October 3. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER 
7 
King of the Beauties, Parkinson’s Seedling, and 
Farmer's Glory. Tlie last was exhibited in several 
dishes, perfect monsters in size, almost as large as half¬ 
quartern loaves. I have seen bread made up into two¬ 
penny twist screws, when the quartern loaf was about 
7d. or 8d., and two of these screws, a little flattened at 
the ends and placed together, their flat sides reposing 
on each other, would give an uninitiated person no bad 
idea of these Farmers Glorys; the chief objection to them 
•boing their prodigious size and the depth of the eyes, 
which would occasion considerable waste if paring was 
resorted to before cooking. I was informed that even 
at that size a considerable number was obtained from a 
root. 
Fruit was very respectable, on the whole. Good Pines 
were shown by Mr. Newman, gardener to William Selby 
Lowndes, Esq , and first-rate Dutch Hamburgh Grapes, 
and very fine common Hamburghs, came from the same 
gardener; also very good Hamburghs from Mr. Scott, 
gardener to Mr. Whittlcbury. But 1 must leave par¬ 
ticularising other articles to the county papers. Plums, 
Cherries, Apples, and Pears, were in good condition; 
Peaches, Melons, &c., very fair. 
Flowers. —There were some excellent stove and green¬ 
house plants exhibited by Mr. Jeyes, in the nursery¬ 
man's class; and a collection of twelve Fuchias came 
from Mr. Perkins. Among these Clio, a neat, compact 
thing, with reflexod blush sepals, and deep pink corolla; 
Queen of JIanover, whitish reflexed sepals, pinkish petals, 
stiff and firm in habit, the foliage rather large; Tren- 
tham, a very desirable variety ; sepals half reflexed, 
sprigging themselves out with a very coquctish air; 
nearly allied in habit to the John Falstaff and Globosa 
Perfecta. The others were chiefly well-known good 
kinds. Duke of Wellington was shown separately. It 
is a neat, desirable reflexod kind, but not equal, in our 
opinion, to !Trentham. We noticed it at the July show, 
but it has not quite gained a flamiug character. The 
same gentlemen showed Roses and Hollyhocks, in which 
they were alternately first and second. The Hollyhocks 
wero shown in single blooms, a system far inferior to 
exhibiting them in spikes. Mr. Jayes had blooms of the 
best sorts out. I regretted to perceive that neither 
gentleman sent any large or small evergreens in pots. 
The chief attraction were the Dahlias, and considering 
the season, they wore well grown. Mr. James Holliday 
was first for 24th, first for 2-1 open to all England, and 
a fair share of firsts for the singlo specimens, in separate 
classes, as also first in Fancies, closely followed in all 
these by Mr. Archer, auother keen grower, and, 1 be- j 
lieve, dealer, aud well beat up to by Mr. Mackio, 
gardener at Delaprc. Room prevents my recording the 
winning flowers, but chiefly established favourites, or, : 
what might be more interesting, if space had been per¬ 
mitted, a half-earnest, half-bantering discussion between 
Messrs. Jeyes and Holliday, at the dinner-table, about j 
showing plants aud flowers in a natural, opposed to an 
artificial state, aud a more quiet, though not less earnest 
colloquy botween Messrs. Mackio and Holliday, as to 
pruning, feeding, watering, cleaning, and shading the 
Dahlia. Matters upon which I am sure either of these 
gentlemen could give enthusiastic amateurs much in¬ 
formation. 
Mr. Mackio walked the course with Lilies, and in 
return, Mr. Gardener was first with stove aud green¬ 
house plants, and first with Fuchsias. His plants were 
young, neat, and compact, trained to a single stem, aud 
from three tc four feet in height, and well arranged, a 
light and dark going in pairs. They were— Nonsuch, 
England’s Glory, Pearl of England, Sir John Falstqff, 
Glory, Diadem, One in the Bing, and Kossuth. Mr. 
Mackie’s wero equally well arranged, but the plants were 
older. 
Baskets of cut-flowers were shown in good perfection. 
The first prize was obtained by one where the greatest 
attempt had been made in contrasting the colours in 
lines. Several very neat devices in cut-flowers were 
exhibited. Among others, a flower-garden, by Mr. 
Barber, the walks being formed of Marigolds, it was 
well balanced and arranged as respects colouring, only 
there was no yellow in it, the Marigolds being brown. 
This had a first prize. And another device had an 
equal first prize, which looked very nicely, though the 
flowers were very simple. The devieo was a clock-face. 
The large central part of the dial was made up of double 
Camomile - flowers; round this there was a row of 
Mountain Ash berries; then, from two to three inches 
wide of the Ageratum Mexicanum; then, another row 
of Mountain Ash berries; then, a row of Camomile- 
flowers; finished by a row of dark, double Groundsel, 
i The hands were nicely moulded, and artistic, consisting, 
i [ think, of a yellowish Solidayo, or Aaron’s rod (all of 
which are so strong in the autumn), edged with a 
' feathering of the Ageratum. The date, 1854, in the 
centro part of the dial, was done in the same way; and 
the figures for the hours were of the Solidago, on the 
blue-lilac ground between the two rows of berries. 
Altogether, the show was a most interesting one, and 
the only complaints I heard wero, that the visitors, 
though numerous, were not nearly so plentiful as they 
ought to have been. This boing a subject that affects 
many other places besides Northampton, I may allude 
to the subject again. In the meantime, the first part of 
this letter may supply one point;—the having the shows 
out-of-doors, such as in a geutlemau’s park or garden, 
might supply another; as people tire of going to see 
flowers in rooms, and our own experience leads us to 
believe that no, or very little, injury would be occasioned 
thereby to any demesne, on a favourable day. In a town, 
too, whore there are so many other things to attract the 
attention, public gardens, at no great distance, soirees, 
concerts, lectures, exhibitions, &c., might it not be de¬ 
sirable to lessen the number of flower shows from three, 
or rather five, into two; and upon auother principle, that 
union is strength, to get the whole craft and fancy of 
the neighbourhood united in one strong effective society. 
These would all answer, so far as professional objects are 
concerned, if heartily adopted, but to carry out, to its 
possible efficiency, the cottage-gardening part of the 
question, and to give an impetus to the whole affair, the 
titled and wealthy must come forward more liberally 
than they have yet done in most places; aud, in doing 
so, I shall bo much deceived, if the money so spent will 
not prove the truest economy. No society can attempt 
much and feel safe, in a financial point of view, if, in 
making the yearly arrangements, they have not, from 
subscriptions and other sources, funds in hand to meet 
contingencies, without calculating at all upon visitor's 
entrance money. That should go with the subscriptions 
for a following year. R. Fish. 
EGGLESTON HALL, 
The Seat of W. Pilkington, Esq.- > 
I visited this place, last J uly, to see auother example 
of Mr. Ewing’s Glass-walls. I expected to find this 
superior either to the one at Badorgau, or that in the 
Horticultural Gardeus at Chiswick, aud for this reason, 
that the owner is the principal in the large Glass-works 
at St. Helens, in Lancashire; the place where my friend, 
Mr. Erriugton, had the cloches from, that he writes 
about in a former number of The Cottage Gardener. 
(Very likely, many of our readers wonder what cloches, a 
French name, are; in truth, they ai - o neither more nor | 
less than large bell-glasses with a knob on the top.) 
Ecclestou Hall is about two miles from St. Helens, 
