676 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
June 22, 1889. 
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The “Show' 1 Tulip Exhibitions of 1889. 
The five prizes offered by the trustees of the Turner 
Memorial Fund for the best collection of “show” 
Tulips, to be exhibited at the Great Flower Show, held 
in the Inner Temple Gardens, London, on the 30th and 
31st ult., brought forward three collections only ! 
I felt anxious to further the object, and forwarded 
seventy-three blooms to the care of my friend, Mr. 
Richard Dean, to stage for me ; and I bestowed a great 
deal of attention to the “nursing” of my blooms for 
quite a fortnight prior to the show, in the hope of 
placing before the public some specimens—including 
many of my own seedlings—worthy of inspection ; 
but, alas, disappointment was my lot! On the 23rd 
ult., and several previous days, the heat in Cardiff 
was most intense, nearly baking my blooms, although 
they were protected as far as possible by my canvas 
awning. On the night of the 23rd it rained heavily, 
and the following morning the sun was again at great 
power ; the garden was full of steam, which had 
gathered under the covering of my best bed, every 
flower I had so carefully nursed and prepared for the 
London show appearing as though it had been scalded. 
The petals, which the night previous were firm and 
pure, had become quite flimsy, and the colours were all 
run from their refined and distinct markings into a 
confused mass. 
I can only recollect seeing Tulips in a similar state 
once before, and that was in the bath-room of the 
“Stork Hotel,” Birmingham, about sixteen years ago. 
Some of your readers will doubtless exclaim, “What 
were Tulips doing in the bath-room of the ‘Stork 
Hotel,’ Birmingham?” Well, I will explain. The 
Royal National Tulip Show was held that year at 
Birmingham, and the Lancashire flowers being rather 
later than usual in blooming that season, many of the 
blooms of our friends, Samuel Barlow, Esq., and the 
Rev. Mr. Horner, were merely buds, and as those 
gentlemen had put up at the “ Stork Hotel,” the first 
thing they did after arrival was to engage the bath¬ 
room for the whole of the night, “tipping” the 
chambermaid handsomely, for the purpose of ensuring 
the temperature of the bath-room being kept at a heat 
of about 90°, and they sat up until two o’clock in the 
morning watching the progress of their unmatured 
pets, in the hope of witnessing their speedy develop¬ 
ment into full-blown blooms. I am speaking from 
facts, for I was their guest on that particular evening. 
These over-anxious enthusiasts did not sleep very well, 
and they were up in the morning about six o’clock, 
when upon immediately entering the bath-room, they 
found their anticipated gems boiled, or,- in other words, 
steamed to death. The expressions of their respective 
countenances at such an unexpected calamity can be 
more easily imagined than explained. 
My misfortune almost prevented me exhibiting at the 
Inner Temple Gardens ; I, however, managed to get 
together, good, bad, and indifferent, a very unsatis¬ 
factory collection, but even these were too far advanced 
to stand the journey of 170 miles, several blooms having 
fallen before the day of the show, and quite one-fifth 
had badly faded, so Mr. Dean reported. If there is 
one florists’ flower more than another which ought to 
be exhibited in its primest condition, it is the show 
Tulip. The Royal National Tulip Society, or what 
would be a better appellation for it, the Lancashire 
Monopolists’ Tulip Society, held their annual exhibi¬ 
tion at the Botanical Gardens, Old Trafford, Manchester, 
on the 7th inst., and which, from all accounts, proved 
to be really the worst which has ever been held. 
The Lancashire growers had on this occasion beaten 
themselves with their own weapons, as the date 
of the show really suited nobody, and the prize-winners 
doubtless felt in their hearts a reluctance in carrying 
away their awards for flowers which on other occasions 
they never would have exhibited. 
Up to about ten years ago, and for generations 
previously, the custom was to decide on the day of 
exhibition each year on which day the show should be 
held in the subsequent year, and the exhibitor had to 
take his chance of the seasons being favourable or 
otherwise to him. It, of course, happened occasionally 
that the weather favoured the midland counties growers, 
to the disadvantage of those in Lancashire, and the 
latter not being willing to submit any longer to the 
old recognised arrangement, it was decided to convene 
a meeting of the members on the first Saturday in May 
of each year, at which time it was considered that 
every intending exhibitor would be able to say what 
date for exhibition would best suit his bloom, and vote 
accordingly. The result of this system is, of course, 
greatly to the advantage of the Lancashire exhibitors, 
and as they command a large majority the dates of the 
shows, as a rule, are fixed to suit themselves. I have 
always voted for about the 25th of May, but the 
Lancashire monopolists have invariably carried the 
show day into June, and the consequence to me and 
others similarly situated has been that we have rarely 
ever been able to exhibit our flowers when they have 
been at their best. It will thus be seen how misleading 
it is to the general public for this Manchester Tulip 
show to be adveitised and carried on as the Royal 
“National” Tulip Society. It must forthwith be 
altered, and for the future conducted upon a similar 
principle to that of the Auricula Society—viz , one 
exhibition to be held in London between the 20th and 
25th of May, and the other in Manchester between the 
25th and 30th of May, or any date more convenient to 
the cultivators of that district. 
Nothing is so disheartening and disappointing to an 
exhibitor as to see his best blooms withered up before 
the day of the show, and to find himself compelled to 
stage flowers out of condition, such as the majority 
represented at Manchester on the 7th instant.— James 
Thurstan, Finsbury House, Richmond Road, Cardiff. 
Tulips at Manchester. 
No one will feel offended when I state that the Tulip 
show at Manchester was disappointing ; but it was no 
fault of the growers. The few days of hot summer-like 
weather was felt as keenly in the north as in the south, 
and it had a very prejudicial and exhausting effect 
upon the Tulip bloom. Added to this, a terrific hail¬ 
storm a few days previously had its quota of effect 
upon increasing the difficulties of exhibitors; and 
they had to fall back upon almost anything they 
could get to make up their stands, therefore many 
unnimed and seedling blooms put in an appearanc , 
Mr. W. Kitchen’s pan of twelve blooms, two feathered 
and two flamed of each class, consisted of bizarres, 
feathered, Lord Lilford and Typho ; flamed, Dr. 
Hardy and Sir J. Paxton. Roses, feathered, Alice and 
Heroine ; flamed, Mabel and Aglaia. Byblcemens, 
feathered, seedling and John Hart ; flamed, two 
seedlings. Mr. Samuel Barlow, Stakehill, who was 
second, experienced great difficulty in making up a 
collection. He exhibited bizarres, feathered, George 
Scholes and Sir J. Paxton ; flamed, Dr. Hardy and Sir 
J. Paxton. Roses, feathered, two seedlings, one of 
them very bright in colour ; flamed, Annie McGregor 
and Lady Catherine Gordon. Byblcemens, feathered, 
Pegg’s Seedling and Queen of May ; flamed, Nimbus 
and Queen of May. The names of the varieties shown 
in the class for six blooms are not necessary, as they 
were similar to the foregoing, except that Mr. 
Kitchen, who was again first, had feathered bybloemen, 
Violet Amiable, a flower that, like Mrs. Jackson—-also 
a feathered byblcemen—never was in the breeder stage, 
but came rectified at the first time of blooming. 
In the class for three feathered Tulips, one of each 
section—always a most interesting one—Mr. W. 
Kitchen was first with bizarre, Typho ; byblcemen, 
Violet Amiable ; and rose, Mrs. Sanders. The last 
named was selected as the premier feathered flower in 
the show. It was raised by a Mr. Oldfield, of 
Bollington, and has a pure base, good petal, and is 
nicely feathered with bright rosy red. The three best 
flamed flowers came from Mr. H. Housley. He had 
bizarre, Sir J. Paxton ; rose, Annie McGregor; and 
byblcemen, Chancellor. The premier flamed flower 
was Sir J. Paxton, shown by Mr. W. Kitchen. 
In the classes for breeder Tulips, Mr. Barlow 
retained his old supremacy, being first with six, two of 
each section. His bizarres were Dr. Hardy and a 
seedling ; his roses, Miss Burdett Coutts and Mrs. 
Barlow ; his byblcemens, David Jackson and a seedling. 
How he managed to show at all was a wonder, for two 
days after the show he had not a bloom on any of his 
beds, and he had them all cut off on Whit-Monday. 
Mr. Kitchen was second with six breeders. He had a 
charming bloom of rose Annie McGregor, which was 
selected as the premier breeder ; and a seedling byblce- 
men unnamed, large in size, of good character generally, 
and of a rosy pink colour. 
One could but feel that the Tulip growers had done 
their very best to make a display ; and as the song 
says, “the best could do no more.” They could not 
control the weather ; they had to stand by and see 
their flowers go down before a high temperature that 
savoured of July rather than of May and the early days 
of June. I think they deserve to be congratulated 
upon the display they did make, all things considered. 
— R. D. 
The Norton Pansy Show, 
Norton is a district close to Birmingham, comprising 
King’s Norton, King’s Heath, and other districts, and 
as in some of these places a loamy soil is to be found, 
Pansies flourish. A society or club was formed some 
three or four years ago for the purpose of encouraging 
the cultivation of the Pansy and Viola, and with an 
annual exhibition. That for the current year took 
place on Monday, June 10th, in the large hall of the 
King’s Heath Institute ; but owing to the very heavy 
thunder and hail storms experienced lately, the general 
bloom had been greatly interfered with. Still, there 
were a goodly number of blooms, and a great amount 
of interest displayed, some of the local exhibitors 
staging some good stands. 
In the amateurs’ classes for twenty-four, eighteen, 
and twelve blooms, Mr. James Simkins, King’s Norton, 
author of the new book on the Pansy, took the first 
prizes. The twenty-four consisted of My Lady, Mrs. 
John Downie, Mrs. Browell, Pilrig, Allan Ashcroft, 
Mrs. J. Ellis, Evelyn Bruce, Renee, Mrs. Findlay, 
Mrs. P. Lutz, Mrs. Coupar, Neil McKay, Syren (not 
yet sent out), Mrs. Scott, Seedling, Princess Beatrice, 
May Tate, Cyril, William Dick, James Simkins, Mrs. 
Maxwell, Mrs. G. Webster, Bob Montgomery, and a 
seedling. In Mr. Simkins’ eighteen were fine blooms 
of Pilrig, Allan Ashcroft, Evelyn Bruce, My Lady, 
Mrs. Coupar, Mrs. P. Lutz, Mrs. Findlay, Mrs. John 
Downie, Renee, and Bob Montgomery. Mr. George 
Newell, gardener, EJgbaston, took second prizes 
in each class. Mr. Simkins was also first for twelve 
fancy Pansies in class 9 ; and Mr. Robert Austiu 
took the second prize. These were all in the open 
classes. 
In the amateur classes, Mr. Thomas Field, Kmg’s 
Norton, was first for twenty-four fancies, including 
fine blooms of John Pope, Evelyn Bruce, Neil McKay, 
Lord Rosebery, Pilrig, William Dean, and Princess 
Beatrice, and the same grower took the second prize for 
eighteen fancies. Mr. W. Clements, gardener to Mrs. 
Horton, took first prizes for six fancy Pansies in pots, 
and six Violas in pots, and these were better specimens 
than had been seen at previous shows. 
Messrs. Pope & Sons, nurserymen, King’s Norton, 
sent, not for competition, a fine display of fancy 
Pansies, very fine blooms, and they are grown in the 
King’s Norton loam, which has such a celebrity. Four 
blooms each of John Pope and Pilrig, attracted much 
attention. Of other sorts, the stands contained Charles 
Stansell, Lord Rosebery, Princess Beatrice, Mrs. J. 
Ellis, Mrs. P. Lutz, Mrs. Scott, Dr. Scott, and Allan 
Ashcroft. 
Messrs. Laird & Sons, nurserymen, Edinburgh, sent, 
not for competition, a very fine stand of sixty blooms, 
containing some promising unnamed seedlings, two or 
three of which would very probably have received 
certificates had there been three blooms of each, and 
named. Amongst the named flowers were John Pope, 
Evelyn Bruce, Mrs. Forrester, Mrs. Weir, James 
Alexander, very fine ; Pilrig, Neil McKay, Sir Charles 
Dilke, Princess Beatrice, Wm. Dick, James Simkins, 
a promising distinct new variety; P. J. Ross, an 
acquisition ; May Tate and others. Messrs. Bailey & 
Sons, florists, Sunderland, contributed a stand of 
fancies, amongst them fine blooms of Evelyn Bruce, Dr. 
McDonald, Princess Beatrice, Lord Rosebery, Charles 
Stansell, and My Lady. Messrs. John Lawson & Sons, 
florists, Sunderland, sent twenty-four blooms of fancies: 
Pilrig, George Cromb, Mrs. John Browne, Charles 
Stansell, My Lady, C. E. Brown, Archie Buchanan, 
Lord Rosebery, George Anderson, John Bryce, and 
Mrs. G. P. Fream, were all fine blooms. Mr. Hughes, 
Balsall Heath, a well-known amateur, contributed a 
box of blooms, which contained a fine flower of James 
Swann, a variety very little known. 
Of show Pansies there were none. The season in 
the Midlands has been an awkward one. So much rain, 
a frequency of thunderstorms, and intervals of almost 
scorching weather have occurred that Pansies are not 
blooming well. The only seedling exhibited for the 
society’s medal were three blooms of Mr. Simkins’ 
Princess ; but they were not in good condition, and 
the medal was not awarded. Mr. W. Dean received 
certificates for four seedling Violas—viz., Golden Gem, 
which has no blotch or dark marking whatever, Mrs. 
Wildsmith, Mrs. John Pope, and Mrs. Dransfield. Mr. 
E. Cooper, gardener to the Right Hon. Joseph 
Chamberlain, M.P., took first prizes for a group of 
plants and other exhibits ; and Mr. T. B. Thomson, 
nurseryman, special certificates for a beautiful group of 
plants and a wreath. Messrs. Pope & Sons also obtained 
the same honour for a very beautiful wreath of Orchids 
and other flowers. 
