November 3, 1900. 
149 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
Pompon Dahlias.—Some growers in America 
recommenn poor soil as best for the growth of Pom¬ 
pon Dahlias. 
The Florists of Galveston.— In an estimate of 
losses caused by the great hurricane, published in 
one of the New York trade papers, we observe the 
amount totals up to #r8 ,ioo. This is the amount 
incurred by only ten firms. 
Royal Horticultural Society.—The next fruit and 
flower show of the Royal Horticultural Society will 
be held on Tuesday, November 6th, in the Drill Hall, 
James Street, Westminster, 1-4 p.m. A lecture on 
"Insecticides, Spraying for Fungi, &c ," will be 
given by Mr. R. Newstead, F.E.S., at 3 o’clock. 
Mildew.—Most gardeners get troubled with this 
parasite or fungus, whichever it may be, at some 
season of the year ; and flowers of sulphur are 
generally resorted to to stamp it out, especially in 
the vinery where fruit abounds. Where a liquid can 
be used I would like to call attention to " Weltonia," 
a first-class preparation by Mr. G. W. Cummins, of 
Welton, Lincoln. I used it on a Marechal Niel 
Rose in the greenhouse, and on two or three Chrys¬ 
anthemums that were affected, the former badly. 
On examining the plants next morning I found 
the germs had been effectually dislodged with only 
one dose. It is also certain death to that great pest, 
red spider.— jf. Mayne, Bicton, Devon. 
The Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution.— 
The second annual concert in aid of the funds of the 
above society is being organised at Cbertsey, Surrey, 
by Mr. A. J. Brown, of the School of Handicrafts, 
at Chertsey. The said concert will be held on 
Thursday, November 8th, 1900, in the Constitutional 
Hall, when Harry J. Veitch, Esq., is expected to take 
the chair. A high-class musical programme, to be 
executed by popular anistes, has been drawn up, 
and all that now is needed is enthusiasm and support 
to carry the business through. The Gardeners’ 
Royal Benevolent Institution is one the support of 
which should be part of every gardener’s creed. 
Tickets—reserved and numbered, price 3s., or 4 for 
10s.; reserved, 2s. ; back seats, is.—can be had, 
together with any further information, from the local 
hon. secretary, Mr. A. J. B own, whose private 
address is Jessamine Cottage, Eastworth, Chertsey. 
Reading and District Gardeners’ Mutual 
Association.—“ Fruit trees in pots ” was the subject 
of a paper read by Mr. James Hudson, V.M.H , of 
Gunnersbury House, before the members of the 
above association at their fortnightly meeting on 
Monday, the 22nd ult. It is hardly necessary to say, 
when remembering the great success achieved by Mr. 
Hudson in the pot culture of fruits in orchard hcuses, 
that the paper was of the most practical description. 
The subject was placed before the members in a very 
clear but comprehensive manner under the follow¬ 
ing headings, enabling each one to understand the 
routine of work, which brings success, from the 
purchasing of the trees to the gathering of the 
fruits:—Construction of houses; forcing and non¬ 
forcing ; pot culture versus planted out trees; the 
longevity of trees in pots; when to purchase ; what 
to purchase; when to pot; potting ; soils ; pots and 
sizes ; watering; manures ; ventilation ; tempera¬ 
ture ; pruning; thinning the crop; gathering; 
Insects ; outdoor treatment; varieties. M.inj ques¬ 
tions were asked, and an interesting discussion 
ensued, iu which Messrs. J. B. Parfitt, J.P., Barnes, 
Baskett, Cretchley, Townsend, Lever, Neve, 
Fry, and Wilson, took part. A beautiful exhibit of 
flowers cut from the open was put up by Mr. Wm. 
Townsend, Sandhurst Lodge Gardens, comprising 
thirty-eight varieties, including Fuchsias (fifteen 
varieties), Pelargonium, • Salvia, Habrothamnus, 
Solanum, Abutilons, Hydrangea, Lobelia cardinalis, 
Verbena, Jacobea, Petunias, &c , &c. Mr. E. S. 
Pigg. The Gardens, " Samoa,’’ Reading, staged a 
very nice lot of Caladiums, whilst Mr. Hudson 
showed four varieties of Apples, and four varieties of 
Pears, grown under the treatment he described. A 
hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the lecturer 
and to the exhibitors. Mr. D. Ager, The Gardens, 
Downs House, Reading, was awarded the associa¬ 
tion's Certificate for Cultural Merit for two plants of 
Chrysanthemum “ Mrs. Coombes.” Six new 
members were elected. 
Weather in London. — Dull and showery has been 
the state of the weather during the past week. 
Occasionally it has been cold, though on the whole 
mildness has predominated. 
The Increase of Canada’s Export Trade with 
the United Kingdom is certainly a very important 
subject with Canadian producers of food products. 
We learn of a company that is being organised to 
work for the extension of this trade on safe lines, to 
be known as The Canadian Industries and Food 
Supply Association. 
A Happy Gathering of the Ladywell, Lewisham 
and District Cottagers' Horticultural Society met at 
the Parish Hall to celebrate their seventeenth annual 
dinner and distribution of prizes, on Wednesday the 
24th inst. The company, which included many 
ladies, had a deligbt'ul evening. During the splen¬ 
didly served dinner the Metzner Band played a num¬ 
ber of pleasing airs. The vocal arrangements were 
excellent and performed admirably. Mr. H. J. 
Jones, of Ryecroft Nursery, the president of the 
society, was in the chair, with Mr. T. White in the 
vice-chair. Dr. Toogood gave the toast of the even¬ 
ing, » The Society and its Officers." He remarked 
that the society had existed for eighteen years, and 
that it owed its existence to a competition between 
two gentlemen as to the relative merits of two Vege¬ 
table Marrows. How they decided their dispute 
history was silent. At this year’s show held in the 
beautiful grounds of J. Wallis, Esq., Riversdale, 
Lewisham, it is interesting to know that the exhibits 
numbered 700 ; that they had 400 members, in addi¬ 
tion to 155 allotment holders, and what was most 
important, they had a balance of £50 at the bank 
on the right side. To have such a thriving horticul¬ 
tural society so near London was pleasant to know, 
and that the spaces of land had not all been taken 
into hand by the builders. The prize list this year 
reached the handsome figure of £8o, in money and 
goods, which, for a society of allotment holders 
and amateur gardeners, is exceedingly good. A 
representative of the Canary Guano Co. distributed 
cigarettes to the gentlemen which were highly appre¬ 
ciated.— W. L. 
Beckenham Horticultural Society.—On Friday, 
the 261b of October, Mr. Harris of Croydon, read a 
paper on " Bulbs," the popular class of bulbs such as 
Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissus, &c., being specially 
dealt with. He laid down practical and concise rules 
that should ba observed in the planting of these 
bulbs in the flower garden if the best result is to be 
obtained. Firsb the soil should be of a rich and 
friable nature, well worked, and if manure is used at 
the time of planting it should be well decomposed. 
All bulbs should be planted at a uniform depth. 
Perhaps the best plan is to remove 4 in. of soil from 
the bed, then place the bulbs at equal distances over 
the surface, then return the soil again to the bed. 
This plan was recommended in preference to the 
planting of them with a dibber. Mr. Harris also 
gave some sound advice respecting the pot culture 
of these popular favourites. After describing the 
compost suitable for potting, and the need of potting 
early in September or October, he condemned the 
practice of placing the bulbs under ashes as is so 
often done, pointing out that serious injury often 
results from the use of ashes, and recommended 
that fine leaf mould or light soil be used for this 
purpose—not tan. Another hint was given that 
care should be taken in exposing the bulbs to the 
light after removal from their covering. They should 
be placed in a frame covered with a mat or have in¬ 
verted flower pots placed over the bulbs for a week 
or two and so gradually inure them to the light. By 
neglecting these simple precautions, poor spikes of 
bloom were often the result. A very interesting 
discussion followed, many questions being asked and 
answered satisfactorily. A hearty vote of thanks 
was accorded Mr. Harris for the able manner in 
which he treated his subject, and he in reply said 
his best thanks consisted in the close attention paid 
by the members to the reading of his paper, there 
being over fifty present. The best thanks of the 
meeting was accorded to Messrs. Peed'& Son, for a 
fine display of pot Begonias ; also to Mrs. Link for 
a basket of Lily of the Vdlley ; also to H. F. Simonds, 
Esq. ( v ardener, Mr. E. Day), for some fine spikes of 
Phalaenopsis scbroderiana, Laelia praestans, and 
Vanda caerulea. 
Apples.—Many of the best Apples are now sent to 
market in boxes instead of barrels. This is pro¬ 
gress. 
Bristol and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Association.—The fortnightly meeting was 
held at St. John’s Parish Room, Redland, on Thurs¬ 
day, October 25th, Mr. G. Brook presiding. The 
lecture was given by Mr. Shaddick of Stoke Bishop, 
on "Croton Culture.” He claimed at the outset that 
for decoration, hardly any plant equalled the Croton, 
it being equally valuable for table, room, or conser¬ 
vatory decoration. He dealt very clearly with the 
cultivation, showing the various methods of propa¬ 
gation, urging the necessity of a light house, well 
heated, both for striking cuttings, and for after treat¬ 
ment, giving also many useful hints as to potting, &c. 
He enumerated the many insect pests to which 
Crotons were liable, and described his plan of getting 
rid of them, concluding with a list of the varieties 
he thought the most useful. A good discussion 
followed, and Mr. Shaddick was heartily thanked for 
his lecture, on the motion of the chairman. Prizes 
for twelve culinary Apples were awarded Messrs. 
Poole, Atwell, and Ross; for two Pitcher Plants to 
Mr. White. Certificates of Merit went to Mr. Raikes 
for Croton; Mr. Poole for collection of vegetables ; 
and Mr. Newberry for Odontoglossum grande. The 
judges also recommended a Certificate of Special 
Merit to Mr. White for Pitcher Plant. 
Observations of the weather for 1899 .—Edward 
Mawley, Esq., F.R.H.S., is strong in statistics. He 
has just published, in convenient and systematic 
form, his phenological observations for 1899. The 
records show that the winter of 1898-99 was on the 
whole, very mild. The rainfall was unequally 
distributed, and was in nearly every district in excess 
of the average. But so dry had the land become 
through the prolonged drought of the previous 
summer and autumn, that it was not until nearly the 
end of January that sufficient rain had fallen to 
saturate the heavy soils. It is also stateddn the 
report that bedding.Pelargoniums and Heliotropes 
in many places remained in bloom throughout the 
winter. Oa all hands the season at this period was 
an early one. The Coltsfoot and Hazel came into 
flower two days and three days earlier, respectively, 
than usual. The song-tbrush began singing ten days 
sooner, while the honey-bee was started a week in 
advance of the year previous. But the spring was 
cold. April was a wet month ; March and May 
were "seasonable.” During this quarter the infre¬ 
quent but rather sharp frosts did considerable 
damage to the Plum, Peach, Pear, and Apple 
blossoms. The spring flowers were about a week 
late all round, and the same remark applies to the 
coming of migratory birds. And now for the summer. 
" Throughout the whole of the British Isles each of 
the summer months was unseasonably warm, the 
warmest of the three being August.” Besides being 
hot it was also remarkably dry. "All but Ireland, 
north ; England, north-east ; and Scotland, south 
and west, exceeded the mean by more than 100 hours 
of sunshine ; while in the south and south-west of 
England the excess amounted to over 200 hours." 
As the season advanced everywhere became more 
and more patched and bare ; grass and cereal crops 
were stunted and suffered considerably. In The 
Times agricultural report for August the deteriora¬ 
tion of Potatos during that month was estimated at 
8 per cent. ; of root crops, 13 per cent. ; of grass, 
15 per cent. It is singular to know that greenfly did 
little harm, and wasps were scarce. The autumn 
too was hot. November proved a particularly warm 
month in all parts of the country. Sufficient rain 
fell in the early part of that month to refresh the 
fields, and these were greener at the end of Novem¬ 
ber than they had been since June. The welcome 
rains greatly benefited the winter supply of vege¬ 
tables ; the flower borders too continued gay. It 
may be said then that the year experienced one long 
continuous drought lasting from June till the end of 
October. The swallows are said to have been less 
numerous, and left a few days before their usual 
time. The larvae of the small and large white 
butterflies were singularly abundant. " The autumn 
tints were, as a rule, remarkably fine, and in many 
parts of the country deciduous trees here and there 
retained their foliage until nearly the end of the 
year. 
