132 
rHE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 30, 1897. 
Cannas, Begonias, and other flowering sub¬ 
jects interspersed in batches amongst the 
Ferns, but chiefly Adiantums. Many 
varieties of Achimenes in full bloom were 
arranged along the front of the benches. 
The latest batch of Gloxinia seedlings were 
flowering freely and displaying a great 
variety of colours in one of the several low, 
span-roofed houses utilised for plant grow¬ 
ing. A houseful of ornamental Capsicums, 
well fruited, and Asparagus constituted 
another speciality in their way. A set of 
frames is to be altered and supplemented 
till they form two rows, each 120 ft. long. 
They are to be heated with fermenting 
manure and utilised for growing Cyclamens, 
Cinerarias, Cannas, etc. A batch of 
Cyclamens sown in September, 1896, 
formed fine plants which must now be close 
upon the flowering stage. In a lean-to 
house, having a southern aspect, we noted 
those fine specimen Malmaison Carnations 
which sometimes make their appearance 
in public. They consisted of bushy, well- 
furnished plants about 2 ft. high and were 
summering here in plenty of sunshine and 
abundant ventilation, which keep the plants 
sturdy and short-jointed. They formed the 
group which took the Jubilee Medal at 
Richmond as the best miscellaneous exhibit 
in the show last summer. 
-- 
Mr. John Duff, foreman in the gardens at Devon- 
hurst, Chiswick, for the last two years, has been 
appointed head gardener to Colonel Williams, Bryn 
Glas, Newport, Monmouthshire. 
Lord Justice Lindley, only son of the Dr. Lindley of 
horticultural fame, has been promoted from the Court 
of Appeal to the post of Master of the Rolls, in 
succession to Lord Esher. 
Mr. Thomas Ormiston, a well-known Scottish horti¬ 
culturist has just died. He was gardener for some 
twenty-five years to the Mar family, serving under 
three of the earls of Mar during that time. Under 
Mr. Ormiston’s care and skill the gardens at Alloa 
Park became notable for their beauty and originality 
of design. 
The Pelican, which for some years has been a 
great favourite with visitors to Kew Gardens, at last 
grew old enough and strong enough to discover that 
the world was bigger than Kew Gardens, and 
possibly better. Like many another unfortunate 
traveller it met its death at the hands of a wretched 
gamekeeper or gun-keeper, whose sole idea is simply 
to shoot every flying thing that comes within gun¬ 
shot, ay, even if it were an angel. The pelican, like 
Adam, perchance imagined it was not good to be 
alone, its mate having died some time previously. 
Now the cormorant feels lonely and disconsolate in 
the absence of its big companion. 
The Edinburgh "Diamond Jubilee" Chrysanthemum 
Show promises to be a big thing, coming off on the 
18th, 19th, and 20th November. The special 
Jubilee prizes lead the van of all other shows in 
value, and for the benefit of our readers we have the 
pleasure to draw attention to them. The great 
feature of the exhibition will be the class for twenty 
vases Chrysanthemums, three blooms each of 
twenty varieties ; first prize, £50 in cash,and Victoria 
Gold Medal, second, £50, and Silver Medal, third, 
£15, 4th, £10, 5th, £8, and 6th, £7. We are informed 
that the gold medals to be awarded are no trifles, 
but are to be made of 22 carat gold and weigh 2J ozs. 
The City of Edinburgh prize is also a tempting one 
for forty-eight blooms, Japanese Chrysanthemums, 
distinct ; first prize, plate value £20 and £5 in cash, 
2nd, £12, 3rd, £8, 4th, £5, and 5th, £3. With such 
prizes to tempt competitors, and the added attrac¬ 
tions of the band of the Grenadier Guards, besides 
the excellent trade exhibits always met with here, 
we predict a great suceess for the show and trust the 
hopes of the committee may be amply realised of 
having a large surplus to hand over to charities, of 
which those connected with gardening will doubtless 
receive a liberal share. 
Miss Muir Macreadre has purchased the historical 
estate of Warwick Hill, in Ayrshire, for £14,000. It 
had been in the hands of the Ralston family for 
many years. 
The Fite Mutch.—" We hed a meenin o’wynter last 
00k fan Morven an’ Culbleen got on the fite mutch.” 
This quotation merely indicates that the party con¬ 
cerned had a taste of winter when Morven and Cul- 
blean (two Aberdeenshire hills) got a cap of snow. 
“ Ouida’ has written a letter to Mr. Joseph Collin- 
son of the Humanitarian League, urging the crying 
need for the protection of birds from their callous and 
rapacious destroyers, and society from the danger of 
the mal-practices of the school of medical inocula- 
tionists. 
Webb’s Barley Competition.—The valuable prizes 
for Barley offered by Messrs. Webb & Sons, of 
Wordsley, Stourbridge, brought a keen competition, 
and the Judge, Mr. T. Phipps, of the firm of Messrs. 
Pickering, Phipps &Sons, Limited, of Northampton 
was occupied a considerable time in making his 
awards, which were as follows: Class I, Champion 
Prize, open to the United Kingdom, £25, Mr. W. 
Nisbett, Stratford St. Andrews, Saxmundham, 
Suffolk. Class II, open to Salop, Stafford, Hereford, 
Worcester, and Warwick. First prize, £15, Mr. E. 
Bomford, Spring Hill, Fladbury ; second prize, 
£10, Mr. W. Chick, Sutton Maddock, Shifnal; 
third prize, £5, Mr. G. Corbishley, Bricklehampton 
Court, Pershore. The conditions of competition 
stipulated that the Barley should be one of Webbs’ 
varieties, and grown with Webbs' Special Barley 
Manure. The high quality of tbe samples exhibited 
testified to the value of both seed and manure. 
National Chrysanthemum Society.—A special fruit 
competition in commemoration of Her Majesty the 
Queen attaining to the 60th year of her reign, is to 
be held at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster, on the 
9th, 10th, and nth November next, under the 
auspices of the National Chrysanthemum Society, 
and promises to be very interesting. Five prizes are 
offered for twenty-four dishes of Apples,nine of which 
must be varieties in cultivation in this country at 
the time of the accession of the Queen in 1837. The 
remaining fifteen must consist of varieties which 
have been put into commerce during the past thirty 
years. Five fruits constitute a dish, and a card must 
be put on the plate showing the name, the year of 
introduction, and the name of the introducer. 
The fruits need not necessarily have been grown by 
the exhibitor, but they must be the produce of the 
United Kingdom. Particulars may be obtained from 
the secretary, Mr. Richard Dean, Ranelagh Road, 
Ealing, London, W. 
Patents for Inventions. —Inventors, who desire to 
have their inventions patented, have to do so at their 
own risk. The Patent Laws in this country make 
no provision for an official research as to the 
originality of a novelty. It is therefore necessary 
that inventors do this for themselves before they 
incur any expenses, otherwise they may find after 
payiDg their fees that the"invention is practically 
worthless, because some one else has forestalled 
them and possesses the patent rights. At the present 
time there are now over 230,000 printed specifica¬ 
tions at the Patent Office to wade through ; but the 
task is rendered easier by the preparation and publi¬ 
cation of a series of Indexes and Abridgements as a 
guide to the Specifications themselves. These 
Abridgements refer to all sorts of trades, professions, 
and occupations. That relating to gardening or 
horticultural appliances comes under " Agricultural 
Appliances for the Treatment of Land and Crops." 
The oldest Abridgements mentioned go as far back 
as 1617, but those of more recent date are more 
likely to be of service. The publications run into 
hundreds, and may be obtained at the Patent Office, 
25, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, 
W.C., for is to 2S. each according to age. Any of 
them, however, may be seen at the Patent Office free 
of charge, as well as at free and public libraries in 
London and the provinces. The purpose of the 
Abridgements, however, is to enable the would-be 
patentee to carry out a search at his leisure to deter¬ 
mine whether his invention has been patented or 
not. 
Showers of Snow have been falling in the low¬ 
lands of Aberdeenshire, though the weather, till 
recently remained remarkably mild in the southern 
counties. 
Enraged Fruit-grower : " Gel outside of those 
Apples as quickly as you can, you young rascal." 
YouDg Rascal : “ ’Ees, mister, I’m a tryin’ to, but 
they’re very ’ard."—Stampede of both in single file. 
Trafalgar Day.—On Thursday the 21st inst., the 
anniversary of the death of Nelson, the national hero, 
Nelson’s Monument, in Trafalgar Square, was simply 
but appropriately decorated. At a height of 120 ft. 
from the ground the column was girt with a naval 
crown, weighing about 8 cwt., and 6 ft. in height. 
From the iron band supporting it four garlands de¬ 
pended, each about 60 yards in length, entwining the 
column, and reaching from thence to the Landseer 
lioDS, and then to the ground. Four huge wreaths 
of Laurel were sent by branches of the Navy League 
and Abbotsholme School. The wreaths each bore a 
suitable motto. Chrysanthemums, Tuberoses, Lilies 
and other flowers were brought in the form of wreaths 
and bunches during the day. The decorations were 
allowed to remain till the 26th inst. The old flag¬ 
ship Victory at Portsmouth was decorated with 
garlands of Laurel. The figure of Nelson at Chat¬ 
ham was decorated with Laurels and flowers. 
Woolton Mutual Improvement Society.—The usual 
fortnightly meeting of this society was held at the 
Mechanies' Institute on the 21st inst., Mr. Henry 
Middlehurst presiding. Mr. W. H. Yeo, of Birken¬ 
head, gave an excellent paper entitled “ A chat about 
Vines." Tbe subject was handled in an able manner, 
the defects and failures, and how to overcome them 
were the strong points of information; bad methods 
were also brought to the fore, and the results that 
usually follow. These very important items con¬ 
nected with Vine culture that most growers have had 
to contend with, and how to deal with them success¬ 
fully are as useful as the most approved details of 
high class culture. The paper was somewhat out of 
the beaten track, but proved the more desirable 
especially to those who have to undertake the ren- 
novation of old or badly treated Vines, whether 
through defective borders, or improper treatment. 
Sound practical advice at this period is most valu¬ 
able. At the conclusion of the lecture a good discus¬ 
sion followed, after which a cordial vote of thanks 
was tendered to the essayist and the chairman for a 
most enjoyable and instructive evening. 
“The Fern Bulletin." —This is the title of an 
illustrated 16-page quarterly, which claims to be 
" the only journal in the world devoted entirely to 
Ferns." The October number completes the fifth 
volume. The first article of this number, written 
by Lucien M. Underwood, is entitled "The Ferns of 
Scolopendrium Lake." The writer of it enumerates 
the Ferns in the immediate vicinity of Green Lake 
(the real name of the small sheet of water), near 
Jamesville, Onondaga county. New York. He 
mentions some twenty-seven species, which he finds 
within a radius of fifty rods from the margin of the 
lake, and says that others run the number up to 
thirty-four, all of which are found within a circle, 
whose diameter does not exceed three miles. This 
he considers the richest district in the United States 
for Ferns, and invites others to inform him of any 
richer district. This nearly equals the whole 
British flora in the matter of Ferns. By the way, 
twelve of the species are British, which goes to show 
the cosmopolitan character of Ferns. The names 
adopted are not all the same as ours. For instance, 
Nephrodium spinulosum, N. cristatum and N. 
Thelypteris are all classed under Dryopteris ; while 
Polypodium Dryopteris is placed under Phegopteris, 
as is sometimes done here. The editor, Mr. Willard 
N. Clute, of the Herbarium of Columbia University, 
New York City, has an interesting article on the 
Hart’s-tongue, which he calls Phyllitis. Several of 
the species mentioned in the “ Bulletin " are hardy 
and more or less cultivated in Britain. The British 
Columbia variety of the common Bracken is indeed 
a giant, for a man on horseback can make two 
fronds touch over his head. There is an interesting 
article on Californian Ferns, &c. Mr. Charles T. 
Druery, Acton, London,W.,has an article onapospory 
and Fern variation in Great Britain. The Fern Bulle¬ 
tin is published at Binghamton, New York, U.S A. 
