December 17, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
241 
Effect of Exposure on Coal.—Coal loses consider¬ 
ably both in weight and quality by exposure to the 
weather. According to a German experimenter, 
anthracite and cannel suffer least, but ordinary 
bituminous coal depreciates nearly one-third in 
weight and Dearly one-half in gas-making quality 
after a long exposure. Weather waste of soft coal 
is always taken into account in a careful establishment 
where much coal is used. The loss appears to come 
from a slow oxidation that takes place, and the 
result is the practical burning of a portion of the 
coal in the pile. All this results in the pile having a 
lessened heating capacity. 
Edinburgh Horticultural Association. —The monthly 
meeting of the Edinburgh Horticultural Association 
was held on the 6th inst. at 14, South Street, Andrew 
Street—Mr. M. Todd presiding. Mr. John Methven 
read an interesting paper on "The Dukeries of 
Nottinghamshire and Sherwood Forest," in the 
course of which he gave a description of the ducal and 
other mansions in these places inspected during their 
excursion some years ago by the Scottish Arboricul- 
tural Society. The lecture was fully illustrated by 
photographic views. On the motion of Councillor 
Mackenzie, Mr. Methven was awarded a cordial vote 
of thanks for his lecture. The treasurer stated that 
the prospective total income from the late Chrysan¬ 
themum show was £1,048, of which £973 was taken 
at the doors. The expenditure he estimated at £973, 
including the £281 for prizes and medals. Mr. Todd 
proposed that the Chrysanthemum show should be 
held next year on the same lines as before. Mr. 
Mackenzie in supporting the motion, eulogized on 
the good the shows had done for Scotland in 
perfecting the cultivation of the Chrysanthemum. 
The motion was unanimously agreed to. Mr. 
Mackenzie gave notice of the following motion for 
next meetings. " That the council be empowered to 
pay a part of their surplus funds to the widows and 
children of Scottish gardeners." Mr. Mackenzie 
moved “that the secretary be instructed to send a 
letter of condolence to Mrs. Downie and family. Mr. 
Greive (of Dickson & Co.) seconded, and it was 
agreed to. An exhibit of splendid blooms of Louis 
Boehmer, and exceptionally fine flowers of Souvenir 
de la Malmaison, from the gardener, Aithery Castle, 
near Stirling, were much admired, and the secretary 
was asked to thank the exhibitor. 
National Amateur Gardeners' Association.—The 
second annual dinner and presentation of prizes of this 
young association of bona fide amateur gardeners took 
place at the Holborn Restaurant on Tuesday night, 
when over one hundred ladies and gentlemen enjoyed 
a very pleasant evening. The president of the 
association, Mr. T. W. Saunders, occupied the 
chair, and, in proposing the toast of “ Continued 
Success and Prosperity to the Association,” con¬ 
gratulated the members on the large accession of 
strength which had accrued during the year from 
the additions to the membership roll, and on the 
record of good work which had been accomplished 
so far. Their progress had indeed been remarkable, 
they had now 408 members on their books, and 
many of those members resided far beyond the 
bounds of London. They had one member in Italy, 
another in North Japan, and several in America. 
Their Liverpool branch now numbered over 100 
members, and was in a flourishing condition. The 
number of affiliated societies was increasing, and he 
sincerely hoped that each member would endeavour 
to induce a friend to join, and so double their num¬ 
ber during the ensuing year. Their subscription 
was a small one, only half-a-crown, and it was 
desirable in every way that their receipts should be 
increased. Their monthly meetings had been well 
attended, the number of exhibits had been largely 
increased, and the standard of quality had been 
very appreciably raised. Their diplomas were very 
much coveted by the members, but it was not to the 
interest of the association that they should be 
awarded too freely, and that had not been done. 
They had also during the year had a special medal 
struck for the Association. The toast was royally 
received, and then the distribution of Medals, 
Certificates, and other prizes took place, and the 
toasts which followed were the " President,” and 
"Executive,” acknowledged by Mr. Saunders; the 
Secretary, Mr. D. B. Crane; and the Treasurer, 
Mr. H. A. Needs; "The Ladies,” "The Visitors,” 
and the "The Press.” 
THE NURSERY AND SEED TRADE 
ASSOCIATION. 
The annual general meeting of the members of this 
association was held on the gth inst., at the offices, 
30, Wood Street, Cheapside, E.C., Mr. N. N. Sher¬ 
wood presiding, there being also present, Mr. H. J. 
Veitch, Mr. W. Paul, Mr. W. J. Nutting, Mr. H. 
Turner, the solicitor, Mr. C. Butcher, the secretary, 
Mr. George Worrell, and others. Some routine 
business having been disposed of, Mr. Sherwood 
was again unanimously re-elected President, and Mr. 
W.J. Nutting,Treasurer. The Trustees, Messrs.H. J. 
Veitch, T. A. Dickson, and J. Hayes, the Solicitor 
and the Secretary were also unanimously re-elected; 
and Mr. Herbert J. Cutbush and Mr. Henry 
Williams were appointed auditors. Mr. Francis 
Fell was elected a member of the committee in the 
place of Mr. T. S. Ware, as also were Mr. W. Y. 
Baker (Thames Bank Iron Co ) and Mr. B. Wynne 
in the places of Mr. Sherwood and Mr. Nutting, who 
are members ex officio. The meeting was then ad¬ 
journed to Wednesday, January nth, at 6 p.m. 
At the conclusion of the business meeting a num¬ 
ber of the members and a few friends dined together 
at the Guildhall Tavern, Mr. Sherwood again taking 
the chair, and Mr. Nutting the vice-chair. In pro¬ 
posing the toast of " Continued success to the Asso¬ 
ciation " the Chairman considered that they might 
all congratulate themselves on the substantial pro¬ 
gress they were making, if not with regard to in¬ 
creasing the membership roll, at least as regarded 
the carrying out of the objects for which they 
were banded together. These objects were:—- 
(1) To protect and promote the trade and business 
of Nurserymen, Florists and Seedsmen in the United 
Kingdom and abroad. (2) To collect and disseminate 
information calculated to protect the members of 
the association (as Nurserymen, Florists, Seedsmen, 
and others interested in Horticulture) from fraud. (3) 
To arrange for the speedy and economical collection 
of debts due to members. (4) The establishment of 
unity amongst those interested in the welfare of the 
Nursery and Seed Trades. (5) The encouragement 
of the interchange of opinions on questions of impor¬ 
tance relating to such trades. (6) The doing of all 
such things as may be incidental or conducive to the 
attainment of the above objects, and all such objects 
as may from time to time be determined 
by the Association. These objects if well and 
systematically carried out could not be other 
than beneficial to the nursery and seed trade, 
and he could wish that the members of the trade 
supported the association in greater numbers than 
they did. The association was valuable as a means 
of interchanging opinions on matters affecting them 
all as traders, and it was to be regretted that they 
did not meet oftener, for a general comparison of 
notes, and the discussion of any matters which may 
arise in the conduct of business. Such meetings he 
felt sure would be highly conducive to the welfare of 
the trade in general. It had occurred to him that 
as they never had a large attendance at their meeting 
in the Cattle Show week, it might be desirable to try 
at some other time or season to get their friends to¬ 
gether, and he would suggest the period in September 
when so many provincial nurserymen were in town 
attending the autumn plant sales, as a suitable one 
for trying the experiment. He felt certain that if 
they could meet together one evening about that 
time it would be to the advantage of them all. 
Mr. Veitch, in responding to the toast, referred to 
the valuable services which had been rendered to 
the association by Mr. William Paul. Mr. Paul 
had taken a great interest in its management since 
the association was established some 15 years ago, 
and whatever success had accrued was largely due 
to his efforts in promoting its welfare. He agreed 
with the principle of having meetings of the trade in 
London, believing that an interchange of ideas would 
be most advisable and salutary, but there were 
difficulties in the way would occur to them all. 
The association was a thoroughly honest and sound 
concern, and he hoped the present members would do 
all they could in inducing their trade friends to join 
them. 
Mr. William Paul gave “ The Trustees and 
Treasurer," to which Mr. Nutting responded. The 
chairman proposed “ The health of the Visitors,” 
which was acknowledged by Mr. Cattrel, an agricul¬ 
tural seed merchant from Lancashire, who in the 
course of a vigorous and sensible speech remarked 
that the agricultural seed trade was suffering less 
from depression in the north than in the south. Mr. 
W. Y. Baker proposed “ The Solicitor and 
Secretary,” Mr Todman, " The Horticultural 
Press,” and the chairman " The health of Mr. D. 
Fairly ar.d his musical friends,” and thanks to them 
for their excellent musical entertainment. The health 
of "The Chairman," proposed in complimentary 
terms by Mr. Nutting, and received by the company 
with musical honours, brought a pleasant evening to 
a close,. 
-—J-- 
NOTES FROM OAKWOOD. 
Lilies. 
It may save repetition in my annual note on our 
Lilies of the past season, to confine it as much as 
possible to facts which seemed to be at all remark¬ 
able. 
Lilium auratum rubrovittatum and L. Krameri, 
of very many shades of colour, growing among 
Rhododendrons in a mixture of vegetable soil and 
light loam, continued to flower well, as did L. 
Leichtlinii in light loam on the “ mountain ” side. 
Having a large bed of L. auratum planted in 1887, 
where the plants were too crowded, we took up a 
number of bulbs and came upon eight stems very 
near together, they all came from one bulb which 
could be separated into seven good bulbs, and after¬ 
wards when moving a quantity of Lilies to new beds 
where they would be more in view, we found a bulb 
of L. speciosum rubrum with eleven stems, which 
divided into nine flowering bulbs, this had been 
undisturbed since 1885. From the same place we 
took two bulbs of L. Szowitzianum, each weighing 
one pound ten ounces, one of them being solid the 
other nearly divided into two. 
Our tallest stem of L. giganteum was 8 ft. 9 in., and 
had thirteen flowers, this is "only a moderate growth, 
but L. cordifolium with eight flowers, and stems 5 ft. 
8 in., was 1 think exceptionally fine. Our tallest 
L. superbum was 10 ft., and L. pardalinum 9 ft. 6 in. 
Our pot Lilies in the conservatory here, both the 
different varieties of L. auratum and of L. speciosum, 
were unusually fine, and on repotting were found to 
have increased their bulbs both in size and in 
number ; their soil was old top spit turf in lumps 
and leaf soil. 
Our Lilies here in the open, in sunk casks with 
the bottoms out, proved more than ever the 
advantage of this mode of cultivation; in one cask 
we had twenty-one stems of L. tigrinum Fortunei, 
the tallest 8 ft. 6 in. high. Grown as close as this 
of course the top soil should be renewed every year, 
especially with soil-exhausting Lilies like Tigers. 
The tops of the casks should not be sunk much 
below the surface of the surrounding soil; where 
this was so, we found some shrub roots had come in 
over the top of the cask .—George F. Wilson, 
Heatlievbank, Weybvidge Heath. 
-- 
THE MISTLETO BOUGH. 
At the meeting last week of the Manchester Field 
Naturalists and Archaeologists’ Society, the president, 
Mr. Charles Bailey, F.L.S., gave an address entitled 
as above. Mr. Bailey exhibited specimens of the 
common Mistleto from various parts of the world ; 
a yellow-berried Mistleto, parasitic upon Pines and 
Spruce, from Spain, Saxony, Austria, and Italy, and 
a red-berried] Mistleto, on Olives, from Nablous, 
Syria. He referred at some length to the association 
of the Mistleto with the ceremonies of the ancient 
Druids, and proceeded to give a minute description 
of the plant and its mode of growth. The trees 
affected by the Mistleto, he said, vary with the 
country in which they grow. In this country its 
favourite " host ” (the tree to which it attaches itself) 
is the Apple tree, and in the county of Hereford, 
Dr. Bull found, on a careful census of individual 
trees, that two trees in every five had Mistleto 
growing upon them. Another observer taking 
a wider area than a single county, found thirty-four 
per cent, of the Apple trees bearing the parasite. 
Next to the Apple it likes some of the Poplars, but 
the Pear tree rarely suffers from it. On the Continent 
large districts of Pine forests are frequently found 
infested with it. Its occurrence on the Oak is 
extremely rare, and there are probably not a score 
of Mistleto-bearing Oaks in the British Islands on 
which the plant has been sown other than by the 
hand of man. 
