November 14, 1896. 
165 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Potatos in Ireland getting Black—At a meeting of 
the Youghal Town Commissioners, held recently, 
some reports were brought in to the effect that the 
Potato crops had been fine, but much of the produce 
was already black. Mr. Merrick stated that it was 
not owing to the blight, but that the Potatos had got 
overheated in some way. 
Upper Strathearn Horticultural Society.—The 
annual general meeting of this society was held in 
the Town Hall, Crieff, on Thursday last, Mr. John 
McKinnie, gardener, Roundelwood, presiding. 
There was a good attendance of members. As 
regards the financial aspect of the society, the total 
income including balance from last year, shows an 
increase of £15 os. 2d. This year the income is 
£63 19s. nd., and when last year’s balance, 
£il ns. id, is added, the total of £77 ns. is reached. 
The total expenditure is £54 7s. 6d., which leaves a 
credit balance of £23 3s. 6d. in favour of the society. 
The election of office bearers was then proceeded 
with. Mr. A. G. Maxtone Graham, Jun., of 
Cultoquhey, was reappointed hon. president; 
Provost Finlayson was elected president; Mr. John 
McKinnie was reelected vice-president. Mr. J. A. 
Kippen was reappointed secretary and treasurer. 
Corbridge and District Horticultural Society —The 
first monthly meeting of the session of this society 
was held on the 27th ult., under the presidency of 
Mr. J. Cameron. As is usual on such occasions the 
president delivers an opening address and Mr. 
Cameron chose for his subject, " Storms and their 
effects on Gardening and Forestry." He quoted 
statistics from Mossman, showing the number of fine 
and wet days, total amount of sunshine, direction and 
velocity of winds, number of gales, snow, hail and 
thunderstorms, from observation taken over a con¬ 
siderable number of years, so that one could 
calculate upon the average to be expected annually. 
The varying conditions of our climate, the winds and 
frosts, show the amount of care and attention 
required by the horticulturist and aboriculturist in 
helping to mitigate in some measure the effect of 
storms. A large attendance of members was present 
and Mr. Cameron was listened to with close attention 
from beginning to end, when a hearty vote of thanks 
was accorded him. 
Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland. —The annual 
Chrysanthemum and fruit show of this society was 
opened on the 4th inst. at their Ballsbridge premises, 
Dublin, and continued next day. The exhibits, both 
in point of numbers and general excellence, were far 
above the average. The various exhibits of Chry¬ 
santhemum blooms were particularly beautiful. 
Fruits and vegetables were also superior to those of 
last year. Mrs. M'Cann secured the leading prize 
for a group of Chrysanthemums arranged for effect 
with Palms or other foliage plants ; she was followed 
by Mrs. Pease and Mrs. Wm. M'Comas in this order. 
A Challenge Cup (value £ 10) was offered by Lord 
Ardilaun for a group of Chrysanthemums not to 
exceed 50 sq. ft., and arranged for effect. Mrs. 
M’Cann was again to the fore. Mrs. Pease had the 
best four pots of incurved Chrysanthemums, the 
best four pots of reflexed and four Anemone-flowered 
varieties. Mrs. Cleary had the best four Japanese 
plants. Mrs. Pease was again first for an equal 
number of pompons. The Earl of Pembroke 
(gardener, Mr. Crawford), exhibited the best thirty- 
six blooms of Chrysanthemums (eighteen Japanese 
and eighteen incurved). Raymond de la Poer, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. Fernie), took the second prize ; and 
David Harrel, Esq. (gardener, Mr. Bradshaw), was 
third. The Earl of Pembroke again led the way for 
twenty-four Japanese blooms, distinct; and was 
followed by Lady E. H. Bury and Mrs. Goodbody in 
the order named. The Hon. C. F. Crichton had the 
best thirty-six Japanese in not less than eighteen 
varieties. The Countess of Pembroke was second ; 
and Lady E. H. Bury, third. For twenty-four 
incurved blooms in not less than twelve varieties 
Lady Pembroke was first; and R. de la Poer, 
second. For a stand of twelve incurved blooms, J. 
E. Barry, Esq., was first. Her Majesty the Queen 
exhibited a fine collection of fruit. Messrs. Alex. 
Dickson & Son, Newtownards, and Messrs. Dicksons, 
Limited, Chester, staged collections of fruit. Mr. 
Saunders Cork, and Mr. W. B. Hartland. Cork, 
took prizes for fruit, Messrs. T. Rivers & Son, were 
commended for fruit. 
Lord C. Baresford sued by his gardener.— At the 
Kingston-on-Thames County-court, recently, Aernst 
Knauer, a gardener, sued Lord Charles Beresford, 
Park Gate House, Ham Common, for £4 6s. 8d., as 
wages in lieu of notice. In June, Lady Charles 
Beresford is said to have gone to the plaintiff at 
work amongst the strawberry beds, and asked him 
why he was not attending to other work. He replied 
that he would go in a minute. Her ladyship regarded 
his conduct as insulting, and immediately dismissed 
him, Judge Lushington said he had claimed a 
month’s wages, but was clearly a weekly servant. 
Plaintiff might have been disagreeable, but was 
evidently dismissed without sufficient reason, and 
the judge gave judgment for £1 4s. 6d., but without 
costs. Neither her ladyship nor the defendant was 
present. 
Dutch Horticultural and Botanical Society— At the 
Floral Committee Meeting of this society on Septem¬ 
ber 12th last, First-class Certificates were awarded 
to Mr. Ph. Deys, of Haarlem, for Begonia tuberosa 
fl. pi. Ph. Deys,Jun.; to Mr. C. G. Van Tubergen, 
Jun., of Haarlem, for Cactus Dahlias, George 
Marlow, Valkyrie, Miss A. Nightingale, and Mrs. 
Montefiore; to Mr. C. G. Van Dijk, of Zeist, for 
Helenium autumnale superbum ; and to Mrs. Wm. 
J. W. Wigman & Son, of Zutphen, for Cactus Dahlia 
George Marlow. Certificates of Merit were awarded 
to Mr. C. G. van Dijk, for Heliopsis scabra major, 
Kniphofia Prof. Comes, Cactus Dahlias Oporto Tait, 
Mrs. Broughton Stirling, and Mrs. Wilson Noble; 
to Mrs. Wm. J. W. Wigman & Son for Cactus 
Dahlias Mrs. Broughton Stirling and Arthur Cheal ; 
and to Mr. C. G. van Tubergen for Cactus Dahlias 
Mrs. Wilson Noble and Miss A. Jones. The last 
named exhibitor also received a Botanical Certificate 
for Brunsvigia Josephinae. At the meeting of the 
3rd October, First-class Certificates were awarded 
to Mr. L. Jorna, of Enkhuizen, for Begonia 
Scharffiana crossed with B. Credneri Enkhuizen’s 
Glory ; to Messrs. A. Glym de Vos & Co., of Utrecht, 
for Richardia species; to Mr. C. G. van Tubergen, 
Jun., for Canna hybrida aurea and Kniphofia hybrida 
Triumph; and to Mr. J, H. Tromp Meesters, of 
Steenwijk for Vanda sanderiana. A Certificate of 
Merit was accorded Mr. C. G. Van Tubergen, Jun., 
for Watsonia iridifolia alba. 
-- 
PEOPLE WE HAVE MET. 
To our readers at a distance the plants grown by Mr. 
A. Hemsley must be more familiar than the grower 
himself. That he is a grower of repute, the numerous 
large groups of Ferns, stove and greenhouse plants, 
reared by him and placed under the eye of the 
British public at the London shows and elsewhere, 
amply demonstrate. To the horticultural fraternity 
and others frequenting these shows, Mr. Hemsley 
is well known. He is, moreover, one of our oldest 
acquaintances on this side of the Tweed, and we have 
much pleasure in here presenting his portrait. 
From his very boyhood Mr. Hemsley has been a 
practical gardener ; he, in fact, commenced work at an 
early age, much earlier than the school board would 
now allow. He served the first ten years at the late 
Mr. G. Parsons, Hassocks Nursery, near Brighton, 
where his father was manager. While there he went 
through all the departments of gardening and nursery 
work ; and during the latter part of his time there 
took a leading part in the propagating department. 
He also had charge of the vineries and Peach house, 
the latter being one of the first houses placed under 
his care, while he was yet a lad. There is no 
doubt that Mr. Hemsley laid the foundation of 
his wide experience at the Hassocks Nursery, and 
owes much of his knowledge and skill to the advice 
and assistance given him by Mr. Parsons, especially 
with regard to the carrying out of experiments and 
in hybridising. 
At the death of Mr. Parsons, the whole of the nursery 
stock was sold off, after which Mr. Hemsley spent a 
few years at Brighton, in a florists and furnishing 
business. On leaving Brighton he joined the staff of 
the Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick. This 
appointment was made in 1878, while the society was 
still conducting large summer shows at South 
Kensington, and growing large quantities of plants of 
a varied description at Chiswick for furnishing the 
shows and the large conservatory at South 
Kensington. 
Mr. Hemsley was plant foreman in the glass 
department at Chiswick, in those busy days when 
everyone of the numerous glasshouses was filled to 
overflowing with plants of all descriptions reared and 
grown on to meet the requirements. We have on 
several occasions noted the tasteful and graceful 
groups of plants which he set up at Kensington, early 
in the eighties, and can affirm that his duties at 
those shows were carried out in something more than 
a perfunctionary manner. While the large exhibi¬ 
tions were being held, a number of the Chiswick 
staff had to turn out-of-doors while the morning was 
quite young, and Mr. Hemsley can still look back 
with pride upon those stirring times when he had to 
help load the vans at four a m. 
At Chiswick he was one of Mr. Barron's most 
active and intelligent helpers. The Gloxinias on one 
occasion had been a complete failure under the care 
of a deputy in one of the propagating departments, 
and next year Mr. Hemsley took them in hand. 
After making splendid progress for a time, the plants 
began to show symptoms of the old but unknown 
enemy, and we have seen Mr. Hemsley sweating 
over and trying to discover the disturber of 
his equanimity. He discovered and mastered the 
microscopical enemy—a Tetranychus—and the 
plants reached perfection, flowering magnificently. 
The Chiswick strain of Gloxinias in those days was 
second to none, and though they cost him a deal of 
watchful care, he never once failed with them after 
taking them under his own personal aegis. The 
tuberous Begonias, for several years, were one of the 
leading features of the plant houses, and both for 
quality of bloom and as an exemple of good cultiva¬ 
tion, many a modern grower would have been proud 
of them. Many of them were seedlings of Mr. 
Hemsley’s raising. He was also very successful 
with Chinese Primulas single and double. Of the 
former, Chiswick Red was the best red variety 
cultivated for a number of years. There was a fine 
collection of the true double varieties rarely now 
seen in cultivation with the exception of the old 
Alba plena, and one or two allied forms. Pelar¬ 
goniums included the collection of species sent to 
Chiswick by the defunct Pelargonium Society. 
Show, fancy, zonal, and Ivy-leaved collections of 
these old fashioned flowers were all grown to great 
perfection by Mr. Hemsley. To these we should 
add Ferns, Orchids, Achimenes, and Fuchsias. 
After being at Chiswick for nearly five years, he 
left on the 30th November, 1882, for Carlisle, but 
after a short period returned to London, where he 
was appointed manager to Mr. H. B. May, Dyson's 
Lane Nurseries, with whom he has now served 
something over thirteen years, and where he still 
remains. Ferns are now his chief care as a large 
section of the gardening fraternity well know ; 
Crotons, Dracaenas, Aralias, Palms, Carnations, 
Heaths, and a host of other decorative and com¬ 
mercial subjects, are also grown to great perfection. 
His love-for Ferns originated in Hassocks Nursery 
where a large collection of choice sorts was grown, 
