272 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 31, 1892. 
gulf down which recussion is impossible. 
We may crane our necks upwards to see 
how many more steps are left to us, but 
none can count, lor even the next lies in 
obscurity. Not a few of our friends fell 
from their steps during the year ; of these 
it is enough to mention Dr. Woodman, 
Robert Parker, Montgomery Henderson, 
Edward Cooper, Michael Saul, W. Alfred 
Dickson, Joseph Ellam, Richard Westcott, 
James Williams, William Pratt, and John 
Downie. None can tell who will fall during 
the coming year. Some will climb on till 
they reach the highest point humanity may 
hope to climb to and then fall, full of years 
and we hope of honours. 
Horticulturally the year has been a com¬ 
paratively active one, the chief elements 
perhaps having been the enjoyable series 
of exhibitions held at Earl’s Court, and 
which we fear it will be long ere they are 
repeated. Generally, trade has been fairly 
good, perhaps as good as could well have 
been expected. There has been the same 
persistent introduction of new plants, flow¬ 
ers, fruits, and vegetables, for without such 
development horticulture might become 
stagnant. The conclusion of the year is 
perhaps one of its best weather features, 
for it is dying in a comparatively quiet, if 
cold, way, and in so doing is creating as 
little trouble as possible. 
he New Year.— Anticipations as to 
what the new year may bring forth are 
natural to us all. Notthat there isin themere 
alteration of a date anything that is likely 
to be productive of special change, indeed 
as the alteration of date falls at a dull and 
usually restful time of the year, nothing is 
so unlikely as that immediate change of any 
kind will follow. But in horticulture, we 
are so exceedingly dependent upon climate, 
weather, season, or whatever else we may 
term natural surroundings that no one 
doubts but that a good season, one of 
pleasing acceptable weather, will bring 
prosperity just as a cold, wet, ungenerous 
season will bring adversity. Of course, we 
invariably associate with the term prosper¬ 
ity financial successes, but these are only 
in part of our desires, the true gardener 
thinks something of the results to his fruits, 
his flowers, his vegetables from the cultiva¬ 
tor’s point of view ; he likes to see his work 
productive of abundance and of beauty, 
because such results are so much more 
enjoyable. It. is, we are sure, as much in 
that higher sense horticulturists are hoping 
the new year may be one of prosperity, as 
in the more common one of a pecuniary 
success. So far, happily, the winter, which 
according to sun altitude, we are now fully 
half through, has brought neither terrors 
nor reverses. Generally, it has been a 
helpful and kindly winter. What the other, 
and usually the longer and too often less 
generous half, will be we can oniy imagine, 
but its character may have the greatest 
influence on the spring, summer and 
autumn, which will make up for us the 
most important parts of the year 1893. 
How most heartily do we wish for all our 
friends and readers, a Prosperous and Hap¬ 
py New Year in every sense. How we hope 
that horticulture generally may share in 
that prosperity, and our loved vocation 
become all the more popular and honoured 
amongst the people. The doings of the 
past year is now almost old history, the 
immediate present has for us little interest, 
but in the near future we are deeply con¬ 
cerned, and look to it with exceeding hope 
to bring joy and happiness to all. 
f AUliflowers. —These delicious vegeta¬ 
bles have been almost unusually abun¬ 
dant during Christmas, and the honours of 
the Brassica family on myriads of dinner 
tables last Sunday were shared equally by 
Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflowers. The 
winter so far has been specially favourable to 
Cauliflower development, and myriads of 
plants were enabled to head in, that would 
with the usual frosts much earlier have 
been destroyed. We have all been the 
gainers in consequence : the growers have 
been enabled to reap all possible advantage 
from their late plants, and the consumers 
have had Cauliflowers until they have been 
satisfied. 
Almost directly we shall see the hardier 
Brocolis turning' in, for the excellent and 
precocious Christmas White and Snow’s 
Winter White, when obtained true, produce 
heads speedily, and if there be provided a 
proper succession then Brocolis keep the pot 
boiling, literally until the summer Cauli¬ 
flowers are again to be had. There are 
few hardy plants that have evolved more 
variety and in more acceptable forms than 
has the Brassica Oleracea. What a wide 
divergence between a Cauliflower and a Red 
Cabbage, or a Curled Kale ; what between 
a Brussels Sprout and a Brocoli. Let the 
season be what it may, hot or cold, wet or 
dry, we are never without some members of 
this great Brassica family. 
The Cauliflower has the merit of being 
more useful in the summer than at any 
other time, because none other of the family 
are so tender, sweet and delicious. If the 
autumn heads become so much larger they 
are also rather stronger in flavour, but still 
are very profitable, and form a most accep¬ 
table vegetable diet. It seems not so long 
ago that we had few other than the Wal- 
cheren, Early London and Purple Cape. 
Now we have in such splendid varieties as 
Snowball, or Early Forcing, Magnum 
Bonum, King of the Cauliflowers, Autumn 
Giant, self-protecting varieties that have 
made the tender “ Whiteheads ” into one of 
the most important of summer and autumn 
green vegetables. 
-- 
The Bute National Rose and Horticultural Society’s 
annual show will take place at Rothesay on Tuesday, 
September 8th. 
The Herefordshire Fruit and Chrysanthemum 
Society will hold its next exhibition on November 
15th, i 5 th, and 17th, 1893. 
The Devon and Exeter Horticultural Society’s Shows 
next year will be held at Exeter, on August 18th and 
November 10th. 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution.—The fifty, 
fourth annual general meeting of the subscribers to 
this institution is announced to take place at 
“ Simpson’s," 101, Strand, on Tuesday, January 17th, 
at 3 p.m., when an election for ten pensioners will 
take place. A general meeting will be held a quarter 
of an hour previously to confirm the resolution 
passed last week with reference to the new rules. 
Gardeners retiring.— We understand that Mr. 
Fowler, who for many years has been gardener at 
Harewood House, Leeds, has lately retired, and has 
been succeeded by Mr. Jeffrey, lately gardener at 
Caversham Park, Reading. We hear also that Mr. 
George Bethel, gardener to Sir Greville Smyth, 
Bart., at Ashton Court, Bristol, and previously gar¬ 
dener to Sir Richard Wallace at Sudbourn Hall, 
Wickham Market, will also retire into private life at 
an early date. 
Cereus grandiflorus.—It is stated by a Baltimore 
paper that an extract obtained from Cereus grandi- 
florus is considered by physicians as an almost 
infallible agent for heart disease, they claiming it to 
be superior to either Digitalis or Belladonna. Two 
hundred pounds weight of this plant passed through 
Baltimore recently, having been shipped from the 
mountain country of Mexico to a well-known manu¬ 
facturing druggist of New York city. 
The Horticultural Pocket Book and Diary, issued 
by Messrs. J. Weeks & Co., King’s Road, Chelsea, 
S.W., for some years past, is such a useful article to 
put into the hands of a gardener, that it requires no 
recommendation from us. That issued for 1893 
fully equals those which have gone before for 
durability and usefulness, and more than this we 
need not sayc 
The Horticultural Press of the World —The Dutch 
Journal Sempevvirens, in one of its recent issues, 
speaks of a list of the horticultural journals actually 
appearing in the various parts of the world. The 
list mentioned was published by Herr L. Moller, of 
Erfurt, and was curious enough to sum up the organs 
of the horticultural press. There are thirty-six in 
Germany, sixteen in Austria, eight in Hungary, nine 
in Switzerland, eighteen in England, ten in France, 
eight in Belgium, six in Holland, three in Denmark, 
four in Sweden, three in Norway, ten in Italy', five 
in Russia, one each in Portugal and Spain, nineteen 
in the United States of America, one in Canada, two 
in Java, one in Japan, and one in Ceylon, which make 
a total of 162. 
Tea made from Angraecum fragrans.—For some¬ 
thing like half-a-century, a beverage has been 
prepared from the flowers and pseudo-bulbs of 
Angraecum fragrans, a species of Orchid possess¬ 
ing a very pronounced aromatic odour. This has 
been served in the saloons frequented by the higher 
members of society, and the Kew Bulletin states that 
the usage is increasing rather than diminishing. In 
order to prepare this tea the stems and flowers of 
the Orchid are simply dried in the air, and a pinch 
is put in a kettle containing cold water that has 
previously been boiled for ten minutes. Then ac¬ 
cording to liking or taste, milk, sugar, and rum may 
be added, and the concoction drunk either hot or 
cold. This kind of tea is called Faham, after the 
name of an island, and fifty cups of it, according to 
L'Illustration Horticole, only cost a franc. 
East Anglian Horticultural Club.—At the recent 
annual general meeting of the members of this club, 
Mr. F.Morris, The Gardens, Witton House, Norwich, 
was re-elected president, and presented with an 
enlarged framed photograph of himself. Mr. H. 
N. Bartlett, gardener, Earlham Hall, was elected 
vice-chairman, and Mr. Charles Daniels, honorary 
treasurer, in the place of his brother Mr. George 
Daniels, who resigned the office. Mr. A. F. Upstone 
(of Messrs. Daniels Bros.) was again elected 
honorary secretary. 
Mr. William Heale, son of the late Mr. William 
Heale, of the Nurseries, Caine and Chippenham, 
died lately at Easterton, Wilts, in his 84th year. 
Death of Mr. William Pratt.—Weregret to hear of 
the death of Mr. William Pratt, for several years 
gardener to the Marquis of Bath at Longleat, near 
Warminster, and previously gardener to Lord Hill, 
at Hawkstcne, near Shewsbury. Mr. Pratt was a 
very able man in his profession, and both at Hawk- 
stone, where he succeeded the late Mr. Daniel Judd, 
and at Longleat, where he succeeded Mr. William 
Taylor, gardener to Mr. Alderman Chaffin at Bath, 
he could always hold his own as an exhibitor of 
fruit. Some few months ago, on leaving Longleat, 
he embarked in the business of a wine and spirit 
merchant at the Southgate Hotel, Bath, and died on 
the nth inst. leaving a wife and young family to 
mourn his loss. 
The National Chrysanthemum Society.—We have 
received the following communication from Mr. W. 
J. Godfrey, Exmouth, which we publish without 
comment :—" As my name figures rather promin¬ 
ently on page 258 of your last issue, I trust you will 
give me space to explain to the readers of the Gar¬ 
dening World the circumstances. It is not my 
intention to enter into a controversy. During the 
month of October last, I was the means of bringing 
before the N.C.S. what I considered an irregularity 
on the part of a member of the Floral Committee. A 
sub-committee was appointed to investigate the 
charge. This sub-committee met three times for the 
purpose of investigating the matter, and although I 
have not been asked to appear before this committee 
it accepts and is satisfied with a sworn statement from 
the member I complained of, in which he denies the 
main facts of the charge. Permit me to say that in 
reply to that statement I am prepared to swear that 
the main charges are correct. Your report of the 
meeting would lead the readers of the Gardening 
World to believe that the report of the sub-com¬ 
mittee was adopted unanimously ; whereas it was 
not so, as a large number of the general committee 
did not consider the report a satisfactory one. I con¬ 
sider your report of the meeting stigmatises myself 
as being a person who trumped a serious charge 
against another which cannot be sustained." 
