September 21, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
49 
lings. Beechhill Beauty, a delicate rose shade of 
La France, is undoubtedly good. A fine white 
variety is Mrs. Downie. Apple Blossom and La 
Neige are also noticeable. Croton Golden Ring and 
The Countess were very well shown. The large 
collection of Cannas formed the centrepiece of this 
handsome table, built up with Palms and Liliums. 
Caladiums also were very well done, the table itself 
being gracefully edged in rustic bark, overhanging 
which were Adiantums and so on. 
Messrs, Thomas Methven & Sons, of 15, Princes 
Street, Leith Walk, and Warriston Nurseries, showed 
a very handsome table of some 250 square feet in 
extent. Liliums were a strong point, some pretty 
pieces of L. auratum, and L. lancifolium rubrum with 
choice Caladiums of all the leading varieties formed 
a main feature of this table. Amongst the latter we 
noticed Baron James de Rothschild, A. Van Geert, 
Gabriel Lemoineand MadameJ. R. Box of noble foli¬ 
age and large in proportion. There were other choice 
foliage plants in the way of Crotons and a very pretty 
edging to the group was effected with Caladium 
argyrites and Panicum. The same firm also showed 
an excellent collection of Begonias, very rich in 
colour throughout, erect, and of excellent habit, the 
most noticeable being the crimson and orange 
shades. 
Messrs. R. B. Laird & Sons, the well-known 
nurserymen, South Frederick Street, Edinburgh, 
exhibited a table of the choicest stove and green¬ 
house plants which bore evidence of a trained 
selection. Most noticeable amongst these were 
some handsome Caladiums, and new varieties of 
Dracaenas, a speciality being the narrow-leaved 
varieties. They had also some very excellent 
examples of Crotons, always a leading feature with 
this firm. A large group of magnificent Conifers 
near the band-stand also justified, in an emphatic 
manner, the resources of which our friends are 
capable. The Cactus, single and double Dahlias 
also shown by them were thoroughly up to date. 
Messrs. James Dickson & Sons, 32, Hanover 
Street, exhibited, as usual, some excellent examples 
of Conifers, for which they were awarded premier 
honours in competition. We understand that our 
friends usually take the lead in this department, and 
the present exhibit was certainly not any exception 
to this rule. Messrs. J. & R. Thyne, of St. Vin¬ 
cent Street, Glasgow, also contributed a very hand¬ 
some table, for which they were awarded a special 
first prize, as will be seen in the official list below. 
Their exhibit contained some excellent varieties of 
the choicest table plants, and fully sustained the 
high-class reputation enjoyed by this firm. 
Messrs. Laing and Mather, Kelso, N.B., had 
really a very beautiful collection of Carnations, in¬ 
cluding Duchess of Fife, Mrs. Bramwell Elliott, 
Vicountess Crombies, pink, Ketton Rose, and 
Salamander. Our readers are probably aware that 
in October last this firm received Royal Letters of 
Appointment to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. They 
showed over forty varieties of Sweet Peas, and a 
more pleasing collection of these very useful and 
very beautiful blooms would be difficult to find, 
the exhibit being quite a feature of the show. 
Messrs. W. & J. Birkenhead, Fern Nurseries, 
Sale, Manchester, had their customary liberal col¬ 
lection of Ferns. There were over 400 varieties 
upon which the enthusiast and the amateur might 
profitably feast their gaze. Many of these varieties 
are new, principal among them being Adiantum 
concinnum gracile, and A. manicatum. There was 
a choice lot of Filmy Ferns and the Stagshorn 
Fern. One a very rare example, said to be in the 
possession of very few—we refer to Platycerium 
Wallichi; this in itself was an interesting exhibit. 
There was a very good lot of British hardy Ferns, 
which always command considerable interest 
amongst the Scottish devotees of this department, 
Athyrium Filix-foemina calothrix, being one of the 
prettiest. We also noticed Pteris cretica semper- 
virens, a dark-green frond with light coloured crests, 
likely to be much sought after. A new Adiantum 
worth looking after is the variety macrophyllum 
albo striatum, variegated from pink to green as it 
reaches maturity. There were some very good 
examples of Davallia figiensis, which created so 
much interest at the Temple Show last May, and 
the whole exhibit fully deserved the constant inspec¬ 
tion which it received from the large number of 
visitors present. 
Messrs. James Cocker & Sons, of Aberdeen, this 
year, as we mentioned in our last week’s issue, com¬ 
pletely swept the board for honours for first place 
amongst their favourite Roses. To detail, they were 
first for the thirty-six class, first for eighteen, and 
first for twenty-four Teas, besides having the premier 
award for twelve specimens of the ever-welcome 
variety Alfred Colomb. Similarly, first honours were 
accorded them for a very handsome board of twelve 
specimens of Mrs. John Laing. A total of ten first 
prizes out of twelve entries is almost an unequalled 
record, but in the case of the Aberdeen firm we must 
always be prepared, like their opponents, for the best 
and for the worst. They also had a really very 
handsomely arranged bank of herbaceous flowers 
including all the best varieties of Montbretias and 
perennial Sunflowers, Gaillardias, and a very fine 
white variety with a yellow centre named Chrysan¬ 
themum grandiflorum. This variety has been 
raised, and placed in commerce by Messrs. Cocker 
& Sons, and from the specimens exhibited it would 
appear to have a very useful future before it. We 
noticed also a collection of hardy Heaths, all very 
useful in their particular department, and a box of 
that very pretty and petite Rose William Allen 
Richardson. The plants of this ever-welcome 
variety are raised upon the open ground from 
November to March. The whole of this truly mag¬ 
nificent exhibit consisting of over two hundred 
varieties, and occupying a table of three hundred 
square feet was awarded the Society's Silver Medal 
—-a most deserved award for the evident expendi¬ 
ture of skill, time, and trouble, which this exhibit 
must have entailed. 
The well-known manure manufacturer from the 
east coast, Messrs. Colchester, of Ipswich, as usual 
exhibited samples of the now indispensable pure 
Ichthemic Guano, and afforded substantial evidence 
of its value in the really handsome collection of 
plants and fruit produced with the aid of this 
fertiliser at Mr. Phillips’, Granton Nurseries, Edin¬ 
burgh. Additional effect was lent to this stand by 
the really handsome drapery which formed aground- 
work in old gold and terra-cotta colours. Some fine 
samples of Austin’s Eclipse Tomato, in branches, were 
also staged on this stand and formed the subject of 
considerable remark throughout the show. 
Mr. John Forbes, Nurseryman, Hawick, showed 
the very newest variety of Carnation in “ Buccleuch 
Clove," which he considers the best variety in cultiva¬ 
tion. There was a good collection of border and show 
Carnations and Picotees. Dahlias of all sections 
were good alike in colour and finish. Hollyhocks 
were well shown, but were, perhaps, a trifle inferior 
to those exhibited in Mr. Forbes’ competitive entry 
in the nursery class in which he was very rightly 
accorded first honours. Some new Phloxes and Pent- 
stemons were also very well done. Some Marigolds 
and Cockscombs of a good strain were an attractive 
section, and the Begonia Gloire de Lorraine has 
probably a very useful future before it. Mr. 
Michael Cuthbertson, of Rothesay, contributed a 
very pretty lot of cut bloom of the herbaceous order 
for which he is so noted. Mr. M. Campbell, of 
High Blantyre, showed Carnation Primrose League, 
a new variety, yellow ground, large petals edged 
with Rose. Valkyrie is a salmon-pink. In pompon 
Dahlias, Admiration is crimson, tipped white, 
comparatively new, and the Cactus Lady H. 
Grosvenor is a rich amber. Matchless was an 
interesting variety almost black and Lady Pen¬ 
zance has also become a favourite in this section. 
Mr. Henry Eckford, of Wem, Salop, was awarded 
the Society’s Silver Medal for seventy varieties of 
Sweet Peas arranged in 100 glasses. Crown Prince 
and Queen Victoria are good varieties ; Chancellor 
is also new, deep pink, shaded with purple, and is a 
finely expanded flower. Lovely is a delicate pink 
self, and there were several other new sorts of equal 
interest. Mr. Hugh Hannan’s Coral Queen 
Cabbage Lettuce was shown very well in some of the 
first prize exhibits in that section. Mr. Hannan is 
justly proud of this variety. 
Messrs. D. & W. Buchanan, Forth Vineyards 
Kippen, were awarded a Silver Medal for a very 
handsome table of Grapes. All the fruit shown was 
cut from vines carrying three pounds per foot run of 
rod, and included Cooper’s Black, Alnwick Seedling 
and Canon Hall Muscat. In Tomatos the Forth 
Vineyard’s selected variety was decidedly good. There 
was also a big ten pound bunch of Barbarossa shown, 
and the vine leaves for table decoration for which 
this firm is so noted also assisted in making their 
exhibit one of the prettiest in the show. Moving 
amongst the visitors we noticed that veteran in 
horticultural matters, Mr. Robert Morrison, of 
Edinburgh, who, thirty years ago, assisted to found 
the Edinburgh Working Men's Flower Show. A 
pleasing recognition of his services in the interests of 
horticulture took place last month when his admirers 
very happily presented Mr. Morrison with an 
elegantly engraved snuff-box, together with a malacca 
walking-stick having an ivory head suitably in¬ 
scribed. 
Some inconvenient crowding in the evening 
audiences might perhaps be avoided were the com¬ 
mittee to arrange for the passage of visitors in regu¬ 
lated directions. With a vast concourse of people, such 
as we see here, some better system is necessary, and 
we have no doubt that on the next occasion this very 
necessary detail will be looked to in the interests of 
the comfort of those who come to see the exhibits. 
The following is the official list of special 
awards:— 
Special First Prizes of £3 3s. 
Messrs. R. B. Laird & Sons, Edinburgh ; Messrs. 
John Methven & Sons, Edinburgh; Messrs. J. & R. 
Thyne, Glasgow; Mr. John Downie, Edinburgh. 
Silver Medals (value £2 2s.) 
Messrs. Dobbie & Co., Rothesay ; Mr. H. Deverill, 
Banbury; Messrs. J. Cocker & Sons, Aberdeen; 
Messrs. Fell & Co., Hexham; Messrs. Laing & 
Mather, Kelso; Mr. D. W. Buchanan, Kippen, 
Stirling ; Mr. Henry Eckford, Wem, Salop. 
Bronze Medals (value /i is.) 
Mr. John Forbes, Hawick; Mr. M. Cuthbertson, 
Rothesay; Messrs. Cunningham, Fraser, & Co., 
Edinburgh ; Mr. M. Campbell, Blantyre; Mr. Alex. 
Lister, Rothesay. 
Letters of Thanks. 
Messrs. W. & J. Birkenhead, Sale ; The Ichthemic 
Guano Co., Ipswich; Mr. A. Finlay, Markinch; 
Messrs. W. Thomson & Sons, Ltd., Clovenfords. 
The Banquet. 
Immediately after the conclusion of the judging, the 
council judges and principal exhibitors sat down to 
a well-selected menu provided by host Clark at the 
Royal British Hotel, which is the society’s head¬ 
quarters during the continuance of the show. At 
the head of the table was Judge Coulston, supported 
on either hand by Councillors Hunter and Morton, 
who were present from the Edinburgh Town 
Council. The vice-chairs were filled by Croupiers 
Laird and D. W. Thomson. After due discussion 
of the good things provided by the generosity 
of the society the chairman submitted the usual 
loyal toasts, which were suitably responded to. 
Mr. Robert Laird proposed the health of the Lord 
Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council of the City 
of Edinburgh, commenting upon the welcome 
interest which the council always took in matters 
relating to horticulture, particularly with regard to 
the public gardens of the City. Judge Coulston, in 
the absence of the Lord Provost, replied in very 
happily conceived terms, saying that the subject of 
horticulture was always a welcome one with them 
as a municipal body. He reminded his hearers 
that the Town Council had undoubtedly done 
already a vast deal for the profession they loved so 
well in providing such a unique building as the 
Waverley Market in which they were accustomed 
to hold their shows. It was admitted on all hands 
to be the best place in the United Kingdom for such 
a purpose, and, amidst loud applause, he ventured to 
forecast the advent of the electric light, which would 
be an undoubted boon. Mr. David Thomson, of 
Drumlanrig, submitted the toast of the Royal 
Caledonian Society, tracing the history of the institu¬ 
tion within his recollection to forty years back. 
From evidence before him the speaker said that 
horticulture was undoubtedly a growing trade, and he 
was glad to see that the number of English exhibitors 
coming forward to try their mettle was on the 
increase. No society equalled that of the Royal 
Caledonian, and the general satisfaction with its 
administration was a matter upon which they might 
feel contented. He coupled with the toast the name 
of Mr. William Young, the secretary, who replied in 
a humorous vein, enquiring of the chairman what his 
verdict would be in his official capacity in the event 
of one of the gardening profession being brought 
before him. This reminded him of the printer who 
was brought before Judge Coulston for adjudica¬ 
tion, and that gentleman replied, impromptu, that he 
