64 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 30, 1893. 
in considerable numbers, and many stands 
will probably be composed of varieties that 
have been but one or two yearsincommerce. 
That amateurs find it to be a matter 
of considerable difficulty to select the best 
for their purpose out of so many new ones, 
we can understand, and not only will they 
have to exercise, henceforth, exceeding dis¬ 
cretion, but those who commend new 
varieties, either by certificate or by 
published praise, will have to be discreet 
also, because the splendid quality, now so 
plentifully extant, makes the work of select¬ 
ing, not so much the best of the new ones as 
better than the old ones, a work of exceed¬ 
ing responsibility. We shall have to set 
up very high standards, and whilst every 
consideration may be shown towards 
raisers or those who may put novelties into 
commerce, something not less important 
is due to amateur purchasers and growers, 
who claim that only varieties of the very 
highest merit now should receive the stamp 
of public approbation. 
-- 
Mr. James Gibson, lately gardener at " The Oaks," 
Carshalton, has been engaged as gardener to E. H. 
Watts, Esq., Devonhurst, Chiswick. 
Mr. William Carr, for over ten years gardener at 
Hawkstone, Salop, has been engaged by Sir Offley 
Wakeham, Bart., as gardener at Yeaton-Peveney, 
near Shrewsbury. 
Mr. C. H arris, formerly gardener to E. G. Wrigley, 
Esq., Victoria House, Dukinfield, has been engaged 
by J. Ritchie, Esq., as gardener at Maplewell Grange, 
Loughborough. 
National Chrysanthemum Society.—At the next 
meeting of the general committee, which will take 
place at Anderton's Hotel, Fleet Street, E.C., on 
Monday evening, October gth, at 7 o’clock, Mr. C. 
E. Pearson will read a paper on " How to Improve 
our Chrysanthemum Shows.” 
Mr. A. Aitkins, for the past two years foreman 
under Mr. Lewin, at Drumpellier, N.B., has been 
engaged as gardener to Colonel King Harman, New 
Castle, Ballymahon, Ireland. 
Mr. Thomas Jebb, late of Clwyd Hall, Ruthin, has 
been appointed gardener to Sir James de Hoghton, 
Bart., Hoghton Tower, Preston, Lancashire. 
Early Frost. —A Roscommon correspondent records 
4° of frost on the morning of the 21st inst., which 
blackened Vegetable Marrows, French Beans, and 
other tender plants, and necessitated the housing of 
Chrysanthemums, etc. 
The " Woodford” Collection of Orchids, belonging 
to James D. Cox, Esq., of Woodford, Broughty 
Ferry, N.B., has passed into the hands of the Liver¬ 
pool Horticultural Co., and the plants will be 
offered for sale by private treaty, the sale commenc¬ 
ing on Tuesday next. 
Grass Seeds for the Royal Parks.—The contract 
for the year, to supply all the natural grasses required 
for sowing in the London Royal Parks, has been 
again entrusted to Messrs. Little and Ballantyne, of 
Carlisle. 
Death of Mrs. Latham.—It will be with feelings of 
deep regret that many will hear of the death of the 
wife of the greatly esteemed curator of the Birming¬ 
ham Botanical Gardens, Mr. W. B. Latham, who 
for some months past has suffered from very 
impaired health, and who died somewhat suddenly 
on the morning of the 24th inst., very sincerely 
regretted by a large circle of friends. 
The Edible Thistle.—This is Cnicus edulis and 
therefore a true Thistle. In America where it 
grows wild on the Rocky Mountains, the Indians 
make use of it as food. In Colorado the wild speci¬ 
mens attain the dimensions of a moderate-sized head 
of Cabbage. The blooms are said to be as good to 
eat as the Globe Artichoke, and according to 
•' Meehan’s Monthly ” the plant merits a place 
amongst edible vegetables. 
The Royal Gardeners’ Orphan Fund.— We are 
pleased to hear that a strong effort is about to be 
made in the Kingston-upon-Thames district to pro¬ 
mote a second concert in aid of this fund, and which 
it is proposed shall be of a more ambitious character 
than the first. It will be held at the Surbiton 
Assembly Rooms, on October 25th. Mr. W. Furze, 
of Teddington, the treasurer, has kindly undertaken 
to furnish the programme, which is to be of a first- 
class character, and Mr. A. Dean, the local secretary, 
is working hard to secure a large local patronage. 
It is hoped that a good measure of success will be 
recorded, and the fund materially benefited by the 
effort. 
Retirement of Mr. Manning. —With the end of the 
present week comes the retirement of Mr. Thomas 
Manning, who, for the long period of forty-eight 
years, has been associated with the firm of Messrs. 
James Veitch & Sons, and since 1867 as manager of 
the business at Chelsea. Mr. Manning has not been 
in good health for some time, and in seeking that 
rest which has been honourably earned by long and 
faithful service, he takes with him into private life 
the hearty good wishes of all who know him. Mr. 
Manning’s retirement is considered by a number of 
gardeners, who have formed themselves into a com¬ 
mittee for the purpose, a fitting opportunity for 
acknowledging in an appropriate manner his 
invariabie courtesy and kindness to the fraternity. 
What form the testimonial will take, will, of course, 
depend upon the amount subscribed by gardeners to 
whom the appeal is made, and individual subscrip¬ 
tions are limited to half-a-guinea. The subscription 
list will be kept open until October 7th, and the 
honorary secretary, Mr. James Hudson, Gunners- 
bury House Gardens, Acton, W., will be glad to 
receive and acknowiedge subscriptions. 
Death of Mr. Frederick L. Ames.— American papers 
record the sudden death from heart disease, on a 
Fall River steamer, while on his way to New York, 
on the i2th inst. of Mr. Frederick L. Ames, of 
North Easton, Mass, so well known among 
orchidists in this country as one of the leading 
patrons of horticulture in the United States. He 
was known to most of our leading nurserymen as a 
liberal buyer of good Orchids and other plants, 
which his English gardener, Mr. William Robinson, 
so ably cultivated at his palatial residence at North 
Easton. Mr. Ames was not only the richest man in 
New England, but was one of the most public- 
spirited and most widely esteemed of the citizens of 
Boston. He never forgot faithful service or friends, 
and his kindly bearing and gentle manner endeared 
him to all with whom he came in contact. 
Early Snowstorms.—On Saturday morning last a 
severe snowstorm was experienced over a great por¬ 
tion of the North of England. Snow fell so thickly 
that in a few moments everything was covered to a 
depth of three or four inches. The weather up to 
last week had been phenomenally fine, but bitterly 
cold during the previous day or two. The fall o 
snow lasted several hours, and the Pennine Hills were 
covered. Local meteorologists predict that this 
early severity of weather presages a winter excep¬ 
tionally hard. Early in the morning snow fell in 
Annan. The flakes were unusually large, and the 
ground was covered with snow an inch deep. The 
Highlands of Scotland were on the previous Wed¬ 
nesday night and Thursday visited by a very severe 
storm, accompanied by a heavy rainfall. 
Awards to British Exhibitors at Chicago. — The 
committee of the floricultural section at the World’s 
Fair, have made awards to Messrs. John Laing & 
Sons, for Chinese Primulas ; to Messrs. James Carter 
& Co., for Chinese Primulas, Cyclamens, and other 
flowers; to Messrs. Kelway & Son, for Chinese 
Primulas (model crimson) ; to Messrs. H. Cannell & 
Sons, for Chinese Primroses; to Messrs. Waterer 
& Sons, for Paeonies and Lhloxes; to Messrs. 
Dickson & Sons, for collections of Azalea Mollis and 
Rhododendrons ; and to Miss Margaret Dickson for 
collections of Roses. The awards to foreign ex¬ 
hibitors are as follows : — Germany, forty-six ; France, 
twelve ; Holland, six ; Austria, one ; and Italy, one. 
Stirling Horticultural Society.—It is worthy of 
note that this Society is one of the oldest in Scotland, 
having been established in 1812. Its Annual Flower 
Show was held on the 31st August and ist Septem¬ 
ber, and proved a great success, the public hall on 
the Friday evening being literally crammed. The 
display, as a whole, was indeed excellent, but the 
fruit and pot plants were specially good ; in the vege¬ 
table section Onions were particularly fine iu size 
and shape. The amateur class came well to the 
front, carrying off a good share of the prizes. The 
principal prize-takers in the professional gardeners 
section were Messrs. Lunt, Keir; Carmichael 
Touch ; Ferguson, Woodville ; Ritchie, Polmaise ; 
Todd, Kippenross ; McNeill, Gargunnock ; Maxton, 
Meiklewood ; Thomas, Wheatlands; Thomson, 
Feddall: Crombie, Leckie ; and Reid, Laurelhill. 
Mr. Lunt again won the Right Hon. Henry Camp¬ 
bell-Bannerman’s Gold Medal for the best 4 bunches 
grapes, and carried off the chief prizes in the pot 
plant section, his exhibits of these being really of 
high merit. 
The Kingston and Surbiton Gardeners’ Association 
held a meeting at the Albany Hall, Fife Road, 
Kingston, on Wednesday evening which took the 
form of a social gathering to which ladies were in¬ 
vited. The programme of lectures for the first half 
of the forthcoming season is as follows:—October 
3, ” An Evening with the Begonia,” Mr. J. Martin ; 
October 17, ” Is it Desirable to have a Summer 
Exhibition in Kingston and Surbiton ? ” Mr. H. 
Hawkes ; October 31, " Clivias,” Mr. H. W. 
Pilcher ; November 14, “ Forced Winter Flowers,” 
Mr. W. H. Yeabsley ; November 28, “ Poinsettias,” 
Mr. J. Martin ; December 12, “A Chat about Chry¬ 
santhemums,” Mr. H. J. Jones. 
The Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Association. —The annual business meeting of 
this association was held on Wednesday evening. 
The autumn programme has been decided upon as 
follows:—nth October, Mr. D. C. Powell, Powder- 
ham Gardens. Subject:—" Pears and their Culture.” 
25th October, Mr. Andrew Hope (Messrs. R. Veitch 
& Son’s), Exeter. Subject:—"Plant Names and 
their Associations.” 8th November, Mr. G. C. 
Crabbe, Prospect Park. Subject : —" Pansies, 
Auriculas, and Hardy Primulas.'' 22nd November, 
Mr. Alfred Tucker, Exeter. Subject: — “Kew 
Gardens and Kew Gardeners.” 6th December, 
Mr. F. W. Meyer, Royal Nurseries, Exeter. 
Subject:—“Herbaceous Plants.” 20th December, 
Subject :—“The Papers of Last Session.” Discus¬ 
sion to be opened by Mr. W. Mackay. 
Cause of Barrenness of Pear Frees. —Mr. B. T- 
Galloway, Chief of the Vegetable Pathology Division 
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, calls atten¬ 
tion to a new factor in fruit growing. A series of 
experiments made at Brockport, New York, proves 
conclusively that many of the best known varieties 
of Pears will not bear fruit unless their flowers 
receive pollen from other varieties—by means of 
insects hurrying from blossom to blossom, and un¬ 
consciously repaying the plants for the honey they 
obtain by carrying a little dusty pollen along with 
them. Many orchards of Pears, Apples, Plums, 
etc., fail to bear regularly even under the most 
favourable conditions. Mr. Galloway traces this to 
large blocks of single varieties having been planted, 
with the consequent absence of sufficient foreign 
pollen to effect cross-fertilisation. 
Hengrave Hall, Lord Kenmare’s historic estate, of 
4,500 acres, near Bury St. Edmunds, is no longer in 
the market; it has just been acquired by Mr. John 
Lysaght, of Bristol, at a price which does not fall 
far short of /ioo,ooo. The noble Manor House of 
Hengrave was erected early in the sixteenth century 
by Sir Thomas Kytson, a wealthy member of the 
Merchant Adventurers’ Company, who was honoured 
by a visit from Queen Elizabeth in 1578. It is an 
exceptionally fine example of Tudor architecture, 
the main entrance gateway being singularly beauti¬ 
ful. The principal windows, including the remark¬ 
able oriel over the gateway, are. filled with stained 
glass and armorial bearings. In the parish church 
are some finely-sculptured marble monuments erected 
to the memories of various members of the families 
of Kytson, Darcy, and Gage. The estate remained 
in the possession of the last-mentioned family for 
upwards of 200 years. 
California Mid-winter Exposition.—San Francisco 
is to have a Mid-winter International Exhibition, and 
the site of it is to be the famous Golden Gate Park. 
The agricultural and horticultural building is to be 
of the “ old mission ” style, though included in the 
design are features which suggest both the Spanish 
and Romanesque. It is estimated that the building, 
400 ft. long, and 200 ft. wide, will cost about $70,000 
complete. The building may be said to be in three 
parts. One of these is really an annex in the form 
of a tall redwood tower, about 80 ft. high and 25 ft. 
square. It will be connected with the main structure 
by a bridge. Of the main building, the portion next 
to the tower will be rectangular in form, with an 
open court in the centre. This portion is intended 
particularly for agricultural exhibits, and in its 
spacious galleries the products of the field and 
market garden will be exhibited. 
