Septcmter IF, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
237 
and Mr. J. Doughty, Angley Pa r k, Cranbrook, third. For twelve blooms of 
any other variety than Madame Desgrange, Mr. H. Elliott, Mortlake, was 
first with G. Wermig ; Messrs. Davis & Jones were second with several 
good varieties ; and Mr. G. Stevens third with G. Wermig. Messrs. Davis 
and Jones were first with twelve Pompons, a very pretty stand ; they were 
also first for Mr. Simon Delaux’s prize for six varieties of varieties sent out 
by that raiser. Mr. J. Blackburn was first with six bunches of Madame 
Desgrange, magnificent blooms ; Messrs. Davis & Jones and G. Stevens 
following. 
DAHLIAS. 
With sixty Dahlia blooms Mr. C. Turner, Slough, won first honours for 
grand blooms in many varieties. Messrs. Keynes, Williams & Co., Salis¬ 
bury, were second with fine substantial blooms. There was a good display 
in the class for forty-eight Dahlias, Mr. C. Turner again taking the lead with 
very handsome blooms of great size and substance. Messrs. Saltmarsh and 
Son, Chelmsford were good second, and Mr. J. Walker, Thame, Oxon, third. 
In the class for twenty-four Dahlia blooms there were seven competitors, 
Mr. J. Walker winning first honours, followed by Messrs. Saltmarsh ife Son 
and Mr. G. Humphries, Kington Langley, Chippenham. Messrs. Salt¬ 
marsh A Son had the best twelve blooms, Mr. J. Walker and Mr. H. Steer, 
Southwood Road, New Eltham, being second and third. The single Dahlias 
made a pleasing and varied display. Messrs. Cheal & Son, Crawley, were 
first with twenty-four bunches very tastefully set up, the varieties distinct 
and bright. Mr. T. S. Ware was second also with a good collection. Messrs. 
Cheal it Sons also led with twelve bunches of single Dahlias, Messrs. J. Gil¬ 
bert & Sons, Ipswich, being second. For a collection of decorative Dahlias 
Messrs. Keyoes, Williams & Co. were first with a most effective stand, in 
which Juarezi was conspicuous. Messrs. Cheal & Sons were second. 
The finest twelve bunches of Pompon Dahlias was shown by Mr. J. 
Burrell, Cambridge, very neat blooms of distinct colours. Messrs. Keynes, 
Williams tfc Co. were second, and Messrs. J. Gilbert & Son third. Mr. C. 
Turner was first for twenty-four bunches of Pompon Dahlias, Messrs. 
Keynes, Williams & Co. second, and Messrs. J. Cheal & Son third, these three 
collections making a very attractive display. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Mr. T. S. Ware, Tottenham, exhibited a large collection of early flower¬ 
ing Chrysanthemums, representing thirty varieties. Amongst them were 
Madame C. Desgrange, G. Wermig, and the pale sulphur intermediate form 
Mrs. Burrell; Mignon, bright yellow ; Fiberta,[and the lighter tinted Canari; 
Petollant, sulphur ; Mrs. J. R. Pitcher, white, large; Scarlet Gem, Pr6cocitfi, 
yellow ; M. Dufoy, purple ; Blushing Bride, tinted purple, pretty ; Toreador, 
bronze and orange; and Madame Pecoul, pale purple. Messrs. H. Canned 
and Sons, Swanley, contributed a very handsome collection of Cactus bed¬ 
ding, Pompon and single Dahlias, tastefully set up with their own foliage. 
Seven boxes were staged, comprising some hundreds of blooms of most dis¬ 
tinct and effective varieties. Six etands of show and fancy Dahlias of great 
merit were also shown by the same firm, and much admired. Several boxes 
of fine Tuberous Begonias were also shown from Swanley. 
Messrs. J. Burrell & Co , Cambridge, were awarded the'first prize in the 
class for a magnificent collection of about 150 spikes of Gladioli, the flowers 
of great size and varied in colours. Mr. R. Owen, Maidenhead, sent a choice 
collection of Tuberous Begonias, single and double, representing capital 
strains. Flowers of Ivy Pelargonium Charles Turner, a lovely double rose 
cerise variety of great excellence. It has been awarded five certificates this 
season, including that awarded by the Floral Committee at this meeting. 
Mr. W. Gordon, Twickenham, had a fine group of Lilies and Japanese 
Maples, varieties of L. auratum, L. speciosum, and L. longiflorum, Mr. 
Benjamin Field, Old Kent Road, had a stand of ornamental pots and horti¬ 
cultural sundries. Mr. H. G. Smyth, Goldsmith Street, Drury Lane, had a 
stand of horticultural sundries. Mr. Wm. Colchester, Ipswich, had a stand 
of their Ichthemic Guano and other artificial manures. Messrs. Wood and 
Son, Wood Green, also had a collection of horticultural sundries and 
samples of artificial manures. 
Floral Committee. 
Present—Mr. E. Sanderson in the chair, and Messrs. Richard Dean, 
C. Gibson, N. Davis, S. Gilbey, G. Gordon, Lewis Castle, J. Mardlin, G. 
Stevens, G. Langdon, R. Owen, T. Bevan, J. Wright, and J. P. Kendall. 
Exhibits were not very numerous, but included several new 
Dahlias and other flowers, certificates being awarded for the following 
Dahlias :—Sidney Hollings (Humphries), Maude Millett (Girdlestone), 
Malcom, Glow-worm, and Purple Prince (Turner), Miss Roberts, Henry 
Patrick and Zulu (Ware), Grace, Isult, Janet, and Nellie Cramond 
(Keynes, Williams & Co.), Lady Emily Dyke, William T. Avery, and Mrs. 
Marsham (Cannell), Gladioli Rupert, Irene, and Iolanthe (Burrell), and 
Ivy Pelargonium Souvenir of Charles Turner (Owen). 
Mr. Whibley was awarded a vote of thanks for a plant of Eucomis 
punctata, bearing a large scape of flowers. Several other plants and flowers 
were submitted that were not considered worthy of special award, and two 
or three Chrysanthemums were requested to be shown again. 
WQKKjoii™e WEEK.. 
HARDY FRUIT GARDEN, 
Early Apples. —These both culinary and dessert varieties are 
ripening fast. On light soils the fruit is rather small, and not of the 
best quality ; but where the subsoil is of a clayey nature the Apples are 
exceptionally good. Carlisle Codlin, a very heavy cropping, yet but 
little grown sort, ought to be thinned out for present use or the 
markets, but the bulk of the fruit ought not to be gathered till the 
seeds are brown, as it will keep good much longer than either Lord 
Suflield, the Keswick or Springrove Codlins. Lord Suffield is one of 
the best for marketing, and nothing will be gained by keeping them 
longer ; on the contrary, the fruit loses weight as it ripens. The same 
remarks apply to the other two Codlins. Those to be stored should not 
be gathered too early. They ought not to be dragged from the trees, 
or otherwise they soon shrivel The old Ilawthornden is unusually 
good this season. It is advisable to thin out for present use, the best of 
the fruit being gathered when fit and stored will keep good till 
December. Stirling Castle is plentiful and of good size, but is not a 
good keeper. Duchess of Oldenburg is quite good enough for dessert 
purposes this season, and will be available till the end of September. 
Manks Codlin as usual is cropping heavily. Ours keep good well into 
November, and is a favourite in the kitchen. The earliest dessert sorts- 
are nearly all bad keepers. Joanneting, Early Jnlien, Margaret, and 
Early Harvest are already over, at any rate in the southern districts, and 
with us Irish Peach and Beauty of Bath are past their best. Both of the 
latter are free bearing handsome sorts, and must be eaten almost fresh 
from the tree. They ought really to be ready to drop before they are 
gathered, and at this stage they are of excellent quality. Devonshire 
Quarrenden is exceptionally good with us, a hot season evidently suiting 
this old favourite. This again we do not gather wholesale, but only as 
they are wanted. Gathered and stored they lose their brightness of 
appearance, as well as their crispness and brisk flavour. Summer Golden. 
Pippin is a favourite dessert sort, but does not keep long, and ripens in 
August or early in September. Kerry Pippin, another small variety, is 
perhaps the most valuable of the early sorts, especially for home use. 
If gathered at intervals of a few days and stored on a clean dry shelf, it 
will be available during the whole of September and October, and it 
has been kept in boxes well into November. 
This plan of gathering and storing Apples direct in clean boxes is a 
good one, and owners of small gardens are especially advised to try the 
experiment with both early and late sorts. In every case the fruit 
should part from the trees freely, the pips also be nearly or quite brown, 
and then if carefully stored in the boxes, no hay, paper, or other- 
material being mixed with them, and the lids shut down, they will keep 
surprisingly well in a loft or other dry position. By no other means can 
they be kept so long and so good in every respect. 
Early Pears. —These generally are not nearly so plentiful as- 
Apples, the plague of bullfinches being partly to blame for this. Early 
sorts, in common with the Apples, do not keep long after they are ripe, 
and the methods to be adopted, in order to prolong their respective 
seasons, are planting in various sites, and gathering and ripening the 
fruit at intervals of a few days. Jargonelle may safely be considered 
the finest early sort in cultivation, but the fruit keep badly. We have- 
trees on south, west, and south-east aspects, and have a supply of fruit 
from the middle of August till the second week in September. Williams’’ 
Bon Chretien, under much the same treatment, also gives a valuable 
succession of most luscious fruit. If only one or two trees are grown in 
the same position it is a mistake to gather all the fruit at one time, as- 
they will nearly all ripen together, and the bulk perhaps spoil before 
they can be eaten. Gather a boxful as soon as the pips commence to 
colour, or when they will part from the tree on being lifted, and place 
them at once in a warm house or kitchen. This will hasten ripening, 
and if the process is repeated at intervals of about four days, the season, 
will be materially prolonged, and few or no fruit spoilt. Beurr6 de 
l’Assomption is earlier than Williams’ Bon Chretien, and altogether a 
fine companion to it. Souvenir du Congres resembles the Bon Chretien, 
and is a fine variety ; in season during September and well into October. 
This also should be gathered and ripened at intervals. The serviceable 
Beurre d’Amanlis ripens during September, but does not keep long. 
Both this and Beurre Superfin do well as pyramids, the latter ripening 
late in September, and keeping for a short time only. It is one of the 
most buttery Pears in cultivation. Flemish Beauty ripens rather late 
in September, and ought to be gathered before the seeds are brown, or 
the quality of the fruit will be injured. Summer Beumhd’Arcmburg 
and Napoleon III. are also good September Pears. 
Keeping Plums. —Coe’s Golden Drop, if it can be preserved from 
wasps and birds, will hang on the trees sometimes as late as the second 
week in November, and this variety ought therefore to be the last 
gathered. Ickworth Imperatrice and Blue Imyeratrice ripen in October 
and hang for several weeks, and after they have shrivelled are still of 
excellent quality. We have tried the plan of wrapping both these and 
Coe’s Golden Drop in thin tissue paper, and packed away carefully in a 
box they keep surprisingly well. This method of keeping them for 
special purposes ought especially to be adopted where the fruit cannot 
otherwise be preserved from wasps and other enemies. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Melons. —The latest plants are now well up the trellis, having been 
stopped when they extended two-thirds across it or rather more. We 
grow all our Melons in houses on the single cordon system— i.e., the 
plants have all the laterals rubbed off up to the height of the trellis, and 
then every alternate lateral on opposite sides of the primary, stopping it 
when two-thirds across the trellis. The laterals show fruit blossoms at 
the second or third joint, if not the laterals are pinched at the second 
joint, relying on the sub-laterals for the show of fruit. If the plants are 
