February  21,  1901 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
15  3 
Recent  Weather  In  London. — A  high  wind  passed  over  London 
from  the  north-east  on  Sunday,  and  brought  with  it  just  after  midday  a 
heavy  snowstorm  that  only  lasted  a  short  time.  The  wind  continued 
cold  over  Monday,  but  very  little  snow  fell.  On  the  morning  of 
Tuesday  the  metropolis  was  enwrapped  in  a  damp  black  pall.  The  sun 
shone  brightly  on  Wednesday,  but  the  wind  was  cold. 
Weather  In  the  North. — Pleasantly  seasonable  weather  has 
continued  throughout  the  past  week.  Frost  has  ranged  from  8Q  to  14°, 
and  sunshine  has  been  abundant.  Since  Saturday  the  frost  has  been 
less  intense,  and  on  the  evening  of  Sunday  there  was  a  decided  thaw, 
with  a  tendency  to  drizzling  rain.  Monday  was  a  good  dullish' day, 
with  the  barometer  at  43°  in  the  early  afternoon. —  B.  D.,  8.  Perthshire. 
Death  of  Mrs.  T.  Cypher. — We  learn  with  profound  regret  of 
the  death  on  the  7th  inst.,  of  Mrs.  J.  Cypher,  wife  of  Mr.  J.  Cypher 
of  Cheltenham.  The  deceased  lady  was  of  the  kindliest  disposition, 
and  will  be  mourned  throughout  the  town.  Mrs.  Cypher  was  seventy- 
two  years  of  age.  The  funeral  took  place  on  Monday,  February  11th. 
Gardening  Appointment. — Mr.  F.  G.  Drew,  late  general  foreman 
at  Longford  Castle,  Salisbury,  has  succeeded  Mr.  Down  as  gardener  to 
EL  C.  Constable  Esq.,  Wassand  Hall,  Hull. 
Hessle  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Society. — The 
above  society  held  its  usual  meeting  at  the  Parish  School  Room, 
February  15th  ;  A.  Jackson,  Esq.,  president  of  the  society,  occupied 
the  chair.  Mr.  Gant,  County  Council  Horticultural  Instructor,  from 
the  Yorkshire  College,  Leeds,  gave  the  last  of  the  series  of  lectures, 
entitled  “  Diseases  of  Plants,  and  Their  Effect  upon  Plant  Life  in 
General.”  The  lecture  was  illustrated  throughout  with  lantern  views, 
which  added  considerable  interest  to  the  meetings.  The  famous 
Bordeaux  mixture  was  recommended  as  a  means  of  destroying  most  of 
these  terrible  diseases.  . 
Grand  Yorkshire  Gala. —  Bootham  Field,  York,  will  present  its 
customary  animated  appearance  on  June  12th,  13th,  and  14th,  when 
the  Grand  Yorkshire  Gala  will  be  held.  Mr.  C.  W.  Simmons,  Harker’s 
Hotel,  York,  the  secretary,  favours  us  with  a  copy  of  the  schedule, 
from  which  we  gather  that  the  large  sum  of  £750  is  offered  in  prizes. 
Though  groups  of  plants  are  a  magnificent  feature,  of  the  York  shows 
there  is  really  not  a  single  weak  section,  as  the  committee  adopts  a 
very  generous  prize  scheme  throughout.  Some  of  the  classes  are  such 
as  are  not  commonly  met  with  at  the  shows  of  the  present  day.  The 
secretary  will  send  any  needful  particulars  upon  request. 
Ealing  Gardeners’  Society.  —  Last  week  Mr.  A.  Pentney,  of 
the  Staines  Road  Nurseries,  Hounslow,  lectured  on  “  Plant  Diseases 
and  Advertised  Remedies.”  Mr.  Pentney  said  some  of  these  so-called 
remedies  were  worse  than  useless,  and  could  be  described  in  no  other 
terms  than  as  “quack”  remedies.  As  the  majority  of  gardeners  and 
farmers  had  no  knowledge  of  chemistry,  he  advocated  Government 
intervention,  such  as  prevailed  in  the  United  States  and  on  the 
Continent.  The  various  insecticides  could  then  be  analysed,  put  on  a 
proper  basis,  and  distributed  without  fear  of  evil  results.  Gardening — 
especially  in  relation  to  the  diseases  of  plants — was  largely  empirical. 
The  average  gardener  had  to  test  these  so-called  remedies  for  himself 
for  want  of  a  central  authority  to  guide  him,  and  thus  a  multitude  of 
counsellors  brought  confusion  rather  than  content.  Of  all  the  plant 
diseases,  however,  none  were  wor.se  than  fungoid  diseases.  A  capital 
exhibition  of  groups  of  plants  arranged  on  tables  was  keenly  contested. 
The  prizes  were  generously  contributed  by  Mr.  R.  D.  Preston,  of  Ealing ; 
while  Mr.  R.  Pinches,  of  Camberwell,  supplied  a  bronze  medal,  which 
added  to  the  contest.  First  place  was  secured  by  Mr. -T.  R.  Hogg, 
gardener  to  Mr.  A.  G.  Dixon,  Madeley  Road,  Ealing.  The  second  place 
must  be  recorded  in  favour  of  Mr.  C.  Long,  gardener  to  Mr.  E.  P. 
Oakeshott,  of  Montpelier  Road.  Mr.  H.  Holloway,  gardener  to  Mr. 
E.  Hyde,  of  Castlebar,  came  in  third ;  and  Mr.  G.  Woods,  gardener  to 
Mrs.  Willey,  of  Aston  Road,  was  fourth. 
Death  of  Mrs.  P.  C.  M.  Veitch. — We  learn  with  the  deepest 
regret  of  the  death  on  Thursday  last  of  Mrs.  Veitch,  wife  of  the  well- 
known  and  universally  respected  Exeter  nurseryman,  Mr.  Peter  Veitch. 
HorticuPurists  throughout  the  country  will  sympathise  with  this 
gentleman  in  the  great  loss  that  he  has  sustained.  Mrs.  Veitch  was 
only  fifty  years  of  age. 
The  Dangers  of  the  Nursery  Trade. — At  Spalding  Police 
Court  recently  a  bulb  dealer  was  sent  to  prison  for  three 
months  for  obtaining  £17  by  false  pretences  from  Mr.  George 
Dickinson,  bulb  merchant,  of  Whaplode.  The  prisoner  sold  to 
Mr.  Dickinson  and  other  bulb  dealers  large  quantities  of  bulbs  as  double 
D  .ffodils,  but  they  all  turned  out  to  be  single  varieties,  not  worth  one- 
third  of  the  money,  and  the  buyers  had  to  pay  several  claims  by  London 
and  other  merchants  to  whom  they  disposed  of  them.  The  transaction 
took  place  over  four  years  ago,  but  the  accused  had  only  just  been 
apprehended.  He  alleged  that  to  some  extent  he  himself  had  been 
deceived. 
Death  of  an  Edinburgh  Horticulturist. — Mr.  Geo.  Goodall 
died  at  Murrayfield,  on  the  evening  of  Wednesday,  the  13th  inst., 
aged  seventy-eight.  As  a  young  man  he  entered  the  employment  of 
the  firm  of  Messrs.  Downie,  Laird,  &  Laing,  as  foreman  at  Pinkhill. 
He  afterwards  removed  with  the  late  Mr.  John  Downie  to  Beechhill. 
He  served  practically  the  same  master  for  fifty  years.  His  skill  as 
a  hybridiser,  and  the  success  he  achieved  in  the  raising  of  new 
varieties  of.  garden  flowers,  are  well  known.  The  Viola,  Phlox, 
Pentstemon,  and  Dahlia  have  all  in  their  turn  received  his  attention, 
and  many  of  the  varieties  raised  by  him  are  still  unsurpassed  for  ex¬ 
cellence.  As  an  exhibitor  he  had  few  equals,  carrying  off  leading 
honours  at  shows  in  this  country  and  also  at  the  internationals  on  the 
Continent.  His  funeral,  whioh  took  place  on  Saturday,  was  attended 
by  a  large  gathering. — W.  L. 
The  Orchid  Stud  Book. — Recently  Captain  Hurst,  while  fore¬ 
shadowing  the  publication  of  a  pedigree  work  on  Orchids,  m  ide  a  canvass 
of  opinion  on  the  question  whether  he  should  deal  with  the  following  : — 1, 
All  garden  hybrids  which  have  gained  a  first-class  certificate  from  the 
Orchid  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  of  London  since 
its  formation  in  1889.  2,  All  garden  hybrids  which  have  gained  a 
first-class  certificate  from  the  committee  of  the  Manchester  and  North 
of  England  Orchid  Society  since  its  formation  in  1897.  3,  The  parents 
and  ancestors  of  the  above,  whether  species  or  hybrids.  He  now 
wishes  to  thank  all  those  correspondents  who  have  kindly  favoured 
him  with  replies,  and  states  that  he  has  decided  to  considerably  enlarge 
the  scope  of  the  work,  which  will  now  include  1,  The  first  name  and 
reference  of  all  recorded  crosses,  regardless  of  their  aesthetic  merits, 
with  references  to  figures  and  short  description.  2,  Selected  varieties 
of  above,  which  have  been  figured  in  various  works,  with  references 
and  short  descriptions.  3,  The  parent  species  and  varieties  of  above, 
with  selected  figures  and  short  descriptions. 
Sheffield  Microscopical  Society. —  4.  general  meeting  of  the 
Sheffield  Microscopical  Society  was  held  on  Monday  last  at  the  Literary 
and  Philosophical  Society’s  Rooms,  Leopold  Street,  when  an  interesting 
lecture  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Edward  Snelgrove,  B.A.,  entitled 
“  Gymnosperms  as  the  Connecting  Link  Between  Phanerogams  and 
Cryptogams.”  He  explained  that  in  botany  the  term  “gymnosperm” 
is  applied  to  a  large  group  of  plants  which  produce  their  seeds  without 
any  husk,  body,  or  covering  of  any  kind  more  than  a  mere  soale.  Well 
known  examples  of  this  class  were  Scotch  and  other  Pines,  Yew,  Cypress, 
Spruce,  Larch,  Wellingtonia,  Araucaria,  &o.  These,  he  said,  resemble 
the  flowering  plants  in  having  pollen  and  ovules,  the  latter  are  fertilised 
by  the  former,  and  seed  is  the  result.  In  oryptogams,  or  non-flowering 
plants — of  which  the  Fern  is  a  type — there  appears  what  is  known  as 
alternation  of  generations,  and  in  the  generation  whioh  produces  an 
embryo,  the  fertilising  cells  take  the  form  of  a  swimming  body,  and 
the  cells  to  be  fertilised  are  produced  of  flask-shaped  bodies  oalled 
archegonia.  Nothing  of  this  kind  appears  in  the  flowering  plants,  but 
in  the  gymnosperms,  whioh  are  often  placed  in  this  class,  archegonia 
appear,  and  though  the  fertilising  cells  do  not  swim,  they  retain  in 
some  oases,  such  as  of  Cycas  and  the  Maidenhair  Tree,  the  essential 
features  of  those  bodies.  It  was,  he  said,  for  this  and  several  other 
reasons  that  the  gymnosperms  occupy  a  plaoe  above  the  Ferns  and 
below  the  flowering  plants,  chough  some  botanists  maintained  that  they 
represent  a  mere  siding  in  the  line  of  development.  The  lecture,  whioh 
was  illustrated  by  means  of  microscopio  and  lantern  slides,  was 
thoroughly  enjoyed. 
