2 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
January  4,  1900. 
and’ the  past  year  has  witnessed  another  of  its  successful  efforts. 
The  holding  of  a  Conference  on  Hybridisation  to  which  foreign 
growers  should  be  invited  was  a  happy  idea  which  met  with  general 
assent,  and  those  who  know  the  hospitality  with  which  English 
horticulturists  are  received  abroad,  were  glad  that  the  intention  to 
invite  some  well  known  hybridisers  from  the  Continent  and  from 
America  was  carried  out.  Not  only  was  the  Congress  held  and 
valuable  papers  read  and  heard,  but  the  foreign  visitors  were  invited 
to  share  the  hospitality  both  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  and 
of  the  Horticultural  Club.  These  reunions  were  very  pleasant,  and 
w'ere  highly  appreciated  by  those  who  were  invited  to  share  them. 
This  was,  of  course  an  extraordinary  work  of  the  Society,  but  its 
routine  operations  were  carried  out  with  the  same  care  and  energy 
as  before. 
The  Temple  Show  was,  as  usual,  a  magnificent  spectacle,  which  no 
other  country  in  the  world  could  produce.  We  are  sometimes  asked 
why  a  more  artistic  display  is  not  made  at  this  show,  and  we  are 
invited  to  copy  some  of  the  foreign  exhibitions  with  their  waterfalls, 
rivulets,  and  other  pretty  adjuncts.  Well,  simply  this  is  not  our  w'ay 
of  doing  things,  and  we  prefer  the  plan  of  giving  the  plants  the 
greatest  libertj'  to  show  forth  their  charms.  One  thing,  however, 
may  be  said,  that  it  is  a  great  pity  there  is  no  change  from  year  to 
year  of  the  formal  arrangements  that  are  made.  One  could  with 
tolerable  certainty  determine  in  which  part  of  the  tents  each  collection 
would  be  found. 
The  early  date  on  which  the  Temple  Show  is  held,  and  the 
character  of  the  exhibits,  which  are  all  produced  under  glass,  render 
them  independent  of  the  weather,  and  therefore  that  important 
element  of  horticulture  does  not  come  into  play,  unless  it  be  in  ihe 
retarding  or  hurrying  on  of  certain  products.  But  the  grower  of  plants 
out  of  doors  has  again  had  a  very  hard  time  to  put  up  with ;  it  was 
very  nearly  a  repetition  of  1898,  we  had  the  same  periods  of  cold 
winds  and  long  and  very  trying  drought.  These  things  have  their 
efifect  on  fruit  and  vegetables,  especially  Pears  and  Apples,  from  which, 
owing  to  the  extent  of  their  blossoming  we  were  prepared  to  look 
for  a  good  crop,  but  on  the  whole  it  was  a  very  partial  one,  or,  as 
we  say  in  this  county,  “a  very  spotty  one” — that  is,  in  some  places 
and  on  some  trees  a  plenty,  and  in  others  none,  while  everything 
was  turned  topsy-turvy  in  the  flower  garden.  Roses  were  very  late, 
and  many  herbaceous  plants  which  delight  in  moisture  succumbed 
altogether.  It  is  to  be  hoped  our  droughty  seasons  are  drawing  to  a 
close.  We  have  had  a  good  cycle  of  them,  and  yet  after  all  I  think 
one  would  prefer  them  to  such  terrible  seasons  as  1879,  when  day 
after  day  rain  fell  and  the  corn  rotted  in  the  fields. 
The  year  has  not  been  remarkable  for  the  introduction  of  any 
great  novelty  in  flowers,  and  it  must  be  in  some  out  of  the  way 
cornir  whence  such  novelties  should  come,  for  all  parts  have  been 
invaded  by  the  zealous  explorer,  and  yet  now  and  then  something 
does  turn  up.  For  instance  that  very  beautiful  Lily,  Lilium  rubellum, 
which  has  been  imported  in  large  quantities  by  Messrs.  Wallace 
and  Co.  and  others.  At  the  Drill  Hall  meetings  of  the  R.H.S. 
all  novelties  worth  recording  have  been  exhibited  and  decorated, 
and  it  is  somewhat  curious  to  see  in  what  regular  lines  these 
novelties  run.  Among  Orchids  awards  of  merit  have  been  given 
to  twenty-five  Cattleyas,  sixteen  Lselio-Cattleyas,  and  thirty-seven 
Odontoglossums.  I  wonder  if  any  Orchid  grower  cultivates  all  these, 
which  year  by  year  are  produced.  We  florists  used  to  be  jeered  at 
for  growing  collections  of  flowers  which  we  said  were  distinct,  but 
in  which  the  general  public  could  see  very  little  if  any  difference. 
What  a  multitude  of  Cypripediums  have  been  raised  within  the  la.-t 
few  years,  and  yet  the  raising  of  new  ones  goes  on. 
Beside  Orchids  more  homely  flowers  have  beenjaised  and  exhibited 
in  large  numbers,  and  awards  of  merit  have  been  given  to  twenty 
Carnations,  twenty-eight  Chrysanthemums,  twenty-nine  Dahlias,  ma-t 
of  these  being  of  the  Cactus  type,  which  is  considered  now  more 
suitable  for  decoration,  while  the  old  Show  Ddhlia  has  very  much 
declined  in  public  estimation.  In  two  favourite  flowers,  the  Narcissus 
and  the  Rose,  not  many  new  varieties  have  been  produced ;  the  rage 
for  the  former  flower  has  somew'hat  declined,  and  no  wonder,  for  the 
production  of  varieties  has  been  pushed  to  a  ridiculous  extent.  The 
Rose  holds  its  own,  and  will  alw'ays  do  so  I  think,  but  of  the  large 
number  raised  on  the  continent  (about  sixty  or  seventy  every  year), 
very  few  find  their  way  to  our  gardens. 
I  should  be  glad  to  know  if  there  is  any  other  pursuit  which 
provides  its  lovers  with  such  a  wealth  of  literature  as  does  horti¬ 
culture.  Week  after  week  the  serial  productions  demand  the 
attention  of  its  votaries,  but  whose  appetite  is  so  voracious  as  to  be 
able  to  devour  them  all.  In  books  we  have  had  that  delightful 
volume  by  Miss  Jekyll,  “  Wood  and  Gardening,”  which  ought  to 
elevate  the  tastes  of  those  who  consult  its  pages  ;  then  there  is  also  a 
very  pleasant  book,  not  strictly  horticultural,  but  written  by  one  who 
has  taken  a  prominent  position,  and  who  has  been  for  some  years  a 
member  of  the  Council  of  the  R.H.S.,  Mr.  Henry  J.  Pearson,  who 
graphically  describes  his  journey  in  Nova  Zembla,  called  “  Beyond 
Petsora,”  although  his  researches  are  mostly  ornithological ;  and 
here  I  may  perhaps  say  without  vanity  that  I  have  just  passed 
through  the  press  a  new  edition  of  a  little  book  I  published  some 
years  ago,  “  Roses  for  Amateurs,”  and  I  do  not  think  it  is  often  given 
to  one  in  his  eighty-second  year  to  carry  out  a  work  of  this  kind. 
Special  societies  have,  I  think,  had  a  good  time  of  it.  The 
National  Auricula  has  increased  its  numbers ;  the  Carnation  and 
Picotee  Society,  under  the  fostering  care  of  Mr.  Martin  R.  Smith,  is  in 
a  flourishing  condition  ;  the  Chrysanthemum  Society  also  seems  to  be 
prospering,  as  also  does  the  Dahlia  Society,  although  it  has  to  mourn 
the  loss  of  its  accomplished  President;  while  the  National  Rose  Society 
closes  the  year  with  a  larger  balance  than  it  has  ever  had.  I  can  say 
very  little  about  the  Royal  Botanic  Society,  for  I  am  ignorant  of  its 
proceedings,  but  I  believe  it  goes  on  its  usual  way.  The  Crystal 
Palace  under  its  new  management  seems  likely  to  find  favour,  and 
unquestionably  there  is  no  place  in  or  near  London  where  horti¬ 
cultural  shows  can  be  held  with  such  pleasure  to  all  concerned. 
And  now  we  come  to  what  is  always  the  sorrowful  part  of  my 
little  addres.'-,  the  calling  of  the  death  roll,  and  few  years  are  full  of 
sadder  memories  than  that  which  is  now  closing  around  us.  First 
and  foremofst  was  the  patriarch  of  horticulture — Mr.  John  Lee  — 
wh)  entered  into  rest  ere  yet  the  first  month  of  the  year  was 
gone.  Hov  little  one  thought  that  when  that  accomplished  French 
horticulturist,  Mons.  Henry  de  Vilmorin,  was  over  with  us  at  the 
Conference  in  July,  he  was  to  pass  away  so  soon  for  ever  from  us. 
He  was  fond  of  our  country  and  people  ;  he  w^as  an  accomplished 
gentleman  who  spoke  our  language  with  fluency,  his  diction  was 
always  happy  and  refined,  his  manners  were  genial  and  his  conver¬ 
sation  piquant.  Many  of  our  leading  members,  such  as  the  late  Dr. 
Hogg  and  Mr.  Harry  J.  Veitch,  were  his  intimate  friends,  and  he  has 
left  a  blank  which  it  will  be  impossible  to  fill. 
Then  there  was  my  dear  old  friend  Frank  Rivers,  who  carried  on 
at  Sawbridgeworth  the  work  begun  years  ago  by  his  esteemed  father. 
Between  them  they  enriched  our  gardens  and  orchards  with  many 
valuable  productions  in  flowers  and  fruits ;  Mr.  Rivers’  father  was  at 
one  time  a  most  successful  grower  of  Roses,  but  his  son  did  not  take 
so  much  to  them  as  to  fruit,  to  which  he  was  devoted  ;  how  genial  and 
pleasant  he  was,  and  what  a  fund  of  anecdote  and  general  information 
he  had.  I  used  to  enjoy  very  much  my  chats  with  him  at  the  Horti¬ 
cultural  Club,  and  one  of  my  first  questions  to  him  used  to  be,  “  Well, 
Rivers,  what  new  books  ?  ”  and  I  was  always  sure  to  get  a  list  of 
some  worth  reading  ;  his  last  illness  was  protracted  and  painful,, 
causing  great  regret  to  his  friends. 
Dr.  S.  P.  Budd  of  Bath  was  also  a  great  loss  to  horticulture  ;  of 
course  from  the  distance  we  were  from  one  another  I  saw  little  of 
him,  but  he  was  for  many  years  a  successful  competitor  at  the 
exhibitions  of  the  National  Rcse  Society,  and  was  twice  the  holder 
of  its  challenge  trophies. 
Another  of  this  Society’s  most  distinguished  members  passed  away 
in  the  person  of  Mr.  T.  W.  Girdlestone.  He  was  well  known  to 
many  of  the  readers  of  the  Journal,  and  had  done  much,  both  by  his 
writings  and  energy,  to  forward  the  culture  of  the  flowers  in  which 
