534 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 22, 1899, 
A Song Thrush's nest, containing two eggs, was 
found at Pinner on the 19th ult. 
Wood Pigeons—Bordering Piccadilly, one of the 
busiest arteries in busy London, is Green Park, and 
in the branches of one of the outermost trees, that is, 
next the thoroughfare, two pigeons have built their 
nests and are now hatching out their youDg. These 
birds are daily watched by all the ’bus drivers, and, 
indeed, by thousands of the passers-by. 
Wanted to See the Microbes.—The Twickenham 
District Council recently had under consideration 
the converting of a settling tank at the sewage work 
into an experimental bacteria bed, and at the meet¬ 
ing one of the members suggested that a glass screen 
should be placed at one side of the tank, so that the 
members of the council could watch the process!! 
if Shirley Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Associa¬ 
tion.—The monthly meeting of the above society was 
held at the Parish Room, Shirley, Southampton, on 
Monday, the 17th, there being’a very good attendance 
of the members, and in the unavoidable absence of 
the President, Mr. B. Ladhams, F.H.R.S., presided, 
‘‘The Begonia” was the subject of the evening’s 
lecture, and Mr. H. J. Jones, Ryecroft Nursery, 
Lewisham, travelled down south especially to supply 
the lecture. Mr. Jones, in opening his remarks 
considered that no plant had seen such a great 
improvement in so short a time, and that none was 
so useful as a bedding out plant, or had such a range 
of colouring. The lecturer next gave a course of 
treatment necessary for the successful cultivation of 
the Begonia from seed, up to the time to place them 
in the ground, and how to take them up and prepare 
for winter storage. There was a brief debate ending 
with a few questions, which were answerad satisfac¬ 
torily, the lecturer wishing his audience to try fertilis¬ 
ing a few flowers, and after growing the seed he 
promised them an exciting time watching for the 
unfolding of the unknown flowers,mostly to be thrown 
away as useless, but there were still some prizes. A 
hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Jones for 
his very instructive lecture, and in reply Mr. Jones 
thanked his audience for their evident interest in 
the subject. There was a floral display contributed 
by a few of the members, one plant, a very fine one 
of the new Cineraria " Stella ” being much admired. 
It was grown by Mr. H. Wright, gardener to Mrs. 
Austen Smith. 
Belgian Colonial Horticulture.—The colonial interest 
in horticulture is well looked after by Belgium. La 
Chronique recently spoke of the creation of a new 
enterprise having for its purpose colonial horticulture 
and the production of plants necessary for the 
colonies. That enterprise has just been founded in 
Brussels under the form of a powerful society with 
a capital of 2,400,000 francs (£95,000). “Colonial 
Horticulture," which will soon occupy one of the 
premier places amongst colonial institutions hitherto 
created with such success in Belgium, unites in a 
single organisation, (1), the establishments of 
L’Horticulture International, at Parc Leopold, (2), 
those of Moortebeek (Lucien Linden & Co.), univers¬ 
ally known for their Orchid cultures, (3), a vast 
colonial establishment in construction on the plain 
at Linthout, destined for the raising and multipli¬ 
cation, in immense quantities, economic plants, 
principally Caout-chouc, Gutta Percha, Coffee, 
Cocoa, &c„ as well as medicinal plants necessary for 
bettering the hygienic conditions of the colonies. 
The new society will be directed by M. Lucien 
Linden, whose competence is certainly the surest 
pledge of its success. Contracts of long past time 
with the principal colonial societies assure vitality 
to this vast enterprise, which includes amongst its 
elements some of the most serious. An institution 
such as that of " Colonial Horticulture ” becomes an 
absolute necessity, a question of life even for the 
colonies. The establishments which it unites, whose 
reputation is universal, permits it to enlarge consider¬ 
ably the framework of its operations. The question 
is not, in effect, to set limits to the preparation of 
the seeds and plants necessary for the colonies, but 
further to utilise the vegetable products of those, to 
introduce into all tropical countries every useful 
plant in demand for the plantations, to introduce to 
Europe ornamental plants or new flowers, superior 
to those actually known, and which are of consider¬ 
able reputation. Furthermore, people living in 
the colonies and who dispose of useful plants are 
desired to offer those of which they can dispose. A 
large number of influential societies and private 
people in Belgium, and elsewhere, are amongst the 
shareholders of the new venture. 
POOR GARDENER! 
Surely W. K. would have been wise to have let 
such a miserable object alone as he has described. 
Is it a character sketch ? I challenge him to prove 
any one of his mis-statements except, perhaps, the 
first; poorly paid the majority of skilled gardeners 
are. If any could be found who merited the charges 
he has brought against them pay of any description 
would be wasted upon them. Will he also give half 
a dozen instances of other skilled workmen of his own 
personal knowledge, taking advantage of their abun¬ 
dant leisure to improve their personal knowledge. 
I will then give him a dozen instances of men, "gar¬ 
deners,” who, in spite of poor pay, little leisure, and 
in face of great difficulties have, by hard work, hard 
study, and perseverance, acquired a store of know¬ 
ledge, which would not disgrace a member of the 
high profession; acquired the art of conversing 
with ease and fluency with anyone they may come 
in contact with, and who are, in short, accom¬ 
plished, cultivated, and refined, and are holding 
good positions in life, able to hold their own with 
men of high culture and intellect, and who are, 
moreover, " gentlemen ” possessing a charitable spirit 
and a good share of brotherly kindness. 
I was present a few evenings ago at the annual 
dinner and distribution of prizes of a .Gardeners' 
Mutual Improvement Society, and the chairman, to¬ 
ward the close of the evening, made these remarks : 
" I do not wish to flatter you, but I am bound to say 
I have listened to your speeches this evening with 
very great pleasure. I have heard a great many 
working men speak, but I have never heard them 
express themselves so lucidly, nor speak so well as 
you have done, and I attribute this to the influence 
of your mutual improvement society.” 
Although my wages may not run out to 7$ an hour 
(I'm afraid they wouldn’t in summer time), I would 
not exchange with any mechanic even at a “ bob ” an 
hour. What is it that surrounds the majority of 
masons, labourers, and mechanics, “ in which they 
are able to take an intelligent interest (?) in betting, 
beer, football, and horse-racing ? ” How about their 
wives and families ? The sight of them makes one’s 
heart ache .—Arthur Pentney. 
— - » «- 
EALING AND DISTRICT GARDENERS’ 
SOCIETY. 
The eleventh annual dinner of this society took 
place on the nth inst., at the Drayton Court Hotel, 
Ealing, Chas. Jones, Esq., C.E., in the chair. 
About half the number cf members of the society, 
viz., forty, responded to the invitations sent out, the 
dinner being well served and most satisfactory in all 
respects. The chairman, after the usual loyal toast, 
proposed “ Success to the Ealing and District Gar¬ 
deners’ Mutual Improvement Society,” in a witty 
and well-considered speech, in which he dwelt on the 
various terms which go to make up what he considered 
to be a lengthy description of the society's name. 
Mr. Jones, however, gave some weighty as well as 
witty advice, and regretted that the prizes for essays 
on “Kew Gardens” had not been appropriated by 
the younger members. If doubling the prizes would 
be an additional incentive he would be very pleased 
to do that, as he considered that essay writing was 
one of the most educative processes, of even a mutual 
improvement society. Whatever a man was, 
whether he was a shoeblack or the “ boss ” of Kew 
Gardens, success was what he strove for. 
The hon. secretary, Mr. W. Roberts, replied that 
the past session had been a great success, the meet- 
tings had been well sustained, the special exhibitions 
—with one exception, viz., the Spring Show, which 
was organised on behalf of garden charities—were 
well attended, and much interest had been mani¬ 
fested generally in the society's work. The member¬ 
ship now stood at eighty, and harmony was the 
order of the day. 
As the distribution of prizes was about to take 
place, the nominal chairman, R. Callard, Esq., who 
had been detained through circumstances over which 
he had no control, arrived amidst much applause, 
and relieved Mr. Jones of all further responsibility. 
Mr. Callard distributed the prizes and certificates, 
and then proposed the "president, officers, and com¬ 
mittee ” in very flattering terms. Mr. C. B. Green 
responded. 1, 
Other toasts were " The Donors of Prizes,” which 
was ably put by Mr. C. Edwards, and responded to 
by Messrs. Pinches (Camberwell) and Weatherby, 
both of whom were so well pleased that they 
doubled their prizes for the next session. “ The 
Readers of Papers ” brought Mr. A. Bridges to his 
feet with characteristic energy, and Mr. D. Cooper 
suitably replied. “ The Exhibitors ” furnished Mr. 
A. Pentney with a pretext for a facetious appeal, the 
exhibitors being represented by Messrs. R. Green 
and W. Holloway. “ The Judges of Exhibits ” was 
well rendered in Mr. A. Wright’s best and most 
vigorous style, Mr. W. J. Simpson responding with 
much effect. “ The Visitors ” offered Mr. Geo. 
Cannon an admirable opportunity of dilating on the 
advantages of these welcome guests, Councillor 
Pritchard replyingdn humorous terms, and an offer 
of a guinea. 
Mr. C. F. Harding took the “Press” under his 
wings, while Mr. H. Burgess effectively selected 
“ The Chairman ” as the object of his remarks. 
The Chairman’s reply was most opportune and 
graceful. He said there were certain kinds of in¬ 
fection of which he could not approve, but there 
were other kinds of infection, such as the doubling 
of prizes, which had a most wholesome effect. He 
had caught this infection; and, therefore, he would 
be pleased to increase his subscription from two 
guineas to five. " For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow ” 
resounded again and again through the spacious and 
well-lit dining-room, the volume of sound being such 
as, perhaps, gardeners only can emit. 
Thus ended a most enjoyable and successful 
evening. Songs and recitations were interspersed 
between the toasts, and were contributed by Messrs. 
Pritchard, Watson, Pentney, and others. 
NOTES FROM HAMILTON. 
We had a most instructive lecture at our Associa¬ 
tion on Friday,the 7th inst., “ Horticulture Reviewed” 
by Mr. Wilson, Murdostoun Gardens. Mr. Archi¬ 
bald, J.P., Bothwell Castle, presided over a very 
large and appreciative audience. As will be inferred, 
the subject of the lecturer was a comprehensive one, 
and considering the limited time at his disposal it 
was noteworthy how he so practically and effectively 
treated the matter so as to leave nothing unsaid that 
would be considered important. The origin, the rise 
and progress of horticulture down to the present 
times, were treated with that amount of skill which 
at once denoted not only Mr. Wilson’s acquaintance 
with his subject, but what also is more, his acquaint¬ 
ance with the art of combining that which is 
interesting with the more practical side of horticulture. 
While the long vista of antiquity was sufficiently 
traversed to show the linkless chain that connects 
the origin of the art with the present, the lecturer 
dealt more consummately with the more modern and 
present day aspects of horticulture. The vast strides 
of recent years, and a comparative analysis of home 
and foreign progress in the art were largely dealt 
with, and clearly indicated that, despite the almost 
insurmountable difficulties the British gardener has 
to face in the competitive struggle for existence, he 
is yet second to none. 
The lecturer urged the importance of fellowship, 
and pointed out that it is vastly more estimable as 
a force conducive to the promotion of the art than 
perhaps any other. Everywhere horticultural 
associations were set on foot, with the result that an 
impetus was given to the education of the gardener, 
with the consequence that gardening developed. 
Accordingly Mr. Wilson gave high praise to the 
superior intelligence and education that the average 
gardener possessed, and if Miss Jekyll were present 
we are convinced that her views on the subject would 
be entirely changed. Mr. Wilson also in the 
concluding part of his lecture impressed on the 
audience the importance of the Gardeners’ Royal 
Benevolent Institution. A very interesting discussion 
followed, and the lecturer was accorded a cordial 
vote of thanks. The chairman announced the 
lecture for next night, " Spring Gardening” by Mr. 
Grahame, Coltness Gardens. 
The Weather.— There is absolutely no marked 
improvement on the deplorable order of rainfall. If 
one day is dry, the next is wet enough to damage the 
good effects of the previous and so on in. one continu¬ 
ous round for the last seven months with scarcely 
any exception. It is also very cold for April. 
