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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t August 20, 1868. 



chiefly on that day. In many cases the man who attends the 

 house finds it the worst day of the seven. 



Now in the one case, whilst the gardener must see his plants 

 do not suffer on Sunday, he, in our opinion, would be quite 

 light if he courteously declined to enter on mere matters of 

 business on that day. We have known cases of the ablest men 

 of the day leaving their places because they found themselves 

 unable to prevent the Sunday being made the chief business 

 day. "We believe that such Sunday work is anything but a 

 benefit to all the parties concerned. In supplying the esta- 

 bUshment there need be no difficulty in getting most of such 

 work done in the morninp;, if the head of the establishment 

 would make a few simple arrangements accordingly. 



Then as to the case in hand, we shall never be able to make 

 plants in pots so intelligent as " to take care of themselves " 

 in all cases on Sunday, and just as we would feed a horse 

 when he needed it, so would we without hesitation give a little 

 water to a drooping plant ; but though we should never ques- 

 tion this as a work of necessity, if not of mercy, we would on 

 the other hand never allow the principle to be made the excuse 

 for keeping the man in charge on Sunday, or the gardener 

 in a small place, almost if not as much employed on Sunday 

 as on other days. "Whilst a dry plant is not to be left dry, we 

 think it wrong, unless in extreme cases, to require a gardener 

 to water as much, if not more, on the day of rest as he woulcf 

 require to do in one of the regular sis working days. In fully 

 one-half of the year very seldom will a plant in a pot need 

 ■watering, and even in the height of the summer such watering 

 will be little needed if the plants are looked over in the last 

 ■working hours on Saturday afternoon or evening. By such a 

 simple arrangement we think our correspondent and his gar- 

 dener may work comfortably together without any wounding of 

 a tender conscience on the one hand, or taking undue moral 

 reBponsibihty on the other.] 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



August ISth. 



Fruit Comitittee. — G. F. Wilson, Esq., F.R.S.. in the chair. At 

 this meeting there was a long schedule of prizes offered for Tarions 

 Hnds of fruit, which produced a larger exhibition than ordinary, and 

 brought out some very fine dishes, particnlarly of Plums, Pears, and 

 Melons. A large and valuable collection of Figs from the Society's 

 garden at Chiswick contributed much to the interest of the meeting. 



For Plums there were seven competitions, all of which were good. 

 After a careful examination the first prize was awarded to Mr. Whiting, 

 of The Deepdene, for .Jeflfersou, Miss Bnrdett Contts. and Washing- 

 ton; the last remarkable for size, colour, and flavour. The second 

 prize was obtained by Mr. Tillery, of Welbeck, for splendid samples 

 of Jefferson, Kirke's, and Cox's Emperor, all of which were fine, but 

 the flavour of the latter two was not equal to that of the fruit in Mr. 

 "Whiting's collection. Tho other competitors, all of whom made most 

 creditable exhibitions, were Mr. Cos, of Ivedleaf; Mr. S. Ford, of 

 Leonardslee ; Mr. MUes, of Wycombe Abbey ; Mr. Beach, St. Julien's, 

 Sevenoaks ; and Mr. Smith, Manor House, East Acton. 



For Melons there were five competitors. Mr. Goldsmith, of Poles- 

 den Lacey, Dorking, sent a scarlet-fleshed Melon, which was not con- 

 sidered worthy of a prize ; but his Marquis of Ailsa, green flesh, was 

 very good. Mr. Earley. of Digswell, exhibited the same variety also 

 good. Mr. Whiting, of The Deepdene, sent a hybrid green-flesh, with 

 firm flesh and good flavour. The first prize was awarded to Mr. 

 Goldsmith for Marquis of Ailsa, and the second to Mr. Whiting, of 

 The Deepdene. 



In. the competition for early Apples Mr. Cox, of Redleaf, exhibited 

 Kerry Pippin ; Mr. Ford had Devonshire Quarrenden ; Mr. Earley, of 

 Digswell, Sngarloaf Pippin and Duchess of Oldenburgh, both of which 

 "were over-ripe. Mr. Miles, of Wycomh Abbey, sent fine specimens of 

 Cellini unripe ; and Mr. Beach, of St. Julien's, sent Devonshire 

 Quarrenden. The first prize was awarded to the Kerry Pippin of Mr. 

 Cox, and the second to the Devonshii'e Quarrenden of Mr. Ford. 



For early Pears there were three competitors. Mr. Smith, gardener 

 to C. Walton, Esq., East Acton, exhibited Windsor under the name of 

 Jargonelle. Mr. Koberts, Holwood, sent Jargonelle, which received a 

 second prize, there being no other dish to which a first prize could be 

 awarded. Mr. Ford sent Williams's Bon Chretien, which was unripe. 



For the best Peaches grown on an open wall Mr. Beach sent Eoyal 

 George ; and Mr. Cox, of Kedleaf, sent Noblesse, Early IVIi,gnonne, 

 Acton Scott, and Red Magdalen. The first prize was awarded to Mr. 

 Cox for Noblesse, and the second to Mr. Beach for Eoyal George. 



For the best dish of Nectaiines grown, on an open wall, Mr. Beach 

 sent Elruge ; Mr Smith, East Acton, sent a mixed dish of Elrugo 

 and Pitmaston Orange ; Mr. Roberts sent the New White ; and Mr. 

 Cox sent Ehage. The fiist prize went to Mr. Roberts ; no second 

 •was awarded. From the Society's garden at Chiswick came the Ba!- 

 gowan, which far exceeded all the others in flavour. 



In Apricots, Mr. Mclndoe, gardener to the Archbishop of York, 

 sent a dish which was very rich in flavour, and apparently Moorpark 

 or Peach, to which the first prize was awarded. 



For the best dish of Peaches grown in au orchard house. Mr. Gold- 

 smith sent Noblesse, Mr. Ford sent Malta, Mr. Tillery, Barrington, 

 and Mr. Douglas, Loxford Hall, Dford, sent Bellegarde under the 

 name of TOton de Venus. The first prize was awarded to Mr. 

 Douglas, and the second to Mr. Goldsmith. 



For the best dish of Nectarines grown in au orchard house, the ex- 

 hibitions constituted the most attractive and best part of the subjects 

 produced. The Elruge of Mr. Ford, and the Rivers's Pine Apple of 

 Mr. Douglas, were especially attractive. Mr. Ford also sent Violette 

 H;itive, Mr. MUes sent Elruge, and Mr. Tillery sent Violette Hative. 

 The first prize was awarded to Mr. Douglas for Rivers's Pino Apple ; 

 the second to Mr. Miles. The Stanwick came from the garden at 

 Chiswick, and was prononnced remarkably fine. 



A collection of Peaches was sent by Mr. Rivers, Cornice de Bour- 

 bourg was not ripe. The others were Golden Rathripe, an Americaa 

 variety, similar to Crawford's Early ; S 18, a seedling from the Snow 

 Peach of America, with little flavour; S 55, a seedling from the 

 White Nectarine, was very rich in flavour, having a rich saccharine 

 juice ; S 194, a seedling from Cooledge's Favourite, was of delicious 

 tiavonr, and was awarded a first-class certificate ; S 7-i, a seedling 

 from Montague prtcoce and Madeleine Blanche, of rich flavour. 

 Reine Claude Bodaert is a lar.,'e round Plum, in appearance like 

 Hnling's Superb, and of rich flavour. Reine Claude rouge d'Althail 

 is remarkably rich in flavour. 



Mr. Carmichael. of Sandringham, sent a seedling Grape, raised 

 from the Black Hamburgh, and which was said to he superior in 

 colour, more round in berry, and distinct in foliage from that variety. 

 The bunch exhibited was of good size, the berries quite round and jet 

 black, the skin thick, and the flesh tender, juicy, and sweet. 



Mr. Melville, of Dalmeny Park, Edinbnrgh, sent a small piece of a 

 Imnch of a seedling Grape of very early character, which has all tho 

 appearance of Early Kienzheim, hut with a fine flavour of Moselle 

 wine. Mr. Melville was invited to send a complete bunch, so that the 

 Committee might be enabled to form a better opinion of its value. 



Mr. Fleming, of Cliveden, sent fruit of a Fig from Spain, of deli- 

 cious flavour, which was highly approved by the Committee. 



Mr. Pearson, of Chilwell, sent two seedling Grapes, raised from the 

 Strawberry Grape ; one with a round black berry with a fine bloom, 

 thick skin, and firm, fleshy, and somewhat mucilaginous consistency, 

 like the American Grapes : the other, white, is a long oval berry, 

 raised from a cross between the White Muscat of Alexandria and 

 Strawberry. This is the more remarkable Grape of the two, and one 

 which may be in many respects considered one of the most remarkable 

 of Grapes, inasmuch as the flavour is entirely new, diftering very 

 materially from that of the Strawberry Grape, and the flesh possesses 

 none of that mucilaginous character found in the American Grapes ; 

 the consistency is, in fact, as tender and melting as in the Black 

 Hamburgh. 



Mr. Muir, gardener to Sir Philip De M. Grey Egerton, sent two 

 Melons, named Prince of Wales and Green Gage, but neither of them 

 was in condition. Mr. Cox, of Madresfield Court, sent handsome 

 bunches of Madresfield Court Grape, but they were scarcely ripe, 

 though exhibiting all the evidences of being an excellent Grape. 



Mr. Francis Dancer, of Little Sutton, Chiswick, made an extraor- 

 dinaiy exhibition of Plums, which were shown in branches, like ropes 

 of Onions. Tho varieties were Poupart's and Mitchelson's, besides 

 Small's Admirable Apple and Jersey Gratioli Pear, which were also 

 shown in immense clusters of ten together. The Committee unani- 

 mously awarded a special certificate to Mr. Dancer for this wonderfnl 

 collection. 



Floral Costmittee. — Considering the season, the exhibition of 

 Gladioli this day must have given much satisfaction. It was the first 

 attempt at bringing together collections of this interesting flower, and 

 we hope next year to fiud still gi-eater encouragement for exhibitors to 

 compete. Everyone will be willing to admit that the collections ex- 

 hibited conduced very much to the interest of the meeting. Various 

 other plants were sent, and some of them from continental growers 

 and exhibitors. M. Van Houtte, of Ghent, was awarded a first-class 

 certificate for Iresine Lindeni, a new and promising bedding plant, 

 but until tested as an out-of-doors plant it would be hazardous to 

 speak too highly of it. M. Linden, of Brussels, exhibited Cattleya 

 Eldorado splendens, a fine flower, which was awarded a first-class 

 certificate ; also, Cattleya Wallsii rosea, which received a first-class 

 certificate. Messrs. Rollisson sent Pteris straminea leptophylla, 

 which was awarded a first-class certificate; Gjmnogramma chryso- 

 phylla cristata, not equal to similar varieties; and Pteria cretica 

 dactylifera in the way of crispa. Messrs. Kelway exhibited a variety 

 of Scolopendrium called Keiwayii. veiy similar to Scolopendrium 

 Morgani—fiist-class certificate. Mr. Tirebuck, of the Nurseries, Luton, 

 sent several seedling Nosegay Pelargoniums, but not better than nor 

 equal to many in cultivation ; there was nothing new in them, but 

 they were not bad flowers. Mr. W. Bull sent Eranthemum elegans, 

 a neat and pretty flower, in shape much resembling an Orchid, and 

 having white flowers minutely spotted. It received a first-class, 

 certificate. 



Mr. Fit, Manor Nurseiy, Lee, Kent, sent seedling Fuchsias very 

 far behind the present leading varieties, also two seedling Nosegay 



