November 26, 1874. 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



469 



also in blossom. On November 12th I picked ripe Raspberries. 



— Sdtton Abbott, Wanstead, Essex. 



ROOT SHOWS. 



Messks. Shttons'.— As I have for the last two or three years 

 chronicled the particulars of this ever-advancing Exhibition, it 

 may not be uninteresting to the readers of the Journal to know 

 something about that which was held at the greatly-enlarged 

 premises of the Reading firm ou Saturday last ; and if the idea 

 crosses the mind of any of our readers that Mangolds and 

 Swedes, and Kohl Kabi and Turnips, have more to do with the 

 agriculturist than with the horticulturist, let me add that in 

 addition to these there was such a collection of Potatoes and 

 garden vegetables, especially of the former, as I have not seen 

 for many a day ; in fact, I doubt if so flue a collection of the 

 "noble tuber " has ever been put on the exhibition table. 



After the very lengthened drought which we have experienced 

 this year one might have expected that the Show would have 

 fallen short of some of its predecessors ; but so far from this 

 being the case, it was in advance, nearly nine thousand roots 

 being staged; and although in some things the roots were not 

 so large as formerly, there was a perfection of form and symmetry 

 about them which more than compensated for the lack of size, 

 although we can hardly speak of lack of size when some of the 

 roots of Sattons' Long Red Mammoth Mangold weighed up- 

 wards of 40 lbs., and Swedes weighed 21 lbs. When one handled 

 some of the roots one saw their excellence — the Swedes with 

 hardly any neck, and the Mangolds so clean and devoid of those 

 hard and woody parts which are uneatable. The roots which 

 would, I think, most please an ordinary observer, and I am not 

 quite sure but the farmer also, were those of Suttons' Golden 

 Tankard Mangold, of which there were thirty entries. The 

 flesh of this sort is a bright yellow, and is very nutritious; but 

 on examining those in the prize collections it was noticeable 

 how thoroughly useful it must be, the root being the same size 

 at the bottom as at the top, and thus producing of necessity a 

 larger quantity of food per acre, and a larger quantity of good 

 profitable matter. I have already alluded to the size of the 

 Show, let me give here the number of entries in some of the 

 classes. Of Suttons' Mammoth Bed Mangold there were eighty 

 entries ; of Suttons' Berkshire Prize Yellow Globe, seventy-five 

 entries; and of Swedes eighty-seven entries, for one collection 

 of which a silver cup, value ten guineas, was awarded. 



And now to come to what is more strictly garden produce. 

 There were fifteen collections of vegetables, and of Potatoes no 

 less than ninety-eightentries, divided into three classes — tweuty- 

 flve collections; forty-five of Red-skin Flourball, and twenty- 

 five of Hundredfold Fluke. It may give some idea of the ex- 

 cellence of the vegetables when I say that Mr. Pragnell, gar- 

 dener to G. Wingfleld Digby, Esq., of Sherborne Castle, who 

 generally takes so prominent a position at our metropolitan ex- 

 hibitions, only took a third prize, the first, a hawdsome silver 

 cup, being taken by Mr. Tegg, gardener to John Walker, Esq., 

 of Bearwood. A more beautiful collection it would be difficult 

 to imagine. Specially noteworthy were the roots of Suttons' 

 Beet, one of the finest, if not the finest, variety in cultivation, 

 and the Brussels Sprouts (Buttons' Matchless Improved), which 

 were the perfection of what the vegetable ought to be. 



The Potatoes were grand ; and if any doubt existed as to the 

 value of the two varieties which the Messrs. Sutton have sent 

 out and laid so much stress upon — Red-skin Flourball and 

 Hundredfold Fluke, it must have been dispelled by the ap- 

 pearance of the Show-room. As to the former, its immense 

 cropping qualities and its comparative freedom from disease 

 must make it ere long jJ'^^ excellence the cottager's Potato ; and 

 I do not know any better way to benefit our cottagers than by 

 dispersing this variety amongst them. It has quality as well 

 as size, but the cottager generally looks on this as a secondary 

 matter. The collections of Potatoes shown by Mr. Wildsmith, 

 gardener to Lord Eversley, who gains the five-guinea silver cup, 

 and by Peter McKinlay, Esq., of Beckenham, were most beau- 

 tiful specimens of culture ; the Yorkshire Heros of the former 

 exhibitor were especially fine. Of all the American Potatoes I 

 must give the palm to Snowflake, which I think is destined to 

 take a good place amongst our growers; it is large, of good 

 quality, and a capital cropper. Of other varieties exhibited 

 there were Rector of Woodstock ; Bresee's Prolific and Suttons' 

 King, which, with all due deference to the Chiswiek authorities, 

 are not the same; Lapstone, Model, a very beautiful Potato; 

 Ashleaf, Climax, and other well-known varieties. Altogether 

 the Messrs. Sutton may be congratulated on an Exhibition 

 which shows the growth of their own business, and the public 

 may be congratulated on the fact that such opportunities are 

 given to ihem of seeing what the gentry and farmers of Eng- 

 land are doing to keep up that supply of root food which is so 

 essential to ns as a meat-eating people. — Le Boi Carotte. 



Messrs. Cabter & Co.'s. — This was held at the Agricultural 

 Hall, Islington, ou the 20th inst., and some idea of its extent 



may be formed when we state that it occupied the whole of one 

 of the long galleries of that largo building ; moreover, the roots 

 were not extended in single line, but were placed in several 

 lines four and six deep. The past season is so well known 

 to have been unfavourable to root crops — some of which, as 

 Turnips, have been sown and sown again — that we need hardly 

 mention the fact, but the niunber of entries, and the size und 

 quality of the roots, were surprising. Gardeners, as a ru^e, 

 have not much to do with Mangold, and Swedes, and cattle 

 Turnips, but to evCTy man the success or failure of such crops 

 is a matter of vital importance, regulating as it does in a very 

 large degree the price of that expensive article, butchers' meat. 

 It is, as our correspondent has just remarked, of essential import- 

 ance to us as a meat-eating people. The rage at present is all 

 for size, but it is to us a question whether in many cases smaller 

 roots, indeed a less produce per acre, may not yield a greater 

 amount of nutritive matter than when roots and produce are 

 larger. This, however, is a matter which can only be deter- 

 mined satisfactorily by the analytical chemist, and in the mean- 

 while we are content to take biilk and cleanness of roots as our 

 guides to ju'lge of their quality. 



Messrs. Carter had in their schedule twenty-three classes 

 divided among Swedes, Mangolds, Turnips, Carrots, Kohl Rabi, 

 and Potatoes. Carter's Imperial Swede, a bulky variety, was 

 numerously and well represented; whilst of Improved Mam- 

 moth Long Red Mangold gigantic specimens were Bhown, the 

 half-dozen which took the prizes for size weighing collectively 

 246 lbs. The other varieties of Mangold were Warden Prize 

 Yellow Globe, Intermediate, New Saudringham, New Yellow 

 Tankard-shaped, Red Globe, and Long Yellow. Of the Inter- 

 mediate some of the roots weighed from oO to 31 lbs., and some 

 came from Lord Warwick's sewage farm, where the produce 

 was stated at 84 tons per acre. The Turnips were exceedingly 

 well formed and good, and there were, besides, several collec- 

 tions of very sound weU-grown Potatoes. 



THE PELARGONIUM SOCIETY. 



The following prizes will be competed for at South Kensing- 

 ton, July 2Ist, 1875, by permission of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society, and subject to the regulations issued by that Society. 

 Class I. — Twelve distinct varieties of Zonal Pelargoniums, 

 " florists' class," in pots of 8 inches in diameter. (Open.) First 

 prize, is ; second prize, JB5. 



Class II. — Twelve distinct varieties of Zonal Pelargoniums, 

 " decorative class," in pots of 8 inches in diameter. (Open.) 

 First prize, £8 ; second prize, £5. 



Class III. — Thirty distinct varieties of Zonal Pelargoniums, 

 " irrespective of class," in pots not exceeding 6 inches in 

 diameter. (Open.) First prize, ±'6 ; second prize, £4. 



Note. — The varieties to be shown in the above classes are to 

 be of the flowering section — not those with variegated leaves. 

 Class I., designated " florists' class," is intended to include only 

 those varieties which have flnely-shaped flowers, according to 

 the florists' model. Class II. is intended for profuse-flowering, 

 showy varieties, otherwise known as Hybrid Nosegays. 



Class IV. — Six ornamental Cape Pelargoniums, dissimilar. 

 (Open.) First prize, £'i ; second prize, £2. 



Class V. — Best Hybrid Pelargonium, of distinct character. 

 (Open.) First prize, £2 ; second prize i'l. 



Class VI. — Twenty-four Pelargoniums, cut blooms, single 

 trusses, dissimilar. (Open). First prize, £2; second prize, £1. 

 Class VII. — Twelve Pelargoniums, cut blooms, single trusses, 

 dissimilar. (Amateurs.) First prize, £2 ; second prize, £1. 



Note. — The Judges may in their discretion, and subject to the 

 approval of the Committee, award a prize to any exhibit worthy 

 of particular notice, which may not be provided for in the 

 schedule. They may also withhold any of the above prizes if 

 the exhibit be not of sufdcient merit. 



Conditions of Competition. — It is imperative that every 

 variety exhibited shall have conspicuously appended to it, its 

 own name, together with that of the raiser, such names to be 

 either printed or distinctly written on a card. 



The " Chiswiek standard " to be adopted in regulating the 

 size of the pots — that is, " 8-inch pots " measure 8 inches across 

 and 8 inches deep inside, at a point 1 inch below the top edge ; 

 6-inch pots in like manner measure 6 inches deep and 6 inches 

 wide inside, at an inch below the edge. 

 The Society proposes to accomplish these objects : — 

 1st, By offering liberal prizes to be competed for by British 

 and foreign exhibitors, and thus to afford raisers and cultiva- 

 tors an opportunity of forming an opinion as to the merits of 

 new varieties, and to give the general public the means of 

 judging the decorative value of these plants under superior cul- 

 tivation. 



2nd, By determining the merits and distinctive qualities of 

 new varieties, and their suitability for conservatory decoration 

 or bedding-out purposes, or both. 

 3rd, By cultivating all new varieties, Biitish or foreign, side 



