28 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 10, 1890. 
writings given an enormous stimulus to floriculture, and induced 
•more persons than he can ever know to engage in the delightful 
pursuit of gardening. Amateurs innumerable have been encouraged 
by him to persevere under difficulties and succeed, and not a 
few gardeners have obtained useful hints from his suggestive 
• observations. 
Probably if Mr. D’Ombrain were asked to name what he con¬ 
siders the most notable events in his horticultural life he would be 
inclined to answer—the establishment of the Horticultural Club 
and the founding of the National Rose Society. We think 
we are right in saying that the Club was the outcome of a Journal 
■of Horticulture dinner, over which editors and staff enjoyed plea¬ 
sant converse. The Club has been a great success, and was never 
.-so strong as it i3 now. It was at a meeting of persons interested 
in Roses held at the Club on the invitation of Mr. D’Ombrain in 
December, 1876, that the National Rose Society was founded 
■ under the presidency of Canon Hole, now Dean of Rochester. It 
•commenced under happy auspices, and is now one of the most 
firmly established, influential, and prosperous of the special societies 
twhich have given such an impetus to floriculture in this country. 
Those are important achievements, and it may be added that Mr. 
SD’Ombrain was the Editor of the “ Floral Magazine ” in its best 
■ days, from 1862 to 1873, a serial which he has happily long sur¬ 
vived, and he has edited the popular and useful “ Rosarian’s Year¬ 
-Book ” since its commencement in 1879. 
A famous divine who travelled much in furtherance of his 
; great mission, and sojourned in many homes, was led to say, “You 
« can never know what people are till you live with them,” or words to 
that effect. That those who closely associate with Mr, D’Ombrain 
• esteem him has been twice demonstrated in the tangible form 
of valuable testimonials, the last of which was presented to him 
-about a fortnight ago, as was recorded in our columns. All 
■hope that it will remain with him, and that he will remain with us 
<to enjoy a long and happy eventide after a long and useful life. 
It is but only just to say that ardently as Mr. D’Ombrain has 
■ been devoted to the pursuit of horticulture, it was never allowed to 
usurp the place due to the sacred office to which he had been called ; 
indeed he has told us in our columns how helpful it had been to 
-him in the cares and anxieties of a large parish. When at Deal he 
had built a school, and in his present sphere he has, at a time of 
life when many would think the work might be left to others, 
restored, at an expenditure of 2000 guineas, the beautiful and 
unique church of his parish. 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 
I AM very glad to hear that my notes have been of any use to 
J. B.” I would gladly assist him further if 1 understood more clearly 
what he wanted to know. I certainly thought I got “ to the end of the 
list of foremost Teas.” Did he perchance not see the April numbers of 
the Journal ? All the Roses he speaks of were commented on, and 
• mention made as to whether they would probably succeed as dwarfs ; 
but I could not and cannot say much about Princess Beatrice, T. 
I have had one good bloom of it this year, which I showed at the 
Aquarium, and I think at Reigate ; but it requires heat, and will never 
■ come to any good without it. Cleopatra, T, is, I believe, one of the best 
' Tea Roses issued for years.—W. R. Raillem. 
ROSE SHOW FIXTURES, 1890. 
- July 10th.—Birkenhead, Woodbridge, Worksop. 
„ 11th.— Ulverston. 
12th.—New Brighton. 
„ 15th.—Christleton. 
„ 17th.—Birmingham (N.R.S.), Helensburgh. 
„ 22nd.—Tibshelf. 
„ 24th.—Salterhebble (Halifax). 
.Aug. 2nd.—Ripley. 
ROSE SHOWS. 
THE NATIONAL ROSE SOCIETY.— July 5th. 
A DRENCHING rain and a storm of wind all Friday night was not 
* the most desirable preparation for the National Society’s great metro- 
tpolitan gathering at the Crystal Palace on Saturday last, and the 
.prospects at one time looked extremely gloomy. When the officials at 
- the Palace assembled at 5.30 A.M. not an exhibit had arrived, and the 
.array of unoccupied tables seemed likely to constitute the major portion I 
of the Exhibition for the day. Happily, however, a large number of 
rosarian exhibitors had been thoughtful enough to cut their Roses early 
on the Friday evening, and the flowers certainly suffered less in the boxes 
than they would have done on the plants. Consequently the arrivals 
numbered about six, and followed on rapidly, so that it was soon 
found the table space allotted to the Show would be fully occupied. 
The classes were well filled, and the quality generally far exceeded the 
expectations of the most sanguine. 
The Show was indeed an astonishing one. The freshness of the 
blooms and the brightness of the colours were subjects of common 
remark. There were certainly rough blooms in most of the leading 
stands, but there were also larger average numbers of particularly fine 
blooms than usual, ample compensation for a little irregularity. Where, 
too, the stands had to be supplemented on Saturday morning the blooms 
showed evident signs of damage by wind and rain, the light Roses and 
the Teas also displaying these effects more noticeably than the Hybrid 
Perpetuals. Still, the general verdict was “ a grand Show,” and all 
concerned in it have ample reason to be satisfied with their 1890 
Exhibition. 
Nurserymen’s Classes. 
Class 1, seventy-two varieties, distinct, single trusses. This, the 
great class of the Show, awakened, as usual, a very large amount of 
interest. When the greatest growers in the kingdom are in competi¬ 
tion the struggle is watched closely, and on the present occasion the 
meeting of several old rivals added to the interest of the contest. Five 
stands were staged, and a total of 360 fine blooms in one class made it 
one of considerable effect. Victory last year, it may be remembered, 
rested with Messrs. Harkness A Son of Bedale, these northern growers, 
favoured by the hot and early season, defeating their southern rivals 
somewhat decisively. This year the climatic advantages were reversed. 
Wet and cold weather in the north kept the flowers back to such an 
extent that last year’s winners found that they had to rely upon cut¬ 
back plants for their show flowers, the maidens not being ready, and 
the lack of weight, size, and substance in their stand was consequently 
very noticeab'e. The result was, as might have been anticipa f ed, that 
the southern and western growers were enabled to avenge their defeat 
of last season most effectively, and the struggle for the valuable chal¬ 
lenge trophy resolved itself into a remarkably close fight between Mr. 
Frank Cant, Braiswick, Colchester, and the English Fruit and Rose 
Company (Cranston’s), King’s Acre, Hereford, terminating eventually 
in a victory for Mr. Cant. He staged the following varieties, their 
names being given in the order in which they were placed, reading from 
left to right—Back row : Dupuy Jamain. La France, a beautiful flower ; 
Etienne Levet, Her Majesty, Annie Wood, Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, 
Chas. Lefebvre.' Pride of Waltham, A. Iv. Williams, lacking colour ; 
Madame Isaac P^reire, Madame Henri Pdreire, very fine indeed ; Com- 
tesse d’Oxford, Maurice Bernardin, Baronne de Rothschild, General 
Jacqueminot, Marie Finger, Ella Gordon, Madame Bois, Star of Waltham, 
Sir Rowland Hill, Camille Bernardin, Prince Camille de Rohan, Ulrich 
Brunner, very fine ; and Horace Vernet. Middle row : Countess of 
Rosebery, Victor Hugo, Catherine Mermet, Louis Van Houtte, Madame 
de Watteville, Earl Dufferin, Marie Verdier, Pride of Reigate, Madame 
Gabriel Luizet, Alfred Colomb, Heinrich Schultheis, Grand Mogul, 
Merveille de Lyon, a splendid bloom ; Madame Norman Neruda, Mrs. 
John Laing, a grand flower ; Crown Prince, Mons. E. Dupuy, Duke of 
Teck, Marshal Niel, Marie Pernet, Madame Eugene Verdier, Dr. 
Andry, very fine ; Captain Christy, and Sultan of Zanzibar. Front 
row : Prince Arthur, Francois Michelon, Mrs. Baker, Marie Van Houtte, 
Comtesse de Ludre. an exquisite flower, which attracted much attention, 
lustrous carmine red ; Duchesse de Morny, Earl of Pembroke, Madame 
Lambard, beautiful ; Duke of Edinburgh, Marquise de Castellane, 
Duke of Connaught, John Hopper, very fine ; Duchess of Bedford, The 
Bride, a lovely example ; Mrs. George Paul, Innocente Pirola, Lady 
Helen Stewart, Niphetos, Mons. E. Y. Teas, Francois Louvat, Marie 
Baumann, Mons. M. Baron, Chas. Lamb, and Chas. Darwin. Mr. Cant 
must be congratulated on the very high condition of his flowers. They 
were finely developed, richly coloured, smooth, bright, and pleasing in 
every point. Moreover, they were well finished and skilfully set up, 
forming, perhaps, one of the strongest stands he has ever exhibited in 
this great class. The English Fruit and Rose Co. were not disgraced 
in going down before so superb a collection as that of Mr. Frank Cant. 
They had a grand lot of flowers, large and very rich in colour, the 
following being splendid examples—G£n6ral Jacqueminot, a bloom of 
great merit ; Ulrich Brunner, Madame Chas. Wood, Madame Gabriel 
Luizet, a good example of Pride of Reigate, A. K. Williams, Constan¬ 
tin Fretiakoff, and Madame Bravy. Mr. B. R. Cant, Colchester, also 
had a very fine lot of flowers, a beautiful Thos. Mills, a grand U rich 
Brunner, a splendid Mrs. Baker, and noteworthy examples of La France, 
A. K. Williams, Eclair, and Victor Hugo being amongst the best 
flowers. He was placed third. Last year’s winners, Messrs. Harkness 
and Co., had somewhat small flowers, but they were superbly finished, 
and in this respect were unexcelled. Both the premier Tea and the 
premier Hybrid Perpetual, which are referred to later on, were found 
in this stand, and the fourth prize was awarded to it. It may be 
noted that Messrs. Harkness & Son were the only exhibitors present 
from the north, the weather having, presumably, been too much for 
other well-known growers. 
Class 2, forty-eight, distinct, three trusses of each. Another im¬ 
portant class, and with the competitors numbering four, the many cases 
of blooms made a brave show. Mr. B. R. Cant, Colchester, was placed 
first for a very fine collection of flowers, large, well coloured, and 
