28 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 14, 1881. 
Morny, Charles Darwin, Avocat Duvivier, Madame Therese Levet, 
Elie Morel, Countess of Roseberry, Triomphe de France. La Rosiere, 
Sir Garnet Wolseley, Baronne de Rothschild, Marie Baumann, A. K. 
Williams, Duke of Connaught, Comtesse de Serenye, Marguerite de 
St. Amand, Comtesse Tretiakoff, and Beauty of Waltham, all very 
bright and of excellent quality. Mr. G. Prince, Oxford ; Mr. John 
House, Eastgate, Peterborough ; and Mr. B. R. Cant followed in the 
order named. Mr. C. Turner was also first with twenty-four single 
trusses, a class in which the competition was very keen, nine stands 
being contributed. Messrs. Kinmont & Kidd, Canterbury, took the 
second position for creditable blooms; Messrs. John House and 
E. P. Francis & Co., Hertford, being third and fourth with neat stands. 
Four competitors appeared in the class for twelve Tea or Noisette 
blooms, and some remarkably handsome examples were included in 
the leading stands. Messrs. Paul & Son secured the chief honours 
with fine flowers of Caroline Kuster, Souvenir d’un Ami, Devoniensis, 
Catherine Mermet, Madame Willermoz, Jean Ducher, Souvenir d’Elise 
Vardon, Madame Lambard, Rubens, Niphetos, Bouquet d’Or, and 
Alba Rosea. Mr. G. Prince was second, also with good blooms, 
Amazon, Marie Van Houtte, Madame Guillot, Devoniensis, and 
Mons. Furtado being the best. Mr. Cant had Innocente Pirola, 
Bouquet d’Or, Madame Welch, Jean Ducher, and Madame Bravy in 
good form in his third-prize stand. 
Oten Classes. —The chief class in this section was that for the 
best thousand Roses, for which gold, silver, and bronze medals were 
offered, the blooms remaining the property of the lessees after the 
Exhibition. There were four entries, the disposition of which have 
already been referred to. Mr. T. Jowitt was accorded the principal 
prize for a handsome and diversified collection, the Roses being ar¬ 
ranged in concentric lines in three connected semicircles. The 
colours were bright and tastefully arranged. Messrs. Cranston were 
second with two beds of blooms, one on each side of the hall in the 
form of quadrants, very pretty and effective. Messrs. Paul A Son 
had three large oval beds of fresh clean Roses, but not quite so 
bright as in the others. Next in interest to the above were classes 
for white, dark, pink, and yellow Roses, twenty trusses of each. In 
the first-named Messrs. Paul & Son were first with Souvenir de la 
Malmaison and Mdlle. Bonnaire, both fine; Mr. Cant followed with 
Mdlle. Bonnaire and Devoniensis, and Messrs. Cranston with Niphetos. 
The best dark Roses were A. K. Williams, Marie Baumann, and Rey¬ 
nolds Hole from Mr. Cant, all being excellent. Messrs. Paul also had 
the first-named variety in good form, Messrs. Cranston being third 
with Madame Charles Wood, and Mr. G. Prince held a similar position 
with Horace Yernet. Messrs. Cranston were first in the pink variety 
class with Baronne de Rothschild, fresh, full, and handsome ; and third 
with Marquise de Castellane. Mr. Jowitt followed with Duchesse de 
Morny, uncommonly fine both in form and colour. Mr. Cant was 
first wdth Marie Van Houtte and La Boule d’Or in the yellow variety 
class, having handsome flowers of each. Mr. G. Prince was second 
■with Mardchal Niel and Reine du Portugal. Messrs. Paul and Cran¬ 
ston secured the prizes for twenty trusses of Rose buds, each firm 
contributing pretty collections. 
Another distinct section of the open classes was for bouquets of 
Roses—white, dark, pink, yellow, and mixed. Several very pleasing 
bouquets were contributed in each class, and these being placed upon 
a central circular table proved a great attraction. The principal 
prizetakers were Messrs. Paul & Son, Cranston, Cooling & Sons, 
J. House, R. T. Yeitch of Exeter, and Wilkins. 
New Roses. —A class was provided for six trusses of any new 
Rose not in commerce, and three exhibitors appeared, who were ac¬ 
corded the prizes in the following order—Mr. B. R. Cant first for 
General Sir Evelyn Wood , a Hybrid Perpetual Rose of good promise, 
very close and compact, of moderate size, and of a clear light pur¬ 
plish rose tint ; Mr. C. Turner second for Alice Turner , also a Hybrid 
Perpetual of a soft, bright, rosy scarlet tint, neat in form and very 
effective—a most pleasing shade of colour ; Messrs. Cranston third 
for Mary Pochin , a bright crimson scarlet Rose of moderate substance ; 
petals broad, brighter in the upper surface. 
Miscellaneous exhibits were not very numerous, but Messrs. H. 
Cannell <fc Son, Swanley, had an attractive collection of Pelargonium 
blooms comprising a large number of handsome varieties, and Mr. G. 
Prince exhibited several boxes of Tea and Noisette Roses, with a 
pretty collection of Rose buds. Both firms were highly commended. 
CARDUUS ERIOPHORUS. 
I HAVE been much struck with the beauty and elegance of the 
cotton-headed Thistle, Carduus eriophorus. I found some plants 
in the neighbourhood of Boulogne and brought home the seed, 
from which I have raised one plant. It is now rather more than 
5 feet high and about the same in diameter at the base, and forms 
a pyramidal plant of no common elegance, though not yet in 
bloom. The beads of the Thistles are very curious covered with 
a cottony down ; the flowers are a deep purple, and larger than 
any other Thistle that I am acquainted with. The leaves are 
half clasping the stem but not decurrent, cottony beneath, deeply 
pinnatifid with double lobes, one of which points upward, the 
other downward. I do not know if it is often used as a decora¬ 
tive plant, but I can highly recommend it as such. I have grown 
Onopordum acanthium (Cotton Thistle) for decorative purposes ; 
it makes a noble plant some 7 feet high, and a friend of mine 
last year had a hedge of it that formed a background of unique 
appearance, but it is inferior to the former plant for decorative 
purposes.—G eorge Dowker. 
WIMBLEDON FLOWER SHOW. 
Wimbledon is a notable place for contests, and the fine common 
is the rendezvous of thousands who congregate there from day to 
day at this period of the year. It is fitting that among other 
organisations the district should have a horticultural society, for it 
is studded with good gardens managed by intelligent men and ex¬ 
cellent cultivators. The ninth Show was held on Thursday last, by 
the kind permission of Mr. Walters, in the well-timbered grounds 
of Woodhays, the visitors being further favoured with access to the 
flower garden which Mr. Bridger had rendered so attractive by its 
brightness and extreme neatness. The Exhibition was in most 
respects fully equal to those of the past, and in some respects de¬ 
cidedly superior. A new feature this year consisted in the groups of 
plants arranged for effect, and the competition was so good that this 
department of the Show and the Roses and cut flower classes, in¬ 
cluding vases, bouquets, <Src., shared about equally the attention of 
the visitors. Of fruit the display was very creditable, and vegetables 
were admirably represented, the Judges having had great difficulty 
in making the awards. _ 
Only the general character of the Show can be noticed, the effect 
groups claiming prior attention. These were arranged along the 
sides of the marquee, most of them being of semicircular form, which 
is perhaps the best mode of disposing of collections ranging from 
50 to 100 superficial feet in extent, larger groups having a greater 
lateral extension according to the width of the tent. By this airange- 
ment only one “ face ” has to be produced, and this with small groups 
can be rendered more picturesque than when the arrangement is of 
square or circular outline. In the open class for groups of 100 square 
feet Mr. Stevens, St. John’s Wood Nursery, Putney, was worthily 
placed first with a free and diversified arrangement, the plants being 
in excellent condition ; the margin of Gloxinias and Selaginellas 
was very attractive. Messrs. B. Peed & Son, Streatham, were second 
with a very bright arrangement, the Heaths showing to great advan¬ 
tage. Although this group was not crowded it was too smooth to gain 
a higher award. Mr. Law, gardener to R. S. Dean, Esq., The Priory, 
Wimbledon, was the remaining prizewinner, and well deserved his 
position. In the smaller 50-feet groups Mr. Bridger ; Mr. Stratton, 
gardener to Miss Forbes, Chester House, Wimbledon ; and Mr. Bentley, 
gardener to Sir Thomas Gabriel, Bart., Roehampton, were awarded 
the prizes in the order named for arrangements of considerable merit, 
but in some of them the plants were rather too closely packed, and the 
groups too formal. Prizes were also offered for still smaller groups 
of 40 square feet open to amateurs not employing a regular gardener, 
and highly creditable displays were arranged by Messrs. Dove, 
Collins, and Maton, the prizetakers in this class. Mr. Thompson, 
nurseryman, Wimbledon, arranged a beautiful group not for compe¬ 
tition ; the margin of Caladium argyrites was particularly attrac¬ 
tive. Messrs. J. Laing & Co , Forest Hill, had also a fine group com¬ 
posed of valuable plants tastefully arranged, also a box of splendid 
Begonia flowers. For these collections certificates of merit were 
deservedly awarded. 
In the specimen plant classes the competition w r as good, and many 
excellent examples of culture were staged. Stove and greenhouse 
plants and Ferns were generally very good, many plants in the last- 
named class being superior. Zonal Pelargoniums were not on the 
whole quite so good as we have seen them. Caladiums, Gloxinias, 
and especially Tuberous Begonias were very fine, and Coleuses and 
Achimenes good. The principal prizetakers in the above classes were 
Messrs. Bentley, Bridger, Stratton, Law, Wormald, Starr, and Forbes. 
Mr. Legg, Worple Nursery, exhibited a fine group of the newer 
varieties of Zonal Pelargoniums in 5-inch pots. The plants were 
splendidly grown and flowered, and merited, as they received, high 
commendation. Some excellent stands of Roses were staged, and the 
competition in the principal classes was very close. In the open class 
for twenty-four blooms Messrs. Gibson, Moorman, and Berry were the 
successful exhibitors, and in the special prize for twelve blooms Dr. 
Brooklees was first, Mr. Moorman second, and Mr. Coleby third. 
Messrs. Yeiteh & Sons, Chelsea, showed splendid stands, not for 
competition, and for which a certificate of merit was granted. 
Fruit was generally of good average quality. For a' collection of 
six distinct dishes Mr. Davis secured the premier position with black 
and white Grapes, Figs, Melons, Peaches, and Nectarines. For 
black Grapes Mr. Law was in the first position ; for white Grapes 
Mr. Bentley ; and Messrs. Alderman, Davis, and Cole were the most 
successful exhibitors of Peaches, Nectarines, and Strawberries. Mr. 
Bennett staged a collection of six bunches of Grapes and six Melons 
not for competition, and received a certificate of merit. 
Vegetables were very good indeed, and it is seldom that there is 
such close competition as existed in the class for twelve dishes staged 
by Messrs. Fanning, Gibson, and Law, who were awarded the prizes in 
the order named after a long and critical examination by the Judges. 
A great number of special prizes were provided by supporters of 
the Society, including Lady Peek, who provided prizes for hardy 
flowers ; and Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., for table plants. The com- 
