June 24, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
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COMING EVENTS 
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York Floral FSte (two days). 
1st Sunday after Trinity. 
Royal Horticultural Society’s PrOYincial Show at Liverpool (to July 6th). 
Royal Botanic Society’s Evening Ftte. 
PEEPAEING FOE THE SHOW. 
EEY few persons, except those who are concerned 
in the arrangement of horticultural exhibitions, 
have any idea of the enormous labour requisite 
to ensure success. Exhibitors have a peculiarity 
especially troublesome to secretaries and flower 
show managers—namely, delaying their entries 
until the latest possible time in the first place, 
and secondly when the exhibition day arrives 
they are not always so punctual as might be 
desired in getting their plants or other exhibits into their 
allotted positions. Perhaps also someone who has engaged 
considerable space fails to appear, and this contingency 
has to be met by a hurried partial re-arrangement. The 
positions allotted to certain exhibitors may not give satis¬ 
faction, and with scores of other vexations the manager of 
a horticultural show, even on a small scale, has not an 
enviable post. When there are all these difficulties to con¬ 
tend with in an ordinary gathering, it will be readily under¬ 
stood that they must be increased tenfold at an exhibition of 
such a varied character as that which is to be opened at 
Liverpool next Tuesday. This is evident from the fact that 
there are 125 classes for plants, flowers, fruit, and vegetables, 
in the majority of which there will be numerous entries, each 
requiring a certain space to be determined before the day of 
exhibition ; and besides this there is an extensive exhibition 
of implements, greenhouses, and garden appliances to be 
provided for, a space for boiler trials, and an exhibition of 
horticultural literature, plans, drawings, paintings, &o., Mr. 
A - F. Barron has a formidable task before him ; but his long 
experience in the work and his well-drilled assistants, who 
are familiar with the admirable system adopted at South 
Kensington, will soon reduce affairs to order. It is particu¬ 
larly satisfactory to learn that the Exhibition is likely to be 
one that will be worthy of the Society and of the great com¬ 
mercial city in which it is to be held. All that is wanted is 
a week s fine weather, and after such a long continuance of 
cold a favourable change has occurred. 
A brief description of the general disposition of the exhibits 
will serve to indicate the probable character of the Show and 
the way it can be best seen. The Botanic Gardens and the 
Wavertree Park form an extensive oblong space, bounded on 
the north by Edge Lane, on the east by Botanic Eoad, and 
on the west and south by the Exhibition Eoad, which passes 
the entrance to “ The Shipperies.” This is opposite the 
Botanic Garden, and as there will be an entrance to the 
latter at the same point, no doubt many will take that direc¬ 
tion. A path from there leads direct across the gardens to 
the large marquee for plants, and to that most visitors will 
first direct their steps. It is an enormous canvas erection 
260 feet long by 130 feet wide, and the ground has been 
tastefully laid out in raised mounds, upon which the plants 
will be arranged. Along the two sides and a portion of the 
ends is a narrow bank with rounded projections and bays. 
At the south end is a large semicircular mound, one of 
a similar shape, but smaller in front, and flanked by two 
No. 313.—Yol. XII., Third Series. 
circles. At the opposite end of the marquee is a large 
irregularly margined mound and three long curving beds, 
while in the centre is a circle surrounded by four oblong 
beds, which it is intended to devote to Orchids and general 
collections. Every approach to formality has been avoided 
as far as possible, and it may be expected that this marquee 
will alone constitute a beautiful exhibition. 
K short distance from this to the left, if the marquee is 
quitted at the southern end, is the tent for table decorations, 
and further still in the same direction is a long tent for fruit 
and vegetables, both of which will be well represented. Then 
proceeding to the south we come to the space devoted to the 
boiler trials, which will be sure to yield something interesting. 
Turning to the right from that point the cut-flower tent is 
reached, and then the greenhouses, implements, and appli¬ 
ances, which occupy an adjoining space, can be inspected, 
for this department is one of importance to all horticulturists. 
The whole of these exhibits will be arranged in the Waver¬ 
tree Park, but the Botanical Gardens which adjoin will be 
open to all visitors. 
The Exhibition will be opened to Fellows of the Society 
one hour before the general public on Tuesday, June 29th— 
namely, at 12 noon—and will be opened on each of the 
other days at 10 a.m. On Wednesday, the 30th inst., a con¬ 
ference on the nomenclature of Orchids will be held, and on 
Saturday, July 3rd, and Monday, July 5th, a Cottagers’ and 
Artizans’ Show will take place in the grounds. 
EOSE PEOSPECTS. 
We are now on the eve of our great annual tournaments, 
for Canterbury leads the movement on Tuesday, the 29th, 
and a natural anxiety is expressed on all sides to know what 
are the probabilities of the season. Shall we have good 
shows ? Are the fixtures correct ? Of course each grower 
estimates the season by the condition of his own garden, and 
according as his prospects are good or the reverse, so he 
pronounces on the season. Not being an exhibitor, I am 
not perhaps subject to these disturbing elements with which 
the exhibitors are exercised, and as I have many opportu¬ 
nities of seeing and hearing about Eoses in other gardens 
besides my own, I am not confined in my observations to 
any one locality. 
With regard to the character of the season I think it must 
be a late one, although so very much depends on the weather 
of the next fortnight or three weeks that it is impossible to 
state even this possibility. I have known such weather at 
the end of June that Eoses have come in with a rush, and 
what was looked upon as sure to be a late season has turned 
out to be an early one. But everything is late this year, and 
I think Eoses must share in the general condition of things. 
I firmly believe (although some ridicule the notion) that the 
Eose season is later than it used to be. The last Saturday 
in June was considered quite late enough at one time, but 
few would advocate such a late date now—probably the day 
fixed for the National will be about right. There is indeed a 
very great similarity as far as my own locality is concerned 
between this season and last, and I find the same reports 
from many other localities. 
As to the condition of the Eoses themselves, I find a 
very general complaint of blind shoots— i.e., shoots without 
flower buds. In many places this seems to be very serious, 
and is generally attributed to the frost at the end of April or 
beginning of May ; but I hardly think this is the cause. It 
is more likely to be, I imagine, the long, cold, dreary weather 
of February and March, with low temperature coming after 
the winter. The plants seemed to lack constitution to battle 
against it. Even as it occurred with “ humans,” so many 
battled through the winter well but succumbed to that spell 
of dreary weather, and when they might naturally have 
looked for something to stimulate their vigour they found 
themselves laid low; so I think with the Eoses, and hence 
No. I960 .—Yol. LXXIV., Old Series 
