1.6 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 9, 1885. 
There are exceptions, but it appears to be the rule that it is 
necessary to be beaten to arrange the flowers effectively—that 
is, distinctly clear of the moss or surface of the stands. Pro¬ 
vided the foliage be good, and the blooms are level, they 
never show to such great advantage as when 3 or 4 inches 
above the moss; but uniformity of height is of greater mo¬ 
ment than any prescribed length of stem; and uniformity in 
size is another point of no small importance, as one or two 
disproportionately large blooms make the others appear 
smaller than they really are. 
In exhibiting in the best competitions, those who mean to 
win must be up with the lark in the morning. The very 
earnest ones are among their Roses waiting for daylight, and 
calculating on the prospective brightness or dulness of the 
coming day; they cut accordingly, and as far as possible at once 
arrange them in the stands. Many a prize has been lost by 
waiting until the dew has departed, and packing the flowers 
in baskets for after arrangement. There may be no visible 
bruises in the petals at the time, but they have an awkward 
way of “coming out” just about the time the judges are 
coming in ; and when the competition is keen these gentlemen 
are very glad to see a fault to help them out of a difficulty in 
arriving at a decision. 
Having had something to do with Roses in various ways, 
tending them by day and watching them at night; having 
blundered in cutting and staging, and profited by some mis¬ 
takes; having lost and won, criticised and judged, I claim 
some sort of familiarity with the favourite flower of yout i 
and of manhood, and have been led into these reflections by a 
pleasurable anticipation of what the most modern blooms 
will be like to-morrow (I am writing this on Friday, July 3rd), 
at the Crystal Palace Show.—A Worker. 
F-S.—I have been to the Palace, and was impressed with 
the magnitude of the Show. There may have been larger 
exhibitions of Roses, but I do not remember having seen one. 
There appeared to be a length of about 800 feet of boxes in 
competition, apart from the marvellous contribution of Messrs. 
William Paul & Son, which I suspect has never been equalled 
by any rosarian in any country. 
The Rose of the Show was Mr. Bennett’s new triumph, 
Mrs. John Laing, a deep rose-coloured flower, large, solid sym¬ 
metrical, and very fragrant. It is something like Francois 
Michelon, something like Mons. Noman, and in form a little like 
La France, yet quite distinct from all of them, and a grand 
Rose. Her Majesty was once more enthroned, but the huge 
blooms open flat like Paul Neyron. They must evidently be 
cut young, and will then add weight to any stand. Lady Mary 
Fitzwilliam is a beautiful nearly white Rose,destined tobecome 
popular; and another large light variety, Merveille de Lyon, 
was splendidly represented in some of the stands. The best 
dark Rose in the Show was Marie Baumann, at least no other 
was so good in so many stands, while the broad-petalled 
varieties Etienne Levet and Ulrich Brunner were in splendid 
form ; so also was the Countess of Rosebery. 
The finest Tea Rose in the Show was, to my mind, Sou¬ 
venir d'Elise Yardon, and particularly charming was Comtesse 
de Nadaillac. Madame Cusin attracted by the translucency of 
its richly coloured petals; but darker was Grace Darling, 
a new Rose to me, staged by Messrs. Paul & Son cf 
Cheshunt. Marcchal N.el was small throughout. The 
brightest stand of Roses in the Show, and the brightest I 
have ever seen, was the first prize twenty-four of Mr. Gray. 
Such are my impressions of this great Show of some “modern ” 
Roses. 
I have also had the pleasure of inspecting the Nationa 1 , 
the most truly representative Rose Show I have yet seen. 
“ Ancient ” Roses were there in hundreds, and were interest¬ 
ing; “modern” in thousands, and magnificent. The gold 
medal to Mrs. John Laing was a fitting tribute of merit, and the 
plants exhibited showed the vigour of the variety. Merveille 
de Lyon w r as something to see and to be remembered. Was 
ever such a display of white Roses seen before ? 
As yet this is not an A. K. Williams year; hundreds 
of brilliant blooms of it were staged at the two great shows, 
but only three of them good—in the Cheshunt stand at the 
Palace, and these were past good, they were grand. Mrs. 
George Paul was very fine indeed at the National, crimson, 
with a tinge of violet, quite a distinct colour. Alphonse 
Soupert, rosy crimson, with broad cupped petals, was well 
represented, and is a Rose of promise; but what can be said 
about Mr. B. R. Cant’s new Tea, Madame de Watteville ? 
It ought to be called the Butterfly Rose, as the waved or 
winged petals, white, shaded with rose, and deepening 
towards the edge, have a most chaste and remarkable appear¬ 
ance. It is a lovely Rose, deliciously scented. Countess of 
Rosebery was in splendid form in a few collections, and a 
bloom of Ulrich Brunner, the premier of the Show, was 
15 inches in circumference. This was evidently a maiden 
bloom. There were more maiden flowers than at the Palace, 
and consequently large, but many from the cut backs were 
smaller, as if the fixture fell just between the two seasons or 
sections. 
The richest of the very dark Roses were La Rosiere, Jean 
Liabaud, and Abel Carricre. Distinct in depth of colour 
was Dr. Hogg, of which someone had a good stand. 
This is a long postscript. The difficulty is to know 
when to stop, so will stop at the Doctor, or he will stop me; 
but with his permission I may possibly turn up again another 
day.—A. W. 
IN THE GARDEN. 
Ladybird Beetle (Coccinella).— Examining the other 
day the tips of the young shoots of some Gooseberries, I was 
delighted to watch the behaviour of this little gardener's friend 
voraciously eating the almost innumerable green fly which were 
snugly stowed beneath the curled leaves. 1 previously knew 
this insect, which is known in different parts of the country as 
ladybird, ladybug, ladyfly, and Iadycow, fed, as well as its larva, 
upon aphides, but had never before seen it in the act of feeding. 
I trust this note will meet the eye of many young gardeners, so 
that they may know how much to respect this extremely pretty 
and useful little beetle. 1 well remember being so ignorant or 
mischievous as to destroy some of them, and there are doubt¬ 
less many young in the craft who are likely to do the same 
unless made acquainted with its value in the garden in reducing 
the hosts of aphides. 
Referring to green fly leads one on to notice their peculiar 
method of attacking the extremities of young shoots of the 
Gooseberry, for example. Some of my young bushes were badly 
attached, and that speedily, but I exterminated them by pinch¬ 
ing the ends of the shoots and consigning them bag and baggage 
into the fire. Of course 1 felt more inclined to do this, because 
the young shoots were grown quite long enough, and following 
the excellent advice anent this business recently given in the 
Journal, I stopped them, and thus stopped the green By. It is 
doubtful if every young gardener knows the remarkable power 
these insects have of changing their very nature in early summer, 
about this time — many of them cease depositing eggs 
and become viviparous, so that while in the earlier part of the 
season they lay eggs which in turn have to be hatched, and con¬ 
sequently they are not augmented so rapidly as when later on a 
whole community may become viviparous. The moral of this is, 
Destroy as many as possible early in the year, or you will have 
tenfold more work to do afterwards. 
Iris reticulata. —My bulbs of this gem are ripening off 
early. 1 have lifted some, and am highly pleased with their 
great sDe, for after growing a large number for many years I 
do not remember having lifted a finer batch. I was wishful to 
learn the result of last season’s planting, as plenty of thoroughly 
decayed manure was placed directly beneath the rows of small 
bulbs, which were placed about inch apart, and covered with a 
mixture of coarse silver sand and ashes from burnt garden 
refuse in equal quantities. Evidently this treatment suited this 
pretty Iris, for the bulbs are turning out clean and very fine. 
Vegetable Firecracker. — Such is the name the Cali¬ 
fornians have given to Brodiiea coccinea, a very charming 
bulbous plant, which is now in blossom (June 2fith). The 
slender stems are from D to 2 feet high, terminated by numerous- 
flowered umbels of tubular flowers; the tube is rich crimson 
scarlet, with the limb segments and small corona pale green— 
a very pretty contrast indeed, and waving gracefully it strikes 
you, as, in fact, it really is, one of the most distinct of all hardy 
