September 1, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
S 
Lefebvre, tea was served in a large marquee, and the 
party left at 5-30 p.m. on the return journey, Birming¬ 
ham being reached at 10-10 p.m. Perfect weather was 
enjoyed throughout the day, and all were delighted 
with the day’s outing. 
The Shrewsbury Flower Show,—The attendance at 
this popular exhibition last week seems to have been 
greater than ever, and it is quite refreshing, after such 
a run of financial failures as have been recorded this 
season, to hear of a genuine success. On the first day 
the sum of £247 Is. 3 d. was taken at the gates, and on 
the second—always the best day—the total reached 
£1,367 odd, over 40,000 persons being estimated to be 
present. The amounts named, we should add, do not 
include the value of the tickets sold before the show 
opened. Unfortunately, the second day’s proceedings 
were marred by a fatal accident which occurred at the 
railway station in the evening through the terrific crush 
on the platforms. As the Birmingham train approached 
the platform, an alarm was raised that a man was on 
the rails, who was subsequently discovered to be Mr. 
John Henry Harrison, a florist, of Lord’s Wood Road, 
Harborne. His body was picked up as quickly as 
possible and eonveyed to the infirmary, when he was 
found to be dead. 
A Mail’s Life Saved by a Gardener.—A gratifying 
instance of the value of ambulance instruction is 
reported from Wylam-on-Tyne. It seems that the 
coachman at Mr. Norman Cookson’s, of Oakwood, cut 
his fore-arm with a hay-knife, dividing all the principal 
blood vessels, and with considerable presence of mind 
Mr. John Crear, formerly under-gardener in the employ¬ 
ment of Mrs. Henderson, and a member of a branch of 
the St. John’s Ambulance Association, at once con¬ 
trolled the bleeding by a stick and bandage properly 
applied over the brachial artery. Dr. Foulis was 
summoned, and was much pleased to find an operation 
performed, without which, as he asserted, the man 
would have bled to death before his arrival. 
Testimonial to Mr. James Huntley.—This gentle¬ 
man is the hon. secretary of the Trowbridge Horticul¬ 
tural and Floral Society, and having been connected 
with it since its establishment thirty-six years ago, and 
having also filled the onerous post of secretary for a 
period of twenty-five years, it is thought that a 
testimonial should he presented to him, and an influen¬ 
tial committee has been formed at Trowbridge, with 
Messrs. T. S. Hill and J. Howard Foley as hon. 
secretaries. The society holds one exhibition every 
year on a large scale, and the labour connected there¬ 
with is very great. It is one of the best shows in the 
West of England, famous for its Fuchsias and vege¬ 
tables. Its financial position is sound—indeed, it is 
one to be envied, for when the last balance sheet was 
issued in November, the balance at the bank was £245. 
This means good management, and in this respect Mr. 
Huntley has proved an admirable manager. That a 
good sum vvill be realised towards a testimonial fund 
we have no doubt whatever. 
The Potato Disease : An Infallible Remedy !—It 
is announced that M. Prilleux has just put before 
the French Academy of Science an infallible remedy 
for the Potato disease. This is the recipe : Put 13 lbs. 
of sulphate of copper, and the same quantity of chalk, 
into 22 gallons of water, and souse the plants with the 
mixture. .An experiment made from the 5th to the 
16th ult. saved the diseased plants thus treated, while 
thirty-two per cent, of those which were left to them¬ 
selves went to the wall. But the disease must he 
taken in hand as soon as the first black spots have 
been perceived on the leaves. 
Hardy Flowers at Reading.—With reference to 
the report of the Reading show, published in our last, a 
correspondent points out that Mr. E. F. Such, of 
Maidenhead, won the first prize with a dozen bunches 
of hardy flowers in a competition against other stands 
containing choice greenhouse and stove flowers, and 
that he was second to Mr. Phippin with 18 bunches of 
hardy flowers, the former showing mostly greenhouse 
subjects. 
Vegetarian Food.—Mr. Joseph Knight, secretary of 
the Vegetarian Society, 75, Princes Street, Manchester, 
writes :—“ In your issue of the 25th inst. is a reference 
to a vegetarian meeting held in London. Will you 
kindly permit me to say that if any of your readers are 
desirous of knowing more about vegetarian food, which 
is at once cheaper, healthier and pleasanter than the 
ordinary mixed diet, I shall be happy to send a few 
papers to any inquirer on receipt of request.” 
Maidstone Chrysanthemum and Fruit Society.— 
The annual exhibition of this society will be held at 
the Com Exchange, Maidstone, on November 13th 
and 14th. 
A GARDENERS’ PARTY AT 
THE DELL. 
Bearing in mind the pleasant excursion made to 
Swanley and Eynsford last year, the members of the 
National Chrysanthemum Society decided to repeat the 
experiment this season, but changing the venue from 
Kent to Surrey. Permission having been most kindly and 
readily given by Baron Schroder for the party to visit 
his beautiful gardens at The Dell, Egham, some seventy- 
five members and friends left the Waterloo terminus 
by a mid-day train on the 24th ult. Arrived at 
Egham station, the party availed themselves of some 
conveyances that were at hand, and as many roads lead 
to Rome, so several lead to The Dell, and considerable 
amusement wa4 created as to who should get there first 
by going in different directions. Mr. Ballantine, the 
gardener, was waiting to welcome the visitors, who 
formed a gathering such as is seldom or never seen in 
this rural retreat. Many questions were asked as to 
why Chrysanthemum men should visit an establish¬ 
ment where Orchids rather than “Mums” are the 
special feature ; but Chrysanthemums were found in 
the garden, and in considerable force, to the joy of the 
special “Mum’’ lovers. A move was soon made to 
the Orchid houses and others in succession, and 
although the occupants of the former structures are to 
all intents and purposes out of season, yet some grand 
pieces of rare and beautiful subjects were there to 
gratify the eyes of both connoisseurs and others, who 
were, perhaps, as unfamiliar with the great Orchid 
family as they were practical in Chrysanthemum 
culture. 
Great interest was centred on a group of Cattleyas 
and Lselias such as is rarely witnessed in any country. 
The central object of this magnificent group was C. 
Hardyana, with the bold and handsome proportions of 
C. gigas ; and the huge rich crimson-purple and orange 
labellum was well backed up by the rosy petals, richly 
reticulated with dark veins and white markings like a 
Fritillary. C. Schroderiana and Lselia callistoglossa 
came in for a share of attention, which was little, how¬ 
ever, compared with that bestowed on L. elegans, and 
its even more elegant variety, L. e. Turneri, of which 
there are several colours, and by some considered 
worthy of specific distinction or something equivalent 
to it, because believed to be natural hybrids. Very 
worthy of notice was an intensely dark-coloured 
variety, with the lateral lobes of the labellum rolled 
over the column in a striking manner. The beautiful 
white and yellow-throated, sweet-scented C. Eldorado 
alba augmented the list of good things, as well as 
Pachystoma Thompsoniana, Dendrobium macrophv- 
llum Yeitchii, D. rhodostoma, Oncidium Limminghei, 
Galeandra Baueri, Maxillaria venusta, and Houlletia 
Brocklehurstiana, the latter of which is a singularly 
striking and curious combination of colours. A magni¬ 
ficent piece of Saccolabium Harrisianum filling a basket 
3 ft. square, is not at present in flower, but its value is 
such that none but connoisseurs can understand. A 
great number of Cypripediums, including C. Dominy- 
anum, C. grande, C. Morganiae, C. Sedeni candidulum, 
C. albo-purpureum, and a great many others scattered 
through the houses, afforded a display which is only 
exceeded by their persistency in flowering. But a rich 
floral feast was yet in store in the shape of some plants 
of Peristeria elata, and a grand bank of Disa grandi- 
flora. One pot of the former, standing on the floor to 
give it head-room, had five spikes of bloom about 7 ft. 
high, one of them which was counted carrying thirty 
flowers of the purest white. There were about sixty 
spikes of Disa grandiflora, each carrying from one to 
four flowers. Though the latter number is exceedingly 
unusual, the flowers are in no way diminished in size. 
A fine piece of Utricularia montana in a basket hung 
up to the roof of the house, was no doubt taken for an 
Orchid by many. The roofs of other houses were 
beautifully festooned with various climbers, such as Alla- 
mandas, Lapageria alba, and Gloriosa superba with its 
fantastically formed scarlet and yellow flowers. Yarious 
Aroids, such as Alocasia Thibautiana, Anthurium War- 
ocqueanum, A’. Andreanum and A. Yeitchii, constitute 
a special feature in themselves, especially the latter, a 
gigantic specimen of which is doubtless the largest in 
the country. The leaves are 4 ft. or 5 ft. in length, 
and the plant is 8 ft. or 9 ft. in diameter. Fourteen 
lights of a frame filled with Nerine Fothergilli major, 
the bulbs of’which at present look baked and dead, 
will by and bye afford a magnificent spectacle ; the 
flower spikes have already commenced to push up. 
The Pine-Apple houses, Melon and Cucumber pits 
were each visited in turn, and also that containing a 
fine collection of Calanthes, making good growth. The 
vineries were eagerly inspected, and afforded excellent 
samples of cultivation. The wonderful blue-black bloom 
of Alnwick Seedling is apt to make one’s mouth water ; 
one rod bore seventeen large bunches, while Duke of 
Buccleuch had twelve and Black Hamburgh nineteen 
large bunches. Madresfield Court and Muscat of Alex¬ 
andria were also equally fine. 
From the gardens the visitors passed by a subway to 
the charming pleasure grounds, where a beautiful 
prospect awaited them in the bedding and the rich 
collection of Coniferie, all in robust vigour. The 
Cedars, Araucarias, Thujas, Cupressus, and Retinos- 
poras are exceedingly rich and varied in their respec¬ 
tive colours, such as those of Retinospora plumosa 
aurea and R. p. argentea, which are too conspicuous 
and fine to be overlooked. By the kind permission of 
the Baron, the picture gallery and the statuary were 
inspected and admired. From the mansion itself fine 
views of Windsor Castle were obtained through glades 
and vistas in Windsor Forest, against which the house 
and gardens abut. 
During the inspection of this fine country residence, 
time sped unheeded till it was time to think of the 
inner man, and arrangements having previously been 
made by the secretary, the whole party proceeded by 
conveyance and otherwise at a rapid pace towards the 
“ Anglers’ Rest ” Sotel, Bell Weir, Egham—a charming 
and secluded retreat on the banks of the Thames— 
where the host, Mr. Hyde, had prepared an ample 
repast for his hungry guests. When this was finished, 
Mr. Holmes, in a suitable speech, requested the party 
in an informal manner (so as to exclude anything like 
a matter of business) to commission the president of 
the society, Mr. E. Sanderson, who was present, to 
write to Baron Schroder and his courteous gardener, 
Mr. Ballantine, to thank each for the great kindness 
they had bestowed on the National Chrysanthemum 
Society, in granting permission to visit and inspect 
the beautiful gardens and pleasure grounds at the 
Dell. By this time it was raining in torrents, but 
soon cleared up, and the order of the day for the brief 
remaining time being “Go as you please,” the party 
availed themselves of the opportunity to ramble on the 
banks of the Thames and view the local places of 
interest, amongst which were Magna Charta Island, 
Holloway’s Sanatorium on the hill, permission to visit 
which being kindly granted by the authorities. In 
due time the party found their way to Egham railway 
station, where a number of carriages were specially 
set apart for the accommodation of the same. At 
length, without hitch or mishap, Waterloo station 
was reached, at which, and at several stations along 
the line, the party broke up— 
“And each took aff his several way, 
Resolved to meet some ither day.” 
— Visitor. 
-- 
ffoTES ON URUITS. 
, 
Lord Napier Nectarine. 
This very desirable variety possesses qualities which 
strongly recommends it for cultivation by everybody. 
It is at present, perhaps, one of the most extensively 
grown of all Nectarines, and the fruit being of good 
size, handsome colour and good flavour, makes it 
specially valuable for exhibition purposes. It is a 
good cropper, and stands forcing well, which is a great 
point in its favour. In habit of growth it is not 
strong, rather the reverse, and the leaves are somewhat 
small and dark green. Another good Nectarine is 
Rivers’ Orange, the fruit being of medium size, and, as 
its name implies, of a dark orange colour, heightened by 
vivid rose. In habit it is similar to the foregoing, with 
the exception of its leaves, which are not so dark a 
green in colour.— F. R. S. 
Angelina Burdett Plum. 
This is a very fine purple Plum, now to be seen fruiting 
in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, at 
Chiswick, both on a wall and as a standard. It was 
raised many years ago by the late Mr. H. Dowling, 
Woolston Lawn, Southampton. The skin is thick and 
of a dark purple colour, covered with brown dots and 
blue bloom. Dr. Hogg describes it as “flesh juicy, 
yellowish, rich, and highly flavoured, separating from 
the stone ; an excellent dessert Plum, ripe in the 
beginning of September, and if allowed to hang until it 
shrivels, it forms a perfect sweetmeat. The tree is a 
good bearer, and hardy.” The plant on the wall is 
bearing only at the extremities of the branches, which 
is peculiar to Plums, but a standard tree is very heavily 
laden. There is a coloured illustration of this Plum by 
Andrews, in the volume of the Florist for 1853.— R. D. 
