JOURNAL  OP  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  2i,  189? 
52 
Weather  in  London. — Those  who  accept  the  presence  of  snow 
on  the  trees,  the  houses,  and  the  roads  as  being  synonymous  with 
winter  would  be  satisfied  on  Saturday  and  Sunday  last.  On  the  first- 
named  day  there  was  a  fairly  heavy  fall,  the  snow  remaining  over 
Sunday,  on  which  night  a  rapid  thaw  set  in.  Both  nights  brought 
sharp  frosts,  but  Monday  evening  saw  a  reduction,  and  on  Tuesday 
night  it  was  wet  and  mild,  Bain  fell  slightly  at  the  time  of  going  to 
press  on  Wednesday. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — The  weather  for  the  past  week 
has  been  pleasantly  seasonable,  the  days  and  evenings  being  calm  and 
bright,  and  frost  of  varying  intensity  prevailed  throughout  ;  4°  were 
registered  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  11°  and  14°  on  the  following  days. 
On  Tuesday  morning  there  was  a  slight  appearance  of  a  change,  10°  of 
frost  being  recorded. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  Cardiff  Gardeners’  Association. — The  opening  of  the 
Session  1897  took  place  on  Tuesday,  January  5th,  when  a  lecture  was 
delivered  bv  Mr.  W.  W.  Pettigrew,  gardener  to  the  Cardiff  Corporation, 
on  “  Process  of  Fertilisation,”  illustrated  by  limelight.  Other  evenings 
will  be  devoted  to  “  The  Culture  of  the  Carnation,”  by  Mr.  Pike> 
January  12th  ;  “  Vine  Culture,”-  by  Mr.  Tucker,  January  26th  ;  “  The 
Fuchsia,”  by  Mr.  J.  Julian,  February  9th  ;  “  Carnivorous  and  Insecti¬ 
vorous  Plants,”  by  F.  G.  Treseder,  February  23rd.  The  Hon.  Secretary 
is  Mr.  W,  J.  Hockey. 
-  Seed  Distribution. — The  whole  subject  of  the  methods  by 
which  seeds  are  distributed  is  attracting  considerable  attention  just 
now.  It  seems  almost  impossible  to  construct  any  general  law  by  which 
to  explain  the  reason  for  things  in  nature.  It  does  seem,  for  instance, 
safe  to  say  that  wings  are  given  to  seeds  to  enable  them  to  fly  far  away 
from  the  parent  tree,  and  thus  extend  the  area  of  territory  occupied  by 
the  species.  But  in  many  of  the  large-seeded  Pines— the  Linden  and 
others — the  hollow  seeds  only  are  the  ones  blown  away.  The  solid,  per¬ 
fect  seeds  remain  around  the  parent  tree.  The  objectors  to  everything 
argue  that  wings  are  given  to  fan  out  the  light,  useless  material.  But, 
says  an  American  contemporary,  this  surely  cannot  always  be. 
-  Hampton  Court  Gardens  —We  learn  that  Mr.  Archibald 
Graham,  who  has  been  some  twenty  years  superintendent  of  these 
famous  public  gardens,  and  who  by  virtue  of  advanced  age  would  soon 
have  been  retired,  has  resigned  the  post,  and  will  shortly  quit  Hampton 
Court,  He  is  to  be  succeeded  by  Mr.  Gardiner,  for  some  time  superin¬ 
tendent  of  Greenwich  Park.  This  gentleman  will  find  in  his  new  sphere 
wide  scope  for  the  exercise  of  his  talents  in  flower  gardening,  for  that 
is  here  the  dominant  attraction,  so  far  as  the  grounds  are  concerned. 
There  is  especially  room  for  the  introduction  of  hardy  border  flowers  to 
a  much  greater  extent  than  now  is  found.  The  staff  left  by  Mr.  Graham 
is  a  good  one  and  well  up  to  the  work,  so  that  any  new  superintendent 
will  at  the  outset  find  his  responsibilities  materially  lightened.  Hampton 
Court  yearly  grows  in  popularity,  as  indeed  it  is  a  beautiful  place,  and 
now  that  the  great  Home  Park  is  open  to  the  public  there  is  no  more 
attractive  place  of  resort  that  is  fully  public  in  the  kingdom.  It  is 
stated  that  locally  a  testimonial  to  Mr.  Graham  is  being  prepared. 
-  Winchester  Gardeners’  Association.— On  Tuesday  the 
12th  inst.,  at  a  meeting  of  the  above  Association,  Mr.  Curtis,  gardener 
to  W.  F.  G.  Spranger,  Esq.,  Springhills,  Southampton,  read  a  paper 
on  “  Tomato  Culture  under  Glass.”  The  remarks  were  illustrated  with 
plants  from  seeds  sown  thickly,  from  seeds  sown  thinly,  and  rods  a  year 
old,  from  which  fruit  was  cut  at  the  end  of  December.  The  paper  was 
both  practical  and  instructive.  Questions  were  invited,  and  the  number 
asked  proved  that  the  subject  was  one  in  which  many  members  were 
interested.  Certificates  of  merit  were  awarded  to  Mr.  Munt,  gardener 
to  Mrs.  Warner,  Salcot,  for  three  plants  of  Primula  Prince  Arthur,  and 
three  plants  of  SolaDum  capsicastrum,  which  were  very  dwarf  and  well 
berried  ;  Mr.  Crook,  gardener  to  A.  B.  Dyer,  Esq.,  Palm  Hall,  for  three 
Primulas,  alba  plena,  and  a  plant  of  Cyclamen  White  Butterfly  ;  Mr. 
AdamB,  gardener  to  Colonel  Dickins,  Blackbridge  House,  for  three  plants 
of  Primula  sinensis  fimbriata.  Several  other  exhibits  were  very  highly 
commended. 
-  Gardening  Appointment.  —  Mr.  Henry  Haines,  head 
gardener  for  the  past  nine  years  at  Shottesbrooke  Park,  Maidenhead, 
has  been  appointed  in  the  same  capacity  to  W.  N.  Diggle,  Esq., 
Eiford,  Lymington, 
-  The  Silver  Wedding  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  T.  Whillans, 
Blenheim  Palace  Gardens. — This  was  celebrated  in  a  very  pleasant 
manner  on  January  6th,  when  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  kindly  sanctioned 
the  use  of  the  capacious  corridors  of  the  south  block  of  greenhouse*, 
which  were  prettily  decorated,  for  the  purpose  of  entertaining  the  many 
friends,  including  the  principal  domestics  at  the  palace,  who  assembled 
in  goodwill  and  amity  to  the  hosts  to  honour  the  event.  A  most  enjoy¬ 
able  evening  was  spent,  and  for  those  who  were  present  will  form  a  very 
pleasant  remembrance.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whillans  were  the  recipients  of 
numerous  tokens  of  friendship  and  kindly  congratulation,  amongst 
others  a  handsome  silver  cake  basket,  given  by  the  garden  employes, 
which  will  no  doubt  be  regarded  as  a  most  sincere  expression  of  kindly 
sentiments. 
-  The  Hessle  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
— At  a  meeting  held  January  12th,  Mr.  Chas.  Lawton  in  the  chair,  a 
paper  was  read  by  Mr.  Peake,  Superintendent  of  the  Public  Parks  and 
Gardens  of  Hull,  on  “  Trees  in  Towns.”  The  essay  was  confined  mostly 
to  the-  planting  and  management  of  trees  in  streets,  and  the  varieties 
best  adapted  for  the  low-lying  town  of  Hull,  the  appearance  of  which 
has  been  considerably  improved  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  by 
the  large  number  of  trees  which  have  been  planted,  and  now  much 
admired,  and  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  the  inhabitants.  Great  credit 
is  due  to  Mr.  Peake,  under  whose  superintendence  the  work  proceeded, 
for  bringing  about  such  successful  results.  Votes  of  thanks  to  the 
essayist  and  Chairman  concluded  the  meeting. — F.  L.  T. 
-  Beading  Horticultural  Society.  —  The  annual  general 
meeting  of  the  Beading  and  District  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement 
Association  was  held  in  the  Club  Boom  on  Monday,  January  11th.  Mr. 
T.  Neve,  the  Chairman  of  the  Association,  presided  over  a  large  gather¬ 
ing  of  members.  After  the  report  and  balance-sheet,  which  were  of  a 
very  satisfactory  character,  had  been  read  and  adopted,  the  following 
members  were  elected  to  fill  the  various  offices  during  the  ensuing  year. 
President,  Mr.  C.  B.  Stevens  ;  Chairman,  Mr.  T.  Neve  ;  Vice-Chairman, 
Mr.  E.  Dearlove  ;  Librarian,  Mr.  James  Martin ;  Assistant  Librarian, 
Mr.  E.  Dore ;  Treasurer,  Mr.  W.  Phipps;  Secretary,  Mr.  J.  Pound,  jun.  ; 
Committee,  Messrs.  F.  Bright,  C.  Burton,  B.  Butcher,  B,  Chamberlain, 
H.  G.  Cox,  B.  Dockerill,  H.  Farey,  W.  Goddard,  B.  Hearn,  G.  Hinton, 
J.  Pound,  G.  Smith,  W.  Smith,  T.  Turton,  H.  Wilson,  and  J.  Woolford. 
A  very  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  retiring  President,  Mr. 
Arthur  W.  Sutton,  for  the  great  interest  he  had  shown  in  the  Associa¬ 
tion  during  his  term  of  office.  A  beautiful  collection  of  Primula 
obconica  was  shown  by  Mr.  Townsend,  gardener  to  Sir  William  Farrer, 
Sandhurst  Lodge,  and  was  greatly  admired. 
-  Horticultural  Club. — The  monthly  dinner  and  conver¬ 
sazione  took  place  at  the  Hotel  Windsor  on  Tuesday,  12th  inst.  'The 
chair  was  taken  by  Mr.  Harry  J.  Veitch  (Vice-Chairman  of  the  Club). 
The  subject  for  discussion  was  “  The  Proposals  for  Horticultural 
Memorials  of  the  Queen’s  Beign,”  which  was  opened  by  the  Secretary, 
Bev.  H.  H,  D’Ombrain,  who  passed  in  review  the  various  proposals 
which  bad  been  advanced  in  the  gardening  papers,  and  expressed  his 
opinion  that  not  one  of  them  was  practicable,  and  that  as  far  as  a  horti¬ 
cultural  institute,  of  whatever  character  it  might  be,  was  concerned, 
there  was  no  situation  in  London  that  could  be  considered  eligible. 
What  was  required  was  not  so  much  a  hall  where  large  shows  could  be 
held  as  a  home  where  such  fortnightly  meetings  as  those  of  B.H.S. 
could  be  held,  together  with  some  suitable  offices  for  Committee  meetings 
and  horticultural  gatherings,  which  must  be  held  in  a  central  position 
alike  suitable  for  the  provinces  and  the  suburban  exhibitors.  A 
discussion  took  place,  and  the  general  opinion  was  that  with  the  air  full 
of  schemes  for  the  popular  celebration  of  the  sixtieth  year  of  the  Queen’s 
beneficent  reign,  the  year  1897  was  not  a  good  time  to  launch  a 
scheme  for  the  national  benefit  of  horticulture,  more  especially  after 
Her  Majesty  has  herself  indicated  that  what  would  be  most  acceptable 
to  her  would  be  the  strengthening  of  the  nursing  institutions,  hospitals, 
and  other  works  of  mercy  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering  and  poverty 
stricken  masses  of  the  people,  and  horticulturists  would  have  a  good 
opportunity  presented  to  them  of  following  this  particular  line  in 
strengthening  the  new  “  Victorian  Era  Fund  ”  about  to  be  raised  by  the 
Gardeners’  Boyal  Benevolent  Institution,  particulars  of  which  will 
shortly  be  announced. 
