[ March 5, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
429 
serve upon the 'committee, vice [Messrs. Ballantine 
and Cannell, who retire. Mr. G. Reynolds seconded. 
Mr. Marshall said an agreeable duty fell to him 
in proposing Mr. A. F. Barron as secretary for the 
• ensuing year. Mr. Walker seconded. 
All these motions were carried. 
On the motion of Mr. H. J. Jones, supported by 
Mr. J. Fraser, Messrs. R. Dean, McLeod, Walker, 
and H. B. May were appointed scrutineers of the 
ballot. 
The meeting then adjourned for the declaration of 
the poll, which closed at 4.30 p.m. 
Result of the Ballot. 
This was made known at 4.50 p.m. The total num¬ 
ber of votes polled was 3,157, ar.d the successful 
candidates were as follows, with the number of votes 
obtained by each :—Agnes Macintosh, 349 ; Robert 
John Smith, 332; Jatnesina Baird, 278; Lydia Annie 
Milne, 275 ; Hermine Kosbab, 272 ; William Ewart 
Holmes, 269; Ruth Amy Worth, 241 ; Margaret 
Annie Richardson, 232 ; and Constance Mary James, 
209. Annie Kathleen French, with 166 votes to her 
credit, was teeth on the list and therefore came in for 
the benefit of the “ J. W. Thomson Trust.” The 
meeting closed with votes of the thanks to the 
scrutineers of the ballot, and to Mr. Marshall for 
presiding. 
The Annual Friendly Dinner. 
Mr. P. C. M. Veitch, of Exeter, had been announced 
to take the chair at the dinner, which took place at 
6.30 in an adjoining room, but was prevented from 
fulfilling the engagement by illness. Mr. N. N. 
Sherwood therefore acted in that capacity. 
After the usual loyal toasts of the Queen, Prince 
and Princess of Wales, and the rest of the Royal 
Family had been honoured at the invitation of the 
chairman, Mr. Sherwood proposed " continued 
success and prosperity to the Gardeners' Royal 
Orphan Kund.” He alluded briefly in the course of 
his remarks to the information given in the report. 
He was sorry to find that the past year had not been 
so successful as they could have wished it to have 
been, but they must not think matters were so bad as 
these words might lead them to think. He assured his 
audience that the nursery and seed trade would 
always be ready to do what lay in its power to help 
such charities, and impressed upon them the 
necessity for enlisting the sympathies of all 
gardeners. In alluding to the large donations which 
had been received from various sources during the 
course of the year, he mentioned one of £31 sent by 
Mr. M.Todd, of Edinburgh, since the publication of 
the report. The donation of £14 sent by Mr. H. J. 
Jones, was made up of no fewer than 2,501 coins. 
Mr. Miles, of Southampton, who had during 1897 
obtained fifty-five new subscribers, was mentioned as 
an instance of what might be done by an energetic 
local secretary. He coupled with the toast the name 
of Mr. Marshall, who suitably responded. 
Other toasts followed, including one to the chair¬ 
man, and one to the secretary, Mr. A. F. Barron. 
The evening was much enlivened by some capital 
songs from Messrs. D. W. Crane, Poupart, R. H. 
Mason, and H. J. Jones. The musical sketch and 
recitation given by Mr. Rowland Henry evoked roars 
of laughter, and Mr. Weeks with his recitation 
" Abimelech " fairly brought the house down. 
CHRISTMAS AND LENTEN ROSES. 
Christmas and Lenten Roses are general favourites, 
not only on account of their early flowering 
properties, but they are also esteemed for their quaint 
beauty and general usefulness, supplying as they do a 
rich harvest of durable flowers, at a season when 
flowers are flowers, in other words when we poor be¬ 
nighted apostles of the floral world are at our wits’ 
end what to dish up for variety, until gentle spring 
unfolds her hidden treasures. 
All spring flowers promise to be with us much 
earlier than usual; in fact, many are well with us 
now. Snowdrops are in plenty; Eranthis hyemalis 
(Winter Aconite) in sheets of gold ; and Christmas 
Roses just about over, have been in evidence since 
early December. The earliest of the Lenten Roses 
are now (Feb. 12th) at their best. Many of them 
commenced to unfold their quaint, drooping flowers 
in early January. We do not, as a rule, have these 
in flower in Scotland until March and April, unless, 
of course, they have the protection of a frame or hand 
light, a plan generally adopted in most gardens. When 
so treated the flowers are not only cleaner, but have 
also longer stems, which further enhance their value 
for decorative purposes. 
Visiting Mr. Forbes' hardy plant nursery at 
Hawick, in the end of January, I noticed that even 
here, growing in nursery rows on an open border, 
many of the Hellebores were in full bloom. H. 
niger and its varieties, H. n. maximus and H. n, 
angustifolius were fine, the last-named being 
especially so. I consider this by far the best, being 
not only purer in colour, but also more vigorous and 
free in all respects. The rosy tinge generally seen 
in H. niger and H. n. altifolius (generally known as 
maximus) is entirely awanting in H. n. angustifolius 
the Scotch Christmas Rose. (By the way, why are 
they known as Roses at all ? it seems a strange incon¬ 
gruity, though certainly not more so than some of 
our newspaper Christmas numbers, which also claim 
the title. Whether right or wrong the cognomen has 
evidently come to stay). 
Of the varieties generally known as Lenten Roses, 
the following were well in flower:—H. atrorubens, 
reddish purple ; H. caucasicus, white tinged rose on 
the outside; H. caucasicuspunctatus, reddish rose; 
and H. colchicus coccineus, plum purple, sufiused 
red. H. orientalis Apothiker Bogrin is crimson pur¬ 
ple, spotted with crimson ; H. o. F. C. Heinemannis 
dark purple, spotted with crimson ; H. o. Inspector 
Hartweg is rosy purple, spotted carmine. H. 0. 
Albian Otto, H. o. Councillor Benary, and H. o. 
Professor Scleicher, were the most prominent whites 
in flower. A great many other sorts were showing 
bud, and ere now I fancy will be in bloom. The 
flowers are borne in panicles on stems 15 ins. or so 
in height, clear of the foliage, which is not in their 
favour should severe weather set in. These Lenten 
Roses are gross feeders and soon exhaust the soil. A 
mulching of dung or a top dressing of good soil, and 
copious waterings in their growing season are very 
beneficial, especially as the plants dislike being dis¬ 
turbed at the root, and should not be broken up any 
oftener than is absolutely necessary.— Waverley. 
ORCHID NOTES & GLEANINGS, 
By the Editor. 
Dendrobium pardalinum. —The parentage of this 
hybrid Dendrobe is given as D. Ainsworthii and D. 
statterianum, both being garden forms. It bears a 
close resemblance to the first-named parent, but the 
ground colour of the segments is creamy rather than 
white. There is a faint purple blotch at the tips of 
the sepals and petals. The disc of the lip is furnished 
with a large, circular, rich crimson blotch, which 
covers the greater portion of the same, and is wonder¬ 
fully well defined in outline. On each side of the 
base the surface is thickly striated with slender lines 
of a lighter but brighter crimson. These lines and 
the blotch are brought out very clearly and effectively 
under the influence of artificial light. The name 
pardalinum is, however, a misnomer, for we can 
hardly imagine a pard furnished with a solitary 
blotch. The flowers are deliciously fragrant for 
days after they are cut whether placed in water or 
not, the odour recalling that of Violets. The hybrid 
has been flowering for some time past in the collec¬ 
tion of Thos. McMeekin, Esq., Falkland Park, 
South Norwood Hill. 
Odontoglossum wilckeanum Rosslyn var.— 
A piece of this magnificent variety, after a year’s 
growth by Messrs. McBean & Sons, Cooksbridge, 
Lewes, has produced a spike 4$ ft. in length, and 
carrying thirteen flowers of large size. Last year 
it was a small and weak plant. It is the property of 
H. T. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn, Stamford Hill. The 
segments are broad and imbricated, and almost 
covered by large, dark, chestnut-red blotches on a 
clear yellow ground. The lip is paler, but the large 
blotch upon it is brighter. The flowers measured 
j Q - b y 3f i“- 
Odontoglossum wilckeanum rubiginosum.— 
The large, rich, chocolate-red blotches on the 
flowers of this variety make it the darkest and 
richest of the forms of O. wilckeanum we remember 
having seen. They have a waxy and shining lustre 
which gives the flower a most striking appearance. 
H. T. Pitt, Esq., Rosslyn, Stamford Hill, is the 
fortunate possessor. 
-» i — 
The Orange Crop of New Zealand has been known 
to bring £200 per acre in some seasons. 
KltcRen Balden Calendar. 
Onions are an important crop in most gardens, and 
to have them of the finest quality special care must 
be taken in their cultivation. The time of sowing 
the seed, as well as the preparation of the ground, 
are important items; this being so, an effort should 
be made to get the seed in on the first favourable 
opportunity. There is nothing gained, however, by 
sowing when the soil sticks to the boots and gets 
carried off on to the paths. Where the ground was 
turned up roughly in the autumn it should be forked 
over, breaking all the clods so as to render it as fine 
as possible. If the day be fine and the sun shines 
brightly, by the afternoon that which was forked over 
early in the morning will be sufficiently dry on the 
surface to walk upon without any harm being done. 
When in this condition it should be trodden, so as to 
make the surface firm, after which the plot intended 
to be sown should be raked level and the drills made. 
There is no necessity to form beds, or to make a 
division between the different varieties, which is a 
waste of ground. It is, however, better to allow a 
little more room between the drills than is usually 
done, as this facilitates the work of keeping the 
plants clean. Neither is it advisable to sow too 
thickly, as the plants cannot gain strength in their 
young state when overcrowded. Deep sowing must 
in all cases be avoided, for the nearer the bulbs are 
to the surface the better their shape. 
Parsnips for an early supply may now be sown. 
Those who wish to grow them for exhibition and 
have some difficulty in obtaining clean straight 
roots, would do well to make holes with a dibber 
eighteen inches deep, which should be filled in with 
finely sifted soil to which a little sand has been 
added. 
Carrots. —Make a sowing of these on a warm 
sheltered border, choosing the early short horn 
varieties such as Gem, Parisian Forcing, etc. In 
warm sheltered places a few Potatos may now be 
planted ; but it is not advisable to plant more than 
sufficient for an early supply, as better results will 
be obtained by deferring such work till the first week 
in April; but where there is space at the toot of a 
south wall, or such like place, where protection can 
be afforded should there be any frost, two or three 
weeks may be gained in the time they are ready to 
lift. Lettuces that have been kept in frames during 
the winter may now be transplanted in the open 
ground ; a small sowing should also be made on a 
warm border. Cabbages are much earlier this year 
than usual, and possibly, should there be a dry, cold 
March, many of them may run to seed. To avoid 
any blanks a pinch of seed should now be sown 
either in a box or out of doors ; plants so raised 
grow away quickly when the weather gets 
warmer. \ 
Globe Artichokes. —This vegetable in many gar¬ 
dens is much neglected, and the few small hard heads 
that are obtained are almost worthless. To produce 
large succulent heads the ground must be liberally 
treated and suckers of the finest types obtained. 
These should be planted in rows at leasts ft. apart 
each way, that the foliage may have ample room to 
develop itself. The present is a good time to make 
new plantations. '• 
Vegetables Under Glass. —As the days get 
longer these will need more attention, for they will 
be more liable to get dry. In all cases ample air 
must be afforded when the weather is favourable, to 
keep them in a healthy condition. Peas, Lettuce, 
Cauliflower, Onions, and such like should be 
gradually hardened off ready for planting out as soon 
as the weather is favourable. Early Tomato plants 
must be kept near the light to prevent them becom¬ 
ing drawn. Make a small sowing of Vegetable 
Marrows for an early supply, and do not neglect to 
keep up a supply of forced salads. A pinch of white 
Celery seed may now be sown. This will germinate 
much more readily if placed in a hot bed than in a 
house. 
Cucumbers. —A few seeds may now be put in to 
give a supply of plants to fill frames on hot beds 
where vegetables have been forced. Plants in 
houses at this time of the year need great care both 
in watering and ventilation. Those in fruit must be 
closely watched, as in many places there are not 
sufficient insects to fertilize the flowers, the con¬ 
sequence being they fail to set any fruit. Where this 
