JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  16,  1900, 
lo2 
Klngrston  Gardeners’  Association, — Oa  July  26th  a  party  of 
the  Kingston  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society  spent  a  most 
enjoyable  day  inspecting  the  establishment  of  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons  at 
Heading,  and  in  the  afternoon  visiting  Park  Place,  the  beautiful  resi¬ 
dence  of  Mrs.  Noble  at  Henley.  The  establishment  in  the  Market 
Place  was  explored  from  basement  to  roof.  After  this  brakes  conveyed 
them  to  the  Portland  Road  Nurseries,  and  subsequently  to  the  trial 
grounds,  where  the  firm  had  provided  lunch.  Both  the  nurseries  were 
inspected  with  much  interest.  The  party  subsequently  drove  to  the 
railway  station,  taking  the  Abbey  ruins  and  the  Forbury  Gardens 
en  route.  On  reaching  Park  Place  Mr.  Stanton  was  found  waiting  to 
show  the  visitors  this  splendid  garden,  which  is  equipped  and  managed 
in  such  excellent  style.  ■'■Many  members  of  the  visiting  party  practise 
on  a  light  burning  soil,  and  it  was  a  pleasure  to  see  a  garden  upon 
which  the  drought  had  had  comparatively  little  effect.  The  time 
passed  all  too  quickly,  and  the  visitors  set  their  faces  homewards,  passing 
down  the  beautiful  “  Happy  Valley  ”  and  across  the  river  to  Henley, 
reluctantly  bidding  farewell  to  Mr.  Stanton  and  his  genial  foreman. 
— John  T,  Blencowe. 
Syston  Horticultural  Exhibition,  —  A  show  of  all-round 
excellence  was  held  in  this  pretty  Leicestershire  town  on  August  9th, 
but,  unfortunately,  the  weather  was  wretched  throughout  the  day,  and 
it  speaks  volumes  for  the  interest  taken  in  the  society  that  so  large  a 
number  should  have  braved  the  elements.  Mr.  J.  T.  Main,  the  hon. 
sec.,  and  the  energetic  committee  had  made  a  special  effort  this  year  to 
make  the  show  a  great  success,  which  it  was  in  all  respects  except  the 
weather,  and  who  can  fight  against  that?  In  the  absence  of  Lady  Sarah 
Wilson,  of  Mafeking  fame,  the  show  was  opened  by  Capt.  Wilson. 
Collections  of  vegetables  were  shown  in  grand  condition.  The  champion 
of  the  open  class  was  Mr.  J.  Hudson,  Hinckley  Road  Nurseries, 
Leicester,  his  Onions,  Tomatoes,  Leeks,  Potatoes,  and  Celery  were 
products  of  the  highest  excellence;  the  whole  collection,  too,  was 
beautifully  staged.  The  same  exhibitor  was  also  firstfor  six  “  Geraniums” 
with  finely  grown  plants.  Mr.  J.  Wright,  Leicester,  won  for  six 
Fuchsias,  and  Mr.  Tyler,  Stonegate,  Leicester,  for  four  Coleus,  and  for 
stove  and  greenhouse  plants  Mr.  Robertson,  gardener  to  Lady  Sarah 
Wilson,  staged  the  only  group  shown,  and  was  awarded  the  first  prize. 
Mr.  J.  Smith,  Loughborough,  was  first  for  twelve  bunches  of  flowers, 
and  Mr.  C.  Warner,  Leicester,  won  for  twelve  Cactus  Dahlias  with  a 
very  fine  stand,  which  contained  good  blooms  of  the  beautiful  Arachne, 
Mr.  Carter  Page,  and  Firebrand.  Mr.  Smith  also  won  for  two  bunches 
of  Grapes  with  well  coloured  Gros  Maroo,  and  for  Tomatoes  with  large 
fruits  of  Perfection,  which  showed  rough  eyes,  while  beautiful  even 
samples  in  the  same  class  were  placed  second  and  third.  This  was 
clearly  an  error  of  judgment. — H.  D. 
King’s  Horton  Horticultural  Society, — The  seventeenth 
annual  show  was  held  on  August  6th  in  a  field  adjoining  the  charming 
grounds  at  The  Dell,  the  residence  of  G.  E.  Beilis,  Esq.  The  class  for 
groups  of  plants  arranged  for  effect  was  confined  to  one  exhibit.  Mr. 
J.  Palmer,  gardener  to  J.  Earle,  Esq.,  King’s  Norton,  was  the  exhibitor 
with  a  tastefully  arranged  example.  Specimen  stove  or  greenhouse 
plants  were  capitally  shown  by  Mr.  J.  Palmer,  who  was  awarded  the 
first  prize.  For  three  exotic  Ferns  Mr.  T.  Pass,  gardener  to  W.  Kentish, 
Esq.,  was  first.  Mr.  L.  Arnold,  gardener  to  E.  Baker,  Esq.,  was 
awarded  the  first  prize  for  three  specimens  of  Zonal  ‘‘Geraniums.’ 
Coleuses  were  remarkably  well  shown  by  Mr.  J.  Palmer  and  Mr. 
L.  Arnold.  Palms  were  represented  by  Mr.  J.  Palmer  with  very  good 
specimens,  also  for  three  stove  or  greenhouse  plants.  Begonias  were 
creditably  shown  by  Mr.  L.  Arnold  and  Mr.  J.  Grantham,  gardener 
to  A.  V.  Hughes,  Esq.  For  twelve  Roses  Mr.  J.  Grantham  was  awarded 
the  first,  and  Mr.  A.  Duckworth  the  second  prize.  For  twelve  trusses 
of  Stocks  Mr.  L.  Arnold  and  Mr.  J.  Grantham  were  the  winners.  For 
a  collection  of  hardy  perennial  cut  flowers  Mr.  T.  Pass  and  Mr. 
E.  Winchester  were  adjudged  the  winners.  Mr.  J.  Grantham  was 
responsible  for  Cactus  Dahlias.  Floral  decorations  for  table  centres 
formed  a  pleasing  feature;  the  first  prize  was  secured  by  Mrs.  D.  S. 
Pritchett  with  a  tasteful  arrangement.  Fruit  was  of  a  limited  extent, 
and  Grapes  were  not  represented.  In  response  to  Mr.  R.  Sydenham’s 
offer  of  prizes  for  nine  bunches  of  Sweet  Peas,  Mrs.  M.  A.  Smithson 
was  awarded  the  fii’st  prize  for  a  very  fresh  and  bright  assortment 
tastefully  arranged  in  glasses.  The  second  prize  was  secured  by  Mr. 
J.  Walby,  and  the  third  by  Mr.  E.  Winchester.  Vegetables  were  well 
and  numerously  shown  by  gentlemen’s  gardeners,  amateurs,  and 
cottagers  alike. 
Journal  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society. — Vol.  xxiii., 
part  3,  of  this  publication  has  just  come  to  hand,  and  contains  amongst 
other  valuable  information  papers  on'  “  Scale  and  Mealy  Bug,”  by 
R.  Newstead  ;  “  Growth  of  the  Fruit  Trade,”  by  G.  Monro ; 
“Fruit  Growing  in  South  Wales,”  by  J.  Basham;  and  “Experiments 
in  Potato  Growing,”  by  J.  S.  Gordon.  Particulars  are  also  given 
of  the  new  Charter  and  the  new  Bye-laws.  The  price  to  non-Fellows 
is  5s.,  and  it  may  be  obtained  from  the  Secretary,  R.H.S.,  117,  Victoria 
Street,  Westminster,  S.W. 
Extraordinary  Rainfall. — Mr.  W.  D.  W,  GriflBth,  Trefnant, 
Denbighshire,  writes  : — “  A  good  many  reports  have  appeared  of  the 
exceptional  rainfall  of  the  last  week,  but  I  have  not  seen  any 
record  coming  up  to  the  fall  here  on  Friday,  August  3rd.  From 
9  A.M.  to  6  P.M.  that  day  3'25  inches  of  rain  fell,  and.  3'50  inches 
in  the  twenty-four  hours  ending  at  9  a.m.  on  Saturday  the  4th  inst. 
This  is  quite  an  extraordinary  rainfall  for  this  district,  by  no  means 
a  rainy  one,  our  average  annual  rainfall  for  the  last  ten  years  being 
31’80.  We  have  not  had  anything  approaching  the  quantity  in  the 
time  during  the  over  eighteen  years  I  have  kept  a  record.  We  have 
had  some  other  heavy  falls  during  the  last  week,  notably  0’94  on  the 
6th  inst.  and  1'18  on  the  7th  ;  while  the  total  fall  for  the  first  seven 
days  of  August  amounts  to  6'22  inches.  Our  height  above  sea  level  is 
447  feet.” 
Scientific  Inspection  of  Cereals. — A  party  of  professors  from 
the  different  universities  and  colleges  of  the  kingdom  paid  a  visit  of 
inspection  last  Thursday  to  Messrs.  Webb  &  Sons’  Kinver  trial  grounds 
and  seed  farms,  where  were  to  be  seen  the  most  famous  varieties  of 
Wheat,  Barley,  and  Oats  from  foreign  countries  growing  side  by  side 
with  the  most  per  feet  examples  of  new  kinds,  the  result  of  cross- 
fertilisation  and  high  selection  this  country  has  hitherto  produced.  The 
party  consisted  of  Professor  Parry,  University  of  Wales  (Aberystwith)  ; 
Professor  Blandell,  Royal  Agricultural  College,  Cirencester ;  Professor 
Wallace,  University  of  Edinburgh;  Professor  Middleton,  Durham 
University;  Dr.  Hunter,  Edinburgh;  Mr.  Biffen,  botanist,  Cambridge 
University  ;  and  Professor  McAlpine,  Glasgow,  besides  several  practical 
agriculturists.  These  experts  gave  very  protracted  and  comprehensive 
examination  into  the  numerous  features  of  plant  culture  submitted 
to  them.  There  were  no  fewer  than  155  varieties  of  corn  alone,  the 
largest  collection  to  be  found  in  any  trial  ground  in  the  kingdom.  The 
utility  of  high  selection  was  abundantly  proved  by  finer  ears  and 
stouter  straw  having  been  imparted  to  some  of  the  old  Wheat,  such  as 
Golden  Drop,  but  the  marvels  of  cross-fertilisation  were  especially 
apparent  in  an  entirely  new  variety  of  white  Wheat,  whose  plump  corns 
have  only  the  thinnest  skin-coating,  while  they  are  exceptionally  close- 
set  in  the  heads.  Among  the  seventy-five  sorts  of  Oats  which  came 
under  view  there  was  not  one  that  apparently  surpassed  in  heavy 
yielding,  the  Bosworth  variety,  but  Dr.  Hunter  gave  the  palm  to 
Newmarket,  on  the  ground  of  its  superior  milling  quality.  According 
to  the  Dalmeny  experiments,  he  said  this  Oat  had  surpassed  all  other 
kinds  in  yielding  the  greatest  weight  of  flour.  Some  of  the  Barleys 
from  countries  so  far  distant  as  China  and  Egypt  were  curiosities,  and 
the  “Naked”  varieties  were  regarded  with  interest,  together  with  that 
excellent  malting  variety  Kinver  Chevalier. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Cblswlck. — Taken  in  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens— height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Direction  of  [ 
Wind.  j 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
.2 
Temperature  ol 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
ISOO. 
August. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
S  g  s 
tio 
a  c 
0?  o 
H 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
OQ 
•U 
,£3 
bfi 
S 
& 
o 
1-3 
Sunday . .  5 
Monday . .  0 
Tuesday  7 
Wed’sday  8 
Thursday  9 
Friday  ..  10 
Saturday  11 
w.s.w. 
s.s.w. 
s.s.w. 
N.N.W. 
.S.W. 
W.N.W. 
N.W. 
deg. 
57-5 
57 - S 
60-4 
50-4 
58- 8 
.55 -9 
59- 7 
deg. 
53-7 
55-2 
64  2 
53 - 8 
54- 5 
53-6 
65-9 
deg. 
eo-8 
63-0 
65 '5 
63 -6 
60-0 
61-9 
72  0 
deg. 
47- 2 
49  5 
53-4 
51  0 
61 -2 
53-7 
48- 6 
in.s. 
0-10 
0-22 
0-14 
0'23 
0-02 
deg. 
61-3 
60-5 
59  7 
60-2 
60-2 
59-5 
59-2 
deg. 
62  9 
62  2 
61-5 
61-2 
60-9 
60-7 
60- 3 
61- 4 
deg. 
60-9 
60  7 
60-5 
60-2 
59-9 
59-8 
59 '7 
deg. 
40-9 
41  -2 
46-8 
44  3 
45-7 
61-8 
42-8 
Means  .. 
58-2 
64-4 
63-8 
50-7 
Total 
0-74 
60  1 
60-2 
44-8 
During  the  first  part  of  the  week  the  weather  was  very  stormy,  the 
latter  part  being  warm  and  bright. 
