February 3, 1900. 
357 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Mr. James Mitchell, for some time gardener to Sir 
Charles Barrington, Bart., Glenstal _astle, Murree, 
Co. Limerick, and many years general foreman at 
Castle Boro’, Enniscorthy, has been appointed head 
gardener to C. M. Doyne, Esq., Wells, Gorey, Co. 
Wexford, in the place of Mr. Bennett. 
A Successful Cyclamen Grower.—Round the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Dublin are located quite a number 
of enthusiastic and very successful plantsmen. 
Prominent among them is Mr. A. R. Wilson, 
manager to Major Dunville, at Loughlinstown House. 
This season he has succeeded in producing some of 
the finest flowered plants around the city. 
Unforced New Year Roman Hyacinths.—We, 
together with an expert bulb dealer, were consider¬ 
ably surprised to witness a splendidly flowered batch 
of Roman Hyacinths on Saturday, January 27th, in 
a small garden at Battersea. The bulbs had been 
planted when received in October and there they 
were, with spikes 7 in. to 8 in. long, having been in 
flower over three weeks. The border is well drained 
and thoroughly sheltered. It would be interesting to 
hear of other notices of a like nature. 
Royal Gardeners' Orphan Fund—The annual 
general meeting of the subscribers to this fund will 
be held at the Essex Hal), Essex Street, Strand, 
London, W.C., on Friday, February, 16th, 1900, for 
the purpose of receiving the report of the committee, 
and statement of accounts for the past year ; to elect 
officers for the ensuing year ; to elect nine children 
to the benefits of the fund ; and to transact such 
other business as may arise. The chair will be 
taken at 3 p.m. The poll will close at 4 30 p.m., 
after which time no votes can be received. The 
secretary is Mr. B. Wynne, 8, Danes Inn, Strand, 
London, W.C. 
Chemical Manures.—This was the subject of a 
lecture delivered by Mr. F. W. E. Shrivell of 
Thompson's Farm, Tonbridgo, at the fortnightly 
meeting of the Reading Gardeners’ Mutual, on 
Monday evening last. The lecturer in an interesting 
and racy manner laid before the members the results 
of the various experiments carried out at Tonbridge 
during the past five years with chemical manures 
on vegetables and fruit crops, under the auspices of 
the Permanent Nitrate Committee, who wished to 
find out whether dung could be dispensed with alto¬ 
gether, relying solely on chemical manures. An in¬ 
teresting discussion followed in which Messrs. Fry, 
Neve, Purkiss, Chamberlain, Burfitt, Alexander, 
Wilson, Hinton, Lever, and Ager took part. On the 
proposition of the chairman (Mr. Fry), a hearty 
vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Shrivell for his 
lecture, and to Mr. F. Lever, The Gardens, Hillside, 
for staging an exceedingly well flowered plant of 
Coelogyne cristata. Six new members were elected. 
Bristol and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement 
Association —The fortnightly meeting was held at 
St. John’s Parish Room, Redland, on Thursday, 25th 
ult. Mr. C. Lock presided over a large attendance. 
The meeting was specially interesting by reason of a 
paper read by a member from the Cardiff Gardeners' 
Association, Mr. J. Graham. Under the title, 
“ Gleanings from a Horticultural Class," Mr, 
Graham dealt with a variety of subjects, all of great 
importance to gardeners, such as soil and its con¬ 
stituents, bacteria, thermometers, dew and raiD, lay¬ 
ing out of pleasure grounds, rockery formation, 
draining of land, plant diseases, etc. He briefly 
dealt with the subjects in a vigorous and able manner, 
giving much useful information upon each. Mr. 
Graham strongly urged the formation of botany 
classes in connection with gardeners' associations, 
claiming that a knowledge of theory was a great help 
to the worker in his practical work; and pleaded for 
more sympathy between head gardeners and their 
assistants. He was cordially thanked for his attend¬ 
ance and paper. Prizes for a Pitcher Plant were 
awarded : First,Mr. White; second, Mr. Bannister ; 
and a Certificate of Merit to Mr. Ross for a Primula 
sinensis. An exhibit of great interest was provided 
by Mr. Graham, who showed over fifty dried speci¬ 
mens of British plants, which attracted much atten¬ 
tion. A motion of sympathy with the relatives of the 
late Canon Ansley was passed. The late Canon was 
a vice-president of the association during his resi¬ 
dence at Redland, and took a keen interest in the 
work from the time of its formation. 
National Chrysanthemum Society. — The annual 
general meeting of the members of the above society 
will take place at Carr's Restaurant, 263, Strand, 
W.C., on Monday, February 5th next, at seven 
o’clock in the evening, to receive the committee’s 
annual report and balance sheet; to elect a president, 
vice-presidents, officers, and one-third of the com¬ 
mittee, for the year ensuing; to consider certain 
alterations and amendments to the rules ; and to 
transact such business as pertains to the annual 
general meeting. Notice of motion by Mr. Thomas 
Bevan :—“ That the election of the present general 
secretary be postponed; and that an advertisement 
be inserted in the gardening papers for a properly 
qualified person to fill the post at a salary of £100 
per annum.". 
Horticultural Fete in Hanley Park.—The schedule 
of this annual function, held at the county borough 
of Hanley is now to hand, or at least the proof- 
sheets are. The fixture is for Wednesday and 
Thursday, July 4th and 5th. The list of sections 
and classes is a long one, and large prizes are 
offered. In the first division the premier prize for a 
group of plants is £25; second prize, £20; third 
prize, £ 15 ; and the fourth amounts to £10; besides 
which there are a number of minor prizes offered by 
seed firms. Such prizes in hard cash ought to entice 
gardeners. The prizes throughout are very liberal, 
and in many classes well known nursery and seed 
firms offer liberal awards. The entries all close 
between June 27th and 30th. Applications for 
schedules should be made to Mr. Jos. Kent, The 
Park, Hanley, he being the horticultural secretary. 
Mr. G. W. Cummins.—It will be remembered that 
we gave a notice of this gardener last week, as just 
about to return to the South on the 1st February. 
His late employer, W. H. Lumsden, Esq., J.P., 
F.R.H.S , Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, gives him a very 
good character as follows:—“ G. W. Cummins has 
been in my service as head gardener for nearly two 
years, and I have much pleasure in giving him a 
certificate of character. I have found him thoroughly 
sober, honest, and obliging, and always anxious to 
carry out the wishes of his employer. Cummins is 
particularly well educated, and capable of producing 
very intelligent reports on any subject connected 
with his profession. He is also a good draughtsman 
and expert in drawing plans. He is proficient in the 
various branches of his business, as his previous 
certificates will show. I shall be happy to answer 
any further questions. W. H. Lumsden, December 
8th 1839." 
“ Kelway’s Manual” for 1900 — Everyone who 
loves gardening and flowers, especially hardy flowers, 
Paeonies, Delphinums, Gladioli, Phloxes, and the 
list along which one’s pen might run, await ex¬ 
pectantly to hear of the annual issue of Messrs. 
Kelway & Son’s “ Manual,” from Langport, 
Somerset. Fancy a trade catalogue of the size of 
Kelway’s (11 ins. x 8 ins.) running to 300 pages! In 
what other commercial section do the tradesmen 
issue such imposing tabulations, or spend so much 
of care in compiling the descriptions and purposes 
of their stock, hints, or in giving of the guidance 
necessary to customers, or strive so nobly to gain an 
honourable patronage ? We know of very few. With 
such a work as this “ Manual, ” in his or her 
possession, one almost begins to think that gardeners 
might dispense with the horticultural journals, even 
though these are vigorous and complete. The 
calendar of operations for each month of the year is 
of especial value, and the very full descriptive text 
and cultural hints leave nothing unnoticed. Two 
coloured plates adorn the book, which likewise is 
illustrated with photos on almost every other page. 
Testimonials from every quarter are marshalled in 
steady flow beneath the classes of plants in their re¬ 
spective sections, and from these one reasonably con¬ 
cludes that care is severely taken to please all 
buyers. Referring to the contents, there is, of 
course, the usual additions of new varieties to 
popular flowering plants, and novelties are enumera¬ 
ted. The plants for which the Langport firm have 
a universal reputation are well known, and, of course, 
these are considerably detailed in the pages of the 
‘‘Manual." We recommend all to add‘‘Kelway's 
Manual'' to their garden office list before the spring 
season becomes advanced. 
Cuba is said to have a scented climbing plant 
whose leaves are wooden in texture. 
Weather in London.—Dull weather, with cold, 
piercing winds, and a fall of snow on Sunday morn¬ 
ing, turning to rain during succeeding days, is the 
summary of last week’s conditions. Hardy flower¬ 
ing plants and shrubs are on the move. 
Ealing Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society.— 
The programme of the twelfth annual session 
(January to March, 1900) of the above, opened on 
January 2nd. At that meeting, a paper on “ Public 
Parks and Gardens ” was given by Mr. W. B. Gingell, 
Superintendent of Ravenscourt Park. The follow¬ 
ing are the other papers of the session :—" Carna¬ 
tions and Carnation Culture,” by Mr. J. F. McLeod, 
Dover House Gardens, Roehampton, on January 
16th; “Roses in the Garden,” by Mr. George 
Gordon, editor of The Gardener's Magazine, January 
30th ; “ Some further experiments with Chemical 
Manures in the Kitchen Garden,” by Mr. F. 
Shrivell, F.L.S , February 13th ; " A Surrey Garden” 
(with lantern views), by Mr. Alex. Wright, Buckle- 
bury Place Gardens, Berks., January 27th ; " Hard- 
wooded Greenhouse Plants,” by Mr. J. Coutts, Kew 
Gardens, March 13th; “ The value of Mutual 
Improvement Societies,” by Mr. W. J. Simpson, 
Falkland Park Gardens, South Norwood, March 
27th. On April 3rd, the annual dinner and distribu¬ 
tion of prizes take place. Special prizes are awar¬ 
ded at the meeting on January 30th, for twelve table 
plants; February 27th, for six Palms ; and on March 
27th, for twelve pot spring flowering plants. In ad¬ 
dition to these prizes there are other exhibits at the 
fortnightly meetings, for which points are awarded, 
when he, receiving the maximum for the session, 
wins the prize. Further prizes are to be offered 
should the competitions prove keen. There is also 
announced an essay prize on “ A visit to Kew 
Gardens.” Papers for this competition should be in 
not later than the first Tuesday in March, 1900, ad¬ 
dressing the communications to the hon. sec., Mr. 
W. Roberts. 
Reading and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Association. — The members of the above 
association assembled in force on the occasion of the 
annual tea and smoking concert, which took ftlace 
on the 22nd ult, in the Abbey Hall, kindly lent by 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons. The president, Mr. C. B. 
Stevens, presided at the tea, which commenced at 
6.30, the company including Mr. Leonard Sutton, 
Mr. M. H. F. Sutton, Messrs. Fry, Hinton, Mac¬ 
donald, Cox (chairman, vice-chairman, treasurer, 
and secretary), Burton (Bexley Heath), Pope (chair¬ 
man of the Wargrave Gardeners' Mutual), Trollope 
(Whitchurch), Botley (Maidenhead), Prince 
(Arborfield), Cretchley (Twyford), C. Townsend 
(Sandhurst), Chamberlain (Shinfield), Nicholls 
(Maiden Erleigh), Rigg, Farey (Caversham), Cox 
(Calcot), Osborn (Three Mile Cross), Smith, Wilson, 
Hearn, Lever, Pigg, Parsons, Baskett, Simpkins, 
Purkis, Goddard, Bryant, Agar, House, Dore,&c., &c. 
The tables and hall presented a bright and pleasing 
appearance, having been decorated under the super¬ 
vision of Mr. Macdonald with foliage and flowering 
plants, sent by Mr. J. Woolford, The Gardens, East 
Thorpe, and Messrs. Sutton. During the tea the 
chairman gave the toast of “ The Queen,” referring 
to the great trials Her Majesty was passing through, 
and spoke of the kindness and sympathy she was 
showing to the friends of our gallant soldiers fighting 
in South Africa. Subsequently he presented to the 
winners the prizes offered in the “ Essay Competi¬ 
tions.” At eight o'clock the smoking concert com¬ 
menced, presided over by Mr. Leonard Sutton, and 
was, without doubt, the best and most varied ever 
held at these annual gatherings. The items were 
“ put on ” without the slightest break for upwards of 
hours, consisting of humorous and patriotic songs, 
bones, solo, banjo duets, step dancing, glee singing, 
&c., those contributing to the evening's amusement 
being Mr. F. H. Ketley, the St Lawrence’s Glee 
Party (Messrs. Benger, Johnson, Barrett, Holloway, 
and Prentice),Messrs. Slatter, Poole, Sweetzer, Moss, 
Moles, Gould, Dell, Wicks, House, Saunders, and 
Welfare. Mr. Will Lewis accompanied in his well- 
known style. During the evening Mr. Ketley recited 
Rudyara Kipling’s poem, “ The Absent-Minded 
Beggar,” and on sending round the “ hat the sum 
of £2 5s. was realised, which has been sent on to the 
Local War Fund. 
