June 2, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
625 
judging by points which may be as near perfection 
as possible, and it has occurred to me, Mr. Editor, 
that if all who are interested in the subject would 
send you a post card, briefly stating which of the 
several suggestions that have been made they 
individually prefer, we should get a stronger 
consensus of opinion, one way or the other, than can 
be obtained by calling a meeting. The trouble of 
sending a post card would be very little, and you, I 
am sure, would not mind undertaking to tabulate the 
votes sent in.— IV. H. L. [We shall be very happy 
to do so.—E d.] 
--- 
THE NURSERY AND SEED TRADE 
ASSOCIATION. 
The annual meeting of this Association was held oi) 
the 23rd ult., at the offices of the Association, 30, 
Wood Street, Cheapside, E.C., the President, Mr. 
N. N. Sherwood, occupying the chair. The seven¬ 
teenth annual report, which had been circulated 
among the members, was considered a satisfactory 
one, and, together with the statement of accounts, 
was unanimously adopted. The whole of the 
officers and members of the committee were 
unanimously re-elected, and after a brief discussion 
on the subject of a recent Act of Parliament dealing 
with questions of law relating to contracts, which 
the solicitor, Mr. Charles Butcher, promised to 
summarise for the information of members of the 
Association, the gentlemen present adjourned to the 
Guildhall Tavern for the annual dinner, at which 
some thirty or more members were present, Mr. 
Sherwood again presiding, and Mr. Jefferies, of 
Cirencester, occupying the vice-chair. 
The usual loyal toasts having been duly honoured, 
including “ The Army, Navy, and Reserve Forces,” 
which was responded to by Mr. H. J. Cutbush, a 
former member of the H.A.C., the chairman gave 
” Continued Success and Prosperity to the Associa¬ 
tion,” and reminded his hearers that the Institution 
had flourished more or less ever since it was formed, 
but certainly more now than it did the first few years 
of its existence. They had met with many early 
difficulties, but under the more favourable circum¬ 
stances which had prevailed during the last few 
years they had been able to make very good pro¬ 
gress. The objects of the Association were well 
known to them all. As traders they were all more or 
less troubled at times with the custom of those who 
had no particular desire to pay for the goods which 
they obtained, and one of the principal objects of the 
Association was to protect its members against the 
fraudulent operations of such people, by the circu¬ 
lation of status reports; whilst another important 
service which it rendered to the trade was the pro¬ 
tection, owing to the watchfulness of their solicitor, 
which it afforded against Acts of Parliament which 
in any way might affect them being sprung upon 
them. The action of the Association had been of 
great benefit to the trade with regard to the railway 
rates question, and also in obtaining an important 
amendment to the Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs 
Act of last year, which, as first passed by the House 
of Commons, would have practically stopped the 
sale of horticultural manures in small quantities, but 
which, owing to the action taken by their solicitor 
in bringing the matter to the notice of various mem¬ 
bers of the House of Lords, had been amended in 
the Upper Chamber to the effect that the Act should 
not apply to a sale when the whole amount sold at 
any one time weighed less than half a hundredweight. 
That was a very important concession to their 
interests, which they would not have gained but for 
the activity of the solicitor to their Association. 
They possessed one of the biggest black books in 
the trade, and which was of the greatest usefulness 
when members applied for status reports ; but he 
could wish that they had more members to whom 
the contents of that book would be useful. Such 
books were of enormous value in preventing the 
making of bad debts, and it was surprising that 
more members of the trade did not appreciate that 
value by supporting the Association than did at pre¬ 
sent. He could not refrain from remarking that 
many of their friends in business seemed to hold 
very narrow views with regard to such associations 
as theirs, but he considered it was the bounden duty 
of every good business man to support such an 
institution, and he hoped their numbers would in¬ 
crease in the future at a greater rate than they had 
done in the past. He had suggested as one means 
of strengthening their position that more frequent 
meetings of the trade should be held, believing that 
the oftener they met to discuss their business 
interests the more would good feeling be promoted 
and the greater would be the benefit to them all. 
The toast was acknowledged by Mr. Robert 
Sydenham, of Birmingham, and was succeeded by 
" Our Visitors and Foreign Members,” which was 
responded to by Mr. Van Zanten, of Hillegom. Mr. 
Thomson, of Wimbledon, proposed ” The Solicitor 
and Secretary,” which was suitably replied to my 
Mr. Butcher and Mr. George Worrell. Other toasts 
followed, including ” The Horticultural Press,” 
The Chairman,” and ” The Vice-Chairman,” and 
not the least pleasant feature of an enjoyable even¬ 
ing was the musical programme admirably carried 
out by Mr. D. Fairley and some talented friends. 
-- 
ON THINNING PEACHES. 
When these set so freely, as in the present season, 
there is a danger of some damage being done to the 
trees from exhaustion caused by the heavy demands 
made upon them to sustain the fruit unless timely 
and judicious thinning is early resorted to. The 
process of setting cannot be accomplished without 
considerable expenditure of energy, and the greater 
the quantity of fruit set the larger the drain upon 
the vital sources of the tree. This should teach us 
that the sooner in the season thinning out is resorted 
to the better it will be alike for the trees and the 
crop of fruit they are expected to carry to maturity. 
It will be found that trees which set the thinnest 
crop generally show a larger proportion of fruit than 
those which set more freely, and the fruit on these 
will also be larger and better. We ourselves 
commence thinning at the earliest possible moment, 
thinning out to 5 in. or 6 in. on a shoot, selecting 
the most promising and best placed fruit as we pro¬ 
ceed, and leaving none whatever on growths which 
will have no foliage upon them, and removing all 
imperfectly set fruit which will never arrive at 
maturity. This will leave ample fruit for a crop, 
and they may be gone over and still further reduced 
before stoning, the most promising being left. Some 
leave the final thinning till after the stoning process 
is completed, but in our own practice there is none 
to be done at this period, the thinning out being 
completed before this takes place. The early and 
complete thinning adds to both the weight and 
quality of the fruit lelt, and benefits the trees them¬ 
selves to the extent to which they are withheld from 
exhausting their energies in the production of use¬ 
less fruit.— IF. B.G. 
SUCCESS IN GARDENING. 
Success in life depends very much upon making the 
best of the opportunities afforded in whatsoever 
department of life a man may be placed, and in 
nothing is this more exemplified than in things per¬ 
taining to the gardener’s calling. In gardening one 
of the most essential conditions leading to success 
is that a sharp look-out ahead must ever be kept to 
take advantage of every atmospheric condition 
suitable for the carrying out of necessary operations 
with a minimum amount of labour, and be ready to 
afford needful protection whenever required by our 
plants, equally against adverse climatic influences 
as against fungoid or Insect enemies. 
As illustrative of my meaning I may refer to 
planting out. Dull, showery weather is unques¬ 
tionably the most suitable for this, because the 
moisture in the earth and the air enables the plants 
to quickly take fresh hold of the soil, and in the 
absence of bright sunlight, too, the plants wither up 
far less than they otherwise would do. Another 
advantage also results from planting out at such 
times in the lessened labour incurred in watering 
till the plants re-establish themselves. There are 
seasons when, from prolonged drought, the planting 
out of winter stuff has been deferred till it becomes 
an absolute necessity to carry it out at all cost. 
Under these circumstances we have found that if 
drills are drawn where the rows of plants are to 
come and well watered over night, and the plants 
planted early the next morning, it will not take much 
water to settle the soil about the roots. And at the 
same time, if each plant is covered over with some 
light material, such as Rhubarb leaves, which we 
have frequently used, though we prefer something 
more enduring, this shields the young plants from 
the influence of the sun’s rays, and serves to retain 
the moisture in the soil by checking evaporation. 
The mulching of garden crops is of all things the 
best safeguard against drought in dry summers 
where it can be done. Much of the time frequently 
spent in watering would be better occupied in 
■mulching, which not only retains the moisture but 
also, renders the labour less in weeding than it 
otherwise would be, because it covers in and 
smothers most of the annual seedling weeds. As 
regards hoeing, the earlier this is taken in hand, and 
the more frequently the ground is gone over with 
the hoe, choosing dry weather if possible, the less 
time will then be spent in keeping a garden free of 
weeds, for if these once get the upper hand there is 
not only time to be spent in cutting them down or 
pulling them up, but also in raking and clearing them 
off the ground. Besides, the frequent stirring of 
the surface of the soil is conducive to the well-being 
of the crops upon it. 
Another instance in point is the management of 
gravel paths. The heavy expense formerly incurred 
in the hand-weeding of these has in many places be¬ 
come a thing of the past since the introduction of 
the various weed killers so frequently advertised, and 
which are gradually making both hand-weeding and 
the use of either salt, carbolic acid, or oil of vitriol 
things of the past also, for with an ordinary amount 
of care no damage need be done to any edging in the 
use of them, and the saving of time in large places 
effected by their use is enormous. Besides this, the 
saving in the wear and tear of the gravel effected by 
their use tells up considerably in a few years, as the 
stones are never displaced in the removal of weeds, 
and less rolling is required. 
With regard to watering there is also a vast 
difference in the results following the way in which 
this is done. Slight sprinklings of the surface fre¬ 
quently do more harm than good, but a thorough 
soaking given occasionally late in the afternoon or 
evening, followed up in the morning by giving the 
surface a good stirring with the hoe before the sun 
evaporates the moisture, will do by far the greatest 
amount of good. A mere sprikling draws the fibrous 
roots to the surface, only to be scorched up by the 
sun. Besides these instances there will often occur 
emergencies which will put to the test a man’s tact 
and ability to grapple with them, and the amount of 
success achieved depends very much upon the use 
made of the opportunities and means afforded with 
which to deal with them.—IF. B. G. 
-« I - 
TREES AND SHRUBS 
IN FLOWER. 
Magnolia Umbrella.— Though the general leafage 
of this tree is hardly so good as that of the Cu¬ 
cumber tree (M. acuminata) ; the individual leaves 
are larger and the flowers larger and more effective 
The individual leaves vary from 8 in. to 2 ft. in 
length according to the vigour of the tree, being 
largest on the younger trees ; and they are mostly 
crowded together in a tuft near the apex of the shoots. 
The flowers are large, and when fully expanded have a 
spread of 4 in. to 6 in. The three spreading 
sepals are green, but the six to nine petals are pure 
white. 
Magnolia obovata discolor. —The usual height 
of this Japanese shrub is 5 ft. to 6 ft., and when 
grown in the open it forms a spreading bush, and 
bears a wonderful profusion of flowers of somewhat 
peculiar form. They are narrow or contracted at 
the base, appearing tubular while the upper portion 
spreads open like a funnel. The petals are deep 
purple externally and silvery-white internally. The 
variety forms a succession to M. conspicu, M. c. 
Soulangeana, and the hybrid M. Lennei. 
Genista hispanica.— The profusion of bloom on 
the Broom and Gorse is surpassed in quantity by 
that of the Spanish Broom under notice. The plant 
forms a dense sji y bush about 2 ft. high, and just 
now is surmounted by a dense growth of short, leafy, 
spineless shoots that terminate in a head of golden- 
yellow flowers. The bush is simply a mass of golden 
bloom, and will continue in that condition for some 
time. Owing to its dwarf habit it may be planted 
in positions where space is valuable, and even as a 
bed upon the grass. 
Cytisus purpureus.— Naturally this is a very 
dwarf bush, not rising above 2 ft. as a rule, because 
the stems in time are inclined to hug the ground. 
For that reason it is often grafted standard high 
