December 17, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
253 
National Chrysanthemum Society.— On Tuesday 
evening, the National Chrysanthemum Society held 
its annual dinner at Anderton’s Hotel, Fleet Street, 
about 120 members and supporters being present ; the 
president, E. Sanderson, Esq., occupied the chair, 
supported by Sir Guyer Hunter, M. P., the officers 
and committee of the society. The proceedings, though 
somewhat protracted, were thoroughly enthusiastic, 
and well sustained throughout. A spirited and 
thoroughly appreciated speech from the president, 
introduced the toast of the National Chrysanthemum 
Society ; and in response to the toast of the treasurer 
and hon. secretary, Mr. Starling drew attention to the 
reserve fund, which, he said, had been augmented only 
during the past year, by the sum of 10s., which he had 
given himself, and it now stood at about £70. He 
pointed out that so long as the Royal Aquarium Com¬ 
pany found them accommodation for the show, and 
made them such a handsome donation, they were 
financially pretty secure, but if this help were with¬ 
drawn, and they were dependent upon their own 
resources, he thought it would go hardly with them, 
and, therefore, he impressed upon the members the 
urgent necessity for a considerable increase in the 
reserve fund. Mr. W. Holmes, who received a most 
enthusiastic reception, in response to a toast, said that 
one evidence of the popularity of the society was the 
remarkable increase in the number of the members. 
Twelve months ago their number was 353, and they 
now numbered 497, an increase of 144 in the space of 
a year. The society had now been established forty odd 
years ; in 1878 they had fifty-five members, and an 
income of £84. This year their total income would 
reach a sum nearly equal to £700. At the great show 
at the Royal Aquarium there were 428 entries, and as 
many as 4,196 cut blooms were staged for competition. 
Although they were doing a great work, they hardly, 
however, achieved all that was set for the society to do. 
They would have to prepare and issue in the coming 
year a revised catalogue of the society, so rapidly did 
the varieties increase. The prestige of the society must 
be maintained, and every effort put forth to issue 
a prize fund for next year that would be worthy of the 
position of the society in the horticultural world. He 
also stated that the floral committee had held six 
meetings during the past year, that 370 new varieties 
of Chrysanthemums had been submitted for compe¬ 
tition, and forty Certificates of Merit awarded. The 
amount of prize money awarded at the November show 
was just over £278, with an additional £20 in the form 
of plate. Later in the evening Mr. R. Ballantine, the 
vice-president of the society, who had opened a sub¬ 
scription list in aid of the special prize fund, announced 
that it had realised the sum of £50. 
An excellent musical entertainment was added, and 
the usual complimentary toasts brought the proceedings 
to a close. __ 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
The Harpenden Horticultural. —This society 
held an Apple and Pear Congress in the British Schools 
in the village, on the 7th inst. The idea of holding 
a fruit congress originated with a member of the 
committee, Mr. Underwood, gardener to C. R. Fenwick, 
Esq., High Firs, Harpenden. The subject was taken 
up with great spirit by Mr. Willis, the able and 
energetic secretary, and other members of the com¬ 
mittee, the object being to discover, as far as possible, 
the most suitable varieties of Apples and Pears for the 
neighbourhood. In order to induce the inhabitants 
and neighbouring residents to bring collections, a small 
prize list was prepared, and the result was, that about 
180 dishes—chiefly Apples — were entered for com¬ 
petition, these being supplemented by some very fine 
collections by Messrs. Lane & Son, Berkhamstead ; 
Messrs. Cheal & Sons, Crawley ; a thoroughly repre¬ 
sentative collection of suitable varieties for the district 
from Mr. Norman, gardener to the Marquis of Salisbury, 
Hatfield House ; and smaller collections from J. 
Blundell Maple, Esq., M.P., Childwickbury (gardener, 
Mr. Nutting); C. R. Fenwick, Esq., High Firs 
(gardener, Mr. Underwood) ; and J. S. Hill, Esq., 
Hawkswick (gardener, Mr. Emptage), created a display 
which both surprised and gratified the visitors to the 
show. During the evening papers were read by Lieut- 
Col. Durnford, Rothampstead Lodge, Harpenden, Mr. 
R. Dean, Ealing ; Mr. J. Cheal, Lowfield Nurseries, 
Crawley, Sussex, and Mr. Emptage, The Gardens, 
Hawkswick, St. Albans. 
As far as we are aware, apart from the congress held 
by the Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick, the 
Harpenden Society is the first, south of the Tweed, 
that has considered it advisable to hold a fruit 
congress, but their example may well be followed by 
every society in the kingdom. The benefits accruing 
and information derived from such exhibitions must be 
very great. The British Isles are favoured with a 
climate eminently suited to the production of good 
hardy fruits, and at a time when almost everyone is 
asking, “What shall we plant to make our land re¬ 
munerative ? ” it would be well to consider deeply the 
question of fruit-growing for market. One of the great 
errors people fall into is to plant at random ; they see 
an Apple or Pear they admire, aud straightway a tree 
or trees are secured and planted without the question 
being asked, “Is the variety a suitable one for the 
district ? ” Even if the question is asked, there is 
often a difficulty in getting an answer. This danger of 
planting unsuitable varieties may be reduced to a 
minimum, if the horticultural societies of the kingdom 
will but follow the example set by that of Harpenden. 
The season was too far advanced to secure a good 
collection of Pears, but the display of Apples was all 
that could be desired. Messrs. Lane’s collection con¬ 
sisted of about ninety dishes of Apples, in which were 
fine samples of Lane’s Prince Albert. Two dishes of 
this variety were shown, the one from a standard, the 
other being grown on a wall ; the difference between 
the two dishes was most marked, many refusing to 
credit that they were the same variety. The standard 
produced splendid fruit for size, those from the wall 
being much finer in texture. Ribston Pippin, Peas- 
good’s Nonsuch, Baumann’s Red Reinette, Winter 
Quoining, and Cox’s Orange Pippin were very fine, 
and Worcester Pearmain was in good condition. 
Messrs. Cheal & Sons exhibited 100 dishes of Apples 
and Pears, the most noticeable being Winter Quoining 
King of the Pippins, The Queen, Beauty of Hants, 
Blenheim Orange (very fine), Cellini (in fine form), 
Hollandbury, and Peasgood’s Nonsuch. 
Amongst the Pears were very fine dishes of Beurre 
Clairgeau, Duchess d’Angouleme and Provost. The 
majority of the fruit in this collection was gathered 
from cordon trees. Mr. Norman put up twenty-four 
dishes of Apples and twelve of Pears, amongst which 
were fine fruits of the Apples Mere de Menage, Hoary 
Morning, Sturmer Pippin, Beauty of Kent, Brabant 
Bellefleur (very like Prince Albert), Gloria Mundi, 
Round Winter Nonsuch, and Nelson’s Codlin; of 
Pears, Gilogil, Uvedale’sSt. Germain, Nouveau Poiteau, 
Easter Beurre, General Todtleben, and Triomphe de 
Jodoigne. Mr. Nutting staged twenty dishes of Apples, 
the best being Margil, Blenheim Orange and Mere de 
Menage. Mr. Emptage showed eighteen dishes of 
Apples, comprising good samples of Sturmer Pippin, 
Cellini, Yorkshire Greening, Tower of Glamis, and 
Blenheim Orange. Mr. Underwood staged twenty-one 
dishes of Apples and Pears, his best fruits of the former 
being Bess Pool, Ribston Pippin, and Bedfordshire 
Foundling, and of the latter Uvedale’s St. Germain 
and Beurre Bose. Mr. Beckett, gardener to H. Hicks 
Gibbs, Esq., Aldenham House, staged two boxes of 
superb cut blooms of Chrysanthemums, White Ceres 
and Carew Underwood being especially fine. 
There were eleven classes provided for competitors, 
in those devoted to Apples the competition being very 
close. For six dishes of dessert Apples, distinct, Mr. 
Beckett was first with good samples of Fearn’s Pippin, 
Golden Russet, Cox’s Orange Pippin, King of the 
Pippins, Scarlet Reinette, and Claygate Pearmain. 
Mr. Nutting was a good second, showing King of the 
Pippins, Ribston Pippin, Blenheim Orange, Fearn’s 
Pippin, Court Pendu Plat, and Cox’s Orange Pippin. 
Mr. Tilbury, gardener to Mrs. Drake Garrard, Lamer 
Park, St. Albans, was third. For three dishes of 
dessert Apples Mr. Turk, gardener to P. Bosanquet, 
Esq., Berkhamsted, was first with Cox’s Orange Pippin, 
Blenheim Orange, and another unknown, Mr. Tanson, 
Redbourn, being second. For a single dish Mr. Turk 
was first with Cox’s Orange, Mr. Tanson second with 
Blenheim Orange, and Mr. Beckett third with Cox’s 
Orange Pippin. In the class for six dishes of culinary 
Apples there was a good competition, Mr. Beckett 
being first with Blenheim Orange, Mere de Menage, 
Hanwell Souring, Wellington, Prince Albert, and 
Golden Noble ; Mr. Nutting followed closely with 
Hawthornden, Blenheim Orange, Hoary Morning, 
Lady Henniker, Baxter’s Pearmain, and Emperor 
Alexander. For three dishes of culinary Apples Mr. 
Nutting was first with Hoary Morning, Blenheim 
Orange, and Mere de Menage, and Mr. Tilbury second. 
For a single dish Mr. Nutting was first with Blenheim 
Orange, his dish of six weighing 4 lbs. ; Mr. Turk was 
second with the same variety. In the class for six 
dishes of dessert Pears, distinct, Mr. Underwood was a 
good first, showing Beurre Bose, Hacon’s Incomparable, 
Doyennd Boussoch, Beurre Diel, Ne Plus Meuris, 
and Beurre d’Aremberg; Mr. Tilbury was second. 
Mr. Underwood was first for three dishes of dessert 
Pears, with Beurre Bose, Hacon’s Incomparable, and 
Doyenne Boussoch ; Mr. Littlechild, gardener to — 
East, Esq., St. Albans, was second. For the best 
single dish, Mr. Pepper, gardener to G. Burnand, Esq., 
Tewinwater, was first, with a good dish of Easter 
Beurre ; Mrs. Chennells took the second place, and 
Mr. Tilbury came in third. In the class for three 
dishes of stewing Pears, Mr. Turk won the first prize, 
with Bellisime d’Hiver, Catillac and Uvedale’s St. Ger¬ 
main. For a single dish of this class, Mr. Turk was 
first ; Miss Sibley, Harpenden, second ; followed by Mr. 
Littlechild. 
The finest fruits shown were Blenheim Orange, Mere 
de Menage, Hoary Morning, King of the Pippins, 
Hollandbury, Prince Albert, Hanwell Souring, Cox’s 
Winter Quoining, and Beauty of Hants. It is worthy 
of mention that Mr. Norman exhibited only such var¬ 
ieties as he could honestly recommend for the district, 
and his display was exceptionally good. The congress 
was held in a separate room, and two of the papers read 
will be found in the preceding pages. 
Royal Horticultural. — Dec. 13th.— A much 
larger and more interesting display of plants rvas made 
on this occasion than at the last meeting. The largest 
exhibit consisted of a group of Chinese Primulas, con¬ 
tributed by Messrs. J. Carter & Co., Forest Hill, S.E. 
The next largest exhibit consisted of Orchids, the 
principal group of which was a fine collection of twelve 
varieties of Calanthe and some other varieties, from 
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. (gardener, Mr. 
Bickerstaff), Burford Lodge, Dorking. The fruit 
shown consisted chiefly of Apples and Pears, but the 
exhibits were small and not very numerous in kinds. 
Amongst the Orchids shown by Sir Trevor Lawrence 
was a splendid Cypripedium named C. Leeanum 
inaculatum, having a large white standard, green at 
the base only, and beautifully blotched with purple. 
He was awarded a Cultural Commendation for a large 
well-flowered specimen of Epidendrum pallidiflorum, 
with straw-coloured sweet-scented flowers. Not less 
interesting was .Eranthus grandiflorus, with rather 
large and conspicuous straw-coloured florvers, having a 
curiously curved and recurved spur to the saccate 
labellum. His leading display, however, consisted of a 
fine group of different varieties of Calanthe, the best 
or most highly coloured of which were C. sanguinaria 
(described in another column), C. Burfordiensis, almost 
as deeply coloured, and C. Veitchii splendens. A 
curious but pretty variety named C. porphyrea had 
nearly orbicular flowers, with a compact, rounded, 
four-lobed labellum. There were several forms of C. 
vestita and C. Veitchii. F. G. Tautz, Esq., (gardener, 
Mr. C. Cowley), Studley House, Hammersmith, ex¬ 
hibited five different forms of Cypripedium, amongst 
which was a very fine variety of C. Io, richly blotched, 
as was C. Argus Moensi ; the latter had its petals 
tipped with rose. The sepals and petals of Odonto- 
glossum Insleayi splendens rvere almost wholly of a 
rich chestnut-brown colour, while the yellow lip was 
blotched with blood-red. Lycaste plana rubroglossa 
had a deep red terminal lobe to the labellum. He 
was accorded a vote of thanks for the exhibit. 
A. S. Smith, Esq., Silvermere, Cobham, staged two 
large specimens of Zygopetalum Mackayi and a nicely- 
flowered bit of Lselia acuminata. Cypripedium Harry- 
anum, supposed to be a natural hybrid between C. 
Lowii and C. callosum, and hailing from Siam, was 
shown by R. J. Measures, Esq , Cumberland Lodge, 
Camberwell. He was accorded a vote of thanks. Mr. 
Burnett, The Deepdene Gardens, Dorking, showed a 
twin-flowered spike of Cypripedium insigne. 
A Silver Banksian Medal was awarded to Messrs. J. 
Carter & Co. for a large group of Chinese Primulas, 
occupying considerable space ; the leading kinds were 
Carter’s Holborn Novelty (blue, white, and carmine), 
Snowflake (semi-double, blush or nearly white), Ruby, 
Elaine, Fern-leaved Elaine, Prince of "Wales (semi¬ 
double, rosy salmon), Vermilion, Magenta, Fern-leaved 
"White (a superb variety), and "White Improved. The 
varieties named Elaine were notable for the beautiful 
crisped appearance of their pure white flowers. Messrs. 
J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, exhibited a box of hybrid 
greenhouse Rhododendron blooms in trusses as grown. 
They exhibited many fine tints and shades of colour, 
including white, scarlet, crimson, deep orange, apricot, 
blush, intense red, and a distinct new shade, describable 
