43.5 
JOURNAL  CF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  8,  1898'. 
Events  of  the  Week. — To-day  (Thursday)  the  annual  general 
n  eeting  and  dinner  of  the  National  Rose  Society  are  being  held  at  the 
Hotel  Windsor,  Victoria  Street,  at  3.30  and  5.30  respectively.  The  last 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  for  1898  will  be  on  Tuesday, 
December  13th,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Westminster. 
-  Weather  in  London, — Both  Thursday  and  Friday  of  last 
week  were  mainly  fine,  though  light  showers  came  occasionally,  and  on 
the  latter  day  the  wind  blew  nearly  a  gale.  Saturday  was  damp  almost 
throughout  the  day,  as  was  Sunday  afternoon,  the  morning  being  bright, 
with  sunshine.  From  Monday  until  the  time  of  going  to  press  on 
Wednesday  rain  almost  without  cessation. 
—  Weather  in  the  North. — Since  the  frost  gave  way  on  the 
30th  ult.  the  weather  has  been  continuously  wet,  with  high  southerly  and 
westerly  winds.  Sunday  was  particularly  unpleasant  from  gusty  wind 
and  heavy  rain.  The  latter  continued  throughout  Monday.  Tuesday 
morning  was  fuir,  mild,  and  dull. — B.  D.,  &  Perthshire. 
-  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution.  —  The 
Reigate  and  District  Chrysanthemum  Society,  through  Mr.  J.  Brown, 
has  forwarded  a  donation  of  £21  to  the  funds  of  this  Institution. 
-  Isle  of  Wight. — The  Isle  of  Wight  Horticultural  Improve¬ 
ment  Association  held  its  monthly  meeting  at  the  Newport  Town  Hall 
•on  Saturday  last.  Dr.  J.  Groves,  B.A.,  J.P.,  presided.  The  audience 
was  exceptionally  large,  members  being  present  from  all  parts  of  the 
island.  Many  of  these  were  no  doubt  attracted  by  the  subject,  ns  it  was 
of  paramount  importance  to  every  gardener — namely,  ‘‘Birds” — which 
was  ably  dealt  with  by  Mr.  T.  Gibbs,  C.C.  The  lecture  was  made 
doubly  interesting  by  the  aid  of  limelight  views.  Several  new  members 
were  elected.  The  customary  votes  of  thanks  were  accorded  the  lecturer 
and  others  who  had  made  the  lecture  such  a  great  success. — S.  II. 
-  Garden  Refuse. — When  I  called  in  upon  a  Surrey  gardener 
recently,  where  there  is  an  extensive  garden  that  has  to  be  manured 
without  animal  matter,  the  house  being  empty  and  no  horses  kept,  I  asked 
“  how  he  managed  to  get  such  wonderfully  fine  crops  of  all  things,”  and 
he  said,  “  I  will  show  you  our  manure  heap.”  This  I  found  outside  of 
the  garden,  under  a  north  wall  and  overhanging  trees,  and  the  accumula¬ 
tion  of  everything  obtainable  of  vegetable  nature  was  a  huge  one.  No 
animal  manure,  no  artificial  manure,  a  deep  sandy  soil,  and  only  natural 
manure  such  as  decayed  vegetable  matter,  yet  splendid  results.  But 
then,  how  many  gardeners  are  there  who  have  to  be  dependant  upon 
similar  materials  as  manure  ?  Chemical  analysis  on  scientific  basis  would 
show  this  material  deficient  in  phosphates  and  potash  ;  root  analysis 
shows  that  it  it  is  capable  of  remarkable  results. — A.  D. 
-  Death  of  Mr.  W.  II.  Rogers. —  A  nurseryman  greatly 
esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him  has  just  passed  away  in  the  person  of 
Alderman  W.  H.  Rogers,  J.F.,  of  the  well-known  Red  Lodge  Nurseries, 
Southampton,  who  recently  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-one, 
and  was  on  Monday  last  buried  in  the  churchyard  of  North  Stoneham, 
where  for  more  than  half  a  century  that  estimable  gardener  Canon 
Beadon  was  Rector.  Mr.  Regers  succeeded  his  father,  the  founder 
of  the  nurseries,  many  years  since,  and  is  now  in  turn  succeeded  by 
his  son,  Mr.  A.  C.  Rogers.  Tho  Red  Lodge  Nurseries  are  situate  on 
an  elevated  plateau  some  three  miles  from  Southampton,  and  in  a  par¬ 
ticularly  beautiful  district.  In  the  south  they  hav«  been  long  famous 
for  Rhododendrons,  Iruit  trees,  Roses,  and  indeed  all  descriptions  of 
hardy  trees  and  shrubs.  The  deceased  was  exceedingly  liberal  in 
relation  to  the  nursery,  throwing  it  open  to  public  view  in  the 
Rhododendron  season,  and  also  freely  giving  shrubs  and  decorative 
material  for  all  sorts  of  purposes.  lie  was  also  intimately  connected 
with  the  Southampton  Horticultural  Society,  and  was  a  liberal  patron. 
In  public  life  he  was  very  active,  and  to  the  time  of  his  death  was  not 
only  an  alderman  of  the  borough,  but  was  also  Chairman  of  the  Cemetery 
Committee.  Ho  was  very  earnest  in  maintaining  the  natural  character 
and  beauty  of  the  extensive  common,  which  is  one  of  the  town’s  great 
features,  and  lies  on  the  same  side  as  does  the  nursery.  Whilst  not  much 
heard  of  in  the  Metropolis,  in  Southampton  the  Alderman  had  made  tho 
name  of  Rogers  a  household  word.— D. 
-  Royal  Horticultural  Society.— The  next  Fruit  and  Floral 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday 
December  13th,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Westminster,  1  to 
4  p.m.  A  lecture  will  be  given  at  three  o’clock  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  G. 
Henslow,  M.A.,  V.M.IL,  on  “Some  of  the  Plants  Exhibited.” 
-  Grapes  at  Shrewsbury. — Without  doubt  tho  Executive  of 
the  Shropshire  Horticultural  Society  means  to  keep  its  great  annual  show 
well  to  the  front,  and  shows  its  wisdom  by  annually  arranging  some  fine 
class  that  shall  form  a  special  attraction.  In  proposing  to  offer  the  huge 
sum  of  £100  in  prizes  for  twelve  bunches  of  Grapes  the  record  is  entirely 
beaten,  and  a  splendid  competition  should  result.  Having  been  so  invited 
I  have  ventured  to  suggest  that  the  prizes  are  too  great  and  all  the  same 
too  full,  and  that  it  would  be  better,  starting  with  £20,  to  run  the  sums 
gradually  down  and  make  eight  prizes,  so  as  to  offer  to  so  many  compe¬ 
titors  a  chance  of  getting  some  pecuniary  reward.  Whatever  course  may 
be  adopted,  without  doubt  a  grand  competition  and  superb  Grapes  will  bo 
produced. — A.  D.  [One  of  our  young  liens  proposes  £25  and  six  prizes.} 
-  Examinations  in  Horticulture.— The  date  fixed  by  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  for  the  next  examination  of  candidates  is 
April  11th,  1899.  These  examinations  can  be  held  in  any  town  or 
village  where  any  responsible  person  accustomed  to  examinations  will 
supervise  them.  The  time  allowed  for  answering  questions  (usuall}-,  we 
think,  eight)  in  writing  is  two  and  a  half  hours.  A  scholarship  of  £25 
a  year  for  two  years  is  provided  by  G.  W.  Burrows,  Esq.,  of  tho 
Worshipful  Company  of  Gardeners,  for  the  most  successful  male  student 
between  tho  age  of  eighteen  and  twenty-two  years  who  is  able  and  willing 
to  study  gardening  in  tho  R.H.S.  Gardens  for  one  year  at  least.  We  do 
not  know  for  what  reasons  females  are  excluded  from  the  scholarship5, 
infi  rmation  on  the  subject  not  having  been  received  in  official  form  for 
publication. 
-  The  Mild  Autumn. — The  Meteorological  correspondent  of 
the  “Daily  News”  writes  :  — One  of  the  most  notable  features  in  our 
recent  weather  has  been,  of  course,  its  extreme  mildness.  In  all  but 
the  most  northern  parts  of  tho  kingdom  the  thermometer  this  month 
has  risen  daily  to  between  50°  and  55°,  and.  in  some  places  the  latter 
point  has  even  been  exceeded,  the  readings  being,  as  a  rule,  at  least 
10°  above  the  average  for  December.  Yesterday  the  thermometer  in 
London  rose  to  58^,  this  being  as  high  a  December  reading  as  any  we 
have  had  since  1856,  when  the  thermometer  at  Greenwich  almost  touched 
59°.  The  warmest  December  day  since  the  record  was  commenced  at 
Greenwich  was  on  the  10th  of  the  month  in  1848,  when  the  thermometer 
rose  to  62-4°.  The  records  for  the  whole  of  tho  past  three  months  show 
that  the  past  autumn  was  the  mildest  experienced  within  the  memory  of 
the  present  generation,  if  not  of  that  mythical  personage,  the  oldest 
inhabitant.  In  London  there  has  certainly  not  been  anything  like  so- 
mild  an  autumn  for  at  least  fifty  years  past.  The  nearest  upproach  to 
it  occurred  in  the  years  1857  and  1SG5,  when  the  mean  temperature  of  the- 
three  months,  September  to  November,  was  about  53°.  This  year  the 
mean  value  for  tho  same  period  was  54‘5°,  so  that  all  previous  records- 
were  beaten,  not  by  a  trifle,  but  by  as  much  as  a  degree  and  a  half,  a 
large  excess  for  so  extended  a  period  of  time. 
-  Rules  for  Judging. — A  second  edition  of  the  R.II.S.  code  of 
rules  for  judging  having  become  necessary,  opportunity  was  taken  to 
carefully  examine  tho  200  or  more  paragraphs,  with  the  view  of  making 
alterations  in  any  of  them  which  experience  suggested  as  desirable. 
Only  cn  one  point  does  it  appear  that  alteration  was  deemed  necessary  by 
the  Committee  of  revision.  This  was  in  reference  to  disqualifications 
resulting  through  mere  accidents  in  staging,  and  nothing  else.  Though 
judges  still,  and  properly,  have  no  power  to  correct  the  mistakes  of 
exhibitors,  they  are  now  authorised  to  point  out  to  the  secretary  or 
manager  of  a  show  any  apparently  accidental  departure  from  the  exact 
terms  of  the  schedule,  and  such  official  has  the  power,  with  the  sanction 
of  the  judges,  to  give  an  exhibitor,  if  at  hand,  an  opportunity  of  making 
a  needed  correction,  or  in  his  absence  the  official  may  make  it  himself. 
This  is  strictly  fair,  or  an  exhibitor  might  bo  fir.ed  for  an  accident  iD 
the  form  of  disqualification,  or  suffer  from  a  “departure”  for  which  he 
may  not  have  been  responsible.  Where  there  is  evidence  of  “intention 
to  deceive,”  disqualification  is  stringently  enforced.  This  new  edition  of 
the  code  should  be  obtained  by  all  exhibitors  and  show  officials,  especially 
as  an  appendix  is  added, *in  which  the  nature  and  routine  of  point  judging 
are  set  forth  in  a  clear  and  practical  manner.  The  manual  is,  moreover, 
worthy  of  being  possessed  by  all  who  desire  to  sec  the  standards  of  merit 
of  plants,  flowers,  fruits  and  vegetables  defined  more  concisely  and 
comprehensively  than  can  elsewhere  be  seen.  The  code  can  be  had  for 
Is.  6d.,  post  free,  from  117,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster. 
