November  28,  1901.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
497 
shape,  and  clean  and  bright  in  the  skin ;  the  Cyclamen  sturdily 
grown  and  well  flowered.  The  Society’s  Gold  Medal  was  awarded. 
Certificates  of  Merit  were  also  awarded  to  Mr.  H.  Deverill,  Ban¬ 
bury,  for  a  grand  collection  of  Onions,  and  for  Zonal  Pelar¬ 
goniums;  to  Messrs.  Hinton,  Bros.,  Warwick,  for  a  good  collec¬ 
tion  of  shrubs;  to  Mr.  R.  Greenfield,  Leamington,  for  a  miscel¬ 
laneous  collection  of  plants:  and  to  Messrs.  W.  Wells  and  Co., 
Earlswood  Nurseries,  Redhill,  for  a  collection  of  new  varieties  of 
Chrysanthemums.  Among  them  two  varieties  were  conspicuous, 
viz.,  Henry  Barnes,  which  may  he  described  as  a  glorified  E. 
Molyneux,  and  Mrs.  E.  Thirkell,  a  grand  yellow;  each  was 
awarded  a  First-class  Certificate. 
Dundee  Chrysanthemum,  NoyeTber  21st,  22nd,  and  23rd. 
A  very  successful  exhibition  was  that  held  last  week  in  the 
Drill  Hall  at  Dundee.  The  chief  interest  is  centred  in  the  con¬ 
test  for  the  Corporation  Vase,  a  handsome  trophy  presented  to 
the  society  by  the  Town  Council.  The  coveted  honour  on  this 
occasion  fell  to  Mr.  J.  Beisant  (or  Besant),  gardener  to  Mrs. 
George  Armitstead,  Castle  Huntley,  Longforgan.  Some  splendid 
blooms  of  Madame  R.  Cadbury,  J.  R.  Upton,  and  Mrs.  J.  Weeks 
were  here  included.  The  second  prize  in  this  class  (for  twelve 
vases  of  Japs)  was  annexed  by  Mr.  David  Nicoll,  Rossie,  Forgan- 
denny  ;  and  the  third  to  another  famous  Scottish  grower,  Mr. 
David  Keillor,  Seabourne,  Broughty  Ferry.  Mr.  Beisant  stood 
foremost  also  for  the  thirty-six  Japs  in  half  that  number  of 
varieties ;  while  for  thirty-six  distinct  blooms  the  Challenge  Cup 
presented  by  Mrs.  Armitstead  was  secured  by  Mr.  D.  Nicoll.  Mr. 
J.  H.  Gumming,  gardener  at  Grantully  Castle,  led  for  two  dozen 
Japs  in  a  dozen  varieties,  winning  another  Challenge  Cup  that  is 
offered  by  J.  J.  Watson,  Esq.  Other  chief  winners  were  Messrs. 
J.  Baird,  George  Ruckbie,  R.  J.  Walker,  W.  Kennedy,  and  R.  W. 
Saunders.  The  competition  for  plants  was  very  fair,  as  was  that 
for  fruit  and  vegetables.  The  show  was  opened  by  Sir  James 
Low,  surrounded  by  many  persons  of  local  distinction.  Amongst 
trade  growers  who  supported  the  show  with  exhibits  were  Messrs. 
W.  P.  Laird  and  Sinclair,  D.  and  W.  Croll,  Storrie  and  Storrie, 
all  of  Dundee;  Wells  and  Co.,  Earlswood  Nurseries,  Redhill, 
Surrey  :  and  Norman  Davis,  Framfieid,  Sussex.  In  every  respect 
this  year’s  show  was  successful. 
Royal  Meteorological. 
The  opening  meeting  of  this  society  for  the  session  was  held 
on  Wednesday  evening,  the  20th  instant,  at  the  Institution  of 
Civil  Engineers,  Mr.  W.  H.  Dines,  B.A.,  President,  in  the  chair. 
A  paper  by  Mr.  A.  Lawrence  Rotch  on  “  The  Exploration  of  the 
Atmosphere  at  Sea  by  means  of  Kites  ”  was  read  by  the  secretary. 
The  author  has  for  some  years  past  devoted  his  attention  to  the 
use  of  kites  to  obtain  meteorological  observations  at  the  Blue  Hill 
Observatory,  Mass.,  U.S.A.,  and  he  has  successfully  carried  on 
the  work  of  exploring  the  air  there  to  a  height  of  three  miles  by 
several  hundred  kite  flights,  executed  in  varied  weather  condi¬ 
tions,  whenever  the  velocity  of  the  wind  exceeded  twelve  miles  an 
hour.  Certain  types  of  weather,  however,  such  as  anticyclones, 
accompanied  by  light  winds,  can  rarely  be  studied.  Mr.  Rotch 
now  proposes  the  employment  of  kites  carrying  meteorographs 
on  steamships,  especially  on  vessels  cruising  in  tropical  oceans. 
He  has  himself  demonstrated  the  practicability  of  this  scheme, 
as  on  August  22  last  he  raised  a  kite  to  an  elevation  of  half  a 
mile  from  a  tow-boat  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  when  the  velocity 
of  the  wind  at  sea-level  varied  between  six  and  ten  miles  an 
hour.  At  the  end  of  the  same  month,  when  crossing  the  North 
Atlantic  from  Boston  to  Liverpool  on  the  steamship  Common¬ 
wealth,  he  was  able  to  raise  kites  carrying  a  meteorograph  to  an 
altitude  of  1,800ft  on  five  days  out  of  the  eight.  The  chief  feature 
of  these  records  was  the  rapid  change  of  temperature  with 
height. 
A  paper  by  Professor  J.  Milne,  F.R.S.,  on  “Meteorological 
Phenomena  in  Relation  to  Changes  in  the  Vertical,”  was  also  read 
by  the  secretary.  When  resident  in  Japan  some  years  ago,  the 
author  carried  on  numerous  observations  by  seismographs  for 
ascertaining  changes  in  the  vertical,  and  found  that  the  more 
important  displacements  of  the  horizontal  pendulums  are  of  three 
types,  viz.,  “intermediate,”  “long,”  and  “short”  period  wander¬ 
ings.  During  the  last  five  years  Professor  Milne  has  had  con¬ 
tinuous  photographic  records  of  a  horizontal  pendulum  at  his 
residence  at  Shide,  Isle  of  Wight,  and  he  now  makes  a  compari¬ 
son  of  these  records  with  the  weather  conditions  prevailing  during 
the  first  six  months  of  1901.  He  says  that  assuming  that  a 
locality  can  be  chosen  where  the  diurnal  wave  and  effects  due  to 
rain  and  dessication  are  small,  which  his  observations  indicate  as 
possible,  records  of  what  appear  to  be  the  effects  due  to  baro¬ 
metrical  gradients  may  be  obtained.  When  these  are  large  and 
appear  suddenly,  the  movements  of  the  pendulum  may  be  marked. 
At  Shide  the  westerly  displacement  of  a  pendulum  has  for 
several  years  past  been  regarded  as  indicating  the  approach  ef 
bad  weather. 
Beckenham  Honicultural. 
On  Friday  last  the  lecture  “  Bees  and  Bee-keeping  ”  was  de¬ 
livered  by  Mr.  W.  Herrod,  E.B.B.A.,  to  a  fairly  1  arge  audience. 
Some  views  from  drawings  placed  on  the  screen  showed  the 
various  bees,  i.e.,  queen,  workers,  and  drones,  from  an  anatomical 
point  of  view,  and  the  differing  of  their  construction  clearly 
explained.  The  practical  operations  were  shown  by  photographic 
views  the  operator  being  in  most  cases  a  lady  student  of  the 
Swanley  College.  Mr.  Herrod  explained  all  in  a  simple  and 
pleasing  way,  stating  very  clearly  what  to  do,  how  to  do  it,  and 
what  is  of  prime  importance,  how  not  to  do  it.  At  the  close  many 
questions  were  replied  to  by  the  lecturer,  after  which  Mr.  Weeks, 
of  Bromley,  proposed  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks  to  him.  This  being 
enthusiastically  accorded,  terminated  an  instructive  evening. — - 
Croydon  Horticultural  Mutual  Improvement. 
A  meeting  of  this  society  was  held  last  week,  when  Mr.  W.  J. 
Simpson  occupied  the  chair ;  there  was  a  large  attendance  of 
members.  The  usual  business  being  disposed  of,  the  chairman 
introduced  Mr.  J.  F.  McLeod,  Dover  House,  Roehampton,  who 
gave  one  of  the  most  practical  and  interesting  papers  of  the 
session,  the  subject  being  “  Some  Notes  on  the  Cultivation  of  the 
Malmaison  Carfiations.”  The  paper  was  listened  to  with  rapt 
attention  throughout  ,  and  Mr.  McLeod’s  replies  to  questions  were 
much  appreciated.  On  the  proposition  of  the  chairman,  seconded 
by  Mr.  Bunyard,  and  supported  by  the  vice-chairman,  Mr.  M.  E. 
Mills,  a  unanimous  and  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  given  Mr. 
McLeod.  Messrs.  J.  R.  Box  and  Co.  exhibited  some  fine  dishes 
of  culinary  Apples. 
Devon  and  Exeter  Gardeners'  Association. 
Mr.  W.  Mackay,  Royal  Nurseries,  Exeter,  on  the  evening  of 
November  20,  delivered  a  lecture  on  “  Air,  Heat,  and  Water  as 
applied  to  Horticulture.”  We  cannot  hope  to  summarise  so 
useful  an  essay,  but  we  must  state  that  Mr.  Mackay  did  the 
subject  thorough  justice.  The  result  of  the  competition  for  the 
best  stalk  of  Brussels  Sprouts  was  that  of  Mr.  John  Rogers,  gar¬ 
dener  to  Mrs.  Savile,  Barley  House,  was  placed  first;  Mr.  Sidney 
Baker,  Weare  House  Gardens,  second;  Mr.  W.  Charley,  Wonford 
House  Gardens,  third. 
Liverpool  Amattur  Gardeners 
The  last  meeting  of  the  season  was  held  in  the  Common  Hall,. 
Hackins  Hey,  Liverpool,  on  Thursday  evening  a  week  ago,  the 
attendance  and  exhibits  being  quite  up  to  the  usual  excellence 
maintained  on  previous  occasions.  Chrysanthemums  were  un¬ 
doubtedly  the  principal  feature,  a  decided  improvement  being 
noticeable.  For  twelve  Japanese  Mr.  Ellison  and  Mrs.  Stevenson 
exhibited  in  good  style,  the  former  winning  by  the  fresher 
condition  of  the  flowers,  although  the  latter  deserves  high  com¬ 
mendation,  owing  to  the  difficulties  under  which  the  plants  are 
grown.  Mrs.  Stevenson  won  with  six  very  fair  incurved.  For 
six  Japs  Mr.  Ardran  staged  grand  flowers,  not  only  taking  full 
points,  but  also  a  Certificate  of  Merit.  Extra  good  were  the 
first  prize  single  Chrysanthemums  staged  by  Mrs.  Macgregor, 
who  also  won  with  any  other  varieties,  the  open  class,  with  an 
interesting  display  of  cut  blooms,  and  for  the  best  plant  with  a 
well  grown  incurved  variety.  The  President’s  class  and  Certifi¬ 
cate  was  taken  by  Mrs.  Stevenson  with  an  admirably  grown 
plant  of  Mrs.  Barkley.  Mr.  Dale  was  also  a  winner  for  Japanese. 
Some  nice  plants  of  Cattleya  labiata  autumnalis  were  exhibited 
by  Mr.  Arthur  Dodd,  the  prize  for  the  best  Orchid  in  bloom  fall¬ 
ing  to  him.  Baskets  and  hand  bouquets  were  well  done,  the 
exhibitors  being  Mrs.  Macgregor,  Mrs.  Stevenson,  Miss  Hunter, 
and  Miss  Davies.  So  close  was  the  competition,  that  the  prizes 
were  equally  divided.— R.  P.  R. 
Reading  and  District  Gardeners. 
The  fortnightly  meeting  of  the  above  Association  was  held  in 
the  Club  Room  on  Monday,  the  18th  inst,  when  Mr.  Neve  pre¬ 
sided  over  a  good  attendance  of  members.  The  subject  for  the 
evening  was  “  Root-pruning,”  and  was  introduced  by  Mr.  J.  S. 
Powell,  of  Park  Place  Gardens,  Henley-on-Thames,  who  dealt 
with  the  subject  in  an  exceedingly  practical  manner,  his  remarks 
being  based  upon  the  question,  “  Why  is  root-pruning  necessary, 
and  what  advantage  do  we  obtain  ?”  The  discussion  which 
followed  was  well  taken  up  by  Messrs.  Neve,  Woolford,  Hinton, 
Townsend,  Alexander,  Burfitt,  Cretchley,  Chamberlain,  Wilson, 
Bryant,  and  D.  Dore.  A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to 
Mr.  Powell  for  his  excellent  paper.  Three  new  members  were 
elected. 
Sheffield  Floral  and  Horticultural. 
At  last  an  effort  is  being  made  to  bring  Sheffield  into  line  with 
other  large  centres  in  the  matter  of  horticulture.  Some  two 
years  ago  the  Sharrow  and  District  Society  was  formed,  and  by 
