•January 17, 1895. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
57 
Judges on the other. A precious compliment is paid to judges when it 
is proposed to have their decisions supervised, and perhaps altered, by 
another body of, probably, in no sense superior men. If this body 
cf reserve judges be superior in knowledge and more virtuous why 
not engage them to act as the primary judges at once ? 
What a miserable lack of common knowledge must prevail in those 
localities where judges are selected by committees and then are capable 
of making awards entirely at variance with common sense ! One cannot 
help concluding but that such dreadful things must exist chiefly in the 
imagination of some disappointed competitor rather than in reality. If 
mistakes are made, and some are, they almost always arise from 
an error of judgment in looking at things from a different standpoint, 
but very rarely indeed through sheer ignorance, and still rarer from 
wilful dishonesty. It must be remembered that if ever such decisions 
are given that the executive which selected the judges is as much to 
blame as are the judges themselves; and if thus capable of making 
such blunders in selecting their first court of judges, how can they be 
fitted to select the court of appeal judges ? 
Anyone who has watched the results of appeals in our law courts 
must often have been puzzled and confounded. A court of two judges 
decide one way. A court of three judges reverse that decision, yet a 
higher court of some four or five judges reverse the later decision, and 
that being the final one is of necessity accepted, but there is absolutely 
no proof as to what might have happened were there still a fourth court 
of appeal to give a decision. The fact is, so long as there are fresh 
courts to be consulted so long will decisions be overturned. 
Obviously in horticulture, as indeed in all things submitted to 
competition at exhibitions, courts of appeal are utterly impracticable 
and impossible. Let the best men obtainable be employed as judges, 
and let their names be published in the schedule, then will it be open 
to any person to refuse to submit his products to the decisions of these 
men if he chooses. If on the other hand he does, then he has no course 
but to honourably abide by and accept their awards.—A. D. 
CROWEA SALIGNA MAJOR. 
A FEW years ago most good collections of hardwooded plants con¬ 
tained one or more Croweas, but such is not the case at present, it being 
the exception rather than the rule to see them. This is very unfortunate, 
as they are most useful and of the greatest floriferousness, blooms being 
seen at almost all times of the year. One of the finest varieties is 
C. saligna major, of which a spray is represented by the engraving 
(fig. 11). It is a form of the species C. saligna, which is a very useful, 
free-flowering and strong-growing plant; but the individual flowers are 
not so large as the variety named above. Another form, also with 
large flowers, is named stricta ; but the colour is much lighter, being 
a pale delicate pink, while in C. saligna major it is a rich deep rose. 
The temperature of an ordinary greenhouse suits the Croweas very 
well, and they are easily grown plants, succeeding in ordinary fertile 
soil in well-drained pots. 
HEAVY APPLES—FOUR SILVER MEDALS FOR ONE 
DISH. 
Under the “ Posthumous Notes ” of a much-lamented writer, on 
page 6, reference is made to the Peasgood’s Nonesuch Apples that I 
exhibited from Wells Palace Gardens. I am very pleased, as suggested, 
to give a few particulars about the tree and fruit, also to enclose a 
photograph of the tree, such as it is. Ten years ago I procured this 
tree in a small state with other sorts. As we had a long wall near the 
Palace moat, against which other kinds of fruit did not flourish, it 
occurred to me that the position was too cold for the more tender fruits, 
I therefore planted the Apples. Stations very much larger than usual 
were prepared, and a compost of half old lime rubbish, the other half 
consisting principally of burnt refuse, good turfy loam not being 
obtainable. In 1887 the tree bore a few Apples. In 1888 its fruits 
secured the first prize at Wells, Street, Taunton, Exeter, and Bristol. 
Several prizes were taken at smaller shows onwards till 1892, when first 
honours were secured at Wells, Street, Weston-super-Mare, and Exeter. 
In 1893 our Apples were first at Wells, also at Bath, winning a silver 
medal at Bath. During the same year they won a silver medal at the 
Royal Aquarium, the Banksian medal at the Royal Horticultural 
Society, and silver medal at the Forestry Exhibition (Earl’s Court), or 
four medals for the same dish of Apples. The tree has been well looked 
after, watered in dry weather, mulched in spring with manure, and 
twice in the summer a good sprinkling of nitrate of soda was given, 
with occasional applications of stable manure. The fruit was remark¬ 
able for high colour, and although last autumn was so dull and wet the 
Apples were as highly coloured as we ever had them. One Apple turned 
the scale at 22| ounces, with a crop of fifty-two fruit similar in size 
and shape. The tree is trained fan-shaped, similarly to a Peach, but 
the branches are very much wider apart than is customary in training 
Peach trees.—J. B. Payne, WilUbridge, near Bristol. 
[Though the Apples referred to are not the heaviest on record, we 
have no recollection of one dish of Apples gathered from one tree 
winning four medals, and we suspect this is a “ record ” triumph. The 
photograph represents an informally trained tree, with wall space 
visible enough between the branches. All the leaves were thus exposed 
to the direct action of light, and this with a good fibrous rooting 
system, encouraged by mulching, also generous feeding, brought about 
the gratifying results, or in other words sound culture brought its 
reward. Mr. Payne has recently left Wells, and the following is what 
we read in the “Western Gazette” a’oout him. “Daring his long 
sojourn of eighteen years as head gardener at the Palace, Mr. Payne made 
many friends. His skill as a first class gardener is undoubt^, and it 
was due to him in a great measure that the Chrysanthemum show was 
started. For six consecutive years he also managed to take the first 
prize for groups, and many other first prizes besides. He has also 
acted at other shows as judge, and his awards have always been found 
FIG. 11.—CROWEA SALIGNA MAJOR. 
sound. Under his care the Palace gardens and grounds were kept in 
perfect condition.” Mr. Payne has certainly displayed sound cultural 
skill in the production of the deservedly honoured Apples in question.] 
LIME. 
In reply to “ Inquirer’’—viz., lime (page 16), as most gardeners 
know the lime could be slaked in large heaps as well as in small ones, 
providing a sufiBcient quantity of water were present. In asking this 
question, did it not occur to “ Inquirer ” that if the lime were slaked in 
one large heap it would be much more difficult to move and spread 
(owing to its dusty character) than if put on the land in small heaps ? 
“ Inquirer ” thinks that lime should not be slaked before being put 
on the land ; it would be interesting to know how he would apply it 
(owing to its lumpy nature when brought direct from the kiln) if it 
were not slaked previous to use ? He also asks, “ Is it (slaked lime) of 
any greater power or value than chalk?” Yes, considerably, for they 
are entirely different from each other, the former being a hydrate, the 
latter a carbonate of lime. The hydrate is able to decompose the organic 
