246 
[ SeiJtem'ber 11, 1884. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
The class for six blooms produced some very keen competition, the first 
prize being adjudged to Mr. A. Painter, Moreton Hall, Congletou, who 
staged very fine and symmetrical blooms of the following varieties :— 
John Henshaw, Henry Walton, Ethel Newcome, Mrs. Gladstone, Clara, 
and Percival. Mr. Harris was a good second; Mr. G. Tanner, Chippen¬ 
ham, third; and Mr. G. J. Moorcroft, Maidstone, fourth. There were seven 
entries in this class. 
Fancy Varieties. —Nine collections had to be scrutinised before the 
prizes were awarded in the class for twelve Fancy blooms, the result being 
that Mr. Glasscock was placed first; second, third, and fourth places being 
filled respectively by Messrs. Petfiekl; Boothroyde, gardener to H. Coleman, 
Esq., Dover ; and Tranter. Mr. Glasscock’s excellent stand was composed 
of the following varieties in fine condition. Back row.—Miss Lily Large, 
Mrs. Saunders, Henry Glasscock, Gaiety. Middle row.—Miss N. Hall, 
John Forbes, Peacock, Barnaby Budge. Front row.—Mandarin, Flora 
Wyatt, Professor Fawcett, and Egyptian Prince. Mr. Hobbs was again to 
the fore with six blooms, twelve other stands being sent. His collection 
was a grand one, the blooms being both large and shapely. The varieties 
shown were Flora Wyatt, a seedling, Professor Fawcett, Hercules, Lottie 
Eckford, and John Lament. Mr. Tunbridge and Mr. Buss, Parkside 
Gardens, Ewell, were placed second and third, the fouidh prize being 
awarded to Mr. Painter. 
Open Clas-ses. —The classes provided respectively for the best Show 
and the best Fancy bloom in the Show threw a very difficult task upon the 
Judges, so many magnificent flowers being staged that to decide which was 
absolutely the best seemed to be a matter of impossibility. The award for 
the best Show flower, however, was ultimately given to Mr. Glasscock for 
a beautiful bloom of Mrs. Gladstone (blush), which was included in the 
collection which won for him the Veitch Memorial prize. In freshness, 
substance, and symmetry this flower was perfect, and richly deserved the 
honour it won. The best Fancy bloom was shown by Messrs. Keynes, the 
prize being awarded to General Gordon, a grandly symmetrical flower, 
the colour being a beautiful combination of crimson and gold. 
Pompon Varieties. —Three classes were provided for these, the first prize 
for twenty-four varieties falling to Mr. Turner, the second to Messrs. Keynes 
and Williams, and the third to Messrs. Rawlings Bros. These were the 
only exhibitors, Mr. Turner’s stand containing the following :—Back row.— 
Mdlle. N. Faconat, Favourite, Lady Blanche, Gem, Prince of Liliputians, 
Isabel, White Aster, Coquette. Middle row.—Gros an Wien, Garnet, B. F. 
Jungker, Hedwig Polwicz, Golden Gem, German Favourite, Nymph, Fair 
Helen. Front row.—Little Duchess, Comtesse von Sternberg, Cupid, Little 
Bobby, Little Arthur, Mabel, Titania, and Professor Bergert. These were 
arranged in bunches of ten flowers, and looked most charming. Six com¬ 
petitors arranged stands in the class for twelve blooms, Mr. John Henshaw, 
Rothamsted Cottage, Harpenden, taking the lead ; Messrs. Paul & Son, 
Douglas, and F. T. Smith & Co., West Dulwich, taking second, third, and 
fourth prizes respectively. The varieties shown by Mr. Henshaw were as 
follows :—Back row.—Favourite, Lady Blanche, Isabel, Titania. Middle 
row.—Guiding Star, Gem, Sensation, Mabel. Front row.—Little Duchess, 
Fanny Weinar, Little Nigger, and E. F. Jungker. Messrs. J. Burrell ife Co., 
Cambridge, took the lead from four other competitors in the class for six 
varieties with Northern Light, White Aster, E. F. Jungker, Titania, Prince of 
Liliputians, and Little Arthur. These were splendid clusters of symmetrical 
flowers, and well deserved the chief award. Mr. J. T. West, gardener to 
W. Keith, Esq., Cornwalls, Brentwood, secured second prize, also with 
admirable flowers. Mr. Walker was placed third, and Messrs. R. Veitch 
and Son, Exeter, fourth. These flowers are becoming more popular every 
year, and they were perhaps never better shown than in the present case. 
Single Varieties. —These were admirably shown, the flowers being large 
and of good substance, and the colours bright and clear. In the class for 
twelve varieties Messrs. Turner and Keynes were again in close competi¬ 
tion, the first-named exhibitor being placed first, and Messrs. Keynes 
second. Mr. Turner’s splendid stand was composed of the following varie¬ 
ties ;—Evening Star, Sunbeam, Defiance, EUen Terry, Harlequin, W. G. 
Head, Alba, Paragon, Acquisition, Duchess of Westminster, Queen of 
Singles, and Lutea grandiflora. Messrs. Keynes also exhibited splendid 
bunches; Messrs. Cheal & Son, Lowfield Nursery, Crawley, and Messrs. Parrl 
and Son also showed meritorious stands, and were awarded third and fourth 
prizes respectively. Five collections in all were staged in this class, the 
remaining one—that of Messrs. John Lamont & Son—being disqualified, as 
it contained more than ten flowers in several of the bunches. This was 
greatly to be regretted, for the blooms were of large size and excellent 
quality, and would undoubtedly have made a bold bid for premier honours 
but for the exhibitor’s unfortunate mistake. Six collections was staged in 
the class for six varieties ; Messrs. J. Burrell & Co., taking the lead, closely 
followed by Mr. Humphries; third and fom*th prizes falling to Messrs. 
R. Veitch & Son and Gilbert. Messrs. Burrell exhibited flowers of splendid 
quality, the following comprising the contents of their stand:—Crimson 
Beauty, White Queen, Mauve Queen, Lutea grandiflora, Ascalon, and 
Madge Thompson. 
These classes were supplemented by one for a prize offered by the Veitch 
Memorial trustees for the best stand of eighteen Dahlia blooms, to consist of 
twelve Show and six Fancy varieties. The prize, which consisted of the 
Veitch Memorial medal and £5, was won by Mr. Glasscock, who exhibited a 
really magnificent collection, compiosed of beautiful blooms of the varieties 
named herewith. Show, Back row.—Imperial, Hon. Mrs. P. Wyndham, 
Rev. J. Godday, Mrs. Cannell. Middle row.—Mrs. Gladstone, Shirley 
Hibberd, Countess of Ravenswood, Sir G. Wolseley. Front row.—Prince of 
Denmark, Harrison Weir, Black Knight, and Flag of Truce. Fancy.—Miss 
Lily Large, Mrs. Saunders, Barnaby Rudge, Chorister, Pofessor Fawcett, and 
Wizard. 'There were two other competitors in this class who also showed 
excellent stands, but Mr. Glasscock’s flowers were remarkable alike in size, 
shape, substance, and colour, and were eminently worthy of the position 
assigned to them. 
First-class certificates were awarded to the following ;— 
Dahlia Mrs. Langtry. —A medium-sized symmetrical bloom, the centre 
of the cupped petals creamy huff, heavily tipped with crimson. 
Dahlia General Gordon. —A magnificent Fancy variety, large, well formed, 
and of most brilliant colour—gold heavily flaked with scarlet, resembling 
the rich translucent colours on stained glass. 
Dahlia Romeo (Keynes).—A Fancy variety, orange-buff, flaked with 
crimson : flowers of good size and form. 
Begonias Goliath (Laing).—A double-flowered variety, with enormous 
blooms, being perfect rosettes of a bright cherry crimson. 
Begonia Jules Leguin (Laing).—Fine clear red, shaded salmon-vermilion ; 
large flower. 
Begonia Erecta S'gyerba (Laing).—An erect-flowering single, of large 
size and perfect form, intense scarlet, with a white eye. 
Begonia Madame Emile Galle (Laing).—A distinct double variety ; colour 
flesh, enlivened with orange ; flowering very freely. 
Attractive miscellaneous groujjs were staged by Mr. T. Ware, Tottenham, 
consisting chiefly of single and Pompon Dahlias; by Messrs. Keynes, 
Williams & Co., who showed splendid boxes of Decorative or Cactus Dahlias ; 
by Messrs. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, who had boxes of Dahlias and other 
plants; and by Messrs. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, who arranged a large and 
line group of Dahlias, Begonias, &c., tastefully associated with Palms, Ferns, 
and other plants. 
In the afternoon the Committee, Judges, and several of the principal 
exhibitors and other friends were entertained at luncheon, toasts being pro¬ 
posed and responded to by Messrs. Hibberd, Paul, Downie, Henshaw, Glass¬ 
cock, and Turner. The first-named gentleman requested the sanction of the 
company assembled in sending a letter of condolence to the re.spected Hon. 
Secretary of the Society, Mr. Thomas Moore, whose absence through serious 
illness was greatly deplored ; and this was most heartily accorded. 
HISTOEICAL JOTTINGS ON VEGETABLES. 
THE LETTUCE AND THE ENDIVE. 
The poet Cj'abte has given a ludicrous description of the 
eccentric gardener whose passion for Latin names amounted to 
a craze, and who, in presenting his little girl at the church font, 
announced that her name was Lonicera ; adding afterwards, for 
his pastor’s information, that if the next was a boy his name 
was to be Hyacinthus : should it be a girl, then Belladonna had 
been chosen. With the difference of a single letter—that is to 
say, written “Lettice”—the name of a familiar vegetable was 
once commonly used as an apjjellation for girls; and in conse¬ 
quence of the freedom of spelling that our ancestors allowed 
themselves, it may be found recorded as “ Lettis ” and “ ijettus ” 
by inaccurate clerks. Leaving the question as to what is the 
link between the two, we remark that “ Lettuce ” doubtless 
comes either from the Latin “ Lactuca ” or the French “ Laitue,” 
and both these allude to the milky juice exuded by the plant. 
Our garden Lettuce is a plant of the Composite order, 
belonging to the Chicory group, allied to the wild species, of 
which we have three or four that are natives of Britain, but not 
developed from these by cultivation, as in the case of some 
vegetables. It appears to be distinct, this Lactuca sativa, 
although L. virosa approaches it somewhat; but this is strong- 
scented and acrid, containing, however, in much larger quantity 
the sedative substance lactucine, which is afforded by the 
garden Lettuce, and to which several of its medicinal qualities 
are to be attributed. It is probably a native of Asia. The 
particular region is uncertain, and from a tale that is told by 
Herodotus in connection with the murder of Smerdis by his 
brother Cambyses, where an allusion to the Lettuce cost a 
princess her life, it is manifest the vegetable was brought upon 
the tables of the Persian kings several centuries before Christ. 
For many years the Romans knew only one kind—a dark 
variety, which seems to have been used partly as food, partly as 
medicine, it being given to Augustus Caesar by one of his 
physicians with marvmllous results, which fact brought Lettuces 
into more repute. The Greeks had their favourite kind, a 
Lettuce of tall growth which cannot be identified.' Perhaps it 
was the large-rooted purple variety that Pliny mentions as one 
much approved in his day ; but he names others then well known 
—the Egyptian, Cicilian, Cappadocian, and so on. Gardeners 
of that age took pains to discover how they could produce 
Lettuces the greater part of the year, and Pliny appears to have 
himself watched the operation of earthing them up to make 
them cabbage ; and blanched hearts were a desideratum amongst 
the Romans, to obtain which some recommended the application 
of sea sand to the crown of the plant. There is no account, 
however, of Lettuce cultivation in England during the Roman 
rule nor in the middle ages. 
It is not until 15(12 that we find evidence that the Lettuce 
was grown in our gardens, and about forty years later Gerarde 
states that eight or nine sorts had been shown him. The 
Cabbage variety, which he calls the Roman Lettuce, was chiefly 
used for stews, and he recommends that this vegetable be boiled, 
so as to render it more digestible. It was customary to serve it 
cold at the beginning of supper to stimulate appetite; but 
Gerarde sagely remarks his belief is that if taken after supper 
Lettuce would obviate the unpleasant consequences arising from 
excess of wine. His hint that persons troubled with heaitburn 
might eat Lettuce with benefit is of doubtful value, unless we 
accept the *' like curing like ” theory; for dyspeptics, as a rule, 
