September 26, 1878. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
245 
those shown at Northampton. Mr. J. Walters, who has latterly 
taken a leading position with this flower, was first for twenty-four 
French, and he has rarely been in better form. Messrs. Heath 
were second and Messrs. Garraway third, all showing well. For 
twenty-four German Quilled Mr. Walters was again first with the 
good old Globe sort, and had some very distinct varieties ; Mr. 
Garraway was second, and Mr. Crump third. 
For table decorations Mr. A. Mansfield, gardener to W. Fletcher, 
Esq., was first, E. Pilgrim, Esq., second, and Mr. Smith, gardener 
to Mrs. General Tickhill, third. A very beautiful bouquet from 
Miss Cypher was awarded first, Mr. Jackson being second, and 
Mr. Mayo third. 
In the large plant tent a complete hedge of Fuchsias was formed 
down each side, most of the plants being from 4 to 6 feet high 
and well grown in the West of England style. For six varieties 
Mrs. Tickhill was first, and for four varieties Mr. Mayo. By far 
.the best habit and most floriferous of the darks was Rhoderick 
Dhu, somewhat after the Souvenir de Chiswick style. The best 
light-sepalled varieties were Rose of Castile, Wiltshire Lass, Alex- 
andrina, Lustre, and Evening Star. White Perfection, although 
neither a large nor a perfect flower, is very distinct and floriferous 
as a white-corolla variety. 
In Ferns and Mosses some very fine specimens were shown. 
Mr. Hamlett, gardener to E. Pilgrim, Esq., was first, and Mr. 
Cypher second; and for twenty-four British Ferns Mr. Hamlett 
‘was again first, having unusually large and well-grown plants, 
several of the specimens being from 3 to 4 feet'in diameter and in 
effect equalling the exotic species. The most striking were Poly- 
stichum angulare proliferum and P. angulare Pateyi, Osmunda 
regalis cristata, Scolopendr:um ramosum, and Lastrea Filix-mas 
cristata angustata, very curious and distinct. 
Lastly, the stove and greenhouse plants, for which Cheltenham 
has notably for some time past been an important centre, were, 
as it would be anticipated, remarkably fine, and larger, choicer, 
and better-grown plants are rarely met with at the South Kensing- 
ton and Regent’s Park exhibitions than those exhibited on this 
occasion by. Messrs. Cypher, Pilgrim, Heath, and others. For the 
collection of eight Mr. Cypher was first, and it is marvellous how 
little his plants, which for weeks past must have been so fre- 
quently on the move and have been almost half the time in the 
dark, appear to show the effect of their travel. Mr. Pilgrim was 
second with large plants, little if in any way inferior. For the 
collection of four varieties Messrs. Heath were first, and Mr. 
Skinner, gardener to E. Armitage, Esq., second. 
In the class for thirty plants grouped for effect a large space 
was well occupied by Mr. Pilgrim, who was first ; and by Mr. 
Cypher and Messrs. Heath, who were respectively second and 
third.. A fine specimen of the Turk’s Cap Melocactus from 
J. Robertson, Esq., attracted attention, and there were many 
other interesting points in the Show, but time prevented my 
further encroaching upon your space. 
The annual public dinner’ took place in the evening at the 
Plough Hotel under the presidency of W. N. Skillicome, Hsq., and 
this year the occasion was improved upon by the presentation to 
Mr. H. J. Cochrane of the Cheltenham Chronicle, the worthy Secre- 
tary of the Society, of a very handsome illuminated testimonial 
on vellum, with a gold watch and appendages of the value of 
sixty guineas, from a large number of horticultural and other 
friends, in recognition of his valuable services as Secretary of the 
Society during the past twenty-five years. Not a little of the 
success and prosperity which the Cheltenham exhibitions have 
attained is due to Mr. Cochrane’s exertions. May he long yet con- 
tinue to promote the horticultural interests of the town and county. 
It is to be regretted that at these shows few beyond subscribers 
and the ¢lite of the neighbourhood are enabled, in consequence of 
the restrictive prices of admission, to appreciate such really good 
specimens of horticultural skill. If the Show were opened at one 
o’clock, or even earlier, as is done in'some places, the subscribers 
would probably be as well pleased with an earlier view, and in the 
evening with a low admission fee the masses from the two large 
towns of Cheltenham and Gloucester would most likely advance 
the interests of the Society, even in a financial way, as well as its 
means for good in a horticultural point of view—T. Laxton, 
Bedford. 
AUTUMN ROSES AT WALTHAM GROSS. 
Ir is a little ‘difficult to take notes of Roses in a heavy 
thunderstorm, whilst you hold an umbrella in one hand and a 
notebook in the other, and all the time the rain is soaking you 
to the skin ; but such was my fate on August 30th, and if 
these notes are found to be less copious or less satisfactory 
than those on other nurseries I hope your readers will consider 
the cause and be merciful in their judgment. 
This was my first visit to Mr. William Paul’s nursery, and I 
hope it will not be the last. In fact I would rather not count 
it as a visit at all, as I was so very uncomfortable and so soaked 
with rain that I could not call on Mr. Paul himself, but had 
to hurry back'to town. 
The nursery is approached from the platform of the railway 
by a very pretty walk. On each side are planted Roses, dwarfs 
in a bed to the left and standards to the right. After following 
the railway fence for 50 or 60 yards you come to the nursery. 
This is a very extensive one, but almost on a dead level, so 
that you cannot appreciate its size all at once. The arrange- 
ment of the ground struck me as being particularly good. 
From the walk which bordered the railway broad grass paths 
branched off, which led right through the nursery. These 
were kept close shorn by the machine and looked well. On 
each side the paths were wide beds containing about twenty 
dwarf Roses of the same variety, and atthe back of these were 
standard Hollies at regular intervals; behind these were in 
one case fruit trees, in another Conifers, and further up in the 
nursery great collections of Roses and Bose stocks of all sorts. 
There were a very fine lot of blooms in spite of the weather, 
more especially on the dwarfs. All the varieties I noticed 
elsewhere as being good autumn bloomers were here welh 
represented. I had no opportunity of seeing the seedlings om 
account of the weather, but I know Mr. Paul has many very 
promising ones. 
Of the autumnal bloomers, here as at Cheshunt the Teas 
were the best; next to them came the Bourbons. These two 
varieties cannot be too highly recommended to amateurs as 
autumnal bloomers. 1 cannot imagine anything looking better 
than would a long bed of Bourbons. A very good selection 
would be the following, and anyone can verify tke truth of 
what I say by taking a return ticket to Waltham—Modéle de 
Perfection, Sir Joseph Paxton, Baron Gonella, Bourbon Queen, 
and Souvenir de Malmaison. In another bed I would plant Teas 
and Noisettes, consisting of the following—Rubens, Niphetos, 
Marie Van Houtte, Madame Berard, Louise de Savoie, Belle 
Lyonnaise, Céline Forestier, Madame Falcot, Safrano, Tri- 
omphe de Rennes, and Souvenir d’un Ami: all these are 
exceedingly free bloomers now. 
Of Hybrid Perpetuals the best bloomers as seen at this large 
nursery are: Whites and blush—Madame Rothschild, Capitaine 
Christy, Boule de Neige, and Mrs. Bellenden Ker ; rose 
shades—Paul Neyron, Dupuy Jamain, Edouard Morren, Hip- 
polyte Jamain, Alfred Colomb, and Marie Baumann ; dark— 
Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Wellington, Fisher Holmes, 
Sultan of Zanzibar, Annie Wood, Pierre Notting, and Camille 
de Rohan. 
TI think I have not seen this year such lovely blooms of my 
great favourite Marie Van Houtte as I saw at Waltham. All 
the Teas, however, were doing very well. Mr. William Paul 
neyer exhibits for competition. He grows very largely, and 
has now a stock of 500,000 plants for sale, but he does not care 
to undertake the labour and trouble of exhibiting at our great 
contests. His name is so well known that‘he can always sell 
his plants without exhibiting, but at rare intervals he has a 
show of his own which a little astonishes the rosarians. At 
the Royal Botanic, for instance, he once clothed a bank with 
cut blooms set in moss after the French style, and at the 
Crystal Palace and other places in the spring of the year he 
has made wonderful displays with his Roses in pots. His 
place is a most convenient one to get at, and if the weather 
ever does take up I should advise my brethren who wish to 
see autumnal Roses to pay Mr. Paul an early visit—_WYLD 
SAVAGE, 
SUTTON & SONS, READING. 
No one can approach Reading by either of the iron roads 
from London without seeing something of “Suttons, Seeds- 
men.” Acres of Cabbages, plantations of Potatoes, mountains 
of manure, relieved with Pampas Grass avenues, all proclaim 
the region of the great seedsmen no less than the notice boards ; 
while in the good town itself those mythological monsters which 
have been fighting for the crown all these years, and are as far 
as ever from settling which is to have it, surmounted on the mag- 
gnificent buildings in the market-place indicate head quarters. 
Sutton is a name known widely for good at Reading. Iam 
almost tempted, when I look round and see that coffee palace 
with its splendid hall appropriated to religious meetings, or 
hear of fresh charities, to repeat Mr. Pope’s inquiry— 
“ Who hung with woods yon mountain’s sultry brow ? 
From the dry rock who bade the waters flow ? 
Whose causeway parts the yale with shady rows ? 
Whose seats the weary traveller repose ? 
Who taught the heayen-directed spire to rise ? 
‘The Man of Ross,’ each lisping babe replies.” 
But I believe happy Reading has more than one Man of Ross. 
