August 20, 1835. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
167 
and good fruit made a moat charming combination. She was also first in 
table stands and bouquets. 
The town did not display the decorations it used to do in former years, 
when prizes were given for the best street decorations ; but much was done 
to make it bright and pleasant. One good man had, however, displayed a 
device near the station with words which speak more for his loyalty to his 
county than to his poetic genius— 
“ Welcome to fair Somerset, 
The glory of the West; 
Welcome to old Taunton town. 
Whose Flower Show is the best 1” 
All the arrangements were carried out with their usual completeness by 
the active Committee, aided by their popular and indefatigable Secretary, 
Mr. C. W. Samson, and I am glad to say it was a great financial success. 
Upwards of £350 was taken at the gates, and thns this excellent annual 
Show holds its own amongst those of the West of England. May it long 
do so.—D., Deal. 
Fruit and Vegetables. —With the exception of hardy fruits there was 
no diminution in the quantity of fruit in the various classes provided, and 
the quality on the whole was equal to what is usually staged at this Show. 
The best collection of ten dishes was staged by Mr. W. Iggulden, gardener 
to the Earl of Cork, Marston House, Frome, and comprised very good Black 
Hamburgh and fairly good Muscat of Alexandria Grapes, a good Pine Apple, 
Eastnor Castle Melon, Hignonne Peaches, Lord Napier Nectarine, Brown 
Turkey Figs, Morellos, Apricots, and Jargonelle Pears. Mr. Crossman, gar¬ 
dener to J. Brutton, Esq., Yeovil, was a fairly good second, his collection 
including very good Black Alicante Grapes and Pine Apple Nectarines. 
The latter exhibitor was first with eight dishes, staging good Muscat of 
Alexandria and Black Hamburgh Grapes, Victory of Bath Melon, Pitmaston 
Orange Nectarines, Apricots, &c. ; and Mr. J. Reed, gardener to F. J. C. 
Parsons, Esq., was second in this class. Several exhibitors staged excellent 
collections of four dishes, Mr. Iggulden being first with good Black Ham¬ 
burgh Grapes, Hero of Lockinge Melon, Crimson Galande Peaches, and Pine 
Apple Nectarines. Mr. W. Daffern, gardener to Mrs. Walker, Weston-super- 
Mare, was a close second ; and Mr. J. Lloyd, gardener to Vincent Stuckey, 
EBq., third, the latter being rather hardly used. Several good stands of 
Black Hamburgh were shown; but Mr. Iggulden was easily first with 
medium-sized very compact bunches, the berries being large and well 
coloured. Mr. A. Cooper, gardener to C. L. Collard, Esq., was second ; and 
Mr. J. C. Clarke, gardener to C. E. J. Esdale, Esq., Cothelstone, was third. 
In the class for any other black Grape Mr. Cooper was first with large well 
finished bunches of Black Alicante, Mr. Daffern following with handsome 
but not well-coloured examples of Madr sfield Court, and Mr. Crossman 
was third with the same variety in excellent condition, many growers in 
fact considering these should have been put first. Mr. J. Lloyd was first 
for three highly creditable bunches of Muscat of Alexandria, the second 
prize going to Mr. W. C. Raffett, and there were other good lots staged, 
and some very green indeed. Mr. Raffett took the lead in the class for any 
other white variety, staging Golden Champion in very good condition, and 
the same exhibitor was apparently the winner of the second prize. Melons 
were not particularly good, and the Judges acted very strangely when 
making their awards, two at least of the fruit not being tested. Mr. T. 
Pauli was first with Hero of Lockinge ; and Mr. W. Perriman, gardener to 
G. Ricks, Esq., second with Blenheim Orange. Peaches were scarcelv so 
plentiful as usual, but there were several good lots included. Mr. Iggulden 
was first with a fine dish of Royal George, and Mr. Llovd second with 
Gro3se Mignonne in good condition. With Nectarines Mr. Daffern was first 
with highly coloured but scarcely ripe Newinvton, Mr. Crossman following 
with very handsome well ripened Pitmaston Orange. A fine dish of Lord 
Napier was passed over, the Judges did not like the colour. Mr. H. Godding 
had the best Apricots, and Mr. Iggulden was first with Morello Cherries. 
Plums and Pears were not well shown, but there were many fine dishes of 
Currants, Gooseberries, and Apples. 
Vegetables were less numerous than usual, but on the whole were sur¬ 
prisingly good, notably the two first-prize collections of ten and six dishes 
shown by Mr. T. Frost, who had very fine Tender and True Cucumbers, 
Telegraph Peas, Intermediate Carrots, Runner Beans, Woodstock Kidney 
Potatoes, Autumn Giant Cauliflowers, Brown Globe Artichokes, President 
Garfield Tomatoes, and Tripoli Onions. This exhibitor was also successful 
in the various classes for single dishes of vegetables. The Taunton district 
has been very unlucky with respect to rainfall, some of the gardeners assert¬ 
ing that but little has fallen since March ; but in spite of this they succeeded 
in showing very fine examples of such Potatoes as Vicar of Laleham, Wood- 
stock Kidney, Reading Russet, Schoolmaster, International, Cosmopolitan, 
and other equally well-known sorts, and the Celery, Cauliflowers, Onions, 
Carrots, and Beans were also very fine. 
ALLAMANDAS PLANTED OUT. 
This, in my opinion, is the most satisfactory way to grow Allamandas 
when the object is either to secure cut flowers or embellish the roof or 
wall of a house For exhibition it is, of course, necessary that they should 
be grown in pots, and at certain times in these they make a good display ; 
but I have not yet seen a pot plant produce such huge quantities of bloom 
and such a long and constant succession of it as plants which were turned 
out of the pots, put into a good bed of soil, and allowed full freedom. 
Treated in this way, I consider the Allamanda the most useful stove- 
flowering plant we possess. It begins to open its flowers in an ordinary 
Cucumber pit or plant stove in May, and does not cease until October or 
November. One plant placed at the end of a Cucumber pit here two 
years ago has covered a large space of brick wall and a good piece of the 
roof at the back, and we can gather some dozens of blooms from it daily. 
It has been in blossom for three months, and has more buds on it now than 
ever. Its rooting space is about 3 feet square, 1 foot deep, aud the com¬ 
post consists of rough loam, peat, and sand. At this season it receives 
large quantities of liquid manure, and water is given liberally. In the 
autumn it will be cut back, but not quite so much as some recommend.— 
J. Muir, Margam. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Since our last notes appeared the aspect of the kitchen garden has 
been considerably changed. Many rows of Peas have had the seed pods 
gathered from them and the straw cleared away. Midsummer Cauli¬ 
flower stumps have been pulled up. Turnips which had become too old 
are in the rubbish heap ; old Broad Beans have followed, and in about 
three days everything of no further use was cleared out. In cases where 
the soil was well manured before the last planting it was only hoed and 
raked after the crops were removed before being ready for a succession, 
but where the soil was poor manure was given, and either forked or dug 
in. It is a mistake to manure after every crop, as well as it is to take 
crop after crop without any manure. We only apply manure once a 
year, no matter how many crops we may manage to take. 
Cabbage. —Clear all the dead leaves and weeds from between the old 
plants, which headed some time ago and are now being left to form late 
sprouts. Plant a good patch out from the young batch raised from seed 
sown three or four weeks ago. These will form tender sweet little heads 
in November and December, and be very acceptable then. Sow more 
seed of varieties to plant out in September and form heads early next 
spring. In mild early districts late sowing is the best for these, while in 
cold backward localities the end of July or early in August is the right 
time te sow. The seed may either be sown in rows or broadcast, and not 
too thickly in any case. The soil should be rich and capable of producing 
strong plants and plenty of robust roots. The position should be out in 
the sun and away from all shade, as drawn-up plants are never satisfac¬ 
tory ; they cannot be too dwarf or sturdy. We know no crop of more 
importance than the spring Cabbages are, and to make sure of having 
plenty of plants and produce at the right time seed should be sown twice 
or three times. Some sow their Cabbage seed on a certain date annually, 
but we do not believe in thi3 altogether, as the variations in the weather, 
especially in winter and spring, can only be met properly by having an 
early and a late batch of plants. Some seasons we have found all our 
early August-sown plants run to flower before March was over, and the 
early September ones were those which came in properly. This, to a 
great extent, is a question of climate and situation. 
Carrots. —No year passes without many of these failing, and we hear 
of many plantations which were very promising at one time dying 
almost wholesale. Happily ours are not included amongst these. About 
a month ago a small white fly took possession of the foliage, and they 
looked bad for a little while ; but we mixed a quantity of soot and salt 
and gave them a good dusting with this, and now they are as healthy and 
green in the foliage as possibh. In cases where failure has occurred, or 
where the Carrot crop is likely to be short, a good sowing of the Early 
English or French Horn should be made. We sow largely at this time in 
order to have a supply of tender young roots during the autumn, and we 
find them very much valued and useful. Insects are not so troublesome 
in the autumn as in the summer, and autumn-sown Carrots rarely fail. 
They should be sown in good clean soil in rows 15 inches or so apart, and 
about 2 inches below the surface. 
Winter Greens. —Dry weather or other circumstances may have 
prevented some of our readers planting out the whole of their Broccoli, 
Savoys, and other crops, but the work must not on any account be delayed 
if profitable crops are desired. It is too late to plant Brussels Sprouts, 
and the other kinds of greens will not become so strong and remunerative 
as those planted a month or more ago. Any that can be lifted with good 
roots should be planted in this way. 
Celery.— The earliest plantation of this should be earthed up. It is 
bast to allow the plants to grow a good size before earthing, then it must 
be done every fortnight or three weeks until no more earthing is required. 
The dwarf outside leaves should be taken off at first, and the soil be well 
broken along the margins with the spade, and then draw it in between 
the plants and press it round the stems with the hands. A piece of 
matting may be tied round each plant before earthing begins to keep the 
leaves close together, and prevent the soil from falling into the centie, 
which is the main point to avoid. The matting should be taken off when 
the work is completed, and they may be tied up each time earthing is 
done. Where there is any chance of worms disfiguring the s'ems the plants 
should be dusted with a quantity of soot before earthing. Keep late 
Celery crops quite free from weeds, and water copiously if there is any 
chance of their being injured by excessive drought. Plants which were 
left in the nursery beds may be used to fill blanks, and the surplus ones 
can be planted in new trenches to come in late. If trenches cannot he 
made for them they may be planted anywhere, as the leaves will be 
useful for flavouring. 
Herbs. —These are in demand all the year round, and a good supply in 
a dry state in winter is as necessary as it is to have plenty of green one 3 
in summer. The drying should now receive attention. Mint, Sage, 
Thyme, and the Winter Savory are a few of those things which must be 
dried in large quantities. Cut them on a dry day, secure flowerless 
shoots, and spread them out in an open shed to dry. Do not lay them in 
the sun, as this will wither them too much, and they must be turned over 
every other day until they are dry, when they may be tied in bundles and 
hung up in any room or kitchen. 
