416 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  5,  1903. 
PentstemoD,  Newbury  Gem. 
I  note  with  surprise  (p.  296)  that  Mr.  Arnott  says  this 
Pentstemon  is  now  scarce.  Hereabouts,  thanks  to  Messrs. 
Ladhams,  of  Shirley  Nurseries,  it  is  plentiful,  but  not  more 
than  its  merits  deserve.  With  me  it  stood  outside  in  a  border 
of  stiff,  cold  soil,  unprotected  in  any  way.  The  same  plants 
have  flowered  in  abundance  this  year.  It  is  quite  a  desirable 
variety  for  filhng  bare  places  in  the  herbaceous  border,  or  for 
making  an  edging  to  taller  sorts  in  beds  or  borders.  From 
cuttings  it  is  easily  propagated  like  all  Pentstemons. — 
E.  Molyneux,  Southampton. 
Scottish  Horticultural  Association. 
(Piizes  for  Cut  Chrysanthemum  Blooms,  1903.) 
Following  up  the  remarks  made  by  “  Interested  ”  on  page  401 
of  the  “Journal,”  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  if  a  vote 
of  the  members  were  taken  now,  a  huge  majority  would  be  against 
the  Council.  I  think  it  is  altogether  absurd  that  £36  10s.  should 
be  offered  in  one  class  which  is  confined  to  Edinburgh  growers. 
I^  await  with  interest  the  statement  of  those  members  of  the 
t  ouncil  W'dio  voted  for  it,  and  I  am  pleased  to  know  there  were 
some  against  giving  so  large  a  sum.  I  expect  this  will  be  the 
first  and  last  year  of  such  absurdity,  and  that  is  our  consolation. 
— Anglo-Scot. 
The  Recent  Gardeners’  Dinner. 
To  the  committee  that  organised  and  carried  through  so 
.satisfactorily  that  great  and  very  successful  festal  gathering, 
the  best  thanks  of  everyone  w'ho  was  present  are  not  only  due, 
1  ^  ^  sure,  most  sincerely  and  heartily  accorded.  Not 
the  least  satisfactory  result  of  the  voluntary  and  much  appre¬ 
ciated  services  of  the  committee  is,  that  the  balance  of  the 
accounts  is  on  the  right  side;  and  the  information  that  the 
committee  has  given  it  to  tw'o  such  excellent  institutions.  It 
IS  sometimes  said  that,  in  this  life,  there  is  no  pleasure  without 
a  tinge  of  disappointment  and  sorrow.  In  this  instance  the 
tinge^  (and  the  only  tinge  that  I  am  aware  of)  was  occasioned 
by  the  absence  of  those  two  great  friends  and  supporters  of 
gardeners  and  gardening,  Mr.  Leopold  de  Rothschild  and  the 
\  ery  Rev.  Dean  Hole,  and  also  of  those  two'  old  and  highly 
esteemed  friends.  Mr.  J.  Hudson  and  Mr.  J.  Smith,  both  of 
whom  had  served  on  the  committee.  The  former  was  absent 
through  illness,  and  the  latter  by  the  stern,  ruthless  hand  of 
death. — T.  Challis,  The  Gardens,  Wilton  House. 
- - 
The  Colouring  of  Apples. 
This  is  a  most  interesting  subject,  and  one  which  opens  up 
u  expression  of  distinctly  conflicting  opinions. 
“  W.  S.,”  on  page  380,  state®  his  case  very  clearly,  and  his  ideas 
are  very  much  in  accord  with  my  own.  That  the  “  cold  snap  ” 
spokeri  of  by  correspondents  has  a  direct  influence  upon  the 
colouring  of  fruit  is  more  than  I  can  accept  without  greater 
proof  than  has  a.s  yet  been  offered.  If  the  cold  of  autumn  is 
directly  responsible  for  the  colouration  of  Apples,  how  comes 
it  that  with  few  exceptions  all  those  sent  us  from  hot  climates 
are  far  more  brilliant  than  our  own?  One  might  go  further  and 
say  that  those  grown  in  the  warmer  counties  are  always  better 
coloured  than  those  grown  in  colder  districts.  There  is  no 
doubt  in  my  mirid  that  the  “  cold  snap  ”  affects  the  ohemical 
nature  of  the  soil,  and  the  consequent  colouring  of  the  fruit 
is  in  some  way  analogous  with  the  maturing  of,  and  colouration 
in,  foliage  in  autumn. — Provincial. 
Let  me  ask  your  correspondents  who  hold  that  rain  helps 
the  colouring  of  Apples  whether  the  “rosy”  side  of  the  fruit  is 
not  always  towards  the  south  or  one  of  its  quarters  whence 
sunshine  comes?  It  seems  to  me  that  when  fruit  colours  after 
much  rain  has  fallen  in  the  autumn,  it  is  in  spite  of  the  rain 
rather  than  because  of  it.  The  Apples  could  not  colour  fully 
till  they  reached  maturity,  however  sunny  the  weather  might 
be.  and  when  they  became  nearly  ripe  they  began  to  colour 
well,  in  spite  of  rain.  Shaded  Apples  do  not  colour  properly, 
however  much  rain  there  may  be. 
It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  a  touch  of  frost  helps  to  colour 
the  skin  of  the  fniit,  just  as  it  colours  the  foliage.  But  has  not 
soil  as  much  to  do  wdth  high  colour  as  anything?  There  is  a 
good  deal  of  iron  in  my  soil,  and  my  Apples  colour  brilliantly 
when  there  is  enough  sunshine.  But  they  did  not  colour  nearly 
as  well  during  the  past  season  of  flooding  rains  as  in  the  years 
of  drought  previous  to  1902.  Tliey  coloured  better  in  1902  than 
in  1903,  because  there  was  more  sunshine  in  the  autumn. — 
Sunny  South. 
Finances  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
Pessimism  is  rife  in  reference  to  the  financial  position  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society.  Pessimism,  however,  may  be  re¬ 
garded  as  a  “  hard.y  perennial.”  "What  is  the  position  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  in  its  money  matters  ?  If  it  is  not 
all  that  could  be  wdshed,  it  nevertheless  is  not  such  as  need 
cause  anxiety.  The  new  hall  is  to  cost  £40,000.  Of  this  sum 
about  £25,0(10  has  been  promised,  and  much  of  it  paid.  Sup¬ 
posing  that  no  further  sum  is  collected,  the  Society  has  at  the 
least  £16,000  of  invested  capital,  drawing  interest  meanwhile. 
It  is  said  that  those  £16,000  may  not  be  touched  for  the  hall, 
owing  to  a  bye-law  of  the  latest  Charter.  If  this  be  so,  it  is 
decidedly  unfortunate,  and  the  question  will  be.  Can  the  bye¬ 
law  not  be  qualified  so  that  £15,000  might  be  employed  to 
capitalise  the  hall,  leaving  still  £1,000  to  the  good,  which,  with 
£5,000  for  the  surrender  of  the  Chiswick  lease,  would  give  a 
nucleus  of  £6,000  with  which  to  begin  operations  on  a  small 
scale  at  Oakwood  ?  The  Society  has  also  an  annual  income  of 
from  £5,000  to  £8,000  (which  may  reasonably  be  expected  for 
some  years,  in  any  case).  Judiciously  managed,  this  sum  must 
surely  meet  the  necessary  expenses ;  and  so.  Where  is  the 
difficulty  ? — London  Citizen. 
A  National  Potato  Society. 
I  am  exceedingly  glad  that  “  our  Journal  ”  has  opened  its 
practical  columns  to  a  discussion  of  this  important  question. 
I  observe  that  two  out  of  the  three  letters  published  on 
page  401  are  strongly  in  favour  of  the  scheme,  and  the  third 
is  by  no  means  hostile.  With  respect  to  the  suggestion  that 
the  duty  of  developing  and  protecting  the  PotatOi  on  the  lines 
I  proxiose  should  be  taken  over  by  the  Royal  Ho-rticultural 
Society,  irermit  me  to  point  out  : 
(1)  That  the  Society  is  now  closely  engaged  with  two  gigantic 
undertakings — the  new  hall  and  the  new  garden — and  therefore 
has  its  hands  very  full. 
(2)  That  the  very  essence  of  the  work  which  I  and  those 
in  association  with  me  have  at  heart  is  simultaneous  trial  on 
all  sorts  of  soil.  Trials  at  one  place  alone,  however  well  con¬ 
ducted,  would  not  suffice. 
I  hope  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the  establishment 
of  a  National  Potato  Society  would  not  be  in  any  sense  antago¬ 
nistic  to  the  R.H.S.  Special  societies  have  a  sphere  of  influence 
of  their  own,  subordinate  to,  and  in  reality  a  support  of,  the 
wider  operations  of  the  great  Society.  New  societies  come 
into  being  from  time  to  time,  but  the  R.H.S.  does  not  grow 
weaker,  it  grows  stronger.  I  do  not  think  that  the  operations 
of  a  National  Potato'  Society  need  be  so  costly  as  some  inay  fear, 
because  I  believe  that  the  county  education  authorities  would 
facilitate  them.  I  may  add  that  I  have  just  completed  a 
pamphlet’  bearing  the  title,  “  Potato  Perils,”  and  intended  as  a 
fairly  full  case  for  the  establishment  of  a  National  Potato 
Society.  It  is  now  in  the  press,  and  will  be  ready  shortly.  A 
copy  wdll  be  sent  to  the  Journal,  and  to  any  applicant;  but  as 
there  is  no  committee  as  yet,  and  no  funds,  the  cost  of  printing 
falls  entirely  upon  myself.  Perhaps,  therefore,  correspondents 
will  kindly  enclose  l^d.  in  stamps  when  w’riting. — Walter  P. 
Wright,  Postling,  Hythe,  Kent. 
- 4H»0 - 
Dahlias:  Good  Wet  Weather  Flowers. 
Outdoor  flowers  have  suffered  so  severely  by  the  continuous 
rains  that  any  flower  that  can  endure  the  ordeal,  and  yet  present 
a  wealth  of  fresh  flowers  and  unblemished  colours,  deserves  more 
than  a  passing  notice.  A  call  at  Heywood,  Wiltshire,  recently 
revealed  to  me  clearly  the  great  value  of  Dahlias  for  making 
effective  borders,  and  giving  sheaves  of  flowers  suitable  for  vases. 
With  the  development  of  early  Chrysanthemums  there  may  not 
appear  the  same  desire  or  purpose  for  Dahlia  blooms  in  the 
house;  but  those  who  have  to  maintain  a  regular  and  frequent 
supply  of  fresh  flowers  in  a  cut  state  \vill  readily  admit  that 
the  Dahlia  season,  advanced  as  it  is,  still  provides  acceptable 
material.  If  anything,  I  think  the  fresh,  clear,  and  bright 
colours  are  enhanced  by  the  quieter  tones  of  the  Chrysanthe¬ 
mums  ;  and  as  an  outdoor  flower,  at  the  time  of  my  inspection 
of  the  Heywood  Dahlias,  they  w’ ere  certainly  grander  than  the 
border  Chrysanthemums.  Mr.  Robinson,  whose  name  has  so 
long  been  familiarised  with  exhibition  Chrysanthemums,  does 
