February 13, 1897. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
373 
A paying year’s crop.—The vintpge of 1893 obtained 
by Lord Bute from his outdoor vineyards near Car¬ 
diff, paid all the expenses of the eighteen years of 
experiment. It may well be asked after this, why 
should not grape growing become a British industry. 
Robbery of Holly.—At the Borough Police Court 
lately John Bennett was charged with wilfully 
damaging a Holly tree, the property of Mrs. 
Radcliflfe, at Parsham Plantation on December 18th. 
The value of the Holly taken was said to be 6d. A 
fine of 2/6 was imposed, and a week allowed in which 
to pay it. 
Bunyard's Centenary Exhibition.—Asasequel to the 
Centenary Exhibition held by the firm of Messrs. 
George Bunyard & Co. The Royal Nurseries, Maid¬ 
stone, on September 15th and 16th last, we under¬ 
stand that the firm has presented 5 gs to the Church 
Institute, Maidstone; 5 gs to the Royal Gardeners’ 
Orphan Fund; and 5 gs to the Gardeners' Royal 
Benevolent Institution. The Centenary Exhibition 
we reported at the time, and as far as fruits and 
vegetables were concerned, our readers will remember 
what a marked success it was. 
Dr, R. Hamilton Ramsay, of Torquay, Devon, 
attained his seventy-second birthday on the 13th ult., 
yet he remains as hale and hearty as ever. His hobby 
is confined to flowers, and football. Consistently 
with these facts, we find that he is president of the 
Torquay and District Gardeners’ Association, and 
the first and only president of the Torquay Athletic 
Football Club, which was founded in 1875. He is 
as popular as ever with the gardeners and football 
players. 
Garden Hints.—There is not much doing in the 
garden line, so we take the opportunity of giving a 
receipt for dealing with weeds. We only know of 
two trustworthy methods. One is burning, but there 
is no fun in this unless the wind is in the right 
direction and your neighbours' windows are wide 
open. We therefore recommend pulling them up and 
throwing them over the wall into the next garden. 
You can settle with the owner afterwards.— Moon¬ 
shine. 
Irish Gardeners’Association.—The annual meeting 
of this association was held in the Rotunda Buildings, 
Dublin, on the 27th ult., when there was a large 
attendance. The report and balance sheet for the 
past year were placed before the members and 
adopted. Mr. Campbell, The Gardens, St. Anne’s, 
Clontarf, was elected president for the current year. 
The majority of the members were in favour of the 
chair being occupied by a practical gardener, so that 
the ex-president resigned in favour of Mr. Campbell. 
Messrs. Cranmer and O’Kelly were elected vice- 
chairmen, and Mr. Egan as treasurer. Mr. Sbaw 
was thanked for his valuable services to the associa¬ 
tion since its inauguration and re-elected secretary. 
Waterford Horticultural Society.—The summer 
show of this society is to be held on July 2£st. 
Challenge cups are offered for the best four double, 
and the best four single Begonias, as well as for 
twelve blooms of Roses, distinct. The society is 
affiliated with the Royal Horticultural Society of 
Ireland, from which it receives two bronze medals. 
One is awarded to the gardener who secures the 
largest number of prizes in his own division, and the 
other to the most successful amateur. At the Chry¬ 
santhemum show on November 5th, a £5 Challenge 
cup and £3 are offered for the best twenty-four cut 
blooms, and a similar one for a group of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums. The honorary secretaries are Mr. W. 
Richardson, Prospect House, Waterford, and Me. 
D. Cantwell, Newtown, Waterford. 
Lecture on Town Planting of Trees and Shrubs.— 
On Monday evening last Mr. A. D. Webster 
delivered a lecture at the Oxford Club, Hemel 
Hempstead, on “ Town Planting, and the trees and 
shrubs best adapted for withstanding smoke." The 
lecturer divided his discourse into the following 
headings Importance of town trees ; (2) pre¬ 
paration of the ground and planting ; (3) excessive 
planting and choice Of trees ; (4) general management 
of town trees ; (5) trees, shrubs, and other plants 
that have been found suitable for withstanding soot 
and smoke. An animated discussion followed the 
lecture, in which several moot points were satis¬ 
factorily cleared up by Mr. Webster, and to whom 
several hearty votes of thanks were given for his 
very interesting and valuable paper. The printing 
and general dissemination of the paper was con¬ 
sidered advisable. 
Not so Scilly after all!—It is estimated that between 
eleven and twelve tons of flowers from the Isles of 
Scilly were despatched by special train from 
Penzance on January 19th. The consignment com¬ 
prised upwards of 2,000 boxes. 
Bovey Tracey Horticultural Society’s annual meet¬ 
ing was held on the evening of January 29th, at the 
Dolphin Hotel, to hear the statement of accounts 
presented by Miss Devett, by which it appeared 
there was a deficit of several pounds. Miss Devett, 
and Mr. A. Godsland, were re-elected hon. treasurer 
and hon. secretary, respectively. It was resolved to 
hold the next show on August 17th. 
Mr. Byrne, in a lecture at the Imperial Institute 
Plymouth, averred that the descendants of the 
refugees from this country who had settled in 
Ontario were grateful for the wisdom of their 
forefathers in selecting a district with a good 
climate and a rich soil. He demonstrated the 
truth of this by exhibiting lantern slides of the 
country, showing views of pastures and orchards 
as attractive as those of Devonshire. He said that 
farmers had the best chance to turn their farms to 
account, as experimental stations were dotted here, 
and there over the country. 
Tunbridge Wells Gardeners assembled at their 
annual meeting on the evening of Tuesday, January 
26th, with Mr. A. Charlton in the chair. The 
accounts showed a balance on the right side of 
£2 9s. on the year’s working. This would doubtless 
have been larger, but for the fact that many members 
have not fully paid up. The decision to give a 
sum of £1 per 100 points for members’ point prizes 
was ratified, as was also the proposed gratuity to the 
secretary. Mr. W. Berwick takes the post of chair¬ 
man for the ensuing year, and the secretary, assistant 
secretary, and collector were re-elected. Votes of 
thanks to the retiring officers closed the proceedings. 
Hythe and Seabrook Cottage Gardners.—The 
members of this Mutual Improvement Society lately 
assembled at their third annual dinner, Dr. Murdoch 
presiding. An excellent repast and lengthy toast list 
were got through. In responding for the society, 
Mr. W. H. Morgan, the hon. secretary, said that he 
was sorry to say that they were at present far from 
being in a good financial position. He was glad that 
they had been able to pay the prize money to those 
exhibitors who were not members, but there was 
still a proportion due to those exhibitors who were 
members. He trusted that they would be able to 
clear away these liabilities during the ensuing 
season. 
Birmingham and District Amateur Gardeners’ 
Association.—The fourth annual report of this 
influential body of gardeners is to hand. It includes 
a concise account of the aims and aspirations of the 
society, a record of the work it has accomplished, a 
list of the prize winners at the shows, and members, 
and the balance sheet, together with a schedule of 
special prizes, and the plans for the ensuing season. 
The whole makes a handy little pamphlet of twenty- 
eight pages, exclusive of the covers. The Chrysan¬ 
themum show in November proved a great success, 
far exceeding in the number of entries and the 
quality of the exhibits anything that has been done 
before. The lectures given, and papers read before 
the society have been uniformly good, and include 
“ Roses," by Mr. W. Bliss; " Propagation of 
Plants," by Mr. John Pope; “Ferns and Carna¬ 
tions,” by Mr. C. H. Herbert; " The Life History of 
a Seed,” by Mr. J. W. Oliver," and the “Flora of 
Llandudno,” by Mr. W. B. Child. The annual 
excursion was a most enjoyable outing, Stratford-on- 
Avon being the destination. The president, 
Alderman White, again invited the members to 
accept his hospitality at Caversham Villa, and 
another pleasant afternoon was spent. A visit to the 
Botanic Gardens, at Edgbaston, was made in July, 
so that the society has not been dull. We notice 
that in the ensuing year it is proposed to have a 
Flower Festival in July, the plants and flowers to be 
afterwards given to the Children's Hospital. We 
heartily wish this laudable effort a measure of success 
pressed down and running over, as it deserves. The 
balance sheet shows a totality of £25 7s. 8d. for 
expenses, and receipts amounting to £34 2s. 5d., 
with a balance of £8 14s. 9d. We congratulate the 
executive upon the satisfactory state of the finances 
and wish them continued prosperity. 
The Middle of England is said to be marked by an 
Oak which stands in the centre of the high road 
leading from Warwick to Leamington. 
The Welsh names for many flowers are connected 
with the Virgin Mary. It is surmised that the 
Cistercian monks who settled in the country at Abbey 
Cwm Hir, Tintern, and other places, were responsi¬ 
ble for their introduction and naming. 
Winter Fruit Crop in Arkansas, U S A.—Cherries 
were blooming here in October and November; 
Strawberries ripened in the open air; the second 
crop of some varieties of Apples were about half 
grown; and Pears were in bloom during the latter 
month. 
Thinning Epping Forest.—The annual report of the 
Epping Forest Committee states that the moderate 
thinning of the woodlands has been continued with 
careful consideration. The committee publish the 
gratifying fact that no complaints concerning their 
work have been received since the publication of the 
experts' opinion two years ago. It is estimated that 
the expenses for the ensuing year will be £5,700, less 
£1,700 derived from the forest, or a nett expenditure 
of £4,000. 
The Crow is the Gardener’s Friend, a statement 
well borne out by recent experiments. The 
stomachs of nearly 1,000 crows have been examined 
and afforded undeniable evidence that the crow, 
instead of being the brigand many of us think him, 
fattening himself upon the crops of the farmer, and 
the gardener, is a valuable scavenger, clearing the 
fields, orchards, and barns of all manner of mis¬ 
chievous worms and insects. Let us then not grudge 
the labourer the toll he takes of our crops by way 
of payment. 
Horticultural Institute for Scotland. —Mr. M. Todd 
occupied the chair, at the first meeting of the 
session of the Scottish Horticultural Association. 
The chairman, in his speech, dwelt upon the progress 
made by the association during the twenty years of 
its existence. Before technical education reached its 
present advanced state, the society had given lectures 
on the chemistry and physiology of plants, the 
theories of heating, and other scientific subjects 
which were not only profitable to gardeners, but a 
source of attraction to the general public. Discuss¬ 
ing the future, he said that a Horticultural Institute 
was one of their early dreams. He saw no reason 
why by-and-by they should not have such an 
institute, and a faculty of gardeners, a certificate 
from which would be a guarantee of fitness to occupy 
positions of responsibi'ity. 
Handbook of the Flora of Ceylon.—This great task, 
which Dr. Trimen set himself to elaborate, was to 
have been completed in four volumes, the third of 
which was issued in 1895. It was to complete the 
fourth volume that the late lamented Dr. Trimen 
went back to Ceylon, in spite of the shattered state 
of his health. Sad to say, he was unable to accom¬ 
plish this before the end came. When he was no 
longer able to sit up to work, the indefatigable 
botanist did so lying on his back. Of the 3,000 
species native to the island, about 800 still remain to 
be tackled. They consist chiefly of grasses and 
Orchids. It is believed in Ceylon that the completion 
of the fourth volume may take place at Kew under 
the direction of Dr. Thistleton Dyer. Dr. Trimen 
had a good many years' local experience before he 
commenced his Flora, and it is much to be regretted 
that he did not live to complete it. His name will, 
however, be always identified with the botany of 
Ceylon. Mr. Willis, the new director, will have his 
hands full with the duties of his office for some 
time. 
--J—- 
IMPORTANCE OF HYBRIDISATION. 
Unquestionably one of the greatest triumphs of 
horticulture is in connectiou with the science of 
hybridisation, by which an almost endless variety of 
beautiful flowers has been evolved from original 
species, some even from the weeds of our fields and 
waysides, and very many from among the more 
interesting and beautiful introductions from other 
climes, notably Orchids, Dracaenas, Crotons, Pelar¬ 
goniums, and Begonias, without instancing many 
more among hardy and half-hardy flowering plants, 
to be found among trees and shrubs and in our her¬ 
baceous borders. True, Nature has done some- 
