380 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
November  2,  1899. 
Recent  Weather  in  London.— The  fog,  of  which  metropolitan 
gardeners  had  far  too  much  a  few  days  ago,  has  now  disappeared.  In 
its  place  we  had  on  Saturday  night,  Sunday,  and  Monday  morning  heavy 
rain  ;  but  towards  midday  on  Monday  the  rain  ceased,  and  the  sun  shone 
brightly  in  the  afternoon.  On  Tuesday  it  was  clear  and  cold  ;  while  on 
Wednesday  it  was  bright  and  fine. 
-  Royal  Horticultural  Society.— The  rext  Fruit  and  Floral 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday, 
November  7th,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Westminster,  1  to  4  p.m, 
A  lecture  on  “Some  of  the  Plants  Exhibited”  will  be  given  by  the  Rev. 
Prof.  Geo.  Henslow,  M.A.  V.M.H.,  at  three  o’clock. 
-  Gardening  Appointments. — Mr.  J.  Turner,  late  general 
foreman  (in  charge)  of  Glynllifon  Park  Gardens,  Carnarvon,  has  been 
appointed  head  gardener  to  E.  S.  Trafford,  Esq.,  Wroxham  Hall^ 
Norwich.  Mr.  Walter  Ager,  gardener  to  Major  Rasch,  M.P.,  Woodhill 
House,  Danbury,  succeeds  the  late  Mr.  Picksley  as  gardener  to  Robert 
Miller,  Esq.,  St.  Leonaids,  Ingatestone,  Essex.  Mr.  Joseph  Bailey, 
under  gardener  at  Woodhill,  will  be  Mr.  Ager’s  successor  there. 
-  West  Derby  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
— The  second  season  of  the  above  Society  opened  in  a  most  promising 
manner,  firstly  by  a  good  attendance  of  members,  and,  secondly  by  the 
Society  having  such  an  excellent  Chairman  as  the  Rev.  J.  O.  Coop  to 
preside.  In  another  instance  the  Committee  were  fortunate  in  being 
able  to  secure  Mr.  T.  White  (who  lately  resigned  the  chairmanship  of 
the  Liverpool  Horticultural  Association)  to  give  the  first  lecture, 
Mr.  White  is  a  thorough  practitioner,  and  his  pleasant  and  instructive 
manner  was  used  most  effectively  in  describing  “  The  increase  of  new 
plants  by  the  art  of  hybridisation.”  Mr.  C.  A.  Young,  of  the  Floral 
Nurseries,  never  neglects  such  meetings,  and  his  sensible  remarks  on  the 
subject  and  those  of  Mr.  Massey  were  most  appropriate.  The  Chairman 
and  lecturer  were  heartily  thanked  for  their  services.  A  capital  syllabus 
for  the  season  has  been  prepared,  Mr.  R.  Pinnington  being  the  next 
lecturer. 
-  County  Potato  Competitions. — “Observer”  (page  359^ 
October  26th),  is  well-meaning,  but  dreadfully  illogical.  He  grumbles  at 
a  competition  for  Potatoes  alone,  and  protests  that  prizes  for  collections 
of  vegetables  would  be  ever  so  much  better.  He  then  goes  on  to  suggest, 
with  a  complacent  satisfaction  that  betokens  a  sense  of  giving  wise 
counsel,  that  what  should  really  be  done  is  to  organise  a  competition  for 
Potatoes  as  dug  on  the  land.  He  overlooks,  however,  this  inevitable 
deduction — that  if  a  collection  of  vegetables  is  better  than  a  collection  of 
Potatoes  on  the  show  table,  it  follows  that  to  judge  the  produce  of  a 
whole  garden  or  allotment  must  be  better  than  to  judge  only  twenty 
roots  of  the  Potatoes  in  it.  This  is  exactly  what  is  done  by  the  Technical 
Education  Committee  of  the  Kent  County  Council,  a  sum  of  about  £150 
being  annually  paid  in  prizes  for  cottage  gardens  and  allotments.  The 
Potato  shield  is  an  extra.  Has  Observer  ”  induced  his  particular 
County  Council  to  do  more  in  the  direction  indicated  ?— W.  P.  Wright> 
County  Gardens  Superintendent,  Willesborough,  Ashford,  Kent. 
-  Death  of  Mr.  Grant  Allen. — We  regret  to  have  to  record 
the  death  at  Ilindhead,  Surrey,  after  a  protracted  illness,  on  Wednesday, 
October  25th,  of  this  popular  writer.  Though  of  late  years  Mr.  Grant 
Allan’s  energies  have  been  mainly  devoted  to  novel  writing,  his  true 
bent  was  found  in  studies  of  nature,  and  some  of  his  works,  written  in 
the  most  fluent  and  graceful  style,  have  met  with  wide  appreciation.  His 
name  will  not  be  unknown  to  readers  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture,  to 
whose  pages  he  has  contributed  on  more  than  one  occasion.  The 
deceased  was  born  at  Kingston,  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  Canada,  in  1848. 
Our  contributor,  “E.  K.,  Dublin,"  sends  the  following  lines  : — 
“  ‘  Glimpses  of  Nature’  showed  the  studious  mind 
Of  the  Great  Mother’s  truly  gifted  son, 
Telling  of  those  who  sweet  communion  find 
When  once  the  entry  to  her  kingdom’s  won. 
“We  could  have  wished  the  threescore  years  and  ten 
He  had  been  spared,  more  secrets  yet  to  tell, 
’Twas  not  to  be ;  at  rest  the  magic  pen ; 
Farewell,  thou  gifted  one — a  long  farewell.” 
-  Brockwell  Park. — Mr.  C.  E.  Tritton,  M.P.,  presided  over  a 
meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  formed  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring 
42*  acres  of  wooded  land  at  Herne  Hill  for  the  purpose  of  enlarging 
Brockwell  Park.  The  price  asked  by  the  trustees  of  the  Blackburn 
Estate  was,  says  a  contemporary,  considered  reasonable.  Mr.  Albert 
Larking,  the  Honorary  Secretary,  read  a  letter  from  Mr.  Lawrence  W. 
Chubb,  Secretary  of  the  Common  and  Footpaths  Preservation  Society* 
guaranteeing  a  contribution  of  £1000  from  a  member  of  that  body, 
provided  the  extension  of  the  park  was  secured  in  two  years.  The  Chair¬ 
man,  Mr.  Tritton,  guaranteed  £500  towards  the  expenses  in  promoting 
the  scheme,  and  Mr.  A.  B.  Stevens,  M  B.,  a  member  of  the  executive,  did 
the  same  to  the  extent  of  £100. 
-  The  Late  Mr.  James  Martin. — At  the  close  of  the  last 
fortnightly  meeting  of  the  Reading  and  District  Gardeners’  Mutual 
Improvement  Association,  at  which  a  paper,  “  How  to  Keep  a  Green¬ 
house  Gay  from  October  1st  to  March  31st,”  was  read  by  Mr.  Blake, 
foreman,  East  Thorpe  Gardens,  Reading,  it  was  unanimously  decided 
by  the  members  that  a  memorial  should  be  raised  to  the  memory  of  the 
late  Mr.  James  Martin,  and  that  it  should  take  the  form  of  providing 
for  a  gardener’s  orphan  child,  to  be  placed  on  the  Gardeners’  Orphan 
Fund,  to  be  known  as  the  “James  Martin  Memorial  Orphan,”  and  a 
committee  was  formed  to  carry  out  the  scheme.  During  the  evening 
Mr.  William  Baskett,  for  many  years  head  gardener  to  the  late 
W.  I.  Palmer,  Esq.,  was  made  a  life  member  of  the  Association,  this  being 
the  first  occasion  the  file  membership  rule  has  been  acted  upon. 
-  Autumn  Fruit  from  Canada. — A  few  days  ago  a  goodly 
parcel  of  Canadian  Peaches  and  Pears  was  sold  iu  Covent  Garden 
Maiket  by  auction,  with  the  most  satisfactory  results.  The  Peaches 
were  particularly  good,  but  the  Pears  were  exceptionally  fine,  and  they 
made  as  high  as  9s.  6d.  per  small  case.  The  shipment  was  sent  out 
under  the  auspices  of  Professor  Robertson  of  Ottawa,  who  is  specially 
responsible  for  the  trial  shipments  which  have  lately  been  sent  over  in 
small  fancy  packages,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  in  future  seasons 
Canadian  Pears  will  secure  the  patronage  of  the  best  buyers  in  the 
trade.  The  representative  of  Professor  Robertson,  who  is  now  in  this 
country,  informed  us  that  they  have  now  obtained  the  right  temperature 
to  keep  the  fruit  in  perfect  condition  while  on  board  the  fruit  boats,  so 
that  nothing  stands  in  the  way  of  large  and  regular  shipments  of 
Canadian  Peaches  and  Pears  during  the  autumn  months.  Millions  of 
both  kinds  of  fruits  are  promised  the  trade  for  next  year. —  (“  Daily  Mail.”) 
-  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. — At  the  first  meeting  of 
the  Committee  after  the  recess,  held  on  the  27th  inst.,  W.  Marshall,  Esq., 
in  the  chair,  it  was  arranged  that  the  annual  general  meeting  shall  take 
place  on  February  16th  next,  when  there  will  also  bo  an  election  of  candi¬ 
dates  for  the  benefits  of  the  Fund.  The  following  special  receipts  were 
announced  :  By  the  sale  of  flowers  at  the  Wimbledon  Horticultural 
Society’s  Show,  £6  10s,  ;  Sandringham  Estate  Cottage  Garden  Society, 
£5  5s.  ;  Betchworth,  Brockham  and  Buckland  Horticultural  Society, 
£4  6s.  ;  Harvest  Thanksgiving  Collection  at  Rangemore,  Burton-on- 
Trent.  per  the  Rev.  A.  Lowe,  £4  10s. ;  one-half  of  the  “  gate  ”  obtained 
by  throwing  open  the  gardens  at  Ragley,  Alcester,  per  Mr.  A.  D.  Christie, 
£2  9s.  ;  by  sale  of  fruit  at  Worcester,  per  favour  of  the  Agricultural 
sub-Committee  of  the  Worcestershire  County  Council,  £1  17s.  4d.  ;  by 
sale  of  flowers  at  the  Chislehurst  Flower  Show,  per  Mr.  J.  Lyne,  £4  6s. 
Candidates’  nomination  forms  can  be  obtained  from  the  Secretary,  Mr.  B. 
Wynne,  8,  Danes  Inn,  Strand,  London,  W.C. 
-  Apple  Charleston  Pippin. — I  know  the  Charleston  Pippin 
very  well,  although  it  is  a  good  many  years  since  I  have  seen  it.  It 
takes  its  name  from  Charleston  near  Wakefield,  a  village,  now  a  large 
colliery  just  outside  the  park  of  Nostell  Priory,  where  it  was  grown 
when  I  knew  it.  It  was  of  fairly  good  quality  after  Christmas,  certainly 
better  than  the  King  of  the  Pippins,  and  as  far  as  I  recollect  a  good  bearer. 
It  no  doubt  got  its  name  of  Charleston  Pippin  from  having  been  grown 
there,  just  as  the  Normanton  Wonder  gets  its  Yorkshire  name  from  the 
neighbouring  village  of  Normanton.  “  T’helmender  ”  no  doubt  refers  to 
the  original  seedling  tree  ;  it  would  be  interesting  to  learn  where  that 
is,  apparently  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tadcaster,  where  it  seems  to  be 
known  by  that  name. — C.  W.  Strickland.  [We  are  very  much  obliged 
to  Sir  Charles  Strickland.  Charleston  Pippin,  referred  to  on  page  331,  is 
evidently  the  correct  name  of  T’helmender,  which  is  obviously  a  local 
colloquialism.  We  quite  agree  that  it  is  better  in  quality  than  King  of 
the  Pippins,  though  we  can  only  regard  this  hardy,  serviceable,  and 
reliable  bearer  as  second-rate.  Perhaps  Mr.  Clayton  will  make  further 
nquiries  as  to  the  place  of  origin  of  the  Apple  in  question.] 
