January  30, 1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
95 
AV  eather  in  London.  —  The  prolonged  mildness  of  the 
weather  in  London  is  causing  some  considerable  amount  of  comment, 
and  people  generally  are  pining  for  a  little  frost,  in  place  of  the 
enervating  conditions  that  now  prevail.  During  the  past  week  there 
have  been  occasional  showers  and  fogs,  and  bright  gleams  of  warm 
sunshine.  On  Wednesday  morning  the  air  was  frosty  and  clear  in  the 
outskirts  of  the  metropolis. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund.  —  The  annual  general 
meeting  of  the  subscribers  to  this  Fund  will  be  held  at  Anderton’s 
Hotel,  Fleet  Street,  London,  E.C.,  on  Friday,  February  21st  next,  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  the  report  of  the  Committee  and  the  accounts 
for  the  past  year,  to  appoint  officers  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  to  elect 
ten  children  to  the  benefits  of  the  Fund.  The  chair  will  be  taken  at 
2  o’clock.  The  poll  will  close  at  4  o’clock,  after  which  no  votes  will  be 
received.  The  voting  papers  have  all  been  issued.  Any  subscriber  not 
having  received  one  is  requested  to  communicate  with  the  Honorary 
Secretary,  A.  F.  Barron,  Chiswick,  W. 
-  Dalton  Horticultural  Society.— The  eighteenth  annual 
meeting  in  connection  with  the  above  flourishing  Society  was  held  in 
the  Nelson  Street  Board  Schools,  Dalton,  on  Saturday  evening,  the 
attendance  being  a  most  encouraging  one.  The  President,  Mr.  Thomas 
Ashburner,  of  Greystone  House,  occupied  the  chair.  The  Committee’s 
report  was  presented  by  the  Secretary,  and  showed  that  another  season’s 
work  had  been  crowned  with  success.  There  was  a  balance  in  hand 
amounting  to  £61  17s.  The  Society  congratulates  itself  on  being  in 
the  proud  position  of  winner  of  Messrs.  H.  Cannell  &  Sons’  valuable 
champion  sash  and  £3  prize  in  cash.  This  is  held  for  one  year,  and  all 
comers  in  Lancashire,  Westmoreland,  and  South  Cumberland  are 
challenged  to  compete  for  it  in  the  coming  season. 
-  The  Hessle  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
—At  a  meeting  of  the  above  Society,  held  on  January  21st,  a  paper  was 
read  by  Mr.  Johnstone,  gardener  to  George  Marshall,  Esq.,  Claremont 
House,  Grimsby,  on  “The  Cultivation  of  Tuberous  Begonias.”  The 
essayist  described  the  history  of  the  Begonia  from  its  introduction  into 
this  country  to  the  present  time.  As  a  bedding  plant,  he  said,  it  has 
made  rapid  progress,  and  is,  indeed,  most  useful  for  that  purpose,  taking 
the  place  of  the  Zonal  Pelargonium  to  a  great  extent.  The  culture 
outside  in  this  district  being  very  limited,  he  would  advise  those  who 
have  not  tried  Begonias  as  bedding  plants  to  do  so.  Mr.  Johnstone  gave 
his  mode  of  culture  in  a  most  practical  way,  from  seed  sowing  to  the 
storing  of  the  tubers. — F,  L.  T. 
-  Pea  Trials  in  Surrey. — During  the  ensuing  year  it  is  pur¬ 
posed  to  test,  on  two  descriptions  of  soil,  certain  dwarf  Peas.  In 
one  case,  at  Richmond,  the  soil,  of  a  light,  porous,  and  of  course  non- 
retentive  nature,  but  having  been  trenched  last  year  will  no  doubt,  being 
also  well  manured  and  deeply  dug,  carry  fair  test  crops.  The  other 
ground  is  at  Chertsey,  and  there  is  a  stiff  retentive  loam.  This  has  not 
been  trenched,  but  has  been  well  manured  and  deeply  dug.  This 
Chertsey  soil  is  what  is  usually  termed  strong,  and  no  doubt  will  carry 
good  growth.  All  the  twenty  varieties  of  Peas  obtained  are  comparatively 
dwarf,  ranging  in  height  from  2  feet  to  3£  feet.  Just  a  few,  such  as 
Princess  Royal,  Prince  of  Wales,  Dr.  Maclean,  and  Omega,  all  good  of 
their  time,  are  old,  as  it  is  desired  to  compare  relative  productiveness, 
size  of  pod,  quality  and  other  features,  with  some  of  the  best  recognised 
newer  ones.  Besides  the  four  named,  other  varieties  are  Magnum 
Bonum,  Maincrop  Marrow,  Eureka,  Exhibition  Marrow,  Invincible, 
Dwarf  Defiance,  Dwarf  Mammoth  Marrow,  Sensation,  The  Echo,  Con¬ 
summate,  Shropshire  Hero,  Sharpe’s  Queen,  Chancellor,  Promotion, 
Senator,  and  Enterprise.  Peas  of  this  description,  if  sown  thinly  and  have 
ample  room,  make  sturdy  branching  growth,  and  stand  drought  better 
than  do  very  tall  Peas.  They  are  .just  the  things  for  allotments  and 
cottage  gardens,  and  as  both  trials  will  take  place  on  large  groups  of 
allotments,  all  the  workers  on  these  can,  if  they  choose,  derive  much 
useful  information.  It  is  hoped  to  show  that  it  pays  well  to  secure  the 
best  varieties  for  culture,  even  if  they  are  rather  dearer  than  are  old  and 
less  useful  ones. 
-  Gardening  Appointment.  —  Mr.  P.  Jakeman,  for  the  past 
five  years  general  foreman  at  Somerleyton  Hall  Gardens,  has  been 
appointed  head  gardener  to  Richard  R.  Heap,  Esq.,  Blackmoor,  West 
Derby,  Liverpool. 
-  Royal  Caledonian  Horticultural  Society.— We  have 
received  the  prize  list  and  rules  for  the  spring  and  autumn  flower  shows 
that  will  be  held  under  the  auspices  of  this  Society  in  the  Waverley 
Market,  Edinburgh,  on  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  April  Sth  and  9th,  and 
Wednesday  and  Thursday,  September  9th  and  10th.  The  classes  are 
very  numerous,  and  the  prizes  in  many  of  them  decidedly  generous. 
The  Assistant  Secretary,  Mr.  William  Young,  18,  Waverley  Market, 
Edinburgh,  will  give  any  information  that  may  be  desired. 
-  Veitch’s  Golden  Queen  Lettuce.  —  A  correspondent 
writes — “  This  variety  is  wonderfully  quick  in  developing  heads,  and  when 
grown  under  forcing  conditions,  is  extremely  tender,  while  the  colour  is 
attractive.  Last  season,  from  a  sowing  made  on  a  warm  border, 
March  2nd,  we  cut  heads  the  third  week  in  May,  or  in  eleven  weeks 
from  the  time  of  sowing.  The  position,  however,  was  favourable  for 
their  growth,  being  on  a  narrow  border  immediately  in  front  of  a  forcing 
house  with  a  southern  aspect.” 
-  A  £50  Prize  for  the  Best  Fruit  and  Vegetable  Dryer. 
— Through  the  Bath  and  West  of  England  Agricultural  Society,  which 
will  hold  its  annual  show  at  St.  Albans  from  May  27th  to  June  1st  next, 
the  proprietors  of  the  “  Ironmonger  ”  newspaper,  London,  offer  a  prize 
of  £50  for  the  best  machine  for  fruit  and  vegetable  drying.  Full 
particulars  of  the  competition  will  be  supplied  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Bath  and  West  Society,  Mr.  T.  F.  Plowman,  4,  Terrace  Walk,  Bath,  and 
the  machines  will  be  tried  and  judged  at  the  St.  Albans  show. 
-  Gift  of  a  New  Park  for  Wallasey.— Birkenhead  can 
boast  of  one  of  the  finest  parks  in  the  kingdom,  and  now  another  gift 
has  been  made  to  the  Cheshire  side  of  the  Mersey  by  Messrs.  F.  J.  and 
H.  Harrison,  offering  in  memory  of  their  father,  the  late  Mr.  James 
Harrison,  50  acres  of  the  sand  hills  lying  between  the  road  leading 
from  Wallasey  village  to  the  shore,  to  be  used  as  a  public  park  or 
recreation  ground  for  the  benefit  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wallasey.  At  a 
largely  attended  meeting  of  ratepayers  held  in  the  Public  Offices, 
Wallasey,  on  Thursday  evening,  Mr.  R.  Steel,  presiding,  Mr.  Peers  moved 
the  following  resolution  : — “  That  this  meeting  accept  the  gift  of  Messrs. 
F.  J.  and  H.  Harrison  to  be  set  apart  for  a  park  and  recreation  ground 
for  the  benefit  of  the  district.”  He  said  “that  when  they  looked  round 
on  their  neighbours  as  Bootle  and  Birkenhead  they  found  that  they  had 
not  one  single  yard  of  river  frontage  in  those  large  boroughs,  and  it 
would  be  a  fatal  mistake  if  they  in  Wallasey  refused  the  generous  gift 
that  was  now  offered.”  After  a  long  discussion  the  gift  was  accepted 
by  88  votes  to  10.  The  Chairman  proposed  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks  to 
Messrs.  Harrison  for  their  generous  and  handsome  gift,  Mr.  E.  R. 
Billington  seconding. 
-  Deferred  Fruit  Blossom. — How  often  is  it  asserted  that 
the  checking  of  early  or  ordinary  development  or  fruit  bloom  leads  to 
securing  it  from  frost?  Now,  our  fruit-blooming  season  ranges  on  south 
walls  from  early  in  March  to  the  middle  of  May  on  Apples.  That  period 
covers  the  whole  of  what  is  a  most  critical  time  in  connection  with  fruit, 
because  we  all  know  that  harm  to  the  bloom  never  results  from  the 
action  of  intense  winter  frosts,  let  them  be,  as  last  year,  ever  so  severe, 
but  rather  from  the  effects  of  white  spring  frosts,  which  come  at  varying 
intervals  during  March,  April,  and  May.  The  point  for  consideration  is, 
Does  experience  show  that  the  retarding  of  any  kind  of  fruit  blossom 
outdoors  helps  in  any  way  to  save  the  flowers  from  injury  and  the  crop 
of  fruit  to  the  grower  over  what  results  from  trees  that  are  allowed  to 
bloom  in  their  ordinary  season,  and  on  which  no  efforts  at  retardation 
are  expended  ?  If  we  had  springs  of  so  settled  a  nature  that  frosts 
invariably  came  at  certain  exact  times,  retardation,  or  even  the  for¬ 
warding  of  bloom  might  be  useful ;  but  it  is  just  as  likely  that  the 
retarded  trees  may  be  affected  with  sharp  white  frosts  when  they  bloom 
as  that  those  blossoming  in  their  natural  season  may  be.  I  have  observed 
recently  a  claim  set  up  for  Court  Pendu  Plat  as  a  valuable  Apple  to 
grow,  because  it  naturally  blooms  late  ;  but,  then,  can  anyone  aver  that 
this  variety  fruits  more  frequently  than  do  others  that  bloom  earlier  ? 
If  this  recommendation  be  not  supported  by  some  practical  benefit,  then 
the  later  blooming  of  the  variety  is  no  recommendation.  Certainly 
Court  Pendu  Plfit  never  is  a  very  free  fruiter.  We  ought  to  have  clear 
proof  that  retardation  where  possible  is  beneficial  generally  to  the 
fertility  of  fruit  bloom,  or  else  the  subject  should  be  absolutely  dropped 
as  misleading.— Fruitman, 
