356 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April SO, 1885. 
2 and 3 feet, terminating in a short corymb of yellow flower3, which 
appear during June, July, and August. In winter it forms a dense 
cushion of oval-shaped dark green or purplish leaves, and can be quickly 
and easily increased by division. As an ornamental plant it can hardly 
be said to rank very high, but it looks well on rockwork when that is on a 
sufficiently large scale. (E. serotina appears to be only a variety of this* 
differing from it chiefly in having leafy flower stems.—It. D. T. 
MANAGEMENT OF HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
It was far from my inten'ion to continue a discussion on this subject. 
My strongest contention is simply that all societies who claim to repre¬ 
sent large areas, which I presume is the aim of the Liverpool Horticul¬ 
tural Association, as this has not been disputed, is that they should issue 
a schedule to include all sections, and invi’e all growers to compete, 
similar to other large kindred societies, whi ffi will tend to the improve¬ 
ment and advancement of horticulture. Mr. A. R. Cox appears to dis¬ 
agree with this, and claims certain restrictions. He further remarks that 
Messrs. W. Mease and W. Tunnington agree with him that this is an un¬ 
favourable locality to produce Onions and Carrots approaching exhibition 
form. I willingly admit that Messrs. Mease and Tunnington are com¬ 
petent and qualified judges of horticultural products; but this matter 
requires a broader view, which can only be decided by the executive of 
the Association, and in their hands I shall now leave it, which has for its 
objects “holding exhibitions to enable them to compare the results of 
their knowledge and skill with those of members of other societies and 
of gardeners from other districts.” 
The second paragraph of your correspondent’s letter is even more 
remarkable than the admitted impossibility of producing fair samples of 
the two kinds of vegetables already named, the Wirral Rose Society 
being established eutirely for the encouragement, improvement, and exhi¬ 
bition of one kind of flower; therefore I consider it quite outside the 
question and unnecessary to reply, although the statement as to my 
being “a competitor but not in the open classes” is inaccurate.— 
R. G. Waterman. 
THE AURICULAS AT SOUTH KENSINGTON. 
A fortnight previous to the late Show at South Kensington the 
prospects of a good display of these ever-increasing favourites looked gloomy 
in the exreme. That bete noir of Auricula growers, the east wind, refused 
obdurately to budge an inch, and day after day little or no progress was 
discernible on the plants. Never, perhaps, has there been such a back¬ 
ward season, and the truth of this is demonstrated, if proof indeed were 
needed, by the fact that many of the northern exhibitors whose well- 
grown plants are the admiration of everyone were conspicuous by their 
absence. The best of the Slough Alpines could not be staged, whilst a 
visit to Great Gearies fourteen days before the Exhibition saw hundreds 
of plants which could not under the most favourable circumstances he in 
the running. Mr. Douglas had some very promising seedlings from good 
crosses which he had hoped to exhibit; but their non-appearance must be 
laid to the charge of the unpropitious state of the weather, and our 
expectations of seeing something good from that veteran grower have for 
this year been doomed to disappointment. In more than one case “ firing 
up ” had to be resorted to, to which Auriculas never take kindly. “ How 
quickly Nature falls into revolt,” and how thoroughly does our climate 
merit the description of being pre-eminently fickle—for, as if to make 
amends for past waywardness, Sol appeared in full strength a few days 
before the Show, playing sad havoc with many plants which had been 
erstwhile carefully tended and expected to be in grand form for the all- 
auspicious Tuesday. 
Turning to the exhibits, I am bound to state that, although there 
were har Uy so many staged as on previous occasions, the Society had 
every reason to be satisfied with the result as a whole. In former years 
exhibitors in the classes for single specimens were allowed to show as 
many plants as they chose. Now, however, a limit of two is enforced, the 
outcome of which bas been that small growers have been able to exhibit 
with some chance of success. In these single-specimen classes alone was 
there any appreciable falling off, the reason for which is self-evident. We 
missed such redoubtable competitors as Messrs. J. T. D. Llewelyn and Ben 
Simonite, whose names are household words. Yet the northern men were 
well represented in the unapproachable Rev. F. D. Horner and Messrs. 
Brockbank, Bolton, and Pohlman, despite the difficulty they must have 
experienced in getting their plants forward. 
Referring to the exhibits seriatim, Mr. Douglas was an easy winner in 
the class for fifty. To my mind Mr. Turner’s plants were hardly so good 
as usual, whilst Mr. Douglas had a great advantage over him in that he 
had a good per-centage of such grand flowers as Conservative, Silvia, 
Dr. Kidd, Mrs. Moore, and others which might he enumerated. As fine a 
plant of Talisman (an attractive and high-class green-edge raised by Mr. 
B. Simonite) as we remember to have ever seen occupied a prominent 
position. Last year Mr. Turner showed a plant of the same variety in 
rare form, although it is generally a shy doer. Mr. Douglas’s flowers, 
too, were sturdier, albeit free from coarseness, the fact of their not having 
been top-dressed in the orthodox fashion probably having somf-thing to do 
with this. Such old sorts as General Neill, Mrs. Smith, and the newer 
Colonel Champneys stand no chance against recent improvements, and I 
rather incline to think that to some extent Mr. Turner lost points through 
including such varieties among his fifty. 
The Rev. F. D. Horner again had the honour of beating his confreres 
in the class for twelve. Nine plants were of his own raising, none of 
which are in commerce. The most noticeable among Mr. Horner’s plants 
was the premier Auricula of the Exhibition, named Greyhound—a grey- 
edged flower with tube, paste, and body colour all evenly balanced. Its 
habit is good, and there was little difficulty in awarding it the much- 
coveted blue ribbon. We had seen the reverend gentleman enter the 
Show in the early morning in a great state of excitement at seeing so 
many of the cognoscenti and greeting old friends once again, and imagined 
from the cage which he had in his hand that he had turned to bird- 
fancying and had picked up a bargain in London. But a closer inspection 
showed that this cage, which had glass on each side of it, contained the 
enviable Auricula which obtained the much-coveted honour of outdistancing 
all its compeers in the Exhibition. George Lightbodys were somewhat 
late this year. Mr. Douglas’s were not out, but admirable plants were shown 
by the Rev. F. D. Horner and Mr. Orchard, the well-known Chrysanthemum 
grower, of Coombe Warren. Curiously enough, Lancashire Heros came 
out exceedingly well. But I am digressing. Mr. Douglas’s second- 
prize twelve were little inferior to Mr. Horner's, a grand Duke of 
Albany of his own raising and the recently certificated Mrs. Moore, a 
valuable grey-edged variety, being especially noticeable. In the classes 
for six Mr. Horner again carried off the palm, Mr. Douglas running him 
very close. The latter’s collection contained one of the best Prince of 
Greens in the exhibition, although hardly so refined as the premier plant 
of the same name shown so well last year by Mr. Pohlman. Mr. Dean 
also may be congratulated on having beaten Mr. Turner in this class with 
plants which could not have been fresher. 
The classes for four plants and pairs were well filled, and some highly 
creditable plants were shown, especially by some of the Reading amateurs. 
In single specimens such standard sorts as Lancashire Hero (shown both 
as a green and grey), Prince of Greens, Acme, and Heroine took the 
majority of the prizes. Mr. Turner’s new green edge Justus Corderoy 
was placed, and is a handsome well-proportioned flower with a peculiar 
violet ground, of which we shall hear more anon. The weak paste and 
pale tube were, however, rather against the flower. Such good kinds as 
Alexander Meiklejohn and John Waterson seem to have been late this 
year, and Topsy, which came out so well at the last exhibition was not in 
it this season. Only one certificate was awarded for seedlings—viz., to 
Mr. W. Brockbank for the grey-edged W. Brockbank, a flower with a 
rich tube, dense black body colour, and solid pure paste. Mr. Horner’s 
Redwing, a green-edge of the highest class, and Mr. Dean’s Green 
Criterion were very promising, but too young ; a strong plant ought to 
produce something good. Alpines were well shown by Mr. Turner, who 
is continually bringing out out new and high-class varieties, and by Mr. 
Douglas. 
Taken as a whole there was little room for fault-finding, and in view 
of the new departure adopted by the Society the number of exhibitors and 
the support and encouragement received at all hands afforded ample 
proof that the exhibitors and subscribers at large thoroughly approve of 
the Committee’s action in turning over the new leaf they have done. 
Despite the fact that the late Hon. Secretary, Mr. Dodwell, still holds the 
funds belonging to the Society it is, I believe, a fact that, thanks to the 
spontaneous offers of several gentlemen in the way of special donations, 
not only has the whole of the prize money and expenses been paid, but 
a creditable balance (considering all the circumstances of the case) is left 
in hand towards next year’s operations. 
Whilst on this subject might 1 be allowed to suggest the propriety of 
an Auricula election on the lines of the late Chrysanthemum election ? 
It would be a sterling guide to beginners, of whom there are not a few, 
and a boon to those who already have entered on the thorny path of 
exhibiting. Disappointment would in many cases be prevented if a clear 
idea were given of what those anxious to make their debut at Auricula 
exhibitions should secure in the way of varieties. The election should be 
confined to those varieties which are in commerce, a3 only the favoured 
few could judge of the merits of the newer kinds which have not been 
distributed, whilst at the same time opinions would be given which 
would be misleading and unsatisfactory.—A VISITOR. 
AMONG THE RANGES OF NEW ZEALAND. 
New Zealand colonists do not seem to recognise the fact that in their 
own mountain country and forest-clad valleys they have a patch of the 
earth’s surface which has been left behind in the march of development 
elsewhere. The plough and the spade have been busy on the plains, but the 
mountains are unaltered, and if we do not possess the traditions clinging 
around the ancient castle or ruined keep there are natural traditions left us 
among the Southern Alps. The geologist has “ the testimony of the rocks ” 
on which can be read the story of this period of the earth’s formation written 
in almost imperishable materials, while the student of natural history can 
also find objects of interest to him. The gigantic birds have disappeared, 
bub the Kiwi can be studied as a relic of the fauna of a past age. The flora 
remains, and the strange forms of vegetation which meet the eye in Draco- 
phyllum, Celmisia, and Raoulia are sufficient to convince the botanist that 
he is among the plants of a former age. So much by way of introduction 
to a sketch of camp life among the ranges, and a descriptive account of a 
botanical exploration undertaken by the writer and a friend in the Christmas 
holidays. 
We left Christchurch on December 30th by what will soon, it is hoped, 
be called the Great Western Railway, taking with us a tent and provisions 
calculated for a week. From Springfield we travelled by coach in a pelting 
rain to the foot of Porter’s Pass. It was our intention to camp in the hut 
at Lake Lyndon, Put it had been burnt down, and as the rain was falling 
