676 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 28, 1890. 
Mr. Morris challenged our contemporary to 
an examination of the accouuts, and as a result 
of the inspection, it is instructive to find that 
whilst all the money taken at the Drill Hall 
from visitors during two years was but 
£26 13s., the entire expenses in rent, labour, 
advertising, and medals were over £400. On 
the other hand the four interesting conferences 
held at Chiswick during 1888-9 gave a total 
taking from visitors of £55 for some twelve 
days only, whilst the Drill Hall meetings 
extended over some thirty or more days. 
These facts tell their own tale, and emphasise 
what we have so often previously urged, that if 
the society had gone to Chiswick direct from 
South Kensington instead of to the Drill Hall, 
it would have been far better off, and would 
have had much better attendances at the 
meetings there than at James’s Street. 
It is very important to know that the 
expenses incidental to the Chiswick gatherings 
were relatively moderate, and had some few 
hundreds of pounds been expended at the first 
in providing the garden with the needful 
accommodation the cost would relatively later 
have been comparatively trifling. 
It is of course pleaded that the Drill Hall 
meetings have led to a considerable increase in 
the number of Felloivs. That may have been 
so, but the reduction of the annual subscription 
to one guinea has probably done more to create 
that increase, and we are the more inclined to 
believe that such is the case, from the fact that 
so few fresh faces are ever seen at the Drill 
Hall. We have all along held the opinion 
that those who are really interested in the 
society’s work would go to Chiswick as readily 
as to the Drill Hall, or any other place in 
London, and the facts now brought out more 
strongly confirm this conviction. But unless 
the real horticulturists among the Fellows—- 
and they are a very small minority unfortunately 
—keep a watchful eye on Chiswick if they 
want to preserve it, the old garden will all 
too soon be numbered with the things that 
were. - 
- ♦>$<* - 
Death of Mr. Baxter.—The death is announced as 
having taken place, on the 19th inst., of Mr. W. H. 
Baxter, for many years curator of the Oxford Botanic 
Garden, and latterly superintendent of the University 
Park. 
Gardening Appointments.—Mr. David Rhind, as 
gardener to The Mackintosh, of Mackintosh, Moy Hall, 
Inverness-shire. Mr. Y T . McDonald, for the past six 
years gardener at Lingwood, Perth, as head gardener 
and bailiff to Lord Watson, Cardrona House, Peebles¬ 
shire. 
A Rose Fair in Aid of the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund 
will he held in connection with the Croydon Horti¬ 
cultural Society’s annual show- on Wednesday next, in 
the grounds of Brickwood House, Addiscombe Road, 
Croydon. Contributions of any cut flowers will be 
thankfully received by the honorary local secretary, 
Mr. G. W. Cummins, The Grange, Wallington, Surrey. 
Death of Mr. J. Treherne—The intelligence of the 
death of Mr. Treherne, who for over thirty years had 
been director of the landscape gardening works carried 
out by Messrs. James Yeitch & Sons, will scarcely 
come as a surprise to the many who knew him so well. 
He had been a confirmed invalid for about three 
years, and at the last became hardly responsible for 
his actions. He was removed from his private residence 
on Thursday, the 19th inst., to a private asylum at 
Peckham, where he died on Sunday morning last, aged 
seventy-two years. 
Ware <fc District Horticultural and Mutual Im¬ 
provement Society—The monthly meeting of this 
society was held on the 17th inst., at 8 o’clock p.m. in 
the schoolroom, the Rev. A. E. W. Lofts presiding. 
The attendance was very satisfactory. Mr. Fulford 
showed some excellent decorative Pelargoniums, Mr. 
Riding, Early Peas and Roses, while Mr. Osborne 
staged some monstrous Lettuces. A paper on “ Ye»e- 
table Gardening in June ” was read by Mr. W. Pavey, 
and met with universal approval, a discussion following 
by Messrs. Anderson, Riding, King, and Osborne. A 
hearty vote of thanks was passed to the reader of the 
paper, and a similar compliment to the chairman 
terminated a very pleasant evening. 
A New Aquilegia.—We have received as we are going 
to press, a box of Aquilegia blooms from Mr. S. Barlow, 
Stakehill House, Castleton, Manchester. They included 
A. chrysantha, A. coerulea, A. californica, and some 
hybrid forms, as well as doubles. One of the latter' is 
named Red Gold. It was obtained from a hybrid form 
of A. chrysantha pollinated by A. californica. In 
general appearance it much resembles a double A. 
californica. The petals are red, stained with violet 
and green, and reflexed owing to the number of spurs 
crowding on the top of them. The spurs themselves 
are red, much curved or hooked, and clubbed at the 
end. The lamina of the numerous petals is of a 
bright golden yellow, slightly stained with red ex¬ 
ternally. Mr. J. Douglas, of Ilford, says “that it is 
the finest and most distinct Aquilegia he ever saw.” 
The Drought.—Some of the readers of The Gar¬ 
dening World may perhaps be surprised to see this 
heading, but there are parts of the country where the 
rainfall has been of a very limited character. Mr. J. 
Burrell, writing from the Howe House Nurseries, Cam¬ 
bridge, states, “We are suffering badly here from 
drought. A moderately good rain fell about the middle 
of May, but hardly any since.” This is a conclusive 
proof that there is a lack of rain in some districts. 
Hay-makers, cricketers, and lovers of out-door sports 
and pursuits of an enjoyable character want fine sunny 
weather ; but there are many gardeners who would feel 
grateful for a good soaking of rain. It is about the 
country, that is one consolation, and probably all will 
receive a moist visitation in due season. 
The Birmingham Gardeners’ Association held a 
a special meeting on the evening of the 24th inst. for 
an exhibition of cut specimens of herbaceous and bulb¬ 
ous plants, and a few leading growers were asked 
to send any specimens of rarer and comparatively little 
known plants, so that members may become better 
acquainted with them. Herbaceous plants are much 
sought after now, and the executive of the association 
thought it a step in the right direction to arrange an 
exhibition of them, and a sort of illustrative lecture 
and discussion followed. 
The Old Wellington Road Nurseries.—These once 
famous nurseries, formerly a kind of landmark in 
horticulture, have for some time past become a part of 
Lord’s Cricket Giound at St. John’s Wood. The 
mansion and outer boundary walls remain, and a few 
of the old trees ; but the space once occupied by the 
houses and frames is now a spacious expanse of green 
turf, used for cricket practice and lawn tennis. By 
the side of the mansion is a covered-in asphalted court 
for lawn tennis in wet weather. Yisitors to Lord’s 
notice with satisfaction that there are many pretty 
touches of floral decoration here and there, and where 
it is possible to put a few bedding plants, the spot is 
beautified by them. How remarkably well the ground 
is kept ? Having regard to the number of matches 
played, and the throngs of people who walk about on 
the turf, its splendid condition is highly satisfactory as 
a proof of its being well looked after. 
Boating Fatality on the Thames: Three Young 
Gardeners Drowned.—On Thursday evening, June 
19th, half-a-dozen young gardeners, named Knowles, 
Linge, Sparrow, Wilson, Chappie, and Smith, all 
employed in the nursery of Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons, 
and residing together in the same house in Upcerne 
Road, Fulham, chartered a boat and went for a row up 
the Thames. They returned off the boat-house in 
about an hour, and having some twenty minutes or 
half-an-hour to spare went on down the river in the 
direction of the new bridge being built at Old Battersea, 
when the boat was swamped by the wash of a passing 
steamer, and three of them were drowned before 
assistance could be rendered to them. The young 
fellows who thus came to such an untimely end were 
W. Wilson, aged twenty-five years, until recently 
employed at The Dell, Egham; W. Chappie, aged 
twenty years, lately with Mr. D. T. Fish, at 
Hardwicke House, Bury St. Edmunds ; and F. 
Smith, aged twenty-three years, who had only 
a few days previously come up from Gwernyfed 
Park, Breconshire. Wilson, the best swimmer of the 
party, reached the shore, but turned back presumably 
to help his companions, and, it is supposed, was 
seized with cramp, for he sank under the boat 
before help could reach him. At present only the 
bodies of Smith and Chappie have been recovered. 
Patent Propagators: Pascall v. Toope._On 
Thursday, the 19th inst, Mr. Justice Kay gave judg¬ 
ment in a case that was tried before him in the 
spring,—but which had been adjourned for some con¬ 
siderable time, owing to his Lordship’s illness—in 
which Mr. Pascall, of South Norwood, brought an 
action against Mr. Charles Toope, of Stepney Square, E., 
for infringement of his patent hot-water pipe propa¬ 
gator. The plaintiff claimed that the zinc propagator 
made and sold by the defendant (and which was 
illustrated in our issue for February 23rd, 18S9) was a 
colourable imitation of the one made by himself of clay 
or tile earth, and for which he claimed protection. 
Y itnesses were called on both sides, those for the 
plaintiff testifying from experience to the merits of his 
propagator, which they also considered to be novel in 
principle ; while the evidence given on behalf of the 
defence was to the effect that the plaintiff’s so-called 
patent was only the embodiment of an old idea well 
known among gardeners and nurserymen, and besides 
differed little in principle from the well-known Potato 
steamers. The practice of placing shallow boxes of 
cuttings or seeds on the evaporating pans on hot-water 
pipes had been common since heating by hot water was 
introduced, and the defendant had only adopted the 
same idea. In giving judgment, his Lordship dis¬ 
missed the action with costs, on the ground that what 
the plaintiff claimed as novel in his propagator had 
been in common use for twenty or thirty years. 
Unseasonable Flowering of a Pear Tree. — In 
the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at 
Chiswick, may be seen two upright cordon Pear trees 
of the variety Napoleon in full bloom. The flowers 
are not produced directly from spurs, but the latter are 
elongated, forming short shoots bearing leaves, and 
terminated by clusters of large and well-developed 
flowers. Y’hat are the influencing causes at work it 
would be difficult to say. We have seen Apple trees 
flowering very freely in autumn when wet weather sets 
in after a previously dry summer, and particularly if 
the trees have been recently transplanted. The 
influencing causes in this case are evident. 
Sale of Mr. Tautz's Orchids.—A small piece of the 
beautiful Cypripedium Tautzianum, consisting of two 
crowns, was sold at Protheroe & Morris’s Rooms last 
Wednesday afternoon for 51 guineas. It is a hybrid 
between C. niveum and C. baibatum, but was not in 
bloom when it came to the hammer. At the same 
time and place Odontoglossum triumphans album was 
sold for 28 guineas ; Cattleya Trianre alba, for 9 
guineas; Lselia autumnalis alba, for 10J guineas ; 
Lfelia elegans Stelzneriana, for 10 guineas; and 
Cypripedium leucorhodum, for 16 guineas. 
--***-- 
GLOXINIAS AT CHELSEA. 
Botanically the plants largely cultivated under this 
name are varieties of Sinningia speciosa, or some of the 
old forms were hybrids between that and some other 
species. The genus Sinningia includes several other 
old genera, including Biglandularia, Ligeria, Rosanovia, 
Tapeionitis, and Stenogastra. Few of these are much 
known in gardens, with the exception, perhaps, of the 
pretty Stenogastra concinna, now Sinningia concinna, 
and cultivated in many gardens for the sake of its neat 
dwarf habit, and the beauty of its purple and white 
spotted flowers. In gardens, however, the popular 
name Gloxinia will probably always be retained for the 
endless and beautiful forms of Sinningia speciosa. The 
number of strains, so to speak, into which it has already 
varied is numerous, and increases from year to year, as 
the leading growers are able to testify. 
To grow Gloxinias to perfection requires a stove 
temperature, but beyond that they occasion no difficulty 
that a skilful grower cannot easily surmount. With a 
comparatively small amount of trouble they produce a 
display of bloom that for quantity and variety is 
possibly surpassed by no other class of plants of the 
same stature. They are most extensively used as pot 
plants, but they will presently become very popular in 
the cut state. If the ends of the stalks are freshly cut 
every two days, the flowers will last in beauty for a 
week in water. With this object in view encourage¬ 
ment is given in the nurseries of Messrs. J. Yeitch & 
Sons, Chelsea, to varieties with stout flower stalks 
rising well above the foliage. One of the leading points 
in their superb strain is the collection of plants with 
erect flowers only, as their beauty is best shown off, 
and the flowers are also larger and more regular. The 
number of segments to each flower is five, but amongst 
the newer forms of the erect-flowered type many 
varieties have six and seven segments to a flower. 
The advantage of this is that the flowers, instead of 
presenting a starry appearance, have their segments 
much imbricated, giving to the whole a round and 
regular outline. Furthermore, the flowers of the erect 
types hang on till they wither, whereas in the old 
