154 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTIOULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
February  13,  1902. 
Scottish  Natural  History. 
An  ordinary  meeting  of  the  society  was  held  on  the  evening 
•  of  the  6th  inst.  in  the  society’s  rooms,  5,  Queen  Street,  Dr. 
■John  Macmillan,  F.R.S.E.,  vice-president,  in  the  chair.  A 
lecture  was  delivered  on  “  The  Flora  of  Arthur’s  Seat,”  by  Mr. 
John  MacRae,  M.A.,  in  which  he  endeavoured  to  relate  the 
plants  found  with  the  conditions  determining  plant  life  there. 
He  pointed  out  that  meteorologically  the  conditions  on  Arthur’s 
Seat  tended  to  a  small  rainfall  and  a  high  average  temperature, 
while  geologically  therfe  was  a  porous  soil,  fairly  rich  in  mineral 
salts,  with  a  steep  slope  and  no  springs  even  on  the  lower 
reaches,  thus  rendering  the  retention  of  moisture  difficult,  and 
making  the  plant  associations  of  other  moister  hills  impossible. 
He  then  went  on  to  compare  the  flora  of  Arthur’s  Seat  generally 
with  that  of  Blackford  Hill  and  the  Castle  Rock,  showing  in  each 
•case  wholly  different  plant  associations ;  and  illustrated  the 
different  localities  with  limelight  views.  After  giving  an  account 
of  the  various  methods  by  which  plants  combated  these  adverse 
■conditions,  reducing  the  leaf  surface,  “sleeping”  at  night, 
storing  water,  and  reducing  transpirat  on  by  a  hairy  develop¬ 
ment,  he  gave  a  list  of  over  100  plants  found  on  the  south  .side  of 
the  hill,  which  ilhrstrated  in  various  ways  xerophilic  tendencies. 
At  the  conclusion  Mr.  MacRae  was  awarded  the  cordial  thanks 
•of  the  society  for  his  lecture. 
Horticultural  Glut)  (Annual  Meeting). 
In  the  club  rooms,  the  Hotel  Windsor,  M’estminster,  at  five 
o’clock  p.m.,  on  Tuesday  last,  a  number  of  members  met  at  the 
.annual  general  meeting.  Sir  John  Llewlyn,  Bart.,  president, 
occupied  the  chair,  and  the  following  business  was  transacted ; — 
A  telegram  was  sent  to  Rev.  H.  11.  D’Ombrain,  sympathising 
with  him  in  his  inability  to  be  Avith  the  meeting  assembled.  The 
balance-sheet,  shoAving  £53  5s.  83 d.  in  hand  of  the  year’s  income, 
.as  against  £42  18s.  before,  together  Avith  £450  11s.  9d.  as  the 
amount  standing  in  Consols,  aaus  unanimously  agreed  to.  The 
persona]  resignation  of  Rev.  H.  H.  D’Ombrain  as  secretary  (at 
the  last  committee  meeting)  Avas  laid  before  the  meeting  aa’c 
here  report,  and  Avas  accepted.  It  Avas  agreed  that  Mr. 
D’Onibrain  receive  a  pension  ecjuivalent  to  the  salary  he  has 
hitherto  received  as  secretary,  and  that  he  be  elected  an  honorary 
member.  Mr.  D’Ombrain,  aac  may  add,  is  groAA’ing  very  feeble. 
It  AA'as  next  decided  that  Mr.  E.  T.  Cook,  co-Editor  of  “  The 
Garden,”  be  elected  honorary  secretary,  his  official  duties  dating 
from  July  1  next.  Mr.  D’Oinbrain  having  acted  also  as 
treasurer  in  the  past,  and  Mr.  Cook  not  AA’ishing  to  include  this 
office,  it  AA'as  proposed  that  Mr.  Harry  J.  Veitch  be  elected,  a 
post  he  accepted  pro  tern.  The  same  trustees  stand  as  hitherto. 
A  matter  in  regard  to  printing  essays,  read  before  the  club,  in 
the  Journal  of  the  R.H.S.,  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  editor 
of  that  publication,  viz..  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  M.A.  It  may  be  noted 
that  at  present  there  are  sixty-four  members  of  the  Horticultural 
■Club.  Mr.  J.  D.  Pearson,  of  LoAvdham,  Notts,  moved,  in  a  very 
effective  speech,  ably  seconded  by  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  that  the 
annual  subscription  be  altered  to  one  guinea,  in  preference  to 
the  tAvo  guineas  paid  hitherto.  After  considerable  discussion,  it 
was  put  to*  the  meeting,  ten  voting  for  the  proposition,  and  only 
four  against.  One  guinea  aaTII  thus  be  the  annual  fee.  Amongst 
those  present  Avere  Sir  John  Llewlyn,  Dr.  Masters,  Rev.  W. 
Wilks  and  Messrs.  H.  J.  Veitch,  G.  Bunyard,  C.  T.  Druery, 
H.  B.  May,  —  Ker  (Liverpool),  J.  H.  Pemberton,  —  Rivers, 
Amos  Perry,  G.  Paul,  and  Jefferies. 
The  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association. 
Open  Spaces: — At  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Metropolitan 
Public  Gardens  Association,  held  on  February  6,  1902,  at  83, 
Lancaster  Gate,  W.,  Sir  William  Vincent,  Bart.,  vice-chairman, 
presiding,  it  AA'as  agreed,  in  response  to  an  offer  made  by  Mr. 
T.  Wilson,  to  arrange  for  a  lecture  to  be  given  in  London  during 
'the  Easter  holidays  on  “  ToAvn  Forestry.”  Several  complaints 
Avere  received  as  to  the  unskilful  and  unneces.sary  lopping  and 
pruning  of  trees  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  metropolitan  and 
suburban  local  authorities,  which  caused  serious  injury  to  the 
trees  and  spoilt  their  appearance,  and  it  was  decided  to  again 
draw  the  attention  of  the  Boraugh  and  District  Councils  to  this 
matter.  Several  Bills  affecting  open  spaces  Avere  under  con¬ 
sideration,  including  the  Charing  Cross,  Euston,  and  Hampstead, 
and  the  EdgAvare  and  Hampstead  Railway  Bils,  Avhich  propose  to 
make  double  sets  of  tunnels  under  Hampstead  Heath,  and  the 
Earl  of  Dysart’s  Bill  to  extinguish  common  rights  over  some  180 
acres,  forming  Ham  Common  Fields,  and  to  dedicate  a  riverside 
strip  between  Richmond  and  the  Kingston  boundary,  and  certain 
other  lands,  to  the  public.  Some  amendments  in  the  public 
interest  Avere  suggcvsted  and  approved.  Progress  Avas  reported 
with  regard  to  the  laying-out  of  Avondale  Square,  the  planting 
of  trees  in  Norfolk  Square  Churchyard,  and  respecting  the 
schemes  promoted  by  the  association  for  securing  and  laying  out 
churchyards  in  Poplar,  Camberwell,  and  Clapham.  Applications 
for  gymnastic  apparatus  for  a  boys’  club  in  Whitechapet.  and  for 
seats  for  a  recreation  ground  at  Bowes  were  granted,  and  it  was 
•decided  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  respective  Borough  Councils 
to  desirable  vacant  sites  in  Islington,  North  Fulham,  and  Den¬ 
mark  Hill,  which  the  association  would  be  prepared  to  lay  out 
if  they  were  required  for  public  use. 
Irish  Gardeners’  Association. 
At  the  last  meeting  at  Grafton  Street,  Dublin,  the  proceedings 
Avere  opened  by  the  president,  Mr.  F.  W.  Burbidge,  who  de¬ 
livered  an  address  on  “  Gardeners  and  Employers.”  After  Mr. 
F.  W.  Burbidge’s  paper  Mr.  J.  Simpson  dealt  with  the  value  of 
“  nitrate  in  the  garden  ’’  as  a  manorial  agent,  the  lecture  being 
illustrated  by  limelight  views.  The  slides  were  principally  pro¬ 
jected  to  show  the  comparative  value  of  nitrate  (especially  in 
the  form  of  nitrate  of  soda)  when  used  judiciously  with  farm¬ 
yard  manure.  The  basis  of  his  paper  was  founded  on  the  ex¬ 
perimental  trials  of  the  “  Permanent  Nitrate  Cqmpany.”  The 
subject  was  treated  in  a  masterly  manner,  evincing  a  thorough 
mastery  of  the  facts  of  manuring,  especially  when  artificials  were 
requisitioned,  and  pointed  in  a  clear  way  that  the  best  results 
accrue  to  a  minimum  instead  of  a  maximum  quantity  being 
applied.  After  the  usual  votes  were  approved  of,  the  chairman 
announced  that  Mr.  O’Neill  would  lecture  at  their  next  meeting 
on  “Insectivorous  Plants,”  illustrated  by  a  series  of  lantern 
A'ieAVS. 
An  Improved  Epergne  for  Floral  Decorations- 
An  Improved  Epergne. 
On  page  93,  January  23,  we  referred  to  a  neAv  epergne, 
designed  by  Mr.  J.  Williams,  of  4a,  Oxford  Road,  Ealing,  W.,  to 
facilitate  lightness  of  floral  decorations  when  these  are  employed 
on  dinner  tables.  On  page  112  we  are  able  to  show  this  epergne 
as  it  appears.  It  stands  25in  high,  the  centre  stem  being  left  clear 
from  decoration,  so  that  there  is  no  obstruction  across  the  table. 
The  flower  holders  are  at  the  base  and  at  the  top.  One  re^ily 
sees  the  practicability  and  merits  of  an  epergne  of  this  nature. 
