March  27,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
275 
I  should  like  to  add  my  tribute  of  admiration  to  the  pains¬ 
taking  care  Mr.  Edwards  has  so  long  shown  in  pursuit  of  the 
exacting  work  of  “proof  reader”  to  the  Journal.  I  have  often 
thought  there  must  be  some  veritable  wizard  behind  the  scenes 
at  Mitre  Court  Chambers — a  master  hand  at  unravelling  the 
interwoven  threads  intended  to  convey,  thoughts  in  the  “  King’s 
English.”  I  am  fully  conscious  of  having  given  Mr.  Edwards  a 
few  caligraphical  puzzles,  but  liis  close  scrutiny  seems  to  have 
solved  them  all.  I  trust  his  task  will  be  easier  in  the  future, 
and  that  many  years  of  honour  lie  yet  before  him. — H.  D. 
The  late  Mr.  N.  H.  Pownall. 
I  was  grieved  to  read  on  Thursday  last  of  the  death  of  *  he 
above  old  contributor  to  the  Journal  of  Horticulture.  Mr. 
Pownall’s  writings  were  always  extremely  interesting,  and 
frequently  charmingly  unconventional  and  witty.  He  possessed 
a  happy  knack  of  imparting  much  useful  information  in  a  chatty, 
jocular  style,  and  when  engaged  in  controversy,  he  showed  the 
great  advantage  in  giving  an  opponent  one  of  those  “  sly  cutting 
thrusts”  which  leave  no  sting  behind.  Mr.  Pownall  was  knoAvn 
to  me  as  a  writer  long  before  I  made  his  personal  acquaintance, 
and  when  we  met  for  the  first  time,  at  Shrewsbury  Show,  wo 
had  a  long  chat  about  “  our  Journal  ”  and  its  long  list  of  writers 
who  have  passed  away.  We  were  both  great  admirers  of  the 
writings  of  the  late  Donald  Beaton,  and  Mr.  Pownall  was  kind 
enough  te  send  me  an  autograph  of  that  famous  gardener, 
whose  writings  figured  so  largely  in  old  copies  of  the  “  Cottage 
Gardener,”  which  were  lent  to  me  in  my  school  days.  All  who 
knew  Mr.  Pownall  will,  I  am  sure,  join  with  me  in  the  expression 
of  deep  regret  at  the  loss  of  a  genuine  gardener,  refreshing 
,  writer,  and  genial,  high  minded  Englishman. — H.  D. 
Loadon,  and  Birmingdam  Botanical  Garden. 
Apropos  of  the  very  interesting  and  graphic  life  histoi-y  of 
that  illustrious  pioneer  of  horticultural  literature,  John  Claudius 
Loudon,  contained  in  the  issue  of  the.  Journal  on  March  13,  I 
failed  to  notice  any  allusion  to  the  fact  that  the  late  Mr. 
Loudon  designed  and  superintended  the  formation  of  the 
Botanical  Gardens,  Edgbaston,  Birmingham,  in  1831.  Of 
these  there  is  an  elaborate  description,  with  drawings  by 
himself,  in  “Loudon’s  Gardener’s  Magazine,”  vol.  viii., 
1832.  The  principal  features  of  the  design  are  still  evident, 
though  very  considerable  deviations  have  from  time  to.  time 
been  made  since  then,  and  more  especially  in  regard  to  the  glass 
structures.  The  design,  however,  remains  a  monument  to  the 
genius  of  that  celebrated  landscape  gardener.  Especially  not¬ 
able  are  the  fine  old  trees  planted  there  by  him,  and  also  by  the 
first  curator,  the  late  Mr.  David  Cameron.  A  great  feature 
in  Loudon’s  practice  as  a  landscape  gardener  was  the  care  he 
took  to  preserve  any  existing  trees,  and  there  are  several  strik¬ 
ing  instances  of  his  subtilty  in  this  direction  at  Edgbaston. 
Among  the  more  notable  presumed  to  have  been  planted  in 
Loudon’s  time  are  fine  veterans  of  such  as  a  tall  specimen  of 
the  White  Beam  (Pynis  Aria),  to  see  wliich  an  enthusiast 
travelled  all  the  way  from  Manchester  one  day  last  spring,  as 
he  had  never  seen  an  old  specimen  of  it  before.  Another  not¬ 
able  specimen  is  that  of  the  Weeping  Double-flowering  Cherry 
(Cerasus  pendula  flore-pleno)  and  which  is  a  popular  object  of 
admiration  when  in  bloom.  A  fine  old  Deodar,  with  many 
trunks,  growing  in  close  proximity  to  the  huge  rockery,  with 
alpine  flowers,  must  have  been  one  of  the  first  batch  raised  in 
England. 
At  one  comer  of  the  garden,  adjacent  to  the  highway,  there 
is  a  very  fine,  tall,  and  vigorous  Oak,  and  which,  with  its 
reticulated,  symmetrical  bole,  can  hardly  fail  to  attract  the 
attention  of  even  the  least  observant  visito.r.  There  was  also 
existing  until  recently  an  enormous  specimen  of  Wistaria 
sinensis,  extending  along  a  north  boundary  wall.  The  chief 
feature,  however,  is  perhaps  the  group  of  Magnolias,  the  finest 
probably  existent  in  any  British  botanical  garden.  Especially 
noticeable  is  a  tall  tree  of  M.  acuminata.  Another  somewhat 
rare  old  species,  too,  and  which  bears  large  and  very  fragrant 
flowers,  is  a  fine  bush  of  M.  auriculata.  In  the  Rhododendron 
garden,  which  is  enclosed  by  a  high  Beech  hedge,  there  still 
exist  several  fine  old  specimens  of  American  Azaleas,  and  which 
are  said  to  have  been  planted  there  upwards  of  sixty  years  ago. 
When  in  bloom  their  exquisite  scent  can  be  enjoyed  from  a  long 
distance  around.  At  the  present  time  they  are  embellished  with 
a  dense  carpeting  of  Crocuses  in  variety.  It  is  a  recent  intro¬ 
duction  of  Mr.  Latham’s,  and  produces  altogether  a  very  pretty 
effect.  Space  permitting,  much  more  matter  of  a  similar 
character  to  the  foregoing  could  be  related  of  this  popular  garden 
resort,  and  which  is  so  well  managed  by  its  veteran  curator. 
— W.  G. 
Irish  Ivy. 
I  beg  to  suggest,  for  the  readers  of  your  admirable  paper, 
my  mode  of  pmning  this  evergreen,  which  I  should  not  do,  but 
that  I  see  numerous  instances  where  that  indispensable  operas 
tion  is  by  no  means  understood ;  and,  the  more  so,  from  a 
recent  conversation  with  a  bigot  of  the  common  school,  of  some 
twenty  years’  practice.  On  asking  him  how  he  pruned  his  Ivy, 
he  replied,  “I  always  clip  it”;  and  although  a  well-trained 
screen  was  at  hand,  upon  wlaich  I  exemplified,  he  walked  doggedly 
away,  with  too  obvious  an  intention  of  pursuing  his  own  plan, 
than  which  nothing  can  be  worse.  For,  if  clipped  sufiiciently 
close,  it  must,  from  the  time  of  its  being  done,  denude  the 
wall  or  fence  of  all  its  beautiful  green  leavfes  until  fresh  ones 
grow ;  and  if  so  clipped  in  the  autumn,  leave  the  whole  in  an 
unsightly  bare  state  throughout  the  winter ;  whereas,  by  my 
plan,  no  such  result  is  the  consequence,  and  all  protruding 
snags  are  prevented.  In  November  I  proceed  thus:  With 
my  left  hand  I  take  firm  hold  of  every  summer  shoot,  however 
small,  or  however  long  and  dangling,  and  boldly  drawing  it  out 
to  its  utmost  stretch,  until  it  comes  to  the  shoot  from  which 
it  sterted.  I  then,  with  my  pruning-knife  in  my  right  hand, 
and  with  a  cut  from  me,  take  it  off  close  to  the  stem  from  which 
it  started ;  and,  by  carefully  going  over  the  whole  with  this  pro¬ 
cess,  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  my  Ivy  looking  beauti¬ 
fully  green  throughout  the  winter,  from  the  summer  leaves 
being  undisturbed.  A  friend’s  parsonage  (one  of  your  patrons) 
is  covered  with  Irish  Ivy,  and  all  the  year  round  looks  green 
and  snug,  from  being  treated  this  way,  without  any  straggling 
branches  or  obtrusive  masses  protruding  from  the  walls. — Q. 
Gardeners  and  ihe  Coronaiion. 
A  few  mouths  hence  and  the  British  Empire  will  be  giving 
vent  to  its  exuberance  of  spirits  on  the  advent  of  the  greatest 
and  happiest  event  that  a  nation  can  experience — the  corona¬ 
tion  of  its  Sovereigns.  Ti-uly  the  event  is  one  which  enjoins  a 
pause  from  the  everyday  course  of  things,  and  a  pause,  too, 
which  will  competently  mark  it  in  the  annals  of  individual  as 
well  as  national  history.  Therefore  this  is  a  time  specially  suit¬ 
able  for  all  loyal-hearted  subjects  to  give  more  than  ordinary 
effect  to  their  liberality  in  every  worthy  object.  The  history 
of  the  Victorian  Era  to  every  British  subject  must  be  viewed 
with  feelings  of  the  most  intense  gratitude,  and,  like  the  farmer 
who  has  reaped  a  good  harvest  from  the  influence  of  a  good 
summer,  feels  that  he  owes  someone  a  thank-offering.  The 
British  Empire  owes  much  to  the  unique  progress  of  the  Victorian 
reign,  and  among  the  many  arts  and  professions  which  have 
immensely  improved  during  this  period  is  the  by  no  means 
unimportant  art  of  gardening.  How  different  is  the  condition 
of  gardening  now  from  what  it  was  at  the  time  of  Queen  Victoria’s 
accession ! 
Much  of  this  desirable  progress  is  due  to  the  peaceful  nature 
of  the  Victorian  reign,  but  much  of  it  also  is  due  to  the  late 
Queen’s  high  appreciation  of  the  art  of  gardening.  There  is 
ample  indications  that  His  Majesty  tlie  &ng  and  his  Consort 
the  Queen  are  not  less  imbued  with  high  conceptions  of  the 
beautiful  as  exemplified  in  the  art  of  gardening.  The  profes¬ 
sion,  on  that  account,  owes  a  double  debt  to  the  Throne  for  the 
past  and  the  future  prosperity  of  the  art.  How  to  celebrate 
and  memorialise  this  in  a  suitable  and  worthy  manner  I  think 
ought  to  engage  the  attention  of  every  member  of  the  profession 
W  the  few  months  which  intervene  the  event  in  question.  One 
very  appropriate  way  to  commemorate  the  occasion  has  suggested 
itself  very  forcibly  to  my  mind,  and  that  is  that  an  effort  might 
be  made  to  collect  funds,  the  object  of  which  would  be  to  cover 
the  expenses  of  medals  to  be  awarded  to  gardeners  for  essays 
on  matters  bearing  on  horticulture.  A  very  small  contribution 
from  every  gardener  throughout  the  British  Isles  would  suffice 
to  make  the  object  a  success.  I  think  too  little  attention  has 
been  given  to  this  phase  of  horticulture.  Exhibitions  of  the 
literary  are  as  essential  as  are  those  of  the  practical  side  of  the 
art,  and  are  pre-eminently  more  likely  to  be  conducive  of  more 
universal  fruits.  Moreover,  the  exigencies  of  the  times  demand 
it,  for  we  seem  to  be  only  in  the  incipient  stages  of  our  literary 
history.  Then  who  would  not  exert  himself  to  the  uttermost  to 
become  the  possessor  of  a  “  Coronation  ”  medal  ?  I  sincerely 
hope  something  of  this  nature  will  be  attempted  to  mark  an 
important  stage  in  the  history  of  the  profession ;  and  I  invoke 
the  attention  of  our  young  men  to  the  matter,  for  they  are 
the  future  custodians  of  the  art  that  is  extremely  unlikely  to 
grow  less  lustrous  as  civilisation  and  years  grow  apace. — 
Hortulanttb,  N.B. 
