January  21,  19C4. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
51 
Retirement  of  Mr.  John  Burn. 
The  announcement  that  Mr.  J.  Burn  is  resigning  his  appoint¬ 
ment  under  the  Corporation  of  Leicester  as  curator  of  the  Abbey 
Park,  and  superintendent  of  the  other  public  parks  and  open 
spaces  in  the  borough,  is  just  made.  It  is  twenty-two  years 
since  Mr.  Burn  took  service  under  the  Corporation,  and  during 
that  time  he  has  laid  out  some  five  hundred  acres  of  pai'ks  and 
open  spaces,  beside.s  planting  miles  of  streets  in  the  borough. 
Few  towns  have  been  so  beautified  in  this  way  as  Leicester,  and 
the  great  industrial  population  show  their  appreciation  of  the 
parks  by  thronging  them  at  all  times  when  the  weather  is  favour¬ 
able.  The  Abbey  Park,  in  which  Mr.  Burn  has  his  residence, 
has  been  particularly  his  pride,  and  it  is  always  a  source  of 
attraction  to  townspeople  even  in  winter.  In  all  probability 
Mr.  Burn’s  future  home  will  be  in  the  North.  By  his  retirement 
the  Corporation  of  Leicester  loses  an  efficient  public  servant,  and 
the  Abbey  Park  flower  show  an  able  superintendent.  This  was 
the  creation  of  Mr.  Burn,  and  it  was  always  a  source  of  great 
pleasure  to  hiin  that  it  afforded  him  an  opportunity  of  gathering 
about  him  many  friends  as  exhibitors  and  judges.  The  generous 
hospitality  dispensed  by  Mrs.  Burn  on  such  occasions,  and  her 
invariable  kindness  and  attention  to  her  many  horticultural 
visitors  wull  long  be,  borne  in  kindly  remembrance. 
Bournemouth  Gardeners’  Mutual  Improvement  Association. 
The  annual  dinner  of  the  members  of  the  above  association 
w’as  held  at  the  Quadrant  Restaurant  on  January  5,  when  the 
president  of  the  association,  T.  J.  Hankinson,  Esq.,  J.P., 
occupied  the  chair.  The  company  included  the  Mayor  of  Bourne¬ 
mouth,  who  is  a  vice-president  of  the  association ;  also  Aider- 
man  Davis,  Councillors  Rolls  and  Hutchings ;  Messrs.  J.  Berry, 
H.  Harris,  C.  Stewart,  J.  Sw^aflield,  and  W.  Watts;  vice-i3resi- 
dent,  and  about  seventy  members.  Mr.  H.  G.  Cox,  from  Read¬ 
ing,  and  Mr.  J.  Stevenson,  from  Wimborne,  were  also  present. 
An  excellent  dinner  was  provided,  and  tlie  tables  were  gaily 
decorated  witli  flowers  by  the  Messrs.  Watts.  The  loyal  toasts 
having  been  honoured,  the  treasurer,  Mr.  F.  W.  George,  on 
behalf  of  the  members,  asked  Air.  J.  B.  Stevenson  to  accept, 
in  recognition  of  the  valuable  services  he  has  rendered  to  the 
association  for  sixteen  years  as  hon.  secretary,  a  gold  watch, 
wuth  the  hope  that  he  would  continue  the  secretaryship  for  many 
years  to  come.  The  president.  Mayor,  and  other  speakers 
having  congratulated  the  recipient,  IMr.  Stevenson  suitably 
replied,  and  the  rest  of  the  evening  was  pleasantly  spent  in 
toast  and  song. 
Edinburgh  Market  Gardeners. 
The  annual  meeting  of  the  Edinburgh  Market  Gardeners’ 
Association  w'as  held  recently.  The  chairman,  in  review'ing 
the  progress  of  the  past  year,  said  that  everything  had  gone 
on  in  a  nice,  smooth  way,  without  a  single  jarring  note.  The 
whole  revenue  of  the  market  for  the  year  had  been  £4,033, 
an  increase  of  £378  over  the  previous  year.  The  market 
gardeners’  contribution  to  the  income  liad  decreased  by 
£16  13s.,  principally  on  account  of  so  many  of  the  wdiolesale 
men  leaving  the  market  for  a  time.  These  had  now'  returned, 
however,  and  there  w'as  every  prospect  that  the  ensuing  year 
w'ould  be  as  successful  as  former  years.  Councillor  Waterston, 
on  behalf  of  the  Alarkets  Committee,  said  he  w'as  glad  to  hear 
that  there  were  no  complaints  to  make.  The  Alarkets  Com¬ 
mittee  had  always  found  the  gardeners’  executive  willing  to 
meet  them  in  the  most  amicable  spirit.  Mr.  Isaac  Connell, 
S.S.C.,  secretary  of  the  Scottish  Chamber  of  Agriculture,  sub¬ 
mitted  a  statement  with  regard  to  railway  rates  as  they  affected 
market  gardeners,  and  intimated  that  the  Scotti.sh  Chamber 
of  Agriculture  had  resolved  to  co-operate  w'ith  the  market 
gardeners  in  securing  more  favourable  terms  in  this  matter. 
He  pointed  out  the  benefits  to  be  obtained  by  association  with 
the  Chamber  in  the  protection  of  mutual  interests.  It  W'as 
unanimously  agreed  to  become  affiliated  to  the  Scottish  Chamber 
of  Agriculture.  On  the  motion  of  Mr.  James  Sinclair,  East 
Linton,  seconded  by  Air.  James  AIathie.son,  Dean,  Edinburgh, 
it  W'as  agreed  to  appoint  a  correspondent  to  the  Board  of 
Agriculture.  Air.  Scarlett,  treasurer,  presented  the  financial 
report,  which  showed  an  income  on  the  year’s  w'orking  of 
£62  7s.  3d.,  and  an  expenditure  of  £16  6s.  4d.,  leaving  a  credit 
balance  of  £46  Os.  lid.  The  meeting  unanimously  agreed  to 
give  a  sum  of  £20  to  the  Royal  Caledonian  Horticultural 
Society  to  bo  used  as  prizes  in.  their  forthcoming  international 
show'.  Air.  Peter  Gemmell  was  unanimously  re-elected  .secretary. 
Fortunes  in  Flowers. 
Air.  Harry  Green,  the  manager  of  Robert  Green,  Limited,  the 
w'ell-known  society  florists,  states  that  £1,000  is  quite  an 
ordinary  price  for  West  End  society  people  to  lay  out  upon  the 
embellishment  of  their  rooms  on  the  night  of  a  ball. 
Croydon  Gardeners. 
The  annual  meeting  of  the  Croydon  and  District  Horticul¬ 
tural  Alutual  Improvement  Society  was  held  on  January  6.  The 
Society  is  in  an  excellent  financial  condition,  being  able  to 
carry  forward  a  good  substantial  balance  for  the  coming  year. 
Nineteen  meetings  have  been  held,  at  which  lectures  and  papers 
relating  to  horticulture  w'ere  given,  and  in  each  instance  have 
been  of  the  usual  high  standard.  Two  evenings  were  devoted 
to  “Discussions,”  which  proved  very  instructive.  The  exhibits 
displayed  at  the  meetings  w'ere  much  appreciated.  The  Society 
is  grateful  to  Air.  J.  H.  Baldock  for  kind  assistance  w'ith  the 
lantern  illustrations.  The  essay  competition,  the  first  prize  of 
which  was  gratefully  accepted  from  Air.  J.  J.  Reid,  w'as  won 
by  Air.  A.  Aliddleton,  and  Air.  T.  W.  Briscoe  .secured  second 
prize,  kindly  contributed  by  Air.  P.  F.  Bunyard.  The  collect¬ 
ing-box  of  the  Gardeners’  Orphan  Fund  when  opened  w'as  found 
to  contain  £2  Os.  6d.,  and  the  committee  have  duly  forw'arded 
this  amount,  with  the  Society’s  best  w'i.shes,  to  the  secretary  of 
that  institution.  Air.  B.  Wynne.  The  resignation  of  Air.  F. 
Lloyd  as  president,  owung  to  his  many  duties  preventing  him 
from  devoting  his  time  to  the  Society,  is  deeply  regretted,  hut 
we  are  glad  to  say  he  remains  a  vice-president.  From  the 
Board  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries  w'C  are  receiving  valuable 
help  by  way  of  leaflets  illustrating  different  insect  pests  and 
diseases  pertaining  to  plant  life,  with  proved  remedies  to  combat 
them,  and  these  are  distributed  to  members  at  the  meetings. 
The  annual  dinner  will  be  held  on  February  10. 
Booming  Potatoes. 
With  regard  to  the  principle  of  getting  hold  of  a  new  variety 
of  Potato,  and  “  a.scribing  to  it  exceptional  properties,  in  the 
hope  of  doing  a  little  ‘flat-catching’  whilst  the  fever  runs  high,” 
we  may  state  some  facts,  whose  accuracy  may  be  vouched  for.  In 
the  autumn  of  last  year  a  Scottish  agriculturi.st,  who  has  a  great 
rep'dtation  as  a  grower  of  seed  Potatoes,  was  visited  by  two  exten¬ 
sive  Potato  growens  from  the  South  of  England.  The  Saxon 
visitors  were  shown  all  round  the  farm  and  the  Potato  fiekls, 
where  they  saw  great  crops  of  several  different  varieties.  They 
W'ere  also  shown  a  number  of  smaller  plots  of  new  varieties,  some 
of  which  had  been  raised  on  the  place,  and  had  not  then  been  i3ut 
on  the  market.  The  visitors  were  particularly  struck  w'ith  the 
ci’opping  quality  and  fine  .shape  of  one  of  these  irew  varieties,  and 
they  made  a  tempting  bid  to  buy  the  stock  outright,  but  that 
offer  was  refused..  The  visitors  then  unfolded  their  plans.  They 
said  there  w'as  undoubtedly  a  fortune  in  the  new'  variety  if  it 
was  properly  handled  and  boomed,  and  to  that  end  they  proposed 
that  the  grower,  who  had  a  name  that  could  be  conjured  w'ith  in 
Potato-growing  circles,  should  form  a  syndicate  along  with  them 
for  booming  that  variety,  the  profits  of  the  business  to  be  equally 
divided.  According  to  the  modus  operandi  which  the  visitors 
proposed,  they  would  send  the  raiser  “  dummy  ”  cheques  for 
fabulous  sums  in  nominal  payment  of  small  parcels  of  seed,  and 
these  “  dummy  ”  cheques  would  be  shown  round  the  market  as  a 
guarantee  of  good  faith.  Then  the  Press  W'as  to  be  utili.sed  to  the 
full  in  the  way  of  feeding  the  readers  of  the  agricultural  and 
other  papers  w'ith  fairy  tales  as  to  the  “exceptional  properties”  of 
this  new'  variety,  and  the  wonderful  prices  which  were  being  paid 
by  means  of  these  “  dummy  ”  chec]ues  for  small  parcels  of  these 
“  Apples  of  the  earth,”  which  were  more  valuable  than  even  the 
golden  Apples  of  4:he  Hesperides.  The  profits  of  the  business 
would  be  great,  and  well  worth  the  sacrifice  of  honour  and  prin¬ 
ciple  involved.  But  the  scheme  did  not  come  off,  as  the  raiser  of 
the  new'  variety  promptly  told  his  visitors  that  he  was  not  dis- 
Xrosed  to  enter  the  “  flat-catching  ”  business.  These  were  not  the 
precise  w'ords  msec!  by  the  grower,  but  they  were  to  the  same 
effect,  only  they  were  much  more  emphatic. — (“  North  British 
Agriculturist.”) 
