22G 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
August 
concise that we now publish them entire; for, concise 
as they are, yet they embody all that are desirable 
for regulating such institutions. 
1 . All objects intended for competition must be at the place of ex¬ 
hibition before eleven o’clock. 
2. Every exhibiter should send with his plants a list, showing in 
which number on the list of prizes they are to be classed for 
competition, and also cards properly filled up according to the 
designation given in the printed list. All plants should be 
neatly and distinctly labelled with the correct names; and the 
name of each plant exhibited in the Collections of Heaths, 
Azaleas, and Greenhouse Plants, should also be stated upon 
the list accompanying the plants. 
N.B. Exhibiters can obtain forms for lists and cards from the 
Treasurer or Secretary. 
3 . No plant is to be exhibited that has been less than three months 
in the possession of the exhibiter, unless raised from seed by 
such exhibiter, which fact must be stated on the list he fur¬ 
nishes. 
N.B. Any infringement of this Rule will disqualify a Member. 
4. No flower to be exhibited as a Seedling which has not been 
raised from seed by the exhibiter, and such seedling must 
never have been shown before at this Society. 
5. Plants which are classed for a distinct Prize are excluded from 
Stove or Greenhouse Collections, excepting azaleas and heaths. 
6 . Vegetables must be divested of outside leaves and unnecessary 
stalks, and weight will be considered only when combined 
with quality. 
7 . No exhibiter can receive two Prizes in one Class. 
8 . No plant can be entitled to a Prize, either singly or in collection, 
that is not in bloom, nor can the same plant receive two Prizes 
in one season. 
9 . The Judges may recommend to the Council any object which 
they may deem worthy of a Prize, whether named in the list 
or not. 
10. In the event of the Judges not deeming any article exhibited 
worthy of a first Prize, they may award a second or third, or 
reject it altogether; and, upon their recommendation, the 
Committee may give additional Prizes in each class according 
to the number of exhibiters. 
11. Any person questioning the decision of the Judges shall not be 
permitted to exhibit in future. 
12. The Society’s vans will fetch and return the plants, &c., of any 
exhibiter within three miles of the place of exhibition, pro¬ 
vided three days’ previous notice of the amount of van room 
required be sent to the Secretary ; and those plants which 
are conveyed to the grounds first in the morning will be first 
returned in the evening. 
These rules speak for themselves, and being ad¬ 
hered to scrupulously, and without any favouritism, 
admit of no murmuring. The 12th rule is applicable 
only to a neighbourhood like Stamford Hill, where 
the population is large, and the exhibiters numerous, 
within a short distance of the show ground. 
The classification of prizes adopted by this society, 
we recommend emphatically for adoption by other so¬ 
cieties. There are prizes for orchidaceous and miscel¬ 
laneous collections of hardy, greenhouse, and stove 
plants, hut the predominant feature of the society’s 
list of rewards halving distinct prizes for collections 
of one kind of plant. Thus geraniums, calceolarias, 
cinerarias, cacti, azaleas, heaths, verbenas, roses, 
auriculas, pansies, achimenes, gloxinias, fuchsias, 
annuals in pots, hardy perennials, balsams, pinks, 
ranunculuses, iris blooms, lilium lancifolium, cocks¬ 
combs, carnations, picotees, dahlias, China asters, 
and French marigolds, have all separate prizes. The 
consequence of this is obviously an increase of the 
number of exhibiters, for there are hundreds of ama¬ 
teurs who have only the requisite convenience for 
cultivating one kind of flower, who excel in its cul¬ 
tivation, and who would gladly enter the lists if, as 
at Stamford Hill, they had a fitting opportunity and 
encouragement. That such is the result, was demon¬ 
strated at the meeting on the 18th of July, for we 
never before saw such a rich gathering of admirably 
grown achimenes and gloxinias as were then dis¬ 
played. The first and second prizes for these were 
gained by Joseph Oldham, Esq., of Stamford Hill, 
and R. Dawson, Esq., of Tottenham; and, for the 
information of our readers, we will enumerate the 
flowers in their collections. Of achimenes, there were 
patens, grandiflora, longiflora, cocciuea superba, 
picta, venusta, Lipmanii, and pedunculate. Of glox¬ 
inias, maxima, cartonii, Priestleyana, cerina, albo- 
sanguinea, and Menziana. 
Another good feature of this society’s prizes is, 
that they are offered for small collections, in no class 
more than six specimens being admissible, except 
in the miscellaneous collections, and even in these 
the plants are restricted to twelve. This, also, tends 
to increase the number of competitors, one of the 
great objects for all such societies to aim at; and 
the absolute declaration of the number, neither more 
nor less, which must be exhibited, is another point 
worthy of all imitation. Some societies are indefi¬ 
nite upon this point, wording their prize terms thus, 
“ in collections of not less than twelve,” the conse¬ 
quence of which is, that though it is generally un¬ 
derstood that twelve is the number to be exhibited, 
yet some large grower occasionally wishes to exhibit 
a much larger number, and disputes are the unsatis¬ 
factory consequence. 
The prizes of the Stamford Hill Society are not 
large—varying between twenty and five shillings ; 
yet that these are quite sufficiently liberal is evinced 
by the richness of its exhibitions, and the conse¬ 
quent brilliance of the attendance. On the day in 
question there were about 1700 tickets of admission 
issued—each member being entitled to three : more 
than 1200 of these were delivered at the entrance; 
and, as some were for the admission of more than 
one person, we are not far wrong if we guess that 
there were 1500 visitors. The grounds in which the 
meeting was held added to the attraction. The exten¬ 
sive view from them is unsurpassed by any so closely 
in the vicinity of London ; the conservatory, on 
which we shall have more to say in a future 
Number, is most tasteful; and the fernery, under 
the good management of Mr. Wilson’s eldest son, is 
a model which deserves imitation. 
We do not remember in any year to have heard so 
many complaints of the failures of plants as in the 
present. Pansies have died off’ in dozens, newly- 
planted trees have failed, and young greenhouse 
plants, generally, have suffered. Very much of this 
destruction has arisen from a neglect of timely sup¬ 
ply of water during the excessive drought ol July; 
but some of the ruin seems to have been unavoid¬ 
able, for a master of horticulture writes thus to us:— 
“ It may be some consolation to amateurs to know 
that the best gardeners have suffered much this sea- 
