December  10,  1896. 
561 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTTCULTDRF  AND  COTTjlOE  GARDENER. 
-  Sussex  Wbathek.— The  total  rainfall  at  Abbot’s  Leigh, 
Hayward’s  Heath,  Sassex,  for  November  was  1-29  inch,  being  2 '38 
inches  below  the  average.  The  heaviest  fall  was  0'53  inch  on  the  7th. 
Rain  fell  on  eight  days.  The  maximam  temperature  was  O  SS'*  on  the  12th, 
the  minimum  25°  omthe  7th,  Mean  maximum,  41:‘22°  j  mean  minimum, 
36'08° ;  mean  temperature,  40 ’15°,  2 ’20°  below  the  average.  A  fine 
month  ;  but  little  frost  and  no  snow. — R.  I. 
- November  Weather  at  Hodsook  Priory,  Worksop. — 
Mean  temperature,  39-7°.  Maximum  in  the  screen,  52 '3°  on  the  11th  ; 
minimum  in  the  screen,  18 '3°  on  the  30th ;  on  the  grass,  10°  on  the 
30th,  Number  of  frosts  :  In  the  shade,  ten  ;  on  the  grass,  twenty- five. 
Sunshine,  fifty-five  hours,  or  22  per  cent,  of  possible  duration.  Rain¬ 
fall,  1‘18  inch.  Rain  fell  on  thirteen  days.  Maximum  fall,  0'62  inch 
on  the  7th.  A  dry  and  open  month,  but  the  coldest  November  since 
1879. — J,  MajjLENder. 
■  Weather  ix  South  Wales,— -The  following  is  a  summary 
of  the  weather  here  for  the  past  month  Total  rainfall,  1’60  inch, 
which  fell  on  eleven  days ;  greatest  fall  0-76,  which  fell  on  the  14th. 
Sanshine,  seventy-five  hours  twenty  minutes.  There  were  nine  sunless 
days.  The  wind  was  in  the  N.  and  N.E.  on  seventeen  days,  and  in 
the  N.W.  on  eight  days.  Mean  temperature  for  the  month,  37'58°; 
highest  reading  56°,  on  the  6th  and  7th  ;  lowest  24°,  on  the  6th,  29th, 
and  30th.  Very  strong,  cold,  cutting  winds  in  the  last  week  of  the 
month. — Wm.  Mabbott,  Dowlais,  Glam, 
—  The  Weather  Last  Month. — November  was  very  change¬ 
able,  with  a  severe  frost  on  the  30th,  several  heavy  fogs,  and  six 
consecutive  dull  days — 2l8t  to  26th.  The  wind  was  in  a  westerly 
direction  fifteen  days.  Total  rainfall,  1*19  inch,  which  fell  on  fourteen 
days,  the  greatest  daily  fall  being  0'56  inch  on  7th.  Barometer,  highest 
reading,  30'408  on  the  24th  at  9  p.m,  ;  lowest,  28’972  on  the  14th  at 
9  P.M.  Temperature,  highest  in  the  shade,  51°  on  the  11th  ;  lowest,  21°  on 
the  6th.  Mean  of  daily  maxima,  43  93°;  mean  of  daily  minima,  34' 00°. 
Mean  temperature  of  the  month,  38  96°.  Lowest  on  the  grass,  17°  on  the 
6th  and  30th  ;  highest  in  the  sun,  94°  on  the  3rd.  Mean  of  the  earth  at  three 
feet,  43*46°.  Total  snnshine  eighty-three  hours  ten  minutes.  There  were 
eleven  sunless  days.  —  W.  H.  Divers,  Belvoir  Castle  Gardens, 
Grantham. 
•  Snowdrops  in  Pots.  —  These  bulbs  are  so  universally 
associated  with  the  outdoor  garden  that  few  think  of  cultivating  some 
in  pots  for  the  decoration  of  the  window  or  conservatory.  The  Giant 
Snowdrop  (Galanthus  Elwesi)  produces  the  largest  blooms  compared 
with  the  ordinary  variety.  It  blooms  equally  as  free,  producing  single 
flowers.  A  few  pots  of  the  double  variety  of  Snowdrops  may  also  be 
grown  for  interest  and  variety,  though  it  is  not  absolutely  certain  that 
every  bulb  will  give  double  flowers,  but  this  does  not  detract  much 
from  the  pleasure  experienced  in  growing  them,  as  Snowdrops  are  always 
welcome  whether  the  blooms  are  single  or  doable.  The  chief  points  in 
their  caltnre  are  to  place  as  many  bulbs  in  a  pot  as  can  be  accommodated, 
employing  4  or  5-inch  pots,  which  will  usually  be  large  enough.  Use  a 
simple  mixture  of  loam  and  leaf  soil  with  sand,  just  burying  the  bulbs 
below  the  surface.  Plunge  in  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse  or  ashes  until  growth 
commences.  A  period  of  four  to  six  weeks  suffices  to  start  them  freely 
into  growth,  after  which  time  a  light  bat  cool  position  near  the  glass  in 
a  frame  or  house  brings  the  bulbs  on  sufficiently  fast  to  be  in  bloom 
early.  Heat,  in  the  sense  of  forcing,  they  are  rather  impatient  of,  so 
it  should  be  avoided  if  possible. — B.  D.  S. 
-  Anthericum  vittatum. — The  saperiority  of  this  newer  form 
over  the  old  variety,  A.  variegatum,  is  so  marked  that  it  will  undoubtedly 
supersede  the  latter  in  the  near  future.  It  is,  as  the  name  denotes, 
striped  longitudinally  as  the  old  form  is,  but  differs  in  being  much 
brighter  in  the  markings.  A  broad  band  of  creamy  white  traverses  the 
centre  of  the  entire  leaf,  which  is  margined  with  an  irregular  band  of 
bright  green,  streaks  of  the  green  sometimes  running  in  through  the 
white.  In  short,  it  may  be  said  to  be  white  where  the  old  form  is 
green  and  green  where  the  old  form  is  white.  It  possesses  all  the  good 
standing  qualities  of  the  older  form  ;  the  habit  is  more  compact  and 
growth  somewhat  slower.  It  is  very  serviceable  as  a  dwarf  decorative 
plant,  and  especially  valuable  as  an  edging  for  groups  ;  the  drooping 
habit  of  the  under  leaves  enabling  it  to  entirely  hide  the  pots  in  which 
the  plants  are  grown.  Division  is  probably  the  easiest  and  best  method 
of  propagation.  The  plants  thrive  well  in  light,  moderately  rich  soil 
and  with  ordinary  greenhouse  treatment.  It  is  of  a  rapid  rooting  nature 
and  quickly  becomes  pot-bound,  and  should  be  kept  liberally  supplied 
with  water. — W.  Scott  (in  “  Garden  and  Forest  ”). 
- Loughborough  Gardeners’ *  Association.— This  Society 
held  its  fortnightly  meeting  on  December  Ist,  in  the  Co-operative 
Rooms,  Woodgate.  Mr.  W.  English  occupied  the  chair.  The  subject 
for  the  evening  was  a  paper  on  “  Grape  Vine  Culture,”  by  Mr.  A.  Ham- 
shire,  of  Beaumanor  Gardens.  During  the  past  ten  or  twelve  years 
the  essayist  has  renewed  the  whole  of  the  Vines  and  borders  under  his 
charge.  The  subject  was  treated  in  a  practical  and  comprehensive 
manner,  much  interest  being  evinced  in  the  details  of  the  practice  ex¬ 
pounded.  A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  Mr.  Hamshire  for  his 
paper. 
-  The  Queen’s  Reign— National  Open  Spaces  Memorial. 
— In  response  to  an  invitation  from  the  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens 
Association,  a  meeting  of  representatives  of  the  Commons  Preservation 
Society,  the  Kyrle  Society,  the  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association, 
and  the  National  Trust  for  Places  of  Historic  Interest  was  held  recently 
at  the  residence  of  Lord  Hobhouse,  to  consider  the  proposal  of 
commemorating  the  long  continuance  of  Her  Majesty’s  reign  by  the 
dedication  in  each  town,  parish,  or  district  throughout  the  kingdom  of 
some  appropriate  open  space  or  place  of  beauty  or  of  historic  interest 
for  common  use  and  enjoyment.  Resolutions  supporting  the  object  in 
view  were  passed,  and  a  committee  of  delegates  from  the  several 
Societies  was  appointed  to  take  the  necessary  steps.  It  is  proposed 
shortly  to  circulate  a  statement  on  the  subject. 
- •.  Lee  Horticultural  Society. — At  the  monthly  meeting 
held  on  November  27th,  at  the  Lee  Institute,  the  Lee,  Blackheath, 
Lewisham,  and  West  Kent  Horticultural  Society  was  fortunate  in 
having  as  their  lecturer  Mr.  G.  Burch,  of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  G.  and 
W.  H.  Burch  of  Peterborough,  the  subject  being  of  “  Roses  and  Rose 
Culture.”  There  was  a  good  attendance  of  members,  and  the  discussion 
which  followed  the  reading  of  the  paper  elicited  the  important  fact  that 
Roses  could  be  grown  in  such  neighbourhoods  as  Blackheath  and  Lewis¬ 
ham  if  proper  pains  were  taken  to  make  the  soil  suitable  and  varieties 
planted  which  were  favourable  to  the  locality.  At  the  same  place  on 
December  18th,  at  8  p.m.,  Mr.  Joseph  Cheal,  Crawley,  will  read  a  paper 
on  “Fruit  Gathering,  Storing,  and  Preserving,”  illustrated  by  samples 
and  appliances. 
- The  Hessle  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
— A  meeting  of  the  above  Society  was  held  on  Tuesday,  December  Ist, 
Mr.  Charles  Lawton  in  the  chair,  when  a  paper  was  read  on  “  Apples  ” 
by  Mr.  George  Picker,  gardener  to  F.  R.  Pease,  Esq.,  Hessle  wood. 
A  large  collection  of  Apples  was  exhibited  by  the  essayist,  which  for 
size  and  colour  would  be  difficult  to  surpass,  for  the  inspection  of  those 
who  had  not  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  them  amongst  many  others, 
equally  good,  in  the  fruit  room  at  Hesslewood.  The  lecturer  ably 
described  his  method  of  bringing  about  such  satisfactory  results,  the 
principle  of  which  was  original,  and  his  own  ideas,  based  on  many  years’ 
successful  practice ;  and  the  display  of  fruit  on  the  table  proved  that 
his  mode  of  culture  could  safely  be  followed  by  any  who  intended  taking 
up  fruit  growing,  or  by  any  who  had  hitherto  not  been  so  successful  as 
they  would  wish.  A  good  discussion  followed  the  reading  of  this  paper, 
and  to  the  various  questions  asked  Mr.  Picker  suitably  replied.  Votes  of 
thanks  concluded  a  most  interesting  and  instructive  evening. — F.  L.  T. 
- Barnsley  Paxton  Society.  —  On  December  1st  Mr. 
J.  Henshall,  President  of  the  Barnsley  Paxton  Society,  presided 
over  a  large  meeting  specially  convened  to  hear  a  paper  on  the 
Chrysanthemum  read  by  Mr.  Daniels,^  Superintendent  of  Crow 
Nest  Park,  Dewsbury.  The  essayist  staged  a  representative  collec¬ 
tion  of  blooms,  supplemented  by  exhibits  from  local  growers,  the 
whole  making  a  really  fine  display.  In  introducing  the  essayist  to  the 
meeting,  the  Chairman  referred  to  him  as  one  of  the  first  supporters  of 
their  annual  Chrysanthemum  Show  by  reason  of  the  fine  and  successful 
stands  of  cut  blooms  at  their  earlier  shows,  and  in  later  years  as  one  of 
their  Judges.  At  home  this  year  Mr.  Daniels  had  provided  a  magnifi¬ 
cent  show  of  Chrysanthemums,  which  had  caused  quite  a  sensation, 
giving  the  people  of  Dewsbury  an  opportunity  of  understanding  the 
beauty  and  capability  of  the  flower  as  a  decorative  subject,  no  less  than 
10,000  people  having  during  the  last  month  passed  through  the  Chrysan¬ 
themum  house  at  Crow  Nest  Park.  Mr.  Daniels  then  proceeded  to  give 
in  detail  his  method  of  propagation  and  explain  his  practice  onward  to  the 
blooming  stage.  The  questions  of  the  stopping  and  non-stopping  systems 
were  discussed,  and  much  valuable  information  was  given  bearing  on 
different  varieties.  The  essay  provoked  a  long  and  interesting  discus¬ 
sion.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  essayist  and  exhibitors  brought  to  a  close 
one  of  the  best  and  most  instructive  meetings  ever  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Society. — T.  G. 
