December  14  L899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
519 
3  feet  6  inches  Ion?,  for  18  blooms  2  feet  9  iaches  long,  for  12  blooms 
2  feet  long,  and  for  9  blooms  1  foot  6  inches  long.  All  outside 
measurements.  Mr.  Paul  mentioned  that  the  time  had  arrived  when 
exhibitors  should  be  compelled  to  adopt  the  same  sizes  for  their 
boxes,  for  it  had  caused  much  dissatisfaction  in  the  past,  and  uniformity 
was  essential  to  good  judgment.  Mr.  G.  Gordon,  in  seconding, 
followed  in  the  same  strain,  and  said  the  Society  should  set  an 
example  to  provincial  societies.  The  Chairman  strongly  supported  the 
new  regulation,  which  was  carried  unanimously. 
Mr.  G.  Paul  towaids  the  close  of  the  meeting  at  first  suggested 
that  the  Committee  in  framing  the  schedule  might  delete  all  or  part 
of  the  treble  classes,  which  he  considered  unsatisfactory,  and  replace 
those  classes  with  a  number  of  vases,  as  the  National  Chrysanthemum 
Society  were  doing.  He  called  attention  to  the  magnificent  display 
the  vases  at  the  November  show  made,  and  he  hoped  the  executive 
would  endeavour  to  carry  out  the  same  idea,  for  it  was  equally  appli¬ 
cable  to  Roses,  and  was  certainly  a  more  natural  way  of  exhibiting 
them.  Mr.  C.  Cant  strongly  objected  to  the  loss  of  the  treble  classes. 
The  Rev.  J.  H.  Pemberton  supported  Mr.  Paul’s  ideas,  and  hoped  the 
time  would  come  when  their  formal  boxes  were  a  thing  of  the  past. 
Mr.  G.  Gordon  would  like  to  see  the  class  for  twelve  blooms,  one 
variety  at  least,  arranged  in  vases.  After  further  discussion  Mr.  Paul 
was  induced  to  make  his  suggestion  into  an  instruction  to  the 
Committee,  just  to  test  the  feeling  of  the  meeting.  On  the  vote  being 
taken  Mr.  Paul’s  motion  received  eleven  votes,  while  fourteen  hands  were 
held  up  against  it,  a  decision  that  seemed  to  give  Mr.  Paul  satisfaction, 
as  showing  that  his  ideas  were  gaining  ground  with  the  members. 
Dr.  Masters  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  C.  E.  Shea  for  his 
services  in  the  chair. 
PINE  CONES. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  of  the  commoner  species  of  Pinus, 
such  as  the  Scotch  and  Corsican  Pines,  the  cones  of  this  genus  are 
comparatively  unknown,  and  yet  amongst  them  may  be  found  some 
of  the  most  interesting  of  the  many  forms  of  fruit  found  in  the 
vegetable  kingdom.  Pines,  however,  do  not  bear  cones  very  freely  in 
many  instances,  lack  of  moisture,  or  may  be  climatic  influences,  causing 
them  to  be  barren  year  after  year,  though  the  trees  look  healthy 
enough,  while  many  of  them  have  only  been  introduced  to  this 
country  within  the  last  half  century  or  so,  and  probably  have  not  as 
yet  attained  a  sufficient  size  to  bear  cones. 
The  great  diversity  of  size  and  shape  in  Pine  cones  is  remarkable, 
and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  trees  which  bear  the  smallest  and  the 
largest  cones  are  both  natives  of  North  America.  Pinus  Bauksiana  is 
a  native  of  north-eastern  America,  and  has  a  small  cone,  a  little  over 
an  inch  long,  while  P.  Coulteri  and  P.  Sabiniana,  both  natives  of 
California,  contest  the  honour  of  bearing  the  largest,  the  first  named 
having  a  cone  12  inches  long  by  14  in  circumference,  the  other  being 
9  inches  long  and  18  inches  round  at  the  widest  part.  The  latter 
is  a  very  handsome  cone,  being  of  a  shining  brown  colour,  with  thick 
woody  scales,  each  of  which  is  flattened  to  the  shape  of  an  inverted 
triangle  at  the  end,  and  armed  with  a  stout  slightly  curved  spine. 
Between  these  extremes  of  large  and  small  may  be  found  cones  of 
all  sizes  and  shapes.  P.  ponderosa,  about  6  inches  long,  with  rather 
narrow  scales,  each  furnished  with  a  short  sharp  spine  ;  P.  Pinaster, 
about  4  inches  long,  with  stout  woody  scales  of  a  deep  glossy  brown 
hue ;  P.  inops,  2  inches  in  length,  with  the  ends  of  the  scales  much 
lighter  in  colour  than  the  lower  parts ;  P.  Thunbergi,  with  small 
spiny  cones,  which  are  freely  borne  on  comparatively  young  plants  ; 
P.  Jeffreyi,  with  large  loose  cones  about  7  inches  long,  the  stout 
scales  of  which  are  armed  with  sharp  spines  ;  and  P.  contorta,  about 
2  inches  long,  are  all  handsome  in  appearance,  and  when  brought 
together  show  a  great  diversity  in  shape  and  colour. 
Pinus  muricata,  a  species  from  California,  has  a  curious  habit  of 
carrying  its  cones,  which  are  about  3  inches  long,  unexpanded  for 
many  years,  clusters  of  six  to  eight  being  common  on  branches  varying 
from  2  to  4  inches  in  diameter.  These  clusters  are  arranged  in  a 
ring  round  the  stems,  and  cling  tightly  to  the  tree,  requiring  consider¬ 
able  force  to  detach  them,  and  must  be  fifteen  or  twenty  years  old  at 
the  least.  P.  rigida  also  carries  its  cones  for  a  considerable  period, 
but  in  this  case  they  have  expanded,  and  as  a  rule  are  nearly  decayed, 
and  can  be  easily  detached  from  the  tree.  They  are  fairly  common  on 
branches  1  or  2  inches  in  diameter,  and  can  sometimes  be  found  on 
the  main  stems  of  the  younger  plants. 
All  these,  however,  belong  to  the  two  or  three-leaved  section  of 
Pinus,  the  cones  of  the  five-leaved  Pines  being  of  a  different  character. 
In  these  the  scales  are  broader  and  thinner,  are  always  spineless,  and 
the  cones  are  covered  with  a  sticky  resinous  secretion,  making  them 
extremely  unpleasant  to  handle.  This  secretion,  however,  dries  up 
after  the  seeds  are  shed.  The  handsomest  cone  of  this  section  is  that 
of  P.  excelsa,  the  Bhotan  Pine,  which  is  8  inches  long,  and  has  a  light 
brown  hue  on  the  upper  side  of  the  scales,  while  underneath  they  are 
much  darker.  The  other  species  of  five-leaved  Pines  bear  smaller 
cones,  which  in  other  respects  resemble  those  of  P.  excelsa. — C. 
Recent  Weather  in  London. — Winter  is  with  us  here  in  the 
metropolis  as  well  as  elsewhere  in  the  country.  Saturday  and  Sunday 
were  both  very  cold  with  sharp  morning  frosts,  while  Monday  brought 
a  little  snow.  On  Tuesday  it  was  scarcely  so  cold,  but  frost  fell  at 
intervals  throughout  the  day.  At  the  time  of  going  to  press  on  Wednesday 
it  was  fine  and  milder. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — Although  a  slight  frost  occurred 
as  early  as  September  28th,  and  at  least  thrice  during  October  from 
4°  to  6°  were  recorded,  it  is  only  since  the  10th  inst.  that  an  appearance 
of  settled  wintry  weather  has  set  in.  On  that  morning  7°  of  frost  were 
recorded,  and  on  Monday  11°,  the  latter  part  of  which  day  gave  every 
promise  of  snow.— B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  Royal  Horticultural  Society. — The  last  meeting  this 
year  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  take  place  next  Tuesday,  the 
19th  inst.,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Westminster,  when  the  Fruit, 
Floral,  and  Orchid  Committees  will  meet  as  usual  at  twelve  o’clock. 
Election  of  new  Fellows  at  three  o’clock. 
- Girdlestone  Memorial. — We  learn  that  it  is  proposed  to  form 
a  fund  to  provide  prizes  for  garden  or  decorative  Roses,  in  the  cultiva¬ 
tion  of  which  the  late  Mr.  T.  W.  Girdlestone  always  took  a  keen  interest. 
Mr.  Girdlestone  made  so  many  friends  among  rosarians,  that  we  have  no 
doubt  of  the  success  of  this  attempt  to  hold  his  memory  in  honour. 
Subscriptions  will  be  received  by  Edward  Mawley,  Esq ,  Rose  Bank, 
Berkhamsted,  Herts. 
-  The  Winter. — There  seems  to  bo  great  cause  for  thinking  that 
another  dry  winter  is  before  us.  We  had  two  or  three  persistent  wet 
days  in  November,  and  the  rainfall  did  great  good.  But  how  rapidly  did 
its  effects  disappear,  and  no  wonder,  when  it  is  remembered  how  remark¬ 
ably  dry  was  the  subsoil  previously  to  its  coming.  But  since  then  there 
has  been  little  rain,  and  December  bids  fair  to  be  a  very  dry  month. 
If  that  prove  so,  then  we  shall  have  to  trust  to  January  and  February 
to  make  up  the  moisture  deficiency  which  exists.  Gardeners  know  all 
about  the  inches  of  rain  which  have  fallen,  or  which,  according  to  the 
averages,  may  be  due  ;  but  they  know  far  better  what  is  the  general  con¬ 
dition  of  the  soil,  and  I  think  most  of  them  will  agree  that  should  all  the 
present  winter  be  dry  that  a  serious  disaster  to  gardening  may  follow. — A, 
-  HA3MANTHUS  ALBIFLOS  —Although  the  flowers  of  this  species 
are  not  so  showy  as  are  those  of  some  of  the  others,  it  is  well  worth  a 
place  in  the  garden,  for,  in  addition  to  its  flowers,  a  plentiful  supply  of 
fruit  is  borne,  which  is  of  a  decidedly  ornamental  character.  As  is  the 
case  with  the  majority  of  species  of  this  genus,  it  comes  from  S.  Africa. 
In  habit  it  forms  a  dense  mass  of  bulbs,  bearing  spathulate  leaves  from 
6  inches  to  a  foot  long,  with  a  row  of  hairs  round  the  margins.  The 
flowers  are  numerous,  and  borne  in  dense  heads  2  to  3  inches  across  on 
stout  scapes  6  to  8  inches  high.  They  are  white  in  colour,  with  prominent 
golden  stamens.  After  the  flowers  disappear  their  place  is  taken  by 
large  heads  of  fruit,  which,  when  ripe,  is  bright  red,  The  seeds  from 
these  grow  readily,  and  soon  form  good  plants.  Though  it  does  well  in 
pots,  it  is  seen  to  greater  advantage  planted  among  rockwork  ;  in  such  a 
position  it  grows  much  quicker,  and  keeps  in  better  health.  Although  it 
grows  well  in  a  cool  greenhouse  it  does  much  better  in  a  structure  which 
has  an  intermediate  temperature. — W.  D. 
-  Rhododendron  dauricum. — At  this  time  of  the  year,  when 
most  of  our  hardy  plants  are  at  rest  and  the  outdoor  garden  is  giving  us  very 
few  flowers,  those  that  defy  the  weather  are  very  welcome.  Of  the  half- 
dozen,  or  so,  shrubs  that  flower  during  midwinter  this  is  the  most  showy, 
and,  given  a  sheltered  corner,  we  can  always  be  sure  of  a  few  blooms 
except  in  the  severest  weather,  from  November  to  February.  It  is  the 
earliest  of  all  Rhododendrons  to  flower,  and  probably  the  hardiest,  as 
the  flowers  withstand  several  degrees  of  frost  without  injury.  It  is  a 
widely  distributed  plant,  principally  in  Dahuria  and  Mandshuria,  and 
varies  in  habit  according  to  the  district  it  comes  from,  some  plants  being 
evergreen,  others  almost  deciduous.  The  flowers  are  rosy  purple,  and 
an  inch  across.  To  be  seen  to  advantage  a  dozen  or  so  plants  should 
be  placed  in  a  group  in  some  sheltered  nook,  where  it  will  not  fail  to  be 
a  source  of  pleasure  to  all  who  see  it. — D. 
