June 1, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



[supplement.] XXV11. 



bunches of any one variety. Four varieties were 

 shown, and though the bunches were not large, 

 they were compact, and the berries were well 

 coloured, especially of Madresfield Court and 

 Black Hamburgh; but Foster's Seedling was 

 also good, and it was pleasant to see ripe samples 

 of Buckland's Sweetwater, instead of the green 

 Muscat of Alexandria, which appeared in 



several other classes. 



In the class for one bunch of black and one of 

 white Grapes, the Marquis of Salisbury was 



f laced 1st, winning a Silver Cup for Black 

 [amburgh and Muscat of Alexandria; and he 

 was followed by H. W. Perkins, Esq., Green- 

 ford, Harrow, who had Foster's Seedling in 

 place of the last-named variety, the same two 

 varieties being shown by Sir W. Greenwell, 

 Marden Park, Caterham, who was awarded the 



3rd prize. 



From Bestwood Lodge, Arnold, came the 

 finest two bunches of Black Hamburgh, com- 



J>act, and of excellent colour, well winning the 

 arge Silver-gilt Medal awarded by the judges. 



The 2nd prize, also a Silver Cup, was awarded 

 to the Duke of Westminster, Eaton Hall, Ches- 

 ter (gr. Mr. Barnes), who had Marchioness, Her* 

 of Lockinge, Sutton's Seedling, and Countess in 

 admirable condition ; but the general effect was 

 not so good, as all the fruits were yellow- 

 skinned. 



C. F. Raphael, Esq., Potter's Park, Shenley, 

 was awarded a large Silver-gilt Medal as the 

 3rd prize, for a handsome lot of fruits, superbly 

 netted, amongst which Royal Jubilee, Hero of 

 Lockinge, and Eureka were especially con- 

 spicuous. 



Only three prizes were named in the schedule, 

 but the judges awarded a fourth — a Silver 

 Medal — to the Horticultural College, Sw r anley 

 (principal Miss F. R. Wilkinson), for a most 

 praiseworthy collection, comprising Emerald 

 Gem, Elmcroft Beauty, Superlative, Perfection, 

 Hero of Lockinge, and Sutton's Scarlet. Several 

 critical visitors thought this exhibit should have 

 had a higher position in the' class, and, regarded 

 simply from an effective point of view, the 



Cardinal Xectarines, superb in both size and 

 colour. In two other classes for these fruits the 

 same exhibitor won a 1st and a 2nd prize, the 

 Duke of St. Albans and the Hon. J. Ward also 

 securing awards with good fruits of the above- 

 named varieties. 



Cherries. — In the class for two varieties of 

 Cherries, the Duke of Portland was awarded a 

 Silver-gilt Medal as the 1st prize, showing large, 

 handsome examples of Bigarreau de Mezel and 

 Early Rivers. The former variety is not generally 

 grown in England, but is said to have been 

 known on the Continent since the early years 

 of the past century, and to have been noted for 

 the large size of its early fruits. 



Strawberries. — The Marquis of Salisbury 

 was awarded the Silver Cup as a 1st prize for 

 nine varieties of Strawberries, comprising excel- 

 lent fruits of Utility, Monarch, Reward, Bedford 

 Champion, The Bedford Leader, Royal Sovereign, 

 Waterloo and British Queen It is interesting to 

 note that all with the exception of the last two 

 have been raised by Messrs. Laxtcn Bros., and 



t 



• 







Fjg. 21, 



FIRST PRIZE COLLECTION OF FRUIT EXHIBITED BY HIS MAJESTY THE KING IN CLASS 35I 



(See p. xxvi.) 





. 



which surpasses the 

 so honoured is the 

 Chelsea, Melons were 



The other prizes were adjudged to exhibits from 

 Eaton Hall and Greenford, of average merit. 



Melons. — It has been sometimes said that the 

 popularity of Melons as a garden fruit is 

 declining, but the evidence is quite against 

 that view. Since the 1866 International, 

 considerably over 100 varieties have been 

 certificated by the Royal Horticultural Society; 

 in fact, the only fruit 

 Melon in the number 

 Apple. In the show at 



very conspicuous, and the five classes provided 

 were well filled with exhibits of high merit ; in 

 fact, no part of the fruit section was so repre- 

 sented in point of numbers, competitions, and 

 quality. Apparently, however, the latter charac- 

 ter had to be judged without tasting, for, except 

 in one class, we did not observe that the fruits 

 had been cut. General appearance and the ripe- 

 ness had been accepted as the guiding points. 



The class for 24 Melons, in not fewer than 6 

 varieties, and no more than 4 fruits of any one 

 variety, constituted a large display alone, as 

 there were four exhibits, and the 96 specimens 

 shown were of remarkably uniform merit. The 

 1st prize (Silver Cup) collection came from the 

 Hon. J. Ward, Chilton Lodge, Hungerford (gr. 

 Mr. Chas. Beckett), and comprised even, hand- 

 some fruits of Superlative, Hero of Lockinge, 

 Countess, Barnet Hall Favourite, Royal Jubilee, 

 and Ringleader, and seldom have these fine varie- 

 ties been better represented on the exhibition 

 table. 



opinion seemed to be justified. The Swanley 

 College growers, however, vindicated them- 

 selves in the three following classes for two varie- 

 ties, one scarlet-flesh and one green-flesh Melon ; 

 they won the three premier honours (a Silver- 

 gilt Medal in each instance), the varieties being 

 Superlative and Emerald Gem, in first-rate form. 

 In the class for scarlet-flesh varieties, Mr. C. 

 H. Beckett was 2nd, showing Sutton's Scarlet; 

 Wingfield Digby, Esq., Sherborne Castle, was 



3rd in both classes. 



For one fruit of Melon of white flesh, H. J. 

 Thornhill, Esq., Diddington Hall Hunting- 

 don, won the 1st prize with Hero of Lockinge ; 

 2nd, Mr. C. H. Beckett, for the same variety ; 

 3rd, the Swanley Horticultural College. 



OTHER FRUITS. 



Peaches and Nectarines. — Four classes were 

 devoted to these fruits, and the examples shown 

 were very fine, but the number was restricted, 

 and in some of the classes there was no competi- 

 tion. Peaches and Nectarines are now so widely 

 grown under glass, and such excellent early varie- 

 ties are at command, it is surprising that there 

 were not more exhibitors, although the date was 

 somewhat early. The chief class was for three 

 dishes of Peaches and three of Nectarines, and 

 the only exhibitor, the Duke of Portland, 

 Welbeck Abbey (gr. Mr. J. Gibson), won the 

 leading prize — a silver cup — for handsome fruits 

 of Hale's Early, Duke of York, and Alexander 

 Peaches, with Early Rivers, Lord Napier and 



only the last one was known at the time of the 

 1866 International Show. 



In other classes Royal Sovereign was shown 

 in capital condition by the Earl of Lytton, Kneb- 

 worth, Hertfordshire, the Marquis of Salisbury 

 and Mr. J. Adams, Lewes. 



Plums and Figs. — These fruits were shown 

 by few exhibitors in the competitive classes, bat 

 the Duke of Westminster and the Marquis of 

 Salisbury had fair examples, with which they 

 won premier prizes. 



NON-COMPETITIVE EXHIBITS OF FRUIT. 



Of the several non-competitive collections of 

 fruit, the palm must be given to the huge ex- 

 hibit from the gardens of Mr. Leopold di 

 Rothschild, Gunnersbury House, Acton (gr. 

 Mr. J. Hudson, V.M.H.). The collection em- 

 braces several hundreds of fruit trees in pots, 

 and occupies a quarter of an acre. The arrange- 

 ment is in a long oblong form, the two sides 

 being faced by picked fruits, flowers, Ferns, and 

 a broad margin of the variegated Ophiopogon. 

 In the centre is a broad walk, 10 feet wide, 

 arched over with vines growing in pots. 

 Numerous well-fruited plants of Sunrise and 

 Golden Nugget Tomatos furnish desired colour. 

 The Grapes were of the varieties Black Ham- 

 burgh, Royal Muscadine, and the Strawberry. 

 There are 12 varieties of Cherries, the finest 

 being Early Rivers, Elton, Governor Wood (see 

 fig. 22), Florence and May Duke, although others 

 are trocd also. Nectarines include Lord Napier, 





