10 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July T, im. 
fimbriated, which the most elementary “ florist ” would consign to the 
rubbish heap ; and from good seed he would get 50 or 60 per cent, of 
doubles—many good, and possibly one or two very good, a credit to 
himself and a pleasure for years to come to those who love Carnations. 
I quite allow that “ florists’ Carnations ” are not such free seeders as 
the mass of foreign sorts with which too many English gardens are 
overrun, but there are many good free and vigorous varieties which may 
be had at but small cost, and which are worthy of a place on the 
exhibition table, and at the same time may be relied upon to seed freely. 
The first cost of a few shillings for plants is ail the outlay required, and 
the only precaution necessary is to move the plants under cover of some 
sort during the autumn to prevent the seed pods being rotted by the 
rain. The process of fertilisation is absolutely simple, and the result I 
venture to affirm will well repay the small cost and labour involved, 
I thoroughly agree with your correspondent as to the beauty and 
profusion of bloom displayed by a bed of Carnation seedlings, but I hold 
it to be foolish to be content with indifferent seed when a small outlay 
and a little trouble will provide him with the best. The difference of 
quality of the produce will convince the most idle or economical that 
the needful trouble and money have been indeed well laid out,— 
Martin R. Smith, 
CORNUS KOUSIA. 
At the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on June 
21st Messrs. James Yeitch & Sons exhibited a handsome shrub 
under the name of Cornus Kousia. Its luxuriant and attractive 
leafage, which is oval shaped and rich green, and the pure white 
Trillium-like fragrant flowers, combined to attract considerable 
attention and admiration, and a first-class certificate was awarded. 
Cornus Kousia is figured and described in Siebold’s “ Flora 
Japonica,” I., page 30, t. 16, under the name of Benthamia 
j iponica. The genus Benthamia has long since been very pro¬ 
perly merged into Cornus, and hence the present name of the 
plant has probably in some measure obscured its origin. Accord¬ 
ing to Siebold it is a dense bushy shrub about the height of a 
man, or a little higher, growing wild on the mountains of 
Kinsin and Nippon in Japan from 2000 to 4000 feet elevation, 
flowering in May and June. Messrs. Yeitch’s plants were 
obtained about twelve or fourteen years ago from Japan through 
Mr. Maries. The species may have been introduced earlier into 
Dutch gardens by Siebold himself, but we do not remember 
seeing any plants besides those of the Chelsea firm, and we 
believe it is still very rare in British arboreta, if represented at 
all. Its affinity with the Himalayan Cornus (Benthamia) 
fragifera is very manifest. 
This appears to be in every way a distinct shrub, and should 
prove a valuable addition to gardens. Bushes such as those 
described growing in Japan could not have otherwise than a 
picturesque effect when clothed with pearly flowers, such as are 
depicted in the engraving. 
ROSE SHOWS. 
NATIONAL ROSE SOCIETY, CRYSTAL PALACE.^-July 2nd. 
It is well understood that an Englishman’s favourite topic is the 
weather, and when the Englishman happens to be a Rose grower as well 
i, becomes a subject of absorbing interest. This is but natural considering 
what an influence the weather has upon the flowers, and how com¬ 
pletely it may favour or foil the exhibitor. To a large extent he is 
at the mercy of the elements. To point to a familiar instance, compare 
1889 with 1891, or, more recent still, with 1892. In the former hot 
early season the southern flowers were hurried on with the grower 
powerless to apply a brake, and the date of the National Society’s 
Show at the Crystal Palace found them somewhat past their best. 
What was their poison, however, was the northern growers’ meat, and, 
as will be remembered, Messrs. Harkness & Son won the nurserymen’s 
trophy with a magnificent stand, following this up with a remarkable 
series of victories in other parts of the country. But time brings its 
revenges. 1890 found the Yorkshire growers unable to raise anything 
approaching their strength of the previous year, and the southern and 
western rosarians fought out the issue, Mr. Frank Cant of Colchester 
proving victorious in the great class. Worse still was 1891. Messrs. 
Harkness hardly had any blooms out, even on their cut-backs, while 
Mr. Frank Cant could not get a representative stand together, and 
consequently the winners of 1889 and 1890 both had to stand down 
and, like Achilles, leave the fray to others. Under these circumstances 
Mr. B. R. Cant came to the front once more, scoring his sixth win 
since the institution of the trophy. This year has again proved to be 
a late season, and once more the Bedale exhibitors found it impossible 
to get a stand together. Both the Cants were, however, able to do so, 
and with Messrs. Paul & Son of Cheshunt, and Turner of Slough, also 
competing, the issue lay between four southern growers. It was quickly 
observable that there was going to be a very hard tussle between the 
Colchester namesakes for the first place, in size, form, and freshness 
there seemed nothing to choose between them at a cursory inspection, 
and it was only after lengthened examination and careful pointing 
that a decision could be made, Mr. Frank Cant scoring his third win. 
In the amateurs’ section Mr. E. B. Lindsell appears to have made- 
up his mind to take the trophy under his protecting wing and keep it 
there. He did not compete in the class for it in 1889, when Mr. W. J. 
Grant won, but, encouraged apparently by his success in other classes 
then, he entered in 1890, won the trophy, repeated the process in 1891,, 
and this season by another success claims the splendid record of three 
consecutive victories, a feat which has never been accomplished before. 
His last win was not by any means an easy one, Mr. Budd surprising 
many by the excellence of his stand, and giving his redoubtable opponent 
a hard fight. With perseverance he may yet have the pleasure of seeing 
his name in the honours list; he has improved, and may improve- 
more. 
As to the general quality of the flowers in these and other classes it 
may fairly be put down as satisfactory. Probably few expected the 
blooms to be so good considering the lateness of the season and the 
earliness of the Show. They were not quite up to the average in point 
of size, no doubt owing to maidens not yet being ready, which always 
means loss of weight, but in other respects they were very good, the 
brightness, freshness, and finish of the flowers being very noteworthy. 
The entries were numerous throughout, the exhibition filling the large 
concert room and one side of the auditorium. 
Some curiosity was naturally felt as to how the new arrangement 
of exhibitors in which they are classed in accordance with the number 
of plants grown would result. It appears to be a marked success, 
bringing into the field a number of small exhibitors who would, in all 
probability, not have ventured forth under the old order of things. 
It entails a considerable amount of class repetition, but that is unavoid¬ 
able, and the end in view justifies it. 
The following are particulars of the awards 
Nurserymen’s Classes. 
The leading class in this section was for seventy-two distinct 
varieties, single trusses, and with which there were four entries. As is 
generally the case the competition was keen, but the palm was awarded 
to Mr. Frank Cant, Braiswick Nursery, Colchester, for a beautiful 
collection. The blooms were remarkably even and delightfully fresh. 
They were shown in three boxes, twenty-four blooms in each. The 
blooms were staged as follows:—Box 1, back row: A. K. Williams 
(good), Mrs. J. Laing, Etienne Levet, Merveille de Lyon, Countess of 
Oxford, Pride of Waltham, Frangois Michelon, and Madame Eugene 
Yerdier. Middle row : Marie Verdier, Exposition de Brie, Lady Mary 
Fitzwilliam, Dr. Sewell, Mary Bennett, Dr. Andry, La France, and 
Louis Van Houtte. Front row : Comtesse de Ludre, Comtesse de 
Nadaillac, Prince Camille de Rohan, Queen of Queens, Cheshunt Scarlet 
(good), Lady Helen Stewart, Mons. E. Y. Teas, and Souvenir d’un Ami. 
Second box, back row : Dupuy Jamain, Margaret Dickson, La France 
1889 (a darker variety than the original La France), Souvenir d’Elise 
Vardon, Rosieriste Jacob (very good), Jeannie Dickson, Charles Darwin* 
and Gustave Piganeau. Middle row : Madame Cusin, Francisque Rive, 
Marbchal Niel, Crown Prince (very fine), Souvenir de la Malmaison, 
Marie Baumann, Emily Laxton, and Annie Wood. Front row : Countess 
of Rosebery, Marguerite Boudet, Marchioness of Lome, Heinrich 
Schultheis, Gloire de Bourg-la-Reine, Auguste Rigotard, Pride of Reigate 
(good), and Horace Yernet. Third box, back row : Ulrich Brunner, 
Madame Gabriel Luizet, Suzanne Marie Rodocanachi, Madame de 
Watteville, Duke of Edinburgh, Marie Finger, Star of Waltham 
(good), and Her Majesty. Middle row : Germaine Caillot, Prince Arthur, 
The Bride, Boieldieu, Niphetos, General Jacqueminot, Baroness Roth¬ 
schild, and Charles Lefebvre. Front row : Duchess of Bedford, Viscountess 
Folkestone, Duke of Wellington, Victor Hugo (grand), Le Havre, Ernest 
Metz, Reynolds Hole, and Madame Caroline Kusfer. The second prize 
fell to Mr. B. R. Cant for a grand collection of blooms, though not quite 
so even as those in that of his opponent. He, however, was awarded the 
Society’s silver medal for the best Tea or Noisette, showing a grand 
bloom of Souvenir d’ElLe Vardon. Her Majesty, Mrs. Paul, Victor 
Hugo, Duke of Teck, and Baroness Rothschild were also specially good in 
the second prize collection. Messrs. G. Paul & Son, The Old Nurseries, 
Cheshunt, gained the third prize, showing a meritorious collection* 
amongst which Captain Christy, Victor Verdier, Horace Vernet, and 
Charles Lefebvre were very good. 
The entries in the class for forty-eight distinct, three trusses of each, 
were not numerous, but the competition was very keen. Mr. Frank 
Cant here also carried off the leading honours, staging one of his 
characteristic collections. The blooms were very fresh and even. The 
varieties shown were Merveille de Lyon, Madame Pereire, Horace 
Vernet, Etienne Levet, Heinrich Schultheis, Dr. Sewell, Marie Verdier, 
Marguerite de St. Amand, Madame Eugene Verdier, Ulrich Brunner, 
Louis Van Houtte, Pride of Waltham, Maurice Bernardin, Hon. E. 
Gifford, Frangois Michelon, Due de Wellington, Prince Arthur, Mrs. 
John Laing, Countess of Rosebery, Madame Gabriel Luizet, Baroness 
Rothschild, Fisher Holmes, Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, Victor Hugo, 
Crown Prince, Catherine Mermet, Duke of Edinburgh, Madame de 
Watteville, Cleopatra, Dupuy Jamain, Souvenir d’un Ami, Marie 
Baumann, Her Majesty, A. K. Williams, Madame Cusin, Marie Finger, 
La France, Duke of Connaught,, Jeannie Dickson, Innocente Pirola, 
Fisher Holmes, Comtesse de Ludre, Gdndral Jacqueminot, Pride of 
Reigate, Boieldieu, Emily Laxton, Alfred Colomb, and Souvenir d’Elise 
Vardon. Mr. B. R. Cant was a close second, the blooms in this case 
being not quite so fresh as in the first-prize stand. Still, it was a 
' remarkably fine collection, and at an ordinary show would have taken 
