372 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 30, 1890. 
attained by continued perseverance and healthy rivalry. The 
societies, with their shows and prizes, have contributed largely to 
this advance, more perhaps than can be adequately gauged, and for 
this reason we have accorded some representatives places in our 
gallery of portraits to-day. 
In order to make our issue as complete as possible within the 
limits, we have thought it appropriate to illustrate a Chrysanthe¬ 
mum show. For this purpose we have necessarily had to choose 
one of the past, and therefore reproduce on page 385 an 
engravingof the Kingston Show, which first appeared in the Journal 
of Horticulture in 1886. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS—EXHIBITORS’ MISTAKES. 
Much valuable information has been disseminated in the pages 
of the Journal for the benefit of Chrysanthemum growers and 
exhibitors, and for which many are thankful. I for one owe much 
to the many hints gained through that medium during my career 
in the exhibition field, which did not extend over a long period, but 
was most enjoyable, although it entailed much hard work. We 
are often told what exhibitors should do, but I do not remember 
having seen an article on “ exhibitors’ mistakes,” which, as a rule, 
we do not care to chronicle. It is a weakness of human nature to 
hide defects, but from a chapter of mistakes it is very easy to 
gather valuable information. I purpose detailing a few striking 
incidents of my exhibiting career, that others maj’ avoid committing 
the same errors. 
One of the greatest mistakes which some exhibitors commit is 
that of boasting what they are going to do at a coming show. I 
once heard a well-known exhibitor give some excellent advice— 
which I will repeat in his own language—to a remarkably self- 
opinionated person, who was expressing his intentions loudly. The 
experienced exhibitor, who is remarkable for his quiet manner of 
speech, listened patiently, then placed his hand upon the shoulder 
of the vociferator, exclaiming, “ My friend, never thou open thy 
mouth till thou seest card ont teeabel.” I shall never forget that 
episode, which silenced the boaster effectually. 
Some exhibitors have a disdainful way of speaking of a defeated 
opponent. This is a mistake, because no one can tell what may 
happen on the morrow. In company with several others on a long 
railway journey to an exhibition, in the course of conversation one 
of the party happened to say how many years he had been a grower 
of Chrysanthemums. The person alluded to, and who had defeated 
the other many times in competition, snappishly remarked, “ Yes ; 
you have grown at ’em,” inferring that the cultural details were 
only partly understood. The same two persons have many times 
since stood in reverse positions on the exhibition tables. The 
despised one has lived long enough to attain a high position in the 
exhibition hall. Over-estimation is a mistake which experience 
will remedy. 
Grumbling at the verdict is another mistake, for which some 
exhibitors have earned a reputation. So much is this the case that 
those who are acquainted with them always expect to hear com¬ 
plaints if they are compelled to occupy any other than the first 
position in the prize list, and in nineteen cases out of every twenty 
the grumbler has no cause for complaint. I have known men 
follow the judges about the show for the whole afternoon, pointing 
out the excellence of their exhibits, ignoring of course their 
deficiencies. Much better is it to take defeat gracefully. Another 
mistake some make when occupying a second or a third position is 
that of exclaiming, “ Why I could have brought better blooms 
had I known, I have plenty at home.” This invariably is what 
would be termed a “lame tale.” Seldom, indeed, do exhibitors 
depend upon their second best quality when the results at stake are 
important. 
Excitement is a weakness which the oldest of exhibitors cannot 
at all times control. It is, however, a mistake to give way to it, as 
it very often prevents the proper carrying out of duties necessary 
at a crucial point when a cool head and steady hands are of such 
advantage. I would remind beginners that the coolest persons 
generally do the best work, either on the exhibition table or at 
home, for the matter of that. Some persons allow themselves to 
be carried away by excitement, so much as to be perfectly helpless. 
I was once in company with a noted exhibitor who was arranging 
his blooms on the exhibition table in competition for a valuable 
prize. The moment his opponent placed his stand of blooms along¬ 
side, the exhibitor named was so excited at the prospect of win¬ 
ning, that in the absence of mind he suddenly took off his coat, 
threw it on the floor of the hall, walked to and fro in front of the 
stands, and as suddenly replaced his coat without attempting to do 
anything more. Afterwards he was so helpless that he was unable to 
write a name or verify those on the stand, or to make sure the blooms 
were distinct, which is generally the last thing to do, to make sure a 
duplicate has not “ crept in.” In another case of excitement, an 
exhibitor was so elated over the prospect of winning a noted prize 
in the north of England, that on the strength of the information 
of one of the stagers who came out of the room where the ad jndi- 
cating was taking place, informing the exhibitor that he was almost 
sure to win, telegraphed at once to his wife the happy event, yet 
when the verdict was authoritatively given this exhibitor occupiedi 
only the third position. Imagine his chagrin. 
Mistakes are often made by exhibitors in preparing for and going 
to shows, also in not thoroughly examining the regulations and classes- 
in the schedule, thereby bringing disqualification as the result of 
neglect. I have heard of persons making a mistake in the date of 
a show. One exhibitor blundered so far over this that he went 
with his blooms a week too soon. Another arrived a day too late. 
The most general mistake made is that of not allowing sufficient 
time to do the work necessary in a proper manner, rushing through 
it simply because an extra hour in bed should be obtained. Men 
have been known to have lost valuable prizes, which was distinctly 
traceable to want of time in preparing and packing the blooms. Much 
of this has to be done by lamplight, it is then that mistakes occur. 
The colours under this light are so deceptive that yellow bloom9 
can easily be mistaken for white, and duplicate blooms are inserted. 
More often is a mistake made in this direction when duplicate blooms 
in say six varieties are allowed, but not more than two of a sort ' 
three sometimes creep in instead—as for instance in the case of a 
noted exhibitor at the Aquarium, who lost the first prize a few 1 
years since in a leading class through making this very mistake. 
The mistake most generally committed is that of deferring 
cutting the blooms till after dark. All blooms should be cut and 
carefully placed together in their respective classes during the day¬ 
time, when it is hardly possible to make a mistake in this direction. 
I once saw a valuable silver cup lost in the way stated. The 
winner was only two points in advance of the second prize man, 
and as the one to whom I allude was complaining of the justice of 
the award I remarked, “ If you had taken the ‘ eye ’ out of that 
Queen and the same with that Peter, you would have won,” which 
doubtless the Judges had taken into consideration. His reply was, 
“But I had not time.” This was a mistake which proved of 
serious consequence. Many mistakes might be quoted which are 1 
traceable to “ rushing,” owing to want of time in not commencing 
earlier to make preparations, such as going away without taking 
the tweezers, forgetting a bloom that was put in the cellar to keep 
fresh. As, for instance, a new beginner last season left his “Gluck” 
behind in the same manner; when a hundred miles from home he 
remembered where this bloom was left. Forgetting the packet of 
labels may be a serious matter, as so much needless time is taken 
up at the show in procuring more labels and writing the names,, 
when this time could be better devoted to arranging the blooms 
in the stands, and other duties. 
It is also a mistake to depend entirely upon just the number of 
blooms required, not taking an extra one or two in case of accident. 
A celebrated northern grower was said to have lost a valuable- 
first prize through having one of his blooms damaged in transit and 
not having another at hand to replace it. Always take two or 
three extra blooms. These should not be duplicates of those in 
the competing stand, because it is not known which bloom would 1 
be damaged, if any ; but by making sure of an extra number of 
sorts the loss of one bloom is easily repaired. Many instances of 
wrong naming could be quoted which could be traced to neglect 
in ascertaining the correct names ; for instance, when “ Annie 
Fuss ” is written for “ Amy Furze,” and “ George Patney ” for 
“ Putney George,” there can be no excuse. 
I have seen many mistakes made in the transit of cut blooms^, 
such as giving the boxes in the charge of railway guards and 
porters, who unknowingly turn them upside down, sometimes to be 
more convenient for conveyance from one train to another; having, 
them jolted one against the other in the guard’s van, instead of 
carefully handling the boxes yourself, and stowing them into the 
van also in such a manner that jolting is impossible. 
Some exhibitors are very fond of staging their blooms very 
early at the show, in fact hours before it is necessary, the conse¬ 
quence is if the room being warm and so situated that the sun can 
shine upon the blooms, they fade, are covered with dust, and are 
on view to the eye of your opponent, that he has ample oppor¬ 
tunity to detect the weak points and strengthen his own. Some 
exhibitors are too fond of showing off their exhibits to a certain 
class of admirers, that it is decidedly against their own interest 
for the reasons stated. One great mistake in staging the blooms is 
that of placing them too low upon the stands. The judges cannot 
examine them nearly so well, and, besides, the low position dwarfs, 
the blooms considerably. If a beginner will take notice of this, 
he will find it is not the successful exhibitors who make this 
