February 21,1889. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
155 
and Warscewiczella do not roll very sweetly, though they proceed 
from the gardeners’ tongue. The beautiful Schizostylis coccinca is 
not usually labelled the “ 'Winter Gladiolus,” its popular name. 
Memories of the stately and glorious autumn flower might induce many 
a stranger to take up its cultivation were it so labelled, and probably 
Agathasa ccelestis would be much more admired and sought after under 
its pretty and popular name of “ Blue Marguerite.” 
Lectures and Conferences. —If lectures in a popular style 
could be delivered by competent persons at our horticultural gather¬ 
ings, doubtless this would add much to their interest. Visitors on 
viewing magnificent examples of plant, fruit, and vegetable culture 
return home, many of them, quite ignorant of the means that have 
been employed to produce such splendid results. We will say it is a 
spring flower show, how the uninitiated would like to hear something 
about the cultivation of those beautiful and sweet “harbingers of 
spring ”—Hyacinths, Tulips, and a crowd of other plants that come 
with such a glad welcome. Here is another idea : This is the age of 
conferences,” why not have “ Gardeners’ Conferences ” at these 
gatherings ? Would they not cause feelings of goodfellowship to spring 
up among the craft, generally, by reason of their very calling, an isolated 
body ? Such conferences could not but have happy results all round, 
looked at from social and educational points of view. They would also 
promote unity amongst the craft, an element they sadly lack, often to 
the great disadvantage of the assertion of their just rights. To dwell 
for a moment on the educational view, I take the following example, 
just by way of illustrationA gardener is visiting a show, aud 
sees that grand Grape Madresfield Court Black Muscat shown -in 
perfection—no “ cracking,” to which it is sometimes, indeed often 
subject. At home with him it has this failing, and try all the remedies 
possible, he has not been able to banish this defect. Now, supposing our 
idea of the conference were carried out, this important matter of 
■“ cracking” would “ crop up ’’—the successful exhibitor would tell his 
brethren assembled the means he had taken to get rid of this umvelcome 
•visitor. One might instance other cases in various branches of garden¬ 
ing where the aid of such conferences would have a beneficial influence, 
but one illustration is ample to convey the lesson desired to be taught. 
To refer to fruit culture for a moment, although it is not within the 
scope of this paper, yet I have an object in view in doing so. Some say 
that fruit culture is to be the salvation of our tight little island ; if this 
be so then we should do everything in our power to encourage it. At 
the Pear Conference held at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Gardens, 
Chiswick, in 1885, visitors doubtless noticed the cards provided by the 
Society in which exhibitors gave particulars of their various exhi¬ 
bits, such as follows :— 
Example of Carp Filled Up. 
“Name. 
“ DOYENNE DU COMICE. 
“ Season . 
Average Fertility. 
Stock . 
Description of tree... . 
November 
Moderate 
Quince 
Pyramid ” 
Here was valuable information given to the public, and likely, in 
consequence, to induce those interested in this popular fruit to take up 
its culture. I throw out this hint because the card arrangement, as 
used at this particular Conference, is capable of still further and more 
complete development at our general horticultural gatherings. 
Arrangement of Shows. —These, though often well managed in 
this respect, are not always happy so far as effect is concerned. Take 
now the show of everybody’s favourite flower, the Rose. Most varied 
and charming though their occupants be, yet the eye tires of the mono¬ 
tonous long lines of green boxes. I wonder sometimes that a show of 
this description has not been arranged so as to give us as far as possible 
the idea of a Rose garden, after this fashion -The flowers to be dis¬ 
played under a canvas tent, and what more accommodating times than 
the merry months of June and July for the tent business ? Sloping 
banks or beds should be employed, and on these should be plunged the 
blooms in suitable material, doing away, therefore, entirely with the 
antiquated wooden boxes, using a generous and necessary amount of 
greenery ” to act as a “ foil ” to the colour. 
Can our Flower Shows be made to Pay?— -This solemn ques¬ 
tion has doubtless been often asked by many a manager, particularly 
of a London flower show, where there is so much other to attract than 
flowers, beautiful though these be, and then the weather, that most im¬ 
portant factor in the success of a flower show. As a rule (there are I 
know rare exceptions), I think it may with safety be said that London 
flower shows do not pay. How can they be made to do so ? 
It may well be remarked that there are no fast express trains on the 
line horticultural. Society is living at a break-neck pace in the metro¬ 
polis. Flower shows are too quiet. Yes ; but are they not elevating, 
refining, and humanising? Various attractions suit some of our pro¬ 
vincial towns, where, by the way, first-rate shows are held, and enormous 
gatherings of people drawn together. Witness the great show at Shrews¬ 
bury held in August last, when 42,000 people visited the Show on the 
second day ; it was a revelation to a Londoner to see the throng. Yet 
-our London shows are placed on a somewhat different basis. Good 
prizes must be given to secure a good show, and this means a great out¬ 
lay, to say nothing of other expenses necessarily incidental. Adver¬ 
tise ! advertise ! advertise 1 should be inscribed on the banner of every 
flower show secretary. 
Amateurs should always be liberally encouraged. The position of the 
nurseryman is on quite a different footing ; he has a trade interest in 
view. Perhaps a slight relief would be made in the prize exchequer if 
nurserymen agreed to send to all our London exhibitions non-competitive 
groups of the various specialities for which they are famous ; at any 
rate, there would be no jealousy amongst them, no striving for honours 
—it would simply be a friendly rivalry. 
The great characteristics of a schedule should be explicitness and 
simplicity, clear alike to exhibitors and judges. What “ storms ” have a 
deviation from this “ golden rule ” caused ! How much more pleasantly 
would matters go if some exhibitors were a little more observant of the 
rule requiring the entries to be returned at a certain specified time. 
The manager of a flower show has all his arrangements to make (often 
in too brief a time), and if he has not the material to work upon 
disorganisation and delay necessarily result. Exhibitors, too, sometimes 
do not mind giving unnecessary trouble—to call it by this mild name ; 
it deserves a much stronger one. They will enter in a lot of classes, and 
never show in any of them. Notices of withdrawal should always reach 
the superintendent of a show at least the day previous to the show, and 
a fine should be imposed for every withdrawal. It does not conduce to 
tranquillity of temper on the morning of a show to find that a consider¬ 
able space allotted to Mr. A will not be required by him. Exhibitors 
should never enter (except new plants for certificates) on the morning 
of a show ; it causes a general disarrangement of the entry and judging 
books. 
COLEUSES. 
What wonderfully beautiful varieties have appeared among 
these of late years. It has just turned twenty years since I saw 
the first “break” put up to sale at Stevens’ Rooms, and the 
number of varieties which have appeared and disappeared since 
then must be enormous, and the greater part hardly worth troubling 
with, so far as distinct features in the varieties were concerned, 
but now they are appearing with foliage in great variety as to size 
and form, with the richest and quaintest colouring. I find many 
ladies esteem them very highly on the latter account, and as they 
are exceedingly easy to grow, and very little trouble generally, a 
select number of varieties may be kept in most gardens. Good 
sized plants can be advantageously grown in small pots, as the 
Coleus seems to thrive well on a watery diet, provided plenty of 
light and heat are also at command. On the other hand they are 
easy to manage during summer in cool structures where they get 
plenty of light, and the colouring in this case will be still more 
vivid, though the foliage may be smaller. Good tops rooted in 
small pots are very useful for decorating; and indeed in pro¬ 
pagating for all purposes it is much better to put in large cuttings 
with fine leaves than small cuttings. Though Coleuses will grow in 
any kind of soil a very sandy loam is best. 
From now onwards is a good time to propagate, and there is 
no better period than the present for getting new varieties. 
Though I cannot say I am acquainted with a tenth of the 
varieties in commerce, I believe those named here will be found 
among the best. I may say that some of the newer productions 
have exact imitations of the leaf in the colouring—Edith, for 
instance, a new variety, is of a lively green around the outer 
portion of the leaf, with a bright rose leaf inside this outer portion 
of green ; the stems are also in this and many other varieties 
beautifully coloured. Of recent sorts worth growing are the 
following :—Triomphe de St. Donation, a blotched leaf, suitable 
for small plants only ; Kentish Fire, very rich; La Tete d’Or, very 
dark bronze with a curiously serrated edge of yellow; Cloth of 
Gold, pure canary yellow ; Le Poiterin, white and yellow ; CrebiUon, 
green and lake, very fine ; Midas, deep rose, wavy leaves ; Recamier, 
purplish; Gil Bias, a beautifully marked variety ; Anacreon, dwarf 
habit, very good. Of newer sorts, Edith, already noted ; Bontard, 
a strong bright variety ; Ville de Dijon, in way of Gil Bias, said to 
be an improvement; and Comtesse de Segurs and Desegur are worth 
trying.—B. __ 
NOTES ON GRAPES. 
The few words of explanation given by Mr. Hilton on page 132 
have had a remarkably soothing influence on my mind, inasmuch as 
they show that the conditions under which the Grapes grown by your 
correspondent differ considerably from those the general reader would 
suppose they were subjected to, judging from Mr. Hilton’s previous 
article. There is a great disparity between stating they were given a 
night temperature of 60°, and were seldom above 70°, and the latest 
account, which shows they were kept at a night temperature of 70° 
when in flower, and sometimes the day temperature went up to 80° or 
higher with sun heat. Had these facts been mentioned in the first 
place, further explanation on that point would not have been necessary. 
I am glad to know that your correspondent has grown such creditable 
Grapes under somewhat adverse circumstances, but I am not aware 
of having written anything that could be construed into an inclination 
on my part to doubt the accuracy of his statements. I simply defended 
my remarks from his criticism by directing attention to what I con- 
