Angnst 23, 1877.] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



151 



orchards from King's Caple and Holme Lacey by Credenhill to 

 Kirmersby, Same6field, and the Weobley district. The Fox- 

 whelp may be found in any of them, and wherever it is found 

 it is treasured greatly for its own cider, unmixed where the 

 trees are sufficiently numerous to make it, or for giving Btrength 

 and flavour to the mixed cider where they are in fewer numbers. 

 The Fox-whelp Apple tree is upright and handsome in growth 

 where age has not rendered it rugged and gnarled. In some 

 situations its growth is peculiar ; it bends at an angle as the 

 branches are given off, and these elbows will here distinguish 

 the Fox-whelp tree from those of other kinds ; but this is not 

 general. The tree is hardy and productive, and its fruit in 

 great demand. There is yet a want of young trees generally, 



5J drachms of juice with a specific gravity of 1074. Mr. 

 Knight gives the higher specific gravity of 1076 to 1080, which 

 perhaps might be due to a more favourable year. 



Different Apples have been in favour with cider makers at 

 diflerent periods. The Gennet Moyle had to give way to the 

 Red Streak, and both have had to yield the palm to the virtues 

 of the Fox-whelp. Beyond all question this is now the favourite 

 Apple. 



There are several varieties of Fox-whelp, called " Bastard 

 Fox-whelp" in common language. A " Black Fox-whelp " is 

 also thought much of in some orchards, and is said to be the 

 same Apple that is so highly esteemed in Somersetshire. 



Kg. 84 



for, be the reason what it may, grafts of late years have not 

 succeeded well. 



The Fox- whelp cider when pure is of great strength, and 

 always has a peculiar aroma, so marked that it can be detected 

 directly the cork is drawn from the bottle. In taste it is gene- 

 rally rough and strong, with the peculiar musky flavour that 

 gives its aroma. In ordinary seasons, unless made with great 

 care, it is not sweet enough to be acceptable to strangers, and 

 the taste which eDJoys its peculiar flavour fully must in such 

 circumstances, perhaps, be acquired ; but in a favourable year — 

 a year of sunshine and genial showers, when the fruit has been 

 ripened to perfection — happy is he who has a good hit of it. 

 If he carries it well through the process of fermentation and 

 keeps the flavour of the fruit and its sweetness too he has 

 cider in perfection — a cider that will sell readily in its own 

 district at a guinea a dozen. It will not all be sold, however, 

 for it is the pleaBureand pride of the cider-growers of Hereford- 

 shire to have always ready for a friend a bottle of good Fox- 

 whelp cider of a good year. The Fox-whelp Apple is, however, 

 most UBed to give strength and flavour to the cider of mixed 

 fruit, and when this is well made it is perhaps more generally 

 popular than the very strong and pure Fox-whelp. A cider of 

 this kind, excellent in quality, can be got at Is. a bottle from 

 the growers. The Fox- whelp cider has the character of chang- 

 ing colour very quickly on expoaure to the air, and even at the 

 table if not drunk quickly the dusky greenish tint will show 

 itself. Some other strong ciders have also this peculiarity, 

 which is certainly not a virtue. 



The Fox- whelp Apple sells well in September as a "pot 

 fruit." Its brilliant colour recommends it to everyone, and its 

 piquant rough flavour is pleasant to all who have learnt to 

 appreciate its cider. It is an excellent cooking Apple for pies 

 and puddings, and " the Apple of all others to make sauce for 

 the Michaelmas goose or a roast leg of pork." 



A Fox-whelp Apple of good size and colour yielded 7 A drachms 

 of a strongly acidulated juice with its own flavour, and of the 

 specific gravity of 1068; and others of smaller size gave 



TAUNTON DBANE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The handsome and cleanly county town of Somerset once 

 more put on its holiday attire on the occasion of the tenth annual 

 Show of this Society, and entered, as is the wont of these west- 

 ern towns, con amore into the engagements of the day. To all 

 classes it seemed a general holiday, the county gentry attending 

 in large numbers, while the market people and labouring classes 

 seemed to enter into it with as much interest as their leaders. 

 The Vivary Park, in which the Show was held, was thronged 

 with visitors, contrasting most favourably with the cold and 

 hesitating manner in which such eventB are regarded in the 

 east of England. The Exhibition itself was a remarkably good 

 one, and both amateurs and nurserymen contributed in great 

 force to its success. There were five tents, one devoted to the 

 productions of nurserymen — plants and flowers, a similar one to 

 those of amateurB, another to fruits and vegetables, a fourth 

 to cottagers' productions, and a small one for the contributions 

 of ladies in table decorations and bouquets. Of the whole Show 

 it may well be said that the exhibits were remarkably good. 

 It often happens at provincial shows that a good deal of rubbish 

 is allowed to be put up, but with only one or two exceptions 

 nothing unworthy of the exhibitors was shown. One or two 

 features marked this as distinct from its predecessors of the last 

 few years — the disappearance of Mr. Cypher, who haB disposed 

 of his large plants, and the re-appearance as an exhibitor of that 

 hearty and enthusiastic patron of horticulture, Mr. Marshall of 

 Taunton, whose charming residence of Belmont I once attempted 

 to describe in the Journal. 



In the classes for large plants, stove and greenhouse and 

 exotic Ferns, the chief prizes fell to Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, 

 and Co., whose plants were marvels of good cultivation; and it 

 is clear from what I saw here that it is only the great distance, 

 trouble, and expense that prevents this well-known firm from 

 snccessfully competing at the metropolitan shows. Their Ferns 

 were truly grand, and the splendid examples of AllamandaB, 

 IxoraB, Clerodendrons, &c, were worthy of all the admiration 

 they received. In the cut flowers there were some splendid 

 exhibits. Messrs. Kelway & Son exhibited, not for competition, a 

 grand collection of their seedling Gladioli (three dozen), amongst 

 which were some quite new flowers of great excellence, to which 

 no fewer than six first-class certificates were awarded. They 

 occupied one extremity of the staging, and were surrounded by 

 groups of admiring visitors throughout the day. In Roses 

 ! Mr. Corp of Oxford was the chief exhibitor. I have seen a few 

 Roses in my day and think I know Bomething about them, 

 but I can safely say that I never saw in the month of August 

 such stands of blooms, and in this opinion I was not singular. 

 Devienne Lamy, Charles Lefebvre, Marguerite BrasBac, La 

 France-, and others were simply magnificent, especially the first- 

 named; they were all grown on the seedling Briar, and afforded 

 another proof of the value of that stock. In Dahlias Mr. Keynes 

 was first with blooms displaying the well-known finish and 

 excellence that always has characterised the Salisbury blooms. 

 Mr. S. Dobree, an amateur, was an excellent second. As the 

 class was an open one his Verbenas also were very fine. 



In the amateurB' tent the chief prizes for plants were awarded 

 to Mr. Lawless of Exeter and to Mr. Marshall. These plants, 

 although not so large as the nurserymen's, were very good, and 

 the Ferns especially so. Mr. Marshall also took first prizes for 

 Gladioli and for some splendid examples of Achimenes such as 

 we are not in the habit of Beeing about London. The chief 

 prizes in florists' flowers fell to Mr. Dobree, whose Dahlias, 

 Verbenas, ABters, &c, were very fine. 



The fruit, as might have been expected, was not remarkable, 

 but the vegetables were very fine ; and the cottagers' produc- 

 tions were both numerous and very excellent in quality, while 

 they displayed a good deal of taste in their arrangement of 

 flowers. 



The weak point of the Show was the table decorations. Fair 

 prizes were offered, and yet but two exhibitors competed, and 

 of these the less said the better. As I have once before said this 

 is a wonder, for they have had benefit of the very best examples, 

 as Miss Haesard once exhibited here, and yet nothing could be 

 poorer than the two tables arranged on this occasion. 

 Need I add that the arrangements were excellent, that the 



