IRISH GARDENING. 



III. Sweet Pe.\s. 



Everybody said that July 20 was a mo.st un- 

 suitable date to select for the summer siiow of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society, and what everybody 

 says must be true. It would be loo late for roses, 

 too early for sweet peas. Who could possibly have 

 carnations in time, or dahlias? It was simply absiud. 

 And yet, somehow, the show was a distinct success 

 from an exhibitors point of view ; the roses were there 

 and the sweet peas -aje, and even the dahlias — all in 

 splendid condition. True, the carnations were not so well 

 represented, but what were shown were beauties. The 

 cold, unsummerlike weather we have been enduring^ 

 probably delayed the roses, but nolhinsj short of very 

 earlj- sowing, careful nurture in the cold spring days, 

 judicious shelter, close attention, generous feeding, en- 

 thusiasm — the enthusia.sm of the amateur could have 

 produced such sweet peas in such an imseason- 

 able July. Strangest of all, in such a l;«e sea.son, 

 nearly all the big prizes went to the North of Ireland, 

 where everything is supposed to be much later than in the 

 midland counties. The .Ardilaun cup for roses went to 

 the County Down, as also the Society's cup for carnations, 

 which was won right out this time by Dr. Mark 

 McDonald. The Edmondson cup, presented by Messrs. 

 Edmondson Brothers, for eighteen bunches of sweet 

 peas, went to the County .\rmagh, won also right out 

 by Mr. Edward Cowdy the third year in succession, 

 and the Nutting cup for nine bunches has gone to the 

 County Tyrone — though Kildare was very close at hand ; 

 the wonder of it is how this has been done — it has been 

 done, and we can only conclude that our Northern friends 

 are more enthusiastic about their shows ; we know they 

 attend in bigger numbers in Belfast than in Dublin, 

 and they have now shown us what they can do cul- 

 turally under such unfavourable conditions. 



It is probable that the close proximity of the world- 

 renowned nurseries at Newtownards, Belmont (Belfast), 

 and Portadown have been helpful to our Northern 

 amateurs, giving them a stimulus that we in the midland 

 and southern counties lack ; but be that as it maj', their 

 exhibits have been eye-openers, and we have yet 10 

 leani how it is done. 



Sweet peas filled almost entirely the huge 150-foot 

 tent ; true, there were some blanks owing to the late 

 season. We missed such consistent exhibitors and 

 prize-winners as Colonel Crichton, Miss Berta Doyne, 

 and others, who not only failed to exhibit, but also failed 

 to grace the show with their presence. About 600 

 bunches were staged, and the competition was so keen 

 that the judges, the Rev. MacDuff Simpson and Mr. 

 Digges, had no easy task — indeed, the chairman of 

 the Council, when handing them their credentials, 

 sympatheticallj' enquired if they would wish him to 

 wire to Portrane to secure accommodation for them 

 when they had finished. 



The Edmondson cup was won right out, as has been 

 mentioned, by Mr. Edward Cowdy, of Loughgall, with 

 blooms of enormous size and substance, great length 

 of stem and depth of colour, and though they may not 

 have been quite as clean as some of the other entries 

 in this class owing to climatic exigencies, the cultiva- 

 tion which produced such huge blooms could not be 



ignored. Lord Dunleath and Mr.s. Summers were 

 second and third respectively with flowers of excellent 

 quality, there being very little to choose between them. 

 .Mr. H. E. White and Miss Osborne were highly com- 

 mended for beautifull}' clean blooms, very nicely staged. 



There were no less than 17 entries for the ver\- hand- 

 some challenge cup presented by Sir John Nutting for 

 nine bunches, and here the judges had their greatest 

 difficulty owing to the super-excellence of nearly half 

 the entries. Eventually the cup was awarded to Mr. 

 James Hall, of .Moy, for magnificent blooms with great 

 depth of colour. Dr. O'Donel Browne being a very 

 close second, Lord Dunleath third, Mrs. .\lfred West 

 and Mrs. Goodbody each highly commended. 



Prizes were presented by Mr. Henrv ICckford, sweet 

 pea specialist of Wem, the pioneer of the great 

 improvement in sweet peas which has marked the close 

 of the last centurj- and the beginning of the present 

 one. First, for twelve bunches distinct varieties. For 

 this there were four entries, the awards being — Mr. 

 G. Hamilton Slubber, isl ; Mr. Michael Moran, 2nd ; 

 and the Marquis of Ormonde, 3rd — all being of very 

 even quality and in splendid condition. Second, for six 

 btmches distinct varieties, and here there were nineteen 

 entries, the prizes being awarded as follows, viz. : — Dr. 

 O'Donel Browne, 1st; Mr. R. J. C. Maunsell, 2nd; 

 Mis. Goodbody, 3rd ; Mr. C. W. Parr and Mr. F. \. 

 Westby each highly commended, the blooms being 

 perfectly wonderful considering the mixed samples of 

 weather of the present season. 



Prizes were, also offered in twenty classes for single 

 bunches selected from the Classification List of the 

 National Sweet Pea Society, and in these classes six 

 prizes were won by Mrs. Alfred West, six bj- .Mrs. 

 Fowler, three each by Mrs. Goodbodj- and Dr. O'Donel 

 Browne, two each by Miss Osborne, Miss A. J. M. 

 Smyth, Mr. James Hall, and Mr. C. W. Parr. Prizes 

 were also won in these classes by Mrs. Wylie, Mr. F. 

 \'. Westby, Miss J. .M. Field, and Mr. R. E. Odium. 

 This year does not appear to have been a good one for 

 blues, purples or magentas, as no awards were given 

 for these colours, but a very beautiful bunch o( Mid Blue, 

 a new variety, and which seems to be a truer blue than 

 any previously produced, was shown by Mr. H. E. 

 White, for which a special prize was rec'ommended by 

 the judges, this variety not being in the specification list. 



The feature of the show was the great ab.sence of the 

 older varieties in the winning exhibits and the over- 

 whelming excellence of the newer varieties as shown. 

 Evelyn Hemus, Helen Lewis, Mrs Hardcastle Sykes, 

 Elsie Herbert, Constance Oliver, Dodwell F. Browne, 

 Frank Dolby, Etta Dyke, Primrose Waved, .Mrs. 

 Charles Masters, and Mrs. .\. Ireland were all shown 

 in splendid form 



Mention must also be made of the magnificent collec- 

 tion of sweet peas exhibited by Messrs. .Alex. Dickson & 

 Sons, of Newtownards and Blackrock, spotlessly clean, 

 fresh, and beautifully staged, some of their new varieties 

 being most chaste flowers of delicate and bewitching 

 shades and of robust habit, such as Dickson's Lavender 

 Spencer, Dickson's Rose Spencer, Dickson's Primrose 

 Spencer, Navy Blue Spencer, Paradise Carmine, Prince 

 of .Asturias, The Marquis, Olive Ruft'ell, Mrs, Andrew 



