^ 320 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 4, IBM. 
Mr. Horace C Lloyd, one of the Vice-Presidenta, who had from the 
beginning been a warm supporter of the Society, 
- The Olive Oil Industry. —A correspondent writes:— 
Apropos of the remarks on the above subject (page 248) the following 
extract may interest your readers :—“ The making of oil is by no means 
such an important industry on the Riviera as it is in Italy, which is by 
far the greatest Olive-producing country in the world. The Olive 
harvest in the Southern States of Italy commences in October ; but in 
Tuscany and the north the fruit is still being pressed in April, and even 
later. For the very best qualities of oil the fruit must all be carefully 
gathered by hand, but for the rest it is allowed to fall from the trees 
from over-ripeness, or else is beaten to the ground with long slender 
sticks. On the hills near Nice and Monte Carlo the peasants first shake 
the Olives on to the grassy terraces, and then go down on their knees, 
and with the help of their wives and children pick up the purple berries 
one by one as fast as their fingers can work. It takes a whole afternoon 
to clear the ground under a well-laden tree. Now it is obvious that if 
they were to spread a few sheets on the ground before they began to 
beat the branches the work of gathering the fruit together would only 
occupy as much time as it takes to pick up the four corners of a sheet. 
To obtain the finest oil the fruit must be quite ripe, sound, and freshly 
gathered. If the Olives cannot be pressed immediately they are laid 
out on an upper floor, but on no account must they remain for more 
than twenty hours or so. The fruit, pulp, and stones together is then 
crushed in a mill, and afterwards the creamy substance is put into a 
bag of rushes and placed under the oil press. Clear cold water is poured 
in a steady stream into the presses to hasten the flow of oil, and the 
golden-green fluid, with a faint, disagreeable odour, is drawn off from 
time to time and bottled.” 
agitating for a reduction of the trophy number to thirty-six or to 
twenty-four. I entirely agree with “ E. M.’s ” letter (p. 269), which it may 
be rememberedjwas only directed against levelling down below thirty-six. 
That subscriptions are unpaid, as described by “ D., Beal ” (page 
250) is no doubt a very undesirable state of things. The best remedy, 
to my mind, is to use every possible persuasion to induce members to 
give orders to their bankers to make the payments at the right date 
every year. I do not consider myself particularly good at paying up, 
but having once given such an order I cannot help it, and am virtuous 
in spite of myself.—W. R. Raillem. 
Fashion in Roses, 
It can hardly be said in the present day that the motto of horticul¬ 
turists is “ Vetera extoUimus, recentium incuriosi," as many seem 
desirous to decry old flowers and to praise new productions. Certainly 
this fashion seems growing among some Rose growers. Without unduly 
extolling garden Roses at the expense of those flowers which are abso¬ 
lutely essential for exhibition, one can fully appreciate many introduc¬ 
tions of recent years, and none deserve greater praise than Mr. Turner’s 
Crimson Rambler and M. Guillot’s Laurette Messimy, When, however, 
a great authority on Roses goes out of his way by a public letter to 
depreciate such flowers as A. K. Williams, Horace Vernet, S. M. Rodo- 
canachi, Nadaillac, Cleopatra, and Souvenir d’Elise in order to appre¬ 
ciate (I think unduly) others of far less value, even as garden Roses, 
such as Charles Lawson, Ella Gordon, and Ulrich Brunner, I think 
that we, who are even but minor authorities on the question, should 
support W. R. Raillem (the most practical and experienced amateur I 
know) in his protests against this new doctrine in Rose culture. 
Not being in the trade I cannot, nor can W. R. Raillem or any 
amateur, tell what the relative demands of the general public may be 
for the various kinds of Roses, but I can tell my own experience. Being 
a member of the largest corporation in the world, I am in touch there 
with hundreds of amateurs who are interested in flowers. Without 
exaggeration, I may say I am asked fully a hundred times in the course 
of the summer and autumn to make out lists of varied numbers of the 
best Roses, but I am never asked for a list of garden Roses. I am 
always asked for “ the best Roses.” These amateurs do not care for 
single Roses. They can appreciate as fully as any of us who are 
exhibitors what a good Rose is, and their ideas of such a flower are far 
removed from single Roses, or from those Roses which are inferentially 
relegated to a lower position by the N.R.S. in being classed merely as 
garden Roses. 
There is no Rose which has given greater pleasure and satisfaction 
than the charming Viscouncess Folkestone, which I am surprised to see 
Mr. Wm. Paul has passed over. It is equal to almost every Rose he 
mentions and superior to most of them; in fact the only Rose as a 
general (garden and exhibition) favourite and useful variety which I 
would place as superior to it is La France, and that incomparable flower 
Mr, Williamson (page 299) with strange taste, calls inferior to Caroline 
Testout. I can and do admire Caroline Testout for colour, but as to any 
of its other qualities being equal or approaching La France I consider 
simply not worth argument. 
W. R. Raillem (page 299) has exposed the absurdity of calling 
Charles Lawson and Madame Plantier perpetuals, as they bloom once 
only, but he might have added that the Roses Mr. Wm. Paul somewhat 
decries, such as A. K, Williams, Horace Vernet, Xavier Olibo, S. M. 
Rodocanachi, and the Teas Nadaillac and Cleopatra, are amongst the 
most useful varieties both for exhibition and as Roses for cut flowers. 
S, M. Rodocanachi has been even unusually fine this autumn both in 
colour and abundance of bloom, and A. K. Williams is always one of 
the very best autumnals in floriferousness. I hope the day may long 
be distant when the best Roses, those truly which we alone use 
for exhibition, will be discarded even in part for so-called garden 
Roses, and as far as my knowledge goes that day is still remote.— 
Chaeles J. Geahame. 
THE PROPOSED NATIONAL VEGETABLE EXHIBITION. 
A well-attended meeting of persons interested in vegetable culture 
was held, by kind permission of the directors, in the Board Room of 
the Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon last for the purpose of con¬ 
sidering the advisability of organising a great national vegetable 
exhibition. Mr. Henry Balderson, F.R.H.S,, was voted to the chair, 
and, after a few preliminary remarks, he called upon Mr. A. Dean, 
the convener, to state his reasons for calling the meeting. 
Mr. Dean said that in the country great regret had been expressed 
that the old Potato shows formerly held at the Crystal Palace with so 
much eclat had collapsed, and it was much desired that an effort should 
be made to revive them. Being now quite neutral in regard to Potato 
interest, he had promised to promote that effort, and to organise Potato 
shows only was the original idea. However, as the proposition became 
known, a strong feeling was expressed in favour of the embodiment with 
Potatoes of other garden vegetables, and hence it had been thought 
desirable to make the original proposal more comprehensive. They 
found that the Royal Horticultural Society did at the Temple show and 
at its ordinary meetings offer flowers every possible encouragement, 
and they had that day seen fruit also widely and generously supported. 
No such fortune had ever come to vegetables, indeed at every show 
almost in the kingdom they had to take a back seat, coming in at the 
tail end of a schedule. In many places indeed not a prize would be 
offered for vegetables but for the liberality of the seed trade. That was 
not right, for whilst every gardener knew that to be without vegetables 
for a week would entail his dismissal, these products were the most 
reliable and profitable elements of the market trade, being always with 
us and always in season. They were always reliable, and in great 
demand as most important and healthful food products. In allotments, 
too, ve?etables were invariably the most important produce, whilst they 
constituted literally the backbone of the garden seed trade. As exhi¬ 
bition elements they were nearly always singularly attractive, very 
varied, and replete with exceeding interest. Apart from the attendance 
there that day not only had many letters from all directions been 
received, but large numbers of persons interested in the object of the 
meeting had expressed the warmest sympathy, and would have attended 
but for having to leave early. To hold a really grand show of 
vegetables would give to their wider culture great impetus and 
encouragement. 
Considerable discussion followed, and eventually a resolution expres¬ 
sive of a desire to hold a grand exhibition of Potatoes and other 
vegetables at the Crystal Palace next autumn was unanimously adopted. 
So also was a farther one in favour of the formation of a general 
Committee of a widely representative nature, and also an executive 
Committee. Still farther, yet another descriptive of the nature of the 
governing body, which should include representatives of the seed trade, 
market trade, gardeners, amateurs, allotment holders, and the horti¬ 
cultural press ; also the members of the executive Committee. 
Mr. Dean then read a list of seventy names of persons all over the 
kingdom proposed as members of the general Committee, and it was 
adopted, with instructions to the secretary to send each of these gentle¬ 
men a circular inviting them to consent to serve, and give the proposed 
exhibition every possible support. A small provisional Committee was 
appointed, comprising Messrs. R. Dean, G. Gordon, J. Hudson, J. Wright, 
B. Wynne, and G. Wythes, with Mr. Balderson as Treasurer, and Mr, 
A. Dean as Secretary to/t., to carry out preliminary arrangements, 
and meet on October 23fd next. 
