November 1, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
369 
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COMING EVENTS 
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Sale of a new Vanda at Mr. Stevens’ Eooms, Covont Garden. 
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Apple Show at Manchester. 
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24th Sunday after Trinity. 
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Eastbourne Chrysanthemum Show. 
THE PAST ROSE SEASON. 
HEN are you going to give us your resume of 
the Rose season as you generally do ?” is the 
burden of several letters that I have lately 
received. Circumstances have prevented my 
doing so before now, and for one reason I am 
not sorry, as it enables me to take in my 
review the autumnal-blooming as well as that 
of the Rose season proper, and thus to make 
it somewhat more complete. 
I must preface my observations by saying what I have 
stated in former years, that I have exceptional advantages in 
taking my survey, the chief of these being that I am not an 
exhibitor. To some this might seem a disqualification, but 
I look upon it as just the reverse ; for this reason—an exhi¬ 
bitor is so apt (it may be unconsciously to himself) to esti¬ 
mate the season by what his own success as an exhibitor may 
have been. If he have gained many prizes he is so apt to 
gauge the season by that, and think, that as it has been a 
good one for himself so it must have been for others. If he 
have failed he is very hard upon the badness of the year, 
because he has not come to the front; but a non-exhibitor, 
as he is uninfluenced by these feelings, can look upon matters 
more dispassionately. I have, besides, probably visited more 
Rose shows than anyone else, either in my capacity as Secre¬ 
tary of the National Rose Society or as judge ; the only two 
of any importance that I have missed being the Crystal 
Palace and Bath, and these simply for the reason that I could 
not be in two places at once; for I have had in many cases 
to refuse earnest solicitations to act as judge because I have 
been otherwise engaged, and in many of these cases have 
been asked to nominate someone to take my place—a mark 
of confidence which I highly value. Besides this I have had 
the opportunity of visiting Rose gardens in all parts of the 
kingdom before and after the exhibition season, especially 
those of our chief amateur growers. I have seen the Rose 
gardens at that famous home of the queen of flowers Reigate, 
at Canterbury, at Darlington, Bath, Alderminster (the Rev. 
J. A. Williams’), Ledbury (Mr. Grant’s), and have attended 
shows at Canterbury and Reigate, at Cardiff, Darlington, 
Sutton, Liverpool, &c.; so that, if with all these advantages 
I am not able to form a correct judgment of the season, I 
must be, as the lads say, “ a duffer.” 
Before the Rose exhibitions had commenced I ventured 
to hazard the opinion that it would be a better Rose season 
than any we have had for some years past, and that if the 
weather in July were favourable we might expect such exhi¬ 
bitions as we have never before seen. Well, the weather in 
July was not favourable. In my own locality—not a rainy one 
—we had rain on one-half of the days of the month, and often 
these came most inopportunely for exhibitions. Thunderstorms 
were prevalent. Thus the day before the Reigate Show a 
tremendous storm burst over the neighbourhood and dimin¬ 
ished the exhibits by nearly one-half. The night before the 
“National” at South Kensington the same thing occurred in 
some localities, as, for instance, at Slough, where there was 
a division of opinion as to whether the Roses should be cut 
at night or in the early morning. The latter carried it, but 
the result was disastrous, as a heavy fall of rain greatly 
damaged the flowers; but yet withal I believe the opinion I 
expressed has been generally coincided in. But how difficult 
it is to get a concensus of opinion may be instanced by your 
own pages. Several well-known growers expressed their 
opinion in the Journal about the National Show at Kensing¬ 
ton and how widely apart they were, one declaring that it 
was the best this Society had ever held save that at St. 
James’s Hall, another that it was the worst the Society had 
ever held ! When doctors differ who is to decide ? Let me 
say in passing that I believe the idea about the St. James’s 
Hall Show is a sort of superstition that it would be well to 
get rid of. It was the first, and, like the first International 
Exhibition in Hyde Park, people never can think that another 
can be like it; but I have no hesitation in saying that one- 
half of the exhibits of South Kensington could not have been 
got into St. James’s Hall, and this mainly owing to the vast 
increase amongst amateur exhibitors. The nurserymen are 
still about the same, but each year shows us new amateurs 
and exhibitors coming forward and taking up high positions. 
The three Shows of the National were very decided suc¬ 
cesses. At the Metropolitan Show there were 411 entries 
made by 110 exhibitors, the largest of any Rose Show ever 
held ; and although, as always is the case, a third of these 
failed to put in an entry, the number is very great. The 
value of the prizes offered was £230 independently of the two 
challenge cup trophies, £120 more; and my own opinion of 
it was, that although there may have been in previous years 
a few stands exhibited of superior excellence, yet that the 
general average of the Exhibition was above that of any 
previous year. There were no absolutely bad stands, and 
none, I think, of which the exhibitors need have been ashamed. 
The provincial Shows at Southampton and Sheffield were 
large, although, of course, not so large as the metropolitan ; 
and in all other Rose shows that I have attended there was 
unquestionable progress. The best managed that I have 
attended was that at Darlington, illustrating the aphorism 
that of all governments a beneficent despotism is the best. 
My valued friend Mr. Whitwell took the matter entirely into 
his own hands. He had no committee to hamper him ; he 
was treasurer, secretary, and committee all in one; he was 
able to command a staff of men thoroughly acquainted with 
business ; everything was foreseen and everything provided 
for ; the prizes were nearly all the gifts of individuals, and 
a most liberal schedule was arranged. The worst managed 
Show was—well, I will not pillory it, but societies ought to 
look to these matters. It is not fitting that when exhibitors 
come they should not know where their boxes are to be placed 
and that they should have to shift them half a dozen times, 
or that secretaries should lose their heads when the real work 
of arrangement takes place. At the same time exhibitors 
should look to it that they do not make the work heavier. 
They may comply with the rules in having their boxes in the 
place where the show is to be held ; but if old and experienced 
exhibitors are rushing about to put their boxes in, or dawdling 
over them when everything ought to be cleared for the judges 
to commence their work, it is manifestly embarrassing, be¬ 
sides setting a bad example to novices, who think if the old 
hands do thus that surely they may do the same with more 
excuse. 
If I had to chronicle last year the unexpected success of 
Mr. Whitwell, I have this year to record an equally remark¬ 
able success in that of Mr. A. Slaughter, who carried off the 
challenge trophy. When we remember that two years age 
he obtained the prize for those who had never won a prize 
at the National, and yet this year carried off against such 
experienced growers as he had to contend with the premier 
prize, it shows that he must have unquestionably learned a 
good deal in those two years, and that as he did it with only 
a thousand Rose trees it is a great encouragement to those 
w 7 ho have always been afraid of the big battalions. His has 
, unquestionably been the most remarkable event of the year 
