'90 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
Jamiray  23,  1902. 
Beckenham  Horticultural. 
On  Friday,  January  17,  Mr.  H.  0.  Etherington,  manager  to 
Mr.  John  R.  Rox,  of  the  West  Wickham  Nurseries,  gave  a  most 
■entertaining  lecture  on  “Riant  Physiology.”  As  a  matter  of 
■course,  in  a  lecture  of  this  kind  more  or  less  scientific  terms  must 
be  made  use  of,  but  the  lecturer,  by  the  use  of  a  black-board, 
explained  the.se  where  nece.ssary,  and  by  so  doing  his  audience 
(and  this  was  a  good  one)  ^vere  able  to  more  fully  assimilate  what 
was  desired  to  convey.  Attention  was  first  drawn  to  the  lower 
•orders  of  unicellular  plants  with  their  tiny  speck  of  protoplasm 
(“  the  basis  of  life  ”),  then  to  the  way  in  which  plants  are  built  up 
by  the  divisions  and  multiplication  of  cells  ;  how  these  cells  differ 
in  con.struction  in  various  plants  to  suit  their  environment, 
•<fcc.,  &c.  Absorpt  on  and  transpiration  received  attention,  and 
useful  lessons  to  the  practical  cultivator  deduced  therefrom  ;  to 
wit,  treatment  must  be  such  as  will  favour  tran.spiration  by  the 
leaves  or  the  proper  absorption  of  nutritive  matter  cannot  pro¬ 
ceed.  On  the  other  hand,  transpiration  mu.st  not  go  on  at  a  more 
rapid  rate  than  absorption,  or  the  cells  lose  their  turgidity,  and 
no  growth  is  taking  place,  Mr.  Rox  being  present,  kindly 
acceded  to  the  request  to  occupy  the  chair  for  the  evening. 
After  a  few  que.stions  had  been  put  and  replied  to  by  the  lecturer, 
Mr.  Webster  made  some  appivciative  remarks  which  was  sup¬ 
ported  by  Messrs.  Horlock  and  Raxter,  and  moved  a  hearty  vote 
of  thanks  to  the  lecturer  and  the  chairman,  this  enthusiastically 
accorded,  closed  a  pleasant  and  profitable  evening. — T.  C. 
Ancient  Society  of  York  Fiorists. 
At  the  recent  annual  meeting  of  this  society  the  secretai'y 
(Mr.  G.  F.  W.  Oman)  presented  the  yearly  report,  which  was 
eminently  satisfactory^  The  year’s  receipts  all  told  amounted 
to  £789  7s.  5d.  The  expen.ses  had  been  £591  15s.  lid.,  leaving  a 
balance  in  hand  of  £197  11s.  Gd.  The  number  of  members  who 
paid  subscriptions  during  the  year  amounted  to  744,  exclusive 
■of  twentv-five  new  members,  'the  shows  of  the  society  were  well  up¬ 
held.  Alderman  McKay  was  re-elected  president,  with  the  follow¬ 
ing  as  vice-pre.sidents :  Mr.  J.  G.  Rutcher,  K.C.,  M.P.,  Mr.  G.  D. 
Faber,  M.P.,  the  Lord  Alayor  of  York  (Alderman  Foster),  the 
City  Sheriff  (Mr.  G.  Potter-Kirby),  the  Dean  of  York,  Alderman 
Sir  Jo.seph  Sykes  Rymer,  J.P.,  and  Mr.  J.  Rodwell.  Other 
elections  resulted  thus:  Rev.  Gordon  Salmon,  chaplain;  Mr. 
W.  A.  Clarke,  junior  warden;  Mr.  G.  Lamb,  treasurer  (£5 
honorarium) ;  Mr.  Oman,  secretary  (with  proposition  to  increa.se 
this  officeFs  salary^  ;  and  Mr.  G.  Sykes,  junior  auditor.  Mr. 
Rodwell  moved  that  the  sum  of  £200  be  granted  for  prizes  at  the 
Chry'santhemum  Show  and  £80  for  prizes  at  minor  shows.  Coun- 
■cillor  Robinson  seconded  the  resolution,  which  was  carried.  Mr. 
Emms  moved  that  £5  be  given  to  the  York  County  Hospital  and 
£3  towards  the  late  Queen’s  Memorial.  On  being  put  to  the 
meeting  the  resolutions  were  lost.  The  following  were  elected 
-committee  for  the  ensuing  year:  T.  E.  Abbey,  E.  Allen,  W.  L. 
Appleton,  J.  Archer,  Councillor  Rirch,  W.  Clues,  G.  Hudson, 
J.  R.  Inglis,  J.  Key,  J.  Lazenby,  R.  McIntosh,  J,  C.  Milbum, 
J  .Pillmoor,  Councillor  Robinson,  G.  Skill,  E,  Tate,  W,  Todd, 
'Councillor  Wilkinson. 
Royal  Meteorological. 
The  annual  general  meeting  of  this  society  was  held  on 
Wednesday  evening,  the  15th  inst.,  at  the  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers,  Westminster,  Mr.  W.  H.  Dines,  R.A.,  President,  in 
the  chair.  The  secretary  read  the  report  of  the  council  for  the 
past  year,  which  showed  the  society  to  be  in  a  satisfactory  condi¬ 
tion,  there  being  an  increase  in  the  number  of  Fellows  of  twenty- 
eight.  The  Symons  Gold  Medal,  which  has  recently  been  founded 
as  a  memorial  to  the  late  Mr.  G.  J.  Symons,  F.R.S.,  the  dis¬ 
tinguished  meteorologist, was  presented  to  Dr.  Alexander  Ruchan, 
F.R.S.,  for  his  work  in  connection  with  meteorological  science. 
'The  president,  in  his  address,  dealt  with  the  “  Theory  of  Proba¬ 
bility  applied  to  Various  Meteorological  Problems.”  He  con¬ 
sidered  that  for  all  practical  purposes  weather  conditions  may  be 
looked  upon  as  purely  accidental,  and  that  we  may  apply  to  them 
the  laws  of  chance.  They  are  not  by  any  means  in  reality  a 
matter  of  chance,  for  although  we  cannot  discover  it,  there  is 
doubtless  a  cause  for  each  kind  of  weather,  normal  or  abnormal. 
After  speaking  upon  the  subject  of  weather  forecasting,  he  dealt 
with  the  question  :  How  long  is  required  to  obtain  a  true  average  ? 
He  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  ten  years’  temperature  obser¬ 
vations  give  a  mean  of  which  the  probable  error  is  a  little  under 
•one  degree.  Thirty  years  reduce  this  to  half  a  degree  ;  fifty  years 
to  one-third  of  a  degree,  and  one  hundred  years  to  one  quarter 
■of  a  degree.  After  dealing  with  barometer  observations  and  rain¬ 
fall,  he  proceeded  to  speak  of  weather  almanacs,  cycles,  &c.  In 
conclusion  he  said  :  Meteorology  is  far  more  than  a  statistical 
science,  and  is  very  closely  dependent  upon  theoretical  mechanics 
and  thermo-dynamics,  and  in  the  application  of  these  subjects 
"to  meteorology  lies  the  best  hope  of  advance.  The  council  for  the 
•ensuing  year  were'  then  elected,  Mr.  W.  H.  Dines  being  the  Pre¬ 
sident  and  Mr.  F.  C.  Bayard  and  Dr.  H.  R.  Mill,  Secretaries. 
Royal  Caledonian  Horticultural. 
The  annual  general  meeting  of  the  Royal  Caledonian  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society  was  recently  held  in  Edinburgh,  Mr.  Neill 
Fraser,  sen.,  vice-president,  in  the  chair.  'The  annual  report 
stated  that  during  the  year  twenty-five  deaths  and  resignations 
had  taken  place,  and  sixty-five  new  members  had  been  enrolled, 
exclusive  of  thirty-eight  gardeners  who  had  joined.  The  abstract 
of  accounts  showed  that  the  receipts  for  the  year  amounted  to 
£1,257  19s.,  and  tlie  payments  to  £1,314  8s.  7d.  Mr.  James 
Morrison  spoke  of  the  apathy  which  existed  among  gardeners  as 
regarded  their  joining  the  society,  and  he  thought  thirty-eight 
was  a  miserable  number,  considering  how  many  gardeners  there 
were  who  might  have  become  associated.  Gardeners  who  took 
hundreds  and  hundreds  of  pounds  out  of  the  society  did  not  even 
support,  it  by  half  a  guinea.  Some  discussion  took  place  on  the 
financial  position  of  the  society,  and  the  report  was  ultimately 
adopted.  We  are  sorry  to  notice  that,  even  with  all  that  has 
been  done,  this,  by  far  the  oldest  of  the  two  horticultural 
societies  in  Edinburgh  (having  been  established  in  1809),  does  not 
meet  with  favour  and  has  not  for  years  past.  How  long  will  the 
two  societies  remain  disunited,  and  thus  less  influential  than 
they  ought  to  be  and  could  be  ? 
Liverpool  Horticultural. 
Mr.  Henry  Middlehurst,  who  presided,  must  have  felt 
gratified  at  seeing  such  an  excellent  attendance  of  members  and 
friends  as  that  which  assembled  on  Saturday  evening  at  the 
Reaps  Paw  Restaurant,  Lord  Street,  the  number  reaching  about 
150,  Mr.  T.  Foster  (chairman  of  the  association),  Mr.  A.  W.  Ker, 
and  Mr.  Harold  Sadler  (secretary),  supporting.  The  trade  was 
largely  represented,  there  being  Mes.srs.  R.  W".  Ker,  F.  Ker, 
H.  Ranger,  King,  Raker,  &c.  (Messrs.  R.  P.  Ker  and  Sons),  W. 
Webster  and  G.  Wilson  (Messrs.  T.  Davies  and  Co.),  C.  A.  Young, 
Floral  Nunsery,  West  Derby;  J.  Finnigan  (H.  Middlehurst), 
Rowland  Bros.,  West  Derby;  Mr.  J.  Guttridge,  Wavertree 
Botanical  Gardens,  and  other  branches  of  the  trade.  The  usual 
loj'al  toasts  were  duly  honoured,  after  which  the  programme  of 
high-class  music  was  cleverly  rendered.  The  chairman  briefly 
dealt  on  the  pleasures  and  progress  of  horticulture,  appljdng  his 
remarks  more  particidarly  to  the  valuable  Avork  being  carried 
out  by  the  association  and  by  the  untiring  efforts  of  the  parks 
and  gardens  committee.  For  the  association  Mr.  Foster  spoke 
most  encouragingly,  saying  that  the  finances  were  altogether 
brighter.  The  room  Avas  handsomely  decorated  by  Messrs.  R.  P. 
Ker  and  Sons,  Aigburth  Nursery,  and  in  concluding  it  may 
safely  be  asserted  that  the  popularity  of  this  annual  social  does 
not  in  the  slightest  decrease.  Messrs.  Ker  and  Middlehurst  con¬ 
tributed  most  handsomely  to  add  to  the  pleasure  of  the  evening. 
— R.  P.  R. 
Fifty  Years  of  Floriculture. 
The  IpsAvich  District  Gardeners’  and  Amateurs’  Mutual 
Improvement  Association  is  this  Avinter  justifying  the  pretensions 
of  its  title  by  a  series  of  attractive  lectures  dealing  Avith  matters 
of  horticultural  importance.  On  Thursday  night,  January  16, 
an  unusuallv  large  number  of  members  assembled  at  the  Co¬ 
operative  Hall  to  hear  a  lecture  on  “  Floriculture  and  Florists  of 
the  Past  Fifty  Years,”  by  Mr.  Richard  Dean,  V.H.M.,  of  Ealing, 
a  veteran  horticulturist.  Since  1857,  Avhen,  on  the  death  of  Mr. 
John  Edwards,  Mr.  Dean  accepted  the  position  of  hon.  secretary 
to  the  National  Floricultural  Society,  he  has  been  an  arduous 
Avorker  in  almost  every  horticultural  movement.  Mr.  Dean 
began  with  the  formation  of  the  National  Floricultural  Society 
in  1851.  The  forties  and  early  fifties  Avere  times  of  very  great 
public  excitement,  Avhich  found  its  Avay  to  .some  extent  into 
the  horticultural  Avorld.  The  Potato  disease  of  1845  in  Ireland, 
and  the  French  Revolution  of  1848,  Avere  the  principal  causes  of 
this  excitement.  He  regarded  the  early  fifties,  hoAvever,  as  the 
golden  age  of  floriculture  in  this  country,  because  in  those  days 
some  of  the  leading  florists’  floAvers  Avere  seen  emerging  from 
elementary  into  improved  forms.  At  that  time  the  Floricultural 
Society  was  remarkably  well  represented  in  the  Eastern  Counties; 
illustrious  amongst  Avhose  florists  must  be  Avritten  the  name  of 
Ben  Cant.  Conteanporaneously  Avith  the  existence  of  the  Flori¬ 
cultural  Society  was  a  society  devoted  to  the  interests  of  fruit, 
but  both  institutions  Avere  dissolved  in  1857,  when  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  took  over  the  duties  formerly  carried  out 
by  the  two  societies.  Continuing,  Mr.  Dean  recalled  many  names 
of  leading  horticulturists  with  AA’hom  he  AA^as  contemporary,  and 
traced  the  origin,  development,  and  gradual  progress  toAvards 
perfection  of  large  numbers  of  the  best-known  florist.s’  floAvers. 
In  conclusion,  he  observed  his  soul  was  filled  Avith  deep  thank¬ 
fulness  to  the  men  he  had  known  in  the  past  for  their  splendid 
Avork,  and  for  the  magnificent  heritage  of  floral  wealth  they  had 
handed  doAvn  to  the  present  generation.  The  lecture  was 
throughout  punctuated  with  applause,  and  on  the  motion  of  Mr. 
W.  Messenger,  seconded  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Southgate,  a  cordial  vote 
of  thanks  AA  as  accorded  Mr.  Dean. — (“  IpsAvich  Evening  Star.”) 
