July 24, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
65 
otlier doing his best to deserve encouragement, and then fewer com- 
plainfs would be heard and fewer changes made. 
WHAT TO EXHIBIT. 
I have known plenty of instances where exhibitors have succeeded 
in growing excellent fruit, and more especially vegetables, and have 
yet unfortunately selected those less certain to find favour with 
judges. Some think that mere size should win, white others err in 
giving too great a preference to quality, the exhibits in either case, 
from being too large or too small, being passed over accordingly. 
One of the primary objects of promoters of exhibitions is the 
improvement of horticulture generally, but if these competitions do 
not result in the production of a quantity of superior plants, fruits, 
and vegetables than were to be met with previously, then they have 
missed their mark. I hold that but few things can be too large 
provided quality is not sacrificed, and I think this view will meet 
with general acceptance. What is wmnted is large and perfect 
specimens of good varieties, and these will easily surpass huge 
examples of well known coarse sor!s. 
There are also proper seasons for everything, and those who some¬ 
times get things very much out of season need not be surprised and 
vexed, as they sometimes are, that these productions are not appre¬ 
ciated by good judges. For instance, such Grapes as Black Alicante 
and White Tokay, forc’d and apparently ripened for exhibition in 
June and Jul}^ may easily be placed behind fairly good examples of 
Black Hamburgh and Foster’s Seedling. Unless classes are provided 
for them late keeping sorts should not be exhibited till the autumn 
shows. It is then when the early sorts are failing in quality and the 
late varieties becoming fit to eat. Black Hamburgh and Madresfield 
Court are the best black Grapes for the early shows, and well-finished 
bunches of the latter 1 would prefer to equally well-finished Black 
Hamburgh. Foster’s Seedling I consider the best early white Grape, 
and would place Buckland Sweetwater second to it, both succumbing 
to good examples of Golden Champion or Duke of Buccleuch. 
From July onwards the Muscat of Alexandria is the best white Grape 
we have, but this ought not to be in competition with the others, and 
merits a separate class. 
Two bunches ought ahvays to be sufficient to constitute a dish, 
and the sooner the framers of schedules recognise this the belter for 
all concerned. At present it is generally stipulated that three be 
shown, and these should match each other as nearly as possible. 
They look much better on sloping boards than in dishes, and even 
small neat baskets are preferable to the latter. Whenever possible 
the bunches should be cut with a good piece of well-ripened growth 
attached, and will travel wmll and keep better on very slightly padded 
boards, as much cotton wool induces sweating. White paper shows 
up black Grapes, and for Muscats and white sorts generallj" pink 
paper is best. Medium-sized, plump, well-coloured bunches will 
generally be preferred to larger, perhaps looser, and only partially 
finished examples. 
The cla>ses for Melons generally bring out some extraordinary 
bad fruit, and tasting these is the most disagreeable duty of judges. 
Exhibitors are constantly overlooking the fact that Melons are judged 
almost solely by flavour, and those, therefore, who dry their jdants, 
or otherwise induce premature rifiening, often make a mistake. Keep 
the foliage healthy, and nearly any kind of Melon will ripen well. 
Cut them when cracking round the stalk, keep them in the fruit-room 
for about three days, and then they will be ripe to the rind. Grow 
plenty of fruit in succession, and then there is seldom any need to 
unduly hasten ripening or to keep them longer than they are fit to 
eat. Where there is only one class for Melons stage a green-fleshed 
variety, as, although some of the newer scarlet-fleshed varieties are 
reall}’ of equal merit, many judges have a predilection for the green- 
fleshed sorts. 
Opinions vary as to the merits of different varieties of Peaches 
and Nectarines, and some judges give preference to the largest and 
best-coloured fruit, no matter what the variety is ; but this is bad 
judging nevertheless. A fine dish of either Bellegarde, Boyal George, 
or Walburton Admirable ought to surpass almost anything else ; and 
of Nectarines I should alwaj’s prefer w’ell-grown dishes of either 
Pine Apple, Pitmaston Orange, or Victoria to equally well-grown 
examples of other sorts known to be of inferior quality. Of Apricots 
a good dish of Moorpark should excel all others. 
Plums wdll not be largely shown this season, and in many cases 
there will be no choice. Whenever they can be had those of the 
Gage type. Jefferson’s, and Coe’s Golden Drop, should be shown either 
in collections or for a single dish of anj^ dessert variety. The Negro 
Largo is a handsome Fig, and Castle Kennedy grows to an immense 
size, but I would still give the preference to a fine dish of the Brown 
Turkey, the latter being of much superior quality. If they are 
judged by flavour, house-grown fruit will always surpass those 
grown in the open air. 
While they are in season there is no Pear to surpass good examples 
of Jargonelle, and the same may be said of Williams’ Bon Chretien ; 
but unfortunately both are bad keepeis, and those who exhibit them 
in collections especially must watch them closely, in order not to 
stage any with black centres. Judges are very fond of putting 
their fingers through these, especially if they have a difficult}'' in 
making their awards. Later on such handsome and good varieties 
as Louise Bonne of Jersey, Marie Louise, Pitmaston Duchess, Glou 
Morfeau, and Van Mons Leon Leclerc invariably tell well. Of 
dessert Apples Red Astrachan is the best for early shows, and later 
on the preference should be given to medium sized well-coloured 
fruits of good quality. Having already taken up more space than at 
first anticipated, further remarks mint be postponed.—W. Iguulden. 
THOUGHTS ON CUEEENT TOPICS. 
Lagging behind is no credit to any naan, and I fear I am 
lagging beLind with my thoughts. I never was a quick thinker, 
and the glib pens and mental activity of current writers are too 
many for me; and besides, there is another “ thinker ” in the 
case who cannot be ignored. I wished to dwell momentarily on 
two or three other matters in the Journal of the 10th inst., but 
on the completion of tw'o or three paragraphs this other thinker 
thought I had better “ think about going to bed,” and as the 
witching hour of midnight had passed 1 went; but am awake 
_ 
I THOUGHT when Mr. Murphy described his able Chrysan¬ 
themum-growing friend as being “ more likely to be in advance 
than behind his fellows,” that he was right, especially in gro'wing 
Chrysanthemums, and having his plants root-bound in lO-inch 
pots in July. There is such a thing as advancing too fast, and 
this is possibly a case in point. If "comparatively small plants 
in relatively small pots are desii-ed, it is altogether a mistake to 
pot rooted suckers in the autumn, since plants with the grandest 
of bloomcanbehadbyevenlate spring propagation. Mr. Murphy’s 
friend must now pile up turf on the surface of the pots, and this 
will keep the plants moving steadily, which will be much better 
than rushing rampantly. Previously, however, if the soil in the 
pots is not quite firm it should be made so with a blunt stick. 
If they are highly fed now they may be very disappointing in 
the autumn. Mr. Murphy goes on to say that rooted suckers 
rarely make good specimens. In that assertion I think he is 
wrong. With space and good culture they make the grandest of 
plants. Chrysanthemums struck now or even later make most 
acceptable plants for certain positions and purposes of deco¬ 
ration. _ 
A CORRESPONDENT “ A.” advocates the planting of cider 
Apples for ornament. He may be right, but I do not think 
I should plant them. I have had the pleasure of planting fimit 
trees with shrubs for ornament, and the gratification of scoring 
a success. A Foxwhelp Apple may be handsome when laden 
with scarlet fruit, but so is a Worcestershire Pearmain, a Devon¬ 
shire Quarrenden, and a Red Astrachan, with many others, and 
they are useful as well as ornamental, as are purple and yellow 
Plums and Damsons. When I see garden ground devoted to 
trees of various kinds, and yet hear the owners deplore they have 
no place for growing fruit, I alwaj's think they are slaves to old 
customs, and that if they thought a little more on the merits of 
the question they might derive both pleasure and profit from a 
slightly different method of occupying their gardens. 
“ Fuchsias as pillar plants ” affords food for thought. There 
is no method of training Fuchsias comparable to training them 
to roofs, and few other Mowers that are capable of covering roofs 
more agreeably. All that is needed is to plant them like Vines, 
and prune them like Vines, at least in winter, and in summer 
they will produce such floriferous sprays that will put to shame 
the pinched and distorted pyramids that are grown in pots and 
win prizes at exhibitii ns. Still nothing is said or thought 
against these plants as such. They are well grown in their 
way, at least some of them are; but the freer, move natural, 
more elegant, and altogether better way of training these plants 
to pillars and roofs is far too generally ignored. 
I FEEL a little hesitation in venturing to give expression to a 
thought suggested by an article without a signature, as there is 
no knowing who is at the back of these authoritative-looking 
productions, but 1 see that James Veitch Strawberry was on 
page 4'2 recommended to be grown everywhere. I thought that 
w'as going a little too far, or rather not far enough, because in 
the far north 1 have seen this variety fail utterly, it will soon 
commence flowering in some places, if it flow’ers at all, and the 
