January  20,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
57 
Weather  in  London. — (Jn  Thursday  moi'ning  a  very  heavy  fog 
enveloped  the  West-end  of  London,  impeding  traffic  to  a  considerable 
extent,  but  to^vards  the  evening  it  cleared.  Friday  and  Saturday  were 
both  fine,  though  not  bright,  while  on  Sunday  it  was  sliglitly  foggy 
throughout  the  day.  No  rain  fell  in  the  latter  half  of  the  past  week,  neither 
vvas  there  any  frost.  Monday  was  foggy  throughout  the  day,  but 
Tuesday  was  clear  and  bright. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — During  the  past  week,  with  the 
exception  of  the  12th,  the  weather  has  been  almost  uniformly  dull. 
Westerly  winds  have  been  frequent,  and  the  temperature  has  been 
unseasonably  high,  44°  during  the  night  recurring.  Tuesday  morning 
was  gusty  and  wet.  Snowdrops  are  getting  into  bloom.  Crocus  and 
Daffodils  well  above  ground,  and  Loses  show  shoots  over  an  inch  in 
length. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  Koyal  Horticultural  Society. — Scientific  Committee. 
— .\t  the  meeting  on  January  llth  there  were  present  Mr.  Michael  (in 
the  chair).  Dr.  Muller,  Dr.  Russell,  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  and  the  Rev.  Prof. 
Ilenslow,  Hon.  Sec.  The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  and 
confirmed.  Fungus  on  Beech. — A  box  of  fungi  was  received  from  Lady 
Cave,  Cleve  Flail,  Downend,  near  Bristol.  They  were  forwarded  to  Kew, 
whence  it  was  reported  that  they  were  I’leurotus  ostreatus,  /ac^.,  “  one 
of  the  best  and  safest  of  edible  fungi.”  The  specimens  were  taken  from 
a  very  old  Beech  in  the  gardens  of  Cleve  Hall.  They  were  growing  on 
the  wood  about  12  feet  from  the  ground. 
-  Royal  Horticultural  Society. — The  Council. — We 
observe  from  the  balloting  paper  just  issued  that  the  three  retiring 
members  this  year,  in  accordance  with  the  bye-laws,  are  Messrs.  Norman 
C.  Cookson,  James  Douglas,  and  Thomas  Gabriel.  The  Fellows 
recommended  to  fill  the  vacancies  thus  created  are  Sir  Frederick  Wigan, 
Bart.,  Mr.  J.  Gurney  Fowler,  and  Mr.  James  Hudson.  As  the  gardeners’ 
representative  Mr.  Douglas  has  proved  a  very  useful  member,  but  he  is 
now  a  commercial  florist,  and  we  have  not  a  doubt  that  Mr.  Hudson 
will  prove  himself  an  equally  worthy  representative  of  the  craft  that 
he  adorns.  We  congratulate  him  on  his  nomination,  which  is  no  doubt 
tantamount  to  election  to  the  honourable  board.  We  may  perhaps  add 
that  the  chief  bye-law,  which  governs  the  retirements  and  elections,  is 
the  following  : — “  At  every  annual  meeting  of  the  Society  three  members 
of  the  Council  shall  be  removed  by  ballot  of  the  Fellows  present,  and  the 
vacancies  so  created  shall  be  filled  up  by  the  election  by  ballot  of  the 
Fellow's  present  of  three  other  discreet  Fellows  of  the  Society.”  The 
annual  meeting  is  to  be  held  on  February  8th. 
-  R.H.S.  Finances. — It  is  gratifying  to  notice  that  the  total 
income  of  the  Society  during  the  past  year  amounted  to  £6303  13s.  7d., 
also  that  there  is  a  tialance  over  expenditure  (£5481  G.s.  3d.)  of 
£822  7s.  4d.  The  deaths  of  Fellows  in  1897  numbered  fifty-three,  the 
resignations  fifty  ;  together  involving  a  loss  of  £134  8s.  As  compensation 
we  find  that  428  Fellow's  were  elected  during  the  year,  equivalent  to  a 
gain  of  £551  15s.  6d.  ;  after  deducting  the  above  loss  there  is  a  net 
increase  in  income  of  £417  7s.  6d.  ;  numerical  increase  of  Fellows,  after 
deducting  the  loss  of  102  above  mentioned,  325.  Thus  the  Society  is  in 
a  thoroughly  sound  state — a  state  moreover  of  increasing  prosperity,  for 
we  believe  the  election  of  new  Fellows  at  the  last  meeting  was  unusually 
large,  and  thus  indicative  of  another  prosperous  year. 
-  The  Culture  of  Vegetables  and  Flowers  from  Seeds 
AND  Roots. — The  continued  demand  for  this  admirable  work  of  Messrs. 
Sutton  &  Sons  is  the  best  possible  proof  of  its  acceptability.  The 
seventh  edition  is  before  us,  and  from  whatever  point  of  view  regarded, 
excellence  in  production,  variety  in  subjects  treated,  soundness  of  informa¬ 
tion,  or  attractiveness  and  instructiveness  of  the  illustrations  of  insects 
and  fungi,  we  are  bound  to  speak  of  it  in  terms  of  the  highest  praise. 
The  cultural  requirements  of  all  kinds  of  garden  vegetables,  also  of 
flowers  raised  from  seeds  and  roots,  are  clearly  set  forth,  and  the  same 
may  be  said  with  regard  to  the  formation  and  management  of  lawns 
and  tennis  grounds.  The  work  may  be  fairly  described  as  a  safe 
gardener’s  guide  and  trustworthy  amateur’s  friend,  and  neither  one  nor 
the  other  will  err  by  following  the  advice  contained  in  its  418  i>ages, 
plus  an  excellent  index. 
-  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. — We  have  the  pleasure 
to  announce  that  C.  E.  Keyser,  Esq.,  Aldermaston  Court,  Reading,  will 
preside  at  the  annual  festival  dinner  of  the  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan 
Fund  on  Wednesday,  the  20th  April  next,  at  the  Hotel  Metropole. 
-  Rainfall  at  Old  Warden  I^ark,  Biggleswade,  in  1897. 
— Mr.  G.  R.  Allis  writes: — “The  rainfall  as  registered  here  during 
1897  amounted  to  27'09  inches  ;  rain  fell  on  137  days,  and  snow  on 
live  days.  March  was  the  wettest  month,  when  rain,  3'4l  inches,  fell  on 
twenty  days.  July  was  the  dryest  month,  0’34  inch.  The  rainfall  for 
1895  and  1896  amounted  to  25'8G  and  25'7  inches  respectively.” 
-  ‘‘  Professional.” — At  an  inquiry  held  at  Lambeth  the  other 
day ,  a  witness  described  himself  as  a  professional  gardener.  The 
Coroner  :  All  men  in  your  business  call  themselves  professionals,  don’t 
they  ?  Witness  :  There  is  a  vast  difference  between  professional  and 
ordinary  gardeners.  I  am  competent  to  give  a  lecture  on  botany  and 
horticulture.  The  Coroner  :  Then  ordinary  gardeners  only  scrape  the 
weeds  up,  I  suppose  ?  (Laughter.) 
- Death  of  Sir  Joseph  Terry. — Last  week  we  (on  page  33) 
briefly  reported  the  proceedings  of  the  annual  meeting  of  the  guarantors 
and  life  members  of  the  Grand  Yorkshire  Gala  as  presided  over  by  Sir 
Joseph  Terry,  who  was  at  the  same  meeting  unanimously  elected  Chair¬ 
man  of  the  Council  for  the  current  year.  It  is  with  deep  regret  that  we 
find  the  death  of  Sir  Joseph  occurred  suddenly  when  our  report  of  the 
meeting  was  in  the  press.  The  deceased  gentleman,  who  had  been  thrice 
Lord  Mayor  of  York,  was  an  active  worker  in  the  interests  of  the  Gala 
and  flower  shows,  and  a  warm  welcome  was  always  accorded  him  when 
presiding  at  the  .Judges’  luncheon.  Ih  his  quiet,  happy  way  he  made  all 
happy  around  him,  and  by  his  innate  urbanity  and  geniality  won  the 
esteem  of  all  classes.  He  was  held  in  great  favour  by  horticulturists 
who  visited  the  shows  from  year  to  year,  and  his  loss  will  be  much  lamented. 
The  deceased  gentleman  was  seventy  years  of  age. 
-  The  Royal  Botanic  Society.— At  the  meeting  of  the 
Fellows  of  this  Society  on  Saturday,  Major  Cotton,  who  presided,  referred 
at  some  length  to  the  present  position  of  the  Society,  In  the  course  of 
his  observations,  he  stated  that  the  year  1897  had  been  a  very  eventful 
one  in  the  history  of  the  Society,  and  he  was  pleased  to  be  able  to  con¬ 
gratulate  the  Fellows  upon  the  very  excellent  position  in  which  the 
Society  now  stood  as  compared  with  its  position  at  the  opening  of  last 
year.  The  unsatisfactory  position  had  been  resolutely  faced,  and  he  was 
pleased  to  say  that,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  Council  and  some  of  the 
leading  Fellows,  the  Society  was  now  perfectly  solvent,  and  the  accumu¬ 
lated  debt  which  had  so  long  been  a  source  of  trouble  and  anxiety,  had 
been  swept  away.  A  new  lease  for  the  maximum  term  of  thirty-one  years 
had  been  promised  by  the  Commissioners  of  Woods  and  Forests,  and  it 
now  only  remained  for  the  Fellows  to  use  their  utmost  endeavours  and 
to  induce  friends  to  make  the  Society  the  success  it  should  be.  Not  only 
were  the  gardens  open  for  study  to  the  pupils  of  the  various  medical 
schools,  but  a  school  of  practical  gardening  had  been  started  with  the  con¬ 
currence  and  aid  of  the  London  County  Council.  Reference  was  made  to  the 
great  increase  in  the  numbers  of  Fellows  elected  in  1897,  there  having 
been  more  than  eighty  above  the  average  numbers  of  the  last  ten  years. 
-  Grapes.  —  The  new  Grape  Directeur  Tisserand,  recently 
receiving  an  award  of  merit,  and  which  was  again  placed  before  the  Fruit 
Committee  on  the  llth  inst.,  whilst  exceedingly  nice,  yet  showed  that  it 
would  not  keep  long,  as  the  berries  had  begun  to  shrivel.  It  was  felt 
under  the  circumstances  that  any  higher  award  would  not  be  justified.  It 
would  have,  i  f  course,  been  useful  to  have  learnt  how  early  or  otherwise 
the  Vine  carrying  the  fruit  was  started  into  growth.  Compared  with  the 
fine  and  perfect  berries  seen  on  Mr.  .1.  Bury’s  Colmans  and  Alicantes 
those  of  the  new  Grape  were  too  advanced.  Still,  it  is  very  difficult  to 
pronounce  an  exact  verdict  until  the  Grape  has  been  more  widely  grown. 
The  Alicante  sport  staged  by  Mr.  Rochford  presents  features  of  great 
interest.  The  bunch  shown  indicated  free  setting,  a  Gros  Colman 
berry,  although  rather  more  oval,  and  an  Alicante  skin.  Well  finished, 
which  the  sample  sent  was  not,  it  should  hang  very  late.  This  seems  to 
be  a  pure  sport,  and  at  present  is  growing  on  a  rod  which  carried 
below  the  sport  union  fine  bundles  of  Alicante.  The  sport  had  produced 
several  bunches.  Judging  by  the  indifferently  coloured  sample  seen  it 
would  appear  to  need  a  long  season  like  Gros  Colman.  When  it  is 
propagatid,  as  perhaps  it  already  is,  and  has  fruited  on  its  own  roots, 
then  its  real  character  will  be  seen.  The  present  inference  is  that  it 
will  develop  into  a  most  valuable  late-keeping  Grape.  Mr.  Bury’s 
collection  of  Grapes,  apart  from  their  table  value,  very  markedly  helped 
to  show  how  Grapes  may  be  marketed  in  the  best  possible  condition  in 
the  now  well-known  cross-handle  baskets. — A.  D. 
