April  2,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
299 
Events  of  the  Week. — Besides  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society  on  Tuesday  there  will  be  held  a  spring  flower  show 
at  Olympia  on  the  same  day.  Particulars  of  this  may  be  had  from  the 
Garden  Superintendent,  Olympia,  W. 
-  Weather  in  London, — Cold  north  and  north-easterly  winds 
have  prevailed  during  the  past  week,  the  sky  being  mostly  dull  and 
cloudy,  heavy  rain  falling  on  some  days.  Holiday  makers  are  studying 
the  weather  forecasts  with  interest.  At  the  time  of  going  to  press  it  is 
considerably  warmer,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  weather  will  turn  out 
bright  aDd  cheerful  for  the  Easter  pleasure  seekers. 
-  Weather  in  the  North.— The  week  ending  the  31st  has 
been  a  busy  one  out  of  doors.  With  drier  weather  great  breadths  of 
Beans  and  Oats  have  been  sowd,  and  occasional  frosts  of  from  2°  to  5° 
have  aided  in  the  working  of  the  heavier  soils.  Several  days  were  cold, 
especially  Saturday,  with  keen  N.W.  wind.  Sunday  and  Monday  were 
fine,  Tuesday  morning  dull  and  mild. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  Royal  Horticultural  Society.— The  next  Fruit  and  Floral 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday, 
April  7th,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Westminster.  A  lecture  on 
“  The  Movements  of  Plants  ”  will  be  given  at  three  o’clock  by  Rev.  Geo* 
Henslow,  M.A. 
-  The  Chester  Show  and  Conference. — We  are  informed 
that  in  connection  with  the  visit  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  by 
deputation,  to  Chester,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Floral  FSte  there,  that  a 
conference  on  gardening  will  be  held  on  the  evening  of  August  4th, 
preparatory  to  the  show  on  the  next  day.  The  Mayor,  we  learn,  has 
granted  the  Town  Hall  for  the  purpose,  and  the  Duke  of  Westminster 
is  expected  to  preside  on  the  occasion.  Among  the  subjects  to  be  treated 
are  “  The  Royal  Horticultural  Society  and  its  Work,”  by  Sir  Trevor 
Lawrence,  Bart.,  the  “Garden  Craft,”  by  the  Very  Reverend  Dean  Hole, 
and  the  “  Literature  of  Horticulture  and  Garden  Libraries,”  by  F.  W. 
Burbidge,  M.A.  Those  of  our  friends  who  have  joined  with  us  in 
advocating  an  extension  of  the  operations  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  will  be  glad  to  learn  of  this  step  out  of  the  ordinary  routine. 
-  Horsforth  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
—Mr.  Wm.  G.  Jewitt,  late  Chairman  of  this  flourishing  Society,  has  been 
appointed  head  gardener  to  J.  J.  Candlish,  Esq.,  J.P.,  Shotton  Hall, 
Castle  Eden,  Co.  Durham.  In  recognition  of  the  services  rendered  by 
Mr.  Jewitt  in  establishing  this  Society,  and  as  a  memento  of  their 
esteem,  the  members  have  presented  him  with  a  very  handsome  writing 
desk,  with  a  suitable  inscription  thereon.  As  Mr.  Jewitt  also  took  a 
leading  part  in  the  establishment  of  the  Tadcaster  (Yorks)  Paxton 
Society  some  six  years  ago,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  record  that,  once  in  a 
while,  a  working  gardener’s  efforts  to  promote  good  fellowship,  and  the 
advancement  of  his  craft,  are  appreciated  and  suitably  acknowledged. 
— G.  A. 
-  Eucharis  amazonica. — I  herewith  send  you  a  note  of  a  fine 
Eucharis  amazonica  I  have.  It  is  growing  in  an  18-inch  pot,  and  is 
5  feet  in  diameter  and  stands  4  feet  high.  It  has  flowered  eight  times 
within  the  last  twelve  months,  and  produced  420  blooms.  Do  you  not 
think  that  good  for  one  plant  ?  It  is  not  an  old  one  either,  as  I  have 
grown  it  within  the  last  four  years  from  about  a  dozen  small  bulbs  I 
found  in  a  10 -inch  pan  on  taking  charge  here.  It  is  never  out  of  a  hot 
stove  except  for  two  months  in  the  height  of  the  summer,  when  it  is 
removed  to  a  Cattleya  house.  It  gets  strong  liquid  manure  every  time 
water  is  required,  with  occasional  handfuls  of  other  fertilisers.  But  I 
think  the  secret  of  success  lies  in  the  fact  that  I  always  keep  it  in  a 
warm  state,  never  much  under  90°,  and  keep  the  liquid  can  on  the  hot 
pipes  a  day  before  using  it.  The  following  are  the  dates  and  numbers 
of  blooms  it  has  produced  during  the  past  year  : — 1895,  March  21st,  40  ; 
May  17th,  62;  July  15th,  42  ;  August  12th,  73;  September  14th,  29; 
November  22nd,  17  ;  and  December  29th,  112  ;  1896,  March  19th,  45  ; 
total,  420. — James  Lornie,  South  Park  Gardens,  Rothesay ,  [We 
consider  this  an  excellent  record,  and  shall  be  glad  to  have  other 
growers’  opinions  on  it.] 
-  Royal  Botanic  Society,  Daffodil  Conference. — The 
date  of  the  Daffodil  Conference  has  now  been  definitely  fixed  for 
April  14th.  Mr.  J.  G.  Baker  of  the  Herbarium,  Kew,  will  preside. 
Mr.  Burbidge  will  read  the  opening  address  on  the  “  Past,  Present,  and 
Future  of  Narcissi,”  and  papers  will  be  read  by  the  following  : — 
Rev.  E.  S.  Bourne,  Mr.  W.  Robinson,  Mr.  J.  D.  Pearson,  Mr.  C.  W. 
Cowan,  Dr.  Crawford,  Dr.  C.  Stuart,  Mr.  J.  Allen,  Mr.  M.  J.  Caparn, 
and  Miss  Marie  Low.  A  show  of  Daffodils  will  be  held  in  connection 
with  the  above  on  April  14th  and  15th. 
-  Chislehurst  Gardeners’  Association.  —  On  Tuesday 
evening,  March  24th,  Mr.  J.  McKirchar  (from  Messrs.  B.  S.  Williams 
and  Son,  Holloway)  gave  a  most  interesting  and  instructive  lecture  on 
“  The  Fertilisation  of  Plants  ”  before  the  members  of  the  above 
Association.  There  was  a  good  attendance,  and  much  interest  was 
taken  in  the  lecture,  which  was  illustrated  by  a  number  of  well 
executed  diagrams  of  the  different  organs  of  reproduction.  A  vote  of 
thanks  was  accorded  to  Mr.  McKirchar. 
-  Sparken,  Worksop. — At  this  go-ahead  place,  the  residence 
of  J.  D.  Ellis,  Esq.,  planting  is  still  being  carried  on.  Thousands  of 
choice  shrubs  have  been  planted  this  spring  by  the  gardener,  Mr. 
W.  Alderman,  and  when  I  called  there  last  week  several  cartloads  were 
being  unpacked  for  continuing  the  work.  The  glass  house  looked 
remarkably  bright  and  pleasing.  Amongst  other  plants  in  bloom  I 
noticed  good  examples  of  Dendrobium  nobile,  crassinode,  and  Findlay- 
anum,  Phaius  grandiflora,  Oncidium  papilio  majus,  and  other  Orchids  ; 
Euphorbias  splendens  and  jacquiniteflora,  Tabernfemontana  coronaria 
fl.-pl.;  and  Gardenias,  Eucharis,  Anthuriums,  Begonia  corallina  trained  up 
rafters  of  the  plant  stove  were  all  of  great  beauty. — T.  H.  Crasp. 
-  Early  Vegetation  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.— It  may  be 
interesting  to  your  readers  in  this  exceptional  season  to  note  that  I  cut 
the  first  dish  of  seventy-five  heads  of  Asparagus  out  of  doors  on  Friday, 
March  27th.  The  dates  for  the  two  previous  years,  1894  and  1895,  were 
March  31st  and  April  19th  respectively.  The  heads  have  been  showing 
through  the  ground  since  February  25th,  but  the  sharp  morning  frost  of 
March  15th  and  19th  cut  off  the  earliest,  or  I  should  have  been  able  to 
cut  even  before  the  above  dates.  The  date  of  the  flowering  of  the  Black¬ 
thorn  this  year  is  March  21st,  compared  with  April  22nd,  1895,  which 
is  a  truer  record  of  the  comparisons  of  the  state  of  vegetation  between 
this  year  and  last.  We  are  now  getting  cold  north-west  winds,  which 
are  somewhat  retarding  the  very  forward  growth  ;  but  Apples,  Pears, 
Plums,  and  all  bush  fruits,  are  bristling  with  fruit  buds,  and  look  very 
promising  for  a  good  fruit  season  if  not  injured  by  late  spring  frosts. 
— C.  Orchard,  Bembridge,  I.  W. 
-  Flowers  and  Flowering  Shrubs  in  Bloom  at  Torquay. 
— A  leaflet,  issued  by  the  Torquay  Gardeners’  Association,  states,  as 
evidence  of  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  the  Camellias,  Arums,  Palms, 
and  other  varieties  of  subtropical  plants  on  the  Royal  Terrace  Gardens 
are  worthy  of  special  note ;  also  that  the  following  is  a  list  of  flowers 
and  shrubs  in  bloom  at  the  present  time,  the  whole  of  which  are  grown 
in  the  open  air  and  without  any  covering  or  protection  through  the 
winter : — 
Arabia  alpina 
Anemones  of  sorts 
Almond 
Auriculas 
Aponogeton  distachyon 
Aubrietia 
Angelica 
Aucuba 
Alyssum 
Bay 
Berberis  of  sorts 
Broom,  white 
Borage 
Chionodoxa 
Choisya 
Cistus 
Crattegus  pyraeanthus 
Ceanothus 
Crocus 
Camellias 
Callas  (Arum  Lilies) 
Cactus 
Candytuft 
Daphne 
Daisies 
Daffodils 
Escallonia  macrantha 
Ericas 
Forsythia 
Geraniums 
Habrothamnus 
Hyacinths  of  sorts 
Honesty 
Iris  of  sorts 
Jasminum  nudiflorum 
Laurustinus 
Laurel 
Leucanthemum  alpinum 
Magnolia  conspicua  alba 
Myosotis 
Marigold 
Mignonette 
Narcissus  of  sorts 
Olearia 
Primroses 
Polyanthus 
Pansies 
Prunus 
Ribes 
Stauntonia  latifolia 
Stocks 
Scilla  sibirica 
Squills  of  sorts 
Silene  of  sorts 
Tropseolum  Ball  of  Fire 
Tulips  of  sorts 
Vinca 
Virginia  Stock 
Valerian 
Veronicas  of  sorts 
Violets 
Wallflowers  of  sorts 
In  the  subtropical  section  of  the  Royal  Terrace  Gardens  are  some  fine 
specimens  of  Palms,  Latania  borbonica,  Chamterops  excelsa,  Dracaenas, 
Yuccas,  Aralias,  Phormiums,  two  very  large  Camellias  in  full  bloom  (one 
of  which  was  presented  by  the  late  Mr.  W.  F.  Splatt,  J.P.,  first  Mayor 
of  Torquay  ;  and  the  other  by  Alderman  Mortimer),  Azaleas,  Cannas, 
Eucalyptus,  Arum  Lilies,  Cactus,  Geraniums,  and  many  other  kinds. 
