December 22,1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
261 
advance of previous years, both as regards the 
character and excellence of the papers read, and the 
quantity and quality of the exhibits brought 
forward, and in regard to the latter undoubtedly 
their standard of merit had been raised to a very 
appreciable extent, and it was much more difficult 
now to obtain the maximum number of marks than 
heretofore. From an educational point of view this 
was a great gain, and in time would not be without 
its effect in enhancing the importance of the Society’s 
operations. For the forthcoming year the Committee 
had arranged an excellent syllabus, and they had 
also been enabled to extend their prize list. In 
conclusion, Mr. Sanders paid a warm tribute of 
praise to the services rendered to the Society by the 
Secretary and Assistant Secretary, Mr. D. B. Crane 
and Mr. Rowberry, and the Treasurer, Mr. Needs, 
all of whom had worked hard in the past, and 
would, he felt sure, work harder in the future to 
make the Association useful to those amateurs whose 
interests were neglected by the older societies. 
The prize distribution was then proceeded with, 
each of the recipient of awards being received with 
loud applause. The other toasts were—" The 
President, Vice-Presidents, and Officers of the 
Association,” " The Ladies,” “The Prize-winners," 
“Exhibitors and Donors of Prizes,” “Kindred 
Societies,” “The Committee,” and “The Press.” 
-- 
BERRIED SOLANUMS. 
At the present season of the year these ever popular 
plants form conspicuous objects in many a green¬ 
house, as well as being utilised to a very large extent 
in the decorations consequent upon the arrival of the 
time-honoured Christmas season. It would be 
difficult indeed to find any establishment where a few of 
them are not grown. Their brilliant scarlet or 
yellow berries form a most pleasing contrast to the 
healthy dark green hue of the foliage: accordingly 
it is not to be wondered at that they enjoy so large a 
share of public esteem. The two species most 
commonly seen would seem to be very closely allied 
to each other. Solanum capsicastrum or the " Star 
Capsicum” as it is commonly called, is a native of 
Brazil, and attains a height of about 2 ft. under 
cultivation. S. pseudo-capsicastrum, or to give its 
popular name, “ The Jerusalem Cherry,” which hails 
from Madeira, boasts of a somewhat stronger habit, 
as it grows to a height of some 4 ft. Both plants 
are well-known occupants of our plant houses. 
From the latter species several hybrids have been 
raised, one, S. p-c. rigidum, having bright orange 
coloured fruits. This is a desirable variety to grow, 
forming as it does an agreeable constrast to the 
crimson fruited sorts. 
All three are remarkably easy of culture, and are 
on this account exceedingly good subjects for the 
furnishing of the amateur’s greenhouse. They are 
great favourites, too, for the filling of vases within 
doors as well as for the adornment of the windows 
alike of the cottage and the villa. When used for 
such purposes, as light a position as possible should 
be assigned them, otherwise the berries will very 
soon drop, the beauty of the plant being as a natural 
result spoiled. Propagation may be readily con¬ 
ducted by inserting cuttings in spring in light, sandy 
compost, and plunging the pots in a gentle bottom 
heat, or they may be raised from seeds. 
Very good results may be obtained if after all 
danger of frost has passed away, the young plants 
are planted outdoors on a warm south border. In 
such a position they will grow away freely enough, 
and at the commencement of autumn, may be lifted 
and potted off in suitably sized pots. This method 
is indeed preferable to that of growing them on in 
pots all the year, for, to start with, it minimises the 
necessary labour to a large extent, one or two 
waterings, if the summer proves a dry one, being all 
that is requisite, with of course the keeping of the 
plantations free from weeds, neither an expensive or 
a troublesome item of culture. Then again it often 
happens that from some cause or other, some plants 
set a much greater number of berries than others, 
and as the value of the plant necessarily lies in the 
freedom with which the brightly coloured fruits are 
produced, it is obvious that it is but a waste of time 
to pot up plants that are but sparsely fruited. 
When planted out in the manner suggested a selec¬ 
tion of the best shaped and most profusely berried 
examples may be made, the rest being discarded. 
When grown on in pots, a selection may also be 
made it is true but in such cases a great deal of the 
labour expended will have been lost or will at least 
yield a scarcely adequate return in the way of a good 
percentage of nandsome and useful plants. 
GARRYA ELLIPTICA. 
During summer the leathery, dull green leaves of 
this Californian shrub are passed by amidst the 
glitter and sheen of hundreds of brighter subjects 
both in respect to flowers and foliage. The leaves 
are indeed to some extent glossy, but in the 
neighbourhood of smoky towns that character is 
more or less entirely obscured by the deposit of 
filth from the atmosphere. In autumn, however, 
soon after the leaves of deciduous subjects have 
dropped, the catkins of Garrya elliptica begin to 
develop. Spring is considered the proper time for 
it to flower, and such would, no doubt, be the case 
after a severe winter, which keeps it at rest; but 
the past autumn being so mild, the bushes were in 
full bloom by the middle of November. The male 
catkins are the showiest, and from the tips of the 
shoots develop a tassel or cluster of long, drooping 
strings of flowers, so to speak, resembling a neck¬ 
lace of peculiarly formed beads. The flowers in 
themselves are neither large nor particularly showy, 
Fruit Spike of Garrya elliptica. 
but they, together with the connate and cup-like 
bracts hanging mouth downwards, are singularly 
effective. If cut and used for floral decorations, 
the shoots with their flowers remain in good con¬ 
dition for a long time. The female flowers are 
produced on different plants, and when theclimatical 
conditions are favourable they give rise to a pendu¬ 
lous spike of black berries as shown in the 
accompanying illustration. If male and female 
plants were more often grown in contiguity, fruit 
would doubtless more often make its appearance 
than it does at present. 
---S-- 
PUBLIC PARKS AND GARDENS; 
PAST AND PRESENT. 
At the fortnightly meeting of the Exeter Gardeners’ 
Mutual Improvement Society, last evening, Mr. F. 
W. Meyer, landscape gardener to Messrs. Veitch & 
Son, who recently designed the parks for Devon- 
port and Truro, read a paper on “ Public Parks and 
Gardens—Past and Present.” In the first part of 
his paper Mr. Meyer gave an interesting history of 
celebrated gardens generally, shewing the gradual 
development of the art of laying out beautiful 
grounds. He described the most ancient gardens 
on record—namely, those of the early Egyptians, 
the Persians, and the Chinese, and quoted extracts 
from the Greek writers Herodotus and Diodorus, 
dealing with the ancient hanging gardens of 
Babylon, which existed many years before the 
Christian era. The first public gardens in Europe 
were those of the Greeks, and the so-called 
“ Akedemy ” gardens in the suburbs of Athens, with 
their “Philosopher's walks,” the favourite haunts 
of Socrates, Plato, and their disciples were mentioned. 
Roman Gardens were also described, and, after a 
brief reference to the mediaeval period, the lecturer 
described the gardens of the Renaissance, and the 
subsequent Italian and French styles, giving as an 
example the enormous formal gardens at Versailles, 
with their miles of clipped trees and stupendous 
terraces and fountains, which, in spite of all their 
pomp and splendour, were so depressing and 
monotonous that even Louis XIV., who had them 
constructed, soon tired of their formality, and 
retreated to the more modest and secluded Trianon. 
Dealing next with modern gardens in the irregular 
style, Mr. Meyer said the present generation had 
learnt to appreciate the beauty of form in nature, 
and the modern landscape gardeners therefore tried 
their best to develop in their works a style of natural 
beauty, which could be practised successfully only 
by those who had closely studied the subject. The 
cradle of this natural style was China, and it was a 
remarkable fact that a country generally considered 
to be several centuries behind the times should in 
this respect be so far advanced. The first European 
country to adopt the natural style was England, and 
from there it spread all over the Continent. Public 
parks and gardens should be places of enjoyment 
where the people could breathe pure air, where they 
could find repose and recreation after their daily toil, 
and where among tasteful arrangements of plants 
and flowers they could learn to appreciate the 
beautiful in Nature, and educate their taste and 
refinement by studying the effect and development 
of plant life, and acquire in addition a most useful 
knowledge of plants generally. Modern public 
gardens on the Continent were dealt with at some 
length, including the public park and Botanical 
Gardens at Brussels and Antwerp, the Bois de 
Boulogne in Paris, the new public grounds at Zuric, 
the phenomenal glacier garden in Lucerne, the 
Theirgarten and Humboldshain in Berlin, all of 
which Mr. Meyer was able to speak from personat 
experience. With regard to public parks and 
gardens in England, the lecturer considered that in 
London Battersea Park was. the best, while as an 
educational field Kew Gardens far surpassed all 
others. 
Speaking of Devon and Cornwall, Mr. Meyer said 
it was to be regretted that in counties so favoured by 
Nature the public parks and gardens should be, 
generally speaking, so far behind the times, and, as a 
rule, be planted with common rubbish. He men¬ 
tioned Kimberley Park at Falmouth as a notable 
exception. The Morab Gardens in Penzance con¬ 
tained many good plants, but they were spoiled by 
too many needless walks. In Torquay a praise¬ 
worthy effort was made to introduce into the new 
public gardens beneath the cliffs some rare and 
handsome plants, but their effect was utterly spoiled 
by the tasteless arrangement of artificial rock work. 
The magnificent natural rocks had been plastered 
with cement and studded with a profusion of white 
spar ; but the crowning piece of folly was a large 
slab from which an ugly and most unnatural looking 
waterspout fell over the glaring white stones. He 
was strongly against defacing such natural beauty, 
which he considered little less than a crime. Mr. 
Meyor humorously suggested that the designer of 
this “ Torquay Niagara” deserved to be punished by 
being put into a cage in front of his work and made 
to look at it for the rest of his life. With regard to 
public pleasure grounds in Exeter, the lecturer 
severely criticised the Belmont Gardens in the 
higher part of the city, where the plantations con¬ 
sisted mostly of common Laurel, and where a great 
portion of the ground was bare of grass, and the 
paths were in a deplorable condition. Northernhay 
might be made much more attractive if some of the 
rubbish on the lower slopes were cut away, and 
better plants substituted. Bury meadows had at 
least the advantage of a nice piece of grass on which 
children could play, but the heavy looking evergreen 
shrubs all clipped into correct beehive patterns did 
not add to its attractions. 
