THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 1898. 



CARDIFF AND COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. -TENTH 



I 1 AlSWuAL SHOW on July 20 and 21. leading classes: (Jroups, £3? J Roses, £2 J ; 

 unlive £76' Cut Flcwer, £26. Strong classes for Plants, Fruit, and \ ^tables- tor 

 IS£ apply _ H. ( *i llett, Secretary, 66, Woodville Road, Cardiff. 



^^t^lOWER SHOW, RICHMOND (SURREY), June 29, 1898. 



( 1 £300 in PRIZES. 



V ^ CHALLENGE CUP for ROSES, 



^rhedules and full particulars of 



5cn A. Algernon Chancellor, Hon. Sec, 1, King Street, Richmond, Surrey. 



reform t M Z ^ COmniittees ' and in ™ny dances some 



n at e" 0 f onilin the SUpply ° f ref ^ments, both in the 



? k q I y PnCe - T ° State the case briefl y. some endeavour 

 should be made to remove the discomforts of flower shows, for it is only 



Oy making these functions enjoyable as well as interesting that thev ml] 

 continue to receive the support of the general public. 



t cTE OF WIGHT ROSE SOCIETY. — GRAND EXHIBITION OF ROSES 



1 at Carisbrooke Casti.e, by kind permission of H.R.H. Princess Henry of Ba i tenberc;, 

 llovernor of the Island, on THURSDAY, June 16, 1898. For schedules, &c, write to the Hon. 

 c'.^ M-iries Rev. G. E. Jeans, Shorwell, I.W., 



et ' E. V. Matthews, 33, St. John's Road, Ryde. 



HORTICULTURAL SHOW ADVERTISEMENTS are inserted in this 

 column at One Shilling per line, the minimum charge being Flvo Shillings. Advertise- 

 ment Office. 148 and 149, Alderseate Street. London, E.C. 



ORCHIDS. 



The grand exhibition of orchids at the Temple, though mainly 

 striking on account of the splendour of the flowers, had a deep stratum 

 of underlying interest in the curious correlation of abundant bloom with 

 apparently a minimum of root nourishment. With most othe- plants good 

 soil and abundant feeding at the roots appear to be absolutely essential 

 to a free production of blossom, but here we find an apparently dry bit of 

 corkback, or a bundle of sticks wired together round a handful of moss, 

 and therefrom will be depending rich, solid-looking waxen blooms of 

 Cattleya citrina or other species, obviously in the very perfection of health, 

 though all they possess as feeders are a few thick fleshy cords, whicl. 

 hardly answer to the popular idea of roots at all. Then, again, with most 



plants we look for a fair share of foliage to serve as aerial feeders of the 



Owing to the continued increase in circulation, the " Gardeners' flowers, but here, again, we are confronted with a lot of dry-looking 

 jazine " now goes to press on Wednesday. No advertisement can pseudo-bulbs, with here and there a coarse leathery-looking leaf sticking 



T OST.— At the TEMPLE SHOW, the ORCHIDS EXHIBITED by M. 



I f JULES HYE, of Ghent, Belgium, disappeared from the tent on the evening of the last 

 day of the Show. 



Any person giving such information to Messrs. Jas. Veitch and Sons, Limited, Chelsea, 

 as will lead to their recovery will be handsomely REWARDED. 



NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS. 



be guaranteed insertion, or altered, unless received before Four p.m. 

 on that day. 



Notes of the Week. 



DISCOMFORTS 



FLOWER SHOWS 



Flower shows on 



. out 01 tnem, ana trom this unpromising looking mass rises a rampant 

 spray of scores of delicate floral butterflies, as great a contrast as butter- 

 flies proper to the uncouth-looking chrysalis from which they emerge 

 Another point which strikes the outsider is the marvellous diversity of 

 the tribe, ranging from huge spreading yard-long sprays of Cymbidium 

 Loweanum down to tiny dots of plants which almost require a micro- 

 scope to determine if they be orchids at all, though their names are long 



... , , . 8 large £CaIe have been held in the Un5ted enough to read without any aid whatever, save that of a pronouncing 

 Kmgdom for nearly seventy years, and during this long period they have, dictionary and a liabIe tongue . Some flowerS) as in the den drobiums, 



as the result of changes in public taste, varied materially in their dis- h in dense bunches like e therialised laburnum blooms, while others, 

 tingu, sh.ng charactenst.es. Spec.men hard-wooded plants from the like the masdeva ii iaS) pre sent as striking a contrast as can be conceived 

 Cape and Australia, which constituted the chief attractions of the earlier within one famil of Iants by their solitary and 5rilliant 5 piky-Iooking 



WCr u f , 7 P,amS remarkab,e for the beaut y of their inflorescence. It is, indeed, only when we come to the cypripedium tribe 

 unnlV r? 1° ! Wa £ t0 a considerabJe extent > for soft " that we begin to feel at home with orchids; these, at any rate, have a 

 orchid, h P l?H ; I™, Ti C 5 ief ff atUreS ° f theSC S atherin S s are sensible home-like habit of growing upright from soil proper, and in 

 decade 52J f!l! ! eC ^ 0nS ;. T hrO , Ugh0Ut , the seven addition we find pretty foliage in fair proportion to the bloom ; but once 



^ ^ eccentr j c j t y 0 f t h e orchid tribe takes us by storm when we 



m M a • • • t , 



decades there has been a continuous change in the predominating 

 features, but in methods of procedure there has been so little deviation 



reasonable members, not content with putting on 



from thp llrmc • • 11 1 -j j , — nna tneseotnerwise rcitsoiwuic uicuiucra, nui lumcui mm puumg w «> 



for th t originally laid down that some justification might be found sorls of bizarre stripes, spots, and other markings, have absolutely run 



for those who regard the laws governing horticultural gatherings as 

 analagous to those of the Medes and Persians. 



mad in the moustache line, and after soaring up from the ground for a 



at thT Persians. Flower shows possess foot and morej drop the pendulous tips of their moustache aforesaid all 



whirK ^ resent f ime abactions and discomforts about equal to those the back again f or w hat earthly purpose save orchidaceous and 



Which rharart. 'o A 7 -Z- • , . t l " "'"^ the Way DaCk again, IOr wn<u ertruiiy purpusc =><ivc uRuiua^w. o.m 



proble summer exhibitions held half-a-century ago, and few audacious dandyism it is impossible to conceive. Natural selection has 



continu^n aSS °r C, t ted WUh horticulture a PP ear more perplexing than the certain iy been at work, but it is just as certainly a puzzle to determine 



tinn n f a , P ractlces whlch obtained favour with the past genera- whose the se lection has been which decks a lady's slipper with such a 

 01 nower show managers. 



f — - Improvements in matters of detail have 



sider<T inStanCeS bCen made 5 but there is unmistakable evidence on all 

 of vis t Unng * j SUmmer season of a want of appreciation of the comfort 

 are to hf ^ m ° St conclusive proofs of the truth of tbis assertion 

 indiff* ;° Und m Stuffy tents ' insufficient seating accommodation, and 



state of n h° r il XtraVagantly " priced refreshments - To those in a robust 

 without a W3lk throu S h several tents crowded with visitors, 



not be VTln aperture "cepting the opening at each end, 

 ofladi- C ., ed Wlth an >' serious consequences; but in the case 



While we are thinking of these things, 



may 



■mposes const 'tutions other than strong, the stifling atmosphere 



°ays In th VCre Stram UP ° n them ' and may affect their health for several 

 constantlv if" 16 W3y ' while men engaged in outdoor operations and 

 chattine tn * • ?* ab ° Ut arC " 0t a PP reciabl y fatigued by standing about 

 for anv U * eir / r,ends > th e majority of ladies find it very trying to stand 



) 'engtn of time. " " 



peculiarly masculine adornment, 

 however, our side-eye has been caught by a group of cattleyas, 

 and la-lio-cattleyas, in their simple or compound forms, and turn- 

 ing a full glance upon them, we forget all about the oddities in question, 

 and become utterly absorbed in, and entranced by, the wondrous beauty 

 herein evidenced, and reflecting that the grand originals must owe their 

 charms entirely to the appreciative selection of those insects for whose 

 visits as love messengers their beauty has been shaped, we pass on w.th 

 the verdict that mankind can by no means claim a monopoly of good 

 taste in this wonderful world of ours. 



COMMERCIAL ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 



been 



A-ho 



THE immense ^^T^^Z the neighbourhood of Paris, 



a;;:: 8 ;; 1 , 01 time - Such matters as these sh ° uid ^0™ t0 a n pou^ng >*<> Bnt f^^^ 



SB I hC of carrying out the details of a horticul- and other P a "s o h ; Cnnjm^ 



tur al exhibit' -j"—^^ w i^nymg our yie aetaiis ot a horticui- 

 a st 'ning atm' I Sh ° Uld be n ° occasion for complaint either of 



Ventilation 



* not le g sfn m ° Sphere ° r ° f an ^sufficient number of chairs. 



, necessary In tents than in rooms, and yet it is a q. 



o find the most careful precautions taken to prevent any 



be 



SnTtaKcn^ The asparagus is indigenous to this country 



r f nfn nf were wanting of its adaptability to the climatic and other 

 and if proof were wanting ,-- Anm w rftn i d no i n t to many 



centre of th- V Tn ° St carefuI P re cautions taken to prevent any and if proof we re » -» 6 Kincdom, we could point to many 



W£rS52r W i! hin , hem ' N ° Sh ° U,d bC ^ ded aS "Sere C o W ! eaual to' the best that 



lh « apex a „7?K ° WCr show that 15 not Provided with ventilators near gardens where the proa P possibility 



S '°n o^; a d l h e eSe ; hould b e supplemented by openings for the admis- is obtained from ^^^^^ t0 the finest of the 



-ntiC of terns * ° f C °T' in rCgU,ating the t S TSf. and f we Jail Tdo'this, a cause other than an 



Cha *e of some "ne "h ^ be p,aCCd UnderthC fZJZ fima'e or an unsuitable soil must be sought for. It is 



t0 maintain a 15 Cqua ! t0 the task of admitting sufficient air unfavourable climate or ^ ? ^ ^ Aat ^ 



draught 



s Peak 



a Pure atmosphere without exposing plants or visitors to cold evident from ^^^^^i^^ in Great Britain is 

 ^ tents to the risk of injury from gales of wind. Generally possibilities of the commercial culture of asparag . ^ other . 



i\n «l • " w - m w * •mmjmmmj gdics kji wniu. Generally 



' S sn °uld be provided in larger numbers than appears to 



not S fully appreciated by the general body of cultivators. 



