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The Saturday Half-Holiday. 
A Letter to the Editor. 
larch 2i, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Sir,—I trust you will allow me to assist 
t forward the movement concerning the 
1 turday half-holiday. I am of the same 
(inion as J, Nibbs. I think it is a thing 
ut ought to be considered more than it 
Is been in the past. For instance, take 
-i>p assistants or other trade workers; 
1 y should they have their half holiday 
i the week more than the hard-working 
jrdener. They get their clear Sundays 
£ 0 nearly half the week at such times as 
I nk Holidays, whereas the majority of 
I'deners have to take duty every other 
5 aday. I think it is about time some 
tj ; bad taken this subject up. I am 
rtain that there are a good number who 
v 1 agree with these remarks, as all 
t ough the winter months in the garden- 
1 f line we all work from dawn till dusk, 
al what time is there for our. fellow gar- 
c 1 friends to have a chance to seek any 
0 door pleasure, after he has finished his 
t ? ’s toil. I do sincerely trust this will 
. :ome a general thing before long, as 
1 gives young fellows a chance to go . 
a iv for the week-end in good time on a 
- urday afternoon. 
Indon’s Costermongers. 
There are some 60,000 costermongers 
\.o carry on business in the streets of 
I ndon. Their capital is supposed to be 
^0,000, whilst they are said to do a 
t.de during the year of three millions, 
he profits of this turnover are about a 
rlllion. 
fintingdonshire Daffodil and Spring Flower 
Society. 
Miss L. L. Linton, the hon. secretary 
c the above-named society, informs us 
tat this year’s exhibition will be held at 
Imtingdon, on Tuesday, April 21st, 
\.en a large number of prizes will be 
cered in competition, including a silver 
cp presented by Messrs. Barr and Sons, 
f- the best collection of 30 distinct va- 
1 ties of -Daffodils, grown out of doors, 
id special prizes given by Mr. Robert 
Idenham, of Birmingham, and Messrs. 
1 H. Bath, Ltd., of Wisbech. We are 
fid to hear that the society is being well 
spported. The statement of accounts 
f- 1907 discloses a healthy state of 
c airs. 
lawley Gardeners. 
The annual report of the Crawley and 
I strict Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement 
/sociation, read by the hon. secretary, 
L. Henry Hemsley, at the annual meet- 
ij, was decidedly^ encouraging, and 
sawed that the society had enjoyed a very 
s:cessful year. The membership of the 
s:iety increased during the year from 
15 to 193, and the meetings were well 
tended. The balance-sheet showed a 
tlance in hand of ^12 13s. 2^d. The 
cicers of the association were practically 
1 elected en bloc. Mr. Hemsley was 
e;cted hon. financial secretary, and was 
sjcially complimented on the excellent 
\rk he had done for the society. Mr. 
V Shepherd was elected assistant hon. 
s:retary. This year’s exhibition will be 
pbably held on the 22nd July. 
The Ltafge-plowered Oncidium 
Of the large flowered species of Oncid¬ 
ium, none are rbore easy to manage than 
this one. It is usually" grown in large 
pots, as it requires a fair amount of space 
to produce its pseudo bulbs, which mea¬ 
sures 4 in. to b in. in length, while the 
leaves are 15 ft. or more in length. The 
species belong to a particular section of 
Oncidium in which the stems climb on 
any supporting object by means of flex- 
uous flower stems. These attain a length 
of 10 ft. to 12 ft. or more on well-grown 
plants, and may be accommodated in a 
variety of way r s, according to the conveni¬ 
ence of the grower. The flower stems 
may be tied to wires under the roof of the 
house or straight up the rafters, or, on 
the other hand, it may be entirely" con¬ 
fined to the pot in which the plant is 
growing. A few bamboo stakes are in¬ 
serted round the sides of the pot, and 
the flower stem is twisted round this and 
tied so as to distribute the flowers to the 
best advantage. 
The species is a native of tropical 
America, but is one of those that can be 
grown^under fairly cool conditions. The 
(Oncidium macranthum). 
individual flowers are large and bright 
yellow, the sepals being more or loss 
shaded with brown. The lip is white 
marked with violet-purple, but is model ate 
in size. It is, therefore, one of the 
showiest or best of the species in cultiva¬ 
tion. 
-- 
Winter Flowering Carnation Society. 
The schedule of the fourth show of the 
above-named society, to be held in the 
Royal Horticultural Hall, Westminster, 
on April 1st next, has been sent to us by 
the hon. secretary, Mr. Hayward Mathis.-, 
whose address is “Lucerne,” Stubbing- 
ton, Fareham. A very comprehensive 
classification is provided, especially m 
Section B, which is open to gentlemen’s 
gardeners and amateurs only. On the 
same date Mr. P. Smith will lecture m 
the R.H. Hall on “The Present and 
Future of the Winter Flow-ering Carna¬ 
tion.” The annual meeting of the society 
will be held at 8 o’clock in the evening at 
the Hotel Windsor, Victoria Street, pre¬ 
ceded by a dinner at 7 p.m. 
J 
---9 
E. J. A. 
Oncidium macranthum. 
