340 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January SO, 1897. 
Although he has long since discarded the 
practical part of the subject, Mr. Payne 
has never faltered in his allegiance to his 
favourite flower, but has busily employed 
his pen in its service. Year after year his 
contributions to the horticultural press have 
increased in numbers until they reach a 
figure that would, not many years ago, have 
been deemed fabulous. Literary, historical 
and critical essays on the flower, reviews of 
new books, the editing of official catalogues, 
of the society of which he is the Foreign 
Secretary, and the collaboration with 
authors in America, Belgium and France 
have all formed a part of his literary work 
and we are not, knowing these circum¬ 
stances, at all surprised to find that the 
Continental Chrysanthemum growers and 
raisers, but especially those who are familiar 
with the gardening press of this country, 
should have exerted themselves to the 
length of using their influence to obtain 
some honorary distinction in Mr. Payne’s 
favour. 
In England distinguished servicein horti¬ 
culture either of a practical or literary 
nature has no hope of receiving any dis¬ 
tinction at the hands of the Government, 
but they order these things better in France. 
And therefore, as many of Mr. Payne’s 
literary efforts have had a distinct bearing 
upon one phase of French horticulture, 
the Chrysanthemum, he has been con¬ 
sidered worthy of a decoration that we 
believe has seldom or never been conferred 
upon an individual Englishman before. 
Although he is not a professional horticult¬ 
ural journalist the honour is a tribute to 
English Journalism, and we are only too 
pleased to be able to emphasise the fact that 
an amateur, who has devoted his leisure to 
a distinct branch of horticultural literary 
work, should have met with such an excep¬ 
tional recompense for his services, and this, 
too, at the hands of the Government of a 
great horticultural nation like France. 
he Recent Blizzard.— On Friday, 22nd 
inst., Londoners about the Strand, and 
other leading thoroughfares were doubt¬ 
lessly inconvenienced by the snow that con¬ 
tinued to fall during the day, chiefly 
because it kept the streets in a state of 
semi-liquid mud ; but they were dependent 
upon outside information, or news concern¬ 
ing the great amount of snow that had 
fallen. In the suburbs, however, where the 
traffic was'not so great, the public had visi¬ 
ble evidence of winter in about three inches 
of snow, which was greatly augmented dur¬ 
ing the evening and the greater part of 
Saturday. As far as London was con¬ 
cerned, however, the full fury of the storm 
was felt only in the more open spaces and 
along the course of the Thames. We refer 
to the storm on account of its suddenness, 
and the wet, adhesive nature of the snow, 
which is therefore liable to cause much 
destruction amongst evergreen trees and 
shrubs, particularly Conifers. Deciduous 
trees soon lose their loads, especially under 
the influence of a driving wind; but the 
snow of Friday was wet and heavy, stick¬ 
ing to everything, and dwarf or young trees 
and shrubs were in many cases borne down 
by the snow. 
The winter hitherto has been so open in 
the southern counties, that little or no pre¬ 
paration was made for it. As far as the 
frost is concerned, however, we do not 
anticipate that much, or any damage has 
been done, where everything that ought to 
be housed, was so sheltered in due season. 
It is the long continued spells of low tem¬ 
perature that cause damage, rather than the 
short ones. In the case of snow that hangs 
to bush and tree, no matter how brief the 
storm, provided the fall is sufficiently heavy, 
damage of a more or less irreparable char¬ 
acter is sure to be done. As a precaution 
against mishaps amongst valuable ever¬ 
greens, Conifers especially, we consider it 
would repay the trouble of directing the 
men on an establishment to go over the 
shrubberies and young plantations at inter¬ 
vals, with poles, in order to beat down 
accumulations of snow. No precise 
directions could be given as to the fre¬ 
quency with which this operation should be 
performed, as it depends entirely upon the 
snowfall ; but going round just before leav¬ 
ing off work for the day, and again in the 
early morning would save many valuable 
trees from being broken down. Tall old 
Cedars with long and heavy side branches, 
spreading horizontally, offer the most 
serious difficulty in operations of this kind ; 
and evergreens or Holly Oaks sometimes 
come into the same category. Irish Yews, 
Swedish Junipers, and Oriental Arbor Vitae, 
of upright habit, and usually consisting of 
many stems of about equal size and impor¬ 
tance should be lightened of their load of 
snow without delay, for nothing sooner 
suffers in general appearance than these 
trees when their heads are allowed to be¬ 
come split up by means of a heavy snowfall. 
Much staking and tyingare necessary before 
they can be restored to their former orderly 
condition ; and the longer the snow is 
allowed to lie upon them the more difficult 
it is to bring them into shape afterwards. 
--s--- 
Mr. Andrew Borrowman—The death is announced 
of Mr. Andrew Borrowman, one of the most 
successful floriculturists north of the Tweed For 
the past quarter of a century he took a leading place 
in national Pansy exhibitions, and during that period 
gained thirty-two gold and silver medals, besides 
other prizes. Deceased was fifty-nine years of age. 
Royal Botanic Society.—At a meeting of the 
Fellows, held in the gardens, Regent’s Park, on 
Saturday, the 23rd inst., Mr. J. S. Rubinstein 
brought forward a resolution recommending the 
Council to intimate to the Lord Mayor, the chairmen 
of the London County Council, the London School 
Board, and other local authorities, and to the 
secretaries of recognised societies and institutions, 
that the Council would be pleased to arrange for the 
use in the coming season of the society’s gardens, for 
garden parties and receptions. The resolution was 
carried.— J. S. Rubinstein, Hon. Auditor, 56 , West 
Cromwell Road. S W., January 23 rd, 1897. 
Eastbourne Horticultural Society held the annual 
meeting on the evening of Tuesday, January 12th, at 
the rooms of the Natural History, Lismore Road, 
Eastbourne. - Councillor Sharp presided. At the 
election of officers the choice of the meeting fell 
upon the following gentlemen, and these were elected 
to their respective posts, asunder Mr. G. Boulton, 
president; Councillor Sharpe, vice-president; Mr. 
F. Pyke, hon. treasurer ; and Mr. E. A. Newman, 
secretary. The chairman spoke of the progress 
made by the society, and he suggested that they 
should make application to the Technical Instruction 
Committee of the Town Council to continue the 
lectures for another three months. This it was 
subsequently decided to do. 
Chester Show.—The schedule of the second exhibi¬ 
tion of this society shows a prize list of about £500 For 
a group of plants not more than 300 square feet, the 
following prizes are offered —£25. £15, £10, and £5. 
In class ii. for twelve stove and greenhouse plants, 
the liberal sums of 20s., 15s., 103. ; and for six plants 
ios., 5s., and 3s., are offered. Surely the claims of 
these important classes have been overlooked, 
especially when 30s. is allotted as first prize for a 
single Palm, and 20s. for a single greenhouse and 
stove plant, respectively, in bloom. For a display 
of cut flowers the prizes are £10, £5, £5, and £3 ; for 
a table of fruit, ^15 15s., £12 12s., £8 8s., and 
£5 5s.; for a collection of vegetables £5, £3, and £2, 
Sections are provided for open, nurserymen, 
amateurs and cottagers in 151 classes. The show is 
to be held on July 28th and 29th. Major Walter 
Jones is the secretary. 
Five fine old Yew trees are to be found at the back 
of Strokestown House, Co. Roscommon, the resi¬ 
dence of Mrs. Pakenham-Mahon. The girths vary 
from 13 to 9 ft. 
Bristol Amateur Horticulturists.—Mr. E. M. Dyer 
presided at the last annual meeting. In the absence 
of Mr. E. G. Machoa, the hon secretary dealt with 
the subject of manuring and trenching the ground. 
Mr. R. E. Davey gave items of seasonable work in 
the greenhouse. Mr. W. F. Lanhane delivered a 
short lectureon “ Chrysanthemum Cuttings—Howto 
Strike Varieties, and the Selection of Plants” ; also 
some hints on Tomato culture. Mr. T. Sims read a 
paper on •’Chinese Primulas,” so that altogether a 
wide range of subjects was covered. 
The Holly Hedge Dispute at Richmond.—We under¬ 
stand that the deputation of householders, who 
waited upon the Richmond Town Council on the 12th 
inst., concerning the hedge v. railings, resulted in a 
compromise satisfactory to both parties. The hedge 
of Holly and Thorns is to remain as it is, but iron 
railings, 2 ft. 9 in. high will be placed immediately 
inside the hedge so as to be mostly hidden from the 
terrace commanding the famous landscape view. The 
railings will serve to keep stray dogs from entering 
the Terrace Gardens. 
Liverpool Horticultural Association—This society 
held its tenth annual dinner on Saturday at the 
Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, when about one hundred 
members and friends sat down to an excellent repast, 
served in high class style, and the function was in 
every respect a great success. Mr. Wm. Fletcher- 
Rogers, hon. treasurer of the society, occupied the 
chair. The loyal toast having been honoured with 
the accompaniment of the national anthem, sung by 
Mr. J. Wads vorth McDonald, a capital programme 
was thoroughly enjoyed by the company ; a special 
feature as usual having been made in the way of 
musical entertainment. The tables were beautifully 
decorated with plants and flowers, lent by Messrs. 
Thos. Davies & Co., Wavertree Nurseries, Liverpool. 
The Ichthemic Guano Company also presented to 
each guest through the same firm a beautifully 
illuminated box of their cigarettes. 
Presentation to Mr. James Cypher.—Our readers will 
remember the recent announcement we made con¬ 
cerning Mr. Councillor Cypher, the well-known 
nurseryman, of Cheltenham, who recently enter¬ 
tained his large staff of employes to supper in com¬ 
memoration of the attainment of his seventieth 
birthday. The entertainment came as a complete 
surprise to the men, who were consequently unpre¬ 
pared to make any recognition of the interesting 
event at the time. They were determined, however, 
not to let such an event pass unrecognised, and 
accordingly on the 22nd inst., Mr. Cypher was made 
the delighted recipient of a handsome armchair as a 
mark of the high esteem in which he is held by the 
men, and of the cordial relations that have so long 
subsisted between employer and employed. The 
presentation was made in a few well-chosen words by 
Mr. Richard Cull. Mr. Cypher, who was much 
affected by this unexpected mark of appreciation 
from his men, acknowledged the gift in a feeling 
manner, and expressed the hope that he and they 
might long continue to work harmoniously together. 
Woolton Mutual Improvement Society —The annual 
meeting of this society was held on the 21st inst. at 
the Mechanics’ Institute, Mr. R. Todd in the chair. 
The secretary's report showed a slight decrease in 
the attendance of the past year, with a falling off of 
two in the roll of membership. The papers through¬ 
out were of a practical nature, showing evidence of 
careful preparation, and resulting in good discus¬ 
sions. Votes of thanks were tendered to the 
lecturers and to the institute committee for the free 
use of the room during the year. The statement of 
accounts showed an income (including the balance 
from last year) of £10 4s. 3d., the expenditure 
amounted to £3 8s. 7d', leaving a balance in favour 
of the society of £6 15s. 8d. The president and vice- 
presidents were re elected, and the following were 
chosen as members of the committee :—Messrs. G. 
Haigh, R. Todd, T. Carling, W. Disley, H. Corlett, 
G. H. Webster, R. C. Cookson, W. W. Gamble, and 
A. E. Wright. Mr. R. G. Waterman was elected 
secretary and treasurer. Votes of thanks were 
accorded to the officers for their past services and 
to Mr. Todd for presiding. 
