10 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 5, 1877. 



the bonhommie, the generosity and kindness, that characterised 

 Addison's ideal. Oae never leaves him without the feeling 

 that few are like him ; and I feel confident that those who 

 may differ from him in judgment, as Eometimes they may do, 

 did they know him would feel that it could only be done with 

 the deference due to one who with large experience has also a 

 real and^hearty lov9for the pursuit we alike love. — D., Deal. 



VINES IN POTS AT WOBOESTER. 



What becomes of all the Vines which are grown in many of 

 the nursery establishments ? is a question one often hears 

 asked. It is a very natural question, especially when we re- 

 member that with ordinary care and good management the 

 Vine may be kept to do good service for many years. One of 

 the largest growers of young Vines in England is Mr. Richard 

 Smith. In his nursery at St. John's, Worcester, about three 

 thousand young Vines were grown last year, but this year a 

 still larger number is being prepared, and not only are they 

 large in number but excellent in quality. Even at this early 

 period and under the very cloudy and cold unfavourable sea- 

 son some hundreds of good canes are fast ripening their wood, 

 so much so that the first lot of Vines are already placed out- 

 doors with canes as thick as one's finger. Here they can 

 finish-off their ripening while the heat of summer is at its 

 best. 



Some growers of Vines have no objection under some con- 

 ditions to plant young Vines for permanent growth in the 

 middle of summer : hence it is that some are often being sent 

 out from this establishment throughout the growing season as 

 well as during the dormant period of the Vine. It is well 

 worth a journey to any person much interested iu the culture 

 and growth of young Vines to pay a visit to this nursery. 

 Free growth and short joints, with well-ripened wood, are tbe 

 chief points to be attended to iu Vine cultivation ; and on 

 these points excellent lessons are derivable at the principal 

 nurseries where Vines are largely cultivated. — Geo. Dawson. 



TORQUAY EOSE CLUB. 



"Another Rose show! Another account of excellent Roses, 

 superb blooms, perfect formB, &c, by that wildest of Wyld 

 Savages too !" may perhaps be the remarks made by Borne gentle 

 readers of our Journal as they tarn over your Rose number and 

 see the whole of the excellent Journal for one week at least 

 devoted to Eoses. 



Yes, and why not? What can be better, what can be more 

 delightful than a Eose show? The more shows the merrier, 

 say we ; the further afield we go with our boxes the jollier for 

 us. The more the superiority of the Eobo above all other 

 flowers is evinced by the number of times which she finds her 

 worshippers eager to pay her court by tilting lances in her 

 honour, why, the better. And here this year the Queen of the 

 "West — the most famous of all watering placeB both as a winter 

 resort and as a summer residence, the homo of yachting men — 

 the portly town of Torquay, invites us to come and show our 

 blooms and do our best in honour of Bosa regina florum. We 

 accept the invitation; we cheerfully undergo no end of fatigue 

 iu order to show there, and also to get back home in time to 

 stage for the Alexandra. Ah me ! that Alexandra ! Wouldthat 

 tbey would not always fix on a Saturday for their shows. If the 

 Directors would for one moment reflect how many parsons are 

 exhibitors, and how hard it is in country places to get one's 

 duty done, they would, I think, iu charity change the day. The 

 Crystal Palace Directors are too old at their work, too hard- 

 hearted men for us to hope to move them; but the Alexandra 

 people surely have tender hearts and kind dispositions, or else 

 they are scarcely worthy of the name by which their place is 

 called. So may even a "Wyld Savage" plead for a change 

 next year ? This year I muBt misB the Show, and what such a 

 loss is to me all rosarians know. 



After the Show at Exeter the Torquay cannot be pronounced 

 to be a first-clasB Show, for in the first place there was literally 

 no competition for the head classes. Mr. Cranston had the mis- 

 fortune to lose a box, which entirely destroyed his chance, as he 

 was unable to stage the required seventy-two. So there was no 

 one against Mr. Curtis except an amateur of the name of Eobson, 

 who ventured to compete in a class which for the very largest 

 amateur growers it would be folly to attempt; as it was, his 

 seventy-two contained duplicates, which disqualified it. Ecses 

 were wrongly named, and altogether a more miserable stand it 

 has never been my lot to judge. Messrs. Lucombe & Pince 

 put in also an appearance, staging a box of twenty-four blooms 

 of Niphetos, and in one of the smaller classes for Hybrid Per- 

 petuals. 



The amateurs were in great force. Mr. Baker led the van, and 



well sustained his great reputation by winning first prizes in the 

 three classes in which he staged. Mr. T. Jowitt of Hereford 

 maintained his grand form, securing two firsts ; and Mr. Beachey 

 and Mr. Tomlinson also took first prizes. Mr. Jowitt showed 

 the best eighteen I think I ever saw, or at least it would ba 

 indeed a sight to see anything finer than seventeen of the blooms. 

 The eighteenth was certainly unworthy of its position, and Mr. 

 Jowitt recognised this by not naming it. He had blooms of 

 Madame Rothschild, MarquiBe de Mortemart, which I never saw 

 surpassed. The latter was the purest white, with what I may 

 call the rare Centifolia form (for this Rose I mean). The centre 

 was suffused with most delicate shades of rosy flesh. Aurora 

 arising from the sea could not have been more lovely, and I do 

 not think some rosarians will soon forget the bloom. He had 

 also a lovely bloom of a variety, which I never saw before, called 

 Julie Duran. This in colour is between Ferdinand de Lesseps 

 and Antoine Ducher, but in form it is pure globular, each 

 petal winding round the other like a lovely bloom of Madame 

 Bravy. He had also fine blooma of Louisa Wood, Hippolyte 

 Jamain, and others. I have spoken at length about this stand, 

 as with the exception of the Teas his stand was the finest in the 

 Exhibition. 



Mr. Baker's forty-eight, considering that he is not yet in any- 

 thing like full bloom, was very fine. As usual his blooms were 

 distinguished by their bright fresh colours and their lovely 

 form ; of course, in a stand of forty-eight in a hot tent it would 

 be impossible for some not to be a little overblown, but these 

 when judged were very few. He was of course, as usual, excep- 

 tionally 6trong in tbe highly bright-coloured varieties. His Marie 

 Baumann, Xavier Olibo, and above all Charles Lefebvre were 

 splendid. It is really a great treat to linger over his stands 

 when one has the opportunity and compare his blooms with 

 what we know we have left iu our own gardens, and be spurred 

 thereby to still grea ! er efforts to grow Roses well. I had tbe 

 honour of being plaeed second to him iu forty-eights and in Teas. 

 Concerning this class they were the finest I have seen this year. 

 Mr. Charles Turner said he did not remember to have seen so 

 many or so good before. Mr. Baker showed the same bloom of 

 Marie Van Houtte which he exhibited at Exeter, and though a 

 little fuller it was as fresh and good as ever. He also had 

 Caroline Kuster, Madame Willermoz, and Madame Mavgottin 

 exceedingly good. The only bad bloom in his box was Marechal 

 Niel. He also had some very fine trebles, and secured here of 

 course first honours. 



The Torquay Show will be ever memorable to me from a 

 bloom shown by Mr. Curtis of Prince Cimille de Eohan. It is 

 impossible to describe either the form or colour. It would be 

 almost as rash on my part as to try and paint the Lily, hut it iB 

 not too much to say that no finer bloom of that dark variety can 

 ever have been Bhown. He had also a box of very good new 

 Eoses, and again he showed Abel Carriere, tbe variety I described 

 (nr tried to do at least) in my account of the Crystal Palace Show. 

 This bloom was really splendid, iu form something like Andry 

 or Lefebvre, but in colour like Camille de Eohan or a very fine 

 Louis Van Houtte. He showed also very finely Souvenir de 

 Arthur Sansal. This I think may be described as an improved 

 Jules Margnttin. 



Besides Eoses there was a fine collection of miscellaneous 

 plants, but it is no part of my duty to describe them ; sufficient 

 is it to say that Dr. Woodman brought some of his splendid 

 specimens, which I believe aro considered to be the finest in 

 England. Altogether it was a very fair show; and if only in 

 future years the Committee will be a little more liberal in 

 the matter of prizes, and not offer £2 instead of £5 as the 

 second prise for forty-eight varieties, and, if they are otherwise 

 unable to increase their expenditure, will reduce the number of 

 classes and devote the money saved to making the prizes in the 

 remaining classes a little more equivalent to the value of the 

 exhibits, the Torquay Eose Show may one day be one of the 

 events of our Eose year. — Wtld Savage. 



AUBICULA CULTUBE. 



I should like to be clearly understood that I know cocoa-nut 

 fibre is an excellent covering for the drainage in the pot pre- 

 pared for hospital treatment of this flower, as it retains cavi- 

 ties longer than leaves would, but it must not be used where 

 the roots are allowed to run into it. Again, as to liquid ma- 

 nure I may have been somewhat inexplicit ; therefore I would 

 say that the cow dung for that liquid cannot well be too old — 

 two years at least, and must bo reduced to dust. Then, as to 

 strength, it is difficult to describe it exactly; perhaps about a 

 quart of the strong liquid to a gallon of soft water, and must 

 not in any case be darker-coloured than ordinary soft water, 

 and may not be U3ed too early iu the season. Let the trusses 

 repose down in the heart of the plant till seasonable weather 

 calls them forth. When the truss has given signs of move- 

 ment give a soakiDg of the liquid manure, which must be 



