534 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 1, 1905. 
age of sixty was paid out as per rule. The 
amount of sick pay since the last meeting was 
£44 8s. 
Fruit Prospects.— According to authorita¬ 
tive opinion, Strawberries and Gooseberries 
will be the best crops of the year. Currants 
and Raspberries will prove to be about 25 per 
cent, below the average. Pears and Plums 
have been cut off all over the country. 
Apples and Cherries have been seriously 
diminished. 
* * * 
Railway Rates and English Fruit Farm¬ 
ing- —Writing on English fruit farming, the 
Daily Express remarks that between the pro¬ 
ducer and the consumer there still stands the 
barrier of hostile railway rates, which favour 
the foreign exporter and handicap the home 
industry. That something may be done to 
beat down that barrier as the outcome of the 
inquiry of Lord Jersey’s Committee there is 
good reason to hope. 
* * * 
W hen to Gather and How to Pack 
Flowers. —A gardening authority says : — 
“ Do not gather flowers during the hottest part 
of the day. Place them in water for several 
hours, taking care that the stalks only go in 
water, as the bloom must not be wetted. 
Separate each layer with parchment paper to 
avoid fermentation. Fill the boxes suffici¬ 
ently high, so that in placing on the lid it 
causes a slight pressure, as this keeps the con¬ 
tents firm and less likely to damage during 
transit.” 
( - ---- --->> 
OUR PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 
ESSAY COMPETITION (I). 
Prizes. — (1) Two Guineas ; (2) One Guinea. 
Open to all Readers. 
The above Prizes will be given for the best 
essays on :—- 
“What I would do with a Villa 
Garden, in the production of flowers, 
fruits, and vegetables.” 
The garden may be of any shape, providmg the 
area is approximately 3,000 square feet. Give a 
rough plan of the garden, indicating which is the 
north by an arrow; show the position of the 
various crops ; if it is decided to have a lawn and 
flower-beds, their position with regard to the 
dwelling-house should be shown. Walks, flower- 
borders, fruit-trees or bushes, and vegetable 
quarters should be so disposed as to give the 
finest effect from the house and be in harmony 
with the surroundings. State if the garden is 
enclosed with a brick wall, open or closed fencing. 
The skill and taste displayed by the competitor 
in his arrangements will have great weight in the J 
adjudication of the prizes. The expenditure in 
first stocking the garden with seeds, plants, trees, 
bushes, and fertilisers should be stated, and the 
annual cost afterwards. The essay should be 
about 1,000 words, and must be sent in on or 
before July 31st next. Mark envelopes in the 
left-hand corner “Garden Competition.” 
^___ _ 7 
London’s First Roof Garden.— The first of 
London’s public roof gardens will shortly be 
opened at the Westminster Electric Supply 
Corporation’s new transforming station in 
Duke Street, Grosvenor Square. 
Diary of Shows and Meetings. 
July. 
3rd—Maidstone Rose Club (show) ; Mansfield 
Horticultural Society (monthly meet¬ 
ing) ; Four Elms Gardening Society 
(monthly meeting) ; Horsforth Gar¬ 
deners’ Mutual Improvement Society 
(weekly meeting). 
4th—Royal Horticultural Society (fortnightly 
exhibition and meeting) ; National 
Sweet Pea Society (show at the Horti¬ 
cultural Hall, London) ; Cambridge¬ 
shire Horticultural Society (show) ; 
Addlestone and District Gardeners’ 
Mutual Improvement Association' 
(monthly meeting) ; Professional Gar¬ 
deners’ Friendly Benefit Society 
(monthly meeting) ; Rotherham 
Chrysanthemum Society (monthly 
meeting) ; Sutton and District Rose 
Society (show) ; West London Horti¬ 
cultural Society (monthly meeting) ; 
Bournemouth and District' Mutual 
Improvement Association (monthly 
meeting) ; Sevenoaks Gardeners’ and 
Amateurs’ Mutual Improvement 
Society (monthly meeting) ; Seaton 
Delaval and New Hartley Floral and 
Horticultural Society (monthly meet¬ 
ing) ; Barking and Ripple Chrysan¬ 
themum Society (monthly meeting). 
5th—Horticultural Show and Fete, Hanley 
(two days) ; Chippenham and District 
Horticultural- Society (Rose show) ; 
Lewis and District Chrysanthemum 
Society (monthly meeting) ; Ancient 
Society of York Florists (annual ex¬ 
cursion) ; Croydon Horticultural 
Society (show) ; Ealing Horticultural 
Society (show) ; Maidstone Gardeners’ 
Mutual Improvement Society (bi¬ 
monthly [Rose] show) ; Ipswich and 
East of England Horticultural 
Society (summer show) ; Bideford and 
District Horticultural Society 
(monthly meeting) ; Bradford and 
District Chrysanthemum Society 
(monthly meeting) ; Sheffield Floral 
and Horticultural Society (monthly 
meeting) ; Terrington and Marshland 
Horticultural Society (monthly meet¬ 
ing) 1 Bristol Amateur Horticultural 
Society (monthly meeting) ; Newport 
(Mon.) and District Gardeners’ 
Mutual Improvement Association 
(monthly meeting) ; Wood Green and 
District Amateur Horticultural 
Society (monthly meeting). 
6th—National Rose Society (great Rose show 
at the Royal Botanic Gardens, 
London) ; Norfolk and Norwich Hor¬ 
ticultural Society (Rose show) ; Wey- 
bridgei and District Horticultural 
Society (show) ; Royal Ulster Agricul¬ 
tural Society (flower show, two days) ; 
Westerham Gardeners’, Amateurs’, 
and Cottagers’ Mutual Improvement 
Society (Rose show); Woking Horti¬ 
cultural Association (show) ; Tibshelf 
Floral, Horticultural, and Rose 
Society (monthly meeting) ; Green. 
Street (Sittingbourne) and District 
Gardeners’ and Cottagers’ Society 
(monthly meeting). 
7th—Devon and Exeter Horticultural Society 
(Rose and general show) ; Caterham 
Horticultural Society (committee 
meeting). 
8th—Crjital Palace Rose Show ; Wood Green 
and District Amateur Horticultural 
Society (summer show) ; Leeds Pax¬ 
ton Society (weekly meeting). 
In a Nutshell, 
Mr. John Wright, V.M.H., of the Surrey 
County Council staff, lectured at the last 
monthly meeting of the Guildford Horticul¬ 
tural Society on “ The Queen of the Summer 
-—the Rose.”—Several members of the Royal 
Horticultural Society attended the funeral of 
Mr. D. S. Thomson, of the Wimbledon Nur¬ 
series, last week.—The Notts. Horticultural 
and Botanical Society held its annual meeting 
on the 15th ult., when it was reported that 
forty-six new members had been elected 
during the year.—Special prizes are offered 
for one dish of new Potatos (for gardeners and 
amateurs), also for one dish of fruit (for 
amateurs), in addition to the Rose classes and 
medal competition, at the July meeting of the 
Milton and Sittingbourne Horticultural 
Society.—The first annual exhibition in con¬ 
nection with the Sutton-in-Aslifield Horticul¬ 
tural Society will be held in the Town Hall 
on August 26th.—It has been decided to ask 
Messrs. W. Bennett, F. Smith, and W. Dean 
to act as judges at the summer show of the 
Biddenden Gardeners’ Society.—The June 
show on Whit-Monday of the Charing Garden¬ 
ing Society was, we regret to hear, not a 
success. 
Correspondents. 
Bedford Flower Show : You say your show 
is held on “Tuesday, August, i905.” Will 
you kindly supply the day of the month?— 
Asp ley Guise and Woburn Sands H.S. : Please 
give date of your August show.—J. R. : We 
have not yet received the promised particu¬ 
lars.—V allasey Amateur Gardeners’ Associa¬ 
tion : What is the date of your November 
Show ? 
f -\ 
OUR P RIZE C OMPETITIONS. 
ESSAY COMPETITION (2). 
Prizes.— 
(1) What you state it costs for the 
up keep of your garden per ann. for three years. 
(2) do. do. do. two years. 
(3) do. do. do. one year. 
Open to London suburban amateur readers 
only. (Competitions for readers in other towns 
will be announced later). 
“ What I .do with my Small Garden; 
what I get out of it, and what it costs 
me per annum.” ■ 
The garden may be any shape, but the size 
must be between 500 and 800 square feet. Give a 
rough plan of the garden, showing beds and 
walks, and state if it is enclosed with a brick 
wall, open or closed fencing. If part of the gar¬ 
den is in the front of the house, state how this is 
utilised ' also whether the walls of the house are 
covered with climbers, fruit trees or otherwise. 
Denote the position of the house and thenorlh 
end of the garden. State what you grow in the 
first instance, and about what it costs you to 
stock the garden, and what it costs you per annum 
for up-keep, including the cost of seeds, planis, 
and fertilisers. The essay should be from 500 to 
1.000 words, and should be sent in on or before 
July 1st. Mark envelopes lefi-hand coiner with 
the words “ Small Garden.” 
^ _ J 
Beautifying Vacant Building Plots. —In 
Philadelphia, Cleveland, and other American 
cities there are associations for converting 
vacant, lots of building sites into- temporary 
gardens. London presents an exceptionally 
good field for the work of such an association. 
Why cannot one be formed ? 
