March  20,  1902. 
261 
jnrrnxAb  of  horticulture 
A  XU  CO  TTA  OF  GA  R LEXER. 
Beckenham  Horiicuiiuial. 
On  Friday  last  a  lecture  Avas  given  by  Professor  J.  Percival, 
M.A.,  P.L.S.,  on  “The  Improvement  of  Plants  by  Selection  and 
Hybridisation.”  The  attendance  was  not  all  that  could  bo 
desired,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  miserably  wet  night ;  but  those 
that  Avere  present  could  not  fail  to  benefit  considerably  by  the 
vast  amount  of  knoAv^dge  imparted  by  the  lecturer,  and  this  in 
•such  a  pleasing  and  instructive  manner  that  even  the  youngest 
listener  could  not  well  fail  to  follow.  At  the  close  some  feAv 
questions  were  asked,  and  some  apparently  crooked  things  were 
made  straight  by  the  lecturer,  Avho  received  a  very  hearty  vote 
of  thanks  for  his  intensely  interesting  “  little  talk,”  as  he  pleased 
to  call  it.  Some  remarkable  examples  of  forced  Rhubarb  (the 
Sutton)  Avere  placed  on  the  table  by  Mr.  Webster,  Kelsey  Park. 
— T .  Q. 
Royal  H  irlicultural  of  Southampton. 
The  balance-sheet  for  the  year  1901,  as  proved  for  the  above 
society  (whose  annual  report  Ave  printed  in  our  issue  for 
February  20),  was  made  up  as  folloAA's : 
Reckipt.s. 
lirought  forward  from  .1900 
Summer  Show  . .  . .  '  . . 
Autumn  Show.. 
Management  Items  . 
Profit  on  Garden  Party 
Suiiscriptions  (annual) 
, ,  , ,  for  Trophy  . . 
£  s.  d. 
38  1(3  6 
141  7  7 
92  1(3  9 
21  16  11 
2.A  10  8 
212  4  0 
40  0  0 
Expkn.ses. 
Summer  Show  . . 
Autumn  Show  . . 
Mamagement  . 
Xew  Alaterial  . . 
Ce.  titieates,  &c. 
Cost  of  Trophy 
Bonds  Redeemed 
£  s.  cl. 
20.5  18  8 
176  9  10 
97  15  0 
40  0  0 
2.5  0  0 
Cr.  Balance 
£545  4  0 
30  8  6 
£575  12  5 
£575  12  6 
BALANCE  ACCOUNT. 
Assets.  Liabilities. 
£  s.  d. 
Cash  on  deposit  and  in  hand  80  8  5  i  Due  to  Bond-holders 
Subscriptions  not  paid  ..  1  16  0  Cr.  Balance 
\''alue  of  Stoves  . .  . .  24  0 .  0 
£  s.  d. 
25  0  0 
81  4  5 
£106  4  6 
£106  4  5 
Liverpool  Amiteup  Gardeners. 
The  first  meeting  of  the  session  AA'as  held  in  the  Common  Hall, 
Hackins  Hey,  on  March  6,  Avhen  the  neivly-appointed  president, 
Mr.  W.  A.  Jones,  presided  over  a  capital  attendance  of  members. 
The  president  gave  all  present  the  impression  that  he  is  a  worker, 
and  one  able  to  grasp  to  the  fullest  the  delight  afforded  by  a 
garden.  His  address  was  far  above  the  average.  The 
garden,  he  said,  gaim  real  rest,  and  Avas  a  change  of  occupation 
Avhich,  after  business  hours,  could  not  be  more  pleasant.  To  be 
successful  the  mind  should  be  concentrated  upon  the  work. 
Patience  and  perseverance  Avere  essential,  the  pleasure  of  antici¬ 
pation  being  great.  Gardening  should  cause  friendly  emulation. 
From  the  highest  to  the  loAvest  the  love  of  flowers  is  universally 
prevalent,  for  there  is  in  them  the  emblems  of  human  life,  their 
beauty  and  fragrance  appealing  to  all.  To  the  Persians  their 
gardens  were  their  Paradises,  and  from  Persia  we  have  derived 
much  of  the  wealth  of  spring  flowers. 
A  book  of  verses  underneath  the  bough  ; 
A  jug  of  wine,  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  thou, 
Be.side  me  .singing  in  the  wilderness — 
Oh  !  AATlderness  were  Paradise  enow. 
Such  were  a  few  of  the  thoughts  set  forth  by  Mr.  Jones  in  his 
lucid  address.  Messrs.  Robins  and  Hancock  were  elected  joint 
hon.  secretaries  pro  tem.,  and  several  neAv  members  were  pro¬ 
posed.  The  principal  prizewinners  Avere  Mrs.  Stevenson  and 
Mr.  Ellison,  for  spring  flowering  bulbs  excellent  in  quality ; 
whilst  Mr.  Dodds’  Dendrobiums  Avere  capitally  groAvn.  Votes 
of  thanks  closed  the  meeting. — R.  P.  R. 
Chester  Paxton. 
The  schedule  of  ifrizes  for  the  annual  exhibition  of  fruits  and 
Chrysanthemums  has  been  issued,  and  Ave  are  pleased  to  note 
that  this  is  a  decided  adA-ance  upon  any  of  the  society’s  previous 
lists.  In  the  fruit  department  a  neiv  section  has  been  added  for 
cottagers  Avhose  rental  does  not  exceed  £10  per  annum.  Prizes 
for  bottled  fruits,  and  also  for  Grapes,  are,  as  usual,  special 
features.  New'  classes  haA'e  also  been  added  to  the  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  sections,  and  the  valuable  prizes  offered  by  Captain 
MacGillycuddy  and  Mr.  T.  Gibbons  Frost  should  go  a  long  way  to 
encourage  the  extended  culture  of  the  queen  of  winter  floAvers. 
In  the  Lecture  Theatre  of  the  Grosi'enor  Museum,  on  Satur¬ 
day,  Mr.  A.  E.  Goodman  delivered  the  closing  lecture  for  the 
winter  session,  taking  as  his  subject  “  Plants  and  their  Relation 
to  their  Food  Supply.”  Mr.  John  Weaver,  president  of  the 
Society,  presided,  and  briefly  introduced  the  lecturer.  Although 
the  subject  was  somewhat  of  a  technical  nature,  the  lecturer, 
with  the  aid  of  a  set  of  beautifully  prepared  slides,  and  also 
experiments  and  diagrams,  AA  as  able  to  eixplain  mattei's  in  a  clear 
and  lucid  manner,  and  such  as  could  easily  be  understood  by 
all  Avho  Avere  present.  In  acidition  to  describing  the  various 
sources  of  food  supply,  he  shoAved  hov'  essential  plant  life  is  to 
human  and  animal  life,  and  concluded  by  shoAving  a  series  of 
photographic  slides  illustrating  the  metlnxls  of  insectivorous 
plants.  On  the  initiative  of  Mr.  G.  P.  Mijn  Mr.  Goodman  Avas 
accorded  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks  for  what  proved  to  be  one  of 
the  most  interesting  lectures  of  the  .session. 
Lirmingnam  Gardeners’ :  Bircs 
The  usual  fortnightly  meeting,  held  on  the  8th  inst.,  A\a> 
signalised  by  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  edifying  subjects 
yet  presented  before  the  members  of  this  numerically  increasing 
society,  when  Mr.  Robert  W.  Chase,  of  Edgbaston,  a  Avell-knoAvn 
naturalist,  and  for  several  years  formerly  president  of  the 
Birmingham  Natural  History  and  Microscopical  Society,  Avas 
responsible  for  a  verbal  dissertation  on  British  birds.  This  Avas 
illustrated  with  lantern-slide  pictures,  chiefly  of  the  birds  of 
prey  and  sea-birds,  mostly  photographed  by  himself  in  their 
native  haunts  when  on  his  numerous  ornithological  expeditions. 
Mr.  Chase  had  visited  the  Lundy  Island,  the  Faroe  Islands,  and 
other  notable  habitats  of  sea  and  inland  birds.  In  introducing 
Mr.  Chase  to  the  meeting,  the  president  (Professor  Win. 
Hillhouse)  remarked  upon  the  exceptionally  fine  ornithological 
collection,  and  comprising,  in  sequence,  the  eggs,  and  the  birds 
in  various  stages  of  growth  towards  maturity,  whilst  the 
specimens  are  mounted  as  to  show  instructively  the  surroundings 
of  the  various  birds  as  seen  in  their  natural  habitats.  Of  nests 
of  the  different  birds  containing  cuckoo’s  eggs  the  collection 
comprises  upwards  of  100  specimens.  The  lecturer,  in  his  pre¬ 
liminary  remarks,  exhibited  a  tabulated  list  of  the  genera  and 
verified  species  of  British  birds,  amounting  to  at  least  370  species, 
with  a  few  additional  not  exactly  determined  ones.  The  excel¬ 
lent  photographic  pictures,  especially  of  the  breeding  haunts  of 
the  seafowl,  with  their  eggs  and  progeny  in  situ  among  the 
precipitous  and  inaccessible  rocky  heights,  w'ere  duly  appreciated 
by  the  audience.  They  also  served  as  evidence  of  the  lecturer’s 
indomitable  perseverance  and  skill  in  the  pursuit  of  his  charming 
hobby.  Here,  also,  it  may  be  remarked  that  horticulture  claims 
Mr.  Chase  as  a  devotee,  as  well  as  ornithology  and  taxidermy. 
The  zoological  collection  in  Regent’s  Park,  London,  and  the 
British  Museum  have  also  been  enriched  by  rare  specimens  of 
British  birds  contributed  by  Mr.  Chase.  In  response  to  the 
hearty  vote  of  thanks  accorded  by  the  meeting,  the  lecturer 
expressed  his  gratification  in  having  addressed  such  an  apprecia¬ 
tive  audience,  and  was  particularly  impressed  by  the  observant 
remarks  and  questions  of  more  than  one  of  his  hearers. — W.  G. 
4^ 
Trade  Notes. 
The  Wordsley  firm,  hitheiffo  consisting  of  Colonel  W.  G. 
Webb,  M.P.,  anil  Mr.  Edivard  Webb,  has  been  extended  by  the 
taking  into  partnership  of  Mr.  W.  Harcourt  Webb  and  Mr.  E. 
Stanley  Webb,  the  eldest  sons  respectively  of  the  tAVO  senior 
partners,  and  both  well  known  in  the  showyards. 
Nonex. 
This  name  has  been  adopted  by  a  firm  of  manufacturers 
(Messrs.  G.  and  T.  Earle,  Limited,  Hull,  England)  for  a  cement 
offered  by  them,  and  intended  for  repairs  to  brick  and  stoneivork. 
We  have  received  a  large  sample  tin  of  “Nonex,”  and  this  Avill 
be  found  a  most  useful  repairing  matei-ial  for  a  very  great  variety 
of  purposes.  For  a  range  or  copper,  for  doorstops,  w'indow-sills, 
hearths,  tessellated  pavements  or  tiling,  for  drains,  mouse  and 
rat  holes,  mantelpieces,  tombstones,  ornamental  castings,  Ac., 
tlie  cement  Avill  prove  effective  Avhen  properly  applied,  and  its 
being  so  portable  and  easy  to  prepare  should  ensure  a  ready 
demand  for  so  useful  an  article.  “  Nonex  ”  can  be  purchased  also 
for  use  as  a  paint  for  walls  in  the  following  colours  :  Dark  slate, 
slate  blue,  light  marone,  cold  grey  slate,  cement,  dark  terra  cotta, 
light  brick-red,  and  stone.  As  directions  for  using  the  cement  art* 
provided  Avith  each  consignment  there  need  be  no  difficulty 
experienced.  For  fui-ther  particulars  see  our  advertisement 
columns. 
Barr's  Plant  Catalogue. 
The  newly-issued  catalogue  of  hardy  perennials,  alpines,  and 
aquatic  plants  for  1902  comes  to  us  from  Messrs.  Barr  and  Son.s, 
King  Street,  Covent  Garden,  W.C.,  and  is  as  splendidly  got  up 
as  hitherto.  On  pages  1  to  4  we  find  a  selection  of  really  good 
novelties  and  rarities.  The  lists  of  Lenten  Roses,  Irises,  Pseonies. 
Phloxes,  and  neAV  coloui'od  hybrid  Water  Lilies  (the  culture  of 
these  being  a  speciality  AVith  the  firm)  are  comprehensive  and 
good.  We  commend  the  catalogue  to  lovers  of  the  outdoor 
garden  ei'erywhere. 
