192 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
I March 7,1880. 
but the slope was still great, and drainage perfect. It does not 
thrive on the outer southern ranges, perhaps from too much 
warmth and too little attention to shelter ; but whatever the 
cause, they are very liable to rot. It bears abundance of seed in 
favourable situations. I have seen them feet in height.” 
At Ivew this Lilium is grown in moist light soil, in a sheltered 
recess of the large rockery, and there it flowered well last summer. 
In other gardens in the south this fine Lily also flourishes 
in sheltered positions. The following letter on the culture and 
hardiness of L. giganteum -will be found interesting. “ It 
is somewhat strange, but there is a widely spread notion that this 
Lily, which, when in flower, is one of the stateliest of its tribe, is 
not hardy. From time to time statements to the effect that ‘ it is 
hardy in southern counties ’ are calculated to cast some doubt as to 
its perfect hardiness in northern districts, and particularly so in 
instances where would-be growers have no previous experience with 
it. As to its hardiness, I may say I have never known frost to 
injure it in the least. Some years ago when residing in one of the 
coldest districts of the noith I had several hundreds of this Lily, 
and I do not remember a single death resulting from frost, notwith¬ 
standing that 25° were recorded and the plants occupied a low 
situation, frequently submerged, or partly so, when the rainfall 
was excessive. Spring frosts, on the other hand, affect the young 
tender leaves, and they should be protected at that particular 
season, though, if planted among shrubs, this will hardly be neces¬ 
sary ; at the same time it is essential that the new leaves should not 
be injured. It delights in a deep rich loam, though it cannot be 
regarded as fastidious in this respect, for loam and peat in equal 
parts suit it admirably. It is increased by seeds and offsets ; the 
latter from large flowering bulbs will by good treatment flower in 
the third year from its parent. Where seeds are not required it is 
better to cut away the stem when flowering is complete ; but 
should these be coveted they may be sown as soon as ripe, or, if 
not convenient, place them in a glass bottle and keep it air-tight 
till required ; in fact, this is the only safe means of keeping seeds 
of Liliums and many other plants besides for any length of time. 
By the middle of October the offsets may safely be removed from 
its now departed parent, divided and replanted singly in good soil. 
A good way to grow this Lily to perfection is to devote a small bed 
to it in such a position that it may readily be protected from the 
winds and frost, which so much disfigure it in the early months of 
the year.” 
JUDGING FRUIT AT HORTICULTURAL SHOWS. 
I AM glad to find my effort in drawing attention to the above subject 
has not been in vain. Concluding from the tone of comments made on 
it in the columns of the Journal, and letters I have received, it is I 
think clear that some better arrangement than the one in present use 
might be adopted. 
Mr. J. Wright agrees with me in principle, but takes exception to a 
uniform standard of value being set up. If this were established, he 
says, “a dish of Gooseberries might gain, if good, as many points as a 
pair of first-rate bunches of Grapes.” He overlooks the fact that no 
one would ever think of setting up a collection of fruit without Grapes. 
Grapes are compared with Grapes, Gooseberries with Gooseberries. 
Currants, Cherries, or some such fruit, usually put in to make up the 
last dish of a collection. The one pretty well balances the other. 
Mr. Wright fears “ a group of critics wrangling over points exhibited 
on cards,” would be found an inconvenience and obstruction to visitors. 
This wrangling certainly is already a great nuisance to visitors. Could 
not steps be taken to have it removed, by compelling the obstructors to 
move on ? It might be easily done by a gentle reminder from an 
attendant. 
“Judex” treats the subject in a fairly liberal spirit. I am not 
prepared to disagree with him upon the relation of certain kinds of 
fruit; there is a danger of this question getting complicated if too much 
writing is put upon cards placed in front of exhibits. I quite agree 
with his remarks as to the cause of judges in many instances being 
unwilling to explain why they arrived at a certain decision. 
“A. D.” says my proposal of judging Melons without cutting them 
is absurd. Melons when properly grown, fully developed, and highly 
finished, will be found to be not wanting in flavour if cut at the proper 
time. If some people cannot discern the good qualities of such fruit 
without cutting them, then, indeed, they have much to learn in Melon 
culture. The taste of hardly any two men is precisely alike ; therefore, 
what proof have we that the tasting test is the only one in which a 
correct verdict can be given ? I have known instances where judges 
have had to taste some thirty or forty Melons. Before they got half 
way through, all sense of taste had left them, notwithstanding sundry 
drops of brandy imbibed as revivers. In such cases the tasting method 
is a delusion, and the awards simply a lottery. 
An absurdity—if there is one in connection with this subject—is in 
the fact that often large numbers of splendid fruits are sacrificed because 
the flavour of some insignificant one has taken the fancy of the judges. 
There was a time when prizes could not be awarded to Apples, Pears, 
Plums, Peaches, Apricots, &c., without cutting and tasting them 
Happily that time has gone, and I trust “A. D.” may live to see the day 
when it will be the same with Melons.—J. McIndoe. 
ROSE SHOW FIXTURES. 
Will you permit me to draw the attention of the secretaries of those 
societies who have not yet published the date of their shows to the 
vacant day in the very height of the Rose season—viz., Saturday, 
July 13th. From Mr. Mawley’s list of fixtures it appears that Friday 
and Saturday, the 12th and 13th. are both unoccupied. What an oppor¬ 
tunity for a society to have a good exhibition if they select a day on 
which there is no other fixture. —J. H. Pemberton. 
May we ask you to correct an error in Mr. Mawley’s list of 188f> 
Rose Show fixtures? The Brockham Show is not fixed for July 4th, 
neither is there any date as yet determined on. There has been no 
meeting as yet of the Committee.— Alan Cheales, Chas. Mortimer, 
lion. Secs. 
PRUNING ROSES. 
Notwithstanding all that has been written on the subject, a dispo¬ 
sition exists to begin pruning too early in the spring. When the weather 
is very mild in January or February, the top buds push into growth, 
but March frosts almost invariably destroy the young shoots. The 
lower buds, however, remain dormant, and when the proper time for 
pruning arrives, the useless tops are cut away, and the late buds are 
induced to grow. They are thus saved from disaster. When pruning is 
done too early, the lower buds push, but, as a rule, only to be severely 
injured or killed. Pruning should be deferred till the permanent growths 
are practically certain of escaping injury by frost. The end of March 
is soon enough to prune the majority of Roses. Inexperienced persons 
are always inclined to cut too high. If they see some leafy buds about 
a foot up the shoot, they think it would ruin the plant to cut these off 
and allow none but dormant buds close to the old wood to remain, but 
it is the low dormant buds that produce the strongest shoots and the 
finest blooms. Hard pruning is highly beneficial, and every shoot should 
be cut down to two or at most three buds from the old wood. Where 
the collection of Roses only amounts to one, two, or three dozen plants, 
the whole may be pruned on one day, but where there are several 
hundreds they may be pruned at two or three times, allowing a week or 
ten days between each. In this case we would prune part in the middle 
of March, more at the end of that month, and the last in April. A back¬ 
ward spring might cause them all to come into flower together, but 
under favourable circumstances there would be a succession of blooms. 
Recently planted Roses should be pruned at the same time as those 
which have been established for years. These remarks apply to Roses 
generally grown by amateurs, but more especially to dwarf and standard 
Hybrid Perpetuals in beds and borders. Tea Roses are mostly grown 
against walls where they secure a shelter. As a rule we prune our Tea 
Roses a little sooner than the others. That the time and manner of 
pruning Roses have a very important influence on their success no 
experienced cultivator would think of denying, but the fact remains 
that many growers of Roses prune too early and insufficiently, hence 
these notes.—A Flower Gardener. 
NEW FRENCH ROSES. 
It seems an unprofitable task when we read Mr. Girdlestone’s care¬ 
ful analysis of the “ Roses of Recent Years” in the “ Rosarian’s Year 
Book ” for 1889 to attempt to flounder through the lists of novelties as 
ostentatiously put forward as ever, with descriptions as glowing as ever, 
for we are led, perhaps, to anticipate enjoyment where only disappoint¬ 
ment is in store for us. Of the exhibition Roses sent to us from Franc© 
during the past four years there are only seven which have been found 
sufficiently good to be regarded as deserving a place—permanent place 
—in our catalogue. Can there, then, be much hope in looking for¬ 
ward ? 
In looking at the supplement to the catalogue of exhibition Roses 
published by the National Rose Society, which comprises the exhibition 
Roses which the Committee considered worthy of being added to their 
former catalogue, the result is again most disappointing. The original 
catalogue was published in 1886, and during these two years there are 
not a dozen new Roses considered worthy of a place ; and of the fifteen 
Hybrid Perpetuals added there were some which were old Roses that 
had been outvoted in the first catalogue, but which on further con¬ 
sideration were considered worthy of a place in it. These were Alfred 
Dumesnil, Dr. Sewell, Jean Soupert, Marie Cointet. Of English raised 
Roses there were Crown Prince, Earl of Pembroke, Ella Gordon, 
Heinrich Schultheis, Her Majesty, and Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, so that 
the new French Roses only comprised the following :—Alphonse 
Soupert, Benoit Comte, Suzanne, Marie Rodocanachi, and Victor 
Hugo—a very meagre account. In Tea Roses the same has occurred. 
Jules Finger and Moire, both old Roses, have been added to the list. 
There is one English and one American Rose—Prince of Wales and The 
Bride ; and four French—Hon. Edith Gifford, Madame de Watteville, 
