£03 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  5,  1905. 
Societies. 
Newport  (Mod.;  Gardtofirs’. 
The  usual  meeting  of  tlie  above  association  was  lield  on  the 
25th  ult.,  when  Mr.  F.  Shrivell,  F.L.S.,  F.R.H.S.,  lectured  on 
“  The  Influence  of  Nitrogen  on  tlie  Leguminosre  and  Brassicse.” 
The  lecturer  .stated  that  his  experiments  proved  that  nitrate  of 
.soda,  superphospliate  of  lime,  and  potash,  used  with  moderate 
quantities  of  farmyard  manure,  gave  much  better  results  than 
u.sing  large  quantities  of  manure  alone.  Some  very  beautiful  and 
some  very  humorous  photographs  were  shown  on  the  sheet  of 
.'■cenes  of  Hop-picking  and  Hop-pickers.  Gardeners’  societies 
that  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  Mr.  Shrivell  would  be 
well  advised  to  secure  his  .services  (which  are  given  free)  for 
another  season.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  also  accorded  Mr.  W. 
Jones,  gardener  to  R.  P.  Williams,  Esq.,  for  three  very  beautiful 
winter  flowering  Begonias.  Mr.  F.  S.  Daniels  presided. — 
J.  Pegler. 
Cardiff  Gardeuers’. 
The  usual  fortnightly  meeting  took  place  on  Thursday,  February 
24,  Mr.  (1.  E.  Collier  in  the  chair.  Mr.  Waller,  Cucumber 
grower,  Eastbrook  Nurseries,  Dynas  Powis,  Glam.,  delivered  an 
exceedingly  high-class  and  exhaustive  lecture,  entitled  “  The  Cul¬ 
ture  of  Cucumbers.”  Dealing  first  with  the  best  methods  of  sow¬ 
ing  seed.s,  watering,  and  transplanting,  also  the  best  kind  of 
loam,  manures,  Ac.,  to  use,  the  proper  training  of  the  plants, 
and  where  and  where  not  to  allow  the  fruits  to  remain,  was  very, 
clearly  explained  to  the  minutest  detail.  Mr.  Farmer  opened 
the  debate,  which  brought  forth  a  brisk  discu.ssion,  particularly 
on  the  best  ways  and  means  of  fighting  against  the  ravage.s  of 
the  dreaded  mildew  and  insect  pests  without  injury  to  the 
foliage.  The  best  thanks  of  the  meeting  was  accorded  to  Mr. 
Waller  for  his  excellent  lecture.  A  First  Class  Certificate  was 
unanimously  awarded  Mr.  Waller  for  a  collection  of  well-grown 
fruit  of  Cardiff  Castle  Cucumbers. — J.  Julian. 
BiriDingliam  Gardeners’. 
”  Some  Types  of  Fungus  Life,”  illustrated  with  lantern  slides, 
was  the  extremely  intere,sting  subject  at  the  fortnightly  meeting 
held  on  the  23rd  ult.,  by  Dr.  A.  H.  Reginald  Buller,  of  the 
University,  Birmingham.  Professor  W.  Hillhouse  (the  President) 
occupied  the  chair,  and  remarked  in  complimentary  terms  the 
pleasure  he  felt  in  introducing  to  the  assembly  his  former  pupil, 
the  lecturer.  The  subject  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  edible  and 
poisonous  species  of  fungus,  whilst  the  lecturer’s  lucid  descrip¬ 
tions  were  much  enhanced  by  the  excellent  lantern  slid©  por¬ 
trayals  and  diagrams  of  fungi  life,  both  terrestrial  and  arboreal ; 
also  such  as  dry  rot  affecting  timbers.  Dr.  Buller  said  that  the 
public  park  of  the  royal  borough  of  Sutton  Coldfield  iiresented  a 
rich  resource  for  the  fungologist,  and  several  of  the  photographs 
had  been  secured,  more  especially  of  specimens  growing  upon 
trees  in  the  old  groves  of  the  park.  An  animated  discus.sion 
followed,  and  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  the  learned 
lecturer. 
National  ChrjsantlieinuiD. 
A  well-attended  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  took 
place  at  the  Albert  Hotel,  Victoria  Street,  S.W.,  on  the  2nd  inst. 
Mr.  Thomas  Bevan  in  the  chair.  Among  the  correspondence 
read  was  a  letter  from  the  newly-elected  President,  Mr.  Charles 
E.  Shea,  thanking  the  committee  for  the  honour  done  him  by  his 
election  as  president,  and  setting  forth  his  desire  to  give  a  special 
presidential  prize  in  some  class  during  the  present  year.  The 
Secretary  reported  he  had  seen  the  President  in  reference  to  his 
prizes,  that  he  w’as  willing  to  give  the  sum  of  five  guineas,  and, 
subject  to  the  approbation  of  the  committee,  it  had  been  arranged 
with  Mr.  Shea  that  the  sum  named  should  be  a  special  first  prize 
by  the  President  in  the  class  for  twenty-four  Japanese  blooms,  it 
being  the  section  of  the  Chrysanthemum  in  which  Mr.  Shea  takes 
the  greate.st  interest.  It  was  agreed  that  the  foregoing  arrange¬ 
ment  be  approved.  It  was  resolved  that  on  t]ie  occasion  of  the 
annual  outing  on  July  13,  a  visit  should  be  paid  to  the  gardens 
of  Park  Place,  Henley-on-Thames,  by  the  kind  permission  of  Mrs. 
Noble,  and  that  there  should  be  in  addition  a  water  trip.  The 
arrangements  were  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Secretary.  It  was 
reported  that  the  terms  of  the  agreement  with  the  Crystal  Palace 
Company  for  holding  three  shows  at  Sydenham  during  the  present 
year  had  not  yet  come  to  hand,  and  the  Secretary  was  instructed 
to  take  an  early  opportunity  of  ivaiting  upon  the  manager  and 
urge  the  completion  of  the  agreement  In  accordance  with  a  resolu¬ 
tion  of  a  previous  meeting  the  Secretary  produced  an  estimate 
of  probable  receipts  and  expenditure  for  the  present  year,  show¬ 
ing,  with  the  balance  in  hand,  and  the  £200  promised  by  the 
Crystal  Palace  Company,  and  approximate  income  of  about  £800, 
and  inclusive  of  the  .sum  of  £421  offered  in  the  schedule  of  prizes 
of  the  three  shows,  an  approximate  expenditure  of  £788,  there 
being  thus  a  small  balance  in  favour  of  the  society.  The  Secretary 
pointed  out  there  had  been  during  the  past  year  a  considerable 
leakage  of  members  from  various  causes,  but  he  hoped  there 
would  be  a  substantial  increase  in  the  membership  through  taking 
the  shows  to  Sydenham.  A  number  of  the  affiliated  societies  had 
found  themselves  in  financial  difficulties,  and  had  withdrawn  from 
affiliation.  The  revised  schedule  of  prizes  as  recominended  by 
the  Schedule  Revision  Sub-Committee  were  submitted,  the 
Secretary  explaining  that  the  institution  of  various  scales  of 
entrance  fees  had  necessitated  an  entire  rearrangement  of  the 
schedules,  and  he  explained  how  this  had  been  done  ;  his  action 
was  approved,  and  the  schedules  passed  for  publication.  Messrs. 
M.  Gleeson  and  A.  Jeffries  were  elected  judges  at  the  Octoher 
show  ;  Messrs.  J.  F.  McLeod,  A.  Turner,  C.  J.  Salter,  J.  Fulford, 
G.  Inglefiekl,  W.  Robinson,  J.  Jennings,  O.  Thomas,  J.  Smith, 
and  W.  Allan,  at  the  November  show;  and  Messrs.  C.  Orchard 
and  W.  Ring  at  the  December  show.  The  special  and  general 
regulations  were  revised  in  order  to  meet  the  altered  condition  of 
things,  and  also  some  regulations  as  to  miscellaneou.s  exhibits. 
Some  new  members  were  elected,  and  the  proceedings  closed  with 
a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman. 
Chislek'st  (Kent)  Gardeners:  Onions. 
Mr.  H.  Cannell,  V.M.H.,  the  w’ell-known  flori.st,  of  Swanley 
Junction,  recently  gave  a  very  instructive  lecture  before  the 
Chislehurst  Gardeners’  Society,  on  “  How  to  Grow  large  fine 
Onions,  al.so  plenty  of  .smaller  ones.”  Dating  back  to  the  time 
of  the  construction  of  the  Pyramids  in  Egypt,  the  speaker  said, 
nine  tons  of  gold  (probably  not  loss  than  £100,000)  were  spent 
in  purchasing  Onions  for  the  workmen.  He  was  convinced  that 
a  capable  grow'er  could  get  a  good  living  from  Onion  growing 
alone,  on  light  rich  soil.  The  first  thing  necessary  to  know  was 
their  several  diseases,  blight,  maggots,  Ac.,  and  liow  to  prevent 
these  pests  alighting  and  injuring  the  crops.  They  had  con¬ 
clusive  evidence  that  the  Onion  and  its  allies  w'ere  certainly  one 
of  the  first  and  oldest  vegetables  eaten.  They  were  a  most  im¬ 
portant  food,  both  for  medicinal  and  strengthening  purposes, 
and  to  sustain  good  and  robust  health. 
It  was  unfortunate  that  few  pensons  oat  Onions  properly. 
In  fact,  they  were  a  despised  vegetable  by  most  people,  owing 
to  their  odour.  He  had  been  told  it  was  only  ill-bred  or  vulgar 
people  who  iiartcok  of  Onions  as  part  of  their  natural  diet.  He 
questioned  how  many  boxes  of  pills  had  been  taken  during  the 
past  year,  and  added  that  it  would  have  been  better  to  have 
had  Nature’s  vegetables  as  an  aperient  than  those  rank  poisons 
(pills).  If  the  Onion  w’ei%  partaken  of  for  supper,  they  could 
rely  upon  it  they  would  be  cheerful  and  bright  the  next  morn¬ 
ing.  Who,  in  their  younger  days,  when  troubled  with  ear-ache, 
w'er©  not  as  a  rule  either  cured  or  eased  by  the  heat  of  a  roasted 
Onion?  If  more  were  eaten,  there  w’ould  be  less,  or  no 
ear-ache. 
Thousands  of  years  ago  tlie  Egyptians  were  steadfast  to 
their  Onions,  and  he  believed  they  were  to  this  day.  Spaniards, 
Italians,  and  Portuguese  subsist  mainly  on  bread  and  Onions. 
Many  workmen  in  this  country  prefer  them  to  cheese.  Onions 
produced  clear  complexions  and  the  most  healthy  flesh.  Few 
liersons  had  the  slightest  idea  how  valuable  they  are.  Cooks 
no  doubt  detest  them  in  consequence  of  their  effect  on  the  eyes ; 
but  if  immersed  in  boiling  water  that  would  be  prevented.  By 
taking  the  rough  skin  off,  and  letting  them  stand  in  the  water 
until  nearly  cold,  they  can  be  peeled  and  chopped  without  any 
ill  effects.  A  .sprig  of  Parsley  chewed  after  partaking  of  Onions 
would  banish  all  the  odour.  The  Leek  is  the  emblem  of  Wales, 
and  was  almost  worshipped  by  the  Welsh.  King  James  I.  pre¬ 
ferred  Onions  to'  any  other  vegetable.  Skin  diseases,  scrofula, 
scurvy,  and  even  leprosy  would  be  very  rare  if  Onions  were  more 
regularly  eaten.  Monks  persist  in  having  nets  of  Onions  sus¬ 
pended  in  the  monasteries  to  prevent  the  inroad  of  contagious 
diseases.  Owdng  to  the  monks  habitually  using  Onions,  they 
were  able  to  visit  the  sick  and  fever  dens  during  the  great 
plague  and  small-pox  epidemics,  and  came  out  unscathed. 
Onionsi  were  cultivated  2,000  years  before  Christ,  and  were, 
in  the  speaker’s  opinion,  the  king  of  vegetables.  They  will 
keep,  and  rats  and  mice  will  never  touch  them.  Tliey  were  not 
affected  by  the  frost,  and  the  green  tops  were  not  poisonous 
like  the  Potato,  evei*y  part  of  them  being  fit  to  eat.  They  ivere 
the  best  aid  to  dige.stion  with  the  exception  of  the  Pineapple. 
A  good,  deep,  rich  soil  should  be  selected,  facing  the  sun  as 
much  as  possible  in  as  warm  and  sheltered  a  spot  as  could  be 
obtained.  The  ground  should  be  covered  with  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  of  soot,  with  a  good  strong  coating  of  guano,  followed  with 
4in  or  Sin  in  depth  of  good  fresh  horse  and  farmyard  manure. 
This  should  be  incorporated  regularly  amongst  the  soil  as  it  is 
turned  over  and  trenched  3ft  deep.  Care  .should  be  taken  tliat 
the  top  spit  comes  on  the  top  again,  and  the  second  spit  imme¬ 
diately  below  it.  When  watering  in  the  dry  weather  in  summer 
the  moisture  should  go  down  at  least  a  foot.  When  the  plants 
are  about  1ft  high  they  should  be  sulphured  at  the  top  and 
bottom  to  prevent  moths  settling  and  laying  their  eggs.  This 
also  would  prevent  mildew'.  This  dusting  should  be  applied 
every  fortnight,  and  is  easily  applied  by  th^  “Ideal”  bcllow's. 
The  lecture  was  listened  to  with  rapt  attention. 
