May  2?,  18S?. 
JOURNAL  OT  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
457 
I  have  rarely  known  them  to  be  questioned.  It  was  always  pleasant  to 
be  associated  with  one  whose  geniality  of  disposition  and  ready  and  some¬ 
times  caustic  wit  made  him  so  pleasant  a  companion.  He  was  at  one 
time  a  constant  exhibitor,  but  latterly  he  had  withdrawn  himself  from 
all  public  engagements,  and  so  we  were  unable  to  look  to  him  to  be  as 
he  was  before  wont  to  be,  one  of  the  judges  at  our  National  shows.  How 
often  when  there  was  some  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  a  Rose  has  it  been 
said  by  one  of  the  judges,  “  Ob,  ask  Pochin  !  ”  and  when  he  had  said 
the  name  it  was  at  once  recognised  as  correct,  and  we  wondered  how  we 
had  been  so  stupid  as  not  to  see  it  before.  And  bo  one  by  one  the 
veterans  are  called  away,  and  the  battle  is  left  for  younger  men  to  fight, 
I  can  only  wish  that  amongst  them  may  be  men  who  can  grow  and  know 
Roses  as  well  as  our  deceased  friend.  He  was  also  formerly  a  frequent 
contributor  to  the  pages  of  the  Journal,  and  had  always  words  of  wisdom 
to  siy  to  us. — D.,  Deal. 
The  Weather  in  London. —  The  wind  continued  bitterly  cold 
and  parchingly  dry  to  the  end  of  last  week.  The  present  week  has 
been  less  bright,  also  somewhat  milder,  while  on  Tuesday  a  little  rain 
fell  in  some  parts  of  London — the  first  since  the  5th  inst.  It  has  been 
a  trying  time  for  gardeners,  and  the  growth  of  crops  and  trees  has  been 
seriously  retarded.  Yesterday  (Wednesday)  light  drizzling  showers  fell 
at  intervals,  and  while  these  would  refresh  vegetation  they  did  not  seem  * 
to  materially  prejudice  the  attendance  at  the  Temple  Show  ;  but  the  day 
is  not  over  at  the  time  of  penning  this  note. 
-  Weather  in  the  North.  —  The  bright  sunshine  that  has 
prevailed  throughoat  the  past  week  has  been  tempered  by  persistent 
east  winds,  and  the  mornings  and  evenings  have  frequently  been  very 
cold.  A  slight  rain  fell  early  on  Tuesday  morning,  and  the  atmosphere 
became  a  little  more  genial,  but  a  deal  more  rain  would  be  welcomed. — 
B.  B,,  S.  Perthshire. 
— —  National  Viola  Society. — The  first  meeting  of  the  Floral 
Committee  was  held  in  the  Reading  Room  at  the  Royal  Botanic  Society, 
Regent’s  Park,  on  Wednesday,  19th  inst.  Owing  to  the  early  date,  and 
untoward  season,  only  a  few  Violas  were  staged,  the  only  one  gaining  a 
certificate  being  Endymion,  a  pale  yellow,  superb  blooms  of  this  variety 
being  staged  by  Mr.  W.  Baxter,  Woking. 
-  The  Queen’s  Visit  to  Sheffield.— Although  the  Sheffield 
Chrysanthemum  Society  was  not  able  to  carry  out  its  wishes  and 
decorate  a  floral  arch  on  the  occasion  of  the  Queen’s  visit  to  the  City 
on  the  21st  inst.,  it  readily  responded  to  the  invitation  of  the  Decorative 
Committee  to  decorate  the  Vestry  Hall  in  Westbar,  one  of  the  halls 
in  which  the  Mayor  of  Sheffield,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  was  giving  an 
entertainment  to  the  aged  poor  of  the  City.  A  large  number  of  plants 
and  a  great  quantity  of  cut  flowers  were  freely  supplied,  and  displayed 
in  the  most  tasteful  manner.  We  regret  this  is’all  that  can  be  inserted 
of  a  report  which  reached  us  on  Wednesday,  the  morning  of  the  Temple 
Show. 
-  Presentation  to  Mr.  Thomson,  Drumlanrig  Gardens.— 
We  have  received  the  following  cutting  from  a  newspaper,  the  name  and 
date  of  which  are  not  given  : — “  On  Friday  last  a  deputation  from  the- 
working  staff  in  the  Drumlanrig  Gardens,  composed  of  Messrs.  William 
Swan,  Arthur  Melville,  and  F.  Maxey.  waited  upon  Mr.  David  Thomson 
and  presented  him  with  a  handsome  marble  timepiece  as  a  token  of  their 
respect  and  esteem,  on  the  occasion  of  his  retiring  from  active  life  after 
twenty-nine  years’  service  in  the  gardens.  Mr.  Swan,  in  making  the 
presentation,  conveyed  to  Mr.  Thomson  the  best  wishes  of  all  the 
employes  under  him,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  he  might  be  long 
spared  to  enjoy  the  well-earned  repose  whihh  he  purposed  taking  in  the 
evening  of  hiB  days.  Mr.  Swan  presented  Miss  Thomson  also  with 
several  handsome  pieces  of  silver  plate.  Mr.  Thomson,  in  reply, 
expressed  the  pleasure  with  which  he  received  for  himself  and  his 
daughter  the  tokens  of  the  goodwill  and  kindly  feelings  of  the  employes 
under  him.  They  would  both  highly  value  the  handsome  gifts,  and 
ever  cherish  the  remembrance  of  the  cordial  relations  subsisting  between 
tham  at  Drumlanrig  Gardens.”  We  think  Mr.  Thomson  relinquishes 
the  charge  of  the  Gardens  on  the  28th  inst.  into  the  hands  of  Mr. 
D.  Inglis. 
-  Gardening  Appointment. — Mr.  G.  H.  Ackroyd,  Bening- 
borough  Hall,  York,  has  been  appointed  to  succeed  Mr.  D.  Inglis  a9 
head  gardener,  Howick,  LeBbury,  R  S.O, 
-  Death  of  Mr,  J.  T.  Gibson. — We  are  informed  that  this 
late  well-known  London  park  superintendent  died  at  Hackney  on  the 
17th  inst.  The  deceased  was  son  of  the  late  Mr.  Gibson,  who  trans¬ 
formed  a  swamp  at  Battersea  into  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
London  parks.  Mr.  J.  T.  Gibson  was  in  turn  Superintendent  of  Hyde 
Park,  Regent’s  Park,  and  Victoria  Park,  retiring  from  the  last  named 
park  through  ill  health  about  three  and  a  half  years  ago  on  a  pension 
allowed  by  the  London  County  Council.  Mr.  Gibson  was  in  his  fifty- 
sixth  year,  and  his  remains  were  interred  at  Shenfield  on  Saturday  last. 
-  Shirley  Gardeners’  Association. — The  monthly  meeting 
of  the  above  Society  was  held  at  the  Parish  Room,  Shirley,  Southamp¬ 
ton,  on  the  17th  inst.,  the  President,  W.  F.  G.  Spranger,  Esq.,  conducting 
the  meeting.  There  was  an  excellent  attendance  of  the  members.  The 
evening  was  devoted  to  a  “microscopical  demonstration”  of  botanical 
and  entomological  subjects.  There  were  about  twenty  instruments,  the 
whole  arrangements  being  conducted  by  A.  C.  Rogers,  Esq.,  Red  Lodge 
Nursery,  Bassett,  who  opened  the  proceedings  by  giving  a  brief  address 
on  the  practical  value  of  the  microscope  to  the  horticulturist  and  others, 
enabling  them  to  trace,  as  in  a  slide  containing  a  portion  of  coal  which 
he  waB  showing,  the  exact  nature  of  the  substance  under  observation. 
He  advised  all  those  who  could  to  obtain  an  instrument,  if  only  for 
pleasure,  as  he  felt  sure  its  use  would  charm  the  Benses  and  delight  the 
eyes  of  its  possessor.  The  company  then  went  the  round  of  the  micro¬ 
scopes,  the  subjects  on  view  being  constantly  changed  and  deseribed  by 
those  in  attendance.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  demonstrators  was  very 
heartily  given. 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society  — On  Saturday  afternoon  15th 
inst.  a  party  of  about  twenty-five  members  of  the  Paxton  Society 
(including  a  few  ladies),  paid  a  visit  to  the  residence  and  grounds  of 
Dr.  Clark,  Professor  of  Horticulture,  Yorkshire  College,  Leeds,  at  Laurel 
Bank,  HeadiDgley,  and  inspected  his  large  and  magnificent  collection  of 
Tulips,  which  were  greatly  admired.  The  Professor  clearly  and  fully 
explained  to  his  Wakefield  friends  his  experiments  in  growing  and 
propagating  Dutch  and  florists’  Tulips,  and  imparted  much  interesting 
and  valuable  information;  The  visitors  were  entertained  to  tea  on  the 
lawn,  and  took  back  with  them  to  Wakefield  a  large  collection  of  Dr. 
Clark’s  specimen  Tulips.  These  were  admirably  arranged  on  the  tables 
at  the  Society’s  headquarters  the  same  evening,  and  when  the  members 
assembled  at  the  usual  weekly  meeting,  the  bboms  were  inspected  with 
interest.  Mr.  W.  H.  Milnes  presided,  and  Mr.  B.  Whiteley  occupied  the 
vice-chair.  At  the  request  of  the  Committee,  Mr.  Whiteley  had,  after 
the  return  of  the  party  from  Leeds,  prepared  a  paper  giving  an 
interesting  account  of  the  visit  to  Dr.  Clark’s  grounds,  and  detail¬ 
ing  what  the  visitors  saw  and  heard  there.  Mr.  Whiteley  said  the 
professor’s  residence  and  grounds  were  prettily  situated  in  the 
pleasantest  suburb  of  Leeds.  The  grounds,  which  were  4^  acres  in 
extent,  were  connected  with  the  Professor’s  residence,  which  he  has 
occupied  for  about  six  years.  The  grounds  were  on  the  slope  of  a  well- 
wooded  valley,  and  just  now  the  foliage  of  the  trees  looked  very  fresh 
and  healthy.  One  portion  of  the  grounds  was  only  annexed  last  year, 
and  during  the  winter  it  was  trenched  2  feet  deep,  and  had  recently 
been  planted  with  528  varieties  of  Gladioli,  new  sorts  of  Strawberries,  a 
collection  of  Ruby  Gem  Wallflowers,  and  young  and  dwarf  fruit  trees. 
There  was  an  Orchid  house  in  the  grounds  containing  some  rare  and 
valuable  varieties.  The  chief  and  great  attraction  was  an  immense  and 
magnificent  collection— numbering  upwards  of  a  million— Dutch  and 
florists’  Tulips  in  no  less  than  700  varieties.  Although  the  florist  Tulips 
have  not  yet  reached  the  iblooming  period,  and  notwithstanding  that 
four  recent  hailstorms  had  destroyed  many  of  the  other  blooms,  there 
was  a  very  large  and  most  charming  display  of  Tulips  ;  some  of  the 
flowers  being  about  8  inches  across.  The  various  tints  and  shades  were 
so  arranged  as  to  produce  a  striking  effect,  and  looking  down  the  long 
and  sloping  beds,  and  across  the  valley,  the  visitors  gazed  upon  a  sight 
which  well  repaid  them  for  their  journey,  and  reminded  some  of  the 
party  of  their  visits  to  the  bulb  farms  in  Holland.  The  Professor 
distinctly  gave  his  visitors  to  understand  his  grounds  were  not  a  show 
garden,  but  were  employed  for  experimental  purposes,  and  it  was 
evident  from  what  he  told  the  Paxtonians  dufing  their  two  hours’  stay 
at  Laurel  Bank,  that  he  has  achieved  great  and  important  results^  Binee 
he  began  his  experimental  gardening  there.  Several  floral  novelties 
and  wonderful  “  breaks”  were  pointed  out  to  such  experienced  growers 
of  florists’  Tulips  as  Mr.  A.  Moorhouse  and  Mr.  W,  Calvert, 
