July 0, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
21 
From Messrs. Kelsvay & Son, Langport, Somerset, we have 
received a box of Hardy Flowers, comprising a number of the hand¬ 
some varieties of Delphiniums, Paeonies, and Gaillardias, which have 
won the firm so many certificates and other honours at metropolitan 
or provincial shows. The Delphiniums were particularly fine, the 
flowers large, in soft and brilliant shades of blue. The Paeonies also 
were massive, beautiful, and some almost as fragrant as R?ses. 
Vegetables at Winchester. —Excellent collections of six 
varieties of vegetables were staged at Winchester last week in com¬ 
petition for the prizes offered by Messrs. Sutton & Sons by Mr. J. Gosney, 
gardener to Captain C. Mitchell, E.N., West Highlands, Winchester. 
Sutton’s Seedling Potato, Improved Telegraph Pea, Leviathan Beans, 
and Trophy Tomatoes were the most noteworthy ; and by Mr. T. Annalls, 
gardener to T. G. Shenton, Esq., The Glen, Golden Common, who was a 
good second ; the omission of a dish of Potatoes in his collection proved, 
as it ought to do, a serious objection to his taking the premier award. 
- - Early Peas. —On February 17th sowings were made on a 
south border of the following varieties : —Ringleader, William I., 
American Wonder, and Sutton’s Al. The latter was sown at the end 
of the border, where, owing to trees, it lost the afternoon sun. On 
June 19th I made abundant gatherings of William I., Ringleader, and 
American Wonder. Al came in two days later, and I am convinced 
that had it not been for the drawback arising from its position, it must 
have been earlier. It was the best of all in quality—a Marrowfat) 
resembling Early Paragon, and I think justifies its name.— F. Smith, 
Palace Gardens, Salishicry. 
- Weather at Ripley, Yorks, During June, 1891.—June 
opened seasonable, and gave promise of bringing the hoped-for rain, as 
0'31 inch fell on the 2nd, and 022 inch on the 4th ; but, alas I we were 
to suffer disappointment, as after the last-mentioned date no more fell 
(excepting two very slight showers on 7th and 13th) until the 23rd, the 
total fall for the month being 1-05 inch, which fell upon seven days. 
There were fifteen bright days ; wind was northerly on nineteen days. 
Mean reading of barometer, 3(H2 0 . Mean maximum temperature, 67 7° ; 
mean minimum temperature, 44 9° ; mean temperature, 56 3°. Highest 
maximum temperature in shade, 83° on 19th; lowest minimum tempera¬ 
ture in shade, 36° on 1st. Total rainfall for six months ending 
June 30th, 817 inches.—J. Tunnington, Ripley Castle Gardens. 
• 
-The Dalston and De Beauvoir Town Chrysanthemum 
Society is a vigorous and progressive youDg body of amateurs who are 
evidently determined to render it a pattern for local societies. At 
a recent meeting, called for the purpose of electing a President as 
successor to the late Mr. Wm. Holmes, Mr. Charles Gibson, Morden 
Park Gardens, Mitcham, and Mr. James Udale, Caterham, were invited 
to lecture upon the present requirements of the Chrysanthemum. 
Excellent practical addresses were delivered by both cultivators; they 
were received with much applause, and numerous pertinent questions 
were asked and answered. Unanimous votes of thanks were accorded 
to the lecturers, and general satisfaction were expressed with a most 
agreeable and profitable evening. For the admirable arrangements, 
Mr. Arthur Hill, Chairman; Mr. Wm. Butler, Hon. Secretary ; and 
Mr. R. Ballantine, Chairman of the National Chrysanthemum Society, 
were mainly responsible, and to them the credit ot the success is due. 
- The Committee of the Croydon Horticultural Society 
are to be congratulated on originating a “ Rose Fair ” in aid of the 
Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. It has been since adopted by other Societies, 
and proved successful. Last year at Croydon the sum of £15 was 
realised, this year there was a little falling off on account of the wet 
morning and the lateness of the Rose season, £12 5s. being the total 
receipts. Mrs. Gunner, the wife of the Chairman of the Committee, 
presided at the stall. Thanks are due to her and the donors of the 
flowers, whose names include Messrs. Smee, Cypher, Horsman, Dart, 
Barr & Son, Cheal & Sons, Peed & Sons, Butcher, Cooper, Box, Slater, 
Glover, Rod bourn, Glasscock, Cummins, Penfold, Pawle, Bethune, Budd, 
Mawley, Slaughter, West, C. J. Salter, and others. 
- Mr. W. Watson of Kew obliges us with the following 
additional note on Primula imperialis, figured in last week's 
Journal. “ Primula prolifera is a Himalayan plant which was intro¬ 
duced by the late Dr. I. Anderson Henry, and flowered at Kew in 1884, 
when it was figured in the Botanical Magazine. At that time Sir 
Joseph Hooker considered this and the plant found only on the moun¬ 
tains of Java, and named P. imperialis by a Dutch botanist, to be one 
and the same species. But he no longer holds that opinion after having 
seen the two plants side by side in cultivation at Kew. True, 
P. prolifera is small and weely as compared with P. imperialis. 
P. imperialis has very large leaves and a flower scape from 3 to 5 feet 
in height. The colour of the flowers is deep, almost orange, yellow. 
The plant fully merits its specific name.” 
July 9 th (Thursday).—Bath and Woodbridge. 
„ 11th (Saturday).—Eltham, New Brighton, and Reigate. 
„ 14th (Tuesday).—Wolverhampton (a three-days Show). 
„ 15th (Wednesday).—Ealing. 
„ 16th (Thursday).—Hereford (N.R.S.), Bedford, Helensburgh, and 
Trentham. 
,, 17th (Friday).—Ulverston. 
„ 18th (Saturday).—Manchester. 
„ 21st (Tuesday).—Christleton and Tibslielf. 
„ 23rd (Thursday).—Halifax and Worksop. 
Aug. 1st (Saturday).—Ripley (Derby). 
The Crystal Palace Schedule. 
I am much obliged to “J.B.” for the courteous tone of his letter 
toward myself. He says the question which we debated in the Journal 
last year is “still unsettled.” I imagine, on the contrary, that it has 
not yet become unsettled. I begged him, and those who thought with 
him, to bring the matter up at the N.R.S. general meeting, but as it was 
not mentioned it remains settled, I take it, by the restrictions imposed 
as before. 
I still think his view of the matter would be much the most unfair. 
He speaks of exhibitors of twenty-fours coming down to twelves, and 
twelves coming down to sixes, and asks “ what is the six exhibitor to 
do ?” Well, at all events he is not precluded from showing at all, 
whereas many large growers, if forced to enter in the highest classes, 
would be in this position in a season like the present, and thus those 
who had expended the most in time, money, labour, brains, experience, 
&c., would be worse treated than those who had placed the least amount 
of similar capital in the matter. He says that the small grower “ has 
no guarantee that his fellow competitors shall be men of his own 
calibre ” under the present arrangements; but, if I understand him 
right, if things were as he would have them, the large grower would 
have no guarantee that he would be allowed to exhibit at all. 
He “ hoped to see me in my old place.” At all events, it was too 
late for repentance when 1 saw his letter ; but I was set wondering what 
“my old place” was. I have shown in six, nine, twelve, twenty-four, 
thirty-six, and forty-eight. Of these the six is certainly my “oldest 
place;” but if he means forty-eight, in which I showed for the first time 
last year, I am sure that a large majority of the members of the N.R.S, 
would consider it intolerable that a man shou’d not be permitted to 
show, without reducing his stock, in anything but the highest class to 
which he has ever aspired. 
If “ J. B.” was at the Palace he will have seen that my conscience is 
not burdened by having “ swamped” or “ wiped out” any weak grower. 
It seems to me obvious that everyone will show in the highest class that 
he thinks he can manage—the prizes are better, and the competition 
less keen. You can win in the higher classes with a bad Rose or two in 
your stand, but not in the lower ones ; but you cannot show, much les3 
win, if you have not a sufficient number of varieties out. 
I still further maintain, as I have hitherto done (regretting that my 
personal interest in the matter should have come into the discussion), 
that the small growers are best able to take care of their Roses against 
emergencies—frost, wind, drought, &c. ; and must once more beg “ J. B.” 
to bring up the matter at the general meeting if he thinks he has a 
grievance.—W. R. Raillem. 
SUCCESS IN TOMATO CULTURE — CHECKING THE 
DISEASE. 
I have been unable to write sooner to thank you for your kind and 
prompt reply to my inquiry about Tomatoes. The delay, however, has 
given me time to test so far the remedy you gave, and 1 am glad to say 
that I think we have got the better of the disease, and that the Worthing 
growers’ remedy is on the right lines. We could not raise the tem¬ 
perature to 80°, but kept the house as warm as we could, and also 
perfectly dry. You did not say if the ventilators had to be kept close 
to get the temperature up to this high figure. I think it would be 
an error to close the house entirely. We are very strong advocates 
of fresh air, and you would be surprised to find how well our plants 
do with so little fire heat. We planted out a house 300 feet long 
about the middle of April, and have grown the plants without any fire 
heat. 
We were very successful last year. From 700 plants we gathered 
21 tons from the middle of July to the middle of February—seven 
months—all on single stems, and our longest plant would not be more 
