482 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 1, 1893. 
licity and shared in by all desirous of 
so doing. The Horticultural Club is a 
very worthy and respectable social institu¬ 
tion, but its doors are only open to mem¬ 
bers, who are not very numerous, and it 
may be a few invited guests, and its social 
gatherings are usually described as being 
of the “ deadly dull ” order, whilst the sub¬ 
ject referred to is one of the greatest 
national importance. As to the line taken 
by these eminent salesmen, that was natur¬ 
ally determined by their vocation. Messrs. 
Webber and Monro are Covent Garden 
Agents for the whole world, literally—men 
of the highest reputation, and, we have no 
doubt, could tell very wholesome truths to 
home growers as to some of the methods 
of the foreigner who is so formidable a 
competitor, and whose productions apart 
from quality (which of course is always 
open to question) are always so beautifully 
packed, so gracefully decorated, so admir¬ 
ably sorted or sized, and always are so 
reliable. No matter has, on the whole, 
given more of market value to the im¬ 
ported fruit than has the assured certainty 
of samples coming out from the bottom of 
the packages as good as that which is at 
the top, and that is a point the importance 
of which the average consignor of English 
fruits has not yet learnt to appreciate. 
As to the proposed branding of imported 
fruit as of foreign production, that is 
absurd. No salesman, no purchaser, no 
consumer troubles about the place or coun¬ 
try where fruit is grown. It-is with these 
a question of sample, of value, and suit¬ 
ability for requirements. But then, how 
much of imported fruit comes to us at 
times when we have little of own, or is of 
a kind that we cannot grow ourselves ? The 
St. Michael Pine Apple growers have very 
largely killed the home culture of these 
fruits; but then we can grow them here only 
at a cost which is in excess of the price of 
imported fruits, so that their culture neither 
pays nor satisfies in any way the require¬ 
ments of the public for these grand fruits. 
Death of Mr. A. McKenzie.—We regret to learn as 
we go to press of the death of Mr. Alexander 
McKenzie, Superintendent of Epping Forest, who 
passed away at his residence, The Warren, Lough- 
ton, on Monday last, in his sixty-fourth year. The 
deceased, who held the rank of Major in the 
Honourable Artillery Company, was a native of 
Scotland, and came south in early life. Some thirty 
years ago he was a gardener in the neighbourhood of 
Brighton, and subsequently became associated with 
the late Mr. J. J. Meston and others in the laying out 
and planting of the gardens on the Thames Embank¬ 
ment, and in carrying out public works of a similar 
character for the defunct Metropolitan Board of 
Works. He wasappointed Superintendent of Epping 
Forest when this magnificent lung of London was 
acquired by the City Corporation. 
Accident to Mr. Richard Dean.—We regret to learn 
that an unfortunate accident befel Mr. R. Dean on 
the i8th ult. On the 17th ult., at the invitation of 
the Nottingham Garden Holders’ Association, he 
delivered in that town a lecture on " Fruit Culture 
for Cottage and Allotment Gardens,” there being a 
large attendance on the occasion. On the following 
day Mr. Dean paid a visit to Mr. Ingram, at Belvoir 
Castle, and in the afternoon whilst he was being 
driven to a station to catch the London train, the 
horse bolted, throwing him and the driver violently 
into the roadway, disfiguring their faces and injuring 
their limbs. The injuries sustained by Mr. Dean 
were, happily, not of a serious character beyond a 
severe shaking and a sprained wrist, but the unfor¬ 
tunate driver has a dislocated collar bone. 
Shropshire Horticultural Society. — The annual 
spring show of this society was held in the Music 
Hall, Shrewsbury, on the 23rd ult. The exhibits 
were remarkably fine, and compared most favourably 
with previous years. They were most effectively 
arranged, and the hall was transformed into a floral 
paradise. The whole of the arrangements were 
carried out under the directions of the able secre¬ 
taries, Messrs. Adnitt & Naunton, The Square, 
Shrewsbury. 
The Weather in the North. —An Inverness corres¬ 
pondent, ” Nemo,” writes :—In last week’s issue your 
Aberdeenshire correspondent says that "in the far 
north Ross-shire and Sutherlandshire snow lies to a 
great depth, and a keen frost prevails.” It may 
have been that on the hills of these counties that 
was the case, but certainly not in the low districts of 
Ross-shire, which, for soil and climate, are not 
excelled by any in Scotland. In several gardens in 
Ross-shire Peaches ripen on the open wall, though 
of course they are poor specimens compared with 
those grown under similar conditions in England. 
In Inverness and the neighbourhood the depth of 
snow on the date given was under one inch. The 
climate of Aberdeenshire is colder than Ross or 
Sutherland shires, and, as is well known, the north¬ 
east coast of Aberdeenshire is the coldest place in 
Scotland. The weather in the north on the whole 
has been exceptionally good this spring, and work in 
the garden and on farms has not been so far advanced 
at this date for several years past. 
Oroh ds at the Manchester Show.— Mr. W. Holmes, 
gardener to George Hardy, Esq., Pickering Lodge, 
Timperley, asks us to correct an error into which we 
fell in our report of the recent Spring Show at 
Manchester in attributing the exhibition of a fine 
group of Orchids there to his employer, the actual 
exhibitor being Fred. Hardy, Esq., Tyntersfield, 
Ashton-on-Mersey. 
Allotments at Hampton Wick—Through an un¬ 
fortunate misprint it was last week represented that 
the allotments furnished by the Board of Works at 
Hampton Wick, adjoining the Home Park, for the 
cottagers of that place through the Local Board 
were but £3 per acre. The figure should have been 
£8 or is. per rod. That was manifestly a very high 
price which the Local Board felt bound to charge to 
cover expenses incidental to lease, fencing, marking 
out, etc. However, as a result of the rebellion on 
the part of the proposed allotment holders, we are 
pleased to note that the Local Board has agreed to 
reduce the rental for the first year to 6d. per rod, to 
see how far, if regularly paid, such rent may suffice 
to cover expenses. All allotment holders therefore 
took possession of their plots on Saturday last. It 
was objected that the site was occasionally flooded 
by the rising of the Thames, but that is a very rare 
occurrence after all, and does very little harm. 
Proposed Presentation to Mr. M'Hatti?. —The re¬ 
moval of Mr. J. W. M'Hattie from the gardens at 
Newbattle Abbey to an important position in the 
south of England has been considered by a 
number of his brother horticulturists and personal 
friends a fitting opportunity to express in a tangible 
form the high esteem in which he is held. A com¬ 
mittee has been formed to receive subscriptions for 
the purpose of presenting Mr. M'Hattie with a testi¬ 
monial previous to his leaving Scotland, and the time 
available being very limited, all who wish to subscribe 
are invited to intimite their contributions to the 
secretary, Mr. Geo. M'Kinnon, Melville Castle, or 
treasurer, Mr. A. MacKenzie, Warriston Nurseries, 
Edinburgh, not later than Saturday, the 1st April. 
Fruit Trees in Cornwall are looking very well, and 
judging from the condition of the blossoms, Goose¬ 
berries will be ready for picking in about four weeks 
time. Lent Lilies are in abundance—in fact, they 
have never been known so plentiful, especially in the 
Corn wood and Plymptonand South Hams districts, 
to say nothing of the condition of things west of the 
Tamar. Prices, in consequence, are not of a very 
paying nature, although quantity must, in part, make 
up this deficiency. 
Rothamsted Experiments. —This year witnesses the 
completion of fifty years of experiments in agricul¬ 
tural research that have been carried on at Rotham¬ 
sted, Herts, by Sir John Bennett Lawes and Dr. 
Gilbert. These researches have long been acknow¬ 
ledged as of national importance, and in view of this 
fact it was resolved at a meeting recently held under 
the presidency of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, that 
the jubilee of the establishment of these experiments 
should be commemorated in some way by the public 
in “ recognition of the invaluable services rendered 
to agriculture by Sir John B. Lawes and Dr. 
Gilbert.” The proposal is to raise a “ Rothamsted 
Jubilee Fund,” the proceeds of which are to be de¬ 
voted to the placing of a granite memorial bearing a 
suitable inscription, at the head of the field in which 
the experiments have been carried on ; also the fur¬ 
nishing of addresses to Sir John Lawes and 
Dr. Gilbert, accompanied by a commemorative piece 
of plate if the fund is sufficient for the purpose. 
Subscriptions are solicited, and with the view of in¬ 
creasing their number the maximum is limited to 
two guineas. The honorary secretary is Mr. Ernest 
Clarke, 12, Hanover Square, London, W. 
Wholesale Fruit and Potato Trades. —The inaugural 
dinner of the London Wholesale Fruit and Potato 
Trades and Growers’ Benevolent Society was held 
at the Holborn Restaurant on the 22nd ult., the 
Lord Mayor presiding. About 150 gentlemen sat 
down, the company being generally representative 
of the body in question. The vice-chair was taken 
by Mr. G. Coleman. The toast of the evening was 
proposed by the Lord Mayor, who congratulated 
them on having decided to start a society of this 
character, and urged upon the necessity of unity, in 
order that it might be placed on a satisfactory and 
useful basis. He stated that he understood that 
there were about 725 salesmen or growers attending 
the markets, and if such a large number chose to 
unite themselves in this work, they would be able to 
assist their unfortunate brethren who might require 
the help of a benevolent association such as the one 
which has just been formed. They had already 
twenty-one life governors, seven vice-presidents, and 
about 160 annual subscribers, which was a very good 
beginning, and on which he congratulated them. 
They had also received £600 as a nucleus of their 
funds, and he hoped that the result of their dinner 
would be to increase it to a considerable extent. 
This toast was acknowledged by Mr. G. Coleman. 
The first general meeting of the society is announced 
to be held at the Mona Hotel, Henrietta Street, 
Covent Garden, on Thursday, April 6th, at 6.30 
pm., to confirm the proposed rules and elect officers. 
Lee, Blackhsath, and Lewisham Horticultural Society 
—A paper entitled “ Begonias and their culture, ” by 
Mr. J. Laing, was read at the monthly meeting o- 
Friday evening of last week ; there was a good atten 
dance. Mr. Judge obtained a First-class Certificate 
for a seedling Clivia of a deep orange colour. 
Nitrogen for Nothing —We seem (says the Morning 
Post) as yet to be only on the threshold of discovery 
as regards the power of assimilation of free atmos¬ 
pheric nitrogen by plants. That leguminous species, 
such as Beans, Peas, Lupins, Clover, Trefoil, Sain¬ 
foin, Lucerne, and Vetches, possess this property, in 
virtue of the nodules upon their roots, is now 
generally acknowledged. That other plants, outside 
the leguminous alliance, possess the same nitrogen, 
acquiring capacity, is, however, more than suspected. 
There is a Willow-like shrub, known as the Sea 
Buckthorn, with slender leaves, dull greenish above 
and shining silvery beneath, which grows on our 
sandy coasts, particularly in the southern parts of 
Britain. A very close ally of this shrub, but not a 
native of Britain, is the plant known to botanists as 
Elaeagnus angustifolia, the balsamic flowers of which 
called Bohemian Olive on the Continent, are pre¬ 
scribed in parts of South Europe for malignant 
fevers. According to the Landwirtschaftliche Versuchs- 
Stationcr, a band of investigators have succeeded in 
attaining some very decisive results with this 
Elaeagnus. Two flower pots, containing sterilised 
nitrogen-free sand, were each planted on June 16th 
with four seedlings, and a week later one of the pots 
was inoculated from the top with an extract of earth 
in which Elaeagnus was growing. During the 
summer there was no apparent effect, but as autumn 
advanced the inoculated plants were seen to be 
greener, and in the following spring they developed 
branches and grew vigorously, whilst an inspection 
of their roots revealed the presence of well developed 
nodules. Measurements of two representative plants 
from each pot showed the inoculated specimens to 
be 21 in. high, with abundant branches and leaves, 
whilst the uninoculated plant was only' yjin. high, 
free from branches, and in a famished condition. 
Early Vegetation in Cornwall. —As showing the 
remarkably early condition of things this year, it 
may be noted that already several of the growers of 
early Potatos in the more sheltered positions will 
next week commence to " draw ” and send to market. 
Given the absence of anything approaching severe 
frosts, the growers believe there will be a splendid 
yield this season. Other vegetables appear to be 
equally as forward. It is seldom that Cornish 
Potatos are pul into the market before Easter, and 
more frequently a week or two later, so that vege¬ 
tation is about a month earlier than at least for the 
