788 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 16, 1890. 
We fear at once that both the engagements 
of the ex-Premier and the conservatism of the 
Council would interfere in opposition to the 
carrying out of this wise proposal. With Mr. 
Gladstone leading, thousands of people would 
follow, and the Jam Exhibition might become 
an assured success; otherwise we fear a lament¬ 
able failure. With us, who have a strong 
desire that the show should make a noise and 
prove attractive, the main desire would be to 
secure every agency, come from whence it may, 
which would conduce to success. 
-- 
Death of Mr. Henry Bennett.—We deeply regret 
to hear, as we go to press, of the death, on Tuesday, 
of Mr. Henry Bennett, of Shepperton-on-Thames, the 
raiser of Her Majesty, and a number of other famous 
Roses. 
A Valuable Oak Tree.—At a sale of old brown Oak 
trees which took place last month in Earl Fitzwilliam’s 
Park, at Wentworth, one of the trees, containing over 
400 ft. of Oak, realised the sum of £100. 
The B. S. Williams Memorial.—At a public meeting 
held in the room of the Horticultural Club, at the 
Hotel Windsor, on Tuesday afternoon, Dr. Masters, 
F.R.S., presiding, the following resolution, moved by 
Mr. H. J. Yeitch, and seconded by Mr. H. J. Pearson, 
was unanimously adopted : —- “ That this meeting 
desires to raise a sufficient sum to perpetuate 
Mr. B. S. Williams’ memory by investing such an 
amount as will suffice to put a certain number of 
children on the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund as Williams 
Memorial Orphans ; and also to give prizes in money 
and Williams Memorial Certificates for excellence in 
the cultivation of plants.” It was also arranged to 
publish the first list of subscriptions, which already 
amounts to about £100, at an early date. In the mean¬ 
time the treasurer, Mr. Harry J. Yeitch, will be glad to 
hear from anyone desirous of subscribing to the 
Memorial Fund. 
Leicester Abbey Park Flower Show. — We learn 
with much pleasure that, thanks to the able manage¬ 
ment of Mr. John Burn, the great success that attended 
the inauguration of the Flower Shows in Leicester 
Abbey Park, has this year been fully maintained. The 
show on Tuesday, August 5th, was visited by a greater 
crowd of visitors than ever, and the sum of £666 was 
taken at the gates. The weather was gloriously fine, 
the arrangement perfect, and the entries more numerous 
than before. The Park itself was in splendid order, 
and Mr. Burn must be heartily congratulated on the 
result of his labours. 
The Matlock Bath Flower Show.—A more delightful 
spot for a flower show than the Pavilion Grounds at 
Matlock Bath could hardly be found in the United 
Kingdom. The scenery surrounding the grounds is of 
the most charming description, and with glorious 
weather, the superb band of the Grenadier Guards, and 
a good show, everything favoured a large attendance ; 
and the managers were not disappointed. The princi¬ 
pal feature of the show was the groups arranged for 
effect, of which there were four entries, and finer groups 
than those holding the premier position have seldom 
been seen in the provinces. The fruit was also good, 
as well as the vegetables and bouquets, which were of 
high-class merit. The cottagers also showed well, and 
the prizes offered by the society for competition by 
children were keenly competed for. Great credit is 
due to the secretary, Mr. Clarke, whose whole ambition 
is to make the society popular, and whose arrangements 
met with complete success. 
Heavy RainfaU in New South Wales. — Sydney 
papers of June 30th report an exceedingly heavy rain¬ 
fall on June 28th. Up to 9'o’clock a.m. the downpour 
amounted to 2 '57 ins., and by 6.30 in the evening 4 ins. 
more had fallen, while in addition to that 0'384 in. fell 
between 6.30 at night and 9 o’clock the next morning, 
making 6'95 ins. altogether. The heaviest part of the 
rain fell between 3.30 and 4 o’clock. Within that 
time—that is within half-an-hour—0'30 in. fell, and 
that is a fall at a great rate. During one shower, 
lasting about two minutes—rain fell at the rate of 3 ins. 
per hour. The total rainfall for the six months, as 
reported at the Sydney Observatory, is 5 ft. ! 
Scottish Horticultural Association.—At an ordinary 
meeting of this association, held on the 5th inst.—Mr. 
Grieve, one of the vice-presidents, in the chair—two 
papers were read—one by Mr. G Bunyard, Maidstone, 
Kent, on “ The Cultivation of the Cherry and Raspberry 
in Kent,” was read by Mr. C. Mackenzie. The other, 
on “The Gardener’s Friends and Foes,” was read by 
Mr. Calder for the author, Mr. M'Millan, Trinity. 
At the outset, Mr. M’Millan stated that all gardeners 
knew insects were the greatest enemies of their fruit 
trees ; but they were just beginning to find out how 
much they were indebted to their feathered friends for 
what little fruit they did get. The remainder of the 
paper was taken up with an account of the habits of 
insectivorous birds. In the discussion which followed, 
the prevailing opinion seemed to be that the losses by 
the depredations of these birds were more than counter¬ 
balanced by the gains from their usefulness as destroyers 
of insects and other vermin. Yotes of thanks were 
given to the contributors of the two papers. The 
exhibits on the table included a stand of Roses from 
Mr. Henderson, Clermiston ; a collection of Begonias 
from Messrs. Methven & Sons ; a large assortment of 
Gooseberries from Messrs. Dicksons & Co., and, from 
the same firm, samples of Lilium speciosum rubrum. 
Double Varieties of Chrysanthemum carinatum. 
—We have received a box of cut flowers, representing 
many beautiful varieties of Chrysanthemum carinatum, 
from Messrs. Hurst & Sons, 152, Houndsditch, London. 
The flower heads were very double and of great size, 
the numerous florets overlying one another with great 
compactness and regularity. One of the largest forms 
was a white variety, which, in its younger stages, shows 
the florets edged with lilac or purple ; but as they 
attain their full development they become pure white. 
Another choice variety was a pale lilac one, having the 
florets edged with purple. The disc in the early stages 
is of a dark brownish purple, approaching crimson ; 
but as the flowers gradually expand, the colour loses 
much of its original intensity. The florets of another 
form were edged and tipped with purple. A bronzy 
yellow variety we considered very choice. The florets 
were edged with a deeper shade, intensifying almost to 
crimson in the centre of the head before attaining 
their fullest expansion. A crimson one, having the 
head surrounded by yellow rays, was also very beautiful. 
A lilac and the purple variety showed the original 
arrangement of colours in the outer florets, being lilac 
at the tip, crimson in the middle, and yellow at the 
base. 
Mimulus moscliatus compactus. — A variety of 
the common Musk of Continental origin may be 
seen in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural 
Society at Chiswick. A considerable number of plants 
are grown in the open border, and only one out of the 
batch has proved faulty, and sprawls over the ground 
like the original type. The rest are of close, upright 
bushy habit, and do not exceed 3 ins. or 4 ins. in 
height. The flowers are of the usual colour and size, 
but are produced in great abundance, making the 
plants quite yellow. It would make an excellent 
subject for pot work, and, like Harrison’s Musk, 
requires no tying up or training. For this reason it 
would prove useful for window culture, as a greater 
number of plants could be grown in the same space. 
Maurandya Barclayana and Varieties. — The 
original type of this climber has violet-purple flowers, 
with a pale purple tube more or less suffused with 
green. The leaves are hastate, cordate at the base, 
and somewhat three-lobed, whilst the most highly- 
developed ones are incipiently five-lobed, and com¬ 
parable to those of the Ivy. The stems attain a 
considerable height when planted close to some support 
up which they can climb. The species is, however, 
highly amenable to pot culture, and a collection of 
varieties may be seen in one of the houses of the Royal 
Horticultural Society at Chiswick. Some of the plants 
show violet-purple flowers, others are dark blue, pale 
blue, rosy purple, deep rose-purple, and pure white 
with pale lemon stamens. They are in comparatively 
small pots, with a few short sticks that are now 
perfectly covered with shoots and flowering freely. 
The dark purple, violet-purple and white varieties are 
the most choice. 
Lnpinus albo-coccineus nanus,—The old-fashioned 
Lupinus nanus used to be the most popular of the 
Lupins for garden decoration, as far as annuals are 
concerned. The reason for this, no doubt, lay in 
its dwarf branching habit and the quantity of 
flowers it produced. The ordinary form of L. albo- 
coccineus grows to a height of 3 ft., and produces but a 
moderate quantity of bloom for its size ; but is notwith¬ 
standing very stately. The dwarf variety L. a. -c. nanus 
attains only a foot in height, and produces a mass 
of flowers, which, although not so bright in colour as 
those of the types, are yet conspicuous and showy when 
seen in the mass. They are white with a changeable 
blotch on the upper petal or standard, of a pale or dark 
purple when the flowers are in perfection. They are 
proportionately of good size, and produced in terminal 
somewhat whorled racemes. It may be seen in the 
trial grounds of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading. 
Begonia Worthiana.—Being in the vicinity of 
Hampton Court on August 4th, I went to see the 
bedding, and two beds of the above-named Begonia 
appeared to me to be well worth a short paragraph 
in The Gardening World. The quantity of 
flowers the plants carried made them a great 
attraction, and although the individual flowers 
are neither large nor upright, they certainly made 
more of a show than larger and better shaped flowers 
did in some of the other beds. Doubtless for making 
a mass of colour to be seen from a distance, B. 
Worthiana is an excellent variety.— IV. Panics. 
Petunia, Holborn Blue.—This belongs to a strain 
unhappily named the Clematis section, because the 
flowers bear a considerable resemblance to Clematis 
Jackmanni. The flowers are single, large deep violet- 
blue, with a shade of purple for some time after 
they first expand. It comes true, or nearly so, from 
seed. An Award of Merit was accorded it by the 
Royal Horticultural Society when shown at the 
meeting on the 12th inst. by Messrs. J. Carter & Co., 
High Holborn. 
Hydrangea hortensis flore pleno. — The flowers 
of this plant are single, semi-double, and double, 
the single ones being the smallest, and the semi¬ 
double ones the largest; and all are of a bright 
pink hue. The leaves are like those of the type. An 
Award of Merit was accorded the variety by the Royal 
Horticultural Society, when shown at the Drill Hall, 
on the 12th inst., by Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Sarracenia Claytoni. —The parentage of this garden 
form was S. Drummondi crossed with S. Chelsoni, itself 
a hybrid. The pitchers are light green, with a crimson 
edge to the wing, and the upper part, as well as the large, 
undulated lid, is reticulated with crimson, enclosing 
white, translucent areas. As the leaves get matured 
the whole of the upper portion and the lid becomes 
suffused with dark crimson, reticulated with almost 
black veins, enclosing red blotches that in the early 
stages are white. The variety was shown by Mr. A. 
Wipf, gardener to N. Clayton, Esq., East Cliffe, 
Lincoln, at the Drill Hall, Westminster, on the 12th 
inst., when an Award of Merit was accorded it. 
--«E<-- 
FRUIT TREES AND THEIR 
CROPS. 
Many, like myself, will have experienced disappoint¬ 
ment this season with some of the fruit crops. Apples, 
of sorts which are never known to fail, are abundant, 
and we have no anxiety on that account ; but Plums 
are not what we expected in the early part of the 
season, when abundance seemed certain. Some of the 
more tender sorts set badly, and when the continuous 
cold, damp weather in June set in, dropping became 
general. I do not put so much blame on the weather 
experienced during the period referred to, but to the 
damp autumn of last season, when ripening of wood 
was a slow process, and the mild, autumn-like winter 
gave no rest to growth, so that vigorous trees were 
not prepared to set crops of fruit. 
I note that where Cherries, Apples, and certain 
Plums ceased growing early in the autumn, they were 
got into good bearing condition this season, Morello 
Cherries especially, by means of judicious root pruning. 
These were severely dealt with during last autumn 
(when loaded with fine foliage and over-vigorous 
growth), their front and under roots having been laid 
bare and cut well back, stone and lime-charged soil 
being afterwards firmly rammed round and under them. 
Growth soon ceased, and the shoots (which had been 
well thinned), became brown and hard. Little more 
than short spurs have been formed this season, but 
they promise well for another year. The fruits are 
over the average size, and hang in clusters. Peaches 
treated this way in July and August have done extra 
well. Some Plums have been root pruned this season, 
and Peach and Nectarine trees are at present being 
root pruned.— Stirling. 
-— >!<♦ - 
PEAS AT CHISWICK. 
The trial of Peas is not so extensive this season as it 
has been in some recent years in the garden of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, at Chiswick, yet a few 
meritorious kinds may be noted. A tall, mid-season, 
and fruitful variety is Optimum, one of Mr. T. Laxton’s 
raising. The stems rise to a height of 6 ft. or 7 ft., 
