28 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARD'bNER. 
July IS, 1894. 
present form portends a tight contest for the Harkness cup between 
him and Mr. Orpen, and these two I select as the probable winners of 
that beautiful trophy. Croydon and district suffered severely from the 
frosts of the 20th and 21st May, so that we none of us expected to see 
first-class exhibits from our local gardens, and we therefore were not 
disappointed. Colonel De la Mare w’on the local cup, there being two 
other competitors, Mr. Amsden and Mr. Gifford. 
Mr. Amsden won a N.R.S. medal for La France, and your corre¬ 
spondent another for Horace Vernet—both good specimens of those 
varieties. 
National Rose Society’s Metropolitan Show. 
This annual event, the greatest of the Rose contests, took place on 
Saturday, the 7th instant, at the Crystal Palace. As elsewhere this year, 
so on this occasion, the professionals showed well and the amateurs 
indifferently. The show was successful in so far that it was a large 
one. I am unable at the moment to tell the exact number of flowers 
staged, but I believe they were about 6500, in this respect being 
second only to the great show of 1892, when 7100 were staged. The 
exhibits were very numerous in all the classes, more especially in 
the smaller amateur divisions. As of late so on Saturday, Hybrid 
Perpetuals were far better in quality than Teas, but I could not gay 
that any exhibit of Tea Roses staged was of the very highest class, or 
indeed anything approaching thereto. This statement applies not only 
to amateurs, but also to the nurserymen. This fact was painfully 
apparent in the search for the best Tea Rose, those judging with me 
nearly coming to the conclusion, until we saw Mr. Prince’s Tea Rose 
The Bride, that there was not a really good Tea in the nurserymen’s 
division, and this statement no doubt would with equal truth apply to 
the amateurs’ flowers. 
In the nurserymen’s contest for the trophy, seventy-two varieties, 
there were five competitors—Messrs. Frank Cant, Benjamin Cant, Paul 
and Son, George Mount of Canterbury, and Perkins of Coventry. The 
first three exhibitors named were placed in the order I give them. The 
judges appeared to take unusual trouble in arriving at their decision, and 
I have no doubt of its correctness, although up to the day of the show 
I fully anticipated from his previous recent successes that Mr. Benjamin 
Cant would this year have been victorious. Mr. Frank Cant’s Roses 
were fresher and maintained their very fine appearance throughout the 
day, and in his exhibits were many exceptionally fine Hybrid Perpetuals. 
None, however, came up to the excellence of a flower of Marie Baumann, 
which gained for Mr. Benjamin Cant the award of the medal for the 
best H.P., those flowers which came nearest to this award were a 
Horace Vernet of Messrs. Prior & Sons of Colchester, and a La France 
of Messrs. Dickson & Sons of Newtownards. It is a remarkable fact in 
connection with their positions with these respective flowers that on 
more than one occasion I have called special attention to the wonderful 
flowers of these two varieties which Messrs. Prior and Messrs. Dickson 
grow, also frequently show, and with them take first prizes. 
Messrs. Paul & Son’s exhibit was a very fine one, and I am pleased to 
be able also to give Mr. George Mount credit for staging a really fine 
seventy-two, one that in many years would have taken the premier 
position for the trophy—nevertheless, it seems a pity to be unplaced in 
a contest when the same flowers in the next class for forty-eight would 
probably have been about first or second. In trebles the same three 
winning competitors were again placed, and in the same order. In the 
class for forty-eight distinct varieties Messrs. Prior & Son of Colchester 
staged a very fine lot of flowers, and Mr. Burrell of Cambridge one not 
far inferior, Messrs. Cranston of Hereford being third, and Messrs. 
Jefferies of Cirencester a close fourth. The most noteworthy incident I 
can mention in the next class, for twenty-four varieties, was that those 
placed next to Mr. Mattock of Oxford, who was first, were two firms 
whose names are somewhat unfamiliar to me, but it is pleasant to see 
names of new competitors entering the field and winning prizes ; they 
were Messrs. Townsend & Son of Worcester, and Mr. Fletcher of 
Maidenhead. In twenty-four trebles the winners were Messrs. Prior, 
Messrs. Cooling of Bath, and Messrs. Harkness. We must wait till the 
Halifax meeting to see the last-named firm, and also Messrs. Dickson of 
Newtownards, Messrs. Merry weather, and other northern and Scotch 
firms competing in their best form, as they have suffered considerably 
from the frosts of January 5th, and May 20th and 21st. With the short 
statement that Messrs. Prince maintained their form of this year in 
Teas, and that amongst other successful competitors in that division were 
Messrs. Prior & Son, Mr. Mattock, Mr. Mount, and Mr. Burrell, I will 
here conclude my special remarks on the nurserymen’s reserved 
contests. 
The amateur contests were, as I have mentioned, large in number 
but poor in^ quality. To this general statement I, of course, can make 
some exceptions, but the amateurs’ Roses were decidedly inferior to 
those of the last year, whieh I remember as having been a fairly good 
one for Roses—namely 1892. In the absence of Mr. Lindsell the 
amateurs’ trophy seemed to be a very open contest, more especially as 
no one seemed quite to know how much Dr. Budd, of Bath, had 
suffered by the frosts which practically have shut out many from all 
competition this year, certainly up to the present, As the event 
resulted, it seems that the great Bath amateur has not suffered much 
injury, and his forty-eight was a good one, but not quite up to 
Dr. Budd’s very best form. In his box was found the best amateur’s 
H.P., viz.. Marguerite Boudet, a beautiful Rose sent out by Guillot in 
1888, in colour a very pale silvery lilac. I had never noticed this Rose 
prior to the Windsor show this year, when I saw a beautiful flower 
staged by Mr. Benjamin Cant. If it could be easily grown it would 
certainly be worth the attention of exhibitors, but I believe that it 
may disappoint purchasers, as I believe it is not a vigorous variety. 
Other competitors in the class for forty-eight were Walter Drew of 
Ledbury, Mr. Pemberton, and Mr. Foster Melliar. 
In the large amateur mixed classes, Mr. Haywood (gardener, C. J. 
Salter) showed well, as also did another exhibitor, whose name is 
unfamiliar to me—Mr. Thos Hobbs, of Exeter ; and Mr. Gurney Fowler, 
of South Woodford. In the restricted divisions (under 2000, 1000, and 
500), the palm was carried off hy Mr. Orpen, who won first place in 
every class he staged. I say advisedly he won first in every class, as he 
was most undoubtedly an easy first in the class for nine varieties, 
although placed second hy very erroneous judging (this opinion was 
universal). Mr. Orpen won the Harkness cup, as I anticipated he 
would many months ago. There is no amateur who grows the same 
number of plants (under 1000) who has the faintest chance against him 
when he is in his best form, as he was to-day. His box of twelve was 
the gem of the show, and worthy of the beautiful prize given by Messrs. 
Harkness, whose trophy, I may here say, seemed the admiration of a 
constant crowd around it at the Palace. Mr. Berners, of Harkstead 
Rectory, showed in very fine form, and this year he seems to be on most 
days absolutely invincible. He must be rapidly accumulating a large 
and valuable collection of silver plate ! Amongst the smaller growers, 
Mr. Rivers Langton, of Hendon ; Mr. Jeans, of Shorwell, Isle of Wight; 
Mr. Geo. Cook, of New Southgate ; and Mr. Buchanan, of Canterbury, 
were the principal winners. Mr. Foster-Melliar, of Ipswich, won the 
medal for the best Tea with Souvenir d’Elise, and also several other 
prizes; but the frosts have evidently crippled this great rosarian’s plants, 
as be is in nothing like bis form of 1893. 
The open classes for Roses of one variety were not very remarkable, 
but I would mention that Messrs. Dickson of Newtownards staged boxes 
of twelve of their flowers, Margaret Dickson and their new Rose 
Marchioness of Downshire (which was awarded the only gold medal 
this year) in the most splendid form ; also a box of La France, in which 
Rose no one excels them. It was in this latter hox that the best H.P. 
medal Rose was closely approached. Messrs. Burch of Peterborough, 
Messrs. Townsend of Worcester, and both the Messrs. Cant of Colchester 
showed fine flowers in the open classes. 
Garden Roses were tastefully arranged and well staged. The prin¬ 
cipal winners were Messrs. Paul & Son (on this occasion turning the 
tables on Messrs. Cooling of Bath), Mr. Cuthell of Dorking, who showed 
beautiful flowers, and of high class enough to defeat two of the profes¬ 
sional growers. Lord Penzance, Mr. Mattock, and Mrs. Orpen were also 
successful exhibitors of these varieties. 
The attendance at the Palace on Saturday was very large, and the 
meeting may be considered to have been a distinct success. I should 
not like to close my remarks without saying that Mr. Head and those 
responsible for the arrangements on this occasion are to be congratulated 
on the smooth way that everything was settled and seemed to work. 
The entrance for exhibitors on this occasion was in the central transept, 
a great boon to those weary with long previous journeys. The amateurs 
and professionals were distinctly divided, so that everybody’s course 
was made clear, and there was ample room for everyone’s comfort, this 
notwithstanding a competition so large that I am not surprised to hear 
it has closely approached the phenomenal entries staged in 1892.— 
Charles J. Grahame. 
Odontoglossum crispum zanothes. 
Reference has frequently been made in these columns to the 
rare forms of Odontoglossum crispum which Baron Schroder 
possesses, and amongst these must be placed that depicted in the 
illustration (fig. 5). A plant of this was exhibited at tbe Temple 
show in May last, and a first-class certificate was awarded for it 
by the Orchid Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society. 
The flowers are not unusually large, but present a chaste appear¬ 
ance, being white with the exception of a blotch of pale yellow on 
the lip. It is a charming form, and was admired by all who saw 
it at the exhibition. 
Messrs. Veitch’s “Manual op Orchidaceous Plants.” 
One of the greatest desiderata of horticultural literature, and 
one which has existed for a long series of years, has at last been 
supplied. By the publication of that masterly work, “ A Manual 
of Orchidaceous Plants Cultivated Under Glass in Great Britain,” 
Messrs. J. Yeitch & Sons have placed all Orchid growers under lasting 
obligations to them. The work consists of two handsome volumes, 
copiously illustrated by excellent woodcuts. The first volume 
embraces A General View of the Orchidese, Morphology of Orchid 
Flowers, Homologies of Orchid Flowers, Teratology of Orchids 
