March 23, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS 



CHROSICLE. 



189 



HOME CORRESPONDENCE 



(The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for 

 the opinions expressed by correspondents.) 



W 



Up ■■ Manchester. — I 



, ,. £ . . - was glad to 



see your leading article on " Wake up " Man- 

 Chester. It is a great pity and a great los< to 

 horticulture in the North of England that the 

 Old Trafford Gardens went down. But 

 of the 



_ in view 

 present day municipal and corporation 

 movements with regard to public gardens, would 

 it not be better for horticulture generally, pro- 

 vided the trust deeds allowed it, if the trustees 

 were to set up a Northern Wisley, where the 

 money would be well spent in training young 

 gardeners and educating them for their work? 

 I feel sure Manchester University would co- 

 operate in such a scheme and that the money 

 would be forthcoming, provided the public had 

 confidence in the executive. J. Bernard Hall, 

 L'awdon, Leeds. 



The leader 



last 



in your last, issue on 

 Cottonopolis will, it is 



horticultural affairs in f mm _ 



hoped, do something to rouse Manchester people 

 from their seeming apathy in this matter. Let 

 us look at the facts. Manchester is situated in 

 the heart of a great industrial country; within a 

 comparatively small area there is a population of 

 millions. The counties of Yorkshire and Cheshire 

 are adjacent, Derbyshire within a short distant 

 and North Wales within easy reach. Transit 

 facilities by rail and road are 

 good, not only within the 

 counties mentioned, but 

 northwards in the West- 

 moreland direction and the 

 north-east, and southwards 

 to the Midlands. So much 

 for situation and accessi- 

 bility. What of the popula- 

 tion? Manchester prides 

 itself on its trade, on its 

 business acumen, and its 

 commercial achievements. 



As a city, even with the most 

 enthusiastic Mancunian, it 

 cannot lay claim to beauty. 

 I have an impression that 

 Bernard Shaw classes it with 

 some other important com- 

 mercial centres that, in his 

 opinion, should be burnt 

 down. Be this as it may, 

 Manchester contains an un- 

 usually large number of 

 wealthy men ; many reside 

 in the suburbs, over the 

 Cheshire border, in North 

 Derbyshire, on the Lan- 

 cashire coast, and in North 

 Wales, whilst within easy 

 reach are ducal establish- 

 ments * famed for their 

 gardens. There is an enormous 

 middle class and a large population of generally 

 well-paid workers. From a population point of 

 view, then, everything should be in favour of Man- 

 chester being a centre of interest in horticulture. 

 The fine shows formerly held at Old Trafford, 

 referred to by you in your article, are now but a 

 memory. The gardens in which they took place 

 still the property of the Botanical* Societv, are 

 given over to roller skating, dancing, gravitation 

 railways, and side shows. Under the name of 

 11 White City " what were once fine, well-stocked 

 and interesting gardens have no longer any claim 

 to horticultural pretensions. The man in the 

 street has a hazy idea of having heard of a 

 botanical society, but there is nothing to remind 

 him to-day of its existence. The Orchid Societv 

 hides its light under a bushel. Ask any 

 person you meet on one of their show davs 

 where the show is held. He cannot tell vou. In 

 all probability he has never heard of the* societv. 

 One cannot blame him ; there is no sign of ii 

 existence visible to the public. In spile of all 

 this, there is a very real and widespread love of 

 plants and flowers throughout the north of Eng- 

 land. This is by no means confined to the well- 

 to-do, but is characteristic of all classes. The at- 

 tempts that one may easily see to grow plants in 

 trie most uncongenial surroundings are pathetic to 

 witness. The miner, whose " striking " propen- 

 sities are just now so much in the public eve, is 

 V ery often a keen cultivator of Dahlias. In davs 

 past Lancashire was famous for its cultivation of 



show U ose berries, many societies holding exhi- 

 bitions and keeping carefully-tabulated record of 

 name, size, and weight of the prize bei es. 

 Neither was th ultivation of the Auricula neg- 

 lected; many noted growers of this one-tini© 

 popular flower hailed from Lancashire. So much 



tor paat achievements. What is the position to- 

 day/ If we except the modest annual show held 

 by the northern section of the National Carnation 

 Society, we find that <nw of the wealthiest areas 

 in the world is unable to boast of one single 

 horticultural exhibition in the y< r. Out do 

 Manchester tlnre are several small societi< of a 

 more or less local character that, in a limited 

 way, at mpt to keep horticulture alive. There 

 are nurabei of irdenera' improvement socie- 

 ties, some with a large membership. The British 

 Uardenere Am iation }u\& ah made son pr 



gress ni the fori ttion of branchi The* Ls also 

 a development of garden suburbs. All this go 

 to show that there is plenty of matei .1 available 



it it wer pi> ,lv organised. The fad of the 

 North of England Horticultural S ciety establish- 

 ing itself in ds is also an indication of a want 

 that is felt. In Lancashire and 



counties there are some of the lar 

 Great Britain, whi! 



t 



adja< nt 



nura i ie 



in 



in 



, Manchester it 'If 



several firms of seedsmen and nurserymen have 

 headquarters, from which exi businea 



are carried on. What of tho 



which exi sive 

 . of the Botanical Society? 



On its own showing, from the extract you printed 

 of its latest report, it has a ts valued at over 

 £45.000 alter meeting all liabilit -. and vet— it 







- * *« 



S 







i 











f f ^ 



Fig. 82. — koval international exhibition. 



(Bowl presented by Messrs. Bun yard & Co.) 



well-to-do 



does nothing. Surely it is time a forward move- 

 ment were made. Could not the Society itself 

 formulate a scheme whereby the various in- 

 terested bodies I have mentioned and the general 

 public will be interested, or is the initiative to 

 come from outside? No one who knows .Man- 

 chester will require to be reminded of the many 

 successful exhibitions connected with various in- 

 terests that are annually held within the city. 

 Surely horticulture — the oldest calling on earth 

 — should not lag behind. Mancun ». 



If it be true that what Lancashire 



says to-day the whole country says to- 

 morrow, horticulturists had better close their 

 ears. But it is not true. .Manchester has 

 turned her lovely botanical gardens into 

 a noisy playground, and has fallen into the 

 rear with respect to horticultural progress. 

 The Orchid Society is active, but its operations 

 are not exactly alluring, notwithstanding the 

 assistance rendered by trade growers from the 

 south -and west. Manchester itself can do little 

 in the way of good horticultural display, but the 

 suburbs have no climatic disadvantages, as one 

 may see by the successes of the few there who 

 still make much of their gardens. It may be 

 owing to the ease with which one may run up 

 from Manchester to the Metropolis that there is 

 less effort to maintain fine gardens and hold im- 

 posing horticultural exhibitions than there used 

 to be ; but the falling off is more likely to be 

 due to the disbanding of the society which in the 



best days of the late Bruce Finding was a force 

 no! only m .Manchester but througl ut the coon- 



try. there is 



alth enough, and, notwithstand- 

 ing appearances, there are still many among the 

 people of Manchester who take a k en delight in 

 gardens and plants. AH that is needed* is a 

 iittle initiative on the pan of a feu influential 

 amateurs and others interested with a view to 

 the formation of a society for the promotion of 



horticulture. The society would make the run- 

 ning, and we know from what has happened else- 



where that frequent, periodical meetings I 



hows in a suitable and oonveoiently situated hall 

 can do ,nore for gardening and gardeners than 

 any number of 1< rs or books can. If some 



wralthyga, ners of the type of the late lta 1 1 

 bchroder would advaiue the raon, to build a 

 hall and otiices for a horticultural MuiVtv in 

 Manchester the rest would b easy. TuenU 

 hve years ago one oould spend a profitable week 

 in the gardens about Manchester, whilst, nowa- 

 days, unless he be 1 buyer or seller of spotted 

 Odontoglossums or big Cypripediuma he will 

 very little to latere I him. II*. A 



find 



Collarette Dahlias (* p. 176) —Visitors 



to the shows at the Horticultural Hall las; 

 autumn who saw the exhibit* of Collarette 

 Dahlia* made by Mr. Riding and other growers 

 cannot fail to have realised that in this m tion 

 they have the promise of & wing tin moat attrac- 

 ts type of garden Dahlia* yel introduced. 



Ill spite of the cfTurts made ) rai rs, tin 



Cactus-flowered varieties ha\ been far from 

 satisfactory The Paxmy-flowered variel 1 are 



too large, loose and devoid of form, whikt the 



plants grow very tall. But th of the new 



Collarette section grow only a m limn height, 

 produce flowers on stiff stems in gr, t abnndai , 



and of a size which enable* thetn to h. union 

 with fl of other kinds. The "collar " at the 

 base of the true florets helps to retain th latter 



longer aft. bei cut than is the case with 

 Single Dahlia* ie of the colour combinations 



in these Dahlias are very b« kUtifaL l>. 



Count Althanns Gage Plum.- Your re- 

 viewer of W. l\ Hedrick'e book on the Plums 

 of New ) art corrects the author's spelling* of 

 "Althann/" which he had written Altham, Turn- 

 nig to I)r. lb g's Fruit Ma„ua/, I find he spells 

 it * Ah hum. and gives its origin as the gar- 

 den of Comte do ph Althann, in Bohemia, g 

 much may no doubt be taken for exactness. 



Turning to two of our greatest fruit firm's eat.i- 

 loguee, I find one prints the name as Heine 

 Claude de Comte " Hathem," whilst another de- 

 scribes it as Comte de Althan's Gage, being con- 

 tent to use one " n " only. Dr. Ho hows that 

 the name "Althann" is commonly spelt wrongly, 

 yet it seems the error continues. I like the 

 Doctor's simple appellation, Count Althann's 

 Gage, as being far better than introducing the 

 Reine Claude, and. indeed, not only in this case, 

 but in that of the Reine Claude de Bavay, the 

 simple terms Althann's Gage or De Bavav Gage, 

 are much better and easier. A. 



SOCIETIES. 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL. 



March 19. — The usual fortnightly m< ting was 

 held on Tuesday last in the Society's ball, 

 Vincent Square, Westminster, when aunt he 

 excellent exhibition was presented. The 

 show was not quite so large as on the 

 previous occasion, but it was ne ary to 

 requisition both the annexes for the ac- 

 commodation of groups. Orchids were again 



displayed in large numbers, and the Orchid \t- 

 mittee granted one First-el s Certificate and 

 one Award of Merit. In the floral section a Gold 

 Medal was awarded to Messrs. James Veitc h 

 & Sons, who showed three separate groups. 

 Azaleas and forced shrubs, greenhouse plants and 

 Cyclamens respectively. Other important ex- 

 hibits before the Floral Committee included 

 Ferns, Carnations, Pelargoniums, Rhododen- 

 drons, and hardy flowers. The Floral Com- 

 mittee granted seven Awards of Merit. 



The Fruit and Vegetable Committfe found 

 rather more than usual to inspect, but this body 

 made no award to a novelty. 



The Narcissus Committee sat for the second 



time this season, and the crronna nf Nn-r/»5c«i w^o 



