THE GARDENING WORLD. 
131 
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EDITORIAL NOTES. 
itisli Horticultural Association. 
.n abstract from the accounts of the 
ve association shows that the total re¬ 
ts obtained on the account of the 
he 0ardenin^\\/brld. 
Chrysanthemum Show in 1904 were 
■£1,355 2,s. 7d., and that the expenditure 
amounted to £1 ,290 6s. 8d., thus leaving a 
balance of .£58 15s. lid. to lie carried for¬ 
ward to the account of the association. The 
other accounts show receipts amounting to 
£1,317 9s. 9d., including the balance above- 
mentioned from the Chrysanthemum Show. 
After paying all expenses in connection with 
the work of the association, including 15 
guineas as donations to charities, the asso¬ 
ciation has still a balance in hand as well as 
a considerable amount of funds as debenture 
stock. The syllabus of papers to be read at 
the monthly meetings shows that the in¬ 
terest is still well kept up in this, the most 
powerful Scottish association, with a mem¬ 
bership of l-,395. The work of the session 
was opened by a vice-president on Feb¬ 
ruary 7th. “ The Garden in Literature ” 
will be dealt with by Mr. MacKenzie on 
March 7th; Mr. D. S. Fish, F.R.H.S., will 
deal with “ Garden Coniferae ” on April 4th ; 
Mr. R. Fife will discuss “ Seed Growing in 
Germany” on May 2nd; Mr. R, Harrow will 
take up “ Hardy Ericaceous Plants ” on 
June 6th; Mr. G. P. Berry will deal with 
the “ Storing and Bottling of Fruit ” on 
July 4th; Mr. Hughes will deal with the 
“ Black CSrant Mite ” on August 1st; Mr. 
Duncan, a specialist, will take up “ Sweet 
Peas ” on September 511 i ; Mr. Galloway will 
take “ Some Details which lead to Success ” 
on October 3rd ; “ Garden Seeds and Gar¬ 
dening” is the subject for November 7th by 
Mr. Adams of the Garden City Association. 
Mr. Johnston will read a paper on “Burn’s 
Flora ” on December 5th. The secretary is 
Mr. Peter Loney, 6, Carlton Street, Edin¬ 
burgh. 
The Divining Rod. 
Several papers and magazines have re¬ 
cently given some attention to the subject 
of water finding with the divining 1 rod. 
While many people altogether dispute the 
idea, many others have as stoutly upheld 
the theory in times past. Quite recently 
there was a considerable discussion of the 
matter in the “ Times,” and now the editors 
qf “ Knowledge ” and “ Scientific News ” have 
found it sufficiently interesting to seriously 
discuss it in their pages. The people who 
consider themselves experts in this particu¬ 
lar-line are known as “ dowsers.” Believers 
and unbelievers of this subject seem to be 
about equally divided, for as far as evidence 
goes there have been as many failures as 
successes to find water in spots where it was 
predicted to exist. There is no doubt some¬ 
thing in 11 le fact that an intelligent man who 
has some knowledge of geology and topo¬ 
graphy can very often strike out the right 
situation or spot in which water will be 
found, that being due of course to the nature 
of the geological strata. Appearances may 
sometimes, even to the most skilled, be de¬ 
ceptive, and if no water is found the 
dowser gets no credit for lus prediction. 
On the other hand, if he hits the right spot 
his fame spreads. The ” dowser ” is a person 
supposed to be endowed with some mys¬ 
terious power that enables him by the aid of 
a forked stick of a certain size, or of a cer¬ 
tain kind of wood, to point out the spot 
where water will be found. Some of these 
men who claim to he even more sensitive to 
the presence of water say that they can 
detect its presence without anything more 
than the open hand. 'Sonic stress is also 
laid upon the way in which the rod is held 
in the hands. The expression here is made 
that the divining rod held in the hand of 
an operator is but 1 an index of slight nervous 
sensations, and all things considered it is 
just possible that water can be found as 
often without as by the aid of the divining 
rod. We think, however, it is natural for 
these knowing people to invest their 
manoeuvres with some sort of mystery, 
thereby deepening the glamour that sur¬ 
rounds their discoveries. From this point 
of view the rod in the hands of the operator 
is merely “ Sartor Resartus ” in another 
form. 
—o— 
Croydon and District Gardeners. 
The spring half of the programme of the 
meetings of the Croydon and District Horti¬ 
cultural Mutual Improvement Society shows 
the meetings to be held from January till 
June 3rd, The society practically meets all 
the year round once a fortnight to read 
papers on horticultural blatters and discuss 
the same. On February 7th a delegate from 
the British Gardeners Association was 
present, and at later meetings papers will 
be read by Mr. R. Lewis Castle on " Some 
Problems of Fruit Culture ”; by Mr. M. E. 
Mills on “ Views from a Croydon Garden ” ; 
by Mr. James Gibson on “ Winter Vege¬ 
tables and Salads ; by Mr. E. H. Jenkins mi 
“ Herbaceous Plants ” ; by Mr. W. J. Marlow 
on “ Spring and Summer Bedding ” ; and by 
the Rev. Professor Henslow, M.A., V.M.H., 
on the “ Distribution of Plants bv Adapta¬ 
tion.” 
A Hybrid Tree Heath 
The two best species of tree Heath are 
Erica arborea and E. lusitanica. A hy¬ 
brid between the two has tinned up in the 
nursery of Messrs. R. Veitch and Son, 
Exeter. This has been named E. Veitchi. 
It has the light green foliage of E. lusitanica, 
hut seems to be of even more freely brandl¬ 
ing habit than that. The flowers are 
narrowly urn-shaped <n urceolate, pearly 
white, and produced in the greatest profu¬ 
sion. A large bush was shown at the Royal 
Horticultural Hall on Tuesday last. 
