June  15,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDEN'ER. 
401 
-  Presentation  to  Mr.  Alexander  Dean.— Our  corre- 
fl)ondent“A.  D.”  was  on  Saturday  last,  on  the  top  of  St.  Ann’s  Hill, 
near  Chertsey,  presented  by  the  Committee  of  the  Kingston  Total 
Abstinence  Saturday  Popular  Eutertainments  with  a  handscitie  silver- 
plated  inkstand,  as  some  recognition  of  his  services  to  them  in  organising 
these  entertainments  with  such  marked  success  during  sfveral  years. 
The  inkstand  bears  a  suitable  inscription.  Mr.  Dean’s  first  presentation 
of  this  nature  was  in  the  form  of  a  silver  watch,  given  to  him  hy  the 
Committee  and  friends  of  the  Shirley  Horticultural  Society  (Southampton) 
in  1870,  which  he  did  much  to  organise  in  1865,  and  it  has  remained  a 
very  active,  energetic  society  to  this  day.  Two  other  presentations  have 
been  made  to  him  since,  besides  the  one  given  on  Saturday  last,  so  that 
he  must  be  regarded  as  a  fortunate  man,  whose  labours  do  not  go 
unrecognised.  Our  versatile  correspondent  does  not  in  the  least  mind 
who  knows  to  whom  the  familiar  initials  belong.  He  has  done  effective 
work  in  the  cause  of  temperance. 
•  Another  Bullfinch  Charge. — I  think  most  people  are 
loth  to  put  forth  evidence  against  this  beautiful  member  of  the  feathered 
tribe,  but  the  truth  must  be  told,  and  ho  is  a  mischievous  fellow  when 
once  he  commences  his  depredations.  The  person  whom  he  loves  to 
worry  most  is  the  fruit  grower,  and  the  way  in  which  he  will  persistently 
strip  the  buds  from  fruit  bushes  is  now  an  old  story.  But  his  habits  of 
mischief  do  not  begin  and  end  among  the  fruit,  and  quite  recently  I  was 
in  a  garden  where  I  noticed  how  scanty  were  the  flowers  on  both  the 
white  and  purple  Lilac  frees.  I  passed  some  remark  on  this,  and  was 
surprised  to  learn  that  the  direct  cause  was  the  bullfinches.  The  trees 
early  in  the  spring,  so  the  gardener  told  me,  were  well  stocked  with 
buds,  and  the  promise  of  bloom  was  abundant,  when  he  noticed  the  bull¬ 
finches  began  to  be  very  busy  among  the  Lilacs.  Apparently  they  found 
something  to  their  liking,  and  did  not  relax  their  efforts  until  they  had 
deprived  the  trees  of  the  majority  of  the  buds. — G. 
-  Mr.  Wm.  Paul,  Y.M.H.,  and  the  Cheshunt  Magistrates. 
The  experiences  of  Mr.  William  Paul,  the  well-known  nurseryman, 
at  the  Cheshunt  Bench  this  week,  are  calculated  to  induce  him  never 
again  to  perpetrate  the  offence  of  summoning  before  the  magistrates 
persons  who  commit  depredations  on  his  property.  He  possessed  in 
his  nursery  at  Wormley  a  fine  Araucaria.  On  Easter  Suuday  the  tree 
attracted  the  attention  of  four  youthful  excursionists  from  London, 
who  seem  to  have  said,  “Here’s  a  tree,  let’s  spoil  it;”  and  spoil  it 
they  did  by  cutting  branches  off.  They  were  caught,  summoned 
before  the  Bench,  and  ordered  each  to  pay  Is.  3d.  damages  and  2s. 
towards  costs.  As  the  prosecutor  had  to  pay  fGs.  for  the  summonses 
and  2s.  for  the  subpoena,  total  18s.,  and  as  the  excursionists  were  only 
made  to  contribute  Ss.  towards  costs,  Mr.  Paul  loses  10s.  In  other 
words,  the  prosecutor,  who  was  the  injured  party,  is  mulcted  in  more 
than  three  times  the  penalty  which  was  inflicted  on  each  defendant  by 
way  of  damages  and  punishment.— ("  Herts  and  Essex  Observer.”) 
-  National  Dahlia  Society. — The  Committee  of  the  above 
Society  has  made  arrangements  to  hold  a  meeting  at  the  Royal  Aquarium, 
Westminster,  on  Tuesday,  September  19th,  for  the  purpose  of  affording 
an  additional  opportunity  for  the  exhibition  of  seedling  Dahlias,  and  for 
the  awarding  of  the  Society’s  first-class  certificate  to  such  of  the  new 
varieties  exhibited  as  the  Committee  may  consider  worthy.  In  order  to 
give  additional  interest  to  this  meeting,  it  is  thought  desirable  to  offer 
prizes  in  a  few  competitive  classes,  and  several  amounts  have  been 
already  promised.  It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  members  ot  the  Society 
will  contribute  to  the  special  prize  fund,  so  that  an  exhibition  worthy 
of  the  Society  may  be  provided.  The  Directors  of  the  Royal  Aquarium 
have  undertaken  to  provide  ample  accommodation  in  the  galleries  of  the 
building,  to  furnish  all  the  necessary  staging,  to  issue  posters,  and  adver¬ 
tise  the  Exhibition  in  the  daily  and  weekly  papers,  to  give  passes  to 
exhibitors,  and  supply  tickets  of  admission  to  the  building  to  members  of 
the  National  Dahlia  Society  and  their  friends  at  half-price.  But  they 
stipulate  for  a  two-days  exhibition,  to  which  the  sub-committee  appointed 
to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  has  consented.  Miscellaneous  trade 
exhibits  are  invited,  for  which  a  moderate  charge  for  space  will  be  made 
as  a  contiibution  towards  the  expenses  of  the  Show.  Subscribers  of 
2  guineas  to  the  prize  funds  can  exhibit  miscellaneous  contributions  free 
of  charge.  Subscribers  to  the  special  prize  fund  will  not  be  charged  an 
entrance  fee  in  order  to  compete,  non-subscribers  to  the  fund  must  pay 
an  entrance  fee  of  2s.  6d.  The  amount  offered  in  the  suggested  schedule 
is  £22  10s.,  but  this  is  contingent  upon  the  amount  being  subscribed 
Dahlia  lovers  must,  therefore,  come  to  the  assistance  of  the  Society  and 
send  subscriptions  to  the  Hon.  Sec.,  Mr.  J.  F.  Hudson,  The  Gardens, 
Gunnersbury  House,  Acton. 
-  Royal  Meteorological  Society. — At  the  ordinary  meeting 
to  be  held  in  the  rooms  of  the  Society,  70,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster, 
S.W.,  on  Wednesday,  the  21st  inst.,  at  4.30  p.m.,  the  following  papers  will 
be  read  : — “Heavy  Falls  of  Rain  recorded  at  the  Observatories  connected 
with  the  Meteorological  Office,  1871-1898,”  by  Robert  H.  Scott,  DSc, 
F.R.S.  ;  “.Vverage  Heicht  of  the  Barometer  in  London,”  by  R.  C. 
Mossman,  F.R.S.E.,  F.R.Met.Soc. ;  “A  new  Self-recording  Anemoscope,  ’ 
by  Joseph  Baxendell,  F  R  Met.Soc. 
- Pelargonium  radula. — This  is  one  of  the  best  of  the 
scented-leaved  section,  as  it  does  not  grow  quite  so  strongly  as  many, 
yet  has  a  more  filled-up  look  than  the  very  fine  cut  kinds,  such  as 
Pheasant’s  Foot  and  similar  ones.  It  has  the  merit  of  standing  much 
longer,  too,  in  the  house  than  most,  and  a  plant  that  has  been  standing 
on  my  table  all  through  the  winter  is  now  quite  fresh  and  green,  and 
growing  at  all  its  points.  It  is  getting  late  for  propagating,  but  there 
is  yet  time  to  obtain  plants  for  use  in  late  winter  and  spring.  Their 
culture  is  easy  where  good  light  house  or  frame  room  can  be  spared,  and 
they  are  very  useful  when  indoor  furnishing  has  to  be  done.— H.  Bury. 
-  The  Strawberry  Season. — Strawberries  are  already  coming 
into  the  market,  and  if  some  showers  fall,  sufficient  to  moisten  the  ground 
without  gritting  the  fruit,  it  is  likely  that  we  shall  have  an  adequate 
supply.  Strawberries  love  moisture,  and  the  rain  that  fell  towards  the 
latter  part  of  May  did  much  good  to  the  plants.  Growers  have,  however, 
great  difficulty  in  getting  Strawberry  pickers,  and  the  same  may  be  said 
of  Gooseberries.  The  fact  is,  says  the  “Rural  World,”  these  hands  are 
getting  fewer  every  year — so  much  so  that  many  fruit  grounds  have  been 
seeded  down  to  grass  that  might  have  been  still  used  for  marker 
gardening  if  labour  had  been  procurable. 
-  Late  Broccoli. — From  whence  come  the  remarkably  fine 
heads  of  Broccoli  now  in  the  market  ?  There  is  one  before  me,  bought 
from  the  neighbouring  greengrocer,  of  fine  massive  proportions,  fully 
9  inches  over  the  white  head,  and  weighing  from  3  to  4  lbs.  Surely 
such  superior  heads  could  come  only  from  a  northern  district  on  June  10th 
I  know  we  have  late  varieties  in  Model,  Late  Queen,  Methven’s  .lune* 
and  others,  but  these  have  all  been  over,  in  the  south  at  least, 
since  the  end  of  May,  and  what  were  seen  then  were  very  small.  I  hear 
of  a  very  fine  late  selection  from  Bucks  in  a  private  garden,  but  such  a 
sample  as  the  one  before  me  has  come  from  some  market-grown  breadth 
no  doubt.  But  where  ?  Will  some  northern  correspondents  tell  us  whether 
they  have  white  Broccoli  well  into  June  in  Yorkshire  or  in  Scotland  ? — A, 
-  Gigantic  Asparagus. — Several  bundles  of  very  fine  Asparagus 
were  recently  disposed  of  in  the  Birmingham  Fruit  and  Vegetable 
Market  by  Mr.  Thos.  Howell,  garden  produce  salesman.  It  was  grown 
at  Evesham  for  prizes.  The  heaviest  bundle  of  100  heads  weig'ied 
25^  lbs.,  and  was  about  20  inches  in  length.  Other  bundles  weighed 
24  lbs.,  23  lbs.,  19  lbs.,  and  14  lbs.  respectively.  A  heavier  than  either  of 
the  above  was  forwarded  to  London  from  Evesham.  It  was  stated  that 
one  or  two  of  the  foregoing  examples  were  bought  for  presents  at  a 
sovereign  each,  and  others  at  30s.  a  couple.  It  would  be  interesting  to 
know  if  there  have  been  recorded  weights  exceeding  those  in  question 
elsewhere. — W.  G.  [We  have  seen  no  such  elephan'ine  Asparagus 
as  the  extraordinary  weights  imply,  and  so  far  as  we  know  they  are 
unequalled.  The  stems  must  have  been  earthed  up  to  an  unusual  height 
t;>  have  obtained  a  length  of  20  inches,  and  the  scales  remained  closed,  as 
they  presumably  were,  to  be  of  exhibition  quality.  Evesham  is  evidently 
in  the  ascendant  in  Asparagus  culture.] 
PAK^HY  POTATO  PLOTS. 
I  CANNOT  easily  recall  another  season  when  there  were  so  many  com¬ 
plaints  of  the  uneven  and  patchy  aspect  presented  by  Potato  quarters, 
either  in  garden  or  field,  as  this  year.  There  are,  it  is  true,  exceptions, 
where  no  signs  of  failure  occur,  but  among  the  cottage,  allotments,  and 
larger  gardens  I  have  seen  many  case.«.  Some  “sets”  have  never  come 
up  at  all,  but  are  tuhering  without  foliage.  This  blindness  is  somewhat 
difficult  to  understand  in  my  case,  because  the  seed  was  in  good  condition 
for  planting. 
A  selection  of  the  old  Ashleaf  is  the  worst  offender  among  the 
earliest  section,  but  Beauty  of  Hebron  and  Snowdrop  are  equally  as 
irregular  among  the  maincrop  plantings.  I  can  only  j.ttribiite  the  failing 
to  the  excess  of  rain  which  followed  the  planting,  cau>ing  the  ground 
to  be  cold,  particularly  as  the  night  temperature  ranged  so  low.  I  hud 
always  looked  upon  the  old  Ashleaf  as  a  hardy  Potato,  but  it  has  this 
season,  for  some  reason,  acted  falsely,  and  allowed  Sharpe’s  Victor  and 
Ringleader  outstrip  it  in  that  respect.  These,  as  well  as  Harbinger. 
First  Crop,  and  Veitcli’s  Ashleaf  come  up  well,  and  did  not  suffer  so 
much  from  spring  frosts  as  usual. 
I  should  like  to  ask  “  A.  D.”  whether  in  his  extensive  plantings  he 
has  found  many  such  failures  as  noted  above. — W.  S. 
