JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  9,  1899. 
Weather  in  London. — On  each  morning  of  the  latter  half  of 
the  past  week  there  has  been  a  sharp  frost.  On  Friday  and  Saturday 
they  were  rather  severe,  reaching  12°  on  the  former  day  ;  but  during  the 
evening  of  Saturday  there  came  a  change  to  milder  conditions,  and  for 
some  hours  on  Sunday  morning  rain  fell  steadily.  Afterwards,  and 
continuing  until  midday  Monday,  it  was  dry,  and  a  light  though  cold  wind 
prevailed.  After  this  time  rain  fell  heavily  until  night  and  again  on 
Tuesday,  though  there  were  occasional  gleams  of  sunshine.  Wednesday 
was  very  w'et. 
-  Weather  in  the  Xorth. — Although  not  so  severe  as  in  the 
preceding  week,  the  frost  has  been  continuous  up  to  the  6th,  and  has 
ranged  from  4°  to  12'^.  Occasionally  there  has  been  some  appearance  of 
a  thaw,  but  this  has  not  been  confirmed.  On  Monday  there  was  a  pretty 
general  fall  of  snow,  but  in  the  evening  there  was  a  renewed  indication  of 
milder  weather. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
-  EoyaIj  Horticultural  Society. — The  next  meeting  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  take  place  in  the  Drill  Hall,  West¬ 
minster,  on  Tuesday,  February  14th,  The  various  Committees  will 
assemble  at  noon  as  usual,  and  at  three  o’clock  the  annual  general 
meeting  of  the  Society  will  be  held  at  the  Society's  Offices,  117,  Victoria 
Street,  Westminster,  S.W. 
-  Death  of  Mr.  Follows, — We  learn  with  regret  of  the 
recent  demise  of  Mr.  Follows,  for  many  years  accountant  to  the  firm 
of  Follows  and  Bate,  Ltd.,  engineers,  Manchester.  He  was  brother  to 
Mr.  F.  W.  Follows,  the  present  head  of  the  firm.  The  deceased  was  a 
great  lover  of  wdld  flowers  and  birds,  and  spent  much  time  amongst  them. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 
-  Single-handed  Gardeners. — My  good  friend  Mr.  Thornton 
seems  rather  troubled  as  to  the  shaping  of  a  proper  definition  for  this 
section  of  gardeners.  It  is  easier  to  make  suggestions  of  a  general  nature 
than  it  is  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  every  case.  Really  gardeners’  circum¬ 
stances  vary  so  much  that  very  often  cases  can  be  dealt  with  only’  on 
their  merits  by  exhibition  e.xecutives.  For  general  purposes  it  may  be 
sufficient  to  describe  a  single-handed  gardener  as  one  “who  has  no 
constant  assistance,”  or  as  one  “  who  has  only  occasional  assistance,”  or 
as  one  “  who  has  no  assistance  whatever.”  But  the  latter  describes  a 
line  that  is  too  hard  and  fast,  and  either  of  the  others  seem  to  meet  the 
general  needs  of  the  case,  though  they  may  not  every  individual  case.  But 
even  at  so  popular  a  show  as  is  that  at  Beckenham  the  class  does  not 
include  so  many  competitors,  but  each  one’s  circumstances  are  pretty  well 
known,  and  then  placed  into  that  category  which  most  nearly  fits  him. — 
A.  Dean. 
-  Devon  Finger-and-toe  Experiments — Experiments  were 
conducted  last  season  at  Corringdon  Farm,  South  Brent,  for  the  purpose 
of  testing  the  value  of  ground  lime  as  a  cure  for  “finger-and-toe”  in 
Turnips.  It  was  thought  that  a  small  quantity  of  ground  quicklime, 
thoroughly  incorporated  with  the  soil,  would  do  much  to  prevent  this 
scourge,  if  not  cure  it  altogether.  The  field  chosen  for  the  trial  had  a 
bad  reputation  for  finger-and-toe,  and  half  an  acre  of  this  was  divided 
into  five  plots.  The  whole  of  the  half  acre  was  dressed  with  quicklime 
at  the  rate  of  a  ton  to  the  acre  some  three  months  before  the  sowing 
of  the  crop,  and  another  dressing  at  the  same  rate  was  applied  five 
■weeks  before  the  crop  w'as  put  in.  The  five  plots  into  which  the  half 
acre  was  divided  were  each  dressed  with  different  manures.  The  plot 
which  gave  the  best  yield,  says  a  contemporary,  was  that  dressed  with 
basic  slag  alone,  applied  in  April,  while  that  dressed  with  slag  and  super¬ 
phosphate  mixed  and  applied  at  the  time  of  sowing  gave  just  over  a  ton 
less,  the  plot  dressed  with  superphosphate  alone  coming  next,  while  basic 
slag  and  bonemeal  followed,  but  farmyard  manure  alone  gave  less  than  half 
of  any  of  the  others.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  manure  on 
an  infected  farm  is  one  of  the  surest  means  of  retaining  the  fungus. 
These  experiments,  as  a  whole,  when  compared  with  the  rest  of  the 
field,  show  that  lime  had  had  a  very  beneficial  effect,  and,  though  no 
part  of  the  field  was  free  from  infection,  there  were  far  less  traces  of 
it  in  the  limed  plots,  and  a  difference  of  4  or  5  tons  in  the  weight  of 
the  crop  was  noticeable.  Some  of  the  unlimed  parts  produced  very  little 
crep  at  all. 
-  Gardening  Appointments. — Mr.  S,  Barker,  fer  the  last  six 
3’ears  foreman  in  the  Lord  Burton’s  garden  at  Rangemore,  Burton-on- 
Trent,  has  been  appointed  head  gardener  to  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  New¬ 
castle,  Clumber,  Notts.  Mr.  A.  Shilton,  late  of  the  Rangemore  Gardens, 
has  been  appointed  head  gardener  to  the  Hon.  !Mrs.  Bass,  Needwood, 
near  Burton-on-Trent. 
-  Mr.  Geo.  Wythes,  V.M.H. — We  are  informed  that  subse¬ 
quent  upon  the  death  of  the  late  Duke  of  Northumberland  some  changes 
are  being  effected  at  Alnwick  Castle.  Mr.  G.  Harris,  who  has  had 
charge  of  the  gardens  lor  some  years,  is  about  to  commence  business 
in  Alnwick,  and  Mr.  Geo.  Wythes,  of  Syon  House,  will  hereafter 
have  the  northern  estate  added  to  his  charge.  It  is  a  large  undertaking, 
but  Mr.  Wythes  is  a  strong  man  and  will  doubtless  prove  himself  equal 
to  it. 
-  Grand  Yorkshire  Gala. — The  schedule  of  the  Floral  F6te 
which  is  to  be  held  in  the  Bootham  Field,  York,  on  June  14th,  15tb, 
and  16th  of  the  current  year,  has  just  reached  us  from  the  Secretary, 
Mr.  C.  W.  Simmons.  As  usual,  the  number  of  classes  approaches  100, 
of  which  several  are  new.  Those  that  have  been  in  before  are  still 
credited  with  generous  prizps,  as  indeed  are  the  ones  that  have  been 
freshly  incorporated.  These  comprise  classes  for  “  a  group  of  Rhodo¬ 
dendrons  ;  a  group  of  Gloxinias  ;  a  gold  medal  for  the  best  exhibit  of 
floral  designs  :  a  table  of  Orchids  ;  an  ornamental  stand  of  flowers  and 
foliage,  and  others.”  The  comparatively  few  rules  are  simple  and  clear. 
All  information  can  be  obtained  from  Mr.  C.  Simmons,  Barker’s  Hotel, 
York. 
-  New  F.R.H.S.’s. —  At  the  meeting  at  the  Drill  Hall  on 
January  31st  no  less  than  seventy-three  new  Fellows  of  the  R.H.S.  were 
proposed  for  nomination.  As  there  were  nearly  as  many  proposed,  and 
of  course  elected,  at  the  previous  January  meeting,  that  represents  for  the 
first  month  of  the  year  alone  some  140 — surely  a  record  nomination  for 
January  in  any  year.  Better  evidence  of  the  high  position  the  Society 
holds,  and  its  great  popularity,  could  not  well  be  furnished.  None  the 
less,  it  is  strange  that  its  operation  seems  to  excite  so  little  interest  in 
Royal  circles.  That  seems  inexplicable,  and  needs  explanation.  The 
experiment  of  holding  two  meetings  in  so  dead  a  winter  month  as  is 
January,  apparently  not  justified  at  the  first  gathering,  was  amply  so  at 
the  recent  meeting,  when  quite  a  pretty  and  interesting  show  was 
furnished.  No  doubt  for  the  rest  of  the  year  we  shall  see  the  displays 
increase  in  bulk  and  interest. — D. 
-  Woodbridge  Horticultural  Society. — The  annual  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  subscribers  and  others  interested  in  the  Horticultural  Society 
was  held  on  Friday  last,  Capt.  R.  J.  Carthew  presiding.  The  financial 
statement  for  the  past  year  was  pre.sented  by  the  Hon,  Secretary,  Mr. 
.lohn  Andrew.s,  and  showed  a  total  income  of  £374  13s.  7d.,  and  expendi¬ 
ture  of  £374  10s.  2d.,  leaving  a  balance  in  hand  of  3s,  5d.  On  the 
proposition  of  Mr.  John  Loder,  seconded  by  Mr.  Alfred  Gall,  a  hearty 
vote  of  thanks  w^as  given  to  Capt.  R.  J.  Carthew  for  granting  his  beautiful 
grounds  for  the  site  of  the  show.  A  similar  vote  was  accorded  to  the 
Hon.  Secretary,  Mr,  John  Andrews,  whose  services  and  zeal  for  the 
success  of  the  Society  cannot  be  too  highly  extolled.  Col.  Salmon,  Mr. 
T.  G.  Heatley,  Mr.  S.  T.  Fulham,  and  Mr.  J.  Easton  were  elected  to  fill 
vacancies  on  the  Committee.  Thursday,  July  l3th,  was  fixed  as  the 
date  of  the  show  for  this  year, 
-  Isle  of  Wight. — The  monthly  meeting  of  the  Isle  of  Wight 
Horticultural  Improvement  Association  w-as  held  at  Newport  on  Saturday' 
last.  Dr.  .1.  Groves  presided  over  a  good  attendance  of  members.  Mr. 
Geo.  Bennett,  Ryde,  gave  an  interesting  lecture  on  the  “  Cultivation  of 
Potatoes,”  The  lecturer  deprecated  the  practice  of  planting  sets  with 
shoots  on,  as  his  experience  convinced  him  they  did  much  better  when 
planted  without  shoots  ;  he  also  strongly  recommended  early'  and  deep 
planting,  a  depth  of  about  9  inches  he  should  advise  as  being  the  most 
suitable.  Flat  hoeing  he  considered  most  beneficial,  but  earthing  of 
Potatoes  he  thought  quite  unnecessary.  The  subsequent  discussion  was 
taken  part  in  by  a  large  number  of  those  present,  who  detailed  their 
experiences  in  Potato  culture.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  the 
lecturer  on  the  proposition  of  the  Chairman,  seconded  by  Mr.  ,1.  0. 
Brook,  and  supported  by  Mr.  T.  Gibbs,  The  exhibits  staged  consisted 
of  clean  and  well  grown  plants  of  Solanum  capsicastrum  and  Camellia 
blooms  exhibited  by  Mr.  W.  Morris,  gardener  to  Captain  Evelegh, 
Newport,  and  some  fine  Primulas  from  Mr.  W.  E.  Wickens,  gardener  to 
IL  R.  Pittis,  Esq.,  Tugley  House,  Newport.  The  exhibitors  each 
received  the  Association  certificate  for  cultural  merit.  A  mid-monthiy 
meeting  of  the  Association  will  take  place  at  Whitwell  on  the  18ih  inst., 
when  a  lecture  will  be  given  on  “Bees  and  Bee-keeping.” — S.  H. 
