jNovcmfccr 3), 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



467 



quality is Buck as to befit it for every culinary purpose ; for it 

 should always be borne in mind that Parsley, unlike some 

 other garnishing plants, must not only be good to look at, but 

 must possess culinary properties. I had doubts of the free 

 growth of this delicate-lookiDg Parsley, but these have dis- 

 appeared, for a row of it 24 yards long is as free in growth as 

 tbe 300 yards length of the ordinary kind. 



It is often difficult to provide a full supply of Parsley during 

 tbe winter and spring months. This may be in a great extent 

 effected by sowiDg an extended breadth. Nothing weakens a 

 plant so much as close cropping — continually picking the 

 growths as they appear. — A. 



FLOWER SHOWS AND THE PUBLIC. 



Some people, happily only a few, would have it believed that 

 public interest in flower shows is generally decreasing ; but 

 such opinion is founded on some local and temporary failure, 

 caused by ofihial mismanagement, and not unfrequently from 

 pandering to class prejudices instead of studying the general 

 welfare of the society. One cause of the occasional apparent 

 decrease of interest taken in old horticultural societies in 

 towns is the extension of exhibitions to small country places. 

 Taking the counties of Durham and Northumberland as an 

 example of the changes during a few years, I believe over sixty 

 exhibitions are there lield annually, whilst up to about 1835 

 there was only one — viz., at Newcastle, with branch meetings 

 in Morpeth, Berwick, Alnwick, Darlington, Hexham, and else- 

 where. The unbeliever in the increased taste for horticulture 

 should take a survey in the suburbs of our towns, where, even 

 under great atmospherical difficulties, he will rind a host of 

 gardeners labouring hard and successfully. 



I will turn from generalities to the Bubject at present most 

 interesting to myself — viz., the Newcastle-on-Tyne Botanical 

 and Horticultural Society, where I share the office of Honorary 

 Secretary, which you know confers the privilege of pleasing 

 nobody, but I hope these notes will meet a better fate. The 

 Newcastle meetings have been held annually, once or oftener, 

 since the yew 1824. Of course their ups and downs during a 

 lifetime of fifty-two years have not been few, but suoh being 

 of little interest to your readers generally I will refer only to 

 what has taken place this autumn. Thi3 Society seemed for 

 some years to be decaying, till this season it became almost 

 a question whether it were better to allow it to die a natural 

 death. The general remark was, " It must go ; Newcastle has 

 no taste for flowers, and will not support such a society;" but 

 two members of the Committee differing from this opinion 

 were in October of this year appointed Honorary Secretaries to 

 re-organise the management, since when (only six weeks ago) 

 the income from subscriptions has risen from nominally £190 

 to £730, contributed by over 1650 annual subscribers, in 

 addition io offers of speoial prizes (for the spring Ehow on 

 the 21st and 22nd of next March) from nurserymen, &c, re- 

 siding in every part of England, also from many continental 

 growers. From the manner in which our efforts have been 

 received by the publio I feel eure that a much great? r accession 

 of income is to be expected, so that the Newcastle Society has 

 prospects of being worthy of a town and neighbourhood con- 

 taining-over half a million inhabitants. This success, especially 

 in so short a time, clearly justifies my previous assertion, that 

 public interest in horticultural exhibitions is not dead, but 

 that when indifferently supported the cause is generally to be 

 found in the mismanagement of the shows, and not in the 

 apathy of the public. — W. J. Taylor, Eye Hill. 



THE GREAT BERKSHIRE ROOT AND 



VEGETABLE SHOW. 



Messrs. Sutton have so increased their building and made it 

 so thoroughly adaptable for their purpose, that even those who 

 have wondered at the Exhibition in past years are fain to con- 

 fess that this is immeasurably beyond those that have gone 

 before, and those who have not seen it may form some notion of 

 the extent from a few facts. The total number of entries were 

 1300 as compared with 870 last year. The main part of the Show 

 was held in a large room, 195 feet long by 60 broad, where two 

 thousand roots were shown from all parts of the kingdom. Some 

 of the mammoth Bed Mangolds were 3 feet in length, and others 

 weighed upwards of 60 lbs., one entry of twelve roots weighing 

 430 lbs. The value of the Champion Swede may Ifc gathered from 

 the fact that for nineteen yearB it has won the two cups, value 

 twenty guineas each, given by Her Majesty the Queen for the 

 best roots grown in the counties of Berks and Bucks, besides 



other valuable ptizes. In rooms opening upon the large one were 

 placed the White, Greyatone, Purple-top Mammoth, Yellow-fleBh 

 Tarnip, Bome most beautiful samples coming from the far-off 

 " Kingdom of Fife," probably the handsomest root? in the Show. 

 Of Potatoes a most admirabje collection was staged, large in 

 quantity, and for the year moBt excellent in quality. It was 

 easy to see from the specimens of Sutton's Red-skin Flourball 

 why complaints are Bometimes made, for some which I have 

 6een in other places were no more like those exhibited here than 

 a Dutch cheese is like a "Wiltshire. These were round, sym- 

 metrical, and weighty, whereas in other caseB I have seen them 

 mis-shapen, light, and deep-eyed. Sutton's Magnum Bonum has 

 proved itself amost wonderful cropper; one exhibitor, Major 

 Troyle, showing 27 lbs. grown from 1 lb. of seed, while Hundred- 

 fold Fluke has again proved itself most thoroughly disease- 

 resisting. Mr. Fenn exhibited a small but handsome collection 

 of his seedlings, many of which seemed very promising, and were 

 setun with that extreme regard to neatness and precision with 

 which he always exhibits his productions. 



The collections of vegetables exhibited by Mr. Walter, M.P., 

 of Bearwood, Mr. Southby, and others were extremely creditable, 

 the first prize goiDg to Mr. Walter, and containing fine samples 

 of Sution's Snowball Turnip, Sulham's Prize Celery, Sutton's 

 Golden Globe Savoy, Scrymger's Giant Brussels Sprouts, Veitch's 

 Autumn Giant Cauliflower, Sutton's Beet, Telegraph Cucumber, 

 Trophy Tomato, &c. The classes for Onions, Carrots, and 

 Parsnips were aho remarkably well filled, and no one seeing 

 them would have considered that the season had been an un- 

 favourable one, so symmetrical and clean were they. Altogether 

 I think the Messrs. Sutton must be thoroughly satisfied with 

 the result of their exertions, and with the confidence reposed in 

 them by their customers.— Le Roi Carote. 



GARIBALDI STBAWBERRY. 



It will still be fresh in the minds of some readers of this 

 Journal of a statement I made some years since, that Garibaldi 

 and Yiecomtesse Hericart de Thury were identical. This was 

 immediately contradicted by the raiser of Garibaldi, and sub- 

 sequently I apologieed for my rash statement, explaining that 

 a local nurseryman had led me to believe that the two names 

 were synonymous. I fear that corruption of names is common 

 amongBt Strawberries. For example : An old variety of Straw- 

 berry was recently changed to Dumbarton Castle ; another old 

 Strawberry known as Brown's Wonder is being sold at 20s. 

 per 100 under the name of Balm's Seedling. Again, a large 

 quantity of Admiral Dundas Strawberry has been supplied 

 for President, the vendor declaring they were the same ; but 

 at the same time he had not plants of President. Comment 

 on such practices would be useleEs further than saying it is 

 a pity that anyone should be allowed to continue the dis- 

 honesty. 



I have devoted much time to Strawberries, comparing va- 

 rieties, &c, and raising seedlings, therefore I do not write with- 

 out some knowledge on the subject when I state that Garibaldi 

 is as distinct from Viscomtesse Hericart do Thury as the Elton 

 Pine is from President. Even a person with his eyes shut 

 may tell the difference, as the flavour of Garibaldi approaches 

 to that of Keen's Seedling, which cannot be said of the Vis- 

 comtesse. Garibaldi has the property of beating more fruit 

 (when other trusses are in bloom) than aDy other Strawberry in 

 cultivation. — W. Thomson. 



EARLY WRITERS ON ENGLISH GARDENING. 



No. 22. 

 SIE WI LLIAM TEMPLE. 



Sir William Temple was the son of Sir John Temple, and 

 was born in 1628 at Blaekfriars, London. He commenced his 

 education under his maternal nnole, the learned Dr. Ham- 

 mond, continued his studies at Bishop Stortford School, and 

 concluded them under Dr. Cudworth at Emmanuel College, 

 Cambridge. From the University he proceeded abroad, and 

 at the Restoration was chosen a member of the Irish Parlia- 

 ment. In 1665 he went on a secret mission to the Sovereign 

 Bishop of Monster, in Westphalia ; was employed afterwards 

 in forming the triple alliance between Sweden, Holland, and 

 this country, and became resident minister at the Hague, in 

 which capacity he promoted the union between the Prince of 

 Orange and Princess Mary. In 1679 he became Secretary of 

 State, but in the following year retired from office to his 

 country seat, Sheen in Surrey, where he was repeatedly visited 

 by his Sovereigns, Charles II., James II., and William III. 

 He died in 1699 on tbe 27th of January. 



His works have been published in two vols, folio, and four 



