430 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  23,  1901. 
Weather  In  London. — Thursday,  16th  inst.,  was  bright,  warm, 
and  delightful,  but  Friday  came  dull  and  decidedly  oool.  Saturday 
opened  mild  and  bright,  but  became  clouded.  Sunday  was  hot,  Monday 
mild,  while  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  were  bright  and  breezy. 
Weather  In  the  North. — A  succession  of  bright  warm  days, 
with  the  barometer  frequently  about  70°  in  the  shade,  has  marked  the 
past  week.  The  evenings, however,  from  the  wind  settling  into  the  east 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  have,  as  a  rule,  been  cold.  Rain  would 
be  welcomed. — B.  D.,  8.  Perthshire. 
Sew  Gardeners’  Guild  Dinner. — The  past  and  present  Kewites 
met  convivially  and  enjoyed  dinner  (second  annual  function)  in  the 
Venetian  Room  of  the  Holborn  Restaurant  last  Tuesday  evening- 
About  150  sat  down  under  the  presidency  of  the  Director  of  the  Royal 
Gardens,  Kew,  Sir  William  Thisleton  Dyer.  After  the  repast  was 
partaken  of,  songs  and  speeohes  ocoupied  the  evening. 
Coventry  Chrysanthemum  Show.  —  The  seventh  annual 
exhibition  of  the  Coventry  and  District  Chrysanthemum  and  Flori- 
cultural  Society  will  be  held  in  the  Market  Hall,  Coventry,  on  Tuesday 
and  Wednesday,  November  5th  and  6th.  Good  prizes  are  offered,  even 
to  so  much  as  £5  as  a  first  for  a  special  group  of  Chrysanthemums. 
Mr.  J.  Cooper,  31,  Foleshill  Road,  is  secretary. 
Fruit  Prospects. — The  Plum  and  Pear  trees  in  the  southern  part 
of  Lincolnshire  last  year  gave  reoord  crops,  and  with  an  absenoe  of 
severe  frosts  the  prospects  this  year  are  quite  as  encouraging.  Much 
of  the  early  Apricot  bloom  was  destroyed  by  the  sharp  weather. 
Nevertheless,  a  large  quantity  of  fiuit  has  “  set,”  and  there  is  promise 
of  a  heavier  orop  than  last  year.  Both  Gooseberries  and  Currants  are 
likely  to  be  plentiful,  but  it  is  yet  too  early  to  speak  of  the  Apple 
prospects. 
Horticultural  College,  Swanley,  Sports  and  Concert. — The 
annual  gathering  in  connection  with  the  sports  and  concert  of  the  above 
college  took  place  on  Saturday  last,  May  18  h,  at  Swanley.  Favoured 
with  ideal  weather,  a  large  company  assembled  on  the  cricket  field  at 
3  P.M.,  when  a  series  of  events  were  gone  through,  ladies  and  gentlemen 
competing.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting  race  was  the  220.  Here  the 
handicaps  were  so  well  arranged  that  a  pockethandkerchief  could  have 
covered  the  space  occupied  by  the  first,  second,  and  third  competitors, 
Powell  winning  by  inches  ODly,  with  Parker  and  Buck  a  dead  heat  for 
second  place.  Criohison  won  the  challenge  vase,  his  running  and 
jumping  beiDg  very  good.  Not  the  least  interesting  was  the  ladies’ 
umbrella  bicycle  race,  won  in  very  good  style  by  Miss  Wetbam.  After 
the  sports  tea  was  served  for  visitors  in  the  saloon,  which  once  formed 
part  of  the  “  Bessemer,  and  at  8  P.M.  the  prizes  won  at  the  sports  were 
handed  to  the  various  winners  by  Miss  Emmeline  Sieveking,  secretary 
to  the  governing  body  of  the  college,  amid  the  loud  applause  of  the 
assembled  company.  This  over,  the  concert  began,  and  included  songs, 
recitations,  banjo  trio,  piano  solos,  and  two  small  comediettes. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. — Her  Gracious  Majesty  Queen 
Alexandra  has  consented  to  become  Patron  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  in  place  of  the  late  Queen  Victoria. 
Sugar  Factories. — In  a  few  months  there  will  be  forty-two  beet 
sugar  factories  in  operation  in  this  country,  no  less  than  thirteen  being 
now  in  course  of  erection.  This  can  only  mean  that  the  beet  sugar 
enterprise  is  now  established,  and  that  we  can,  if  we  choose,  be 
independent  of  other  nations  in  the  production  of  sugar,  and  that 
without  the  enoouragement  of  the  bounty  once  thought  necessary. 
A  Handsome  Orchid  [Catalogue. — Special  Orchid  catalogues 
are  as  yet  scarce.  The  one  published  by  L’Hortioole  Ooloniale,  of 
Parc  Leopold,  Bruxelles,  Belgium,  and  whioh  reached  us  a  day  or  two 
ago,  is  very  complete,  and  contains  full-sized  illmtrations  of  many 
new  and  improved  forms  of  Orchids.  Cattleya  Trianse  exquisita  is  a 
beautiful  variety,  that  appeared  from  amongst  an  imported  batch  in 
their  houses  at  Moortebeek.  Descriptions  of  it  appear  in  the  catalogue. 
Amongst  other  subjeots  are  Oypripedium  insigne  albinos,  C.  i.  Chantini 
Lindeni,  Cattleya  Loddigesi  Harrissonise  alba,  and  Odontoglossum 
crispum  Papillon.  Numerous  notes  of  interest  are  included  in  the 
pages  of  this  Orchid  catalogue. 
Royal  Gardeners’  Benevolent  Institution.  —The  sixty-second 
annual  dinner  in  support  of  the  funds  of  this  charitable  institution, 
whose  purpose  is  to  assist  infirm  gardeners  or  their  widows  by  awarding 
pensions,  was  held  last  night  (22nd  inst.)  in  the  Whitehall  Rooms, 
H6tel  Metropole.  The  Right  Hon.  the  Lord  Llangattock  (who  has 
assisted  the  secretary,  Mr.  G.  J.  Ingram,  in  every  possible  way) 
oocupied  the  chair,  and  there  were  also  present  the  Very  Rev.  the 
Dean  of  Rochester,  and  other  wholehearted  supporters  of  this  most 
deserving  institution.  The  Journal  goes  to  press  on  Wednesday 
afternoons,  and  we  are  thus  unable  to  furnish  a  report  of  the  speeches 
or  list  of  the  subscriptions  in  the  present  issue,  but  trust  to  do  so  in 
our  next. 
Notes  on  Carnations. —  A  very  interesting  and  instructive 
lecture  was  given  by  Mr.  H.  Elliott  of  Hurstpierpoint  on  “Carnations 
their  Culture,  &o.,”  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Brighton  and  Sussex 
Horticultural  Society.  Next  to  the  Rose,  he  said,  the  Carnation  was 
the  most  popular  flower  grown  in  England.  It  had  been  cultivated 
in  this  country  for  about  500  years,  and  during  that  long  period  it  had 
undergone  much  improvement.  The  Carnation  was  supposed  to  have 
originated  from  the  wild  Dianthus  Caryophyllus.  In  England  this  wild 
plant  was  generally  found  on  old  oastle  walls,  but  it  grew  muoh  more 
abundantly  in  France.  Personally,  however,  he  doubted  if  this  was 
the  sole  plant  from  whioh  the  Carnation  came.  A  great  many  of 
their  Carnations  had  been  derived  from  Germany  and  Holland, 
English  cultivators  having  obtained  their  best  species  from  these 
countries.  He  said  that  the  Picotee  was  simply  a  variety  of  the 
Carnation.  The  lecturer  then  went  on  to  describe  several  distinct 
species  of  Carnations  and  their  properties,  mentioning  the  Princess  of 
Wales  and  others.  Speaking  of  their  culture,  Mr.  Elliott  said  if  they 
wanted  the  flowers  to  come  up  fine,  healthy  plants,  they  must  put 
them  in  early,  in  nice  temperature  and  in  good  loose  mould,  treating 
them  much  the  same  as  Strawberries. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Cblswlck. — Taken  in  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Calceolarias  from  Altrincham. — At  the  end  of  last  week  we 
were  the  recipients  of  a  boxful  of  Herbaceous  Calceolaria  blooms. 
These  came  from  Messrs.  Wm.  Clibran  &  Son  of  the  Oldfield  Nurseries, 
and  displayed  an  exceedingly  rich  and  varied  strain  of  these  deservedly 
popular  greenhouse  plants.  Many  of  the  individual  blooms  were  well 
over  2  inches  broad,  and  as  deep,  being  perfectly  formed  and  brilliantly 
coloured.  One  of  the  most  pleasing  represented  a  bright  buff  yellow 
shade,  and  was  of  extraordinary  size.  This  must  have  been  very 
effective  when  upon  a  fully  developed  plant  and  seen  in  mass.  Various 
other  shades  of  yellow  were  present,  and  many  of  the  pouches  had 
attractive  brown,  red,  or  rosy  blotches,  suffusions,  or  markings.  The 
velvety  crimson  and  blood-red-crimson  varieties  were  exceedingly 
pleaBiDg  to  the  eye,  and  satisfying.  But,  indeed,  the  selection  has  no 
end.  Every  shade  in  yellow  or  reds,  or  combination  of  these  colours, 
was  represented,  and  with  the  diversity  (we  had  forty-six  blooms,  and 
all  were  different)  in  this  respect  we  would  also  emphasise  the  fact  that 
brilliance,  good  form,  and  size  are  very  particular  qualities  of  the  blooms 
we  here  refer  to. 
Date. 
Temperature  of 
Air. 
the 
1 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At 
9  A.  M. 
£ 
« s  ® 
li 
At  9  A.  M. 
Day. 
Night 
#  j 
3  g  8 
* 
3  2.— 
11-01 
£ 
At 
At 
At 
j  a  = 
May. 
49 
i-ft. 
■2-ft. 
4-Tt. 
Drv 
Wet 
X> 
JZ J 
n 
V 
deep. 
deep. 
deep. 
Rulb. 
Bulb. 
hr 
is 
— 
E.N.E. 
deg. 
deg 
riper 
deg. 
Ins. 
deg. 
deg 
deg. 
Sunday  .  12 
498 
62  7 
38  5 
_ 
51  9 
51-2 
49-7 
32  5 
Vlonday .  IB 
E  N.E. 
51  7 
47-5 
64-7 
44-9 
_ 
53-0 
51  5 
49  9 
Si)  •> 
Tuesday  14 
E.N.E. 
54*8 
49-3 
69-5 
42-0 
_ 
64  1 
52  T 
49-9 
37-2 
Wed'sdaj  In 
E.N  E. 
58'7 
50  0 
68-5 
42-0 
_ 
55  0 
52-7 
50  0 
35‘5 
Thursday  16 
E.N.E. 
49  1 
43  8 
69  0 
44  0 
— 
55-3 
53-2 
50-2 
35  “2 
Fri'ay  17 
E.N.E. 
46-4 
43-5 
54-9 
41  0 
— 
54-5 
53-2 
50-5 
3f0 
Saturday  IS 
E.N.E. 
51-8 
45  4 
63'5 
35  5 
— 
62  9 
52-9 
50-5 
27  0 
M  FANS 
52  ;7 
47  0 
64*7 
Total 
538 
524 
I  50*1 
# 
:  34  4 
A  week  of  fine  but  dull  weather,  with  c  <ld  drying  winds. 
