April  29,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
363 
“Journal  of  Horticulture  ”  Editorial  Department. — 
From  the  present  date ,  and  until  further  notice ,  it  is  particularly 
■requested  that  all  letters  and  parcels  intended  '  for  the  Editor,  also  all 
communications  for  insertion  in  the  “Journal  of  Horticulture,” 
be  addressed  to  S,  Rose  Hill  Road,  Wandsworth,  London,  S.  W. 
N.B. — Business  letters  and  advertisements  must  he  addressed  to  the 
City  Office. 
-  Weather  in  London. — Daring  the  latter  part  of  the  week 
ending  on  the  24th  the  winds  were  very  cold,  and  were  occasionally 
accompanied  by  driving  rain.  Sunday  was  bright  but  rather  cold,  but 
Monday  was  warm  and  summer-like.  There  was  a  heavy  mist  on 
Tuesday  morning,  which  was  maintained  in  a  lesser  degree  the  whole  of 
the  day,  which  was  rather  close  and  muggy,  culminating  in  a  heavy 
thunderstorm.  Rain  fell  in  torrents,  the  earlier  drops  being  of  enormous 
size.  Wednesday  opened  very  close  and  wet,  becoming  finer  after 
midday. 
— -  National  Auricula  Society.— The  northern  show  of  this 
Society  will  be  held  on  Saturday  next  in  the  Free  Library,  Middleton, 
near  Manchester.  The  usual  classes  are  scheduled,  and  we  trust  the 
exhibition  will  be  a  success. 
-  Tulip  Show. — Owing  to  the  late  cold  weather  having  kept 
back  the  flowers,  the  Show  of  the  National  Tulip  Society,  which  had 
been  announced  to  take  place  in  the  Botanic  Gardens,  Regent’s  Park, 
on  May  5th  and  6th,  has  been  posponed  to  the  12th  and  13th. 
- Berlin. — The  great  exhibition  to  celebrate  the  seventy-fifth 
anniversary  of  the  Horticultural  Society  of  Prussia  will  be  held  from 
April  28th  to  May  9th.  It  promises,  we  are  informed,  to  be  one  of  the 
greatest  shows  of  the  year,  and  visitors  to  the  Hamburgh  Show — which 
opens  on  the  1st  of  May — should  extend  their  journey  to  Berlin.  Roses, 
floral  arrangements,  forced  vegetables,  as  well  as  garden  projects,  will  be 
represented,  and  a  very  beautiful  display  is  anticipated. 
-  Magnolia  Soulangeana. — A  large  plant,  12  feet  high  and 
12  feet  through  of  this  beautiful  Magnolia  may  now  (April  19th)  be 
seen  in  full  flower  in  the  Azalea  garden  at  Kew.  Of  hybrid  origin,  it 
owes  its  parentage  to  M.  conspicua  crossed  with  M.  obovata.  In  habit 
and  colour  of  flowers  it  is  intermediate  between  the  two,  for  whilst  it 
has  the  height  of  M.  conspicua  it  has  the  more  slender  habit  of  its  other 
parent.  The  flowers  are  produced  with  extraordinary  freedom,  the 
plant  each  year  being  covered  with  blossoms,  which  continue  to  expand 
for  several  weeks ;  in  fact,  at  almost  any  time  during  summer  a  few 
flowers  are*  to  be  found.  They  are  large,  and  when  fully  expanded 
measure  7  inches  across.  The  inside  of  the  petals  is  white,  the  outside 
a  light  shade  of  purple.  Flowering  two  or  three  weeks  later  than 
M.  conspicua  it  is  not  so  likely  to  be  injured  by  frost.  A  warm  position 
should  be  given,  as  cold  cutting  winds  soon  turn  the  edges  of  the  petals 
brown. — W.  D. 
-  The  Late  Dr.  Hogg. — The  last  portrait  of  Dr.  Hogg,  which 
appeared  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  on  page  233,  March  18th,  was 
taken  in  the  photographic  department  of  that  gigantic  and  varied  supply 
organisation,  the  Army  and  Navy  Stores,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster. 
The  character  of  the  portrait  impressed  the  heads  of  the  department, 
and  it  was  thereupon  enlarged  to  practically  life  size  for  exhibiting  in 
the  Stores’  collection  as  an  example  of  high  and  effective  artistic  work. 
Mr.  Henry  J.  Pearson  of  Beeston,  member  of  Council  of  the  Royal 
'Horticultural  Society,  and  an  attached  friend  of  the  deceased  gentleman, 
paying  a  casual  visit  to  the  Stores,  happened  to  pass  through  the  depart¬ 
ment  in  which  the  portrait  was  displayed.  His  quick  eye  detected  it, 
and  with  prompt  Pearsonian  decision  he  secured  it  for  presentation  to 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  and  it  will  shortly  occupy  a  position, 
•with  other  worthies,  in  the  Council  room  of  the  Society.  It  is  a 
magnificent  representation,  in  carbon,  a  splendid  example  of  photo¬ 
graphic  art,  a  true  and  striking  likeness,  practically  imperishable.  It  is 
somewhat  remarkable  that  this,  the  only  portrait  of  its  kind,  should 
have  been  discovered  bo  unexpectedly  by  Mr.  Pearson,  whose  father  was 
■  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  esteemed  of  the  Doctor’s  personal  friends. 
-  The  Late  W.  G.  Head  Fund. — This  has  now  been  finally 
closed,  and  the  balance,  after  payment  of  medical,  funeral,  and  other 
accounts,  has  been  banded  to  the  widow. 
-  Schizocodon  soldanelloides.— My  friend  Mr.  Wolley  Dod, 
at  page  339,  suggests  that  Schizocodon  soldanelloide*  would  be  likely  to 
succeed  in  my  garden  at  Wisley.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  through  the 
kindness  of  a  gardening  friend  a  plant  is  already  growing  there  along¬ 
side  of  Shortia  galacifolia  and  Galax  aphylla,  and  appears  to  be  thriving. 
— George  F.  Wilson. 
-  Early  Tomatoes. — I  felt  much  interested  in  a  paragraph  in 
last  week’s  Journal  of  Horticulture  (page  338)  describing  the  Tomatoes 
grown  at  Mrs.  Rylands’  establishment,  Isle  of  Wight,  wherein  your  corre¬ 
spondent  “  S.  H .”  says,  “  The  fruit  was  well  shaped  and  highly  coloured.” 
Will  he  give  us  a  little  more  information  through  the  Journal,  and  say 
when  the  seed  was  sown  to  have  them  ripe  now,  or  whether  the  plants 
were  from  cuttings,  and  at  what  temperature  they  had  been  grown  X — 
G.  R,  Peerless. 
-  Trentham  Show. — For  eight  years  there  has  been  a  splendid 
show  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Trentham  and  Hanford  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society,  and  on  July  22nd  in  Trentham  Gardens  there  will  be 
a  ninth.  Prizes  amounting  to  a  total  of  £400  are  offered  in  the 
103  classes  scheduled.  The  principal  class  is  for  a  group  of  miscel¬ 
laneous  plants,  in  or  out  of  bloom,  arranged  for  effect,  occupying 
space  not  exceeding  300  square  feet,  and  in  this  the  prizes  are  £20, 
£18,  £13,  and  £9,  with  the  addition  of  a  silver  cup  value  10  guineas. 
Roses  and  Carnations  are  encouraged  by  generous  prizes,  while  fruit 
and  vegetables  are  by  no  means  forgotten.  The  Secretaries  are 
Messrs.  L.  T.  Alford,  Hanford,  and  J.  P.  Jones,  Hanford. 
-  Pyrus  floribunda. — Of  the  many  species  and  varieties  of 
Pyrus  which  are  cultivated  solely  for  their  decorative  value,  this 
Japanese  species  is  certainly  one  of  the  best.  It  flowers  about  the  end 
of  April  or  early  in  May,  the  rosy  red  flowers  being  produced  in  great 
abundance  on  spurs  or  young  wood  all  over  the  plant.  The  blooms  are 
followed  by  a  large  quantity  of  small  yellow  fruits.  The  habit  of  the 
plant  is  more  that  of  a  dense  bush  than  a  small  tree  with  somewhat 
pendent  branches.  Several  varieties  of  this  species  are  in  cultivation, 
noticeably  P.  floribunda  var.  atrosanguinea,  with  flowers  much  darker 
than  those  of  the  type,  and  P.  floribunda  var.  fl.-pl.  with  semi-double 
flowers,  both  being  desirable  plants.  Given  some  good  soil  to  begin 
with,  and  a  fair  quantity  of  room,  this  plant  gives  little  or  no  trouble, 
and  may  be  counted  on  to  produce  a  glorious  display  of  flowers  at  the 
time  previously  mentioned. — W.  I). 
-  Sale  of  Botanical  Books. — Messrs.  Sotheby,  Wilkinson 
and  Hodge  recently  sold  the  library  of  the  late  Mr.  F.  C.  S. 
Roper,  F.L.S.,  which  consisted  chiefly  of  valuable  works  on  botany 
and  other  branches  of  natural  history.  The  more  important  of  the 
botanical  books  were  :  —  Cooke’s  “  Illustrations  of  British  Fungi,” 
eight  volumes,  £17  5s.  ;  “  The  Grete  Herbal,”  printed  at  Southwark  by 
P.  Trenens  1526,  a  sound  copy,  £39  ;  Saccardo’s  “  Sylloge  Fungorum,” 
£27  ;  "  Journal  of  Botany,”  from  1863  to  1896,  £21  ;  Sowerby’s 
“  English  Botany,”  1790-1863,  with  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Berkeley’s  appendix 
volume  on  British  Algae,  £36 ;  a  set  of  the  same  work,  third  edition, 
1863-92,  £15  10s.  ;  "Bryologia  Europma,”  a  work  on  Mosses  by  Bruch, 
Sch>mper,  and  Glimbel,  1836-64,  £18  5s. ;  a  set  of  the  Ray  Society  s 
publications,  from  the  commencement  in  1845  to  1893,  was  sold  for 
£28.  The  total  sum  realised  for  the  668  lots,  says  a  contemporary,  was 
£1308  15s. 
-  Grand  Yorkshire  Gala. — The  schedule  of  the  thirty-ninth 
annual  Show  of  the  Grand  Yorkshire  Gala  Floral  and  Musical  Exhi¬ 
bition  has  come  to  hand  from  the  excellent  Secretary,  Mr.  C.  W. 
Simmons.  This  Show  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  finest  in 
the  country,  and  the  Committee  is  ever  desirous  of  adding  fresh  features 
or  improving  old  in  order  to  insure  a  maintenance  of  such  a  reputation. 
This  year  several  hundred  pounds  are  offered  in  prize  money  in  the 
ninety  five  classes  specified  in  the  schedule.  In  the  first-class  scheduled 
£58  is  credited  for  a  group  of  miscellaneous  plants,  in  or  out  of  bloom, 
arranged  for  effect,  and  occupying  a  space  not  exceeding  300  square 
feet ;  while  a  total  of  £42  is  offered  for  ten  stove  and  greenhouse  plants. 
A  commemorative  class,  to  be  called  the  Victoria  prize,  for  a  group  of 
Orchids  in  bloom,  with  prizes  of  £20,  £15,  and  £10,  should  attract 
strong  competition.  In  addition  to  these  £40  are  offered  for  a  table  of 
ripe  fruits,  with  generous  prizes  in  the  many  other  classes.  Full 
particulars  and  schedules  may  be  had  from  Mr.  C.  W.  Simmons,  Harker  s 
Hotel,  York. 
