67G 



August 31, 1912. 



Royal Horticultural Society of 



Aberdeen. 



AI'GUST 22-24. 



I'iivoiutil \\itli three or the V>e^st days ex- 

 perienced in August, this scxriety held its 

 annual fihow in the Duthie Public Park, Aber- 

 deen. Than this WautituI park no more 

 ideal situation tor such an exhibition could 

 tound in Scotland. As may be «upj>owed, 



the si>ell of bad weather experienc<*a this 

 Miieon has had a very nerious effect on 

 H<'Wers and plantes. Kverything is in a very 

 backward state, and th"etl<H t was to a great 

 e xtent rcHect^-d here. Notwithstanding the*K» 

 iihtoward circumstancen, however, there was 

 u great Horal display. 



The entries amounted to over \,&%), and 

 the exhibits wore displayc<l in thr<»e large 

 n'.arcpUH^^M, which were, as usual, laid out in 

 a very tasteful nuuuHT, I^iwly Cowdray of 

 I)iin-I'.4ht , A lM*nU'4M» shire, gra<-efully |>er- 

 foMnivl the ojM'ning ceremony, and the 

 W4irthy s4»ciH»tary, Mr. J. H. Henn«'tt, i 



l»y a lars»e committee, capably carried out 

 all tlir arrangements. 



PLANTS. 



iH an extwdingly Hne display of 

 pi. Hit . I IK* fuch«iias, (x^gonias. gloxinias, 

 }>eiargoiiiumH. and early-tlowering chrysan- 

 thiMUunis iHMng of great excellence. It wns 

 very pleasing to nlx-erve her** that the majo- 

 rity ot the exhi!)itorrt found some place in the 

 prize list Mr. William Dick, gardener to 

 Alexander Unlingham, EvMq., S.S.(\. Queen's 

 Road. AU»rdeen. had a very meritorioiiK win 

 for the four liest plant** in Hower. Mr. A. 

 Hrebner, gardener to Colonel W. S. (; ill, Dal- 

 h^^bity, AWr<h^»nshire. t<M)k first and Mvond 

 places* ff>r U-wt sixn imen plant in Hower with 

 well-grown ex im pies of Dina grandiflora. 

 The foliage (»laut^ provtnl a very attractive 

 feature. Mr. A. Hrebner, Dalhebity, had a 

 pital win for ferns, his .\dtantum c\ineatuni 

 and A. gra«Mllinum and Nej)hrolepis Whit- 

 tMani Unng greatly i'dminxl. DracaMias and 

 UHpariigH.-* were well <«ihown. Hen* Mr. KIder, 

 gurdener to Professor {iaillie. of Norwood, 

 AU'rd+'^tMi. had a capital win. For the bi^st 

 »7vecimen ioliag*> plant. Mr. J. \V. Hrechin. 



Ardo, In^Ihelviv. AlHTdeennhire, d* serv-dlv 



gain^Hl first niaoe. Hardy !. di. a. r, !I 

 shown, and Mr. A. Dunc:ui. i,Mnb nn to Lnid 

 FVovwt Maitland. had some capital speii- 

 n.ens. Zonal [H^largoniums formed a very 

 ■ittractire cla.-t^, and here the honour:* were 

 <N M rvedly aw »rded to Mr. Hrechin, Ardo, 

 Iklhelvie, Af>erdeenshire. Mr. \V. Dick, 

 giirdener to Mr. I^ingham, Queen's Koad! 

 AWrdcen. led finely for pelargonium^* and 

 begonias (single and double), and Mr. James 

 fiurnett, gardvvier at Summerfield Hospital, 

 Alvrdeeiishire, hiid premier hono1lr^ tor 



premier 



tuchi^ias and f>etunia8. all well-groun ^[HH i- 

 ii.en«. For l>est six plants for dinner-tabk' 

 <bcoration Mr. John Petrie. gardener to Sir 

 riiomas Murnett. Hart., Cratlies Tatitle. Alier- 

 drM^hii, . took first and f^econd places in 

 ti!M styif; Mr. Douglas, Kepph^itone. InMug 

 thiid, 



i l l I'l.OWKHS. 



It wan in this department where the < liict 

 <'ftect of the adver!4e weather iui»\ ii()ti<'<'- 

 ^ N\ Vet Minir rai)ital collections were 

 '*\ n. .■->inM i;i;!y ill tiie professional cla«ses, 



by Messns. 



j)resented 



.j;iM.<v <''X'kerand Sons. Springhill Nurseries, 

 .Mk nii en for bent eighteen roses, distinct, 

 w;i^ tiiirl; won by Mr. A. Brebner, Dalhe- 

 h}ty. Ml. John Petrie, Crathes Castle, and 

 Mr. Lockhart, Craigiebuckler Cottage. Aljer- 

 <ie<'n, divided 



cla-sf|. Willi :\Ir. James Burnett, Summertield 

 II^'op;ta!. I'or a long j>eriod one of the out- 

 standing features of this show lui^ hceii tlie 

 tine display of sweet peas. Mr. Vvtr'u-. 

 Cratheri Ca**tle, had a very fine collection, th,^ 

 colouring of the blooms being reniiukiiMv 



good. Very fitie were his fiovvers of S( ;u !v't 

 Krr j,n-,. Dnh'>i(. > Crvjm, Rosabelle, Tli..rM;i> 

 >r* ven-(.n. Mdfom Ht-aiifv. U. F. Felton and 

 iiercules. Mr. J. A. (uii^or. i^Mrdener to 

 Mrs. Dnnl.:ir Dinihar, ol Sca|)ark, F 

 N.B., made a i^ood second, and R. A. Grio-or, 

 gardener to Mr. T.'Ranken. Dalswinton, 

 Dumfries, was third. For the }>est 



buuchcft, however, tl-e lar>t-named was first, 

 Mr* McKinnon, gardener to Lord Aberdeen, 

 Haddo House, l>eing i,econd. Mr. A. Cum- 

 ming, RuV>islaw, Aberdeen, had also some 

 choice entries, his honours being well de- 

 e>erve<l. Mr. J. W. lireehin, Ardo; Mr. J. 

 M. Dunn, Al>erdeen; and Mr. \V. Lockhart, 

 Craigiebuckier, had leading honours for 

 d a h 1 1 a.s , which w e re m u c h ad m i red . The 



lirst-named gardener alao led for a^iters and 

 gladioli witi: Howers of high quaMty. Mari- 

 golds were a good clasn. For twenty varie- 



tiee^ of cut Howern and fine foliage bedding 

 plants Mr. W. Dick, Queen s Road, Al)erdeen, 



worthily gain -hI first place with a very nieri- 

 torioujs collection, ('arnntionrt were well 

 shown Mr. Ixx-khart, Craigiebuckler Cottage, 

 leading; while for begonias, Mr. J. McCombie 

 Prown, Park Hount*. .Vl>erdeenshire, obtained 

 the nremier award. Phloxes, ntoc^ks. 



premier awarrt. rnioxe«, Htoc»Ks, pan- 

 sies (show and fancy), violate, find chrysan- 

 themums were' well shown, leading places 

 IxMUij taken by Mr. Rrechin and Mr. John 

 (iarden, Inverurie. 



FRF IT. 



.Mr. W, Harper, Tullielx'lton, Pertkshire, 

 V as first for a colUn-tion of hardy fruits. 

 Mr. John Grigor, gurdener, Seaj)ark, Forres, 

 proved a very g(M>d second. Neither apples 



numerous, and here the lead- 



nor pears 



ing places were taken by Mr, Harper, Tullie- 

 iHiton. and Mr. H. H. Smith, Hurd.shaugh, 

 ForrcH. (fra|H»s were l)etter shown than for 

 some time, and Mr. R. A. Grigor, Dalswin- 

 ton, Dumfrien; Mr. Petrie, Crathes Castle; 

 and Mr. McKinnon, gardener to Lord Aber- 

 deen, divided the honours. 



VEGETABLES. 



Thi.s section was one of the outeitanding 

 features of the show, the excessive moisture 

 conducing not a little towards thits end. For 

 tht? lK*st collection, Mr. R. A. Grigor, gar- 

 dener to Mr. T, Ranken, Dalswinton, led 

 th,» way. For .salads, Mr. Scorgie, Spring- 

 hill, wac^ uuiiuestionably first. Mr. Harper, 

 Tulliel>elt«)n, Perthshire, was very success- 

 ful, his cauliflower and carrots being much 

 admired. Onions were very fine, and peas 

 and Uh ks were specially good. The leaders 

 iure w*"r'^ Mr. W. Harper and Mr. R. A. 

 ' IM'"'!. The great feature in this flection 

 N a^. a> usual, formed by the potatoes. They 

 were nt great excellence, and, where all 

 \^\rv -o good, it would be invidious to par- 

 ticulari>e; but it must be remenil>ered that 

 such well-known growers as Mr. Brebner, 

 Dalhebity ; Mr. James Ferguson, Linton 

 (hardens, Cluny; Mr. J. McCombie Brown, 

 Mr. J. \V. Hrechin, and Mr. John Yule were 

 iMitniitr the prize-takers. 



NURSERYMEN S CLASSKS. 

 Tlio contributions to these were of much 

 n erit. and |)rov'Ml or^-if >(>nrce of attrac- 

 tion to the niaiiy vi>itor>. for the fourth 

 1 1 n;e in succession , Mes>rr. . .1 a uus Cocker 

 ;;Kd Sons, Springhill NurM 1 it AU-rdeen, 

 carried off the silver cup for the l>est thirtv- 

 six rose blooms. :Messrs. Adam and CraigmilV- 

 I'erni^lea Nurseries, AI>erde<Mi, were second' 

 K< > r w rea t h> . t lu* ] a st-n a ined firm won 

 grandly with a mo^t arti.-^tic i)r<>duction For 

 bouquets— hand, spray, an] >hower— floral 

 designs, and ladies' spray.. Mr. .Vlex. Burns, 

 jun.. New Market, Aberdeen, and his ddest 

 daughter, Miscs Burns, Victoria Road Torry 

 had mntters <ntirelv their own 



wav. 



AM \Ti:rHs. 



Here there was a rejiiarkaldy creditable 

 display in all departments. In the section 

 for pot plant>. Mr. John Davidson, Hard- 

 gate, At>erdeei; Mr. Alex. (Gillespie, North- 

 field Place, Aberdeen; and Mr. Alex. Kemo, 

 >r >neywood, ueir Al)erdeeii. divided the 

 ]uincipal hon>urs with capital entries. For 

 cut flower-s the competition was very keen, 

 and some fine entries were shown, chief 

 among which were thot^e sent in by Mr. 

 George Harper, Hu,'itly, Alnn-decnshire ; Mr! 

 Cr. Maclennan, Forres. N.H.: Mr. \V. Far- 

 iiuharson. Cults, Aberdt^^n . Mr. John David- 

 -"u and Mr. John M. Dunn, Aberdeen; Mr. J, 

 3IcLareii, ditto: and Mr. R, Marnock, Kin- 

 tore, Alx-rdeenshire. 



Needless to say, the exceedingly fio^ 

 weather which prevailed throughout the 

 V hole three daye>, and the fine band of the 

 Gordon Highlanders, lent not a little to the 

 r arked success which the «how attained 

 itnancialiy, as well .;s horticulturally. 



NON-COMPETITIVE. 



There wire some very fine displays made 

 by locid nunserymen and tseedsmen, and these 

 were distributed throughout the various 

 marquees Undoubtedly the finetd in the 

 show 



that made by Me^sr^. J a me^ Cocker 

 and Sons, Springhill Nurseries, Aberdeen. 

 This hmi had. an exceedingly fine collection 

 ot herbaceou8 and hardy perenniak, roh- - 

 etc. One of the riost interesting and attr.i 

 tive exhibits in the show was that of MesM 

 Benjamin Eeid and Co., Pinewood ParkNi, 

 series, Aberdeen, which included a numi*,- 

 of new and rare plants. Messrs. W. Smith 

 and Son, of Burnside and Silverhillock Nnr- 

 herie.s, xVberdeen, had a very brilliant displn 

 their prominent exhibits consisting of j./ 

 petual-flowering carnations, roses, gladioli, 

 sweet peas, and herbaceous flowers. Mr. M.H. 

 Sinclair, seedsman, Aberdeen, had a very fin* 

 collection of cut flowers. Mr. James Kol>ert- 

 son, seedsMian. Al^erdeen, stage<l a capit:r 

 collection of flowers of herbaceous jilaii? 

 and also well-grown plants of various kin<l 

 Messrs, Leslie and Macdonald, We^^t Er. 



Nurseries, Abeideen, had a 1^ 



exhibit 



very useful decorative plants. Mr. V. 

 McHardy, Green, Aberdeen, had on exhibi- 

 tion a very attractive display of plants, etc. 



National Hardy Plant Society. 



SECOND ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 



The second annual conference of the above 

 society was held at the George Hotel, 

 Shrew^sbury, on Thursday, August 22. Mr. 

 W. H. Paine presided over a large atten- 

 dance. A letter wa.s read from the chair- 

 man, Mr, A. J. Macself, regretting his ina- 

 bility to be present. 



Mr, T. W. Sanders, F.L.S., gave a most 

 intercoting paper on '* Are Flower Showri Ad- 

 vancing Hardy Plant Culture as they might 

 and ought to do ? " in w^hich he came to the 

 conclusion that horticultural societies and 

 flower show's w^cre not doing justice to hardy 

 plants, and that substantial prizes should 

 be offered to the trade, profets^^ional, and 

 amateur growlers. When the prize money 

 given for bouquet^^ sprays, table decoration-^, 

 and other side classes was considered with 

 the amounts now offered for hardy flowerp. 

 the point watS quite clear. Shows were appa- 

 rently fond of following the beaten track, 

 and he should like to see more initiative in 

 new classes, and in this direction the Na- 

 tional Hardy Plant Society had been already 

 of (Some a.ssistance with their model echeduk, 

 and no doubt might help further in th^ 

 future. He should like to see, in these day^^ 

 of herbaceous borders in colour scheme?;, a 

 prize for a collection of hardy flowers, e^taged 

 in various colours, say, six of each colour, 

 but, of course, detaik could be worked out 

 if a start was only made. Such a class wonM 

 be of more use to people w^ho went to shows 

 for the purpoi^e of seeing plants to add to 

 their borders than all the present classes. 

 Tlieii, ai^ain. there were plenty of groups of 

 inside plants, very similar to what one 

 ten years ago. Why not Avork out a cla^^s f*'- 

 a group of hardy plants ? Classes for rwN 

 plants, grown in cool houses, would ^hovr^ 

 the amateur what a wide field of beautif"' 

 eubjects lay to hand for a trifling cost, and 

 without any expense for heating. 



Tile lecturer also dealt fully with the pr^' 

 t^nt methods of showing and judging, ana 

 pointed out many improvements which migh* 

 l>e made. 



In the course of the diftcus^sion, Mr. Join- 

 Colhngrid^^e ag(<H'd with the suggestion that 

 hardv plantt^ weio very much neglected in 

 schedules to-day. Large prizes vvere ofte" 

 given for plants which were grown 

 people only. The principle was wrong, 

 and lie thoroughly endorsed the Iwtur^r* 

 remarks. Mr. O. Gibson, whilst agree- 



with most of the suggestion- 



iner 



