224 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 10, 1895. 
which prevents more than one or two at¬ 
tendances during the year. We should 
still like to see an extension of the present 
limited practice of inviting any eminent 
gardener or horticulturist whose name may 
not be on the Committee lists to sit with 
one or other Committee when they may 
attend meetings. Nothing but good can 
result to the Society from following this 
course. 
It may not be generally known that at 
the last November meeting of the com¬ 
mittees, the council invite the nomination 
of persons who it may be thought would 
be suitable members for the ensuing year 
to fill some inevitable vacancies. This has 
been previously done in December, but it 
was found that it made the publication of 
the society’s arrangements for the ensuing 
year late, hence it is now done at an earlier 
meeting. The plan is a very good one, as 
it enables the names of persons to be men¬ 
tioned who otherwise might be overlooked. 
Whe Earlier Opening of Kew Gar- 
dens. —Eminently unsatisfactory must 
be the term applied to Mr. Shaw Lefevre’s 
reply to the Richmond Deputation which 
waited upon him with respect to the earlier 
opening of Kew Gardens. Whilst pro¬ 
fessing himself in sympathy with the objects 
of the deputation, he seems to have talked 
all the other way. Sympathy of that sort 
is not asked for. What is asked for is this— 
that those fine gardens are the property of 
the nation, just as much as Hyde Park is ; 
that they are maintained for the benefit of 
the nation, and not for that of any little 
select scientific circle; that to enable 
the public who pay for the maintenance 
of the gardens to have the fullest 
value for their money, it is imperative 
that the gardens shall be open to all 
comers at a much earlier hour of the day, 
and that every facility shall be afforded by 
the highly paid garden staff, to let the 
public obtain at once all possible in¬ 
formation and enjoyment. What puerile 
nonsense was it for Mr. Lefevre to talk about 
the opinion of Mr. Allred R. Wallace, whom 
he in such a matter so irrelevantly referred 
to as a distinguished Land Nationalist. 
What on earth had Mr. Wallace’s views on 
Land Nationalisation to do with the objects 
of the deputation. Nothing at all. But, 
they are paraded because selfish scientists 
like Mr. Wallace would shut out the 
public from getting into Kew Gardens 
earlier, because sometimes he wants to 
pursue his plant studies there. Good 
Heavens ! what trashy argument is this. 
How often does Mr. A. R. Wallace spend his 
mornings at Kew pray, and how often do 
other selfish scientists. Really this is too 
absurd, and let us say we marvel to find 
such stuff put forth as argument by a com¬ 
missioner of works who poses as an 
advanced political Liberal. 
The question of increased expense is 
based entirely on a doctrine, which ought 
not to find a place in Mr. Lefevre’s mind— 
it is distrust of the public. Because the 
people are to be admitted two or three 
hours earlier in the day to their own gar¬ 
dens, an army of uniformed guardians is to 
be found at a cost of some ^1500 or £2000 a 
year. This is truly monstrous. There is to 
be found ample evidence that the public do 
visit far more better-kept gardens than Kew 
and do no harm. Why then this shame¬ 
ful distrust and suspicion of them. 
John Downie.-— Whilst elsewhere another 
J* pen notices the life and labours of our 
dear, dead old friend, and the warm friend 
of so many other horticulturists, we cannot 
withhold here a tribute of esteem and 
strong friendship. After all, and amidst 
the eternal clamouring which goes on in 
the world for honours and titles what 
earthly glamour could add honours to the 
plain, unpretentious, homely but so emi¬ 
nently suitable a designation for our 
departed friend, as that which heads this 
paragraph. Essentially John Downie was 
a plain unvarnished man, overflowing with 
kindly feeling and brimful of information. 
He was a horticulturist to the very bone, 
a capable and well informed tradesman, 
and essentially and almost primarily a 
florist. 
It cannot be said that he was a repre¬ 
sentative of any past generation, although 
an old man. He was in all his garden 
knowledge, practice, and tasks literally 
up to date. It was his good fortune 
always to be about. A few years ago and 
John Downie was met with everywhere, 
and any important horticultural show or 
function seemed incomplete without his 
portly presence. To all whom he knew 
he ever gave a very hearty, indeed, a truly 
Scottish welcome. Those who came to 
him strange, he soon made at home. He 
was in that respect a thoroughly national 
as well as horticultural representative of 
bonnie Scotland. Few men have died as 
horticulturists who left behind a wider 
circle of friends to mourn his loss. 
Even to much younger men these depar¬ 
tures from life of old and warm friends come 
as profound warnings. They lead 11s to 
perceive only too vividly how rapidly is 
the area of our friendships narrowing. It 
is true that for a few years longer we may 
make other friends, but none that is new 
can ever replace those which have been 
almost life-long, and of the warmest and 
most intimate description. There are 
scores of southern horticulturists who, 
when next they visit Auld Reekie, will miss 
the kindly, genial presence and hearty 
welcome of good old John Downie. 
'he Pansy. —At length a society for the 
encouragement of the Pansy "has been 
formed in London. We presume, because of 
its simple metropolitan title—that of the 
London Pansy Society—that its operations 
are to be limited to the metropolitan district; 
at any rate its title justifies such an 
assumption. Were London omitted and 
“ British ” or “ National ’' substituted we 
should then look for greater things. Still 
it may be, and perhaps not with laudable 
intent, the promoters of the Society,desiring 
to promote the culture and of course exhi¬ 
bition of the Pansy in and around London, 
would prefer not to be over-shadowed with 
exhibitors and flowers from other and more 
favoured districts. 
The gain in such case is of course counter¬ 
balanced by the absence from an exhibition 
of the fine blooms which others may have, 
and which would if displayed do so much 
to stimulate metropolitan growers to have 
high aims and secure the finest varieties. 
We hope for the Pansy better things than 
has befallen the Pink. In spite of efforts 
made to popularise that favourite hardy 
flower, very little success seems to have 
resulted, only some half-dozen at the most 
seem to have taken to Pink culture, and 
the shows were poor indeed. The Pansy 
is a far more facile flower,and is most easily 
raised from seed ; still it will not do for those 
who may contemplate entering the lists at 
some future Pansy Exhibition as competi¬ 
tors to depend upon seedlings to furnish 
them proper show flowers. 
Seedlings will give myraids of showy 
border flowers, but relatively few that are 
fit to play a prominent part in a competition. 
There are literally hundreds of fine varieties 
in commerce. Happily, and doubtless it is 
the hope of the promoters of the Pansy 
Society that man)’ of these beautiful 
varieties may find wider cultivation in the 
London district. The Society has much 
to do in this matter, for there is hardly any 
hardy flower that receives more indifferent 
attention all through the South of England 
than the Pansy. Something has to be over¬ 
come in the difficulty which seems to be 
expedenced in inducing northern raised 
plants to take kindly to metropolitan soils 
and conditions; still there is no telling 
what may in time be accomplished. The 
new Pansy Society has our warmest good 
wishes, and we hope it may aid in the pro¬ 
duction of a national revival of love for the 
Heartsease. 
--j-- 
Royal Botanic Society.—The following are the dates 
fixed for the exhibitions of this society during the 
ensuing year :—March 22, April 26, May 17 ; special 
floral fete, June 21, and evening fete, July 5. 
Manchester Botanical and Horticultural Society.— 
The exhibitions of this society will take place next 
year on the following dates :—At the Town Hall on 
the 14th of March and the 25th of April; special 
grand exhibition of Orchids and artistic groups of 
plants, to open on May 19th at the Gardens, Old 
Trafford ; Rcse show at the Gardens, 22nd July; 
Chrysanthemum and Hardy Fruit Show, 21st and 
22nd November. The National Tulip Society’s 
show and the Carnation and Picotee and Pink 
Societies' exhibitions will also take place at the 
Gardens, Old Trafford. The dates will be fixed a 
little later. 
Preservation of Linen Cloth and Cordage.— 
The Revue de L'Horticulture Beige records a method 
of preserving material of the above nature by 
immersing them in a basin of sulphate of copper. 
Another method of proceeding is to treat the tissues 
with the blue liquour ammoniacal solution of copper, 
known under the name of Schweitzer’s reagent, 
obtained by causing ammonia repeatedly to pass 
over the surface of copper. When the operation is 
conducted with skill so as to prevent dissolution, the 
fibres become impermeable and not liable to rot. 
Young Gardeners at Kew.—The young gardeners 
now serving at Kew, and many who have left it have 
resolved to form themselves into a Guild, for the 
purpose of printing and publishing an annual report, 
which practically will consist of a list of the Kew 
gardeners, past and present whose addresses can be 
obtained. The object of this is to bring all into 
communication with one another—an advantage that 
has never hitherto existed. Two prize essays besides, 
interesting communications from old Kewites all 
over the world, will also be included in the report. 
To pay the expenses of printing this, it is expected 
that most or all past and present gardeners would 
contribute the modest sum of one shilling. Mr. W. 
Watson, the secretary’, will be pleased to receive 
communications from old Kew men, giving their 
addresses and the positions they hold in the pro¬ 
fession. 
The Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution.—A 
general meeting of the members of this institution 
will be held at Simpson's, 101, Strand, on Tuesday, 
the 20th inst., at 3 p.m., for the purpose of passing 
a special resolution to change the original name of 
the institution from “ The Benevolent Institution, 
for the Relief of Aged and Indigent Gardeners and 
their Widows,” to that of “ The Gardeners’ Royal 
Benevolent Institution," by which it is now generally 
known, for the purpose of registration. And also 
to consider and adopt alterations and additions to the 
rules of the institution, recommended by the com¬ 
mittee of management. 
Birmingham Gardeners’ Association—At the last 
meeting of this association, Mr. W. Crump, The 
Gardens, Madresfield Court, Malvern, read a paper 
on the Apple, its Varieties, and Culture, and brought 
with him samples of too varieties selected from a 
collection of 250 kinds, grown in the experimental 
garden at Madresfield. Peasgoods Nonsuch, Blen¬ 
heim Orange, Golden Noble, Cox’s Orange Pippin, 
American Mother, Ribston Pippin, Worcester Pear- 
main, Lane's Prince Albert, Saltmarsh’s Queen, and 
a lot of others were excellent samples. From three 
to four acres have been devoted to the testing of 
sorts and for affording information in the district 
