518 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 15, 1899. 
Cork, if sunk to a depth of 200 ft. in the sea, re¬ 
fuses to rise to the surface on account of the increased 
gravitation. 
Mr. A. Hemsley, for about sixteen years foreman to 
Mr. H. B. May, Dyson’s Lane, Upper Edmonton, 
has been appointed manager to Mr. W. Goodliffe, 
Cambridge Nurseries, Northcourt Road, Worthing. 
Mr. A. Robb, at present gardener at Glenburnie 
Park, Aberdeen, has been appointed gardener to A. 
D. Fordyce, Esq., Brucklay Castle, Aberdeenshire, 
and will enter on his new duties on the 28th of May. 
The Temple Show —The twelfth great annual show 
of the Royal Horticultural Society (by the kind 
permission of the Treasurer and Benchers of the 
Inner Temple) will be held in the Inner Temple 
Gardens on May 31st, June 1st, and 2nd, next. The 
band of H. M. Royal Horse Gards (Blues) will 
perform each day. Lieut. Charles Godfrey, R. A. 
Mus., will be the conductor of the band. 
The Midland Daffodil Society.—The exhibition of 
Daffodils inaugurated by this society in the 
Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston, Birmingham, is being 
held as we go to press, and is considered to be one of 
the largest and most representative exhibitions of the 
kind for the year. Over £100 was offered in prizes. 
Other spring flowers are included as well as 
Daffodils. 
Lawlessness in the Church of England. —This is 
the title of a pamphlet sent us, and is the substance 
of the speech of Samuel Smith, Esq., M.P., in the 
House of Commons, February 8th and gth last. 
Those of our readers who are interested in the 
controversy will be able to secure a copy from Mr. 
Charles J. Thynne, Wycliffe House, 6, Great Queen 
Street, Lincoln’s Inn, London, W.C., price 2d. 
The Cuckoo at Last.—The first number of the 
Sunday Daily Telegraph vouches for the fact that a 
real live cuckoo was both heard and seen near 
Bromley, Kent, on Monday, the 3rd inst. April 7th 
was the earlist date for the bird recorded by White, 
of Selborne, and no one to the knowledge of the 
writer had recorded its arrival before April 8th. The 
early arrival of the bird on this occasion is hoped to 
portend a “ sudden and splendid summer.” 
Royal Horticultural Society—The next fruit and 
floral meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 
will be held on Tuesday, April 18th, in the Drill 
Hall, James Street, Westminister, 1—5 p.m. In 
addition to the society’s ordinary meeting, the 
National Auricula and Primula Society will hold its 
annual show ; and there will also be an exhibition of 
Daffodils. At 3 o’clock a lecture will be given on 
" Asparagus, Forced and Outdoors,” by Mr. Geo. 
Norman, F.R.H.S. 
Canary Guano and other Fertilisers. —This is the 
title of an illustrated pamphlet giving particulars of 
Canary Guano and other fertilisers prepared and 
sent out by The Chemical Union, Ltd., Ipswich, 
England. The pamphlet is excellently printed on 
thick paper and gives a number of very good photo¬ 
graphic illustrations, the first of which is a house 
of Ferns grown with Canary Guano. Then follow a 
house of Palms grown with the same manure; a 
house of Melons grown with Fisons’ special fertiliser, 
by Mr. E. B. Shakespear, Vale, Guernsey; Grapes 
grown with Fisons’ special Vine fertiliser, by Mr. 
Thos. Bisson, St. Sampson’s, Guernsey ; Tomatos 
grown with Fisons' special Tomato fertiliser, by Mr. 
A. E. Hannent, Upper Hellesdon, Norwich; Chry¬ 
santhemums grown with Fisons’ extra concentrated 
fertiliser, by Mr. E. Matthews, Collings Road, 
Guernsey ; Strawberries grown with Fisons’ special 
Strawberry fertiliser, and (in the back ground) Rasp¬ 
berries grown with Fisons’ concentrated fertiliser, 
by Mr. T. H. Wood, Heathwood Farm, Swan ley ; 
Grand Monarque Narcissi in the Scilly Islands, 
hedged with Palms and Bamboos; group of vege¬ 
tables grown with Fisons’ concentrated fertiliser, by 
Mr. T. H. Wood, Heathwood Farm, Swanley; 
Potatos grown with Fisons’ special Potato fertiliser, 
by Mr. H. Jackson, Hcckenden, Kent ; and other 
pictures. These manures are in the form of a fine 
powder, are prepared with great care, and special 
instructions are given for the proper method of 
using each. They are also used in Golden Gate Park, 
San Francisco, so that they have a world wide 
reputation. 
The Gardeners’ Company.—At a meeting on Thurs¬ 
day the 6th inst., Mr. C. Welch laid before the 
court a scheme for admitting members of the craft 
and working gardeners to the company’s freedom; 
and also for granting trade certificates of competency 
on the results of an examination held under the 
auspices of the company. The scheme was referred 
to a committee, consisting of the Master (Sir 
William Farmer), N. N. Sherwood, Esq., Mr. C. 
Welch, and the clerk (Mr. R. Gofton-Salmond). A 
new edition of the short account of the company was 
also decided upon. The original was issued in r8go. 
It was also proposed to prepare a history of the 
company, and gardening in the city of London, 
which being favourably received was reserved for 
further consideration. Many distinguished persons 
were present, and at the close of the business they 
were entertained at dinner by the Master, at the 
City Carlton Club, St. Swithin's Lane, E.C. Mr. 
W. A. Bilney, a newly elected liveryman, was the 
guest of the evening. 
Reading Gardeners' Mutual Association.—" Clim¬ 
bers ” was the title of a lecture given in a very 
humorous and interesting style by Mr. J. Crooke, 
of Forde Abbey, Chard, before the members of the 
Reading Gardeners’ Mutual on Monday evening last, 
when the president, Mr. C. B. Stevens, presided 
over a good attendance of members. In intro¬ 
ducing the subject Mr. Crooke said that the 
subject he had selected was an old one, a very 
wide one, and it also included a wide range of plants. 
In arrangement, the gardener should cultivate taste 
as well as cultivate plants, and to get away from old 
systems which did not lend themselves to our present 
day needs ; also that more use should be made of our 
native hardy climbers, for many of these common 
climbirg plants would make the dull places of the 
garden beautiful. The following were briefly touched 
upon :—Out-door climbers : The common Wood¬ 
bine ; Ampelopsis hederacea; Ampelopsis Veitchii, 
the most popular climber of the present day; 
Clematis montana; C. Flammula; Ampelopsis 
Hoggi; Wistaria ; Banksian Roses ; Dunbar Roses; 
Cotoneasters; Jasminum revolutum; Loniceras ; 
and the Old Scotch Tropaeolum. Tender Climbers : 
Ficus repens, one of the best and of the greatest 
merit amongst this section ; Bougainvillea glabra; 
Solanum jasminoides ; Clematis indivisa ; Taxonias; 
and Fuschias. Annual Climbers: Sweet Peas; 
Canary Creeper; Mina lobata ; Convolvulus, &c. 
A discussion followed in which Messrs. Woolford, 
Stanton, Neve, Fry, Martin, Purkis, and Townsend 
took part. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded 
to Mr. Crooke for his able, humorous and practical 
lecture. The exhibits included some splendid 
flowering branches of Bridgesia spicata from Mr. 
Ward, of Crescent Road, and some magnificent 
blooms of Rhododendron Veitchii laevigatum, cut 
from a plant 40 years old and grown in a 14 inch pot 
in a cold greenhouse, also spikes of East Lothian 
Stocks, from plants taken from the open ground last 
autumn, planted in pots and flowered in cold pits 
during the winter, thus securing two distinct periods 
of blooming. These were staged by the lecturer, who 
also showed two dishes of Apples, Sturmer Pippin, 
and Wellington, which had been kept in boxes 
placed in pits 4 ft. deep in the ground during the 
winter; these presented a firm and sound appearance. 
National Chrysanthemum Society.—The annual 
report of this society for the past year is now before 
us in pamphlet or schedule form, and gives a state¬ 
ment of the income and expenditure for that year. 
As we gave an account of these itema in our report 
of the annual general meeting it is unnecessary to 
refer to them again. The society had been busy in 
several respects during last year. A well attended 
conference on the Chrysanthemum Rust was held, 
at which papers were read by Mr. Percy Waterer, 
Fawkham, on “The Practical Aspects of the Chrys¬ 
anthemum Rust ” ; by Mr. W. Wells, Earlswood, on 
" Fungus on Chrysanthemums,” and by Mr. George 
Massee, F L.S., Royal Gardens, Kew, “On some 
Scientific Aspects cf the Chrysanthemum Rust 
(Puccinia Hieracii, Mart). Mr. Massee gave a clear 
exposition of the nature of various fungoid enemies 
of plants. His motto being “ knowledge is power,” 
his advice was practically to know your enemy first 
in order to be able to deal with it afterwards. His 
instructions were to get at a knowledge of the weak 
points of the enemy, or to know the time when it 
was most vulnerable by an application of a fungi¬ 
cide. The report of the Investigation of Sites, &c., 
Sub-Committee, is also dealt with in the report, but 
of this we gave a detailed report at p. i3g, to which 
reference can be made by those who desire to have 
their memory refreshed in the matter. The sub¬ 
committee recommended that the shows should be 
held at the Crystal Palace, but were out-voted by the 
general committee. The winners of the N.C.S. 
Medals for 1898 are given on pp. 40 and 41, and on 
the two succeeding pages the affiliated societies 
which won medals are recorded. The September 
exhibition of Chrysanthemums, Dahlias, &c , has 
been dropped as being of little advantage to the 
society, but an early autumn exhibition of Chrys¬ 
anthemums will be held on October 10th and the 
two succeeding days. The great autumn competi¬ 
tion and fete will be held on the 7th, 8th, and gth 
November, and will, as usual, be the principal effort 
of the society. Special prizes are offered by Sir 
Edwin Saunders, the president, Messrs. Wm. Wood 
& Son, Ltd., Mr. H. J. Jones, Messrs. John Peed & 
Sons, Mr. Norman Davis, Mr. W. J. Godfrey, 
Messrs. W. Wells & Co., and others, so that the 
prize list will be fully up to the usual liberality. 
Prizes for vegetables are also offered by Messrs. 
Webb & Sons, N. N. Sherwood, Esq., Messrs. 
Daniel Bros., Messrs. Fidler & Sons, and Mr. 
Robert Sydenham. The early winter exhibition is 
also kept up, and will be held on December 5th, 6th, 
and 7th, Altogether we expect that the society will 
fully sustain its reputation during the coming season 
by the holding of three shows and the usual Floral 
Committee Meetings. 
Customs of Shakespeare’s Greenwood. —Mr. George 
Morley contributes another article to the April num¬ 
ber of Knowledge, on the customs of Shakespeare’s 
Greenwood. The customs described on this occa¬ 
sion are not confined exclusively to leafy Warwick¬ 
shire, though they are as characteristic of that 
county as in the days of Shakespeare. “ Customs 
are hard to kill ” is an old saying, still confirmed by 
the fact that some of them have been practised here 
for 800 years, as they were by our Saxon ancestors. 
One of the prettiest customs still in active practice 
in the shady lanes and on the village greens of 
Warwickshire is the Maying custom. In Shake¬ 
speare’s Greenwood the general rule is to hold the 
custom on May 12th—the old May Day. During 
the previous day the children perambulate the 
parish, calling upon the farm folk and other resi¬ 
dents for gifts of flowers, &c., wherewith to deck the 
maypole. During the evening a tall maypole is 
hoisted on the village green, or in some orchard or 
paddock granted for the purpose, and the may queen 
is elected, in some villages a king and queen. On 
the morrow the queen and her attendants, gaily de- 
decked with Ground Ivy, May Blossom, and other 
flowers, with brightly coloured patchwork, parade 
the bounds of the parish singing their May songs, 
first at the doors of the rich and then of their poorer 
or more humble neighbours. They carry a maypole 
of moderate size, and finally assemble on the play¬ 
ground where the songs are repeated. Dancing fol¬ 
lows the singing, the dance being continued by 
adults at the rectory till an early hour next morning. 
In the border village of Welford stands a perman¬ 
ent maypole, 75 ft. high, and this is supposed to be 
the successor to that round which Shakespeare him¬ 
self danced with his Shottery lass. It is painted 
with red, white, and blue, to represent ribbons. The 
custom of using sprigs of Rosemary at weddings and 
burials is still observed, much in the same way as 
the custom is mentioned in ‘ Romeo and Juliet.’’ 
Rosemary stands " for remembrance.” Lovers, on 
parting, exchange a sprig of Rosemary. This 
fragrant Labiate is cultivated in most of the cottage 
gardens, for it is used in many a rustic ceremony. 
The harvest home ceremony seems to be kept up in 
all the pomp of the olden times. A quaint custom 
which originated in the time of George III. is annu¬ 
ally celebrated. This is the annual letting of graz¬ 
ing rights by the roadside and upon the common 
lands of the parish. There are five lots, and the 
auctioneer cuts up a candle into half-inch lengths, 
and the bidding is supposed to proceed while the 
candle burns; but the bidders fill in the time by 
making jokes at the auctioneer and his candle, till 
the latter has burned almost to the last flicker, when 
bidding proceeds at a brisk pace. As the candle 
goes out the lot is knocked down to the last bidder. 
