May 11, 1912- J 



7 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



311 



such as Codiseums ;Crotons), Dracaenas, Alo- 



flowers for show purposes late in the day — they 



casias, and Pandanas. These and all other such do not keep nearly so fresh as those cut soon 

 plants, whether variegated or not, thoroughly after sunrise. 



repay a careful sponging with a weak solution 

 of pure, soft soap. Other washes may be used 



In the matter of fruit-exhibiting, I must say 

 that there is considerable room for improvement 



I have tried several— but I prefer the soft soap, in nearly every case 



There 



THE 



me hasten to add, some very notable exceptions, 

 thoroughly In selecting fruits for showing, only those which 



are perfectly fresh should be chosen, if anything 



The individual 



§urbencrs'Cbromcle 



as leaving no deposit. 



Only those plants which are 

 healthy and in the pink of condition should be 



exhibited. Many a time a whole exhibit ha* been rather under than over-ripe, 

 marred by the inclusion of one plant which fruits should all be carefully selected; judges 



was out of character, or 



tion. All plants should be prepared for some thoroughly. 



in a sickly condi- often look at single examples, and examine them 



Colour should usually take pre- 



No. 1,324. 



May 



CONTENTS. 



Apples, late cessert 

 Archer, Mr. W. E., re- 

 tirement of 



Benevolent Institution, 



Gardeners' Royal ... 

 Books, notices of— 

 Botanical Magazine ... 

 Publications received 



Celsia cretica 



Clarkia ele^ans ... 



323 



319 



319 



319 

 320 



325 

 325 

 325 

 325 



... 312 



323 

 318 

 315 

 320 

 323 

 322 



Farrer" cup, the — 

 Florists' flowers 

 Flower pot, a new 

 Forest trees, e: o ic 

 Frost and the fruit crops 

 Frost, damage by, in S. 



Devon and Cornwall 320 

 Fruit crops in Ireland ... 322 

 Fruit prospects in North 



Wales 323 



Gardener's golden wed- 

 ding, a 819 



Gazaland, economic 



flora of 321 



Hales, Mr. William ... 318 

 Hints on exhibiting ... 311 

 Hippeastrums, white ... 322 

 Hooker, Sir Joseph, the 



library of ... .- 319 

 International Horticul- 

 tural Exhibition 318, 320 

 Ireland, Government 



sale of trees in ... 322 



Italian garden, an ... 315 

 Jones, the late Mr. 



Thomas 322 



Kew Gardens, theft 



from 319 



Moraine gardening ... 323 



313 



323 



320 

 313 



Obituary- 

 Box, James ... 

 M'Lean, Alexander .. 

 Morrison, William ... 

 Newrock, Charles ~ 



Orchid notes and glean 



ings 

 Disas 



Odontoglossum hy- 

 brids 



Orchids from Ever- 

 shot* Dorset 



Primula losea 



Primula Viiicaeflora arid 

 P. pinnatifida in 



China 



Rhododendron Vaseyi— 



R.H.S. and the inspec- 

 tion of Fellows' gar- 

 dens 



Rosa gigantea flowering 

 at Kew 



Scotland, notes from ... 



Societies — 

 Biochemical Club ... 

 Horticultural Club 318, 324 

 Lincolnshire Daffodil 325 



Linnean 



Manchester & Nor.h 



of England Orchid 



National Auricula and 



Primula 



h oyal Horticultural... 

 (Scientific Committee) 

 Town gardening 

 Vine culture in the 



colonies 



Weather in N. Devon 



time before a show, by judicious ventilation and cedence over size; flavour and quality also are 

 moderate exposure, to become accustomed to the more important than Brobdingnagia.i proper- 

 changes of temperature which are involved by tions. An instance of this may be found in compar- 

 removal from their own quarters to the show. ing different varieties of Nectannes-a Pineapple 

 Stove plants should never be taken straight out Nectarine is preferable to a Lord Napier, and a 



of plunging material; they should be lifted a 



tim 



Royal 



In Grapes, 



short 



beforehand, and inured to ex- 



posure. In the case of flowering plants ot any 

 kind, all faded blossoms should be removed. 



All 



colour is the most important point, so long as the 

 bunches are up to exhibition standard ; in dessert 



ras 



313 They serve no useful purpose on the plants. 



when coupled with a high standard of quality. 



plants should be staked sufficiently to ensure safe Again, a well-netted Melon will take a higher 

 transit; by this I mean what might be called place than a larger one without this cl.arac- 



<( 



permanent 



j> 



staking. 



All fine-foliaged plants teristic. 



should be tied up and very carefully packed to 

 prevent any injury. 



too 



322 



314 

 322 



319 



325 

 325 



324 



318 

 323 

 318 



319 



323 



In every case, the greatest care should be ex- 

 ercised when packing for transit. Personally, 

 the same care. It is a great mistake to try to I find it the best way to pack m such a manner 

 trim up, with a pair of scissors or a knife, the as to avoid the necessity of unpacking again at 

 leaves of plants which have a natural tendency the exhibition. This can nearly always be done 

 to turn brown at the extremities. I have some- in the case of Cherries, Strawberries, Peaches and 

 times seen this done, with the result that the Nectarines, especially the two first. They should 



be packed in shallow boxes, or round shallow 

 baskets ; and they can then be placed as they 

 are on the stand, thus saving much time and 



trouble. 



More < ire is needed in packing dessert fruits 



Week's work, the 316, 317 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Cups offered at the International Horticultural Exhibi- 



tion 320 '^ 



D!sa sagittalis --- 312 



Primula viricaeflora and P. pinnatifida growing wild 



in China (Supplementary Illustration). 



Rhododendron Vaseyi ... - - — JJJ]* 



Rosa gigantea, a flowering spray of ... — — dJ4 



appearance of the plant is completely spoiled 

 especially I remember a Dasylirion acrotiichum 

 which had been thus treated— the effect was 

 most unnatural and unpleasmg. 



If the pot of any plant for exhibition seems too 

 small,, the plant should be repotted in one of a than in the case of any other exhibit. They are 

 larger size. In the case of Hvacinths, the pot is in the highest degree perishable and fragile, and 

 often rather larger than necessary, as exhibitors are frequently completely spoilt by want of care- 

 like to make the specimens appear dwarfed. 



All plants should be watered before being 



ful handling. 



Many of the remarks I have mad© upon the 



placed iTtlTe ^"excepting Orchids. With re~- packing of fruit apply also in the case of vege- 

 card to the packing of the latter, it is well to use tables. I consider that there is scope for far 



quantities of soft tissue paper, which is better 

 than any other packing material. Plenty of 

 time snould be allowed for packing, so as to 



more effective arrangement of vegetables than 



is usually 



, and, given a fair amount of space, 



HINTS ON EXHIBITING. 



THERE are many excellent cultivators who 

 can raise most creditable produce, but 

 who are unable, through lack of skill in ex- 

 hibiting, to make a good show of their material 



they are better worth arranging than fruits, 

 insurelts bdn7p roper lydone. ' Unless the plants Here, again, quality and freshness should be 

 are tightly packed they may shift, and the pots sought for, rather than mere size. Beans, especi- 

 ally, are frequently much too large ; Cauliflowers 

 also, and nearly every kind of root vegetable, 

 are chosen too often for this characteristic. Any 



will probably be broken. 



In the case of cut flowers, the blooms should be 

 prepared the day before the exhibition, and 



Should be placed in water, in a cool place, for a vegetables which are marked or marred in any 

 few hours before packing. All market growers way should be rejected, and colour should be 

 Such failures could be avoided in large measure ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ t0 ^ upon it _ they made a point of in every case. Root vegetable* 

 by a little forethought and attention to detail. ' thig m ^^ ^ flowers are kept i n should be cleaned before the show with a brush- 

 As an old exhibitor myself, I have frequently n condit i n, and show to advantage on the not a stiff scrubbing-brush, which will leave 

 noticed, with regret, the spoiling of what should , exhibition The flowers should marks behind. The best kind, in my opinion, is 

 k — ^ " " -—»*-«- — i.:uh k_ mornm rt vi . a " spoke " brush, such as is used for cleaning 



Vegetables should be packed with 



have been a thoroughly creditable exhibit, by 



slovenly and careless staging. 



One very small point is frequently neglected — 

 the early painting of all boxes which are to be 

 used. Over and over again I have met with cases 

 in which this work has been left until a day or 



be packed firmly, so as to prevent them from 

 rubbing against one another. In selecting flowers 

 for cutting, those which are half-opened should 

 be taken rather than such as are fully developed. 

 In the ca*e of Nymphaeas, for example, the best 

 blossoms for the purpose will be those which 



will be at their 



carriages. 



quite as much care as fruits, especially Cauli 

 flowers, Cucumbers, and Vegetable Marrows. 

 Shallow baskets are much better for exhibition 

 than the ordinary garden hamper, for in these 

 the vegetables are less prone to injury in 



two before the exhibition, with the result that , . thev 



the paint, still damp and sticky, spreads itself have opene a i c. ^- lt is mt handling. 



lavishly during transit over neighbouring objects, best ™ e " * *' thp no]1 / n masses {rom Iffla- How TO Stage Exhibits. 



and during the staging process over the hands 



and clothes of the gardener. Flower pots, too, ceous P^ nts 



necessary to remove the pollen masses from lilia- 



it is sometimes done, but it is a 



We now come to a matter of the very 



which 



are often overlooked. It seems scarcely nece-s^ 



mere fad. 



xhibit 



sary to *ay that they should all be thoroughly °°* ™ ' °" £ wat ' er but this is not essen- with practical experience 



cleaned before being sent to a show ; and yet, with thei \ stem lZ7t iThni weather, when note the methods of a s 



summer 



tial, except, perhaps, in very hot weather, when 



thev are apt to open too fast if shut up in boxes. 

 " uol ° avuie large jraims were arranged an uuwn riiey «i^ ? r . , ,.„,,»,„ P n <;p«; 



the c, ntral Ji. in „ **, Uon, the ■» '**?**-*!tttt2£Z 



greatest importance in exhibiting, 

 can best be studied by close observation, coupled 



It is a good thing to 

 ccessful exhibitor, and 



Palms 



pots naturally, most conspicuous — unfortunately 

 *o, since they were all covered with dirt. 



Another small, but important, point is the 



Condition of tlm Wx7^q r>f firt0.-fAI1a.f7p/ 3 . nlan+a 



onlv, and on the morning oi the day before the 



Morning-cut Roses have the early 

 them, and this stands them in good 



possible. There are many ex- 



hibitors who bring their produce safely to the 



their material to 



sho 



but fail to stage 



exhibition. 



dew on 



stead. Indeed, 



the best advantage. It is a good plan to settle 

 beforehand the approximate arrangement of 



it is not 'advisable to cut°any plants, fruits and vegetables; by this means an 



