July 10, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
707 
NEW CLEMATIS, 
“BEAUTY OF WORCESTER,” 
R ICHARD SMITH & Co. are now book¬ 
ing orders for this charming novelty for delivery 
in September. For description and figure see Garden¬ 
ing World, July 3rd. Price, 5s. each. 
“ Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man.”— Bacon. 
Special quotation to the Trade on application. 
Sts Jolta’s woiCESfES, 
UPTON’S PLOTSfortheGARDEN & GREENHOUSE 
Now Ready at the following Low Prices for Cash. 
20,000 Cyclamen persicum, excellent strain, Is. per doz. ; 5s. 
3 ooo Surplus Stock of Palms in 3-in. pots, clean and healthy, in 
’ four best varieties, 2s. 6ti. per doz.; 16s. per 100. 
Primulas, finest fringed white and coppery scarlet, and semi- 
double white and red; ready shortly. Each.of the above, 
Is. 3d. per dozen. ... , , 
Cinerarias, warranted from a prize strain, splendid. Is. 6a. doz. 
Gloxinias, strong seedlings, including all the splendid varieties, 
2s. 6d. per doz. 
Ferns in four varieties for greenhouse, 2s. 6a. per doz. 
Asters, finest strain or white, separate, 2s. 6<Z. per 100 ; Golden 
Feather, 2s. 6d. per 100 ; Lobelia, dwarf blue, 2s. 6a. per 
100 ■ Verbenas, choicest hybrids, Is. per doz.; Stocks, best 
double strain, 2s. 6 cl. per 100 ; Aoeratum, Imperial Dwarf, 
double blue, special'offer, 9d. per doz., 4s. per 100; Single 
Dahlias, from prize flowers, strong. Is. 6 d. per doz.; Ever¬ 
lasting Flowers, finest strain, 9 d. per doz.; Sweet Sultan, 
fine mixed, 9d. per doz.; African Marigold, fine mixed, 9d. 
per doz.. 
All post free, except Palms, those sent by rail. 
D. C. UPTON & SONS, Florists and Seedsmen, Irlam, near 
Manchester. 
ANEMONES, Sc. 
HOME 
THE BEST STRAIN OF ANEMONES EXTANT. 
GROWN ROOTS. 
For evidence of quality and prices send at once for 
B Gl LBERT’S Catalogue of Bulbs, Plants, &c., for Autumn 
Planting. Post free. Address:— 
&BSKOKE NTmSBSKES, S7EE BOTJBKB* 
LINCOLNSHIRE. 
GEO. COOLING & SONS 
MAKE A SPECIALITY OF 
I@SE:i 1M POT^ 
and have a large collection, now ready for sending out, including 
aU leading 
HYBRID PERPETUAL VARIETIES (10s. 6d. per dozen). 
TEA-SCENTED (16s. per dozen). 
CLIMBING VARIETIES, extra strong (16s. per dozen). 
NEW ROSES. 
HER MAJESTY, and all latest introductions. 
SINGLE ROSES FAIRY OR MINIATURE ROSES. 
OLD-FASHIONED ROSES, &c. 
All strong plants, suitable for pot culture or planting out. 
Descriptive priced list post free. 
GEO. COOLING & SONS, 
THE NURSERIES, BATH. 
FLOWER SHOWS. 
OSE SHOW AT MANCHESTER, 
JULY 17. 
For Schedules apply to the undersigned, 
BRUCE FINDLAY. 
Royal Botanical Gardens, Manchester. 
Wilts Horticultural Society. 
S alisbury show, on july 29th, 1886. 
Division A, Open. 
12 Stove and Greenhouse-flowering Plants. First Prize, £15. 
12 Variegated and Fine Foliage Stove and Greenhouse Plants. 
First Prize, £13. 
Division H. 
Gentlemen's Gardeners and Amateurs. £15 in Prizes for Roses. 
Schedules may be had on application to 
W. H. WILLIAMS, 
The Nurseries, Salisbury'. Hon. Sec. 
OYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 
SOUTH KENSINGTON, S.W. 
NOTICE !—COMMITTEE MEETINGS, Fruit and Floral, at 11 
a.m., in the Conservatory ; Scientific at 1 p m., in the Lindley 
Librarv, on Tuesday next, July- 13th. 
' SHOW OF FLOWERS AND FRUIT. 
N.B.—Open to Fellows at Twelve o’clock, and the Public at 
One o’clock. 
CONTENTS. 
PAGE 
Amateurs’ Garden. 711 
Begonias, double-flowering 708 
Blackberry, Wilson, jun... 715 
Boiler Contest, Liverpool.. 708 
Campanula glomerata da- 
hurica . 715 
Car of Flowers, a . 710 
Chrysanthemum Culture.. 709 
Cottage Gardening. 708 
Cucumber, Prince of Wales 715 
Dianthus neglectus . 715 
Disqualification. 716 
Distinct. 711 
Flowers, long-stalked _ 712 
Fruits, crystalized. 710 
Gardeners’ Calendar. 716 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevo¬ 
lent Institution. 714 
PAGE 
Humea elegans . 715 
National Rose Show. 717 
Obituary . 718 
Orchid-growers’ Calendar.. 716 
Orchid portraits. 716 
Pancratium caribaeum .... 708 
Peas, early . 715 
Pyre thrums, double & single 714 
Roses, garden. 712 
Roses, yellow. 715 
Scottish Gardening . 710 
Shepperton Hort. Society.. 717 
Sherwood, Mr. N. N. 712 
Table Decorations. 712 
Utricularias. 714 
Vanilla, the . 715 
| Viola Greavei . 715 
1 Window plants . 715 
SATURDAY, JULY 10, 1886. 
Flower Shows. — It has, perhaps, occurred 
already to many horticultural committees that 
the hard-and-fast rule adopted by them in 
fixing their summer shows from year to year to 
fall at exactly the same date, or thereabouts, is 
a rule which takes no account of the varying 
seasons ; and too many are finding this year 
that whilst the shows are here, the products 
are far from being ready. It is well worth 
asking whether, relatively to season, the first of 
July is not at least a fortnight earlier than it 
used to he, or (to put the matter obversely) the 
season is a fortnight later. Shows are being 
held in all directions just now, and in the Metro¬ 
politan district literally crowding one another 
injuriously. But last week three shows were 
held in successive days, in practically three 
adjoining parishes, causing a strain upon ex¬ 
hibitors and the public that is neither desirable 
or -wholesome. Even during the present week 
we see first-class suburban shows like Richmond 
and Ealing disastrously arranged to fall upon 
the same day, just because, it would seem, there 
is but one day in the week—viz., Wednesday— 
upon which shows can he held. 
We have profound belief in the principle of 
Home Rule, as applied to horticultural societies ; 
but it does seem as if some sort of federation 
were needed in populous localities, by the aid 
of which fixtures should he arranged which 
would not seriously conflict. It may be that, 
anxious to catch the Rose season, for instance, 
there is undue anxiety to have shows just at 
one particular period ; hut this year the Rose 
season is decidedly late. A pessimist writer of 
a leader in a daily paper, the other day, drew a 
terrible, dolorous picture of the prospects of the 
Rose season; but that aspect is hardly war¬ 
ranted, and long sentences about insect pests, 
falling buds, cold nights, and other ills no doubt 
served their purpose in helping out a column of 
nonsense. Really, the Rose season is not a bad 
one, hut it is late; hence those flower show 
committees who have fixed their dates so early 
have reckoned without their season, and find 
poor results after all. 
In more rural districts, where so much is not 
sacrificed to the queen of flowers, and shows are 
held in the month of August, we invariably 
find better fruit and vegetables, with compen¬ 
sation for the absence of Roses in the presence 
of Gladioli, Stocks, Asters, Dahlias, and flowers 
which, if of less aristocratic flavour, yet are 
very popular with the masses, who, after all, 
constitute the hack-hone of flower show sup¬ 
port. Why so much should he sacrificed in the 
fruit and vegetable departments for the sake of 
Roses it is hard to say. Given a special Rose 
exhibition, and, of course, these flowers, as at 
South Kensington on Tuesday last, constitute the 
chief if not the only feature. There, of course, 
nil the finest blooms of the season are to be 
found, if just then they can he secured, whilst 
the exhibits at local shows are usually second- 
rate. If it were possible to obtain some of the 
very best flowers, a little sacrifice might well be 
made in other directions occasionally ; hut even 
then it would be unfair to make that sacrifice 
too often. Without doubt, there are few 
elements in gardening which merit more en¬ 
couragement than fruits and vegetables ; there¬ 
fore, some effort should he made to give these 
every consideration. 
We specially find cottagers suffering from 
these early shows, for prizes are offered for their 
garden produce so early as the end of June and 
beginning of July, with the result that crops are 
injured, gardens ransacked, and exceeding harm 
done to the future welfare of the garden to 
obtain what is, after all, miserably imperfect 
samples, and are little less than a farce. This 
result is specially evidenced this year owing to 
the backward condition of the season, for all of 
which the hard and fast rule in fixing shows 
make no allowance. We would suggest that 
societies should not only endeavour to come to 
some arrangement as to the non-clashing of 
neighbouring shows, but still farther alternate 
their shows, so that they may come a little 
earlier one year and rather late the other, say, 
at intervals of three weeks, or even a month; 
thus it would be possible to prevent local col¬ 
lisions, and also to embrace locally a much 
larger variety of garden material than is now 
seen at shows. It is an undoubted evil that 
year after year the same style of plants and 
other produce are shown, not only because 
gardeners and exhibitors generally get into the 
rut of cultivation, but also because to the general 
public there is annual monotony and sameness. 
Local shows, when held at just the same dates 
from year to year, are almost sure to he hut re¬ 
plicates of each other; hence visitors soon become 
satiated, and walk the shows with a sense of 
langour and of indifference. Exhibition com¬ 
mittees should strive not only to obtain diverse 
sites for their shows yearly, hut also such diver¬ 
sity in the dates as should enable variety to he 
introduced, such as is not possible when just one 
season is constantly adhered to. We are not 
without hope, too, that the inane practice of in¬ 
viting speeches at the informal luncheon, usually 
given to the judges after their labours are over, is 
dying out. A man may be an admirable judge 
hut a deplorable speaker ; hence the prospect of 
being called upon to say something in response to 
the health of the judges is productive to him of 
silent misery, until the ordeal is past. There 
the most trivial and stereotyped things are 
usually uttered, because judges k now that they 
are always expected to say something compli¬ 
mentary, and, therefore, too often untrue. The 
luncheon after the work is done should always 
he of a purely sociable nature, devoid of all 
formality, and calculated to make those par¬ 
taking of it feel at ease. 
-- 
GARDENING MISCELLANY. 
Meeting’s for next week. — Tuesday: Meeting 
of Fruit and Floral Committee, at South Kensington.— 
Diss Horticultural Society’s Show. Wednesday: Flower 
Shows at Hull (three days) ; Bristol and Bedford. 
Saturday : Rose Show in the Botanical Gardens at Old 
Trafford, Manchester. 
The Birmingham Gardeners’ Mutual Im¬ 
provement Society. —A library has just been 
opened by this new society, which has been in existence 
about four months, and of which Mr. W. B. Latham, 
Curator of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, is the 
chairman. There are now 200 members, and already 
lectures on gardening subjects have been given, hut 
the desirability of forming a librar)' was so evident, 
that Mr. J. Hughes, the secretary, made an appeal to 
the mayor and other gentlemen of the town, and the 
sum of £60 was very soon forthcoming. Of this sum 
£40 has already been expended in gardening works, 
and fully fifty volumes have been presented to the 
society. A large book case has been procured, and an 
active librarian, Mr. J. Crook, has been appointed, and 
a goodly number of volumes have been already applied 
for. The autumn and Yvinter season will be devoted 
to essays, discussions and lectures. By paying an 
annual subscription of £5 5s. to the Birmingham 
Botanical and Horticultural Society, special privileges 
of admission to the members of the Gardeners’ Society, 
