COMMONPLACE NOTES. 187 



For plain boiling a Potato may very easily be too large and can hardly be 

 too small — the smaller, in fact, a Potato is (provided it is a properly 

 ripened tuber), the better its flavour and the easier it cooks. A large tuber 

 is very frequently found to be squashy outside and hard inside. And even 

 for Potato chips, though the very small ones are useless, the moderate sizes 

 are far nicer than the very large ones. And even with Dessert Apples it 

 is no doubt possible (but highly improbable) for them to be too small, but 

 it is a very common fault that they are too large. No Apple for dessert 

 purposes ought to exceed three inches in diameter. That should be the 

 maximum, and such varieties as 1 Pearson's Plate ' are by no means too 

 small. Pears, again, may well be too large, but owing to their variability 

 of shape it is difficult to suggest any definite measure. Suffice it to say 

 that we should never dream of putting such huge fruits as ' Pitmaston 

 Duchess ' on our own dinner-table, and the enormous specimens of 

 * Uvedale's St. Germain ' which we have seen are absolutely vulgar as 

 well as uneatable. 



After flavour, cooking quality, crop, and size, comes appearance, and we 

 maintain as strongly as we can that appearance without flavour should 

 never for one moment or under any circumstances stand any chance of 

 award. If two fruits are otherwise equal and one is beautiful to look at 

 and the other is less so, the superior beauty is a distinct point in its 

 favour. But however beautiful to look at one may be, if it is not the 

 equal of the other in flavour it should be considered to be its inferior. 

 Appearance is an additional asset where other points are equal, but if such 

 equality does not exist then appearance should be of absolutely no 

 account. 



And this brings us to the question of so-called " Market Fruits." And 

 we ask why should our Society grant awards to flavourless fruits or fruits 

 of distinctly inferior flavour as 1 Market Fruits ' simply on account of 

 their beauty ? True, they are sure to sell if they look luscious and ruddy, 

 no matter how much they belie their appearance. But surely a society 

 like ours should disdain such a sordid motive as certificating a fruit 

 because it will sell — because the inexperienced public can be caught by the 

 eye in ignorance of the want of quality. It does not matter what Pear 

 you put on a London barrow, if only you shout out " Fine Williams ! " you 

 are certain to sell them. But a society such as ours should do its best to 

 educate the public to know a good Pear or good Apple by sight, and not 

 leave them to buy flavourless stuff by false name or misleading appear- 

 ance, and to certificate a pretty but flavourless fruit under the title of "as 

 a Market Variety" is to a certain extent to join in deceiving the public 

 who will quickly lose sight of, if indeed they can even be expected to 

 understand the meaning and bearing of, the qualifying words " Market 

 Fruit." Market Fruit ! why the best should be grown for the market, 

 and the best is the best flavoured, and to encourage the palming off of 

 inferior varieties because they are pretty is unworthy of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society. 



Roses in New Zealand. 



A note from Wellington says : " The soil in this locality will grow 

 almost anything (0 fortunate New Zealanders !), and we have besides a 



