Au(ru&t-SO, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
177 
Events  of  the  Week.— To-day  (Wednesday),  and  to-morrow,  is 
the  Shrewsbury  show,  of  which  a  brief  telegraphic  report  will  be  found 
on  page  179.  On  Friday  and  Saturday  the  Crystal  Palace  will  be 
occupied  by  the  f§te  of  the  National  Co-operative  Society,  while  on 
Tuesday  the  Committees  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  meet 
at  the  Drill  Hall,  and  the  Brighton  Summer  Show  will  open.  On 
Wednesday  the  Reading  Show  will  be  held. 
-  Weathee  in  London. — Except  for  a  few  showers  on  Friday 
morning  the  latter  half  of  last  week  was  dry  and  clear,  as  were  Sunday 
and  Monday  of  this  week.  Tuesday,  however,  was  a  very  wet  day,  rain 
falling  incessantly.  Wednesday  brought  a  further  change,  the  sky  being 
bright  and  clear. 
-  Royal  Hoeticultural  Society. — The  next  Fruit  and  Floral 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  in  the  Drill 
■Hall,  James  Street,  Westminster,  on  Tuesday,  August  25th,  1  to  5  P.M. 
A  lecture  on  “  Forcing  Lily  of  the  Valley  ”  will  be  given  at  three  o’clock 
by  Mr.  T.  Jannoch,  F.R.H.S. 
-  National  Amateur  Gardeners’  Association  (Liver¬ 
pool  Branch). — The  usual  monthly  meeting  was  held  on  Thursday 
last  in  the  Common  Hall,  Hackins  Hey,  Liverpool,  there  being  a  good 
attendance  of  members  present.  Mr,  Drake,  who  was  placed  on  the 
syllabus  to  open  a  discussion  on  the  “  Culture  of  the  Cyclamen,”  having 
been  called  away  to  the  Continent,  the  members  devoted  the  evening  to 
a  discussion  on  “  The  Tomato,”  nearly  everything  of  interest  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  its  culture  being  thoroughly  sifted.  Mr.  Ardran’s  remarks 
were  particularly  interesting.  The  exhibits  staged  were  of  a  very  high 
order.  Miss  Edwards  winning  with  a  pretty  selection  of  hardy  annuals. 
Begonias  were  excellent,  more  especially  the  doubles  staged  by  Mr. 
Ardran,  which  were  perfect,  and  gained  for  him  first  prize  and  a 
certificate.  He  also  won  with  a  fine  dish  of  Tomatoes.  Mr.  Dale  won 
with  good  single  Begonias,  Mr.  Hosking  being  a  good  second.  Mr.  Dale 
a 'so  staged  some  beautiful  blooms  of  Madame  Desgrange  Chrys¬ 
anthemum.  Mr.  Hacking  was  awarded  second  prize  for  Carnations. 
"Mr.  Hosking  won  with  Marrows.  Mr.  Kangley  exhibited  Gladioli  and 
Dahlias  ;  Mr.  Redfern  Coleus  ;  Mr.  Dodd  Lilium  la.icifolinm  and  S  -veet 
Peas ;  Mr.  Cooper  Orchid,  Geranium,  and  Gloxinia  blooms,  all  of  which 
were  much  admired.  For  collection  of  Begonias  for  highest  number  of 
points  Mr.  Gillanders  had  ten  placed  to  his  credit. — R.  P.  R. 
- CouLSDON  Cottage  Garden  Society. — This  young  Society 
held  its  second  summer  show  on  the  12th  inst.  Last  year  it  began  by 
■filling  a  small  mission  hall  and  some  covered  annexes.  This  year  it 
broke  out  into  a  roomy  meadow,  and  not  only  filled  a  large  tent,  but  its 
poultry  and  rabbit  classes  overflowed  into  a  smaller  one.  With  the 
exception  of  the  few  exhibits  sent  from  the  gardener  of  the  Cane  Hill 
Asylum,  and  some  small  exhibits  of  fruit  and  vegetables  from  local 
residents,  the  show  was  made  up  of  cottager  exhibits.  There  are  two 
•classes,  one  for  cottagers  who  either  work  in  gardens  or  have  small 
greenhouses,  and  one  for  hona  fide  workers  who  have  no  such 
appliances.  Throughout  the  exhibits  were  excellent.  The  parish  is  a 
wide  one  and  includes  hill  and  dale,  yet  all  on  the  chalk,  the  surface  soil 
not  being  naturally  deep,  and  has  been  developed  in  the  best  gardens 
only  after  great  expenditure  of  labour.  Some  of  the  gardens,  however, 
were  first-rate,  notably  those  of  Messrs.  W.  Walker,  C  wmbor,  J.  Jeffrys, 
and  W.  Cain,  whilst  in  the  valley,  where  houses  are  more  crowded,  the 
umall  gardens  of  Messrs.  J.  Coomber,  Bamford,  and  Murray  were  capital 
'It  is  of  no  special  interest  to  mention  exhibitors  of  produce.  The  kidney 
and  round  Potatoes,  Carrots,  winter  and  spring-sown  Onions,  Peas, 
Runner  and  Dwarf  French  Beans,  especially  in  the  second  class,  and 
other  produce,  not  excepting  Cabbages,  which  were  for  the  season  first- 
rate,  were  remarkably  good.  Cut  flowers,  plants,  and  fruit  were  also 
very  good.  The  show  is  well  supported  by  the  venerable  Rector,  Canon 
-^Stewart,  and  his  amiable  lady,  and  the  local  geiftry  who  take  in  it  great 
interest,  and  is  admirably  carried  out  by  Messrs.  Gardner  and  Peacock, 
the  Secretaries.  Mr.  A.  Dean  gave  an,  address  to  a  large  audience  on 
behalf  of  the  Surrey  Cbunty  Opupcil  when  the  presentation  of  prizes 
ill  •*!,«.  '  ■  *“  i»-^<iaTgJ6l  «  >  cr  ^ 
t  ook  place  in  the  afternooui  '  '• 
-  Princess  Henry  op  Battenberg  thanks  Messrs.  W.  k  G. 
Drover  for  their  kind  thought  in  sending  the  lovely  wteath  of  OrchiJs 
which  has  been  placed  on  Prince  Henry’s  tomb. — Osborne,  August  ICth, 
1896.  , 
- Floating  Plants. — In  “  Notes  and  Gleanings  ”  of  the  last 
issue  reference  was  made  to  this  interesting  and  uncommon  aquatic 
Salvinia  natans,  and  of  which  it  may  be  additionally  interesting  to 
remark  that  there  is  a  healthy  patch  of  it  growing  in  the  aquarium  at 
the  Botanic  Gardens,  Oxford,  forming,  as  it  does,  an  attractive  object 
amongst  its  numerous  aquatic  congeners.  There  is  an  interesting  and 
instructive  description  of  the  Salvicia  in  the  latest  edition  of  Johnson  s 
Gardeners’  Dictionary. — W.  G. 
- Hamburg  Exhibition.  1897. — The  Council  of  the  Royal 
H  irticultural  Society  has  formed  a  Committee  to  co-operate  in  England 
with  the  Committee  of  Management  of  the  Great  Hamburg  Horticul¬ 
tural  Exhibition,  1897.  The  following  gentlemen  have  been  requested 
to  act  on  this  Committee,  with  power  to  add  to  their  number  Sir 
Trevor  Lawrence,  Bart.,  Chairman  ;  H.  J.  Veitch,  W.  T.  Thiselton  Dyer, 
Dr.  Morris,  Baron  Schrdler,  Owen  Thomas,  Geo.  Bunyaid,  J.  T.  Bennett- 
P  e.  PI.  Selfe  Leonard,  Cbas.  E.  Shea,  W.  Marshall,  Philip  Crowley,  and 
the  Rev.  W.  Wilks.  M.A.  The  Committee  will  be  called  together  as  soon 
as  the  holiday  season  is  over. 
-  The  National  Co-operative  Show. — Mr.  Edward  Owea 
Greening,  the  Hon.  Sec.  of  theNational  Co-operative  Flower  Show,  informs 
us  that  the  entries  for  this  great  show  again  show  an  increase,  although 
last  year’s  total  of  4211  exhibits  was  a  record  number.  The  increase 
for  the  present  year  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  the  prolonged  drought 
has  led  to  unusually  early  ripening  of  vegetables  and  flowers,  and  has 
ii  juriously  affected  fruit  crops.  The  show,  which  will  form  part  of  the 
great  Co-operative  Festival,  will  fill  the  uave  of  the  Crystal  Palace  from 
end  to  end,  occunying  in  all  over  half  a  mile  of  tables.  An  interesting 
new  feature  this  year  will  be  the  photographs  of  “  Workmen’s  Gardens 
of  Taste,”  for  which  special  prizes  are  offered. 
-  Caladiums. — As  the  season  is  fast  approaching  for  the  earliest 
batch  to  be  matured,  perhaps  a  few  words  on  their  treatment  during  the 
resting  period  may  be  of  service.  Having  grown  them  successfully  for 
several  years,  I  have  always  attained  the  best  results  by  keeping  the 
bulbs  fairly  moist  during  the  winter,  watering  them  every  second  or 
third  week  throughout.  I  have  heard  many  gardeners  complain  of  the 
dry  rot,  but  if  the  above  treatment  be  followed  they  will  not  only  find 
their  bulbs  plump  and  sound  when  starting  them,  but  the  growth  will 
be  more  vigorous  than  under  the  drying-off  process.  I  noted  an  instance 
of  this  at  an  establishment  near  here  during  the  early  spring  months. 
A  large  plant  was  growing  by  the  centre  walk  in  a  fernery,  a  position 
where  the  bulb  was  in  a  constant  drip  all  the  winter.  The  temperature 
should  not  fall  below  55°  in  the  winter,  60°  being  more  suitable. 
— H.  W.  B. 
- Epsom  Horticultural  Society. — After  many  years  of  rest 
a  flower  show,  which  bids  fair  to  grow  into  a  good  one  in  due  course, 
has  been  reorganised  at  Epsom,  and  the  first  was  held  in  the  pleasant 
grounds  of  Woodcote  Hall,  the  residence  of  C.  F.  Murray,  Esq.,  on  the 
13ch  inst.  Very  largely  the  show  has  grown  out  of  the  considerable 
development  of  the  allotment  garden  areas  in  the  district  and  of  a  desire 
to  have  these  consolidated,  so  that  their  produce  might  be  displayed  at 
one  exhibition.  This  was  done  with  considerable  success,  a  very  large 
number  of  classes  being  scheduled,  and  generally  the  exhibits  and  the 
competition  were  excellent.  The  show  has  great  possibilities,  and  must, 
well  managed,  grow  into  a  very  popular  one.  We  briefly  note  some  of 
the  honorary  exhibits,  amongst  which  were  the  fine  plant  groups  set  up 
bv  Mr.  Pledger,  gardener  to  the  Rev.  E.  W.  Northey  ;  Mr.  Morse,  who 
also  sent  many  very  fine  Palms ;  Messrs.  J.  Laing  &  Sons,  Forest  Hill> 
whilst  Messrs.  Peed  &  Sons,  Norwood,  had  a  fine  collection  of  cut 
flowers,  and  Messrs.  J.  Oheal  &  Sons,  Crawley,  had  beautiful  Dahlias, 
including  charming  Cactus  forms  in  great  variety.  In  the  gardener* 
competing  classes  Mr.  Buss,  gardener  to  A.  S.  Soden,  Esq.,  was  first 
with  the  most  graceful  arrangements,  and  Mr.  Bridges,  gardener  to 
F.  W.  Coles,  Esq.,  who  was  second,  had  most  bloom  and  colour.  Mr. 
Bridges  had  the  best  six  specimen  plants,  and  Mr.  Buss  a  capital  half 
dozen  of  Begonias. .  A  qtiarming  table  arrangement  with  red  Roses, 
Bramble  foliage,  and  Maidenhair  Ferii  attracted  much  admiration.  The 
cottager  products  were  generally  excellent.  There  was  a  very  large 
attendance,  but  the  prize  distribution  proceedings  were  far  too  pro¬ 
longed.  Another  year  efforts  must  be  made  to  furnish  plenty  of 
attractions  for  visitors. 
