January 26, 1901. 
341 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
The Proposed National Physical Laboratory in 
the Old Deer Park, Richmond, Surrey, has been 
abandoned by the Government as far as that site is 
concerned. 
Firing Cannon to Produce Rain.—The experi¬ 
ment of firing cannon to produce rain has for many 
years being a bright idea amongst the Queens¬ 
landers, and it has often been tried. Rain has always 
followed the firing, but only just "enough to swear 
by." They have now resolved to adopt the plan on a 
larger scale at Mackay, where the prosperous sugar 
plantations are abundant. In order to carry out the 
plan some large mortars are being specially made 
for the purpose. 
The Motor in the Harvest Field.—The motor¬ 
car has already threatened the horse on the road, 
and now it would appear as if it were also to usurp 
Its position for usefulness in the field. In connec¬ 
tion with the Great International Exposition held 
daring the summer at Paris a demonstration was 
given in a field near by the " Exposition ” of a 
mower driven by motor power. The mower in 
question was tried on a field of Lucern with 
eminently satisfactory results. Here is an opening 
for those with fertile brains, and who understand 
something of husbandry and engineering, to apply 
motor-power in various other directions. 
The Hamilton and District Gardening and 
Forestry Association held tbeir monthly meeting 
on Tuesday, 8th inst., in the Mining Institute. 
The Rev. Mr. Paterson, the president, occupied the 
chair. There was a fair attendance to hear the 
president’s address, which was very interesting and 
most instructive. He treated on the rainfall of the 
past year in this district, the last six months being 
much above the average for many years. There 
was in October, 5 9 in.; November, 6 9 in. ; Decem¬ 
ber, 7 40 in. Mr. Paterson then treated on 
astronomy, which was most interesting and much 
appreciated. The meeting was terminated with a 
most hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Paters m for his 
most instructive lecture.— J. M. 
Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association.— 
The following are the subjects to be delivered duriog 
the spring session of the above-named go-ahead 
association :—January 30th, " Greenhouse bard- 
wooded plants," by Mr. John Coutts; February 13th, 
" Notes on the growing of the best dozen kinds of 
vegetables,” by Mr. W. R. Baker; February 27th, 
" Hardy fruit growing for Devonshire," by Mr. F. J. 
Fletcher; March 13th, " Methods of propagation," 
by Mr. James Mayne ; March 27th, “ Is gardening a 
science?" by Mr. R. W. Hodder; and April 10th, 
" The treatment of cool Orchids," by Mr. G. H. 
Head. The meetings are held in the committee 
room (upper room) cf the Guildhall, Exeter, at eight 
o’clock prompt. The hon. secretary is Mr. Andrew 
Hop*e, 36, Prospect Park, Exeier. 
East Anglian Horticultural Club: Annual 
Dinner.—Toe elevenfi annual dinner of the East 
Anglian Horticultural Club was held at the " Shire- 
hall Tavern," Norwich, on Wednesday, the 9th inst., 
when a large gathering enjoyed a hearty evening. 
Mr. W. L. Wallis, the secretary, had made full 
arrangements, and the manner in which everything 
was carried through reflects to his credit. Mr. J. 
Powley, the president, occupied the chair. Mr. John 
Green (Hobbies, Ltd.), Dereham, supplied the 
flowers for the tables. The chairman was supported 
by Mr. J. Green, Mr. C. Daniels, Mr. G. Daniels,Mr. 
C. E. Pilliog (secretary of the Norfolk and Norwich 
Horticultural Society), Mr. j. E. T. Pollard, Mr. J. 
W. Church, Mr. T. Bishop, and Mr. H. P. Read ; 
whilst there were also pretest Messrs. E. Cadman, 
J. Clayton, T. B. Field, F. Fitch, C. H. Fox, W. 
Fuller, G. James, W. Joice, T. Rix, W. L. Wallis 
(secretary), and R. Ennals. Letters regretting in¬ 
ability to be present were received from Mr. A. 
Preston, Mr. Forder, and Mr. Perry. After dinner 
dessert was placed upon the tables. The prizes that 
had been won at the monthly meetings throughout 
the year were then distributed by the president. 
Messrs. Hines, Howellet, and Matthews were the 
winners. The secretary’s report was then read, 
which showed that fifty new members had been en¬ 
rolled during the year, and the aggregate membership 
of the club is now 202. The balance at the bank at 
the la t audit was £67 is. 7 d. The report was 
agreed to, and then followed various toasts and 
entertaining items. 
Kew.—The lawns and grass lands throughout the 
Royal Gardens, Kew, are at present being dressed 
with fine, rich soil. The succession of dry summers 
has almost ruined many parts of the grass land, 
for the soil lies everywhere above a sand and gravel 
subtratum. 
The Mistleto Legend.—There are many versions 
of the Mistleto legend, but perhaps this is the best. 
Balder, the god, was rendered invulnerable by his 
mother, Fringg, against the four elements—earth, 
■air, fire, and water. Loke, the spirit of evil, manu¬ 
factured, however, an arrow from the Mistleto, 
belonging to none of the elements, since its roots are 
neither in air nor earth, nor water, and this dart, 
launched at the god, slew him. Restored to life, the 
god dedicated the plant to his mother, and it was 
rendered harmless so long as it did not touch the 
earth. On this account is the Mistleto bough hung 
high aloft, while those who pass beneath it exchange 
a kiss of joy and peace in token of its no longer being 
able to work evil —The Orcadian. 
Wells’ Chrysanthemum Novelties for 1901 .— 
Messrs. W. Wells & Co., Ltd., EarlswoodNurseries, 
Redhill, Surrey, have sent out to gardeners and 
Chrysanthemum growers, a large sheet illustrated 
with fifteen well-finished photographs of Chrysanth¬ 
emum novelties for 1901. Those who have followed 
the reports of the Chrysanthemum shows during 
the season will have some idea of the extent of the 
Messrs. Wells' successes, and may recall the numer- 
out instances in which this firm’s new varieties 
were honourtd with certificates. The specimens 
figured on the present sheet are, amongst others, 
Matthew Smith, a golden yellow Jap.; Lord Roberts, 
which takes after the style of E.Molyneux, but is even 
more attractive ; C. J. Salter, a Japanese incurved, 
canary yellow; Kdaki, another incurved Jap., khaki 
co’oured; Mrs. J L. McKellar, jap., deep blush- 
pink; Guy Hamilton, Jap., a beautiful pure white 
variety ; Mabel Morgan, a rare and lovely yellow ; 
Glorious, an intense crimson-scarlet reflexed market 
or decorative variety, very fine ; W. R. Church, a 
deep rosy crimson, one of the best of the season ; 
together with Rev. W. Wilks ; Miss Lucy Evans, 
Ernest Bettswortb, Chas Longley, and Souv.de Paris 
Exposition. The illustrations give a splendid idea 
of the blooms, and as the great majority of growers 
may not ha^e seen these introductions the Messrs. 
Wells cannot but have conferred [a boon in having 
issued this reliable index. 
Liverpool Horticultural Association.—On Satur¬ 
day evening, the members met to the number of 
130 at the " Bear’s Paw," for their annual dinner and 
re-union. The chair was cccupied by Mr. R. W. 
Ker, F.R.H.S , F.A. 3 ., who was supported by Mr. 
H. Herbert, superintendent Liverpool Parks and 
Gardens; Mr. T. Foster, chairman of the society ; 
Mr. J. Guttridge, curator Liverpool Botanic 
Gardens; Mr. J. Hathaway, superintendent South- 
port Parks and Gardens, and others. The principal 
toast of the evening was “ Horticulture," proposed 
by the chairman, who gave a most interesting retro¬ 
spect of the subject, showing the advantages that we 
enjoy in the cheapening of class, the more effective 
means of heating, the more approved form of venti¬ 
lating and shading. Special reference was made to 
the many introductions of plants from nearly all 
over the world, and to the vast improvement brought 
about by our intelligent hybridisers. The horti¬ 
cultural literature and gardening charieties also 
received a well merited note of acknowledgment. 
Messrs. R. G. Waterman and T. Foster replied, the 
former dwelling upon the value of good specimens of 
plants, fruit®, flowers or vegetables, and the credit 
due tc the producer of such. In speaking of the 
charities he strongly urged all present to become 
members, for those must be considered first. In 
regard to the Royal Benevolent it was satisfactory to 
note that every candidate in their locality had been 
elected on the pension list. Referring to the chair¬ 
man, he was sure all present rejoiced in the action of 
the premier society (Royal Horticultnral), in which 
they did credit to themselves and honoured Liver¬ 
pool by their selecting Mr. Ker to some of the most 
important functions of their valuaole work. Mr. 
Foster spoke of the valuable work of their 
own and neighbouring societies, and hoped that 
their good work might be maintained. Special 
cred t is due to the sub committee who were respon¬ 
sible for the management, which proved one of the 
most successful yet enjoyed. 
Jasminum nudiflorum, one of the richest and 
most beautiful of all the flowering shrubs of the yeari 
is grown in pots at Kew for greenhouse use. 
Fruit and Pheasants gratuitously.—In its report 
of the proceedings on the day of Earl Roberts' 
arrival in London (Thursday, January 3rd), the 
Express describes an amusing incident which occurred 
in Piccadilly. After the procession, a good-natured 
crowd lingered in this great thoroughfare, especially 
at the western end, where one lady was throwing 
oranges among the Tommies for all she was worth. 
The Tommies proved good 11 catchers." Then 
followed Apples, Bananas, Raisins, Nuts, and other 
fruits, in a way that made the fruiterers chuckle 
mightily. Soon a rivalry got up among the people, 
and more fruit and sweetmeats were freely showered 
upon the laughing soldiers. But the lady who led 
off determined to crown her bounty with something 
more substantial. To the great amusement of the 
crowd she precipitated several cooked pheasants and 
chickens. Her keenest rival followed with roast 
beef and what seemed like cuts of cod. And the 
soldiers took home their New Year spoil that had 
not had to be fought for. 
Reading and District Gardeners’ Mutual Im¬ 
provement Association.—Tne first fortnightly 
meeting of 1901 was held in the Club Room on 
Monday, January 14th, when the president (Mr. 
Leonard G. Sutton) presided over a splendid attend¬ 
ance of members. The subject arranged for discus¬ 
sion was "A few useful plants for the stove and 
greenhouse," and this was dealt with in an exceed¬ 
ingly practical manner by Mr. W. P. Bound, of 
Gatton Park, Reigate. The plants touched upon 
were Anthuriums, Poinsettias, Euphorbias, Winter¬ 
flowering Begonias, Acslypha sanderiana, Strepto- 
carpus, &c. A discussion followed on these plants 
and also respecting Eucharis, Tuberoses, Cleroden- 
droD, &c., in which the following took part :— 
Messrs. Exler, Townsend, Chamberlain, Barnes, 
Bright, Sherlock, Lever, Wicks, Cretchley, E. J. 
Dore, Fry and Neve. A hearty vote of thanks, on 
the proposition of the president, was accorded Mr. 
Bound for his most able paper. The exhibits were 
exceedingly interesting and in accord with the 
subject. Mr. Townsend, of Sandhurst Lodge, 
staged various varieties of winter-flowering Begonias, 
Eranthemum pulchellum, Centropogon lucyanus, 
Browallia macrantha, Justicia flavicoma, and Mr. 
Bound Anthuriums, Poinsettias, Euphorbia, Bego¬ 
nias and Acalypha sanderiana. Three new members 
were elected. On Monday, January 2rst, the annual 
tea and entertainment was held in the Abney Hall 
(by kind permission of Messrs Sutton & Sons) and 
proved a great success. The tea was attended by 
nearly 100 members, the company including Mr. 
Leonard G. Sutton (the president), Mr. Arthur W. 
Sutton, V.M.H , Mr. Martin H. F. Sutton, Mr. T. 
Neve (chairman), Mr. H. Wilson (vice chairman), 
Mr. F. Macdonald (treasurer), Mr. H. G. Cox (hon. 
sec.), Messrs. Woolford (Wokefield), Gibson (Mar¬ 
io*), Powell, Turnham (Henley), Townsend, 
Richings (Wellington College Station), Nichffs and 
Murray (Strathfieldsaye), Pigg (Maidenhead), 
Botley (Taplow), Overill (Cookham), Barefoot, 
Sherlock (Mortimer), Galt (Aldermaston), Kitt 
(Wasing), Wise (Blackwater), Rigg, Farey, Maine 
(Caversham), Green, Roberts (Woodley), Chamber- 
lain (Shinfield), Osborn (Three Mile Cross), Cox 
(Calcot), Barnes, Taylor (Bearwood), Hobbs 
(Sindlesham), Howlett (hon. sec. Earley Horticul¬ 
tural Society), Dore, Fry, Bright, Smith, Atter, 
Lasham, Lever, Ager, Hearn, Judd, Pigg, Hinton, 
Moody, Exler, &c., &c. Daring the tea the chair¬ 
man of the association took the opportunity of 
thanking the president for his attendance and also 
for kindly providing the entertainment. Mr. Sutton 
also briefly addressed the gathering. The tables 
were beautifully decorated with Cyclamen, &c., 
from the florist flower seed houses of Messrs. Sutton 
& Sons. After tea, an entertainment took place to 
which friends of the members were invited. The 
invitation was readily accepted, some 600 spending 
a very pleasant evening. The programme con¬ 
sisted of animated pictures and limelight views by 
Professor Lewis, and humorous songs and sketches 
by Mr. Ben. Laaes. Needless to say the animated 
photographs were greatly appreciated, as were also 
several exquisite flower studies, whilst the humorous 
songs and sketches were received with cordial en¬ 
joyment by all. 
