262 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. t September is, isso. 
mittee as “ a very handsome and promising Cucumber, but deficient 
in flavour, which may he owing to the lateness of the season.” They 
requested that fruits should be submitted again in the full season. 
Mr. John Edwards, The Gardens, Acton Burnell, Shrewsbury, sent 
examples of Yictoria Kidney Potato, which is to be sent to Chis¬ 
wick for trial. Messrs. Stuart, Mein, & Allen, Kelso, N.B., staged a 
large collection of vegetables, including eighteen dishes of Potatoes, 
nine of Onions, four of Turnips, and one of Peas, besides Cauliflowers, 
Cabbages, Leeks, Beet, Celery, and Yegetable Marrows. A cultural 
commendation was awarded. 
Floral Committer.— James McIntosh, Esq., in the chair. As 
already indicated the chief display consisted of Dahlias, which were 
in extremely fine condition. Other plants were moderately well 
shown, but not in great numbers. Mr. H. Cannell, Swanley, Kent, 
contributed a large and representative collection of Dahlias. Show, 
Fancy, Bouquet, and single varieties were shown in admirable con¬ 
dition, many excellent forms being included. Some of the best Bouquet 
varieties were Perfection of Liliputians, very dark maroon ; Nabob, 
purplish, neatly quilled ; National, good scarlet; John Sandy, orange 
chrome tint; Sensation, pale yellow; Snowflake, white ; Northern 
Light, rich scarlet; Lady Blanche, good white ; Little Model, purplish 
crinison shaded ; and Rigolette, dark maroon. In the Fancy varie¬ 
ties the following were noteworthy :—Regularity, pink with maroon 
streaks ; Grand Duchess, chrome yellow, crimson streaks ; Chang, 
pale primrose, fine maroon streaks ; R. Burns, bright purple, darker 
streaks ; and Florence Stark, white, crimson streaked. Among the 
Show varieties were H. Turner, handsome white; G. Smith, deep 
crimson ; Yictory, deep maroon ; J. Keynes, rich yellow; H. Bond, 
fine bright purple; J. Bennett, good scarlet; and Amy Robsart, pur¬ 
plish puce, all fine varieties. Dahlia Juarezii was also very bright 
and good. Cultural commendations were awarded for these collections. 
Mr. Cannell also sent a plant of Iresine Wallisi of continental origin, 
somewhat in the way of Iresine Herbstii in the foliage and habit, but 
with the colour of I. Lindeni ; it was very dwarf and compact. Messrs. 
James Carter & Co. exhibited several new Coleuses that were not, 
however, deemed sufficiently distinct to merit an award. 
Mr. J. Roberts, The Gardens, Gunnersbury Park, Acton, exhibited 
a group of dwarf Scabious in pots to show what useful plants they 
are for decorative purposes in autumn. They were singly in 24-size 
pots, and averaged about 18 inches in height, bearing a number 
of brightly coloured flower heads. Crimson, maroon, pink, white, 
and purple were represented. A cultural commendation was awarded. 
Mr. G. Fry, Further Green, Lewisham, sent a plant of the peculiar 
Rubus australis, or Australian Bramble, with trifoliate leaves, very 
slender petiole-like leaflets covered with small white spines. It 
hears in Australia the name of “ Lawyers.” 
Messrs. Charles Lee & Son, Hammersmith, exhibited a fine collection 
of ornamental Oaks, including about sixty forms. Some of the most 
distinct and attractive were the following :—Quercus cerris elegant- 
issima, prettily variegated ; Q. concordea, pale yellow foliage ; Q. 
argentea picta, pale green spotted and streaked with white ; Q. atro- 
purpurea, fine purple tint; Q. pectinata, neatly divided leaves; and 
Q. filicifolia, similar. Some variegated Elms and Chestnuts were 
also exhibited, all good. A vote of thanks was accorded for the 
group, and for a box of Tuberous Begonia blooms gathered from 
plants grown out of doors ; they were especially noteworthy for 
their bright colours. 
Mr. W. Iggulden, The Gardens, Orsett Hall, Romford, exhibited 
plants of an improved form of Begonia semperflorens, named grandi- 
flora. It chiefly differed from the type in the larger size of the pure 
white flowers, the good trusses, and the freedom with which they are 
produced. It is likely to be very useful for cutting purposes, but the 
Committee desired to see it with the species and a variety of Messrs. 
Suttons’. Messrs. Keynes & Co., Salisbury, sent about nine dozen fine 
Dahlia blooms, both Show and Fancy varieties being well represented. 
Several good new varieties were certificated. Messrs. Rawlings, 
Bros., florists. Old Church, Romford, also exhibited several handsome 
seedling Dahlias ; and Mr. G. P. Harris, Orpington, Kent, staged 
blooms of a beautiful yellow Show Dahlia named President, fairly 
good in form and of a most delicate pale yellow tint. Mr. Charles 
Noble, Bagshot, sent flowers of Rose Queen of the Bedders, of which it 
is stated flowers maybe cut during five months of the year in the open 
ground. The Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen, Tregothnan, Cornwall, 
sent flowers of Bougainvillea glabra gathered from plants growing 
outside unprotected. Sir H. W. Parker, Stawell House, Richmond 
(Mr. Bowell), exhibited flowers of a very good variety of Lapageria 
rosea. Mr. H. Eckford, The Gardens, Sandywell Park, Cheltenham, 
was accorded a vote of thanks for a collection of seedling Coleuses, 
some of which were excellently coloured. From the Society’s garden 
came fruits of the pretty Fragaria indica, so attractive either grown 
in pots or on the rockery, and flowers of the rich crimson Canna iridi- 
flora hyhrida. 
First-class certificates were awarded for the following plants and 
flowers :— 
Coleus Mrs. W. M. Shirreff (King).—A handsome and effective 
variety of good compact habit, with neat leaves, having a centre of 
rich bright crimson surrounded by a band of maroon, and with an 
evenly crenated green margin. Undoubtedly one of the best that 
has been exhibited. 
Dahlia Walter N. Williams (Keynes).—This was certificated as a 
“ decorative flower.” It was chiefly notable for the extremely bright 
scarlet colour and its great size, but was not of sufficiently good form 
to merit a certificate as a show variety. 
Dahlia Joseph Green (Keynes).—A very good scarlet flower, de¬ 
scribed on page 254 in the report of the Brighton Show. 
Dahlia Mr. Harris (Rawlings). — Excellent flower, good depth, 
rather hollow in centre but very regular in outline ; colour deep rich 
crimson maroon. 
Dahlia Frank Rawlings (Rawlings). — A handsome flower, very 
symmetrical, rather low in the centre, rich purple colour, very good 
depth. 
Croton B. Franck SelUere (Chantrier, freres, France).—An extremely 
distinct variety, with leaves from a foot to 15 inches in length, 3 or 
4 inches broad, very distinctly veined and variegated with yellowish 
white. It will probably form a fine exhibition plant. 
THE SCOTCH CHAMPION POTATO. 
Mr. Luckhurst seems to entertain anything but a favourable 
opinion of this Potato. I really cannot think he has the right 
variety, for with us last year its cropping, its keeping, and its 
cooking qualities were all that could be desired. The tubers 
when cooked were beautifully white and very mealy, with a good 
flavour—so much so, that I never had one complaint from the time 
we started to use them before Christmas last year until July this 
year. At that time being so good I had orders from London to 
send more of them, as those purchased there were not eatable. 
Surely this evidence is worth something as to the merits of this 
useful variety. True, it has one great drawback in its deep eye, 
but its other good qualities are so overwhelming that we almost, 
in our gratification, lose sight of this defect, for it has absolutely 
been a question of Champions or no Potatoes with us and other 
cultivators. That other fine variety Magnum Bonum until now 
has been too expensive to have been generally planted, but another 
year I hope to see it grown as largely as the Champion. I had 
always considered Mr. Luckhurst a very sober-minded writer, but 
in this case surely he has been a little precipitate. It is well to 
remember that both producers and consumers have a good opinion 
of the Champion, and it seems to be remarkable that Mr. Luckhurst 
fails to find even one qualification to recommend it. Your corre¬ 
spondent further states that we have plenty of varieties that 
possess all the good qualities of a Potato to supply us for eleven 
months of the year. I have tried most of the varieties introduced 
for the last twenty to thirty years, but up to the present time I do 
not know of one that I can depend on as possessing all the good 
qualities during the period named. For a main crop I find the 
two varieties above mentioned by far the most reliable. I have 
just been to the field and forked up a few roots of the Champion 
and Magnum Bonum, and really they are something to gladden 
one’s sight, the tubers being large, numerous, sound, and clean. 
Paterson’s Yictoria growing by the side of them are a poor crop 
and much diseased—scarcely worth the labour of taking up. Last 
year our Paterson’s were very bad ; for every bushel we secured 
we had something like 19 bushels of Champions, and 12 or 14 of 
Magnum Bonum. The high approval I have adduced of the 
quality of the Champion will most certainly induce me to grow 
it extensively, unless Mr. Luckhurst can send me something 
better.— John Taylor, Hardwiclte Grange, Shrewsbury. 
Mr. Luckhurst, on page 212, in reply to my note in the preced¬ 
ing issue, asks if he is to be “ open to rebuke for refusing to cultivate 
a variety in which most of the points of excellence that a Potato 
should possess are conspicuous by their absence ? ” I reply, Certainly 
not. He is fully justified in discarding any variety that does not 
answer his expectations. But it is quite another thing to denounce 
the Scotch Champion for not being good in August. It cannot 
be good then. To my suggestion that the true variety was possibly 
not obtained “for trial,” Mr. Luckhurst makes no reply, nor does 
he allude to the circumstance that the Champion was certificated 
for its good quality when cooked. I think it is a mistake either 
to overpraise or denounce any Potato that has not been subjected 
to a fair trial, and it is simply impossible for anyone to fairly 
prove the quality of the Scotch Champion in August. The true 
variety is not fit to eat then, but I have had it during the spring 
(when no other Potatoes were to be had) of excellent quality, 
and I think I know a good Potato, being— An Irishman. 
I HAVE recently been through the four provinces of Ireland, 
and I am inclined to doubt that Champions in Ireland and England 
mean one and the same Potato, at least with some people. The 
Champion here is decidedly a very late Potato. Still, now ap¬ 
proaching the middle of September, when many of the earlier 
kinds are wholly consumed, and the intermediate varieties in 
general use, it is quite green and growing freely. This is the case 
in the midland counties, every one of which I have been through 
