.February  13,  18&6. 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
-  Gardening  Appointment. — Mr.  W.  Rushton,  late  of  Drum- 
pellier  Gardens,  has  been  appointed  gardener  to  A.  Whitelaw,  Esq  , 
Gartshore,  Kirkintilloch. 
-  Devon  and  Exeter  Horticultural  Society.— The  dates 
of  the  exhibitions  of  this  Society  for  this  year  are  as  follows  : — Summer 
exhibition,  August  21st  ;  autumn  exhibition,  November  5th  and  6th  ; 
to  be  held  at  Exeter. 
-  The  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund. — We  have  great 
pleasure  in  announcing  that  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Bedford  has 
consented  to  become  President  of  this  admirable  institution,  as  the 
successor  of  the  late  Sir  Julian  Goldsmid.  This  intimation  will  be 
received  with  unqualified  satisfaction  by  all  who  are  interested  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  Fund,  which  has  already  done  so  much  good  where  it 
was  most  needed,  and  is  destined  to  do  more. 
-  Alfalfa  as  a  Honey  Plant. — The  cultivation  of  Alfalfa 
has  added  considerably  to  the  honey  crop  of  the  United  States.  No 
other  honey  plant  has  given  such  a  “  boom  ”  to  bee-keeping,  especially 
in  the  Western  States.  This  plant  stands  the  drought,  and  when  well 
rooted  seldom  fails  to  produce  heavy  crops  of  hay  and  seeds  when  almost 
everything  else  fails,  as  its  roots  penetrate  very  deep  in  the  ground,  in 
many  cases  reaching  water  at  15  feet  deep.  I  have  seen  a  continuous 
flow  of  honey  from  this  plant,  commencing  the  middle  of  May  and 
lasting  until  the  1st  of  September,  for  several  years,  without  any 
regard  to  drought  or  season.  Alfalfa  honey  differs  but  little  from 
White  Clover.  It  is  in  every  respect  as  good,  and  is  quoted  in  the 
markets  at  the  highest  price. — A.  H.  Duff  (in  “American  Agri¬ 
culturist.’’) 
-  Reading  and  District  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improve¬ 
ment  Association. — That  the  interest  in  “  the  Queen  of  the  Autumn  ” 
flowers  is  still  greatly  on  the  increase  was  amply  testified  by  the  large 
attendance  of  members  present  at  the  fortnightly  meeting  of  the  above 
Association,  held  in  the  Abbey  Hall,  to  hear  a  paper  on  “  Chrys¬ 
anthemums  ”  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Lees,  Trent  Park  Gardens,  New  Barnet.  Mr. 
Lees,  who  received  an  enthusiastic  reception,  read  a  most  practical  and 
interesting  paper.  The  lecturer  dwelt  briefly  with  the  routine  points  of 
cultivation,  and,  in  conclusion,  said  that  Chrysanthemums  were  the 
most  responsive  of  all  plants  to  generous  treatment ;  and  to  the  amateur 
with  his  small  accommodation,  or  gardeners  better  situated  in  this 
respect,  the  growing  of  these  plants  is  one  of  the  most  pleasurable 
and  interesting  hobbies  anyone  can  undertake.  The  thanks  of  the 
meeting  were  accorded  to  Mr.  Lees  for  his  lecture,  and  to  Messrs, 
Sutton  &  Sons  and  to  Sir  William  Farrer  for  their  kindness  in  sending 
the  flowers. 
- The  Epping  Forest  Committee. — A  report  of  this  Com¬ 
mittee’s  work  during  the  past  year  has  been  issued.  They  refer  to  the 
report  of  experts  appointed  by  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  London  to 
inspect  the  work  of  the  Committee  in  connection  with  the  removal  of 
trees,  as  a  further  vindication  of  their  policy  and  action.  The  Com¬ 
mittee  state  that  they  propose  to  thin  to  a  moderate  extent  over  a  some¬ 
what  large  area,  an  arrangement  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  the 
experts  in  regard  to  the  portions  visited  by  them.  They  have  also 
resolved  to  plant  one  or  two  strips  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Buckhurst 
Hill  and  Loughton.  Work  has  been  found  in  the  Forest  for  the 
unemployed,  the  roads  and'drainage  in  portions  of  it  having  been  greatly 
improved.  A  museum  has  been  established  in  Queen  Elizabeth’s  Lodge 
by  the  Essex  Field  Club,  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  natural 
history  and  archaeology  of  the  Forest  parishes.  The  exhibition  includes 
geological  specimens,  stone  and  bronze  implements,  Romano-British 
pottery,  fungi,  forest  mosses,  flowering  plants,  insects,  mollusca,  snakes, 
lizards,  and  amphibia,  and  a  complete  collection  of  the  eggs  of  birds 
known  to  have  nested  in  the  Forest,  with  a  series  of  woodcuts  of  all  the 
species.  There  are  also  maps,  views  of  the  Forest,  geological  sections 
and  plans,  and  the  whole  forms  a  very  interesting  collection.  The 
Forest  continues  to  be  extremely  popular  as  a  place  for  the  recreation 
and  enjoyment  of  the  public,  and  during  the  past  year  the  Committee 
set  apart  for  the  use  of  various  cricket  clubs  forty  pitches  and  sixty- 
six  grounds  for  the  use  of  football  clubs.  These  are  in  addition  to  the 
thirteen  pitches  at  Wanstead  Flats,  occupied  by  twenty-one  clubs  ;  five 
pitches  at  Chingford,  occupied  by  seven  clubs,  under  the  control  of  the 
London  Playing  Fields  Committee  ;  and  nine  cricket  pitches  a;  Wan¬ 
stead  Flats,  occupied  by  thirteen  clubs,  under  the  control  of  the 
Corporation  of  West  Ham.  There  are  also  three  golf  grounds  on  the 
Forest  lands,  and  other  portions  are  set  aside  for  lawn  tennis. 
Ill 
-  Mildness  of  the  Season.— Writing  from  Reading  under  date 
February  6th,  “A.  0.”  observes,  “I  have  Daisies  on  the  lawn,  and  the 
yellow  Crocus,  Wallflower,  Primrose,  and  crimson  Polyanthus  in  flower 
in  my  little  town  garden.” 
-  United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident 
Society. — The  annual  meeting  of  this  Society  will  take  place  at  the 
Caledonian  Hotel  on  Monday,  March  9th,  at  8  p.m.  Mr.  Joseph 
Cheal  has  kindly  consented  to  preside. 
-  Californian  Lemons. — The  Lemon  growers  of  Southern 
California  think  that  the  fertility  of  the  soil  of  that  State  and  its 
adaptability  to  the  production  of  Citrus  fruits  will  enable  them  to 
compete  with  the  product  of  Southern  Europe  in  Bpite  of  the  low  price 
of  labour  there  and  the  small  cost  of  freight  from  Mediterranean  ports. 
It  is  not  expected  in  Lemon-producing  districts  of  Europe  that  a  tree 
will  fruit  before  the  sixth  or  seventh  year,  and  it  will  do  well  if  it  yields 
three  boxes  of  fruit  the  tenth  year.  In  California  a  Lemon  tree  is 
expected  to  pay  expenses  the  third  year,  and  it  should  yield  from  five  to 
ten  boxes  of  fruit  in  the  sixth  year,  while  it  is  not  an  exceptional 
occurrence  for  trees  ten  years  from  planting  to  produce  twenty-five  or 
thirty  boxes  of  fruit. 
-  Violet  Perfume.  —This  is  now  produced  by  chemical  means, 
and  the  result  quite  supersedes  and  surpasses  in  quality,  persistency, 
and  similarity  the  flower  itself.  This  latest  discovery  in  chemistry  has 
been  made  by  two  Germans  in  Leipzig,  and  the  importance  of  it  may 
be  measured  by  the  fact  that  many  thousands  of  pounds  sterling  have 
been  offered  for  the  patent.  Already  this  substance  has  been  sold  at  a 
considerable  reduction  upon  the  cost  of  perfume  made  from  real 
Violets,  and  so  intense  is  the  odour  in  its  concentration  that  the  manu¬ 
facturers  sell  only  10  per  cent,  solutions  of  it.  This  10  per  cent, 
solution  has  to  be  again  diluted  a  hundredfold  before  it  is  fit  for  sale 
to  the  public.  The  perfume  of  Violets  is  not,  says  a  contemporary,  the 
only  instance  in  which  chemical  science  as  applied  to  perfumery  has 
triumphed,  and  though  some  of  the  other  chemically  made  perfumes 
are  not  so  remarkable  in  their  similitude  to  those  actually  extracted 
from  flowers,  they  are  of  sufficient  importance  to  greatly  limit  the  use 
of  flowers  they  imitate. 
- Birmingham  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Associa¬ 
tion. — The  first  meeting  of  the  spring  session  was  held  on  the  3rd  ult., 
at  the  Athletic  Institute,  John  Bright  Street,  Mr.  W.  B.  Latham  presid¬ 
ing,  when  the  President  (Mr.  A.  W.  Wills,  J.  P.,  F.C.S.)  entertained  the 
members  present  with  a  most  interesting  dissertation,  chiefly  on  some 
remarkable  trees  and  plants  that  presented  themselves  to  his  notice  when 
on  a  visit  to  Ceylon,  Burmah,  and  the  Himalayas  some  few  years  ago.  The 
“  chat,”  as  Mr.  Wills  affected  to  designate  it,  was  illustrated  by  a  numerous 
display  of  enlarged  photographic  views  of  some  of  the  more  remarkable 
specimens  of  such  as  Palms,  Tree  Ferns,  and  other  giants  of  the  vege¬ 
table  kingdom.  Reference  was  made  to  the  wonderful  plantations  of 
medicinal  plants,  comprising  3000  species,  cultivated  by  Mr.  Hanbury 
in  the  Riviera,  which  Mr.  Wills  visited  when  on  the  voyage.  The  Tea 
plantations  of  Ceylon  were  described,  and  the  wonderful  scenery  of 
Candia  was  especially  dilated  upon,  whilst  the  gigantic  denizens  of  the 
forests  and  gardens  of  the  three  countries  named  included  such  a9,  for 
instance,  the  gigantic  Banyan  tree  (Ficus  indica),  Poinsettias  10  and 
12  feet  high,  the  Travellers’  Tree  (Napoleonia  imperialis),  Bougain¬ 
villeas,  the  Screw  Pine  (Pandanus),  the  Gum  Tree  (Eucalyptus),  the 
attractive  Calliandra  brevipes  with  its  brilliant  pink  coloured  Mimosa¬ 
like  flowers,  and  moat  magnificent  of  all  the  resplendent  Amherstia 
nobilis  was  referred  to  in  ecstatic  terms  as  a  sight  never  to  be  forgotten 
by  reason  of  its  garniture  of  rich  vermilion  and  orange-coloured 
inflorescence  as  seen  upon  specimens  from  40  to  50  feet  in  height — 
“  truly  the  cream  of  the  Indian  Flora,”  notwithstanding  the  ephemeral 
nature  of  its  flowers.  The  almost  innumerable  uses  to  which  the  Giant 
Bamboos  are  laid  under  contribution  by  the  natives  of  India  were 
detailed  at  length,  and  including  the  large  groves  of  Indiarubber  Trees 
(Ficus  ela3tica).  Reference  was  made  to  a  few  species  of  Orchids  ; 
and  of  fruits,  the  Jack -fruit — the  produce  of  the  Artocarpus  integrifolia 
— an  exceedingly  disagreeable  scented  commodity,  was  humorously 
described  as  one  of  the  vilest  compoundings  of  scents  possible  to 
conceive,  and  diametrically  opposed  to  the  Durian  fruit  (Durio 
zibethinus),  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  delicious  products  of  Nature. 
An  object  of  much  interest  was  a  scimetar-shaped  seed  pod,  about 
16  inches  long,  of  Poinciana  regia,  a  native  of  Madagascar,  and  which 
the  natives  irreverently  dub  the  “  Woman’s  Tongue.”  A  hearty  vote 
of  thanks  was  accorded  to  Mr.  Wills  for  his  interesting  discourse. — W.  G. 
