758 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 28, 1888. 
GardeningNotes from Ireland. 
The Strabane Show. 
In a former communication to The Gardening 
"World I alluded to the anticipated success of this 
show, which came off on the 18th and 19th inst., and 
to the good work the committee was doing in affording 
pleasure and instruction to thousands of people, whose 
varied tastes it has managed so well to meet, and whose 
appreciation of the efforts to do so is well attested by 
the yearly increasing numbers of visitors and exhibitors. 
The various attractions of the show were made up of 
household and other industries, dogs, bees, poultry, 
cage birds, pigeons, fruits, flowers, and other miscel¬ 
laneous exhibits. As, however, my business is chiefly 
confined to the flowers and fruits, I shall as briefly as 
possible note some of these. The show of flowers was 
generally acknowledged to be the best yet held under 
the auspices of the managing committee, many of the 
stands, especially the Roses, being of very superior 
merit. 
Plants for Effect. 
Plants grouped for effect were exhibited on tables, 
making a very prominent feature in the show, and in 
some cases were well and- tastefully arranged. One of 
these tables was very much admired by the visitors. 
The decorative plants consisted of Orchids, Gloxinias, 
Maidenhair Ferns, and other stove plants having 
ornamental foliage. The whole was well and effectively 
arranged by Mr. Dickson. In this department also 
Mr. John Herdman was awarded a prize for a fine group 
composed of Begonias, Palms, and other fine-foliaged 
stove plants. 
Table Decorations. 
V\ HAT has long ago failed to be a matter for com¬ 
petition at the exhibitions of the Royal Horticultural 
Society of Ireland, was here shown to immense 
advantage—I alluae to dinner table decoration. The 
competition showed life and energy, five tables having 
been entered in this attractive and decidedly popular 
department oi the show. Great taste and ingenuity 
were exercised by the various fair competitors in 
arranging and harmonising the many things brought 
into requisition to gam the best effect possible, for 
not only were plants such as Ferns, &c., used for the 
purpose, but in some cases coloured ribbons, plush, 
and glass gave a very good tone to the whole exhibit. 
The judges must have had no ordinary difficulty in 
awarding the prizes, which ultimately fell first to 
the Misses Colquhoun, second to Mrs. Boyd of Lifford, 
and third to Miss Evelyn Herdman. In connection 
with this, prizes were also awarded for a single epergne 
of flowers for table or dining-room decoration, the prize 
winners being Miss Amy Greer, Camus, Strabane, 
first, Mrs. Stevenson and Miss 0. N. Colquhoun, 
being equal seconds. 
Bouquets 
ere shown in great abundance, and comprised hand, 
bridal, buttonhole, wild flowers, and others made up 
of a variety of choice flowers. Hand bouquets were 
very well done, and the number and variety may be 
guessed at, when it is stated that in nearly all classes 
four prizes were given. For the best hand bouquet, 
Mr. John Herdman and Miss Humphreys were equal, 
and for a bridal bouquet Mr. John Herdman was first! 
The contest in bouquets of wild flowers lay between 
children ; it was a very interesting competition indeed, 
and shows how desirous the managers of the Strabane 
Show are to include all classes of the community in so 
praiseworthy an emulation. The usual routine was 
departed from in disposing of the large collection of 
bouquets, by selling them all off by auction during the 
holding of the show, and some good prices were 
obtained. 
Cut Flowers. Private Growers. 
For twelve Roses Mr. James Alexander, Sandville, was 
first, Mr. E. T. Herdman and Mrs. Stevenson, Ardcoon 
House, Strabane, being second and third in the order 
named. For six Roses Mr. Alexander was again first, 
Miss Barbara ~\\ ilsoD, Greenfield, Strabane, second, 
and Mr. Herdman, third. Cut blooms in the classes 
for Pansies, Zonal Pelargoniums, Asters, Stocks, 
Marigolds, trusses of hardy annuals, hardy herbaceous 
plants, as also stove and greenhouse flowers, were well 
contested, and brought out a goodly number of 
competitors. 
Roses. 
In the classes for Roses the stands exhibited were very 
fine, and it was no wonder that during the two days 
of the exhibition such crowds of visitors found their 
way to the Rose stands. For a stand of single blooms 
Messrs. Alexander Dickson & Sons, Newtownards, were 
first; Messrs. S. M. McGredy & Son, Portadown, second, 
and Mr. Hugh Dickson, Belmont, Belfast, third. In 
this class the exhibits were all fine, and the competi¬ 
tion, therefore, very close. For a stand of twenty-four 
varieties, three Roses of each, Messrs. Dickson, New- 
townards, were again first; and Messrs. McGredy, second. 
Pansies and Pelargoniums. 
The collections of Pansies were very good, and Mr. "VV. 
B. Orr, Abercorn Road, Belfast, won his first well ; 
Messrs. McGredy & Son being a good second. The col¬ 
lection of cut blooms of Zonal Pelargoniums exhibited 
by Mr. W. B. Orr could hardly be exceeded in growth 
and brilliancy of colour, and I think the staging of a 
better lot is of very rare occurrence indeed ; at all 
events both judges and visitors accorded Mr. Orr’s 
collection an amount of 'well-merited praise. A some¬ 
what new feature in the exhibition of cut flowers was 
showing them in bunches, and for collections of these, 
classes were opened for greenhouse, herbaceous, and 
hardy annuals, both for private growers and nursery¬ 
men. For greenhouse assorted cut blooms, Mr. H. 
Dickson was first, and for herbaceous and hardy 
annuals, Mr. W. B. Orr was first. 
Vegetables and Fruits. 
These were fairly represented, and although small 
lots were the rule in each of the classes, yet the com¬ 
petition was so keen that there was a very good general 
display. The chief honours for white and black Grapes 
were divided between Dr. Britton and Mr. Robert 
Corscaden, Boom Hall, Londonderry, the former 
taking two firsts. It is not needful that I should par¬ 
ticularise the other classes of fruits and vegetables. It 
will, I think, be sufficient to say that taking into 
consideration that the horticultural exhibition at 
Strabane was only one among numerous other displays 
of a totally different nature, it may well be conceded 
that every credit is due to those to whom the manage¬ 
ment of the horticultural portion of the show was 
deputed. The judges of plants and flowers were Mr. 
F. M. Moore, Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, and 
Mr. John Olphert, Fahan ; and of fruits and vegetables, 
Mr. A. Dickson, Baronscourt, and Mr. James Alexander, 
Sandville. 
Orchids in Flower in Glasnevin. 
It is seldom that a visit to Glasnevin Botanic Gardens 
fails to bring under one’s notice something worth 
remarking on. This is specially the case as regards 
Orchids, and not having hitherto had the good fortune 
of seeing Cattleya gigas in flower, I was pleased to see 
it on the occasion of a late visit. There were a couple 
of plants in flower, two blooms on one plant and one 
on another, but the great size of the flowers com¬ 
pensated for the fewness of the blooms. There was 
also a nice plant of Cattleya Mendelii in flower, and 
others of the pretty little Cypripedium niveum. There 
was also a fine well-grown lot of Disa grandiflora, 
most of them with three or four flower stems, the tops 
beginning to develop their very showy flowers. 
Begonias. 
A good stock of these appears to be receiving some 
attention for cool house decoration, and mixed as they 
were here, with some splendid trussed Zonal Pelar¬ 
goniums, the effect was very good. Among the 
Begonias, I noticed some really fine doubles. These 
were Eugene Boissy, Madame Arnoult, Fanny Catlin, 
La Cygne, and Mrs. Brumring, the latter, for a double, 
being extremely floriferous. 
Viburnum macrocefhalum. 
"Where this can be got to succeed, it is a really fine 
flowering shrub. I have been looking at a plant of it 
now for the past six or seven weeks, and it has main¬ 
tained a continuous bloom for that time. It is about 
4 ft. high, has a partly southern exposure, the pro¬ 
tection of a wall, and to all appearance will continue to 
give more flowers for the next two weeks. 
Rose Shows. 
The Bray Rose show comes off this week, but too late 
for a report in your present issue. I hope, however, to 
be able to send you a full one for next week. Besides 
some county Dublin and local Rose growers, the 
northern nurserymen are expected to be in force. It 
will be their first appearance in or near Dublin this 
year. I do not hear anything regarding the intentions 
of southern Rose growers. At the Waterford Rose 
show, on the 19th inst., I hear that Mr. Richard 
Hartland, of the Lough Nurseries, Cork, took six first 
prizes for Roses and Begonias. 
Chrysanthemums. 
Thb growth of Chrysanthemums, both in pots and 
planted out, is very remarkable this year. Most growers 
say they never had them so forward, or making such 
robust growth so early in the season, so that it is likely 
many intending exhibitors will have great difficulty in 
saving their best flowers for show purposes. -Japanese 
varieties are making strong vigorous growth, and I 
have seen some of these which were put out of 4-in. 
pots on walls and beds in April last, are now 4 ft. high, 
and commencing the formation of flower buds. So far 
I hear no talk of mildew, and the fine strong healthy 
character of the plants generally, is an indication of a 
large harvest of these very popular flowers. This 
state of things regarding Chrysanthemums, is of course 
owing to the great amount of moisture they have been 
favoured with, and where the cultural conditions were 
of the right sort. All outdoor cultivation has been 
affected by it, and I notice that 
Bedding Begonias 
Have been immense gainers by the wet weather, and 
this notwithstanding the hard time they had with a 
low temperature and an east wind after being trans¬ 
ferred to their outdoor quarters. Every place where I 
have seen them bedded out this season they are giving 
great satisfaction to growers. Doubles do not appear 
to be much patronised for outdoor work, and this I 
find is due to a suspicion that they would not do well. 
To this I answer, try them. I remember some years 
ago to have seen doubles grown out to great perfection 
in a southern county in Ireland, and I am impressed 
with the idea that, under any system of cultivation, I 
have never seen finer than those. 
The Potato Disease in Ireland. 
It has been reported from one of the southern counties 
of Ireland that the Potato disease has been noticed 
during the past week as appearing on some crops of 
Potatos. It has been feared for some time past by 
many persons that all the atmospheric conditions for 
generating the disease have been present, and that when 
a certain stage of growth of the tubers was reached it 
was certain to show itself. This it has done in that 
part of the country where growth is the most forward, 
and nothing can stay its rapid development to other 
parts unless we are soon favoured with warm, dry and 
bright weather. The present appearance of the crops 
throughout the country is remarkably strong and 
healthy, and given the month of August dry and warm, 
a most bountiful return may be counted upon. — W. D. 
-- 
THE CINERARIA. 
Among the numerous readers of your valuable paper 
are many amateurs, who are constantly in need of in¬ 
formation as to how, when and what to grow to make 
beautiful their homes ; and as it is our duty to spread 
abroad the love of flowers, it is equally necessary to 
give some little information as to how to grow these 
same flowers. Having therefore this object in view, I 
purpose in the present article to say a little about the 
cultivation of the Cineraria, it being one of the most 
beautiful of florists’ flowers, which will ever keep it in 
the remembrance of the flower-loving public. 
The present time is a good one for sowing seed ; it is 
by no means too late. Seed should be sown in pans or 
pots in nice light soil, and a little sprinkled over. It 
is then the best plan to cover the pan completely with 
a slate or glass, as they will germinate much better in 
total darkness. "When the seedlings are large enough 
to handle, they should be potted singly into thumb 
pots in rather rough soil ; they should then be placed 
in a close frame and sprinkled overhead in nice weather 
until established. As soon as they require potting it 
should be done at once, and on no account let them get 
starved. Perhaps the most essential requirement is to 
procure a compost that will grow the plants well : I 
can recommend the following as suitable, namely, two 
parts of loam, one part of leaf-soil, and about one 
half part of cow manure, and one half part of silver 
sand. The whole must be thoroughly mixed together, 
and on no account must it be sifted. Six or seven-inch 
pots will be quite large enough in which to flower them. 
Give as much air as possible while growing, and on the 
slightest appearance of aphides, fumigate at once, or 
all your time will have been wasted. They should be 
grown in a cold frame or cool greenhouse. Named 
sorts are now seldom grown except by specialists, but I 
would recommend my readers to get their seed from 
a good firm, whose stock can be relied upon, as 
unless good seed is obtained it is useless to expect 
good plants. If mildew affects the plants they should 
be dusted with sulphur on the under-side of the leaf. 
Dampness is fatal to the well-being of the plants and 
should be guarded against. It will be better to shade 
the. plants from strong sunlight, and if these few 
simple directions are followed out, a handsome show of 
