2U 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  'i5,  1900. 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  Society.— The  annual  meeting 
of  this  association  was  held  at  the  Caledonian  Hotel,  Adelphi,  on 
onday,  March  12th,  Mr.  Richard  Dean,  V.M.H.,  occupying  the  chair 
in  the  absence  through  indisposition  of  Mr.  S.  T.  Wright.  There  was  a 
fairly  large  attendance  of  members,  whose  expressions  relative  to  the 
committee  of  management  proved  that  the  affairs  of  the  society  were 
most  satisfactory  and  in  perfectly  capable  hands.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  this  is  essentially  a  benefit  and  provident  society  that  tends  in 
every  way  to  benefit  members  of  the  craft  who  are  also  members  of  the 
institution.  Each  of  the  several  funds  shows  a  substantial  balance  in 
hand,  and  the  total  amount  of  invested  capital  now  amounts  to  nearly 
£10,000.  It  was  mentioned  as  indicative  of  the  admirable  manage¬ 
ment  that  the  dividends  on  the  several  investments  exceeded  by 
upwards  of  £20  the  whole  of  the  expenses  for  the  year.  We  shall  give 
fuller  detail  in  our  next  issue. 
Blytta  Gardeners’  Soelety. — Mr.  Mallender,  Hodsock  Priory, 
recently  gave  an  excellent  lecture  on  “  Daffodils.”  The  room  was  well 
filled  by  an  appreciative  audience.  The  lecturer  dwelt  chiefly  on  the 
history  of  the  flower,  going  back  3000  or  4000  years.  He  mentioned 
the  names  of  several  ancient  and  modern  poets  who  have  sung  the 
praises  of  its  beauty.  The  Daffodil  is  found  wild  in  Great  Britain,  also 
in  Southern  and  Central  Europe,  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean, 
China,  and  Japan,  There  are  about  400  varieties  named,  the  prices 
varying  from  one  halfpenny  to  12  guineas  each,  and  some  are  quoted 
even  higher  than  that.  Up  to  a  very  few  years  ago  we  were  dependent 
on  the  Dutch  for  our  supply  of  Daffodils,  and  even  up  to  the  present 
day  the  Dutch  send  enormous  quantities  to  meet  our  requirements. 
There  are,  however,  several  growers  who  have  taken  up  the  cultivation 
of  the  Daffodil  at  home,  and  Mr.  Mallender  drew  special  attention  to 
the  soil  in  and  around  Blyth  as  being  in  every  way  suitable  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  favourite  flower.  He  fully  described  the  modes  of 
cultivation.  A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  proposed  to  the  lecturer  by 
the  Rev.  C.  E.  Scott  Moncrieff,  and  carried. 
Heading-  Gardeners’  Society.  —  The  large  attendance  of 
members  present  at  the  fortnightly  meeting  of  the  Reading  and 
District  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Association  on  Monday  last 
testified  to  the  increased  interest  which  is  now  being  taken  in  hardy 
flowers.  The  subject  for  the  evening  was  ”  The  Formation  and 
Arrangement  of  a  Hardy  Border  with  a  List  of  Plants  Suitable  for 
Same,”  by  Mr.  D.  Harris,  gardener  to  Col.  Jekyll,  Munsted  House, 
Godaiming,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  the  paper  was  of  a  very 
practical  character.  The  lecturer  described  the  best  sites,  formation 
of  same,  soil,  suitable  plants  and  their  arrangement,  time  of  planting, 
and  many  other  essential  points.  A  large  number  of  questions  were 
asked,  and  an  interesting  discussion  followed.  A  feature  of  the  evening 
was  two  splendid  floral  exhibits  by  Mr.  P.  Lever,  The  Gardens,  Hillside, 
Reading,  and  Mr.  W.  Townsend,  The  Gardens,  Sandhurst  Lodge,  the 
former  staging  Azalea  indica  alba,  A.  Deutsche  Pearl  (grown  from 
cuttings),  Doronicum  causasicum  (grown  in  pots),  and  a  splendid 
flowered  Dendrobium  nobile ;  whilst  the  latter  staged  a  beautiful 
group  of  Begonia  Gloire  de  Sceaux. 
Sandy  Hortlcultu  Society. — The  recent  annual  meeting, 
under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  ..  F.  Love,  was  well  attended.  Mr.  Sills, 
assistant  secretary,  read  a  report  and  balance-sheet,  which  were  most 
gratifying  as  showing  marked  success  and  all-round  advance.  The 
income  is  now  over  £1000,  and  whereas  at  the  first  show  in  1869  only 
£64  13s.  9d.  was  paid  in  prizes,  last  year  the  total  was  £439  15s. ;  in 
the  former  year  the  gate-money  was  £27  19s.  3d.,  and  last  year  it  went 
up  to  £416  11s.  4d.  £100  was  added  to  the  deposit  account  in  the 
bank,  making  a  total  of  £175  11s.  2d. ;  there  was  £3  2s.  4d.  in  the 
treasurer’s  hands,  and  subscriptions  in  arrear,  thought  to  be  good, 
amounted  to  £5  10s.,  so  that  the  total  assets  of  the  show  are  now 
£184  3s.  6d.  The  chairman  considered  this  a  most  satisfactory  position, 
and  the  reports  and  accounts  were  unanimously  adopted.  It  was 
agreed  to  ask  Mr.  R.  0.  Fordham  of  Broom  to  be  president  for  this 
year,  and  Major  Shuttleworth’s  name  was  added  to  the  president’s  list. 
A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  Mr.  Gerald  D.  Smith  for 
acting  as  president  last  year.  The  chairman,  in  proposing  a  cordial 
vote  of  thanks  to  Sir  Robert  Edgeumbe  for  the  use  of  his  park  for  the 
show,  said  that  was  the  essential  item  for  the  success  of  the  show  j  for 
during  its  career  of  thirty  years  it  was  only  out  of  Sandye  Place  once, 
and  that  very  nearly  killed  it.  Hearty  thanks  were  also  accorded  to  the 
i-ector  for  opening  his  grounds  to  the  donors  of  special  prizes,  and 
to  the  committee  and  officials. 
IHetropolltan  Public  Gardens. — At  the  last  monthly  meeting 
of  the  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association  a  vote  of  condolence 
was  passed  with  the  family  of  Mr.  J.  T.  Bedford,  who  died  at  an 
advanced  age.  He  bad  been  vice-chairman  of  the  organisation 
from  its  inception.  It  was  reported  that  the  purchase  of  Dollis  Hill 
Estate  as  a  public  park  had  been  completed  by  the  Willesden  District 
Council,  and  that  another  scheme  for  the  purchase  of  the  Alexandra 
Park  and  Palace  for  public  recreation  had  been  revived  with  some 
prospect  of  success.  It  was  stated  that  among  other  work  of  the 
association  it  was  engaged  in  laying  out  St.  Mary’s  Churchyard, 
Plaistow,  and  Christ  Church  Churchyard,  Blackfriars,  as  public  gardens 
and  would  shortly  begin  the  formation  of  a  children’s  playground  at 
Sumner  Road,  Camberwell. 
Hessle  Gardeners’  Society. — A  fortnightly  meeting  of  the 
above  society  was  held  in  the  parish  schoolroom  on  February  27th, 
Mr.  Mason  in  the  chair.  A  very  interesting  and  suggestive  paper  on 
horticultural  exhibits  and  point  judging  was  read  by  Mr.  J.  P.  Lead- 
better,  gardener  to  A.  Wilson,  Esq.,  Tranby  Croft  Gardens,  Hull.  The 
essayist,  in  a  few -well  chosen  remarks,  referred  to  the  necessity  of  a 
method  of  point  judging,  which  should  be  established  on  a  system  that 
would  be  applicable  to  groups,  specimen  plants,  cut  flowers,  and 
vegetables  much  in  the  same  way  as  is  occasionally  done  with  fruits. 
He  also  stated  very  definitely  that  the  true  value  of  every  individual 
point  should  be  found  in  the  exhibit.  An  interesting  discussion  ensued, 
which  brought  an  enjoyable  evening  to  a  close.  The  committee  is 
doing  its  utmost  to  establish  a  summer  show  in  connection  with  this 
society.  The  efforts  have  so  far  been  favoured  with  the  generous 
support  of  the  public.  In  addition  to  receiving  the  support  of  the 
president,  A.  Wilson,  Esq.,  other  influential  gentlemen  have  promised 
their  patronage. — J.  F.  D.,  Yorh. 
Bristol  Gardeners’  Association,  —  The  usual  fortnightly 
meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  at  St.  John’s  Parish  Room,  Redland, 
on  Thursday,  8th  inst.  A  large  attendance  was  presided  over  by  Mr. 
Chas.  Lock.  Mr.  R.  Slewart,  Sneyd  Park,  provided  the  paper,  which 
was  on  the  subject  of  ‘‘  i’eaches  and  Nectarines.”  He  disclaimed  at  the 
outset  any  intention  of  dealing  with  the  culture  of  the  fruits  in  the 
open  air,  and  confined  hjs  remarks  to  orchard  house  culture.  Handling 
the  subject  in  a  masterly  way,  he  described  the  structure  he  thought 
most  suitable,  the  method  of  preparing  the  borders  for  planting,  the 
soil  best  suited  to  the  plants,  and  the  time  and  manner  of  planting. 
He  also  gave  a  good  deal  of  information  respecting  the  pruning  and 
training  of  trees,  root-pruning,  disbudding,  and  thinning  of  fruit,  also 
urging  care  in  watering,  that  ttie  trees  may  never  get  quite  dry  on  the 
one  hand  or  very  wet  on  the  other.  Mr.  Stewart  concluded  an  able 
paper  by  enumerating  the  varieties  he  thought  most  useful  a;id  the 
many  pests  to  which  Paches  were  liable.  A  good  discussion  followed, 
and  Mr.  Stewart  was  aicorded  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks  on  the  motion 
of  the  chairman.  Prizes  for  three  Hyacinths  were  awarded,  Mr.  Price 
first,  Mr.  Pidgeon  second.  Certificate  of  merit  went  to  Messrs. 
McCullock  and  Quick  ^each  for  a  fine  specimen  of  Ccelogyne  cristata), 
Mr.  White  (CymbJium  eburneum),  Mr.  Cutler  (Dendrobium 
Wardianum),  Mr.  Pree  (Dendrobium  nobile  Cooksoni),  and  Mr.  Quick 
(Dendrobium  nobile  . 
meteorological  Observations  at  Ctalswlck. — Taken  in  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
*o 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
a> 
itoo. 
March. 
.2'g 
At  9  A.  M. 
Day. 
Night 
.5 
‘S 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Lo-wesi 
Temperat 
on  Grasi 
*5 
Drj 
Julh. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
-id 
91 
<D 
A 
bO 
5 
91 
o 
Hi 
Sunday . .  4 
N.E. 
deg. 
36-6 
deg. 
34-4 
deg. 
39-5 
deg. 
35-3 
ins. 
0-01 
deg. 
40-8 
deg. 
42-7 
deg. 
44-1 
deg. 
33-8 
Monday . .  5 
N.E. 
38-0 
35-8 
39*5 
36-2 
_ 
40-4 
42-4 
44-1 
31*1 
Tuesday  0 
N.E. 
38-4 
36-0 
39-3 
37-0 
_ 
40-.5 
42-2 
44-0 
35-3 
Wed’sday  7 
N.W. 
3S-9 
33-9 
41-9 
34  8 
_ 
39-9 
42-1 
43-9 
32*9 
Thursday  8 
E.N.E. 
36-9 
34-8 
41-4 
37-1 
_ 
40-6 
42-1 
43-9 
34*5 
Friday  ..  9 
K.iN.  K. 
40-5 
30-7 
46-1 
37  2 
_ 
40-1 
41-9 
43-9 
33*3 
Saturday  10 
E.N.E. 
43-9 
41-1 
65-4 
38-8 
— 
40-5 
41-9 
43-9 
32-9 
Means  .. 
39-2 
30-1 
43-3 
36*6 
Total 
0-01 
40-4 
42-2 
44-0 
33-4 
A  week  almosi  witheut  rain,  dull,  and  sunless,  with  cold  north¬ 
easterly  winds. 
