274 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
fepi(m'3(r 20, lS9i. 
those impurities on the soil would not volatilise but remain upon the 
surface. I did not say nor imply that those elements and compounds 
which would volatilise under the temperature that was vaporising water 
would not pass off, neither did I imply, as Mr. Gilmour defines my 
meaning (page 218, top part of second column), “the water passed off 
in vapour and left everything behind.” “ Everything ” would not be 
there. What of ammonia and the gases and the thousand and one 
things Mr. Gilmour would have fumed over? I never said that water 
filling a bucket at normal temperature and pressure is rarefied water, 
but after it becomes higher in temperature and greater in bulk it is 
rarefied water. There is another condition under which rarefied water is 
produced, that is, the condensation of vapour into a condition that is 
neither vapour nor water, but is identical with clouds, steam, and mist 
only existing in the soil; by concentration or condensation it becomes 
water, or by becoming more rarefied it again passes into vapour. The 
Encyclopaedia gives this definition of rarefication, “ By means of 
rarefication water is made to possess more room or appear of greater bulk 
without any accession of any new matter.” 
Another matter 1 may venture to deal with (second paragraph, 
page 218). I have never stated that the intermediate state in which 
water existed between liquid and vapour was produced direct from water, 
but have all along stated that the intermediate state spoken of by me 
was produced by the partly condensed vapour. The process of absorbing 
water from damp air, known as hygroscopicity, and the partial and total 
condensation of vapour present in the soil by the soil, should be known by 
Mr. Gilmour. Water exists as a liquid either at its normal temperature, 
also as a liquid when it has become rarefied until it passes into vapour. 
After passing into vapour it is capable of being again condensed either 
into an intermediate state or liquid water. There are, therefore, three 
conditions in which water exists. Mr. Gilmour evidently confuses 
rarefied water as used by me with vapour. Vapour is rarefied water, 
but rarefied water is not necessarily vapour. If this is not plain 
enough, I must ask Mr. Gilmour to study Nature’s book for proofs. 
As regards Mr. Gilmour’s remarks, page 218, paragraphs 3 and 4, I 
shall pass them as an obvious perversion of what was stated. In the 
next paragraph Mr. Gilmour thinks he hits me in a vulnerable spot. 
Plants do imbibe moisture as it is in the process of evaporation, the roots 
being cooler than the moisture or the vapour they can and do condense 
it into liquid, and assimilate it with any food that may be present. I 
will ask the readers to understand I did not say that vapour was imbibed, 
but that the moisture existing in the soil, and had become so rarefied 
that it was just passing into vapour it was condensed by the roots and 
imbibed. “ Wonderful, Mr. Bishop,” is the terms used by Mr. Gilmour. 
It would have been wonderful if he could not have made something out 
of it. Here I stated that (1) roots imbibe moisture in the process 
of evaporation by condensing it into liquid ; (2) that roots also 
imbibed water. Wonderful, Mr. Gilmour. You have not made me 
contradict myself yet, only by perversion. 
In the next paragraph Mr. Gilmour gives me the victory, only he 
thinks that betwixt the cup and the lip I may lose it, and he asks me to 
answer eight questions specially constructed to answer his own purpose, 
and to try to win the victory, ignoring the fact that they do not honestly 
treat upon what was said, but as Mr. Gilmour wants authorities to 
either confirm his side or mine, I will give some in a future issue. For 
these 1 hope he may be able to wait. Premature onslaughts do not 
indicate good generalship.—G. A. Bishop. 
POTATOES. 
The Peoposed National Potato Show. 
I HAVE already received so many promises of support for the 
proposed National Potato show that, having the sanction of the Crystal 
Palace authorities to hold a meeting for the purpose in the Board Boom, 
I venture to invite not only my correspondents, but all others interested, 
to meet in the Board Room at four o’clock on Saturday, September 29th, 
the first day of the Great Fruit show. One esteemed gardener urges 
that vegetables should be included with Potatoes. With that opinion 
I have great sympathy, and a special National Exhibition of Vegetables, 
with Potatoes for the primary feature, would, I think, command very 
wide support indeed. It would form at once a most worthy and splendid 
addition to the National Fruit show. — Alex. Dean, 62, Richmond 
Road, Kingston-on-Thames. 
[A complete exhibition of vegetables such as is suggested, with 
Potatoes as a prominent feature, would equal the fruit show in magni¬ 
tude, interest, and general usefulness. We hope our correspondent will 
have a large and successful meeting at the Crystal Palace, and that either 
a special Committee will be formed or a sub-Committee nominated from 
the Fruit and Vegetable Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society 
for carrying out the project.] 
New Vaeieties at Chiswick. 
A SPECIAL meeting of the Fruit and Vegetable Committee of the 
Royal Horticultural Society was held at Chiswick on the 18th inst. 
Present—Mr. J. Smith (in the chair), W. Bates, G. Wythes, J. Willard, 
J. Laing, J, Hudson, and A. Dean, with Mr. Barron. Potatoes ' 
constituted the special object of the meeting. Of these there were 
found over sixty varieties, all new. Of this number one-half were 
more or less diseased, some very much so; and some others exhibited 
in crop and form no special merit. The general cultivation had been 
excellent, but the soil at Chiswick seems specially to favour disease 
development in the tubers. Eventually after seeing several roots of 
each sort lifted, some of them giving not only wonderful crops but 
also very free from disease, the following were, because of remarkable 
productiveness and excellent appearance, selected for the further 
test of cooking Stoke’s Seedling, white round, very robust grower, 
tremendous cropper, and very little disease ; Daniels’ Special, good 
crop, white pebble-like round, very clean ; Boston Bountiful (Johnson), 
long white Magnum Bonum-like kidney, very heavy crop, quite 
free from disease ; Poor Man’s Friend (Eaton), huge white kidney¬ 
shaped tubers, an immense crop, very clean; Field King (Howard), 
long flattish white, again a huge crop, fairly clean, strong top. Each 
of these received three marks after being cooked. The following, 
whilst giving fine crops and samples, did not pass the cooking 
test satisfactorily, though fairly good :—Pride of Oxford (Wiles), 
long flattish round, white, clean, and very free ; Prosperous (Moss), 
white round, very handsome, great cropper, but had some disease; 
Duchess of York (Wiles), long flattish white round, late, very strong 
grower, no disease; Wood’s Favourite, long flattish white kidney, 
evidently early ; and Rushcliffe Beauty (Richards), another huge 
cropper, very robust, and free from disease. Tubers very long and flat, 
and the biggest sample raised. Some varieties were all tops and root 
strings. It is a pity, through lack of space, many of the best old sorts 
cannot be grown for comparison also. 
RIPENED WOOD. 
“ Sceptic’s ” continual refrain, “ Tread on the tail of me coat if ye 
dare,” implies that he would like someone to give him a lead, so that he 
might have the opportunity to indulge in a triumphant war dance set 
to the tune of “ Lillibulero.” If we are to take his audacity seriously, 
as the aggressive party attacking what is accepted as an invulnerable 
principle of the horticulturist’s creed, instead of his present style of 
superficial reasoning, let him advance something in support of bis 
scepticism, and he then need have no fear of meeting “ foemen worthy of 
his unripened sprig of a shillalah.” Until he does so every gardener 
who knows anything of plant physiology as affected by solar influences 
must take it for granted that “ Sceptic ” is either playing a part, or that 
lunar influences have as much effect on his fancies as have solar 
influences on the ripening of wood. 
If “ Sceptic ” wants a convincing proof of his false position let him read 
the digest of Mr. Pettigrew’s lecture (page 253, end of second paragraph), 
as follows ;—“ In 1879 the fruit did not ripen, the rainfall of the year 
being upwards of 44 inches. With one year’s failure such as that, 
meant,” said Mr. Pettigrew, “ another failure the following year, for if 
the fruit cannot ripen neither can the wood, and without ripe wood 
there can be no Grapes for wine-making.” If “Sceptic” cannot 
assimilate the lesson taught by the above text let him prove that Mr. 
Pettigrew is an incompetent because his unripened wood produced no 
Grapes.— Azoto. 
Cattleya gigas Countess of Derby. 
This extremely handsome Cattleya was shown at the Drill 
Hall, Westminster, on the 11th inst. by Mr. Johnson, gardener to 
Thomas Statter, Esq., Stand Hall, Manchester. The flowers of 
this variety are large and of the most perfect form, the sepals and 
petals being of the most delicate creamy white, while the lip was 
broad, with a clear yellow throat veined with rich purplish crimson. 
The outer extremity of the lip was a rich velvety purple crimson 
of exceptional depth. Our illustration (fig. 40) admirably dep cts 
this super!) variety, which was deservedly accorded a first-class 
certificate. 
Barkerias. 
This is a small genus of epiphytal Orchids, with slender fusi¬ 
form pseudo-bulbs somewhat resembling certain species of 
Epidendrum. That they are difficult to grow cannot be denied, 
but if a little more care was brought to bear on their culture they 
would be oftener seen in good condition. A frequent cause of 
failure with these interesting Orchids is leaving the flowers on 
