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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  September  11,  1952. 
Good  Price  for  Kentish  Fruit. 
On  September  2  Kentish  Plums  made  exceedingly  good  prices, 
t lie  better  sorts  realising  as  much  as  10s.  per  bushel  compared 
with  Os.,  the  average  of  former  seasons.  Apples  also  sold  freely 
at  from  5s.  to  6s.  per  bushel,  an  advance  of  over  2s.  It  is  many 
years  since  there  has  been  so  good  a  fruit  season  experienced  in 
Kent: — (“  Morning  Post.”) 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident  Society. 
The  monthly  committee  meeting  of  this  society  was  held  at 
the  Caledonian  Hotel,  Adelphi  Terrace,  W.C.,  011  Monday  even¬ 
ing  last.  Mr.  C.  IT.  Curtis  presided.  Five  new  members  were 
elected,  making  seventy  this  year  to  date.  Four  members  were 
reported  on  the  Sick  Fund.  The  amount  of  sick  pay  for  the 
month  was  £12  12s.  This  society  will  hold  its  annual  dinner  in 
the  Venetian  Chamber,  at  the  Holborn  Restaurant,  on  Tuesday, 
October  7  next,  at  6.30  p.m.  The  chair  will  be  taken  by  Arthur 
W.  Sutton,  Esq.,  F.L.S.,  Y.M.H. 
Our  Bulb  Number. 
The  bulb  number,  of  which  particulars  are  published  on  one 
of  the  advertisement  pages  in  the  present  number,  will  appear 
next  week  (September  18).  The  issue  will  contain  over  twenty 
illustrations,  with  special  articles.  These,  we  trust,  will  be  read 
with  interest,  and  stimulate,  perhaps,  a  fuller  appreciation  than 
ever  with  regard  to  the  beautiful  vernal  flowers  from  the  various 
bulbous  plants. 
Past  and  Present. 
Some  time  ago  I  wrote  on  the  bothy  question  in  the  Journal, 
and  gave  a  description  of  the  bothy  at  Park  Place,  Henley-on- 
Thames,  and  of  the  pastimes  provided  for  the  young  men  there. 
I  am  certain  many  readers  will  look  at  the  heading  of  this  article 
and  wonder  what  it  stands  for,  but  to  those  men  who  have  lived 
at  Park  Place  it  is  familiar.  Thursday,  August  21,  was  the 
meeting  of  past  and  present  gardeners  at  the  above  place,  the 
charming  residence  of  Mrs.  Noble,  who  not  only  takes  a  great 
interest  in  her  beautiful  gardens  but  also  in  the  men,  who  have 
served  under  Mr.  G.  Stanton,  the  highly  respected  and  well- 
known  gardener  there.  It  is,  indeed,  a  meeting  that  must  bring 
joy  to  him,  to  welcome  back  for  the  day  the  many  old  faces  that 
have  worked  under  him.  Some  of  these  are  now  holding  high 
positions  in  various  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  day 
proved  to*  be  one  of  the  best  we  have  had  for  some  time,  and 
from  early  in  the  morning  till  late  in  the  afternoon  old  Park 
Place  men  streamed  in.  Three  large  tents  had  been  erected  for 
the  occasion,  which  were  beautifully  decorated  with  national 
coloured  flags,  not  forgetting  the  tables,  which  were  done  with 
choice  plants  by  Mr.  T.  Powell.  At  luncheon,  Leonard  Noble, 
Esq.,  president  of  the  cricket  and  football  club,  proposed  the 
health  of  His  Majesty  King  Edward  VII.  Mr.  Stanton  spoke  of 
the  great  pleasure  it  gave  him  to  see  so  many  of  his  old  men 
sitting  around,  and  of  the  kindness  of  Mrs.  Noble  and  family  in 
welcoming  them  so  heartily.  A  cricket  match  was  played  between 
the  past  and  present  members,  and  was  won  by  the  “  past  ”  team 
by  a  narrow  margin  of  seven  runs — a  very  good  performance  con¬ 
sidering  that  some  of  the  players  had  not  touched  a  bat  since  the 
previous  year.  The  gardens  and  grounds  were  thrown  open,  and 
those  who  did  not  care  to  watch  the  cricket  could  stroll  round, 
and  no  doubt  many  would  have  a  chat  about  times  now  gone. 
Just  before  tea  all  the  members  were  brought  together  to  be 
photographed,  in  which  Mrs.  Noble  and  family  were  taken  sitting 
in  front  of  the  group.  At  8.30  p.m.  a  smoking  concert  was  held  in 
the  large  room  adjoining  the  bothy,  which  is  used  for  gardeners’ 
meetings,  &c.  I  think  many  other  large  employers  might  follow 
the  example  set  by  Mrs.  Noble,  but  I  am  afraid  few  will  do  so. 
It  was  no  wonder  that  the  cheers  for  her  rent  the  air,  and  the 
desire  of  everyone  was:  “May  she  be  spared  for  years  to  come.” 
Mr.  J.  Powell,  the  energetic  foreman  at  Park  Place,  and  lion, 
secretary  for  the  cricket  and  football,  is  to  be  congratulated  on 
the  manner  in  which  he  had  arranged  the  cricket  proceedings. — 
J.  Botley. 
Register  of  Nurseries,  &c. 
Messrs.  Protheroe  and  Morris’s  Register  of  nurseries,  market 
gardens,  farms,  florists’  seed  businesses,  and  partnerships,  to  be 
let  or  sold,  for  September,  1902,  has  been  issued.  It  can  be  had 
from  the  firm  at  (37  and  68,  Cheap, side,  E.C. 
Appointment. 
Mr.  George  Goodall,  for  some  time  foreman  at  Heslington 
Hall,  York,  has  been  appointed  by  Lord  Deramore,  to  succeed  the 
late  Mr.  James  Hornby  as  head  gardener.  Mr.  Hornby  had  been 
in  the  position  thirty-two  years,  and  died  in  harness  on  August  31, 
and  was  interred  at  the  parish  church,  September  3. — H.  J.  C. 
Forestry  and  Fruit  Growing  in  South  Africa. 
Recent  reports  from  the  Government  forest  nursery  which  has 
been  laid  out  near  Tliaba  Nchu,  show  that  surprising  progress 
has  been  made'.  Over  100,000  seedling  trees,  mainly  Eucalyptus 
and  Pine,  are  now  ready  for  transplantation.  Experiments  have 
also  been  made  in  the  cultivation  of  Oak  trees,  of  which  eight 
acres  have  been  planted,  and  the  Wattle  area  under  cultivation 
is  being  continually  extended.  The  construction  of  dams  and 
water  furrows  is  proceeding.  It  is  intended  to  establish  planta¬ 
tions  generally,  and  wherever  the  Government  acquires  land  a 
portion  of  it  will  be  preserved  for  forestry. 
The  Martin  White  Essay  Prize. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  Martin  White,  Esq.,  of  Balruddery, 
Dundee,  offered  substantial  money  prizes  for  an  essay  on  the 
decorative  uses  of  flowers  and  their  preservation,  through  the 
Council  of  the  Royal  Caledonian  Horticultural  Society. 
For  this  prize  there  were  no  fewer  than  sixteen  competitors, 
several  of  the  essays  being  of  considerable  merit,  and  some  of 
them  needlessly  lengthy.  Though  little  in  them  was  new  or 
original,  the  prize  essays  are  said  by  the  judges  to  contain  many 
valuable  hints  useful  to  both  gardeners  and  those  who  do  their 
own  decorations.  The  prizes  were  awarded  as  follows: — First 
prize  “  Captain  Cuttle,”  James  Ewing,  gardener,  Castle  Menzies, 
Aberfeldy ;  second,  “  Confido,”  Miss  Hamilton  Boyd,  56,  Palmer¬ 
ston  Place,  Edinburgh ;  third,  “  Nemo  Solus  Sapit,”  John 
Wright,  Hopton  Hall  Gardens,  Wirksworth,  Derbyshire.  Highly 
commended :  “  Endeavour  to  Please,”  H.  F.  Smale,  The  Gardens, 
Wortley  Hall,  Sheffield;  “Experimenter,”  Herbert  Cowley,  East 
Lodge,  St.  Mary’s  Home,  Wantage,  Berks.  Commended : 
“  Courage,”  J.  H.  Gumming,  The  Gardens,  Grantully  Castle, 
Aberfeldy.  “  Knowledge  is  Power,”  William  Boyd,  The  Gardens, 
Belleisle,  Ayr ;  “Clematis,”  John  Botley,  The  Gardens,  Scarlet’s 
Park,  Twyford,  Berks. 
Echoes  from  Hamilton,  N.B. 
A  storm  of  unusual  severity-,  for  September,  passed  over  this 
district  on  Wednesday.  As  the  gale  blew  with  remorseless 
vigour  through  the  leafy  boughs  of  garden  and  forest  trees,  carry¬ 
ing  devastation  in  its  course,  the  destructive  storm  of  approximate 
date,  twenty  centuries  ago,  and  which  dealt  so  much  havoc  to  the 
Roman  fleet  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Richborough  Castle,  some¬ 
how  forced  its  existence  on  our  memory— why,  we  are  unable  to 
offer  any  explanation  unless  because  storms  of  like  severity  are 
by  no  means  common  at  that  particular  date.  If  the  occurrence 
were  ten  or  more  days  later,  the  wonderment  would  not  be  so 
great,  as  then  all  look  out-  for  the  traditionary  effects  of  Sol’s 
passage  across  “  the  line.”  Anyhow,  the  effects  of  Wednesday’s 
storm  have  been  disastrous  to  garden  and  farm  produce,  not  only 
in  the  district  but  over  a  great  part  of  the  country.  And  the 
fact  that  the  gale  blew  in  the  forenoon  from  the  S.E.  and  in  the 
afternoon  from  the  West  and  S.W.,  made  its  effects  felt  more 
seriously.  Peas,  Cauliflowers,  and  such  easily  injured  produce 
were,  of  course,  by  the  determined  tactics  of  the  elements,  on 
this  occasion,  literally  blown  out  of  the  soil.  The  orchards  of  the 
Clyde  valley,  we  are  informed,  have  suffered  very  severely;  in 
many  cases  the  trees  have  been  wholly  denuded  of  their  fruit. 
Forest  trees  have,  on  account  of  the  weighty  nature  of  their  leaf¬ 
age,  sustained  greater  injury  than  they  would  in  winter.  Con¬ 
sequently,  drives  and  avenues  in  gentlemen’s  policies  were  littered 
with  fallen  branches,  twigs,  and  leaves.  Flower  borders  and  beds 
will  not  again  recover  their  former  gaiety.  It  is  still  more  serious 
to  see  the  Wheat  and  corn  fields  lying  twisted  and  rain  beaten, 
prostrate  on  the  ground.  The  following  day  (Thursday)  accen¬ 
tuated  the  damage  of  Wednesday  by  an  almost  continuous  down¬ 
pour  of  rain.  The  elements  are  not  yet  very  settled  in  appear¬ 
ance. — D.  C. 
