THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 2, 1905. 
The Biggest Big Gooseberry. 
Last week we gave particulars of some big 
Gooseberries which took prizes at a Goose¬ 
berry-growers’ society. Since then, at a 
Windlaton Society’s show, the heaviest berry 
exhibited weighed 28 dwts. The weight of 
the winning two Gooseberries was 38 dwts. 
8g grains. 
Resigned after Twenty-seven Years. 
At the annual meeting of the Islehai'n 
(Soharn) H.S., iield on Aulgust 16th, the lion, 
secretary, with sincere regret, handed in his 
written resignation, after twenty-seven years’ 
sendee, and the following resolution was 
unanimously passed : “ That the society re¬ 
grets that Mr. It. Bradley has resigned his 
secretaryship, and accords him a hearty vote 
of thanks for his services during, the past 
twenty-seven years.” The president (Rev. 
H. W. Robinson) agreed to act as secretary 
pro tan. till a new one can be found. 
Doncaster Gardeners 1 Meeting, 
Among the non-competitive exhibits at the 
last meeting of the Doncaster and District 
Gardeners’ and Amateurs’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Society was a Sutton’s Improved Tele¬ 
graph Cucumber, sent by Mr. Tann, 25in. 
long, 8gin. in girth, and weighing 3|lbs. At 
the same meeting Mr. Mallinder, of Hodsock 
Priory, was the lecturer, his subject being 
“ The Rose,” and he gave an excellent lecture 
on the propagation and culture of this flower. 
He would like to see, he said, Roses exhibited 
in bunches of, say, six blooms dissimilar, with 
a foot or more foliage, instead of in the usual 
way. C. Leeson. 
Outings of the Reading Gardeners’ 
Association. 
During the past month two very pleasant 
meetings have been held. The first was an 
evening gathering, when about one hundred 
members, by the kind permission of Mr. and 
Mrs. Friedlander, paid a visit to the gardens 
and grounds of Wliiteknights Park. Mr. 
Bright, the head gardener, has been a warm 
supporter of the association from its com¬ 
mencement, and is known as a grower of ex¬ 
ceptional ability. Therefore it was no matter 
for surprise that so many members were pre¬ 
sent on this occasion. The houses were first 
inspected, the Peaches and Nectarines claim¬ 
ing most attention. The trees were grown in 
small boxes, and were carrying splendid 
crops of fruit of large size and good colour, 
testifying to excellent culture. Such varie¬ 
ties as Lord Napier, Dymond, Stirling Castle, 
Bellegarde were especially fine. The kitchen 
garden contained good crops of vegetables. 
A feature of the terrace gardens was four 
beds of Sweet-williams. These old-fashioned 
flowers were making a charming display, and 
an object lesson to many in massing for 
effect. In one house some splendid fruits of 
Royal Jubilee Melon were noted.. The secre¬ 
tary conveyed to Mr. and Mrs. Friedlander, 
who met the party in the grounds, the thanks 
of the members present for their kindness in 
throwing open the gardens for inspection. 
Both Mr. and Airs. Friedlander expressed 
themselves las being delighted to see the 
members present, and offered their well 
wishes for the success of the association. The 
second was the annual outing, and proved to 
be one of the most successful of the many 
held by the association. The weather was 
exceedingly fine, the number of members 
taking part in the outing was a record, and 
the party was accompanied by the president, 
Mr. Leonard Sutton. The members assem¬ 
bled at the G.W.R. Reading Station at 
10.30 a.m. Three saloons were attached to 
the 10.35 train to convey the party to Blen¬ 
heim, his Grace the Duke of Marlborough 
having kindly given permission for the Palace 
gardens to be thrown open for inspection. 
Immediately on arrival the party, 116 in all, 
by the kind invitation of the president, sat 
down to luncheon at the Marlborough Arms 
Hotel. Afterwards, under the guidance of 
Mr. Garrett, his Grace’s head gardener, they 
proceeded to the Palace, where special facili¬ 
ties had been granted for the members to look 
through the state apartments. The gardens 
and ornamental grounds were next visited. 
The Italian garden certainly attracted 
the most attention. This was looking 
exceedingly gay. The walk by the lake 
through the “ American ” garden and 
through the shady glades leading to 
the kitchen garden and glasshouses was 
much enjoyed. The crops of vegetables and 
fruit were in excellent condition, wliilst the 
Carnations were the feature of the flowers 
under glass. The party arrived back at eight 
o’clock, one and all having spent a most en¬ 
joyable day, thanks to the hospitality of the 
president and the arrangements made by Mr. 
Garrett. 
Much in Little. 
The prize offered by the East Anglian Hor¬ 
ticultural Club for an essay upon “ How to 
Make and Keep a Lawn,” confined to single- 
handed gardeners, was won by Mr. J. R. 
Mace, of Thorpe.-The first exhibition in 
connection with the newly-formed horticul¬ 
tural society for All Cannings (Devizes), 
Littlehampton, and Allington was held on 
August 16th.——All the products exhibited 
at the Brookfield Allottees’ H.S. show at 
Hornsey Rise were grown on the little estate 
given twenty years ago by the Baroness 
Burdett-Coutts for garden purposes, with the 
exception of floral specimens raised in neigh¬ 
bouring window-sills and wild flowers 
gathered by children.-——Dr. Oldershaw, 
speaking at the opening ceremony of the 
Poulton-cum-Seacombe and Liscard Allot¬ 
ment Garden Association, suggested that in 
future further interest might be added by 
calling upon the children competitors to name 
the flowers composing their exhibits.-Th© 
secretary of the Beeston Garden Holders’ 
Protection Association ha® resigned, owing to 
the members evincing so little interest in°the 
association. 
Diary of Shows and Meetings. 
September. 
4th.—Mansfield H.S. (annual meeting); 
Horsforth Gardeners’ M.I. Society 
(weekly meeting); Abbytlr H.S. 
(monthly meeting); Walsall Florist 
Society (monthly meeting); Wal- 
soken and Wisbech H.S. (monthly 
meeting). 
5th.—Bicester (Oxon) H.S. (show) ; Lough¬ 
borough and Dist. Gardeners’ M.I. 
Assoc, (exhibition of Dahlias and 
committee meeting); Dulwich Chry¬ 
santhemum Society (monthly meet¬ 
ing) ; Seaton Delaval and New Hart¬ 
ley H.S. (monthly meeting); Bark¬ 
ing and Ripple Chrysanthemum 
Society (monthly meeting); Addle- 
stone and Dist. Gardeners’ M.I. 
Assoc, (monthly meeting); Profes¬ 
sional Gardeners’ Friendly Society, 
Leeds (monthly meeting); Rother¬ 
ham Chrysanthemum Society 
(monthly meeting) ; Sevenoaks Gar¬ 
deners’ and Amateurs’ M.I. Society 
(bi-monthly meeting); Croydon and 
Dist. Horticultural M.I. Society 
(monthly meeting). 
6th.—Ancient Society of York Florists (Dahlia 
show) ; Glasgow and West of Scot¬ 
land H.S. (show, two days); Preston 
and Fulwood H.S. (show, two days) ; 
King’s Lynn H.S. (show); Terring- 
ton and Marshland H.S. (monthly 
meeting); Wood Green and Dist. 
Amateur H.S. (monthly meeting); 
Sheffield Floral and H.S. (monthly 
meeting); Newport (Mon.) and Dist. 
Gardeners' M.I. Assoc, (monthly 
meeting) ; Lewis and Dist. Chrysan¬ 
themum Society (monthly meeting) ; 
Bideford and Dist. H.S. (monthly 
meeting); Bradford and Dist. Chry¬ 
santhemum Society (monthly meet¬ 
ing) ; Ipswich and Dist. Gardeners’ 
and Amateurs’ Assoc, (monthly meet¬ 
ing)- 
7th.—National Dahlia Society (Crystal Palace 
show, two days); Paisley H.S. (show, 
two days); Stamford and Dist. H.S. 
(show); Westerham Gardeners’, 
Amateurs’, and Cottagers’ M.I. 
Society (Dahlia show); Wargrave 
and Dist. Gardeners’ Assoc, (monthly 
meeting) ; Tibshelf Floral, Horticul¬ 
tural, and Rose Society (monthly 
meeting) ; Batley and Dist. Chrysan¬ 
themum and Paxton Society (monthly 
meeting); Greenstreet and Dist. 
Gardeners’ and Cottagers’ Society 
(monthly meeting). 
8th.—Ambergate Cottage Gardeners’ Society 
(monthly meeting); Weybridge and 
Dist. H.S. (monthly meeting); 
Ulster H-S. (committee meeting). 
9th.—Seaton Delaval and New Hartley Floral 
and H.S. (show); Longwitton, Rotli- 
ley, and Dist. H.S. (show); Thorn¬ 
ton Heath and Dist. H.S. (Dahlia 
show) ; Huddersfield and Dist. Chry¬ 
santhemum Society (monthly meet¬ 
ing) ; Sparkhill and Dist. Amateur 
H.S. (Dahlia and herbaceous night); 
Leeds Paxton Society (weekly meet¬ 
ing). 
-♦- 
Hygienic Value of Trees.— The value of 
trees in purifying the air of cities with 
crowded populations may be roughly esti¬ 
mated. Supposing that, on an average, there 
are 5,000 stomata per square foot of leaf sur¬ 
face, and that in every 6 in. height of tree 
branches of grown trees there are 100 square 
feet. Then an ordinary tree of moderate size 
gives off as much oxygen as is fouled by 15 
adults in human respiration. This is a 
moderate estimate, yet it helps to show the 
nature of the influence of shady trees in cities 
and along public roads. 
Fruit Culture in Great Britain. —Of late 
years fruit culture in Greet Britain has 
largely developed. There were 148,221 acres 
of orchards in Great Britain in 1873, and in 
1904 there were 243,008 acres. We import 
13,000,000 cwts. of fruit every year, and a 
considerable part of this could be grown at 
home. Our production of small fruit—that 
is, Raspberries, Strawberries, etc.—increased 
from 69,792 acres in 1897 to 77,947 acres in 
1904. In the same period the acreage of 
Wheat, corn, and green crops has steadily 
declined. 
