December 24, 1892. 
259 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
referred to in your correspondent's letter has fur¬ 
nished the Sub-committee with a sworn statement 
denying the truth of several of the main facts men¬ 
tioned in the letter. In face of the affidavit against 
an ex parte statement the Sub-committee feel they 
cannot proceed further unless you publish the 
letter. As the letter was addressed to you and not 
to the N.C.S. the Sub-committee have no right to 
publish it, and were they to do so they might incur 
the risk of an action for libel.—Yours truly, R. 
Ballantine, chairman of Sub-Committee." 
Mr. E. C. Jukes seconded the motion of the chair¬ 
man, and after a lengthy discussion in which Mr. 
Addison, Mr. W. H. Fowler, and Mr. Bevan took 
part, the motion was put to the meeting and carried. 
The secretary next read some correspondence with 
reference to a circular letter which had been published 
by Mr. Wells, whereupon Mr. Addison moved the 
following resolution, which was seconded by Mr. 
Rundle and carried after a brief discussion :— 
" That the General Committee of the National Chry¬ 
santhemum Society—having considered the charges 
made by Mr. Wells against a member of the Floral 
Committee of acting prejudicially to the interests of 
the society, which actions are likely to bring about an 
incurable mistrust in the important work of the 
Floral Committee—desire to place on record this 
resolution of their strongest disapproval of such 
conduct, and to warn the member referred to 
against a repetition of such irregularity." 
The Schedule Sub-Committee brought up a report 
on the subject of the compulsory enlargement of 
show-boards for Japanese varieties, in which they 
recommended the General Committee to adhere to 
the regulations at present in force, which leaves it 
optional to exhibitors to use larger boards as they 
may think fit. Mr. Addison moved, and Mr. Jukes 
seconded, the adoption of the report. Mr. C. 
Harman Payne moved, and Mr. Rundle seconded, 
an amendment to the effect that the adoption of 
boards of the size recommended at the conference 
be made compulsory in the case of all the open 
classes for Japanese blooms at the N.C.S. exhibi¬ 
tions. After some discussion the amendment was 
put to the vote and declared lost. Mr. W. H. 
Fowler moved that an addition be made in the form 
of a rider to the original recommendation, to the 
effect that no cups used exceed 3 in. in diameter, and 
no cardboard or paper discs or crinolines shall be 
allowed. This was agreed to, and the original 
motion with the addition was carried unanimously, 
the general opinion being that the rule with regard 
to the cups and the abolition of cardboard discs and 
crinolines, by compelling the flowers to be shown 
more naturally, would obviate the overcrowding, 
which is now so common, and so render the com¬ 
pulsory enlargement of the boards unnecessary. 
The recommendation that the society’s exhibitions 
next year should be held on September 6, 7, and 8; 
October n, 12, and 13 ; November 7, 8, and 9 ; and 
December 5, 6, and 7 was adopted; as was also 
a recommendation with regard to the Metropolitan 
classes that the area should be that of the new 
county of London. 
Three Fellows, and eighteen new members were 
elected, and the following societies admitted into 
affiliation :—The Yeovil Chrysanthemum Society, 
the Steyning Chrysanthemum Society, the Horticul¬ 
tural Society of New South Wales, the Christchurch, 
Canterbury (New Zealand) Chrysanthemum Society, 
and the Cambridge (New Zealand) Chrysanthemum 
Society. 
--j-- 
MUSHROOMS IN A WINE CELLAR. 
Mushrooms would more often be grown in cellars 
than they are were the sanitary inspectors agreeable, 
judging from the newspaper accounts we occasionally 
hear of. For instance, we heard not long ago of a 
case where Mushrooms were grown in the cellar or 
basement room, above which the owner thereof 
lodged his family. We have also seen a plentiful 
harvest of the coveted esculent in the basement of a 
conservatory which was elevated considerably above 
the ground in order to be on a level with the draw¬ 
ing-room of the mansion. In the case we have 
under notice, the old wine cellar belonged to an old 
house, long since pulled down, and the site is now 
covered with shrubs and gravel walks. The new 
mansion of Gunnersbury House, Acton, and now 
belonging to the Messrs, de Rothschild, is built a 
little to the east of the old site. The wine cellar is 
a brick-built structure, consisting of several arches 
right and left of a central pathway. The Mush¬ 
rooms are grown in the areas enclosed and roofed 
over by these arches, each area containing a bed or 
space for one. The place is entered by a narrow 
door, down a flight of steps, and even in daylight can 
only be inspected by candle light. The space at 
command is greater than is necessary to supply the 
requirements, so that at present only some of the 
beds are in use. In fact there is only one bed in 
full bearing, and from that a large quantity of Mush¬ 
rooms can be obtained. It was spawned on the 26th 
of September, and will last for two or three weeks 
yet. 
Altogether a bed will last six or eight weeks. 
Several other beds are now in their last stages 
of bearing, but not being immediately required, 
the dung has been allowed to remain. An 
intermittent supply Continues to be furnished by 
them, so that taken altogether there may be said to 
be two beds in bearing. A fresh bed was spawned 
on the nth of November, and the spawn having 
commenced to run, the bed will come into bearing in 
two or three weeks. Before the beds are bearing 
they are covered with straw, after which it is taken 
off. Mr. Hudson, the gardener in charge, says that 
the atmosphere of the cellar even now stands at a 
temperature of 49 0 or 50°, yet no artificial heat is 
resorted to by any means. 
--j-- 
Beetroot, 
A very, useful and instructive collection of varieties 
of Beet, was shown at the last meeting of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, on December 13th, from the 
gardens at Chiswick. It told us that many of the 
varieties very closely resemble each other, and out of 
the whole collection, which numbered about sixty 
names, the well known Dell's Crimson, and one or 
two others much like it, appeared to be the most 
useful of the long-rooted varieties for general pur¬ 
poses. Of the Turnip-rooted sorts, whose chief 
recommendation is their earliness, not much can be 
judged at this season.— G. H. S. 
Savoys. 
Savoy's though not a choice vegetable, are very use¬ 
ful in their season. I think the best flavoured of 
them all is Gilbert's Universal, and those who have 
not given this variety a trial should do so during 
the coming year. It is of nice shape, and the flavour 
is a distinct improvement on the older varieties. 
The season of this vegetable is short, but that is 
partly because they are sown so early. If in addition 
to the early sowings some later ones are made, and 
by this means the heads grown smaller they remain 
longer fit for use, and come in useful in a mild 
autumn, when perhaps the tender vegetables, such as 
Scarlet Runners and Vegetable Marrows, last longer, 
and the large early grown Savoys are split and 
spoilt. Vegetables then become scarce, and these 
small late sown Savoys come in very handy.— 
G. H. S. 
General Work. 
Care should be taken in gathering the green vege¬ 
tables to use the older ones first. If the man whose 
duty it is to perform this work uses a little foresight, 
crops of vegetables may be made to last much longer. 
This may seem a very simple matter, but there are 
innumerable simple matters that require care in the 
constant supply of vegetables to a gentlemans estab¬ 
lishment which is a very different thing to growing 
a field of any one or two vegetables, and as soon as 
they are ready for use sending them into market in 
bulk. What a private gardener aims at is to keep 
up a constant supply, with as little waste as possible, 
and to do this every effort must be made to prolong 
the supply of each vegetable in turn. See that all 
supplies of forced vegetables are kept up. Get the 
supply of seeds ordered as soon as possible as we 
shall soon have to get some of them sown. Mend or 
relay any box edging that may require it, as weather 
permits.—G. H. S. 
Jerusalem Artichokes. 
This crop, if not already lifted, should be taken up 
and pitted in the earth, the same as Potatos. The 
ground can then be manured and dug ready for the 
next crop.— G. H. S. 
(Mornings Immt the fHDnrlfr 
of Btmm. 
Branching in Palms—A paper on this subject 
was read at a meeting of the Linnean Society by 
Daniel Morris, M.A., F.L.S., Assistant Director, 
Royal Gardens, Kew. This is published in The Journal 
of the Society, vnl. 29, No. 202, and the following are 
his conclusions on the branching of Palms :—“ (a) 
Branching is habitual in certain species of Hyphaene ; 
it is occasionally in certain other species of 
Hyphaene, and (arising from various causes) it is 
occasional also in certain Palms belonging to the 
genera Areca, Rhopalostylis, Dictyosperma, Oreo- 
doxa, Leopoldinia, Phoenix, Nannorhops, Borassus 
and Cocos. ( b ) In numerous cases branching in 
Palms is the result of injury to, or destruction of, 
the terminal bud causing the development of axillary 
or adventitious buds below the apex. These buds 
when lengthened out produce branches. ( c) In some 
cases branching in Palms, as in Nannorhops, 
Ritchieana and Phcenix sylvestris, is caused by the 
replacement of flowering-buds by branch-buds. In 
such cases the branches are usually short, and are 
arranged alternately along the stem. The terminal 
bud is apparently neither injured nor destroyed. ( d ) 
Palms that are usually so boliferous (producing 
suckers at the base) are rarely branched at or near 
the apex. And lastly, ( e) no instance appears to be 
so far recorded of a monocarpic Palm with a 
branched stem." 
Cut flowers and bacteria.—It is now pretty 
well known amongst gardeners, florists, and others 
that cut flowers last longer in a fresh state (other 
conditions being equal) when a small piece is cut off 
the end of the stems at intervals of two or three 
days. The reason for this is that bacteria collect 
and multiply round the cut surface of the stems and 
in the process of appropriating that which constitutes 
their food, they produce a slimy or mucilaginous 
material which prevents the ingress of water to the 
stems. By cutting off the ends of the stems a fresh 
surface is exposed to the water, so that the latter can 
again be conveyed to the flowers in sufficient 
quantity to keep them fresh. This is more essential 
in summer than in winter, because the higher tem¬ 
perature of the former season causes a more rapid 
increase of bacteria and other low vegetable, as well 
as animal organisms. 
The River Thames and Plant Dispersal.—- 
A paper has been contributed to the Journal of the 
Linnean Society by Mr. H. B. Guppy, M.B., contain¬ 
ing the results of observations on the agency of the 
Thames in distributing plants chiefly by means of 
seeds or fruits. He found tlmt the seeds produced 
on the banks of the river, and which get carried sea¬ 
wards, take a long time to reach the sea provided 
they do not get stranded on the banks before that 
time. He has been collecting the vegetable drift at 
various times during autumn and winter, and finds 
that seeds, seed vessels and vegetable debris generally 
are more plentiful during January and February 
than in October, when vegetation generally is decay¬ 
ing or scattering its seeds. This he explained by 
the fact that prevailing winds by blowing across the 
river serve to drive the drift into sheltered bays and 
other places where it may lie for months before the 
water current and wind carry it away, and that after 
the lock at Teddington is passed, it then comes 
within the influence of the tides and may traverse 
the distance between Teddington and Gravesend 
several times before it finally passes the latter place. 
All this time the seeds of a great many plants survive 
and will germinate if stranded upon the banks, or 
upon mud along the margins. Many of them even 
germinate in the water, but never attain any great 
size unless they get stranded on soil or mud into 
which they can root. Amongst the plants conveyed 
in this way are species of Ranunculus, Scutellaria 
galericulata, Mentha aquatica, Iris Pseudacorus, 
Impatiens Noli-me-tangere, and others. The latter 
we have been observing on the banks of the Thames 
for the past two or three years, and were some time 
before we discovered the source from whence the 
seeds came. At the same time we had no doubt 
that they had been stranded just at high watej mark 
and left there, where they germinate most abundantly 
every spring. 
The Carnation : its History, Properties, and Management 
with a descriptive list of the best varieties in cultivation. By 
E. S. Dodtvell. Third edition, with supplementary chapter on 
the yellow ground. London: Gardening World Office, 1, 
Clement’s Inn, Strand. W.C. is. 6d; post free, is. 7d.— [Advt. 
