^rnreh  5,  190?. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
203 
Book  on  Trees  and  Shrubs. 
In  your  issue  of  January  22,  1903,  page  83,  A.  D.  Webster 
states  that  there  are  still  a  few  copies  of  “Webster’s  Ornamental 
Flowering  Trees  and  Shrubs”  second  edition  for  dispo.sal.  Will 
you  kindly  inform  me  through  your  paper,  or  otherwise,  where 
I  can  obtain  a  copy,  and  the  price  of  same  post-paid  to  this 
country?  [Will  Mr.  Webster  please  reply? — Ed.] — Frederic 
W.  Adams,  The  Distilleries,  Louisville,  Kentucky,  U.S.A. 
Schedule  of  the  Sheffield  Horticultural  Society. 
AVhile  I  thank  you  for  your  reference  to  our  schedule,  you  will, 
I  am  sure,  permit  me  to  point  out  that  you  have  not  done  us 
justice,  and  the  statement  that  we  “  offer  £5  10s.  as  first  for  a 
group, of  plants”  is  rather  misleading.  True,  in  class  18  the 
first  prize  is  £5  10s.,  but  in  class  1  we  offer  £12  as  first  for  a 
group  of  plants,  the  total  being  £36  lOs.  in  the  two  classes;  we 
also  offer  over  £20  in  value  for  Roses.  As  tho  paragraph  has 
already  attracted  local  attention  I  should  be  grateful  if  you  will 
kindly  correct  in  your  next  issue. — W.  Lewendon,  Secretary. 
Gardening  Presentation. 
Mr.  Alfred  Chas.  W^ood,  head  gardener  to  Mrs.  Jos.  T. 
Eltringham,  East  Garth,  Westoe,  South  Shields,  completed  his 
twenty-one  years’  seiwice  as  head  gardener,  and  Mrs.  Eltringham 
and  family  have  presented  him  with  a  gold  hunting  watch,  and 
with  a  suitable  inscription  thereon.  Mr.  A.  C.  Wood  has  also 
been  twenty-one  years  on  the  Staging  Committee  of  the  South 
Shields  and  Northern  Counties  Chrysanthemum  Society.  He  is 
well  known,  highly  respected,  and  comes  from  an  old  gardening 
family,  his  father  having  been  for  many  years  head  gardener 
to  the  late  Lord  Ravensworth  at  his  London  hou.se. 
The  Gardeners'  Royal  Benevolent  Institution. 
The  second  meeting  of  Liverpool  gardeners  and  friends  in  aid 
of  this  worthy  charitj^  is  to  be  held  in  the  Bear’s  Pan  Restaurant 
on  Friday,  March  20.  LTp  to  the  present  we  have  a  great  amount 
of  .sympathy  extended,  and  whatever  the  committee  can  do  in  the 
matter  of  making  the  second  annual  smoking  concert  a  great 
success  is  being  done.  As  usual  the  trade  is  giving  every  sup- 
Ijort,  and  the  committee  are  more  than  fortunate  in  securing  the 
presence  of  the  Lord  Mayor,  W.  Watson  Rutherford,  Esq.,  M.P., 
as  chairman.  He  is  certain  to  make  a  strong  appeal  to  those 
present,  and  the  gardeners  are  equally  determined  to  do  their 
level  best  to  send  up  a  subscription  worthy  of  the  name  of  Liver¬ 
pool  citizens.  It  is  a  great  object,  and  for  that  reason  should 
receive  the  sympathy  of  all  present. — R.  P.  R. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
The  next  fruit  aird  flower  show  of  the  Ro’yal  Horticultural 
Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday,  March  10,  in  the  Drill  Hall, 
Buckingham  Gate,  London,  S.W.,  at  1  to  4  p.m.  A  lecture  on 
“Natural  Selection  v.  Adaptation”  will  be  given  by  the  Rev. 
Professor  G.  Henslow,  M.A.,  V.M.H.,  at  3  o’clock.  At  a  general 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  held  on  Tuesday, 
February  24,  103  new  Fellows  were  elected,  amongst  them  being 
Baron  Anthony  de  Worms,  Sir  John  Dick.son-Poynder,  Bart., 
M.P.,  Lady  Allen,  Lady  Cunliffe,  Lady  Constance  Ryder,  Lady 
Edwards,  Lady  Smyth,  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Chas.  Trotter,  and  the 
Hon.  Mrs.  Parry-Evans,  making  a  total  of  323  elected  since  the 
beginning  of  the  present  year.  At  the  Society’s  fortnightly  exhi¬ 
bition  on  March  24  special  prizes  will  be  offered  by  the  Royal 
Bulb-growing  Society  of  Haarlem  for  Hyacinths  and  Tulips  as 
follows: — 120  Hyacinths  in  pots  (one  bulb  in  each  pot),  in  not 
less  than  forty  varieties,  and  not  more  than  three  pots  of  any 
one  variety,  open,  first  prize  £7,  second  prize  £5,  third  prize  £3  ; 
100  pots  of  Tulips  (three  bulbs  of  one  variety  in  each  pot),  to 
include  fifty  varieties  at  least,  and  not  more  than  tivo  pots  of 
any  one  variety,  open,  first  prize  £4,  second  prize  £3,  third 
prize  £2.  At  least  six  days’  notice  must  be  given  of  intention 
to  compete. 
Weather  in  the  North. 
There  has  been  little  improvement  in  tho  weather  of  tho 
preceding  week,  wind  and  rain  being  the  features  of  tho  past  one. 
Some  of  tho  nights  were  extremely  .stormy.  On  the  morning  of 
the  28th  ult.,  and  again  on  Monday  morning,  there  was  a  slight 
touch  of  frost.  The  latter  day  brought  .slight  showers  of  sleet, 
and  was  very  dull  and  cold. — B.  D.,  S.  Perthshire. 
Our  Spring  Number. 
The  next  issue  of  tho  Journal  includes  the  sixteen  page 
supplement,  which  will  be  illustrated  on  nearly  every  sheet,  and 
will  contain  a  variety  of  exceedingly  interesting  articles.  These 
have  been  clmsen  with  the  fundamental  object  of  being  of  prac¬ 
tical  service  to  our  readers,  and  those,  like  the  descriptive  article 
on  Hopetoun  Gardens,  or  the  brief  memoir  of  John  Evelyn,  serve 
an  undoubtedly  useful  purpose  even  though  they  are  not  con¬ 
cerned  with  cultural  data.  Besides  the  articles  advertised  by  the 
publisher,  there  will  be  others,  and  notably  one  on  “  Gardening 
in  the  Transvaal,”  Avhich  may  contain  matter  of  good  cheer  to 
many  a  young  gardener  struggling  at  homo  here.  It  would  be 
well  for  those  of  our  readers  who  have  not  the  paper  sent  to 
them  direct  from  this  office,  to  ensure  a  copy  of  the  issue  of 
March  12  by  notification  to  their  newsagent. 
Sussex  Weather. 
The  total  rainfall  for  the  past  month  at  Abbots  Leigh,  Hay¬ 
ward’s  Heath,  was  1.58in,  being  0.41in  below  the  average.  The 
Keaviest  fall  was  0.68in  on  the  27th;  rain  fell  on  eleven  days. 
The  maximum  temperature  was  o9deg  on  the  20th,  the  minimum 
24deg  on  the  18th ;  mean  maximum  49.03deg,  mean  minimum 
38deg,  mean  temperature  43.51,  which  is  5.73deg  above  tho 
average.  The  mildest  Februaiy  in  a  fifteen  years’  record,  and 
is  2deg  above  the  average  for  March  of  the  same  period.  Very 
little  rain  fell  until  the  22nd,  and  the  soil  was  so  dry  that  wo 
sowed  Onions  on  the  20th,  which  is  a  fortnight  earlier  than  we 
have  been  able  to  of  late  years.  Everything  is  too  forward  for 
the  time  of  year.  Rhubarb  is  fit  for  use,  with  simply  the  usual 
slight  covering  of  litter.  Lent  Lilies  in  sheltered  places  are  in 
bloom,  and  Primroses  are  as  plentiful  as  at  the  end  of  March. 
— R.  I. 
Reading  and  District  Gardeners’  iTvssooiaticn. 
A  very  pleasant  evening  was  spent  by  the  members  of  the 
above  Association  at  their  last  fortnightly  meeting,  when  Mr. 
W.  Townsend,  of  Sandhurst  Lodge  Gardens,  Wellington  College 
Station,  gave  a  paper  entitled  “  A  Berkshire  Garden  in  Summer,” 
illustrated  with  limelight  views.  Of  course,  the  garden  dealt 
with  was  that  under  Mr.  Townsend’s  charge,  and  which  is  noted 
for  its  beautiful  outdoor  flowers.  The  visitors  were,  so  to  speak, 
shown  the  principal  features,  which  were  the  Roses,  Lilies, 
Fuchsias,  Hydrangeas,  Ac.,  which  bloom  profusely  here.  Tho 
slides  were  run  through  the  .second  time  so  as  to  'enable  the 
members  to  ask  questions,  and  needless  to  say  the  opportunity 
was  taken  great  advantage  of.  Mr.  J.  Gibson,  of  The  Gardens, 
Danesfield,  Marlow,  made  a  .splendid  exhibit  of  tho  Sutton 
Variegated  Kale,  .staging  about  three  dozen  heads,  each  showing 
two  or  more  di.stinct  colours  of  every  conceivable  shade.  A 
hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  the  lecturer  and  exhibitor. 
Chester  Paxton  Society. 
Under  the  auspices  of  this  society  Mr.  John  Taylor,  of  Colwyn 
Bay,  delivered  a  lecture  on  “  The  Outdoor  Culture  of  the  Vine.” 
in  the  Grosvenor  Museum  on  Saturday,  the  chair  being  occupied 
by  Mr.  John  Wynne,  of  Rowton.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks 
Mr.  Taylor  .said  there  were  many  localities  in  Cheshire  and  North 
Wales  where  Vines  could  bo  profitably  cultivated  out  of  doors, 
provided  they  were  planted  in  a  south  or  south-west  aspect,  on 
good  loamy  land  with  a  dry  subsoil,  and  proper  cultural  atten¬ 
tion  given  to  them.  Apart  from  the  utilitarian  aspect  of  \  ine 
culture  out  of  doors,  Mr.  Taylor  said  it  was  of  a  much  moie 
ornamental  character  than  many  plants  at  pre.sent  seen  on 
garden  and  cottage  walls,  and  he  advised  his  hearers  very 
strongly  to  give  it  a  trial,  if  only  on  a  small  scale.  An  animated 
discussion  followed,  in  which  Mr.  Barnes.  Eaton  Gardens,  Mi. 
John  Weaver,  Christlcton  Hall,  and  others  took  part;  and  the 
meeting  elosed  with  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Taylor. 
