April 21, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
541 
Royal Botanic. —April \Uh. 
The second of the spring exhibitions of this society was 
quite equal to those held on former occasions at this 
season. The chief feature of the show was hardy 
flowers, such as Daffodils, Primroses, and Alpine plants. 
There were also good collections of stove and green¬ 
house subjects, including Amaryllis, Roses, Cyclamens, 
Azaleas, Cinerarias and others. The first prize for 
Alpines was awarded to Mr. J. Douglas, gardener to F. 
Whitbourn, Esq., Great Gearies, Ilford. His collection 
consisted largely of Primulas, such as P. villosa hybrida, 
P. rosea, P. verticillata, P. japonica with variegated 
flowers, Tecophilea cyanocrocus and others. Messrs. 
Paul & Son, Cheshunt, were second, with plants 
evidently grown under cooler treatment. In the class 
for hardy herbaceous plants, Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale 
Farm Nurseries, Tottenham, had it all his own way, 
with Orchis furca, Primula viscosa nivalis, P. specta- 
bilis, Iris pumila coerulea, Saxifraga Stracheyi and 
others. Mr. J. Douglas took the first prize for Auri¬ 
culas, some of which were very fine, one being certificated. 
He was second for Alpine Auriculas ; while Mr. Charles 
Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough, had the first prize for 
Alpine varieties, exhibiting considerable variety ; and 
came in second for show Auriculas. Mr. J. Douglas 
was again first for Polyanthuses, showing a con¬ 
siderable number of gold-laced varieties. Mr. John 
Odell, Gould’s Green, Hillingdon, came in second, 
showing a considerable number of self-coloured varie¬ 
ties. The first prize for Amaryllis went to Mr. J. 
Douglas, whose finest varieties were Monarch, Albert 
Victor, and Hector. Messrs. Paul & Son followed with 
dwarfer plants, exhibiting more of the lighter-coloured 
varieties. A third prize went to Mr. R. Butler, 
gardener to H. H. Gibbs, Esq., St. Dunstan’s, Regent’s 
Park. 
Cinerarias were numerous, and the prizes well con¬ 
tested. Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent, 
took the first prize with dwarf well-grown and flowered 
plants. Mr. J. Douglas was second with much larger 
plants; and Mr. D. Phillips, Langley Broom, Slough, 
third. Mr. C. Turner exhibited Azaleas in the 
nurserymen’s class, and won the first prize with 
globular and shortly pyramidal finely-flowered plants, 
which were the best in the show. Mr. Robert Wells, 
Longton Nursery, Sydenham, followed with globular 
bushes ; and Mr. Henry James, Norwood, was third. 
In the amateurs’ class Mr. R. Scott, gardener to Miss 
Foster, The Holmes, Regent’s Park, took the first prize 
with cylindrically trained plants ; Mr. H. Eason, 
gardener to B. Noakes, Esq., Hope Cottage, Highgate, 
was second. The best Roses were shown by Messrs. 
Paul & Son, who had fine plants of Celine Forestier, 
Souvenir d’un Ami, Madame de St. Joseph, Innocente 
Pirola, and others. Mr. William Rumsey, Joyning’s 
Nurseries, Waltham Cross, was second with good 
specimens of Madame Therese Levet and Baroness 
Rothschild. Roses were not well represented in the 
amateurs’ class, Mr. P. Perry, gardener to W. G. 
Rowlett, Esq., The Woodlands, Cheshunt, taking 
second. The first prize for Azalea mollis went to 
Messrs. H. Lane & Son, Berkhampstead, who had well- 
flowered bushes in various colours. The first prize for 
show Pelargoniums was secured by Mr. D. Phillips, 
gardener to R. W. Mann, Esq., Langley Broom, 
Slough, with well-flowered specimens of Duchess of 
Edinburgh, Rosetta, and Duchess of Bedford. Mr. 
W. Kemp, gardener to H. Barry, Esq., Bushill House, 
Winchmore Hill, was second. 
There was a large number of miscellaneous collections, 
which constituted a great feature of the show. A Silver 
Medal was awarded to Mr. B. S. Williams, Upper Hollo¬ 
way, for a large group of stove plants, including a fine 
specimen of Harpophyllum giganteum, Oncidium con- 
color, 0. tetrapetalum, 0. undulatum, Odontoglossum 
Edwardi, together with Palms, Amaryllis, Ochna mul¬ 
tiflora and others. A Silver Medal was awarded to 
Messrs. Paul & Son, for a group of Roses, mostly 
standards, including Marechal Niel, The Bride, Mad. 
Lambard, and Jean Ducher. A small Silver Medal was 
awarded to Mr. William Rumsey, for a group of Roses, 
mostly trained bush form, both Teas and hybrid perpe- 
tuals, including Marechal Niel, Perfection de Mon- 
plaisir, Paul Jamain, and others. A small Silver Medal 
was awarded to Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, for 
a large collection of Daffodils, staged in three different 
places. A new white variety with a cream-coloured 
crown was named Rebecca Syme, while Snowflake is 
a pure white. Some were certificated. Anemones, 
Scillas, Ranunculus, Puschkinia, and Chionodoxa were 
shown in considerable numbers. A large Bronze Medal 
was awarded to Mr. T. S. Ware, for a considerable¬ 
sized group of Daffodils, including Princeps, Bicolor 
Horsfieldi, Spurius coronatus, Obvallaris, and others in 
quantity. A similar award was made to Mr. John 
Odell, for a fine group of Cyclamens in various-sized 
pots, and exhibiting great variety of colour. A similar 
award was made to Messrs. H. Lane & Son, Berkham- 
stead, for a large group of hardy Rhododendrons in 
pots, and which were well flowered, exhibiting many 
shades of colour. A Bronze Medal was awarded to 
Mr. W. Hibburt, gardener to W. Clay, Esq., Kingston, 
for a well-flowered group of Cyclamens. Messrs. Collins 
Bros. & Gabriel exhibited a group of Daffodils in many 
of the leading forms, for which a Bronze Medal was 
given. Similar honour was won by Mr. W. Kemp, 
for a group of Palms, Azaleas, Epacris, and others. 
A fine group of double-flowered Cinerarias were shown 
by Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent; some 
were named and certificated, the others were seedlings 
and very dwarf. They also showed Violet Rawson’s 
White and some double Primroses. Mr. Henry 
Bennett, Shepperton, Middlesex, had a fine group of 
the Polyantha Rose, named Multiflora alba, and 
another ; both were certificated. A fine group of 
Amaryllis was exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, 
Chelsea, together with Rhododendron La Belle, with 
large white flowers, and Unique with smaller scarlet 
flowers. Phalaenopsis gloriosa, P. amabilis and An- 
grajcum modestum were shown by Messrs. H. Low & 
Co., Clapton. A well-flowered group of Epacris was 
shown by Messrs. William Cutbush & Son, Highgate, 
including Her Majesty and Vesta (white), and Arden- 
tissima (deep red). A fine group of the new double 
Victoria Violet, with large deep blue flowers, was 
exhibited by Mr. J. Chambers, Westlake Nursery, 
Isleworth, and is very hardy and fragrant. A stand of 
Tree Carnation blooms was exhibited by Charles 
Turner, Slough. They were of fine size and showed 
various colours, such as purple, scarlet, crimson and 
maroon, while some were striped. Novelty is slate- 
coloured, striped scarlet; and Purple King is a fine 
deep purple. 
-->Z<-- 
The late John Woodbbidge, of Syon House. 
Not laid low in the sere of life by the scythe of old 
Father Time, but struck down in the very prime and 
vigour of manhood by the ruthless and fell destroyer, 
death, lies in the grave our long esteemed and dear 
friend, John Woodbridge, of Syon. 
“A glorious manhood blighted in an hour, 
A cold wind kills with its fierce chilling breath ; 
The sturdy tree is cut down like a flower, 
For in the midst of life we are in death.” 
To how many this announcement will come as terribly 
sad and sudden news, it is hard to say ; but few 
gardeners were better known, few had a wider 
circle of friends, and few were more highly 
esteemed. It was his good fortune, in the summer of 
1870, to become the respected and confidential servant 
of one of England’s most estimable of noblemen, and to 
follow at Syon House—and follow worthily too—in the 
footsteps of some of the most illustrious of the gardeners 
of a preceding generation. Still further, our good 
friend had a special advantage in being located near to 
London, as he was thus enabled to place his undoubtedly 
valuable services at the disposal of horticulture, nation¬ 
ally, through the Royal Horticultural Society, and also 
to become through that influence one of the most 
active of horticultural judges. 
How much John Woodbridge was esteemed by his 
noble employers—for he enjoyed the respect and confi¬ 
dence of every member of the Percy family—was 
evidenced when some six years ago the Duke of 
Northumberland offered him the important and more 
lucrative post of steward of the Syon Manor, in addition 
to retaining his old position as head gardener, and it 
is in the highest degree satisfactory to learn that from 
the time of accepting that post till the moment of his 
too sudden and lamented death, Mr. Woodbridge had 
no reason whatever to regret that he took upon himself 
such varied and onerous duties. How entirely does his 
advancement—and it was far from being an uncommon 
case among gardeners—show the need for young men 
whilst yet young acquiring much information beyond 
the mere routine of gardening, and which may often per¬ 
chance prove helpful to their advancement in after life ! 
And then how fully his many and long services to the 
Royal Horticultural Society were rewarded the events of 
the past few months show. The first time, after the lapse 
of a quarter'of century or more, a gardener is taken from 
the higher ranks of the profession and placed upon the 
council of that society, and none is found more fitting 
or more worthy of that honour than John Woodbridge. 
Alas, how fleeting have these honours proved to have 
been to him ! Death would seem to have envied him 
the proud position which he so justly and so worthily 
occupied, and we know how earnestly desirous he was 
to make his office as a living personification and, repre¬ 
sentative of the gardeners of the kingdom on the 
council, a reality and means for good. 
Ever pleasantly affable, with a cordial smile upon his 
genuine Saxon features, Mr. Woodbridge changed in 
nothing on being placed on the council beyond the fact 
that he did feel undoubted responsibility, and that 
feeling might have sometimes made him appear a little 
more grave in demeanour. To accept an office of so 
prominent a kind needed on his part special courage, 
for not only is the Royal Horticultural Society in grave 
difficulties, and needing strong and able men to pull it 
out of its troubles, but it was compelled, even at the 
moment of Mr. .Woodbridge’s responsible association 
with the executive, to find a new home, and pass 
through the gravest crisis which has interrupted its 
existence. No wonder then some little of courage was 
needed in our departed friend’s case, for beyond these 
things, being the selected representative of the 
thousands of gardeners of the kingdom, thousands 
of eyes were turned upon him only too ready to 
criticise, and that too freely did his feet slip. 
It was our lot to have had with him, but a 
week prior to his fatal illness, a long conversation, 
during which he foreshadowed his aims and objects, 
and one and all related to the welfare of gardeners, the 
rising youth of the profession especially, and to their 
improved education. Mr. Woodbridge certainly desired 
to see some form of examination promoted by the 
council of the Royal Horticultural Society, but for 
young gardeners only, and to honour the successful by 
making them Associates of the R. H. S. He did not 
propose to create any such tests for men already 
established in the profession, but being himself a living 
embodiment of what good education and a wide 
knowledge of many things had done, he earnestly 
wished to see the young men of the age being as fully 
fitted for the duties and demands of life as he himself 
had been. Naturally modest, and almost reticent in 
general society, Mr. Woodbridge was eloquent in private 
conversation over his favourite theme, and to him it 
had been one of the highest motives which induced him 
to accept the position of a member of the council of the 
R. H. S., for he hoped thus to have opportunities to 
press his views finally into actual practice. 
Always most conscious in the discharge of all his 
duties, he was ever a safe and reliable exhibition censor, 
possibly making now and then trifling errors of 
judgment, but never then doing so without giving 
strong reasons for his judgments. A first-class gar¬ 
dener, he always showed at Syon first-class work. No 
one, under his long and able administration of these 
famous gardens, ever saw anything, however trifling, 
yet badly done ; but, on the contrary, everything was 
well done, and with the amplest neatness also—not 
always, alas, a high-class gardener’s virtue. Besides 
being affable and courteous, he always made friends 
heartily welcome, and even further, showed no lack of 
generosity or kindness towards those who asked his 
good offices. Let it be finally said to his credit, that 
whilst the whole horticultural community mourn his 
loss, and so many personally remember him as a true 
friend, those over whom he so long held sway mourn 
his loss as heartily, for in the administration of his 
multifarious duties he was always kind and just. Like 
some noted tree which has been suddenly struck down 
in all its plentitude and vigour, he has been all 
too soon removed; but the sweet perfume of his 
memory will long remain to encourage and sustain the 
hearts of mourning friends. 
We learn from one of his oldest and closest friends, 
that Mr. Woodbridge, after having attended to his 
business as usual on the 7th inst., although complain¬ 
ing of a bad cold, had to send for his doctor, who 
found that he was suffering from a not too acute attack 
of congestion of the right lung ; but he gradually grew 
worse, and expired at 10 a.m. on the 13th inst., in his 
fifty-seventh year. His remains were deposited in their 
last resting-place in Isleworth New Cemetery on 
Thursday afternoon. 
Died, on the 6th inst., at Copthorne Road, Shrews¬ 
bury, Thomas Stanley Wood, aged eighty-three 
years. Between forty and fifty 7, years ago, Mr. Wood 
was one of the most successful exhibitors of Dahlias in 
the Midland Counties, and was also the raiser of many 
noted varieties in those days. It is related of him that 
he took the first prize with a seedling named Vanquisher 
at a show held in the Shrewsbury Town Hall, and open 
to all England, in 1841 ; and in 1843 he secured a 
similar award with a variety of which he subsequently 
sol 1 the roots at £5 apiece. He was a thorough florist, 
and for many years his services as a judge were in 
considerable request. We regret to hear that his aged 
widow has been left in indigent circumstances. 
The death is also announced of Mr. W. Stacey, of 
the Dunmow Nurseries, Essex. Mr. Stacey had a wide 
reputation as a raiser of new Verbenas, a number of 
which have been certificated by the Floral Committee 
during the last few years. He died last week, after a 
severe illness of some three weeks’ duration. 
