March  5,  1890, 
205 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE 
Events  of  the  Week. — On  Monday  evening  next  the  United 
Horticultural  Provident  and  Benefit  Society  will  hold  its  annual  general 
meeting  at  the  Caledonian  Hotel,  Adelphi,  at  7.30  o’clock.  On  Tuesday 
the  Committees  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  meet  at  the 
Drill  Hall,  Westminster. 
— —  Weather  in  London. — Various  changes  have  marked  the 
conditions  of  the  weather  in  the  Metropolis  during  the  past  week.  Cold 
easterly  winds  prevailed  during  the  early  part,  followed  by  high  wind 
accompanied  by  storms  of  sleet  and  rain.  At  the  time  of  going  to  press 
the  atmosphere  is  dull,  with  prospects  of  showers. 
Weather  IN  the  North.— On  the  morning  of  the  26th  ult. 
snow  to  the  depth  of  fully  an  inch  covered  the  ground.  Much  greater 
falls  were  reported  in  other  districts.  During  the  following  night  11° 
frost  were  registered;  followed  by  high  wind  and  rain.  The  28th  was 
fine,  especially  in  the  evening.  February  closed  and  March  opened 
with  extremely  disagreeable  weather,  boisterous  and  wet.  This  con¬ 
tinued  till  Tuesday  morning,  when  the  hills  all  round  were  white,  and  a 
slight  coating  of  snow  lay  on  the  lower  grounds,  with  sleety  showers 
from  the  west.— B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
—  Royal  Horticultural  Society.— The  next  Fruit  and  Floral 
Meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  in  the  Drill  Hall, 
James  Street,  Westminster,  on  Tuesday,  March  10th,  1  to  4  p.m.  At 
three  o’clock  a  lecture  will  be  given  by  Mr.  James  Barkham  on 
“  Melons.” 
Horticultural  Club. — The  next  dinner  and  conversazione 
will  take  place  on  Tuesday,  March  10th,  when  Professor  Thisselton  Dyer, 
Director  of  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  will  be  the  guest  of  the  evening, 
and  Sir  J .  D.  T.  Llewelyn,  Bart.,  M.P.,  will  take  the  chair.  A  paper  will 
be  read  by  Mr.  George  Paul  on  “  The  Resurrection  of  the  Older  Sorts 
of  Roses.”  It  is  expected  that  there  will  be  a  good  attendance  of 
members. 
Myrobalan  Plum. — What  is  the  experience  of  planters 
generally  regarding  the  behaviour  of  this  plant  (Prunus  cerasifera)  for 
hedge  making?  Personally  I  have  no  experience  with  it,  but  have 
watched  the  progress  of  a  hedge  of  it  in  the  neighbourhood  for  several 
years,  but  I  must  confess  I  am  disappointed,  with  the  result.  The 
growth  seems  slow  and  the  hedge  thin.  The  soil  in  which  it  is  growing 
may  be  the  main  cause.  An  opinion  expressed  in  the  Journal  will  be 
appreciated  by — E.  M. 
-  The  Southampton  Horticultural  Society.  —  This 
distinguished  provincial  Society,  which  enjoys  the  special  affix  of 
"Royal,”  also  just  now  luxuriates  in  the  handsome  deficit  of  £180. 
That  would  be  to  very  many  similar  societies  regarded  as  a  very  good 
annual  income.  The  Society  has  been  rather  ambitious,  some  of  its 
members  seem  to  think  too  much  so,  in  not  only  becoming  something 
of  a  company  so  as  to  be  able  to  lease  land,  but  also  in  catering  so  very 
largely  not  only  at  its  shows,  but  at  other  times  for  mere  purposes  of 
amusement.  As  to  the  question  whether  a  horticultural  Society  is  within 
its  duty  in  catering  so  considerably  for  athletic  sports,  &c.,  is  just  one 
of  the  things  on  which  we  prefer  to  pass  no  judgment.  It  is  entirely  a 
matter  for  the  members.  Not  the  least  of  the  Society’s  difficulties, 
however,  seems  to  be  that  the  lease  of  the  ground,  upon  which  so  much 
money  has  been  expended  to  render  it  suitable  for  shows  and  athletic 
sports,  soon  expires,  and  after  the  present  season  the  Society  will  have 
no  place  to  hold  its  summer  shows  in,  unless  it  can  come  to  terms  with 
some  local  landowner  or  other  person  having  land  in  occupation.  The 
position  is  one  in  the  interest  of  horticulture  much  to  be  deplored,  but 
so  far  as  sports  are  concerned  that  hardly  creates  worry,  seeing  ’that 
these  things  seem  just  now,  at  any  rate,  to  need  no  extraneous  help. 
We  hope  the  Society  may  this  year  have  such  better  fortune  that  it  may 
be  recouped  its  present  deficit,  also  that  eventually,  if  sports  suffer, 
horticulture  may  gain.  Every  locality  evidently  cannot  be  a  Shrews¬ 
bury  or  a  York,  but  no  doubt  at  these  places  the  local  societies  enjoy 
advantages  which  the  Southampton  Society  cannot  in  any  way 
claim. — A. 
AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
-  Mr.  Chamberlain’s  Garden. — The  next  issue  of  the  Journal 
°f  Horticulture  will  contain,  by  special  permission,  a  full  illustrated 
report  of  the  gardens  of  the  Right  Honourable  Joseph  Chamberlain  at 
Highbury,  near  Birmingham.  Those  of  our  readers  who  may  desire 
extra  copies  should  order  them  early,  as  we  already  know  the  demand 
will  be  great. 
■ -  Analysis  of  Soils. — The  Royal  Horticultural  Society  would, 
I  think,  confer  a  benefit  on  the  Fellows  of  the  Society  by  securing  the 
services  of  a  competent  analyst  on  the  same  terms  as  the  Royal  Agri¬ 
cultural  Society,  The  importance  of  analysis  is  so  generally  recognised 
that  an  analyst  might  be  sure  that  a  reduction  of  fee3  to  the  Fellows  of 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  would  be  to  his  advantage  and  would 
not  result  in  a  loss. — T.  Francis  Rivers. 
-  The  Shrewsbury  Show. — As  we  are  preparing  for  press  the 
schedule  of  prizes  offered  for  competition  on  the  occasion  of  this  great 
floral  f&fe  comes  to  hand.  The  show  opens  on  August  19th,  and  the 
generous  provision  made  in  all  sections  will  no  doubt,  as  heretofore, 
insure  spirited  competition.  Some  new  classes  will  excite  much  interest, 
as  the  several  items  stipulated  for  have  to  be  judged  by  points,  and 
these  placed  on  the  exhibits  which  obtain  the  prizes.  We  shall  refer 
to  the  schedule  again. 
-  Rain  at  Last. — Although  there  has  been  considerable  rainfall 
in  northern  localities,  yet  in  the  London  and  southern  areas  the  com¬ 
parative  drought  up  to  the  end  of  February  was  remarkable.  It  was 
not  until  March  1st  that  rain  could  be  said  to  have  fallen,  and  even 
then  but  of  the  mildest  form.  Still,  it  was  warm  and  very  refreshing. 
That  we  should  have  gone  all  through  such  midwinter  months  as 
January  and  February  with  so  little  of  rain  and  also  so  little  of  frost 
constitutes  a  weather  record  and  phenomenon.  But  the  surface  soil 
has  not  appreciably  dried,  because  we  have  had  little  of  wind  or  of 
sunshine.  Rarely  at  the  end  of  February  has  soil  been  in  more 
acceptable  condition  for  cropping,  and  seeds,  though  early,  have  been 
got  in  largely.  The  mild,  soft  shower  of  Sunday  last  came  at  a  most 
desirable  time,  softening  the  well-aerated  surface  and  assisting  seed 
germination. 
-  Red  Spider  on  Vines  and  Cucumbers. — Red  spider  is  easily 
stopped  on  Vines  when  first  perceived  by  sponging  the  under  side  of  the 
leaves  with  flowers  of  sulphur,  say  a  2J-inch  flower  potful,  stirred  into 
14  gallon  of  water,  with  about  ^  oz.  of  softsoap  added.  We  invariably 
sulphur  the  pipes  and  make  them  hot  at  the  same  time,  but  have  little 
faith  in  the  practice,  though  it  may,  perhaps,  do  a  small  measure  of  good. 
When  the  fruit  is  cleared  from  the  Vines  we  syringe  the  whole  house 
thoroughly  with  sulphur  and  soapy  water.  This  is  left  on  for  four 
bright  days,  and  then  syringed  off  with  clear  water.  Every  trace  of 
spider  will  disappear.  We  treat  Cucumbers  in  the  same  way  at  any 
time  the  insects  appear.  If  dull  weather  follow  the  operation  the 
spider  will  not  be  killed  until  there  is  bright  sunshine,  so  that  in  some 
cases  it  may  be  necessary  to  leave  the  sulphur  on  longer  than  four  days. 
By  not  syringing  for  three  or  four  days  we  have  not  found  Cucumbers 
to  suffer  in  the  least.  The  house  can  be  well  damped.  This  is  a  simple, 
easy  method  of  extirpating  a  destructive  pest. — W.  Bardney. 
-  Leucoium  CARPAthicum,  —  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  Mr. 
W.  E.  Gumbleton  for  writing  me  regarding  my  note  on  this  plant,  and 
for  being  at  the  trouble  of  referring  to  the  “  Botanical  Magazine.” 
Mr.  Gumbleton  sayB  that  the  plate  1993,  which  is  referred  to  by  Mr. 
Baker  as  representing  L.  c&rpathicum  ( Z7<?r &.),  “  purports  to  represent 
L.  vernum,  var.  biflorum,  and  has  two  flowers  on  each  stem  with  gold 
spots.”  From  an  article  on  the  Leucoiums,  by  Mr.  W.  Brockbank,  which 
appeared  in  the  “  Gardener’s  Chronicle  ”  of  March  15th,  1884, 1  quote  the 
following  as  bearing  on  the  point  at  issue  : — “  L.  Carpathicum. — This  is 
also  figured  in  the  “  Botanical  Magazine,  pi.  1993  ***.  The  flowers  are 
larger  than  those  of  vernum,  and  the  spots  a  rich  golden  yellow.  The 
scapes  are  not  always  two-flowered,  and  sometimes  you  find  single  and 
twin-flowered  in  the  same  clump,  but  generally  it  is  two-flowered.” 
“  The  plant  from  which  Curtis’ plate  was  taken  had  been  collected  on 
the  Carpathian  Mountains.  It  is  called  by  Curtis  L.  vernum,  ft-, 
Carpathian  Spring  Snowflake.”  I  have  a  yellow-spotted  Spring  Snow¬ 
flake  which  never  produces  two  flowers  on  a  stem,  and  this  seems  to  be 
a  constant  feature  in  the  clump  whence  my  plants  originally  came,  and 
which  has  been  in  the  same  garden  for  many  years.  I  submit  still  that 
L.  carpathicum  has,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Baker,  yellow  spots,  and  that  the 
plant  lately  certificated  is  the  variety  Vagneri  ( Stapf. )  referred  to  by 
Mr.  Baker.  I  have  not  access,  however,  to  Dean  Herbert’s  “  Amaryllidae,” 
p.  331,  where  the  plant  is  also  referred  to. — S.  Arnott. 
