January  9, 189G. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
29 
Weather  in  London,  —  Mild  and  exceedingly  open  weather 
continues  in  the  metropolis.  Sharp  frosts  are  still  conspicuous  by  their 
absence,  while  the  air  is  clear  and  bracing.  No  rain  has  fallen  during 
the  past  week,  and  at  the  time  of  going  to  press  pleasant  weather 
prevails. 
-  Weather  in  the  North.— The  close  of  the  old,  and  the 
beginning  of  the  new  year,  have  been  marked  by  unseasonably  open 
weather.  Monday  and  Tuesday  were  rather  brighter,  with  a  slight 
tendency  to  frost  in  the  early  morning,  and  sunshine  for  a  little  time 
during  the  day. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  Rules  for  Judging. — We  are  desired  to  state  that  the 
publication  of  the  R.H.S.  rules  for  judging  is  unavoidably  delayed  a 
week  or  ten  days  owing  to  an  unfortunate  loss  in  the  post  of  the  final 
corrected  proof  for  the  printer  the  week  before  Christmas.  The  loss  has 
only  just  been  discovered. 
-  The  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  hold  its  first 
meeting  for  1896  in  the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Victoria  Street, 
Westminster,  on  Tuesday,  January  14th. 
-  The  Mildness  of  the  Weather.— Mr.  W.  J.  Murphy, 
Clonmel,  writes  : — “  We  have  a  remarkable  climate  in  Ireland — very 
often  a  climate  of  unexpected  extremes.  Who  would  foretell  that  the 
months  of  November  and  December,  and  January,  so  far,  should  be 
without  either  frost  or  snow  ;  and  that  generally  the  temperature 
should  be  above  50°  ?  Yet  this  has  been  literally  the  fact.  Cattle  are 
still  feeding  on  the  pastures — grass  grows  apace.  Some  fruit  trees  look 
as  if  they  were  about  to  open  into  blossom,  while  the  open  air  tempera¬ 
ture  for  the  past  ten  days  at  Clonmel  has  been  seldom  below  58°. 
Bunches  of  Violets  are  collected  in  the  open  air  ;  Chrysanthemums, 
Pansies,  and  the  early  spring  flowers  are  showing  with  every  indication 
of  an  abnormally  early  spring.” 
- Mild  Weather  and  its  •  Effects  in  Scotland.  —  The 
Rev.  David  R.  Williamson  writes — “  The  mildness  of  the  season  in 
Scotland,  and  especially  in  Wigtonshire,  is  at  present  extraordinary. 
In  my  garden  Rose  trees  recently  planted  are  rapidly  producing  vigorous 
shoots.  A  few  days  ago  I  discovered  on  a  plant  of  Countess  of  Pembroke 
(Hybrid  Tea)  a  bloom  as  absolutely  faultless  in  colour  and  form  as  those 
of  July.  On  January  3rd  I  came  upon  an  almost  equally  fine  specimen 
of  Caroline  Testout.  The  fair  Madonna  Lily,  Lilium  candidum,  which  is 
an  absolute  evergreen,  is  more  luxuriant  in  its  foliage  than  I  have  ever 
seen  it  at  this  season  of  the  year.  Snowdrops  are  already  far  advanced 
in  growth,  and  Lily  of  the  Valley  is  appearing  above  the  ground.  The 
Naked-flowering  Jasmine  (Jasminum  nudiflorum),  which  opens  up  its 
primrose  blossoms  in  the  heart  of  the  winter,  is  now  in  full  bloom.  Lilac 
Primroses  are  growing  with  vernal  rapidity,  and  developing  buds,  as  if 
the  inspiration  of  spring  were  at  hand.  In  a  garden  adjacent  to  mine 
Rhododendrons  are  in  flower.”  * 
-  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution.  —  A 
general  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal 
Benevolent  Institution  will  be  held  at  Simpson’s,  101,  Strand, 
in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  on  Thursday,  the  16th  day  of 
January,  1896,  at  2.15  p.m.,  to  consider  and  adopt  partial 
alterations  and  additions  to  the  existing  rules  of  the  Institution  recom¬ 
mended  by  the  Committee  of  Management.  And  the  fifty-seventh 
annual  general  meeting  of  the  members  of  this  Institution  will  be  held 
at  the  same  place  and  on  the  same  date  at  3  p.m.,  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  the  report  of  the  Committee  and  the  accounts  of  the  Institution 
for  the  present  year  ;  electing  officers  for  the  ensuing  -year,  and  other 
fffairs  ;  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  placing  fifteen  pensioners  on  the 
funds,  five  under  Rule  III.  5,  and  the  remaining  ten  by  election.  The 
voting  papers  have  been  issued.  Any  subscriber  who  has  not  received 
one  should  communicate  with  the  Secretary,  George  J.  Ingram,  50, 
Parliament  Street,  London,  S.W.  After  the  annual  meeting,  the  usual 
friendly  supper  will  be  held  also  at  Simpson’s,  when  Peter  C.  M.  Veitch, 
Esq.,  of  Exeter,  will  preside.  Friends  who  desire  to  be  present  should 
communicate  with  the  Secretary  at  the  above  address. 
-  Poetry  and  Horticulture.— Mr.  Alfred  Austin,  who  has 
just  been  appointed  the  successor  of  Lord  Tennyson  in  the  office  of 
Poet  Laureate,  is  a  graceful  and  musical  poet,  and  an  accomplished 
amateur  horticulturist.  He  is,  indeed,  as  his  writings  on  the  subject 
testify,  absolutely  devoted  to  horticulture.  His  picturesque  books 
entitled  “  The  Garden  that  1  Love,”  and  “  In  Veronica’s  Garden,” 
have  already  passed  through  several  editions.  He  lives  at  Swinford 
Old  Manor,  Ashford,  Kent,  and  is  a  neighbour  of  that  versatile  florist 
and  eminent  rosarian,  the  Rev.  H.  H.  D’Ombrain. — D.  R.  W. 
-  Royal  Meteorological  Society.  —  The  annual  general 
meeting  of  the  Society  will  be  held,  by  kind  permission  of  the  Council 
of  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  at  25,  Great  George  Street, 
Westminster,  on  Wednesday,  the  15th  inst.,  at  7.45  p.m.,  when  the 
report  of  the  Council  will  be  read,  the  election  of  officers  and  Council 
for  the  ensuing  year  will  take  place,  and  the  President  (Mr. 
R.  Inwards,  F.R.A.S.)  will  deliver  an  address  on  “  Meteorological 
Observatories,”  which  will  be  illustrated  by  lantern  slides.  The  above 
meeting  will  be  preceded  by  an  ordinary  meeting,  which  will  commence 
at  7.30  p.m.  Copies  of  the  balance-sheet  for  1895  can  be  obtained  upon 
application  on  and  after  the  13th  inst. 
-  Chimonanthus  fragrans. — This  hardy  wall  plant  is  again 
flowering  profusely  here.  So  satisfactory  an  occurrence  is  no  doubt  to 
be  attributed  to  well  matured  wood.  We  have  plants  growing  on  east 
and  west  aspects,  and  I  fail  to  see  any  difference  in  the  time  of  flowering. 
Growing,  as  ours  are,  by  the  side  of  doorways  persons  passing  through 
get  a  whiff  of  their  spicy  odours  which  is  sure  to  arrest  attention,  more 
especially  when  the  blossoms  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  sun  for  a  few 
minutes,  for  then  the  immediate  surrounding  air  is  more  sensibly  per¬ 
fumed.  Where  a  small  space  on  a  wall  on  each  side  of  a  door  could  be 
spared  for  a  couple  of  plants  it  would  well  repay  the  owner  in  the 
pleasantness  of  its  perfume  at  this  dreary  season,  when  outdoor  scented 
flowers  are  scarce. — J.  Easter,  Nostsll  Priory  Gardens. 
- Liverpool  Horticultural  Association. — For  some  time 
past  the  monthly  meetings  have  not  been  attended  as  the  Committee 
would  wish,  more  especially  by  under  gardeners  ;  but  the  meeting  held 
on  Saturday  evening  (Mr.  T.  White  presiding)  in  the  Free  Library 
brought  back  memories  of  old  times,  for  the  room  was  crowded  in  every 
part  by  an  attentive  audience.  As  on  a  previous  occasion,  two  papers 
were  announced — viz.,  “  Apples,”  by  Mr.  E.  J.  Baillie  (Dicksons,  Limited, 
Chester),  and  “  Culture  of  the  Eucharis,”  by  Mr.  Jno.  Glover,  gardener 
to  Major  W.  H.  Walker,  Gateacre  Grange.  Mr.  Baillie,  in  the  course  of 
an  admirable  address,  said  that  the  value  of  Apples  was  much  under¬ 
rated.  He  mentioned  varieties,  and  dwelt  especially  on  an  article  he 
had  read  in  an  American  Bulletin  on  the  “  Pollination  of  Fruit  Trees,” 
which  gave  illustrations  of  varieties  grown  by  themselves  as 
being  vastly  inferior  to  those  growing  amongst  other  varieties,  the 
distribution  of  the  pollen  having  a  marked  effect.  He  touched  on  the 
value  of  many  kinds  for  planting  amongst  shrubs,  claiming  for  them, 
apart  from  their  usefulness,  equal  rank  with  the  Almond,  double 
flowering  Cherry,  and  others.  In  concluding  he  expressed  the  belief 
that  orchards  of  pyramids,  heavily  cropped  with  roots  near  to  the 
surface,  liberally  fed,  and  not  grown  beyond  a  useful  bearing  period, 
was  the  one  way  to  keep  English  fruit  up  to  the  highest  standard  and 
to  make  it  a  paying  concern. 
- Mr.  Glover,  in  a  very  practical  paper,  at  the  same  meeting, 
gave  the  temperature  for  Eucharis  at  from  60°  to  70°,  and  recommended 
potting  in  February  and  March,  the  compost  used  being  three  parts 
loam,  one  part  peat,  with  the  addition  of  some  coarse  sand  and  pebbles 
which,  previous  to  being  used,  is  warmed  to  the  same  temperature  of  the 
house.  Three  inches  of  crocks  are  placed  in  a  10-inch  pot  covered  with 
a  rough  piece  of  fibry  sod,  planting  the  bulbs  1 J  inch  below  the  rim  of 
the  pot.  Two  years  he  considered  quite  often  enough  to  repot.  Feeding 
and  resting  were  fully  treated,  his  advice  being  to  give  abundance  of 
moisture  during  spring,  summer,  and  early  autumn.  He  did  not  believe 
that  the  same  bulb  flowered  more  than  once  in  a  season,  and  said  in  his 
opinion  the  mite  was  caused  by  the  plants  not  having  sufficient  rest, 
which  caused  them  to  become  enfeebled.  A  lively  discussion  ensued. 
The  Committee  acknowledged  a  kind  gift,  through  Mr.  R.  Pinnington, 
from  Mr.  II.  J.  Jones,  Ryecroft  Nursery,  Lewisham,  of  a  guinea  donation 
and  two  silver-gilt  Ryecroft  medals  for  competition,  the  latter  to  be 
used  at  the  discretion  of  the  Committee  without  any  restriction.  The 
Association’s  annual  dinner,  which  is  always  a  great  success,  is  to  be 
held  at  the  Adelphi  Hotel  on  Saturday  next,  January  11th.  An  early 
application  for  tickets  is  requested. — R.  P.  R. 
