590 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 31, 1885. 
and is considered by the employer as part of a contribution towards the 
promotion of high-class horticulture. 
I am glad to be supported by “ W. A. ” in an endeavour to supplant 
all rough-and-ready rule-of-thumb methods of judging in an enlightened 
and more consistent style to which all horticulturists could subscribe. 
Your correspondent disagrees with me only in the value of the mark, and 
the manner in which the figures are finally arranged. Simply changing 
the terms would meet his view in the one case. As to the other, the rule 
which guides the advance of our arithmetical notations in fractions, 
however convenient, must not interefere with any arrangement in fixing 
an estimate of value between sorts or varieties. I grant the system pro¬ 
posed may not be complete, but any modification of it that would admit of 
more points being allowed, and correct values given in collections, would 
meet the difficulty, unless they were to be judged according to evenness 
over the whole, which should not be, but let every variety stand or fall 
by its own merit.— W. Williamson. 
In reading the “ Committee side ” remarks of Mr. T. Challis on this 
subject at page 565, I confess to being astounded at his teaching regarding 
the relative positions of “Judges and Committees of Shows,” inasmuch 
as he gives to the latter a power which it is neither entitled to by law nor 
qualification—namely, that of altering the awards of the Judges. The 
latter, Mr. Challis says, are, like other men, fallible ; but does he mean to 
say that the gentlemen forming the Committees of Shows, who are not 
always experts, are less fallible than the experts selected by them on 
account of their position and known ability to perform the duties of 
adjudicators? He says the Judges are the servants of the Committee. 
Nothing of the kind. They only accept an engagement to make the 
awards at the Show, and they do so to the best of their ability. Neither 
the Committee nor its officials have any voice whatever in determining 
the awards, and these awards, it is stated in the schedules of Shows, 
“ shall be final.” Therefore the Committee, by its own printed rule, has 
no power whatever to disturb the awards of its Judges, nor to indicate to 
them the manner in which they should make the said awards. Yet, in the 
face of this fact, Mr. Challis tells the readers of the Journal of Horticul¬ 
ture that the Committee is “ morally and legally” justified in correcting (?) 
any mistakes which in its opinion have been made by the Judges. 
Morally and legally the Committee has no right, even if it had the 
capacity, to interfere with decisions of the Judges. Were it otherwise, 
engaging and paying Judges to make awards at Shows would be a mere 
farce! However, it is very rare that a case of this sort happens, but 
when there is one, and a gardener of Mr. Challis’s position endeavours to 
justify the action of the Committee, it is therefore necessary to show that 
Committees, in point of fact, do not possess the power if they have the 
competency (?) to deal with such matters. However, the Committee of a 
Show would be acting within its right to draw the attention of the Judges 
there and then to any awards respecting which protests had reached it. 
Then the Show Committee would hear what the Judges had to say, and 
should act accordingly. But, on the other hand, it should take no notice 
whatever of the opinions gratuitously given by “irresponsible” indi¬ 
viduals on such occasions.—W. S. 
LONDON’S LESSER OPEN SPACES—THEIR TREES AND 
PLANTS.—No. 6. 
Walking along modern Westminster, a place, we might say, unsur¬ 
passed by any other in the British islands for historic interest, not even by 
London City, we can hardly fancy to ourselves it was ever an island. 
Yet such was the fact, and on examination we can manage to trace out its 
shape, for there was a stream, extant not many centuries ago, called 
“ Long Ditch,” which ran out of the Thames near the Abbey, and ended 
about Tothill Street, but which once, doubtless, by a curve joined the 
ponds of St. James’s Park. That park gives us now water extending 
almost to Buckingham Gate, and we have only to suppose in the olden 
time that in the space between the park and the basin of the Grosvenor 
Canal (now Victoria Station) was intersected by a small, or perhaps a 
large, stream, and there we have the outline of the primitive Isle of 
Thorney, a spot much overgrown with Briars and Thorns. These were 
probably Brambles for the most part, some Blackthorns amongst them, it 
may be, and we shall have difficulty in finding representatives of these in 
Westminster now. It is seldom one sees the Blackthorn or Sloe in a 
London garden, yet I think this is a species that would grow fairly well, 
and if not within a very smoky district put forth its flowers which herald 
spring by their early display upon the nearly leafless branches. The 
Spindle Tree (Euonymus europasus), another May-flowering shrub, is also 
a species that should be grown about the metropolis ; one of its recom¬ 
mendations, so far as appearance goes, is the beautiful tints it exhibits ere 
the. fall of the leaf. The fruit, however, though ornamental, must be 
avoided, being somewhat poisonous. 
I question whether the Hawthorn was one of the plants that formerly 
flourished in the Isle of Thorney, though Westminster can show us a few 
of rather sickly growth. This shrub, or tree, in London districts seldom 
attains to any size, and we do not see those fine specimens of gnarled 
and twisted Hawthorns that are noticeable in many parks and woods. 
It was for some time doubtful to me why the Hawthorn planted about 
London, after growing several years, gradually falls off and either dies or 
becomes stunted ; at least, this frequently happens. At first I thought 
the atmosphere of the town was unfavourable, hurrying it perhaps too 
early into leaf, but I conclude now that it is generally the injurious result 
of prolific caterpillar foes. This and other shrubs often get little atten¬ 
tion from the gardener, who is busy about his flower beds, and so the 
Hawthorn is infested with swarms of caterpillars, as, for instance, with 
those of the winter moth, the small ermine, and the vapourer, which exhaust 
its strength during the summer. Close to the Westminster Guildhall and 
opposite New Palace Yard there is a piece of enclosed ground, graced 
with a statue of Canning, and which contains some good-sized Sycamores 
and Elms along its edges, but the centre is filled up with a straggling 
company of badly shaped Hawthorns, Lilacs, and Limes, that mu3t have 
been planted some years ago, and since, apparently, left to struggle for 
life as best they might. The Metropolitan Boulevard and Public Gardens 
Association are endeavouring to get this space made free to the public, 
and, this done, I should advise the removal of most of the shrubs and 
half-grown trees now there and the planting of a few more suitable, 
while one side flanked by a wall could have creepers or a rockery to form 
a background. 
Under the shadow of the venerable Abbey and nearer the river is the 
churchyard of St. Margaret’s, not so many years ago a moist, melancholy, 
unwholesome spot, shunned by the pedestrian. It has been improved of 
late, some Sycamores planted along its sides, and the area, after levelling, 
has been laid down with grass—a better plan certainly, considering its 
position and dimensions, than attempting flower beds. Scattered round 
this churchyard, or occupying some of the angles of the Abbey, are some 
larger Sycamores. These, however, would not be older, I judge, than 
about fifty years. It was curious to see, nestling in the sheltered nooks 
under the Abbey walls, patches of the familiar Chickweed of fields and 
lanes, supplying to the town sparrows green food when they can obtain 
but few seeds or insects. 
Dean’s Yard, to which access is obtained under an archway from 
Broad Sanctuary, is an open space which is likely to be missed by anyone 
who is a stranger to the locality ; yet it is of larger extent than the name 
might suggest, and the railed ground in its centre has long been used by 
the Westminster scholars for football and other sports. This is not par¬ 
ticularly beneficial to the grass, nor to the Limes and Sycamores planted 
round the sides of the square in an irregular fashion; these also suffer 
maltreatment from the juveniles who congregate outside at times. In a 
corner of Dean’s Yard, amongst the houses, a very large Sycamore stands 
alone, which has doubtless a history worth telling could one unravel it' 
An attempt has been made to form a bank of plants behind its venerable 
trunk, but the position is against their growth, though window-gardening 
is carried on successfully at several of the houses in the Yard. Curiosity 
or a kindly interest brings some persons to Dean’s Yard from a distance 
to see the. annual exhibition of plants cultivated by the poorer class chiefly 
in the Westminster district. These are somewhat assisted by the dis¬ 
tribution of roots or cuttings which is made in the autumn, when the 
flower beds are cleared in the parks and some public gardens, but occa¬ 
sionally I have noticed this is deferred too long, and then the plants given 
away are partially spoilt, because they are touched by early frosts. 
On the bank of the Thames, offering an agreeable prospect, and 
a blow off the water to invigorate the lungs, is an open space called 
Victoria Tower Gardens, not very extensive, yet one might have sup¬ 
posed it would have had its visitors at all hours of the day, drawn from 
the thickly populated streets of Westminster. True, the grass plats in the 
centre are forbidden to the public, but there are broad paths and seats 
beside them free to everybody, yet when I entered not a soul was there, 
nor did man, woman, or child afterwards appear. At the gate there is a 
box fortbe caretaker, and he sat therein sleeping “the sleep of the just,” 
perhaps from too heavy a dinner, or wearied with the dullness of his 
duties. One of these is to prohibit “ shouting,” as appears by the table 
of regulations—not a frequent offence, seemingly. Nothing has been 
planted to intercept the river view, but on the east side of the gardens is 
a belt of shrubs separating this space from a less enclosure belonging to 
the Houses of Parliament. Some are evergreens, some deciduous shrubs, 
and being sheltered from the colder winds they are in a good condition, 
though set in that promiscuous style frequently observable in public 
gardens. As no access is permitted to the grass plats, a few shrubs that 
would look cheerful at all seasons might be placed here and there ; but I 
am a hearty advocate of allowing the youngsters the pleasures of the turf, 
under supervision, where it can be managed, or at least a part of the 
space under grass might be free to all, while the growth was protected 
from the tread in other portion s. It should be added that Vincent Square, 
Westminster, is another and larger open space, also a playground of the 
Westminster boys, and with an area of grass that might be turned to much 
better account than its present limited usage. 
A district called South Belgravia, where early in the present century 
there were reedy fields and gardens devoted to the culture of succulent 
vegetables, amongst streets of uninviting aspect, has a few squares, which 
may be dismissed briefly, as they are not as yet open spaces benefiting 
others than the immediate residents, except in so far as they tend to 
purify the atmosphere by their trees and plants. Eccleston Square is 
about four acres, Warwick Square three acres, the oblong St. George’s is 
a little larger than these. I tbink they have some well-grown Limes and 
Sycamores, but not of aDy size, the time since planting does not allow of 
that. Willows and Poplars, which would thrive here, are unfrequent, 
and their shrubs are of the usual London type, the Privet and Lilac being 
mush favoured.—J. R. S. C. 
NARCISSUS BULBOCODIUM var. MONOPHYLLUS. 
This beautiful little Hoop Petticoat Narciss is one of the earliest 
flowering forms in cultivation, and worthy the attention of all who 
