January  2,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  ROTTAGE  GARDENER. 
7 
Royal  Horticultural^  Society. 
The  first  meeting  of  the  committees  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Soc.ety  in  1902  will  be  held  as  usual  in  the  Drill  Hall,  Bucking¬ 
ham  Gate,  Westminster,  on  Tuesday,  January  14.  An  election 
of  new  Fellows  will  take  place  at  three  o’clock.  To  prevent  mis¬ 
understanding,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  committees  of  1901 
do  not  vacate  office  until  the  date  of  the  annual  meeting,  1902, 
and  in  like  manner  all  Fellows’  tickets  of  1901  are  available  until 
the  end  of  January,  1902. 
Trees  in  Kensington  Gardens. 
“G.  R.  T.”  writes  to  the  “Times”; — “Lovers  of  legendary 
lore  will  be  grieved  te  hear  of  the  removal  of  the  Glastonbury 
Thorn  from  the  flower  walk  in  Kensington  Gardens  (close  to  the 
Albert  Memorial).  I  received  quite  a  shock  when  I  found  on 
Christmas  Day  its  place  knew  it  no  more.  It  was  old  (I  knew 
it  over  thirty  years)  and  malforpied,  but  it  was  the  Glastouburj' 
Thorn,  and  the  only  one  I  know  of  in  Kensingtoir  Gardens.  Its 
p'ace  will  doubtless  be  occupied  by  a  more  showy  tree  or  flower, 
but  it  will  be  much  missed,  I  am  sure,  with  its  old-world  traditions, 
by  many.” 
Kidderminster  Gardeners. 
The  Kidderminster  Horticultural  Society  has,  under  its 
present  management,  grown  into  one  of  considerable  importance. 
The  membership  exceeds  200,  and  some  of  the  leading  horticul¬ 
turists  deliver  addresses  at  the  monthly  meetings  on  questions 
of  interest  te  the  members.  The  officials  have  recently  interested 
the  members  of  the  Free  Library  Committee  in  the  affairs  of  the 
society,  and  it  has  been  decided  to  add  several  books  of  special 
value  to  horticulturists  to  the  Lending  and  Reference  Libraries 
as  well  as  placing  on  the  tables  of  the  Reading  Room  horticultural 
papers  for  the  use  of  the  members.  In  this  way  it  is  hoped  to 
cultivate  a  deeper  love  of  the  study  of  horticulture  among  the 
people,  as  well  as  assist  the  efforts  of  the  officers  of  the  society 
in  the  same  direction. 
Japanese  Fern-balls  Scarce. 
Writing  in  a  Transatlantic  contemporary,  a  correspondent 
says ;  — “  I  send  you  a  couple  of  photos  showing  the  Japanese  at 
work  on  Fern-balls.  The  Davallia  roots  are  getting  scarcer. 
Although  there  has  been  no  trouble  in  gathering  this  year’s 
supply,  the  stock  is  sure  to  become  short  in  a  few  years.  The 
larger  ball,  with  the,  tin  cup  to  hold  a  bunch  of  flowers,  seems  to 
have  found  favour,  judging  from  the  number  of  orders  to  hand. 
As  a  rule,  the  Fern-balls  are  made  by  the  poor  people ;  they  come 
and  get  the  roots  and  moss  balls  at  our  place  of  business,  take 
them  home,  and  there  the  whole  family  go  at  it  in  their  spare 
time  and  make  what,  for  them,  is  a  nice  little  sum  of  extra  money. 
When  they  return  the  finished  balls  these  are  examined  by  the 
Japanese  banto  (foreman),  and  the  ijrice  paid  to  the  makers.” 
The  Journal  of  the  Kew  Guild. 
The  “  Kew  Guild  ”  consists  of  all  who  are,  or  who  have  at  any 
timq,  been  employed  as  gardeners  or  in  any  position  of  responsi¬ 
bility  in  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew.  The  Guild  publishes  annually 
a  Journal  containing  a  list  of  the  Kew  staff,  from  the  director 
to  the  gardeners,  a  list  of  all  Old  Kewites,  with  the  date  of  their 
leaving  Kew,  and  their  present  positions  and  addresses,  together 
with  other  information.  So  now,  on  New  Year’s  Day,  we  receive 
the  Journal  for  the  year  just  closed.  It  is  full  of  most  interesting 
notes  for  those  it  concerns.  The  chief  feature  of  the  present 
issue  is  the  memoir  of  Mr.  George  Nicholson’s  life  and  work, 
together  with  a  remarkably  fine  photograph  of  him.  Then  the 
death  of  Mr.  Thomas  Meehan,  who  graduated  at  Kew  in  the 
“  forties  ”  of  last  century,  severs  one  of  the  few  links  that  connect 
the  Kew  Guild  with  the  early  years  of  Sir  William  Hooker’s 
directorate  of  Kew.  A  review  of  his  life,  and  a  portrait  of  him, 
appear.  Many  pages — and  undoubtedly  the  most  interesting  for 
Old  Kewites — are  the  notes  sent  by  associates  from  all  parts  of 
the  world.  Most  of  the  letters  are  bright  and  cheerful. 
Spraying  for  Mildew. 
To  hold  this  disease  in  check  on  Gooseberries,  begin  spraying 
just  as  the  buds  are  bi-eaking,  and  continue  at  intervals  of  from 
ten  days  to  two  weeks  until  several  applications  have  been  made. 
For  spraying  use  potassium  sulphide,  loz  of  sulphide  to  2gals  of 
water. 
Canadl.an  Tinned  Fruits. 
According  te  a  Toronto  despatch  in  the  “  Morning  Post,”  the 
Canadian  Packers’  Association  has  determined  to  adopt  active 
ineasures  to  develop  the  trade  in  canned  fruits  and  vegetables  of 
Canadian  growth  and  manufacture  in  Great  Britain.  Stores  for 
their  sale  will  be  opened  in  the  leading  centres  in  England,  Scot¬ 
land,  and  Ireland,  and  energetic  efforts  will  be  made  to  bring 
Canadian  canned  goods  to  the  attention  of  British  buyers. 
Profitable  Fruit  Growing. 
Me  hail  with  satisfaction  a  sixth  edition  (revised  and  enlarged) 
of  Mr.  John  Wright’s  prize  essay  on  “  Profitable  Fruit  Growing.” 
This  work  is  remarkably  clear  and  safe  in  its  teaching,  no  point 
of  importance  being  left  unemphasised.  We  know  of  instances 
whe.'e  fine  healthy  orchards  have  been  formed,  planted,  and  the 
trees  tended  up  to  a  fruitful  stage  and  to  general  excellence 
(though  the  owners  were  at  first  quite  uninitiated  in  fruit  culture) 
simply  by  applying  the  directions  laid  down  in  Mr.  Wright’s  book. 
A  good  index  is  provided.  The  book  runs  to  127  pages,  and  is 
now  published  by  Messrs.  Collingridge,  price  Is.  His  Majesty 
the  King  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  accept  a  copy  of  the  sixtii 
edition. 
A  New  Chrysanthemum  Society. 
A  meeting  of  local  horticulturists  of  Kirkcaldy,  Fife,  and 
others  interested  in  the  cultivation  of  the  favourite  winter 
flower  was  held  in  Morrison’s  Cerrtral  Rooms  on  December  2(5. 
Mr.  David  Thomson  was  called  upon  to  preside,  and  after  a 
general  discus  ion  it  was  agreed  to  form  a  Chrysanthemum  Society 
for  Kirkcaldy  and  district.  The  society  will  be  known  as  the 
Kirkcaldy  Chrysanthemum  Society,  and  its  chief  object  will  be 
to  encourage  the  cultivation  of  the  Chrysanthemum  and  other 
wintering  flowers.  It  was  agreed  that  an  annual  show  be  pro¬ 
moted.  The  meeting  afterwards  appointed  a  special  committee 
for  the  purpose  of  framing  rules,  organising  membership,  &e., 
including  the  preparation  of  a  show  prize  list,  and  to  submit  the 
result  of  their  labours  to  a  committee  meeting  to  be  held  early 
in  January. 
Twenty-five  Years’  Service. 
On  Saturday,  December  21,  a  very  enjoyable  evening  was 
spent  at  the  Castle  Hotel,  Exeter,  when  Mr.  F.  W.  Meyer  enter¬ 
tained  the  employes  of  Messrs.  Robert  Veitcli  and  Son  at  dinner 
to  commemorate  the  comp'etion  of  his  twenty-fifth  year  of  service 
as  landscape  gardener  with  the  firm.  After  the  loyal  toasts,  Mr. 
Andrew  Hope  (manager  of  the  se:d  department)  then  proposed 
the  toa.st  of  “  Robert  Veitch  and  Son.”  After  speaking  of  the 
humble  origin  of  the  firm,  upwards  of  a  century  ago,  Mr.  Hope 
alluded  to  the  high  standing  and  position  R.  Veitch  and  Son  have 
since  attained  in  the  horticultural  wmrld.  In  the  absence  of  Mr. 
Peter  Veitch,  the  present  head  of  the  firm,  the  acknowledgment 
of  this  toast  fell  to  Mr.  W.  Mackay,  who  for  the  past  thirty  years 
has  held  the  responsible  position  of  manager.  The  next  event  on 
the  programme  was  the  toast  of  “  The  Host,  Mr.  F.  W.  Meyer.” 
This  was  proposed  by  Mr.  W.  Mackay,  who,  after  eulogising  Mr. 
Meyer’s  abilities  as  a  landscape  gardener,  spoke  in  high  terms  of 
the  cordial  feeling  and  amiability  that  had  always  existed  between 
him  and  the  employes.  Advantage  was  also  taken  of  this  toast 
to  present  Mr,  Meyer  with  a  smoker’s  cabinet  and  a  case  of  Peter¬ 
son’s  pipes,  together  with  an  illuminated  address,  subscribed  for 
by  his  fellow  colleagues,  as  a  token  of  the  high  esteem  in  which 
he  is  held  by  one  and  all  of  them.  Mr.  Meyer  was  also  the  reci¬ 
pient,  from  Messrs.  R.  Veitch  and  Son,  of  a  cheque,  accompanied 
by  a  solid  silver  salver,  inscribed  as  follows: — “Presented  to  Mr. 
F.  W  Meyer  by  Robert  Veitch  and  Son  in  commemoration  of  his 
twenty-five  years’  service  with  the  firm  as  a  mark  of  esteem  and 
appreciatmn  of  his  success  as  a  landscape  gardener  and  his  devo¬ 
tion  to  his  profession.”  Mr.  Meyer,  in  a  few  well-chosen  words, 
acknowledged  the  toast,  and  wondered  what  he  had  done  to 
deserve  such  an  ovation  and  such  handsome  presents.  After  the 
toast  of  “  The  Employes,”  which  was  given  by  Mr.  Percy  Meyer 
(a  former  employe),  and  replied  to  by  Mr.  E.  W.  Milne,  had  been 
drunk,  the  remainder  of  the  evening  was  spent  in  songs  and  other 
forms  of  music, 
