June  23,  190'. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Depaptmental  Committee  and  the  Fruit  Inquiry. 
Tlie  Departmental  Committee  appointed  hy  Lord  Onslow  to 
enquire  into  and  rei^ort  upon  the  fruit  industry  of  Groat 
Dritain  held  sittings  on  the  loth,  KJth,  and  17th  inst.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  members  were  present  : — Mr.  A.  S.  T.  Griffith^Boscawe]i, 
M.P.  (chairman);  Col.  Long,  M.P.;  Mr.  C.  W  .  Padcliffe-Cooke, 
Mr.  IMonro,  iMr.  Vinson,  Dr.  Somerville,  Mr.  P.  Spencer 
Pickering,  M.A.,  P.R.S.  ;  the  Rev.  W.  AVilks,  and  Mr.  Lrnest 
Garnsey  (secretary).  The  following  witnesses  gave  evideiice  : — 
Mr.  J.  E.  Henneil,  reirresenting  the  Great  'Western  Railway; 
.Mr.  G.  Monro,  of  Covent  Garden,  a  member  of  the  committee ; 
Mr.  J.  AV.  Dennis,  a  fruit-broker,  of  Covent  Garden;  Air.  G.  W  . 
Meats,  jnn.,  the  auctioneer  at  the  Hereford  Corporation  vVTiole- 
sale  bruit  Market;  Air.  J .  T.  Sheppard,  a  grower  from  Holt, 
.North  AV^ales;  Air.  George  Jjangridge,  of  Tunbridge  AA'ells,  re¬ 
presenting  the  Surveyors'  Institute;  i\lr.  T.  W.  Cowan,  repre¬ 
senting  the  'British  Bee-keepers’  Association.  The  committee 
visited  on  the  14th  inst.  some  of  the  principal  fruit  plantations 
and  the  Horticultural  College  at  Swanley. 
Notes  from  Newton  Mearns. 
AVitli  the  approach  of  June,  summer  had  come  all  at  once, 
and  the  first  fortnight  recorded  a  daily  temperature  of  84deg 
in  shade.  Unfortunately,  however,  it  did  not  come  to  stay, 
for  the  past  week  was  one  of  a  very  changeable  nature,  and 
rain  and  cold  winds  intervening.  With  the  little  summer  weather 
we  were  biessed  with  so  early,  everything  was  pushing  forward, 
and  remark  was  being  passed  by  agriculturists  and  others  that 
this  would  be  an  early  season.  So  it  seems ;  for  I  have  just 
heard  that  Air.  Lyon,  the  gardener  at  Pollok  Castle  here,  has 
been  cutting  some  siilendid  specimens  of  Cauliflowers  since  the 
hen  inst.  The  fruit  trees  are  now  past  their  blossoming,  and 
a  heavy  crop  has  set,  and  1904  will  be  a  fruit  year.  The  garden 
all  over  is  looking  well,  although  a  little  heat  now  would  tend 
to  make  improvements.  The  Roses  are  exceptionally  eariy  this 
year,  and  at  present  lovely  buds  are  to  be  seen,  and  by  ten  or 
fourteen  days  we  should  have  a  fine  display.  Absence  of  frosts, 
wireworm,  and  the  borer,  will  also  make  1904  “  a  Rose  year." 
Aso  bees  have  swarmed  yet,  but  we  are  expecting  some  daily. 
Although  the  weather  has  not  been  at  all  favourable  for  these 
little  creatures,  still  I  see  a  bee  man  here  who  is  working  for 
supers  at  present,  having  121b  or  nice  honey  from  one  hive,  and 
is  running  into  another  121b  box.  This  is  not  bad,  but  I  wonder 
what  taste  the  honey  has  at  this  time  of  year? — N.  R. 
Bpitish  Gardeners’  Association. 
AA’^riting  from  Kew  Road,  Kew,  Air.  AV.  AA'atson,  the  hon. 
secretary,  says  ; — “  AATll  you  kindly  announce  in  this  week’s  issue 
of  the  Jounial  that  forms  of  application  for  membership, 
deeided  upon  by  the  committee  of  selection,  are  now  ready,  and 
may  be  obtained  on  application  to  myself?  ’’  The  qualihcatious 
for  me^ibership  are  as  follows: — 1.  To  be  not  less  than  twenty 
years  of  age.  2.  If  less  than  twenty-three  years  of  age,  to  have 
had  at  least  five  years’  training  in  good  private,  public,  or  com¬ 
mercial  establishments.  3.  If  more  than  23  years  of  age,  to 
have  had  at  least  seven  consecutive  years’  professional  expe¬ 
rience.  4.  To  be  able  to  produce  satisfactory  testimony  as  to 
general  character.  Candidates  must  obtain  from  the  secretary 
a  form  of  application,  which,  when  filled  up,  should  be  returned 
to  him.  If  the  committee  of  selection  are  satisfied  that  the 
candidate  is  qualified  for  membership,  they  will  instruct  the 
secretary  to  forward  him  a  ceitificate.  The  certificate  will  be 
renewed  annually  on  receipt  of  subscription.  The  charge  for 
legistration  and  certificate  will  be  2s.  Gd.,  and  the  annual 
subscription  2s.  6d.  These  two  sums  should  be  forwarded  to  the 
secretary  together  with  the  form  of  application.  Proof  of  mem¬ 
bership  will  be  the  possession  of  the  Association’s  certificate  for 
the  current  year.  AA'riting  somewhat  late  on  the  morning  of 
going  to  press,  we  cannot  attempt  to  detail  the  full  advantages 
which  we  believe  will  result  from  membership  of  a  strong, 
earnest  associatioii  such  as  this  is  going  to  be,  but  we  can  briefly 
ftoint  out  that  by  its  inception  the  gardener  has  a  third  string 
to  his  bow  (and  we  know  by-and-by  it  will  be  the  main  one)  in 
seeking  for  a  situation.  He  at  ijresent  must  rely  on  the  nur¬ 
serymen  and  on  advertising  in  the  Pre.ss.  V\ell,  if  he  can  save 
the  latter,  and  avoid  the  vexations  of  the  former,  that  is  a  gain. 
An  association  can  always  do  more  than  disunited  individuals, 
and  this  is  unchallengably  true  when  the  interests  of  a  whole 
calling  are  at  stake.  Gardeners,  in  your  thousands,  join  ! 
53.A 
Messrs.  Artindale’s  Floral  Desig’ns. 
In  our  report  of  the  A'ork  Gala  last  week  we  credited  Alessrs. 
Perkins,  of  Coventry,  with  the  premier  award  in  Class  7G,  for  a 
table  of  designs.  This  position  was  won  by  Alessrs.  Artindale, 
of  Sheffield,  and  we  regret  our  erior. 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Pi’ovident  Society. 
The  monthly  committee  meeting  of  this  society  was  held  at 
the  Caledonian  Hotel,  Adelphi  Terrace,  AA’.C.,  on  Alonday 
evening,  June  13.  Air.  Clias.  H.  Cui  tis  presided.  Six  new  mem¬ 
bers  were  elected.  The  death  of  Air.  Edwin  Isted,  of  Hove, 
Brighton,  was  reported.  Air.  Isted  was  a  comparatively  young 
member,  but,  having  left  a  widow  and  three  young  children 
unprovided  for,  the  committee  granted  £5  14s.  7d.  from  the 
Benevolent  Eund,  to  be  added  to  tiio  £4  5s.  5d.,  the  amount 
standing  to  the  late  member’s  credit,  thus  Ininging  the  amount 
up  to  £10  for  the  widow.  The  sick  pay  since  tlie  last  meeting 
was  £29  14s. 
A  Suggestion  for  Fruit  Growers. 
The  “Estate  Aiagazine,  ’  published  by  the  Country  Gentle¬ 
men’s  Association,  for  tiiis  month  contains  a  practical  suggestion 
for  the  many  fruit-growers  wlio  are  hkely  to  be  troubled  witli 
glutted  markets  this  season.  The  writer.  Air.  Cyril  A  an 
ijennep,  is  a  landowner  in  Asia  Aliiior,  and  he  describes  in  detail 
liow  tlie  surplus  grapes  of  that  country  are  sun-dried,  ana 
become  the  well  known  “  Sultana  ’’  of  commerce,  xtlere  drying, 
however,  is  not  sufficient,  ana  in  order  to  prevent  the  fruio 
sfinvelling  np  and  becoming  useless,  it  is  necessary  to  first  treat 
it  with  a  ••  uip,"  consisting  of  a  mixture  of  olive  oil,  water,  ana 
potash.  'The  Grapes  are  xncked  by  hand,  placed  loosely  into 
naiidy-sizeu  basKecs,  about  21t  Gin  ueep  by  ioiii  across,  and  are 
tlien  uipped  in  and  out  of  tne  solution  twice,  and  placed  on 
draining  ooarus  to  take  away  tlie  surplus  liquid.  \\  hen  tlraiiied, 
but  still  wet,  tlie  bunches  are  taken  out  and  very  carefully  laid 
on  prepared  ground  buncli  by  bunch,  'ine  sun  does  the  rest. 
It  is  admitted  that  the  climatic  conditions  in  Jtngland  will  not 
allow  of  tins  process  being  cariied  out  to  the  letter,  but  it  is 
suggested  that  the  many  oast  houses  used  for  drying  hops  might 
also  be  utilised  for  fruit  drying,  and  that  experiments  siiouid  be 
made  w  ith  such  fruits  as  Jsiack,  lied,  and  Avinte  Currants,  Goose¬ 
berries,  and  Cherries.  Jstraw  beriies  and  Raspberries  seem 
doubtful,  especially  the  former,  but  all  sorts  of  iTums,  Green¬ 
gages,  and  Jdamsoiis  seem  specially  htteJ  tor  drying.  A  suitable 
Clip  has  to  be  discovered,  consisting  of  vegetable  on,  potash,  and 
water,  and  the  proper  temperature  for  drying  proved  by 
experience. 
Examination  in  Hoptieultune,  1904. 
The  annual  examination  by  the  R.H.S.  in  the  principles  and 
practice  of  hoiticulture  was  neld  on  April  20,  19u4,  wdien  ihU 
papers  w'ere  sent  in.  Three  hundred  marks  were  allotted  as  a 
maximum,  all  candidates  who  obtained  250  marks  and  upwards 
being  placed  in  the  first  class.  'The  total  number  of  these  was 
35,  or  about  18.3  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  Those  who  secured 
200  marks  and  less  than  250  were  iilaced  in  tiie  second  class. 
Their  number  was  93,  or  about  49.2  per  cent.  'Those  who 
obtained  100  marks  and  upwards  were  iilaced  in  the  third  class 
their  number  being  G2,  or  about  32.4  per  cent. 
There  has  been  a  slight  decrease  in  the  number  of  candidates, 
as  198  offered  themselves  in  1903,  and  229  in  lpu2.  'This  is  pro¬ 
bably  the  result  of  a  somewhat  more  advanced  syllabus.  Tiiere 
has,  however,  been  a  considerable  advance  in  the  quality  of  the 
papers,  as  shown  by  the  percentages ;  for  in  1903  the  first  class 
was  only  7.G  per  cent.,  the  second  class  31.3  per  cent.,  and  the 
third  class  about  5G  per  cent.  'These  facts  were  commented  on 
in  the  report  of  last  year  (Journal  Royal  Hort.  8oc., 
A'ol.  XXN’ill.,  p.  119).  Tear  by  year  the  students  exhibit  a 
better  knowledge  of  practical  horticulture,  nearly  all  the  que,s- 
tions  bearing  upon  the  culture  of  fnnt  trees  and  vegetables  beiin'- 
this  year  well  answered.  Alost  of  the  canditlates  have  also  a  good 
knowTedge  of  artificial  manures  and  their  application  to  the 
crops  in  the  kitchen  and  fruit  garden.  'The  question  referring 
to  conservatory  decoration  was  not  very  well  treated.  Alanv 
of  the  candidates  could  name  only  a  few  of  quite  the  commoneV 
plants,  and  could  give  but  meagre  directions  for  culture.  Some 
of  the  candidates  answered  three  only  of  the  four  questions  they 
ought  to  have  answered ;  whereas  if  they  had  apportioned  the 
time  necessary  for  each  question,  they  might  easily  have 
answered  all  four. 
