100 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 14, ltt99. 
to leave all the work till the lact moment. 
Indeed, the process of selection may all be 
accomplished some days or even weeks 
before the exhibition, when the competitor’s 
head is clear, cool and unworried by the 
bustle of hurried preparation at the last 
moment. The why and the wherefore of 
all these things are explained in the book 
so that th'se “ who run may read.” Full 
directions are also given for the staging of 
the component parts of an exhibit. In the 
case of miscellaneous collections of vege¬ 
tables having no limit to the exact number 
of dishes, everything good in the exhibitor’s 
garden may be staged, but inferior produce 
should be rigidly excluded on account of 
its weakening effect. 
The various kinds of vegetables—and 
they are numerous—passed under review 
by the author are arranged alphabetically, 
a method we always approve in the case 
of gardening books for facility of reference 
by gardeners and amateurs generally. 
Under these various headings everything 
special to the subject in hand is dealt with 
in a clear and concise manner. Outdoor 
and indoor culture, special soils, manures 
and other necessaries, and the best varieties 
for exhibition form the nuclei round which 
the writer of the book hinges his story. 
Needless to say the book may be handled 
with profit by amateurs and professionals 
alike; for no technicalities hamper the 
reader, and everything is severely practical. 
Illustrations of vegetables are freely used in 
the various chapters and articles of the 
work, many of the best of modern types 
being represented. About fourteen pages 
at the end of the book are devoted to 
descriptions of and remedies for the leading 
or more common garden enemies, whether 
insects or fungi. Printing and paper leave 
nothing to be desired, even if the book had 
been more highly priced. 
Fuel should be secured before the cold weather sets 
in. 
Weather in London.—The past week has been a 
mixture of sunshine and rain, fog and slight frosts. 
Around the outskirts of London where the air is 
clearer the frosts have been keener, and such things 
as Dahlias, Nasturtiums, &c , have in places been 
cut down. The thick atmosphere makes outdoor 
work disagreeable. The appearance of woodland 
and meadow in urban districts denotes the rapid ad¬ 
vance of Nature to her temporary rest. 
Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association.—The 
annual meeting of this society was held under the 
presidency of the Mayor of Exeter, at the Guildhall, 
Exeter, on October 4th. Among others present 
were Messrs. P. C. M. Veitch, J P., A. Hope (hon. 
sec.), W. Mackay (hon. treasurer), &c. The com¬ 
mittee’s report was most satisfactory, in that the 
original aims of the society were still being the 
guiding lines, and the past year's and the present 
syllabus were both of the most practical and helpful 
nature. The work was plodding and unpretentious, 
yet most advantageous to gardeners and gardening. 
The summer excursion, as noted in The Gardening 
World at the time, was an unqualified success. The 
committee wished to thank Mr. A. E. Sanders, the 
esteemed president,for his continued interest and work 
upon the society. They also heartily thanked the 
Mayor for the renewed privilege accorded to them 
whereby they were permitted to meet in the Council 
Chambers for their business. The condition of the 
exchequer showed up well in having a balance in 
hand amounting to £\& ns. 9d. In moving the 
adoption of the report the Mayor encouraged the 
members in a cheery speech, saying that their posi¬ 
tion was really an enviable one as a society. They 
had excellent gentlemen filling the offices of presi- 
sident, secretary, and treasurer, and so long as they 
remained they would be in a good way. Mr. P. C. 
M. Veitch seconded the motion. Mr. A E. Sanders 
was re-elected president, and the other offices were 
likewise re-arranged for the coming year. A vote of 
thanks to the chairman terminated the meeting. 
Sharp Frosts are being felt in the south on morn¬ 
ings after clear, starlit nights. 
Appointments—Mr. Alfred Hamshere, for the last 
fourteen years head gardener at Beau Manor Park, 
Loughborough, has been appointed by the Asylum 
Committee of the Leicester Corporation to be 
general manager of the extensive grounds, farm, &c , 
&c., at the old old Humberstone Asylum. Mr. 
Alexander McVinish, Lockington Hall, Derby, 
succeeds Mr. Hamshere at Beau Manor Park. 
Messrs. Laings’ Begonias at the Crystal Palace.— 
Amonst so many things gathered together at the 
Crystal Palace, on the occasion of the great exhibi¬ 
tion of British Grown Fruit, it was almost certain 
that something would be overlooked. Messrs. John 
Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, London, S.E., had 
several large exhibits in different positions in the 
building, and amongst them was an exhibit of cut 
flowers of double tuberous Begonias. For quality 
the flowers were the finest they have put up this 
season. Sir William T. Thiselton Dyer, of Kew, 
described them as ‘‘grand double Begonias.” 
Woolton Gardeners' Mutual Improvement Society.— 
The first meeting of the tenth session of the above 
was opened on the 5th inst. by an interesting lecture 
on “ Some Famous Gardens,” by the Rev. T. F. 
Nicholas, M.A., F.R.G.S., illustrated by many lime¬ 
light views obtained by the lecturer during his 
travels through the North American forests, the 
gardens of Paris, the College gardens of Oxford, 
and the stately domain of Blenheim. The beauty 
and variety of the different scenes were described in 
an interesting manner by the reverend lecturer,whose 
address was closely followed by the large attendance 
present. At the close of the lecture a cordial vote 
of thanks was accorded to the reverend gentleman on 
the motion of Mr. R. Todd, seconded by Mr. T. 
Carling, and carried with applause. 
The Soil of Holland.—It may be remembered that 
in the early summer of this year,the Essex Technic¬ 
al Instruction Committee proposed and successfully 
accomplished a visit to Holland, having with them a 
large party of Essex agriculturists, and others in¬ 
terested. Mr. T. S. Dymond, as secretary to the 
committee, has compiled a report upon the visit, and 
this we have before us now. The pamphlet is neat 
and thoroughly well arranged, having a few repre¬ 
sentative photographs of various scenes. Such a 
booklet is worth all the trouble and expense which 
the visit and the compilation cost. Referring to the 
soil in the parts they visited, it is stated to have been 
either alluvial or peaty, of great depth, and in many 
cases kept moist even in times of drought, owing to 
the water in the canals being maintained at a con 
stant level. Almost the whole of the districts con¬ 
sist of what is termed polder, that is, land which 
has been reclaimed from the sea or fen by massive 
protecting walls, and kept drained by pumping 
engines. The soil is undeniably rich in the 
elements of fertility, and so freely are they at the 
disposal of the crops that lime is seldom required. 
At the same time It was noticeable that care is taken 
to maintain or even improve its character, and all 
manure is carefully preserved for futnre use upon 
the land. In the Westland district of South 
Holland the market gardeners and fruit-growers of 
the villages have banded themselves to form a 
society, known as the Westland Society, for the pro¬ 
motion of the industrial interests of the districts. 
The society publishes a weekly paper, giving current 
prices and other information. By arrangement with 
the society the tavern-keeper of each village has 
erected an auction room in connection with his 
tavern, for the daily sale of market-garden produce. 
Buyers come from The Hague, Rotterdam, and 
other large towns to attend these auction sales. Since 
they came into existence the extension of glass¬ 
houses and gardens has been very great. The culti¬ 
vation of shrubs and of bulbs are well-known as two 
of the most lucrative industries in Holland. The 
soils upon which the shrubs are grown is an 
immensely deep, peaty loam, with the water table 
about 18 in. beneath the surface. The bulb soils 
are very hot, consisting of fine sea sand, and they 
are liberally manured with semi-liquid cow manure, 
and the water-table is at least 3 ft. deep. In Essex 
there are coast tracts of alluvial soil with a subsoil 
of sea sand, which in some degree resemble the bulb 
soils of Holland, and upon these an experiment of 
bulb growing might be tried. 
Centaureas makejfree andjpretty buttonholes. 
Clematis coccinea at Tignabruaich.—From a 
botanical point of view the correct name of this 
would be Clematis Viorna coccinea. The typical 
C. Viorna has purple flowers with four thick and 
leathery sepals. The scarlet variety is similar, ex¬ 
cept in the colour of the flowers, which may be de¬ 
scribed as brilliant vermilion externally, and pale 
yellow internally, but owing to form of flower the 
interior is hidden. C. V. coccinea is not often met 
with even in the South, and is less often seen in a 
vigorous condition out of doors. We were the 
recipients the other day of quite a handful of flower¬ 
ing shoots from Mr. W. Mackenzie, Ballimore 
House, Tignabruaich, Argyleshire, who says that 
‘‘the specimens sent were cut from plants grown on 
a south wall in the open air, and they have every 
appearance of flowering for some time yet if frost 
does not cut them off.” A central flower terminates 
every shoot, but side shoots are given off in succes¬ 
sion, each ending in a flower like the primary one, by 
which a succession of showy flowers is kept up for 
a long time. The warm Atlantic breezes are no doubt 
responsible to a large extent for the vigour of the 
plants at Tignabruaich, but the moisture of the 
atmosphere in summer must also exercise a beneficial 
influence on the well-being of this handsome 
Clematis, just as Tropaeolum speciosum is favoured 
from the same cause in Scotland. 
Ladywell, Lewisham and District Cottagers’ Horti¬ 
cultural Society. — On a beautiful day in mid-August, 
the members of the above society culled the best 
produce from their allotments or gardens and placed 
their entries side by side in competitive array under 
the marquees erected in the very adaptable grounds 
of S. J. Gore, Esq., at Camps Hill House, Lewisham. 
Like many other suburban, or urban horticultural 
competitions, half the joy of competitors at the 
Lewisham show comes with the winning of a prize 
or prizes; the other, and more satisfactory half is 
held over till the prizes are publicly awarded. In 
connection with the August show then, the prizes 
won there, were distributed by Mrs. H. J. Jones on 
Thursday, October 5, in the Parish Church Hall, 
Ladywell Road. The Hall was tastefully arranged 
with groups of flowers and foliage plants from Rye- 
croft Nurseries. The President, Mr. J. H. Jones, 
occupied the chair,and no one could better have per¬ 
formed the function involved. With an audience of 
some hundreds, and a select musical programme to 
tune the latent chords of harmony within the people, 
and with so full a share of" spoil ” to load themselves 
with, it goes without saying that everybody there, 
was merry. Mr. Jones announced that something like 
£70 worth of prizes altogether was handed over that 
evening. These, by the way,were all useful, such as 
are welcomed by an industrial class, including wear¬ 
ing apparel from felt hats to stout boots, from huge 
currant loaves to legs of mutton and ham, cart loads 
of coal whereby to roast the said ‘‘legs,” together 
with any amount of ornaments and furniture of 
decorative value. Some of the beautiful water colour 
and oil paintings, handsomely framed, worked envy 
in the hearts of those who had no show prize, but 
who had a very suitable space on some of their walls 
at home. Hard cash prizes were numerous, and by 
no means small, such as £2 8s., to Mr. W. Savage, 
Harts’ Cottages, Knowles Hill, Lewisham, is witness. 
Certificates and Diplomas of Merit from the National 
Amateur Gardeners’ Association were accorded to 
some of the winners. The names of some of those 
who won most largely are :—Messrs. E. King, E. 
W. Little, W. Musson, W. A. Ovenden, J. Roberts, 
W. Savage (who had the following haul:—A garden 
syriDge ; 3 lbs Tea ; a bushel of Potatos; brush oil 
painting ; Goods, 17s.; Toogood Silver Medal and 
Certificate; Sander’s Silver Medal, and the £2 8s. 
in cash, already mentioned) ; M. Stevens, G. Taylor, 
R. Wilkinson, and F. W. Westcott among the many 
others On the motion of Mr. T. White, the vice- 
president, the audience gave Mrs. H. J. Jones a ring¬ 
ing vote of thanks for her courage and courtesy in 
the distribution services. Mr. Jones replied on 
behalf of Mrs. Jones. The appreciation, the enthus¬ 
iasm, and the good feeling which seemed part and 
parcel of the people and proceedings, are a capital 
tribute to the president, to the secretary (Mr. A. 
Pratt),and to all who are workers in any way for this 
good cause which encourages thrift and happiness 
among the Ladywell, Lewisham and District 
Cottagers. 
