486 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 2, 1898. 
To get a full crop the defective element or 
elements must be supplied, and the 
mechanical condition of the soil made 
perfect by efficient tillage, sc that every¬ 
thing may be placed on a properly working 
basis. Should moisture be deficient, arti¬ 
ficial means must be taken to amend the 
want, as it is the vehicle for carrying all 
plant foods obtainable from the soil. Sum¬ 
marising the most important elements of 
plant food that were liable to be present in 
insufficient quantities in soils, he named 
nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, the 
peculiarities of which he explained, and 
the forms in which they might be supplied. 
The Flower Gardens of Grasse and Cannes occupy 
an area of upwards of 60,000 acres, and annually 
produce flowers to the value of over £600,000. It is 
from these quarters that many of the leading flower 
markets are supplied. Paris aloDe draws immense 
quantities, despite the fact that the distance takes 
fully twenty hours to cover by fast express. 
The Royal Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. — We are 
reminded that the annual festival dinner of this most 
deserving charity will take place on Wednesday, 
April 20th, at the Hotel Metropole, under the 
presidency of C. E. Keyser, Esq., of Aldermaston 
Court, Reading, and late of Stanmore. Mr. Keyser 
is so well known as a patron of horticulture, that we 
hope there will be a large number of gardeners 
present to give him a cordial reception. 
Mr. David Wilson, for many years gardener to 
Hugh Stevens, Esq , Westmount, Kelvinside, Glas¬ 
gow, has been appointed foreman in the Tollcross 
Park, Glasgow. Mr. Whitton, the superintendent, 
has a great belief in placing practical gardeners in 
every responsible position in the Glasgow Parks, and 
we consider his plan not only thoroughly practical, 
but to be recommended. We are afraid, however, 
that Mr. Wilson will miss his favourite Orchids for 
a time, but as there is glass upon the place, and the 
Glasgow people are not averse to Orchids in their 
establishments, we think it more than likely that 
Mr. Wilson will be able presently to surround him¬ 
self again with his favourites. He is succeeded at 
Westmount by the foreman who was under him 
there. 
Shirley District Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement 
Association.—The annual general meeting of theabove 
society was held at the Parish Room, Shirley, 
Southampton, on Monday, the 21st ult, the president, 
Mr. W. F. G. Spranger, presiding. The report 
showed that twelve lectures were given during the 
past year, at which 516 persons attended, giving an 
average of 43 per meeting. The accounts showed a 
balance of over £3 in favour of the association. 
The president, secretary, vice-presidents, and 
treasurer were re-elected, and a committee of 15 
was elected by ballot. A hearty vote of thanks to 
the president, and to the horticultural and local 
Press closed the business of the meeting. An enter¬ 
tainment was afterwards given by some of the 
members and friends of the society, which was much 
appreciated by those present. 
A Plebiscite of Chrysanthemums.—’The issue of the 
Novd-Horticole for March contains the result of the 
plebiscite of Chrysanthemums instituted by the 
Moniteur d'Horticulture. The enormous amount of 
labour involved is commented upon, and it is stated 
that 8,000 forms were issued, so that in France, at 
all events, the results of the voting should be con¬ 
clusive as to the relative degree of esteem in which 
each variety is held. Exactly a hundred varieties 
were included in the forms, and Madame Carnot 
heads the list with 1,011 votes. Le Colosse 
Grenoblois comes next with 997 votes, Mrs. C. 
Harman Payne third with 994, Mme. Edmond 
Roger fourth with 976, and Viviand Morel fifth with 
971. If a plebiscite were to be taken in this country 
we do not doubt that Madame Carnot would be at 
the top of the list, but neither Le Colosse 
Grenoblois, Mrs. C. Harman Payne, nor Mme, 
Edmond Roger would be so highly placed. M. 
Ctenon de Leche, which would also be well up in a 
British list, is down to the eighteenth place in the 
French. 
Lcs Angeles Cal., U.S.A., now possesses the proud 
distinction of owning one of the largest public parks 
in the United States, in Griffiths' Park, which was 
formally made over to the city authorities on the 
5th ult., by Mr. G. J. Griffiths. The park contains 
3015.4 acres. 
The Sea Claims Tasmanian Fruit.—The Peninsular 
and Oriental Steamship Company’s ship “ China ” 
which was due to arrive at our shores on or about 
April 9th, was bringing amongst her cargo 16,000 
boxes of Tasmanian fruit. The vessel went aground, 
however, on the 25th ult., at Perim Island. All the 
passengers to the number of 400 were landed on the 
island, also the mails, luggage, and specie, but the 
fruit will probably be a total loss, and it is not yet 
known whether the £ hip herself can be saved. 
Helping Nature.—The flower growers around 
Cannes have practised for several years a system 
of forwarding the blooms of Acacia dealbata, which 
is very largely grown in the immediate vicinity. 
Flowering branches are cut a week or ten days 
before the flowers in the natural course of things 
would open, the ends are placed in water, and warm 
steam is made to play upon them. From ten to 
twenty hours of this treatment suffice to open the 
flowers, which last fully as long as if they had done 
so under the ordinary influences of unassisted 
Nature. 
Parks and Open Spaces in Exeter. —The Estates 
Committee of the Exeter City Council have 
approved the recommendation made by the sur¬ 
veyor that a foreman gardener be appointed to take 
charge of the public grounds of the City, and to see 
to all work of a horticultural character. This pro¬ 
ject now only needs the ratification of the City 
Council to become a fact. All those who have the 
welfare of Exeter at heart will support anything 
that will lead to the maintenance and improvement of 
the open spaces which, properly cared for, cannot 
fail to be a great attraction to the City. 
Leeds Corporation and its Gardeners —A deputa¬ 
tion of the various gardeners employed by the Leeds 
Corporation recently waited upon the Leeds Cor¬ 
porate Property Commission to bring before them 
the conditions under which they worked, particu¬ 
larly those relating to Sunday labour. On week¬ 
days the men work from 6.30 a.m. until 5.30 p.m., 
and till 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The men ask that 
they shall not start work until 7 a.m., and that they 
should leave off at 12.30 p.m. on Saturdays. With 
regard to Sunday work the men go on by rotation. 
About a dozen are employed each Sunday, the hours 
being from 9 a.m. till 9 p m. for this they only 
receive 2s. 6d each. The deputation pointed out 
that some of the corporation departments are paid 
time and a quarter, and time and a half, and they 
think it not unreasonable that they should at least 
receive a full day’s pay for the Sunday. The num¬ 
ber of men affected is about 40. The committee 
promised to give the question their serious con¬ 
sideration, and we hope to hear soon that the Leeds 
gardeners have obtained their reasonable requests. 
Durham, Northumberland, and Newcastle on-Tyne 
Botanical and Horticultural Society has just issued, 
in pamphlet form, the 73rd annual report of the 
council, together with the balance sheet. The 
report, which is a brief one, speaks of the proposed 
amalgamation with the Northumberland Agricul¬ 
tural Society for the summer show, which is to be 
held in the Recreation Ground, Newcastle, on 
July 13th, 14th, i5thi thus following the precedent of 
1893, which was attended with highly satisfactory 
results. The indebtedness of the Society to a num¬ 
ber of gentlemen, among whom is the ex-Mayor of 
Newcastle (Councillor John Goolden, J.P.), for their 
services is pointed out. It is proposed to hold the 
spring show on April 20th and 21st. The state¬ 
ment of accounts for 1897 shows receipts amounting 
to £1127 17s. 9d., and expenses of £1127 is. 7d., so 
that there has been a working profit on the year of 
16s. 2d. The statement of liabilities and assets 
shows that the society is still in debt to the tune of 
£25 16s. 9d. A list of the honorary officials, mem¬ 
bers, and associates is included in the pamphlet, and 
we notice that there is a black list of members and 
associates who are in arrears with their sub¬ 
scriptions. 
Acacia dealbata thrives wonderfully in theEsterels 
and on the Gneiss Hills around Cannes, in the south 
of France. On clay or calcareous soils the plants 
refuse to grow, and soon sicken and die. 
Mr. Henry Eckford.—The issue of Gardening 
(American) for March 15th, contains a portrait and 
an appreciative notice of Mr. Henry Eckford, of 
Sweet Pea fame. No one has done more for this 
handsome flower than Mr. Eckford, and from his 
establishment at Wem, in Shropshire, numbers of 
the finest varieties of Sweet Peas in existence have 
issued. These varieties are as well known and 
highly prized across the Atlantic as here. 
Flowers at Bulawayo.— The public park at Bula¬ 
wayo, South Africa, is, step by step, beiDg made a 
paradise under the able superintendence of Mr. 
W. S. Goodman. The flowers do remarkably well, 
for Roses flower all the year round. Upwards of 
thirty-six varieties of Carnations are grown, and 
grown well. The fruit trees are also doing remark¬ 
ably well, and Mr. Rhodes' Orange Grove bids fair 
to become the feature of the place. These Oranges 
are planted to form a huge avenue 2,540 yards in 
length. The fruit and Orange trees are the only 
things that have not been reared on the place. 
Appeal to Subscribers of the Royal Masonic Benevo¬ 
lent Institution. —Amongst the members of the 
horticultural fraternity there are, doubtless, many 
members of the Royal Masonic Institution who 
would be willing to help in a good cause. We refer 
to Mrs. Mary Woodman, aged 60 years, of Hurst- 
monceaux, Sussex, widow of Dr. W. R. Woodman, 
P. G. Swd. Br. (Eng.). Votes on her behalf are 
earnestly solicited from governors and subscribers of 
the above-named institution anent the forthcoming 
election of pensioners in May next. Dr. Woodman 
was initiated in St. George's Lodge, No. 112, 
Exeter, in the year 1852, and was a P.M. and for 
eighteen years a member of No. 444, Starcross, 
Devon. He was a P.M., and for thirty-three years 
a member of Grenadiers’ Lodge, No. 66, London. 
For six years he was a member of " Britannic," No. 
33, London, and also a member of other lodges. His 
membership of Chapters was equally long and 
' valuable. He was also a member of the K.T. and 
R.C. degrees. He was a Governor of the R.M.B. 
Institution, as well as that of the R.M.I. for boys, 
and a vice-patron of the R.M.I. for girls, having 
served several stewardships. At his death in 1891, 
his widow found herself absolutely penniless. 
Carex helvola in Britain —At a meeting of the 
Linnean Society of London, on the 3rd ult., Mr. G. 
Claridge Druce, F.L.S., read a paper on the occur¬ 
rence of Carex helvola, Blytt, in Britain, in which 
he gave an account of his discovery of this plant on 
Ben Lawers, Perthshire, in August, 1897. He found 
it growing in some abundance at an elevation of 
about 3.200 ft. Prof. Blytt and Dr. Christ, to whom 
specimens had been submitted, both agreed in 
naming it C. helvola, which by many botanists is 
considered to be a hybrid. Prof. Blytt says that it 
grows with C canescens and approximata (lagopina), 
but he has never found ripe fruit. Dr. Christ says : 
"11 me semble d’etre une ancienne by bride fixe et 
plus ou moins stable." Mr. Druce could readily 
believe that C. helvola was a hybrid of which C. 
canescens was one parent, but he had more difficulty 
in stating definitely the name of the other. From 
the close resemblance borne by C. helvola to C. 
Zahnii (an acknowledged hybrid of C. canescens, in 
one of its forms, with C. approximata), this com¬ 
bination might well be the origin of the Ben Lawers 
plant, but against that was the fact that the presence 
of C. approximata in the Breadalbanes had never 
been proved. C. ecbinata, on the contrary, was 
plentiful there, but Mr. Druce could see no positive 
, evidence of the occurrence of that species in the 
foliage or inflorescence. He would have expected 
the offspring of two plants with nerved perigynia to 
have exhibited that character even in young speci¬ 
mens ; as is showa in C. pseudo-helvola, an acknow¬ 
ledged hybrid of C. canescens and norvegica. The 
foliage, too, was slightly glaucous, a character not 
possessed by C. echinata. Although the Ben 
Lawers plant was less luxuriant than Blytt's Nor¬ 
wegian specimens. Mr. Druce was unable to separate 
it specifically from that plant. Messrs. F. N. 
Williams and W. P. Hiern offered some remarks. 
