April  16,  1903.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
341 
NOTES 
OTICES 
Royal  Institution  Lectures. 
At  the  Royal  Institution  on  May  6,  Mr.  H.  Rider  Haggard 
will  speak  on  “  Rural  England.” 
Legislation  for  Fruit  Pests. 
M  e  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  our  readers  in  general  to 
the  paragraph  in  the  report  of  the  R.H.S.  Scientific  Coinniittee 
on  page  343,  which  is  the  sub-conmiittee’s  replj^  to  the%)roposal 
for  legislation  for  the  protection  of  fruit  trees. 
Croydon  Horticultural  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
^  e  print  a  notice  of  the  third  annual  exhibition  of  spring 
flowers  and  plants  to  be  held  in  The  Art  Galleries,  Park  Lane, 
Croydon,  on  Wednesday,  April  22,  1903,  from  3  to  10  p.m. 
Objects :  — To  create  and  encourage  a  love  of  horticulture  in 
the  minds  of  the  masses.  Exhibits  cordially  invited.  No 
entrance  fees  and  no  prizes.  All  are  invited.  Admission  free. 
Music  at  intervals.  Applications  for  space  for  exhibits  to  be 
made  not  later  than  Saturday,  April  18  next,  to  the  hon.  sec., 
Harry  Boshier,  62,  High  Street,  Croydon. 
The  Coming  Exhibition  of  the  National  Auricula  Society. 
This  is  to  be  held  in  the  Drill  Hall,  in  connection  with  one 
of  the  meetings  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  and  as  there 
is  every  expectation  the  show  will  be  larger  than  usual,  it  is  to 
be  hoped  the  Council  will  give  directions  for  ample  space  to 
be  reserved  for  the  exhibits.  It  is  not  fair  to  the  exhibitors  of 
Auriculas  to  have  their  plants  crowded  together  in  something 
like  confusion,  with  the  productions  in  the  various  classes  run¬ 
ning  one  into  the  other.  It  is  usual  on  such  occasions  for  the 
exhibitors  of  miscellaneous  productions  to  be  more  numerous 
than  usual ;  but  it  would  be  well  if  the  Council  would  insist 
upon  it  that  with  the  exception  of  Orchids  for  the  Orchid 
Committee;  Daffodils  for  the  Daffodil  Committee;  Fruit  and 
vegetables  for  the  Vegetable  Coinmittte,  and  novelties  in  plants 
and  flowers  for  the  Floral  Committee ;  all  miscellaneous 
exhibits  were  related  to  the  genus  Primula.  I  think  I  may 
venture  to  state  that  should  the  iiresent  mild  weather  continue, 
and  cold  easterly  winds  of  a  retarding  character  be  absent,  a 
good  Auricula  bloom  may  be  looked  for.  It  will  probably  be 
much  too  early  for  the  Rev.  F.  D.  Horner  to  come  south  with 
some  of  his  fine  novelties;  bpt  Mr.  James  Douglas,  of  Great 
Bookham,  may  be  expected  to  be  in  strong  force,  and  the 
newer  green-edges  may  be  looked  for  with  confidence,  such  as 
Abbe  Li.szt  (Douglas),  Abraham  Barker  (Lord),  and  James 
Hannaford  (Simonite). — R.  D. 
Stem  Growth. 
Stems  exhibit  certain  characteristic  differences  as  to  the 
order  in  which  their  buds  unfold,  these  differences  determining 
to  a  great  extent  the  arrangement  of  their  branches  (ramifica¬ 
tion).  In  the  stems  of  flowerless  plants,  and  in  leaves,  branch¬ 
ing  occurs  without  the  formation  of  a  bud,  but  by  cell-division 
at  the  apex.  This  is  termed  polytomous  branching.  It  may 
result  in  two  (dichotomous)  or  in  three  (trichotonious)  branches. 
These  may  be  developed  equally  when  the  polytomy  is  multi¬ 
lateral,  or  one  side  may  cease  to  elongate,  when  it  is  unilateral. 
In  the  latter  case  the  successive  branches  that  do  elongate  form 
an  apparent  axis  (sympode).  Of  this  sympodial  polytomy  there 
are  two  kinds — the  successive  elongating  branches  may  be  all  on 
one  side,  when  it  is  pedate  (as  in  Adiantum  pedatum  and  Helle- 
borus  niger),  or  they  may  alternately  to  right  and  left,  when  it 
is  cicinal  (as  in  Selaginella).  The  branching  of  stems  of  flowering 
plants  is  always  dependent  on  the  development  of  buds,  and  is  of 
two  chief  kind.s — racemose  and  cymose.  In  the  stem  of  a  Wall¬ 
flower  the  main  axis  elongates  indefinitely,  while  branches  are 
developed  from  lateral  buds  in  succession  from  below  upwards. 
This  is  racemose  branching.  In  other  cases  the  terminal  bud 
ceases  to  elongate,  and  growth  is  carried  on  by  lateral  buds  only. 
This  is  polypodial,  or  cymose,  branching. — M  m.  R.  R. 
London  Geological  Field  Class. 
The  Saturday  afternoon  excursions  of  the  London  Geological 
Field  Glass,  conducted  by  Professor  H.  G.  Seeley,  F.R.S.,  will 
commence  on  the  25th  inst.  The  localities  to  be  visited  this 
.season  will  include  M alton-on-the-Hill,  Aylesbury,  Harefield, 
Sevenoaks,  Leighton,  and  Tunbridge  Wells.  Further  particu¬ 
lars  can  be  obtained  from  the  hon.  secretary,  Mr.  R.  Herbert 
Bentley,  33,  Church  Crescent,  Muswell  Hill. 
Weather  in  the  North. 
Tlie  first  day  or  two  of  the  week  ending  13th  inst.  were 
good  for  the  season,  but  since  the  11th  there  has  been  a  spell 
of  decidedly  uinti’^’^  weather.  Saturday  was  the  most  unpleasant  • 
day  of  all,  gleams  of  sunshine  alternating  with  heavy  drifting 
showers  of  sleet  and  snow.  On  the  morning  of  Sunday  odeg 
of  frost  were  registered,  and  on  Monday  8deg,  and  both  days 
were  bitterly  cold  with  high  northerly  wind. — B.  D.,  S.  Perth- 
.shire. 
The  Cold  Weather. 
On  Tuesday  evening  there  was  another  heavy  fall  of  snow  on 
the  Lammermoors  and  in  the  higher  districts  of  Berwickshire, 
Such  severe  weather  has  not  been  experienced  at  this  season 
for  many  years.  The  flockmasters  have  suffered  heavily  during 
the  past  few  days,  as  it  is  the  middle  of  the  lambing  season. 
The  frost  has  also  played  havoc  with  the  young  crops.  Eight 
degrees  of  frost  were  registered  in  Buckinghamshire  yesterday 
morning,  and  the  unusually  severe  weather  has  totally  destroyed 
the  hopes  of  a  heavy  Pear  and  Plum  crop. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
The  next  fruit  and  flower  show  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  will  be  held  on  Tuesday,  April  21,  in  the  Drill  Hall, 
Buckingham  Gate,  Westminster,  from  1  to  5  p.m.  The 
National  Auricula  and  Primula  Society  will  hold  its  annual 
show  at  the  same  time  and  place.  A  lecture  on  “  Horticultural 
Education”  wnl  be  given  by  Mr.  R.  Hedger  Wallace  at 
3  o’clock.  At  a  general  meeting  of  the  society  held  on  Tues- 
day,  April  7,  seventy-eight  new  Fellows  were  elected,  among 
them  being  Gen.  the  Right  Hon.  Sir  Dighton  Probyn,  V.C., 
G. C.B.,  G.C.V.O.,  Sir  Archibald  Edmond  Stone,  Bart.,  Sir 
H.  M.  Hawley,  Bart.,  Lady  Stewart,  Lady  Percy  St.  Maur,  Lady 
Wharton,  Rear-Admiral  R.  F.  Britten,  R.N.,  Col.  Dudley 
Ryder,  and  the  Hon.  Mrs.  A.  M.  Dale,  making  a  total  of  546 
elected  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  year. 
Obituary. 
The  death  of  Dr.  W.  B.  Kellock,  M.D.,  F.L.S.,  of  Stamford 
Hill,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two  years*,  took  place  on 
the  3rd  inst.  Fifty  years  ago  Dr.  Kellock  was  a  horticultural 
enthusiast,  his  leading  fancy  as  a  cultivator  was  Agaves  and 
allied  plants,  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of  exhibiting  at  the 
exhibitions  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  in  the  old  South 
Kensington  days.  He  and  his  intimate  friend,  the  late  Dr. 
Denny,  of  Zonal  Pelargonium  renown,  were  members  of  the 
Council  of  the  R.H.S..  and  like  Dr.  Denny,  Dr.  Kellock  was 
chairman  of  the  Floral  Committee  at  the  time.  Of  the 
members  of  the  pre.sent  Floral  Committee  the  only  two  in  all 
probability  are  Mr.  George  Paul  and  Mr.  Richard  Dean.  Dr. 
Kellock  was  buried  at  Totnes,  Devon. 
The  Weather  at  Hamilton. 
Still  the  condition  of  the  weather  continues  very  unfavour¬ 
able  here.  Monday  and  Tuesday  were  uniform  with  the 
greater  part  of  the  past  months.  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and 
Friday,  however,  were  fine  spring  daj*s.  Consequently 
gardeners  and  farmers  were  busily  engaged  in  seed-sowing. 
Saturday  took  up  the  tail  of  Tuesday’s  apparently  unfinished  * 
storm,  and  doled  out  merciless  showers  of  cold  rain  alternated 
with  snow.  The  wind  was  very  high  and  bitterly  cold.  The  com¬ 
parative  immunity  from  frost  during  this  spring  is  very  remark¬ 
able.  The  first  bumble  bee  of  the  season  was  seen  in  the 
Peach-houses  on  Monday ;  Larch,  Hawthorns,  Horse  Chest¬ 
nuts,  and  Maples  are  fast  expanding  their  foliage.  Our  early 
Rhododendrons  are,  however,  having  a  bad  time  of  it,  many  of 
the  flowers  being  battered  to  pieces  before  they  are  expanded. 
— D.  C. 
