April 20, 1893. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
819 
looked at. When Mr. Holmes died the members would remember the 
Committee came to the resolution to pay for the secretarial services, 
and the word salary was used. Mr. Dean objected at that time to that 
word being used, and asked that it might be called clerical assistance. 
Mr. Addison continuing said unless Mr. Shea was elected a member of 
the Floral Committee first he could not be elected the Chairman. The 
Secretary knew this, hence the circular. 
Mr. W. H. Fowler felt sorry to have to speak on the subject, for 
Mr. Dean had committed an error of judgment, and he must support the 
motion. He thought he was not a paid official. Many honorary 
secretaries were allowed clerical assistance, and properly so. It was 
very unfortunate, for the gentleman elected was a most excellent choice, 
and the Society would have been fortunate in having him. He must 
vote for the resolution, because what had been done was not calculated 
to inspire confidence. 
Several members admitted receiving the circulars, but had not been 
influenced by them. 
Mr. Burridge wanted to pour oil on troubled waters. He thought if 
Mr. Dean admitted the error the motion might be withdrawn. The 
Chairman felt so too. He was sure Mr. Dean acted from the best of 
motives. If Mr, Dean would admit the error he thought the matter 
might be settled. He had worked most nobly in the past, and had 
served the interests of the Society, doing an immense amount of work, 
such as a paid Secretary could not be expected to do for very much 
more than was allowed Mr. Dean. If they drove Mr. Dean to resigna¬ 
tion, and they must consider the effect of the motion if carried, it would 
be a more serious matter than some of them would think. He protested 
most emphatically against him being considered a paid Secretary. The 
future he thought hung in the balance. If matters could be smoothed 
over, and they did not pass a vote of censure it would be best. 
Mr. Gordon replied, and would have been pleased to withdraw the 
motion if he felt he could do s) in justice to the Society. He thought it 
was a time when the Committee should express its opinion. He was 
prepared to abide by the decision of the Committee, but to withdraw it 
would be wanting in his duty. 
The motion was then put, there being fourteen in favour and seven¬ 
teen against. There must have been nearly as many members who 
abstained from voting. 
Mr. Dean then rose, and said he had no hesitation in saying that he 
regretted the action. He fully believed he was doing the best for the 
Society, and if that admission would tend to allay matters he would be 
only too pleased. He hoped Mr. Gordon would allow himself to be 
nominated for the post, but that gentleman thought it would not be 
consulting the best interests of the Society if he did. Several other 
names were proposed, but they declined. Mr. W. H. Fowler, however, 
was elected without contest. 
Two vacancies having occurred on the General Committee, Mr. Hy. 
Cannell and Mr. E. Molyneux were elected, 
Mr. Jukes protested against being charged with discreditable pro¬ 
ceedings, as was lately the case. Everything he had done had been 
for the best, and he was not ashamed of anything he had done. He 
might have made mistakes, as who had not, but he distinctly denied 
being associated in any way with discreditable proceedings. 
Mr. R. Ballantine, who came in at a late hour, concurred in Mr. 
Jukes’remarks. He would be glad to meet the members and lay his 
•onduct in their hands. 
Mr. Fowler thought that the calling of any meeting for such a 
purpose was unnecessary. Anyone who had a grievance against the 
officials could have attended the annual meeting. As they did not, he 
could only assume that the majority were perfectly content. 
The Chairman said, in reply, that if the members thought the officers 
had acted unworthily he was quite prepared to place his resignation in 
their hands. He thought no member ought to take such a mode of 
expressing his views as Mr. Trinder had done recently. 
Judging Cut Blooms. 
“ Sadog ” asks me at page 298 if I have ever awarded Refulgens the 
premier prize when Lord Alcester is competing in prime condition. If 
he will refer to my last (page 278) he will see clearly what I say about 
Refulgens is not in connection with awarding premier bloom prizes. It 
reads thus : “ But an exhibitor who tastefully arranges his colours and 
also includes diflflcult varieties like Refulgens, giving his stand a more 
pleasing and fresh appearance, should have a point for this over one that 
stages too many all of one colour.” This has nothing to do with the 
question he puts to me, but I will answer it. I have not, and I fancy 
no one else has either, if Lord Alcester or some other of the Queen family 
were competing in good condition. But where Refulgens tells is in a 
stand of twenty-four distinct varieties when in first class condition. Most 
exhibitors would be pleased to be able to include it in a twenty-four 
stand, for we have not yet even twenty-four varieties of the size and 
quality of Lord Alcester, and the other a colour we are short of among 
incurves, having too many light shades. 
“ Sadoc ’I will find plenty of judges who, before they will award a 
premier prize to a bloom, will first lift it out and compare it with some 
others who may be half a point behind ; but I would not like to con¬ 
demn such men as not competent to award prizes. Can he say he has not 
adopted the practice himself ? If all judges are not just of “ Sadoc’s ” 
opinion of what he eonsiders the proper way to judge cut blooms, he 
should not condemn them, or he alone might be left to do all the work. 
I have seen the most experienced judges at several of our large shows 
prefer to remove the stands and judge them side by side instead of 
measuring the comparison a long distance away, and often in an 
indifferent light, where it is difficult at times to see the slight shades 
of colour in the different varieties. —J. Lambert, Powis Castle Gardens. 
Objectionable Varieties. 
It has been a mystery to me why exhibitors waste valuable time in cul¬ 
tivating some Chrysanthemums which I regard as useless, now there are 
such a number of superior varieties available. I am not now alluding 
to collections where the largest classes are filled by competitors, but I 
specially refer to those cultivators who cannot from their convenience ever 
hope to compete in classes where no less than at least thirty-six varieties 
of Japanese kinds are required. Such exhibitors confine themselves to 
classes of, say, twelve or eighteen kinds, but who at the same time 
include so many that I regard as being worthless, or nearly so, aa 
exhibition flowers. Even the largest exhibitors have no occasion to 
rely on some of the sorts met with now that the influx of superior 
varieties is so large. In competition these inferior kinds lose points, 
even if the blooms are large and well developed, as compared with those 
more beautiful and less easy to cultivate. 
I do not think growers as a rule pay sufficient attention to those 
varieties that are acknowledged to be difficult to present in the best 
possible form. It seems natural that these should be discarded when so 
many others much easier te grow are obtainable. Take, for instance, 
Boule d’Or, Etoile de Lyon, or Mrs Alpheus Hardy. Neither of these 
can be regarded as being of easy production. True the second named is 
numerously staged, but not always in good condition. If varieties like 
the one in question were more often shown as it ought to be we should 
not hear nearly so much complaining about the large unsatisfactory 
blooms monopolising the attention of cultivators at the expense of 
those more beautiful and less cultivated. In competition It would 
undoubtedly “pay” the exhibitor to conquer the peculiarities in 
culture of some sorts so as to present these in faultless condition as 
compared with the poor examples so often met with at shows. Now 
that English cultivators have taken to hybridising the flowers and 
saving their own seed, there is really no reason why those that have 
nothing to recommend them after a whole season’s labour has been 
spent upon them. 
Much of the retention of varieties that are useless is owing to pre¬ 
judice against innovations that needs overcoming. Varieties like Mrs. 
Irving Clarke, Album striatum, Ada Spaulding, Balmoreau, Baron de 
Frailly, Bronze Dragon, Dormillon, Comtesse de Beauregard, M. Burnet, 
Fair Maid of Guernsey, Meg Merrilies, Ralph Brocklebank, James Salter, 
Frederic Marrouch, M. J. M. Pigmy, Maggie Mitchell, W. G. Drover, 
Lady Lawrence, Madame C. Audiguier, M. Tarin, Bertier Rendatler, Mr. 
H. Cannell, Mrs. E. W. Clarke, Peter the Great, Soleil Levant, Stanstead 
Surprise, Mdlle. Paul Dutour, and Elaine amongst Japanese ; and Lady 
Talfourd, Golden Beverley, Beverley, Lady Slade, White Globe, Fingal, 
Pink Perfection, Guernsey Nugget, Faust, Prince of Wales, Lord Derby, 
Mrs. Haliburton, Robert Cannell, Incognito, Sir Stafford Carey, Venus, 
and White Venus in the incurved section are often met with at shows, 
and judges express surprise at these older sorts remaining so long to 
take the place of more worthy additions to the various sections. 
Perhaps cultivators will think over the matter a little, and see if 
they are not wasting valuable time in cultivating what I consider little 
better than worthless now the opportunity for revising the lists is so 
easily available.— Sadoc. 
CLAREMONT, TAUNTON. 
Claremont, the residence of W. H. Fowler, Esq., J.P., Mayor of 
Taunton, and the recently elected Chairman of the Floral Committee of 
the National Chrysanthemum Society, is situated a little more than a 
mile from Taunton to the south-west thereof, on high ground and in one 
of the pleasantest of the beautiful suburbs of the town. Five years 
since, as I was told by its owner, the place was wild and bare, a fact 
scarcely realisable until one thinks of the possibilities implied in a 
liberal outlay, combined with energy, taste, and a splendid climate. 
Gardeners who have lived only in the north could scarcely imagine it 
possible for Conifers and shrubs to grow as rapidly and freely as they do 
here. 
But it is not the ornamental trees and shrubs, however fine, that 
Mr. Fowler is so proud to show his visitors. No! turning abruptly 
to me as we enter the garden, he remarks, “ We have some Chrys¬ 
anthemums to show you,” and such I soon found to be the case. 
Calling his gardener, he led us to a range of span-roof frames, and 
lifting up the first light of these, disclosed to view the finest plants I 
have seen this season. All were in 6-inch pots and possessed remarkably 
large thick-fjikage and stout stems, but very dwarf and short-jointed. 
Mrs. Alpheo^fiaridy is represented by some half dozen plants, as strong 
and robust«a^jhe others. Mr. Fowler says he finds no difficulty in 
flowering itfreel^i^nd well; his plants have just been topped or pinched, 
and he will tal^qi ,ilje first flowers produced from the resultant breaks, 
two to each plant; -Jn the compost for this variety he uses peat and 
sand, potting less fiir^^y than for other varieties, and finds that so 
treated it makes roots •fini^ly and grows with vigour. 
The summer quarters his plants are novel anc^.instructive. A 
level plateau, on the highest part of the garden, is laid down with 
grass, and at intervals of a^bout 6 feet apart are the lines for his 
plants ; along these lines, fitting closely end to end, are trays each 
about 6 feet long, 1 foot broad, and 3 inches deep, formed of zinc' or 
