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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  ANb  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  28,  1901. 
Royal  Appointment. 
Messrs.  Laing  and  Matlier,  of  Kelso-on-Tweed,  have  been 
appointed  Royal  seedsmen  and  nurserymen  to  His  Majesty  the 
King.  Since  1894  the  firm  held  a  similar  warrant  from  His 
Majesty  when  Prince  of  Wales.  The  partners  of  the  now  com¬ 
bined  firms,  Mr.  Thomas  Laing  and  Mr.  R.  V.  Mather,  are  most 
capable  business  men,  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  require¬ 
ments  of  their  trade  in  all  its  departments. 
Appointments. 
Mr.  H.  Johns,  general  foreman,  Henbury  Hall,  and,  for  over 
two  years  previously  fruit  forcing  foreman  with  Mr.  E.  Ward, 
Longford  Hall  Gardens,  Manchester,  as  head  gardener  to  W.  Con¬ 
greve,  Esq.,  Burton  Hall,  Neston,  near  Chester.  Mr.  D.  W. 
Baker,  as  head  gardener  to  G.  Lawrence,  Esq.,  Crickleaze,  Chard, 
Somerset;  formerly  gardener  to  J.  Wiblin,  Esq.,  Northleigh, 
Wimborne,  Dorset. 
Planting  Small  Fruits. 
In  good  ground,  liberally  prepared,  there  is  every  prospect 
of  young  trees  and  bushes  doing  well  by  planting  them  now. 
Choose  dry  weather  for  inserting  them,  as  the  work  can  then  be 
more  expeditiously  carried  out,  and  it  is  better  for  the  after 
growth  when  the  roots  have  a  fair  start  in  fairly  dry,  pulverised, 
fertile  soil.  Trampling  on  wet  and  pasty  ground,  which  neces¬ 
sarily  becomes  worse  by  treading  upon  it  in  wet  weather,  excludes 
air  from  the  roots,  and  renders  a  slow  start  inevitable.  Better 
delay  planting  when  these  conditions  prevail,  and  wait  until  a 
more  convenient  time,  in  the  meantime  laying  in  the  roots  care¬ 
fully.— G. 
Newport  Gardeners’  Association. 
The  following  is  the  syllabus  for  the  session  1901-2.  December 
11 — “  The  Bougainvillea  and  its  Culture,”  by  Mr.  D.  Powell. 
1902  :  January  8 — “  Chemical  Manures  on  Fruit  and  Vegetables  : 
results  of  experiments  up-to-date,”  by  Mr.  F.  W.  E.  Shrivell, 
F.L.S.,  Thompson’s  Farm,  Tonbridge,  Kent.  January  22 — 
“  Notes  from  the  Great  Fruit  Show  at  the  Crystal  Palace, 
October,  1901,”  by  Mr.  G.  Brooks,  of  Bristol.  February  12 — 
“  Fuchsias,”  by  Mr.  T.  H.  Jarvis,  chairman.  February  26 — 
“The  Culture  of  Melons,”  by  Mr.  F.  S.  Daniels,  vice-chairman. 
March  12 — “  The  Azalea,”  by  Mr.  J.  Kenward.  March  26 — 
“Annuals,”  by  Mr.  W.  Jones.  April  9 — “The  Anthurium,”  by 
Mr.  W.  E.  Lewis.  May  14 — Consideration  of  the  Outing.  June 
11 — “  The  Life  and  Growth  of  a  Plant,”  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Reece. 
July  9 — Open.  August  13 — Annual  meeting ;  election  of 
officers,  &c. 
Kew  Notes. 
Seldom  have  the  Nepenthes  been  seen  in  greater  vigour,  or  in 
a  state  more  profusely  pitchered,  than  they  are  now.  One  fine 
plant  of  N.  coccinea  is  bearing  thirty-five  fine  pitchers ;  N.  Dick- 
soniana  has  sixteen  monsters  ;  RafHesiana  presents  about  thirty- 
eight;  Hookeriana,  thirty-four;  and  others  worthy  of  special 
notice  are  atro-sanguinea,  Morganise,  ampullaris,  ventricosa  (re¬ 
cently  certificated  when  staged  in  the  Drill  Hall  by  Messrs. 
Veitch),  and  lastly  Henryana.  An  attractive  selection  of  the 
mottled-leaved  Sonerilas  are  staged  at  the  west  end  of  the  stove. 
The  best  varieties  include  S.  Madame  E.  Walter,  Madame  Secre- 
tan,  Madame  Victor  Alesch,  Madame  Pynaert,  and  maculata 
Leopoldi.  The  latter  is  one  of  the  best.  Amasonia  calycina, 
with  its  terminal  flowers,  is  beginning  to  furnish  a  welcome  dis¬ 
play  ;  while  in  the  Cape  house  there  is  a  showy  batch  of  an 
orange-coloured  species  of  Jacobinia,  namely,  J.  chrysostephana. 
The  dense  flower  spikes  are  borne  at  the  apex  of  the  erect  dark 
stems.  The  leaves  are  dark,  and  more  or  less  shining,  broadly 
elliptical  in  form.  Hymenocallis  moritziana,  with  seven  beauti¬ 
ful  and  perfectly  white  flowers,  form  a  scape  that  will  last  some 
time  yet  in  the  freshness  of  its  present  elegance.  Cl i via  Gar- 
deni  is  always  charming  when  flowering  as  it  now  is.  The  Orchid 
range  continues  to  grow  brighter  Out  of  doors  the  Rose 
pergolas  are  being  erected,  turf  is  being  relaid,  and  various 
alterations  in  the  shrubberies  are  being  effected. 
Obituary. 
On  November  21,  at  Grosvenor  Nurseries,  Chester,  Mr.  George 
McHattie,  father  of  the  late  Messrs.  John  and  George  McHattie, 
of  the  well  known  firm  of  seedsmen  and  nurserymen,  of  Chester, 
died  in  his  94th  year.  His  son  John  was  Sheriff  of  Chester  in 
1883. 
Weather  in  South  Perthshire. 
Following  three  wet  and  stormy  days,  frost  again  set  in  on 
the  evening  of  the  21st,  and  on  successive  days  8  degrees, 
12  degrees,  and  14  degrees  were  recorded.  On  the  afternoon  of 
Saturday  thaw  began,  and  continued  over  Sunday  and  Monday, 
which  were  pleasantly  seasonable. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
Corporation  as  Hop  Growers. 
The  latest  municipal  enterprise  at  Tunbridge  Wells  is  the 
cultivation  of  Hops  by  the  Corporation,  and  very  successful  it 
has  proved.  During  the  summer  the  Corporation  laid  out  ll.j 
acres  of  land  for  Hop  growing  on  one  of  its  farms.  The  crop 
was  remarkably  good,  and  has  realised  £520,  or  10s.  a  pocket  more 
than  any  other  grower  in  the  district  has  obtained.  The  profits 
will  be  devoted  to  the  reduction  of  the  rates. 
Horticultural  .Lectures  at  Sherborne. 
In  connection  with  the  Gloucestershire  County  Council,  two 
lectures,  by  Mr.  W.  Iggulden,  F.R.H.S.,  have  been  given 
in  the  school.  They  were  well  attended,  and  keen  interest  was 
taken  in  the  proceedings.  The  first  lecture  was  on  orchard  culti¬ 
vation,  and  useful,  practical  hints  respecting  the  planting  and 
treatment  of  trees  were  afforded  in  such  a  simple  way  that, 
although  questions  were  freely  invited  at  any  point,  but  few 
seemed  to  think  them  necessary.  The  following  Monday  the 
lecturer  took  the  culture  of  bush  fruit  and  vegetables  as  his 
subject.  This  proved  more  interesting  than  the  previous  lecture, 
and  those  present  showed  their  interest  by  frequent  and  pointed 
queries,  which  were  promptly  and  genially  answered.  The 
lectures  were  rendered  easily  comprehensible  by  the  aid  of  simple 
but  admirable  diagrams.  Mr.  R.  Gray  acted  as  chairman,  and  at 
the  close  proposed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  lecturer.  In  the  fore¬ 
noon  of  the  next  day  Mr.  Iggulden,  assisted  by  Messrs.  Scott  and 
Barclay,  gave,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  gathering,  practical 
demonstrations  of  the  planting  and  pruning  of  fruit  trees  and 
bushes  in  Mr.  Gray’s  orchard  and  the  adjacent  gardens.  Those 
instrumental  in  providing  the  above  technical  instruction  doubt¬ 
less  feel  gratified  at  its  having  proved  acceptable. 
Will  of  the  late  Mr.  M.  H.  Sutton. 
Mr.  Martin  Hope  Sutton,  of  Cintra  Lodge,  Whitley,  Reading, 
founder  of  the  firm  of  Sutton  and  Sons,  who  retired  from  the  firm 
in  1888,  and  died  on  October  4,  in  his  eighty-seventh  year, 
leaving  personal  property  of  the  value  of  £63,888  19s.  8d.,  the 
value  of  the  whole  of  the  estate  being  £91,220  15s.  4d.,  and  his 
will,  dated  April  16,  1901,  with  two  codicils,  has  been  proved  by 
his  sons,  Martin  John  Sutton,  Arthur  Warwick  Sutton,  and 
Leonard  Goodhart  Sutton,  all  of  Reading,  and  Ernest  William 
Sutton,  of  Basildon.  The  testator  bequeathed  £100  to  the 
trustees  of  the  Reading  General  Charities,  £1,000  to  the  Royal 
Berkshire  Hospital,  £200  to  theReading  Dispensary,  £100  to  the 
Reading  Church  of  England  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association, 
£100  to  the  Reading  Town  Mission,  £100  to  the  Ventnor  Town 
Mission,  £100  to  the  Young  Men’s  Home,  Hazlewood,  Ryde,  £100 
to  the  London  City  Mission,  £100  to  the  Seaside  Home  at  Ventnor 
for  London  City  Missionaries,  £500  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  £100  to  the  London  Missionary  Society,  £100  to  the 
China  Inland  Mission,  £100  to  the  London  Society  for  Promoting 
Christianity  among  the  Jews,  £500  to  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society,  £100  to  the  Society  for  Distributing  Christian 
Truth  at  Eastbourne,  £100  to  the  Irish  Church  Mission,  £100  to 
the  Evangelical  Society  (Surrey  Street,  Strand),  £100  to  the 
Lord’s  Day  Observation  Society,  £500  to  the  Church  Pastoral  Aid 
Society,  £100  to  the  Protestant  Alliance,  £100  to  the  Commer¬ 
cial  Travellers’  Christian  Association,  £100  to  the  Evangelical 
Alliance  (Adam  Street,  Strand),  £100  to  the  Soldiers’  Home  estab¬ 
lished  by  the  late  Mrs.  Daniell,  £100  to  the  Convalescent  Home 
(Clevedon,  Somerset),  and  £500  to  the  George  Muller  Orphanage 
(Ashley  Down,  Bristol).  Also  £500  for  distribution  among  his 
male  and  female  servants,  and  legacies  to  persons  in  his  employ, 
and  other  family  bequests.  Readers  will  please  note  that  the  above 
gentleman  retired  from  business  in  1888. 
