528 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  17,  1897,. 
-  Seats  to  View  the  Jubilee  Procession. — A  reference  to  our 
advertisement  pages  will  convey  to  readers  an  idea  of  the  excellent  seats  that 
are  to  let  to  view  the  Jubilee  Procession  on  Tuesday  next.  Applications 
should  be  made  to  171,  Fleet  Street,  E.C. 
-  Death  of  Mr.  C.  R.  Humbert. — The  death  occurred  on  Thursday, 
June  3rd,  at  his  residence  in  Watford,  of  Mr.  Charles  R.  Humbert,  head  of 
the  firm  of  Messrs,  Humbert,  Son  &  Flint,  auctioneers,  surveyors,  and 
valuers,  of  Watford  and  Serle  Street,  London,  W.C.  Mr.  Humbert  was  in 
his  forty-third  year.  He  was  honorary  secretary  of  several  local  organisa¬ 
tions  having  for  their  object  the  prpmotion  of  the  interest  of  agriculture 
and  horticulture. 
-  How  to  Grow  Begonias. — Such  is  the  title  of  a  book  that  has  just 
been  published  at  2s.  by  Messrs.  Sampson,  Low,  Marston  &  Co.,  from  the  pen 
of  Mr.  G.  A.  Farini,  F.R.H.S.,  the  well-known  grower  and  exhibitor  of  these 
ustly  popular  flowers.  The  book,  which  is  well  printed  on  good  paper,  con¬ 
tains  upwards  of  130  pages,  amongst  which  are  distributed  a  few  illustrations 
elucidatory  of  the  text.  Eighty  pages  are  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  plant, 
and  the  style  in  which  it  is  written  will  allow  th‘e  greatest  tyro  to  grasp  the 
meaning.  The  remainder  of  the  book  comprises  a  catalogue  of  some  of  the  best 
varieties  at  present  in  cultivation. 
Bedford  Show. — In  the  Corn  Exchange,  Bedford,  on  Thursday, 
July  8th,  the  Bedfordshire  Horticultural  Improvement  Association  will  hold  its 
Show.  The  schedule  comprises  six  classes  only — namely,  for  a  group  of 
miscellaneous  plants ;  for  twenty-four  Roses,  not  more  than  two  of  one 
variety;  for  twelve  Tea  Roses,  distinct,  three  blooms  of  each;  for  twenty-four 
bunches  of  hardy  herbaceous  or  bulbous  plants,  distinct ;  for  the  most  tastefully 
arranged  table  decoration,  each  of  these  being  open  to  all ;  and  another  for 
members  of  the  Society  for  twelve  cut  Roses,  not  more  than  two  blooms  of  any 
one  variety.  We  hope  the  entries  will  be  numerous  and  the  quality  high,  in 
order  to  make  up  for  the  somewhat  striking  scarcity  of  classes.  The  Hon. 
Secretary  is  Mr.  E.  Laxton,  63a,  High  Street,  Bedford.' 
-  Non-productive  Strawberry  Plants.— In  April  of  1896  I  planted 
out  a  bed  of  President  Strawberry  plants  (runners).  These  grew  amazingly  in 
the  fresh  piece  of  ground  prepared  for  them,  and  the  plants  are  now  enormous 
for  their  age,  but,  alas!  not  one  in  ten  has  a  flower  on  it.  On  one  side  of 
them  I  planted  seven  rows  of  Royal  Sovereign,  and  there  is  scarcely  a 
plant  which  is  not  carrying  a  good  crop  of  fruit.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
Presidents  I  planted  a  number  of  Yicomtesse  H.  de  Thury  from  side  crowns 
of  old  bearing  plants;  every  one  of  these  is  carrying  a  full  crop.  Next 
these  were  planted  a  bed  of  British  Queen,  also  from  side  crowns  of  fruiting 
plants ;  these  also  are  covered  with  flowers  and  immature  fruit.  When  I 
first  began  growing  British  Queen  Strawberries  I  planted  runners  in  the 
autumn,  and  was  troubled  by  having  a  number  of  unfruitful  plants;  now  I 
never  grow  them  from  runners,  but  always  from  side  crowns  taken  from 
fruitful  plants  in  April  just  when  they  are  emitting  fresh  roots.  This  plan 
is  far  better  than  planting  runners,  unless  you  have  early  prepared  runners, 
and  it  has  the  merit  of  having  all  fruitful  plants  instead  of  a  proportion  of 
non-fruiting  ones. — F.  Boyes,  Beverley. 
/ 
- Jubilee  of  a  Great  Firm. — “  Gishurst”  and  “  Gishurstine  ”  are 
terms  well  known  in  the  gardening  world,  and  both  of  them  as  gardeners’ 
friends,  the  first  as  forming  a  long-proved  and  excellent  wash  for  plants 
and  trees  in  destroying  insects,  the  second  as  a  waterproofing  and  preservative 
of  boots.  It  may  not  be  so  well  known  that  these  are  small  items  in  the 
great  business  of  Price’s  Patent  Candle  Company,  the  head-quarters  of  which 
are  at  Battersea.  We  have  received  a  beautifully  printed  and  illustrated 
Jubilee  memorial  of  the  firm,  and  find  that  it  was  formed  by  Mr.  William 
Wilson  in  1847,  who  was  the  first  Chairman;  while  his  sons,  Mr.  James  P. 
Wilson  and  Mr.  George  F.  Wilson,  F.R.S.,  the  ardent  horticulturist. 
Managing  Directors,  the  last  named  alone  surviving,  and  a  valuable  Director 
still.  It  was  he,  no  doubt,  who  invented  the  two  articles  named,  and  we 
also  find  that  the  world  is  indebted  to  him  not  only  for  the  production  and 
subsequent  cheapening  of  the  superior  wax  composite  candles,  now  universally 
used,  but  for  that  most  valuable  medical  and  commercial  necessity  —  pure 
glycerine.  It  seems  that  a  stimulus  was  given  to  the  improvement  in  candles 
by  the  marriage  of  the  Queen,  when  the  demand  was  so  great  for  placing 
them  in  windows  for  general  illumination— a  candle  to  every  pane,  having  a 
remarkable  effect.  That  custom  has  been  long  superseded;  but  it  may  not 
be  generally  known  that  “  night-lights  ”  are  extensively  used  for  the  small 
pendant-coloured  glasses,  used  in  present  illuminations.  Of  these  lights 
enormous  numbers  have  recently  been  supplied  by  “  Price’s,”  one  order  alone 
being  for  If  million  in  view  of  her  Majesty’s  Diamond  Jubilee.  Two  thousand 
persons  are  employed  by  Mr.  Wilson’s  firm,  and  nearly  1800  were  recently 
taken  to  the  Crystal  Palace  in  special  trains,  and  entertained  at  a  bountiful 
repast,  each  adult  worker  being  further  presented  with  a  new  crown  piece 
and  the  juniors  with  half  a  crown.  A  pension  fund  is  also  maintained  by 
the  firm,  as  provision  for  workers  in  their  old  age.  The  firm  is  increasing  in 
wealth  and  prosperity  under  the  management  of  Mr.  J.  Calderwood,  and  as 
will  be  seen  the  workers  who  have  helped  to  make  it  so  have  not  been 
forgotten,  the  kind  consideration  shown  in  many  ways  to  the  employes  having 
being  instituted  by  Messrs.  William,  James,  and  George  F.  Wilson. 
-  Croydon  Show.  —  The  Croydon  Society  has  been  successful  in- 
obtaining  by  special  subscriptions  a  very  handsome  new  cup  to  replace 
the  last,  which  was  won  outright  in  1896  by  the  Rev.  J.  Pemberton,  after 
being  in  competition  for  nine  years. 
- Wolverhampton  Horticultural  Club. — The  monthly  meeting 
was  held  at  the  Star  and  Garter  Hotel,  on  June  l3t,  when  Mr.  Baillie,  of 
Messrs.  Dickson’s,  Chester,  gave  a  most  able  and  instructive  lecture  upon 
“Herbaceous  Plants  and  their  Cultivation,”  a  subject  with  which  the  lecturer 
was  well  able  to  deal.  Unfortunately  the  lecturer  was  not  able  to  remain 
to  hear  the  discussion  which  followed. 
-  Mr.  R.  Inglis. — We  learn  that  our  old  correspondent,  Mr.  R.  Inglis,. 
has  relinquished  the  charge  of  General  Leigh  Pemberton’s  gardens  at  Abbots 
Leigh,  Hayward’s  Heath.  Mr.  Inglis  is  a  gardener  of  great  experience  and 
high  respectability.  Equally  competent  both  as  a  cultivator  and  in  landscape 
work,  he  would  take  special  interest  in  laying  out  a  new  garden  or  renovating 
an  old  one.  His  address  is  Aberdeen  Cottage,  New  England  Road,  Hayward’s 
Heath,  Sussex. 
- Reigate  Show. — The  eleventh  annual  exhibition  of  the  Borough 
of  Reigate  Cottage  Garden  and  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  in  the 
grounds  of  the  Priory,  Reigate,  on  Wednesday,  July  7th.  The  schedule  is  a- 
bulky  one  divided  into  several  sections,  and  comprising  180  classes  in  all. 
Roses  have  been  a  feature  in  past  years,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they,  as- 
well  as  fruits,  vegetables,  plants,  and  flowers,  will  again  be  well  shown.  The- 
Honorary  Secretary  is  Mr.  M.  Punton,  St.  Mark’s  School,  Reigate,  to  whom 
all  communications  must  be  addressed. 
-  Sheffield  Chrysanthemum  Society.— The  June  meeting  was  held1 
on  Wednesday,  the  9th  inst.,  in  the  Society’s  room  in  the  Museum,  Orchard 
Street.  The  essay  was  “  Plants  for  Grouping,  and  Grouping  for  Effect.” 
The  essayist  was  Mr.  M.  H.  Willford,  a  successful  exhibitor  of  groups  of 
plants  at  our  Sheffield  exhibitions,  who  enumerated  a  long  list  of  plants 
which  he  considered  most  suitable  for  the  purpose,  and  gave  excellent 
instructions  for  arranging  plants  to  give  the  best  effect  when  grouped  together. 
The  essa}r  was  a  very  instructing  one,  and  ably  treated  the  subject.  After  a 
short  discussion  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Willford  was  passed.  The  monthly 
exhibits  were  Gloxinias  for  professional  members.  Some  very  good  plants 
were  staged.  Mr.  C.  Scott  was  awarded  first  prize,  Mr.  G.  Smith  second*, 
and  Mr.  C.  Shorten  third.  The  amateur  exhibits,  pot  plants  in  bloom, 
were  disappointing,  as  only  one  exhibit  was  staged,  by  Mr.  R.  Gascoign, 
who  had  thus  no  difficulty  in  scoring.  Mr.  John  Haigh  presided  over  the 
meeting. 
-  Market  Gardeners’  Compensation  in  Scotland. — At  a  recent' 
meeting  of  the  Standing  Committee  on  Trade,  the  Market  Gardeners’  Com¬ 
pensation  (Scotland)  Bill  was  under  consideration.  The  object  of  the  Bill 
is  to  extend  to  holdings  which  are  used  as  market  gardens  the  provision®- 
;  of  the  Agricultural  Holdings  (Scotland)  Act,  1883,  as  to  tenants’  improve- 
I  rnents.  The  chief  amendment,  in  the  form  of  a  new  clause,  moved  by  the 
I  Lord  Advocate,  was  to  the  following  effect:  —  “Any  compensation  payable 
under  this  Act  shall,  as  regards  laud  belonging  to  her  Majesty  the  Queen,, 
her  heirs  and  successors,  in  right  of  the  Crown,  be  paid  in  the  same 
manner  and  out  of  the  same  funds  ae  if  it  were  payable  in  respect  of  an 
improvement  mentioned  in  the  first  part  of  the  first  schedule  to  the  principal 
Act,  except  that  compensation  for  planting  Strawberry  plants  and  Rhubarb 
and  other  vegetable  crops  shall  be  paid  in  the  same  manner  and  out  of  the 
same  funds  as  if  it  were  payable  in  respect  of  an  improvement  mentioned 
in  the  third  part  of  the  said  schedule.”  With  this  amendment,  says  a 
contemporary,  the  Bill  was  ordered  to  be  reported  to  the  House  of  Commons. 
-  The  Rains. — Immense  benefit  has  resulted  to  all  descriptions  of 
crops  from  the  recent  rains,  although  in  some  districts  heavy  hail  and 
tremendous  downpours  on  Whit  Sunday  did  considerable  harm.  The  way  in 
which  Strawberry  plants  have  recovered  from  the  nold  winds  and  sharp  frosts 
of  last  month  is  remarkable,  and  now  there  is  every  prospect  of  being  an 
unusually  heavy  crop.  We  may  expect  to  see  the  fruits  cheap  enough  in 
the  Jubilee  week.  All. trees  and  bushes  have  had  a  good  cleansing,  and  now 
making  strong  growths  and  good  leafage  are  getting  quite  out  of  harm’s  way.  As- 
generally  the  fruit  crop  is  very  light,  it  is  not  desirable  that  wood  growth  should 
be  too  luxuriant,  but  we  must  accept  what  is  provided.  Amongst  all  vegetables 
the  effects  of  the  rains  are  wonderfully  apparent.  Peas  have  not  only  made 
very  strong  growth,  but  are  blooming  luxuriantly.  We  ought  to  see  a  splendid 
crop  of  fine,  well-filled  pods.  So  far  even  the  common  field  earlies  are  better 
filled  than  I  have  seen  them  for  some  years.  As  to  the  Marrow-  section,  they 
will  soon  be  in,  and  then  Peas  will  be  good  and  very  cheap.  Potatoes,  no  doubt 
in  many  cases  through  tops  having  been  cut  with  frost,  came  very  irregularly, 
but  they  have  greatly  recovered,  and  are  now  putting  on  strong  growth.  As 
much  may  be  said  of  Beans,  the  Broads,  especially,  being  very  clean  and  good, 
There  seems  little  doubt  now  but  that,  in  spite  of  the  ungenerous  nature  of  the 
weather  last  month,  we  shall  have  a  fine  produce  year,  fruit  unfortunately  ex¬ 
cepted.  Hay  should  be  wonderfully  abundant,  and  in  many  directions 
mowing  of  heavy  swathes  has  already  begun.  The  Jubilee  year  should  be 
a  plentiful  one. — A.  D. 
