10 
JOURNAL  OF  IIORTIGULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  2,  1896, 
Events  op  the  Week. — llosariaus  will  not  know  where  to  betake 
themselves  daring  the  coming  week,  so  numerous  are  the  shows  (see  list, 
page  15).  Let  ns  hope  that  they  will  muster  strongly  round  the  National 
at  the  Crystal  Palace  on  Saturday. 
-  Weather  in  London. — During  the  past  week  the  weather  in 
the  Metropolis  has  been  extremely  varied.  There  have  been  periods  of 
brilliant  sunshine  interspersed  with  heavy  showers,  accompanied  in  some 
districts  by  thunder.  At  the  time  of  going  to  press  on  Wednesday  the 
weather  is  dull  and  cold. 
— —  Poses  in  London. — A  daily  paper  says  the  June  that  has  just 
left  us  has  male  a  record  with  its  Roses.  They  have  been  finer  and 
more  plentiful  than  anyone  remembers  having  seen  them  before.  London 
has  received  them  in  such  enormous  numbers  that  growers  can  scarcely 
have  profited  much  by  the  sale.  During  the  last  two  days  it^erant 
vendors  have  offered  them  at  five  a  penny — short  of  stalk,  it  is  true,  but 
provided  with  sturdy  Fern  leaves  for  crutches,  and  fresh  of  aspect,  with 
odour  most  delicious  ;  in  fact,  it  has  almost  rained  Roses  during  the  last 
three  weeks. 
-  National  Pink  Society  (Midland  Section).— Mr,  C.  F, 
Thurstan,  Hon.  Secretary  of  this  Society,  writes  ; — "  I  regret  to  inform 
you  that,  owing  to  the  very  early  season,  my  Committee  have  been 
compelled  to  cancel  their  show  in  connection  with  the  Wolverhampton 
Floral  Fete,  on  the  7th  July.  The  Pinks  in  the  Midlands  have  already 
been  in  full  bloom  for  some  days,  and  are  now  past  their  best,  so  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  show  any  creditable  flowers  on  the  date 
fixed.  No  subscriptions  will  be  collected  this  year,  and  last  year’s 
balance  will  be  carried  forward  to  next  in  the  usual  way,” 
-  Gardenees’  Company.  —  The  installation  banquet  of  the 
Gardeners’  Company  took  place  on  Monday,  June  16ih,  at  the  Royal 
Institute  of  Painters  in  Water  Colours,  the  chair  being  taken  by  the 
newly  elected  master,  Mr.  N.  N.  Sherwood.  Miss  Sherwood,  Lord 
Amherst  of  Hackney,  the  Hon.  Alicia  Amherst,  General  Sir  William 
Olpherts,  V.C.,  Lady  Olpherts,  Sir  Trevor  and  Lady  Lawrence, 
Lieutenant-General  Sir  F.  and  Lady  Norman,  Mr,  Alderman  Samuel, 
Sir  William  Farmer,  the  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  and  other  distinguished  ladies 
and  gentlemen  were  present.  Lord  Amherst  of  Hackney  proposed  the 
toast  of  the  “Worshipful  Company  of  Gardeners,”  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence 
making  a  suitable  reply. 
-  Flowers  prom  Belqeove. — I  send  for  your  appreciation 
three  of  my  new,  or  comparatively  new,  fiowering  shrubs,  which  I  hope 
will  interest  you.  The  bunch  of  purplish  red  fiowers  is  Eupatorium 
serrulatum  from  Uruguay,  sent  me  by  its  introducer,  my  friend,  M,  E. 
Andrd  of  Paris,  The  yellow  one  is  one  of  the  shrubby  New  Zealand 
Groundsels,  Senecio  laxifolius,  figured  from  my  specimen  on  plate  7378 
of  \ol.l20  of  “Botanical  Magazine.”  The  Philadelphus  is  the  North 
Mexican  species,  P.  Coulteri,  the  only  one  known  with  two  colours  in 
it. — W.  E.  Gdmblbton.  (The  flowers,  carefully  packed  in  fresh  cut 
grass,  reached  us  in  excellent  condition.  They  were  all,  in  addition  to 
being  very  attractive,  extremely  interesting  by  reason  of  their  rarity.] 
-  Wakefield  Paxton  Society.— On  Saturday,  the  20ih  ult., 
the  annual  exhibition  of  wild  flowers  was  made  at  the  meeting  of  the 
members  of  the  above  Society.  Major  Taylor,  J.P.,  the  President,  was 
in  the  chair,  supported  by  the  Mayor,  who  is  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents, 
and  Mr.  J.  G.  Brown  cf  Outwood  filled  the  vice-chair.  There  was  a  good 
attendance.  The  iarge  table  was  filled  with  wild  flowers  of  a  very  varied 
character,  and  some  of  the  specimens  were  most  beautiful.  The 
collection  had  been  gathered  by  members  of  the  Society  in  their  rambles 
in  various  parts  of  the  district,  supplemented  by  acceptable  gifts  from 
friends  at  a  distance.  Major  Taylor  opened  the  meeting  with  a  few  very 
interesting  and  appropriate  observations,  after  which  Mr.  G.  Parkin, 
photographer,  the  President  of  the  Naturalists’  Society,  named  the 
specimens,  and  gave  some  useful  information  with  regard  to  the  medicinal 
properties  of  many  of  the  varieties,  the  districts  where  they  are  generally 
to  be  found,  and  other  details. 
-  Gardening  Appointment.— Mr.  R;  V.  Smith,  for  the  past 
three  years  gardener  at  Nork  Park,  Epsom,  has  been  appointed  gardener 
to  J,  Rolls  Hoare,  Esq  ,  West  Grinstead  Park,  Susaex,  and  takes  over  his 
new  duties  on  July  4th. 
-  Rose  Show  at  Torquay.— From  a  report  which  arrives  as  we 
arc  going  to  press,  and  therefore  too  late  for  insertion,  we  find  that  a 
10-guinea  silver  cup,  offered  by  Mrs.  J.  S.  Sandars  for  nine  Tea  and  nine 
H.P.  Roses,  was  won  by  Mr.  J.  Armitage,  Alta  Vista,  Torquay, 
-  June  Weather.  — The  month  just  closed  is  .said  on  good 
authority  to  have  been  the  waimest  June  experienced  for  at  least  a 
quarter  of  a  century  past.  In  London  the  day  temperatures  were  some¬ 
what  hi^er  in  1877,  and  the  night  temperatures  somewhat  higher  in 
1889,  but  over  the  entire  twenty-four  hours  the  thermometer  last  month 
kept  at  a  higher  level  than  for  very  many  years  past.  An  average  of  the 
past  twenty-five  years  would  lead  us  to  expect  in  London  during  the 
first  six  months  of  the  year  fifty-two  cold  days,  and  of  these  fifty-two 
days  one-half  should  be  very  cold.  During  the  past  six  months  we  have 
had  in  London  only  twenty-seven  cold  days,  and  of  these  only  five  were 
very  cold.  The  nearest  approach  to  so  marked  an  absence  of  low 
temperature  was  in  1882,  when  there  were  only  twenty-eight  cold  days, 
of  which  seven  were  very  cold, 
- Lonicera  flexuosa  aurea  reticulata.— What  a  useful 
and  beautiful  Honeysuckle  this  is,  for  it  not  only  gives  us  the  delight¬ 
fully  fragrant  flowers  peculiar  to  the  genus,  but  brightly  coloured  leaves 
as  well,  which  are  attractive  throughout  the  year.  At  the  present  time 
the  leaves  are  of  a  bright  golden  colour,  and  towards  autumn  a  plentiful 
mixture  of  red  will  add  another  distinct  feature.  We  use  the  shoots 
largely  for  mixing  with  cut  flowers,  and  during  the  autumn  months 
they  are  incomparably  pretty  when  employed  as  a  tracing  for  the 
dinner  table.  Cuttings  will  root  quickly  throughout  the  summer 
months  if  inserted  in  light  soil  and  covered  with  a  hand-light  or  kept  in 
a  close  frame.  The  plants  are  excellent  for  covering  rough  walls,  fences, 
oT  pedestals  in  the  flower  garden.  Every  garden  in  the  land  ought  to 
have  a  plant  of  this  Lonicera. — H.  D. 
-  Edinburgh  Chair  of  Botany.— In  the  House  of  Lords  on 
Tuesday  a  Bill  was  read  a  second  time  which  has  for  its  object  the 
transference  to  the  Crown  of  the  right  of  patronage  to  the  Chair  of 
Botany  in  the  Edinburgh  University  which  is  now  vested  in  the  curators 
of  patronage.  It  has  hitherto  been  usual  that  with  the  Chair  of  Botany 
the  professor  should  hold  the  office  of  Curator  of  the  Botanical  Gardens, 
an  office  which  was  in  the  patronage  of  Her  Majesty,  and  unless 
arrangements  were  made  between  the  appointing  parties  considerable 
inconvenience  would  ensue.  It  was  in  the  interest  of  the  School  of 
Botany  that  the  same  person  should  hold  both  offices,  and  with  a  view 
to  facilitate  this  a  departmental  committee  had  recommended  that  the 
transfer  proposed  should  take  place,  and  the  proposal  had  been  agreed  to 
by  Her  Majesty,  the  Treasury,  and  all  others  who  were  interested. 
-  Miniature  Violas. — In  your  report  of  the  National  Viola 
Society’s  show  you  remark  that  the  IJ  inch  limit,  fixed  by  the  Viola 
Conference  held  in  Birmingham  in  1894,  is  now  found  to  be  a  mistake, 
in  which  direction  is  not  stated.  Presuming  this  limit  is  supposed  to  be 
too  small,  it  would  be  interesting  to  know  where  the  line  should  be 
drawn,  as  drawn  it  must  if  miniature  Violas  are  t6  remain  a  distinct 
class.  Considering  the  dwarf,  compact  habit  and  wonderful  floriferous- 
ness  of  true  Violettas  no  more  useful  plant  for  edging  or  massing  can  be 
found,  therefore  every  encouragement  should  be  given  to  them  at 
exhibitions.  To  do  this  in  a  satisfactory  manner  exhibitors  should  be 
certain  what  are  eligible  and  what  are  not.  So  far  from  the  present 
limit  being  a  premium  on  bad  growth  of  true  Violettas,  it  would  take 
wonderfully  good  cultivation  to  exceed  this  limit.  Unfortunately  the 
class  is  at  present  used  to  find  a  place  for  varieties  which  have  very  little 
to  recommend  them,  either  in  form,  colour,  or  habit,  and  which  would 
otherwise  be  speedily  consigned  to  the  rubbish  heap.  Looking  over  a 
bsd  of  seedlings  of  over  fifty  varieties  good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  I  find 
those  which  are  inclined  to  exceed  the  limit  are  in  nearly  every  case  of 
the  long  straggling  habit,  detested  by  those  who  like  the  true  tufted 
form,  while  any  which  come  within  this  limit  are  perfect  in  habit. 
These  are  all  raised  from  selected  flowers  of  the  original  Violetta  colour, 
varying  from  deep  blue  downwards  to  the  purest  white,  and  several 
yellows.  Turning  to  those  already  in  commerce  the  same  thing  it 
noticeable  in  a  greater  degree.  This,  together  with  the  inclination  to 
increase  in  size,  makes  one  doubt  if  they  have  a  trace  of  Violetta  in 
their  pedigree.  Several  of  them,  were  other  qualities  good  enough, 
could  easily  be  grown  as  large  as  some  of  our  best  ray  less  varieties. — 
W.  Baxter,  Woking. 
