106 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  9,  1899. 
-  Amateue  World  of  Horticulture. — This  is  the  official 
organ  ol  the  National  Amateur  Gardeners'  Association,  and  the  Secretary 
has  just  favoured  us  with  the  last  quarterly  number.  It  contains  much 
of  general  interest,  such  as  the  papers  of  Plant  Breeding,  Hardy  Fruit, 
and  Intermediate  Orchids,  but  naturally  the  major  portion  of  the  contents 
appeal  most  directly  to  members  of  the  Association, 
-  Are  Nurserymen’s  Assistants  Domestic  Servants  ? — 
A  case  of  enormous  importance  to  nurserymen  and  landscape  gardeners 
has  been  decided  at  Manchester.  Mr.  James  Treeby,  nurseryman,  sent  a 
man  to  work  in  the  garden  of  Mr.  Estcourt,  this  gentleman  paying  Mr. 
Treeby  for  the  man’s  services.  The  Revenue  authorities  claimed  that  Mr. 
Treeby  should  pa}'  a  license  for  this  man  as  working  in  a  private  garden. 
The  Stipendiary  Magistrate  agreed,  and  inflicted  a  fine  of  Ss.  and  costs. 
Leave  was  granted  to  state  a  case  for  appeal,  and  it  can  hardly  bo 
expected  that  nurserymen  will  acquiesce  in  a  change  from  an  universal 
custom  that  has  been  in  operation  for  generations,  if  not  for  centuries. 
It  will  be  a  serious  matter  for  man}-,  if  not  most  nurserymen,  if  the 
present  decision  stands,  and  the  law  as  determined  by  the  Magistrate 
generally  enforced. 
-  SiNDACATO  Agricolo  di  TORINO. — We  are  requested  to 
state  that  an  International  Competition  for  Seed-sowing  and  Manure- 
spreading  Machines,  promoted  by  the  Agricultural  Syndicate,  will  be 
held  in  Turin  from  the  1st  of  March  to  the  30th  of  November,  1899. 
The  awards  will  be — for  seed-sowing  machines  :  a,  a  gold  medal, 
250  francs  in  cash,  and  the  acquisition,  by  the  Board  of  Agriculture, 
of  the  machine  winning  this  prize;  b,  a  silver  medal  and  150  francs 
in  cash  ;  c,  a  silver  medal  and  100  francs  in  cash  ;  and  d,  a  bronze 
medal.  For  manure-spreading  machines  :  a,  a  gold  medal,  150  francs 
in  cash,  and  the  acquisition,  by  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  of  the  machine 
winning  this  prize ;  b,  a  silver  medal  and  100  francs  in  cash  ;  c,  a  silver 
medal  and  50  francs  in  cash  ;  and  d,  a  bronze  medal.  Demands  for 
admission,  which  must  bo  made  not  later  than  February  15th,  1899,  and 
for  further  information,  must  be  made  to  “  Comitato  Ordinatore,”  care  of 
“Sindacato  Agricolo,"’  49,  Via  Carlo  Alberto,  Torino,  Italy. 
-  Erythrochiton  hypophyllanthus. — An  example  of  this 
interesting  plant  is  now  in  flower  in  the  Palm  house  at  Kew.  It  is  about 
15  feet  in  height,  with  a  small  branched  head  of  dark  green,  leathery 
leaves  18  inches  long.  When  out  of  flower  it  is  a  very  ordinary  looking 
plant,  but  when  in  flower  the  manner  in  which  the  flowers  are  pro* 
duced  makes  it  of  great  interest.  These  are  borne  usually  two  or 
three  together  from  the  under  side  of  the  midrib  of  the  leaf,  sometimes 
from  near  the  base,  and  sometimes  half-way  along.  They  are  pure 
white,  and  Ij  inch  across.  Occasionally  a  secondary  leaf  attends  the 
flowers.  It  was  figured  in  the  “  Botanical  Magazine,”  t.  5824  in  1870. 
and  from  the  description  given  with  it,  it  was  flowered  at  Kew  first  in 
18G4,  the  plant  being  sent  to  Kew  by  ]\I.  Linden  of  Brussels,  who  intro¬ 
duced  it  from  the  province  of  Ocana  in  New  Grenada,  where  it  was  found 
growing  in  rocky  ravines  at  an  altitude  of  2500  feet.  A  second  species, 
E.  brasilicnsis,  is  in  cultivation  ;  this  is  the  showier  of  the  two,  the 
flowers  being  borne  in  racemes  a  foot  or  more  long.  A  figure  and 
description  of  this  may  be  seen  in  the  ‘’Botanical  Magazine,”  t.  4742. — D^ 
-  Commons  Preservation  Society.— At  a  meeting  of  the 
■Executive  Committee  it  was  reported  that  of  the" private  Bills  to  be  intro¬ 
duced  into  Parliament  in  the  coming  session  forty-seven  come  within  the 
purview  of  the  Society.  The  aggregate  area  of  common  lands  affected  is 
more  than  1934  acres,  while  various  Bills  propose  to  take  power  to 
extinguish  numerous  public  rights  of  way.  Included  amongst  the  Bills 
to  which  exception  was  taken  by  the  Society,  and  which  it  was  resolved 
to  oppose  unless  suitable  concessions  are  made  in  the  public  interest,  is 
that  b}’  which  power  is  sought  to  acquire  17  acres  of  Tottenham  Marslies, 
and  ])ortions  of  Leyton,  "Walthamstow,  and  Cheshunt  Marshes,  and  to 
acquire  2  acres  of  Earlswood  Common,  Redhill,  a  common  which  is  the 
subject  of  a  regulation  scheme  under  the  Commons  Act,  1876.  A  special 
report  was  ordered  to  be  made  upon  the  Bill  promoted  by  the  East 
London  Water  Company,  which  proposes  to  absorb  for  new  reservoirs  no 
fewer  than  194  acres  of  Lammas  land  in  the  parishes  of  Chingford  and 
Waltham  Cross.  It  w’as  resolved  to  oppose  the  Bradford  Tramways 
and  Improvement  Bill,  by  which  the  Corporation  of  Bradford  seek  to 
acquire  the  whole  of  the  common  lands  of  the  Manor  of  Baildon,  com¬ 
prising  altogether  770  acres  of  open  space.  Of  this  area  the  Corporation 
propose  to  sell  50  acres  to  provide  money  to  meet  the  expenses  of 
acquiring  the  land,  while  the  lord  of  the  manor  will  be  compensated  for 
his  interests  by  the  payment  of  a  sum  of  £7000  and  by  the  conveyance  of 
a  further  50  acres  of  the  commons. 
-  National  Amateur  Gardeners’  Association  (Liverpool 
Branch). — A  very  successful  annual  meeting  was  held  recently,  Mr.  J.  H. 
Drake  presiding.  The  Secretary,  klr.  J.  ]\L  Smyth,  read  a  capital  report  of 
the  progress  during  the  past  rear,  which,  after  paying  much  larger  turns  as 
prizes,  had  a  balance  in  hand  of  £5.  The  following  sums  were  promised 
in  the  room — viz  ,  A.  L.  Jones,  Esq.,  and  W.  J.  Davey,  Esq.,  two  patrons, 
2  guineas  each  ;  Mr.  Histed  1  guinea  ;  and  ilrs.  Langley',  for  Essay,  with 
Nlessrs.  lloskyn,  Rowlands,  Canglcy,  Butcher,  and  Drake,  half  a  guinea 
each.  The  silver  medal  for  highest  number  of  points  was  won  for  the  third 
time  by  Mr.  A.  Cooper,  and  the  bronze  medal  by  Mr.  Cangley,  the  latter 
also  winning  the  silver  medal  and  certificate  presented  by  Messrs.  Toogood 
and  Sons.  The  most  successful  exhibitors  of  the  season  were  Messrs. 
Cangley'  and  Lunt.  Mr.  Histed  was  unanimously  elected  President,  and 
he  promised  to  help  the  Society  both  in  the  matter  of  new  members  and 
also  to  the  prize  fund.  Mr.  Drake  was  heariily  thanked  for  his  conduct 
in  the  chair  during  the  past  year,  a  statement  being  made  that,  notwith¬ 
standing  his  pressing  business  affairs,  he  had  been  present  at  every 
meeting,  and  ho  was  elected  as  Vice-President.  Messrs.  Smyth  and 
Cooper  were  elected  Hon.  Secretaries,  IMr.  D,  W.  Canglcy  Exhibition 
Secretary’,  and  Mr.  Robins  Hon.  Treasurer.  A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  to 
the  officers  terminated  the  proceedings. — R.  P.  R. 
LILIUMS  AND  THEIR  TREATMENT. 
At  the  recent  fortnightly  meeting  of  the  Exeter  and  District 
Gardeners’  Association  at  the  Guildhall,  Exeter,  Mr.  James  Mayne, 
gardener  to  the  Hon.  Mark  Rolle  at  Bicton,  read  a  paper  on  “Liliumsand 
Their  Treatment.”  As  yet,  so  far  as  he  had  been  able  to  ascertain,  no 
writer  had  told  them  by  whom  the  Lily  was  introduced  into  Britain. 
1‘robably’  they  were  indebted  to  the  Romans  for  that  noble  flower,  as  well 
as  for  many  other  good  things  in  their  gardens.  With  a  proper  supply  of 
bulbs  it  was  quite  possible  to  have  Liliums  more  or  less  in  flower 
throughout  the  year,  especially  Lihum  longiflorum  and  its  varieties.  Veiy 
few  plants  could  compare  with  Liliums  In  the  open  garden  on  account  of 
their  variety  of  colour  and  fragrance,  and  all  were  more  or  less  hardy. 
Dealing  first  with  those  usually  given  pot  culture,  and  giving  the 
longiflorum  and  its  varieties  precedence,  he  advised  that  they  should  be 
procured  as  early  as  possible  in  the  autumn,  and  potted  without  delay,  as 
all  the  Lily  tribe  was  more  or  less  injured  if  allowed  to  get  dry.  "VVhen 
the  shoots  appeared  the  pots  should  be  brought  to  tho  light  without  delay, 
and  they  should  be  kept  as  near  the  glass  as  possible  right  up  to  the  time 
of  flowering.  If  kept  under  glass  during  that  period  a  sharp  look  out 
must  be  kept,  as  green  fly  was  the  greatest  enemy  of  this  Lily.  The 
plants  should  be  taken  into  the  greenhouse  as  soon  as  the  flower  buds 
were  seen,  and  there  ought  to  bo  as  little  fire  heat,  or  any'thing 
in  the  shape  of  coddling,  as  was  possible.  This  kind,  however,  was  easily* 
spoilt  by  the  wind  and  rain,  and  soon  deteriorated  under  pot  culture,  so 
that  he  advised  a  fresh  stock  every  year  or  so. 
Lilium  auratum,  the  Golden-rayed  Lily  of  Japan,  was  the  grandest  of 
all,  whether  for  pot  culture  or  in  the  open  ground.  Unfortunately,  this 
variety  deteriorated  after  a  few  years  under  pot  culture  ;  in  fact  they  were 
never  so  good  as  the  first  season  when  imported,  and  those  who  wished  to 
keep  up  a  good  show  would  do  well  to  purchase  a  few  bulbs  each  autumn. 
The  speciosum  group,  which  annually  flowered  from  the  end  of  July  to 
the  end  of  September,  a  time  when  they  were  of  the  utmost  value,  did,  as  a 
rule,  remarkably  well  under  pot  culture,  and,  what  was  more,  were  not  so 
liable  to  dwindle  away  as  the  former  varieties.  Cold  pits  or  frames  were 
the  best  places  to  grow  auratum  and  speciosum  until  they  got  too  tall, 
when  they  sho'alJ  bo  removed  to  a  cold  house  and  kept  near  the 
roof.  Alter  passing  out  of  flower  the  pots  were  often  placed  outside  in 
some  out-of-ihe-way  corner,  and  probably  got  no  water  for  days  or,  it 
might  be,  weeks  should  the  weather  set  in  dry.  This  ought  not  to  be  so  ; 
such  a  sudden  withholding  of  water  was  detrimental  to  the  bulbs,  and  those 
that  flower  in  tho  early  spring  months,  say  up  to  May,  should  be  given 
frame  treatment  for  a  time  or  until  warmer  nights  set  in.  These  varieties 
should  be  shaken  out  and  repotted  towards  the  end  of  October  or  early  in 
November  before  root  action  again  began. 
No  plants,  ho  said,  were  more  suitable  than  Liliums  for  the  embellish¬ 
ment  ot  the  flower  garden,  and  nearly  all  the  family  were  hardy,  provided 
the  soil  was  well  drained.  Given  a  fairly  good  loam,  tho  majority  of  them 
would  thrive,  and  the  cultivator  could  add  peat  and  well  decayed  manure, 
which  the  greater  number  of  Liliums  revelled  in,  underneath  as  well  as  a 
top-dressing.  In  choosing  a  position  for  auratum  and  other  tall-growing 
kinds,  preference  should  be  given  where  they  could  be  slightly  shaded 
from  the  midday  sun  and  from  south-westerly  gales.  Generally  speaking 
the  finest  examples  were  to  be  found  growing  among  beds  of  Rhododendrons 
and  Azaleas. 
Dealing  w  ith  the  planting  of  the  bulbs,  Mr.  Mayne  said  that  the  earlier 
in  the  autumn  the  belter  foi  the  majority  of  the  Liliums,  as  well  as  for  the 
display  of  the  first  season,  Beds  that  were  entirely  devoted  to  Liliums 
should  have  a  carpeting  of  some  plant  or  other  during  the  summer  months. 
These  lovely  bulbous  plants  grow  and  flowered  in  almost  any  position. 
Tho  majority  of  them  were  inexpensive,  which  placed  them  within  the 
reach  of  nil  possessing  a  garden,  be  it  ever  so  small. — (  ‘  Devon  andExefer 
Gazette.”) 
