498 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  28,  1901. 
offering  fairly  liberal  prizes  in  open  classes — for  a  young  society 
— it  quickly  outgrew  its  local  appellation,  and  the  committee 
wisely  decided  to  enlarge  its  scope,  and  as  the  “  Sheffield  ” 
Society  it  has  a  promising  future.  The  last  show  was  a  decided 
success  from  a  horticultural  point  of  view,  the  exhibitors  in¬ 
cluding  such  growers  as  Frettingham,  Sharp,  Artindale,  Proctor, 
Marsden,  Machin,  Biggin,  &c.  For  the  ensuing  year  Mr.  Samuel 
Roberts,  J.P.,  D.L.,  is  the  president,  and  amongst  the  vice-pre¬ 
sidents  are  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  E.M.,  Earl  Wharncliffe,  Sir  A. 
Wilson',  Herbert  Hughes,  C.M.G.,  F.  A.  Kelly,  and  other  pro¬ 
minent.  men.  Mr.  Lewendon,  93,  Neill  Road,  Sheffield,  being 
secretary.  The  date  fixed  for  the  next  annual  show  is  August  14, 
when  a  Challenge  Cup,  given  by  the  president,  will  be  offered  for 
Roses.  Groups  will  also  be  a  feature.  Successful  monthly 
meetings  and  exhibits  are  held,  essays,  &c.,  being  given,  by 
which  the  interest  of  the  members  is  well  maintained. 
Ipswich  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement. 
The  usual  fortnightly  meeting  of  the  above  society  ivas  held 
on  the  21st.  inst.,  Mr.  A.  Creek  presiding  over  a  large  attend¬ 
ance  of  members.  A  paper  upon  “  Three  Good  Winter  flowering 
Plants”  was  read  by  Mr.  Chandler,  the  plants  selected  being 
Callas,  Begonia  Gloire  de  Lorraine,  and  Bouvardias.  The 
essayist  dealt  in  a  very  clear  and  practical  manner  with  the 
details  of  cultivation,  and  at  the  close  of  a  brisk  discussion  was 
accorded  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks.  At  the  next  meeting  of  the 
society,  on  December  5,  Mr.  Wade,  of  Riverslea  Nursery,  Col¬ 
chester,  will  read  a  paper  on  that  much  debated  subject,  “  A 
Gardeners’  Qualifications.”. — E.  C. 
Shirley  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement. 
There  was  a  good  attendance  of  members  at  the  monthly 
meeting  of  the  above  association,  held  on  Monday,  18th  inst.,  at 
the  Parish  Room,  Shirley.  Mr.  B.  Ladhams  (chairman)  presiding. 
Mr.  J.  B.  Stevenson,  of  Bournemouth,  gave  a  most  able  and  in¬ 
stinctive  lecture  on  “  Summer  Bedding,”  with  special  reference 
to  plants  to  be  used  for  the  Coronation  year.  The  lecturer  gave 
his  experience  in  the  different  ways  and  fashions  in  associating 
plants,  whether  to  give  effect  a  carpet  bedding  foliage,  or  group¬ 
ing  a  great  variety  of  combinations  were  suggested.  He  also 
gave  many  practical  hints  as  to  propagating  the  subjects  under 
notice,  having  brought  two  dozen  varieties,  which  were  used  ex¬ 
tensively  at  Bournemouth.  A  good  discussion  took  place,  in 
which  several  members  took  part.  Mrs.  Keates,  of  Rownhams 
House  (gardener,  Mr.  W.  G.  Bushell),  gained  the  first  prize  for 
three  grand  specimen  blooms  of  Chrysanthemums  on  stems  18in 
long.  Captain  Thompson,  Aulcl  Reekie  (gardener,  Mr.  Framp- 
ton),  second  prize.  Mrs.  Keates  also  won  the  society’s  certificate 
for  six  cut  blooms  of  Japs.  Colonel  Sinkins  (gardener,  Mr.  E.  J. 
Wilcox),  Aldermoor  House,  showed  some  splendid  plants  of  Be¬ 
gonia  Gloire  de  Lorraine.  Mr.  B.  Ladhams  had  a  very  fine 
group  of  hardy  bedding  plants.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr. 
Stevenson,  and  to  the  exhibitors  closed  a  very  pleasant  evening. 
The  next  lecture,  “  Some  Familiar  Wild  Birds,”  with  special  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  good  and  harm  they  do,  by  Mr.  E.  J.  Wilcox.. — 
J.  M.,  Sec. 
East  Suffolk  County  Council. 
The  report  to  the  Technical  Instruction  Committee  is  as  fol¬ 
lows: — Horticulture. — Mr.  Sowman  has  given  190  lectures  and 
demonstrations  during  the  session.  For  the  fourth  year,  plots  of 
land,  each  containing  about  10  rods,  have  been  cultivated  as 
model  allotments  side  by  side  with  the  men’s  allotments  where 
possible.  These  were  at  Cratfield,  Corton,  Dunwich,  Earl  Soham, 
Framlingham,  Higham,  Kessingland,  Needham  Market,  Stow- 
market,  Thorndon,  Westleton,  and  Wrentham.  The  excessive 
drought  of  the  past  season  was  felt  very  much  on  the  light  land 
allotments,  but  notwithstanding  this  drawback  the  produce  from 
the  above  plots  took  five  first  prizes,  one  second  prize,  and  three 
third  prizes  at  the  Educational  Flower  Show  held  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  in  August.  The  system  of  Potato  planting  advocated  by 
Mr.  Sowman  is  being  largely  adopted  with  satisfactory  results. 
The  crop  at  Needham  Market  was  an  exceptionally  heavy  one, 
the  produce  weighing  2101b  from  71b  of  seed.  Variety,  “  Up-to- 
Date.”  The  best  allotment  was  at  Wrentham,  the 
second  at  Stowmarket,  and  the  third  at  Thorndon 
Reformatory  School,  and  prizes  have  been  awarded  to  these 
places.  The  allotments  with  marks  out  of  a  possible  170  are 
given  in  order  of  merit:  Mr.  T.  Forder,  thatcher,  Wrentham, 
117 ;  Mr.  T.  Parker,  schoolmaster,  Stowmarket,  114 ;  School¬ 
boys,  Thorndon,  113;  Mr.  T.  Rice,  schoolmaster,  Earl  Soham, 
107  ;  Mr.  A.  Goodey,  labourer,  Needham  Market,  103  ;  Mr.  A. 
Smith,  labourer,  Corton,  101 ;  Mr.  T.  Lingwood,  artist,  Dun¬ 
wich,  95;  Mr.  J.  Rivers,  labourer,  Framlingham,  94;  Mr.  T. 
Smith,  gardener,  Higham,  85;  Mr.  A.  Gardner,  labourer,  Crat¬ 
field,  82 ;  Night  School  Lads,  Kessingland,  73 :  Mr.  A.  Elmy, 
labourer,  Westleton,  69. 
Hedges. 
Hedges  are  sometimes  planted  to  afford  shelter,  but  more  fre¬ 
quently  as  a  fence.  However  carefully  they  may  be  planted  and 
cared  for  in  a  young  state,  it  must  be  admitted  that  without  the 
same  care  in  after  years  they  soon  become  unsatisfactory,  and 
unfit  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  planted.  Perhaps 
this  remark  may  apply  with  much  greater  force  to  hedges  on  the 
farm  than  to  those  about  the  garden.  How  often  do  we  meet 
with  hedges  that  have  been  left  to  grow  untended  for  years, 
dying  at  the  bottom  for  want  of  light  and  air,  and  with  large 
gaps.  When  it  gets  into  this  state  the  farmer  finds  it  is  of  no 
use  to  keep  his  live  stock  together,  so  he  cuts  it  down 
to  the  ground,  very  likely  with  the  good  resolution  to  keep  it 
better  in  future,  but  with  the  result  that  he  has  no  fence  at  all  for 
some  years  to  come.  Even  about  gardens  hedges  sometimes 
become  unsatisfactory,  though  from  a  somewhat  different  cause. 
They  are  generally  kept  under  the  shears,  and  if  due  care  is  not 
taken  to  keep  them  within  bounds  they  gradually  become  too 
wide  and  heavy  at  the  top,  and  so  become,  to  a  certain  extent, 
faulty  at  the  bottom. 
Hedges  surro unding  plantations  are  especially  liable  to  fail. 
They  very  often  are  damaged  by  the  trees  being  too  close  to 
them,  and  in  time  overhanging  them.  They  are  thus  weakened 
and  drawn  outward,  so  that  we  very  often  find  them  similar  in 
shape  to  that  given  at  a  in  the  accompanying  illustration.  When 
Trimming  Hedges. 
such  hedges  get  very  bad  the  usual  remedy  is  to  cut  them  down. 
This  is,  however,  not  always  necessary  nor  desirable.  If  the 
timber  is  well  cleaned  away  from  behind  them,  and  they  are  cut 
in  so  that  they  are  narrow  at  the  top,  similar  to  the  dotted 
lines  in  the  section  referred  to,  stopping  the  upper  part  of  them 
well  back,  they  will  generally  fill  up  at  the  bottom  if  kept  clean 
and  narrow  at  the  top.  The  best  time  to  do  this,  or,  indeed,  to 
reduce  a  hedge  in  any  way,  is  when  the  sap  begins  to  move  in 
spring,  say  from  the  middle  of  March  to  the  middle  or  end  of 
April,  according  to  the  season.  They  then  soon  break  into 
growth,  and  are  green  again  in  a  short  time.  The  ends  of  the 
young  shoots  should  be  cut  off  about  midsummer,  and  by  the 
autumn  there  will  be  a  fair  quantity  of  young  growths  upon  it. 
Hedges  are  to  be  met  with  in  a  great  variety  of  shapes,  some 
of  them  not  commendable.  I  am  rather  partial  to  those  with 
almost  perpendicular  sides,  such  as  represented  at  b.  But  there 
is  no  doubt  that  to  keep  a  good  close  bottom  good  enough  to 
turn  sheep,  Ac.,  the  top  must  be  kept  a  good  deal  narrower 
than  the  base,  similar  to  c.  This  is  not  only  an  advantage  in 
the  formation  of  a  good  fence,  but  it  is  a  saving  in  the  labour 
of  keeping.  It  is  quite  a  common  thing  to  meet  with  hedges 
from  2ft  to  3ft  across  the  top,  and  cutting  these,  propped  upon 
steps  or  a  plank,  is  a  laborious  task  which  may  well  be  avoided. 
Too  much  labour  is  generally  expended  on  the  tops  of  hedges, 
and  too  little  at  the  base,  in  keeping  them  clean  and  well 
furnished.  If  you  can  accomplish  the  latter  good  quality,  the 
top,  which  is  really  of  secondary  importance,  may  safely  be 
relied  upon  to  assert  its  claim  to  a  fair  share  of  the  shears,  which 
it  should  always  have.  I  have  sometimes  seen  young  hedges 
grow  four  or  five  years  without  cutting,  to  give  them  strength, 
and  then  have  them  cut  down.  Is  not  this  a  fallacy?  I  think 
it  is  most  foolish.  If  a  hedge  is  from  the  first  turned  in  the 
shape  of  section  c,  keeping  it  quite  narrow  at  the  top,  a  good 
fence  will  be  the  result  without  any  cutting  down.. — R.  I. 
— «*••» — 
Fruit  Farms  on  Porto  Rico. 
Fruit  farms  are  the  latest  scheme  to  promote  the  interests 
of  Porto  Rico.  A  company  with  a  capitalisation  of  100,000  dollars, 
and  backed  by  New  York  and  San  Juan  firms,  is  negotiating  for 
land  in  different  portions  of  the  island,  on  which  will,  be  grown 
all  kinds  of  tropical  fruits,  winter  vegetables,  and  tropical  nursery 
stock,  both  fruit  and  ornamental.  The  produce  will  be  shipped 
to  New  York.  A  farm  of  100  acres  is  already  in  operation  at 
Rio  Piedras,  six  miles  from  San  Juan. 
