140 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  13,  1896. 
Weather  in  London.— Again  the  weather  has  been  change¬ 
able.  On  Saturday  and  Sunday  it  was  genial  and  spring-like,  but 
Monday  morning  opened  foggy,  rain  falling  slightly  towards  evening. 
Tuesday  was  slightly  colder,  but  the  atmosphere  was  by  no  means  clear. 
On  Wednesday  it  was  clear  and  cool. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — The  unseasonably  mild  and  dry 
weather  of  the  preceding  fortnight  gave  way  to  rain  on  Friday  after¬ 
noon,  and  the  following  night  and  the  earlier  part  of  Saturday  were  very 
wet.  Since  then  till  Tuesday  morning  S.W.  winds  with  frequent 
showers  have  prevailed.  The  thermometer  on  Monday  at  8  p.m.  stood 
at  48°,  on  Tuesday  morning  at  49°. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
- Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association.— From  the 
thirteenth  annual  report  of  the  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association 
it  appears  that  permission  has  been  granted  to  that  body  to  lay  out  several 
new  recreation  grounds,  amongst  which  not  the  least  important  are  the 
churchyards  of  St.  Matthew,  Bethnal  Green,  and  St.  James,  Pentonville 
Road  ;  the  burial  grounds  of  Guy’s  Hospital  in  Bermondsey,  and  of  a 
chapel  in  York  Street,  Walworth.  Two  other  open  spaces  are  already 
being  prepared — namely,  the  riverside  ground  at  Battersea,  and  the 
disused  graveyard  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  Long  Lane,  Bermondsey. 
There  are  still  many  plots  of  land  which  the  Association  is  anxious  to 
see  purchased  for  recreation  pleasaunces,  including  vacant  sites  in 
Deptford,  Walworth,  the  Borough,  Bromley,  and  Bloomsbury.  The 
income  of  the  Society  during  1895  amounted  to  £2738  8s.  5d.,  against 
£4193  3s.  5d.  in  1894,  showing  a  decrease  of  £1454  15s.  A  promise  of 
£1000  has  been  made  by  the  City  Parochial  Foundation  for  the  laying 
out  of  East  Street,  Walworth,  site,  when  secured,  and  another  of  a  sum 
of  £600  for  St.  James,  Pentonville. 
- The  Ealing  Gardeners’  Association.— A  meeting  of  this 
Society  was  held  on  the  28th  ult.  Mr.  J.  Hudson,  Gunnersbury  House 
Gardens,  spoke  upon  “  Conservatories  :  their  Design  and  Arrangement.” 
It  was  rightly  suggested  that  owners  of  gardens  should  consult  their 
gardeners  in  respect  to  the  erection  of  structures  for  the  growing  of 
plants  as  a  mean3  of  avoiding  common  but  disastrous  mistakes.  Con¬ 
servatories  were  occasionally  erected  on  unsuitable  sites,  being  between 
two  dwelling-houses  with  blank  walls  around  them,  lofty,  and  with  no 
means  of  ventilating  the  sides.  A  lantern  roof  was  recommended  as  the 
best  to  employ.  A  conservatory  should  be  as  fully  adapted  to  the 
growing  of  plants  as  were  ordinary  plant-houses.  Other  valuable  hints 
were  given  upon  the  importance  of  using  good  glass,  and  upon  the  best 
methods  of  heating,  and  a  remark  made  that  conservatories  were  some¬ 
times  badly  heated  because  dependent  upon  the  apparatus  connected 
with  the  mansion.  The  construction  of  the  floors,  doors,  and  other  par¬ 
ticulars  were  dealt  with,  and  afterwards  Mr.  Hudson  gave  descriptions 
of  the  best  methods  of  arranging  the  plants  in  the  structure,  of  the  use 
of  roctwork  in  suitable  places,  and  other  matters. 
-  Storing  Apples  in  Peat  Moss.— Having  recently  been 
shown  a  quantity  of  Apples  and  Pears  stored  in  a  wooden  outhouse  or 
shed  with  a  covering  of  the  finer  portion  of  peat  moss — such  as  used  for 
horse  bedding — over  the  fruit,  I  am  induced  to  inquire  if  any  of  your 
readers  have  ever  tried  the  experiment,  especially  as  the  fruit  in 
question  was  as  fresh  as  when  gathered  from  the  trees.  The  fruit 
was  simply  covered  with  the  material  without  any  intervening  covering, 
and  the  scent  and  flavour  of  both  the  Apples  and  Pears  were  not 
perceptibly  affected  thereby  ;  in  fact,  the  aroma  was  as  strong  as  when 
the  fruit  was  gathered.  Being  inodorous  the  material  obviously  is 
superior  to  such  as  straw,  hay,  or  sawdust  for  the  purpose  indicated, 
and  not  so  likely  to  become  musty.  In  proof  of  the  material’s 
protective  quality  I  may  add  that  the  Apples  and  Pears  thus 
preserved  during  the  severe  frosts  last  winter  did  not  sustain  any 
injury.  The  only  drawback — and  that  a  slight  one — accruing  is  the 
trouble  of  wiping  or  brushing  the  dusty  particles  off  the  fruit  when 
required  for  use,  but  that  little  difficulty  could  be  readily  overcome 
by  placing  a  layer  of  paper  between  the  fruit  and  the  material,  or 
the  more  troublesome  mode  of  enveloping  each  fruit  in  paper. — 
W.  G.,  Birmingham. 
-  Kew  Guild. — The  annual  general  meeting  of  the  Kew  Guild 
will  be  held  in  the  Gymnasium,  near  Kew  Gardens  Railway  Station,  on 
Thursday  evening,  February  27th,  at  7.30  P.M. 
-  Floral  Introductions. — In  referring  (on  page  117)  to  the 
number  of  introductions  that  have  been  made  by  Messrs.  J.  Carter  &  Co., 
there  was  an  error  which,  though  it  would  be  obvious  to  most  readers, 
we  think  it  right  to  correct.  We  said — the  work  commenced  in  the 
year  1887,  instead  of  which  it  should  have  been  1857. 
-  Woolton  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. — 
This  useful  Society  commenced  the  second  half  of  the  session  on 
Thursday  last,  when  the  Rev.  Harold  Buckton,  M.A.,  delivered  an 
excellent  lecture  on  “  Aphidse,  or  Green  Fly.”  There  was  a  very  large 
attendance,  the  interest  in  the  lecture  being  greatly  enhanced  by 
numerous  diagrams  and  mounted  specimens.  A  unanimous  vote  of 
thanks  was  passed  to  the  lecturer. 
-  Royal  Meteorological  Society. — At  the  ordinary  meeting 
of  the  Society  to  be  held  at  25,  Great  George  Street,  Westminster,  on 
Wednesday,  the  19th  inst.,  at  7.30  p.m.,  the  following. papers  will  be 
read  : — “  Report  on  the  Phenological  Observations  for  1895,”  by  Edward 
Mawley,  F.R.H.S.,  President;  “Notes  on  the  Recent  Unusually  High 
Barometer  Readings  in  the  British  Isles,”  by  Robert  H.  Scott, 
M.A.,  F.RS.  ;  “Turner’s  Representations  of  Lightning,”  by  Richard 
Inwards,  F.R.Met.Soc.,  F.R.A.S. 
-  The  Hessle  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
—A  meeting  of  the  above  Society  was  held  on  February  4th,  when  a 
paper  was  read  by  Mr.  Wm.  Martin,  seedsman,  Hull,  on  “  Bulbs.”  The 
essayist  had  communicated  his  intention  of  giving  this  paper  to  some 
of  the  principal  Dutch  growers,  and  had  received  from  them  all  the 
details  of  propagation  and  growing  of  bulbs  in  Holland  for  sale  in  this 
country.  Some  specimens  of  bulbs  started  into  growth,  with  the 
bulblets  clustering  round,  were  also  sent ;  and  altogether  Mr.  Martin’s 
paper  proved  most  instructive  and  interesting.  The  cultivation  of 
bulbs  in  this  country  was  not  touched  upon,  but  will  be  dealt  with  at 
the  next  meeting. — F.  L.  T. 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society.— At  a  recent  meeting  of  this 
Society  Mr.  R.  Scott,  of  Bradford,  delivered  an  interesting  address  on 
“The  Extension  of  the  Vine.”  Mr.  W.  Tunnicliffe  presided,  and  Mr. 
J.  G.  Brown  was  vice-chairman.  Mr.  Scott,  who  is  a  well-kDown  and 
experienced  gardener,  and  a  member  of  the  Bradford  Paxton  Society, 
strongly  advocated  the  extension  of  the  Vine,  especially  in  the  case  of 
old  Vines.  Some  remarkable  instances  of  the  success  of  the  system 
were  given,  the  dimensions  and  yield  of  some  of  the  most  noted  Vines 
(such  as  the  Valentine,  Hampton  Court,  Cumberland  Lodge,  Selwood 
Park,  Manresa  House,  Roehampton,  Kinnell  House,  and  others)  being 
dwelt  upon.  In  planting  Vines  some  preferred  cut-backs ;  he  (Mr. 
Scott)  believed  in  planting  from  eyes.  There  were  many  varieties  of 
Vines,  but  the  best  could  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand,  and 
Black  Hamburgh  could  not  be  surpassed  on  the  whole  ;  it  was  one  of 
the  best  and  most  useful.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Scott  was  heartily 
passed. 
-  Bulbilegium  haarlemense.— It  may  interest  those  readers 
of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  who  admire  and  cultivate  all  the 
varieties  of  bulbous  plants  for  which  Haarlem  is  so  famous,  to  know 
that  the  beautiful  series  of  coloured  portraits  of  these  plants,  published 
at  Haarlem  between  the  years  1872-1881  under  the  title  of  “  Album  van 
Eeden,’’  by  the  now  defunct  bouse  of  that  name,  and  which  constitute 
by  far  the  most  beautiful  series  of  portraits  of  bulbous  plants  with  which 
I  am  acquainted,  is  about  to  be  resumed  under  the  above  more  represen¬ 
tative  title,  under  the  joint  editorship  of  a  Committee  whereon  most  if 
not  all  the  leading  bulb-growing  firms  will  be  represented.  The  choice 
of  subjects  to  be  illustrated  in  the  work  will  be  decided  by  a  vote  of  the 
majority  of  this  Committee,  which  should  be  a  guarantee  that  only  the 
most  distinct  and  real  improvements  on  all  existing  varieties  will  be 
figured,  The  work  is  to  be  published  at  Haarlem  by  Messrs.  De  Erden- 
Loosjes,  who  hope  to  issue  it  in  quarterly  parts,  each  of  which  is  to 
contain  three  large  plates,  which  will  be  reproduced  in  chromo-lithography 
by  G.  Severyns  of  Brussels.  The  subscription  price  is  to  be  15s.  for 
twelve  plates,  which  does  not  include  postage.  There  will  also  be  a 
short  descriptive  text  in  four  languages— Dutch,  German,  French,  and 
English.  This  series  is  expected  to  go  on  for  five  years,  which  will  form 
a  handsome  large  quarto  volume  of  sixty  plates.  The  first  part  is 
expected  to  be  published  in  about  three  weeks’  time,  and  subscribers’ 
names  may  now  be  sent  in  either  direct  to  the  publishers  or  through  any 
of  the  leading  Haarlem  bulb-growing  firms.— VV.  E.  Gumbleton. 
