184 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  27,  1896. 
-  A  Lucky  Foreman  and  Gardener.— The  late  Mr.  W.  B. 
Miller  of  The  Elms,  Ramsgate,  who  was  justly  celebrated  for  his  many 
splendid  Zonal  Pelargoniums  and  which  have  been  distributed  for  a 
great  number  of  years  past  by  Mr.  H.  Canned,  left  in  his  will  the  sum 
of  £20  to  Mr.  A.  Mayes,  Messrs.  Canned's  Geranium  grower  and  foreman, 
also  a  like  amount  to  Mr.  Blackett,  who  was  for  a  considerable  time 
gardener  to  Mr.  Miller. 
-  Woolton  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. — 
The  usual  fortnightly  meeting  was  held  on  Thursday,  February  20th,  in 
the  Mechanics’  Institute.  Mr.  W.  TuDnington,  The  Gardens,  Calder- 
stone,  Aigburth,  read  an  instructive  paper  on  the  “  Cultivation  of  Aspa¬ 
ragus,”  clearly  showing  that,  notwithstanding  the  unfavourable  nature 
of  the  soil,  if  its  culture  be  taken  up  on  the  lipes  laid  down  in  his  paper 
that  everyone  may  grow  excellent  Asparagus  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Liverpool.  The  usual  votes  of  thanks  followed. — R.  P  R. 
-  Devon  and  Exeter  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement 
Association. — At  the  meeting  of  this  Society  to  be  held  on  Wednesday, 
March  the  4th,  the  subject  for  discussion  will  be  “  The  Gardeners’  Royal 
Benevolent  Institution.”  Mr.  H.  J.  Veitch,  Chelsea,  Hon.  Treasurer ; 
Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  Secretary  to  the  Institution  ;  and  Mr.  J.  H.  Vallance, 
Hon.  Secretary  and  Treasurer  to  the  Bristol  and  Bath  Auxiliary  of  the 
Institution,  will  address  the  meeting.  Schedules  of  the  Hyacinth  and 
Spring  Flower  show,  to  be  held  on  March  18th,  may  be  had  from  the 
Hon.  Secretary,  Mr.  Andrew  Hope,  54,  High  Street,  Exeter,  as  may  also 
any  other  particulars  that  are  needed. 
-  Presentation  to  Mr.  J.  Austen. — On  Saturday  evening 
last  a  handsome  presentation  was  made  to  Mr.  John  Austen,  late  head 
gardener  at  Witley  Court,  who  has  recently  retired  from  that  position 
to  become  the  landlord  of  the  Hundred  House  Hotel.  The  presentation 
consisted  of  a  service  of  plate,  and  included  a  tea  and  coffee  service, 
Queen  Anne  pattern,  a  fluted  punchbowl,  together  with  a  dozen 
handsome  candlesticks,  in  three  different  patterns.  Each  article  was 
engraved  with  the  monogram,  “  J.  A.,”  and  the  punchbowl  and  the  tea 
and  coffee  pots  also  bore  the  following  inscription  : — “  Presented  to 
Mr.  John  Austen  by  a  few  friends  and  well-wishers  on  his  leaving 
Witley  Court  Gardens,  Christmas,  1895.”  Accompanying  the  gift  was 
an  address,  suitably  framed,  which  had  been  tastefully  executed  by 
Mr.  C.  H.  Bartlett,  and  which  bore  the  names  of  forty-two  subscribers, 
of  whom  the  following  were  present  :  —The  Hon.  R.  Henley  Eden, 
Messrs.  E.  S.  Greensill,  B.  Stanier,  R.  Proudman,  J.  Hoddinott,  J.  Seale, 
T.  Hogg,  C.  H.  Bartlett,  A.  Holliday,  W.  Cooke,  M.  Sullivan, 
P.  Sherston,  J.  Cotton,  A.  W.  Goodwin,  J.  Milton,  R.  Edwards, 
C.  Willis,  and  T.  Freeman.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Eden,  in  a  few  kind  words, 
said  it  gave  him  great  pleasure  on  behalf  of  the  subscribers  to  present 
Mr.  Austen  with  the  accompanying  service  of  plate,  together  with  the 
illuminated  address,  which  he  then  read  as  follows  : — “  We,  the  under¬ 
signed,  feel  that  we  cannot  allow  your  connection  with  Witley  Court  to 
cease  without  taking  the  opportunity  to  express  our  good  will  towards 
you,  and  our  earnest  wish  that  you  may  have  a  happy  and  successful 
career  in  the  new  undertaking  upon  which  you  are  about  to  enter.  It 
is  with  extreme  pleasure  that  we  ask  your  acceptance  of  the 
accompanying  service  of  plate,  as  a  slight  token  of  the  deep  feeling  of 
respect  we  entertain  for  you,  and  while  we  assure  you  it  is  a  great 
satisfaction  to  us  to  know  that  we  shall  still  have  you  as  a  neighbour, 
we  trust  that  the  friendly  relations  that  have  so  long  subsisted  between 
U9  may  be  cordially  maintained  for  many  years  to  come.”  Mr.  Eden 
added  that  he  was  sure  the  good  feeling  which  had  prompted  the  gift 
from  so  many  subscribers  would  please  Mr.  Austen  even  more  than  the 
gift  itself,  and  all  present  joined  in  the  hope  that  Mr.  Austen  would 
soon  recover  from  the  illness  which  had  so  unfortunately  attacked  him 
at  the  commencement  of  his  new  undertaking,  and  that  he  would,  with 
renewed  health,  prosper  at  the  Hundred  House  for  many  years  to  come. 
Mr.  Austen,  who  is  still  in  a  weakly  state,  and  who  was  nearly  overcome 
with  emotion,  in  a  feeling  reply  expressed  the  great  pleasure  he  felt  at 
the  honour  which  had  been  done  him.  It  wag  a  most  magnificent 
present,  and  he  should  value  it  very  highly,  not  so  much  for  its  intrinsic 
worth  as  for  the  kindly  feeling  which  it  manifested.  He  heartily 
thanked  all  who  had  subscribed  to  present  him  with  such  a  splendid 
ioken  of  their  good  will,  and  he  hoped  that  the  friendly  relations  so 
kindly  spoken  of  in  the  address  would  not  only  be  maintained,  but  if 
possible  be  developed  and  strengthened  as  time  went  on.  It  should  be 
mentioned  that  tbe  above  presentation  was  intended  to  have  been  made 
at  ChristmaB  bht  unfortunately  was  unavoidably  delayed.  A  few 
weeks  ago  a  handsome  marble  timepiece  was  presented  to  Mr.  Austen 
by  tbe  eardeners  and  other  employes  who  had  been  engaged  under  him 
at  Wi'lpy  C  'ur*. 
-  Yeovil  Chrysanthemum,  Fruit,  and  Flower  Show  will 
be  held  11th  November,  1896. 
-  The  Kew  Herbarium.  —  The  Herbarium  of  the  Royal 
Gardens,  Kew,  has  been  greatly  enriched  by  recent  presentations. 
Specimens  of  new  genera  and  species  have  been  presented  by  Sir 
Ferdinand  von  Mueller,  a  collection  of  200  species  by  Dr.  Havilland,  a 
collection  of  dried  plants  by  Mr.  Elliott  (an  officer  of  the  Indian 
Forestry  Department),  about  170  species  of  Californian  plants,  chiefly 
new  species,  by  Mr.  B.  Davey  of  Berkeley  University  ;  and  a  magnificent 
gift  of  nearly  1500  species  of  Central  American  plants  by  Mr.  J.  Donnell 
Smith. 
-  An  American  Herbarium.— The  herbarium  of  the  late 
John  H.  Redfield  of  Philadelphia,  which  is  extremely  rich  in  Ferns  from 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  in  North  American  plants  generally, 
containing  all  the  sets  made  during  the  last  fifty  years  in  the  western 
and  south-western  parts  of  the  country,  is  to  be  sold  by  the  Philadelphia 
Academy  of  Sciences,  to  which  it  was  bequeathed  under  Mr.  Redfield’s 
will,  The  money  derived  from  its  sale,  as  well  as  that  lately  obtained 
from  the  sale  of  his  botanical  library,  will  form  the  nucleus  of  a  Redfield 
fund  of  20,000  dol9.  his  friends  hope  to  raise  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Botanical  Department  of  the  Academy,  which  Mr.  Redfield  served  faith¬ 
fully  for  many  years  as  curator. 
-  Waterford  Horticultural  Society. — On  the  19th  inst. 
the  annual  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  and  a 
good  number  of  members  was  present.  Mr.  J.  N.  White,  J.P.,  occupied 
the  chair.  The  Committee’s  report  for  1895  was  a  satisfactory  one,  and 
showed  a  fair  increase  of  members.  Two  shows  were  held  during  the 
year,  when  the  quality  of  the  exhibits  was  generally  high,  though  the 
amateurs’  section  of  the  summer  show  was  not  so  well  patronised  as 
might  have  been  expec*ed.  A  small  balance  in  hand  remains  from  last 
year,  and  it  was  decided  that  in  future  the  annual  subscription  of 
members  should  be  5s.  The  various  other  necessary  matters  incidental 
to  such  a  meeting  were  got  through  expeditiously,  and  the  meeting 
closed  with  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Hon.  Secretaries,  Messrs.  W. 
Richardson  and  D.  Cantwell,  for  their  labours  on  behalf  of  the  Society, 
and  to  the  Chairman  for  presiding. 
-  Insect  Pests  — On  Monday  evening  Mr.  J.  Hiam,  at  the 
weekly  meeting  of  the  Amateur  Gardeners’  Society,  gave  an  address  on 
insect  pests  which  trouble  fruit  growers,  illuminated  by  the  powerful 
microscope  belonging  to  the  Society,  which  was  obtained  some  years  ago 
by  a  grant  from  the  Worcester  County  Council  for  technical  instruction 
in  horticulture,  and  which  has  proved  of  great  value  in  many  villages 
and  towns  in  Worcester  and  Warwickshire.  He  said  that  to  successfully 
deal  wi  h  the  various  pests  it  was  indispensable  to  know  their  life  history, 
and  exact  time  of  hatching  from  the  eggs.  It  was  shown  how  absurd  is 
the  prevailing  notion  of  “blights”  coming  in  the  “east  winds”  and 
“  black  clouds,”  and  that  the  insect  pests  are  already  established  in  their 
respective  positions,  and  generation  succeeds  generation  before  the 
“black  clouds”  may  appear.  The  lecturer  also  explained  how  to  get 
rid  of  these  forerunners  of  mischief  at  the  present  time  by  application 
of  suitable  insecticides  and  other  methods.  He  showed  the  pollen  from 
Nut  bushes  and  the  beautiful  Red  Nut  producing  buds  with  the 
pollen  in  the  act  of  fertilisation.  It  was  explained  and  illustrated  by 
specimens  how  certain  bushes  and  plantations  where  he  had  been  were 
destroyed  by  the  Nut  bud  mites,  or  phytoptus,  and  on  cutting  an 
affected  bud  open  scores,  if  not  hundreds,  of  these  little  pests  were  seen 
to  exist  there  in  this  single  bud.  The  Black  Currant  mite  is  similar, 
and  specimen  buds  were  shown.  On  searching  for  specimens  of  red 
spider  on  Gooseberry  buds,  which  had  been  on  the  bushes  for  about  a 
fortnight,  one  could  not  be  found  on  the  sprays  brought  to  the  meeting, 
but  in  the  search  an  important  discovery  was  made,  which  Mr.  Hiam 
said  he  had  found  what  he  had  not  seen  previously — the  Soo9eberry 
aphis  just  emerging  from  the  egg.  This  under  the  microscope  proved  of 
great  interest  as  throwing  light  on  the  subject  where  the  blight  comes 
from  later  on  when  generation  after  generation  had  been  produced  until 
they  swarmed  and  checked  the  growth  of  the  shoots,  and  Btill  later  on 
spoiled  the  fruit  by  clinging  to  the  stalks  of  the  Gooseberries,  sucking 
the  descending  sap,  and  casting  off  their  excrement  in  the  form  of 
honeydew,  which  soon  became  a  dark  filthy  matter,  spoiling  the  fruit 
and  foliage  beneath  the  insects.  The  Plum  aphis  and  the  unhatched 
egg  were  next  shown  (very  similar  in  appearance  to  the  before 
mentioned),  and  it  was  stated  that  the  young  aphides  or  blight  had  been 
noticed  on  the  trees  for  a  fortnight  past.  Various  other  important 
pests  and  their  eggs  were  shown,  but  the  time  being  limited  only  a 
deaH  with  more  fully  on  a  subsequent  oecasion. 
