116 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[June 22, 1912. 



A Gardener's Education. — After a perusal 

 of the opinions expressed on this subject at the 

 recent conference at Chelsea, many practical 

 gardeners who, through no fault of their own, 

 are unable to secure a situation will have a sub- 

 ject for deep contemplation. When we remem- 

 ber the number of fully qualified professional men 

 who are either in situations as gardeners where 

 they are poorly paid, with no or very little 

 scope for their abilities, or are temporarily em- 

 ployed in a nursery waiting for a situation, we 

 may ask ourselves what prospects are there for 

 the gardener in the future? Are there better 

 prospects in view? I do not wish to undervalue 

 the importance of a thorough education. We 

 often hear it said that it is difficult to obtain 

 the services of really good, persevering young 

 men as journeymen. I am inclined to think that 

 many of the most energetic and well-educated 

 youths quickly forsake the following of gardening 



for a more lucrative and secure profession. 

 Boamer. 



Ficus repens Fruiting.— Thinking it may 

 be of interest, I enclose a fruiting branch of Ficus 

 repens, which has fruited here for four successive 

 years. Previously the plant has produced its 

 fruits at the top of the wall, where they were 

 rarely seen, but this year the fruits are in a 

 much more prominent position. R. Staward, 

 Panshanger Gardens, Hertford. [We thank 

 you for your interesting branch of Ficus repens. 

 This arborescent form of F. repens is analogous 

 to the larger leaves in the H Tree " Ivies. An 

 ordinary creeping form and fruiting shoot of F. 

 repens were illustrated in the Gardeners 9 

 Chronicle, March 12, 1904, figs. 71, 72.— Eds.] 



Record Strawberries. — I read with interest 



in last week's issue of the Gardeners' Chronicle 

 (see p. 395) Mr. Groves's remarks upon the Straw- 

 berry "Auguste Nicaise," and on looking 

 through an old diary that I kept in 1894, when 

 journeyman at Aston Clinton Gardens, I find it 

 recorded that there was a splendid crop of 

 Auguste Nicaise in pots, and that eight of the 

 fruits turned the scale at 1 lb. I well remem- 

 ber that large quantities of this variety were 

 grown as th« principal variety for forcing, and 

 at Aston Clinton it always did remarkably 

 w T ell. Of late years I have not seen or heard 

 much about this old variety Undoubtedly Mr. 

 Groves grows it well at Temple House Gardens, 

 and I note that he speaks favourably of its good 

 flavour. J. B. Lowe, Green Hill Gardens, 

 Warminster, Wilts. 



Arrangement of Flowers at Exhibitions 



(see p. 372). — Mr. A. G. Gibbins is not correct in 

 assuming that the Carnation to-day is crammed 

 into a paper collar and shown on a board. A few 

 of the old summer Carnations are sometimes exhi- 

 bited in this manner, but for every one of these 

 flow r ers thus presented at the Royal Horticultural 

 Hall, thousands are shown all the year round on 

 long stems in bunches, presenting natural growth 

 in full beauty. Not only is the paper collar 

 objectionable, but more so is the dressing which 

 some of the flow T ers receive. The Council of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society should make a hard- 

 and-fast rule that any flowers bearing evidences 

 of dressing or manipulation should be rigidly ex- 

 cluded from the hall, no matter what society 

 might occupy it. It is a dying practice, and 

 only needs a sharp kick to abolish both dressing 

 and the paper collars. Cactus Dahlias admit of 

 no dressing, but because of their weak stems it is 

 essential at shows, to be properly seen, that they 

 be set up in wire frames. Those who desire an 

 effective garden display of Dahlias have a wide 

 choice in the Pompon type, the plants flowering 

 profusely on stout stems. The single Dahlias 

 also are free bloomers, and have beautiful flowers, 

 whilst those of the new collarette and the tall, 

 looser- growing but free-flowering Pseony-flowered 

 sections appear singularly charming in gardens. 

 It should be the rule now to exhibit all these 

 varieties in vases without wires, as each kind 

 carries its flowers well. ^ Probably with some 

 flowers, as loner as exhibiting continues, there 

 must be some stiffness or formality in the method 

 of exhibiting them. Take the case of Roses. 

 There is no better method of enabling the judges 

 to determine the respective merits of the indi- 

 vidual blooms than displaying them in boxes. 

 Still, the practice of exhibiting these flowers in 

 bunches on long stems, showing habit of growth, 

 is an increasing one, and generally, when thus dis- 



played, the blooms are far more attractive than 

 those in boxes. The chief defect of the bunched 

 Roses is that the bunches are made too solid or 

 massive. Roses could not be grown under trial 

 in the same manner as Sweet Peas. A variety 

 w T hich might do admirably in the Wisley sand 

 might be a failure on the Hertfordshire clay. 

 The granting of a gold medal yearly by the 

 National Rose Society to what seems to be the 

 best Rose of the season is probably misleading. 

 But it would serve to minimise disappointment 

 on the part of purchasers were the Society to in- 

 timate that the Award is made to the flower as 

 exhibited only, irrespective of the merits of the 

 plant. A. D. 



Border Carnations in Pots. — I enclose 

 a photograph of five Carnation plants, four speci- 

 mens of Lady Hermoine, and one of Cecilia, to 

 show the value of these border varieties in pots, 

 where Carnations are not a success when grown 

 out-of-doors. These plants were grown from cut- 

 tings inserted 2£ years ago, and flowered last year, 

 after which they were potted into 8-inch pots. 

 The plants are carrying a crop of 200 blooms, the 

 two best specimens of Lady Hermoine having 50 

 flowers each. Each stem is disbudded to one 

 flower. I enclose a few of the blooms for your 

 inspection. .7. H. Herdman, Under Fell Gar- 

 dens, Burton, Westmorland. 



SOCIETIE 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL. 



June 18. — There was a large attendance at 

 the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Societv 

 on Tuesday last. The chief interest was centred 

 in the splendid collections of border flowers ; such 

 stately subjects as Eremuruses and Delphiniums 

 being much admired. Orchids were fewer in 

 number than at recent meetings. The Orchid 

 Committee awarded' three First-class Certificates 

 and three> Awards of Merit. The Floral Com- 

 mittee awarded one Gold and 33 other medals, 

 and 17 Awards of Merit. The Fruit and 

 Vegetable Committee awarded one Silver 

 Medal and two Cards of Cultural Commendation. 

 The first summer show of the National Gladiolus 

 Society^ which was held in conjunction with this 

 fortnightly meeting, attracted but very few 

 exhibits. The competitors were all from 

 Guernsey, and the only non-competitive exhibit 

 was that of Mr. K. Velthuys, from Holland. 



At the three o'clock meeting of the Fellows 

 of the R.H.S. the Rev. Prof. Geo. Henslow, 

 M.A., V.M.H., delivered a lecture on " Pro- 

 fessor J. S. Henslow as Ecologist." 



Floral Committee. 



Present: H. B. May, Esq. (in the Chair); 

 Messrs. J Green, W. P. Thomson. Chas. Dixon, 

 C. T. Druery, Chas. E. Shea, C. R. Fielder, 

 F H. Chapman, Arthur Turner, Chas. E. Pear- 

 son, J. F. McLeod, R. C. Notcutt, R. W. 

 Wallace, W. J. Bean, W. T. Ware, J. Jennings, 

 George Gordon, W. Howe, C. Blick, W. B. 

 Cranfield, E. H. Jenkins, J. Hudson, Wm. 

 Cuthbertson, and R. Hooper Pearson. 



Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, filled the 

 entire end of the hall with a very comprehensive 

 collection of Sweet Peas. Of the many varieties 

 so well shown we noted Sutton's giant -flowered 

 rose-pink, sky-blue, and delicate pink as being 

 very desirable varieties. Other good sorts shown 

 were Mrs. Hugh Dickson, Doris Usher, Elfrida 

 Pearson, Lady Evelyn Eyre, and R. F. Felton. 

 (Gold Medal.) 



Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, London, 

 made a very interesting display with Cannas, 

 Carnations, &c, which filled one length of stag- 

 ing. The Cannas were exceedingly good, and 

 included such desirable varieties as Niagara, 

 Baron de Richer, J. B. van der Schoot, R. Wal- 

 lace, and Terra Cotta. The Carnations were 

 chiefly " Malmaison M varieties, and towards the 

 end of this exhibit there was a good group of 

 Begonia Lucerna — a fine decorative variety. On 

 the opposite table Messrs. Veitch set up a de- 

 lightful collection of Spanish Irises in many dis- 

 tinct varieties. (Silver-gilt Flora Medal.) 



Messrs. Jas. Veitch also had a splendid col- 

 lection of Eremurus against the side wall, chiefly 

 of the dark strain of E. Wareii. the white- 

 flowered Rhododendron Kirkii, Philadelphus 

 Gordonianus, smothered with flowers, and Deutzia 

 myriantha. 



Messrs. H. B. May & Sons, Upper Edmonton 

 showed, in a selection of their well-known stove 

 and greenhoi.se Ferns, Nephrolepis Rooseveltii, 

 a variety of X. exaltata, with stout, undulate 

 pinnae. This promises to become a valuable 

 variety for house 

 Medal.) 



Mr. Vincent 



decoration. (Silver Banksian 



Slade, Staplegrove Nursery, 

 Taunton, showed many brightly-coloured trusses 

 of zonal Pelargoniums, and Polypodium cambri- 

 cum in small pots arranged in cork. 



Mr. Chas. Blick, Hayes, Kent, showed a 

 dozen or so of exceedingly good Carnations. The 

 brilliant-coloured King Arthur and the flamed 

 Bombardier were noteworthy. 



Mr Philip Ladds, Swanley Junction, showed 

 Fuchsias and zonal and fancy Pelargoniums. 



Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, staged, 

 in Vicar of Shirley, Hector Giaconelli, and Blue 

 Peter, trusses of three very good varieties of 

 Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums. Next came sweet- 

 smelling East Lothian Stocks, followed by hybrid 

 Fuchsias, with pendulous corymbs of flowers, 

 Diplacus aurantiaca, and tuberous Begonias, 

 bearing large, double flowers. (Silver Banksian 

 Medal.) 



Messrs. W. Treseder, Ltd., Cardiff, exhibited 

 the fancy Pelargonium Lord Bute (see illustration 

 in Gardeners 9 Chronicle, July 22, 1911, p. 44) in. 

 wicker baskets. 



Mr. L. R. Russell, Richmond, Surrey, showed 

 Iresine Madame Bousillon, Salvia .Pride of 

 Zurich, Marguerite Mrs. F. Sander, and Coleus 

 Cordelia. (Bronze Flora Medal.) 



Mr. H. Burnett, Guernsey, again showed a 

 splendid collection of Carnations. (Silver 

 Flora Medal.) 



Messrs. B. R. Cant & Sons, the Old Rose 

 Gardens, Colchester, had a splendid collection of 

 Roses. This exhibit contained many stands of 

 fresh cut blooms, and the plants ot multiflora 

 varieties along the back were profusely flowered. 

 The varieties Mrs. Alfred Tate, Lady Ashtown, 

 and Mrs. David McKee were exceptionally good. 

 (Silver-gilt Flora Medal ) 



Messrs. Frank Cant & Co., Colchester, had a 

 magnificent collection of Roses. Many well- 

 known varieties, such as Irish Elegance, Tea 

 Rambler, Hugh Dickson, Mme. Me'Janie Soupert, 

 and Mme. Ravary were massed in large stands, 

 whilst the show-boards along the front contained 



numbers of fine blooms. (Silver-gilt Flora 

 Medal.) 



Messrs. Wm. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, in- 

 cluded their popular variety Juliet, and such, 

 other good sorts as The Warrior, Ophelia, and 

 Mme. Segond Weber in their collection of Roses. 

 (Silver Flora Medal.) 



Messrs. Hobbies, Ltd., Dereham, exhibited a 

 small but select assortment of Roses, two of 

 which received Awards of Merit. 



Messrs. Stuart Low & Co., Bush Hill Park, 

 Middlesex, arranged some charming cut Roses 

 in stands and bowls. The vellows were repre- 



Ray 



Clos 



The dark, velvety -pe tailed Chateau de 

 Vougeot, Viscountess Folkestone, and the sweet- 

 scented Juliet were exceedingly well shown. In 

 another part of the hall this firm showed especi- 

 ally meritorious Carnations. (Silver Banksian 

 Medal.) 



Messrs. Paul & Son, The Nurseries, Cheshunt, 

 staged a few varieties of climbing Roses at the 

 end of their fine display of Pseonies. The rambler 

 Rose Sweet Lavender produces its lavender- 

 edged flowers in abundance. The hybrid climb- 

 ing Rose Butterfly is an exceedingly large single 

 variety with pale rose-coloured flowers. (Silver 

 Banksian Medal.) 



Mr. James Box, Lindfield, Sussex, displayed a 

 number of Sweet Pea blooms in varieties of dis- 

 tinct colours. Mr. Box also effectively fill™ a 

 corner of the Hall with a large collection of bor- 

 der flowers. (Silver-gilt Banksian Medal.) 



Messrs. E. W. King & Co., Coggeshall, Essex, 

 staged a clean and fresh collection of Sweet Peas. 

 (Bronze Banksian Medal.) 



Messrs. Blackmore & Langdon, Twerton Hill 

 Nursery, Bath, showed many tall spikes of mag- 



three very 



(Silver Flora 



nificent Delphiniums and 

 Begonias, which received Aw r ards. 

 Medal.) ' 



Messrs. G. & A. Clabx. Dover, made an ex- 

 ceedingly effective display of hardy herbaceous 

 flowers arranged in a square formation on t>n 

 floor. (Silver Flora Medal.) 



