February 2, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
359 
time so humorous and so full of truth that we are 
pleased to print it:— 
“After waitiag patiently for many weeks the 
perennial appeal for ignorance at last appear? on 
page 33 to cheer those of us who do not want to im¬ 
prove ourselves; who do not want to study the 
principles of our profession ; who do not want any 
tests ; and, in fact, who do not want to be bothered 
with anything beyond the three R.’s. That illus¬ 
tration of the far-sighted duke is most refreshing, 
and must convince all of us that the time has 
arrived for the foundation of a strong “ Society for 
the Suppression of Knowledge among Gardeners.” 
A charter should be applied for granting power (a) 
To confer degrees of R.R.R. on its members ; ( b ) to 
abolish all scientific education and all examinations ; 
(c) to secure priority of employment for its members. 
It would assist the society materially if powers 
could be obtained to punish all disturbers of our 
peace, such as promoters of examinations and of 
education generally, and especially the irrepressible 
Scotsman who will persist in improving himself while 
young with a view to sleeping off all the plums of 
our profession throughout the world; we stand no 
chance against him now. All head gardeners of fair 
education should be dismissed summarily, and so 
cause healthy promotion for us. Any gardeners 
who have been so misguided as to obtain the 
R.H.S. certificates might be punished by fine for a 
third class; lengthened imprisonment for a second 
class; but nothing less than penal servitude for life 
for a first-class certificate. That dreadful person 
who advertised the other day for a gardener holding 
the R.H.S. certificate should suffer the extreme 
penalty of the law, together with " J.S.,” who on 
page 41 has the temerity to thank “An Old Boy” 
for trying to help young ones. With a powerful 
chartered society of our own we could sleep in peace, 
resting serenely calm in the consciousness that, like 
horticultural Joshuas, we had done our best to make 
the sun of knowledge stay in its course, and should 
be proud of our signature.”— R. R. R. 
< ■ » 
NOTICE OF BOOK. 
A Practical Guide to Garden Plants, contain¬ 
ing Descriptions of the Hardiest and most 
beautiful Annuals and Biennials, Hardy Herba¬ 
ceous and Bulbous Perennials, Hardy Water 
and Bog Plants,Flowering and Ornamental Trees 
and Shrubs, Conifers; Hardy Ferns; Hardy 
Bamboos, and other Ornamental Grasses ; also 
the best kinds of Fruits and Vegetables that 
may be grown in the open air in the British 
Islands, with full and Practical Illustrations as 
to Culture and Propagation. By John Weathers. 
F.R.H.S., late Assistant-Secretary to the Royal 
Horticultural Society, Horticultural Lecturer to 
the Middlesex County Council, formerly of the 
Royal Gardens, Kew, &c. With 163 Illustra- 
trations. Longmans, Green & Co., 39, Pater¬ 
noster Row, London ; New York, and Bombay. 
1901. All rights reserved. Price 21s. net. 
This compendious volume runs to 1,192 pages, in¬ 
cluding a good index, which runs to twenty-two 
pages, four columns on each. The book is divided 
into four parts, the first of which deals with the life- 
history of plants. The second part is the most 
important and the most extensive, as it deals with 
the whole body of ornamental plants, whether of a 
herbaceous or woody character, including the Coni¬ 
fers, Bamboos, &c., which may be grown in the 
open air in the British Isles or some part of them. 
The third part is devoted to fruits, and the fourth 
part to vegetables, thus making the book inclusive 
of everything that may be grown without glass or 
with the aid of a greenhouse in winter for those 
plants which may be turned outside in summer. A 
descriptive and freely illustrated glossary, at the 
beginning of the book, explains the meanings of all 
the words that are likely to give the amateur any 
difficulty. The book, we may say, is chiefly intended 
for the use of amateurs, as well as for those profes¬ 
sionally engaged in horticulture. The various 
methods of propagation are here again described, 
and illustrated as a guide for the inexperienced, and 
also what to avoid. Garden operations, plant 
foods, manures, the making of a hardy herbaceous 
border and various other practical garden operations 
have a considerable amount of space devoted to the 
same. Several lists of plants and flowers suitable 
for various purposes, and in some cases arranged 
according to colour, enable the reader at a glance to 
see what is at his or her command, thereby 
facilitating selection. 
The rock garden, in its various aspects, has a 
chapter devoted to it, the three leading forms 
discussed being the " barrow-shaped,” the “ facing,” 
and the “sunk” rockery, terms which will be 
obvious to all who have given any attention to the 
subject. The facing rockery refers to those con¬ 
structed against a bank of greater or less height, 
according to the situation, and capabilities of the 
place. The chapter concludes with a select list 
of plants which may be grown upon the rockery. 
The principal portion of the book, devoted to 
hardy ornamental plants of all kinds, is arranged 
upon the natural system, a method seldom adopted 
in gardening books, and in that respect it differs 
markedly from those still in print and obtainable 
from the publishers. Any difficulty which the 
uninitiated may experience in finding any given 
plant contained in its pages is easily surmounted 
by reference to the index which gives the page on 
which the species commence in alphabetical order. 
We note under Anemone coronaria that only the 
two principal sections into which this species has 
developed in gardens has been given. No doubt 
considerations of space have prevented the inclu¬ 
sion of any list of varieties. It would seem that 
horticulturists have been uncertain about the Pea¬ 
cock Anemone (A. pavonina) as it is stated to be a 
double form of A. fulgens and also a synonym of 
A. stellata. St. Brigid Anemones might have been 
described as a siogle-flowered race of A coronaria, 
as it was much in vogue recently, and still finds 
many admirers. An important feature in relation 
to these hardy plants is that cultural details are 
attached to each species, where the same differ in 
any material respect from others. 
Hardy shrubs and trees find a place, each in their 
respective Natural Orders, so that they are sand¬ 
wiched with annuals, biennials and perennials just 
as in the case of dictionaries arranged alphabetically, 
but each class has the advantage of being grouped 
together just as if a separate chapter had been 
devoted to each particular group of allied subjects, 
so that there is method in the arrangement that will 
appeal to many. Thus the reader finds the Conifers 
all in Order CXXX. The most recent classification 
is adopted so that the plants at one time or other 
classed under Chamaecyparis, Retinospora and Cu- 
pressus, are all grouped under the latter name. 
Only a few of the garden variations are recorded but 
much useful information is given concerning fine 
trees of the rarer Conifers in different parts Of 
Britain. Fruits and vegetables are dealt with at 
considerable length, the best and most useful 
varieties being described. An immense amount of 
information on one subject or another has been 
gathered within the boards, so that we have ample 
evidence of the industry of the author in all depart¬ 
ments of horticulture during maDy years of work 
and observation. 
The Ventilation of Plant Houses. —Only a 
week ago I saw a large plant house with side 
ventilators of the sash-pattern, that is, the whole 
sash opened outward to let in the air, and on this 
occasion the sash was open a few inches and allowed 
a perfect current of cold air to stream in upon the 
few hardwoodtd plants which were unfortunate 
enough to be victims of combined inconsiderateness. 
In the first place it was inconsiderate and unwise to 
have such ventilators there at all, or of that par¬ 
ticular kind, and certainly it was unreasonable on a 
cold day to open the ventilators in the manner they 
were opened. In houses required to be kept cool at 
all seasons, there should be a double set of ventilators. 
One set should be on a level with the hot water 
pipes; the other set may open on a level with the 
stages. The former set allows the air to pass into 
the house below the stages and if the pipes are 
-warm a nice balmy air will circulate around the 
house. Or in winter the day may be sunny though 
the air at the same time may be cold, and in cool 
Heath houses or greenhouses, it will be necessary to 
ventilate a little. For this necessity the lower side 
ventilators are used. In summer the extra ventila¬ 
tion is got by the use of the ventilators on a level 
with the stage; but to admit air through these on 
any cold day is indeed bad, and no person with a 
lo"e for plants, and with average common sense 
would do it. 
Then again in constructing warm pits, it very 
often happens that there is either no ventilators or 
at most only top ones. Certainly a great deal of 
lower ventilation is not desirable but there should 
always be at least one or two ventilating pipes. 
Ordinary 310. drain pipes can be built in below the 
stages, which in warm pits have usually the front 
brick-faced—that is, the space beneath the stages 
are not open. These drain pipes thus communicate 
with the outer air, and conduct it right into the 
central part of the house. 
The pipes can be loosely plugged up with blocks 
of wood. A square piece of leather or tiD, or lead 
may De fitted on to one end of each piece of wood so 
as more effectually to exclude the air whenever 
ventilation is not desired. In the building of all 
kinds of plant houses besides a good heatiDg 
system, the needs of the plants in the matter of 
fresh air, should certainly not be overlooked; and 
how to supply that fresh air to the most advantage, 
at all times requires a good deal of careful planning. 
The Conservatory.— It will be necessary to 
pot up further batches of Hippeastrums so as to 
have additional early flowers of these much-prized 
plants. The various bulbous plants are conspicuous 
at this time and those in the ash pits must be looked 
to, so that they may be prevented from becoming 
drawn. Richardia elliottiana and R. Pentlandii 
may also be sought out and potted in a compost 
similar to that used in the case of Hippeastrums. 
So soon as the Ericas go out of flower they may be 
pruned or pinched according to their needs, and if 
they demand a shift—and young plants most likely 
will—the potting may be done at this time. Just 
before the conservatory is rearranged for the spring, 
it should be cleaned by washing. Climbers on the 
beams should be thinned and probably pruned if 
they are going out of flower. All classes of plants 
show a general tendency to grow a little more 
robustly after this time of year. Many subjects will 
have to be propagated, either from seeds or cuttings, 
while others will require to be potted on, or started 
or cut back,and rested as the case may be. Thus 
young batches of Petunias, Cyclamen, Balsams, 
Pelargoniums, Calceolarias and other things will be 
filling the shelves of one or other of the temperate 
houses, and these will need to be kept potted. 
Fuchsias and fancy Pelargoniums should be started 
into fresh growth ; the same with batches of Lilium 
eximium longiflorum for Easter. Zonals on the 
other hand may be getting past ia some cases, and 
will be better if they are cut back and kept dry. 
Cyclamens that are diminishing their yield of flowers 
should not be at once rested, but may have their 
corms as much developed as possible (the flowers 
being kept plucked off) before being finally ripened 
and rested. 
The Stove. —The present is the best time to 
prune out any superfluous growth in specimen 
Crotons or other stove plants. Nice straight shoots 
may be used as cuttings. Dieffenbachias can be cut 
right back almost to the surface of the_ pot for use 
as cuttings. Anthuriums may be top-dressed and 
the potting of stove plants should be begun.— J. D. 
ROYAL GARDENERS’ ORPHAN FUND. 
(1 Concluded from p. 347.) 
The chairman referred to the telegram which the 
treasurer had sent to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales 
(now King) at Osborne, in the afternoon. A 
telegram had been received in answer to this from 
H.R.H., thanking the members and subscribers of 
the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution for 
their expression of sympathy in the trying hours. 
“And then,” the chairman went on to say, "just 
before we sat down to supper we had the news that 
her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen had gone to 
her great reward.” " We will have no toasts, no 
speeches, no singing, and I would propose that we 
unite in sending our expression of deepest sympathy 
to the Royal Family in their (and our) great less.” 
The chairman, in a voice that quivered, added to his 
proposition and announcement a few words on the 
goodness and greatness of our late Queen during 
the sixty years in which she has swayed her country 
and empire. “ Her character has raised the moral 
tone not only of this land, but of the whole wide 
world. Her name will go down to posterity, and 
future nations will rise up and call her blessed. 1 ' The 
chairman sat down amid almost complete silence ; 
and it was apparent that he echoed the heart-feelings 
of each man who heard his words. The meeting 
then slowly dispersed. 
