September 13, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
235 
by Mr. Charles Eeid, who, though only a working man cottager, beat the 
gardeners on their own ground. 
A GLANCE AT THE RED ROSE VINERIES. 
A WELL-KNOWN scientific agriculturist in this district says that 
no farming, however good, is complete unless it pays. The mere fact 
of having heavy crops and highly cultivated land does not, according to 
our authority, constitute the alpha and omega of good farming ; it must 
pay to be an unqualified success. So with fruit-growing ; where it is gone 
into as a commercial enterprise, quantity and quality, however essential 
they may be towards attaining the desired end, do not necessarily con¬ 
stitute everything. There must be a sound business system underlying 
the management of the concern, and there must also be a thorough 
practical knowledge of the subjects which are treated ; and in the case 
of Red Rose Vineries it can scarcely be denied that the proprietor, 
Mr. Joseph Witherspoon, has mastered both the essential principles of 
success. He is a thoroughly practical business man, and has evidently 
mastered whatever secrets may exist in the cultivation of Grapes. 
Having an hour to spare when at Chester-le-Street on the 3rd of 
September, I spent it in a hurried glance over Mr. Witherspoon’s 
vineries and orchard. The place has so often been described here, that 
at would be a work of supererogation on my part to go over the ground 
gain. Suffice it to say that all the Vines are carrying a heavier crop 
than ever, the prophecies of failure notwithstanding. The quality of 
the Grapes is equal to the quantity, and betokens the consummation of 
the great desideratum, “ pay.” In such a hasty look as I had it was 
impossible to take in more than generalities, but I saw sufficient to 
justify me in saying that Alnwick Seedling is a perfect success here, an 
impregnated bunch hanging unthiuned a perfect cluster of berries. Gros 
Colman is evidently the favourite market Grape, its noble and com¬ 
manding appearance dwarfing all other varieties into insignificance, 
the only exception, perhaps, being Gros Maroc, which is quite unique 
as a black Grape. This variety, if it can be generally grown as it is 
at Red Rose, has a great future in store for it. Lady Downe’s, as I 
mentioned in these pages some years since, is not a success here in the 
same sense as such Grapes as Gros Colman and Gros Maroc, and is being 
weeded out. In a house of Tomatoes Conqueror is the best variety, 
President Garfield the worst. Cucumbers are grown best alongside the 
Tomato, and both as luxuriant and fruitful as can be wished for. 
At the starting of the place Mr. Witherspoon planted an almost endless 
variety of Pears and Apples. He is now reaping the success of his 
•experiment by being able after a term of probation to select some sorts 
that are admirably suited to his soil and situation. Among Apples he 
prefers Lord Suffield, Pott’s Seedling, Ecklinville Seedling, Melon, and 
Early Harvest as being amongst the most reliable. In Pears he adheres to 
his first love, Marie Louise d’Uccle. A favourite Strawberry is Duke of 
Edinburgh, of which he is very proud. 
A new boiler is also under consideration here, and may possibly be 
heard of to advantage at some future, and not very distant, date. Many 
other things of interest to the horticulturist may be seen and heard of 
at Red Rose, and no gardener who can should miss seeing the place. 
The crop of Grapes must be seen to be understood and appreciated. 
No descriptive writing can show them as they are.— Petek Ferguson, 
Mere Knolls, Monk Wearmouth. 
NOTES AT THE DUBLIN AUTUMN FLOWER SHOW. 
The weather, although not so warm and genial as could be desired, was 
■fine, and an unusually large number of visitors was present when His 
Excellency the Lord Lieutenant and Countess Spencer were announced. 
The Show was held in the spacious gardens attached to the residence of 
Cecil Guinness, Esq., D.L., and the exhibits were principally staged in a 
number of large marquees. There is a number of Orchid collections around 
Dublin, but none had entered. This may be due to the risk of transit and 
to the limited number of showy Orchids now in bloom, but more especially 
to the dangers from the unavoidable exposure and draughts. Dahlias, Show 
and Fancy, were really fine ; but the bouquet section was not equally good, 
and the first prize was withheld. As on last year, F. W. Leland, Esq. (Mr. 
Short, gardener), Drogheda, was first for both the two dozen and one of 
distinct varieties ; Rev. F. Tymons, M.A., being second, and with splendid 
blooms. These Shows are noted for Dahlias. Crowds were all day gathered 
around the stands of single Dahlias, and to many Avalanche, Paragon, 
Harlequin, and Lutea were quite new. An adjoining stand of the Cactus 
Dahlia was much admired. As in several other instances, the Rev. Mr. 
Tymons was first for single Dahlias, and Major Fitzgerald of the Phcenix 
Park Military School second. The best herbaceous collection was also 
staged by the former. Here I would draw attention to the difficulty of 
effectively staging and keeping for any length of time in a presentable 
condition hardy perennial and border herbaceous plants—for instance, 
Colonel Nugent, D.L., Killucan, had first prize for a stand of herbaceous 
Phloxes, all different, yet they had flagged and lost their beauty before the 
Judges had concluded. Mr. Tymons also had a collection of good hardy 
flowers. 
Those of your readers who have been at former flower shows here will 
remember the splendid specimens of British Ferns shown by Phineas Riall, 
B.L., Bray ; exotic Ferns by L. G. Watson, Esq., Blackrock ; Palms and 
Cycads by His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant and Chief Secretary, 
Viscount Powerscourt, and Mr. Jameson Montrose, Mr. Watson already 
referred to, and others, need only be told that their efficient gardeners 
have once again maintained their reputations, while a few like Mr. Bracken 
seemed missed, their places being taken by other aspirants to gardening 
fame. Well-coloured and brilliant specimens of the newer Coleuses were 
shown by Henry McComas, Esq., Dundrum (Mr. Toole, gardener), who 
deservedly obtained first place. Admirable specimen Zonal Pelargoniums 
came from Mrs. R. Millner, Phineas Riall, D.L., Alexander Comyns, and 
George McMaster, Esqs. Theie were some fine Roses for the time of year, 
but, on the whole, inferior to last year’s, though Mr. Ennis, from Lord 
Portarlington’s, Emo Park, won first prize with many beauties brought 
from near Tullamore. 
The fruit was decidedly good, especially Grapes and Peaches, among the 
rest those shown by Lady Emily Bury, His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, 
and Mr. Pollock, a new exhibitor from Lismany, Ballinasloe. The Veitch 
memorial medal went to the former lady. 
The vegetable exhibits were not what one might expect at Dublin, and 
certainly behind what I have noticed before, though, of course, many were 
well grown. As to Gladioli, the cup, as on last year, went to J. F. Lombard, 
Esq., South Hill, Rathmins, for a stand of thirty-six, of great excel¬ 
lence, being hard pressed by the Rev. F. Tymons; while in the stand of 
twelve Mr. S. H. Bolton, Grove House, Rathmins, took precedence of Mr. 
Lombard. The winning cup stand were from almost exclusively English- 
raised, and were procured from Mr. Kelway, Langport. For contrast there 
was beside them a large stand sent from France by Vilmorin, Andrieux, 
and Co., and exhibited by Messrs. Drummond of this city. They could 
certainly not compare in size or beauty to either Messrs. Tymon’s or 
Lombard’s. Some seedlings raised and shown by the Rev. Mr. Tymons 
were as good as any exhibited. Very fine were Penelope and Mr. George 
Rundle. In the stand from Southill conspicuous were Henry Irving; 
Rhaumes, excellent; Mrs. J. Eyton, fine white ; Captain Boyton, Samuel 
Jennings, and Mrs. Burley. One of Souchet’s, the best of the yellows of 
French origin, was Reine d’Or. I have little space left to refer to the 
several stands of Begonias, tuberous-rooted, around which crowds gathered 
all day. The feature of those were a stand of twenty-four doubles from 
W. E. Gumbleton, Esq., Belgrove, Queenstown, which I saw a few days ago, 
grown in the open air, injured in the travelling, but still grand, not for 
competition. In size the singles of the Rev. Mr. Tymons and Captain Riall 
left little to be desired. These I hope to refer to another time.— W. J. 
Murphy. 
THE INSECT ENEMIES OF OUR GARDEN CROPS. 
No. 7. 
Few o£ those who are frequently in gardens, small or large, will 
have failed to notice that there are some insects, occurring every 
season, which seem as if they had acquired a right to remain almost 
unmolested. This may be because they are generally distributed upon 
plants, shrubs, and trees, or because they are very difficult to deal 
with, rather than from the circumstance that the gardener does non 
object to their presence, for some to which we are referring are at 
least annoying, if not excessively injurious. The cuckoo spit, Cercopis, 
or Aphrophora spumaria (fig. 43), is one of those pests that is seldom 
Fig. 43.—Cuckoo-spit insect, Cercopis spumaria. «, Mature in3ect. b, Larva infrotli. 
c, Larva exposed. 
assailed by any of the cunningly devised compounds, which have 
proved so fatal to insect life and so serviceable to horticulture ; and 
its removal by picking off infected leaves is only a partial remedy, 
since the insect often gets into positions where it cannot be laid hold 
of. It is not merely the harm done by the insect to vegetation that 
is matter of complaint, it is very unpleasant in passing along the 
paths to receive portions of its secretion upon one’s clothes. To that, 
however, w r e are exposed in a country ramble as well as in a garden, 
for the species is common everywhere during May and June. This 
Aphrophora spumaria is nearly related to our aphis foes ; it belongs, 
as they do, to the order Ilemiptera, but unlike them, in the perfect 
state the insect has the power of leaping, possessed also by some 
others in the bug tribe, hence it is popularly called the “ frog-hopper ; ’' 
and many of those who know it by that name as a summer or autumn 
insect fail to connect it with the “ cuckoo-spit ” they had^ noticed 
early in the season. Warburton, commenting upon a line of Alexander 
Pope’s, which he thinks is an allusion to this species, remarks that he 
found the country folk called these patches of froth “ toadspits," the 
toad being popularly believed to spit a sort of venom. Such a name 
was even more absurd than that which gave the cuckoo the repute of 
producing them, for they are often to be seen where no toad could 
possibly climb. 
The froth is given forth so plentifully by these pests in some 
states of the weather that it may be seen to fall drop by drop from 
the leaves upon which the insects are resting ; and as this exudation 
is first drawn from the plant, it is evident that when they are numerous 
their attacks upon the juices must have an exhausting or weakening 
effect. De Geer, the Swedish naturalist, watching these little creatures 
