April  12,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
305 
Recent  'Weather  In  Xondon. — The  weather  in  the  metropolis 
during  the  past  few  days  has  been  decidedly  pleasanter  owing  to  the 
cessation  of  cold  winds.  Both  Saturday  and  Sunday  were  fine  on  the 
whole,  though  the  sun  did  not  shine  very  brightly.  On  Monday  morning 
it  was  quite  foggy,  but  the  sun  shone  brilliantly  later.  Rain  fell  rather 
heavily  in  the  evening,  but  it  was  not  cold.  Tuesday  was  an  ideal 
spring  morning.  Wednesday  opened  dull,  and  was  inclined  to  be 
showery. 
Weather  In  the  Worth. — On  three  mornings  of  the  week  ending 
the  9th  inst.  frosts  of  2°,  3°,  and  4°  occurred,  the  last  on  Sunday 
morning,  when  the  hoar  frost  was  very  dense.  The  days  have  been 
alternately  dull  and  bright,  and  occasional  showers  have  fallen.  Cold 
easterly  winds  have  generally  prevailed,  but  on  Monday  the  wind 
changed  to  the  west,  bringing  intermittent  cold  showers. — B.  D., 
S.  Perthshire. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society — Special  Wotlce.  —  Notice  is 
hereby  given  that  a  general  meeting  of  the  society  will  be  held  at 
117,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster,  on  Wednesday,  April  25th,  at  2  p.m. 
(i.)  To  consider,  and  sanction  if  approved  (either  with  or  without 
addition,  omission,  or  alteration),  certain  new  by-laws  rendered 
necessary  by  the  Supplemental  Charter  lately  granted  to  the  society, 
(ii.)  To  consider  and  adopt,  if  approved,  the  following  resolutions, 
viz.  : — (a)  That  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation  adopted 
unanimously  at  the  annual  general  meeting  to  celebrate  the  centenary 
of  the  society  by  remov'ing  the  gardens  from  Chiswick,  this  meeting 
adopts  the  proposal  of  the  council  to  purchase  a  freehold  site  in  the 
parish  of  Limpsfield,  in  Surrey,  and  authorises  the  council  to  take  the 
necessary  steps  for  acquiring  the  said  site,  and  for  developing  new 
gardens  thereon.  (h)  That  this  meeting  authorises  the  council  to 
enter  into  negotiations  with  and  to  obtain  the  co-operation  of  the 
Board  of  Agriculture  and  Horticulture,  the  University  of  Loudon,  and 
the  County  Councils,  with  a  view  to  the  establishment  in  connection 
with  or  in  affiliation  to  the  society,  of  a  representative  School  of 
Practical  and  Scientific  Horticulture ;  the  scheme  to  be  duly  submitted 
to  the  Pellows  for  approval.  N.B. — The  Supplemental  Charter  and 
the  new  by-laws  will  be  printed  in  full  in  the  next  number  of  the 
Society’s  Journal,  vol.  xxiii.,  part  3.  Fellows  requiring  an  advance 
proof  of  the  by-laws  can  obtain  it  on  personal  application  at  the 
society’s  office.  By  order  of  the  council. — W.  Wilks,  Secretary. 
Scottish  Horticultural  Association. — The  monthly  meeting 
of  this  association  was  held  in  the  rooms,  5,  St.  Andrew  Square, 
Edinburgh,  on  April  3rd.  Mr.  M.  Todd,  one  of  the  vice-presidents, 
presided  over  a  large  attendance.  The  lecturer  of  the  evening  was 
Mr.  David  P.  Laird  of  Pinkhill  Nurseries,  Edinburgh,  and  his  subject 
was  that  of  “Ornamental  Trees  and  Shrubs  for  Town  and  Villa 
Gardens.”  As  Mr.  Laird  remarked,  the  subject  was  too  extensive  to 
be  treated  in  detail,  but  the  manner  in  which  he  dealt  with  it  showed  a 
careful  grasp  of  the  wants  of  town  and  villa  gardens,  and  how  they 
could  best  be  met.  The  several  heads  of  the  paper  covered  the  leading 
factors  in  the  problem  of  the  best  things  to  plant  and  under  what 
conditions  they  should  be  planted.  The  paper  was  of  a  high  order  of 
merit,  and  was  made  all  the  more  agreeable  by  the  humorous  hits  at 
his  own  occupation  and  those  who  followed  it.  A  valuable  suggestion 
for  those  about  to  build  a  house  was  that  the  architect  should  set 
apart  a  sum  for  the  planting  of  the  grounds,  so  that  the  extras  which 
always  occurred  should  not  absorb  all  the  amount  intended  to  be 
spent,  and  was  supported  by  a  quotation  from  Mr.  Lorimer,  a  well, 
known  architect,  to  the  same  effect.  The  Lime  was  mentioned  as  an 
unsuitable  tree  on  account  of  its  size  and  the  early  date  at  which  its 
foliage  became  pickly  looking.  A  lively  discussion  followed,  taken 
part  in  by  Messrs.  Arnott,  Murray,  Fish,  Lonie,  Grieve,  and  others- 
ilr.  Fish  made  a  vigorous  and  poetical  defence  of  the  Lime.  The 
chairman  made  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  discussion,  and  Mr.  Laird 
was  accorded  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks.  It  is  proposed  that  the 
annual  excursion  of  the  members  be  to  Keir  in  J une,  if  it  can  be 
arranged. — S.  A. 
Midland  Daffodil  Society. — The  exhibition  at  the  Edgbaston 
Botanical  Gardens  is  fixed  for  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  April  25th 
and  26Dh.  Notice  of  entry  for  competitive  exhibits  must  be  received 
not  later  than  Monday  23rd  (as  Rule  2),  but  where  entries  can  be  made 
the  previous  week  it  will  help  very  much.  The  committee  hopes  to 
hold  a  conference  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day  of  the  show,  and 
would  like  to  meet  as  many  members  as  possible,  when  any  suggestions 
could  be  brought  forward  and  discussed.  Exhibitors  are  requested 
to  note  that  the  non-naming  of  flowers  may  lead  to  disqualification. 
The  secretaries  are  Messrs.  .1.  Jacob  and  H.  Smith,  Tenby  Street, 
Birmingham.  The  National  Auricula  Society  (Midland  Section)  will 
hold  its  first  annual  exhibition  in  connection  with  the  above  on  the  first 
day  only. 
Birmingham  Gardeners’  Association. — At  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  members,  presided  over  by  Mr.  Walter  Jones,  Mr.  F.  W.  E. 
Shrivell,  of  Thompson’s  Farm,  Golden  Green,  Tonbridge,  was 
responsible  for  an  interesting  and  instructive  essay  on  “  Chemical 
Manures  in  the  Kitchen  Garden.”  The  lecturer  gave  statistics  adduced 
from  some  important  experiments  on  a  large  scale  which  he  had  under¬ 
taken  during  a  period  of  several  years  upon  the  comparative  values  of 
dung  and  chemical  manures  in  regard  to  especially  Asparagus,  Broccoli. 
Brussels  Sprouts,  and  Rhubarb,  the  latter  both  naturally  grown  and 
forced.  Of  fruits.  Damsons  and  Strawberries  were  specially  recognised. 
Potash  or  kainit  was  pronounced  to  be  not  suitable  for  the  Strawberry 
plant,  and  the  variety  experimented  on  was  Royal  Sovereign. 
Wolverhampton  Floral  Fete.  — The  dates  fixed  for  this  popular 
exhibition  are  July  10th,  11th,  and  12th,  and  full  particulars  and 
schedules  may  be  obtained  from  the  secretary,  Mr.  W.  E.  Barnett, 
Snow  Hill,  Wolverhampton.  It  is  the  rule  of  this  society  to  offer 
excellent  prizes,  of  which  £50  for  a  group  of  miscellaneous  plants,  and 
£45  for  sixteen  stove  and  greenhouse  plants  may  be  quoted  as  examples. 
This  year  five  new  classes  have  been  added,  of  which  one  is  for  a 
collection  of  Orchids,  with  £24  to  be  given  in  three  prizes;  one  for 
twelve  bunches  of  Roses  with  £10  ;  one  for  a  collection  of  pot  Roses 
with  £18  ;  one  for  a  collection  of  hardy  herbaceous  plants  with  £4  4s. ; 
and  one  for  a  floral  display  with  £13.  To  the  first  prize  in  the  last 
named  class  a  25-guinea  challenge  trophy  will  be  added.  These  five 
classes  alone,  with  such  generous  prizes,  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  make 
a  show  in  themselves. 
The  Royal  Meteorological  Society. — On  Tuesday,  the  3rd 
inst.  the  Royal  Meteorological  Society  celebrated  iis  jubilee,  having 
been  founded  on  April  3rd,  1850.  A  commemoration  meeting  was 
held  in  the  afternoon  at  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  Great 
George  Street,  Westminster,  Dr.  C.  Theodore  Williams  in  the  chair. 
There  was  a  large  attendance,  including  delegates  from  a  number  of 
other  scientific  societies.  In  view  of  the  jubilee  the  late  Mr.  G.  J. 
Symons,  F.R.S.,  was  elected  president  at  the  annual  me.-ting  on 
Jan.  I7th,  but  owing  to  his  being  seized  with  paralysis  he  was  obliged 
to  resign  the  office.  Dr.  Williams,  in  concluding  his  address,  stated  that 
Mr.  Symons  had  bequeathed  to  the  society  £200,  as  well  as  the  bulk  of 
his  library.  Brief  addresses  were  delivered  by  Prof.  J.  J.  Thomson, 
F.R.S.,  on  behalf  of  the  Royal  Society  ;  by  Mr.  E.  B.  Knobel,  president, 
on  behalf  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society;  by  Mr.  J.  J.  H.  Teall^ 
F.R.S.,  president,  on  behalf  of  the  Geological  Society  ;  by  Mr.  R.  C, 
Mossman,  P.R.S.E.,  on  behalf  of  the  Scottish  Meteorological  Society, 
and  by  Mr.  A.  Wynter  Blyth,  M.R.C.S.,  on  behalf  of  the  Sanitary 
Institute.  Prof.  Dr.  G.  Hellmann  presented  an  address  from  the 
German  Meteorological  Society,  and  also  spoke  in  appreciation  of  the 
valuable  woik  done  by  the  Royal  Meteorological  Society.  In  the 
evenii  g  a  conversazione  was  held  at  the  Royal  Institute  of  Painters 
in  Water  Colours  in  Piccadilly,  the  guests  being  received  by  the 
president  and  Mrs.  Theodore  Williams.  An  exhibition  of  meteorological 
instruments  was  arranged  in  the  banqueting  room,  and  lantern 
demonstrations  were  given.  The  Royal  Artillery  String  Band  pliyed 
during  the  evening,  and  short  concerts  by  the  “  Schartau  ”  part- 
singers  were  given  at  intervals.  On  Wednesday  a  large  party  of 
the  Fellows  were  shown  over  the  Royal  Observatory,  Greenwich,  hy 
the  Astronomer  Royal,  after  which  they  paid  a  visit  to  the  Painted 
Hall  and  Naval  Museum.  In  the  evening  a  dinner  was  held  at  the 
Westminster  Palace  Hotel,  which  was  numerously  attended,  the 
president  being  in  the  chair.  The  toast  of  the  “  Royal  Meteorological 
Society  ”  was  proposed  by  Mr.  W.  N.  Shaw,  F.R.S.  Gen.  Sir  H.  W. 
Norman  responded  for  the  Army  ;  Prof.  Silvanus  P.  Thompson,  F.R.S., 
for  the  delegates,  and  Dr.  Pavy  for  the  visitors. 
