376 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  24,  1931. 
NOTES 
Weathe?  in  London. 
Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday  were  clear  days  and  very 
agreeable.  Sunday  morning  was  foggy,  but  the  day  proved 
exhilirating  afterwards.  Monday  was  of  a  similar  charcter, 
but  Tuesday  was  damp  and  somewhat  foggy  throughout. 
Death  of  an  Old  Botanist. 
On  the  17th  inst.  the  death  occurred  of  Mr.  Jephtha  Makin,  of 
Owl’s  Nest,  Clifton,  near  Manchester.  The  deceased  was  well 
known  amongst  botanists  in  the  locality.  Some  time  ago  he  was 
awarded  the  Royal  Humane  Society’s  certificate  for  saving  two 
lives  last  February  from  drowning  in  a  frozen  pond.  He  fell 
after  having  his  tea,  and  died  immediately. 
National  Flower  for  America. 
A  meeting  of  the  National  Organising  Commission  of  the 
Nationa'  Flower  Congress  was  held  at  New  Britain,  Ct. ,  October  1, 
to  consider  the  subject  of  adopting  the  Carnation  as  a  national 
flower.  The  Carnation  was  the  favourite  flower  of  President 
McKinley,  and  the  Commission  thinks  it  would  be  an  honour  to 
the  late  President  to  have  this  adopted.  The  prevailing  senti¬ 
ment,  however,  of  the  National  Flower  Association  is  divided 
between  the  Goldenrod  and  Columbine,  which  two  are  in  the  lead. 
Tomato  Judging  at  the  Fruit  Show. 
We  have  received  the  following  letter  from  Mr.  W.  II.  Dyer, 
Mitchett  Nursery,  Mitchett  Road,  Frimley,  Surrey,  who  com¬ 
peted  in  Class  31,  market-growers’  section,  at  the  Crystal  Palace 
Fruit  Show,  October  10.  11,  and  12: — “On  page  360  of  to-day’s 
‘  Journal  ’  [October  17]  I  see  you  state  that  Messrs.  Poupart  and 
Sons  had  second  prize  for  121b  of  Tomatoes.  This  was  so  in  the 
morning  [when  our  report  was  written],  but  a  protest  was  sub¬ 
sequently  entered  against  the  award;  the  judges  had  overlooked 
their  instructions.  The  rule  says  that,  ‘  Boxes  or  baskets  piled 
up  above  the  edge  of  the  rim  will  be  considered  unsuitable  for 
travelling,  and  will  be  disqualified.’  Messrs.  Poupart  and  Sons 
were  disqualified  on  this  account.  The  second  prize  went  to 
Mr.  W.  H.  Dyer,  Mitchett  Nursery,  Frimley,  with  Tomato  Dyer’s 
Seedling.”  Truly  judging  is  an  onerous  business,  and  even  small 
classes  demand  the  greatest  conscientiousness. 
The  Late  Mr.  James  Service. 
It  is  with  deep  regret  that  I  have  heard  of  the  death,  after  a 
few  hours’  illness,  of  Mr.  James  Service,  the  well-known  nursery 
and  seedsman  of  Maxwelltown,  Dumfries,  in  the  77th  year  of  his 
age.  Mr.  Service  was  a  native  of  Ayrshire,  where  his  father  was 
an  extensive  farmer.  Beginning  work  early  on  a  farm,  he  after¬ 
wards  entered  the  nursery  of  Messrs.  Samson  and  Co.,  of  Kil¬ 
marnock,  as  an  apprentice.  There  he  studied  both  branches  of 
the  business  he  intended  to  pursue,  afterwards  going  to  Cood- 
ham  to  further  improve  his  practical  knowledge.  In  1848  he 
became  gardener  to  Colonel  M‘Murdo,  of  Mavisgrove,  near  Dum¬ 
fries,  afterwards  going  to  Netherplaee,  Mauchline,  as  gardener 
to  Lord  Justice  Hope.  From  there  he  went  to  an  appointment 
near  Carlisle,  which  he  left  to  begin  business  in  Dumfries,  after¬ 
wards  removing  his  nurseries  to  the  sister  burgh  of  Maxwelltown, 
where  he  carried  on  a  most  extensive  business  until  his  death, 
assisted  in  later  years  by  his  two  sons,  Mr.  Robert  Service  and 
Mr.  Joseph  Service. 
Mr.  Service  was  widely  known  and  as  widely  respected  by 
many  interested  in  gardening  and  gardeners,  and  the  writer  has 
had  many  pleasant  and  cheery  conversations  with  him  upon  these 
kindred  topics.  His  conversation  was  full  of  anecdotes  of  the 
men  he  had  met  in  his  long  professional  career,  and  it  was  always 
a  pleasure  to  come  across  him,  and  to  have  the  pleasure  of  a  talk 
with  him.  Mr.  Service  took  a  life-long  interest  in  florists’ 
flowers,  and  was  for  many  years  a  prominent  exhibitor  of 
Gladioli  and  Dahlias.  It  was  one  of  his  boasts  that  he  was  among 
the  first,  if  not  the  first,  to  lower  the  price  of  Dahlias  to  a  cost 
which  placed  them  within  the  reach  of  the  many,  and  did  not 
render  them  only  the  enjoyments  of  the  few.— S.  Arnott. 
New  Fields  for  Asparagus. 
The  dunes  or  sand  hills  on  the  French  coast,  which  have  been 
found  difficult  to  fix,  unless  by  planting  on  them  a  certain  kind  of 
grass,  are  turning  out  a  valuable  field  for  the  market  gardener’s 
efforts.  They  afford,  it  seems,  the  best  soil  for  the  cultivation  of 
Asparagus. 
Professor  Underwood  as  Plant  Collector. 
Professor  L.  M.  1  ndervood,  of  the  chair  of  botany  in  Columbia 
University,  has  returned  from  a  collecting  tour  in  Porto  Rico, 
bringing  a  fine  collection  of  Cacti  from  the  arid  southern  part  of 
the  island ;  about  seventy-five  varieties  of  seeds,  many  of  which 
have  already  germinated  in  the  propagating  house ;  several 
museum  specimens,  and  about  1000  specimens  from  the  herbarium. 
The  funds  for  this  exposition  were  contributed  by  Mr.  W.  E. 
Dodge.  The  Vigenor  Herbarium,  purchased  by  funds  contributed 
by  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie,  is  beginning  to  arrive  at  the  Botanical 
Museum. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
The  next  fruit  and  flower  show  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday,  October  29,  in  the  Drill  Hall, 
Buckingham  Gate,  Westminster,  1  to  4  p.m.  A  lecture  on  “The 
Importance  of  Mechanical  Forces  as  Displayed  by  Plants”  will  be 
given  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  Geo.  Henslow,  M.A.,  V.M.H.,  at 
3  o’clock.  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  Society  held  on  Tuesday, 
October  15,  thirty  new  Fellows  were  elected,  making  a  total  of 
790  elected  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  year.  At  the 
meeting  on  November  26,  instead  of  Professor  Henslow’s  demon¬ 
stration,  a  lecture  will  be  given  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Austin  on  “  Whole 
Fruit  Preserving  in  Relation  to  Fruit  Culture.”  Mr.  Austin 
will  also  exhibit  a  large  number  of  specimens  of  bottled  and 
otherwise  preserved  British  fruits. 
Mr.  Yates  Thompson. 
Liverpool’s  youngest  freeman  is  Mr.  Yates  Thompson,  who 
has  received  the  honour  in  recognition  of  his  munificent  gifts  to 
his  native  city  in  the  shape  of  handsome  laboratories  in  University 
College  and  Palm  houses  in  two  of  the  public  parks.  Acknow¬ 
ledging  the  honour,  and  referring  to  the  statues  which  he  had 
chosen  to  adorn  the  gardens,  Mr.  Thompson  observed  that  the 
name  of  the  first  of  these,  John  Parkinson,  would  not,  perhaps,  be 
very  familiar.  It  had  not  been  long  familiar  to  himself,  and  his 
statue  was  really  there  because  their  old  townsman,  Mr.  Enoch 
Harvey,  a  great  gardener  himself,  had  spoken  of  his  merits,  and  of 
the  fact  that  he  was  the  author  of  the  first  books  in  which  flowers 
and  plants  in  a  garden  were  dealt  with,  not  for  their  medicinal 
virtues,  but  for  their  beauty  and  scent.  Thus  he  thought  that  he 
would  put  him  first  in  the  list  of  gardeners,  and  there  he  stood  in 
the  Elizabethan  costume — he  was  apothecary  to  James  I. — and 
the  sculptor,  being  eminently  practical,  had  also  clothed  him  with 
an  apron  to  protect  his  costume  from  the  soil  and  dust. 
Liverpool  Root  and  Fruit  Show. 
A  beautiful  October  day ;  the  record  as  regards  exhibits ;  the 
Lord  Mayor  to  open  the  Show.  Such  were  the  inviting  conditions 
under  which  the  managing  committee  held  their  twelfth  annual 
exhibition  on  Saturday  last,  in  the  grounds  adjoining  the  North 
Haymarket.  The  president,  R.  Webster,  Esq.,  introduced  his 
lordship,  who  delivered  an  able  speech.  The  display  of  Potatoes 
was  little,  if  anything,  behind  the  metropolitan  shows,  the  quality 
being  absolutely  perfect,  whilst  the  exhibits  were  enormous  in 
every  class.  For  an  early  white  kidney  variety  Mr.  J.  Parker 
won  with  the  handsome  sort,  Duke  of  York.  The  best  early  round 
white  came  from  Mr.  T.  Alty  with  Best  of  All ;  second  early 
white  kidney,  Mr.  T.  Percival  with  Prime  Minister  ;  second  early 
round  white,  first  and  special,  exors.  of  Peter  Davies,  with 
grand  Goldfinder ;  early,  or  second  early,  any  other  shape,  Mr. 
B.  Ashton,  gardener  to  Lord  Lathom,  Latliom  House,  Ormskirk, 
with  Ideal.  The  best  Sutton’s  Regents  came  from  Mr.  J.  John¬ 
son,  Mr.  Ashton  taking  honours  for  Lord  of  the  Isle.  Colossals 
were  perfect  from  Mr.  J.  Needham,  and  Sutton’s  Abundance  from 
Mr.  John  Halsall.  Mr.  George  Ashley  had  Satisfaction  in  grand 
form,  as  was  the  variety  Up-to-Date  from  Mr.  James  Parker. 
The  fleeting  Maincrop  wras  quite  perfect  from  Mr.  Threlfall. 
[This  paper  is  now  composed  by  Linotype  machines,  and  goes 
to  press  earlier  than  hitherto ;  thus  our  correspondent’s  full 
report,  the  second  half  of  which  came  too  late,  is  of  necessity  held 
over. — Ed.] 
