September 23, 1876. 1 JOURNAL OF HOKTlOUIiTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



279 



Pkaches for South Wall (R. H. ^.).— The foIIowinK are in tho order of 

 their ripening:— Early Beatrioo, Early ItivorB, (rrosHO I\ri(,'nouno, Noblesse, 

 Bellegarde, Osprey, and Lord Palmeretou. Tho Nectariuo may bo Balgowan. 



Bees Eating Fruit (J. F.)— There is no mode of destroying the bees, 

 as they will not go into bottles as wagps will. Bees do not attack fruit except 

 in very dry seaaons when flowers are deficient in secretions. The most 

 efficient protection of the fruit would be to fasten gauze over it. 



A Dozen Superior Garden Roses {J. Kelly).— The following are the best 

 out of some 250 varieties which we have proved within the past moven years. 

 All are perpetuals except one, and that one a Tea-scented— viz., Gloire de 

 Dijon, the best " one " Rose for the million, and the host " one " red Rose is 

 Alfred Colomb. Baroness Rothschild, Charles Lefebvie, Comtesse d'Oxford, 

 Dupuy-Jaraaiu, Edward Morrcn, John Hopper, La France, Madame Victor 

 Verdier, Scnateiir Yaisse, and Capitaino Cln-ihty. You will want whites, and 

 we name two, Boule de Keige and Perlo des Blanches. Yellows are R<-ve 

 d'Or and Perle de Lyon, both Teas. Bessie Johnson, Hybrid Perpetual, is, 

 perhaps, the sweetest of all Roses, always exceptiog the Tea-scented " Odo- 

 rata," blush, the finest scented of all. We do not, however, advise it for your 

 purpose, but all the others are good growers, and are suitable alike for 

 standards or dwai'fs. 



RooT-pnuNiNG Fruit Trees {F. J.).— It should not he done until the 

 leaves are beginning to fall, certainly not before the 1st of next month. 

 Early in November is quite early enough. 



Taking-up Master Christine Geranium (7(/* m).— They being plunged 

 in the pots will be lifted more certainly than those planted out, find being 

 done before frost, they, kept over the winter, will Iluwer moro freely than 

 young plants. The roots will have extended beyond tho pots and over the 

 rims. They should be turned out of the pots and have most, if not all, the 

 old soil lemoved, the long t-traggling roots shortened, and the plants returned 

 to the same size of pot, which should bo cleaned. Any straggling giowths to 

 be cut back, and all the large leaves removed. They should have but little 

 water until established, taking care to pot them into moderately muist soil, 

 neither wet nor dry, but a mtan of the two. 



Removing the Haulm from Potatoes (S. S.).— We have submitted 

 your letter to the author you quote. He replies that there is no practical 

 danger of the tubers growing again in the ground. Only once has he found 

 that to be the case — viz., in tho hot seamen of 1808, aud the wet and warm 

 autumn following, and even then the growth of the current season's tubers 

 was not general, and was confined to theearlitat kinds. Dalmahoys the same 

 season remained perfectly dormant. Cyclamen repandum is in colour reddieh 

 lilac. Your white variety, if it flowers in the autumn, is C. albidum ; if in the 

 spring, C. albiflorum. 



Fungus (A'. A*. A'.).— It is not clear what species you have in view under 

 Boletus aureus. Schceffer's B. aureus is very doubtful. Perhaps yon have 

 B. granulatus in view, if so, Persoon and Withering describe it as edible, but 

 we have not tried it, and we know one of its allies to be dangerous. Or your 

 plant may be B. variepatus ; if so, its qualities are doubtful. Both the above 

 plants belong to Schoeffer'a old B. aureus. You should work with the volumes 

 of Fries or Berkeley. 



Fruit Naming. — Many limes have we given notice that we cannot name 

 more than six specimens at a time from any applicant, yet multitudes send 

 us far more thau that number. Our rule must be like the laws of tho Medea 

 and Persians, "which altereth not." It is no easy task to identify any fruit 

 now that there are thousands of varieties. 



Names of Fruits (H. O. iH.),—l, Passe Colmar; 2,Fondante d'Automne; 

 4, Beurre d'Aremb^rg. (Mrs. HendcrMn). — It was quite decayed when it 

 arrived. [J. W.). — Winter Hawthoruden. (F. J. K.). — 5, Beurr< Sterck- 

 mans; 6, Comte de Flandres; 7, Williams' Bon Chr(Hi6U. lOco. F. Barrcll). 

 — 1, Court-Pendu-Plat ; 2, Northern Greening; 3, Bedfordshire Foundling; 

 4, Marc'ohal de Cour; 5, Beurre d'Aremberg ; 6, Comte de Flandre. {Soiticr- 

 se().— Imperiale do Milan. {T.Niel}. — 1, Waehington ; 2, Victoria; 3, quite 

 rotten; 4, Jefferson. (O. J. W.)—2-i, Cockle's Pippin; 21. Braddick's 

 Nonpareil; 25. Scarlet Nonpareil; 27, Christie's Pippin; 1, Louise Bonne of 

 Jersey. (O. H. Fitzherbert). — Puars : 1, Beurre Diel; 2, Depiree CoruLlis ; 4, 

 Aston Town. Aj^ples : 2, Yorkshire Greening; 3, Nelson Codlin; Selwood's 

 Reinette; 6, Lewis's Incomparable. IComas). — 1, Loan's Pearmain ; 3, 

 Golden Reinette; 4, Vicai' of Winktield Pear. {Connauglit Suhscrlher). — 1, 

 Oelin; 2, Reinette da Canada. Pears: 1, EeurrL Clairgcau ; 2, Williams' 

 Bon Chretien ; 3, Brown Beui-re ; 4, tJrbaniste. Phi in : Prince Englebert. 



Names of Plants (/. P. P.).— The specimens were dried-up, and some 

 only leaves. 



POULTRY, BEE, AND PIGEON CHEONIOLE. 



CUPS AND ENTRY FEES. 



When writing the other day of Mr. J. K. Fowler's eBtablieh- 

 ment of poultry at Aylesbury we alluded to Lis cups and plate 

 — trophies of past poultry shows, and the diiiereuces between 

 them and the cups sent out in the present day. As we said 

 then, it really seems in these times that so long as an article 

 can be called a cnp it does not matter what it is like. But really 

 this should not be the case. It is all very well to win one or 

 two such articles, but after that it comes rather slow. Once the 

 glory aud honour o( winning the maiden cups are over, most 

 fanciers like either to have something useful or the value in 

 cash. We really sometimes think that the cup system of the 

 present day is going too far. When we see a ±''2 2s. cup given 

 as a firet prize in every class throughout a schedule we begin to 

 think that we may indeed say, " Somewhat too much of this." 



A few years ago a specimen that had won a cup was a marked 

 bird. Its title, " cup winner," showed that it was above the 

 ordinary run of prize birds, and that it was a specimen to be 

 proud of; but now everyone has cup specimens, for we see ad- 

 vertised cup pens of poultry for a few shillings, and eggs from 

 cup birds for 3(7. or id. each. This almost makes us weary of 

 cup-winning, and desirous rather of good money prizes and a 

 champion cup or so every now and then as a bonne louche. 



We fear there is a tendency, too, for committees to value the 

 cups of the present day at more than they are worth to make 

 them flashy and acceptive baits— iu a word, to catch exhibitors 

 with them. We are alluding here, of course, to those exhibi- 

 tions who actually give cups and not the value iu money ; but 

 we would not for a minute wish to be understood to allude to all 

 exhibitions — far from it, as we have had ourselves splendid value 

 in plate ; but we say we think there is a tendency to this over- 

 valuing of plate. We know of two cases which came under our 

 own eyes, and have heard of very many more. In the first case 

 the cup was valued at £5 5s., and was won in the very north of 

 England, where it was seen by an exhibitor and noted as a fair 

 five-guineas' worth. When, however, it arrived at the winner's 

 place of residence the same cup which was on exhibition at the 

 show never came, but a petty thing that a child could easily 

 have bent into any shape, and which was valued by a silver- 

 smith at 23s. by weight. 



The other case was a champion cup, where the article in ques- 

 tion "as valued by a silversmith at COs. by weight, and it was 

 stated to be in the schedule a 210s. article. These things make 

 beautiful puffs in an advertisement, but are hardly satisfactory 

 to the winners ; at least so we think. Those shows who give 

 cups but allow the winners to take the value in cash we can say 

 nothing about, as the arrangement is all fair and above board ; 

 but why in that case they should not be called first prizes w© 

 cannot understand, for the winner is in those cases able to put 

 the money against the corn bill, or buy any other article as ia 

 preferred. We confess we would like to see the value of a cup- 

 winning specimen go back to its old rate, and we can never Eee 

 this while so many paltry little cups are being given and being 

 won BO easily everywhere. Local cups, too, we do not approve 

 of, for in many cases the winners are wretched specimens, 

 winning in poor competition, and yet the birds go forth to the 

 world in a silver cloak, and sometimes are the means of great 

 disappointment to our less experienced poultry friends. 



In a schedule like that sent out by the Alexandra Palace we 

 think the cup arrangement very good for the most part, as to 

 pick out the winners for a champion cup among the pens we 

 shall doubtless see there would be a simple impossibility, and 

 BO to give at a show of that kind a good cup or its equivalent 

 money value for the various classes of a breed is well and good ; 

 and besides, the fact of a Palace winner alone tells the merit of 

 a bird, and carries its value on its back ; but it is at the little 

 shows — at the small mixed-up-classes shows, that we want to see 

 the cup system altered. 



At the same time we think the entrance fees should to some 

 extent be charged according to the value of the cups and prizes 

 offered. It certainly is not fair for the same fee to be charged 

 in a class where, say, only i;2 can be won, as in a class where 

 double or treble the value is offered. Now, the Polish people at 

 the Palace pay Vs. Ijd. for the chance of winning a Mi is. cup 

 where the first prize is 1:2, while the Brahma people pay only 

 the same money for the certainty of i'lO 10s. and i;7 7s. prizes. 

 Of course the chance of winning is much more remote in the 

 latter cases, and there will be a much greater number of entries, 

 but still the arrangement to us hardly seems fair. We confess 

 of all schedules we think Oxford stands alone for the even way 

 it distributes its money, and the low entry fees it charges — viz., 

 only 5s. for 60s. first prizes. We have noticed of late that two 

 or three shows have made a different tariff of entrance fees for 

 the different sums expended in prize money, and have noticed 

 it with pleasure ; we hope others will copy their example, for we 

 really think that high entrance fees with poor prizes keep down 

 the number of entries in many classes at shows to an immeiEe 

 extent. We sometimes wonder if it would be possible to have one 

 recognised scale of charges for entrance fees. It would simpUfy 

 matters very much, and put shows on a much more even basir. 

 Were we to draw up such a scale we should say they should Le 

 something in this proportion : 3s. for a il firstprize, and then If. 

 forevery 10s. afterwards, which would make a 7s. entry fee for a 

 j;3 first prize. This we should call a fair charge, and then if 

 there were one or two champion cups to be competed for another 

 Gd. per pen could be added. Were such a scale adopted— and we 

 think all would consider it reasonable — we believe that much 

 greater satisfaction would be given, and the exhibitions would 

 be more even in quality and quantity than we now find thein. 

 Anyhow, we would always have a third prize. We are sure this 

 is a loss to many a disappointed one, and if it only saves the 

 stakes it is something in these hard times. — W. 



alexandka palace poultry and pigeon 



SHOW. 



At the request of numerous exhibitors we have decided on 

 allowing more than one entry to be sent in a basket, but ol 

 coarse each compartment must be properly labelled, and if 

 any of the birds be sold the exhibitor will be charged for a 

 new basket. Kespecting the question of conveyance, perhaps 

 we may just state that birds coming from the north will be 

 delivered direct at the Alexandra Palace, and so save the 



