January  18,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
49 
Recent  ^Veatber  In  Ziondon. —  On  Saturday  morning'  last  there 
was  a  general  frost  over  the  whole  of  the  metropolis,  and  it  kept  clear 
and  bright  throughout  the  day.  Sunday  was  brilliantly  fine,  but 
during  the  early  hours  of  Monday  morning  rain  fell  heavily,  and 
continued  at  intervals  until  midday  on  Tuesday.  After  this  time, 
though  nothing  more  than  a  drop  or  two  of  rain  fell,  it  was  dull, 
unpleasant,  and  very  enervating.  On  Wednesday  morning,  at  the  time 
of  going  to  press,  it  was  very  dull. 
Royal  Hortlcultaral  Society. — The  next  fruit  and  flower  show 
of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  in  the  Drill  Hall, 
James  Street,  Westminster,  on  Tuesday,  January  23rd,  1  to  4  p.M.  A 
lecture  on  “The  Neglect  of  Flowering  Shrubs  in  Gardens”  will  be 
given  at  three  o’clock  by  Mr.  Geo.  Bunyard,  V.M.H. 
Sblrley  Gardeners’  Association. — The  monthly  meeting  of 
above  Society  was  held  at  the  Parish  Room,  Shirley,  Southampton,  on 
Monday,  15th  inst.,  Mr.  B.  Ladhams,  F.R.H.S.,  presiding.  Mr.  W. 
Middlebrook,  of  Messrs.  Veitch  &  Son’s  Nursery,  Chelsea,  was  to  give 
a  paper  on  “  Pear  Culture,”  but  being  unable  to  attend,  his  carefully 
prepared  document  was  read  by  Mr.  G.  Miles,  The  Gardens,  Portswood 
Park.  The  paper  dealt  with  the  soils,  subsoils,  position,  planting, 
climate,  stocks,  pruning,  diseases,  and  insects.  A  good  discussion 
ensued. 
Columbines. — Except  to  the  botanists  Aquilegia  species  have 
far  fewer  charms  for  the  gardener  than  have  the  more  popular 
hybrids  of  species,  so  plentiful,  so  far  as  seed  is  concerned,  although  not 
half  so  widely  grown  in  gardens  as  they  should  be.  These  hybrids 
seem  to  have  collected  through  intercrossing,  all  the  forms  and  colours 
found  in  the  named  species,  with  many  more  hues  and  combinations. 
The  best  time  to  obtain  seed  for  sowing  is  in  the  spring.  As  a  rule 
the  seed  ripens  rather  late  for  sowing  outdoors  the  same  season,  but 
some  sown  in  pans  or  boxes  in  September  under  glass  will  give  strong 
plants  to  put  out  the  following  April.  I  greatly  prefer  to  have  strong 
plants  to  put  out  where  they  are  to  bloom  in  September,  as  these 
flower  very  finely  the  next  year,  whilst  late  seedlings  too  often  fail 
to  bloom  in  the  third  year. — A. 
Spring:  Planting:  Trees. — Though  what  Mr.  A.  H.  Pearson 
has  written  in  relation  to  tree  planting  is  correct,  the  majority  of 
gardeners  will  continue  to  prefer  doing  that  work  in  the  autumn, 
whilst  the  soil  is  yet  fairly  warm,  rather  than  in  midwinter  or 
in  the  spring.  But  let  the  season  be  what  it  may,  so  much  of 
success  after  planting  depends  on  the  care  exercised  in  lifting  first, 
and  the  shelter  given  to  the  roots  when  lifted  next,  ere  the 
replanting  is  done.  Trees  lifted  in  a  nursery  can  be  replanted  as 
fast  as  lifted.  But  when  they  have  to  be  sent  long  journeys  by 
rail,  and  are  some  three  or  four  days  en  route,  then  roots  suffer  very 
much,  especially  if  exposed  to  the  air.  When  received  it  is  wise  to 
stand  the  roots  a  few  hours  in  water  to  enable  them  to  become 
plump  before  the  planting  is  done.  I  do  not  at  all  think  there  is 
really  any  planting  now  done  in  holes  the  dimensions  of  a  silk  hat. 
The  metaphor  may  do  to  point  a  moral,  but  like  not  a  few  others  it 
is  somewhat  exaggerated. — A.  D. 
Kalancboe  flammea. — The  figure  of  this  plant  on  page  27  gives 
a  good  idea  of  the  light  airy  appearanoe  which  it  possesses,  but  cannot 
convey  to  the  reader’s  mind  the  beautiful  orange  scarlet  colour  of  the 
flowers.  Those  who  saw  it  in  flower  at  Kew  or  at  the  Chiswick  Con¬ 
ference  on  Hybridisation  will  need  no  farther  inducement  to  obtain  it 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  those  who  were  not  fortunate  enough  to  see  it 
may  be  firmly  convinced  that  it  is  one  of  the  finest  introductions  of 
recent  years,  and  will  prove  invaluable  when  we  have  mastered  the 
details  of  its  cultivation.  It  must  not  be  confused  with  another  species 
of  this  genus  which  was  introduced  some  few  years  ago,  and  now 
appears  to  have  dropped  out  of  cultivation.  That  plant  was  easily 
grown,  but  the  flowers  lacked  colour  and  proved  worthless  for  all 
practical  purposes.  The  present  species  promises  to  be  as  great  in 
success  as  the  other  plant  was  in  failure. — W.  H.  Divers,  Belvoir  Castle. 
Death  of  Mr.  Thomas  Harkness. — This  well  known  nursery 
man  passed  away  at  Oakfield,  Hitchin,  on  Wednesday,  December  27th, 
1899,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two  years.  The  deceased  retired 
from  business  about  twelve  years  ago. 
Park  for  Edmonton. — Pymmes  Park,  a  residence  and  estate  of 
53  acres,  has  come  into  the  possession  of  the  Edmonton  District 
Council,  which  has  acquired  it  for  £36,000  for  the  purposes  of  a  public 
park  and  recreation  ground.  The  estate  is  well  wooded,  and  contains 
a  fairly  large  sheet  of  water.  It  is  situated  in  the  heart  of  a  rapidly 
increasing  neighbourhood.  The  Middlesex  County  Council  has  con¬ 
tributed  £6000  towards  the  purchase,  and  grants  have  also  been  made 
by  the  Metropolitan  Tramway  Company,  the  City  Corporation,  and  the 
City  Parochial  Foundation. 
Reading-  Gardeners’  Association. — There  was  a  large  attend¬ 
ance  of  members  at  the  fortnightly  meeting  of  the  Reading  and  Dis¬ 
trict  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Association  on  Monday  evening 
to  hear  Mr.  G.  Hinton  of  Walmer  Gardens,  Reading,  read  his  essay, 
which  was  awarded  the  first  prize  in  the  recent  competition,  “  The 
Planting  of  a  Garden  with  Hardy  Fruit  Trees  and  Bushes.”  The  paper 
gave  rise  to  much  criticism,  and  during  an  hour  and  a  quarter’s 
interesting  discussion  many  points  on  planting,  manuring,  and  pruning 
were  touched  upon.  A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  Mr. 
Hinton  for  reading  his  paper,  and  to  Messrs.  Bunyard  &  Co.  of  Maid¬ 
stone  and  the  Hon.  Sec.  for  presents  of  books  to  the  library. 
The  ITew  Year  for  Tree  — Mother  Nature  has  just  celebrated 
a  birthday,  for  according  to  the  “Jewish  World”  Monday  was  the 
fifteenth  day  of  Shebat  in  the  Hebrew  calendar,  and  the  New  Year  for 
Trees.  Our  contemporary  points  out  that  of  the  four  new  year  days 
ordered  by  the  Talmudic  authorities  none  is  more  apposite  than  this 
one,  which  reminds  that  the  longest  nights  are  over,  that  the  sun 
renews  its  warmth,  the  forests  throw  off  the  lethargy  of  winter,  and  the 
sap  begins  to  rise  in  the  trees.  The  Rabbis  recognised  the  dulling 
influence  of  the  shorter  days  and  the  exultation  of  the  brighter  season, 
and  commanded  this  simple  festival  of  recognition  of  the  operations 
of  Nature.  As  contrasted  with  heathen  beliefs  at  the  period  when 
this  celebration  was  inaugurated,  our  contemporary  says  “it  should  be 
found  that  this  festival  of  the  trees’  birthday  has  had  no  little  share  in 
the  destruction  of  superstition  among  the  Jews,  and  especially  among 
the  Jewish  peasantry.  To-day  only  the  calendar  and  its  observances 
recall  the  life  of  far-off  days;  but  it  is  well  that  the  calendar  should 
stimulate  us  with  such  memorabilia. 
Warranty  of  Seeds— A  Wrong-  Crop. — Mr.  Justice  Channell 
had  before  him  recently,  in  the  Queen’s  Bench  division,  the  case  cf 
“  Howcroft  and  Another  v.  Perkins,”  which  was  an  action  brought  by 
the  plaintiffs,  seed  merchants,  against  Mr.  G.  Perkins,  a  nurseryman 
and  market  gardener,  to  recover  the  balance  of  an  account  for  goods 
supplied.  Defendant  admitted  the  claim,  but  set  up  a  counterclaim 
which  raised  a  point  of  considerable  interest  to  seed  merchants, 
nurserymen,  and  others.  It  appeared  that  in  October,  1898,  the 
plaintiffs’  traveller  called  upon  the  defendant  and  obtained  an  order 
for  certain  quantities  of  seed,  including  1  lb.  of  Clayworth  Prize 
Celery  seed,  the  price  of  which  was  3s.  The  defendant  said  that 
instead  of  supplying  him  with  what  he  ordered  the  plaintiff  sent  him 
Tumip-root  Celery  seed,  with  the  result  that  the  plants  which  he 
reared,  numbering  14,000,  only  realised  6d.  per  dozen  instead  of  Is.  6d. 
The  defendant  contended  that  the  plaintiffs’  traveller  warranted  that 
he  should  have  what  he  had  ordered,  though  he  admitted  that  the 
invoice  sent  by  the  plaintiffs  after  the  goods  had  been  delivered 
contained  a  clause  to  the  effect  that  the  vendors  gave  no  warranty, 
express  or  implied,  as  to  description,  quality,  productiveness,  or  any 
other  matter  to  any  goods  sent  out.  They  -would  not  be  in  any  way 
responsible  for  the  crop,  and  if  purchasers  did  not  accept  the  goods 
on  these  terms  they  were  to  return  them.  Plaintiffs  denied  that 
there  was  any  warranty,  and  contended  that  the  defendant  was  bound 
by  the  terms  of  the  invoice,  which  were  common  in  the  trade.  They 
further  said  that  unless  they  were  protected  by  these  terms  they 
would  have  to  go  in  for  an  extensive  system  of  insurance.  In  this 
case  the  plaintiff  purchased  seed  of  the  value  of  38.,  and  alleged 
that  he  had  sustained  damage  of  about  £60.  ilr.  Justice  Channell 
gave  judgment  for  the  plaintiffs,  holding  that  the  terms  contained  in 
the  invoice  were  reasonable  and  binding  upon  the  defendant.  Judg¬ 
ment  accordingly  for  the  plaintiffs  on  the  claim  and  counterclaim  with 
costs. 
