February 14, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
151 
Society and Association News and Notes continued. 
work. Lectures of a high-class character had been conducted 
in their meeting room for the past four years, in connection with 
the Technical Education Committee and the generosity of the 
School Board. All the work done in connection with the asso¬ 
ciation had been purely of an honorary character, and the 
secretary and treasurer had deserved well of their fellow 
gardeners. Gardeners who had left the district were con¬ 
tinually sending in expressions of regret that they could no 
longer attend the meetings. The syllabus for this session makes 
an innovation, inasmuch as July and August are intended for 
visits to places of interest instead of the ordinary meetings. 
He recommended cycling as a means of locomotion in preference 
to railway travelling, for seeing the country, the crops, and 
different means of culture. Some were already adepts at 
cycling, and he recommended others to set about learning in 
order to be able to join in the excursions. He finished up by 
saying that the objects of the association were for the diffusion 
of information on horticulture, agriculture, forestry, and those 
things intimately connected with them. 
Scottish Horticultural Association. 
The New President's Address. 
The above association held its first monthly meeting for the 
session at 5, St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on the evening of 
Tuesday, 3rd inst. There was a large attendance of members. 
Mr. Comfort, the retiring president," took the chair, and after 
the disposal of some formal business he introduced Mr. J. W. 
McHattie, the new president. Mr. Comfort, in the course of 
his remarks, said that Mr. McHattie had proved his skill and 
ability as a horticulturist, both by the impress of these he had 
made and left on the gardens and grounds he had had under 
his charge, and by the garden products he had placed upon the 
exhibition table from time to time. 
In his inaugural address Mr. McHattie took a. broad general 
view of horticulture, and offered much sound advice, especially 
io the younger members of the profession. He emphasised the 
necessitj for gardeners to study the chemical proportions of 
the food which the various classes of plants required for their 
perfect development. 
He continued that immense economic improvements had un¬ 
doubtedly been made in our methods for the production of 
flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Their culture was of the utmost 
importance to the gardener, who must study soil, situation, pro¬ 
pagation, pruning, the selection of the best sorts for any given 
purpose, and feeding. Diseases and their remedies also called 
for a deal of close observation. Fruit trees could not be placed 
ni the category, of annuals, as they require, a number of years 
before we can judge of their merit. It was imperative, there¬ 
fore, that only the best should be selected and grown, so as 
to avoid disappointment in after years. The more he had 
studied the subject the more thoroughly he was convinced that 
our exertions on behalf of this particular science had not been 
exhausted. 
Pomology owed much to Andrew Knight, Braddick, and 
-ttogg. they had done much to raise fruits suitable for this 
country, or to encourage others to do so. With the aid of Mass 
amt the ingenuity of the cultivator we had become more or less 
independent of climate for indoor cultivation, and we had been 
making great efforts to meet the demand for the wholesale pro¬ 
duction cr fruit. 1 " 
In speaking of the kitchen garden he laid great stress upon 
tiie proper study and management of different soils in order to 
increase their fertility for particular crops. The routine of 
ciops was dependent upon the fact that each particular kind 
withdrew from the soil certain constituents of plant food which 
it requires for its own particular nourishment. If the mrdener 
for S ;himsell? “ S °j|S he W3S t0 endeavour to study these facts 
' ch ° ice plants and flowe rs was increasing every 
cultivaW ^ fact had revolutionised our older methods of 
product ™ them ' In A 1 / opinion efficiency and economy in 
studM - 4 - 
im I proveWnt t Tn°l f fl i a ' ndSCape S ardenin S w e had made no great 
we 1 had little nr late * reason he believed was that 
muck J ?• fellowship With Nature. There was too 
St ST P ‘r ? nd b * d t » slc - «™§ t» the 1«k of a Soper 
oI th o subject as to what a garden should be. 
It was not his intention to praise or blame one or the other 
style ; very much depended upon the natural scenery of the 
site on which the garden was to be made, and climate could 
not be ignored as a material factor. Refinement was certainly 
found in many charming old gardens scattered throughout the 
country. The architect of to-day is not now sufficiently in touch 
with the many beautiful forms of tree and shrub life to adapt 
his designs in accordance with their particular beauty. Never¬ 
theless the landscape gardener was often called upon to re¬ 
model mistakes after it was too late to do so. He felt sure 
that gardeners of to-day had an abundance of material at hand, 
trees, shrubs, bulbous plants and bulbs, in their thousand and 
one forms, with which to render any garden beautiful. 
Hardy plants were receiving a great amount of attention at 
the present day, and no country was better suited to this class 
of plant than our own. To stimulate gardeners to improve in 
the matter of landscape gardening, he said it would be a pity 
if they did not create something that would be handed down 
as a heirloom to posterity. 
Mr. McHattie, on the motion of Mr. A. Mackenzie, was 
cordially thanked for his able address. 
The exhibits on the table were as follows : -—From Mr. M. 
Todd (Stoneybank), a vase of Narcissus Golden Spur and Acacia 
lophantha ; from Messrs. James Grieve and Sons (Redbraes 
Nursery), a pot of Tulip Princess Wilhelmina ; and from Mr. 
Alexander Johnstone (Hay Lodge, Trinity), Calliearpa 
japonica. 
Bristol and District Gardeners’ Mutual 
Improvement Association. 
“Renovation of Old Trees.”—This was the subject for 
discussion at the meeting of the above association held at St. 
John’s Rooms on Thursday, the 29th ult., Mr. Neve, member 
of the Reading Mutual Improvement Association, being the lec¬ 
turer, -whose remarks were based on sound joractical experience, 
aryl the Bristol Society are to be congratulated on this inter¬ 
change of members which they have inaugurated. It brings into 
their meetings more varied experiences, which are so helpful to 
such a society as this, and, be it said for the British gardeners, 
they leave no stone unturned for the benefit of the gardening 
fraternity of the district. Mr. Neve came to Bristol to impart 
his knowledge and experience to his fellow gardeners on this all- 
important subject, and that his visit was not ini vain was amply 
proved by the excellent discussion which followed his lecture. 
The renovation of old fruit trees, the lecturer remarked, was not 
the difficult task which many are apt to imagine, and by a little 
careful handling fruit trees of 80 years of age could be turned 
from the unprofitable to the profitable. Mr. Neve gave full in¬ 
structions as to the best method to bring about this satisfactory 
result, and these instructions were based on his own personal ex¬ 
perience, he himself having now trees of 80 years of age, which at 
one time were unfruitful, now in full and excellent bearing. An 
aged tree needed greater care bestowed upon it than young ones. 
He strongly advised Hie encouragement of surface roots, and 
this was best brought about by top dressing with good farmyard 
manure and good waterings of liquid manure from the farm; 
forking the ground lightly, and not using the spade, which he 
considered detrimental. Pruning was one of the most important 
factors in the renovation of old trees, Which should be most care¬ 
fully done, cutting away all spindly shoots and regulating the 
growth so as to let sun and air have full play. Many an old 
Apple tree could be turned into a profitable one by a. little 
judicious treatment and patience, and not, as is often the case, 
grubbed out and discarded as useless. Insects were often a 
source of worry, and Mr. Neve gave full instructions for their de¬ 
struction and prevention. The gathering of the fruit, too, was 
often done in a careless way, and many valuable buds destroyed 
by rough handling. His lecture was march appreciated, and he 
was cordially thanked for his most practical remarks, and it was 
hoped that tliis interchange with the Reading Society would be 
the commencement of many others. Mr. Binfield, Old Sneyd 
Park Gardens, occupied the chair. Prizes for a collection of 
vegetables were awarded to Colonel Baines (gardener. Mr. 
Young), Mr. Francis Tagart (gardener, Mr. Binfield), and to Mr. 
A. Baker (gardener, Mr. Orchard). Certificates of Merit went to 
Mr. Gilbert Howes (gardener, Mr. White) for Deudrobium 
nobile ; Mr. J. M. Harris (gardener, Mr. Yean), for Zygopetalum 
Mackayi; and to Mr. A. Deeds (gardener, Mr. Ayliffe) for an 
album of Dried Flowers, ' jj j£. 
