\ 
26—1846.) 
THE GARDENERS’ 
CHRONICLE. 
429 
may be ; but all such things must be considered good or 
bad by comparison, and their precise character must be 
determined by the standard whereby they are judged. 
The high sounding terms of praise applied by your cor- 
‘respondent to productions which were looked upon by 
the judges unanimously as second-rate, lead me to sup- 
pose that want of experience has caused him to mistake 
mediocrity for excellence ; and his ext; di argu- 
that the regulations are bjectionable, and that the 
judges are solely to blame. I contend that these regu- 
lations, taken in connection with the apparent determi- 
nation of exhibitors to send articles so opposed to the 
rules laid down by the Society, that the judges must 
either pass them by altogetl ake a disagreeabl 
compromise between their prescribed duty and their 
y 
"ment that variety of colour in a collection, even if 
produced by the introduction of an inferior article, ought 
to constitute an additional claim to a prize, may excite 
a smile, but cannot require an answer. Gooseberry wine 
‘is often pronounced superb by those who know not the 
vinous flavour of champagne, and stewed calis head is 
Perfectly satisfactory to the man who never tasted 
turtle; so in like manner the collection of fruit in ques- 
tion might have gained the first prize if we had not 
"been accustomed to see much better; but the judges 
felt bound, under the bef ioned regulati 
consider what were its real merits, and unanimously de- 
Cided that it did not contain three different kinds of 
"Variety, was no more to be compared in quality with 
the one 
‘than copper is comparable with gold ; and that gentle- 
ob: 
‘Were 
Y 
Society as they now stand are quite unobjectionable, 
AgPoint, and who certainly would not request any one 
© act in that capacity unless possessing a generally 
Mates that the decision of the judges as regards 
ngram, was ‘incomprehensible as well as 
it is very likely that he cannot comprehend 
isf 
, are the chief causes of the disappoint- 
ments experienced. It verylikely would have been more 
satisfactory to the exhibitors if we had united in being 
more liberal in our awards; but censuring the judges 
is not the way to get out of the dilemma; honourable 
men, whatever be their private opinions, when they con- 
sent to act, must do so according to the rules appointed 
for their guidance, and the only satisfactory mode of 
settling the difficulty is, either for the exhibitors to pay 
more attention to the rules by which fruit is to be 
judged, or for the Society to give up the stringent ap- 
to | plication of these rules, and leave more to the un- 
fettered judgment of practical men ; or take a middle 
path, and while conferring their full approval upon ripe 
weli-coloured fruit, leave it in the power of the judges 
to reward superior productions as to growth, though 
they may be deficient in ripeness or colouring ; 
and then, whoever may be the judges, if the majority 
are practical men, I am convineed that there will be 
no complaint of undue stinginess on their part. Every 
exhibitor knows, or ought to know, that according to 
the present arrangements, he must produce at least 
three different kinds of fruit of first-rate quality, 
before he can receive a prize for a general collec- 
tion; and that in no case are the judges to award 
a prize for fruit, unless perfectly ripe and well 
coloured. These rules prevented the judges both 
last season and the present from awarding a premium 
to specimens showing in their growth great horti- 
cultural skill, and collections were disqualified, however 
fine one or two kinds of fruit might be, because three 
kinds in unison with these regulations could not be 
found, it having been decided in a disputed case upon 
high authority, that the judges had no power to award 
a prize to a separate article or two in a collection, but 
that the exhibitor must alone determine, whether he 
will try for a high prize in a collection, or content him- 
self with humbler premiums, by showing in the dif- 
ferent classes. We are given distinetly to under- 
stand that quality and not quantity was what the Society 
wished to reward. e need not say that in many 
cases this principle is completely lost sight of by the 
exhibitors, who merely to swell the quantity of their 
dishes, mix up articles with their collection, that by 
their inferiority, instead of adding to, detract from the 
value of the really good articles. If in acting according 
to these printed regulations, the result has been that 
one celebrated grower, to whom your correspondent 
alludes, has been driven into class showing instead of 
making up a collection, why stop with throwing the 
blame upon the judges for merely doing their duty? 
Would it not be a more manly part, either to exhibit 
collection. It would pain me to pursue the subject 
farther. The judges are liable to err, and may have 
erred upon the present occasion; but whether fit for 
the duty assigned us or not, it is some consolation to 
know that your correspondent allows we did the best 
according to our poor ability. I have directed your 
attention to the source of the evils complained of, which 
tends to take the blame off the judges, and place it 
where it should be—between the exhibitors and the 
rules of the Society, which the judges have nothing to 
do but to admini And, in lusion, I have no 
hesitation in stating that but for these rules, Mr. In- 
gram would have received the gold medal, to which the 
variety, and, with several exceptions, the superior 
growth of the articles in his collection, would have ren- 
dered him justly entitled.— Another of the Judges. 
Drainage of Pots.—I beg to remark that the trouble 
and expense of using erocks and breaking them up is a 
mere trifle compared with the benefits derived from 
their use ; and, indeed, good draining is the sine qua 
non of all successful cultivation of pot plants, as 
of every other. The plan I have long pursued is 
to get a quantity of common red brickbats (any others 
will do), and to break them with a hammer on an iron 
slab, or on some other hard substance ; and I think the 
moderately soft bricks answer best, as they appear to 
take up and retain a small quantity of moisture not at 
all injurious to the plants. I never allow any plant to 
be potted without using some, but I do not,except for very 
small pots, reduce the pieces so small as a Bean or Pea: 
the size of a Hazel-nut, and between that and a small 
Walnut, I have found most convenient, and I seldom 
take the trouble to cover the whole with a larger crock, 
the broken drainage itself being sufficient. A man and 
a boy can break several bushels in a day, and they ean 
be easily sorted into sizes with a sieve, first using a fine 
one to put away the dust and small pieces. The greater 
part of my stove plants stand on a slate table covered 
4 or 5 inches with the above materials, and I find it to 
answer exceedingly well, retaining a moisture which, if 
the slates were exposed, could not be easily or so well 
obtained.—George Wood, Rochford. 
Extracts from Correspondence with Sir G. S. Mac- 
kensie, Bart.— Girling's Danecroft Pea.—Having read 
Mr. Girling’s description of his Pea, which is a well- 
marked sort, I procured some quarts of it; and it is 
with pleasure I announce that 1 consider it the very 
best of all the early sorts. It has not, indeed, proved 
a very abundant bearer, the pods being small, but the 
quality, which is the first point for the table, is most 
excellent, resembling that of the Marrows ; and there- 
fore it deserves space. It is earlier than the Charlton, 
with which I compared it, by 10 days at least. 
trying it as a succession Pea. Even when it has 
acquired its full size it is tender and rich when cooked, 
which is not the case with any Pea I am acquainted 
with, except the Marrows. The early Peas, cultivated 
about Edinburgh by the market gardeners, may be 
prolific, but they are bad. The gardeners are excuse- 
in conformity with the regulations, or honourably 
endeavour to get these regulations altered? So long as 
perfect ripeness is considered indispensable, I can 
easily imagine that there will be a deficiency in collec- 
tions, and for these reasons, first, because it will travel 
less safely than if it wanted a little of the extreme ofripe- 
ness, and secondly, because as the greater part goes to 
the fruiterer's shop after being exhibited, if perfectly 
ripe, it will not command so high a price as it would do 
ifless ripe ; the tradesman knowing that he is more 
likely to lose by its spoiling on his hands before a sale 
is effected. But whether the present rules be adhered 
to, or be slightly modified, I trust that in justice to the 
judges, there will be a large plaeard placed in front of 
the fruit-tent, specifying the principles on which their 
awards are to be made, which at any rate will tend to 
relieve them from the annoyance of being troubled with 
repeated enquiries, as to how they did this, and why 
they did not do that, with respect to this and that 
person’s fruit ; enquiries which, if willing, I could give 
little reply to, as I seldom know who are the successful 
winners in the fruit department, until the list appears 
in the Chronicle. I must now. say (and very reluc- 
tantly) a few words respecting Mr. Ingram’s collection. 
I agree with your correspondent, that Mr. Ingram would 
have received the same prize for his Pines, that he did for 
his collection. Ofthis there can beno doubt. But I dis- 
agree with him when he states his Muscat Grapes were 
the best ripened that were‘ on the table; simply be- 
cause, in whatever else they might’ differ, the judges 
S but that is no fault of ours ; it ishis own 
m s 18 no part of the duty of the judges to find com- 
aa nsion for malcontents; with regard to his charge 
the aving acted unfairly, I cast it back in his teeth with 
ati utmost contempt. I really recommend this gentle- 
er for the sake of the publie not to hide his light 
Oi a bushel, but to appeal in propria persona to the 
i neil of the Society, and if he can impress them 
© himself evidently entertains, they will, doubtless, 
y th l f his assist: as a judge 
th; x 3 : 
Arun awards should fail to give satisfaction to 
were ly of opinion that they were not ripe ; 
and any one might see that they were quite green in 
their colour, So much was this the case, that, however 
the judges might admire their fine growth, they could 
not, in compliance with the rules, have awarded them a 
prize if shown singly, but would haye been obliged to 
pass them by, as Mr. Ingram knows well they were con- 
strained to do in similar cases formerly. Putting these 
splendid Grapes aside, and making due allowance for 
the rarity of foreed Plums, the collection as a whole, 
with the exception of the Pines, became marked by ex- 
tended variety and respectability rather than the first- 
rate quality of its constituent parts. Your correspond- 
ent allows that, if the Elton Cherries were well ripened, 
they were small; that other Cherries, Figs, and Melon 
were not so fine; and that the Nectarines were hardly 
ripe, but handsome ; though in what that handsomeness 
consisted, I am at a loss to divine—the largest of them 
not being large, and the smallest of them very small ; 
the impression on my mind being that both they and 
the Melon would have detracted from the value of any 
able while they can get bad things sold, some say ; 
I think they ought to cultivate the best they can pro- 
cure. Alstremerias.—Having read the high-sounding 
praises of Van Houtte’s collection, I procured 50 
varieties from him, in good order, and followed his 
directions respecting them. In his catalogue, he says, 
* La nature semble avoir epuisé sa palette pour en- 
richer de tons riches ou tendres,les plus variós, les 
corolles delicates et sveltes de ces plantes.” Iam of a 
different opinion. The bed bas a very heavy, dingy 
appearance ; and I only wait till a few that have not 
yet expanded their flowers (though they promise 
nothing) show what they are fully, to banish the en- 
tire collection from the garden. Fuchsias. — There 
seems to be a good deal of humbug going on in 
what may be called the Fuchsia trade, and those 
who fancy this fine tribe should require a speci- 
men of the flowers before they give orders for plants. 
Among a considerable number of the newest which I 
procured, none of the reds which have yet flowered excel 
older varieties, The best light one that has yet flowered 
is Diekson's Acantha. It is of a decided character, 
and though the corolla be not very bright, it is pleasing, 
sufficiently contrasted with the white sepals and tube, 
I have two strong plants of Serratifolia (why has it that 
name!) ; but they have not yet shown a single flower. 
The appearance of the plant strongly indicates a species; 
some of the leaves are seven inches long. I procured 
the plants direct from Messrs. Veitch. Messrs. Dick- 
son and Co., of Edinburgh, ‘also got a plant from them, 
which was exhibited at one of the Caledonian Society’s 
shows, and it was so different in its whole appearance 
from mine, and the flowers were so like some of the 
pink varieties, that I was very positive in affirming it 
was not the Serratifolia, Messrs. Dickson's plant had 
been kept in a stove, and that might have caused it to 
differ so much from mine, which is in a greenhouse, 
A gardener in my neig ‘hood had purchased a plant 
from Messrs. Dickson which had many flowers, though 
the plant was small, I have given him a cuttin g from 
mine that he may compare their progress; and. Mr. 
MeNab, of the Experimental Garden, is making ob- 
servations, If the plants sold by Messrs. Veitch be 
all from one original, the facts are curious; but if not, 
there may be varieties.— Pansies : De Gustibus, &e. 
While this flower in some of its varieties is pleasing, 
and even brilliant, I cannot say I admire some that 
have got great names, and fetch good prices. There 
may be too much of a good thing; and the advice may 
be repeated as to this flower—see a specimen before 
you give an order ; and it may be said of everything. 
