THE gardening world. 
July 10, 1886. 
ns 
--- 
keeping the beds and designs in shape by pinching thfe 
strongest growths. With carpet-beds this is particularly 
important, as they soon get rough and untidy in appear¬ 
ance if not constantly attended to. Lawns also need 
supplies of water while the weather continues so dry, 
or they will become brown and scorched to such an 
extent, that they will not recover the whole of the 
season. A fresh green lawn is an important part of the 
garden, and it is worth some trouble to keep it in good 
condition. Hose piping, fitted with a rose, and con¬ 
nected with the water supply, is a very convenient 
mode of watering lawns and flower beds, the evening 
being the best time for the operation. In any case 
give the soil a good soaking, as a mere surface-wetting 
is useless, as the water is evaporated before it can reach 
the roots and benefit the plants. — Scolytus. 
-- 
LONG-STALKED FLOWERS. 
That “everybody knows his own business best” is 
a saying in some form in all countries and in all lan¬ 
guages ; and so I suppose the statement must have truth 
for a basis, so far as its general application goes. We 
must, therefore, take it for granted that the growers of 
plants for cut flowers know well what they are about, 
and that the large number of short-stalked flowers sent 
into the market are sent to meet the demand for them. 
Notwithstanding this supposition, I am decidedly of 
opinion that they only get sold at all in consequence 
of the scarcity of flowers with long stems, and, indeed, 
the impossibility of procuring such at all in the market 
at times. For my own part I would sooner give double 
the pi ice for long-stalked than I would for short-stemmed 
flowers. I cannot help thinking that it would be easy 
to give a certain portion of the cut-flower supply of 
most things with greater length of stem than we now 
have them, and that flowers sent to market are often 
wantonly cut so short as to greatly diminish their effec¬ 
tiveness when used, while only leaving on the plant 
the useless portion of stalk, which would add so much 
to the value of the flowers. Generally speaking, so far 
as the greater beauty of tall flowers goes, especially 
when mounted in large rooms, there can be no doubt. 
I take for example eight or ten good blooms of Roses, 
with plenty of wood and leaves, or three or four spikes 
of Gladiolus, with their own leaves, or two or three 
heads of Lilium candidum, 18 ins. or so in height, 
arranged in a va9e with a spray of Copper Beech and a 
twiner of Ivy. These, and many other such things, 
are lovely objects when cut with long stalks, and any¬ 
one can arrange them, which is not the case with the 
short flowers one usually buys, and which require 
skilful arrangement in order to make them look nice ; 
indeed, some are so short that they are of no use for a 
vase of any importance. I think if some of our market 
growers were to take the hint, and try to let us have 
longer stems to our flowers, such of them as tried it 
would find the extra price given for them remu¬ 
nerative. 
For my part I would sooner see a vase with various 
foliage on long sprays, such as Lime, Birch, Copper 
Beech, Maple, Willow, &c., than I would a squat 
arrangement of short-stemmed flowers. Elegant sprays 
of foliage from our hardy trees and shrubs are fine for 
indoor decoration, especially in town houses. —M A 
Carnb. 
-—— - 
TABLE DECORATIONS. 
The mode and materials for table decorations are end¬ 
less, the former depending a great deal on the size of the 
table, the style and magnitude of the room, and acces¬ 
sories, such as chandeliers, the nature of the plate, and 
the style of the ornaments to be used for the time. 
For instance, combinations of groups of plants may 
have to be used, or a lighter style of arrangement with 
cut flowers, or both combined. Sometimes a massive 
style could be most effective, in which vases of fruit 
might be introduced in company with plants ; in fact, 
the modes of arrangements which one’s ingenuity might 
suggest are endless, and the decorator who has an eye 
to business will have little difficulty in introducing 
fresh character, if he has anything like a stock of 
materials to work upon. Decoration of any sort is a 
matter of taste, there is no specific rule for its accomplish¬ 
ment , it changes like the commoner fashions of the 
day, though we hope it is not as unstable as con- 
tempory fashion in other branches. 
From a gardener’s point of view, any style that does 
not represent nature is not right. Probably we are all 
rdther prone to dogmatise—to follow in the wake of 
some “guiding light,” who indicates the way of his 
own choice. Natural decoration is a comprehensive 
study. We have nature represented in many different 
phases, still it is nature. We imitate it after a fashion, 
we trim it, as it were, or we do the opposite, in the 
same way as we train a plant that would look better 
untrained. 
Much has been written on table decoration, and the 
tendency has been to confine it in one groove, admitting 
no plant? but such as have slender stems with the 
foliage elevated above the line of sight, as in Palms, 
the ground work being flat. For instance, tracery of 
flowers and foliage laid on the table cloth, so that the 
view all over the table may be as little interrupted as 
possible. Now, an uninterrupted view all over the 
table is not always desirable—in fact we believe that it 
is very often desirable, and very much facilitates dinner 
table intercourse, as in cases where the company is 
large, and, may be, to some extent socially and 
mentally grouped. This involves the use of very varied 
materials and arrangement. Table decoration is like 
flower-gardening a matter individual taste. It is 
fashionable to decorate the dinner table with plants 
and flowers : but how these are to be disposed on each 
individual table is at the will of the decorator for the 
time being. The taste may lie in the way of light and 
graceful decoration, or it may be in a grand and massive 
style. Each is appropriate in its place, and each may 
be carried out with faultless taste ; for we must insist 
that a style which might be pronounced massive, or 
even heavy, may be so tastefully done as to be a 
complete success. We think that a hard and fast rule 
cannot be laid down as to what is good and bad taste 
in table decoration. The size of the table must always 
decide the extent and style of the decoration. If 
simply a round table fit to dine, say, six or eight 
individuals, a single central plant, vase or epergne may 
only be admissable, with a few baskets or glasses of 
small size for plants or flowers to fill up ; or if of 
sufficient length and width to dine thirty or forty, 
much more scope is given for the exercise of detailed 
arrangements ; but taste is as much wanted with the 
small as the large table. 
On the putting up of cut flowers it is useless to make 
suggestions, as their arrangement depends not only on 
the quantity and quality of material available, but also 
the individual taste of the decorator. We may, however, 
remark that the fewer colours that are introduced into 
any arrangement, the more simple the task of arranging 
them tastefully. It is not altogether the amount of 
material employed which makes the choicest and pret¬ 
tiest display, but it is rather the art of trying to imitate 
nature to a certain degree, so as to produce that which 
by a proper blending of hues and tints, and with some 
regard to outlines, you may obtain that which may be 
fittingly described as an harmonious whole—light and 
graceful, and devoid of all stiffness and formality.— 
Indian Gardener. 
--- 
GARDEN ROSES. 
In the demand for exhibition Roses of large size, fine 
proportions, and rich colours, but often with very little 
fragrance, some of the most charming garden varieties 
are overlooked by many ardent admirers of the “ queen 
of flowers,” who would be only too glad to include 
some old favourites in their collections if they had 
made their acquaintance. These old Roses are, how¬ 
ever, neglected to an unreasonable extent, and it is 
only in a few places that we see the plants in good 
hands, yet some of the varieties are charming in the 
extreme. What, for instance, can equal the bright 
clear yellow of the Austrian Briar, Harrisoni ? We do 
not know any flower that equals this in its tint; it is 
lovely, and it flowers with such freedom that its blooms 
can be cut by hundreds. 
A lovely companion for it is the Austrian Copper, 
which in the brightness of the orange-red, beautifully- 
formed flowers stands as much unequalled as the yellow 
variety. When cut these flowers have a delightful 
appearance arranged in vases, and when upon the 
plants themselves they are similarly pleasing, the last- 
named remarkably so on a bright day, when the petals 
seem to possess something of a scarlet hue. The Scotch 
Roses, varieties of Rosa spinossissima, are lovely little 
gems, with neat flowers produced in great profusion ; 
some are double or semi-double, and others are nearly 
single, white, blush, pink, and bright rose. 
There are many named forms of these, but the foL 
lowing may be selected as distinct and pretty Mrs. 
Trotter, pale pink, larger than most of the others j 
Duchess of Bedford, bright rose-pink ; Gil Bias, white 
or blush ; Mrs. Stirling, very blight pink, a lovely 
variety ; the double white, a very useful Rose ; and 
Stanwell Perpetual, blush, medium size, and free. All 
these should be grown much more generally than is the 
case at present, and they should have a place in every 
garden where Roses thrive.— B. D. 
-->X<—- 
MR. N. N. SHERWOOD. 
Advantage is taken of the occurrence, last -week, of 
the forty-third annual festival of the Gardeners’ Royal 
Benevolent Institution, to give a portrait of the chair¬ 
man on that occasion—N. N. Sherwood, Esq., the 
head of the firm of Messrs. Hurst k Son, Seed 
Merchants, 152, Houndsditch, E.C., and formerly of 
6, Leadenhall Street, E.C. In requesting that Mr. 
Sherwood would occupy the position of chairman on 
this occasion, the committee of the society did honour 
to the seed industry of the country, through the 
Houndsditch firm ; for its position in the commercial 
world, and the high esteem in which it is held in all 
parts of the country, as well as in our Colonies, 
America, and the Continent, justifies us in placing it 
at the head of the London seed trade. 
The firm of Hurst and McMullen was first established 
in the year 1842, and it commenced business on the 
1st of June in that year, at 6, Leadenhall Street. The 
late Mr. William Hurst, senr., and the late Mr. 
William McMullen, held positions of trust in the house 
of Messrs. Warner & Warner, seedsmen, of 28, Cornhill, 
City, a very old firm, and at that time the leading 
house in the trade. Mr. Hurst’s father was a nursery¬ 
man at Pontefract, and Mr. Warner having met young 
Hurst when a lad, and seeing in him capacities for 
business, invited him to London, and entering Warner’s 
firm, he soon made advancement, and with Mr. 
McMullen, ultimately became travellers. Both having 
been the means of considerably extending the business 
of the firm, thought themselves justified in asking for 
an interest in the business, but their joint request 
being refused, they resolved to go into business on their 
own account ; this they did in 1842, as above stated. 
We have seen the first cash book of the firm, for 
1843-4-5, an ordinary memorandum book, suggestive of 
the modest manner in which the new house transacted 
business, but which, in a few years, began to assume 
large proportions. 
In 1861, Mr. McMullen retired from the firm, having 
no son to succeed him, he doubtless thought he might 
retire, content with the success that had rewarded the 
exertions of himself and his partner. Mr. Hurst then 
took into partnership his son, William, and the firm 
became known as Hurst' & Son, the designation by 
which the house is still known. 
It was about 1865 that Mr. Sherwood came into the 
firm, being then a lad. He was articled to an engineer, 
but his health not being very robust, and having 
attracted the notice of Mr. Hurst, sen., he was invited 
by him to enter the house, which he did. Here, 
by an earnest and assiduous attention to business, he 
made rapid headway, and soon attained an interest 
in the house. About thirteen years ago he married the ■ 
youngest daughter of Mr. Hurst, who died in 1883—a 
year after the death of her brother, Mr. Hurst, jun.— 
leaving a daughter and two sons. The death of the 
latter led to Mr. Sherwood becoming the head of this 
important establishment. 
A few years ago the head-quarters of the business 
was removed from Leadenhall Street to 152, Houns- 
ditch ; but previous to this extensive warehouses in 
this place, and also at Aldgate, had been long estab¬ 
lished by the firm. 
At a comparatively early age, Mr. Sherwood finds 
himself the head of a large and increasing business, and 
by virtue of this position one of the most notable men 
in the London seed trade. The esteem in which he is 
held in the trade testifies to his personal character and 
business qualifications ; and from the highest to the 
lowest in the service of the firm he is regarded as a 
generous and kind employer, taking a warm interest in 
all that relates to their comfort, and looked up to by 
them with a measure of respect bordering close upon 
lively regard. It may be added that Mr. Sherwood is 
one of the trustees of the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent 
Institution, and that he has the gratification of know¬ 
ing that his occupancy of the chair, at the annual 
festival, resulted in a larger subscription list than has 
ever before been obtained. Mr. Sherwood takes such 
a lively interest in the management of the institution, 
that no greater compliment could have been paid him. 
