January  16, 1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
51 
Weather  in  London. —  Mild  weather  still  continues  in  the 
metropolis,  forming  a  great  contrast  to  the  corresponding  week  last 
year.  Rain  has  fallen  heavily  at  intervals  during  the  last  few  days,  but 
at  the  time  of  going  to  press,  though  somewhat  threatening,  it  is  fine, 
with  the  atmosphere  clear  and  genial. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — The  week  ending  the  14th  inBt. 
has  been  marked  by  fine  seasonable  weather.  There  has  been  more  or 
less  frost  on  most  mornings,  7°  on  the  9th,  9°  on  the  10th,  and  7°  on  the 
11th.  The  days  have  generally  been  bright  and  sunny,  Sunday  being 
an  exception.  Tuesday  was  a  beautiful,  calm,  cold  day,  with  3°  frost. — 
B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  The  Mild  Season. — As  an  evidence  of  the  mild  weather,  it  is 
interesting  to  hear  that  last  week  a  bunch  of  Primroses,  numbering  over 
forty  flowers,  was  gathered  in  one  of  the  woods  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Clevedon,  while  Pansies,  Stocks,  and  Violets  are  still  in  bloom. 
-  Death  of  Mr.  Wm.  Jordan.  —  Readers  of  the  Journal  of 
Horticulture  will,  I  am  sure,  be  sorry  to  hear  of  the  death,  on  the 
12th  inst.,  at  St.  Austell,  Cornwall,  of  Mr.  Wm.  Jordan,  steward  to 
J.  Nix,  Esq.,  Tilgate,  Crawley,  Sussex.  Deceased  was  some  twenty 
years  ago  gardener  to  J.  Boustead,  Esq.,  Cannizaro  House,  Wimbledon, 
and  was  well  known  as  an  exhibitor  at  the  Kingston  and  Wimbledon 
exhibitions.  He  also  won  a  silver  cup  at  the  National  Chrysanthemum 
Society  for  a  stand  of  twelve  Japanese,  new  varieties,  when  these  were 
just  coming  into  general  cultivation.  He  entered  the  service  of  his 
late  employer  as  gardener,  and  rose,  by  his  ability,  to  be  bailiff,  and 
then  steward  over  the  whole  estate.  Mr.  Jordan  had  been  in  failing 
health  for  some  time. — C.  ORCHARD. 
-  The  Hessle  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
— At  a  meeting  of  the  above  Society,  held  January  7th,  a  paper  was 
read  by  Mr.  F.  Mason,  gardener  to  A.  Smith,  Esq.,  West  Hill,  on  “  Roses 
and  Their  Cultivation.”  In  commencing,  the  essayist  briefly  described 
the  various  uses  to  which  this,  the  queen  of  all  flowers,  can  be  put, 
while  IioseB  may  be  grown  more  or  less  in  every  garden,  no  matter  what 
may  be  the  dimensions.  After  dealing  with  their  propagation  and  plant¬ 
ing  Mr.  Mason  described  methods  of  pruning.  Judgment,  he  said,  must 
be  used  in  this.  You  must  know  your  varieties  before  you  can  hope  for 
success  in  this  matter.  The  end  of  March  or  the  beginning  of  April 
is  a  good  time,  some  requiring  hard  pruning,  others  only  the  weak  wood 
removed.  The  cultivation  of  Roses  in  pots  and  otherwise  in  houses, 
was  also  ably  entered  into.  A  good  discussion  followed.  Votes  of 
thanks  to  the  essayist  and  Chairman  concluded  the  meeting. — F.  L.  T. 
-  Presentation  to  Mr.  William  Coomber.— A  meeting  of 
exhibitors  and  judges  at  the  exhibition  of  the  Royal  Botanic  Society, 
took  place  at  the  Albert  Hotel,  Victoria  Street,  S.W.,  on  the  14th  inst., 
among  those  present  being  Messrs.  H.  J.  Veitch,  G.  Paul,  H.  Williams, 
J.  Laing,  H.  Cutbush,  J.  O’Brien,  H.  Appleby,  R.  Dean,  J.  Hudson, 
J.  Jaques,  G.  Wythes,  G.  Reynolds,  and  G.  H.  Richards.  A  preliminary 
statement  was  made  by  Mr.  Jesse  Willard,  the  convener  of  the  meeting, 
to  the  effect  that  Mr.  Coomber  had  been  dismissed  from  the  post  of 
Superintendent  of  the  Gardens  of  the  Royal  Botanic  Society  on  the 
ground  that  in  the  straitened  circumstances  in  which  the  Society  finds 
itself  a  considerable  saving  is  necessary,  after  having  filled  that  position 
for  the  space  of  twenty  years,  and  without  any  pension  or  retiring 
allowance.  He  thought  the  circumstances  of  the  case  justified  him  in 
calling  together  a  few  of  Mr.  Coomber’s  associates  in  the  exhibitions  and 
friends  to  take  the  matter  into  consideration,  and  he  desired  to  thank 
those  present  for  responding  to  his  invitation.  It  was  resolved  that  a 
fund  be  opened  for  making  a  suitable  presentation  to  Mr.  Coomber ;  that 
those  present  form  a  Committee,  with  power  to  add  to  their  number  ; 
that  Mr.  J.  Willard  be  requested  to  act  as  Secretary  and  Mr.  Harry 
J.  Veitch  as  Chairman  and  Treasurer  ;  that  a  circular  be  prepared  and 
sent  to  the  Fellows  of  the  Society  and  others  ;  and  that  the  presentation 
take  the  form  of  a  purse  of  money.  The  sum  of  £36  15s.  was  subscribed 
in  the  room,  and  regarded  as  a  very  satisfactory  beginning.  A  hearty 
vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  Mr.  J.  Willard  for  convening  the  meeting, 
and  to  Mr.  H.  J.  Veitch  for  presiding. 
-  Single  Roses. — In  our  reference  to  the  “  Rosarian’s  Year 
Book  ”  last  week  we  inadvertently  credited  Mr.  George  Paul,  the  well- 
knowu  head  of  the  Cheshunt  firm,  with  the  authorship  of  the  article  on 
single  Roses,  instead  of  his  son,  Mr.  George  Laing  Paul.  It  is  a  credit 
to  him  to  be  mistaken  for  his  father  either  in  literary  or  practical  work. 
- The  Late  Sir  Julian  Goldsmid. — We  omitted  to  record 
the  death  of  this  gentleman  in  our  last  week’s  issue.  Sir  Julian,  who 
died  on  the  7th  inst.  in  his  fifty-eighth  year,  was  President  of  the 
Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,  which  has  made  such  excellent  progresG  and 
done  untold  good  since  its  establishment  in  commemoration  of  Her 
Majesty’s  Jubilee  in  1887. 
-  A  New  Open  Space  for  Battersea. — Close  to  Old 
Battersea  Church  there  was  a  bit  of  the  Thames  shore  which  at  low 
water  was  always  covered  with  mud.  A  strong  concrete  embankment 
has  been  erected,  aud  the  land  is  to  be  converted  into  a  recreation 
ground.  The  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association  have  contributed 
£1000  towards  the  laying  out  of  the  ground.  There  will  be  a  fountain, 
plenty  of  shrubs  and  trees,  and  the  garden  seats  will  be  placed  so  as 
to  overlook  the  Thames. 
-  Wrest  Park  Gardens. — Mr.  G.  Ford,  head  gardener  to  Earl 
Cowper  for  twenty-six  years,  has  retired,  and  his  successor  is  Mr. 
G.  Mackinlay,  for  some  years  bead  gardener  to  Sir  Charles  Isham,  Bart., 
at  Lamport  Hall,  Northants.  Mr.  Ford,  who  was  connected  with  Wrest 
Gardens  for  nearly  fifty-eight  years,  and  was  appointed  head  gardener 
on  the  death  of  his  uncle,  Mr.  Snow,  still  resides  in  the  park,  occupying 
the  cottage  for  many  years  the  residence  of  the  late  Mr.  Thos.  Taylor, 
and  that  he  may  have  in  his  retirement  many  years  of  health  and 
happiness  is  the  sincere  wish  of  his  many  friends. 
-  New  York  Gardeners’  Society.— We  learn  that  an 
Association  of  this  name  was  organised  in  New  York  on  December  21st 
by  representative  private  gardeners  from  Long  Island  and  many  other 
sections  of  New  York  .State,  New  Jersey,  and  Connecticut.  The 
following  officers  were  elected  to  serve  one  year; — Mr.  J.  M.  Logan, 
President;  Messrs.  William  Plumb,  Charles  Webber,  Peter  McDonald, 
Vice-Presidents  ;  Mr.  William  Anderson,  Treasurer  ;  Mr.  J,  I.  Donlan, 
Secretary.  A  Committee  to  draft  rules  and  by-laws  was  formed,  with 
Mi.  William  Falconer  as  Chairman.  Such  an  association  ought  to  be 
useful  in  many  directions,  and  it  ought  especially  to  be  helpful  in  giving 
variety  to  future  flower  shows  in  this  city,  which  have  hitherto  mainly 
consisted  of  plants  and  flowers  exhibited  by  commercial  growers  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  rarer  plants  and  well-grown  specimens  which  are  alone 
to  be  found  in  private  collections. 
- Birkenhead  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
— It  is  only  a  short  time  since  the  above  Society  was  formed,  yet  the 
progress  has  been  almost  phenomenal.  It  may  be  truly  said  that  it  is 
not  an  easy  matter  to  fiud  a  good  secretary,  but  in  this  Birkenhead  has 
been  most  fortunate,  for  in  Mr.  T.  D.  Smith  they  have  a  gentleman 
whose  one  aim  is  to  do  things  well.  On  Wednesday  evening  a  soiree 
was  held  in  the  Y.M.C.A.,  when  100  gardeners,  with  their  families  and 
friends,  numbering  in  all  over  400,  sat  down  to  an  excellent  knife-and- 
fork  tea,  James  Gamlin,  Esq.,  T.C.,  presiding.  Afterwards  the  Secretary 
gave  a  short  account  of  the  work  being  done.  During  an  existence  of 
eleven  months  120  members  had  been  enrolled  ;  a  permanent  meeting 
room  had  been  secured  in  the  Y.M.C.A.,  where  fortnightly  meetings  had 
been  held  for  the  discussion  of  various  subjects.  At  13,  Belmont, 
Oxton  Road,  a  comfortable  reading  room  had  been  provided,  which  was 
opened  free  to  all  members,  who  had  the  use  of  all  the  leading  publica¬ 
tions  on  gardening  matters,  also  the  Liverpool  and  Birkenhead  papers. 
Every  Tuesday  evening  a  botany  class  was  held,  and  greatly  appreciated, 
especially  by  young  members,  the  latest  addition  being  an  annual 
Tontine  Society  for  the  benefit  of  members  only .  The  question  now 
occupying  the  attention  of  the  Committee  was  that  of  a  good  library  of 
the  best  standard  works  on  horticulture,  and  when  this  object  had  been 
attained  they  would  be  on  an  equal  footing  with  any  such  Association 
in  Great  Britain.  The  Association  has  been  fortunate  in  securing  ready 
financial  help  from  gentlemen  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  Chairman 
congratulated  the  members  on  the  wonderful  success  of  their  efforts. 
Mr.  J.  Smith,  in  moving  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Chairman,  congratulated 
the  Soiree  Committee  on  its  choice  of  a  Chairman.  It  may  be  mentioned 
that,  for  those  who  did  not  care  to  dance,  an  excellent  concert  had  been 
provided  in  the  lower  room,  also  that  the  Committee  regrets  having  had 
to  refuse  many  applications  for  tickets,  the  demand  for  them  exceeding 
the  available  space  in  the  hall. — R.  P .  R- 
