420 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 6, 1897. 
school of horticulture both scientific and 
practical, the. excellent advantages it held 
out to the young men who served their 
time in the establishment, and referred to 
the fact that Kew now holds a much higher 
place in the estimation of the British public 
than it did, practically only a few years ago. 
In these expressions of opinion he was 
amply supported by those present. He 
spoke of the success of the Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Society.and recommended the present 
staff of Kewites to continue giving it their 
heartiest support, as it was a valuable 
means of improving their time while at Kew, 
and an important adjunct to the other 
advantages offered by the establishment, 
whose status he compared with other seats 
of horticultural training in the country. In 
connection with the Mutual Improvement 
Society, we may here state that Mr. John 
Gregory, an old Kewite, has offered an 
album of views of Kew Gardens for the best 
essay read at the meetings. 
As might have been expected, there was 
but a moderate sprinkling of old Kewites 
present, distance preventing the larger pro¬ 
portion from attending, while business 
engagements and illness, to our knowledge, 
held others back. Some letters were read 
from absentees. The old question relating 
to the non-payment of their subscriptions 
by many past Kewites was again brought 
forward, and it was even suggested that the 
names of all such should be struck off the 
list. ' This idea was combatted by several 
speakers, who contended that the chief 
value of the list lay in its completeness. 
There was a general agreement that the 
list should not only be maintained, but 
made as full as it was possible with regard 
to those whose whereabouts are still un¬ 
known. The names of those who are known 
to have died, are also to be recorded in a 
separate list. A few alterations in the list 
of officials were made, one of the more im¬ 
portant being that Mr. W. Watson, the 
assistant curator, has been elected secretary 
as well as editor for the Kew Guild. Five 
past Kewites have been elected as foreign 
members of committee, to represent the 
United States of America, India, South 
Africa, Australia, and the West Indies re¬ 
spectively. Independently of the Guild it 
has been resolved to collect subscriptions 
in aid of the gardening charities in com¬ 
memoration of the Queen’s Diamond 
Jubilee ; and, after some discussion, it was 
established by the vote of those present that 
whatever sum might be collected was to be 
divided equally between the Gardeners’ 
Royal Benevolent Institution, (in aid of the 
Victorian Era Fund), and the Royal 
Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. 
Institute for Teaching Botany. —At a 
meeting of the Royal Botanic Society 
on the 27th ult., Mr. John Birkett in the 
chair, Mr. W. Harrison Martindale, 
F.C.S., F. I. Inst., read a paper on 
“The desirability of establishing an In¬ 
stitute for teaching Botany in the Royal 
Botanic Gardens.’' Mr. Martindale had 
been giving some attention and study to the 
botanical institute, and gardens attached to 
the University buildings of Marburg, in 
Germany, of which town the botanical 
institute in question forms a conspicuous 
feature. He spoke very highly of that 
institution, and considered it an example 
worthy of being copied. Before he had 
proceeded far with his subject he took his 
audience back to 1863 when good work was 
done by the late Professor Bentley, in the 
laying out of the herbaceous grounds accord¬ 
ing to the natural system of arrangement in 
the society’s gardens, where useful work 
might yet be done. Then he mentioned a 
number of places in London where botanical 
teaching is carried on, including the De¬ 
partment of Science and Art, South Ken¬ 
sington, the London College, Birkbeck 
Institution, the Physick Garden at Chelsea, 
&c., but the work at those places was 
limited. Botanical teaching in Germany 
was carried out on admirable principles. 
Something similar might be attempted by 
the Royal Botanical Society, provided they 
got an extension of their lease. The charter 
of the society showed that it was instituted 
for promoting the science of botany and the 
teaching of its uses in the arts and medicine. 
In Germany, Switzerland and France, their 
institutes were surrounded by gardens, 
and all appliances necessary for the proper 
study of plant life. 
The society’s gardens were admirably 
suited for the rearing of an institute, theob- 
jectsofwhich should bethe studyofvegetable 
morphology, physiology,anatomy,histology, 
&c., of plants. The institute could take up 
the study of grasses, cereals, practical hort¬ 
iculture, fruit culture, the diseases of plants 
in relation to horticulture and agriculture, 
and even of foreign subjects such as the 
Coffee disease. London, whose wealth 
greatly depends upon the importation and 
distribution of foreign produce, affords little 
opportunity for the study of these products. 
The grasses best suited for the production 
of fodder were not so well studied in this as 
in someother countries which he mentioned. 
A teacher, he said, ought also to be an in¬ 
vestigator. In considering the subject of a 
botanical institute, he reminded his 
audience that the late lamented Prince 
Consort had in mind the establishment of 
something of the kind at the Royal Albert 
Hall. 
In commenting upon the paper read by 
Mr. Martindale, Dr. D. H. Scott, of the 
Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Gardens, Kew, 
said that the scheme just sketched out 
should commend itself to botanists. One 
side of the plan appealed to him (Dr. Scott), 
and that was scientific research. No doubt, 
some institution should be endowed for the 
carrying out of that kind of work ; and the 
gardens, appurtenances and surroundings 
of the society were suitable for the purpose. 
If botanical teaching in connection with 
original research were started in the 
society’s gardens, it would fill a gap and 
not interfere with the legitimate work of any 
other institution. Dr. F. W. Oliver, of 
the University College, London, spoke of 
the feasibility of carrying out the proposi¬ 
tion if the fellows of the society would sup¬ 
port it properly. A fellow suggested the 
formation of a committee to enquire into 
the matter. The Rev. Prof. Henslow 
dwelt upon the question of getting a 
sufficient number of students to ensure the 
success of the institute. He related some 
of his experiences with botanical students 
during the last 30 years, and stated that 
they were decidedly averse to the study of 
a single item beyond what was necessary 
to enable them to pass the examinations 
imposed upon them. He spoke of the 
teaching at the Birkbeck Institution and the 
facilities the teachers and students there 
had of obtaining all the specimens they re¬ 
quired. The practical and physiological 
questions set by the Royal Horticultural 
Society for the examination in horticulture, 
promoted under their auspices, were also 
cited by Professor Henslow, who advised 
the society to ascertain what pupils they 
were likely to get. 
One of the fellows thought they might 
commence the teaching of botany in a 
humble way, without going to the expense 
of putting up costly buildings, so that they 
might prove what demand there might be 
for such instruction as was proposed. An 
ex-professor said the great bugbear to the 
scheme was the numerous botanical'schools 
on a small scale. Mere teaching would take 
care of itself, but original research would 
command the attention and the assistance 
of the public at large, quite irrespective of 
creed ; and the society, if successful in this 
particular sphere, it would be amply sup¬ 
ported. Mr. Rubinstein advocated a system 
of classes, and teaching such as were carried 
on at the Birkbeck Institution. Another 
fellow spoke of the original discovery of the 
fertilising properties of a crop of Clover on 
land, and the investigations that were 
undertaken to discover the cause to which 
this property was due. Finally the chair¬ 
man invited fellows, who were willing to 
form part of the committee, for enquiring 
into the feasibility of establishing a botani¬ 
cal institute, to send in their names. 
. -*- 
Crocuses, chiefly garden varieties of C. vermis and 
C. aureus, render the grass very gay in several parts 
of St. James’ Park nd Regent’s Park. 
" Wonders ” will never cease, at least amongst 
Peas. I intend raising a Scottish Wonder, and in 
asking for it, see that you get it.— Snaggs. 
Two Large White Swans were recently observed 
flying over Highgate Woods in a north-westerly 
direction. They were at an altitude of 300 ft., and 
had probably deserted some of the London parks 
W. G. Edwards wishes to inform his friends and 
acquaintances that he is leaving the gardens of the 
late Mrs. Reeves, of Sandhill Lodge, Fordingbridge, 
to take charge of the gardens of G. Churchill, Esq., 
of Holderholt Park, Fordingbridge, Hants. 
United Horticultural Benefit and Provident Society. 
—The annual general meeting of this society will 
take place on Monday evening next (March 8th), at 
the Caledonian Hotel, John Street, Adelphi, Strand. 
The chair will be taken at 8 o’clock by Mr. A. Dean 
Royal Horticultural Society.—The next fruit and 
floral meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 
will be held on Tuesday, March gth, in the Drill 
Hall, James Street, Westminster, 1 to 4 p.m. A 
lecture will be given at 3 o’clock by Prof. H. M. 
Ward, F.R.S. on “ Microscopic Gardening.” 
Spring Flowers.—Reading your accounts of early 
Primroses (Primula vulgaris) made me have a turn 
round the evidently unfrequented nooks of my 
garden, where I was not delighted to find an abun¬ 
dance of flowers of Senecio vulgaris and Stellaria 
media, because, though extravagant in flowers, they 
were niggard in variety. Just like spring, but I shall 
alter it.— Cor. 
Rhododendrons in Kew Gardens.- -Th? Himalayan 
Rhododendrons are proving a source of some 
attraction to visitors in the Temperate house. As a 
rule the early blooming of Rhododendrons under 
glass is taken for granted, but the mild weather that 
has prevailed for some time past has induced a 
number of the bushes in the Rhododendrc n valley 
skirting the banks of the Thames to come into 
bloom. 
Rainfall in Devon for 1896 —Several of our corres¬ 
pondents keep an account of the annual rainfall in 
their several districts. Mr. J. L. Reynolds, Sidbury 
Manor Gardens, Sidmouth, supplies us with 
statistics for 1896, from which we cull the under¬ 
mentioned items. The total for the year was 29.47 
in. The mean annual average lor Exeter, also in 
East Devon is 33 in., so that there was a deficit 
of slightly over 3$ in. ; but for Sidmouth, the deficit 
is probably greater. The heaviest rainfall in any 
one month occurred in December, when 7.68 in. fell; 
September comes next with 6.16 in.; and March had 
4.19 in. The driest month was May, with 0.06 in.; 
April had only 0.52 in. ; and February o 64 in. The 
heaviest rainfall in twenty-four hours occurred on 
December 2nd, when 1.34 in. fell; September 4th 
had 1.30 in.; March 21st, and July 25th had each a 
fall of 1 in. May 22nd showed a fall of 0.06 in., 
which was all the rain that fell during that month. 
There were 155 days in the year during wh'ch 0.06 
in. or more rain fell. September had 26 rainy days; 
March and September each 23 ; October 15 ; August 
12; and January, June, and July each 11, the other 
months having fewer wet days. 
