December  16,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
575 
Weathek  in  London.  —  A  considerable  amount  of  rain  has 
fallen  in  the  metropolis  during  the  past  seven  days.  Thursday  was  6ne, 
but  rain  fell  almost  the  whole  of  Eriday.  Saturday  again  was  dry, 
while  on  Sunday  it  rained  heavily  until  the  evening,  when  it  cleared,  and 
the  stars  shone  brightly.  During  the  early  hours  of  Monday  morning 
rain  recommenced  to  fall,  and  continued  throughout  the  day.  Tuesday 
morning  also  was  wet,  while  during  the  early  hours  of  Wednesday 
morning  there  was  a  thunderstorm  accompanied  by  heavy  rain.  At  the 
time  of  going  to  press  it  was  One. 
-  Weather  in  the  North.— The  weather  of  the  past  week  has 
been  of  all  sorts — fog,  rain,  sleet,  snow,  frost,  and  bright  sunshine,  but 
little  of  the  last.  Saturday  was  the  best  of  the  week  ;  on  Sunday  there 
was  frost  of  6°,  which  continued  till  evening  ;  Monday  was  very  dull  and 
drizzly  ;  Tuesday  morning,  although  dull,  was  more  settled  and  pleasant. 
— B.  D.,  8.  Perthshire. 
-  The  Ancient  Society  op  York  Florists.— The  following 
quaint  invitation  is  issued  by  Mr.  John  Lazenby,  Secretary,  13,  Feasegate, 
York  ; — “Brother, — You  are  desired  to  meet  the  Fraternity  of  the  most 
Antient  Art  of  Gardening  at  the  annual  Feast  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
Gardiners  and  Lovers  of  a  Garden,  within  the  City  and  County  of 
York,  kept  this  year  at  Mr.  Pearson’s  House  in  Marygate  the  I5th  day  of 
December  to  dine  with  them,  at  Six  a  Clock,  where  you  will  be  earnestly 
expected  and  kindly  received.’’  Sir  Jos.  Terry,  Kt.,  has  promised  to 
preside,  and  as  the  presence  of  the  Right  Hon.  the  Lord  Mayor  (E.  Gray, 
Esq.),  the  City  Sheriff  (H.  Copperthwaite,  Esq.),  and  other  influential 
gentlemen  is  assured,  it  is  hoped  there  will  be  a  good  attendance  of 
members  on  the  occasion. 
-  Clumber. — Much  has  been  written  from  time  to  time  about 
the  noble  establishment  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Worksop.  I  am 
pleased  to  relate  that  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  has  added  to  the  Clumber 
gardens  what  has  long  been  required,  and  that  is  a  splendid  lean-to 
range,  erected  by  Messrs.  James  Gray,  horticultural  builders,  Danvers 
Street,  Chelsea,  which  is  a  model  of  horticultural  skill.  It  is  175  yards 
long,  and  has  a  noble  Palm  house  in  the  centre.  This  range  is  in 
various  departments,  and  the  greater  part  will  be  used  for  the  cultiva- 
-tion  of  fruit.  At  the  present  time  there  is  a  fine  display  of  Chrysanthe¬ 
mums  of  all  the  leading  varieties  splendidly  arranged,  many  of  the 
flowers  being  fit  for  any  exhibition  table.  At  the  back  of  the  range 
all  the  offices  necessary  will  be  erected  upon  the  most  modern  and 
serviceable  plan.  The  gardener’s  house,  erected  some  time  ago,  is  a 
splendid  building,  complete  with  all  modern  arrangements  conducive  to 
comfort,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  bothies.  Gardening  in  all 
its  branches  is  carried  out  on  a  most  extensive  scale.  Everything  useful 
is  well  represented  both  in  fruit,  cut  flowers,  and  vegetables.  Clumber  is 
in  the  capable  hands  of  Mr.  C.  Slade,  whose  previous  experiences  have 
well  fitted  him  for  the  management  of  such  an  establishment. — Alfred 
•OUTRAM,  F.R.H.S. 
-  Pansies.— I  have  just  been  enjoying  the  pleasure  of  planting  a 
number  of  seedling  Fancy  Pansy  plants.  They  are  the  product  of  a  fine, 
blotched  strain  that  gave  numbers  of  grand  richly  coloured  blooms  last 
summer.  The  seed  was  sown  in  a  large  frame  early  in  August,  and  as  the 
soil  was  kept  well  watered,  and  some  rough  shading  thrown  over  the  glass, 
the  germination  was  quick,  and  the  plants  appeared  in  thousands.  When 
strong  enough  they  were  carefully  lifted  out  from  the  drills  and  dibbled 
out  4  inches  apart  into  a  bed  of  well  prepared  soil,  where  they  were,  so 
long  as  needful,  kept  well  watered,  and  now  are  very  sturdy  well  rooted 
plants.  Lifted  with  balls  of  soil  they  will  bloom  finely  in  the  spring  and 
early  summer.  Here  in  a  few  lines  is  summed  up  nearly  all  that  need 
be  said  with  respect  to  raising  Pansies  from  seed,  and  their  treatment  in 
the  autumn.  I  should  have  transplanted  to  their  blooming  border  earlier, 
but  the  soil  hid  become  very  dry  and  loose.  The  border  had  previously 
been  well  manured,  and  indeed  trenched.  Recently  it  was  dug,  and  after 
the  rain  of  the  7th  and  following  days  was  in  capital  condition  for 
5)lanting.  There  are  now  in  commerce  such  superb  seed  stock  that  a 
;good  store  of  plants  may  be  easily  and  cheaply  obtained  from  a  packet  of 
«eed  if  of  the  right  sort. — A.  D, 
-  Gardening  Appointment.— Mr.  William  Phillips,  for  the 
past  six  years  foreman  Effingham  Hill  Gardens,  Dorking,  has  been 
appointed  head  gardener  to  .1.  H.  Buxton,  Esq.,  Hunsdon  Bury,  Ware 
Herts. 
-  Orchid-flowering  Cannas. — Messrs.  Dammann  &  Co.,  the 
well-known  horticulturists  of  Naples,  have  forwarded  to  us  a  coloured 
plate  of  what  are  termed  Orchid-flowering  Cannas.  If  these  fulfil  the 
promise  of  the  illustration  it  is  quite  certain  that  they  will  quickly  become 
popular  in  this  country.  Twenty  varieties  are  represented,  all  of  which 
are  distinct  and  very  handsome. 
-  Corrections. — Permit  me  to  make  two  corrections  of  errors 
in  some  notes  of  mine  last  week.  One  is  found  in  the  reference  to 
Grapes  at  Tilehurst,  where  I  am  made  to  say  that  the  number  of 
bunches  per  15  feet  run  of  rod  was  30^.  I  wrote  SSJ,  which  makes  a 
material  difference.  Then  in  the  article  on  “Rest  in  Plant  Life,”  in 
paragraph  6,  rods  in  the  twelfth  line  should  read  roots. — A.  D. 
-  Wolverhampton  Gardeners’  Association.  —  A  very 
interesting  and  instructive  lecture  was  given  before  a  large  meeting  of 
the  members  of  this  Society  on  the  7th  inst.  by  Mr.  C.  R.  Bick,  gardener 
to  Walter  Chamberlain,  Esq.,  Harborne  Hall.  The  essay  dealt  with  the 
cultivation  of  certain  ornamental  foliage  and  flowering  shrubs,  suitable 
fur  planting  near  large  or  manufacturing  towns.  Sprays  and  fruits  of 
various  shrubs  and  trees  were  used  as  illustrations.  The  Chairman  (Mr. 
Simpson)  and  others  complimented  Mr.  Bick  on  his  comprehensive 
remarks. 
-  Olive  Culture  in  America.  —  It  is  remarkable,  says 
“  Meehan's  Monthly,”  what  an  immense  .stride  forward  has  been  taken 
by  Olive  culture  in  America  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  It  is 
scarcely  fifty  years  ago  that  nothing  at  all  was  known  of  it  ;  and  the 
writer  remembers  well  a  distinguished  French  gentleman,  although  a 
citizen  of  Philadelphia,  buying  land  in  Texas,  and  importing  plants  from 
the  Old  World  for  the  mere  purpose  of  experimenting  with  them,  in 
order  to  ascertain  their  fitness  for  culture  in  that  region.  None  of  these 
attempts  succeeded.  Even  California,  so  ready  at  once  to  experiment  in 
all  horticultural  lines,  never  seemed  to  think  of  what  might  be  made  of 
the  Olive  until  Mr.  E.  Cooper,  of  Santa  Barbara,  commenced  their  culti¬ 
vation  some  twenty  years  ago.  At  the  present  time  1000  acres  are  under 
Olive  cultivation  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  it  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  profitable  of  California  market  horticultural  productions. 
-  Birmingham  Gardeners’  Association.  —At  the  fortnightly 
meeting  of  the  members  on  the  6th  inst.  Mr.  J.  Deacon,  gardener  to  the 
Right  Hon.  Joseph  Chamberlain,  Highbury,  Moseley,  gave  an  essay  on 
‘‘  Late  Flowering  Chrysanthemums,”  and  accompanied  it  with  an  assort¬ 
ment  of  cut  blooms  on  long  stems  set  up  in  bottles.  The  practical 
remarks  were  much  appreciated,  and  were  followed  by  an  interesting 
discussion  amongst  several  of  the  growers  present.  Mr.  W.  Gardiner 
took  occasion  to  advert  to  the  recent  decease  of  Mr.  .Tames  Bateman  at 
Worthing,  and  of  his  fame  as  an  enthusiastic  horticulturist,  special 
reference  being  made  to  his  remarkable  work,  “  The  Orchidaceas  of 
Mexico  and  Guatemala,”  the  coloured  plates,  each  of  which  cost  over 
£200,  being  mostly  l?Fe  size.  The  speaker  also  alluded  to  his  own 
interesting  visit  to  Biddulph  Grange  some  thirty  years  ago,  and  still 
retains  a  lively  recollection  of  the  “Chinese  Willow  Pattern  Plate” 
garden  and  the  “  Egyptian  Court.” 
-  A  Gardener’s  Mistake— Can  we  Forget  ?— Of  course, 
in  all  such  cases  as  that  of  Thos.  Harwood  Crasp  the  natural  inference  is 
always  against  the  person  implicated  ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  obtain  any  proof 
that  can  exculpate  him.  I  am  generally  particular  in  receiving  money, 
u  rapping  it  separately  in  paper  with  name  and  particulars  ;  but  as  the 
Judge,  in  the  case  referred  on  page  551,  expressed  so  decided  an 
opinion  on  the  impossibility  of  forgetting  such,  I  venture  to  submit 
occurrences  that  have  happened  to  myself.  Unfortunately,  perhaps,  for 
certain  parish  schools,  I  was  prevailed  on  to  take  the  treasurership.  The 
t  rst  year  the  overdrawn  account  at  the  bank  at  the  end  of  the  year  was 
less  by  a  few  shillings  than  the  overdrawn  account  as  represented  by  the 
books  of  the  Education  Department.  At  the  beginning  of  the  lollowing 
year  I  drew  these  out,  and  placed  them  as  voluntary  subscription  to  the 
credit  of  the  school.  A  year  or  two  after  a  similar  incident  occurred, 
only  then  the  difference  was  a  matter  of  £2  or  £3,  but  of  like 
character.  Plainly,  in  both  these  cases  I  had  paid  accounts  of  the  school 
and  had  forgotten  to  make  a  note  of  the  same.  By  no  manner  of  means 
am  I  an  unselfish  person,  therefore  it  may  be  safely  said  that  if  a  person 
can  forget  paying  away  money  it  is  also  quite  possible  to  forget  receiving 
it.  Judges’  opiniens  are  not  always  gospel,  or  there  would  be  fewer  law 
suits. —Y.  B.  A.  Z. 
