February  3,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
101 
Weather  in  London. — The  mild  weather  which  has  characterised 
the  weather  for  several  weeks  still  remains.  Last  Thursday,  Friday,  and 
Saturday  were  c  joI  in  the  evening,  and  rain  fell  slightly  on  the  latter 
day.  Sunday  morning  brought  heavy  shoivers,  but  Monday  was  a 
magnificent  day.  Rain  fell  during  the  early  hours  of  Tuesday  morning, 
and  the  day  was  dull  throughout.  Wednesday  was  tine,  but  not  very 
bright. 
-  Weather  in  the  North.— Westerly  winds  have  prevailed 
during  the  past  week,  and  the  weather,  while  variable,  has  been  generally 
fine,  with  high  temperature  both  day  and  night.  Friday  was  particularly 
fine.  On  the  nights  of  Sunday  and  Monday  a  good  deal  of  rain  fell. 
Tuesday  morning  was  clear  and  somewhat  colder. — B.  I).,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  Royal  Horticultural  Society. — The  next  meeting  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday,  February  8th,  in 
the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Westminster,  1  to  4  p.m.  At  three  o’clock 
the  annual  general  meeting  of  the  Society  will  be  held  in  the  Lindley 
Library,  117,  Victoria  Street,  S.W.  The  Committees  will  meet  as  usual. 
-  Devon  and  Exeter  Gardeners’  Association.— At  the  last 
fortnightly  meeting  of  this  Gardeners’  Association,  the  essayist  for  the 
evening  being  Mr.  George  Lee,  gardener  to  Miss  Lavers,  Upton  Leigh, 
Torquay.  Mr.  W.  Rowland,  gardener  to  Mr.  W.  Brock,  was  in  the  chair. 
Mr.  Lee,  who  is  a  specialist  in  Orchid  culture,  traced  the  history  of  the 
Orchid  mania  from  the  time  that  Swainson  explored  the  Brazilian  forests, 
life  in  hand,  extricating  plants  from  malarious  swamps  alive  with  lizards, 
alligators,  and  other  dangerous  beasts  of  prey,  sent  home  to  England  the 
Cattleyas,  with  their  gorgeous  hues  and  majestic  forms.  The  essayist 
also  gave  exhaustive  cultural  details,  which  w^ere  most  interesting. 
-  Strawberries  prom  Seed,  or  the  Cultivation  of  the 
Alpine  Strawberry'. — This  was  the  subject  of  a  paper  read  by  Mr. 
James  Hudson  of  Gunnersbury,  before  the  members  of  the  Reading 
Gardeners’  Association,  last  week,  when  Mr.  C.  B.  Stevens  presided 
over  a  good  attendance  of  members.  The  subject  was  certainly  a  new 
one,  and  perhaps  the  first  time  that  a  paper  on  this  particular  fruit 
has  been  given  before  a  gardeners’  association.  In  the  discussion  which 
followed  all  the  members  taking  part  had  to  plead  ignorance  of  the  culti¬ 
vation  of  the  Alpine  Strawberry,  but  many  of  the  gardeners  will  no 
doubt  be  giving  it  a  trial.  A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  Mr. 
Hudson  for  his  interesting  paper.  A  box  containing  some  120  to  140 
spikes  of  well  grown  Lily  of  the  Valley,  many  having  fourteen  and 
fifteen  bells  each,  was  shown  by  Messrs.  Rigg  &  Fixter,  Caversham,  and 
attracted  great  attention. 
-  The  Cape  Colony  and  Gardeners.  —  One  of  the  best 
authorities  in  the  aljove  Colony  having  been  written  to  on  subjects  which 
are  indicated  has  favoured  with  the  following  reply  : — “  Your  letter,  dated 
November  19th,  to  hand.  Let  me  assure  you  it  affords  me  great  pleasure 
to  give  you  or  any  gardener  in  the  old  country  such  information  as  may 
be  of  use.  I  have  now  been  in  South  Africa  for  seventeen  years,  during 
ivhich  time  I  have  been  in  the  Transvaal,  Orange  Free  State,  and  in  all 
the  larger  towns  in  the  Cape  Colony.  South  Africa  is  the  last  place  I 
would  recommend  any  gardener  to  come  to  look  for  work.  The  few' 
gardeners  that  are  in  charge  of  parks  or  botanic  gardens  in  the  different 
towns  command  salaries  from  £250  to  £350  per  annum.  There  are  very 
few  openings.  In  Johannesburg  there  are  hundreds  of  gardeners  who 
cannot  get  work  at  their  trade,  and  those  who  do  have  to  work  for  about 
5s,  per  day,  which  is  nothing  like  a  living  wage  in  that  part,  as  you 
cannot  get  a  cottage  to  live  in  for  less  than  £10  per  month.  As  a  seed¬ 
growing  country  I  think  it  would  be  far  before  anything  in  Europe.  If 
anyone  had  sufficient  capital  and  had  certain  sale  for  seeds  I  think  a 
fortune  could  be  made.  I  should  say  Balsams  seed  more  freely  here  than 
anywhere,  and  Dahlias  are  also  very  free  to  seed,  as  are  innumerable 
other  things,  including  vegetables.  There  are  occasional  droughts,  which 
have  been  very  severe  this  year,  but  these  are  not  like  the  poor,  “aUvays 
with  us.”  For  a  seed  farm  great  care  would  he  exercised  in  choosing  a 
suitable  spot,  and  a  good  capital  would  be  essential,  as  many  persons  have 
ruined  themselves  at  nursery  work,  just  from  want  of  sufficient 
means.  On  any  other  terms  I  would  not  advise  any  gardener  to  come 
out  here,  especially  a  married  man.” 
-  Gardening  Appointment. — Mr.  W.  Heath,  head  gardener  at 
Woodland’s  Vale,  Ryde,  Isle  of  Wight,  has  been  appointed  to  a  similar 
position  at  Wokefield  Park,  Berks. 
-  Royal  Botanic  Society. — At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Fellows 
of  the  Royal  Botanic  Society  held  in  the  museum  at  the  Society’s 
gardens.  Regent’s  Park,  Mr.  C.  E.  Layton  presided,  and  there  was  an 
unusually  large  attendance.  Four  new  Fellows  were  elected,  and  nine 
were  nominated  for  election  at  the  next  meeting.  Professor  Ilenslow 
read  a  paper  on  “  Plant  Variations,”  which  he  illustrated  by  means  of  a 
large  number  of  photographs  reflected  upon  a  screen. 
— —  Mr.  W,  Howard. — The  following  has  been  forwarded  to  us 
from  a  Kingston  paper ; — “  Mr,  W.  Howard,  the  manager  at  ISIessrs. 
Veitch  &  Sons'  Nursery,  Kingston  Hill,  is  about  to  relinquish  that 
appointment.  He  has  been  connected  with  the  firm  for  thirty  years, 
and  is  highly  respected  by  prominent  men  in  the  horticultural  world. 
His  knowledge  of  home  and  foreign  plants  is  great,  and  he  is  looked 
upon  as  an  authority  in  the  profession.  The  good  wishes  of  many  will 
follow  Mr.  Howard  into  his  new  sphere  of  work.” 
-  Roman  Hyacinths. — I  send  a  photograph  of  our  Roman 
Hyacinths  which  number  about  500  plants.  They  were  taken  out  of 
boxes  a  fortnight  before  being  photographed,  and  are  still  as  good  as 
ever.  I  gave  my  method  of  culture  in  the  autumn  of  1897,  and  a  brief 
recapitulation  may  be  of  interest  to  some  persons.  I  place  fifty  bulbs 
in  a  box,  of  which  the  dimensions  are  2  feet  by  1  foot  and  inches  deep. 
This  is  well  drained,  and  a  fairly  moist  compost,  consisting  of  one  part 
loam  and  the  other  leaf  soil  and  sand,  is  used.  The  bulbs  are  placed 
evenly  on  the  surface  of  the  boxes  half  filled  with  the  compost.  I  then 
put  the  boxes  into  a  stack  by  placing  an  empty  box,  reversed,  over  every 
full  one  in  the  corner  of  a  rather  damp  shed.  They  are  left  like  this  till  the 
growths  are  2  or  3  inches  long,  when  they  are  gradually  exposed  to 
light  till  quite  green.  A  gentle  heat  brings  them  into  flower  as  wanted. 
—  R.  Bassil,  Shooters  Hill  Gardens,  Pangbourne.  [Though  the  photo¬ 
graph  is,  unfortunately,  unsuitable  for  reproduction,  it  may  easily  be  seen 
how  successful  is  the  system  of  culture  adopted,  and  upon  the  results  of 
which  we  congratulate  our  correspondent.] 
_  The  Royal  Family  and  Flowers.— The  members  of  the 
Royal  Family  confess  to  a  great  love  for  flowers  of  all  kinds.  The  Queen 
(according  to  the  “  Woman  at  Home”)  has  a  special  weakness  for  Lilies 
of  the  Valley  and  Violets,  and  cares  to  have  them  about  her  rooms.  Her 
intimate  friends,  knowing  her  favourite  blossoms,  send  her  these  in  pro¬ 
fusion  upon  her  birthday,  at  Christmas,  and  the  New  Year.  Violets,  the 
pet  flowers  of  the  late  Emperor  Frederick  of  Germany,  have  become  quite 
sacre^  in  the  eyes  of  his  widow,  and  she  has  often  been  deeply  touched 
when,  paying  her  annual  visits  to  England,  mere  strangers  have  offered 
Violets  ‘‘  in  remembrance  of  her  beloved  husband.  The  Duchess  ot 
York  is  much  interested  in  the  cultivation  of  Howers.  For  her  own 
personal  adornment  she  prefers  Lilies  of  the  Valley  and  white  Roses. 
The  Frincess  of  Wales,  however,  is  the  most  ardent  enthusiast  for  flowers, 
and  is  never  content  unless  her  rooms  are  simply  one  mass  of  scented 
blossom.  In  her  own  boudoir  at  Marlborough  House  and  at  Sandringham, 
every  available  table  or  stand  bears  a  burden  of  plants  in  pots,  and  vases 
frequently  replenished  with  choice  cut  flowers;  and  in  the  hall  at 
Sandringham  the  Palms  and  greenery  are  a  sight  to  behold.  As  for 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  he  cannot  endure  to  be  without  his  “  buttonhole.  ’ 
_ The  Gardeners’  Benevolent  Ballot. — As  Mr.  Outrani 
has  drawn  attention  to  the  number  of  lost  votes  arising  from  the  non¬ 
signing  of  voting  papers,  permit  me  to  suggest  that  to  render  the  election 
a  genuine  ballot,  the  Secretary  should  stainp  every  voting  paper  with  an 
impressed  stamp  of  the  Institution,  and  number  it  legibly  in  red  ink.  He 
should  have  a  list  of  subscribers  in  a  book,  arranged  corresponding  to  the 
numbers  on  the  ballot  paper.  In  that  case  signing  would  be  needless. 
Should  the  authenticity  of  any  ballot  paper  be  disputed,  the  scrutineers 
alone  should  have  power  to  verify  or  otherwise  when  the  counting  was  in 
progress.  No  paper  should  be  sent  to  anyone  whose  subscriptions  due 
had”  not  been  paid.  It  is  monstrously  unfair  that  such  persons  should  be 
recognised  as  subscribers  at  all.  This  plan,  whilst  practically  rendering 
improper  voting  impossible,  would  be  a  real  ballot,  and  not  as  now  a  sham 
one.  Then  no  voting  papers  should  be  accepted  that  were  not  returned 
at  least  two  clear  days  before  the  day  of  election  into  the  Secretary’s  hands, 
and  that  official  should  be  held  responsible  for  placing  them  in  the  hands 
of  the  scrutineers  just  as  received  when  they  retire  to  count  the  votes. 
When  the  counting  is  proceeding,  no  person  other  than  the  scrutineers 
should  be  permitted  in  the  allotted  room  until  the  counting  is  completed. 
—A.  D. 
