i'EBRUARY 3. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
347 
Hydrangea Japonicai 
Potonia Moutan; «'i fine planti 
Clematis azurea grandiflora. 
,, liorida. 
a yt pleno. 
)} yt bicolor. 
ft montana. 
viticella pleno. 
,, or Atragyne Sibcrica. 
Caprifoliuin fiexuusum. 
,, gratuin. 
Escallonia rubra. 
macrantha. 
Passifiora cccrulea. 
Arundinaria falcata ; a fine plant. 
Buddlea Lindleyana; this fiowers finely here. 
('eanothus loevigatus. 
Statice Bickensonii. 
hlyrtus communis; narrow and broad-leaved varieties do well here. 
Veronica Lindleyana; a fine plant, with abundance of bloom at 
this time. 
it speciosa; one of the tenderest upon the wall. 
Abutilon striatum ; this has been out some years, and flowers 
tolerably well every year. Growing very rampantly it requires more room 
than we can spare it. 
Deutzia scabra. 
Weigela rosea. 
Siphocampylos bicolor; this dies down to the ground every year, 
and rises again the year following, like a willow, tour or five feet in 
height, and flowers very freely. 
Pittosporum Tobira ; this flowers very beautifully here. 
Aloysia citriodora; this is cut down yearly to the ground, and puts 
up again very vigorously. 
Daphne Dauphinii; this is a very fine specimen, and is a most 
desirable plant to have under a wall. 
llobinia hispida. 
Chimonanthus fragrans. 
Wistaria sinensis, often called Wistaria consequana. This is a very 
handsome specimen, only allowed to occupy a breadth of three or four 
feet of the upper part of the wall. All the lower shoots have always been 
cut away, making room for other plants to be trained under its branches 
upon the wall, which extend about ninety-five feet in length. 
Punica granatum. 
Olea Europiea. 
Lycium Europseum. 
Roses.— We liave nothing in this way in particular; at 
any rate, nothing new. A nice plant of the old single 
Macartney liosa hnwleata does well, and liowers freely, and 
continues in succession for some time. Maria Leoiiada, 
Scarlet Ureville, Jaune Desprez, La Marque, Ruga, Devoni- 
eusis, Highclere Seedling, the double White Moss, Yellow 
Ranksiau, and a few others. 
I’ucusiAs.— Ricartonii is about the best of all for a wall 
out-of-doors, being the strongest grower, one of the hardiest, 
a profuse bloomer, and the best colour. Tlie old virgata is 
still here, and is one of the next "best for out-door growth. 
Griicilis multijlora is a pretty free-blooming plant. Tlie old 
glohosa is here too. Youngii grandiflora also does well here. 
Among the newer sorts which have found their way here of 
late years, Kppsii, Exouiensis, Cavatina, the Silver Globe, 
Rose tiuinlle, and Bianca. Tiie last-mentioned is the best 
as a free grower and a I'ree bloomer.—T. Weaver, Gardener 
to the il'urden of Winehestcr College. 
DEALERS AS JUDGES. 
Tjiie following letter is written to you as expressing tlie 
I sentiments of many of your subscribers and readers; and 
I though it is conceived that you may not deem it advisable 
to publish it, they are not without hope that you may he 
willing to consider carefully both sides of each questiou ro- 
[ ferred to; upon which it has boon thought by some that the 
I tone of your paper has lately assumed a character not likely 
I to increase the number of your friends. I purpose, in the 
I present letter, to touch upon the question of having dealers 
I among the judges at poultry shows, and, as connected there¬ 
with, your remarks on the recent Metropolitan Poultry 
Show. 
[So far from being unwillhig to publish this letter, wo do 
so most readily, for our only object is the attainment of 
truth, it is the invariable consequence of criticism, even 
though having only that object, that it gives pain to some 
one; and it must often occur that the person pained is not 
sulliciently muster of himself to avoid resenting as personal 
an en([uiry which, being only to establish a general prin¬ 
ciple, ho should rather aid in carrying forward to a con¬ 
clusion. Persons so pained, and acting thus mistakenly, 
are not well qualified to judge of the tone of the criticism ; 
and from then' judgment we appeal, and fearlessly appeal, 
to the oirinion of every unbiassed reader; and we sball, 
indeed, be surprised, if any one sentence can be pointed 
out, for wliich wo are responsible, that is either excessively 
severe, or in any degree discourteous.] 
First, then, as to dealers being judges. It is urged, that 
they must feel a bias iu favour of specimens with which, in 
the course of their dealings, they have become acquainted, 
and, therefore, that the public must object to dealers being 
judges. Now I would observe, that no charge is made, or 
even hinted at, against any dealer on the score of bias ; and, 
therefore, it is clear that your remarks are only directed 
against the possibility of evil; and I would venture to assert 
that bias of a ditferent kind has not only been suspected, 
but bas been openly complained of, in the case of some 
judges, who were not dealers. I will not enter into a dis- 
I ciission whether Mr. Sturgeon, Mr. Punchard, and many 
other gentlemen, are not as much dealers, in one sense, as 
! Mr. Baily, hut tliis I broadly assert, that a system was be¬ 
coming established which has, thanks to Ylr. iJixon and 
others, been broken through, which threatened much more 
serious detriment to poultry shows than any other drawback, 
• viz., to consider the types of Messrs. Sturgeon’s and Mr. 
Puuchard’s specimens as the standards of perfection, irre- 
I spective of any defects they might present. 
This contracted view injimed the public taste; it detracted 
also from tlie value that ought to be placed on the decision 
of parties considered competent to be judges, and, until this 
last Birmingham c.xliibition, threatened to undermine the 
wish of the public to be taught fairly and honestly, by the 
decision of competent parties, what were fair standards of 
excellence. Believe me. Sir, the objection was much more 
i strongly felt, that if A B G 1) E or E happened to be 
judges. Sturgeon was sure to have a host of prizes because 
I each of the judges had formed then- notions of excellence 
I solely from their intimate acquaintance with Mr. S.’s birds, 
specimens of which were the pride of their yards, they 
themselves being on intimate terms of friendship with Mr. 
Stiu’geou; the objection, I say, was, and is much more 
strongly felt against this system, than against the one you 
condemn. I am in intimate association with many of the 
Sturgeonites, and loud and deep were their complaints that 
Mr. S. did not, at the last show, as before, gain all the 
I prizes; and yet 1 have made enquiry among unbiassed 
i persons who have seen all the best birds in England, and 1 
cannot doubt the decisions at Birmmgham were strictly 
fair. In fact, the determination shown to make an example 
of all persons whose specimens had been trimmed has 
been of the greatest service. 
[It is quite time that wc have never brought any charge 
against Mr. Baily, nor against any other dealer, of being 
guilty of dishonesty in his decision, and that for the best of 
all reasons—we have never had any proof of such dis¬ 
honesty brought to our notice. AVhen such proof is pro¬ 
duced, whoever the dishonest decision sliall be in favour of 
will find no favouritism in om’ criticism. That bias can 
exist—nay, does exist—among judges, is admitted by our 
correspondent; and then comes the question — Are not 
dealers even more liable than others to be so influenced ? 
'W hether the form of Ylr. yturgeon’s Shanghacs are. superior 
to any hitherto exhibited, is a matter of opinion ; but, pro¬ 
bably, our correspondent will not dissent from the judges’ 
award at Birmingham, which gave to Mr. Sturgeon’s adult 
birds the first prize. The determination to disqualify all 
. birds which liave been trimmed—that is, had featliers 
plucked from them to render any part of them more in 
accordance with any desired form—has our unqualified 
approbation. A bird should be shown perfectly unmutilatcd ; 
and any one who trims his birds has no more just title to a 
prize than the tlorist who cuts out offending petals. The 
skill is shewn in growing them of a right form; not in 
clipping them to it.] ' 
And now, as to the dealer iiuestion. I tliink you cannot 
seriously believe that any dealer can inlluencc two or three 
gentlemcir of education and character in any improper 
way. Such a supposition is monstrous; and I can only 
imagine a person believing such a thing, who would himself, 
if ho had the opportunity, endeavour to use his iiiiiueuce 
unfau'ly. On the other hand, the presence of a man like 
