572 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
1% 9, 1891. 
FLOfJidiJLWf^. 
Auriculas—The Northern Show. 
Tiie northern show of the National Auricula Society 
was held in the New Town Hall, Manchester, on 
Tuesday, April 28th, in connection with the spring 
show of the Botanical Society. Until within three 
days of the show we had no spell whatever of 
genial spring weather since the precocious warmth of 
February. There had been days of bright sunshine in 
country places, but with a drying bitter wind, and 
with such cold nights that the Auricula, which at this 
season does its day’s work largely during the night 
following, could make little of such weather; and 
stood as it were, anxiously watching for the better 
times that came so late. 
Seeing that some of our growers live in smoky 
districts, and others in situations much exposed, it was 
almost wonderful that they had any edged flowers out 
at all. Mr. Simonite, who has the evil influences of 
smoke, poisonous gases, and exposure combined, to a 
degree unknown outside Sheffield, had scarcely an 
Auricula flower open. A late bloom is seldom a very 
long lived or a good one, and those of us who 
grow the Tulip as well as the Auricula, will see the two 
in flower together, though of course the Tulips will be 
young and the Auriculas old. 
My own situation is both naturally and otherwise 
sheltered, butalthough it is possible to break the pressure 
of the east wind, nothing can neutralize the subtle 
searching influence of it. The Auricula houses, for the 
seven years they have stood here, have never had any 
heating apparatus attached to them, because in any season 
unlike the past, I have no need of it ; nor used to 
employ it before, except to keep the temperature at or 
about 45° when severe frosts occurred while the flowers 
were expanding. Considering the season there were 
quite as many flowers at the northern show as could be 
expected, and as at the southern show some were in 
fine character and some were rough and shaken. But 
for the unusual loss of winter foliage in the drought of 
the long frost, many would have made more powerful 
trusses. The winter foliage has very much to do with 
the elaboration of the flower head, and where that green 
“cloth ” is in scant measure, the “coat” of course is 
cut accordingly. In cases of severe defoliation, plants 
have had to supply themselves with breathing organs 
by sending up in haste, and as with a gasp, leaves out 
of the new heart that in ordinary course would not 
have been needed yet.— F. I). Horner, hon. sec. 
Prize List;* 
Six Auriculas, dissimilar :—First, Rev. F. D. Horner, 
with green edges, Rev. F. D. Horner (Simonite) and 
Attraction (Horner) ; grey edge, Thetis (Horner) ; 
white edge, Magpie (Horner) ; and seifs, Favourite 
(Horner), dark violet, and Nightshade (Horner), dark 
brown. Second, Miss "Woodhead, with green edges, 
Rev. F. D. Horner and Prince of Greens (Traill) ; grey 
edge Rachel (Woodhead) ; white edges, Mrs. Dodwell 
(Woodhead) and Acme (Read) ; self, Mrs. Potts. 
Third, Mr. T. Lord, with green edges, Rev. F. D. 
Horner and Prince of Greens; grey edge, Geo. Rudd 
(Woodhead); white edge, Acme; seifs, Heroine (Horner) 
and Brunette (Pohlman). Fourth, Mr. H. Wilson ; 
fifth, Mrs. Kyrke Penson ; sixth, Mr. Irving Hind ; 
seventh, Mr. G. Middleton. 
Four Auriculas, dissimilar First, Mr. H. Wilson, 
with green edge, Col. Taylor (Leigh) ; grey edge, Geo, 
Lightbody (Headly); white edge, Miranda (Horner); 
and self, Mrs. Potts. Second, Rev. F. D. Horner, with 
green edge, Rev. F. D. Horner ; grey edge, Diogenes 
(Horner) ; white edge, Desdemona (Horner); and self, 
Enid (Horner). Third, Miss Woodhead, with green 
edge, Prince of Greens ; grey edge, Geo. Lightbody ; 
white edge, Acme ; and self, Black Bess. Fourth, Mr. 
T. Lord ; fifth, Mr. Irving Hind ; sixth, Mrs. Kyrke 
Penson ; seventh, Mr. Wm. Taylor. 
Two Auriculas, dissimilar in variety and class: — 
First, Mr. E. Shaw, with green edge, Rev. F. D. 
Horner ; and grey edge, Geo. Lightbody. Second, 
Mr. H. W. Nixon, with green edge, Rev. F. D. Horner ; 
and white edge, Heather Bell (Simonite). Third, S. 
Barlow, Esq., with grey edge, Geo. Lightbody ; and 
self, Heroine. Fourth, Mr. Jas. Wood ; fifth, Mr. J. 
Clements. 
Two Auriculas for maiden growers No exhibitors. 
Single plants, green edges :—Premium, Rev. F. D. 
Horner, with Green Dragon (Simonite) ; first, Mrs. 
Kyike Penson, with Col. Taylor ; second and third. 
Rev. F. D. Horner, with Mercury (Horner) and Dragon 
Fly (Horner) ; fourth, Mr. H. Wilson, with Col. 
Taylor ; fifth, Mr. T. Lord, with Rev. F. D. Horner; 
sixth, seventh and eighth, Rev. F. D. Horner, with 
Lively (Horner), Achilles (Simonite), and Monarch 
(Horner). Grey edges:—Premium and first, Mrs. 
Kyrke Penson, with Geo. Lightbody; second, Mr. 
T. Lord, with Lancashire Hero ; third, Mr. E. Shaw, 
with Geo. Rudd; fourth, Mr. W. Taylor, with 
A. Meiklejohn ; fifth, Mr. E. Shaw, with R. Headly 
(Lightbody) ; sixth and seventh, Mrs. Kyrke Penson, 
with A. Meiklejohn and John Waterston (Cunningham); 
eighth, Miss Woodhead, with Rachel. White edges : — 
Premium and first, Rev. F. D. Horner, with Mrs. 
Dodwell and Magpie ; second, Mr. T. Lord, with Mrs. 
Dodwell ; third and fourth, Mrs. Kyrke Penson, with 
Acme and Frank (Simonite) ; fifth, Mr. T. Lord, with 
Conservative (Douglas) ; sixth, seventh and eighth, 
Mrs. Kyike Penson, with Dr. Kidd (Douglas), John 
Simonite (Walker), and Highland Queen. Selfs :— 
Premium, first, second, third, fourth, and fifth, Rev. 
F. D. Horner, with Enchantress (Horner), Juno 
(Horner), Priscilla (Horner), Dusk (Horner), Heroine, 
and Mrs. Potts; sixth, Mrs. Kyrke Penson, with 
Blackboy (seedling) ; seventh, Mr. E. Shaw, with 
Seedling (Shaw); eighth, Rev. F. D. Horner, with 
Laura (Horner). 
Premier Auricula of the whole exhibition Magpie 
Horner), white edge, shown by Rev. F. D. Horner, in 
first prize pan of six Auriculas. 
Four Alpines, shaded and dissimilar First, Mr. J. 
Beswick ; second, Mr. C. Turner ; third, Mr. J. 
Clements ; fourth, Mr. IT. Geggie; fifth, Mr. J. 
Edwards ; sixth, Mr. E. Shaw ; seventh, Mr. W. 
Taylor. 
Single plants, yellow centres :—Premium, Mr. G. 
Thornley ; first, second and fifth, Mr. C. Turner ; 
third, Mr. J. Clements; fourth, Mr. J. Beswick. 
White centres : Premium, first, third, fourth, and fifth, 
Mr. C. Turner; second, Mr. J. Clements. 
Three Polyanthuses, black ground :—First, Mr. G. 
Thornley; second, S. Barlow, Esq. ; third, Mr. J. 
Beswick. Three Polyanthuses, red grounds :—First, 
Mr. G. Thornley ; second, Mr. W. Taylor ; third, Mr. 
J. Beswick. Single plants, Polyanthuses, black 
grounds :—Premium, Mr. W. Taylor ; first and fifth, 
Mr. G. Thornley ; second and sixth, Mr. J. Beswick ; 
third and seventh, S. Barlow, Esq. ; fourth, Mr. R. 
Dyson. Red grounds :—Premium, first, second, third, 
fourth and fifth, Mr. G. Thornley. 
Twelve fancy Polyanthuses :—S. Barlow, Esq. 
Twelve fancy Primroses :—S. Barlow, Esq. Twelve 
fancy Auriculas :—S. Barlow, Esq. 
The Pink. 
Some of the statements of “Dianthus” on garden 
border Pinks (p. 556) are so incorrect and so capable 
of leaving wrong impressions on the minds of many of 
your readers, that it is necessary they should be 
contradicted at once. Referring to the classes for 
bunches of cut blooms of garden Pinks, he states that 
“ the flowers to all appearance were from plants never 
grown out-of-doors or in borders, but were grown in 
pots and under glass.” I can assure “Dianthus” he 
is greatly mistaken in this respect. He must know 
but little of Pink culture if he supposes anyone would 
attempt to grow and flower Pinks under glass in the 
month of June. I was at the Royal Nursery, Slough, 
a few days before the Pink Exhibition at the Royal 
Aquarium last year, and saw a remarkable lot of Pinks 
in the open air, the plants producing which had been 
in beds in the open ground all the winter without 
protection. The same can be said of Mr. Hooper’s 
Pinks and my own. 
Not having been the compiler of the schedule of 
prizes offered by the National Pink Society, I cannot 
set myself up as an authorised interpreter, but by 
“garden border Pinks” I should understand any of 
the varieties of D. plumarius grown in the open 
border. I daresay it is intended to exclude flowers of 
laced varieties that have been shaded, in order to 
bring out the lacing, so necessary to flowers that are 
required to compete in classes one to four ; but I 
should have no hesitation in exhibiting the flowers of 
any Pinks grown in the ordinary way on a border. 
Last year Mr. Turner staged some fine bunches of 
laced varieties, and it was thought by some that they 
should have been excluded from competition, but I 
cannot see in the present schedule of prizes any re¬ 
striction whatsoever that shuts them out from com¬ 
peting. 
"What does “ Dianthus ” mean by the “old tender 
form” of Pink, “which will not live in the open 
border, but can only be induced to thrive in pots and 
under glass I shall be glad if he will enlighten 
myself and others upon this point. I am afraid 
“Dianthus” is a little at sea in reference to Pink 
culture. I should have said June 24th and 25th for 
the Pink Show at the Royal Aquarium.— R. D. 
Pansies. 
A long spell of cold winds is exercising a prejudicial 
influence on Pansies and tending to late blooming, and 
midland growers are beginning to fear that the Midland 
Counties Pansy Exhibition, fixed for the 10th of June, 
will be too early. "We can only wait and see, but 
Pansies are not making much progress yet, and settled 
warm weather is much needed. It will be well to 
watch closely for the brown aphis, and keep the plants 
dressed with a weak solution of “ Swift and Sure ” and 
water. The season must be a late one, but a month of 
good, genial weather would do wonders, and growers are 
anxiously wishing for it. "Varieties which amateurs 
may be unfamiliar with, and throwing early blooms 
should not be judged by these, as they are invariably 
very much out of character, and will be until warmer 
weather comes.— D. 
New Auriculas. 
Mrs. Henwood. —This is a show variety belonging to 
the green-edged section. The leaves are large, obovate 
and mealy, chiefly along the edge. The eye of the 
flower is yellow, the paste white, the ground colour 
blackish maroon and the edge green. Mrs. Martin 
Sutton. —In this we have one belonging to the Alpine 
section, with a large golden yellow centre, a dark 
crimson ground, and a yellow edge shaded with 
crimson. Mrs. Douglas (Henwood).—This is also an 
Alpine, with a lemon centre, a maroon-crimson ground, 
and a rosy edge. All three were shown at the Royal 
Aquarium, Westminster, on the 29th ult., by Mr. T. 
E. Henwood, 16, Hamilton Road, Reading, when 
each received a First Class Certificate. 
Maud Fellowes (Turner). — The centre of this 
Alpine variety is creamy white, the ground colour rich 
maroon-purple, and the edge purple. Countess 
(Turner). —Here the centre is lemon, the ground colour 
crimson-purple, and the broad margin is purple. 
Alarum. —In this we have a golden centre, a maroon- 
crimson ground, and a crimson edge. Ophelia 
(Turner).—The centre of this is golden yellow, the 
ground colour crimson-purple, and the margin rosy 
purple. All the above four were exhibited by Mr. 
C. Turner, Slough, and received First Class Certificates. 
All belonged to the Alpine section. 
Abb£ Liszt (Douglas). — In this we have a show 
variety belonging to the green-edged section. The 
conspicuous golden yellow tube is surrounded by a 
narrow white paste, and that again by maroon-violet 
blotches of the ground colour, while the edge is green. 
Miss Prim (Douglas).—The edge in this case is grey, 
the ground colour maroon-violet, and the paste white. 
Marmion (Douglas).—Both this and the last named 
are show varieties of the same section. The foliage in 
this case is remarkably leathery in character. The 
paste is white, the ground colour maroon-violet, and 
the edge grey. All three were shown by Mr. J. 
Douglas, gardener to Mrs. Whitbourn, Great Gearies, 
Ilford, and received First Class Certificates. 
Gold-laced Polyanthuses. 
A' FEW days after the recent Drill Hall show I took a 
stroll a few miles into the country to the top of a high 
hill, where a friend of mine has set up a little nursery 
for the recuperation of his own health and the cultiva¬ 
tion of his flowers. Mr. Lewis Dunbar is as famous as 
ever in the love of his profession and success in the 
culture of whatever he takes in hand, and he has at 
Stopsley a veritable convalescent home for plant-life, 
far away from fog or smoke. His plants revel in 
sunshine and the purest atmosphere. The Polyanthus 
and the Auricula are in their true element ; 1 send you 
a few pips from a bed of seedlings planted out in the 
open ground under the shelter of a wooden fence, where 
they have wintered in strong loam, with no other 
protection than is afforded by this fence. They 
wintered covered with snow, and now the only gleam 
of sunshine they get is after four o’clock in the after¬ 
noon, yet they are as strong in foliage as a bed of 
Cabbages, and as bright as possible with gems of 
black and gold set in a bed of the purest emerald hue. 
Could my friend “R. D.” consign his pets to this 
locality for a season’s outing, they might return with 
life and constitution renewed, and the old varieties 
would come forth as fresh and glorious as in the days 
