376 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Hay 2,1895. 
a^o I well remember exhibiting a plant of Fletcher’s Ne Plus 
Ultra (then a new flower), but coarse to a degree, and which would 
not be tolerated now in any first-rate collection. I showed it in, I 
think, a stand of six against one of the best Auricula growers I 
ever knew—Dr. Plant of Monkstown, near Dublin. It threw the 
balance in my favour, and the judges, who could not have been, I 
think, very exacting florists, placed me above him. The pips were 
nearly the size of a crown piece, and, of course, out of proportion 
with those of the other varieties in the stand. 
I have already mentioned the excellence of Mr. Hen wood’s 
plants. Some of them were especially fine. There was a splendid 
truss of Richard Headly, of which I had almost said it was the 
best I had ever seen ; but then came back to my mind that mag¬ 
nificent plant of it which my late friend (the Rev. F. Tymons) 
brought once some years ago to one of the Society’s exhibitions in 
South Kensington. I have never seen its equal either before or 
since. Mr. Henwood grows it exceedingly well, and manages to 
have it always in flower at the time of the show, which is some¬ 
what remarkable, as it is with most people a very late bloomer. 
Then he had a good truss of that most beautiful white-edged Ben 
Simonite, which few can grow on account of its delicacy, and no 
one can grow as Mr. Henwood does. There was a fine truss of 
Prince of Greens, with the usual excellencies and defects in that 
flower, its splendid edge and its sickly looking tube. Abbe Lizst, a 
flower of Mr. Douglas’ raising, promises to be a welcome addition 
to our list of green edges. The edge is a particularly bright green, 
and the constitution of the plant is said to be good. James Han- 
naford, another of Ben Simonite’s seedlings, also promises well ; 
in fact, green edges, which have hitherto been a very restricted 
class, have considerably increased in numbers. 
The older flowers, such as Imperator, are going out of cultiva¬ 
tion, and Colonel Taylor, which was long regarded as the best of 
its class, is not very often exhibited. Dr. Hardy, another of 
Simonite’s raising, was shown by Mr. Douglas in his stand of fifty ; 
it is likely to be a valuable flower, although the bloom alluded 
to was somewhat defective both in the eye and paste, probably 
owing more to the season than to anything else. Of course Mr. 
Henwood had Geo. Lightbody, for what stand would ever be com¬ 
plete without it ? although the truss was surpassed in excellence by 
one exhibited by Mr. Collier, gardener to Miss Kirke Penson, 
which gained the premier prize as the best Auricula in the show. 
In Mr. Sanders’, the second, collection was a very fine bloom of 
Mrs. Dodwell, one of the Auriculas raised by the late Mr. Wood- 
head, which in this instance had a very clear white edge. There 
was also a very fine truss of Simonite’s Heatherbell, and Lancashire 
Hero, which somehow or other one does not see so often as 
formerly, was very good. 
In seifs Heroine, Mrs. Potts, and Black Bess were frequently 
shown, and with the exception of two new flowers Miss Barnett 
and Cherub held their own in their class. Mrs. Potts, beautiful 
as it is in colour, has the defect of a weak stem and rather sprawly 
truss, but its colour is exquisite, and shape perfect. One great 
charm of this show is that it brings together those whom we can 
meet on no other occasion, especially such northern growers as 
the Rev. F. D. Horner, for many years the champion grower, and 
Mr. Ben Simonite, who has done so much to add to our choicest 
collections. Then there was Mr. Collier, gardener to Miss Kirke 
Penson of Dinham House, Ludlow, whom I had not met for some 
years, and about one of the best growers of George Lightbody I 
ever met with, and whom probably we may not see there again, 
as owing to death the place is broken up. 
Before I close these rambling notes there are one or two 
thoug hts which suggest themselves to me. I notice the great 
advance made by the south in the cultivation of this flower; 
indeed, it is mainly confined to Reading, and as I remember for 
many y ears there were but two exhibitors near the metropolis, the 
ohange is a very pleasing one, and then one cannot but remark how 
the old er flowers still hold their sway. George Lightbody was 
raised b etween forty and fifty years ago, and although growers have 
tried th ey have not been able as yet to raise another grey edge 
cempara ble to it. Curiously enough it was the only one Mr. 
Headly ever raised which was worthy of him. So, again, amongst 
white ed ges, Acme that I recollect seeing forty years ago with Mr. 
Read is still difficult to beat when at its best. Then, again, it is 
remarka ble how indispensable seem to be the four varieties—Mrs. 
D idwell, Rachel, George Rudd, and Black Bess—raised by the late 
Mr. Wo odhead, and which every year make us more regret the loss 
of so in telligent and skilful a florist, who, had he been spared, 
would, I have no doubt, have added many fine varieties to our 
ollectio ns. Thus, once more have I have been permitted to say 
srmithi ng of a flower which captivated me some sixty years ago, 
a.ad amo ngst the many claimants to one’s attention still maintains 
ths poii tion which a first love ought to hold. So, my brother 
Auricula growers, especially you who are young and vigorous, 
spare no efforts to cultivate and improve a flower which will never 
fail to maintain its interest for you, and which will affmd you 
many an hour of unalloyed pleasure and gratification. D , Deal. 
BOTHIANA. 
(^Contimed from page 331.') 
Being practically your own master inside the bothy, free to 
think, to act, to fill up the spare time as you will-;—whereM, <mnng 
the working hours as a servant you have no choice but to obey 
you are now leading the dual life of master and 
intimate relationship which is not always conducive of the bM 
results, unless your mind, as the master, exacts and omains t a 
implicit obedience as necessary here to success as in the garden. 
That this master (yourself) is inexperienced you will admit, hence 
advantages are apt to be taken in a form of internal argument, in 
which reason is sacrificed to fancy. i j c .i 
It is imperative that you should work on a clearly defined 
system. Desultory work seldom accomplishes much. Let 
plan of study be the ground plan, judiciously designed to meet the 
requirements of the future. Then, when duly considered and 
wisely arranged, abide by i^'. Apart from this, note all details o 
daily work in the different departments, and let your first moments 
of leisure after working hours be devoted to recording them in a 
diary. For this purpose an office diary for the current three 
days on a page, costing from 6d. to Is., will suit admirably, and 
form a ready mode of reference in the future. You can also on a 
blank page, generally provided, neatly write out a plan of stu y. 
Each night when all duties, physical, mental, and moral are ended, 
fail not to take a momentary survey of the day that has gone, and 
conscience will infallibly tell you whether it is a sound thread you 
have woven into the web of your life. ^ 
In a choice of subjects avoid the error of attempting too much. 
Do not spread your interest over too wide a field, but it is essenual 
that variety should be introduced ; thus will your self-tuition 
not only a recreation to the daily toil, but each section of it wm 
form an antidote to monotony in another. You may consider it 
somewhat of a slight to your intelligence in mentioning the three 
R’s, previously hinted at in connection with the school books. Do 
not take it as a disparagement of your mental attainments, yet,^ 
so be that you can happily afford to despise them, let their place be 
taken by similar ones of higher grade. 
Reading. 
“ Some books I’d have, and some acquaintance too; 
But very good, and very few.” 
This, first of the three R’s, is alone a subject worthy to fill a 
volume. The old-time counsel bidding the boys mind their books 
may now be construed into. Mind what books you read, and 
you read them. To consume the fleeting hours in the perusal of 
attractive but unprofitable literature is not only useless, but woree 
than useless, for by its means the mind is sown with '^eehy 
thoughts detrimental to the culture of the useful, the good, the 
noble. It may serve the murderous intention of killing time, too 
often openly avowed in the bothy, but invariably defeated by the 
scythe-armed conqueror. Nor is it of advantage to meander 
lessly through the best fields of literature. Accompany the author, 
grasp the subject, and form a mental analysis as you proce^. 
Cultivate the art of reading in a critical spirit. Compare 
familiar ideas with your own experience, and let each new truth 
as it is revealed to you be indelibly impressed on the memory. 
Once the impression is properly conveyed to the mental cylindOT 
it can never be lost ; hence the greater reason that it should be 
matter worth retaining. In the preface to a book, which is tw 
often “ skipped,” is given what is necessary to know ; it is the 
credentials of a stranger, with his reasons for clainiing your attei^ 
tion. Frequently is a book borrowed or bought with the sole end 
of amusement ; but if you select your books as you would, or 
ought to, Tour friends, there is no reason why pleasure and profit 
should not go hand in hand. As a gardener, how delightful it is 
to accompany Humboldt through the virgin forests of the tropics, 
or trip with Burbidge through Borneo ! Yet even with these and 
similar books of travel, they are rather to be regarded by us as 
relaxation than to have the prior claim on our time. _ 
Current garden literature will receive a weekly welcome m the 
bothy. It is the medium of touch amongst men of the profession 
distributed over the area of the gardening world, and forms a 
chronicle of progress in all departments. A standard work <)n 
gardening is indispensable. Thompson’s “Gardener s As^stan in 
its comprehensive treatment of so broad a subject is to t e pres^ 
—unexcelled. As your limited means will allow, the various valuable 
