July 30, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
753 
NOTES FROM CHESTER. 
The generally expressed opinion that this provincial 
gathering of the National Rose Society would be a 
grand and representative one was fully borne out. 
While there were many very grand boxes exhibited, 
I did not see a single bad one, with perhaps the ex¬ 
ception of one in the class for garden Roses, where 
the exhibitor was evidently under the wrong impres¬ 
sion as to the meaning attached to that term by the 
National Rose Society. This society class the Poly- 
antha and other miniature Roses—with such as the 
Ayrshire, Banksian.etc.—as garden Roses, and do not 
include the most serviceable of the Teas and Hybrid 
Perpetuals. In this respect, the term “Garden 
Roses " is somewhat misleading to those who do not 
follow the society’s schedule and catalogue closely. 
The exhibitor in question showed such as Auguste 
Mie, Baronne Prevost, La France, a few of the 
Bourbons, and many more of the really good and 
useful Roses for garden work ; but they were badly 
set up. 
The feature of the show was the grand colour 
and form found in the darker hybrid perpetuals, 
Victor Hugo, Prince Arthur, Horace Vernet, General 
Jacqueminot, Fisher Holmes, Grand Mogul, Sir 
Rowland Hill, and many moTe of our darkest Roses 
being shown in perfection. As at the Metropolitan 
show of this society, the medal for the best hybrid 
perpetual was carried off by a superb flower of 
Gustave Piganeau, a new Rose that I have had 
occasion to mention more than once in these pages. 
Mrs. W. J. Grant was shown at the Crystal Palace 
in competition for the Gold Medal offered for new 
Roses ; it was unsuccessful at the London show, but 
easily carried off that coveted honour at Chester. 
Since making these notes, I have seen this new Rose 
described as somewhat resembling Jeannie Dickson, 
a production of the same firm ; but I fail to see the 
resemblance either in the blooms exhibited at the 
Crystal Palace or at Chester. It is evidently a most 
promising Rose. So, too, are the two sports from 
Messrs. Harkness, of Bedale, who exhibited two very 
distinct kinds that emanated from h p. Henrich 
Schultheis. One of these sports, named Merrie 
England, is decidedly the finest of all striped Roses, 
and is destined to become popular among the more 
unique of the garden varieties. Merrie England is 
striped, or rather flaked with a deep and very clear 
rose colour upon a pale flesh ground. The stripe or 
flake is particularly clear and bright, while the Rose 
has retained all of the sweet scent and good consti¬ 
tution of Henrich Schultheis. Mrs. Harkness is the 
name given to the other sport from this good and 
useful h. p. Rose. This is the most delicate and 
beautiful flesh-pink imaginable, and the general ex¬ 
pression of the leading trade and amateur growers 
was that there was “ money in it." 
Mrs. Arthur Wilson, another new Rose, was also 
much admired. This was sent by Mr. G. Swailes, 
of Beverley. It is a pretty Rose, but lacking the 
substance so important in new Roses of the present 
day. I noticed that the judges had written on the 
name card the following few words: “ We think well 
of it, and would like to see it again." It is another 
addition to our light pink Roses, and has a good 
shape. 
Among the box of twelve new Roses shown by 
Messrs. A. Dickson & Son, of Newtownards, Ireland, 
I noticed three unnamed seedlings that are certain to 
be heard of again in the near future. All of them 
seem after the strain of Mrs. John Laing, and 
promise to be very useful. 
Among the “medal" Roses, were two that have 
never before taken that high honour at any of the 
National Rose Society's exhibitions. I allude to the 
superb flower of h.p. Comte de Raimbaud in the 
Rev. J. Pemberton's stand ; and the grand Tea, 
Souvenir de S. A. Prince, in that of E. Mawley, Esq. 
Berkhampsted. Both of these were the finest 
flowers of their kind I have ever seen, and were 
indeed worthy of so high an honour. 
Colchester, Bath, and Southwell were the chief 
winning districts, Colchester heading the list with no 
less than 6 firsts, 8 seconds, and 3 thirds. The 
Jubilee Trophy for nurserymen also went to that 
town; so that both the Metropolitan Champion 
Trophy and also the Jubilee Trophy are in the same 
place, the former being held by Mr. F. Cant and 
the latter by Mr. B. R. Cant. These two also 
gained the premier prize for 72 single trusses of dis¬ 
tinct varieties ; F. Cant winning at the Crystal 
Palace and B. R. Cant winning at Chester. Singu¬ 
lar to say, these two firms were first and second in 
almost identical classes both at the Crystal Palace 
and at Chester, the order being reversed at each 
show. 
'The flowers staged in the class for the Jubilee 
Trophy were as grand a lot as I have seen this 
season. Nine of the chief growers competed, and it 
was no easy task to say which were first without a 
very careful and close scrutiny. L„ P. Budd, Esq., 
of Bath, was the winner of the Jubilee Trophy for 
amateurs, and showed some of our darkest Roses in 
grand form ; Doctor Andry, Marie Rady, Duchess of 
Bedford, Harrison Weir, A. K. Williams, and Duke 
of Wellington being particularly striking. Here, too, 
the first and second competitors were remarkably 
close; Rev. J. Pemberton and E B Lindsell, Esq. 
(the winner of the Metropolitan Trophy), following 
in the order named. 
Fond as I am of Roses, and having travelled about 
two hundred and fifty miles to see this show, I must 
confess that the chief charm lay in the great 
pleasure of such charming collections of herbaceous 
subjects as those exhibited by Rev. Page-Roberts, 
Rev. L. Garnet, and others. 1 have never seen these 
set up more tastefully or to better advantage. I abo 
noticed a grand new Fern in the collection of the 
Messrs. Dicksons, of Chester. This well known 
firm were not competing, but they showed some 
grand examples of Roses and various herbaceous 
flowers, in addition to their grand new Fern, 
Adiantum C. Veneris imbricatum. This is a beauti¬ 
ful variety of the semi-hardy British Maidenhair, 
and is certainly destined to put A. Farleyense on one 
side. Its pinules are almost as large and of much 
the same colour. Messrs. Dicksons assured me it 
was equally as hardy and easily grown as the type, 
and judging from appearances, independently of such 
trustworthy information, I should say it was one of 
the most useful of all Ferns for the ordinary green¬ 
house. It is quite as easily grown as A. cuneatum, 
and it would be difficult to say too much in its 
favour .—Experience 
-- 
REDLEAF & PENSHURST. 
The National Chrysanthemum Society arranged to 
have its annual outing on Friday, the 22nd inst. It 
took the form of a visit to Penshurst Place, Kent, the 
ancient baronial home of the Rt. Hon. the Lord de 
L'Isle, who kindly gave the use of his grounds for the 
day. Permission was also given the members, by 
F. Ernest Hills, Esq., to walk through his beautiful 
grounds of Redleaf. This was done on the way 
from Penshurst railway station to Penshurst Place. 
The party numbered nearly one hundred, and the 
day being delightfully fine and the arrangements ex¬ 
cellent, the outing was a decided success. 
Redleaf. 
The grounds here were entered at the lodge gates 
about the middle of a hill or steep incline, and the 
avenue was lined on one side by tall trees of Cupres- 
sus Lawsoniana, while the other was skirted by 
patriarchal Beeches and Oaks with trunks of great 
size. Near one front of the mansion, a beautiful 
modern residence built of red bricks, with corners, 
cornices, and mullions of stone, were Cedars of 
Lebanon, Deodars, Wellingtonias, Thuya gigantea, 
40 ft. high, and fine specimens of Picea Smithii. The 
conservatory was next visited, a moderate sized 
structure but apparently much larger by reason of 
the glass mirrors which multiply everything reflected 
in them. Filmy Ferns in glass enclosed places were 
in healthy condition ; Fuchsias in baskets, and 
Cobaea scandens variegata adorned the roof. There 
was also a fine piece of the variegated New Zealand 
Flax. Close by was the Fernery, an even more de¬ 
ceptive and fairy scene on account of the method of 
laying out and planting and the reduplicating 
mirrors. The sides are built up in the form of rock- 
work, and planted with Ferns, including many Tree 
Ferns and fine-foliaged Begonias. The pillars are 
enclosed with wire netting, enclosing soil covered 
with a living greenery of Selaginella Kraussiana, 
while the capitals are planted with Maidenhair Fern 
and Nephrolepis exaltata. Filmy Ferns are also 
here; and Lygodium scandens is trained up the 
slender pillars or divisions of some of the mirrors. 
The whole presented a charming appearance, and 
looked quite animated when filled with visitors. 
The southern aspect of the mansion is partly 
covered with Jasmine, Ivy, Ampelopsis Veitchii, and 
Lonicera flexuosa aureo-reticulata. In front of it is 
some neat carpet bedding. Looking down into the 
valley a charming prospect meets the eye, owing to 
the steep declivities and the naturally undulating 
character of the ground. To the right the natural 
rocks are seen cropping out on the opposite side of a 
valley, and to the left ?. lake is seen disappearing 
amongst the trees. The ground on the slope is richly 
variegated with some fine specimens of Retinospora 
plumosa aurea, Thuya orientalis aurea, T. o. elegan- 
tissima, and the golden variegated Lawson’s Cypress. 
Passing to the left the visitors walked through and 
down the face of a rugged piece of rockwork and 
Cypripedium Evenor. 
