774 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Augustus, 1898. 
JUBILEE OF THE ROTHAMSTED 
EXPERIMENTS. 
Harpenden Common, on which stands the famous 
laboratory presented to Sir John Bennet Lawes by 
public subscription in 1854, was on Saturday last the 
scene of an event, which was described as unique in 
the history of scientific collaboration, as well as in the 
history of scientific research.’’ The occasion was 
the dedication of a huge granite memorial and 
presentation of addresses to Sir John Bennet 
Lawes, Bart., LL.D., F.R.S., and Dr. John Henry 
Gilbert, F.R.S., in commemoration of the fifty years' 
agricultural, chemical, and botanical investigations 
which those gentlemen have jointly carried out on 
the Rothamsted estate, and which have become 
famous throughout the world. 
The memorial is a massive granite boulder, weigh¬ 
ing upwards of eight tons, which stands endways on 
a massive square platform, also of granite. It is 
visible from every part of Harpenden Common, and 
will be a famous landmark for many years to come. 
It stands out in front of the laboratory, and on the 
face as seen from the common is the following in¬ 
scription :— 
TO COMMEMORATE 
THE COMPLETION OF 
FIFTY YEARS 
OF CONTINUOUS EXPERIMENTS, 
THE FIRST OF THEIR KIND 
IN AGRICULTURE, 
CONDUCTED AT 
ROTHAMSTED 
BY 
Sir John Bennet Lawes 
AND 
John Henry Gilbert. 
A.D. MDCCCXCIII. 
There was a large and distinguished company 
present, and the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. 
Herbert Gardner, M.P., who presided, said they had 
met to honour as far it was in their power, in the 
name of agriculture and of the agricultural classes, 
two distinguished men—Sir John Lawes and Dr. 
Gilbert—who had rendered invaluable services to 
our great national industry. It was felt that, in 
addition to mere personal testimony of regard, there 
should be some outward and endurable memorial of 
the admiration which the agricultural world felt for 
the valuable work which had illustrated the lives of 
those two gentlemen. More durable even than that 
granite block would be the complete records 
of the work done at Rothamsted which were con¬ 
tained in the large series of works which lay on the 
table before him, and he had done something towards 
making these of more value by obtaining a grant 
from the Treasury in order to purchase forty-four 
complete sets, which he had presented, at the expense 
of the nation, to leading public institutions. During 
the fifty years the experiments at Rothamsted had 
been in progress there had been remarkable changes, 
Wheat having fluctuated no less than 50s. per qr., 
having been as high as 74s., and in May last as low 
as 24s. 8d. 
He thought that the development of the 
steam ocean traffic had done more to bring down the 
price of Wheat than either Cobden or Bright. The 
fall in the price of Wheat had been rapid during the 
last few years, but he saw a gleam of hope which 
deserved recognition. The great decline in value 
had been due to the enormous reserves of the bread 
cereal which had accumulated. The normal reserve 
of Wheat in England was about 2,000,000 qrs., but 
since 1891 it had risen to 6,000,000 qrs., whereas it 
was now again on the decline, and did not at present 
amount to more than 4,000,000 qrs. The Rotham¬ 
sted experiments had shed a flood of light upon the 
methods of Wheat culture, and even more lasting 
than the granite memorial before them would be the 
value of the great lessons which had been learnt in 
the adjoining fields during the investigations of the 
last half century. So important were the records of 
these experiments that the Board of Agriculture had 
authorised the purchase of sets of the publications 
for distribution in various parts of the country. He 
merely expressed the feelings of all around him when 
he gave voice to the hope that Sir John Lawes and 
Dr. Gilbert would long be spared to enjoy the 
honour and admiration of all classes of their fellow- 
countrymen. 
The Duke of Westminster, as chairman of the 
executive committee, then presented the addresses 
from the subscribers to the testimonial, and also a 
massive silver salver to Dr. Gilbert. His Grace then 
read the following addresses :— 
To Sir John Bennet Lawes, Bart., D.C.L., LL.D., 
F.R.S., &c., &c. 
On behalf of the committee of the Rothamsted 
Jubilee Fund and of the numerous subscribers to 
that fund in all parts of the world, I offer you the 
most hearty congratulations on the' completion of 
half-a-century’s uninterrupted investigation of 
agricultural problems of the highest practical value 
and interest. 
These investigations, which originated with you, 
relate not only to the growth of cereal and other 
crops under the most varying conditions, but also to 
the economic effect of different foods on the deve¬ 
lopment of the animals of the farm. They have 
embraced, moreover, most important researches con¬ 
cerning the chemical constituents of soils, the rain¬ 
fall, drainage waters, and the sources from which 
plants derive their supply of nitrogen. 
During the w'hole of this period of fifty years you 
have had the zealous co-operation of your life-long 
friend Dr. Joseph Henry Gilbert, whose name will 
ever be associated with yours, and whom jointly 
with you we desire on the present occasion to con¬ 
gratulate. 
For the continuance of the experiments and in¬ 
vestigations which have already extended over so 
long a period, you have munificently provided by the 
establishment of the Lawes Agricultural Trust, so 
that our successors will profit even more, if possible, 
than we of the present day have done, by your 
enlightened labours. 
The memorial which is now erected, will, it is 
hoped, preserve your joint names in honoured 
remembrance for centuries to come, while the 
portrait that is presented to you herewith will hand 
down to future generations the likeness of one of the 
most disinterested as w r ell as the most scientific of 
our public benefactors. 
Albert Edward P. 
July 29, 1893, 
To Joseph Henry Gilbert, M.A., Ph.D., LL.D., 
F.R.S., &c. 
In celebrating the jubilee of the Rothamsted 
agricultural experiments, it is impossible to disso¬ 
ciate your name from that of Sir John Lawes, and 
on behalf of the subscribers -to the Rothamsted 
Jubilee Fund in all parts of the world, I offer you 
the most hearty congratulations on the completion of 
your fifty years of continuous labours in the cause of 
agricultural science. 
The nature and importance of these labours are so 
well known that it is needless to dilate upon them ; 
but if the institution of the various investigations 
and experiments carried out at Rothamsted has been 
due to Sir John Lawes, their ultimate success has 
been in a great measure secured by your scientific 
skill and unremitting industry. Moreover, by your 
lectures and writings, you have been a leading 
exponent in this and other countries of the theoretical 
and practical aspects of the researches that have 
been undertaken at Rothamsted. 
A collaboration such as yours with Sir John Lawes, 
already extending over a period of upwards of fifty 
years, is unexampled in the annals of science. I 
venture to hope for an extended prolongation of 
these joint labours, and trust that the names of 
Lawes and Gilbert, which for so many years have 
been almost inseparable, may survive in happy con¬ 
junction for centuries to come. 
Albert Edward P. 
July 29, 1893. 
Addresses were then read from the Societe des 
Agriculteurs de France, the Royal Agricultural 
Society of England, the Royal Society, the Chemical 
Society, the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, 
and the Societe Rationale d'Agriculture de France 
Sir John Lawes, who on rising to reply was 
received with hearty cheering, said that it was only a 
very few months since he and his wife received the 
congratulations of many friends on having attained 
fifty years of married life which was occasionally 
called a golden wedding. That afternoon he had to 
return thanks to that distinguished company for con¬ 
gratulating himself and Dr. Gilbert on the work they 
had carried on together for fifty years. When two 
persons joined together in marriage they could not 
part—they were bound together by a solemn tie. Dr. 
Gilbert and himself were bound by no ties : but this 
connection, as he had said, had continued fifty years. 
What was the cause of that ? It was nothing less 
than that he had an immense love of the work they 
were engaged in. He had delighted in the work 
from the very beginning, and had given as much 
time to it as he could consistent with other duties ; 
but Dr. Gilbert had made it the work of his life. 
Had it not been for the labours of Dr. Gilbert the 
affairs of Rothamsted would have been in a different 
state to that in which they now were. Dr. Gilbert 
was not only at work when he was at home, but 
what were called holidays were spent by him in 
visiting other countries and places, by putting him¬ 
self in communication with other bodies, so that he 
might make his own work more valuable to those at 
home. This year he was going to Chicago to deliver 
a course of lectures on the work at Rothamsted. 
Sir John Lawes then cordially thanked those present 
for the presentations which had been made to him, 
and hoped that in fifty years’ time such a represen¬ 
tative assembly as he saw in front of him would meet 
to do honour to those who came after them. 
Dr. Gilbert, in acknowledging the gifts, referred to 
the coldness and doubt with which their early experi¬ 
ments were received, especially when they departed 
from the orthodox lines, and instanced how those 
who at first opposed them eventually were converted, 
and became their firm advocates and supporters in a 
work so important to the agricultural interest. He 
thanked Sir J. Lawes for the very kind way he had 
referred to their connection, and expressed the hope 
that it would continue, although in the natural 
course of things it could not be expected to exist for 
many mere years; but they desired that matters 
would be left in such away that their work could still 
be carried on by others. He mentioned that he had 
in preparation a Jubilee Edition of the guide to the 
Rothamsted experiments, and concluded by express¬ 
ing his warmest thanks for the sympathetic kindness 
which his friends had shown him that day. 
-- 
PHLOXES AT CHISWICK. 
The collection of Phloxes, chiefly of late flowering 
kinds, now on trial in the gardens of the Royal Hor¬ 
ticultural Society at Chiswick, is very extensive. All 
those grown in beds upon the grass last year were 
transplanted to a piece of rich vegetable ground in 
spring, and notwithstanding the great drought which 
continued from the beginning of March to the 
middle of July, the plants have done well and are 
now exceedingly floriferous. The donors of the plants 
on trial were Mr. J. Forbes, Hawick, Messrs. J.Veitch 
& Sons, Chelsea, M. Lemoine, Nancy, France, 
Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, Messrs. Dicksons, 
Chester, and Messrs. Dobbie & Co., of Rothe¬ 
say, Scotland. The collection sent by the latter firm 
is extensive, but was only remitted last spring, so 
that the plants have not become sufficiently estab¬ 
lished and large to adjudicate upon their merits. 
They are, however, flowering freely enough consider¬ 
ing the size of the plants. What the committee has 
done, has been to go round the plants and confirm 
or increase the awards made to a widely varied 
selection of varieties last year. Three or two marks 
as the case may bs has been made to thirty-nine 
varieties, and as all of these are highly meritorious 
an idea may be gleaned of the number of sorts with 
which a select collection might be furnished. 
Sorts Receiving Three marks. 
One of the finest of the white varieties is Avalanche, 
of great purity and exceedingly floriferous. The 
branching stems are only about iS in. high. Flam¬ 
beau, with orange scarlet flowers and a crimson eye, 
has been honoured with three marks for the first 
time. Another dwarf sort has white flowers suf¬ 
fused with pale purple round the eye. Burnouf is 
no taller, and has fiery crimson flowers with a deep 
crimson eye. The flowers of Aspasia are purple, 
suffused with white round the eye. Some of the 
varieties are liable to burn as it is termed, and a few 
simply fade, after they have been expanded for some 
time, to a paler shade. Moliere is one of the latter 
and is salmon rose fading to pink with a dark eye. 
Etna is of a fiery scarlet but is liable to burn and 
fades off ultimately with much white. The flowers 
of Henri Murger are large and white with a purple 
eye. Granville differs by having smaller flowers 
with five faint purple spots round the eye. Last 
year Eugene Schotte received only two marks, but 
this year it has been honoured with three. It has 
rosy purple flowers with a pale rayed centre, but 
other plants under the same name are almost of a 
