February  27,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
- Extreme  Heat  in  Australia.  —  Extreme  heat  is  not  an 
uncommon  experience  in  Australia,  but  news  comes  by  the  last  mail  of 
the  hottest  day  known  in  Sydney  for  twenty-five  years.  “'A  scorching 
westerly  wind  blew  from  early  morning,”  runs  the  account,  “  and  the 
atmosphere  was  like  that  of  a  furnace  room.  At  noon  at  the  Govern¬ 
ment  Observatory  the  thermometer  showed  a  temperature  of  104°  in  the 
shade,  the  highest  record  since  January,  1870,  when  it  was  105°.”  Water 
famines  have  been  the  talk  of  the  Colony.  When  the  mail  left  water  was 
7d.  a  gallon  in  Coolgardie,  the  West  Australian  mining  town.  The  last 
rain  of  any  importance  was  in  August,  and  the  total  fall  of  rain  for 
1895  was  15  inches,  which  is  10  inches  less  than  the  average  fall  for  the 
past  ten  years. 
The  Hessle  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  above  Society,  held  February  18th,  a  paper  was 
read  by  Mr.  M.  Murchison,  gardener  to  F.  B.  Grotian,  Esq.,  West 
Hill,  on  “  Bulbs  and  Their  Cultivation.”  The  essayist  first  of  all 
described  what  constitutes  a  bulb  and  all  their  different  forms,  ably 
entering  into  the  cultivation,  firstly,  of  hardy  bulbs  for  flower  garden 
and  borders  ;  secondly,  of  stove  bulbs,  special  mention  being  made  of 
Eucharis  and  Pancratium  ;  lastly,  of  Dutch  bulbs  and  Freesias.  Mr. 
Murchison  had  taken  up  rather  a  large  family,  therefore  those  least 
in  cultivation  received  only  brief  attention.  The  majority  of  those 
present  ruled  that  Lilium  giganteum  was  the  queen  of  the  Lily 
family. — F.  L.  T. 
Barnsley  Paxton  Society. — The  eleventh  annual  dinner  of 
the  above  Society  was  held  on  Thursday  evening,  the  20th  inst.,  at  the 
Queen’s  Hotel,  Mr.  John  Henshall,  Superintendent  of  the  Lock  Park, 
Barnsley,  presiding.  An  excellent  dinner  was  served,  and  after  it  about 
three  hours  were  agreeably  spent  in  toasts  and  the  rendering  of  an 
excellent  programme  of  music  and  singing.  Mr.  D.  Chapman  proposed 
the  toast  of  the  evening,  “  The  Barnsley  Paxton  Society,”  which  was 
responded  to  by  Mr.  Hoey,  the  Treasurer,  who  said  that  the  Society  was 
making  steady  progress.  Last  year  they  had  elected  sixteen  new 
members,  which  now  made  their  membership  roll  upwards  of 
100.  Speaking  as  the  Treasurer  he  was  proud  to  state  they  had  over 
£9  to  the  good,  which  was  satisfactory,  and  as  these  societies  did 
not  require  any  very  large  balance  in  hand,  they  had  determined  to 
spend  a  fair  proportion  of  that  balance  in  augmenting  the  library. 
There  was  a  large  company  present. 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society. — There  was  a  very  large 
gathering  of  the  members  at  the  meeting  of  this  Society  on  the  15th  inst. 
Mr.  H.  Chapman  presided,  and  Mr.  L.  Twigge  was  Vice-Chairman. 
Mr.  A,  H.  Pearson  of  Chilwell  Nurseries,  Nottingham,  delivered  a  most 
instructive  and  interesting  lecture  on  “  The  Cultivation  of  Small  Fruits.” 
In  the  course  of  his  remarks  the  essayist  dealt  with  the  Strawberry, 
Gooseberry,  Raspberry,  and  Currants.  He  regretted  that  these  fruits 
were  thought  so  little  about,  and  their  cultivation  consequently  some¬ 
what  neglected,  because  by  proper  and  generous  treatment  such  garden 
crops  could  not  only  be  made  very  profitable,  but  the  quality  might  be 
very  materially  improved.  Several  instances  were  given  of  enormous 
returns  being  made  to  growers  who  paid  due  attention  to  cultivation  ; 
even  Gooseberries  had  realised  £100  per  acre.  Practical  bint]  wee 
offered,  in  lucid  language,  on  the  best  methods  of  treating  each  kind  of 
small  fruit  above  named,  by  which  both  amateur  and  professional 
gardeners  might  derive  much  benefit.  A  cordial  vote  of  thanks  was 
given  to  Mr.  Pearson. 
-  Native  Guano. — We  have  received  the  annual  list  of  testi¬ 
monials  relative  to  this  well-known  gardeners’  and  farmers’  manurial 
assistant.  It  has  evidently  been  used  with  satisfactory  results  by 
hundreds  of  persons,  as  applied  to  practically  all  kinds  of  crops  in  maay 
counties.  We  cite  the  case  of  Mr.  A.  J.  Ward  of  the  Richmond  Allot¬ 
ments  Association,  because  we  happen  to  have  seen  and  admired  the 
remarkable  productiveness  of  the  plot  referred  to.  Mr.  Ward  says,  “  The 
manure  was  used  for  general  garden  produce  on  an  allotment  mixed 
with  soot  and  burnt  wood  ashes,  and  sown  in  drills  and  trenches,  at  the 
rate  of  about  1  cwt.  on  about  12  rods  of  ground.  Results  :  I  won  the 
champion  allotment  prize,  also  the  R.H.S.  bronze  medal  as  champion 
exhibitor  at  the  allotment  show,  held  July  13th  last  at  Richmond, 
Surrey.  I  was  first  with  Potatoes,  Onions,  herbs,  and  fruit  ;  second 
with  two  dishes  Potatoes,  salads,  Black  Currants,  and  a  collection  of 
vegetables.  I  have  found  that  some  of  the  best  produce  has  come  from 
the  plots  where  this  manure  has  been  used.”  The  results  were  as  credit¬ 
able  to  this  diligent  worker  as  they  must  be  satisfactory  to  the  company 
which  served  him  so  well. 
185 
-  Lenten  Roses. — Of  the  various  forms  of  Helleborus  colchicue 
in  bloom  at  Long  Ditton.  none  seems  to  be  more  pleasing  or  useful  than 
H.  c.  punctatus.  This  variety,  whether  out  in  the  open  ground  or  in  pots 
in  a  frame,  was  blooming  profusely  and  furnishing  a  wealth  of  flowers 
and  leafage  to  cut  from  for  vases.  The  flowers  are  large,  of  a  reddish 
coppery  hue,  and  speckled  all  over  with  a  lighter  tint.  A  few  strong 
plants  of  these  Hellebores  put  into  large  pots  are  very  effective  for 
greenhouse  or  conservatory  decoration.  They  do  not  seem  to  be  so  widely 
grown  as  are  forms  of  Helleborus  niger,  but  they  all  equally  merit 
culture.  The  roots  seem  to  be  less  impatient  of  division  than  are  those 
of  the  Christmas  Rose,  and  soon  develop  into  stout  sturdy  plants, 
carrying  fine  leafage  and  a  profusion  of  flowers. 
-  Chionodoxas. — Though  commonly  known  by  the  poetic  appel¬ 
lation  of  Glory  of  the  Snow,  yet  it  is  rare  that  we,  here  in  Britain,  can 
fully  appreciate  the  significance  of  the  term.  In  their  native  habitats  it 
is  easy  to  understand  that  these  blue  flowered  hardy  bulbs,  like  the 
Squills  on  their  Siberian  steppes,  must  on  the  melting  of  the  winter 
snow  present  wonderful  masses  of  blue  inflorescence.  Our  stocks  are  too 
limited  to  enable  us  to  realise  at  home  what  sort  of  almost  magical 
effects  are  thus  produced.  Still  we  find  planted  out  or  in  pots  how 
beautiful  they  are.  The  pretty  C.  Lucilim  gives  the  deepest  colour,  and 
gigantea,  a  somewhat  exaggerated  name  for  so  small  a  flower,  gives  the 
largest  blooms.  What  with  these  Chionodoxas  and  Scillas  we  can  have 
blue  tints  prominent  in  our  gardens  at  this  time  of  the  year. — D. 
-  The  Extension  of  the  Vine.  —  In  answer  to  “T.  H., 
Bolton”  (page  163)  [  may  inform  him  that  in  my  address  to  the  Wake¬ 
field  Paxton  Society  I  did  not  mention  the  Harewood  Vine,  owing  to 
my  not  knowing  the  extent  of  the  Vine  or  the  dimensions  of  the  house 
it  occupied,  although  I  have  long  known  of  its  existence.  It  may 
interest  “T.  H.”  to  know  that  the  members  of  the  Bradford  Paxton 
Society  selected  Harewood  for  their  annual  excursion  last  July.  Unfor¬ 
tunately  I  was  not  able  to  accompany  them  that  day.  Mr.  Wilkinson, 
our  Secretary,  gave  a  short  account  of  their  visit  at  the  Society’s 
meeting,  and  made  particular  mention  of  this  Vine.  I  am  pleased  to 
inform  “  T.  H.”  that  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Jeffreys,  the  present  gardener, 
it  was  looking  well,  and  carrying  a  good  crop  of  fruit. — R.  Scott. 
-  Royal  Meteorological  Society.— The  monthly  meeting 
of  this  Society  was  held  on  Wednesday  evening,  the  19th  instant,  at  the 
Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  Westminster,  Mr.  Edward  Mawley, 
F.R.H. S.,  President,  in  the  chair.  The  Report  on  the  Phenological 
Observations  for  1895  was  presented  by  Mr.  Mawley,  in  which  it  was 
shown  that,  owing  to  the  great  frost  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  all  the 
first  spring  flowers  made  their  appearance  very  late  ;  and  it  was  not  until 
the  middle  of  June  that  plants  began  to  come  into  blossom  in  advance  of 
their  usual  time.  During  July  the  dates  recorded  were,  as  a  rule,  excep¬ 
tionally  early.  The  yield  of  all  the  farm  crops  except  Potatoes  was 
exceedingly  poor.  Pears  and  Plums  yielded  badly,  but  there  was  a 
splendid  crop  of  Apples,  and  also  of  all  the  small  fruits.  As  regards  vege¬ 
tation  generally,  seldom  has  a  year  ended  under  conditions  as  favourable 
for  the  one  succeeding  it.  Mr.  R.  H.  Scott,  F.R.S.,  read  a  paper  on  the 
recent  unusually  high  barometer  readings  in  the  British  Isles,  and  Mr. 
R.  Inwards,  F.R.A.S.,  one  on  “  Turner’s  Representations  of  Lightning.” 
-  Birmingham  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Asso¬ 
ciation. —  At  the  fortnightly  meeting,  held  on  the  17th  inst.,  Mr. 
W.  B.  Latham  presiding,  Mr.  James  Martin,  of  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons, 
Reading,  delivered  a  practical  and  interesting  dissertation  on  the 
Cyclamen  and  Chinese  Primula,  illustrated  by  several  cut  blooms. 
After  adverting  to  the  history  of  the  Cyclamen  persicum  and  Primula 
sinensis,  the  lecturer  dealt  with  their  cultivation,  and  afforded  consider¬ 
able  information  not  commonly  known  to  the  ordinary  grower.  A 
hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  Mr.  Martin  for  his  interesting 
lecture,  also  to  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons  for  their  kindness  in  permitting 
their  representative  to  be  present.  On  this  occasion  there  was 
also  a  competition  amongst  the  members  for  the  pecuniary  prizes 
offered  by  the  Committee  for  flowering  plants  of  Cyclamen  and 
Primulas,  and  Mr.  Martin  adjudicating  thereon  gave  his  awards  as 
follows  : — Cyclamen,  single  plant — first  prize,  Mr.  J.  Musten  ;  second, 
Mr.  Phcenix.  Primulas — first  prize,  Mr.  J.  E.  Pears  ;  second,  Mr. 
Oliver  Brasier  ;  third,  Mr.  John  Hughes.  Mr.  Charles  Bick,  gardener 
to  Mr.  Walter  Chamberlain,  Harborne  Hall,  Harborne,  exhibited  a 
truss  of  a  very  fine  form  of  Primula  obconica,  the  pips  being  quite 
circular,  and  was  pronounced  by  Mr.  Martin  as  the  best  form  of  the 
species  he  had  ever  seen.  Mr.  John  Pope  produced  a  fine  umbel  of 
Imantophyllum  Lindeni. — W.  G. 
