May  26,  190-^, 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
451 
Handswopth  Hoptieultupal  Society. 
The  scheclnle  of  prizes  for  the  twentieth  annual  exhibition 
and  floral  fete  of  this  vigorous  society  is  published.  The  show 
will  be  held  in  the  Victoria  Park,  Handsworth,  on  July  22  and 
23,  when  prizes  will  be  given  to  the  amount  of  about  £500.  The 
secretary  is  Mr.  dohn  Edwards,  24,  Stafford  Eoad,  Handsworth, 
Birmingham. 
Publications  Received. 
Hand-list  of  Orchids  Cultivated  in  the  Royal  Botanic  Gar¬ 
dens,  Kew.  Sold  by  Darling  and  Son,  Ltd.,  34-40,  Bacon 
Street,  E.,  price  8d.  *  *  Black-scab  of  Potatoes,  Leaflet 
105,  from  the  Board  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries,  4,  White¬ 
hall  Place,  S.W.  *  *  Kew  Bulletin— “  New  Garden 
Plants  of  the  year  1903.”  From  Darling  and  Son,  Ltd.,  price 
4d.  *  *  Journal  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society,  May, 
1904.  Price  to  non-Fellows,  lOs.  * 
Bee-keeping  fop  Beginners. 
This  textbook  CKegan,  Paul,  and  Co.,  2s.)  has  been  written 
for  the  purpose  of  instruction  in  schools  of  this  subject,  and  so 
as  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  syllabus  issued  by  the  depart¬ 
ment.  It  is  the  work  of  a  practical  bee-master,  who  has  taught 
the  subject  in  day  schools.  As  this  subject  is  now'  recognised 
for  secondary  and  evening  schools,  the  scope  of  its  applicability 
is  enlarged  to  embrace  all  rural  classes.  The  author  has  com¬ 
pressed  w'ithin  ninety  pages  all  the  more  important  facts  of  bee 
culture,  and  has  illustrated  his  subject  with  many  woodcuts. 
Messrs.  B.  R.  Davis  and  Son,  Yeovil. 
The  florist  and  nursery  business  of  this  Somerset  firm  is 
admirably  situated  in  one  of  the  sunniest  parts  of  Yeovil,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  town,  4Vhile  much  of  their  trade  is  of  a 
local  and  retail  nature,  yet  their  great  speciality  is  the  tuberous 
Begonia  ;  and  at  this  season  of  the  year  one  finds  house  on  house 
filled  wuth  Begonias  in  all  stages  of  growth,  from  seedlings 
lately  pricked  off  to  sturdy,  shapely,  and  healthy  plants  in 
flow'er — developing,  in  fact  for  the  coming  Temple  Show.  Even 
in  the  second  week  of  May  the  double-flow'ered  Begonias  were 
presenting  an  excellent  display  of  well-formed,  richly-coloured 
blossoms,  and  we  shall  watch  their  appearance  in  London  wnth 
interest.  It  seemed  a  capital  sign  to  find  both  Mr.  Davis  and 
his  son  actively  engaged  in  the  practical  conduct  and  work  of 
the  business,  and  from  the  short  run-round  which  I  was  privi¬ 
leged  to  make,  it  is  evident  that  care  and  experience  are 
expended  upon  the  business.  The  Messrs.  Davis  supply  Begonias 
wdiolesale  and  retail,  and  being  situate  close  to  the  stations  of 
the  South-Western  and  Great  Western  Raihvay  companies,  they 
have  ample  facilities  for  the  rapid  delivery  of  their  stock. — J. 
Reading  Gandenens’  Mutual  Improvement  Association. 
The  last  meeting  of  the  1903-04  session  of  the  above  associa¬ 
tion  was  held  in  the  club  room,  and  w'as  largely  attended,  over 
one  hundred  members  being  present.  The  president  (Mr. 
Leonard  Sutton)  presided.  The  subject  arranged  for  the  even¬ 
ing  w’as  ”  The  Decoration  of  Vases  with  Flowers,”  and  Mr.  J.  T. 
Pow'ell  gave  one  of  his  interesting  practical  demonstrations  in 
this  popular  section  of  floral  art.  In  his  remarks  he  pointed 
out  that  if  gardeners  would  take  up  this  subject  more  fully,  and 
make  theiiiselves  competent  in  this  branch  of  the  profession,  a 
great  saving  in  flowers  would  be  the  result.  Messrs.  Bracher 
and  Sydenham,  silversmiths,  Reading,  kindly  lent  a  selection  of 
silver  bowls  and  vases  for  the  purpose.  During  the  evening  the 
prizes  aw’arded  in  the  essay  competition,  “  The  Carnation  and 
Its  Culture,”  were  distributed.  The  w'inners  w’ere — over  twenty- 
five  years  of  age:  1st,  Mr.  \V.  Turnham,  Culham  Court  Gar- 
dejis,  Henley-on-Thames;  2nd  and  3rd,  equal,  Mr.  T.  Judd,  The 
Gardens,  Hatchgate,  Reading,  and  Mr.  J.  R.  Taylor,  Brack¬ 
nell.  Under  twenty-five  years  of  age:  1st,  Mr.  H.  Wynn,  The 
Gardens,  Cressingham,  Reading;  2nd,  Mr.  W.  J.  Hicks,  The 
Gardens,  Bear  Wood ;  3rd,  Mr.  W.  G.  Wadge,  The  Gardens, 
Platon  Hall,  Chester.  jMr.  James  Douglas,  V.IM.H.,  Edenside, 
Great  Bookham,  kindly  judged  the  papers  in  the  senior  division, 
and  Mr.  Charles  Blick,  The  Warren,  Hayes  Common,  the  junior 
division.  The  exhibits  at  this  meeting  were  confined  to  bunches 
of  flow’ers,  wdiich  were  to  be  sent  to  the  inmates  of  the  Royal 
Berks  Ho.spital  after  the  meeting.  The  response  to  the  invita¬ 
tion  was  a  large  one;  over  500  bunches  were  staged. 
Visitors  to  Kew. 
A  special  count  of  the  visitors  to  the  Ro.yal  Botanic  Gardens, 
Kew,  was  instituted  on  Whit  Monday,  and  the  number  that 
pas.sed  through  the  various  gates  was  given  as  05,000. 
Croydon  and  District  Mutual  Improvement  Society. 
“  Selaginellas  ”  was  the  subject  of  a  paper  read  before  the 
members  of  this  society  at  their  rooms.  Sunflower  Temperance 
Hotel,  on  IMay  17,  and  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  A.  0,sborn,  Royal 
Gardens,  Kew,  it  was  most  exhaustively  and  ably  dealt  with. 
These  highly  decorative  plants,  he  said,  had  been  somewhat 
neglected  of  late  years,  because,  perhaps,  the  glowing  bright 
colours  found  in  flowering  plants  were  more  attractive  to  the 
eye,  and  created  more  demand.  Some  cut  blooms  of  new 
hybrid  Irises  and  new  Tulips  wei-e  exhibited  by  Mr.  J.  Gregory. 
Presentation  to  Mr.  John  Michie,  Balmoral. 
An  intere.sting  function  took  place  recentlj^  in  the  Royal 
Athenfeum,  Aberdeen,  when  Mr.  John  Michie,  M.V.O.,  factor 
at  Balmoral  to  His  Majesty  the  King,  was  entertained  at  a 
cake  and  wine  banquet  by  a  large  number  of  friends,  and  pre¬ 
sented,  on  behalf  of  Mrs.  Michie  and  himself,  with  a  solid  silver 
tea  service  and  a  silver  tray,  in  commemoration  of  their  silver 
wedding. 
Clianthus  Dampieri. 
This  is  a  very  difficult  plant  to  grow  in  a  satisfactory  man¬ 
ner.  The  seed  should  be  sown  singly  in  small  pots  in  a  mixture 
of  equal  parts  of  loam  and  peat,  with  half  a  part  of  sand.  The 
reason  of  sowing  singly  in  small  pots  is  that  the  roots  are  so 
impatient  of  being  disturbed  that  if  sown  together  and  potted 
off  afterwards  most  of  them  would  be  likely  to  die.  If  you  have 
plentj'  of  seed  a  good  plan  is  to  sow’  two  or  three  in  each  pot, 
and  directly  the  plants  are  sufficiently  advanced  to  detect  the 
most  vigorous,  pull  out  the  others  and  leave  the  best  in  solo 
possession.  A  genial  yet  airy  greenhouse  is  the  best  place  for 
this  Clianthus,  and  as  soon  as  the  young  plants  are  sufficiently 
advanced  they  should  be  shifted  into  pots  4|in  or  5in  in 
diameter.  Much  the  same  soil,  except  that  a  rather  less 
amount  of  sand  is  needed,  will  suit  them  well.  As  the  plants 
grow,  they  may,  if  necessary,  be  shifted  into  Gin  pots,  or  they 
can  be  flowered  in  5in  ones.  As  the  pots  get  full  of  roots  a  little 
weak  liquid  manure  will  be  of  service.  The  flow’ers  are  so 
beautiful  as  to  well  repay  anj’  little  extra  trouble  taken  in  the 
cultivation  of  this  Clianthus. 
Canada  and  the  Fruit  Supply. 
Abundant  crops  of  Apples  in  Canada  and  scarcity  here 
account  no  doubt  for  some  portion  of  the  great  increase  in  the 
importations  from  that  colony  during  the  present  season,  but 
much  of  the  increase  must  be  attributed  to  the  practical  steps 
taken  by  the  Canadian  Government  to  discover  and  comply 
with  the  requirements  of  the  British  market.  In  1902  Mr. 
Mackinnon,  an  official  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  at  Ottawa^ 
was  instructed  by  the  ^Minister  of  Agriculture  to  visit  all  tke 
chief  centres  of  the  fruit  trade  in  Great  Britain.  He  was  put 
in  communication  with  the  brokers,  the  wholesalers,  and  the 
retailers,  and,  so  far  as  w’as  pos.sible,  with  consumers,  in  order 
to  ascertain  their  views  on  the  Canadian  eximrt  trade  in  fruit. 
Confining  his  attention  mainly  to  Apples,  Mr.  Mackinnon  found 
that  the  demand  for  certain  sorts  varied  with  the  markets  to 
which  they  w'ere  sent,  so  that  to  obtain  the  best  price  for  them 
the  right  sorts  should  be  consigned  to  the  right  markets.  Other 
I’equirements  were  that  the  supplies  should  be  regular,  of 
uniform  quality,  and  packed  in  boxes  of  the  same  size  under  a 
recognised  brand.  Speaking  of  his  mission  on  his  return  to 
Canada,  he  said,  “  In  the  Old  Country  they  do  not  want  our 
poor  stuff,  for  they  have  lots  of  poor  Apples  at  home.”  It  is 
these  poor  Apples  that  cause  l)uyers  to  prefer  the  better  and 
more  evenly  graded  fruit  that  conies  from  oversea.  Lord 
Onslow^  has  taken  a  step  in  the  right  direction  by  appointing 
a  Departmental  Committee  on  Fruit  Culture,  but  if  the  in¬ 
quiries  of  the  committee  are  to  result  in  recommendations  of 
practical  value,  it  will  not  be  enough  to  summon  selected  wit¬ 
nesses  to  London  and  examine  them  there ;  the  committee  must 
take  a  leaf  out  of  the  Colonial  book,  and  ascertain  by  i>ersonal 
investigation  on  the  spot  wdiat  are  the  requirements  of  the 
trade. 
