February 23, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
405 
Twelve tons of charcoal are produced from an 
acre of forest. 
Beckenham Horticultural Society.—The annual 
meeting was held on Tuesday, February 12th. The 
chair was taken by the Rev. Arnott, president of the 
society. Dr. Stilwell, the hon. secretary, gave a 
report of the society for the last year. There was a 
falling off of £23 in the subscriptions, owing to many 
leaving the neighbourhood and others being on their 
holidays. The receipts were £365 19s. gd. The 
show was not patronised so well as hitherto, owing 
chiefly to the heat, and many away on their holidays. 
There was a balance of £24 17s. 7d, It was thought 
that it would be an advantage to the society to hold 
the show on July 10th this year. A slight alteration 
was made in the rules, and the committee nominated. 
After the other routine of business was gone through, 
a vote of thanks was accorded to the president for his 
kindness in taking the chair. On Friday, February 
22nd, Mr. Beckett will give a paper on “ Vegetables 
for Exhibition.” 
Webbs’ Annual Catalogue of Farm Seeds and 
Manures.—Though a farm seed catalogue does not 
usually demand so much detail, from the fact of 
more limited variety of subjects, as a catalogue of 
garden seeds does, we are at the same time forced to 
confess that Messrs. Webb & Son’s farm seed pub¬ 
lication sent out from Wordslev, Stourbridge, is very 
respectable in dimensions indeed. Its size is over 
10 in. deep by 8 in. broad, and includes fifty-five of 
these large pages. As in the case of Messrs. Webbs' 
garden seed catalogue, that of the farm seeds is 
attractively illustrated by beautifully executed half¬ 
tone blocks. Complete lists of grasses and Clovers 
for permanent pastures, are furnished, and tables 
also, to show what quantities are recommended for 
light, medium, or heavy soils. Messrs. Webb re¬ 
ceive thousands of reports from agriculturists testi¬ 
fying to the success of these mixtures in every county 
of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and all parts 
of the world. It may further be noted that purity 
and germination are guaranteed. Mangolds, Swedes, 
field Cabbages,Carrots,Parsnips, Sugar Beet, Clovers 
and the general farm crops are in each case fully 
described, and all the varieties of each, for every 
agricultural purpose, are enumerated. To the home 
farmer,as well as the director of a thousand-acre farm, 
Webbs’ farm seed catalogue will certainly be a vade 
mecum. In the section devoted to manures it is only 
necessary to say that, the thoroughness that 
characterises the foregoing parts is evidenced also 
in this section. Special manures for all the 
different crops have been prepared and are offered 
to suit the needs of all classes of agriculturists. 
Syndical Chamber of Belgian Horticulturists.— 
At the meeting of this body in conjunction with the 
Royal Agricultural and Botanical Society of Ghent, 
on the 3rd inst., Certificates of Merit were awarded 
to Oncidium crispum aureum, exhibited by M. L. P 
de Langhe-V ervaene, of Brussels; to Cypripedium 
nitens Excelsior (leeanum x villosum), (with 
unanimity), C. leeanum superbum x Boxalli, C. 
eilersianum, and C. Madame FI. Stepman (leeanum 
X villosum), all presented by M. FI. Stepman, of 
Brussels; Anthurium Mdme. Dalliere (by acclama¬ 
tion), and Odontoglossum Alexandras (with 
unanimity), both shown by M. Louis de Smet; 
Cypripedium Souvenir du Baron Osy, shown by M. 
de Craene-Longhe, of Brussels ; Cypripedium 
hybridum leeanum x Boxalli (with unanimity), 
presented by the society La Lys, Ltd., of Deynze ; 
to Cypripedium Pauli, Cypripedium seedling, and 
Odontoglossum Alexandras, all exhibited by M. L. 
Draps-Dom, of Laeken-Brussels. A Certificate for 
Culture and Flowering was awarded to Odontoglos¬ 
sum andersonianum, and an Honourable Botanical 
Mention for Peperomia species, both shown by M. 
M. Verdonck. Honourable Mention for Flowering 
was also accorded to Odontoglossum grande, shown 
by the La Lys Horticultural Society, Ltd. Honour¬ 
able Mentions were also accorded to a lot of Primula, 
shown by M. F. Yanderhaeghen, of Brayne; Cypri¬ 
pedium insigne montanum x Boxalli atratum, pre¬ 
sented by M. FI. Stepman; to a cut flower of Laelio- 
cattleya Binoti (hyb. nat.) L..pumila x C. bicolor, 
shown by M. le Marquis of Wavrin; Cattleya 
Trianaei, shown by La Lys Horticultural Society, 
Ltd.; and to Cypripedium seedling, presented by 
M. L. Draps-Dom. Laelia autumnalis, from the 
same exhibitor, the jury wished to see again, 
Royal Horticultural Society. —The next fruit and 
flower show of the Royal Horticultural Society will 
be held on Tuesday, February 26th, in the Drill 
Hall, Buckingham Gate, Westminster, 1—4 p.m. A 
lecture on “ The making and unmaking of flowers” 
will be given by the Rev. Prof. Geo. Henslow, M.A , 
at 3 o’clock. 
Bristol and District Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Association.—The fortnightly meeting of the 
society was held at St.John’s Parish Room, Red- 
land, on Thursday, 14th inst., a good attendance 
being presided over by Mr. G. Brook. Mr. W. G. 
Smith, of Knowle, was the lecturer on the interest¬ 
ing subject, " Insect Pests.” The lecture was illus¬ 
trated with a lantern exhibition of slides, prepared 
for the Board of Agriculture by Miss G. E. 
Ormerod. Mr. Smith, who is an expert in the 
science of entomology, dealt with the subject very 
fully, giving in each case the life history of the insect 
under discussion, the particular kind of crop most 
liable to attack, and the methods most likely to pre¬ 
vent or eradicate the pests,in which the judicious use 
of lime, soot, and salt played a considerable part. 
Amongst the wide range of insects treated which the 
lecturer proved to be the enemies of gardeners were 
the wireworm, Crane fly, Carrot fly, Turnip fly, 
Cherry Saw-fly, Clover weevil, Cabbage butterfly, 
Wheat butterfly, the many forms of aphis, Rose fly, 
Mole-cricket, wood-wasp, scale, thrips, Garden 
Chafer, earwig, &c. Several questions were asked 
Mr. Smith, to all of which he kindly and clearly 
replied, and the hearty thanks of the meeting were 
accorded him for his attendance, the hope being ex¬ 
pressed that the society might at some future time 
again have the benefit of the sound knowledge 
possessed by him on a subject of so much impor¬ 
tance to gardeners. Prizes offered by the chairman 
for two Cyclamens caused keen competition, the 
awards going to Messrs. Clark, Raikes, McCullock, 
and Price. 
Ealing Gardeners’ Society,—There was a very 
good attendance of members on the 12th inst. 10 
hear a paper on "Plant Diseases and Advertised 
Remedies,” by Mr. A. Pentney, of Staines Road 
Nurseries, Hounslow. Mr. C. B.* Green presided, 
and, in introducing Mr. Pentney to the meeting re¬ 
ferred to his past services to the society, and also to 
his abilities in the matter of observation and experi¬ 
ment. Mr. Pentney then gave an excellent resume: 
of opinions on the subject, and added his own ex¬ 
perience in the matter of “ remedies,” some of 
which, he insisted, were worse than useless; in fact, 
the proper designation was "quackery.” Gardening 
—especially in relation to this branch of it—was 
largely empirical, and much money and time were 
spent in making experiments which gardeners could 
ill afford to waste. Mr. Pentney detailed some of 
his own trials, and generally afforded the members a 
large amount of information on this knotty question. 
The discussion was pretty freely taken up, and much 
interest was exhibited by the members, the result, 
however, being a decided recommendation to use 
only those insecticides which were advertised by 
well-known and respectable vendors. The subject 
of plant diseases in relation to cultivation also re¬ 
ceived some consideration. The usual hearty vote 
thanks was duly accorded. An exhibition of groups 
of plants on tables resulted in a keen competition. 
Mr. T. R. Hogg, gardener to A. G. Dixon, Esq., 
Madeley Road, Ealing, had a well arranged group of 
Palms, Cattleyas, Primulas, Hyacinths, Tulips, 
Begonia Gloire de Lorraine,and Panicum variegatum, 
for wnich he was awarded first and a Bronze Medal 
by Mr. R. Pinches, of Crown Street, Camberwell. 
Mr. C. Long, gardener to E. P. Oakshott, Esq., of 
Montpelier Road, was a good second; Mr. H. 
Holloway, gardener to E. Hyde, Esq., of Castlebar, 
came in third ; while Mr. G. Woods, gardener to 
Mrs. Willey, of Aston Road, was a respectable 
fourth, R. D. Preston, Esq , of Ealing, generously 
supplied the funds for this interesting display. 
* i— ■ — 
LEGAL NOTES. 
THE SELLING OF WEED KILLERS. 
Pharmaceutical Society v . White. 
During the last twelve months or more the horti¬ 
cultural press, as well as the papers that watch the 
interests of such industries as that of drysalters, oils 
and colourmen, and many kindred trades, have had 
on numerous occasions to record the annoying inter¬ 
ferences of the Pharmaceutical Society with agents 
of chemical companies and retailers of poisonous 
compounds for trade purposes, whose business has 
never before been molested. Horticulturists are 
most conversant with facts from the test case of the 
Worcester florist and seedsman named Mr. J. H. 
White. The position in which White acted was 
purely that of an agent for the Boundary Chemical 
Co., Ltd., of Liverpool. Mr. White booked orders 
for a weed killer from anyone who came to his shop, 
would receive the money, and give a receipt for it. 
He did not, however, keep the weed-killer in stock, 
but would send the order on to the Liverpool com¬ 
pany, and the company would deliver the weed¬ 
killer. The defendant received 25 per cent, of the 
price of the weed-killer as his commission, account¬ 
ing to the company quarterly for his receipts from 
the sale of the weed-killer, and deducting the 25 
per cent. 
An order for a two-gallon drum of the weed-killer 
having been made on one occasion, the Pharmaceuti¬ 
cal Society resolved to make a test case of it. The 
action came before the County Court Judge at 
Worcester, and here the defendant's evidence 
showed that he simply took orders and sent them on 
to Liverpool to the firm for which he acted as agent, 
but that he did not keep it in stock, as the law did 
not allow him. The defendant showed the purchaser 
a circular of the Liverpool company, the defendant's 
name being on the circular as agent. The defendant 
told the purchaser that the order could be sent 
direct or that he, the defendant, would send it on for 
him. The purchaser then asked the defendant to 
send for two gallons of weed-killer for him. The 
purchaser also asked the defendant if he should pay 
him, when the defendant told him that he might do so 
if he liked, or s?nd the money direct to the firm in 
Liverpool. The purchaser paid him. The defend¬ 
ant gave him a receipt, the receipt being headed, 
" Bought of the Boundary Chemical Company 
(Limited) ” Many of the de'endant’s customers 
asked him to get the weed-killer for them, and it was 
always sent to them direct from Liverpool. The 
County Court Judge gave judgment for the defend¬ 
ant upon the ground that he was not the seller within 
the meaning of section 15 of the Pharmacy Act, 
1868; and he found as facts that the defendant 
acted as agent only, and that he was in the position 
merely of canvasser for orders for the Boundary 
Chemical Company, with authority to receive money 
on their account. 
Thus the Pharmaceutical Society lost the County 
Court case, but they carrii-d the action to the 
Divisional Court, before Mr Justice Grantham and 
Mr. Justice Channel], when again judgment was 
given against them. And so, as we stated in last 
week’s issue, this interesting and important case 
engaged the attention of Lord Justice A. L. Smith 
(Master of the Rolls), Lord Justice Henn Collins 
and Lord Justice Romer, in the Appeal Court, on 
Wednesday and Friday, February 13th and 15th 
respectively. Mr. Danckwerts, K.C., and Mr. T. R. 
Grey appeared for the Pharmaceutical Society (the 
appellants), and Mr. C. Cavanagh and Mr. Orr 
(instructed by Messrs. Dobbs & Hill, of Worcester, 
and 5, Clement’s Inn, London), represented Mr. 
White, the defendant. 
Mr. Danckwerts, K.C., and Mr. T R Grey con¬ 
tended that the contract ot sale was complete when 
the order was taken and the money paid for the 
goods and the receipt given. The "seller” within 
the meaning of section 15 of the Pharmacy Act, 
1868, as defined by section 17, was the person who 
made the contract, and therefore the defendant was 
liable. They referred to " Pharmaceutical Society 
v. Wheeldon ” (24 Q.B.D., 683), " Pharmaceutical 
Society v. London and Provincial Supply Associa¬ 
tion ” (5 App. Cas., 857), and “ Stallard v Marks” 
(3 Q.B.D., 412). 
Mr. Cavanagh, for the defendant, was not called 
upon. 
The Court dismissed the appeal. 
The Master of the Rolls said that the County 
Court Judge gave judgment for the defendant upon 
the ground that he was not the seller within the 
meaning of section 15 of the Pharmacy Act, 1S86. 
