February 16, ISSS. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
393 
Mr. Barron as honorary secretary, which was 
carried by acclamation, with a most cordial vote of 
thanks for his past invaluable services. 
Mr. A. J. Brown asked whether any of the five 
children who had ceased to be chargeable to the 
fund had derived any benefit from the fund under 
the rule which enabled the committee to contribute 
a sum of not more than £10 towards apprenticing or 
otherwise promoting the start in life of any bene- 
ficiare of the fund, to which Mr. Marshall replied, 
that the committee had exercised their powers in one 
case, but that none of the others had applied for any 
extra assistance. Mr. Brown also suggested as 
matters for the consideration of the committee (i) 
whether it would not be advisable to so alter their 
rules as to make canvassing for votes prohibitory ; 
and (2) whether it was not possible to devise some 
scheme whereby votes might be allowed to candi¬ 
dates whose parents had been subscribers to the 
fund in proportion to the amounts paid. 
Messrs. B. Wynne, R. Dean, W. Poupart, and A. 
Outram, having been elected scrutineers’ of the 
ballot, the meeting was adjourned until the close of 
the poll, when the following six candidates were 
declared to be duly elected:—Rosa Emily King 
Ward, 535 ; Frederick Smith Parker, 517; 
Isabella Elizabeth Pratt, 489; Alfred 
Alexander Crafter, 457 ; Leonard Taylor, 
276; and Felicia Barber, 228. The 
votes recorded for the other candidates 
were as follows :—Amy Farrant, 190; 
Frank L. Haycock, 145 ; Andrina Brown 
Ritchie, 216; Seymour Small, 209; 
Ruben Charles Stevens, 90; Fred 
Barson, 42; and William Clark, 29. 
Cordial votes of thanks to the Chairman 
and Scrutineers brought the proceedings 
to a close. 
debarred from the show tables never come to the 
front and remain obscure and unknown, who would 
then stand some chance of lettiDg their light shine. 
A few practical men, with a good knowledge of their 
own locality, would soon be able to frame a schedule 
suitable to its circumstances, which differ very widely, 
and no one set of rules would meet the exigencies of 
all places. In some instances it would be necessary, 
owing to the varied extent of the gardens and the 
number of hands employed, to offer several first, 
second, and third prizes, so that all competitors 
would be on as equal a footing as possible. 
There is yet another point which I think should be 
a feature in every society’s programme. I allude to 
the work carried on by the gardeners’ mutual 
improvement societies, for as the interests sought to 
be forwarded are of the same character the work 
would be better carried on under the auspices of one 
body. It would lead to greater unity of action among 
those forming the gardening community, and the 
more frequent interchange of ideas and the bringing 
together throughout the year of objects of special 
interest in their season, would both quicken the 
interest and raise the interest of the members so 
meeting together. 
LOCAL HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETIES. 
There are happily scattered throughout 
the country very many of these excellent 
institutions which in the past have been 
and still are doing very good work in 
connection with their annual flower 
shows, in giving a stimulus to the superior 
cultivation of flowers, fruit, and vege¬ 
tables. This being granted, I should be 
sorry to say one word which might seem 
to imply anything approaching dis¬ 
paragement, but the question has often 
occurred to me whether it would not be 
advisable to make an effort to extend the 
scope of their operations by doing some¬ 
thing more than getting together one 
flower show during the season, the result 
of which too frequently is but a repeti¬ 
tion of former displays which, however 
good in themselves, produce a feeling of 
satiety in the minds of many who 
frequent them. 
I believe that those who most enjoy a 
visit to flower shows are to be found among the large 
class who love looking at flowers and plants, and have 
few opportunities of seeing such as are annually 
brought together at these local shows. To them they 
are a source of great enjoyment, and by whom the loss 
of this annual floral treat would be severely felt. They 
owe a debt of gratitude to those patrons of horti¬ 
culture through whose good will these annual dis¬ 
plays are brought together, and who are mostly 
enthusiastic supporters of gardening in its various 
branches, and among whom I think there may be 
found those who would willingly grant facilities for 
a new departure. The suggestion I would offer, by 
the way, is not strictly new, because it has been ex¬ 
tensively put into practice in connection with 
cottage garden shows, and has been attended with 
the most satisfactory results. I allude to the prizes 
offered for the best cropped and kept kitchen and 
flower gardens. 
There may possibly be some among those who 
from a variety of motives withhold their sanction to 
their gardeners showing any speciality at the flower 
shows, who would not object to their gardens being 
inspected by a small body of competent judges, who 
would award certificates or prizes to the gardeners in 
respect to the general keep and excellency of the 
culture of whatever may be under their management. 
There are many able gardeners who from being 
This arrangement would widen the interest taken 
by gardeners in the affairs of the society, because at 
the weekly or first monthly meetings all would have 
an opportunity of expressing their opinions upon any 
paper which might be read, or any exhibit placed 
upon the table ; whereas, when, as in most instances 
at the present time where the operations of the 
society are confined to the getting up of the annual 
exhibition, the work of which is necessarily carried 
on by a stated committee, from whose meetings out¬ 
siders are excluded, there are many who would be 
glad to meet their fellow workers in the same calling 
and discuss various questions in connection with 
their occupation in a friendly manner, which, in the 
absence of a mutual improvement society, they have 
no opportunity of doing. 
For these reasons I think it is most desirable that 
where there is a mutual improvement society it 
should amalgamate with the horticultural, or, more 
properly, the flower show society, if there is one in 
the district, and where a "mutual” has not been 
started the local horticultural society should take 
the work up and blend it with its own, a course 
which I cannot help thinking would generally be 
much to its advantage. I may add that my own ex¬ 
perience in connection with improvement societies 
has given me a decided aversion to granting either 
prizes or certificates for any exhibit brought forward 
at the meetings. I should much prefer to see mem¬ 
bers bring any fruit, flower, plant, or vegetable 
which they think meritorious for the pleasure of 
letting other members see it and hearing their 
opinion freely expressed upon it. And when in doubt 
respecting the name of anything they may have, 
bringing it forward. There will often be found some 
one or other among the members able to clear up a 
doubt upon this point, and many pleasant enter- 
changes of opinion and experience will be elicited by 
these means.— W. B. G. 
A NEW GREENHOUSE STOVE. 
A Greenhouse stove is a seasonable subject just 
now, and we have particulars before us of a new one 
that should prove a boon to many at present who are 
at their wits' end to know how to keep out the in- 
siduous enemy, frost, from their greenhouses and 
conservatories. Under ordinary circumstances and 
in average winters, the previous appliances which 
have been used have been quite sufficient to cope 
with the storms, and the frosts, with which v/e are 
generally assailed in the early months of the year. 
The duration and the intensity of the frost since 
Christmas has not been paralleled for 
fifty years or more, so that we are not at 
all surprised with the difficulty ex¬ 
perienced in keeping up not merely the 
required temperature, but in actually 
keeping out the frost, so that in many 
cases plants of a tender nature must 
be lost. The accompanying illustration, 
for which we are indebted to the Frank 
Rippingiile Stove Co., Plume Street, 
Aston, Birmingham, will give a general 
idea of the apparatus in question. Mr. 
Frank Rippingiile, the son of Alexander 
Rippingiile, the original inventor and 
pioneer of the Oil Stove Industry, is the 
inventor in this case, and we give the 
description of the apparatus in his own 
words:— 
" The necessity of a greenhouse stove 
to burn thirty to forty hours without 
attention having been repeatedly pointed 
out to us, we have now, after a con¬ 
siderable amount of experimenting, pro¬ 
duced a stove which is capable of heating 
a greenhouse or conservatory 20 ft. by 
10 ft. by 9 ft. It is constructed on the 
condensing hot air principle, and the 
whole stove is made from lead-coated 
steel, thus preventing any rust taking 
place from the dampness in a greenhouse. 
It will burn forty hours without atten¬ 
tion at the ridiculously small cost of 
sixpence, the consumption being one 
gallon of petroleum. This stove burns 
perfectly sweet, and gives off a soft moist 
heat which is beautifully suited for a 
greenhouse. It is fitted with one of 
our improved 4! sliding burners, and 
requires no fixing or piping whatever, being in 
itself complete.” 
GOOD TILLAGE AND ROTATION OF 
GARDEN CROPS. 
It has been well said that the soil is a mine of wealth 
in the shape of plant focd, so that it only awaits the 
skill of the good cultivator with good tillage, the 
application of manures, and well chosen rotations of 
crops to secure rich harvests at a minimum outlay. 
The soil can never become entirely exhausted, but 
under a state of nature and left to its own resources 
it tends to become more fertile from year to year. 
Plants really accumulate wealth in the course of 
generations, and the natural vegetation will give 
evidence of it provided all other conditions are equal. 
Nature sows broadcast, however, and in mixture so 
that a struggle for existence is always going on between 
the strong and the weaker, so that the latter are being 
continually displaced. Man sows the plants separately 
and in lines, so that every plant taken under his 
protection is encouraged to thrive, and under his 
fostering care, if skilful, is capable of attaining its 
best development. The most powerful agencies for 
renewing the fertility of the soil are air, rain, frost, 
and sunshine, so that the gardener does but avail 
himself of their aid to renew or restore the material 
that has been removed in the form of crops. 
When relatively poor ground is covered with a 
few or even one kind of tree only, the soil becomes 
