February  2,  l^-OO. 
83 
JOUnXAL 
OF  HORTICULTURE  AND 
COTTAGE 
GARDEN  El 
■> 
-  The  Gardeners’  Koyae  Benevoeent  Institution. — The 
sixtieth  anniversary  festival  dinner  of  this  Institulion  wiil  be  held  at  the 
Hotel  Mctropole  on  Wednesday,  June  28th,  under  the  presidency  of  the 
Bt.  Hon.  Earl  of  Derh}’,  K.G.,  and  not  on  July  28th,  as  stated  on  page  71 
of  our  last  issue. 
-  Gardening  Appointments — Mr.  James  Thrclfall,  for  many 
3’ear3  in  the  Gardens,  S'vnntnore  Park,  Bishop’s  Waltliam,  hasentered  upon 
his  duties  as  head  gardener  to  Colonel  li  Pilkington,  M.P,  Uainford  Hall, 
St,  Helen's,  Lancashire,  where  no  doubt  the  experience  gained  under 
Mr.  E.  Molyneux  will  stand  him  in  good  stead,  Mr.  A.  G.  Nichols,  for 
more  than  eleven  years  gardener  at  Nunehiim  Park,  Abingdon,  has 
succeeded  Mr.  Turton  at  Maiden  Erleigh,  Iteading. 
- The  Lmport  Trade  in  Potatoes. — Potatoes  to  the  value  of 
£1,91.5,91 2  were  imported  into  Great  Britain  last  year.  Of  this  sum 
£5-17,000  went  to  the  Channel  Islands,  £157,000  to  France,  and  £470,000 
to  German}’.  The  most  remarkable  feature  of  this  import  trade  in 
Potatoes  is  the  great  development  which  has  taken  place  in  the  exports 
from  Germany.  Last  year,  as  just  stated,  over  £420,000  worth  were 
exported  from  that  country  to  Great  Britain,  though  in  1897  the  value  of 
the  exports  amounted  only  to  £67,907,  and  in  1896  to  the  merely  nominal 
«nm  of  £3208, 
i. 
-  Anemone  blanda. — This  is  the  earliest  of  all  the  Anemones  in 
coming  into  flower,  and  o  ten  opens  before  Christmas.  Like  many  others 
of  the  early  flower.s  it  is  not  so  forward  as  usual  this  season,  and  the  first 
blooms  were  out  on  January  17ih.  It  continues  to  give  a  succession  of 
flowers  for  several  weeks,  these  varying  through  all  shades  from  white  to 
the  darkest  blue  when  raised  from  seed,  but  may  be  kept  true  to  colour 
by  division  of  the  roots.  Both  A.  blanda  and  A.  fulgens  are  subject  to 
decay  if  left  more  than  two  seasons  in  the  same  position,  and  it  is  best  to 
lift  them  when  the  foliage  withers,  and  dry  the  roots  on  a  shelf.  They 
may  bo  broken  up  and  replanted,  in  ground  that  has  been  previously 
manured  and  dug,  early  in  August  ;  if  kept  longer  in  a  dry  state  the 
roots  are  weakened,  and  tlie  flowers  will  be  smaller  in  consequence. — 
W.  II.  Divers. 
-  Liverpool  Horticultural  Association.— On  Saturday 
evening  the  twentieth  annual  general  meeting  of  the  above  Association 
was  held.  The  financial  statement  showed  a  balance  in  hand  of  some  £80. 
The  Lord  Mayor,  Win.  Oulton,  Esq.,  was  nominated  as  President  for  the 
year;  Mr.  Thos.  Foster,  Chairman  ;  Messrs.  Harmood,  Banner  &  Sons, 
and  Mr.  11.  G.  Waterman,  Auditors.  Mr.  W.  Dickson,  who  has  held  the 
post  of  Secret’ary  for  a  numlier  of  years,  was  obliged  to  resign  owing  to 
ill-health,  and  Mr.  Sadler,  his  partner,  was  elected  to  fill  the  position. 
The  Committee  was  also  elected.  A  movement  is  on  foot  for  the  Society 
to  try  to  amalgamate  with  the  Royal  Lancashire  Agricultural  Society, 
which  is  to  hold  its  show  in  Liverpool  this  year,  and  for  which  great 
preparations  are  being  made,  but  negotiations  are  not  completed.  It  was 
unanimously  resolved  to  vote  3  guineas  to  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Bene¬ 
volent  Institution,  and  a  sum  of  2  guineas  to  the  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan 
Fund.  The  usual  votes  of  thanks  terminated  the  meeting. — R.  P,  R. 
-  Royal  Botanic  Society  op  London.— The  first  of  a  course 
of  lectures  on  seed-testing,  with  demonstrations,  was  given  Monday  last 
in  the  lecture  room  of  the  Society  at  the  Gardens,  Regent’s  Park,  by 
Mr.  I).  Finlayson.  The  lecturer  deplored  the  fact  that  while  all  over  the 
Continent  and  in  America  seed  -  testing  stations  under  Government 
control  had  been  established,  where  farmers  and  agriculturists  could  have 
their  seeds  tested,  and  obtain  statistics  and  information,  in  England, 
where  the  need  was  greatest,  these  questions  were  left  to  a  few  private 
persons,  or  one  or  two  societies,  whose  researches  were  limited  to  their 
own  members.  Considering  how  great  was  the  annual  loss  to  agriculture 
in  this  country  on  account  of  seed  adult''ration,  the  selling  of  seed  which, 
owing  to  age  or  other  causes,  has  lost  its  vitality,  and  the  mischief  done 
by  noxious  weeds  sown  with  it,  and  how  inefficient  were  the  means 
for  detection  possessed  by  farmers  and  others,  it  was  a  matter  of  sur¬ 
prise  that  the  question  of  public  testing  stations  had  not  been  more 
generally  taken  up.  The  lecturer  gave  three  simple  rules — first,  that 
good  varieties  only  should  bo  purchased  ;  secondly,  that  the  heavier  it 
was  in  comparison  with  its  bulk  the  more  likely  it  was  to  germinate  ;  and 
thirdly,  that  the  impurities  should  be  carefully  studied.  Bits  of  dirt  and 
debris  w'ero  of  far  less  consequence  than  the  minute  seeds  of  weeds.  He 
instanced  one  apparently  clean  sample  ho  had  tested,  which  contained 
■enough  weeds  to  produce  over  5000  of  the  worst  kind  for  eviry  acre  sown. 
The  lectures  are  to  be  continued  every  Monday  afternoon  to  March  27th. 
[Wo  fully  believe  that  seeds  as  sound,  clean,  pure,  and  good  are  sujiplied 
by  British  firms  of  high  repute  as  any  that  are  sold  on  the  Continent, 
and  wo  suspect  cheap  rubbish  is  to  be  had  abroad  as  well  as  at  home.] 
-  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund.— The  annual  general 
meeting  of  the  subscribers  to  this  Fund  will  bo  held  at  Anderton’s  Hotel, 
Fleet  Street,  London,  E.C..  on  Friday.  February  17th,  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  the  report  of  the  Committee  and  the  accounts  for  the  past  year  ; 
to  elect  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  ;  to  elect  nine  children  to  the  benefits 
of  the  Fund,  and  to  make  certain  alterations  in  the  rules.  The  chair  will 
be  taken  at  three  o’clock.  The  poll  will  close  at  4.30  P.M.,  after  which  no 
votes  will  be  received. 
-  Horseradish.— It  is  a  good  plan  to  replant  a  plot  of  Horse¬ 
radish  each  season,  and  the  earlier  this  is  done  the  better.  Straight 
pieces  of  root  about  a  foot  long  with  a  single  crown  attached  to  each,  and 
all  the  roots  rubbed  off  with  the  exception  of  a  few  at  the  base,  form 
the  best  material  for  planting.  The  soil  should  be  deeply  dug,  but  not 
manured  except  at  the  base  into  which  the  roots  can  pass.  Plant 
these  pieces  a  foot  apart,  placing  them  straight  down  in  deep  holes 
made  with  a  dibber,  and  press  the  soil  round  them.  Keep  the  ground 
clear  from  weeds  throughout  the  summer,  water  if  necessary,  and  in  the 
autumn  the  roots  will  be  fit  to  dig. — E.  D.  S.  ,  ^ 
— —  Trappino  Bullfinches.— On  page  491,  December  29th,  1898, 
in  “Notes  and  Gleaning.s,”  Mr.  James  Hiam  kindly  gives  “C.  N.”  “infor¬ 
mation  on  trapping  bulltinches.”  As  I  have  caught  birds  and  killed  them 
I  can  hardly  be  hard  on  Mr.  Hiam,  but  I  am  quite  sure  I  will  never  do  it 
again.  Sparrows,  perhaps,  might  bo  trapped  because  very  numerous, 
mischievous,  and  good  for  food,  but  our  beautiful  song  birds  and  lovely 
plumaged  birds  never.  We  need  them  to  sing  and  trill,  to  adorn  and 
cheer  our  beautiful  hills  and  dales,  and  woods  and  lanes.  Let  Mr,  Hiam 
tell  his  inquirers  to  mix  soot  and  lime,  adding  a  wineglass  of  petroleum 
to  every  gallon,  syringe  his  trees,  and  he  will  not  lose  many  buds.  Renew 
as  needed. — Avis. 
-  Me.  Edward  Owen  Greening. — This  gentleman,  as  is 
widely  known,  is  the  Secretary  of  the  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 
Association,  and  the  moving  spirit  of  the  great  co-operative  shows  which 
are  annually  held  at  the  Crystal  Palace.  He  is  imbued  with  a  deep  love 
of  gardening,  and  through  his  agency  many  workers  in  various  handi¬ 
crafts  have  been  induced  to  practise  it  who  would  otherwise  have  been 
left  outside  the  fold.  All  this  contributes  to  the  general  good,  because 
when  a  multitude  of  persons  are  induced  to  begin  gardening,  and  who 
derive  satisfaction  from  it,  there  is  no  knowing  where  they  will  end.  Mr. 
Greening  is  a  man  of  great  enterprise,  and  has  by  a  happy  conception 
obtained  expressions  of  opinion  on  gardening  from  celebrities  in  other 
walks  of  life,  such  as  H.  Rider  Haggard,  Dean  Bradlev,  Miss  Braddon, 
Mrs.  Fawcett,  Charles  Booth,  Sir  .Tohn  Lubbock,  “Ian  MacLaren,”  Doan 
Hole  and  many  others,  whose  portraits  and  appreciations  he- publishes  in 
his  annual  “  One  and  All  Gardening.”  He  has  also  the  co-operation  of 
his  practical  friends  Mr.  D.  T.  Fish  and  T.  W.  Sanders,  who  are  equal  to 
the  treatment  of  all  gardening  subjects,  useful  and  ornamental.  Among 
the  Copious  illustrations  the  greatest  novelties  are  those  employed  in  the 
potting  of  plants,  which  in  their  way  are  unique  and  striking  objects  of 
resourcefulness. 
-  The  1866  International  Show  Committee.  —  By  the 
recent  death  of  that  fine  old  veteran  and  illustrious  horticulturist,  Mr. 
John  Lee,  the  now  comparatively  few  survivors  of  the  executive  of  that 
long  to  be  remembered  event,  the  Great  International  Exhibition  of  1866, 
are  materially  reduced.  1  believe  of  those  remaining  there  are  but  Mr. 
W.  Paul,  Mr.  W.  Bull,  Dr.  Masters,  Mr.  H.  J.  Veitch,  Sir  D,  Cooper,  and 
Mr.  R.  Dean.  Thirty-three  years  is  a  large  slice  taken  out  of  any  man's 
lifetime,  and  in  1866  the  late  John  Lee  was  sixty-one  years  of  age,  the 
leading  spirit  of  one  of  England’s  great  nurseries  and  a  horticulturist  of 
world-wide  reputation.  To  have  remembered  him  when  some  recent 
honours  were  distributed  would  have  been  an  act  of  e.xcellence  ;  but  he, 
like  gome  other  illustrious  greybeards,  was  overlooked.  We  have  not  so 
many  John  Lees  in  horticulture  that  we  can  afford  to  ignore  them. 
Somehow  the  enterprise  shown  by  the  old  ones  thirty-three  years  ago 
seems  to  be  lacking  now,  for  no  one  has  the  courage  to  promote — and 
hero,  too,  in  the  greatest  and  foremost  gardening  country  in  the  world — 
another  great  international  exhibition.  They  can  do  these  things  abroad, 
but  we  do  not  now.  More’s  the  pity.  How  fittingly  could  we  next  year 
celebrate  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  most  wonderful  century 
of  years  in  history  for  horticulture,  for  how  marvellously  has  gardening 
developed  in  that  time !  Those  who  are  young  may  live  to  see  great 
things  in  the  twentieth  century,  but  they  can  hardly  see  greater  relative 
progress  than  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century  has  produced.  Not  a 
few  of  the  old  ones  in  horticulture  would  like  to  see  one  more  great 
international  show  before  they  pass  away.  It  may  be  added  that,  in 
addition  to  those  named  on  page  63,  Mr.  Owen  Thomas  was  present 
Mr.  Lee’s  interment. — WANDERER. 
