May 27, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



403 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



MAY 27— JUNE 2, 1876. 



Eoyal Society at 8.30 p.m. 

 Koyal Institution at 8 p.m. 

 Crystal Palace Summer Exhibition. 



1 SONDAY AFTER TRINITY. 



Manchester Horticultural Society — Exhibition of 

 [ RhododentlrouB to June 26th. 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society — Summer Exhibition. 



Average 



Temperature near 



London. 



Sun 

 Rises. 



Day. 



66.5 



68.1 



67.5 



C8.4 



69.4 



68.4 



68.9 



64 3 



Night. iMean. m. h. 

 44.7 55.6 ' 55a(3 

 56.2 

 55.8 

 66.6 

 57.1 

 67.2 

 67.0 



44.4 

 44.1 

 44.7 

 44.8 

 45.9 

 45.1 



53 

 52 

 51 

 SO 

 50 



Son 



Sets. 



Moon 

 Kises. 



Moon 

 Seta. 



m. h. 



6 10 



27 11 



after. 



12 2 



89 3 



11 5 



46 6 



Moon'E 

 Age. 



Days. 

 22 

 ( 



24 

 25 

 26 

 27 

 28 



Clock 

 after 

 Sun. 



Day 



of 



Year. 



147 

 148 

 149 

 160 

 151 

 152 

 163 



From observations takes near London during forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 68.1° 

 44.8'. 



; and its night temperature 



AURICULAS: SHOWING AND GROWING. 



HAVE perused with muoli pleasure the 

 notices of Auricula shows, and al.so the re- 

 inai-ks on exhibiting them in the recent 

 numbers of the Journal of Horticulture. 

 It was very pleasing to read of the success 

 of the National at Manchester. However, 

 there are, perhaps, some things in con- 

 nection with the Show and the manner of 

 exhibiting the plants that might be criticised 

 with advantage. 

 First as to the remarks of " An Old Fanciek " at page 

 3G4. He thinks it either wrong or in bad taste to place 

 sticks to the trusses to hold them in an upright position ; 

 but it is very plain that if the Auricula is to receive the 

 support of the general public the groups of plants must 

 be effective. Now, I was not at Manchester, but was 

 told that the effect of the Exhibition was spoiled, not so 

 much by the dai-k room, but owing to the trusses falhng 

 about in all directions for the want of supports, and that 

 the visitors might be seen to take hold of a prize-truss 

 and hold its head up to see what the pips were like. If 

 the stem is of the strongest description ten to one but 

 it will grow naturally in a slanting position fi-om one 

 side, while the truss on the next plant may shoot off 

 at an angle of 45' in another direction ; whereas a neat 

 stick that is scarcely seen would support all the trusses 

 in one position. 



Another objection to showing the trusses without sup- 

 ports is the time required to unstick the plants just before 

 the show, and to place them to the trusses again at night. 

 This may only seem a small matter to a grower who can 

 bring his stock of plants in a basket on his head. I 

 exhibited about six dozen plants at the Royal Botanic 

 Gardens; to reach there we had to be up at 3.15 a.m., 

 and travel behind a slow horse over a dozen miles, 

 arriving at the gardens at little after eight o'clock ; then 

 all the trusses had to be arranged, and the pots placed 

 •where the plants were seen to the best advantage, and 

 all to be done in a crowd of people whose only object 

 seems to be to block the limited pathway. There is quite 

 enough to do without untying the trusses. I have tried 

 both ways, and I find there is a great difference between 

 doing the work and criticising that of others. I do hope 

 the clause suggested by "An Old Fancier" will not be 

 put into the schedule of the Metropolitan Floral Society. 



The suggestion made by Mr. Tymons about increasing 

 the minimum number of pips from three to five I con- 

 sider a good one. An Auricula with a truss containing 

 less than five pips ought not to be taken to a flower show. 

 Five is the minimum of the Metropolitan Floral Society. 

 I was informed that the truss of Catherina (Summer- 

 scales) that gained the premium prize at Manchester had 

 been cut away to three pips, each of them about the 

 size of a silver threepenny coin or a shirt-button. The 

 second best was about the same ; while trusses of Glory 

 (Taylor), Smiling Beauty (Heap), Omega (Turner), and 

 True Briton (Hepworth), were left far behind. Now this 



No. 78 J -Vol. XXVin., New Seeies. 



is all very well in the rigid, and maybe correct, judgment 

 of the old growers, but if this fine old flower is to become 

 popular these old rules must be somewhat relaxed. 



Then on the point of ground or body colour, why 

 should black be preferred and all the other beautiful 

 shades be designated "chancy?" Any other ground 

 colour would have no chance to gain a prize in Lanca- 

 shire judgment, unless a special class were to be provided 

 for such flowers as Colonel Champneys (Turner), Marie 

 and Sophia (Chapman), &c. Even Champion (Page) 

 would be faulty in the eyes of a Lancashire grower. 



Just a word or two on culture. Now is the best time 

 to repot. This must be carefully done, and the plants 

 must be kept free from green fly either by brushing it off 

 or by fumigating with tobacco smoke. The plants must 

 also receive plenty of air ; the lights ought to be removed 

 night and day at present. "D., Deal," on page 347, has 

 said I brought my plants on by placing them in the 

 greenhouse. Only a very few plants were forwarded 

 in this way. The warm night temperature draws the 

 trusses and bleaches the tubes. The Auricula will not 

 bear forcing. 



Mr. Peter Campbell of Graham's Road, Falkirk, N.B., 

 sent me a box of blooms over which " D., Deal," Mr. 

 Ball of Slough, Mr. James of Isleworth, and myself sat 

 in judgment. Amongst them were a yellow self with 

 green foliage, and a crimson self with green foliage. 

 Three varieties were thought of the highest merit — viz., 

 a blue-black self bearing some resemblance to Mrs. Smith 

 (Smith), but much superior in form, substance, and paste; 

 a white-edge flower had a very refined edge, the white 

 being very pure ; and a green-edged flower, the edge very 

 pure olive green, superior to Admiral Napier by the same 

 raiser. The paste of the Admiral is angular, the new 

 sort has circular paste. — J. Douglas. 



FRAGRANT ROSES. 



It is a matter of some importance to all true lovers of 

 the Rose that raisers should not lose sight of a great 

 desideratum in Roses, and that is fragrance. 



I am afraid, however, that this is the last qualification 

 that Rose-fanciers consider, and if the raisers produce a 

 Rose of first-rate form, good, distinct, and pure colour, 

 strong growth and erect habit, they consider that they 

 have deserved very well of their country, and that if the 

 said Rose is quite destitute of fragrance the matter is of 

 no consequence. 



To a certain extent they judge rightly ; for judges at 

 exhibitions rarely, if ever, take the fragrance of the stand 

 into account. I fancy I see the countenance of any of 

 our leading judges (I do not like to mention names) if 

 asked in the case of a disputed and difficult point_ of 

 judging, to give the preference to the stand containing 

 the most fragi-ant Roses! Yet, other quahties being 

 equal, it would not be a bad way of deciding a vexed 

 question. 



I remember the Royal Horticultural Society once gave 

 prizes to Roses to be judged by then: perfame, and I have 



No. 1R91 — Vol LIIL, Old Sebies. 



