December  2'l,  lb99. 
541 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER , 
nitrogen  into  its  own  substance  by  any  means  as  nitrogen,  with  the 
exception  of  the  flesh-feeding  plants  (insectivorous).  Hence,  although 
this  gas  is  present  in  the  atmosphere  surrounding  the  plants,  yet 
the  plants  will  perish  if  nitrogen  does  not  exist  in  some  combined 
form  in  the  soil. 
Nitrates  and  compounds  of  ammonia  are  widely  distributed  in 
nature,  and  it  is  from  these  bodies  that  plants  obtain  by  means  of  their 
roots  the  necessary  nitrogen.  Until  comparatively  recently  it  was  held 
that  plant  life  could  not  be  maintained  in  a  soil  devoid  of  nitrogen  or 
compounds  thereof.  But  it  has  been  found  that  certain  classes  of 
plants — Beans,  Peas,  Clovers,  and  Lupins — when  they  are  grown  in  a 
soil  which  is  practically  free  from  nitrogen  at  the  commencement,  do 
take  up  this  gas  into  their  tissues.  One  explanation  of  this  fact  is, 
that  free  nitrogen  becomes  converted  into  nitrogen  compounds  in  the 
soil  through  the  agency  of  micro-organisms  present  there.  Another 
explanation  attributes  this  fixation  of  nitrogen  to  micro-organisms 
existing  in  the  rootlets  of  the  plants.  These  two  classes  of  organisms 
are  known  as  the  nitrogen-fixing  bacteria,  and  have  very  important 
functions  to  perform,  even  in  the  guden  which  is  devoted  to  the 
growth  of  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  plants. 
Plant  life  seizes  upon  its  required  constituents  as  they  become 
available  in  the  soil  partly  through  the  agency  of  micro-organisms, 
and  by  means  of  the  energy  furnished  by  the  sun’s  rays  build  these, 
materials  up  into  its  own  complex  forms ;  and  its  many  and  varied 
forms  fulfil  a  place  in  beautifying  the  world.  —  J.  J.  Willis, 
Harpenden. 
BI-CENTENARY  OF  THE  SWEET  PEA. 
It  has  been  thought  highly  desirable  by  a  number  of  admirers  of 
the  Sweet  Pea  that,  having  regard  to  the  facts — first,  that  the  varieties 
of  this  charming  subject  are  multiplying  with  singular  rapidity; 
second,  that  it  is  now  so  generally  employed  for  garden  and  floral 
decorations;  third,  that  it  has  become  a  very  prominent  subject  at 
horticultural  exhibitions ;  and,  fourth,  that  its  culture  for  cut  flower 
and  seed  purposes  has  become  a  great  commercial  industry — it  is 
expedient  that,  as  the  year  1900  will  be  the  bi-centenary  of  its  intro¬ 
duction  into  Great  Britain,  some  attempt  should  be  made  to  celebrate 
this  important  event. 
With  a  view  to  such  celebration  a  preliminary  meeting  took  place 
at  Edinburgh  on  September  13th  last,  Mr.  George  Gordon,  V.M.H., 
presiding,  when  the  following  propositions  were  agreed  to  :  That  it  is 
advisable  to  organise  an  exhibition  of  Sweet  Peas  in  London  in  July, 
1900,  in  order  to  celebrate  the  bi-centenary  of  its  introduction  into 
Great  Britain.  That  a  conference  of  admirers  and  growers  of  Sweet 
Peas  be  convened  for  the  purpose  of  classifying  the  varieties  into 
groups  of  colour  and  form,  for  the  selection  of  the  finest  in  each,  and 
for  such  other  purposes  as  may  be  deemed  advisable  for  increasing  the 
interest  in  the  improvement  and  culture  of  this  popular  flower  both  at 
home  and  abroad. 
That  as  visitors  to  the  Exhibition  and  Conference  are  expected  from 
the  United  States  and  several  continental  countries,  it  is  desirable  that 
suitable  social  functions  be  arranged  in  conjunction  with  such  occasion. 
The  preliminary  committee  appointed  at  this  meeting  have  drawn  up 
the  following  scheme,  for  which  they  request  your  cordial  support : — 
1,  An  exhibition  of  Sweet  Peas  in  London  during  July,  1900,  at 
which  prizes  shall  be  offered  for  collections  and  bunches  of  Sweet  Peas, 
and  for  illustrations  of  how  the  flower  can  be  utilised  for  decorative 
purposes. 
2,  Trade  exhibits  of  Sweet  Peas,  not  competing  in  any  of  the 
classes  in  the  schedule,  but  to  which  honorary  awards  will  be  made, 
will  be  invited. 
3,  Special  prizes  invited,  but  those  only  can  be  accepted  that  are 
free  from  trade  conditions. 
4,  A  conference  will  be  arranged  at  which  certain  experts  will  read 
papers  dealing  with  the  classification,  history,  evolution  and  properties, 
&c.,  of  the  Sweet  Pea. 
5,  A  banquet  and  other  social  observances  as  may  be  deemed 
advisable. 
6,  That  some  person  of  distinction  be  invited  to  become  president 
of  the  international  celebration. 
7,  That  a  number  of  gentlemen,  prominent  in  matters  horticultural, 
be  invited  to  become  vice-presidents. 
8,  That  a  fund  be  opened  to  provide  a  prize  list  and  defray  expenses 
of  the  celebration,  towards  which  the  following  amounts  have  been 
promised : — 
Mr.  Henry  Eckford,  Wem .  «.  ..£3  3  0 
Messrs.  Dobbie  &  Co. ,  Rothesay  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  330 
Mr.  George  Gordon,  V.M.H.  . 110 
Mr.  H.  J.  Jones,  Ryecroft,  Lewisham . 330 
Mr.  Robert  Sydenham,  Birmingham  ..  . 330 
Mr.  Owen  Thomas,  V.M.H.,  Frogmore,  Windsor . 110 
Miss  Willmott,  V.M.H.,  Warley,  Essex  . 110 
Mr.  N.  Barnes,  Eaton,  Chester . 110 
Mr.  Hugh  A.  Pettigrew,  St.  Fagan’s . 0  10  6 
Mr.  Richard  Dean,  V.M.H.,  Ealing  . 110 
It  is  estimated  that  the  sum  of  £300  will  be  required  to  carry  out 
the  celebration  in  a  manner  that  will  insure  its  unqualified  success. 
Tickets  of  admission  to  the  Exhibition  and  Conference  will  be  allotted 
pro  rata  to  subscribers  to  the  fund.  Any  surplus  remaining  after 
the  payment  of  necessary  expenses  will  be  given  to  the  gardening 
charities. 
9,  That  the  following  form  an  executive  committee  to  carry  out 
the  celebration,  with  power  to  add  to  their  number  : — 
Chairman,  Mr.  George  Gordon,  V.M.H. 
Mr.  N.  F.  Barnes,  The  Gardens,  Eaton  Hall,  Chester. 
Mr.  E.  Beckett,  The  Gardens,  Aldenham  House,  Elstree,  Herts. 
Mr.  P.  Blair,  The  Gardens,  Trentham,  Staffs. 
Mr.  Charles  II.  Curtis,  68,  Whitestile  Road,  Brentford. 
Mr.  W.  Cuthbertsou  (Messrs.  Dobbie  &  Co.),  Rothesay. 
Mr.  John  Eckford,  Wem,  Salop. 
Mr.  F.  G.  Foster,  Brockhampton  Nurseries,  Havant. 
Mr.  John  Fraser,  F.L.S.,  5,  Clement’s  Inn,  Strand,  W.C. 
Mr.  J.  McHattie,  The  Gardens,  Strathfieldsaye,  Mortimer,  Hants. 
Mr.  E.  Molyneux,  The  Gardens,  Swanmore  Park,  Bishop’s  Waltham. 
Mr.  Thomas  Lunt,  The  Gardens,  Keir  House,  Dunblane. 
Mr.  H.  J.  Jones,  Ryecroft  Nursery,  Lewisham. 
Mr.  Hugh  Pettigrew,  St.  Fagan’s  Castle,  Glamorganshire. 
Mr.  R.  Sydenham,  Tenby  Street,  Birmingham. 
Miss  Willmott,  Warley  Place,  Great  Warley,  Essex. 
Mr.  Horace  Wright,  32,  Dault  Road,  Wandsworth. 
Mr.  J.  Whytock,  The  Gardens.  Dalkeith,  Edinburgh. 
Hon.  Secretary  ond  Treasurer,  Mr.  Richard  Dean,  V.M.H. 
Requesting  the  favour  of  your  warm  interest  and  support  to  the 
celebration. — Richard  Dean,  V.M.H,  Hon.  Secretary,  42,  Ranelagh 
Road ,  Ealing. 
I  am  interested  to  find  that  it  is  intended  to  celebrate  the  200th 
anniversary  of  the  introduction  of  the  Sweet  Pea  into  Great  Britain. 
I  presume  the  promoters  of  this  celebration  are  safe  in  their  chronology, 
and  have  fixed  the  right  year  exactly  ;  but,  of  course,  iu  a  matter  of 
200  years  one  more  or  less  is  of  little  consequence.  It  will  be  interest¬ 
ing  if  illustrations  of  the  original  Pea  can  be  shown  in  connection  with 
the  celebration.  Certainly  we  did  not  do  very  much  to  improve  it 
during  the  seventeenth  ani  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  More 
has  really  been  done  during  the  past  twenty  years  or  so  than  had  been 
done  in  the  preceding  180  years  in  developing  this  now  most  beautiful 
flower. 
The  celebration  of  centenaries  or  of  bi-centenaries  is  all  very  well. 
They  give  occasion  to  let  off  some  of  the  florists’  or  other  horticul¬ 
turists’  pent-up  steam,  but  evidently  they  have  only  a  very  fugitive 
effect  on  the  object  celebrated.  Prosperity  and  progress  in  relation 
to  anything  horticultural  depends  far  more  on  the  intrinsic  merits  of 
the  object,  and  its  fitness  for  use  in  some  form,  than  to  any  form  of 
transitory  booming.  The  celebration  of  the  Dahlia  some  years  since 
did  very  little  to  popularise  that  flower.  The  introduction  of  the 
Cactus  Dahlia,  with  which  the  celebration  had  nothing  to  do,  has  done 
wonders.  The  hero  of  the  Sweet  Pea  to-day  is  Mr.  Eckford,  the 
patriarch  of  Wem,  and  not  ten  thousand  celebrations  and  centenaries 
could  accomplish  one  tithe  for  the  Sweet  Pea  that  he  has  done.  Let 
us  glorify  this*  beautiful  flower  by  all  means  for  it  merits  all 
extolling ;  bnt  let  it  be  in  the  great  present,  and  not  in  the  dim  and 
almost  forgotten  past.  It  is  the  present  which  has  made  the  Sweet 
Pea  what  it  now  is. — A.  D. 
OUTDOOR  VINES. 
I  do  not  approve  of  Vines  generally  being  treated  as  creepers  in 
place  of  Ampelopsis  Veitchi,  because  Clement  Hoare  long  ago  demon¬ 
strated  that  if  you  want  a  Vine  to  succeed  on  a  wall  you  will  limit  it, 
for  sixteen  years  at  any  rate,  to  a  space  measuring  5  feet  wide  and 
10  feet  high,  making  special  arrangements  for  walls  from  10  to  20  feet 
or  more  in  height. 
But  some  Vines  will  accommodate  themselves  to  the  more  common 
usage,  and  I  can  name  the  American  Brandt  as  absolutely  requiring  to 
be  “  let  go.”  Its  bunch  is  small,  and  so  are  its  black  berries  ;  but 
anything  like  training  or  severe  pruning  disagrees  with  it,  as  far  as  my 
observation  goes.  One  of  my  pupils  ripened  his  with  finer  bunches 
than  mine  on  a  N.E.  aspect  in  the  third  year. 
Your  correspondent  “  W.  B.,  Lincoln,"  should  know  that  not  only 
unripe  Grapes,  but  the  superfluous  green  growth  of  Vines  with  sugar 
added,  will  make  wine  equal  to  that  of  ripe  fruit. 
I  have  the  Chasselas  Vibert,  among  many  others,  now  in  my 
garden,  in  their  first  year.  Those  that  I  have  long  had  as  first 
ripeners,  both  on  the  wall  and  in  open  rows,  are  Miller’s  Burgundy, 
Royal  Muscadine,  Esperione,  Sweetwater,  and  Brandt ;  also  sometimes 
Black  Hamburgh  and  White  Tokay.  I  expect  soon  to  have  many 
more,  my  expectations  being  greatest  as  regards  Chasselas  Vibert, 
Chasselas  Rose,  Jacques,  Ironclad,  and  Moore’s  Early,  though  the  list 
of  hardy  wall  and  vineyard  Vines  for  England  runs  to  at  least  twenty 
more.— H.  M.  Tod. 
