232 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



[ September 25, 1873. 



growing; and on my other plants, Blue Gown, many of the 

 leaves are 18 inches across. All who have seen them say they 

 never saw such magnificent plants. — Ghas. H. Page, Dulwich 

 House, Cardiff'. 



TABLE DECOEATIONS AT THE CRYSTAL 

 PALACE AUTUMN SHOW. 



The Table Decorations were of a novel character, inasmuch 

 as prizes were offered for a combination of fruit and flowers, 

 also for a centrepiece of Grapes with foliage. The difficulty of 

 the former was manifest in the want of harmony of colour and 

 form, as few of the exhibitors seemed equal to the task. In 

 both classes Mr. Hudson, of Denmark Hill, was greatly in 

 advance of his fellow competitors, his first-prize in the open 

 class being a truly artistic work. His using some large and 

 heavy-coloured flowers for his centre made his fruit-surround- 

 ings of equal value as regards colour. Nor was he at a loss for 

 light and delicate tints and blendiugs, which were well thought 

 out, and his colour carefully studied and carried through ; and 

 yet his materials were of the simplest kind. Take, for instance, 

 his stand with a Melon, a beautiful netted one, full of varied 

 greys, greens, and buffs. This he very skilfully set-off by 

 placing it on some Vine leaves variegated with the bright 

 crimson and yellow of autumn's decay, and so placed that the 

 tints of the Melon led into the brighter one of the leaves, 

 which were, as it were, garnished with Maidenhair Fern. Then, 

 again, how charming was his dish of Pears ! how carelessly, 

 and yet how pictorially, were his Grapes laid in their dish ! 

 In fact, taken altogether, his table was a great success. He 

 also had the honour of winning the first prize in the amateurs' 

 class with another excellent and well-arranged display, the 

 fruit and flowers bficig well balanced. 



Mr. Buster made a very fau' second with his flowers excel- 

 lently arranged, but his shortcoming was with the fruit. In 

 other cases the fruit totally overpowered the floral portion, 

 and, to use a sporting phrase, " had it all their own way." In 

 few instances was the fruit used as a decorative feature, and in 

 some it was almost hidden. This, of course, was in the worst 

 possible taste, and one of the exhibitors went so far as to 

 muddle his Grapes in such peculiar manner as more to represent 

 ill-arranged Damsons. As regards the centre group for a table, 

 Mr. Bones was a good first simply with black and white Grapes 

 well thrown together with Vine leaves and Ferns on a two-tier 

 glass. Good as this was, it might have been far better if a 

 few red Grapes had been introduced, or some of difi'erent 

 colours with Vine leaves in the colour of autumn. The rest 

 of the exhibits in this class went all the wrong way, the Grapes 

 being in most instances partially, and in some cases nearly, 

 hidden by Ferns, Coleus, and other leaves, and in one a tazza 

 had some will-polishcd Apples. In short, there was but little 

 novelty or originality and a sad want of thought and taste, 

 Mr. Hudson showing more knowledge of the subtleness of 

 art than we have seen for some time. Still, the Show was 

 particularly useful as it was decidedly instructive, and we hope 

 is but the prelude of far- better things, as it is clear that it is 

 one thing to decorate a table with flowers only, and quite 

 another to dispose fruit amongst them in such a manner as to 

 be useful and yet ornamental, and so to unite the two that they 

 may form one harmonious whole of the highest class of table 

 decoration. — W. 



HAGUE'S SEEDLING POTATO. 



In your .Journal of the 28th ult. Mr. R. Fenn, of Woodstock, 

 states of the Potato caDed Hague's Seedling (or Hague's Kid- 

 ney, for I presume they are the same), that it was raised by a 

 son of Major Hague, near Leeds, from seeds of some Potatoes 

 which he received from Harewood, and the said gentleman 

 appeals to five brothers as to the fact. One cannot reasonably 

 doubt such a statement; but, as Mr. Fenn goes ou to remark, 

 with respect to the Lapstoue Ividney, said in the same article 

 to have been first named by Mr. Fuller, of Headingly — " there 

 are a great many Lapstone Kidneys under as many aliases ;" 

 so, on the other hand, may there not be more than one va- 

 riety of Potato under the same name of Hague's Seedling ? 

 At all events I can vouch for the accuracy of the followLug. 

 Some years since (I cannot state how many) a gentleman 

 named Hodgekiuson resided at Barnby Moor, Notts, ou the 

 Great Northern road. He being on a tour of pleasure on the 

 Continent, brought home with him from France a Potato 

 which he gave to his gardener, an old man named Hague, to 



raise stock for him. A fine second early Potato was the re- 

 sult, which he called " Hague's Seedhng," after the old man 

 who had the care of it, and he distributed samples of it among 

 his neighbours and friends. In this way I obtained a sample 

 of it, and have grown it ever since, and now have the pleasure 

 to send you the produce of one root, just taken up, that you 

 may judge of its quaUty and productiveness. — Octogenarius. 



[We showed your specimens to one who is well conversant 

 with Potatoes, and he says, " This appears to be simply another 

 variety of the old Lapstone, which reproduces itself from seed 

 very readily."] 



PINE APPLES IN NEW ZEALAND. 

 I am not aware of any Pine Apples being under cultivation in 

 Canterbury at the present day. Our supplies of this fruit 

 during oui- winter come from Queensland, arriving first at 

 Sydney and Melbourne with other tropical fruits, thence here, 

 after being knocked about very much at the above places, and 

 by the time they reach us they are very much disfigured and 

 bruised, which does not improve their flavour. Another thing 

 I observe about them — they have been cut when the pips are 

 only half their size, consequently they must be almost in a 

 green state when packed to travel. What little colour they 

 do acquire is during the voyage, no doubt. This may account 

 for their being almost tasteless, and having very little juice. 

 On their arrival here, to say the best of them, they are only of 

 third-rate quality, and are very different from those under 

 cultivation at home, with large, flat, swelled pips. I am given 

 to understand that they undergo a routine of cultivation in 

 Queensland the same as other tropical fruits. They usually 

 arrive here with Sydney Oranges, which I can assure you are 

 very plentiful every winter, and sell for a penny each. By the 

 cylindrical form of the fruit, and the average weight, 2J lbs. 

 (half ripe), small spines, little crowns, they appear to be the 

 old Queen variety — minus its bright yellow, juicy, and sweet 

 flesh, with its very pleasant acid — considered one of the best 

 and most useful of Pine Apples. No doubt the same might be 

 the case in Queensland, if the people there would only allow 

 them to arrive at maturity before removing them from the 

 parent stools.^ William Swale, .■ironside Botanic Garden, 

 Canterbury, N.Z. 



POT-TKUCK FOR REMOVING FRUIT TREES 

 IN LARGE POTS. 



It is well known that the flavour of Peaches and Nectarines 

 grown in pots is much improved if the trees are carried out 

 into the open air a week or ten days before the fruit is ripe ; 

 but it is rather difficult 

 to move trees in 18-inch 

 pots with branches down 

 to the bottom, extend- 

 ing 2 feet on each side, 

 without either injuring 

 the branches or shaking 

 off some of the fruit. 

 To get over this diffi- 

 culty I have had a 

 machinemade, of which 

 I send you a drawing. 

 It answers the purjjose 

 admuably. 



By means of slots in 

 the axle, and also in the 

 upright bearers which 

 carry the clips, I adjust 

 the latter to about the 

 proper height and width 

 of pots to be removed, 

 and when these are pro- 

 perly set, pots measur- 

 ing from 11 to 18 inches 

 can be removed without 

 alteriug any thing except 

 the two handles, which 

 lie on the cross-bar of 

 the truck. When I wish 

 to remove a pot I adjust these handles, so that the points of 

 the clips are a little wider than the bottom diameter of the 

 pot; next elevate the handles of the truck, and slip the clips 

 round the bottom of the pot ; then, by depressing the handles 



