340 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  27,  1899: 
Eecext  Weather  in  London. — A  considerable  amount  of  rain 
has  fallen  during  the  past  few  days.  Saturday  was  dull,  as  was  Sunday, 
though  there  were  occasional  glimpses  of  the  sun.  On  the  evening  of  the 
latter  day  rain  commenced  to  fall,  and  continued  until  the  early  hours  of 
Monday,  when  it  stopped.  About  midda3’,  however,  it  recommenced,  and 
only  ceased  for  intervals  of  varying  length  up  to  Wednesday  morning, 
when  at  the  time  of  going  to  press  it  was  fine. 
-  Weather  in  the  North. — On  four  mornings  of  the  week 
ending  24lh  inst,  frosts  of  from  3°  to  8’  were  recorded.  Easterly  winds 
have  prevailed,  and  generally  ungenial  weather.  Saturda}’,  although 
the  morning  was  decidedly  frosty,  and  the  former  part  of  Sunday  were 
more  pleasant,  but  the  alternoon  of  the  latter  day  was  again  cold  with 
bitter  wind  from  the  N.E.  Monday  morning  was  very  wet  but  decidedly 
milder,  with  the  barometer  at  43°,  although  ^the  wind  was  in  the  east. — 
B.  14.,  S.  Ferthihire. 
- Eoyal  Horticultural  Society.— The  next  Fruit  and  Floral 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday, 
May  2nd,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  .Tames  Street,  Westminster,  1  to  5  P.M.  At 
three  o’clock  a  lecture  on  “The  British  and  Swiss  Alpine  Floras”  will 
be  given  by  Mr.  E.  A.  N.  Arbir,  F.R.H.S. 
-  The  Eslington  Neapolitan  Violet.— Mr,  Joseph  Oliver 
having  sent  us  a  bunch  of  Violets,  the  flowers  of  which  were  so  fine  and 
pleasing  in  colour— a  charming  Cambridge  blue,  with  a  few  of  the  petals 
approaching  w  hite — that  wo  wrote  to  him  respecting  it.  We  are  informed 
that  it  spotted  from  Comte  de  Ilrazza’s  white  Neapolitan  some  years  ago 
at  Eslington  Park,  and  is  found  there  to  be  “the  strongest  grower  of  all 
the  doubles,  and  a  larger  edition  of  the  old  Neapolitan,  possessing  its 
colour  and  sweetness,” 
Stylidium  crassifolium. — The  genus  Stylidium,  though 
rarely  represented  in  gardens,  eentains  many  curious  and  interesting 
species.  Many  of  them  are  more  at  home  in  botanical  collections,  but 
there  are  a  few  species  which  have  a  decided  horticultural  value,  the  one 
under  notice  being  of  that  number.  Serds  of  this  were  sent  to  Kew  in 
May  of  last  year  by  Sergeant-Major  Goodby’,  and  one  of  the  plants 
raised  is  now  in  flower  in  the  temperate  house.  Like  most  of  the  other 
species,  it  hails  from  Australia,  It  is  of  herbaceous  habit,  and  forms  a 
dense  rosette  of  deep  green,  narrow,  somewhat  fleshy  leaves,  6  inches 
long.  From  the  centre  of  the  plant  an  upright  raceme  rites  to  a  height 
of  1 J  foot,  on  the  upper  foot  of  which  the  flowers  are  produced,  in  groups 
of  from  two  to  four,  at  short  intervals.  The  flowers  are  rosy-pink,  with  a 
darker  blotch  at  the  base  of  each  petal.  The  under  side  of  each  petal  is 
covered — as  also  is  the  calyx,  bracts,  and  flower  stalks  — with  a  quantity 
of  soft  glandular  hairs.  When  fully  expanded  the  flowers  are  about 
half  an  inch  across,  measured  the  widest  way.  Like  other  Stylidiums, 
the  column,  which  contains  the  stamens  and  stigma,  is  very  sensitive,  the 
slightest  touch  causing  it  to  reverse  its  position. — W,  D. 
The  Isle  of  Wight. — Daffudils  are  receiving  much  greater 
attention  in  the  Garden  Isle  than  they  did  a  few  years  back.  It  is  known 
to  many  that  the  wild  or  common  Daffodil  luxuriates  in  the  copses  of  the 
Island,  producing  large  and  good  coloured  blooms  in  quantity'.  We  are 
also  favoured  in  a  few  places  with  the  old  double  white  trumpet  Daffodil 
^cernuus  plenus),  w  ith  its  flowers  of  great  beauty.  But  apart  from  these, 
we  find  the  cottagers,  amateurs,  and  professional  gardeners  alike  increasing 
their  stock  of  varieties  of  Narcissi.  The  other  evening  I  had  occasion  to 
visit  St.  Lawreuce,  and  having  a  little  time  to  spare,  I  called  upon  a  friend 
(Mr.  John  Gell),  who  is  a  grower  of  acres  of  these  lovely  spring  flowers, 
and  the  sight  I  beheld  was  truly  wonderful,  and  few  people  in  the  Island, 
much  less  out  of  it,  could  conceive  of  the  amount  of  business  done  at  this 
time  of  year  in  this  family’  of  flow’ers  at  a  remote  place  like  St.  Lawrence 
as  is  dene  by  Mr.  Gell.  Several  men  were  busily  engaged  bunching 
Narcissi  inivaiiefy  for  all  parts  of  England.  In  reply  to  a  query  respecting 
the  demand,  Mr.  Gell  said,  up  to  the  present,  they  had  not  had  the  least 
difllculty  in  disposing  of  what  they  could  or  did  grow.  The  Daffodil 
exhibitions  already  held  in  the  Island  have  been  a  great  incentive  to  the 
lovers  of  a  garden  to  take  up  the  cultivation  of  these  lovely  spring  flowers 
tor  which  the  Garden  I,le  is  so  suitably  adapted.— S.  H. 
-  Judges  of  the  £100  Grape  Class  at  Shrewsbury, — 
We  have  had  several  inquiries  from  Grape  growers  for  the  names  of  the- 
.Judges  in  the  above  great  class  at  Shrewsbury,  and  have  pleasure  in. 
stating  that  they  will  consist  of  Mr.  Owen  Thomas,  V.M.H.,  Royal' 
Gardens,  Windsor ;  IMr.  Malcolm  Dunn,  V.M.H.,  Dalkeith  Palace 
Gardens,  ani  Mr.  W.  Crump,  V.M.H.,  Madresfield  Court  Gardens.  It 
will  be  seen  that  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales  are  appropriately  repre¬ 
sented,  and  we  think  the  choice  admirable.  All  are  gardeners  of  the  first 
repu  0  in  actual  practice  as  growers  of  Grapes  ;  they  are  also  experienced 
adjudicators,  and  know  well  the  points  of  merit,  and  otherwise,  in  the- 
respective  varieties.  If  such  men  do  not  inspire  confidence  it  w'ould  be 
hard  to  find  others  who  would,  however  capable  and  honourable  these- 
might  be.  We  hope  there  will  be  grand  competition. 
-  Horticultural  Exhibitions.  —  Some  few  weeks  ago  you- 
kindly  permitted  mo  through  the  columns  of  the  Journal  to  make  a  few 
suggestions  re  horticultural  exhibitions,  so  as  to  give  greater  attraction  to- 
the  public  at  large,  and  thereby  insure  their  permanency  where  established,, 
and  encourage  their  formation  in  towns  and  country  villages  where 
they  are  unknown.  I  need  not  reiterate  what  I  then  said,  but  wish  to- 
suggest  also  the  collections  of  specimens  of  fruits,  seeds,  flowers,  and- 
plants,  to  be  arranged  in  show  ca  e?,  with  particulars  attached  to  each- 
specimen,  that  would  be  of  interest  and  afford  information  to  the  inquiring^ 
observer  ;  in  fact,  we  may  say,  to  have  a  horti-agricultural  museum  of 
specimens  in  connection  with  each  exhibition,  arranged  in  travelling: 
show  cases,  so  that  they  could  be  lent  to  any  deserving  object,  or  pass- 
from  one  exhibition  to  another. — S.  Heaton. 
-  Shirley  Gardeners’  Association.— At  the  last  monthly 
meeting  of  above  Society’,  held  at  the  Parish  Room,  Shirley,  Southampton*- 
tl.e.’e  was  a  good  attendance  of  members,  and  Mr.  B.  Ladhams,  F.R.H.S.’ 
presided.  Mr.  H.  J.  Jones,  Ryecroft  Nursery,  Lewisham,  gave  a  very 
interesting  and  instructive  lecture  on  “  The  Begonia.”  The  essay  embodied 
directions  for  the  successful  cultivation  of  the  plant  both  from  seed  and 
cuttings.  Fertilisation  was  touched  upon,  and  the  essayist  promised  the- 
result  would  be  most  interesting  and  possibly  profitable.  The  lecturer 
considers  that  as  a  bedding  plant  the  Begonia  has  no  equal,  especially  if 
first  carefully  grown  to  secure  dwarf  strong  plants.  Exhibition  planta- 
also  received  a  passing  notice.  At  the  close  of  the  lecture  there  was  a 
useful  debate,  and  the  meeting  closed  with  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.. 
Jones.  There  was  a  floral  display  by  the  members  of  the  Association 
amongst  which  was  a  very  fine  plant  of  the  new  Cineraria  Stella,  shown, 
by  Mr.  H.  Wright,  gardener  to  Mrs.  Asten  Smith. 
-  96,000,000  Primrose  Blooms — Few  people  who  observed  tho- 
ready  sale  which  bunched  “  Prims,”  as  they  are  named  by  the  trade,, 
secured  on  Primrose  Day  in  the  streets  of  London  and  other  centres, 
possibly  gave  a  thought  as  to  the  extensive  nature  of  the  business.  Front 
twenty  reports  from  different  leading  cities  just  to  hand,  it  seems  that 
over  4,000,000  bunches  of  Primroses  were  despatched  for  sale  to  meet  the- 
requirements  of  Primrose  Day.  These  bunches  contained  probably  some¬ 
thing  like  96,000,000  blooms.  Estimating  4,000,000  plants  as  being  needed 
to  give  this  yield,  they  would,  set  1  foot  apart  each  way  in  fields,  occupy 
more  than  90  acres  of  land.  Of  course  the  flowers  really  are  gathered 
in  woods,  by  the  hedgerows,  and  in  rural  nooks,  and  the  bulk  come  from 
the  southern  counties  of  England,  As  far  as  profit  is  concerned  it  is  a. 
question  if  they  yield  anyone  but  the  flower  girls  a  remunerative  balance, 
for  they  are  often  sold  in  the  markets  as  low  as  3d.  a  dozen  bunches,. 
More  Primroses  came  into  London  last  week  than  for  a  corresponding 
period  in  any  previous  year.  This  was  due  absolutely  to  the  increased 
demand  for  supplies  for  Primrose  Day. — Daily  Mail.”) 
-  Death  of  Mr.  William  Dickson. — It  is  with  deep  regret 
that  I  have  to  send  you  news  of  the  death,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-five,, 
of  Mr.  William  Dickson,  of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  Dickson  &  Sadler,, 
chartered  accountants,  Liverpool,  and  late  Secretary  of  the  Liverpool 
Horticultural  Association.  Mr.  Dickson  had  been  ailing  for  many 
months,  and  hopes  were  entertained  that  he  might  possibly  recover,  but 
these  hopes  have  proved  groundless,  and  he  passed  aw’ay  at  his  residence, 
116,  Huskisson  Street,  Liverpool,  on  the  19th  inst.,  and  was  interred 
at  St.  James’s  Cemetery  on  Saturday  last.  Not  only  has  the  city  lost 
a  useful  citizen,  but  the  Horticultural  Association  must  fed  that  while 
Mr.  Dickson  was  able  to  keep  in  oflice  they  had  a  painstaking  servant, 
who  was  thorough  in  his  business  transactions,  and  who  did  his  best. 
Many  friends  who  knew  his  personal  qualities  will  unite  with  me  in 
expressing  sincere  regret  at  the  loss  at  so  early  an  age  of  one  who  ever 
tried  to  do  his  duty.  During  the  late  Mr,  Dickson’s  i  Inesa  the  work  of 
the  Association  was  carried  on  by  his  part  er,  Mr.  Harold  Sadler,  who 
^8  now  Secretary. — R.  P.  R. 
