THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN. 25, 1860. 
and Mr. Charles Sandford, from Haffield, near Ledbury, 
and now gardener to Theodore Thomassett, Esq., Church 
Hill, Walthamstow, Essex, had this the third running 
best prize for French Asters, and both lots were the finest 
ever seen in England. These are not named individually, 
but they must stand in so many distinct sorts. 
Hollyhocks. —Lady Taunton was the only spike of 
Hollyhock there—a fine rosy-salmon kind ; Lord Taunton 
being in single blooms, like all the rest of the collections, 
and of a dark Spanish-brown colour, both from Mr. Bragg, 
of Slough. But, of course, Mr. Chater, of Saffron Wal¬ 
den, took the best prize, as usual; he had capital good 
kinds. And now that the Hollyhock is decidedly a florist’s 
making, there is no need to see them in spikes, or to say 
anything about colour—two ideas of vulgar antiquity, 
and the last two of all the ideas which enter the head of 
a genuine modern florist. Any unearthy colour from the 
bottom of the sea, or the shade of anything you can buy 
in the Shambles, is as good as John Standish’s Gladiolus 
for a florist, provided all the other points are up to his 
mark. The best Hollyhocks by colours, therefore, are 
here given:—Sylvia (the best rose colour), Mary Ann 
(scarlet), Lucy (dark scarlet), Geant des Batailles (just 
like it), Black Knight (the same), Tyrian Prince (a red¬ 
dish-purple), Mrs. Chater (very large, full deep salmon 
colour). Verily the French nurseryesses have not the 
monopoly of getting their names to the best flowers. 
We got into the fashion without the treaty, and you will 
say so when you see Mrs. Standish Gladiolus, and Mrs. 
Chater Hollyhock. The next best is Harriett (a light 
purple), Prince Charlie (lilacy purple), and Neptune, just 
to show you the meaning of an unearthly colour, and when 
we come to that it is time to stop : the rest, but not half 
the exhibitors of Hollyhocks or any other class, will be 
found in the prize list. 
Feuit. —The fruit was sufficient for a taste to the 
thousands who visited the Show ; and to say that the 
Pines were better than the Grapes, or that the Grapes 
exceeded Peaches and Nectarines, or that either could 
vie with Apples, Pears, and Melons. The greatest im¬ 
provement was in the latter; and why so, was because 
there was a greater proportion than usual of very small 
Melons. Very large Melons, like very large Apples 
and Pears, are only fit to dish up for a certain class of 
consumers. 
Altogether the fruit was not so thoroughly ripe as it is 
sent to the tables of the high nobility; but one reason 
is, that fruit from a distance could not bear the carriage 
if it were dead ripe. As most people expect more about 
flowers from me than fine desserts, I do not dive into the 
merits of ordinary dessert fruit, only to new kinds—as 
Snow’s Muscat Hamburgh, for which Messrs. A. Hender¬ 
son & Co. offered five guineas and three guineas prizes ; 
and the Buckland Sweetwater, from Messrs. Ivery & Son, 
of Dorking ; but I generally look to see what Her Majesty 
and the Duchess of Sutherland get for their collections, 
knowing how particular the two desserts must be when 
the best foot is foremost. Her Majesty did not exhibit this 
time; but Her Grace was first in the class of six dishes 
to a dessert, and second in that of the eight dishes, be¬ 
sides extras : and you will see below with whom the 
Duchess of Sutherland had to compete; also, that Mr. 
A. Henderson, instead of Mr. Fleming, is now at the head 
of the dessert table. 
The collection of six dishes consisted of remarkably 
fine Black Hamburghs, large white Tokay, a green-fleshed 
Melon, Chancellor and Barrinton Peaches, and Trentham 
green-flesh Melon. In the eight-dishes collection were a 
flne Queen Pine, Muscat of Alexandria and Black Ham¬ 
burgh Grapes, Barrington and Noblesse Peaches (very 
fine), Violette Hative Nectarine (ditto), Trentham green- 
flesh Melon and Cherries. And in the odds and ends 
Mr. Henderson exhibited twelve kinds of Grapes, for 
which an extra prize was awarded, and also for a collection 
of Cherries. 
The five-guinea Muscat Hamburgh was won by Mr. 
Bristow, gardener to G. Orme, Esq., Broodwater, Sussex, 
with three handsome middle-sized bunches, not dead ripe. 
The three-guinea prize went to Mr. Kay, a great fruit¬ 
grower at Finchley. This was a close run; but riper 
bunches of this kind, from a pot plant grown by Mr. 
Snow himself, were exhibited; and three bunches of it, 
twice the size of the London ones, came up from Wales, 
from Mr. Maher, gardener to Sir It. W. Bulkeley, Bart., 
M.P.. Baron Hill, Beaumaris. These I tasted, knowing 
the Welsh and Scotch would never differ about a few 
Blackberries, and I found it as highly flavoured as Mr. 
Drewet does the Alexandrian Muscat for Mrs. Cubitt ; 
but good judges who tasted both the Welsh and English 
growth said the latter were not quite so museaty. This 
Muscat Hamburgh is in the first class of useful Grapes, 
and as easy to do as a common Hamburgh. 
The Buckland Sweetwater, from Messrs. Ivery, of 
Dorking, I tasted before; and here it was again from a 
cool Camellia-house where plants are set constantly, but 
the bunches were as large and as well set as any Ham¬ 
burgh ; and a sample from a riper bunch, showing that 
this Sweetwater turns amber colour when dead ripe, which 
none of the other Sweet waters ever do to the same 
degree. 
There was a curious example of a Peach growing at the 
extremity of a fruit-shoot, without a wood, bud, or leaf 
before it. This was from Paris, but the thing is not so 
rare as our Paris friend supposed. And I must mention 
the black Grapes from Mr. Spary, of Brighton—all the 
go at the Shows. People know these as the blackest of 
all black Grapes ; but I mention them for a very different 
purpose. Mr. Spary has invented a Garibaldi sort of 
furaieator, to drive the mildew from the Grapes and Vines 
by invading their quarters with sulphur and something 
else, which he mixes, and kills the mildew with it. The 
bunches exhibited the process very distinctly. 
D. Beaton. 
FLOWERS. 
DAHLIAS. 
Class 1.—50 Blooms, dissimilar varieties.— First, C. Turner, Royal 
Nurseries, Slough, Berks. Second, J. Keynes, Salisbury. Third, J. Har¬ 
rison, Nursery, Darlington. Extra prize, H. Legge, Edmonton; G. 
Edward, King Street, York. 
Class 2.-24 Blooms, dissimilar varieties. —First, C. Turner. Second, J. 
Keynes. Third. H. May, the Hope Nurseries, near Bedale, Yorkshire. 
Fourth, G. Edward, King Street. York. Fifth, J. Sealey, St. George, 
near Bristol. Sixth, T. Baylis, Birches’ Barn, Wolverhampton. 
Class 3.—12 Fancies, dissimilar varieties. —First, C. Turner. Second, 
J. Keynes. Third, G. Edward. Fourth, H. Legge. 
Class 4.—(Amateurs only) 21 Blooms, dissimilar varieties. —First, W. 
Dodds, Salisbury. Second J. Cook, 4. Rosedale Terrace, Notting Hill. 
Third, C. ,T. Perry, the Cedars, Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham. 
Fourth, I. Davis, High Street, Peckham. Fifth, H. Thonneycroft, Fioore. 
Sixth, R. Pryor, gardener to J. Malcolmson, Esq., Campdeu Hill, Ken¬ 
sington. 
Class 5.—-(Amateurs only) 12 Blooms dissimilar varieties. —First, W. 
Corp, Castle Street, Salisbury. Second, W. Dodds. Third, T. Hobbs, 
Lower Easton, near Bristol. ' Fourth, J. Cook. Fifth, J. Lofley, Brigg, 
Lincolnshire. Sixth, R. Hopkins. Brentford. Seventh, T. Dickinson, 
gardener to B. J. Edwards, Esq., nilperton, Trowbridge. Extra prize, T. 
Goodwin, Holgate, York; E. Howe, Mulberry Tree, Bromley; C. J. 
Perry; J. Shadden, Ash, near Sandwich. 
Class 6.—(Amateurs only) 12 Fancies, dissimilar varieties. —First, W. 
Dodds. Second, C. J. Perry. Third, W. Corp. Fourth, T. Goodwin. 
SEEDLINGS. 
Class 7.— Three blooms of each variety. — Certificates of merit were 
awarded to the following Mr. Thomas Dickenson, gardener to B. J. 
Edwards, Esq., Hilperton, for “Beauty of Hilpertou;” Mr. Wm. Dodds, 
Salisbury, for “ Andrew Dodds;” Mr John Keynes, Salisbury, for “ Master¬ 
piece;” Mr. George Rawlings, 21, Globe Road, Bethnal Green, for “Joy;” 
Mr. Charles Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough, for “ Princess of Prussia.” 
ASTERS. 
Class 8.—24 German Asters, dissimilar, single blooms (quilled).—First, 
R. H. Betteridge, Milton Hall, near Steventon, Berks. Second, T. West¬ 
brook, Abingdon, Berks. Third W. Molyneux, Nuneham, Oxfordshire. 
Class 9.—24 French Asters, dissimilar, single blooms (tasselled).—First, 
C. Sandford, gardener to Theodore Thomassett, Esq., Church Hill, Wal¬ 
thamstow, Essex. Second, J. Scowen, gardener to W. Cotesworth, Esq., 
Walthamstow. Third, R. H. Betteridge. 
ROSES. 
Class 10.—36 Roses, distinct varieties, three. trusses of each —First, 
Messrs. A. Paul & Son, Nurseries, Cheshunt, Herts. Second, J. Kevnes. 
Third, E. P. Francis, Nurseries, Hertford. 
Class 11.—24 Roses, distinct varieties, single blooms. —First, J. Keynes. 
Second, R. Laing, Nurseries, Twickenham. Third, Messrs. A. Paul ami 
Son. 
