96 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  29,  1903. 
Weather  in  the  North. 
On  only  two  mornings  of  tlie  past  week  was  there  any  touch  of 
frost.  The  days  have  been  generally  dull,  often  wet,  with  but 
an  occasional  gleam  of  sunshine,  and  a  prevalence  of  high 
southerly  winds.  The  afternoon  of  Sunday,  the  following  night, 
and  Monday  were  very  wet. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
Dumfriesshire  and  Galloway  Horticultural  Society. 
The  annual  meeting  of  this  society  was  held  in  the  Town  Hall, 
Dumfries,  on  January  22.  The  report  and  accounts  of  Mr.  R.  G. 
Mann,  the  secretary  and  treasurer,  were  of  a  satisfactory 
character,  and  were  unanimously  approved  of.  Mr.  R.  Service, 
of  Messrs.  Jas.  Service  and  Sons,  was  appointed  chairman  of 
directors,  and  other  arrangements  made  for  the  show  on  August 
28  and  29. 
“Indian  Planting  and  Gardening.” 
From  the  current  issue  of  this  journal  the  twelfth  volume 
begins  in  a  greatly  enlai'ged  and  improved  form.  The  planting 
section  has  been  growing  so  much,  and  has  assumed  such  import¬ 
ance,  that  the  proprietor  and  editor  has  decided  to  place  it  first, 
and  has  consequently  made  a  slight  change  in  the  title  of  the 
paper.  The  gardening  section  now  comes  after  the  planting,  and 
will  be  conducted  as  heretofore.  It  is  published  weekly  from 
Calcutta. 
Liverpool  Horticultural  Society’s  Annual  Dinner. 
Our  Liverpool  correspondent  asks  us  to  insert  this  note ; 
“  Having  to  leave  the  above  meeting  before  its  conclusion,  and 
not  having  had*  notification  of  any  toasts  but  the  loyal  one,  I 
naturally  coircluded  that,  as  in  past  years,  toasts  would  be 
omitted.  I  am,  however,  glad  to  know  that  Mr.  George  Gordon 
reviewed  the  society’s  work  froni  its  inception,  and  that  Mr.  T. 
Foster,  the  chairman  of  the  association,  resijonded  in  his  well- 
known  style. — R.  P.  R.” 
January  Notes  from  Kew. 
The  Acacias  in  the  Australian  section  of  the  Temperate 
House  in  the  Royal  Gardens  are  just  about  to  bedeck  themselves 
with  showers  of  flowers.  A.  urophylla  (white)  is  already  in 
that  state,  as  also  A.  Baileyana  and  A.  acinacea.  On  the  oppo¬ 
site  side  of  the  same  house  stands  a  magnificent  Sparmannia 
africana,  a  standard  8ft  high,  with  a  stately  rounded  head, 
bearing  over  three  dozen  lovely  flower  trusses.  The  Javanese 
hybrid  Rhododendrons  in  the  Mexican  House  are  all  in  flower, 
and  are  succeeding  well.  In  the^  same  border  we  noticed  Coleus 
thyrsoideus,  Micosma,  riparum,  and  Jacobinia  Ghiesbreghtiana, 
the  latter  a  brilliant  carmine-crimson  winter  flowering  subject. 
The  little  Alpine  plant  house  bj’  No.  2  museum  is  also  a  place 
of  interest  at  this  dull  j)eriod.  The  alterations  to  the  standard 
Rose  garden  in  front  of  the  Lily  house  are  being  effected. 
The  Recent  Drought  In  Australia. 
A  Borderer,  who  has  farmed  in  Queensland  for  some  years, 
sends  home  an  account  of  the  recent  severe  drought,  the  worst 
ever  known  since  white  men  settled  in  Queensland.  The  gardens 
are  dead,  and  trees  of  twenty  to  thirty  years  of  age,  that  have 
come  through  many  droughts,  have  shrivelled  up*.  No  w'ords  can 
picture  the  desolation.  Many  .stations  have  lost  all,  and  have 
had  to  be  abandoned.  The  writer  has  lost  over  1,600  head  of 
cattle,  and  has  some  400  left,  one  or  two  dropping  off  daily.  Men 
and  boys  on  that  particular  station  are  kept  from  daylight  to 
dark  trying  to  save  the  stock.  There  is  no  grass,  and  a  substitute 
is  found  in  Bottle  tree,  from  which  soft  layers  of  a  substance  like 
cocoa-nut  are  obtained.  About  eighty  Angora  goats  are  fed  at 
this  station,  and  a  little  fat  is  obtained  when  one  of  these  is 
slaughtered.  The  beef  that  is  killed  has  not  a  morsel  of  fat  about 
it.  The  goats  supply  the  milk.  The  herd  of  milking  cows  are  all 
dead  but  one,  and  there  w'ere  eighty  milkers  on  the  station  before 
the  drought  set  in.  The  people  at  the  time  of  writing  were  living 
in  daily  hopie  of  rain,  as  it  had  fallen  fairly  over  the  south  of  the 
colony. 
A  Social  Evening. 
The  well-known  firm  of  Harkne.ss  and  Sons,  Bedale,  Yorks, 
entertained  their  employes  to  dinner  at  the  Leeming  Bar 
Hotel  on  the  23rd.  when  about  thirty  sat  down.  The  head  of 
the  firm,  Mr.  John  Harkness,  presided,  and  a  veiy  pleasant 
evening  was  spent. 
David  Garrick’s  Mulberry  Tree.  ‘ 
The  death  of  David  Garrick  took  place  in  1779,  and  the  20th 
wms  the  anniversary  of  that  event.  In  Abington  Park,  North¬ 
ampton,  a  Mulberry  tree  planted  by  him  still  bears  fruit.  For 
over  one  hundred  years  this  tree  bore  a  copper  j)late  with  the 
following  inscription •;  “This  tree  wms  planted  by  David  Garrick, 
Esq.,  at  the  request  of  Ann  Thursby,  as  a  grow'ing  testimony  of 
their  friendship,  1778.” 
Societies'  Syllabuses. 
The  Devon  and  Exeter  Gardeners’  Association  have  produced 
another  interesting  syllabus  of  papers  to  be  delivered  during  the 
spring,  the  subjects  dealt  with  being  Propagation  by  Cuttings, 
Forcing  Vegetables,  Orchids,  A  Stroll  in  the  Garden,  and  Mr. 
Shrivell  on  Nitrogen.  Mr.  Andrew*  Hope,  38,  Prospect  Park, 
Exeter,  is  hon.  secretai-y.  *  *  The  Croydon  and  District  Horti¬ 
cultural  Mutual  Improvement  Society  has  a  very  varied  list  of 
subjects,  including  Seeds,  Peaches,  Cucumbers,  Mushrooms, 
Sweet  Peas,  and  Heating  and  Ventilating,  among  others.  The 
hon.  secretary  is  now  Mr.  Harry  Boshier,  62,  High  Street, 
Croydon. 
The  Royal  Gardens  and  Queen  Alexandra. 
Many  changes  have  been  made  at  the  Royal  gardens  at  Frog- 
more,  in  order  to  bring  them  into  line  with  the  personal  prefer¬ 
ences  of  Queen  Alexandra,  w’ho  looks  upon  this  as  a  department 
of  her  own.  A^ large  Palm  house  has  been  rearranged,  and  it  is 
now  suited  for  a  lounge.  There  is  no  winter  garden  at  Windsor 
Castle,  as  there  is,  for  example,  in  the  Winter  Palace  at  St.  Peters¬ 
burg  or  the  Royal  Castle  at  Stockholm.  Her  Majesty  is  therefore 
oompolled  to  drive  down  to  Frogmore  when  she  wishes  to  see  her 
favourite  flowers.  There  is  some  expectation  that  a  conservatory 
w  ithin  immediate  reach  wdll  be  erected,  probably  on  the  south 
side  of  the  sunk  terrace,  the  orangery  on  the  north  side  being  un¬ 
suited  because  of  its  po-sition.  It  does  not  seem  possible  to  con¬ 
vert  to  tills  use  any  of  the  ordinary  apartments  of  Their  Majesties’ 
suite,  and  the  Grand  Corridor  is  only  adapted  for  occasional 
boxes  of  growing  plants.  Thus  the  great  floral  lounge,  which  is 
one  of  the  features  of  life  at  Sandringham,  is  sorely  missed  by  the 
Royal  party,  and  is  not  fully  replacecl  by  the  ampler  but  more 
distant  delights  of  the  Frogmore  gardens. 
Party  Visit  to  Sutton’s, 
A  party  of  horticulturists  and  members  of  the  Press  visited 
Messrs.  Sutton  and  Sons’  Royal  Seed  Establishment  at  Reading 
on  Friday  last,  at  the  invitation  of  the  firm.  Mainly  arriving 
before  twelve  o’clock,  the  party  wmre  conveyed  in  carriages  from 
the  head  office  and  seed  warehouses  to  the  compact  succession  of 
plant  houses,  twelve  in  all,  newly  erected  in  the  firm’s  Experi-  | 
mental  Grounds  (which  cover  eighty  acres),  by  Duncan  Tucker 
and  Co.,  of  Tottenham,  London.  The  object  of  the  visit  was  to 
inspect  the  new  structures  and  the  seasonable  ,  plants. — the 
Primulas  and  Cyclamens.  Of  the  houses  we  shall  have  a  further 
note,  and  the  Primulas  deserve  an  extended  notice  by  themselves. 
The  party,  numbering  between  twenty-five  and  thirty,  partook 
of  a  warm  luncheon  of  varied  cour.se;S,  and  excellently  served, 
within  the  large  conservatory  or  pavilion,  the  central  house  of  the 
group.  Mr.  Arthur  W.  Sutton,  V.M.H.,  presided,  while  Mr. 
Leonard  G.  Sutton  and  the  junior  partner,  Mr.  M.  H.  F.  Sutton, 
were  both  irresent,  and  assisted  tow’ards  the  enjoyment  of  the 
gathering.  The  loyal  toasts  were  adroitly  honoured,  in  proposing 
which  the  chairman  referred  appreciatively  to  the  Royal  favours 
bestowed  on  the  firm.  In  a  subsequent  speech  on  some  points 
of  the  firm’s  history,  from  its  commencement  about  1808,  the 
speaker  said  that  ever  and  always  it  had  been  the  aim  and  end 
of  the  House  to  supply  seeds  and  other  commodities  of  the  liighest 
quality  obtainable,  and  to  this  was  ascribed  the  unequalled  posi¬ 
tion  of  this  Reading  seed  firm.  The  visitors  having  expressed 
their  thanks  and  pleasure  in  being  so  ho.spitably  entertained,  the 
gathering  divided,  some  remaining  to  further  inspect  the  new 
houses  and  their  occupants,  while  the  early  arrivals  prepared 
(about  3.30  p.m.)  to  reaoli  their  trains.  The  day  was  bright  and 
clear. 
