September 14, 1S76. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



231 



of any sort. Imagine the effect of opening that door in a high 

 wind* when there ia a difference of 40° or 50° between the 

 temperature outside and in the house ! But even if the door 

 is kept close at such a time there must still be a considerable 

 amount of heat lost, not only through the crevices of the door 

 and its frame, but also by the excessive radiation going on over 

 the entire surface of that end of the vinsry, all of which would 

 cease if a glazed casing wai attached to it sufficiently wide for 

 the door to open, and with an outer door, not placed opposite 

 the other, but in the front of the casing, so as to avoid cold 

 draughts. 



Before attempting to oheck radiation from the roof or any 

 other part of a glass house it is important that we should 

 thoroughly understand what radiation is, for if we fail to com- 

 prehend it we may end in something worse than a mere failure, 

 and find ourselves promoting that which we designed to check. 

 Simply stated, radiation is that throwing-off of heat which is 

 oonstantly going on in all bodies or substances that are heated 

 above the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. To 

 prevent this escape of radiated heat we have only to spread 

 some thick substance, such as oanvas or matting, upon a light 

 framework slightly elevated above the building or body whence 

 the heat prooeeds, and we not only intercept it and ch»ck its 

 radiation, but we envelope it in warm air. If, however, we 

 suffer the covering screen to touch the heated substance or 

 lie upon the building- itself, it would, like the glass, simply 

 absorb and radiate heat into the oolder air. Whether a com- 

 plete oovering for a vinery is practicable or not I need not 

 discuss here, my aim being rather to show how such a cover- 

 ing should be used, and the great benefit to be derived from 

 it. — Edward Luckhurst. 



TWELVE ROSES, ANT VARIETY. 



This class is very generally neglected at our shows, and 

 sometimes omitted from the sohedule altogether. Often, when 

 included, insignificant prizes are offered. On the other hand, 

 there seems to be a growing tendency to offer prizes for twelve 

 blooms of certain specified varieties, named beforehand in the 

 schedule — e.g., twelve blooms of Duke of Edinburgh, twelve 

 blooms of La France, &o., these classes being for the most 

 part opsn and th9 prizes not high. 



Now, firstly, when the schedule is formed it is quite un- 

 certain whether the season will be a favourable one for this or 

 that variety, so that these classes frequently produce no com- 

 petition worthy of mention. I need hardly point out to ex- 

 hibitors how different years are sure to be favourable to par- 

 ticular varieties and unfavourable to others. Secondly, I 

 venture to think that few amateurs can make sure a week 

 beforehand of staging twelve blooms of any spooified variety, 

 and the practice of entering for classes in whioh it is doubtful 

 whether you will compete is certainly to be avoided. 



On the other hand, moBt amateurs of aDy considerable pre- 

 tensions could stage a creditable twelve of some variety when 

 it comes to the point, and it not unfrequently happens that 

 A or B may grow some less-known or weak-growing variety 

 especially well. It is not very often that we see Edouard 

 Morren shown at his best, yet at one of the Bhows this year 

 I could have staged twenty-four blooms of that variety which 

 would have surprised its depreciators. The reform that I 

 would advocate is to abolish these classes for twelve blooms of 

 Duke of Edinburgh, twelve blooms of La France, &e., and 

 substitute two classes: 1, twenty-four blooms (any variety), 

 nurserymen ; 2, twelve blooms (any variety), amateurs. The 

 prizes must be good, and there should be not less than four in 

 each class. Exhibitors Bhould be encouraged to Btage moro 

 than one twenty-four or twelve if able to do so, and I would 

 advise that they should be allowed to take as many prizes in 

 the class as they can, of course for different varieties. I believe 

 that these classes would be largely supported and greatly add 

 to the attractions of our shows. — T. H. Gould, Mortimer. 



THE CRYSTAL PALACE AUTUMN SHOW. 

 What evil genius has presided over the preparation of the 

 schedule of the Company, and what can be the motive of the 

 Manager ior putting it before the gardening public ? Is it to 

 display the poverty of the Company — to show how the mighty 

 are fallen, and to degrade their Exhibitions into a mere pro- 

 vincial matter ? Would it not be better, if they do not pay, to 

 abandon them altogether ? It is to be a three-days Exhibition, 

 the last day being Saturday ; no exhibits can be removed 



until five o'clock on that day, and consequently to those from 

 a distance it must involve remaining over Sunday. Mr. Cole- 

 man, for instance, of Eastnor in Herefordshire, who has been, 

 a regular exhibitor, cannot possibly reach home that night. 

 And what do they offer for a collection of fruit of ten dishes, 

 which will include Grapes, Peaches, Nectarines, and Figs, all 

 perishable fruit ? £5 ! and not one dish would be fit to 

 put upon the employer's table when they return home, nor fit 

 to send to Covent Garden for sale except at a ruinous lo3S. 

 Turning to flowers I find £2 offered for forty-eight Dahlias, 

 and £3 for thirty-six Gladioli. Is it likely that any but 

 third-class exhibitors will be found with such prizes ? It is 

 possibly too late now to alter, but I am not surprised to find 

 that many of their supporters decline accepting their munificent 

 offers, and I fancy there are mauy who, like myself, will sign 

 themselves— A Former Exhibitor. 



JUDGING VEGETABLES. 



We cannot attend two horticultural exhibitions in town or 

 country where vegetables are a special feature without being 

 Btruck by the different tastes and prejudices of those who 

 award the prizes, and seeing what a lottery the whole aff lir is 

 with exhibitors. Even in the same show-ground, at times 

 where there are different judges for separate sections, great 

 contradictions may be wituoseed. A diBh of vegetables may 

 pass unnoticed in the cottagers' section, which had it been ex- 

 hibited by an amateur might have unanimously reoeived a 

 first prize, and vice versa ; also the kind of produce favoured 

 one season may be thought much less of another season when 

 a different set of judges are officiating. Now I do not maintain 

 that cottagers' produoe should be judged by exactly the same 

 standard as that of gentlemen amateurs. With the latter 

 quality should be the only test, but in judging the former a 

 little leaning should be made towards those sorts of vegetab'eE 

 and that mode of culture which produce a great quantity. I 

 do not mean to encourage coarse-growiug vegetables and alto- 

 gether ignore quality, there is already too much of that, but 

 for a poor man there is no reason why he should be taught to 

 gather his Peas when only half grown, or Vegetable Marrows 

 when only as thick as his wrist. Both of these vegetables are 

 quite as good to his palate when grown larger, and are far 

 more economical. But there ought to be more consistency 

 and agreement between different exhibitions and different 

 judges. A man when exhibiting in any class ought to be able 

 to form an idea of the kind of produce which will be favoured 

 or otherwise. The exhibitions defeat their own aims. A prac- 

 tised hand can do this to a certain extent with fruit anct 

 flowers, because there are recognised standards of excellence 

 amongst judges, and also, perhaps, there is more caution ex- 

 eroised in selecting the judges. Almost every lady and gentle- 

 man knows, or at least they think they know, something about 

 judging fruit and flowers, and therefore they know some- 

 thing of the difficulties the judges have to contend with ; but 

 judging fruit and flowers is child's play compared with judging 

 vegetables when it ia done carefully and honestly, and good 

 judges of such things are extremely few, whilst those who may 

 be called good judges hold very different views, and there is 

 anything but consistency in their awards. 



It is, therefore, with the view of ventilating the subject, and 

 the desire of coming to some agreement as to the way in which 

 vegetables should be judged, that I pen these remarks. Gene- 

 rally, I believe, outward appsarances count for too much. In 

 my own practice I use the knife unsparingly, and I maintain 

 that nobody can judge correctly such things as Beetroot, 

 Celery, Potatoes, Turnips, or Vegetable Marrows without it, and 

 when a decision has to be made on very fine points I would use 

 it for several other vegetables. Ther3 is not so much difficulty 

 with collections of vegetables when limited to a certain number 

 of sorts, as they always should be, but it is when Carrots are 

 Bhown- against Carrots, Celery against Celery, &c, with. 

 perhaps, twenty diahes so much alike that to the general public 

 there is not a pin to choose, and the judges themselves are 

 sorely puzzled, that the knife comes to the rescue, and very 

 soon brings the really good within narrow limits. Having 

 decided to use the knife, we next come to consider the points 

 of excellence or otherwise revealed by it, for things are now 

 altogether changed. Those very fine heads of Celery which 

 eveiybody declared to be perfect are seen to bave bolted half 

 way up ; that pair of nicely matched, beautifully shaped Vege- 

 t ible Marrows is found to be all seeds, and the woolly material 

 or the flesh is extremely coaree; Potatoes so even in eiz?, and 



