772 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 9, 1890. 
eeding Carnations. — There is a vast 
difference between seedling and seeding 
Carnations. In the former case their 
production or raising is easy enough once 
the seed is saved. Xothing indeed in all 
the range of hardy plant culture seems to 
be easier than the raising of Carnations 
from seed, yet nothing seems to be more 
difficult than the production of good seed 
out-of-doors, except under specially favour¬ 
able weather conditions. We commented 
last Aveek upon the offer by Mr. Martin 
Smith of substantial money prizes for out¬ 
door Carnations. That gentleman in the 
course of his speech at the Carnation 
Conference, talked somewhat glibly about 
getting seed of hardy forms, and of sowing 
it in the open ground so as to ensure a 
thoroughly hardy strain. 
Hoav it is not at all difficult, when time 
can be given for fertilisation, to secure 
Carnation seed from plants under glass, but 
the resulting crop even then can only be 
light, and as Mr. Smith remarked, most 
valuable to the grower. But to secure seed 
from any good double strain outdoors, a 
warm temperature and dry atmosphere are 
essentia], and these conditions have not 
ruled since 1887 — indeed, only once in 
several years does weather prevail which is 
helpful to the production of seed in the 
open air. It is therefore easier to talk of 
Carnation seed than it is to get it in this 
country; Avhilst, once obtained, seedlings 
come Avith the greatest ease. 
Really good seed is so seldom found that 
Avhen obtained it is worth its weight in 
gold. The best of the continental strains 
are but poor substitutes for the best home 
strains. There seems to be little prospect 
of getting Carnation seed this year, the 
frequent heavy rain storms seA r erely punish- 
ing the flowers. Both Pinks and Carnations 
haArn equally suffered from the excessive 
moisture. 
‘^Tams and Preserved Bruits. — The exhibi¬ 
ts tion of these articles Avith allied subjects 
that the Royal Horticultural Society proposes to 
hold in the Westminster Drill Hall during 
October next, may in one respect be regarded 
as a sort of counterblast to the exhibition of 
green fruits proposed to be held in the City 
about the same time. The latter it is very 
evident Avill proA'e, so far as real benefit to 
fruit culture is concerned, little less than a 
fiasco. The former Avill doubtless be a good, 
a varied, and a very interesting exhibition, 
damned at the outset by the fact that it will 
be held Avhere no one will attend and the 
usefulness of the show will be lost in its 
obscurity. 
We should have immensely liked to have 
seen a truly grand fruit shoAv held in London 
in the autumn, in Avhich the fresh or green 
fruits of the season should be associated Avith 
the preserved fruits of all descriptions noAv 
in ordinary commerce also. But it is obvious 
that such a sIioav could not be held in the 
obscure Drill Hall, nor in the limited area 
of the Guildhall. It would need the ample 
space of Arcadia or Olympia, or the still 
nobler expanse of the Crystal Palace to enable 
fitting credit to be given to our fruit resources. 
Specially should such a show not be. held 
this year, Avhen reports universally shoiv 
that Ave have one of the Avorst fruit seasons 
of the generation. 
However, Ave hope that whilst no effort 
Avill be spared to make the dried fruit sIioav 
a success, the shop element Avill be rigidly 
excluded ; also that the various fruits and 
methods of preserving will be strictly classi¬ 
fied ; a mere hocus pocus or mixed medley of 
exhibits is an intolerable nuisance and soon 
promotes disgust. That our dried-fruit trade 
is both a large and a grdwing one there can 
be no doubt whatever. The public want to 
be enlightened concerning it, but still Ave fear 
that such enlightenment Avill hardly follow 
from ever so good an exhibition held in the 
Westminster Drill Hall. 
--— 
A Poetic Letter Writer.—The poetic faculty, we 
may suppose, is found in .some florists, for a letter 
bearing the following address was recently received by 
the treasurer of the National Carnation and Picotee 
Society :— 
“ Thou trusted bearer of the nation’s letters, 
Inferior to none, nor having betters, 
This missive take—a light and cheery load— 
To T. E. Hcnwood, in the Hamilton Roacl : 
Of that fair Berkshire town for biscuits famed, 
In county postal guide ’tis Reading named. 
And, postman, take my thanks, good fellow thou ! 
As 1 salute, and to thee make my bow.” 
We are informed the letter was promptly delivered, and 
without the slightest delay, notwithstanding the un¬ 
usual form of superscription. Possibly the postal 
authorities at Reading appreciated the compliment paid 
to the letter carriers, and took care there should be no 
unnecessary loss of time in the missive reaching its 
destination. 
Mr. R. P. Glenduming is, we believe, about again 
to return to Holloway, after some twelve years 
residence in Edinburgh. Mr. Glendinning, it will be 
remembered, left the late Mr. B. S. Williams to take 
charge of the West Coates establishment of Messrs. 
Downie & Laird, and subsequently of Messrs. R. B. 
Laird & Sons, and now returns to Messrs. B. S. 
Williams & Son. He will be missed by many Edinburgh 
friends, but their loss will be the gain of all his old 
acquaintances in LondoD. 
The Fungi of the East of Scotland.—At the recent 
meeting of the East of Scotland L T nion of Naturalists’ 
Societies, Professor Trail submitted a report on “The 
Fungi of the East of Scotland.” He had been able, he 
said, to make further additions to the list from the 
Forth district about Largo, and had also found several 
interesting specimens in the basin of the Tay. The 
report was taken as read, and will be printed in the 
annual report of the Union. 
Crop Prospects in Cheshire.—A Cheadle corre¬ 
spondent writes : Everything is late down here, and we 
are only now (August 2nd), gathering our first Ne Plus 
Ultra Peas, which are grown for the three succession 
crops. We have only gathered our first dish of Scarlet 
Runner Beans, but if we have fine weather from now, 
we might have good produce, as the growths are strong. 
Strawberries are about over ; we have had a good crop, 
but lost many through the wet weather. President has 
been our best kind. We have had a good crop of 
Gooseberries, and they have swelled up Avell, owing to 
the continued showery weather. 
The Bee Season in this district so far has been 
anything but encouraging. Instead of making honey 
this summer, in many cases they have had to be fed, and 
this has been particularly the case with young swarms. 
Fortunately for this district we have the heath blossom 
to look forward to, and should the weather prove 
favourable, a few boxes of heather honey may yet be 
stored. It would be interesting to know if there has 
been any quantity of honey harvested in any other 
district ; this would be worthy of note, especially when 
the extreme perverseness of the weather for bee-keeping 
is taken into consideration.— J. Charlton , Farnley 
Grove Gardens, Corbridge-on- Tyne. 
Gardeners' Orphan Fund. —At the meeting of the 
executive committee held on the 1st inst., Mr. William 
Marshall, so well and widely known and respected as 
the chairman of the Floral Committee of the R. H. S., 
was unanimously elected chairman for the ensuing year 
in the place of the late Mr. George Deal. The vacancy 
on the committee caused by Mr. Deal’s death was filled 
by the unanimous election of Mr. Hugh Low, of the 
Clapton Nurseries. The committee, having a large 
sum in hand at the bank, decided to invest £500 more 
in Consols ; and after transacting some other business, 
adjourned to the last Friday in October. 
The London County Council and the new Parks 
Superintendent.—It may interest the many who have 
lately been taking a keen interest in the election of the 
new superintendent of parks and gardens, under the 
control of the London County Council, to know that 
the Council has decided to postpone making the 
appointment for a time. We understand that there were 
forty-nine applicants for the appointment, which the 
Parks Committee weeded down to eleven in the first 
instance, and finally to six, consisting of an army 
colonel, the private secretary to the Earl of Meath, 
chairman of the Metropolitan Gardens and Open Spaces 
Association, two superintendents of provincial parks, 
a superintendent of a botanic garden, and a well-known 
gardener from the Midlands ; but it is an open secret 
that the professionals considered that they stood no 
chance against the two amateurs, and especially against 
Lord Meath’s secretary, who, in being able to get papers 
which could not be obtained by the other candidates, 
was considered to possess advantages which left little 
doubt that he held the trump card, and that thus a 
very pretty little job was to be perpetrated. For the 
moment, however, the little job has not come off. 
Wild Flowers, &e., of North Wales.—We have 
received a small pamphlet from Mr. Ralph Darlington, 
Llangollen, entitled “The Birds, Wild Flowers, Ferns, 
Mosses, and Grasses of Bettws-y-Coed and Neigh¬ 
bourhood.” Birds to the number of 130 species are 
mentioned, some of them no doubt only being casual 
visitors in the locality. The plants are, of course, 
much more numerous. As many as 798 flowering 
plants are mentioned, together with their English 
names, the sort of situation in which they may be 
found, their colour, height, duration, and time of 
flowering. Only twenty-six flowerless plants are given, 
including the Club Mosses, but not the Musci proper. 
No localities for these plants are, of course, given, 
otherwise the book might have been used by plant 
collectors as a guide. The flora is a rich one if all the 
plants mentioned are to be found in North Wales ; but 
some are undoubtedly mere escapes from gardens, while 
the existence of others is doubtful. No mention is 
made of Euphorbia Paralias which Ave have received 
from Bettws-y-Coed, and some of the Ferns are omitted 
which we know grow in North Wales. Narthecium 
ossifragum, curiously enough, is given under Juneacese, 
and more correct names might have been given in several 
cases. Visitors to this district may, however, find it 
useful. Some of the Ferns that should have been given 
on p. 5, in the second half of the book, have evidently 
been omitted by mistake, and Felices for Filices erro¬ 
neously inserted amongst the Gramminre. 
Proposed Memorial of the Late Mr. B. S. Williams.— 
Interest in the proposed memorial of the late Mr. 
Benjamin Samuel Williams, of the Victoria and 
Paradise Nurseries, has acquired force since our 
reference to the subject a fortnight since, and the 
desire to participate in it appears to have greatly 
extended. A meeting of horticulturists is announced 
to be held in the Hotel Windsor, Westminster, on 
Tuesday next, August 12th, at 2 p.m., when probably 
decisive steps will be taken to give form and purpose 
to the proposal. A circular has been published, from 
which we learn that “it is proposed to establish a 
‘ Williams’ Memorial Fund,” to provide, at horti¬ 
cultural exhibitions, money prizes and certificates for 
the encouragement of the cultivation of stove and 
greenhouse plants and Orchids ; these prizes and certi¬ 
ficates to be competed for in the usual way.” It is 
added that “ To carry out the proposal, a committee is 
in course of formation, to include representatives of all 
horticultural interests associated with or related to the 
special sphere of activities of our late friend, who was 
especially distinguished as an importer, cultivator, and 
raiser of tender exotic plants, to which the proposed 
memorial prizes would especially apply. The com¬ 
mittee will collect subscriptions, advise on procedure, 
and in all convenient ways promote the completion, 
with all reasonable speed, of a fund sufficient for the 
purpose indicated.” It is desired that communications 
on the subject be addressed to H. J. Veitch, Esq., 
544, King’s Road, Chelsea, S.W. ; or Shirley Hibberd, 
Esq., Kew, near London. 
-o-X-c-- 
A TRIAL OF PEAS. 
Something like 500 varieties of garden Peas have been 
grown this year in the trial grounds of Messrs. Sutton & 
Sons, of Reading. The soil there is of a light aDd 
gravelly nature, and as the varieties were all sown on 
the 10 th of April, many of the kinds were ripe when 
we saw them in the last week of July. Oat of the 
great number we noted only a few of the newer kinds 
and some of the most promising of the seedlings. 
The straw, pods and seeds of the American 
Wonder were ripe ; while Sutton’s Latest of All, sown 
on the same date, were still quite usable. The pods 
are narrow, 3 ins. to 34 ins. long, and the stems grow 
to a height of 3 ft. to 3 J ft. It is a very fruitful variety. 
Some seedlings raised from American Wonder and 
Jubilee have given rise ta two distinct varieties, one of 
