January 20, 1900. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
325 
Mrs. and Mr. Harry J. Veitch, of Chelsea, started 
on Monday last for Egypt and the Holy Land, where 
they intend staying tor some considerable time, in 
order to accomplish the numerous and lengthy 
journeys now opened to the tourists, and health and 
pleasure seekers of the civilised world. 
Royal Horticultural Society.—The next fruit and 
flower show of the Royal Horticultural Society will 
be held on Tuesday, January 23rd, in the Drill Hall, 
James Street, Westminster, 1 to 4 p.m. A lecture on 
“ The Neglect of Flowering Shrubs in our Gardens ” 
will be given by Mr. Geo. Bunyard, V.M H , at 
3 o’clock. 
Bicentenary Celebration of the Introduction of the 
Sweet Pea —A meeting of the executive committee 
will be held at the Horticultural Club. Hotel Wind¬ 
sor, Victoria Street, Westminster, on Friday, January 
19th, at two o’clock in the afternoon. (1) To 
receive a report from the preliminary committee. 
(2) To decide upon a schedule of prizes, and the date 
and place of the exhibition. (3) And other matters 
relating to the celebration.— R. Dean, Sec. 
The Horticultural Directory.—In the above we 
have an address book of those in any way engaged 
in the practice or furtherance of horticulture in its 
commercial, private,or public and charitable aspects, 
&c., a publication which is the acme of simplicity in 
its arrangement for reference. Besides containing 
up to-date knowledge of gardens, gardening and gar¬ 
deners, the tables for seed sowings, &c. given at the 
front of the book are very useful to either the young 
or the older gardeners. The " Useful Garden 
Receipts ” are worth more than the price asked for 
the whole Directory, which is is. It is published 
at the Journal of Horticulture office, 12, Mitre Court 
Chambers, Fleet Street, E C. 
Bristol and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement 
Association.—The fortnightly meeting of the society 
was held at St. John’s Parish Room, Redland, on 
Thursday, January nth, Mr. C. Lock presiding over 
a good attendance. Mr. Garnish, of Stapleton, was 
responsible for the paper, which was on the subject 
of " Strawberry Culture.” He dealt with the ques¬ 
tion in a very detailed manner, recommending a soil 
that was neither shallow nor stiff clay; to be well 
trenched and manured ; the runners to be laid in 
June for planting when necessary. He sa’d 2 ft. 
apart was the distance he thought most suitable for 
planting; urged the frequent use of the hoe; and 
gave many helpful suggestions as to the general 
treatment of the plant. Mr. Garnish, who treated 
the subject with the skill of an expert, was heartily 
thanked for his paper. Prizes for six dessert Apples 
were secured by Mr. Marsh (6rst), and Mr. Sutton 
(second). Certificates of Merit were awarded to 
Messrs. McCulloch and Clark. A special feature of the 
exhibits was a fine collection of Apples staged by 
Mr. Bannister, of Cote House. It consisted of 
nearly thirty varieties of choice fruit, and was much 
admired by the members. 
Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society.—The 
annual general meeting of the above society was held 
on Wednesday, January 10th, in Dowell’s Rooms, 
Edinburgh. Mr. Buchanan, Penicuik, occupied the 
chair. The secretary (Mr. P. Murray Thomson) 
read the report of the council. They regretted that 
at neither of the two shows, spring or autumn, was 
the public attendance such as could be wished. The 
exhibits were on both occasions of a high order, and 
so numerous that all available accommodation had 
to be utilised. A high death record of the society’s 
members had to be recorded, as many as twenty-one 
having been removed, including Mr. M. Dunn and 
Mr. W. M. V/elsh. According to the abstract of 
accounts the ordinary receipts came to £1 ,185 3s. od., 
and the payments to £1,269 18s. 2d. On November 
30th last the funds amounted to £758 19s. nd., 
showing a decrease of £91 18s. 7d., as compared 
with the corresponding period of 1898. The chair¬ 
man moved the adoption of the report, seconded by 
Mr. Alex. Milne, and agreed to. Lord Lothian was- 
unanimously re-elected president, and sympathy was 
expressed with his lordship in his illness. Mr. D. P. 
Laird was appointed vice-president, receiving twelve 
votes, as against five for the Earl of Moray. The 
following were chosen as councillors:—Messrs. 
George Mackinnon, Massie (Dicksons & Co ), Adam 
Bryden,^Innerleithen ; and James Morrison, Archer- 
field. 
Tea Duty Payments: Smashing Records !—The 
Mazawattee Tea Company, Limited, paid on the 
15th inst., to Her Majesty's Customs, the sum of 
£85,862 8s. 8d., representing over 5,000,000 pounds 
of tea. This is the largest duty payment, and the 
greatest clearance from bond, in the history of the 
tea trade. This great bulk of tea is being deposited 
in the Company's new warehouses at New Cross, 
which have a cubical capacity of over 2,000,000 ft. 
Cinematography of the Growth of Plants —Many 
propositions have already been made to photograph 
a growing plant, from certain stages, upon a strip or 
band of sensitised paper, always unrolling, and to 
project upon a partition of some sort, by means of 
the cinematograph, the succession of photographs 
obtained, so that one can in some minutes have 
under the eyes a series of phenomena which have 
taken place during several weeks and even several 
months. In the United States of America these ex¬ 
periments have actually been carried out. The 
Department of Agriculture has placed in one of its 
greenhouses an apparatus which photographs auto¬ 
matically, every hour, a plant from the time of its 
germination. The apparatus ought thus to remain 
in activity during several weeks. If that experi¬ 
ment succeeds, all the important phenomena of that 
plant ought thus to be recovered or secured. The 
aim of those experiments is not for science but 
rather for the study of plants and their success, 
which would be of great value from an educational 
point of view.— Wiener Illustrirte Garten Zeitung, 
Nov., 1899. 
Messrs. Barr & Sons' Seed Catalogue.—With others 
to hand, we have received the Seed Catalogue and 
Guide for 1900, from the above firm, 12 and 13, 
King Street, Covent Garden, London. The cata¬ 
logue is not so bulky as some, but from being 
splendidly arranged, and closely, and clearly printed, 
the designation of “ Multum in Parvo ” may be 
passed upon it. A large number of woodcuts 
illustrate its pages, specially fine being those of some 
of the newer Asters and Primulas. A passing refer¬ 
ence must be accorded the novelties commencing on 
page 25. They are arranged (as is the catalogue 
generally) in alphabetical sequence. Glancing down 
the list we choose the following as worthy the 
attention of those into whose hands the catalogue will 
be delivered :—Canna variegata, Caryopteris Masta- 
canthus (the Blue Spiraea), Centaurea americana 
alba, "like a Giant White Sweet Sultan,” the 
Eremurus elwesianus, &c , which are so stately in 
May; Incarvillea Delavayi (figured in Gardening 
World) ; Barr's new Dwarf Lantana, Nicotiana 
sylvestris a valuable new decorative Tobacco plant 
and other subjects to the number of 194 distinct 
specialities. A four page leaflet of interesting 
alpines, perennials, &c., and seeds of a fjw interest 
ing Australian plants, together with the flowers and 
vegetable seed lists and so on, are comprissd in this 
catalogue, which are of the utmost interest and use 
to all classes of gardeners. 
Ontario Fruit Growers’ Association.—The thirtieth 
annual report of the above renders the account for 
1898. It has always been the mission and aim of 
this association to advance the interests of fruit¬ 
growing, and to encourage any object or project cal¬ 
culated to benefit the fruit grower. The association 
is under the direction of a body of annually 
appointed officers, who are chosen from various dis¬ 
tricts in Ontario. Papers are read at various of their 
meetings, discussions take place, exhibitions are 
held, and new fruits certificated by the association. 
Such subjects as “Frauds in Fruits at Fairs,” 
“Peach Borer,” “ Export of Fruit Pulp,” &c., &c., 
are typical of the subjects treated upoD. The notes 
on experimental spraying are useful, and the method 
of teaching the fruit farmers, by ocular demonstra¬ 
tion, h'ow to mix the sprays, and how to apply them, 
and of detecting the insects which do harm, is 
worthy of commentary. Only one solution was 
used in the spraying—Bordeaux mixture, according 
to the following formula :—copper sulphate, 4 lbs. ; 
fresh lime, 4 lbs. ; and water, 4 gallons. To this in 
every case was added 4 ozs. of Paris Green. In all 
cases where orchards were sprayed the percentage 
of clean fruits was much increased. This booklet 
or report of the transactions contains a deal of in¬ 
formation, and we feel sure that the association is 
doing capital work in the interests of the Ontario 
fruit commerce and industry. 
Early Freesias.—The earliest batch of Freesia re 
fracta alba at the Royal Gardens, Kew, has just gone 
over. These came into bloom just bsfore Christ¬ 
mas, having been potted up in September, aud 
brought on by gentle forcing. Their fragrance is 
much appreciated at any time of the year. 
Botanical Society of Edinburgh.—At the latest 
meeting of this society, held on Thursday, January 
nth, at 5, St. Andrew Square, Dr. W. Craig reported 
on the excursion to Kirkby Lonsdale, Yorkshire, of 
the Scottish Alpine Botanical Club. He described 
the plants discovered. Dr. Craig also gave a list of 
the principal plants found since 1870. 
Wirral and Birkenhead Agricultural Society.—At a 
meeting of the Executive Committee, held on Tues¬ 
day last, it was unanimously resolved on the motion 
of Alderman Getley (Birkenhead), seconded by Mr. 
Thomas Davies (Bebington), that this society’s next 
show be held in the present show-yard, Birkenhead, 
on the 3rd, 4th, and 6th of August .—Arthur H. 
Edwardson, Secretary, 6, Hamilton Square, Birken¬ 
head, January nth, 1900. 
French Horticultural Society of London.—-On 
Saturday last, the 13th inst., the annual dinner of the 
above society was held at the Imperial Restaurant, 
Strand. M. Geoffray, the French Minister, occupied 
the chair, being supported by Messrs. Schneider, 
Leclerc, Tucker, Gaskell, Harman Payne, George 
Gordon, T. Bevan, W. Howe, and other members 
and friends of the society. When the time for speech¬ 
making arrived, the chairman proposed the health 
of the Queen and Royal Family. In return, Mr. 
Harman Payne proposed that of the president of the 
French republic. Mr. Schneider gave some interest¬ 
ing statistics, relating to the progress the society had 
made during the past year, and also referred to the 
satisfactory state of the funds of the society. The 
chairman proposed the health of the officers of the 
society, to whose efforts much of its success was due. 
"The Guests,” proposed by Mr. Schneider, and 
replied to by Mr. Harman Payne, afforded an oppor¬ 
tunity of referring to the positions many of the ab¬ 
sent members had taken up in various parts of the 
world, many of them positions of responsibility and 
importance. Before concluding, the company sang 
the Marseillaise and God save the Queen, and a 
collection was made for the widows and orphans 
fund of the English troops dow engaged in South 
Africa. Music, recitations, &c., enlivened the pro¬ 
ceedings. 
New Year Conservatory Decoration at Kew.—The 
show conservatory or greenhouse at Kew is at all 
seasons of the year a very fine centre of floral dis¬ 
play. The conservatory set specially apart for a 
show house is a large “cross” shaped structure, 
having a central bed. To keep this enlivened during 
winter and spring, Mr. Garrett, the foreman of this 
department, employs lots of plants which private gar¬ 
deners do not usually think of, or regard them as too 
common in other cases. In a visit about Christmas 
time the following plants were seen in the house :— 
Chrysanthemums in variety, Chinese Primulas, Star 
Primulas, P. obconica, and P. floribunda, the latter 
flowering in small pots, and arranged as a grounding 
to taller pots of Lily of the Valley. Begonia Gloire 
de Lorraine, fine plants in quantity, B. semper- 
florens gigantea rosea, Indian Azaleas, Acacias in 
the varieties A. penninervis and A. hastulata, besides 
which were Heaths in greater or less selection, 
Lilium Harris', Tuberoses, Paper-white Narcissus, 
Roman Hyacinths, Eupatoriums, Bouvardias, Salvia 
splendens, fragrant Freesias, Cinerarias, and the 
various forms of Cyclamens. A fine batch of 
Peristrophe speciosa did much to lend brightness to 
the place. Saintpaulia ionantha v as also used in the 
house. Reinwardtia trigyna, a bright yellow, and 
Cenlropogon Lucyanus were shown in capital style. 
Then there were Rhododendron Taylori, Daphne 
indica, Viburnum Tinus (the common Laurustinus), 
the giant Groundsel, Senecio grandifolia, Crassula 
lactea, and Christmas Roses. The Otaheite Oranges 
were finely fruited and brilliantly coloured, adding 
greatly to the general effect, as likewise the fruited 
plants of Solanum integrifolium. Datura suaveolens, 
Cuphea eminens, and other taller plants were planted 
out in beds and flowering. Trained to the roof were 
specimens of Jasminum grandiflorum, Tibouchina 
macrantha, Ligustrum lucidum tricolor, Cestrum 
elegans, Lonicera rempervirens, &c. \arious orna¬ 
mental foliage plants dotted about added relief and 
freshness to the blooming plants. 
