 
the whole text has undergone revision. 
Chiswick Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement As¬ 
sociation.— The annual dinner or reunion of this 
association took place ou Friday evening, March 28th, 
at the George the Fourth Hotel, Chiswick. The work of 
the session was brought to a close on the previous 
Friday. Mr. George Gordon occupied the chair ; there 
was a full attendance of members, and many friends 
and visitors were present. This was made the occasion 
of distributing the prizes offered by Mrs. S. A. Lee, 
Chiswick, for essays by members ou horticultural 
subjects, and mentioned by us at p. 454. A pleasant 
evening was spent. 
Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society.— 
Part 1 of vol. xii. has just been issued, and contains 
the papers read at the Vegetable and Chrysanthemum 
Conferences ; the index and title page to vol. xi. ; the 
proceedings of the society from June 25th to December 
31st, 1889 ; and a list of the awards made by the 
committees during the year. 
Death of an Old Florist.—We note the death, on 
the 22nd ult., of Mr. William Caudwell, of The Ivies, 
Wantage, aged sixty-eight years. The deceased was 
for many years a large grower, and an occasional 
exhibitor of many of our old-fashioned hardy florists’ 
flowers. 
Broughty Ferry Horticultural Association.—At a 
meeting of this association, held on the 21st ult., Mr. 
J. Blair, Collingwood, Baunhill, read a paper entitled 
“The Experiences of an Amateur Gardener.” Mr. 
Blair referred at some length to his many failures in 
floriculture, but said that by patience, perseverance and a 
determination to succeed, he could now point to a few 
successes, he being a very successful competitor both at 
Dundee and Broughty Ferry shows. Mr. Blair 
received a very attentive hearing, and after an interest¬ 
ing discussion received the hearty thanks of the meeting 
for his paper. 
Hydrangea liortensis ramulis coccineis.—A corre¬ 
spondent of The American Florist writes “This new 
and valuable acquisition to the list of Hydrangeas 
must certainly create a sensation in the horticultural 
world as soon as its merits and value become known. 
It is without doubt the most valuable variety of all 
Hydrangeas yet introduced, and will certainly attract 
universal attention and admiration. This variety is 
quite distinct from all others, from the fact that the 
foliage stems and stock are of a dark plum-colour, 
while the flowering branches are of a bright transparent 
red (hence the name coccineis). The trusses as well as 
the florets are larger, and are of a much brighter rose 
colour than those of the well-known variety Otaksa. 
Being of a very deep colour, it will be found especially 
valuable for early forcing and for Easter trade, as it 
does not lose its brightness to so great an extent 
through forcing as does the variety Otaksa, which fact 
of itself makes it decidedly valuable. It is also a very 
free bloomer, producing fine, large, and magnificently 
formed trusses upon every shoot.” 
Ware & District Horticultural Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Society.—This society has held two successful 
meetings during the past month. One was on the 11th 
ult., Mr. A. King in the chair, when a paper was sub¬ 
mitted to the meeting on “Vine Culture” by Mr. J. 
C. Parker, which proved very interesting, and evoked 
a capital discussion. On the 25th ult., the Rev, E. E. 
W. Kirby presiding, a practical paper on “Mushroom 
Culture ” was read by Mr. E. Wallis, and samples of 
Mushrooms were exhibited by Messrs. Bray & Gillians. 
The committee are more than satisfied with the progress 
the society has made since its birth, but regret that 
many gardeners and under-gardeners residing within 
reach of the meeting place do not attend the meetings, 
though a most cordial welcome is accorded to all inter¬ 
ested in horticulture. Information as to the society’s 
work will be gladly furnished by the honorary 
secretary, Mr. J. B. Riding, Ware. 
Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.—At the monthly meeting 
of the committee on the 29th ult., Mr. Barron an¬ 
nounced that the special receipts during the month 
amounted to £37 4s. 6<A, and included £5 from G. S. 
Foljambe, Esq., Osberton ; £5 5s. from A. Pears, Esq., 
Isleworth ; £6 from Mr. Buxton Morrish, being the 
amount collected after a recent lecture on Apples, 
delivered by Mr. Roupell; £5 from Messrs. English and 
Richardson, being the result of collections at a series 
of smoking concerts; £5 from Mr. L. Castle ; and 
£10 19s. 6 d., the proceeds of a ticket benefit at Covent 
Garden Theatre. Mr. T. Turton, The Gardens, 
Maiden Erlegh, Reading, was appointed a local secre¬ 
tary in the place of the late Mr. W. Wildsmith. Mr. 
L. Castle was also appointed local secretary for Merton ; 
and Mr. J. Trevor, Hatley St. George, formerly in 
charge of the Oswestry District, as local secretary for 
Malvern. Later in the evening the committee ap¬ 
pointed at the recent meeting of market growers in 
Covent Garden met and settled numerous points of 
detail in connection with the forthcoming floral fete in 
the flower market. It was unanimously agreed that 
the price of admission should be the same as last year— 
viz., 5s.—and that complimentary tickets be sent to 
the standholders, as on the last occasion. 
Excessive Rates and Taxes_It may interest many 
of our readers to know that a Taxpayers’ Protection 
Association has been organised for the purpose of 
giving advice and instruction on all questions of rating 
and taxation ; for taking all necessary steps on behalf 
of its clients for obtaining reduction in excessive or 
inequitable assessments ; for prosecuting appeals before 
assessment committees, appeal sessions, and inland 
revenue authorities ; for making the necessary deposits 
of money for prosecuting such appeals, and generally to 
advise and protect those who seek assistance at its offices, 
10, Serjeants’ Inn, Fleet Street. The managing 
director is Mr. J. J. Hitching, an ex-Crown surveyor, 
with something like twenty-five years’ intimate and 
practical experience of every point involved in advising 
the taxpayer. 
Mr. Gladstone on Botany. — Speaking at Guy’s 
Hospital on the 26th ult., Mr. Gladstone said he was 
not aware whether botany now formed a recognised 
branch of medical education. He could not help 
wishing it did, because not only was it in itself a most 
beautiful and interesting study, exercising the mind 
without fatiguing it, and stimulating the imagination 
without leading it astray, but it led to a careful 
observation of nature, and to a habit of noticing the 
qualities of plants which were so remarkable and so 
powerful in their healing capacity. Perhaps his 
hearers would think it almost ludicrous if he told a 
little anecdote of his own, which was so simple and so 
slight as almost to be contemptible—(laughter)—but 
still it illustrated what he meant. As was pretty well 
known, he had been given to the pursuit of wood¬ 
cutting. (Laughter and cheers). By pure accident 
he drew his finger one day along a tolerably sharp bit 
of the edge of his axe and cut his finger. On searching 
about him he found he had no pocket-handkerchief 
available. He wanted to staunch his little wound— 
(laughter)—he got a leaf and put it on. He was bound 
to say this was not the result of botanical knowledge ; 
it was a strictly empirical proceeding. (Laughter). 
But the curious result was that the healing of this 
little breach of continuity—(laughter)—occupied ex¬ 
actly half the time unassisted nature would have 
required. (Cheers). It was perhaps hardly worth 
mentioning, but he could not help thinking that there 
were great treasures in nature more than had heretofore 
been explored in that as in every other branch. 
St. Helena Ebony.—Mr. Morris alluded, at the last 
meeting of the Scientific Committee, to the peculiar 
vegetation of St. Helena, now confined, for the most 
part, to a small area in the central and higher part of 
the island. Many of the trees formerly native to the 
island are now all but, or quite, extinct. Among them 
is a species of Trochetia, or Melhania. The trunks of 
this tree are embedded in the cliffs of the island, and 
are dug out by the inhabitants for the sake of manu¬ 
facturing ornaments. The following quotation from 
Melliss’ exhaustive work on St. Helena refers to this 
plant:—“The native Ebony of St. Helena.—This 
plant I believe to be now extinct. It formerly grew on 
the outer portions of the island, near the coast, at 
altitudes of 2 to 4, where the weather-beaten stems are 
still found deeply embedded in the surface soil. The 
last plant I saw was a small one growing in the garden 
at Oakbank, about twenty-five years ago, but it is not 
there now, and I have searched the whole island over 
for another, but in vain. The leaves were dark green, 
and the flowers white ; the wood is very hard, heavy, 
black in colour, and extremely brittle. It is still col¬ 
lected and turned into ornaments, which are much 
prized on account of its rarity. That this tree once 
formed a considerable portion of the vegetation clothing 
the island on those parts that are now quite barren is 
strongly evidenced by the many references to it in the 
local records. PI. 29. It is the Dombeya erythroxylon 
of Andr. Bot. Repos., vi., t. 389, not of Willdenow.” 
It is interesting to know that the plant is still in 
existence under cultivation at Kew (and perhaps else¬ 
where), under the name of Dombeya erythroxylon. At 
the present time the plant, which was obtained from 
the gardens at Herrenhausen, is in flower at Kew. Mr. 
MacLachan called attention to the interesting remarks 
on the rare plants of St. Helena, contained in Mr. 
Wollaston’s book on the Coleoptera of the Atlantic 
Islands. 
-- 
GARDENERS’ IMPROVEMENT 
ASSOCIATIONS. 
Your remarks (p. 454) on competitions among members 
of gardeners’ mutual improvement associations open 
up at the present time a field of enquiry of vast 
importance to the gardening fraternity. The interest 
you have always taken in these associations places you 
in a position to judge of the good work being done by 
them, but I must confess I was rather surprised to 
learn your opinion with regard to the system you 
recommmend for examinations. My opinion would be 
that the writing of an essay on a given subject at 
home, where the writer could have access to books of 
reference, would be likely to do more good than under¬ 
going an examination at the end of the term on the 
work of the closing session. Before such a scheme 
could be carried out it would be necessary for the 
examiners to become acquainted with all the papers of 
the session, and it does not follow that those papers 
would contain the best information to be obtained on 
the different subjects that had been brought under 
discussion. 
Again, I take it that these associations are formed 
for mutual improvement—to improve the knowledge 
one already possesses—rather than for examinations to 
disclose what knowledge of gardening each individual 
member possesses. My opinion is that, if such a 
course were carried out, it would be the means of 
discouraging those who were not successful in getting 
placed in the first class, and anything likely to do that 
ought to be avoided if possible. 
I am pleased to see that you are of the opinion that 
these associations aro likely to become a valuable 
movement; and to aid in its further development, I 
would suggest that all the different associations through¬ 
out the country should be affiliated with some central 
society, and that society should be the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural. If the Council could only see its way to take the 
