March 27, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



263 



most successful exhibitor at the various exhibitions in that 

 and the adjoining counties. He was a most diligent and 

 ardent lover of floriculture, and had on many occasions ex- 

 hibited successfully at the great shows of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society in London and the provinces. Ho was a 

 successful hybridiser of Geraniums, his Forget-me-not being 

 one of the best of its class. 



THE HYACINTH SHOW at SOUTH KENSINGTON. 



As the readers of tbis Journal are aware from the report 

 given last week, this was characterised by great excellence. 

 Tuhps were very gay in their gaudy colours, and were probably 

 finer than usual. Crocus and Polyanthus Narcissus helped to 

 give interest to the meeting ; but the great centre of attraction 

 was the Hyacinths. The spikes were, I think, the finest ever 

 seen at any exhibition, they certainly gave evidence of superior 

 skill in culture ; but, on the other hand, the new varieties, 

 which are now becoming more common, are a great advance on 

 those which used to be staged some ten or fifteen years ago, 

 and help very materially to improve the collections in which 

 they are placed. The Hyacinth is one of the oldest of florists' 

 flowers, and has been undergoing improvement before the very 

 oldest grower or his father saw the light, so that any improve- 

 ment must be slow, and to the ordinary observer uuperceptible, 

 but that there has been improvement during the last decade 

 no one can doubt who has been at aU observant. 



Only three new varieties obtained certificates on the llHh. 

 All of them were single blues of different shades. Mazzini, 

 from Messrs. Veitoh, has beUs of immense size, of a porcelain 

 blue ; the spike moderate. Lord Melville, from Messrs. Cut- 

 bush, dark blue and clear white eye, is a very distinct sort. 

 Prince of Wales, which I exhibited, is also a very distinct sort, 

 very dark blue, with well-shaped bells and compact spike. 

 The bells of this sort are sometimes striped red. If we go 

 back to 1863-4, when that grand sort King of the Blues was 

 introduced, in the intervening years a marked improve- 

 ment win be noticed both in the size of the spilies and in new 

 colours, although, however distinct and pretty a va-iety 

 possessing a new shade of colour may be, it will not do for 

 exhibition if it do not also possess length and breadth of 

 spike. Sir Henry Havelock has a good spike, and the colour 

 is purplish crimson, it may be taken as the greatest advance 

 in colour. Vuurbaak, brilliant crimson, has a grand spike ; 

 and no white is at all equal to La Grandesse when it is at its 

 best. I might name others, but these all show recent pro- 

 gress. 



Double varieties are not being improved in the same ratio 

 as the single, and they seem to be displaced at the exhibitions 

 by the single varieties. I admit the single sorts have the most 

 symmetrical spikes, but the double are very beautiful. They 

 deserve and ought to have a class to themselves. Some very 

 fine sorts that are not now seen would be shown. I should not 

 like to see any of the classes in the present schedule of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society omitted, and if the Society did 

 not see fit to introduce a class for doubles, why could we not 

 do it ourselves ? l''uuds might very soon be forthcoming to make 

 a class both for the trade and amateurs. I would willingly 

 subscribe for such a purpose ; but I would only do so on con- 

 dition that the rules for exhibitors were made more stringent 

 then those contained in the schedule of the Society. I think 

 it highly desirable that gardeners should purchase the bulbs 

 in the autumn, pot them, and grow them up to a flowering 

 state under their own or their subordinates' care. At present 

 this is not at all an essential point. A gentleman or his gar- 

 dener may go to any of the large growers in the trade, pur- 

 chase his plants a week or a day before the exhibition, and 

 carry off the first prize — certainly not first honom-s — they 

 belong undoubtedly to the gardener who exhibits the best 

 plants of his own growing ; and there are some to whom " a 

 good name is better than great riches, and loving favour 

 rather to be preferred than silver and gold." In fact, I am in 

 a position to say that the amateur grower who carried off the 

 first prizes at South Kensington obtained his plants from one 

 of the large trade exhibitors after the bulbs had been potted 

 and cultivated to a certain extent by their grower, and he 

 might have had them two months or only two days before the 

 Show, yet he was, according to the present regulations, entitled 

 to the award. In a case like the above there cannot even be a 

 division of honour. An exhibitor should and would be proud 

 to take an opponent by the hand and congratulate him on his 

 success if honourably beaten by him. When there is room 



for suspicion he cannot do so. To slightly alter a passage in 

 " Marmion" — 



*' The haml of Dou^'las is his own. 



And never shall in friendly grasp 



The hand of such a tiiud clasp." 



This is a matter on which the Editors of this Journal should 

 give an opinion. For my own part I would sconi to exhibit a 

 flower or fruit that was not grown entu-ely under my own 

 care. If some stringent provisions against such unfau- pro- 

 ceedings are not adopted, it is quite evident that respectable 

 exhibitors will have to withdraw entirely from exhibiting. Let 

 us if possible have a fuU and free ventilation of the subject ; 

 it is, I think, of great importance.— J. Docgl.\s, Loxford Hall 

 GanUns. 



[This is not the first time we have received information 

 relative to persons (wo will not prostitute the word by calling 

 them gentlemen), who have bought flowers from florists, and 

 a few days subsequently have exhibited them for prizes. We 

 have the name of the person who is referred to by Mr. Douglas, 

 and unless we have satisfactory information we will publish 

 his name and where and when he bought the Hyacinths. — • 

 Eds.! 



MR. LITTLE'S CYCLAMENS. 



The same day that I visited Lord Londesborough's new 

 garden at Coombe I took the opportunity of caUing at Mr. 

 Little's at Cambridge ViUa, Twickenham, in the hope of find- 

 ing him at home and having a chat with him about his won- 

 derful Cyclamens. In this I was disappointed, as he was not 

 at home ; but I found Mr. Goddard, and was enabled to see 

 his house fiUed from one end to the other with these lovely 

 spring flowers ; and as I walked through what is simply a little 

 viUa garden, I could not help observing that it is so often in 

 small and not in large gardens that the lover of flowers finds 

 his pets so well taken care of. One goes through a large place, 

 the garden comprising many acres ; houses upon houses are 

 filled with plants, fruits, &c. ; and while everything is well 

 done — the plants well grown, the Vines filled with a good crop, 

 the various quarters of vegetables well arranged — there is 

 nothing that stands out especially good— there is, in fact, 

 no spi'ciuliti'. But you go into a small garden. The owner 

 has a hobby, and away he goes at it full speed. His energies, 

 instead of being expended on many things, ai-e concentrated 

 on one object, and he therefore excels in it ; or it may be he 

 takes up two or three flowers, which in succession claim his 

 attention, and if you want to see these dift'erent plants you 

 must go where they are grown. 



No one who has attended the spring shows of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society need be told that the specimens of Cycla- 

 mens exhibited by Mr. Little take the very foremost rank ; and 

 those who were at the exhibition on March .5th will not easily 

 forget the splendid bank of plants of varied hues which were 

 displayed in the entrance-haU. These all came from a span- 

 roofed house about 30 feet in length, which on the day of my 

 visit was filled from one end to the other with a glorious col- 

 lection of plants, in colour pure white, rich purple, dark crim- 

 son, white with crimson base, pale blush, &a., of immense size 

 and substance such as a few years ago would have been con- 

 sidered impossible. Indeed, we recollect the time when it was 

 exceedingly difficult to procure the corms, and when all sorts 

 of " dodges " were recommended for the purpose of increasing 

 the stock ; and now in less than ten months plants are ob- 

 tained from seed which will carry forty or fifty blooms. The 

 manner in which this result is obtained is now well known. 

 The plants are kept continually going, grown in tolerably rich 

 compost, kept near the glass, green fly narrowly watched 

 for, and, in fact, everything done to insure rapid and con- 

 tinuous growth. Mr. Little is exceedingly careful as to hybrid- 

 ising ; and as he names his best flowers, he is able to trace 

 the pedigree of those which he is raising from year to year, 

 and thus to insure an advance as far as it can bo done. This 

 is much better than the plan ordinarily pursued of gathering 

 seed indiscriminately from the whole collection ; and if those 

 who save seed for sale were to adopt the same plan there 

 would be finer flowers in general cultivation than are now 

 seen. 



It has been stated by some writers on the Cyclamen that the 

 plants are comparatively useless after the second or third 

 year, and I asked Mr. Goddard his opinion on this subject. 

 He replied by showing me some plants which were eight years 

 old. The corms were enormous, nearly filling the pots, and 

 the flowers produced in great profusion, thus clearly estabhsh- 



