520 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  3,  1903 
had  the  heaviest.  Chrysanthemums,  but  there  was  a  scarcity  of 
flowers  and  a  lack  of  finish  in  the  front  part  of  the  group.  Mr. 
Tho.s.  Reay  was  3rd,  with  a  bright  bank  of  flowers. 
Bouquets  and  Epebgnes. — As  previously  mentioned,  these  are 
.'-pecial  features  at  South  Shields.  The  display  created  a  great 
attraction  to  the  v’ery  large  body  of  visitor's.  In  addition  to  the 
1st  prize  of  £2.  for'  a  bouquet,  an  additional  special  prize  of 
£2  2.S.  is  offered.  Messre.  Perkins  and  Sons,  Coventry,  were  1st 
with  a  very  liglit  and  elegant  arrangement  in  their  well-known 
style;  2,  Mr.  Ja.s.  Summers,  florist,  Sunderland,  whose  group 
was  heavy  in  the  body;  3,  Miss  Dora  Summei's;  4,  Mr.  Webster, 
Sunderland.  In  the  co.i’responding  class  for  a  bridal  bouquet, 
Mr.  Jas.  Summers  was  1st,  Messrs.  Perkins  and  Sons  following 
very  closely.  For  an  epergne,  Mr.  T.  Pattison,  M’est  Hartlepool, 
was  1st,  and  Mr.  J.  Summei’s  2nd.  For  a  Chry.santhemum 
epergne,  Mr.  T.  Battensby,  Blaydon,  was  1st.  The  other  local 
classes  for  epergnes  were  very  creditable.  For  ladies’  sprays  and 
buttonholes  IMe.^srs.  Perkins'  and  Sons,  G.  Hilliar  (Darlington), 
J.  Summers,  and  T.  Battensby  were  the  most  successful 
exhibitors. 
The  show  of  vegetables  in  the  ba'-ement  of  the  hall  was  a  very 
fine  one,  but  the  fruit,  as  in  other  places  this  year,  was  scarce. 
A  very  effective  collection  of  Celovsias,  Chrysanthemums,  and 
other  plants  was  staged  in  front  of  the  orchestra  by  Me.s3rs. 
Clibran  and  Son,  and  a  table  of  winter-flowering  Carnations,  in 
vases,  came  from  G.  Boyes  and  Co.,  Aylestone,  Leicester.  Others 
contributed  non-competitive  groups. 
To  the  Hon.  Secretaries,  Mr.  Bernard  Cowan,  F.R.H.S.,  and 
Mr.  Thomas  A.  Binks,  Mr.  Alex.  Purvis  and  Mr.  J.  E.  Stout 
(chairmen  of  committees),  with  Mr.  J.  T.  Reed  and  Mr.  C.  C. 
Walton,  Hon.  Treasurers,  much  of  the  success  of  the  show  is  due  ; 
and  the  staging  was  ably  caried  out  by  Mr.  J.  Thompson  and 
hlr.  A.  C-.  Wood.  The  'judges  ivere  :  For  cut  bloonrs — Messrs. 
J.  W.  Moorman,  Victoria  Park.  London ;  C.  Orchard,  Bembridge, 
I.-^le  of  Wight;  and  Mr.  M.  D.  Thompson,  gr.  to  Sir  Lindsay 
W'ood,  Bart.,  Chest er-le-Street,  and  Mr.  R.  Robson,  Superinten¬ 
dent,  Blythe  Park. — C.  O. 
Scottish  Horticultural  Association. 
The  monthly  meeting  was  held  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday, 
December  1,  in  Dowell’s  Rooms.  There  was  a  very  large  attend¬ 
ance  of  members,  and  after  the  nomination  of  nineteen  life  and 
over  a  score  of  ordinary  members,  BIr.  Smale,  gardener  Blackford 
Park,  Edinburgh,  read  a  most  interesting  paper  on  “  Hybrid 
Strejjtocarpi  and  their  Culture.”  Blr.  Smale  began  his  remarks 
with  an  account  of  the  introdTiction  of  the  various  species  of 
Strcptocarpus  and  their  hybridisation,  mentioning  that  Me.ssrs. 
Veitch,  of  Chelsea,  had  been  the  first  in  the  trade  to  introduce 
the  present  race  of  hybrids.  Mr.  Smale  then,  in  a  lucid  and  very 
interesting  Avay,  described  his  practice  in  raising  and  cultivating 
from  seed,  from  cuttings,  and  from  division  of  the  roots.  Mr. 
Smale’s  paper  was  highly  instructive,  and  was  listened  to  with 
the  greatest  interest.  An  animated  discussion  followed,  taken 
part  in  by  Mr.  Comfort,  Mr.  "Whyttock,  Blr.  Grieve,  Mr.  Lament 
and  others.  A  most  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  awarded  to 
Mr.  Smale. 
Exhibits  were  not  numerous,  but  were  very  attractive.  Mr. 
Wood,  gardener,  Oswald  Hou.se,  sent  a  very  beautiful  specimen 
of  Cattleya  labiata,  with  about  twenty  blooms.  Mr.  Smale 
exhibited  (in  illustration  of  his  paper)  a  beautiful  vase  of 
Streptocarpi,  very  varied  in  colour.  Blr.  Davie,  seedsinan,  Had¬ 
dington,  exhibited  specimens  of  his  new  Potatoes — Dunion,  King 
Loth,  and  Warrior.  Mr.  Todd,  florist,  Shandwick  Place, 
('xhibited  a  very  handsome  vase  of  Souvenir  d’un  Amie,  grown 
for  decorative  purposes ;  also  a  very  beautiful  vase  of  forced 
Daffodils. 
After  a  short  statement  as  to  the  financial  results  of  the  recent 
highly  successful  exhibition,  it  was  agreed  that  next  year’s 
Chrysanthemum  Show  be  held  on  November  17,  18,  and  19,  1904. 
Royal  Meteorological. 
The  opening  meeting  of  this  society  for  the  present  session 
was  held  on  Wednesday  evening,  the  18th  ult.,  at  the  Institu¬ 
tion  of  Civil  Engineers,  Great  George  Street,  We.stminster ; 
flapt.  D.  Wilson-Barker,  F.R.S.E.,  President,  in  the  chair. 
Dr.  H.  R.  Blill  and  Air.  R.  G.  K.  Lempfert  gave  an  elaborate 
and  intere.sting  paper  on  “The  Great  Dustfall  of  February. 
1903,  and  its  Origin.”  From  the  maps  exhibited  it  appears 
plain  that  the  dust  reported  on  February  21  or  22  fell  over 
nearly  all  parts  of  England  and  Wales  to  the  south  of  a  line 
drawn  from  .\nglesey  to  Ip.swich,  except  in  parts  of  North  Corn¬ 
wall,  Somerset,  Wilts  and  mid  Wales. 
The  du.st  usually  attracted  attention  either  in  the  form  of  a 
dense  yellow  haze,  like  a  London  fog,  or  as  a  reddish-yellow 
powder  lying  thickly  on  trees  and  roofs.  The  fall  was  often 
accompanied  by  temperatures  considerably  above  the  average 
and  by  remarkably  low  relative  humidities.  In  order  to  ascer¬ 
tain  whether  the  compovsition  of  the  dust  threw  any  light  on  its 
origin,  about  fifty  samples  were  submitted  to  the  Geological 
Survey,  and  examined  by  Dr.  J.  S.  Flett.  In  addition  to  the 
coarser  particles,  all  the  .samples  contained  a  very  fine  grained 
reddish  clay,  the  particles  of  which  were  too  minute  to  be  deter¬ 
mined  mincralogically.  This  clay  was  certainly  derived  from 
some  source  beyond  the  Briti.sh  Isles,  bub  it  was  not  di.stinctive 
enough  to  afford  much  evidence  as  to  its  place  of  origin.  Maps 
have  been  constructed  showing  the  distribution  of  the  dust  and 
the  meteorological  conditions  prevailing  over  the  xjeriod  when  it 
appeared.  These  form  the  basis  of  a  discussion  by  Mr.  Lempfert 
as  to  tile  place  of  origin  and  the  direction  of  travel  of  the  air 
which  was  passing  over  We.stern  Europe  at  the  time  in  question. 
The  trajectories  of  the  air  which  reached  the  southern  half 
of  England  can  be  traced  backwards  in  a  south-westerly  direc¬ 
tion  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Azores,  but  here  it  turns  to 
the  south,  and  finally  to  the  south-east,  and  is  carried  back  to 
the  north-west  coast  of  Africa  on  the  morning  of  the  19th.  The 
authors  are  therefore  of  opinion  that  there  is  rea.son  to  believe 
that  the  air  which  reached  the  southern  half  of  England  on  the 
22nd  started  from  the  north-west  coast  of  Africa  on  the  19th, 
and  they  consider  this  affords  strong  evidence  of  the  African 
origin  of  the  dust,  and  of  its  having  travelled  to  North-west 
Europe  by  a  path  not  very  different  from  that  indicated  by  the 
trajectories. 
Metropolitan  Public  Gardens. 
Opex  Spaces. — At  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Meti’opolitan 
Public  Gardens  Association,  held  at  83,  Lanca.ster  Gate,  W.,  the 
Hon.  Dudley  F.  Fortescue,  Vice-Chainnan,  presiding,  a  communi¬ 
cation  'was  received  from  the  recently  formed  Midlands  Re¬ 
afforesting  Society,  and  it  was  agreed  to  express  the  warm 
sympathy  of  the  association  with  this  movement-  for  planting 
with  trees  the  ugly  waste  heaps  which  occupy  so  large  an  area 
of  the  “Black  Country.”  It  was  agreed  to  ask  the  Metropolitan 
Boi’ough  Councils  to  co-operate  in  appealing  to  the  House  of 
Lords  against  the  recent  decision  of  the  Court  of  Appeal,  whereby 
it  was  held  that  buildings  could  be  erected  upon  the  boundaries 
of  a  public  recreation  ground,  thereby  depriving  it  of  .sunlight 
and  air,  instead  of  being  set  back  a  reasonable  distance  therefrom, 
as  would  be  the  case  if  the  ground  were  privately  owned. 
It  was  stated  that  the  London  School  Board  were  arranging 
to  acquire  Wyclift'e  Chapel,  Stepney,  and  the  extensive  disused 
burial  ground  belonging  to  it,  for  school  purposes,  which  might 
lead  in  the  future  to  the  appropriation  of  this  valuable  space  for 
building  purposes  in  contravention  of  the  Disused  Burial  Grounds 
Acts,  and  it  was  decided  to  ask  the  Board  to  choose  some  more 
suitable  site  for  a  school,  and  one  which  would  be  free  from 
this  objection.  Correspondence  was  read  with  the  London 
County  Council  in  reference  to  St.  Peter’s  Square,  Hammer¬ 
smith,  which  is  in  danger  of  being  built  upon,  the  Council  feeling 
unable  to  contribute  to  the  oast  of  purchase  owing  to  the  ex¬ 
cessive  price.  Great  interest  was  shown  in  the-  proposals  of  the 
Council  for  securing  the  preservation  of  London  square  gardens 
and  similar  enclosures,  inasmuch  as  the  association  had  been 
instrumental  in  acquiring  and  laying  out  some  twenty  grounds 
of  this  character,  which  ithe  public  now'  enjoy,  but  .since  the 
Council  had  become  a  purcha.ser  at  building  values,  it  had  not 
been  possible  to  acquire  such  .sites  by  negotiation  as  heretofore. 
It  was  decided  to  await  the  embodimenti  of  the  proposals  in 
a  Bill  before  expressing  an  opinion  thereon.  Progress  w’as  re¬ 
ported  with  regard  to  schemes  for  acquiring  an  extension  to 
Hamp.stead  Heath,  Springfield  Estate,  ; Upper  Clapton,  and  the 
Norfolk  Square  area,  Islington.  Proposals  for  tree  planting  in 
Bedford  Row,  W.C.,  Queen’s  Road,  Battersea,  St.  Thomas’s 
Street,  S.E.,  Brixton  Road,  St.  George’s  and  St.  Saviour’s 
Churchyards,  Battersea,  were  agreed  to,  and  it  was  decided  to 
ask  the  Governors  of  St.  Thomas’s  Hospital  to  preserve  the 
triangular  space  in  Lambeth  Palace  Road.  Schemes  for  dealing 
with  churchyards  in  Poplar  and  Stratford,  West  Square,  South¬ 
wark,  and  many  other  sites  were  under  consideration. 
Wargrave  Chrysanthemum  Show. 
The  object  of  this  show’  is  referred  to  under  “  Reader.s’  Views.” 
In  this  place  we  furnish  a  short  report.  A.  B.  Gill,  E.sq.  (gr., 
Mr.  W.  Pope)  had  a  very  effective  group  of  foliage  plants.  Mr. 
M.  Brodie,  gr.  to  S.  Platt,  Esq.,  showed  a  large  bank  of  Chry.s- 
anthemums.  Mr.  T.  Powell,  gr.  to  Blrs.  Noble,  had  a  large 
group  of  specimen  stove  plants.  Blr.  A.  McKenzie,  gr.  to  Mrs. 
Groves,  a  group  of  well-grown  Chrysanthemums  and  foliage 
plants.  Mr.  G.  Wicks,  gr.  to  Mrs.  Lawrence,  a  splendid  table  cf 
dwarf  Chrysanthemums,  Begonias,  Palms,  Cyclamens,  and  Fern.'. 
Mr.  W.  Scott,  gr.  to  Captain  Coleridge,  a  large  table  of  well- 
grown  Gloire  de  Lorraine  and  Turnford  Hall  Begonias.  Air. 
Turnham,  gr.  to  W.  H.  Barber,  Esq.,  filled  a  large  space  with  cut 
Chry.santhemums  in  vases.  Mr.  Bazoly,  Twyford  Nurseries,  sent 
a  group  of  Succulents  and  a  harp  of  Chrysanthemums.  Mr. 
Priest,  gr.  to  J.  Tarbutt,  Esq.,  a  table  of  foliage  plants.  Air. 
Goddai'd,  gr.  to  C.  S.  Henry,  E.sq.,  a  long  table  of  well-grown 
Primulas,  Chry.santhemums,  Cyclamens,  Ferns.  Air.  Strachen, 
gr.  to  Lady  Donaldson,  a  splendid  exhibit  of  cut  Chrysanthemum ' 
arranged  with  gras.ses.  From  Park  Place  came  ba.skets  of  Lilies, 
fruits,  berries,  foliage,  lyre  of  Bougainvillea,  new'  Potatoes,  Ac. 
