Januarj'  29.  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
103 
A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  given  to  Mr.  Ladhams  for  liis  lecture, 
also  a  fir.st  class  certificate  of  merit  for  his  rockery.  The  next 
lecture  (on  Insectivorous  Plants,  illustrated  by  limelight  lantern) 
is  by  Dr.  J.  T.  Jenkins,  B.Sc.,  lecturer  in  biology,  &c. — J.  31. 
Croydon  Horticultural. 
The  first  lecture  in  the  New  Year  of  this  society’s  syllabus  of 
meetings  was  held  at  the  Sunflower  Temperance  Hotel,  George 
Street,  on  the  20th  inst.,  when  Mr.  J.  Deans  gave  a  most  intere.st- 
ing  and  appreciable  paper  on  “  Nature’s  Seed  Sowing.”  Tlie  lec¬ 
turer,  in  Ids  opening  remarks,  referred  to  the  well-known  authori¬ 
ties  on  the  subject,  such  as  Darwin,  Lubbock,  &c.,  and  their 
theories  of  the  many  ways  which  Nature  has  of  distributing  the 
seeds  of  plant  life  over  the  earth,  atti'ibuting  the  methods  of  dis¬ 
persing  the  seeds  to  four  chief  way.s,  viz.,  by  water,  winds,  birds 
and  animals.  The  lecturer  passed  round  to  the  meeting  different 
varieties  of  seeds,  and  these  conveyed  in  a  very  clear  manner  the 
different  points  which  he  raised  in  his  discourse.  A  good  dis¬ 
cussion  by  the  members  relating  to  the  lecture  followed  the 
reading  of  the  paper,  and  on  the  proposition  of  the  chairman, 
seconded  bj'  Dr.  Brooke  Ridley,  a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks 
was  accorded  the  lecturer  for  the  splendid  way  in  which  he  dealt 
with  his  subject.  Seven  new  members  were  elected.  Tlie  next 
paper  will  be  given  on  February  3,  when  Mr.  Thomas  Bunjmrd 
will  take  for  his  subject  “  Garden  Knot  Crops.” 
National  Dablia  Society:  Annual  Report. 
I  have  pleasure  in  sending  you  our  report  for  1902,  with  prize 
schedule  for  1903.  Compared  with  the  report  for  1901,  issued 
ten  montlis  ago,  the  changes  are  as  follows :  The  name  of  the  Earl 
of  Ilchester  is  added  to  the  list  of  patrons,  and  that  of  Miss 
Willmott,  V.3I.H.,  to  the  list  of  patronesses.  Mr.  F.  W.  Sharpe 
has  resigned  his  position  as  vice-president,  and  3Ir.  J.  F.  Hudson, 
M.A.,  has  been  elected  a  vice-president  in  his  place.  Mr.  Hudson 
thus  retires  from  the  position  of  hon.  secretary,  which  he  has  so 
ably  filled  during  the  past  six  years,  and  Mr.  P.  W.  Tulloch  has 
been  elected  lion,  secretary  in  his  place.  3Ir.  E.  T.  Cook  has 
been  elected  to  the  vacant  seat  on  the  committee  caused  by  31r. 
Tulloch’s  appointment.  Compared  with  the  date  of  issue  of  the 
last  report,  the  membership  shows  an  increase  of  over  eleven  per 
cent.,  and  the  prize  schedule  for  1903  has  been  improved  b.y  the 
addition  of  four  new  prize  trophies,  as  already  notified  to  you.  I 
may  add  that  negotiations  are  in  progress  for  the  holding  of  a 
special  exhibition  of  Dahlias  by  this  society  at  Manchester  in  Sep¬ 
tember  next,  which  it  is  hoped  will  shortly  reach  a  satisfactory 
conclusion. — P.  W.  Tulloch,  Hon.  Secretary. 
Ipswich  Mutual  Improvement. 
At  the  last  meeting  of  this  society,  Mr.  Whittel,  Pinetofts 
Gardens,  Ipswich,  read  a  paper  entitled,  “A  few  Plants  worth 
Growing,  but  little  Grown,”  a  subject  which  afforded  great 
opportunities  for  discussion,  of  which  members  readily 
availed  themselves.  The  essayist  first  called  attention  to  Iman- 
tophyllum  miniatum,  which,  he  contended,  was  not  sO'  largely 
grown  as  its  merits  deserved,  considering  that  the  plant  pre¬ 
sented  a  handsome  appearance  even  when  not  in  flower,  while  the 
ease  with  which  it  could  be  cultivated,  and  its  comparative  free¬ 
dom  from  insect  pests,  were  also  strong  points  in  the  plant’s 
favour.  3Ir.  Whittel  next  called  attention  to  the  genus  Acacia 
embracing  many  beautiful  species  worthy  of  cultivation,  of  which 
he  especially  mentioned  A.  armata  and  A.  Riceana.  Another 
favourite  plant  with  him  was  Hedychium  coronarium,  the  lovely 
spikes  of  sweet-scented  flowers  being  always  admired  in  the 
conservatory.  Brief  mention  was  made  of  the  curious  Bottle 
Bush  Tree  (Callistemon  salignus),  and  its  cultural  requirements. 
The  essayist  concluded  by  referring  to  the  Orange  tree,  and  the 
interest  which  a  well-fruited  tree  usually  aroused.  He  exhibited 
some  splendid  fruit  grown  at  Pinetofts,  which  were  much  ad¬ 
mired.— E.  (’.  • 
Royal  Meteorologicdl. 
The  annual  general  meeting  of  this  society  was  held  on  Wed¬ 
nesday  evening  the  21.st  inst.,  at  the  Institution  of  Civil  En¬ 
gineers,  Great  George  Street,  Westminster,  3Ir.  W.  H.  Dines, 
B.A.,  president,  in  the  chair.  The  secretai’y  read  the  report  of 
20  Fellows  during  the  year.  The  President  delivered  an  address 
on  “The  Method  of  Kite-Flying  from  a  Steam  Vessel,  and 
Meteorological  Observations  Obtained  thereby  off  the  West  Coast 
of  Scotland.”  In  the  spring  of  1901  the  Royal  Meteorological 
Society  appointed  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  in¬ 
vestigation  as  tO'  the  temperature  and  moisture  of  the  upper  air, 
and  the  British  Association,  at  their  Glasgow  meeting,  also  ap¬ 
pointed  a  comniittee  to  co-operate  in  the  work.  At  the  request 
of  the  joint  committee,  3Ir.  Dines  undertook  to  carry  on  the 
inquiry  during  the  summer  of  1902,  and  in  this  address  he  gave 
an  interesting  account  of  all  that  he  had  done. 
After  describing  the  apparatrts,  which  included  kites  (of  a 
modified  Blue  Hill  pattern),  eight  miles  of  wire  in  one  piece, 
winding-in  apparatus,  steam  engine,  and  meteorogi'aph,  he  pro- 
A  stand  for  exhibition  Grapes. 
ceeded  to  give  an  account  of  his  work  and  obseiwations  at  a  fixed 
station,  and  also  from  a  .steam  tug,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Crinan,  off  the  West  Coast  of  Scotland.  A  considerable  amount 
of  information  concerning  meteorological  phenomena,  was  ob¬ 
tained,  71  observations  of  temperature,  at  an  average  height  of 
4,140ft,  and  38  charts  from  the  self-recording  instruments,  with 
an  average  of  over  6,000ft,  having  been  secured.  The  greatest 
height  attained  was  1.5,000ft,  by  means  of  four  kites  on  the  wire. 
The  temperature  gradient  over  the  sea  was  considerably  less  than 
its  average  value  over  the  land,  being  about  Icleg  for  every  300ft 
of  height.  The  upper  currents  were  found  to  differ  in  direction 
from  those  below  much  less  than  was  expected.  As  a  general 
rule,  the  humidity  increased  up  to  a  level  of  about  a  mile,  and 
then  decrea.sed.  Mr.  Dines  illustrated  his  address  Avith  a  num¬ 
ber  of  intere.sting  lantern  slides.  Captain  D.  Wilson-Barker, 
F.R.S.E.,  Avas  elected  president  for  the  ensuing  year. 
Setting-up  Grapes  for  Exhibition. 
Grapes  are  very  often  seen  inefficiently  set  up  for  exhibition, 
and  are  consequently  not  seen  to  the  be.st  adA^antage.  This  i.s 
especially  the  case  at  some  of  Avhat  may  be  termed  country  shoAvs. 
I  have  therefore  thought  that  the  illustration,  taken  from  a 
photograph,  Avould  serve  to  shoAv  exactly  Avhat  is  generally  con¬ 
sidered  by  exhibitors  of  Grapes  the  best  Avay  of  carrying  and 
setting-up  Grapes  for  competition.  The  bunch,  ilj  AA’ill  be 
observed  from  the  figure,  is  resting  on  a  slanting  board.  The 
board  is  first  covered  Avith  a  thin  sheet  of  cotton  Avadding,  and 
then  covered  Avith  a  sheet  of  soft  white  paper.  The  bunch  is 
cut  Avith  rather  more  than  an  inch  of  the  Vine  adhering  to  each 
side  of  its  stem.  A  piece  of  narroAV  tape  is  fa.stened  to  the 
piece  of  Vine,  and  passed  through  a  hole  near  the  top  of  the  back 
perpendicular  board,  and  securely  fastened  there.  To  keep  the 
bunch  firmly  in  its  place,  a  piece  of  narroAv  soft  tape  is  Avorked 
Avith  great  care  betAveen  the  berries  near  the  middle  of  the  bunch 
Avith  a  long  needle,  and  each  end  of  the  tape  is  passed  through 
holes  previously  prepared  on  each  side  of  the  main  stem  of  the 
bunch  and  tied  underneath.  The  bunch  is  thus  fixed  so  that 
it  can  neither  slip  down  the  slanting  board  nor  roll  about. 
AVhen  more  than  one  bunch  is  set  up,  the  Grape  board  must 
be  of  proportionate  length.  But  it  is  not  desirable  to  have  them 
longer  at  any  time  than  Avill  hold  three,  to  four  bunches.  Avith 
sufficient  space  betAveen  each  to  let  them  be  properly  in.spected. 
It  is  ahvays  best  to  fix  the  bunches  just  as  they  are  cut  from 
the  Vine,  ahvays  laying  them  on  their  flattest  side.  In  doing 
this  it  is  never  desirable  to  lift  a  bunch  after  it  is  laid  on  the 
board,  for  it  cannot  be  easily  done  without  more  or  less  di.sturbing 
the  bloom  of  the  Grape.  When  all  are  fixed  in  their  places,  fit 
Avhat  I  shall  call  the  exhibition  platform  into  a  square  box  just 
Avide  enough  to  take  it  in,  and  deep  enough  to  clear  the  fruit 
Avhen  the  lid  is  screAA-ed  on  ;  then  put  a  couple  of  scrcAvs  through 
the  box  from  the  outside  into  the  back  board  of  the  platform, 
and  they  cannot  move.  In  conveying  them  care  must  be  taken 
to  keep'the  box  level,  and  not  to  jolt,  it  severely.-  D.  T. 
