December  4,  19C2. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTA  IE  GARDENER. 
515 
Temple  House  Gardens,  Great  Marlow,  Bucks. 
The  rainfall  here  during  the  month  of  November,  1902,  was 
2.15in ;  there  were  six  foggy  mornings  and  three  foggy  days, 
and  rain  fell  on  fourteen  days.  The*  maximum  temperature  was 
55deg  on  the  11th  and  the  minimum  24deg  on  the.  20th.  The 
maximum  for  November,  1901,  was  55deg  on  the  lltli,  and  the 
minimum  17deg  on  the  16th.  The  rainfall  for  November,  1901, 
was  0.43in.  We  are  situated  close  to  the  banks  of  the  river 
Thames,  and  105ft  9in  above  mean  sea  level.— G.  G. 
Scottish  Horticultural  Association. 
The  usual  monthly  meeting  of  this  association  was  held  on 
Tuesday,  December  2,  in  5,  St.  Andrew  Square,  Mr.  Comfort, 
president,  in  the  chair.  A  number  of  new  members  were  pro¬ 
posed.  and  six  new  life  members  were  elected.  Mr.  Todd,  Edin¬ 
burgh,  gave  a  lecture  on  “Bouquets,  and  How  to  Make  Them.” 
He  gave  a  very  lucid  and  interesting  address  on  the  growth  and 
development  of  bouquet  making  in  recent  times,  showing  to  the 
young  gardeners  present  the  modern  methods  of  bouquet  making, 
and  urged  them  to  pay  more  attention  to  this  subject  than  they 
usually  give.  He  exhibited  a  very  beautiful  bouquet  of  Safrano 
Roses,  as  an  example  of  present-day  bouquet  making.  An 
interesting  discussion  took  place,  and  on  the  motion  of  Mr. 
McHattie,  a  very  warm  expression  of  thanks  was  accorded  to 
Mr.  Todd.  At  the  meeting  a  statement  was  made  as  to  the 
financial  results  of  the  recent  Chrysanthemum  show.  The  report 
was  a  very  favourable  one,  showing  a.  credit  balance  of  over  £90. 
It  was  intimated  that  next  year’s  Chrysanthemum  show  would 
take  place  on  November  19,  20,  and  21,  1903.  Exhibits  on  the 
table  were  not  numerous,  but  attractive.  Mr.  Chaplin,  gar¬ 
dener.  St.  Leonards,  exhibited  a  very  beautiful  plant  of  Begonia 
Turnford  Hall.  This  was  greatly  admired.  A  plant,  beautifully 
bloomed,  of  Salvia  splendens,  was  exhibited  by  Mr.  Fraser, 
Kilarroch.  Mr.  Todd  exhibited  a  very  handsome  vase  of 
Souvenir  d’une  Petite  Amie  Chrysanthemum,  handsome  blooms  for 
decorative  purposes.  Mr.  Todd  also  exhibited  a  very  beautiful 
basket  of  Roses,  cut  from  the  open  air.  They  were  mostly 
General  Jacqueminot,  Caroline  Testout,  and  Captain  Hayward. 
This  exhibit  was  remarkable  as  an  illustration  of  the  mild  late 
autumn  which  we  have  enjoyed.  Mr.  Kidd  exhibited  fine 
trusses  of  Luculia  gratissinia.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  presi¬ 
dent  brought  the  meeting  to  a  close. 
London  Dahlia  Union. 
At  a  general  meeting  of  the  supporters  of  the  London  Dahlia 
Union  held  at  the  Royal  Aquarium,  Westminster,  on  November  4, 
a  balance  sheet  Avas  submitted  and  approved,  and  cordial  thanks 
passed  to  the  chairman  and  secretary.  Mr.  John  Green  Avas 
unanimously  re-elected  chairman,  and  Mr.  Richard  Dean  secre¬ 
tary  and  superintendent  for  the  year  1903.  The  chairman  re¬ 
ported  that  a  satisfactory  agreement  had  been  signed  by  the 
secretary  of  the  London  Dahlia  Union  on  the  one*  hand,  and  the 
secretary  of  the  London  Exhibitions,  Limited,  Earl’s  Court,  on 
the  other,  for  the  exhibition  of  the  Union  in  the  coming  year  to 
take  place  at  Earl’s  Court  in  the  spacious-  Prince’s  Hall,  close  to 
the  entrance  to  the  Exhibition  from  Earl’s  Court-  Station ;  it  is  to 
be  continued  over  tAvo  days,  and  close  on  the  second  day  at  the 
same  hour  as  the  Exhibition  does,  viz.,  eleven  o’clock  at  night. 
Passes  for  exhibitors  will  be  provided,  and  the-  sum  of  £20  given 
to  the  prize  list ;  in  addition,  all  the-  requisite  staging  will  be 
proA’ided  by  the  company.  This  announcement  Avas  received  with 
great  satisfaction,  and  the  action  of  the  chairman  and  secretary 
cordially  endorsed.  A  subscription  list  was  at  once-  opened,  and 
a  number  of  subscriptions  have  been  announced.  The  date  of 
the  exhibition  for  1903  was  fixed  for  Tuesday  and  Wednesday, 
September  16  and  17.  The-  schedule  of  prizes  will  be  revised 
and  extended.  At  the  Aquarium  show  in  September  last  the 
competition  Avas  keen;  the  entries  in  the  nineteen  olasses  (.137 
in  number)  averaged  seven  in  each  class.  An  unusually  large 
number  of  seedling  Dahlias  were  submitted  for  certificates,  and 
the  committee  of  leading  groAA’ers  who  made  the  aAvards  to  neAv 
carieties  exercised  the  most  commendable  caution  in  making 
awards  only  to  such  as  were  of  undoubted  first  class  character. 
Raisers  shoAV  their  confidence  in  the  London  Dahlia  Union  by 
sending  in  novelties  in  such  large  numbers;  and  they  are  dealt 
with  in  a  manner  calculated  to  command  the  confidence  of 
Dahlia  raisers  generally. 
Violet  Classes  at  Flower  Shows. 
The  efforts  of  Messrs.  Isaac  House  and  Son,  the  pioneers  of 
Violet-crossing  and  culture  in  this  country,  in  taking  collections 
of  these  humbly  beautiful  floAvers  to  many  shows  throughout  the 
country,  are  having  their  reward,  for  already  many  horticultural 
societies  are  adding  classes  for  Violets  as  a  feature  of  their 
schedules.  We  might  also  refer  to  classes  for  Shirley  Poppies, 
too,  which  are  being  provided  at  least  by  some  societies  in 
Surrey. 
Royal  Meterological  Society. 
The  first  meeting  of  this  Society  for  the  present-  session  was 
held  on  Wednesday  evening,  the  19th  ultimo,  at  the  Institution 
of  Civil  Engineers,  Mr.  W.  H.  Dines,  M.A.,  President,  in  the 
chair.  Mr.  F.  Campbell  Bayard  read  a  paper  on  “English 
Climatology,  1881-1900,”  Avhieh  Avas  a  discussion  of  the  clima¬ 
tological  data  printed  in  the  “  Meteorological  Record  ”  from  the 
forty  stations  of  the  Royal  Meteorological  Society,  which  have 
been  continuous  for  the  whole  of  the  twenty  years.  The  elements 
dealt  with  by  the  author  are:  (1)  temperature  at  9  a.m. ;  (2) 
mean  minimum  temperature ;  (3)  mean  maximum  temperature ; 
(4)  relative  humidity ;  (5)  amount  of  cloud ;  (6)  rainfall ;  and 
(7)  number  of  rainy  days.  The  results  form  a  valuable  con¬ 
tribution  to  the  climatology  of  the  British  Isles.  A  paper  by 
Mr.  C.  V.  Bellamy,  M.Inst.C.E.,  on  “The  Rainfall  of  Dominica,” 
Avas  also  read.  This  Ava-s  in  continuation  of  a  former  paper  on 
the  subject,  and  dealt  Avith  all  the  available  rainfall  data  for  the 
Island  of  Dominica.  From  this  it  appears  that-  the  mean  annual 
rainfall  of  the  island  is  llOin.  In  the  neighbouring  Island  of 
Montserrat  a  remarkably  hearty  rainfall  occurred  during  the 
night  of  November  28-29,  1896,  when  as  much  as  20.13in  fell  in 
the  space  of  six  or  eight-  hours. 
An  Ascent  of  La  Soufriere,  St.  Vincent. 
Mr.  J.  P.  Quinton  and  Mr.  E.  W.  Foster,  of  the  Botanic 
Stations  of  Sierra  Leone  and  Lagos,  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa, 
and  both  old  KeAvites,  having  returned  to  England  about  two 
months  ago  for  rest  and  to  recuperate  their  health,  Aver©  sent  by 
Sir  W.  Thistleton-Dyer,  Director  of  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew, 
on  a  trip  to  the  West  Indies,  that  they  might  compare  the  work 
of  the  stations  there  with  that  of  their  own  in  Africa.  The 
folloAving  cutting  from  the  “  Sentry  ”  of  October  31,  published  in 
KingstoAvn,  St.  Vincent,  has  been  sent  to  us  by  Mr.  Quinton, 
and  relates  to  a  daring  visit  made  to  La  Soufriere  there,  lately 
so  active : 
“  Favoured  by  fair  Aveather,  Mr.  H.  Powell,  the  Curator  of 
the  Botanical  Station  of  St.  Vincent,  and  Messrs.  J.  P.  Quinton 
and  E.  W.  Foster,  of  the  Botanic  Stations  of  Sierra  Leone. and 
Lagos  respectively,  made  an  ascent  of  the  Soufriere  on  the 
leeward  side  on  Tuesday  morning,  October  28,  and  spent  an 
hour  and  a  half  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  In  vieAV  of  the 
fact  that-  the  crater  has  been  daily  emitting  large  volumes  of 
steam,  sometimes  accompanied  by  ashes,  since  the  eruption  of 
October  15  and  16,  this  ascent  is  considered  a  daring  feat,  and 
Mr.  Quinton  stood  on  the-  Avest-  rim  at  a-  point  that-  enabled  him 
to  advise  them  Iioav  far  they  could  proceed,  Avhilst  Mr.  Foster 
and  Mr.  PoAvell  went  down  into  the  crater  at  a  distance  of  about 
120yds,  as  far  as  they  could  reach  having  regard  to  their  imme¬ 
diate  safety,  and  from  that  point,  after  which  the  walls  assume 
a  precipitous  form,  they  saAV  right  down  t-o  the  bottom,  where, 
the  apparently  muddy  Avater  Avas  boiling  furiously.  The  journey 
from  the-  sea  shore  at  Wallibou  to  the  first  ridge  leading  to  the 
Soufriere  is  exceedingly  difficult,  several  new  cliffs  and  ravines 
having  been  formed  there;  but  aftenvarcls,  except  for  the  still 
more  narrow  knife  ridges  than  after  previous  eruptions,  the  road 
is  easier.  Arriving  on  the  summit,  after  the  toilsome  journey 
of  tAvo  hours  and  a  half,  the  visitors  found  the  old  crater  active, 
discharging  volumes  of  steam  and  throAving  up  numerous  cones 
of  ashes  to  a  height  of  30ft  or  40ft  from  a  fissure  close  under  the 
southern  Avail.  The  crater  has  assumed  more  of  a-  funnel  shape, 
being  deepest  in  the  centre.  The  ejecta  is  heaped  up  round 
the  inner  Avails  to  a  height  of  several  hundred  feet,  and  is  almost 
red  hot  and  smoking  profusely.  From  a  fissure  in  the  rock, 
within  4yds  from  Avhere  the  visitors  stood,  jets  of  steam  were 
issuing;  and  from  about  this  same  spot  on  the  following  morning 
vapour  and  ashes  cvere  seen  to  escape  in  large  volumes.  The 
configuration  of  the  mountain  is  very  much  altered.” 
