May  18,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
407 
IVXBTEOROZiOGZCAZ.  OBSERVATION'S  AT  CHISWICK. 
— Taken  in  the  Koyal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens— height  above 
sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Direction  of 
Wind. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Rain. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
Lowe.st 
Temperature 
on  Grass. 
1899. 
May. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
m 
0) 
eC 
K 
m 
is 
o 
1-3 
Sunday . .  7 
Monday..  8 
Tue.sday  9 
Wed’sday  10 
Thursday  11 
Friday  ..12 
Saturday  13 
K.X.E. 
N.N.K. 
N.N.W. 
N.N.W. 
N.N.W. 
S..S.U'. 
s.s.w. 
des. 
53 - .5 
59-5 
49-7 
54- 7 
49-4 
55- 1 
51-8 
deg. 
46- 1 
61'8 
49- 5 
.50-1 
47- 7 
50- 6 
48- 5 
deg. 
61-5 
64-2 
58-5 
61- 9 
66-9 
62- 9 
61-8 
deg. 
37-1 
42-6 
46-9 
39- 0 
40- 3 
40 -8 
45-7 
ins. 
0*01 
deg. 
48-9 
50- 5 
52-5 
51- 9 
52- 8 
54-5 
54-5 
deg. 
49-() 
49- 8 
50 - .5 
50- 8 
51- 3 
.51-8 
52- 3 
deg. 
48-9 
48-9 
48- 9 
49- 1 
49T 
49-5 
49-7 
deg. 
28  T 
36-0 
44-2 
30-8 
34-1 
39-3 
38-5 
Means  .. 
53-4 
49-2 
62-5 
• 
42-6 
Total 
0-01 
52-2 
50-9 
49-2 
35-9 
The  weather  has  been  dull  and  dry  with  variable  cold  winds.  The 
only  measurable  quantity  of  rain  which  has  fallen  this  month  was  on 
the  13th. 
THE  ROYAL  GARDENERS’  ORPHAN  FUND. 
If  of  any  satisfaction  to  “  Another  Country  Gardener,”  I  will  at  once 
freely  acknowledge  that  I  did  not  understand  the  working  of  this  Society. 
If  subscribers  are  satisfied,  outsiders  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it. 
I  may,  however,  remind  him  that  “  A.  D.,”  whom  I  presume  is  a  subscriber, 
asked,  on  page  153,  “To  what  is  this  indifference  on  the  part  of  gardeners 
due  1  Can  anyone  explain  it  ?  ”  On  page  257  I  stated  what  the  feeling 
was  among  subscribing  gsrdeners  in  the  provinces.  This  was  corroborated 
by  “A  Country  Gardener.”  But  all  the  information  “A.  D.”  gave,  on 
page  302,  is  an  exercise  in  figures — namely,  “that  a  sum  of  £50  was 
allowed  for  office  expenses  to  the  then  Secretnrj’.  Now'  that  the  salary 
of  100  guineas  includes  the  50  guineas  formerly  accorded  for  that  purpose, 
and  pay  for  clerical  help,  the  actual  pecuniary  recompense  cannot  be  more 
■than  50  guineas  per  annum.”  “A.  D.”  has  endeavoured  to  prove  (but  has 
not  succeeded)  that  two  fifties  do  not  make  a  hundred.  If  the  above  is 
satisfactory  to  “Another  Country  Gardener,”  there  are  many  others  who 
will  reasonably  ask  why  it  is  necessary  for  the  Secretary  to  pay  50  guineas 
a  year  for  clerical  help  I  If  he  devoted  the  whole  of  his  time  to  the  work 
for  which  he  is  paid,  this  would  not  be  necessary.  Also  if  a  gardener 
subscribed  for  a  given  number  of  years,  and  should  his  children  unfortu¬ 
nately  require  assistance,  what  security  is  there  that  they  would  obtain  it 
'from  the  above  funds  ?— S.,  Yorks. 
[Our  correspondent  is  not  aware  that  both  the  late  and  present 
Secretary,  as  well  as  others  who  helped  in  the  formation  of  this  excellent 
charity,  were,  in  addition  to  the  time  they  gave  in  doing  so,  pounds  out 
of  pocket  in  meeting  initiatory  expenses,  and  the  last  thought  of  any  of 
them  was  to  have  the  outlay  refunded.  If  “  S.,  Yorks,"  w  ere  condemned 
'to  live  and  pay  rent  in  or  near  London  and  “devote  all  his  time”  to  an}' 
particular  object  for  100  guineas  a  year,  he  would,  no  doubt,  complain 
strongly,  and  with  much  better  reason  than  he  has  now,  of  that  amount 
being  paid  for  the  purpose  suggested.  If  all  the  gardeners  in  the 
kingdom,  who  are  as  well  able  to  subscribe  os.  a  year  as  our  friend  “  S.” 
is,  were  to  become  active  members  of  the  well-established  Fund  (that 
has  already  done  untold  good),  no  long  time  would  elapse  before  at  least 
one  child  of  a  deceased  subscriber  would,  if  in  need,  receive  substantial 
assistance.  More  than  one  child  of  a  family  has  already  been  a 
beneficiary.  Far  more  than  the  secretarial  and  management  expenses 
are  met  by  the  generous  gifts  of  friends  who  are  not  gardeners.  The 
greatest  mistake  made  in  the  increase  in  the  Secretary’s  salary  was  in 
deferring  it  so  long.  We  hope  that  as  every  penny  subscribed  by 
gardeners  actually  goes  to  the  indigent  children  of  their  deceased 
brethren  of  the  craft,  our  acute  correspondent  will  not  be  content  till  he 
sends  us  a  donation  to  forward  to  the  Secretary,  and  if  it  be  a  good  one 
“A.  D.”  will  not  mind  the  little  pleasantry  indulged  in  in  the  above 
critique.  It  is  largely  by  secretarial  efforts  in  various  ways  that 
hundreds  of  pounds  are  obtained  for  the  charities  which  they  represent, 
and  not  a  few  of  such  officials  earn  their  salaries  over  and  over  again. 
We  are  not  inclined  to  publish  any  further  letters,  that,  though  not  in  the 
least  intended  to  do  so,  may  have  a  tendency  to  injure  rather  than  help 
the  highly  useful  and  carefully  managed  Royal  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund,] 
NATIONAL  AURICULA  SHOW. 
Northern  Division. 
The  annual  exhibition  of  the  Northern  Division  of  the  above  Society 
was  held  in  the  Coal  Exchange,  Manchester,  on  the  oth  inst.  The  Show 
was,  at  one  time,  part  of  the  spring  exhibition,  but  an  alteration  of  date 
in  this  fixture  led  to  a  change.  Subsequently  the  growers  of  Auriculas 
had  an  exhibition  of  their  own  at  the  Society’s  gardens.  The  more 
recent  shows  have  been  held  at  Middleton.  In  that  town  the  cultivation 
•of  the  flower  is  very  popular  with  amateur  gardeners,  the  records  show¬ 
ing  that  exhibitions  of  Auriculas  were  held  there  150  years  ago.  For  a 
variety  of  reasons  the  Committee  decided  on  a  return  to  Manchester. 
The  present  Show  was,  in  point  of  excellence,  equal  to  its  predecessors. 
Its  features  included  new  varieties  exhibited  by  Mr.  Tom  Lord  of  Tod~ 
morden,  Mr.  Ben  Simonite,  and  Mr.  R.  Gorton  of  Eccles.  The  premier 
prize  for  the  best  Show  Auricula  was  awarded  to  Mr.  T.  Lord  for 
Abraham  Barker,  and  Mr.  A.  R.  Brown,  Handsworth,  Birmingham, 
gained  a  similar  distinction  in  the  Alpine  class.  Mr.  H.  Stringer  exhi¬ 
bited  the  best  plant  of  Polyanthus,  to  which  the  premier  prize  was 
awarded,  and  Mr,  Frank  Law  of  Sale  put  up  a  fine  collection  of  Narcissi. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  awards. 
For  fix  dissimilar  Show  Auriculas  the  first  prize  went  to  Mr.  T.  Lord, 
the  second  to  Mr.  B.  Simonite,  the  third  to  Mr.  A.  R.  Brown,  and  the 
fourth  to  Mr.  J.  \V.  Bentley.  Four  dissimilar. — First  Mr.  T.  Lord, 
second  Mis.s  Woodhead  (Halilax),  third  Mr.  \V.  Shipman  (Altrincham), 
and  fourth  Mr.  J.  Clements  (Birmingham).  Pairs. — First  Miss  Wood- 
head,  second  Mr.  Stelfox  (S^talybridge),  third  Mr.  W.  Kershaw  (Ashton- 
under- Lyne),  and  fourth  Mr,  R.  Gorton.  Single  plants,  green  edges. — Mr. 
T.  Lord  secured  the  first,  second,  and  Iburth  prizes,  and  Mr.  B.  Simonite 
the  third  prize.  Single  plants,  grey  edges. — First  Mr.  B.  Simonite, 
second  Miss  Woodhead,  third  Mr.  T.  Lord,  and  fourth  Mr.  J.  W.  Bentley. 
Single  plants,  white  edges. — Mr.  T.  Lord  secured  the  four  prizes.  Single 
plants,  seifs. — First  Mr.  T.  Lord,  second  Mr.  J.  W.  Bentley,  and  the 
third  and  fourth  prizes  fell  to  Mr.  B.  Simonite. 
In  the  Alpine  section,  for  six  dissimilar,  shaded,  the  first  prize  was 
awarded  to  Mr.  A.  R.  Brown,  the  second  to  Mr.  J,  Beswick  (Middleton), 
the  third  to  Mr.  R.  Gorton,  and  the  fourth  to  Mr.  T.  Lord,  Four  dis¬ 
similar. —  First  Mr.  J.  Beswick,  second  Mr.  J.  W.  Bentley,  third  Mr.  T. 
Lord,  and  fourth  Mr.  A.  R.  Brown.  Pairs,  dissimilar.  — First  Mr.  J. 
Clements,  second  Mr.  T.  Buckley  (Stalybridge),  third  Mr.  J.  W.  Bentley, 
and  fourth  Mr.  S.  Wardle  (Ashton-under-Lyne).  Pairs,  for  maiden 
growers. — First  Mr,  S.  Wardle,  second  Mr.  R.  Holding,  and  third  Mr. 
P.  Holdam  (Middleton).  Single  plants. — The  first,  second,  and  fourth 
prizes  went  to  Mr.  A.  R.  Brown,  and  the  third  to  Mr.  J.  Clements. 
Single  plants,  white  centres. — The  first,  second,  and  fourth  prizes  to  Mr. 
A.  R.  Brown,  and  the  third  to  Mr.  J.  Beswick. 
For  Polyanthuses,  black  grounds,  three  dissimilar. — First,  Mr.  H. 
Stringe"*  ;  second,  Mr,  J.  Blowick  ;  third,  Mr,  J.  Oldham,  and  fourth, 
Mr.  G.  Thornley  (Middleton).  Red  grounds,  three  dissimilar. — First,  ilr. 
G.  Thornley  ;  second,  Mr.  J.  Beswick  ;  third,  Mr.  T.  Oldham.  Single 
olants,  black  grounds. — First  and  second.  My.  T.  Oldham  ;  third  and 
fourth,  Mr.  J.  Beswick.  Single  plants,  red  ground.*. — The  three  first 
prizes  went  to  BIr,  G.  Thornley,  fourth  Mr.  J.  Beswick, 
NATIONAL  TULIP  SOCIETY. 
May  17th. 
The  sixth  exhibition  was  held  at  the  Royal  Botanic  Society’s  Garden, 
Regent’s  Park.  The  exhibition  was  somewhat  small,  but  the  blooms 
excellent.  Many  exhibitors  were  absent  owing  to  the  late  season. 
In  the  premier  class  (Barr’s  cup)  for  eighteen  dissimilar  Tulips,  two 
feathered,  two  flamed,  and  two  breeder  of  each  class,  BIr.  J.  )\  .  Bentley, 
Castleton,  ^Manchester,  was  placed  first.  The  varieties  were  Clio,  San  Jose, 
Julia  Farnese,  Masterpiece,  Chancellor,  General  Grant,  Othello,  Annie 
McGregor,  Adonis,  Excelsior,  Ashmolus,  Mabel,  Rose  Hill,  Adonis,  Gold- 
finder,  Annie  BIcGregor,  Excelsior,  and  W.  Parkinson. 
For  twelve  dissimilar  rectified  Tubps  BIr.  A.  D,  Hall,  Wye,  Kent,  was 
placed  first  with  a  fine  stand.  The  varieties  employed  were  Samuel 
Barlow',  Count,  Annie  BIcGregor,  Adonis,  Proserpine,  Sir  Joseph  Paxton, 
Sarah  Headley,  Aglaia,  Lord  F.  Cavendish,  Trip  to  Stockport,  and 
George  Edward.  BIr.  C.  W.  Needham,  Royton,  Blanchester,  was  placed 
second  with  gofid  flowers  of  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  Annie  BIcGregor, 
Clio,  and  Talisman  ;  and  BIr.  A.  Chater,  Cambridge,  third  with  good 
specimens  of  Black  Prince.  Blodesty,  Blastcrpiece,  and  Guido. 
For  six  dissimilar  rectified  howers,  BIr.  Bentley  was  placed  first  with 
San  Jose,  Blabel,  Lilian,  Farnese,  Trip  to  Stockport,  and  Blasterpiece. 
BIr  A.  D.  Hall  was  second  with  Attraction,  Aglaia,  Adonis,  and  Duchess 
of  Sutherland  ;  and  BIr.  C.  W.  Needham  third.  For  three  feathered 
Tulips,  BIr.  Bentley  was  again  placed  first  with  Modesty,  Guido,  and 
Masterpiece.  Mr.  A.  Chater  was  second  with  Blodesty,  Blasterpiece,  and 
Adonis.  In  the  class  for  three  flamed  varieties,  Mr.  A.  D.  Hall  was  first 
with  excellent  flowers  of  Talisman,  Dr.  Hardy,  and  Aglaia,  and  BIr.  Bentley 
second.  ,  nr  rr  w 
For  a  pair  of  blooms,  one  feathered  and  one  flamed,  BIr.  C.  VV  . 
Needham  was  first  with  capital  examples  of  Blodesty  and  Samuel  Barlow. 
BIr,  Bentley  second,  and  BIr.  A.  D.  Hall  third.  The  class  for  six 
dissimilar  Tulips  was  a  good  one.  BIr.  A.  D.  Hall  secured  the  first  prize 
with  a  capital  exhibit ;  the  varieties  were  Lady  Grosvenor,  B\  in. 
Lea,  Adonis,  Annie  BIcGregor,  Gold  finder,  and  Talisman.  Mr.  C.  W. 
Needham  was  second,  and  Mr.  Chater  third.  BIr.  A.  D.  Hall  was 
again  first  for  three  dissimilar  breeders  with  Blaid  of  Orleans,  John  Heap, 
and  Annie  McGregor.  BIr.  Bentley  was  second,  and  BIr.  G.  Edom, 
Walton-on-the-Hill,  third. 
Potato  “  Up-to-Date.”  —  BIr.  E.  Blolyneux’s  strongly  worded 
statement  on  page  385  may  disconcert  a  few.  But  there  is  another  side 
to  the  question.  “Up-to- Dates  ”  have  been  at  the  top  of  the  London 
market  for  some  time,  and  I  know  growers  in  the  Lothians  who  are 
sending  “  Up-to-Dates  ”  to  London  and  getting  £4  per  ton  for  them 
F.O.B.  Leith.— W.  C. 
