142 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Accetia microphylla are extremely decorative 

 with their crimson colour, and for a bit of 

 exquisitely-coloured foliage it would be hard to 

 beat the autumn g-rowth oi Corydalis opiiiocarpa. 

 With Scabiosa graminifolia and Thvrnus strictus 

 we must bring- the August list to a close, 

 though it might be lengthened. 



Many of these plants and others will be 

 found to last well into September, notably the 

 scarlet Zaiischneria californica ; also, various 

 spring-flowering rock-plants have a delightful 

 way of sending up little vivid autumn sprays of 

 bloom. But September is not altogether 

 without flowers of its own. Several of the best 

 oi the Sedums, for instance, only now come 

 into bloom, notably S. spectabilc and its 

 varieties, and S. Sicbohiii ; Plumbago Larpentce, 

 one of the very best of rock-plants, brightens 

 the September days with its gentian-blue 

 flowers and red fading foliage ; and, later still, 

 no rock-gardener should be without Saxifraga 

 Forlunei and S. coi'/uscefo/ia, planted in a 

 position slightly shaded overhead, that in chill 

 October they may expand their lovely panicles 

 of white blossoms without fear of injury from 

 frost. 



Roses. 



By O'DONEL BROWNE, M.D. 



A QUESTION often asked is — how are roses 

 judgfed at shows? They are sometimes judged 

 anyhow — but, if the National Rose Society's code 

 of rules are used or acknowledged by the show com- 

 mittee, and if the judges adhere closely to these rules, 

 then their onus and responsibility are somewhat made 

 easy. It tnkes a good rose-grower to judge roses 

 properly ; anyone cannot judge a rose. Another point 

 in judging roses is the quality. It is easier to iudge 

 well-grown stuff than roses of inferior quality. 

 These are the rules of judging : — 



1. Roses must he fudged as they are in the boxes at the 

 time of inspection. No;other consideration is admissible. 



2. Firstly dismiss from consideration all boxes mani- 

 ^esfly inferior. 



3. Then compare those which remain. 



4. The following, whejiever necessary, shall be the 

 method of comparison — 



(a) One of the judges shall name a number of poitifs 

 for each rose. 



{b) Theother judges (there should be three altogether) 

 shall stand by and stop him when they do not agree, one 

 putting down on paper the number of points. These 

 are added up at the end. 



(r) Three points should be given for high-class blooms, 

 hvo for medium, one for one not so good, but not bad 

 enough to cut out, and one or even two extra points for 

 an extra superior bloom. Deduct one point for every 

 decidedly bad flower. No points given to a flower left 

 tied. A typical three-pointed bloom should be fixed on 

 prior to judging, and should be carried as a reference 

 for standard. 



{d) Trebles are counted as a unit. 



(e) No favouritism to Teas in a mixed class. 



if) Where points are even — then evenness of blooms, 

 then freshness, arrangement, &c., may be considered. 

 They should be compared side by side in the same light. 



A bloom should be taken to mean a rose, with or with- 

 out buds and foliage, as cut from the plant. 



A truss should be taken to mean a stem of wood of any 

 size, with shoots, blooms, buds and foliage thereon, as 

 cut from a plant. 



A good rose. The highest type of bloom is one which 

 has form, size, brightness, substance, and good foliage, 

 and which is, at time of judging, in its most perfect 

 phase oi' beauty. 



A bad rose. Faulty shape, confused or split centre, 

 faded colour, undersized, or oversized to extent of 

 coarseness or over-blooming. 



Form shall imply — petals abundant and of good sub- 

 stance, regularly and gracefully arranged within a 

 circular outline, and having a well-formed centre. 



Size implies that the bloom is a full-size representative 

 specimen of the variety. 



Brig/ifncss includes —freshness, brilliancy, purity oi 

 colour. There are other rules, some very important, 

 such as dressing a flower wrongly, duplicates, added 

 foliage, &c., that disqualify. Re duplicates, the question 

 oi them shall not be re-opened after the awards are 

 made — but it is most important /or judges to be able to 

 detect duplicates. The italics are mine. 



F"rom the above you will see that a judge has no small 

 amount of responsibility when he agrees to judge roses 

 at a show, so do not agree to judge unless you are 

 going to do your work conscientiously. Secretaries and 

 committees should pay especial heed to whom they allo- 

 cate this duty to. All local show committees over the 

 country should, if possible, arrange that there is at least 

 one good rose grower among the judges. He may by 

 a timely word keep the other judges from doing untold 

 harm. The late Dean Hole stated that judges could be 

 divided under three heads: — (i.) The man who grows 

 and knows roses to perfection ; his opinion is worth a 

 good deal. (2.) A good all-round judge; his opinion 

 will be on the whole fairly correct. (3.) The man who 

 is put to judge roses because he once grew onions ; 

 well, he may be a most excellent man — but to the latter 

 I would say, says the Dean — " Cassio, I love thee, but 

 never more be officer of mine." Cases from time to 

 time crop up (this year has been a fruitful one) where a 

 mistake makes the whole camp hum, and it is to guard 

 against these petty frictions that I have written this 

 article, in the hope that in future our shows and their 

 committees may be a credit to us. No one likes lodging 

 an objection to a brother exhibitor because he has not 

 had his faults made open by the judges. Nor is it always 

 the judges' fault. Most shows are very lax as to the 

 time allowed to exhibitors, with the result that the 

 judges must scamp their work, maybe to catch a train. 

 If a man condescends to judge at a show, then treat 

 him with proper courtesy, and have all ready for him at 

 the appointed hour, and do not expect him to do too 

 much for you in a short while. Another point, often 

 missed by those who have to engage the judges, is that 

 they do not engage their judges early enough. Judges 

 should be given due time to settle their own affairs, and 

 not at the last moment should they be asked to perform 

 a " most thankless work," save in very exceptional 

 cases. Enough. 



g^W 8^^ e^* 



Gardening helps body, mind and spirit. It gives 

 exercise in air and quiet ; it stimulates thought, calls 

 out resources and quickens curiosity ; it induces tender 

 ways and gentle patience, and it forces the acknowledg- 

 ment of dependence on a Power greater than our own, 

 and beyond our control. . . . He who makes a 

 flower grow gets some good for himself, and he also 

 gives good to every passer-by who sees its beauty. The 

 gardener is blessed and blesses. Why is not everyone, 

 for some portion of his time, a gardener? 



— Rev. Cctnoti A. Bennett, 



