606 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 19, 1888. 
including Dielytra spectabilis, Gentiana verna and 
Silene pennsylvanica ; Messrs. Paul & Son were third. 
Mr. A. Offer, Handcross Park, Crawley, took first prize 
for six exotic Ferns, some of them being fine pieces; he 
also took a similar award for fine-foliaged plants. 
Mr. Butler, gardener to H. H. Gibbs, Esq., St. 
Dunstan’s, Regent’s Park, was second in both classes. 
Some large groups of miscellaneous plants were 
exhibited, and a large Silver Medal was awarded to 
Messrs. John Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, for a very 
fine mixed group, containing many fine new Cala- 
diums, such as Charlemagne, Ville de Hamburg, 
Comte de Germiny, and several others that were 
certificated. They had alsojPalms, Begonias, Orchids, 
Clivias, and a good number of others. A similar 
award was made to Mr. B. S. "Williams, Yictcria 
and Paradise "Nurseries, Upper Holloway, for a group, 
including Lnelia purpurata, Attacia cristata, Oncidium 
concolor, Amaryllis, Crotons, Azaleas, Aralias, Ne¬ 
penthes, Ferns, and others. A Silver Medal tvas 
awarded to Messrs. Wm. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, 
for a group of Azaleas, Acacias, Darwinia tulipifera, 
Erica coccinea minor, Clerodendron fragrans flore pleno, 
and other subjects. A similar award was made to 
Messrs. "W. Paul & Son, for a group of Roses in pots, 
edged with a line of boxes containing blooms of a large 
number of varieties, including Marie Van Houtte, John 
Laing, Sappho and others. A’small Silver Medal was 
granted to Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., Clapton, for a fine 
group of Orchids, which deserved a better position, and 
among which were Ltelia purpurata, Cattleya Mendelii, 
Cypripedium Lawrencianum, C. hirsutissimum, 
Odontoglossum Roezlii album, and others. A large 
group of Daffodils was exhibited by Messrs. Barr & 
Son, Covent Garden, for which a large Bronze Medal 
w'as awarded. It also contained many beautiful Tulips, 
such as T. elegans, T. cornuta, and T. sylvatica, Iris 
pumila, I. p. ccerulea, Seilla nutans alba, Saxifraga 
densa ; and among the Narcissi were N. bicolor, J. B. 
M. Camm, N. b. Horsfieldi, and N. b. grandis. 
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons exhibited a beautiful group 
of Begonias in flower, both single and double, with 
flowers of large size and very bright. A Bronze Medal 
was awarded them, as well as to Messrs. J. Carter & Co., 
Forest Hill, for a beautifully dwarf strain of Cinerarias, 
exhibiting very rich and varied colouring. A similar 
award was made to Mr. A. Offer for a group of stove 
plants, including Anthurium crystallinum, Asparagus 
plumosus, Croton "Warreni, and others. Two boxes of 
Marechal Niel Roses, of great size and finely coloured, 
came from Mr. J. "Walker, Thame, Oxon, for which a 
Bronze Medal was awarded. Mr. D. Phillips, gardener 
to R. W. Mann, Esq., Langley Broom, Slough, was 
awarded a Bronze Medal for a .group of show 
Pelargoniums. 
-- 
The Late Mp.. R. Valentine Leach. —This gentle¬ 
man will be known as the proprietor of Devizes Castle, 
the site of which he purchased some years ago. He 
rebuilt the castle, and by a series of delightful arrange¬ 
ments, formed one of the most beautiful residences to 
be found in the county of Wilts. Mr. Leach, who at 
the time of his death was in his eighty-second year, 
had been in failing health for some time past, having 
had to winter in the warmer climate of Italy. He 
died at Bordighera on the 7th inst., having survived 
his second wife by only a few months. The terrace and 
fruit gardens at Devizes Castle have ever had a high 
r eputation under the able management of Mr. Thomas 
King, who has been at the castle for many years, and 
always kept the ground in the highest order. One 
achievement of Mr. King’s is his success with the 
Chasselas Musque Grape, which he frequently exhibited 
in the highest condition. 
Me. John Smith, late of Kew. —We regret to 
record the death of this estimable man, at his residence, 
St. Margaret’s, on the 11th inst. Mr. Smith w T as 
a native of Roxburghshire, and served his apprentice¬ 
ship at Floors Castle. Subsequently he entered the 
service of the Duke of Northumberland, and was 
employed in his gardens at Alnwick, Syon and War¬ 
rington Park, Cornwall, previous to 1859, when lie 
returned to Syon as head gardener, in succession to 
Mr. Ivison. In 1864, when his namesake, the veteran 
John Smith, of Kew, retired, Sir William Hooker 
appointed the subject of these lines to the vacant post, 
which he held until 1886, when he retired on a pension 
on account of ill-health. Mr. Smith carried out the 
duties of his important office in a very able manner, 
and was greatly respected by all who knew him. 
THE BELGIAN ORCHID SOCIETY. 
The severe weather in February and March last 
prevented the Cercle des Orchidophiles Beiges from 
holding its usual monthly meetings, and the committee 
considering it was the duty of all interested in horti¬ 
culture to assist as much as possible the Royal Society 
of Agriculture and Botany at its quinquennial floral 
fete in April, it was decided not to hold a meeting in 
that month. On the 13th inst., then, was held the 
second meeting of this year. Some of our members 
feared that coming so soon after the splendid show in 
April, at which such quantities of Orchid flowers were 
exhibited, the meeting of the Cercle would suffer for 
want of visitors ; but such are the attractions and love 
for Orchid flowers, that at certain times the large 
drawing-room of the Royal Hotel, in which the plants 
were staged, was so crowded as to be almost impossible 
to enter or leave it. There were staged 130 plants, all 
in fine order, bright and healthy looking, and they 
were arranged so well that nearly every plant, or, at 
least, its flowers, could be seen distinctly. The system 
of grouping Orchids en masse is a great error ; it may 
be good for Azaleas or other flowering plants, but we 
are nearly all of opinion here that, Orchids being such 
fine, delicate, fairy-like flowers, it is a great mistake to 
place them closely together. 
Among the rarities most admired was Cypripedium 
Sanderianum, with a fine spike of three blooms, and 
the petals 25 ins. long. This was unanimously 
awarded a Special Mention for its novelty and beauty. 
It was exhibited by Messrs. E. Vervaet & Co. A 
similar compliment was also accorded to an extra fine 
variety of Cattleya Mendelii from Mr. Bray ; to Mr. 
Hye’s Cypripedium Curtisi, a fine strong plant, with 
five leads and three flowers; and to Mr. Vuylsteke’s 
Odontoglossum mulus IJolfordianum leriopterum, 
bearing three spikes and thirty-nine flowers. A 
Cultural Commendation was accorded to a magnificent 
Dendrobium thyrsiflorum from Mr. De Meulenaere ; 
Special Mention for Rarity to Odontoglossum Pescatorei 
album, with a spike of eight flowers of a fine broad 
shape, all pure white, except the yellow at base of lip, 
from Messrs. E. Vervaet k Co. Special Mention also to 
an extra fine variety of Odontoglossum crispum from 
Mr. Bray ; to a good Cattleya Schilleriana from the 
Messrs. Block’s collection at Brussels ; to an excellent 
broad-petalled Ltelia purpurata from M. Louis Van 
Houtte ; and to a dark-coloured variety of Cattleya 
Lawrenceana from Messrs. E. Vervaet & Co. 
The above were the ten plants certificated by the 
jury, who have adopted a new system of judging, which 
I will try to explain, and which I should like to see 
tried, if only for two or three times, at any exhibition 
or meeting where the prizes are not a question of 
money. It is as follows :—Before commencing pro¬ 
ceedings, and according to the number of plants 
exhibited, the jury decide upon the number which 
shall receive awards. Thus at the last meeting it was 
agreed that the number should be ten. The judges 
then go to work separately, make their choice, put 
down on paper the ten plants which they consider to 
be best in the show, and give their reasons for the 
selection. The lists are then handed to the secretary, 
who tabulates the plants named and the number of 
votes accorded to each. All the plants which receive 
from two or three votes up to ten are certificated, and 
on the certificate is recorded the particular feature 
which gained for it the award, and the number of votes 
it obtained. I recommend this system, having observed 
that in many instances where a jury discusses the 
merits of plants, the good-natured jurymen give way 
to the members who, by reason of their special position 
or by their eloquence, assert themselves too much in 
favour of their own ideas. By the system I recom¬ 
mend, nothing of this kind can happen, as every'judge 
acts by himself. I do not mean to say that it is com¬ 
plete, but I think that with further experience it will 
be found to work well. At any rate, it is a great 
advantage to get the personal opinions of each juryman, 
who in this manner speaks feelingly, as it were, in 
favour of those plants which he most cherishes. What 
we now do for separate plants can, I suppose, also be 
done for collections. 
But I am running away from the subject I first 
intended to write you about. Let me state that the 
130 plants came from seven amateurs’ collections—viz. : 
MM. Block, Brussels ; Bray, Ghent; De Meulenaere, 
Gentbrugge ; Hye, Ghent; Leonard, Ghent; Mesdi- 
penninghe, Ghent ; Van Imschoot, and H. St. Amand ; 
and from eight nurserymen : MM. Cipers, Loochristy ; 
D’Haene, Gentbrugge ; E. De Cock and Pynaert, 
Ghent ; De Smet-Duvivier, J. Vervaet, Mt. St. Amand, 
Van Houtte, Gentbrugge ; and Vuylsteke, Loochristy. 
—A Member of the Society, Ghent, May 14</i. 
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS. 
To Eradicate Bindweed. — R. M.: We cannot offer yon any 
other means of eradicating this creeping weed than that 
employed in the case of couch-grass, pest-harrow, and numerous 
other British weeds that are troublesome not only to the horti¬ 
culturist but to the agriculturist as well. This is simply to 
carefully grub them up with a fork, breaking them as little as 
possible. The fleshy or succulent thongs and rhizomes, or 
underground stems, not roots, and every- piece with a dormant 
bud upon it will grow. By doing it while the ground is not 
occupied with any other crop every pieeb can be fully traced out 
without injuring anything else, and if you follow this simple, 
though rather tedious operation, you will be surprised how 
effectual it is. The next best plan is to keep the ground well 
hoed in summer, so as to starve the underground portion by 
depriving the plant of leaves. 
Value of Pigeon Dung. —Plantsinan : Like guano that has 
not suffered by the washing of rain, this manure is most valued 
for its nitrogenous constituents, and the less it has been sub¬ 
jected to rain or moisture in any way the more valuable it will 
be. Without analysis, however, it would be difficult to state 
the per-centage of nitrogen in figures, as the dung of differen 
birds varies somewhat, and that even of the same birds at 
different times. Your safest plan would be to use it sparingly 
if it is, and has always been, in a moderately dry condition. We 
would also use it mixed with the soil at potting time. 
Chlorophytum or Anthericum? — Alex. Johnson: The 
question you ask has frequently been debated. Chlorophytnm 
elatum variegatum is the proper botanical name of the plant, 
but it is also distributed in gardens under the name of Anthericum 
variegatum and Phalangium variegatum. The latter is synony¬ 
mous with Anthericum, and that again is closely allied to 
Chlorophytum, but both are regarded as botanically distinct 
genera. The green form of the plant you speak of is sometimes 
grown, but chiefly in botanic gardens, and this being the correct 
name of your plant, is the one you ought to adopt. 
The Chimney Bell-flower. — S. G. Sinclair: Other culti¬ 
vators have experienced similar difficulties as you have with 
this plant. You would sooner get it to a flowering state by 
sowing the seed in a box under a hand-light or in a frame, and 
planting them out in well-prepared, rich soil after they have 
formed a few leaves. If they have been sown early in the spring, 
they should be ready to plant out as soon as the weather becomes 
settled and fine. Assist them with water during the summer 
if the weather prove dry, so as to get a strong rigorous growth. 
Many of them will be fit to pot up for flowering next spring. 
Y'ou can also grow them in pots all the time, shifting them freely, 
and using good sized pots for the final shift, in order to allow 
ample room for root development; remembering that the 
stronger the root-stock and foliage, the better will be the result 
when the plants throw up a flowering stem. 
Origin of the Pansy.— If. Marlindale: It will probably 
never be determined with certainty the origin of all the garden 
Pansies, but this much is certain, that most of the characters are 
to be found in our wild and beautiful, as well as variable weed, 
Viola tricolor. Varieties were already plentiful in gardens in 
1836, and probably much of the improvement has arisen simply 
through selection. It is also recorded that V. grandiflora and 
V. altaiea were all utilised to effect the improvement of V. 
tricolor by hybridisation. The bedding Violas that were first 
sent out were improvements on V. cornuta chiefly, but since 
then the Pansy itself has been greatly utilised in the pro¬ 
creation of new bedding varieties. The short-lived character of 
the Pansy generally would lead us to the conclusion that it 
takes after V. tricolor, many of the forms of which are strictly 
annual in a state of nature. .The tiue bedding Violas are more 
inclined to form stools, which send out great numbers of barren 
shoots from the base of the primary stems in the same way as 
V. cornuta. 
Holly Transplanted. — J. Welby : If your Holly tree was 
carefully lifted with a good ball of soil it may come round again, 
even if it lose the greater part of its leaves. We would advise 
you to keep it well watered, as drying east winds, in the months 
of April and May, are very trying to all newly lifted trees. Also 
secure the stem to a stout stake to prevent any swaying by the 
wind, till the roots are able to take fresh hold of the soil. It 
might lighten the demand made upon the mutilated roots to - 
prune the branches well in, being careful to do it with a knife, 
not shears, avoiding formality as much as possible. Cut away 
all the straggling branches, rendering the tree symmetrical and 
pyramidal in outline, without being formal or having a clipped 
appearance. The Holly is late in making fresh growth, and 
trees that have been disturbed are even longer, so we would 
advise you to keep it moist at the roots and exercise patience. 
Melons.— M.: The leaves have all the appearance of having 
been scalded, i.e., caught by bright sunshine early in the day, 
while bathed, as it were, in condensed moisture. Vines and 
Cucumbers are often injured in the same way, and it can only 
be avoided by giving a little air the first thing in the morning, so 
as to dry up the moisture before the sun gains much power. If 
vapour still arises from the bed, you ought to keep a chink of 
air on all night. 
Odontoglossums.— Cor. : If the pieces are breaking strongly 
now, they should make good pseudo-bulbs by the autumn, and 
flower next spring. 
Names of Plants .—Levenshulme : The box was smashed, and 
the labels of Nos. 1 and 2 were gone. The dark blotched flower is 
Odontoglossum triumphant ; the greenish one had lost the lip, 
and is apparently a Lycaste (send perfect flower) ; 3, Odonto¬ 
glossum nebulosum var.; 4, O. nebulosum var., comes near 0. 
n. guttatum. R. J. G. Read : Myosotis arvensis. IP. M. : Den¬ 
drobium Farmeri. IP. Craik : 1, Ornithogalum nutans; 2, 
Ceauothus Veitcliianus ; 3, Centaurea montana alba. 
Communications Received.— 
thanks)—G. S.—J. R. T.—O. W. 
—S. & S.—T. C. 
W. B. G.—R. Lindsay (with best 
-R. A.—J. P. O.-W. C.- T. S. 
TEADE CATALOGUES EECEIYED. 
James Veitch & Sons, 544, King’s Road, Chelsea, S.W.— 
Plant Catalogue, including Novelties for 1SSS. Select Soft- 
wooded or Bedding Plants. 
James Carter & Co., High Holborn, London, W.C.—Seeds 
for Spring sowing on the Farm, List of Chrysanthemums, &c. 
