576 
THE GARDENING WORLt) 
July i5, 1905. 
from 255 to 400 in the same period, and all 
the exhibits were declared to be excellent. 
Owing to extra expenditure incurred in pro¬ 
viding larger tents, increasing the prize 
money, and engaging a military band the 
revenue account for 1904 showed a. debit ot 
over £6. But the policy which is being fol¬ 
lowed is a wise one, and such outlays must be 
regarded as bread cast upon the waters. 
Scottish Horticultural Association. 
The monthly meeting was held on the 4tli 
inst. at 5, St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, 
when Mr. Geo. P. Berry, horticultural lecturer 
to the Edinburgh and East of Scotland 
College of Agriculture, delivered a highly 
instructive lecture on the “ Storing and 
Bottling of Fruits.” Mr. Berry explained 
that by the use of a patent vacuum air-tight 
glass bottle or jar, fruits (either green or ripe) 
can be preserved in spring water for almost 
any period, and that without any alteration 
in the flavour of the fruit. In dealing with 
the storing of fruits in fruit rooms, the lec¬ 
turer advocated the use of Welsh slabs for 
shelving, or in the case of wood being used 
he recommended that the shelves should be 
coated with one-eighth of an inch of burnt 
clay. He considered 35 deg. an ideal tem¬ 
perature for storing Apples in, Pears requir¬ 
ing a few degrees higher than this.—C. (X 
New Fellows of the R.H.S. 
Among the forty-eight new Fellows elected 
at the last bi-monthly meeting of the Royal 
Horticultural Society were the Hon. A. B. 
Bathurst, M.P., the Hon. Mrs. Julian Byng, 
Sir Charles Metcalfe, Colonel Godfrey Hilde¬ 
brand, R.E., and S. H. Faudell Phillips, Esq. 
Scottish Rosarians. 
Thursday, the 13th inst., is the date of the 
annual show of the West of Scotland Rosarians’ 
Society, which will be held at Victoria Hall, 
Helensburgh, Lady Colquhoun performing the 
opening ceremony. A new feature this year is 
a class for amateurs for six blooms for a cup 
presented by Mr. Hugh Dickson, of the Royal 
Nurseries, Belfast; also a class for six vases of 
decorative Roses and six vases of Sweet Peas 
for prizes presented by Miss Hoggan, Auden- 
vohr, Ross. This society has been in existence 
for thirty years, and has done splendid work in 
fostering a taste for the culture and exhibition 
of the Rose. 
Diary of Shows and Meetings. 
July. 
17th—National Chrysanthemum Society (an¬ 
nual outing, Windsor); Shirley and 
District Gardeners’ and Amateurs’ 
Association (monthly meeting); Hors- 
forth Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Society (weekly meeting). 
Igth—Royal Horticultural Society (bi-monthly 
exhibition and meeting); National 
Carnation and Picotee Society (show 
at the R.H.S. meeting); Gloucester¬ 
shire Rose Society (show in conjunc¬ 
tion with the N.R.S.); Darwen and 
District Floral and Horticultural 
Society (show, two days); Sevenoaks 
Gardeners’ and Amateurs’ Mutual 
Improvement Society (bi - monthly 
meeting); Eckington Floral, Horti¬ 
cultural, and Cottage Gardeners’ 
Society (committee meeting). 
19th—Boston Show Society (show, two days); 
Lamberhuest Horticultural and Sports 
Society (show); Wimbledon and Dis¬ 
trict Horticultural Society (show); 
Rayleigh and District Horticultural 
Society (show); Huntingdon Town 
and County Horticultural Society 
(show); Newcastle-upon-Tyne Botani¬ 
cal and Horticultural Society (show, 
three days); Harrietsham Gardening 
Society (show); Ide Hill Gardening 
Society (monthly meeting); Wallasey 
Amateur Gardeners’ Association 
(monthly meeting and competition); 
Maidstone Gardeners’ Mutual Im¬ 
provement Society (bi-monthly show); 
Ancient Society of York Florists (free 
show, exhibits by members only); 
Lady Warwick’s Students (show at 
Studley Castle); Hunton Gardeners’ 
Society (show). 
20th—Ilford Horticultural Society (show); 
Woodford Horticultural Society 
(show); Newport and County Horti¬ 
cultural Society (show); Newport 
(Mon.) and District Gardeners’ 
Mutual Improvement Association 
(show) ; Sherborne and District Gar¬ 
deners’ Mutual Improvement Society 
(show) ; Broadhempston Cottage 
Garden Society (show); Westerham 
Gardeners’, Amateurs’, and Cot¬ 
tagers’ Mutual Improvement Society 
(members’ exhibition); Wimbledon 
and District Horticultural Society 
(monthly meeting) ; Lamberhurst 
Horticultural Society (monthly meet¬ 
ing) ; Carnegie Dunfermline Trust 
(show, two days). 
21st—North Lonsdale Chrysanthemum Society 
(Rose show). • 
22nd—-Leeds Paxton Society (weekly meeting). 
In a Nutshell. 
The members of the Dorchester G.S. made 
a pleasant visit on the 26th ult. to “ Clifton,” 
near Weymouth, the residence of Mr. Herbert 
J. Groves. — “ The Origin and Culture of 
Strawberries in England ” was the subject of 
an interesting address delivered by Mr. H. E. 
Huntley, F.R.H.S., of Dorchester, delivered 
at the last meeting of the Sherborne G.S.— 
A magnificent show of cut flowers was staged 
by Mr. R. Ivens (Harrietsham Nurseries), as 
well as some splendid Tomatos, at the monthly 
meeting of the Harrietsham G.S. on the 28th 
ult.—On the 1st inst. the members of the Ips¬ 
wich and District Gardeners’ Association 
visited the president’s nurseries at Wood- 
bridge.—The report of the committee of the 
Lingwood and District Cottage Garden Society 
shows that there have been twenty-one 
entries for the garden competition for six 
parishes. Mr. H. Etheridge was awarded first 
prize, having gained 91 points out of 100. 
At this time of the year early bred chickens 
are coming along fast, putting on adult- 
plumage, and making bone and size, and 
generally beginning to look like mature fowls. 
At the Royal Agricultural Society’s Show at 
Park Royal the other week there were to be 
seen some marvellous examples of what our 
leading exhibitors can do in the way of pro¬ 
ducing early chickens. Not a few of the young 
cockerels and pullets on view could hold their 
own with adult birds, for they had moulted 
all their chicken feathers, and appeared in 
full adult plumage, whilst some of the pullets 
looked as though they had already commenced 
to lay. Although this column is not intended 
to deal with poultry and pets from an exhibi¬ 
tion standpoint, yet we may with profit now 
and then turn to our poultry exhibitions for 
an idea or two. 
A straw, it is said, shows which way the 
wind blows, and it was most pleasing to those 
who believe in the good old breeds and have 
remained true to them to find that at the 
Royal Show such breeds as Cochins, Brahmas, 
and 1 Plymouth Rocks more than held their 
own against some of the more highly vaunted 
and fashionable modern breeds. I was par¬ 
ticularly pleased to see such a grand display 
of Plymouth Rocks. This is a breed I am a 
great believer in. Judged as layers they pro¬ 
duce a fairly large egg of a nicely tinted 
appearance (a tinted egg sells more readily 
than a white one), and they produce eggs in 
goodly numbers. 
The Plymouth Rock, whilst not so good a 
layer as such non-sitting breeds as the 
Minorcas and Leghorns, is far removed from 
being a bad layer. Then, as a table bird it 
carries a deep meaty breast, and its flesh is 
of nice flavour. Some people object to yellow¬ 
legged fowls, but this is the highly trained 
epicure of the town ; ordinary rural village 
dwellers never consider the colour of a bird’s 
leg when they are selecting a fowl for Sun¬ 
day’s dinner. They want a good large carcase 
and plenty of meat on it. For such as these 
the Plymouth Rock answers well; thus vil¬ 
lage residents who have a nice supply of 
young Plymouth Rocks can usually obtain not 
only a ready sale for the birds they kill, but 
also a fairly good price. 
Another advantage the Plymouth Rock 
possesses over many other breeds is that, 
although a big fowl, it is not a big eater. 
Again, it shows its cosmopolitanism and 
adaptability by thriving well either in the 
confined quarters of a garden or on a farm 
with unlimited range. In fact, giving care¬ 
ful consideration to all its good qualities—a 
fairly large egg of nice colour, its average egg 
capacity, its meatiness as a table bird, its 
adaptability to a free run or confinement, its 
foraging powers when at liberty, and its small¬ 
ness of appetite when kept in confinement—I 
cannot place it second to any breed as a use¬ 
ful all-round fowl. 
The other day I was in Dorsetshire, and 
came across, in rather confined quarters, a 
pen of light Brahmas, and, upon enquiring; I 
was pleased to learn that after giving a fair 
trial to many different varieties the owner had 
come to the conclusion that those light 
Brahmas paid him better than any of the 
others, because during the cold winter months 
when eggs are eggs, and every one laid during 
November, December, and January worth 
three of those laid in the summer months, 
they laid nearly every day, and a beautiful 
rioh-coloured egg indeed is that laid by the 
Brahma. I know the value of the Brahma 
when it can roam about a farmyard, but have 
had no experience of it in confinement, and 
therefore was rather surprised to find that a 
breed which does not strike one as a suitable 
one for confined quarters had stood such a 
test, and come out with winning colours. 
Those of my readers who have opportunity for 
free range may certainly do worse than add a 
few Brahmas to their stock. Aesthetically 
considered they are amongst the most beauti¬ 
ful of any members of the poultry family, and 
look very handsome walking about in a pad- 
dock, whilst as winter layers they are indeed 
hard to beat. 
