JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
Decembeir  27,  1900. 
Recent  Weatlier  In  Xondon. — On  the  Sunday  and  Monday 
immediately  preceding  Christmas  Day  the  metropolis  was  enveloped 
throughout  the  greater  portion  of  the  day  in  a  heavy  fog,  which 
made  locomotion  somewhat  tedious.  On  Tuesday  rain  fell  during  the 
early  morning  hours,  but  later  it  was  dry  with  a  rather  high  wind 
at  night.  At  the  moment  of  going  to  press  on  Boxing  Day  it  was 
wet  and  dull. 
Weather  In  the  TXorth. — There  has  been  no  improvement  in 
the  dull  weather  during  the  past  week,  and  high  winds  have  been 
prevalent.  A  violent  south-westerly  gale  in  the  night  between  the 
21st  and  the  22nd  has  done  immense  injury  to  property  all  over  the 
country,  accompanied  in  a  good  few  instances  with  loss  of  life. 
Christmas  morning  was  gusty,  but  fair,  with  the  barometer  at  53°. — 
B.  D.,  *S’.  Perth. 
Royal  Institution.  —  To-day  (Thursday)  at  three  o’clock.  Sir 
Bobert  S.  Ball,  F.K.S.,  will  deliver  the  first  of  the  Christmas  course  of 
lectures  (especially  adapted  to  young  people),  at  the  Eoyal  Institution, 
his  subject  being  “  Great  Chapters  from  the  Book  of  Nature.”  The 
remaining  lectures  will  be  delivered  on  the  29th  inst.,  and  January  1st, 
3rd,  5th,  and  8th. 
Tobacco  Culture  In  Ireland, — The  Board  of  Agriculture  for 
Ireland  has  taken  charge  of  the  experiments  in  ccnnection  with  the  above 
which  were  worked  out  at  Randalstown,  Navan,  last  year,  transferring 
the  seat  of  operations  to  the  Model  Farm,  Glasnevin,  where  large 
breadths  were  cultivated  under  the  guidance  of  a  French  expert.  The 
process  of  harvesting  is  just  completed,  so  that  the  critical  stage  is 
now  being  entered  upon — namely,  the  one  of  curing  prior  to  bringing 
the  Tobacco  into  marketable  condition.  This  is  an  important  point,  as 
the  Navan  experimenters  found  by  experience.  If  this  succeeds  the 
cultivation  of  Tobacco  may  lay  claim  to  attention  from  the  growers  on 
this  side  of  the  Channel  as  a  suitable  rotation  crop. — A.  O’Neill. 
.A.nother  Use  for  the  Noble  Tuber. — Not  many  years  since  the 
threatened  ivory  famine  produced  that  remarkable  imitation  known  as 
celluloid,  which  has  been  successfully  employed  for  every  possible  use, 
from  billiard  balls  to  piano  keys.  To-day  the  imitation  has  been  itself 
imitated,  and  that,  too,  by  a  curious  preparation  of  Potato  pulp  !  The 
inventor  is  a  Dutchman  named  Knipers.  He  treats  the  waste  pulp, 
itself  a  residue  from  the  manufacture  of  the  artificial  Potato  flour,  with 
a  solution  of  acid  and  glycerine.  The  resulting  compound  takes  the 
form  of  a  species  of  stickfast,  which  is  dried  and  ground  to  powder. 
This  powder  is  moulded  into  blocks  with  the  aid  of  water,  very  much 
as  one  uses  plaster  of  Paris.  There  is,  however,  this  important 
difference.  The  new  compound  can  be  cut,  and  turned,  and  bored,  and 
used  for  every  purpose,  from  buttons  upwards,  in  which  it  was  formerly 
customary  to  use  bone  and  ivory. 
Royal  Meteorological  Society. — The  monthly  meeting  of  this 
society  was  held  on  Wednesday  evening.  Dr.  C.  Theodore  Williams, 
president,  in  the  chair.  Mr.  H.  Mellish  read  a  paper  on  “  The  Seasonal 
Rainfall  of  the  British  Isles,”  which  he  illustrated  with  a  number  of 
lantern  slides.  He  discussed  the  rainfall  returns  from  210  stations 
for  the  twenty. five  years  1866-90,  and  calculated  the  percentage  of  the 
mean  annual  rainfall  for  each  season.  In  winter  the  largest  per- 
centages  of  rainfall  are  found  as  a  rule  at  the  wet  stations,  and  the 
smallest  at  the  dry  ones.  Spring  is  everywhere  the  driest  quarter,  and 
the  percentages  are  very  uniform  over  the  country — rather  larger  in  the 
east  than  in  the  west.  In  summer  the  highest  percentages  are  found 
in  the  dry  districts,  and  the  lowest  in  the  wet  ones.  As  the  spring  is 
everywhere  dry,  so  is  the  autumn  everywhere  wet,  and  there  is  little 
difference  in  the  proportion  of  the  annual  total  which  falls  in  the 
different  districts.  As  regards  the  relation  between  the  amount  of  rain 
which  falls  in  the  wettest  and  driest  month  at  any  station,  it  seems  to 
be  generally  the  case  that  the  range  is  larger  for  wet  stations  than  for 
dry  ones.  In  wet  districts  rather  more  than  twice  as  much  rain  falls 
on  the  average  in  the  wettest  month  than  in  the  driest,  and  in  dry 
districts  rather  less  than  twice. 
Devon  and  Rxeter  Horticultural  Society.— General  Summer- 
Flower  Show,  Friday,  August  2nd;  Fruit  and  Chrysanthemum  Show^ 
Thursday  and  Friday,  November  14th  and  15th,  at  Exeter.  The 
honorary  secretary  is  G.  D.  Cann,  Esq.,  17,  Bedford  Circus,  Exeter. 
The  National  Dablla  Society. — A  meeting  of  the  committee  to 
make  arrangements  for  the  coming  annual  meeting  of  the  society,, 
which  will  take  place  on  the  8th  proximo,  was  held  at  the  Horticultural 
Club  on  the  18th  inst.,  Mr.  E.  Mawley,  president,  in  the  chair.  After 
the  usual  preliminaries  the  secretary,  Mr.  J.  F.  Hudson,  presented  a 
draft  report.  In  reference  to  the  Memorial  Fund  to  the  late  president,, 
Mr.  T.  W.  Girdlestone,  a  sum  of  money  had  been  raised  for  the  provision 
of  a  medal,  and  it  was  in  course  of  preparation.  A  scheme  for 
affiliating  Dahlia  societies  had  also  been  put  in  operation,  and  the 
Boston  Society  had  been  accepted.  The  catalogue  of  the  society  had 
also  been  revised  and  brought  up  to  date.  The  report  was  adopted,  and 
the  accounts,  which  showed  a  small  balance  on  the  right  side,  were^ 
passed.  Subject  to  arrangement  with  the  Crystal  Palace  authorities- 
it  was  resolved  that  a  one-day  show  be  held  on  Saturday,  September  7th, 
and  a  meeting  for  granting  certificates  to  new  varieties  at  the  Drill 
Hall  at  the  end  of  September.  The  proceedings  closed  with  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  chairman. 
The  Xegend  of  the  Glastonbury  Thorn. — According  to  the 
old  legend,  the  plant  which  is  known  as  the  Glastonbury  Thorn  sprang 
from  a  walking-stick  which  Joseph  of  Arimathea  stuck  into  the 
ground  on  Christmas  Day  while  he  was  resting  himself  on  a  hill  not 
far  from  the  famous  Abbey  near  Bath.  It  promptly  turned  into  a 
beautiful  flowering  Thorn  tree,  and  continued  for  ages  afterwards  to- 
blossom  into  green  leaf  and  red  berry  on  December  25th  as  regularly 
as  that  festal  date  came  round.  Once,  indeed,  it  narrowly  escaped 
destruction.  The  holy  walking-stick  developed  two  stems,  exactly 
identical.  During  the  civil  wars  a  Puritanical  Hew-em-down  thought 
the  Thorn  savoured  of  Popery,  so  he  sallied  forth  with  his  hatchet  to 
cub  it  to  bits.  One  stem  was  soon  hewn  to  pieces,  but  in  the  first 
blow  he  aimed  at  the  other  the  axe  glanced  from  the  bark  and  out  off 
one  of  the  tree-feller’s  legs,  thus  incapacitating  him  from  further 
destruction.  In  this  miraculous  manner  was  the  Glastonbury  Thorn 
preserved,  and  its  offspring  has  gone  on  flowering  on  or  about  Christmas 
Day  ever  since,  thus  (according  to  the  natives)  affording  conclusive 
proof  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea’s  visit  to  England,  else  why  should  it 
do  so  ?  This  year,  in  accordance  with  the  mildness  of  the  season,  it 
is  a  little  beforehand,  and  a  correspondent  at  Bath  sends  a  branch  of 
the  plant,  which  is  now  in  full  bloom  at  the  Botanical  Gardens,  Royali 
Victoria  Park,  Bath.  It  is  a  herald,  if  one  be  required,  of  the  approach 
of  Christmas. — (“  Daily  Telegraph.”) 
National  Carnation  and  Plcotee  Society. —  The  annual 
general  meeting  of  this  society  was  held  at  the  Horticultural  Club,  Hotel 
Windsor,  on  the  22nd  nit.,  the  president,  Mr.  Martin  R.  Smith,  occupying 
the  chair.  As  is  usual,  no  written  report  was  presented ;  that  is  drawn 
up  later  by  the  secretary  and  published  with  the  schedule  of  prizes. 
Mr.  T.  E.  Henwood,  the  treasurer  and  secretary,  presented  the  financial 
statement,  showing  that  a  balance  of  £209  lOs.  lOd.  had  been  brought 
over  from  last  year.  On  the  other  side,  the  sum  of  £235  6s.  6d.  had 
been  paid  in  prizes ;  printing  and  stationery  amounted  to  £64  33.  Id., 
special  circumstances  having  required  a  larger  expenditure  than  is 
usual.  Mr.  Martin  R.  Smith  was  re-elected  president,  Mr.  T.  E. 
Henwood  treasurer  and  secretary,  while  the  patrons,  patronesses, 
vice-presidents,  and  members  of  the  committee  were  passed  without 
alteratipn.  The  next  show  will  take  place  on  Friday,  July  19th, 
subject  to  the  concurrence  of  the  authorities  of  the  Crystal  Palace. 
Mr.  F.  A.  Wellesly,  who  had  given  notice  of  motion,  called  attention  to 
the  unsatisfactory  way  in  which  the  premier  blooms  were  judged  at  the 
late  show,  and  moved  that  judges  be  engaged  specially  to  make  these 
swards,  and  that  it  should  be  done  while  the  other  classes  were  being 
judged.  This  was  agreed  to.  Mr.  S.  A.  West  moved  that  two 
exhibitions  be  held  instead  of  one  only,  but  this  was  lost.  A  statement 
was  made  to  the  effect  that  the  list  of  yellow  ground  Piootees  had  been 
revised  by  a  committee,  who  recommended  the  changing  over  of  the 
following  varieties  from  yellow  ground  Picotees  to  Fancies,  viz., 
Efinomia,  May  Queen,  Mrs.  Willie  Spencer,  Primrose  Day,"  and  Stanley 
Wrig^’tson.  The  following  varieties,  all  of  Mr.  Martin  Smith’s  raising, 
were  added  to  the  list  of  yellow  ground  Picotees  : — Lady  St.  Oswald, 
Lauzun,  Daniel  Defoe,  Heliodorus,  Henry  Falkland,  Edna  May,  Caracea, 
Alcinous,  Edith,  Galatea,  and  Anchor. 
