August 26, 1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 181 
Persian Yellow ; and lastly many beautiful Climbers, such as 
Bennett’s Seedling, Madame D’Arblay, The Garland, Fdlicite 
Ferpdtue, Crimson Boursault, &c. 
But where can we find old favourites such as the following, 
consigned, most of them long since, to oblivion by the pub¬ 
lished trade lists ? Do any of them still flourish in an obscure 
nook of some rambling garden ? If so, are they known by name ? 
Not one of these have I been able to procure, though I would fain 
grow them all. Hybrid China: Beauty of Billiard (most glowing 
crimson), De Candolle, George IV., Beile Marie, Duke of Devon¬ 
shire, Charles Foucquier, Marie de Champlonis, and Gloire de 
Couline. Hybrid Bourbon: Charles Duval, Le Capitaine Sisolet, 
Hortensia (a somewhat single flower, colour salmon pink, with a 
very peculiar aromatic perfumel, Glorieux, La Dauphme, Comte 
Boubert, Miss Chauncey, and Henri Barbet. Hybrid Provence : 
Princess Clementine (very beautiful white), Comte Plater, Com- 
tesse de Segur, Globe Hip, and Rose Devigne. French : Aspasie, 
Gloire de Colmar, Napoleon, Telemaque, Triomphe de Jaussens, 
Schombrunn, and Old Tuscany. Can anyone give me infor¬ 
mation as to these or other good old Roses ? I shall welcome 
any correspondence on the subject, and hope at some future time 
to recur to it in these columns.— Julius Sladden, Badsey, 
Worcestershire. 
ABOUT POTATOES. 
The state of the Potato crops throughout the country is always 
a matter of concern at this season of the year, the crop of the 
present season being no exception to the rule. The growth of the 
Shaws has been extraordinary as a rule, dwarf-growing varieties 
like the Regent rivalling the Champion of ordinary seasons, though 
this year these latter are far ahead of anything I have ever seen 
in the way of haulm growth. Regents are now full grown and a 
good crop ; Victorias are also a good crop, but not quite finished 
yet, while Champions have much growth to make, and unless we 
have a downpour of rain it is not likely that the latter will swell 
off their crop at all, as the fields are very dry. I was inspecting 
some yesterday, lifting individual plants over the field, and 
already the disease has made a commencement on the Regents. 
This is attributable to two or three days of drizzling rain we 
experienced at the beginning of the present week, which laid the 
foliage and tubers at the same time open to the attack of the 
disease. 
If the weather continues dry the progress of the disease will be 
arrested, but if wet supervenes then the crop will be decimated. 
And here we arrive at some of the so-called means for saving crops. 
One says, Lift as soon as the tubers are large enough, no matter 
whether the disease has appeared or not. Another tells us to draw 
the haulm directly the fatal spot shows itself, and the crop will 
remain secure in the earth. Others are of opinion that it is no 
use trying to save the crop by these means, it being far better to 
let the disease run its course on the tubers that have been tainted, 
and lift when the cold has put a stop to its ravages. There will 
doubtless be something to be said in favour of one and all of these 
systems, otherwise growers would not favour them. In the matter 
of the last-mentioned I have no personal experience, although it 
is the opinion of many practical farmers that it is useless to combat 
the disease or to lift the crop until it has done its worst, the 
taint of the disease otherwise making itself felt long after the 
Potatoes are clamped. This may be a mistake, but it remains an 
opinion practically backed up by pounds, shillings, and pence, by 
men whose income depends very greatly on the saving of their 
Potato crops. My own experience of the other systems is that 
they cannot be depended on to keep the crop clear. Every year 
our Potatoes are lifted directly the tubers are large enough in 
order to have the ground for other crops, and every year we find 
the disease appear after the crops have been lifted, though there 
may not have been the slightest appearance of it when lifting. I 
have had some varieties entirely destroyed, not even a remnant 
having been saved for seed ; and these lifted before the disease 
was seen in the locality. The same thing is occurring this year. 
Some of our stocks lifted in the best apparent health in the first 
week of August are now becoming spotted. We have lifted others 
since which had the haulm removed at the beginning of the 
month ; these have turned out perfectly free from disease, but I 
shall not be at all surprised when they are uncovered to find the 
disease amongst them. 
The only Potatoes I find reliable are early kidneys ; these never 
go wrong with us, though it must be noted that they are grown on 
a warm and dry border. Myatt’s Kidney and Mona’s Pride are 
the best croppers here. I grow a few each of a large number of 
varieties, but do not find any for main crops for gardens better than 
these two and the White Don. Doubtless other gardeners have their 
favourite varieties which suit their particular soils better than these. 
And so it is perhaps in the matter of checking or stopping, or may 
be entirely frustrating the Potato disease. What may be successful 
with one grower may entirely fail under changed conditions. 
Anyway this is one of those subtle things which it does not do to 
dogmatise about. Let us try by all means every possible deterrent 
or eradicator of the disease, but do not be over-sanguine of 
success with any of them.—R. P. B. 
SHROPSHIRE FLORAL AND HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. —August 18th and 19th. 
This Society held them annual Show under much more favourable 
conditions than last year. The Exhibition on the whole was a great 
improvement upon those of past years both in the quality and 
quantity of the exhibits, and this without doubt is by far the best Show 
held at Shrewsbury under the management of the present Committee. 
It is scarcely necessary to allude to the excellent condition in 
which the plants were shown when it is stated Messrs. Cypher and 
Tudgey were competing for the principal prizes. In Mr. Cypher’s 
collection Erica mmula was an excellent plant, the most profusely 
flowered example we have ever seen exhibited. The Dracaenas shown 
by Lord Hill, Hawkstone (Mr. Pratt, gardener), were worthy of special 
note, also the table plants shown by the same exhibitor. The schedule 
contained twenty-seven plant classes, ten classes for fruit, and an 
additional prize of £10 given by Lord Hill for a collection of Grapes, 
and fourteen for vegetables. 
Stove and Greenhouse Plants. —In the class for twenty specimens, 
ten flowering and ten foliage, Mr. F. Cypher, Cheltenham, took the 
lead, followed by J. G. F. Williams, Esq. (Mr. Tudgey). Those staged 
in the first-prize collection were fresh, and on the whole larger than the 
others, Mr. Cypher’s collection being very strong in flowering plants, 
and comprised a fine Stephanotis floribunda, well bloomed and about 
5 feet through ; Erica Thomsoni, well bloomed and 6 feet in diameter ; 
Anthurium Schertzerianum, Lapageria alba, Erica Irbyana, Bougain¬ 
villea glabra, all good plants, the latter 7 feet in diameter ; Ixora 
Fraserii, Erica semula, and Dipladenia amabilis were all plants in 
excellent condition and profusely flowered. The best of the fine- 
foliaged plants were Cordyline indivisa, Latania borbonica, Areca 
lutescens, Cyoas intermedia, Gleichenia flabellata, Croton majestieus, 
C. Wiesmani. and C. Disraeli, which were well coloured. The most 
noteworthy of Mr. Tudgey’s plants were Erica Uhria superba, 6 feet 
in diameter, excellent; Croton Johannis, fine colour, and Cycas 
revoluta, Latania borbonica, Cycas circinalis, Ixora coccinea, Croton 
Andreanus, very good. In the class for nine plants, five in bloom, 
Mrs. Tuson, Abbey Foregate (Mr. Farrant), was first with fine plants 
of Ixora floribunda, Erica Shannoni, Clerodendron Balfourianum,and 
Crotus pictus, this collection was rather weak in foliage plants ; Lord 
Hill, Hawkstone (Mr. Pratt), being placed second, and was much 
stronger than his opponents in foliage plants, his best plant being 
Nepenthes Hookerii. Croton Queen Victoria and C. Wiesmanii were 
good, also Alocasia metallica. Sir T. Meyrick, Bart., Appley Castle 
(Mr. Warrender), was placed third with a small but even collection. 
In the class for six Cape Heaths, distinct, Mr. Cypher was again first 
with small well-bloomed plants of Erica Yernoni, E. Irbyana, E. Aus- 
tinana, E. Turnbulli. Mr. Tudgey was second with larger but rather 
uneven plants, the best being E. ijhria superba, E. tricolor, E. Eppsii, 
and E. ampullacea Williamsi. In the class for six Palms, distinct, there 
were four exhibitors—Mr. Cypher being first with clean, fresh, and 
well-grown plants, such as Kentia Fosteriana, Kentia canterbury an a, 
and Cocos Weddelliana. Mr. Williams second with much larger plants 
of Kentia australis and Geonoma princeps. Mr. Pratt third with neat 
specimens. 
For six Dracaenas Mr. Pratt was first with excellent plants of 
D. regina, D. amabilis, D. Taylori, D. Baptisti, D. Mooreana, and 
D. Dennieoni; second Mr. Warrender with small but neat plants of 
D. Fraseri, D. Chelsoni, D. elegantissima, D. amabilis, and D. Bap¬ 
tisti ; Mr. Farrant being first for Caladiums, and Messrs. J. W. 
Pritchard & Sons, nurserymen, Dorrington, second. The prize for six 
Coleuses was well contested, and many of the plants were 7 and 8 feet 
in diameter. Messrs. Jones & Sons, Coton Hill, were first; Mrs. 
Shuker (Mr. F. Morris) second ; and G. D. Lees, Esq., Woodhill 
(Mr. J. C. Salter), third. Fuchsias were not well shown. Messrs. 
Pritchard & Sons, Lord Berwick (gardener, Mr. Pearson), H. Burd, 
Esq. (Mr. J. R. Jones), obtained the prizes in the order named. Mr. G. 
D. Lees obtained the only prize given for Liliums. In the class for 
six Begonias Rev. J. H. Charter. Severn Villa; Rev. J. D. Corbett 
(Mr. R. Milner), and Mr. E. Burd were the prizetakers with fairly 
bloomed specimens. In the class for six double Pelargoniums Messrs, 
Oldroyd & Co., Shrewsbury, were first with an even collection ; Mr. 
Jones, Coloum Buildings, second with good plants; and Messrs. 
Jones & Sons third with much smaller plants, but very neat. Six 
Zonal Pelargoniums Messrs. Oldroyd <fc Co. were again first; second 
Mr. J. R. Jones with good plants of Charles Smith, Lady Sheffield, 
J. Fellows ; Messrs. Jones & Sons third, having good plants of Rev. 
F. Atkins, Master Christine, and Beauty of Wilts. In the correspond¬ 
ing class for three plants Messrs. J. B. Hudson, H. Owen, and H. H. 
Treasure were the prizetakers. The classes for Achimenes, Gloxinias, 
