August  15, 1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
153 
I  think  that  the  majority  of  the  candidates  are  agreed  that  the  time 
ia  inauflScient,  and  might  at  least  be  extended  to  three  hours.  Young 
gardeners  as  a  class  are  not  used  to  sitting  for  examinations,  and  cannot 
put  their  ideas  on  paper  so  readily  as  those  who  take  these  things  as  a 
common  occurrence.  The  excitement  of  the  occasion,  and  the  know¬ 
ledge  that  the  time  is  so  short,  flurries  them,  and  they  do  not  do  them- 
flelves  justice.  I  should  like  to  know  how  many  were  satisfied  with 
their  papers  when  they  had  finished.  Speaking  for  myself  I  was  not. 
1  think  “W.  D.”  made  some  very  good  suggestions  with  regard  to 
altering  the  B  section  of  the  questions,  which  the  authorities  would  do 
well  to  note. 
The  thanks  of  all  who  sat  are  due  to  the  Journal  for  publishing  the 
class  list.  In  my  opinion  the  question  of  the  time  has  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  the  position  the  students  at  the  Swanley  College  take,  and  I  think 
they  should  have  a  separate  exam  to  themselves. — J.  G. 
Events  op  the  Week. — Wednesday  next,  August  21st,  will  be 
the  first  day  of  the  great  horticultural  fete  at  Shrewsbury,  an  event 
always  looked  forward  to  with  great  interest.  It  continues  open  over 
the  following  day.  The  three-days  show  of  the  Aberdeen  Society  will 
commence  on  Thursday,  August  22ad. 
-  Weather  in  London. — The  weather  in  the  metropolis  still 
continues  very  unsettled,  rain  falling  in  great  quantities.  On  Saturday 
night  London  was  visited  with  a  very  severe  thunderstorm,  during  which 
a  perfect  deluge  of  rain  fell.  Monday  was  a  very  showery  day,  and  rain 
fell  during  the  whole  of  Tuesday  morning,  but  at  the  time  of  going  to 
press  on  Wednesday  it  was  very  bright  and  clear. 
-  Bignonia  radicans. — There  is  a  wonderfully  fine  plant  of 
this  old  greenhouse  climber  in  the  very  large  conservatory  attached  to 
Mr.  Braithwaite’s  fine  mansion  at  Epsom.  The  stems  which  support 
the  plant  are  very  stout,  and  the  entire  area  of  the  root  of  this  splendid 
house  is  dressed  with  the  climber.  It  has  occasionally  to  be  severely 
pruned  as  it  makes  such  strong  growth.  The  scarlet  trumpet  flowers 
seem  to  be  almost  always  open.  It  is  still  one  of  the  finest  of  house 
climbers  as  seen  here. 
-  Christmas  Boses. — A  curious  sight  at  this  pretty  place  also 
was  a  fine  mass  of  Christmas  Roses  just  in  front  of  the  mansion,  the 
leafage  as  solid,  compact,  and  green  as  could  be  desired,  the  whole  of  an 
cval  shape,  being  edged  with  Coleus  VerschafEeltii.  If  the  bed  was  not  of 
a  very  effective  nature,  it  was  at  least  very  cool  and  pleasing.  The 
produce  of  flowers  from  it  in  the  winter  is  very  great. — A. 
-  A  Lung  for  Clerkenwell.  —  A  new  open  space  for 
'Clerkenwell  has  just  been  opened,  and  was  secured  with  the  £10,000 
received  from  Government  by  the  London  County  Council  instead  of  a 
share  in  the  land  formerly  occupied  by  Clerkenwell  prison.  The  new 
space  is  but  quarter  of  an  acre  in  extent,  yet  it  affords  a  great  relief 
from  the  surrounding  closely  packed  buildings.  Spa  Green  is  the  name 
by  which  this  new  garden  will  be  known. 
-  Clay  Cross  Floral  and  Horticultural  Society.— The 
thirty-eighth  annual  exhibition  of  the  above  Society  was  held  on 
Tuesday,  August  13th.  The  weather  in  the  early  part  of  the  day  was 
very  wet,  but  it  fortunately  cleared  in  the  afternoon  and  people  flocked 
in  thousands  to  the  show.  Prizes  were  offered  to  the  amount  of  £275, 
and  brought  forth  many  entries  and  keen  competition.  Mr.  Stollard 
and  his  Committee  are  to  be  congratulated  on  the  excellent  arranee- 
ments,  for  everything  seems  always  to  work  well  and  pleasantly.  We 
trust  the  Society  will  continue  to  flourish,  as  it  richly  deserves  to.  The 
groups  of  plants  arranged  for  effect  are  always  a  great  feature  here. 
There  were  six  entries  for  the  200  feet  groups,  and  five  for  100  feet.  In 
the  former  class  Mr.  Joseph  Ward,  gardener  to  Thomas  H.  Oakes,  Esq., 
Biddings  House,  Alfreton,  was  first ;  Mr.  Edmonds,  gardener  to  the 
Duke  of  St.  Albans,  a  good  second  ;  and  Mr.  Shakespeare  of  TibsRelf 
third.  The  chief  prizewinners  in  the  other  classes,  in  which  some 
splendid  produce  was  staged,  were  Messrs.  G.  Harvey,  C.  Mee, 
A.  Webb,  H.  V.  Machin,  Proctor  &  Son,  J.  J.  Nelson,  J.  R. 
Pearson  &  Sons,  J.  Goodacre  J.  Ward,  R.  Mease,  J.  Read,  J.  Major, 
J.  Edmunds,  C.  Hall,  and  W.  W.  Kemp. 
-  Baldock  Show. — At  this  show,  on  Monday,  August  5th,  we 
are  informed  that  Mr.  A.  W.  Young,  Holmesdale  Nursery,  Stevenage, 
Herts,  was  awarded  a  silver  medal  for  a  collection  of  Begonias. 
-  Gardening  Appointment.  —  It  is  announced  that  Mr. 
P.  Isherwood,  who  has  been  for  some  years  foreman  with  Mr.  McKellar 
at  Sandringham,  has  been  appointed  head  gardener  to  Lord  Alington, 
at  Crichel,  Dorset.  We  hear  Mr.  Isherwood  takes  up  his  duties  on  the 
Ist  of  September,  and  from  what  is  already  known  of  his  ability  as  a 
gardener,  he  is  likely  to  sustain  the  reputation  of  these  gardens. 
-  Carnations  from  Scotland.— From  Messrs.  Lain g  &  Mather, 
the  well-known  nurserymen  of  Kelso-on-Tweed,  we  have  received  a  few 
Carnation  blooms,  cut  from  plants  that  had  been  grown  in  the  open 
ground  all  through  the  late  severe  winter.  They  are  very  beautiful 
indeed,  and  do  not  show  any  signs  of  having  been  damaged  by  the 
frosts  ;  in  fact  they  are  superior  to  many  grown  under  glass.  An 
examination  makes  it  evident  that  this  firm  can  grow  these  favourites 
thoroughly  well,  and  that  their  soil  suits  them.  The  form  of  the 
flowers  was  very  good,  and  the  colours  were  rich  and  clear.  Amongst 
the  varieties  were  Mrs.  Reynolds  Hole,  Ketton  Rose,  Mary  Morris, 
Mrs.  Frank  Watts,  Dundas  Scarlet,  Duchess  of  Fife,  and  a  beautiful 
salmon  seedling. 
-  Who  Will  Do  Likewise?  — On  Wednesday  last,  through  the 
kindness  of  A.  Mordan,  Esq.,  a  garden  party  was  held  in  the  grounds  of 
Stone  House,  Reigate,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent 
Institution,  established  for  the  support  of  aged  and  infirm  gardeners. 
The  weather  being  exceedingly  fine  the  grounds  were  visited  by  over 
1000  persons.  Amongst  those  present  were  Lady  Jennings  and  party, 
Mrs.  Simpson  and  family,  the  Misses  Baxter,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mordan,  Mrs. 
Lawder  Eaton,  Miss  Mordan,  Mr.  R.  E.  West,  and  Mr.  Davidson.  In 
the  evening  the  grounds  were  beautifully  lighted  by  fairy  lamps  and 
Chinese  lanterns,  especially  the  verandah,  which  was  most  effectively 
illuminated.  The  whole  of  the  grounds  and  greenhouses  were  thrown 
open  for  the  inspection  of  the  visitors,  many  of  whom  were  heard  to 
remark  on  the  admirable  way  in  which  the  grounds  were  kept  by  the 
head  gardener  (Mr.  G.  Steer),  who,  it  should  be  mentioned,  ably  carried 
out  the  general  arrangements  of  the  gatharing.  Dancing  was  carried 
on  in  the  evening  with  much  vigour.  Th>e  Redhill  Town  Band,  whose 
services  were  highly  appreciated,  played  the  selections.  By  this  effort 
the  funds  of  the  Institution  will  be  benefited  by  over  £12. 
-  A  Statesman  on  Gardening. — At  the  Hawarden  Flower 
show  on  Monday,  Mr.  Gladstone  said,  "  You  may  depend  upon  it  there 
is  an  immense  deal  to  be  done  in  this  country  by  drawing  forth  the 
bounty  of  old  Mother  Earth  in  detail.  It  is  all  very  well  to  talk  about 
machinery,  and  there  was  a  time  when  people  used  to  think  that  the 
steam  plough  was  going  to  drive  hand  labour  out  of  existence  ;  and 
undoubtedly  in  manufacture  the  advances  in  machinery  have  been 
astonishing.  But  as  regards  cultivation  of  the  earth,  as  regards  garden 
cultivation,  as  regards  all  small  cultivation,  depend  upon  it  there  is 
more  room  than  ever  there  was  for  both  adding  to  the  store  of  the 
beautiful  products  of  Nature,  with  the  capacity  of  producing  which 
Providence  has  bountifully  endowed  the  soil,  and  of  largely  increasing 
and  consolidating  the  efforts  and  advantages  of  rural  life.  The  use  of 
gardens,  the  universal  provision  of  gardens,  is  a  matter  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  the  country.  It  is  also  of  the  greatest  importance  and 
most  desirable  that  other  small  holdings,  as  they  are  called,  should  be 
multiplied  ;  and  I  most  earnestly  trust  that  the  day  will  soon  come 
when  these  holdings  will  be  made  universal.” 
-  The  Use  of  Henna. — The  Henna  plant  (Lawsonia  alba), 
which  is  a  shrub  found  widely  distributed  throughout  India,  Persia, 
Kurdistan,  Syria,  Egypt,  and  Northern  Africa,  and  which  ig  so  well 
known  for  the  use  of  its  powdered  leaves  as  an  orange  yellow  dye  by  the 
Egyptians  from  remote  antiquity,  seems  to  be  somewhat  extensively 
grown  in  the  gardens  outside  the  city  of  Tripoli,  where  it  is  said  to  be 
highly  appreciated  by  the  people  as  a  dye.  The  twigs  and  leaves  are 
gathered  three  times  a  year,  the  root,  which  ig  allowed  to  remain  in 
the  soil,  reproducing  the  plant  almost  indefinitely.  According  to  a 
contemporary  the  Arab  women  uge  it  to  stain  their  feet  and  finger-nails, 
and  it  is  said  to  be  very  efficacious  in  the  cure  of  chilblains.  Last  year 
the  value  of  the  exports  of  Henna  from  Tripoli,  chiefly  to  Tunis  and 
Algiers,  amounted  to  £8000.  The  mode  of  preparing  Henna  in  the 
East  is  very  simple,  and  consists  of  reducing  the  leaves  and  young 
twigs  to  a  fine  powder,  to  which  sometimes  is  added  a  little  Catechu. 
To  use  it  the  powder  is  made  into  a  pasty  masi  with  hot  water  and 
spread  on  the  part  to  be  dyed,  where  it  is  usually  allowed  to  remain 
for  a  night  before  being  washed  off. 
