358 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  26,  1899. 
Recent  Weather  in  London. — Both  Saturday  and  Sunday  in 
the  Metropolis  were  very  foggy  indeed,  and  locomotion  was  difficult. 
Monday  and  Tuesday  were  not  quite  so  bad,  but  the  conditions  were  still 
unpleasant.  Wednesday  was  very  mild  and  dull. 
-  Death  oe  Mr.  Sydney  Courtauld. — It  is  with  deep  regret 
that  we  have  to  record  the  death,  on  the  20th  inst.,  of  Mr.  Sydney 
Courtauld,  Booking  Place,  Braintree,  Essex.  The  deceased  gentleman 
was  intensely  interested  in  horticulture,  particularly  perhaps  in  Orchids, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society, 
as  well  as  of  the  Orchid  Committee.  Mr.  Courtauld  was  in  his  sixtieth 
year,  and  will  be  much  missed  at  the  Drill  Hall  and  other  gatherings  of 
horticulturists. 
-  Dunn  Memorial  Eund. — A  meeting  of  the  Committee  in 
charge  of  this  Fund  was  held  on  the  18th,  and  it  was  decided  to  close  the 
list  on  December  1st.  This  intimation  will  give  those  who  have  not 
subscribed  the  opportunity  of  doing  so.  Any  of  the  Secretaries,  whose 
names  are  appended,  will  be  glad  to  receive  subscriptions  : — Mr.  P. 
Murray  Thomson,  5,  York  Place,  Edinburgh  ;  Mr.  James  A.  Terras,  21, 
Teviot  Place,  Edinburgh  ;  Mr.  Robert  Galloway,  5,  St.  Andrew  Square, 
Edinburgh  ;  Mr.  Robert  Laird,  17,  Frederick  Street,  Edinburgh. 
-  Rose  Killarney. — A  great  favourite  of  mine  from  its  earliest 
times,  this  choice  Rose  has — this  season — more  than  ever  impressed  me 
with  its  good  behaviour,  and  for  profuse  blooming  has  given  greater 
results  than  any  other  Rose  in  the  garden.  Anyone  seeing  it  for  the  first 
time  have  wanted  to  make  a  closer  acquaintance,  and  no  wonder,  as  some 
disbudded  shoots  have  carried  as  many  as  a  dozen  of  the  most  perfectly 
formed  flowers,  with  sufficient  length  of  stem  to  make  the  finest  button¬ 
hole  flowers  without  wiring.  Then,  too,  there  are  those  long  pointed  buds  of 
the  most  charming  deep  pink  flesh  tint  colour,  sweetly  scented,  that  rivets 
one’s  attention.  On  all  the  above  points  it  is  really  excellent,  whilst  from 
disbudded  shoots  the  flowers  attain  fine  exhibition  size. — R.  P. 
-  Early  Potatoes. — I  am  pleased  to  note  that  there  will  be  a 
trial  of  distinctly  early  Potatoes  at  Chiswick  next  year,  and  that  it  will 
include  old  as  well  as  new  varieties.  I  trust  these  early  ones  will  not  be 
planted  too  early,  for  serious  harm  has  often  been  done  to  the 
tops  of  early  ones  by  late  frosts  at  Chiswick,  entirely  vitiating  the  results 
of  the  trial.  I  should  regard  the  last  week  in  April  as  sufficiently  early,  and 
the  testing  for  crop  and  earliness  should  take  place  not  more  than  three 
months  from  the  time  of  planting.  No  one  who  grows  early  varieties 
waits  until  they  are  ripe  before  lifting  and  using  them.  We  want  in  the 
tubers  not  great  size  but  evenness,  abundance,  and  especially  table  excel¬ 
lence  when  cooked.  No  variety  could  be  regarded  as  early  that  was  not 
thoroughly  fit  for  such  test  at  the  end  of  July.  Possibly  some  may  think 
that  is  too  late,  and  that  a  fortnight  earlier  would  be  preferable.  But  early 
planting  without  protection  does  not  always  produce  the  best  results. — A.  D. 
-  The  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association.— At 
the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association,  83, 
Lancaster  Gate,  on  Thursday,  Mr.  Hugh  Leonard  presiding,  it  was 
stated  that  the  amendment  proposed  by  the. Association  to  the  Commons 
and  Open  Spaces  Bill  of  last  Session  had  been  accepted,  and  that  the 
Bill  having  since  passed  into  law,  all  County  Councils  were  by  means  of 
this  amendment  able  themselves  to  acquire  and  maintain  land  for  public 
recreation  or  to  assist  municipal  and  district  councils  and  other  local 
authorities  to  do  so.  It  was  also  mentioned  that  the  clause  promoted  by 
the  Association  for  the  protection  of  open  spaces  had  been  inserted  in  the 
Local  Government  Act.  A  number  of  letters  were  read  asking  for  the 
assistance  of  the  Association  in  the  preservation  of  Albert  Square,  Com¬ 
mercial  Road,  E.,  which  was  offered  for  sale  as  a  building  site,  and  it 
was  decided  to  approach  the  various  local  authorities  concerned  and  the 
London  County  Council,  urging  them  to  jointly  acquire  the  site  if 
obtainable  on  reasonable  terras.  A  letter  was  read  from  the  Bethnal 
Green  Vestry  offering  to  maintain  Marian  Square,  Hackney  Road,  if  the 
Association  would  undertake  to  lay  out  and  fence  in  the  ground.  It  was 
agreed  to  take  further  steps  in  the  matter.  Many  proposals  were 
under  consideration,  including  schemes  for  the  acquisition  and  laying  out 
of  sites  in  Fulham,  Earlafield,  Westminster,  Essex  Road,  Shadwell,  and 
Enfield. 
-  Gardening  Appointment.  —  Mr.  Jas.  Richardson  has 
succeeded  Mr.  Foster  as  head  gardener  to  E.  Murray  Ind,  Esq.,  Coombe 
Lodge,  Great  Warley,  Essex. 
-  Concert  in  aid  of  the  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan 
Fund. — On  November  2nd  the  Constitutional  Hall  of  Chertsey  will  be  the 
venue  of  a  concert  to  be  held  in  aid  of  the  above  charity,  and  we  wish  it 
unqualified  success.  A  most  excellent  programme  has  been  arranged, 
and  all  necessary  particulars  may  be  had  from  the  Honorary  Secretary, 
Mr.  A.  J.  Brown,  Jessamine  Cottage,  Eastworth,  Chertsey. 
-  Rose  Mrs.  John  Laing. — A  bold  correspondent  “F.”  writes  : 
“I  cannot  understand  why  Mrs.  John  Laing  stands  easily  first  in  the 
Rose  analysis.  Certainly  the  shape  is  good  but  by  no  means  pretty, 
the  colour  distinctly  bad,  unless  grown  on  strong  clay,  and  even  then 
not  up  to  much  ;  the  foliage  is  coarse,  and  the  Rose  itself  has  no 
delicacy  of  texture.  Ulrich  Brunner  is  not  a  great  favourite,  but  he 
would  certainly  rank  before  Mrs.  John  Laing.  The  ‘Charming’  Craw¬ 
ford  will  increase  in  popularity,  as  will  Caroline  Testout.” 
-  Aristolochia  elegans. — This  is  one  of  the  prettiest  in  the 
genus,  with  the  usual  twining  habit,  and  smallish  but  very  beautifully 
coloured  flowers.  The  latter  are  produced  from  the  leaf  bases  and  long 
pendants,  the  effect  of  a  well  flowered  plant  beiag  very  fine.  It  may  be 
grown  from  cuttings  or  seeds  in  a  brisk  moist  heat  from  the  first.  The 
flowers  are  freely  produced  in  the  second  year,  and  every  season  a  little  of 
the  older  wood  should  be  cut  out  to  make  room  for  new,  as  it  is  in  the 
latter  the  best  flowers  occur.  A  rich,  but  firm  and  well  drained  compost 
is  best  for  it,  and  the  plants  may  be  grown  round  trellises  or  on  the  roof, 
either  in  pots  or  planted  in  borders. — C.  H. 
-  A  Scoundrel. — For  some  years  we  have  had  two  collecting 
boxes  in  aid  of  the  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund  fixed  up  in  our 
establishment.  We  have  been  in  the  habit  of  opening  these  once  a  year 
and  sending  their  contents  up  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  Fund.  On  Wed¬ 
nesday  night  or  Thursday  morning  last,  some  prowling  dastard  forcibly 
removed  the  box  in  the  most  prominent  position  in  our  place,  and  which 
always  contained  the  most  money.  I  am  doing  all  I  can  to  find  out  the 
thief,  but  with  not  much  hope  of  success.  I  feel  extremely  sorry  that 
such  a  deserving  institution  should  suffer  at  the  hands  of  some  low 
scoundrel.— Wm.  Thomson. 
-  Marriage  of  Mr.  M.  H.  Foquet  Sutton.— The  marriage 
of  Mr.  Martin  Hubert  Foquet  Sutton,  eldest  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin 
J.  Sutton  of  Henley  Park,  Oxfordshire,  and  Eleauora,  diughter  of 
Colonel  Morton  (late  Border  Regiment)  and  Mrs.  Morton  of  Mildmay, 
was  solemnised  recently  at  St.  Mary  Abbotts,  Kensington.  The  officiating 
clergy  were  the  Right  Rev.  the  Bishop  of  Sierra  Leone,  the  Rev.  Claude 
Hope  Sutton,  Vicar  of  Southwold,  uncle  of  the  bridegroom,  and  the  Rev. 
D.  B.  Hankin,  Vicar  of  St.  Jude’s,  Mildmay  Park.  The  bride  was  given 
away  by  her  father,  and  Mr.  Harry  Buxton  of  Hunsdon  Bury  was  the 
best  man.  The  bride  and  bridegroom  left  for  Paris,  en  route  for  Italy. 
-  Hessle  Gardeners’  Society.  —  A  meeting  of  the  above 
Society  was  held  on  October  17th  ;  Mr.  Mason  occupied  the  chair.  Mr, 
Dobbs,  of  E Houghton,  read  a  practical  paper  on  “The  Cultivation  and 
Raising  of  Narcissi  and  Snowdrops  for  Profit.”  The  essayist  strongly 
recommended  market  gardeners  and  allotment  holders  to  cultivate 
these  popular  bulbs,  and  clearly  pointed  out  the  great  remuneration  for 
their  labour.  If,  said  the  essayist,  sound  bulbs  were  more  universally 
produced  in  this  country,  there  would  never  be  such  a  demand  for  foreign 
produce.  A  cordial  vote  of  thanks  to  the  essayist  and  the  Chairman 
terminated  a  thoroughly  enjoyable  and  highly  instructive  evenin'*. 
— J.  F.  D.,  Yorks. 
-  Shirley  Gardeners’  Association.— The  monthly  meeting 
of  the  above  Society  was  held  at  the  Parish  Room,  Shirley,  Southampton, 
on  Monday,  16th  inst.,  there  being  a  good  attendance  of  the  members, 
presided  over  by  Mr.  B.  Ladhams,  F.R.H.S.  Mr.  F.  W.  E.  Shrivell  gave 
in  the  form  of  a  lecture  on  “  Chemical  Manures  for  the  Kitchen  and 
Market  Garden”  the  results  of  a  long  series  of  experiments  carried 
out  at  Tonbridge  with  chemical  manures.  The  trial  grounds  are  divided 
into  sections,  and  the  sections  into  six  plots  each,  and  on  these  plots  the 
different  vegetables  are  grown,  some  with  farmyard  manure  heavily 
dressed,  others  with  a  mixture  of  manure  and  chemicals  in  different  pro¬ 
portions,  and  in  each  case  one  plot  is  manured  with  chemicals  only. 
Diagrams  showed  weight  of  produce  taken  off  in  each  ease,  and  the 
value  received  for  the  same.  A  brief  discussion  ensued,  and  a  vote  of 
thanks  was  accerded  Mr.  Shrivell  at  the  close  of  his  lecture.  There 
was  a  good  show  of  fruit  by  the  members,  also  some  good  Celery 
grown  with  the  aid  of  sulphate  of  ammonia. 
