February 17. 1900 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
389 
Mr. James Pallett, superintendent of Waterlow 
Park, H'ghgate, London, was attending to his usual 
duties on the morning of the 5th inst., but when he 
returned to his residence about noon he complained 
to his wife that he felt weak, and sitting down in a 
chair expired almost immediately. Waterlow Park 
is beautifully situated on one of the higher ridges 
just within the boundary of the County of London, 
and was added to the metropolitan parks about nine 
years ago. It is a small but pretty park, having been 
a private estate till taken over by the London County 
Council. The decea'ed was buried at Brookwood, 
Woking, on the gth inst. 
Croydon and District Horticultural Mutual Im¬ 
provement Society.—The gardeners of this district 
have amalgamated and formed a much needed 
society for the numerous members of their craft dis¬ 
persed over this populous and influential corner of 
Surrey. There is already a Croydon Horticultural 
Society which identifies itself with an important 
fruit, flower, and vegetable show once a year, in¬ 
cluding the interest of cottagers and cottage garden¬ 
ing. The new society is not intended to compete 
with the old one, as its aim is purely to cultivate the 
intellect of its members, and diffuse a knowledge of 
the art among the same by the reading and discus¬ 
sion of papers on horticultural subjects The meet¬ 
ings will be held monthly for the first half-year at 
least, and, possibly, fortnightly after that. The 
opening night will be Tuesday next (20th inst.). The 
hon. secretary is Mr. John Gregory, 60, Canterbury 
Road, Croydon. Already sixty members have been 
enrolled, belonging to Croydon, the Norwoods, 
Addington, Parley, Kenley, &c. 
Long Waves of Winter Weather.—According to 
Mr. Alex. B. MacDowall, M A., writing in Knowledge 
for February, we are no w in a period of declining cold. 
" We can hardly suppose this decline will be con¬ 
tinuous [ i . e ., without temporary rise) to the supposed 
minimum, nor is it likely to be so rapid as it has been 
since 1890; and in any case it would be difficult to fix 
in advance, with much precision, the character of the 
individual winters covered by it. But at least it 
seems probable that, for a good many years to come, 
we shall not be visited with such an accumulation of 
cold as that in the ten years about 1890 . . . the 
ten-winter group 1886-95 being the coldest of all the 
49 groups considered. That group is also conspicu¬ 
ous for its quantity of N. and E. wind, and shows 
less than the average precipitation. It may be useful 
to look at those ten winters, from the standpoint of 
frost days. The average in September to May being 
about 55, we have the following numbers and 
relations 
’86. '87. ' 83 . ’89. ' go . ’91. ‘92. '93. 'gf. ’95. 
Frost days ... 75 80 90 60 45 82 73 48 42 62 
Relation to average +20 + 254-55 +5—10+27+18—7—13 +7 
Thus we see that seven out of those ten winters were 
severe ; that 1888 had the largest number of frost 
days; and that 1890 itself was one of the three mild 
winters. Those ten winters show a total of 657 frost 
days, being 107 over the average.'’ 
Well-grown Primulas.—On Wednesday, Febru¬ 
ary 7th, I paid a visit to the nurseries of Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons, the object being, of course, to 
make a renewal of friendship with the Primulas. 
Just let me say I never have seen a finer and 
cleaner and more even lot of stuff as now displayed in 
any other establishment. The first thing which more 
than any other struck me was the dwarf stocky 
strain which is now staged by them. The Giant 
White and Pearl are the first to attract one’s notice. 
Crimson King, though not so large in the bloom, is 
very handsome. The Reading Pink and Blue are 
both well worth growing. The Double Blue is sure 
to be much appreciated. Amongst the thousands of 
Primulas to be seen, the Star variety is certainly well 
fitted for cutting purposes. I was struck by the 
appearance of a certain bloom in one of the houses 
and likened it to an Auricula. The hybridiser who 
was busy at work amongst his blooms informed me 
that he had tried crossing the Auricula and that this 
particular bloom might have some Auricula blood 
in it. At the time I mention Primula floribunda 
was being used for crossing. I have tried myself 
with this, P. obconica and P. rosea, but up to the 
present have failed to obtain any good results 
Some of the batches of seedlings awaiting trial are 
very attractive, one variety particularly having 
almost mossy foliage. Of these we shall hear later 
oa.j^y. W. S. 
Bristol and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Association.—The fortnightly meeting of this 
society was held at St. John's Parish Room, Redland, 
on Thursday, 8th inst., Mr. W. E. Groves presiding 
over a good attendance. Mr. Rogers, of Staple 
Hill, supplied the paper, which was on the subject 
of " Tuberous Begonias." Dealing with the culture 
of the plant in a very skilful manner, he said seed 
should be sown in January, in a temperature of 60 
to 70 degrees, the seedlings pricked off as soon as 
possible, and kept potted as growth proceeded. The 
soil recommended for all purposes was loam, leaf 
mould, and sand. For greenhouse purposes the 
plants should be kept in a light house, and as near 
the glass as possible, a damp atmosphere being the 
best for them. Mr Rogers strongly urged the use 
of Begonias for bedding, and gave much valuable 
information regarding the culture for this purpose 
A good discussion followed and Mr. Rogers was 
accorded hearty thanks for his attendance. Prizes 
for an Orchid in bloom were awarded Messrs. 
Bannister and Newberry ; and a Certificate of Merit 
to Mr. Maddock for a well grown pan of Cyclamens. 
Death of W. H. Lumsden, Esq., of Balmedie.— 
We regret having to announce the death of W. H. 
Lumsden, Esq., at his residence, Balmedie House, 
Aberdeen, lale on the evening of the 7th inst., in the 
48th year of his age. He was born in the city of 
Aberdeen in 1852, but Balmedie House is eight miles 
north of the River Dee, as the crow flies. He was 
educated at several private schools, and at the Gym¬ 
nasium, Old Aberdeen, before proceeding to Magda¬ 
len College, Oxford,where he took his degree of B.A. 
in 1872. His ambition, however, did not lead him 
further in the direction of science or literature, but 
he gave his full attention to farming, farmers, farm 
servants, and farm stock, like a true country gentle¬ 
man. When his father died in 1876 he succeeded to 
the family estates of Balmedie and Balthangie, in the 
district of Foveran, and of Johnston, near Insch. 
He was very much behked by his tenants. He was, 
in fact, laird, farmer, stock breeder, and dealer. He 
had a well equipped garden, including a fine collec¬ 
tion of Orchids. His illness was due to an internal 
complaint, which laterly assumed an acute phase. 
His ailment was believed to be the cause of the re¬ 
duction of the place. We recently announced that 
Mr. G. W. Cummins, the gardener, was returning to 
the South. Mr. Lumsden leaves a wife and four 
sons, the second of whom is with the 1st Battalion 
Gordon Highlanders at the seat of war. 
The “Woman’s Agricultural Times ” (edited by 
the Countess of Warwick ).—The Woman's Agricul¬ 
tural Times, which is the official origin of Lady War¬ 
wick’s Agricultural Scheme for Women, is making 
steady progress aloDg the enterprising lines which it 
has marked out for itself. It aims at bringing into 
touch with each other the rapidly increasing num¬ 
bers of women interested in the lighter branches of 
agriculture, and the revival of rural industries 
generally. There are monthly articles on dairy and 
poultry work, bee-keeping, and the various branches 
of agriculture and horticulture, so that the reader 
may benefit by the actual experience of others whose 
purpose it is to make their particular industry a 
sound and profitable undertaking. News of the 
Lady Warwick Ho Tel and the work carried on there, 
is an interesting feature of the paper, The warden 
contributes a monthly letter, and the students also 
give accounts of what they are doing in the garden 
and dairy. It is proposed, during the coming year, 
to publish a series of interviews, which will give the 
opinions and advice of experts in the various outdoor 
occupations dealt with in the paper. The column 
devoted to the Lady Warwick Agricultural Associa¬ 
tion is the beginning of a system of co-operation, 
which is spreading out branches in different parts of 
the kingdom. The economics of " buying and 
selling," or bow to market agricultural produce to 
the best advantage, will be fully discussed during the 
year in a series of articles by the warden. Through 
the registry, employers can find trained workers, 
and already many posts and partnerships have been 
offered. It embraces all kinds of women’s work, and 
a list of country cottages to let, lodgings, and houses 
where board and residence can be obtained, is also 
kept. The paper, which is issued monthly, is pub¬ 
lished at Lady Warwick Hostel, Reading, and can 
be obtained for 2s. per annum, post free ; cr at 
Messrs. W. H. Smith & Sons’ bookstalls, price one 
penny. 
Death of Mrs. and Mr. James Reid. —This worthy 
old couple were laid up with a severe attack of influ¬ 
enza. Last week Mrs. Reid died, and her husband 
followed her five hours later. Mr. James Reid had 
been gardener to Lord Kyllachy, Strathdearn, Inver¬ 
ness-shire, for many years. He was 85 years old at 
his death : and his wife was 77. Both were very 
much respected. 
Grand Yorkshire Gala - This northern floral and 
horticultural fete, now in its forty-second year, has 
been arranged for the 13th, 14th, and 15th of June, 
1900. The fete will be held in Bootham Field, 
York. The prizes in all amount to £750, being 
variously divided thus:—/300 for Orchids and 
greenhouse plants; £200 for Pelargoniums, Carna¬ 
tions, Begonias, &c.; £160 for Roses, cut flowers, 
&c.; and £90 for fruits and vegetables. Special 
attention is directed to classes 29 and 30 for pot Roses, 
for which large prizes are offered. The first prize 
for a table of Orchids is £12. the others being /To, 
£7, and £\. There are four prizes for a table of 
fruits arranged for effect, the first award amounting 
to /15. Special classes with good money prizes are 
given for high-class floral designs and effective 
arrangements. The classes number 100. All 
entries close on Wednesday, the 6th of June Further 
particulars or schedules, can be obtained from the 
secretary, Mr. Charles W. Simmons, The York 
Hotel, York. 
Commons and Footpaths Preservation Society. 
—At the usual monthly meeting of the Commons 
and Footpaths Preservation Society, held at 1, 
Great College Street, Westminster, on Monday, the 
5th inst., the Right Hon. G. J. Shaw Lefevre pre¬ 
siding, the report of the society’s solicitor, Mr. 
Percival Birkett, on the private bills to be dealt 
with by Parliament during the current session was 
considered. It appeared that 42 bills come within 
the purview of the society, which, in the aggregate, 
threaten to absorb nearly 3,000 acres of common 
land, and a large number of rights of way. Among 
oiher bills to which exception was taken by the 
society, and which it was resolved to vigorously 
( ppose, in the event of satisfactory terms in the 
public interests not being forthcoming, are the 
Huntingdon Corporation Bill, and the Hoylake and 
West Kirby Improvement Bill. Under the former 
bill power is sought by the Huntingdon Corpora ion 
to deal with 356 acres of common land in its area. 
Of this large extent of open space, it is proposed to 
allot only io£ acres for the purposes of a public 
park, the remaining land to be sold, let on building 
leases, and otherwise dealt with. This bill was felt 
by the society to be a serious attempt to avoid the 
machinery constituted by ParTameut under the 
Commons Act, 1876, for the safeguarding of public 
interests, and it was unanimously resolved, on the 
motion of Sir John Brunner, Bart., M.P., to oppose 
the bill in Parliament. The society also determined 
to oppose, in its present form, the Hoylake and West 
Kirby Improvement Bill, on the ground that its pro¬ 
visions are likewise contrary to the princ : ple of the 
Commons Act. It is proposed under the bill to 
allot about 108 acres of the common lands in the 
manor of Great Meols to the persons legally in¬ 
terested in the land for building and oiher purposes. 
A further 38 acres of land would be devoted to re¬ 
creation grounds and the provision of public streets, 
while 45 acres (partly reclaimed) would be developed 
to defray the cost of the construction of a sea wall. 
Exception was also taken to provisions in the Great 
Northern Railway and London County Council 
(General Powers) bills. The former bill proposes 
to give the company power to absorb 42 acres of 
Hexthorpe iDgs, Doncasler, and, under the latter 
bill, an effort is being made to enable the Battersea 
Vestry to deal with 11 acres of allotment land set 
out under an Inclosure Act (t & 2 Will. IV., 
Cap. 42). Part of the land is to be utilised for 
workmen’s dwellings. In 1888 the Battersea Vestry 
promoted a bill to enable it to build on the land, but, 
in face of the strong public opposition evoked, the 
bill was withdrawn. Amongst the water schemes 
proposing to deal with common land are : the East 
London Water, Exmouth and Distri.t Water, 
Paignton Urban District Water, and the London 
Water (Welsh Supply) bill--. These affect 
over 1,700 acres of common land, and the 
society determined to endeavour to secure the inser¬ 
tion of clauses in the bills to give the public a right 
of recreation over the large catchwater areas which 
it is sought to establish on the commons involved. 
