JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
230 
[ September 9, 1880. 
east winds prevailing so long when they were making their young 
growth checked it, and made it an easy prey to insects.— 
A. Harding, Orton Hall , Hunts. 
TROPiEOLUM SPECIOSUM. 
I observe from a note (page 212) that this fine Tropteolum is 
growing and flowering freely at Richmond, and it is such a lovely 
plant that I daresay all who see it will desire to grow it. I have 
often found it most difficult to grow well. I have had plants 
direct from Scotland, and at the present time I have not one of 
them, all having started into growth feebly and then died. This 
has happened to plants in pots and beds alike. Why I cannot tell. 
I have grown it successfully elsewhere, but the soil here is lighter 
and hotter, and probably this is the cause of their failure. I 
should say a cool rather heavy soil, and a cool atmosphere, suits 
it best.—M. M. 
THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION OF FRUIT AT THE 
ALEXANDRA PALACE. 
Sept. 3rd to 7th. 
This, the chief Exhibition of the year solely devoted to fruit, was 
opened on Friday last, the entries being sufficiently numerous and 
the quality such as to constitute it a decided success. In a schedule 
of thirty-three classes, only three, comparatively of little importance, 
were unrepresented, and of the total amount offered in prizes—viz., 
£1G0, more than £130 was awarded. In some classes the entries were 
numerous, and altogether the competition was fairly spirited, the 
result being a generally satisfactory display. The arrangements were 
carefully and efficiently carried out under the superintendence of Mr. 
J. Forsyth Johnson, the only matter that seemed to require any 
alteration being the method of removing the prize cards to write the 
names of the winners upon them. Had the system followed by the 
Royal Horticultural Society’s officials been adopted it would have 
facilitated the work and reduced the possibility of mistakes occurring 
in affixing the awards to the exhibits. 
Collections of Fruit. —As was indicated in a note at page 212 of the 
Journal last week, the chief class provided in the schedule, as regards 
the money value of the prizes, was that for twenty varieties of fruits ; 
£15, £10, and £6 being offered respectively as the first, second, and 
third prizes. We felt somewhat curious to see with what different 
interpretations the exhibitors would accept the wording of the 
schedule which did not restrict the number of varieties of one kind 
to be staged in a collection. Four competitors appeared, all staging 
good examples of the most important fruits, well selected and fairly 
answering what was probably the object of the class—viz., a diver¬ 
sified and representative collection of the chief kinds of fruits in 
general use. The coveted position of first was accorded to Earl of 
Harrington (Mr. J. H. Goodacre), who had excellent samples of fruit ; 
but Grapes were represented by no less than six varieties which, had 
they not been of such good quality, would have somewhat injured his 
chance of success, especially as at least one of the competing collec¬ 
tions contained more diversity combined with general good quality, 
though not sufficient to counterbalance the merit of the Grapes in 
Mr. Goodacre’s exhibit. Taking these first, the following were the 
varieties shown :—Canon Hall, bunches of moderate size, berries 
large and fairly ripe; Gros Colman, neat bunches, fine berries, and 
well coloured ; Muscat of Alexandria, large bunches in excellent con¬ 
dition ; Black Hamburgh, berries not of great size, but admirably 
coloured, and the bunches of useful size ; Foster’s Seedling, good even 
bunches, berries a trifle small but fairly ripened; and Venn’s Black 
Muscat, good bunches, bearing fine bloom. Pine Apples were repre¬ 
sented by an unnamed fruit of moderate size, but well ripened, and 
a handsome example of Pernambuco. Three varieties of Peaches 
were shown—namely, Late Admirable, of good size and colour ; Prin¬ 
cess of Wales, large and of rich colour ; and Bellegarde, equally good. 
Dishes of well-ripened Jargonelle Pears, Ischia Figs, Moorpark Apri¬ 
cots, McLauglin’s Gage Plum, fine ; and Morello Cherries, excellent, 
were also noteworthy. Two Melons, one Miles’ Victory of Bath, and 
the other unnamed, but both in fair condition, with'Victoria Nec¬ 
tarines of moderate quality, completed this collection. Mr. George 
Sage, Ashridge Park Gardens, Great Berkhampstead, followed closely, 
the merit and diversity of his exhibits clearly entitling him to that 
position. The collection comprised good Black Alicante and Foster’s 
Seedling Grapes ; Scarlet Gem, Eastnor Castle, and The Squire Melons, 
the latter of great size ; Elruge Nectarines, beautifully ripened ; a 
magnificent bunch of ripe Bananas (Musa Cavendishii) ; a neat Smooth 
Cayenne Pine Apple ; Morello Cherries, of good size ; Goliath, White 
Magnum Bonum and Kirke’s Plums, all good ; Moorpark Apricots ; 
handsome Royal George Peaches; ripe Brown Turkey Figs ; a fine 
dish of Filberts ; Kerry Pippin Apples, neat; White Dutch Currants, 
a dish of Bigarreau Cherries, and fruits of the edible Passion Flower 
(Passiflora edulis), which are very rarely seen at exhibitions. The 
third prize was awarded to Mr. John Austin, Ashton Court Gardens, 
Bristol, who staged some well-grown fruit, but the collection was not 
sufficiently good all round to entitle it to a higher position. The most 
noticeable of the exhibits were Exquisite Peach, very fine, grandly 
coloured, and well meriting its name ; Morello Cherries, large ; Rivers’ 
Plum, good ; Ashton Hybrid Melon, finely netted ; and Brown Turkey 
Figs, well ripened. In the smaller class for ten varieties, though 
prizes of £6, £4, and £2 were offered, only three competitors appeared, 
the chief position being secured by Lord Carington, Wycombe Abbey, 
(Mr. Miles), with Muscat of Alexandria and Black Hamburgh Grapes 
in fair condition, especially as regards the bloom; Golden Gem and 
Read’s Scarlet flesh Melons, very well coloured ; Morello Cherries, 
good; Pine-apple Nectarines, Barrington Peaches, fine ; Charlotte 
Rothschild Pine Apple, of good size; and a fine dish of Kirke’s Plum. 
Mrs. Lambert, Sandhill, Bletchingly (Mr. C. Goldsmith), obtained the 
second prize with fruits but little inferior to the first in the majority 
of the varieties staged. A bunch of Black Alicante Grapes was 
particularly fine, the size, colour, and bloom being admirable ; Read’s 
Scarlet-flesh Melon and Pine-apple Nectarines were also of more than 
ordinary merit. Third honours were awarded to the Earl of Ellesmere, 
Worsley, Manchester (Mr. W. P. Upjohn), for good examples of Brug- 
non Nectarines, richly coloured ; and Raisin de Calabria, Venn’s Black 
Muscat and Black Hamburgh Grapes, of fair size but not very well 
finished. 
Grapes. —These were well represented in numbers, and several 
examples of exceedingly good quality were also staged. Seven classes 
were devoted to them, and over forty collections were entered in 
competition, the contest in some classes being very keen. In that 
for five varieties, one bunch of each, there were seven entries. W. 
Just, Esq., Eastham, Cheshire (Mr. McMaster), being first with magni¬ 
ficent Grapes that were greatly admired for their size and superb 
finish. The varieties w r ere Buckland Sweetwater, grandly ripened, 
neat bunch, and beautiful colour ; Madresfield Court, excellent colour; 
Muscat of Alexandria, large bunch and berries ; Black Alicante, 
superbly coloured, bunch fine ; and Mrs. Pince’s Black Muscat, very 
handsome. The Baroness L. de Rothschild, Gunnersbury Park, Acton 
(Mr. J. Roberts), secured the second prize also with highly meri¬ 
torious fruit, Madresfield Court, Foster’s Seedling, and Muscat Ham¬ 
burgh being very fine ; the other varieties were Black Hamburgh and 
Muscat of Alexandria. Mr. Miles took the third position with neat 
bunches, but not so well finished as in the other two collections— 
Lady Downe’s, Foster’s Seedling, Black Prince, Trebbiano, and Black 
Hamburgh were the varieties. For three bunches of Black Ham¬ 
burgh Grapes there were seven competitors. Messrs. Miles and 
J. Roberts were first and second respectively with fine bunches, well 
ripened and coloured; the two lots being very close in quality, but 
the berries in the former collection were slightly the larger. Mr. 
John Gadd, Thornden House Gardens, Brentwood, was third with 
creditable bunches of a fairly good colour. The class for three 
bunches of Muscat of Alexandria was a comparatively strong one, 
eleven competitors entering. The general quality was not so satis¬ 
factory as might have been desired, but very fair examples were 
staged in the three winning collections from E. C. Glover, Esq., High- 
field House, Leek (Mr. C. Roberts) ; J. Atkinson, Esq., Gunnersbury 
House, Acton (Mr. J. Hudson) ; and H. J. Ashton, Esq., Bishopsgate 
House, Staines (Mr. P. Feest), who were first, second, and third 
respectively. For three bunches of any other white variety, among nine 
competitors, Mr. J. Roberts secured the chief prize with Foster’s 
Seedling, fine even bunches, remarkably well ripened and of excellent 
colour, one bunch being particularly notable in that respect. Mr. G. 
Sage followed also with that variety, which though of good colour 
was not quite so even and neat. Mr. McMaster was third with Buck- 
land Sweetwater, bunches and berries of good size. There were 
eight entries in the class for three bunches of any black variety of 
Grape except Black Hamburgh, and at least two collections were 
exceptionally fine—namely, the Madresfield Court from Mr. J. Roberts, 
and the Black Alicante from Mr. McMaster, for which first and second 
prizes were awarded in the order mentioned. These Grapes were 
nearly equal in merit, but the great size of the berries combined with 
the finish of the Madresfield Court secured the chief award to Mr. 
Roberts, but the bunches of Black Alicante were of such fine size and 
grand colour, wdth large berries, that it was scarcely possible to find a 
fault in them. D. P. Bell, Esq., Clive House, Alnwick, obtained the 
third prize for three neat well-coloured bunches of Alnwick Seedling. 
In the classes for the heaviest bunches of black and white Grapes the 
exhibits were unsatisfactory, and the first prize was withheld in 
both cases. There was no entry in the class for ornamental baskets 
of Grapes. 
Pine Apples. —These were not very numerous, but several handsome 
fruits were staged. In the class for three fruits of the Queen variety 
the only exhibitor was Mr. J. Roberts, who well deserved the first 
prize which was awarded to him. One large, even, and beautiful 
fruit weighed 6 lbs.; and the others, also of excellent shape, were 5 Its. 
7 ozs. and 5 tbs. 1 oz. respectively. For one Smooth Cayenne Pine 
Apple chief honours were obtained by Earl Fortescue, Castle Hill 
(Mr. D. Wilson), with a fruit of good size and very symmetrical, 
weighing 6 lbs. 13 ozs.; C. R. M. Talbot, Esq., Margam Park, Gla¬ 
morganshire (Mr. J. Muir), being second with good and finely-formed 
fruit. In the class for one fruit of any other variety Mr. D. Wilson 
carried off the chief prize with a handsome example of Charlotte 
Rothschild, good shape and large pips ; Mr. Miles followed with a 
