September 2, 1905 



HORTICULTURE 



British Horticulture 



Colchester, the historic Essex town, has long been 

 held in affectionate regard by rosarians, for from this 

 centre come some of the chief jjrize winners at the 

 British summer shows. There are three firms at Col- 

 chester whose names usually figui-e prominently in the 

 prize lists, namely, Messrs. B. R. Cant & Sons, F. Cant 

 & Co., and Prior & Sons. Their nurseries are usually 

 a picture in the summer months, and they occupy a pic- 

 turesque position on the slope of a hill, with a southern 

 aspect. Messrs. F. Cant & Co., who are the owners of 

 Braiswick Eose Gardens, have a wide variety of all 

 sections of the "Queen of Flowers." Their new tea 

 rose, Lady Eoberts, which is of a rich, reddish apricot, 

 is meeting with considerable popularity. Messrs. B. E. 

 Cant & Sons of the Old Eose Gardens, Colchester, have 

 the distinction of winning the champion challenge 

 trophy of the National Eose Society given to nursery- 

 men on ten occasions, including this year. Their newest 

 introductions include Blush Eambler, an attractive 

 climbing polyantha; Ben Cant, a crimson H. P., and 

 Mrs. B. E. Cant, a useful Tea. Their new seedling 

 pillar rose, Maharajah, which has obtained an award of 

 merit from the Eoyal Horticultural Society, is a useful 

 addition to this section. These firms are likely to be 

 well represented at the autumn show now being ar- 

 ranged to take place at the Eoyal Horticultural Hall in 

 London next month. The autumn show was a new 

 departure introduced by the Society last year, and its 

 success justified the retenti'on of the fixture. 



A SWEET PEA ENTHUSIAST 



Mr. W. p. Wright, the secretary of the National 

 Potato Society and a well known horticultural expert, 

 was among the prize winners at the National Sweet 

 Pea Society's show. It will interest Horticultuke's 

 readers to know that Mr. W. Atlee Burpee of Philadel- 

 phia, one of the Society's vice-presidents, assisted in 

 the judging, and was able to exchange ideas at the 

 luncheon with many of the leading nurserymen on this 

 side. 



A short time ago I went down to Mr. Wright's delight- 

 ful residence in rural Kent, the county rightly named 

 the "Garden of England." Here are to be seen a 

 splendid collection of the leading varieties of sweet 

 peas grown to the best advantage. Besides the masses 

 of brilliant tints seen in the clumps, the flowers were 

 also effectively trained on trellis-work, a form of decora- 

 tion very useful for suburban gardens. Amongst the 

 varieties noted were the new trio introduced by Mr. 

 Henry Eckford, of Wcin. Shropshire, viz., Eomolo 

 Piazzani, Black Michael and David E. Williamson. 

 From the same raiser were seen that excellent Scarlet 

 Gem which is noted fur its free flowering. Lady 

 Abedore, a new pink, and Dora Breadmore, a pale buff, 

 lirought out by Mr. C. W. Breadmore of Winchester, 

 were making a good show. The others included Lord 

 Eoscbery, carmine; Gladys Unwin, pink shade; Bolton's 

 Pink, Florence Moquenx. stripes and flakes ; Miss Phil- 

 brick, blue; Orange Countess, and many others. Mrs. 

 Walter Wri'jht. a fine mauve, w-hich was brought out in 



1903 by Mr. Eckfi.rd, is named after Mr. Wright's wife, 

 who shares her hiisliand's enthusiasm for this charming 

 summer flower. 



A siocuetary's services 

 Mr. liicliard ])ran.* the secretary of tlie National 

 Chrysanthemum Society, lias lately l»vn |iiv>ciii.'d with 

 a cheque from the members, in recu-nii mn ..i his long 

 and valuable services. As far back a> 1n.">.s M]-. Dean 

 was associated in the promotion of a flower slunv, and 

 since that time lie has actively assisted in the chief 

 horticultural exhibitions which have been held. In 

 18-58 he was a valuable helper to the late Dean Hole in 

 the organization of tlic flrst show held by the National 

 Eose Society at the St. James's Hall, in London. In 

 the same year Mr. Dean was officially engaged at an 

 important show of dahlias held in the same place. 

 When the International Horticultural Exhibition was 

 held at South Kensington in 1866, Mr. Dean was 

 appointed assistant secretary. This was the finest dis- 

 play of the kind ever witnessed in England. The show 

 covered three aciv-. ami llie services of 110 judges were 

 required. It wa- -n, , (--lul in every respect, a surplus 

 of £3,000 being yi. I.IimL Later on Mr. Dean officiated 

 as judge at a serii's ot provincial shows organized by the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society. When the potato shows 

 were organized at I lie Crystal Palace. ^Ir. Dean was a 

 snc(T»rul cxhiliiliif. Till- Liavc a -rcat iiM)ictus to the 

 rai-iiiL; 'if in'w \arniM-> iii.tli in i-liiLihuHl ami America. 

 .\t ih.-c >h(ius ih.' AiiHTican intn..ln.-tinn. Smiw Flake, 

 realized 15s. a pound. This was considered a high price 

 in those days, but this value has been eclipsed by the 

 unique prices in the recent "l^oom," now a matter of 

 ancient history. 



SUCCESSFUL SHOW ORGAXIZIXG 



In 1892 and 1893 Mr. Dean had charge of the Inter- 

 national Exhibitions at Earl's Court, under Mrs. Milner, 

 the noted landscape gardener. Since 1890 he has held 

 the secretaryship of the National Chrysanthemum 

 Society. In 1900 when the bi-centenary of the intro- 

 duction of the sweet pea into Europe was celebrated. 

 Mr. Dean was secretary of the show held at the Crystal 

 Palace, and the National Sweet Pea Society was the 

 permanent outcome of the exhibition. Mr. Dean has 

 led a strenuous life. For over 50 years he has been a 

 contributor to the horticultural press, and he has offici- 

 ated as a judge in all parts of the kingdom, besides 

 lecturing I'm- ronniy councils and horticultural societies. 

 Mr. DoanV 'arlN •■xperience was gained with Mr. Tur- 

 ner at till' \\n\A\ Nurseries, Slough, and at one time he 

 was in charge of the seed business of Messrs. F. and A. 

 Dickson & Sons of Chester. As regards his many 

 activities Mr. Dean sometime ago stated, "If you^ ask 

 me to sum up my career I should say I have had a busy 

 life in flower show work." Asked as to whether he had 

 any predilection for any particular flower, Mr. Dean 

 answered : "I love all flowers, but if I have one predi- 

 lection it is for auriculas. I have grown a few of them 

 myself." This is a modest way of putting it. Mr. 

 Dean has raised several now varieties of auriculas which 

 have been certificated by the Eoyal Horticultural 

 Societv. 



>t:>v. ^^^ 



London, England, August 2, 190.!i 



