138 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  7,  1902. 
Vegetables  in  the  open  and  gardeners’  classes  were  very  fine, 
the  special  prizes  offered  by  Messrs.  Sutton  and  Sons,  Harrison 
and  Sons,  Yarde  and  Co.,  and  others,  brought  very  fine 
collections.  Of  all  the  vegetables,  we  were  most  pleased  with 
those  shown  by  cottagers  living  within  a  radius  of  four  miles  of 
the  market  place.  They  were  not  only  numerous,  but  of  very 
fine  quality.  So  were  their  bouquets  and  baskets  of  garden  and 
wild  flowers,  their  Stocks  and  their  striped  and  self  Antir¬ 
rhinums. 
Many  miscellaneous  subjects  were  staged,  and  Gold  Medals 
were  awarded  to  Mr.  W.  Bentley,  Leicester,  for  cut  flowers ; 
Amos  Perry,  South  Tottenham,  for  hardy  flowers  and  Water 
Lilies ;  Harrison  and  Sons,  Leicester,  for  Capsicums  and  other 
plants  and  Street  Peas ;  Gilbert  and  Son,  Bourne,  Lines.,  for  100 
bunches  of  Sweet  Peas;  Blackmore  and  Langdon,  Bath,  for  a 
collection  of  single  and  double  Begonias  of  exceptionally  fine 
quality,  and  nearly  a  dozen  Silver  Medals  were  also  awarded. 
Reading  and  District  Mutual  Improvement. 
The  annual  outing  of  the  above  association  was  held  recently, 
and  notwithstanding  the  dull  weather,  a  very  enjoyable  time  was 
experienced.  The  members,  who  came  from  various  parts  of  the 
district,  including  Mr.  Leonard  Sutton  (president),  Messrs.  Town¬ 
send  (Sandhurst  Lodge),  Rudd  (lion.  sec.  of  the  Theale  Gardeners’ 
Association),  Stroud  (Burghfield),  Green,  Roberts  (Woodly), 
Loader,  Pontin,  Davidson  (Wokingham),  Watts,  Prior  (Crow- 
thorne),  Barefoot  (Mortimer),  Martin  (Sonning),  Cox  (Calcot), 
Ritchings  (Wellington  College),  Herridge  (Caversham),  Wright, 
Lailey  (Bucklebury),  Lever  (vice-chairman),  Cox  (lion,  sec.),  Fry, 
Macdonald,  Judd,  Lees,  Soutter,  Pembroke,  Hinton,  &c.,  met  at 
Caversham  Lock  and  travelled  by  the  Mystery  to  Fenley,  when 
by  the  kind  permision  of  Mrs.  Noble  the  beautiful  gardens  and 
grounds  of  Park  Place  were  visited,  the  day  being  spent  there. 
On  arrival  the  party  was  received  by  Mr.  G.  Stanton,  the  head 
gardener  (chairman  of  the  association  for  1902)  and  was  joined 
here  by  Messrs.  Gibson  (Danesfield,  Marlow),  Hatton  (Mill  Hill), 
Powell  (Park  Place),  Pigg,  Priestly  (Maidenhead)  Hatton  (Badge- 
more),  &c.  Proceeding  through  the  dark  arches  an  inspection 
was  made  of  the  outdoor  gardens,  where  Roses  and  Sweet  Peas 
were  blooming  profusely.  Amongst  the  latter,  of  which  160 
varieties  are  grown  here.  Countess  of  Lathom,  Saidje  Burpee, 
Emily  Eckford,  Black  Knight,  Brilliant,  Her  Majesty,  New 
Countess,  Salopian,  Golden  Gleam,  Miss  Willmott,  Triumph,  and 
Gorgeous  were  of  exceptional  merit,  the  flowers  being  large  and 
of  exquisite  colours.  Luncheon  was  then  partaken  of,  and  full 
justice  having  been  done  to  the  good  things  provided,  the  presi¬ 
dent,  on  behalf  of  the  members,  tendered  their  thanks  to  Mrs. 
Noble  for  her  kindness  in  throwing  open  her  charming  grounds 
to  them.  Afterwards  the  company  broke  up  into  several  parties, 
some  going  to  the  cricket  ground  to  show  their  prowess  with  bat 
and  ball,  and  others  rambled  through  the  vineries,  stove,  and 
greenhouses,  not  forgetting  to  inspect  the  collection  of  beautiful 
birds  adjoining  the  residence.  After  tea  the  party  wended  their 
way  to  the  boat,  and  reached  Reading  about  nine  o’clock,  each  one 
having  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  outing  arranged  for  1902. 
Shirley  (Southampton)  Gardeners’. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  above  society,  held  recently  at  the  Parish 
Room,  Mr.  J.  Jones  presided,  and  an  excellent  lecture  was  given 
by  Mr.  J.  W.  Mitchell,  of  The  Gardens,  Chilworth  Manor,  on 
‘‘The  Cultivation  of  Stone  Fruit,”  a  subject  upon  which  he  is 
able  to  speak  with  practical  knowledge.  He  first  spake  of  the 
•progress  which  the  Peach  and  Nectarine  had  made  in  late  years 
under  glass  cultivation.  In  choosing  young  trees  to  start  with, 
avoid  strong  ones,  because  it  is  very  rare  you  get  any  fruit  on 
such.  He  preferred  trees  two  or  three  years  old,  and  which  had 
been  shifted  twice.  He  favoured  a  border  about  2ft  in  depth, 
with  good  drainage,  and  in  width  from  5ft  to  8ft,  according  to 
the  height  of  the  wall.  Do  not  use  any  manure  in  planting,  but 
feed  them  afterwards.  Disbudding  is  a  most  important  operation, 
and  it  can  only  be  learnt  by  practice.  Mr.  Mitchell  also  dealt 
with  Plums  and  Cherries,  strongly  recommending  the  Victoria 
Plum  for  the  cottager.  A  good  discussion  succeeded,  in  which 
Messrs.  Jones,  Wilcox,  Miles,  Verdon,  and  other  members  took 
part.  Mr.  Jones  raised  the  question  of  the  Waterloo  Peach 
dropping  its  buds.  It  was  suggested  by  Mr.  Verdon  that  this 
might  arise  from  the  stock  upon  which  it  was  grafted.  The 
secretary  (Mr.  J.  Miles)  said  that  Waterloo  was  a  favourite  with 
himself,  and  that  he  gathered  his  first  dish  of  ripe  fruit  on 
the  16th  of  July  from  a  tree  that  had  not  had  any  protection 
whatsoever.  There  being  some  signs  of  incredulity  as  to  this 
being  the  variety  named,  Mr.  Miles  said  he  bought  it  as  such. 
He  also  said  that  he  sent  in  his  first  dish  of  ripe  Pears  that 
morning.  Mr.  Mitchell  said  such  forward  growth  was  no  doubt 
due  to  good  cultivation  and  thorough  shelter,  obtained  by  high 
garden  walls.  A  First  Class  Certificate  of  Merit  was  awarded  to 
Mr.  E.  J.  Wilcox  for-  eighteen  bunches  of  Sweet  Peas,  twelve 
spikes  each.  Mr.  B.  Ladhams  had  cut  flowers;  Mr.  F.  Snelgrove 
had  Hamburgh  Grapes ;  and  a  vote  of  thanks  was  awarded  to  the 
hon.  secretary  (Mr.  J.  Miles,  222,  Portswood  Road)  for  a  wasp 
nest  with  the  live  wasps  taken  off  a  bee  hive,  and  ho\y  he 
removed  it  without  being  stung  was  a  wonder  to  many.  It 
formed  one  of  the  most  interesting  exhibits  shown  for  a  very  long 
time. — J.  M. 
Scottish  Horticultural,  August  5th. 
The  monthly  meeting  of  this  association  was  held  in  the 
society’s  rooms,  5,  St.  Andrew’s  Square,  on  the  evening  of  the 
5th  inst.,  Mr.  Comfort  (president)  in  the  chair.  Ten  new  mem¬ 
bers  were  proposed  for  election.  The  paper  of  the  evening  was 
entitled,  “  A  Supply  of  Vegetables  All  the  Year  Round,”  by  Mr. 
Charles  Blair,  gardener,  Preston,  Linlithgow.  In  a  very  lucid 
and  instructive  paper  of  half  an  hour’s  length  Mr.  Blair,  in  a 
chronological  manner,  detailed  his  practice  from  January  till 
December :  when  to  sow,  what  to  sow,  and  the  best  sort  to  sow. 
In  dealing  with  Peas,  Mr.  Blair  referred  to  the  recent  contro¬ 
versy  between  science  and  practice  as  to  whether  manure  was 
efficacious  or  not,  but  gave  it  as  his  experience  that  heavily 
manured  land  produced  a  much  larger  crop,  of  better  quality, 
than  when  grown  on  unmanured  land.  Referring  to  maggot  in 
Onions,  Mr.  Blair  recommended  a  mulching  of  short  grass  as  a 
certain  remedy.  He  strongly  advised  that  Potatoes  should  not 
be  manured  if  fine  quality  was  wanted,  but  to  sow  on  land  which 
had  grown  Peas  the  previous  season.  Mr.  Blair’s  paper  was 
interesting  all  through,  and  was  full  of  valuable  hints  to  gar¬ 
deners  and  amateurs.  A  most  interesting  discussion  followed, 
and  many  valuable  hints  were  given  by  the  various  speakers. 
Mr.  Whyttoek,  Mr.  Scarlett,  Inveresk,  Mr.  Macintosh,  Mr. 
Smale,  and  others  took  part  in  the  discussion.  Mr.  McHattie,  of 
the  City  Gardens,  brought  the  discussion  to  a  close  by  proposing 
a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Blair,  which  was  heartily  accorded. 
The  exhibits  at  the  meeting  were  numerous  and  varied,  and 
the  table  presented  a  most  attractive  appearance.  The  most 
attractive  exhibit  was  six  vases  of  Roses,  from  Mr.  M.  Todd, 
Musselburgh,  of  superb  quality,  and  cut  with  long  stems  to  show 
their  habit.  Nine  blooms  of  Caroline  Testout  were  superb. 
Others  were  Baroness  Rothschild,  Ulrich  Brunner,  Captain  Hay¬ 
ward,  Gustave  Regis,  General  Jacqueminot,  Marie  Baumann, 
Ac.  A  cultural  certificate  was  awarded.  Messrs.  Grieve  and 
Sons,  Red  Braes  Nurseries,  staged  a  most  attractive  exhibit  of 
Fancy  Pansies  and  Violas,  a  new  light  yellow  Viola,  Canary, 
receiving  a  certificate  of  merit.  Also  a  very  rich  crimson  Dianthus 
named  Coccinea.  Mr.  Comfort  exhibited  a  very  large  truss  of 
Hydrangea.  A  beautiful  bloom  of  Eucalyptus  filicifolia  was 
shown  by  Mr.  McMillan,  Trinity  Grove.  The  exhibitors  were 
thanked  for  their  productions. 
It  was  agreed  to  hold  next  month’s  meeting  on  September  9, 
instead  of  the  2nd,  being  the  evening  before  the  autumn  show 
in  the  Waverley  Market.  A  vote  of  thanks  was  unanimously 
awarded  to  Mr.  Wardrop,  of  Garvald,  for  his  kindness  in  allow¬ 
ing  a  visit  to  his  beautiful  gardens  and  grounds  on  the  occasion 
of  their  annual  excursion.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman 
brought  a  most  enjoyable  meeting  to  a  close. 
Young  Gardeners’  Domain, 
Kalanchoe  flammea. 
This  splendid  new  flowering  plant,  introduced  from  Somali¬ 
land  in  East  Africa,  deserves  a  place  in  every  greenhouse.  The 
brilliant  colour  of  its  inflorescences,  and  their  durability,  com¬ 
bined  with  a  good  habit  in  the  plant  itself,  and  its  comparative 
ease  cf  cultivation,  ought  to  make  it  a  great  favourite.  It  grows 
about  18in  high,  is  very  useful  for  decorative  purposes,  and  when 
better  known  will  probably  be  largely  grown.  As  the  seed  is 
very  small,  it  must  be  sown  lightly  in  pots  or  pans  filled  with 
sandy  soil.  Cover  the  pans  with  glass,  and  place  them  in  a  warm 
greenhouse.  When  the  seedlings  can  be  handled  prick  them  out 
in  boxes  filled  with  sandy  loam  and  return  to  the  warm  house. 
Pot  the  plants  into  “60’s.”  (3in)  as  they  require  it,  using  the  same 
soil,  and  encourage  them  to  grow  steadily.  Before  becoming 
root-bound,  shift  them  into  “  48’s  ”  (oin),  giving  two  parts  loam, 
with  one  part'  of  sand  and  mortar  rubble  mixed.  Handsome 
plants  may  be  grown  in  this  size -of  pot  if  fed  with  a  little 
fertiliser  and  well  exposed  to  light.  Each  one  should  also  have 
sufficient  room  to  develop.  Shade  from  the  sun  when  the  blooms 
open,  and  the  flowers  will  last  longer,  and  be  of  better  colour 
than  they  otherwise  would.  I  have  not  observed  any  insects 
upon  this  Kalanchoe,  and  probably  they  will  not  give  much 
trouble  in  this  respect. — M.  Fenn,  Journeyman. 
[The  winter  treatment  of  the  plants  in  regard  to  watering 
them  requires  much  care,  as  we  find  they  sometimes  damp  or 
become  rusty.  K.  flammea  has  been  used  as  a  bedding  plant  at 
Kew.] 
