208 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 1 
“ Provincial Horticultural Societies would do well to 
consider, that when making out their schedules of 
prizes, they should lose sight altogether of persons, and 
neighbouring gardens and collections, and frame their 
rules to meet general stocks. The bane of pi'ovincial 
shows, and we have one London show much after the 
same plan, is the attempt to make prizes for particular 
persons. Hence, it is as common as A B C, to find one- 
third of the prizes run away with by persons unopposed, 
and with plants scarcely worth the room they occupy on 
the table. 
“ There should always be more prizes for the collections 
of plants, because everybody would compete somehow; 
and the prizes for specimens should be unlimited in 
number, because the judges ought to be able to award 
something to all well-grown specimens, and everybody 
who had a remarkable plant would show it; while under 
the chilling announcement of one or two prizes only, 
none but a leading man or two will try for it. The 
Leamington Spa people never had such a show of 
specimens since, as they had when the judges were at 
liberty to award prizes to every specimen of merit, and 
if part of the money that is squandered at shows 
among subjects of neither use nor ornament, were de¬ 
voted to the encouragement of specimen plants, every¬ 
body who had a scarce, or rare, or large plant, that 
would help a show, would be sure to produce it. 
“ Again. Those plants which cost nothing, yet 
exhibit the skill of the gardener, are generally very 
much neglected. Balsams, Cockscombs, and Hydran¬ 
geas, and hardy annuals in pots, are never properly en¬ 
couraged, because, if only two or three prizes are given, 
only two or three who have ample means will try for 
them; so that instead of having a dozen competitors, 
which there might be, there are frequently but two or 
three unopposed, who, knowing they are unopposed, 
make no effort to do more than just entitle themselves 
to the prize, whilst at the same time we find such trum¬ 
pery things as Marigolds shown in dozens of boxes, 
when one cottager’s bed, that he would sell for a 
shilling, would fill every table in the room ; and among 
other positive difficulties, is that of deciding which 
box of blooms contains the most bad ones or good 
ones, and a lottery for the prizes would be as good as 
the very best judges, except, perhaps, so far as one or 
two of the best collections may go. Beyond these, it is 
all nonsense to give anything, because there is nothing 
to deserve it. 
“ In a neighbourhood where there are, perhaps, two 
people who have stoves, prizes are given for stove 
plants, and generally they are discreditable; whereas, 
! if they were obliged to compete in a class of the best 
twelve plants of any kind, they would be afraid to put 
up half then’ stove plants, because they would be beaten 
by greenhouse specimens. 
“Where florists’ flowers are exhibited, there should be 
numerous prizes, and the gradations of all prizes, from 
the highest down to the low r est, should be very small, 
because there is seldom a great difference in the quality, 
and men should be taught to value rank more than 
amount. Class showing should be adopted, wherever it j 
is practicable, because a flower then stands on its own 
merit; whereas, in collections, bad ones counteract good 
ones, and it is quite possible to have some better flowers 
in the losing stand, than the best in a winning one, 
because the bad ones disqualify them. Exceptions may 
be made, because collections are so effective, but men 
must not grumble at being placed low if they have a 
bad flower. A dead flower will condem eleven good 
ones, unless the societies establish a rule that the stands 
which have the greatest number of good flowers shall win, 
without any reference to the bad ones. In drawing a 
schedule for a public show, it must be considered :— 
“‘What plants, flowers, or subjects, produce the 
greatest effect, and deserve most encouragement. 
“ ‘ What prizes encourage the greatest number of ex¬ 
hibitors, and therefore increase the show. 
“ ‘What prizes will most advance the interest of the 
science among all classes. 
“ ‘ No respect must be paid to A. B. C. or D., who 
have particular things to show.’ 
“ Cottagers should be encouraged with many prizes, 
for really useful vegetables, but certainly not for flowers. 
Their taste for these will make them grow all they 
need; but potatoes, onions, cabbages, carrots, parsnips, 
lettuces, savoys, red cabbages, &c., are food, and cannot 
be too much cultivated. 
“ In our visits, as judge, to forty exhibitions last sum¬ 
mer, it was often a subject of regret, to see ten or a 
dozen baskets of magnificient potatoes go unrewarded, 
when half-a-dozen trumpery Pinks—over which the 
grower had wasted more time than would be required 
by a rod of cabbages—had a prize. Nobody likes better 
than we do to see a cottage-garden neat and well 
stocked with flow r ers, as well as vegetables, but no 
friend of a poor man could wish him to waste time on 
the extra care of floivers to show. There may be a 
difference of opinion, but we have determined that we 
will not judge cottagers flowers, although we should be 
delighted to add three or four prizes to each class of the 
useful vegetables. We view in the same light the waste 
of prizes for fruit grown by cottagers, because they 
never go to the poorest, nor to the most industrious, but 
to him who happens to have trees ready to his hand. 
We would liberally reward the industrious cultivator of 
what affords comfort to a family, but though for his 
own fancy he may grow luxuries, we would never bribe 
him to it.” 
GARDENING GOSSIP. 
We hear that Mr. Fortune is writing another book on 
China and the Chinese. He experienced no difficulty 
whatever in procuring as many plants of the tea shrubs 
as he could safely remove, for the East India Company. 
The Chinese have hitherto entertained the idea that they 
are so far in advance of all the nations of the earth in the 
arts of civilized life, that they scout the idea of any competi¬ 
tion in the trade in tea, and those of them with whom Mr. 
Fortune had to deal about his consignment, no doubt 
thought him a barbarian indeed, but we must not anticipate 
his own version of these transactions further than to remark 
