December  19,  1895, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
577 
-  The  Devon  and  Exeter  Gardeners’  Association. — It 
has  been  arranged  to  have  the  annual  supper  on  Friday,  the  3rd  of 
January,  1896,  at  Martin’s  Castle  Hotel,  Castle  Street.  Supper  to 
be  on  the  table  at  seven  o’clock,  prompt.  As  the  supper  affords  an 
opportunity  for  pleasant  intercourse,  and  the  cultivation  of  social 
friendship  among  the  members,  the  Committee  hopes  that  all  who  can 
will  be  present.  In  order  that  proper  arrangements  may  be  made  for 
the  comfort  of  those  attending,  tickets  must  be  taken  not  later  than 
27th  December. 
-  Lady  Downe’s  Grape  not  Colouring.— In  reply  to  Mr. 
J.  Thomson  (page  537)  the  Vine  of  Lady  Downe’s  alluded  to  by  me  at 
page  502  was  of  fruitful  habit,  but  I  never  allowed  it  to  carry  more 
bunches  than  such  a  Vine  should  carry  ;  in  fact,  if  anything  it  was 
undercropped  in  comparison  with  its  near  neighbours,  which  always 
finished  well.  This  Vine  used  to  be  a  conundrum  to  several  gardeners 
who  paid  me  a  visit  annually,  as  it  seemed  very  strange  that  it  alone 
should  fail  out  of  the  many  Vines  grown  in  five  vineries.  I  may  mention 
that  in  the  same  house  Mrs.  Pince’s  Black  Muscat  succeeds  wonder¬ 
fully  well,  we  never  having  any  trouble  in  getting  bunches  from  5  lbs. 
to  7  lbs.  in  weight,  and  also  for  the  variety  of  excellent  colour.  I 
mention  this  to  show  that  the  treatment  could  not  be  at  fault.  As 
Mr.  Thomson  says,  it  seems  a  pity  that  Lady  Downe’s  should  not  be 
popular  as  a  market  Grape,  as  it  has  most  excellent  qualities,  and  when 
well  grown  is  of  really  handsome  appearance. — A.  Y. 
-  Coffee  in  the  Shire  Highlands. — The  Shire  Highlands 
Coffee  crop  for  1895  has  now  been  gathered  in.  At  present  it  is 
diflBcult  to  form  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  number  of  tons  “  pulped  ” 
throughout  the  “  Highlands,”  but  one  is  very  near  the  mark  in  putting 
it  down  at  150  tons,  which  would  be  an  increase  of  75  tons  on  last 
year’s  crop.  C.  M.  McKinnon,  Esq.,  of  the  Mwalanduzi  Estate,  has 
this  year  reaped  his  maiden  crop.  From  something  like  13,000  trees 
he  has  managed  to  pick  nearly  three  tons  of  Coffee.  Great  pains 
have  been  taken  in  the  pulping  and  washing,  and  the  sample  of  berry, 
which  is  large  and  very  clean,  has  been  pronounced  by  a  London 
expert  as  “one  of  the  best  and  cleanest  samples  of  Coffee  he  has  yet 
seen  in  the  Shire  Highlands.”  There  are  now  between  fifty  and  sixty 
Coffee  plantations  in  the  Shire  Highlands  of  Central  Africa.  Of  course 
the  large  majority  of  them  are  still  in  their  infancy,  but  within  the 
next  two  or  three  years  there  undoubtedly  ought  to  be  a  large  export  of 
Coffee  from  this  part. — G.  A.  * 
-  Tigridia  pavonia. — This  is,  in  my  opinion,  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  Iridaceous  plants.  Tigridias  grow  to  the  height  of  about 
2  feet,  and  produce  flowers  of  a  brilliant  scarlet,  spotted  with  crimson, 
measuring  as  much  as  6  inches  across.  The  flowers  expand  every 
morning,  lasting  only  one  day.  There  are  several  varieties  of  the  type, 
the  most  noteworthy  being  T.  grandiflora,  producing  larger  and  richer 
coloured  flowers.  Tiger  flowers  are  of  easy  culture,  requiring  a  rich 
open  soil,  and  enjoying  a  partially  shaded  position.  When  the  leaves 
begin  to  decay  the  bulbs  should  be  lifted,  gradually  ripened,  then  stored 
for  the  winter,  planting  again  in  April.  Some  growers  prefer  to  pot 
the  bulbs  in  the  early  part  of  the  month  of  March,  and  start  them 
under  glass  before  planting  them  out.  They  may  be  increased  by  means  of 
offsets  or  seeds,  the  latter  plan  of  propagation  being  the  more  interesting. 
The  seeds  should  be  sown  as  soon  as  ripe  in  a  warm  house,  and  as  soon 
as  the  seedlings  are  large  enough  to  handle  they  may  be  pricked  off 
into  pans  until  large  enough  to  plant  out.  Seedlings  flower  in  about 
the  third  season.-^H.  S.  M. 
- Garston  Technical  Instruction  Lectures. — The  first 
course  of  Lectures  on  Horticulture  was  brought  to  a  conclusion  on 
Tuesday,  December  10th,  in  the  Public  OflBces,  Grassendale,  by  Mr.  J.  J, 
Craven,  Allerton  Priory,  reading  an  admirable  paper  on  ”  Fruit  Culture 
under  Glass,”  the  subject  being  dealt  with  in  a  thoroughly  practical 
manner.  Since  these  Lectures  have  commenced,  Grassendale  has  led 
the  way,  and  the  money  spent  cannot  fail  to  do  a  great  amount  of  good, 
for  at  each  the  attendance  has  been  excellent.  The  following  syllabus 
is  sufficient  to  show  the  varied  character  of  the  Lectures  :  “  Insect 
Pests,”  “  Orchids,”  “  Chemistry  of  Manuring,”  ”  Fruit-growing  for 
Market,”  “  Potting  and  Watering  of  Plants,”  the  lecturers  being  Messrs. 
R.  Newstead,  John  Cowan,  G.  Clarke,  John  Taylor,  and  Frank  Ker. 
Perhaps  a  great  share  of  success  is  due  to  Mr.  D.  H.  Browning,  Mr. 
R.  Fawkes,  the  courteous  Secretary,  and  Mr.  W.  Blomily,  the  indefatig¬ 
able  Chairman.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  latter  gentleman — 
owing  to  the  pressure  of  business — cannot  see  his  way  to  again  pilot 
another  course  which  is  expected  to  start  shortly  after  Christmas. — 
R.  Pinnington. 
-  Lemons  in  California.— The  Lemon  groves  of  California 
have  proved  a  good  thing  for  their  owners  this  year.  The  crops  have 
been  very  heavy.  The  products  of  groves  planted  ten  years  ago  has 
brought  in  this  season  3600  dols.  an  acre,  and  at  least  half  of  this  sum 
is  profit.  Not  long  ago  California  used  to  import  Lemons. 
-  Chislehurst  Gardeners’  Association.  —  Mr.  W.  Cuth- 
bertson,  F.R.H.S.,  of  Messrs.  Debbie  &  Co.,  gave  a  lecture  on  Tuesday 
evening,  December  10th,  before  the  members  of  this  Association,  on 
“  Pansies  and  Violas.”  The  lecture,  which  was  an  admirable  one,  dealt 
fully  with  the  cultural  details  as  well  as  the  scientific  side.  A  great 
assistance  to  the  latter  part  was  a  number  of  coloured  plates  and  draw¬ 
ings.  There  was  a  good  muster  of  members  present. 
-  The  Royal  Institution.— The  following  are  among  the 
lecture  arrangements  at  the  Royal  Institution  before  Easter  : — Professor 
J.  G.  McKendrick,  six  lectures  (adapted  to  a  juvenile  auditory),  on 
“Sound,  Hearing,  and  Speech;”  Professor  Charles  Stewart,  eleven 
lectures  on  “  The  External  Covering  of  Plants  and  Animals :  Its 
Structure  and  Functions  Professor  H.  Marshall  Ward,  three  lectures 
on  “  Some  Aspects  of  Modern  Botany  Lord  Rayleigh,  six  lectures  on 
“  Light.”  The  Friday  evening  meetings  will  begin  on  January  17th, 
when  a  discourse  will  be  given  by  Lord  Rayleigh  on  “  More  about 
Argon.”  Succeeding  discourses  will  probably  be  given  by  Professor 
Burdon  Sanderson,  Mr.  W.  S.  Lilly,  Dr.  John  Murray,  Mr.  J.  J. 
Armistead,  Dr.  Edward  Frankland,  Mr.  A.  R  Binnie,  Mr.  Sidney  Lee, 
Professor  T.  R.  Fraser,  Professor  Dewar,  and  others. 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society. — Programme  of  meetings 
for  the  first  quarter  of  1896 : — January  4th,  “  The  Grape  Vine,” 
Mr.  Russell,  Clayton  West  ;  January  11th,  “  The  Study  of 
Geology,”  Mr.  H.  S.  Goodyear  ;  January  18th,  “  Propagation 
and  Culture  of  British  Ferns,”  illustrated  by  lantern  views, 
Mr.  W.  H.  Atkinson,  Batley  ;  January  25th,  “  Cambridge  and 
the  Isle  of  Ely,”  illustrated  by  lantern  views,  Mr.  J.  Swire  ; 
February  1st,  “  Notes  on  Extension  of  the  Vine,”  Mr.  R.  Scott,  Bradford  ; 
February  8tb,  “  Frost  Crystals,”  illustrated  by  lantern  views,  Mr.  G. 
Parkin  ;  February  15th,  “The  Cultivation  of  Small  Fruits,”  Mr.  A.  H. 
Pearson,  Chilwell  Nurseries;  February  22ad,  “A  Glimpse  Down  the 
Corridors  of  Time,”  Mr.  J.  Clark,  Ph.D.,  M.A.,  Yorkshire  College  ; 
February  29th,  “  With  Axe  and  Camera  under  Italian  Skies,”  by  Rev. 
L.  S.  Calvert,  M.A,,  Member  of  the  English  Alpine  Club,  illustrated 
by  lantern  views  ;  March  7th,  Annual  meeting. — G.  W.  Fallas, 
T.  H.  Mountain,  Hon.  Secs. 
PROSECUTION  UNDER  THE  PHARMACY  ACTS. 
We  enclose  a  cutting  which  we  have  taken  from  the  “  Glasgow 
Herald,”  of  the  11th  inst.  Of  course  we  have  seen  the  same  thing  occur 
before,  but  we  consider  the  Sheriff’s  remarks  anent  the  arrangement 
with  the  chemist  to  be  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  to  the  seed 
trade. — Austin  &  M'Aslan,  Glasgow. 
“A  case  of  great  importance  to  nurserymen,  florists,  gardeners,  and 
others  came  up  in  the  Sheriff  Court  at  Dumbarton — before  Mr.  Sheriff 
Gebbie — when  Mr.  James  Bryson,  seedsman,  11,  East  Prince’s  Street, 
Helensburgh,  was  charged  at  the  Instance  of  the  Registrar  under  the 
Pharmacy  Acts,  1852  and  1868,  in  name  and  by  authority  of  the  Coun¬ 
cil  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain,  with  the  concurrence 
of  the  Procurator-Fiscal  of  Dumbartonshire,  with  an  offence  under  these 
Acts,  in  so  far  as  he,  between  30th  May  and  29th  June,  1895,  not  being  a 
duly  registered  pharmaceutical  chemist,  or  a  chemist  and  druggist 
within  the  meaning  of  the  Pharmacy  Acts,  did  keep  open  shop  for  the 
retailing,  dispensing,  or  compounding  of  poisons,  and  did  sell  by  retail 
(first)  a  poison  within  the  meaning  of  these  Acts — viz.,  a  quantity  of 
arsenic  forming  an  ingredient  in  a  quantity  of  ‘  The  Ballikinrain  Ant- 
Destroyer,’  and  (second)  a  similar  poison  forming  an  ingredient  in  a 
quantity  of  ‘  Smith’s  Perfect  Patent  Powder  Weed-Killer,’  whereby  he 
became  liable  to  a  penalty  of  £5  sterling.  Mr.  Robert  MacFarlan, 
writer,  Dumbarton,  appeared  on  behalf  of  the  Registrar,  and  Mr.  H.  H. 
Ormond,  writer,  Helensburgh,  defended  for  Bryson.  The  defender 
admitted  the  sale  of  the  ant-killer,  but  denied  that  of  the  weed-killer, 
and  evidence  was  led  at  some  length,  when  it  appeared  that  Mr.  Bryson 
had  at  one  time  been  agent  for  the  sale  of  the  weed-killer,  but  on 
learning  that  it  might  be  held  to  be  an  infringement  of  the  Act  he  had 
given  up  the  agency,  and  arranged  with  Mr.  Howie,  chemist,  to  take  it 
and  allow  him  a  commission  on  all  orders  sent  by  him.  A  long  discus¬ 
sion  took  place  between  the  agents  on  the  case,  and  the  Sheriff  ulti¬ 
mately  held  that  there  being  no  doubt  about  the  sale  of  the  ant-killer, 
that  of  itself  was  sufficient  for  a  conviction  under  the  complaint,  and 
indicated  that  in  his  opinion  the  arrangement  for  the  purchase  through 
Mr.  Howie  was  a  technical  infringement  of  the  Act,  but  that  he  did  not 
find  it  necessary  to  take  that  into  account  in  giving  judgment.  Mr. 
Ormond  pleaded  for  a  modified  penalty  in  the  circumstances,  and  the 
Sheriff  fixed  £1  Is.  of  a  penalty,  and  £2  23.  of  modified  expenses.” 
