122 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 10, 1893. 
enthusiasm into powers who warmly second his efforts and do their best 
to forward the interests of the Society. 
It is due to Mr. Henry V. Machin in the first instance, and to Messrs. 
Whale, Baxter, and the zealous Committee, that all the arrangements 
were so carefully made; but there is one element in all such matters 
with which we must have to reckon, but which we cannot control, the 
character of the weather. As week after week of the continued drought 
rolled by, the thought could but be present. When this breaks up shall 
we not have a wet and dreary time ? and then came the remembrance 
of Chester last year, the most disastrous day that the N.R.S. has ever 
experienced at its provincial shows ; and when I arrived at Worksop on 
the evening previous and was told that already there had been registered 
Ij inch of rain that day, one could not but feel that ill-fortune is 
likely to follow, and that Worksop will be a reproduction of Chester. 
The morning broke gloomily with a drizzling rain, but happily it cleared 
off between twelve and one, and the afternoon was tolerably fine ; but 
the wet had had its effect on both exhibitors and the public, and the 
result was unfavourable in a financial point of view. To anyone who 
recollected the overflowing show at Chester, that at Worksop must have 
appeared small, and that it was so was borne out by the fact that in the 
highest class for seventy-twos there was but one competitor, that the 
great Essex firms were unrepresented, while from the further south no 
one appeared except plucky Mr. George Mount amongst nurserymen, 
and Mr. Budd amongst amateurs. 
The Metropolitan Show has by some been rather absurdly called the 
Rose Derby, but the Derby is but one incident in the great Epsom 
meeting. The analogy of that great race is to be found in the competition 
for the much-coveted trophies. Carrying out this comparison I think we 
may compare the competition for the Jubilee trophies to the race for 
the St. Leger at Doncaster. Like it, it was carried out on northern 
ground, and, like it, only stands a little lower in the estimation of winners 
to the great Metropolitan event. It sometimes happens in these races 
that an outsider on whom nobody reckoned defeats all the calculations 
of the book-makers, and so it happened at Worksop ; and while antici¬ 
pations as to whether Budd or Pemberton or Lindsell would carry it off, 
one whose name was never even alluded to, Mr. A. Whitton of Bedale, 
bore off the trophy. As to nurserymen everybody concluded that it 
would go to Messrs. Harkness, and for the second time this firm has 
accomplished a feat which no other firm has done—namely, carrying off 
both trophies for the year. It was not so easily won, as Messrs. 
Alex. Dickson & Sons of Newtownards ran them so close that there were 
but few points of difference between them ; indeed, in one respect they 
had an advantage—namely, the greater variety of colour in their stand. 
I think it was disappointment to a good many that Mr. Machin did not 
take a higher place, but it was no surprise to me, who had heard that he 
had not cut his Roses until the drenching rain came on. It is but 
another instance of the fatal mistake that amateurs so often make of 
putting off the cutting of their Roses until the very latest time possible, 
especially if the show be near at hand. Let an exhibitor only think at 
what time the Roses from Canterbury and Newtownards must have 
been cut, when he will at once see that his best plan is to make hay 
while the sun shines. Had Mr. Machin but cut his Roses in the early 
morning of the day before, I have no hesitation in saying that he would 
have easily taken the premier place. Although the season has been so 
unfavourable, yet there are some Roses which have been exhibited in as 
fine condition as ever they were shown in. Take for example Horace 
Vernet, which has secured the silver medal for the best H.P. both at the 
Crystal Palace and Worksop. Grand blooms also were shown of Comte 
Raimbaud, Earl of Dufferin, Due de Wellington, Victor Hugo, Suzanne 
Marie Rodocanachi, A. K. Williams, Charles Darwin, Dr. Sewell, Louis 
Van Houtte ; whilst amongst Teas some grand blooms of Ethel 
Brownlow, Marie Van Houtte, Madame Hoste, a beautiful bloom of* 
which secured the N.R.S.’s medal in Messrs. Dickson & Sons of 
Newtownards firm, the same flower securing the silver medal in the 
amateurs’ class for Mr. Walter Drew. The Mrs. John Laing, which 
secured the silver medal for Mr. Pemberton, was a good flower, though I 
have seen finer blooms of it. Amongst the smaller exhibitors who 
hailed from the South, few indeed in number, must be noted Mr. 
Charles J. Grahame of Croydon, Mr. Edward Mawley, the Honorary 
Secretary, and the Rev. H. H. Gall of Hitchin, all of whom showed 
exceedingly well, especially when we consider the disadvantages under 
which they laboured from the long drought. 
The wisdom of the alteration in the Society’s rules with regard to 
new Roses—namely, that of allowing those in the last three years instead 
of two to be included in the stands—was shown here, as it had already 
been in the Crystal Palace. Formerly we used to get a few indifferent 
blooms from grafted plants, whereas now we can not only have our 
English raised Roses but whatever French ones there are, and they are 
very few, are no longer from pot plants, but from those grown in the 
open ground. One has only to recollect what Madame Hoste was when 
first exhibited among new Roses, and then to see what it is now, is 
how widely different the flowers are under these two different conditions. 
Thus probably so good a stand of new Roses has not before been 
exhibited as that of Messrs. Alex. Dickson & Sons, containing as it did 
some of their own fine Roses, Marchioness of Londonderry, Margaret 
Dickson, and Marchioness of Dufferin, Duke of Fife, Gustave Piganeau, 
which would have been excluded but for the new rule, with the American 
sport Chabaw, and a few French Roses of no particular merit, but of 
which we may perhaps hear more by-and-by. While upon this subject 
I may mention a very remarkable stand of new Roses shown by a local 
exhibitor. When I say that it contained a white Charles Lefevre, a red 
Baroness Rothschild, and a pink Baron de Von Stettin, it will be at 
once seen how perfectly unique it was. Out of the twelve blooms there 
were only five correctly named. It could not be disqualified as there were 
no duplicates, but surely one would think that even a “crock boy’’ 
would have known better than to have made such preposterous mistakes, 
and it seemed very hard to be obliged to give a prize to a s^and whose 
nomenclature was so very mixed as in this case. 
Garden Roses, as might have been expected owing to the character 
of the season, were not largely exhibited, but there was one very excel¬ 
lent stand from Mr. Machin, in which some of the plants, such as the 
Rugosa, were shown with a good deal of foliage, and I cannot but think 
that this is the condition in which these exhibits should be seen in 
future—at least, where the exhibitors are near home—for it is no easy 
matter to carry these flowers any distance. A bunch of L’Ideale 
attracted considerable attention, and some bunches of the small Poly- 
antha section were very attractive. 
As your reporter has already given a full account of the prizetakers 
and of the flowers they exhibited I have not entered into any details 
upon these points, but have merely indicated the chief points of interest, 
and it is to be sincerely hoped that this Exhibition may have given a 
stimulus to Rose growing in the northern midlands, and that, as in other 
places, although it may not have resulted in any immediate profit to the 
local Society, good effects may be felt in future years.—D., Beal, 
FRUIT PROSPECTS IN BEDFORDSHIRE. 
Apples are a good average crop. The fruits of many kinds are 
rather smaller than usual, but now the rains have come they are swell¬ 
ing fast. The Codlin class, such as Lord Sulfield, is better than I have 
seen for some years. Pears, about half a crop upon bush and standard 
trees, better results on walls. Eeurre Clairgeau,Louise Bonne of Jersey, 
Williams’ Bon Chretien, and Marie Louise are amongst the best. 
Plums are a good average crop. Apricots half a crop. Peaches and 
Nectarines on unprotected walls are carrying full crops and ripening 
about a month earlier than usual. The trees generally are healthier 
and better than they have been for some years. Peaches of good size 
and quality were gathered from the walls the first week in July, but it 
was necessary to assist the trees with liberal supplies of water, other¬ 
wise the fruit would have been very small. 
Strawberries showed abundance of blossom, but owing to the late 
spring frosts, the long drought, and excessive heat, we had only about 
half a crop, and this was only secured by heavy waterings. Laxton’s 
Scarlet Queen was the pioneer this season, beating John Ruskin and 
Noble by a few days ; Laxton’s Latest of All has proved itself a good 
variety of the British Queen type, of excellent flavour and size. It 
seems to do well on rather light sandy soil, where British Queen will 
not succeed. Oxonian was the latest with finely coloured fruit. 
Bush fruits have been about half a crop, and very small. These 
ripened irregularly owing to the long drought. As soon as the 
fruits showed signs of colouring they were attacked by birds. The 
little blue tits are very troublesome, they set nets of ordinary size at 
defiance, flying clean through 1-inch mesh ; but owing to the welcome 
rains we have had during July, upwards of 5 inches, vegetation is 
making rapid progress. Apples and Pears are swelling very fast now, 
and promise to be of good size, the fruits of most kinds being clear 
and bright. 
Most kinds of vegetables have suffered from the drought. It has 
only been from highly cultivated soil, deep digging, and generous 
manuring that the best results were obtained.— G. R. ALLIS, Old Warden, 
Biggleswade. 
NOTES FROM BRISTOL. 
Bristol, like most large cities in this country, can boast of many good 
gardening establishments in its suburbs, supported by its most wealthy 
merchants and private residents who take an interest in some phase of 
garden work for pleasure or profit or a combination of both. The Chrys¬ 
anthemum and spring Shows which are held in Bristol testify in a 
marked degree to the higher class of gardening carried on there, the 
Chrysanthemum fixture being looked upon as one of the best in the 
provinces. For want of time I was enabled only to visit a few of the 
many interesting gardens I am acquainted with, and notes on such may 
not be without some interest to the many readers of the Journal resident 
in the district, 
Springfield. 
This is the pleasantly situated residence of F. Savage, Esq. 
Although good all-round gardening is carried on there are specialities 
both in winter and summer, foremost of them being Orchids, which are 
wonderfully well grown by Mr. Edwards, who, it may be said, has held 
his present position for thirty years, and I believe for the whole of that 
time has been a constant reader of the Journal of Uorticulture. The 
collection is not a large one, but it embraces sufficient in point of 
numbers and variety for furnishing a succession of bloom at all seasons. 
At the present time Odontoglossum Insleayi leopardianum, 0. tigrinum, 
and 0. pulchellum are conspicuous, while of Oncidiums 0. Cavendish- 
iana, 0. sphacelatum—the first named a good form, the latter a fine 
specimen now fast opening. Oucidium splendidum must have been 
fine, judging from the size of the remaining portion of the flower stem 
and the v’gour of the plant. 0. crispum and 0. varicosum are each 
strong and healthy, and produce a good annual display. 0. macranthum, 
