April  23,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
365 
however  prudent  the  managers  of  gardens  which  enjoy  a  public 
reputation  may  be,  they  are,  as  a  rule,  precluded  from  making 
anything  like  adequate  provision  for  the  time  that  is  sure  to 
come,  when  they  must  for  some  reason  or  other  retire  from 
active  duty. 
In  the  case  of  Mr.  Barron  his  retirement,  fortunately  for 
himself,  has  not  been  deferred  to  a  period  when  it  was  rendered 
necessary  by  personal  incapacity,  but  still,  as  we  have  said,  he  gave 
to  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  the  best  years  of  his  life,  and 
during  that  time  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  his  earnings  must  of 
necessity  have  been  dispensed  outside  the  area  of  family  necessities. 
This  the  governing  body  has  recognised  and  thoughtfully  made 
provision  accordingly,  so  that  their  friend  and  fellow  worker  will 
not  be  deprived  of  the  means  for  insuring  him  the  comfortable 
livelihood  to  which  he  is  entitled,  and  in  this  respect  a  commend¬ 
able  example  has  been  set  that  it  is  hoped  will  not  be  entirely 
without  influence  in  making  the  later  days  or  years  of  other 
gardeners  enjoyable,  who  have  spent  their  lives  in  contributing  to 
the  interests  and  happiness  of  those  whom  they  have  served  long, 
faithfully,  and  well. 
Mentally  and  physically  strong,  Mr.  Barron  cannot  be  said  to 
have  passed  the  stage  of  ripened  manhood.  He  may  still  be  useful 
to  many  in  many  ways,  and  the  longer  he  enjoys  the  provision 
that  has  been  made  for  him  the  greater  will  be  the  satisfaction 
of  his  numerous  friends,  including,  we  are  sure,  those  who  are 
responsible  for  his  retirement  and  for  the  conduct  of  the  affairs 
of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.  Whatever  may  be  said  from 
time  to  time  against  this  and  that  phase  of  policy  it  cannot  be 
said  that  the  Society  is  churlish  in  dealing  with  its  employes,  but 
treats  them  fairly  and  considerately,  according  them  a  reasonable 
share  of  increasing  prosperity. 
A  few  years  ago  we  engraved  the  portrait  of  Mr.  Barron,  and 
as  he  has  happily  changed  but  little  since  then— nothing  beyond 
having  a  trifle  more  silvery  polish  ;  and  as  old  friends  like  to  see 
him  as  often  as  they  can,  and  as  others  who  have  not  met  him  may 
like  to  see  what  manner  of  man  he  is,  the  time  seems  appropriate 
for  affording  them  the  opportunity.  A  glance  at  the  portrait  on 
page  375  will  not,  we  apprehend,  so  much  conjure  up  feelings  of 
compassion,  as  for  a  man  weary  and  wan,  and  worn  to  a  skeleton 
by  anxious  care,  as  to  rather  indicate  health  and  equanimity  ; 
and  moreover,  we  should  not  be  very  much  surprised  if  it  does  not 
bring  to  the  surface  the  expressive  old  formula,  “  there’s  life  in 
the  old  dog  yet,”  as  indeed  there  is,  and  many  will  share  in  the 
hope  that  the  life  may  be  a  long  one. 
We  should  like  in  connection  with  the  presentation,  which  will 
be  memorable,  and  a  distinct  record  in  the  annals  of  horticulture, 
to  recognise  the  services  of  the  active  members  of  the  Presenta¬ 
tion  Committee,  and  to  accord  a  well-merited  meed  of  praise  for 
the  zeal,  judgment,  and  industry  displayed  by  Dr.  Masters,  Mr.  W. 
Marshall,  Mr.  H.  J.  Yeitch,  Mr.  B.  Wynne,  and  others  who  have  so 
successfully  laboured  to  bestow  a  tribute  of  esteem  on  the  part  of 
British  horticulturists  on  one  of  the  most  capable,  best  known,  and 
most  respected  gardeners  of  his  generation— Archibald  F.  Barron. 
THE  GLORIES  OF  APRIL, 
The  season  of  retrospection  and  preparation  has  passed,  that  of 
activity  for  the  earnest  horticulturist  has  begun.  .Nature  herself 
has  not  been  inactive  during  the  flowerless  period  that,  before  the 
rush  of  vernal  sunlight  so  patiently  anticipated,  has  vanished  from 
our  consciousness  into  the  regions  of  the  past.  The  process  of 
root  form  ition,  essential  to  the  existence  and  perpetuation  of  our 
fairest  flowers,  has  been  silently  going  on,  for  Nature’s  greatest 
efforts  and  achievements,  her  most  marvellous  transformations,  are 
accomplished  in  repose,  and  already  we  are  reaping  the  shining 
harvest  of  such  unseen,  yet  unremitting  energies,  in  the  varied 
splendours  of  the  Tulips  and  Narcissi,  the  rapid  vigorous  growth 
of  the  majestic  Eastern  Lilies,  the  brilliant  foliage  of  the  Roses, 
with  their  new-born  flower  buds,  full  of  latent  fascination  for  the 
summer  that  is  to  come.  Thus  it  is  that  no  season  of  the  year, 
however  instinct  with  beauty,  is  so  full  of  virginal  freshness,  life, 
and  brightest  hope. 
Yet  it  is  not  a  period  of  continuous  peace.  Winter  still  lingering 
often  chills  the  heart  of  April,  and  comes  on  us  suddenly  with  icy 
northern  winds  and  glistening  snowy  showers,  but  it  is  encouraging 
to  the  spirit,  thus  unexpectedly  darkened  for  a  period,  to  behold 
how  heroically  our  fruit  trees,  laden  with  the  blossoms  of  the 
Almond,  the  Pear,  the  Cherry,  and  the  Plum,  withstand  those 
terrible  blasts.  In  my  own  adequately  sheltered  and  protected  garden 
the  flowering  trees  I  have  named,  of  which  there  are  many,  have,  as 
yet,  been  little  influenced  by  the  crucial  weather  which  for  some 
days  recently  prevailed.  The  numerous  Apple  trees  were  not  then 
in  blossom  as  they  are  now,  otherwise  their  floral  treasures  might 
have  severely  suffered  by  reason  of  their  great  height  above  the 
ground.  On  the  other  hand,  the  high  winds  have  practically  “  cut  ” 
many  of  my  Hyacinths  and  Narcissi,  to  the  great  loss  of  the  garden, 
but  most  assuredly  for  the  benefit  of  the  house.  They  adorn  no 
more  the  borders,  but  they  decorate  in  a  highly  artistic  manner  the 
rooms  of  the  manse,  and  fill  them  with  a  delicate,  yet  penetrating 
fragrance,  which  comes  to  the  consciousness  ever  and  again  like 
the  “  odours  rapt  from  remote  Paradise,’*  of  which  Tennyson 
sings. 
Of  the  Narcissi  which  I  have  at  present  in  flower,  the  most 
attractive  are  Narcissus  ornatus  ;  Horsefieldi  ;  Barri  conspicuus, 
the  queen  of  hybrid  Narcissi,  of  rich  primrose  colour,  with  a 
central  carmine-orange  crown  ;  Burbidgei,  which  bears  the  name 
of  a  gifted  naturalist  ;  albicans  moschatus,  the  great  Spanish 
Daffodil,  silvery  white,  suffused  with  palest  lemon  ;  and  that  highly 
distinctive,  almost  miniature,  beauty  the  Queen  of  Spain.  These, 
gracefully  fronting  along  line  of  Japanese  and  American  Magnolias, 
which  include  hypoleuca,  obovata,  Watsoni,  stellata,  parviflora, 
robus,  purpurea  Lenne,  and  Soulangeana  nigra,  and  encircled  by 
sfately  Hyacinths  of  varied  hues,  have  produced  in  borders  with  a 
south-western  aspect  commanding  effects. 
But  such  is  the  wealth  of  fruit  blossoms  this  season  that  we 
hardly  require  for  garden  decoration  the  assistance  of  other 
flowers.  This  is  doubtless  largely  attributable  to  the  heat  of  last 
summer  and  early  autumn,  whose  beneficent  influence  thoroughly 
ripened  the  wood  ;  but  it  is  also  to  some  extent  the  result  of 
attention  to  their  requirements  long  previously  to  the  annual 
formation  of  the  flower  buds,  which  occurs,  as  all  fruit  cultivators 
are  aware,  at  a  very  early  stage.  I  anticipate,  however,  that 
there  will  b9  a  universal  blaze  of  varied  bloom  ere  long  — not  only 
in  our  gardens,  but  also  by  our  waysides,  in  our  hedgerows,  and 
in  our  woods.  The  Blackthorn  is  already  in  its  fullest  splendour, 
and  looks  from  a  distance  as  if  covered  with  a  shower  of  snow  ; 
and  no  sooner  shall  this  tranformation  scene  of  Nature  have 
disappeared  than  we  shall  have  in  our  woodlands  another  vernal 
glory,  not  soon  to  be  forgotten— the  long  hyacinthine  blaze, 
beneath  the  overarching  canopy  of  green.  The  tender  hue  of  the 
Primrose,  one  of  the  sweetest  and  most  fragrant  of  all  flowers, 
glows  like  sunlight  in  the  depths  of  our  shadowy  glens.  The 
blossom  of  the  Hawthorn,  which  was  exceedingly  rare  in  Scotland 
last  year,  is  almost  certain  to  be  within  the  next  few  weeks  as 
luxurious  as  the  lover  of  Nature  could  desire,  and  that  is  saying 
much. 
At  present  the  predominating  herbaceous  flower  is  the  Alpine 
Auricula,  which  has,  in  addition  to  its  individualistic  beauty,  a 
fragrance  that  might  be  envied  by  many  splendid  Roses,  such  as 
Baroness  Rothschild  and  Merveille  de  Lyon,  and  which  is  indeed 
peculiarly  its  own.  In  this  direction,  however,  it  has  a  formidable 
rival  in  the  Lily  of  the  Valley,  which  folds  its  snow  white  blossoms, 
like  an  emblem  of  humility,  among  its  lustrous  leaves. 
Oriental  Lilies  promise  to  bloom  very  early  this  summer,  as 
they  are  developing  with  much  more  than  their  normal  rapidity. 
Several  of  these,  and  especially  auratum  platyphyllum,  which 
is  always  a  vigorous  grower  ;  Henryi,  which  has  sometimes  been 
called  a  yellow  speciosum,  though  it  is  quite  distinct  from  that 
species  in  foliage  and  in  flower ;  candidum,  the  most  classical  of 
all  Lilies  ;  dalmaticum,  an  extremely  dark  Martagon ;  chalce- 
donicum,  of  lustrous  scarlet  hue,  and  its  beautiful  buff  coloured 
hybrid  excelsum  (an  invariably  effective  contemporary  of  the  fair 
Madonna  Lily,  from  which  it  is  at  least  partially  derived)  are 
already  half  grown.  Early  blooming  Roses,  such  as  Souvenir  d’un 
Ami,  Madame  Lambard,  Marie  Van  Houtte,  and  Gloire  de  Dijon 
have  flower  buds  sufficiently  developed  to  unfold  their  potential 
beauty  by  the  beginning  of  May. 
But  the  atmospheric  eccentricities  of  Nature  at  this  season  are 
sufficiently  dangerous  to  convert,  by  one  sudden  northern  blast  of 
utter  desolation,  our  brightest  anticipations  into  the  darkness  of 
despair.  At  present,  however,  I  am  hopeful,  for  “  the  gentle  rain 
from  heaven,”  in  the  language  of  Shakespeare,  is  dropping  bene¬ 
ficently  on  the  place  beneath. — David  R.  Williamson. 
