808 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 23, 1890. 
J^O^ICUATUI^. 
--i-- 
The Southern Pink Society. 
I have recently had an opportunity of talking over 
with Mr. James Thurstan, the prospects of the Southern 
Pink Exhibition. He is, naturally enough, somewhat 
disappointed that so far no amateur growers of the 
Pink appear to he coming to the fore round London ; 
and I share this feeling with him. I had hoped that 
at the Pink exhibition held in June, at the Royal 
Aquarium, we should have found some amateur 
cultivators coming forward to give the best support 
possible to the proposal of an annual Pink show in 
London, by exhibiting flowers, but they were con¬ 
spicuous by their absence. I am sure we are all 
grateful to such trade growers as Messrs. Turner and 
Hooper, for showing so largely of the varieties of Pinks 
in cultivation ; hut the best well-wishers of the society 
hope that another year, other growers, and especially 
the amateur element, will be found producing their 
blooms. 
But if our efforts to make an annual show in the south 
are supported only by Messrs. Turner and Hooper, I 
do not think the game is worth the candle, as the 
saying is. Our Auricula and Carnation Societies in the 
south are really little better than happy hunting 
grounds for a few leading exhibitors, who take 
between them a very large proportion of the prize 
money. It will be said by these exhibitors—and with 
a great deal of truth—that they largely help to make a 
show, which is the fact; at the same time, the existence 
of such a state of things does not conduce so much as 
one can desire to the bringing in of fresh blood. If, 
therefore, the Pink Society is to follow on the same 
lines as the Auricula and Carnation Societies, it 
will be of very doubtful value to floriculture in the 
south. 
My object in penning these remarks—and I write 
freely in order to give a lead to others to state boldly 
what they think—is to call attention to the matter so 
that effort can be made, if possible, to bring in growers 
and exhibitors of the amateur class. Our great object 
is to revive the culture of the Pink in the south, and 
the question arises, How can we best bring this about? 
We are close upon the commencement of another Pink 
season. Next month, or certainly not later than 
October, beds of Pinks should be planted, as there is 
little chance of a good head of bloom unless the plants 
are well grown on in pots previous to being planted out. 
What, then, can be done in the way of securing 
additional growers, so as to secure some competitors in 
1891 ? Now is the time to agitate for an increased 
interest and support; if we cannot do better in 1891 
than we did in 1890, we shall find it difficult to justify 
the existence of the society as a separate institution. 
Will anyone offer suggestions ? I trust other fanciers 
of the Pink will take up the subject, so that we may 
gradually lead the newly-formed Pink Society on from 
good to better. Will Mr. Ranger Johnson, who has 
done so much in the direction of building up the 
society, make a statement as to the results of the late 
exhibition, and give us his opinion of its future 
prospects?— R. D. 
—-- 
SHRUBBY VERONICAS. 
Among the many half-hardy plants which are grown 
for decorative purposes, either in flower borders or in 
pots for conservatory or house decoration, these shrubby 
Yeronicas are not the least beautiful, as anyone who 
has seen them luxuriating near the sea-side will readily 
admit. They are among the best things grown along 
the south coast, where in many places they survive 
most winters. Unfortunately they generally succumb 
to frost near London, and it would seem that few 
among them can withstand more than 5° or 6° of frost. 
Notwithstanding this drawback, however, they are 
well adapted for town gardens, enduring the smoke 
and fog better than many other subjects, flowering till 
very late in the season, and making a beautiful contrast 
to many things usually seen in such places. 
Cuttings struck early in the autumn, and grown on 
into 4-in. pots during the winter and early spring, 
make nice plants for turning out in the borders in 
May. They will require little attention beyond an 
occasional watering till well established, after which 
they will endure a considerable amount of drought 
without being much distressed. Should any be wanted 
for the late autumn or early winter decoration of the 
conservatory, they may be lifted from the borders and 
potted, and if well watered at the time, and placed in a 
shady place for a few days, they soon recover, and 
make a pleasing feature grouped in with Chrysan¬ 
themums and Salvias. 
I have often thought that if they were more tender 
they would be better looked after, and be more prized 
for the beauties they possess, by many who devote the 
house room at their command so exclusively to a very 
limited variety of plants. On the other hand, I have 
often regretted, when having a fine lot of them flowering 
away splendidly till very late in the season, that with 
us they are only half-hardy, and that the elegant spikes 
of flower, variously shaded through tints of white, 
porcelain-blue, rosy lavender, and, in some varieties, 
crimson, must so soon be a prey to the relentless 
elements. I have asked myself whether the hybridist 
could not step in here and lend us his aid by the pro¬ 
duction of a hardier race, for which I think the 
materials are at hand. 
I allude particularly to Y. Traversii, which is proved 
to be quite as hardy as most of our garden shrubs, and 
is of excellent habit. Could not this be used as the 
seed-bearing parent crossed with some of the dwarfer 
varieties of V. speciosa, such as Gloire de Lorraine or 
Blue Gem? Whoever is successful in producing a 
hardier race will confer a real—though not, perchance, 
a great—benefit on the gardening community, and 
perform a feat which should prove moderately remuner¬ 
ative to himself. The original species of shrubby 
Yeronicas are natives of New Zealand and Yan 
Dieman’s Land, and have been introduced during the 
present century. Many hybrid kinds have been put 
into cultivation, and some variety of colour and greater 
dwarfness have been obtained by these means ; but, so 
far as I know, no advance towards increased hardiness 
has been made. There is a variegated form of Y. 
Andersoni, which is effective in some bedding arrange¬ 
ments.— TV. B. G. 
--- 
THE LATE MR. HENRY BENNETT. 
In our last issue we briefly announced the decease of 
Mr. Henry Bennett, of Shepperton, than whom few 
men better deserved honour at the hands of British 
Rose growers. Of his physical decadence we had for 
some months been painfully aware, still the distressing 
announcement that he had passed away came like a 
shock at the last. He had long been suffering from 
heart disease, and for some weeks before his death had 
been confined to his bedroom. To Mr. Bennett is due 
the honour of having raised some of the best English 
seedling Roses of the day, and had he but given to us 
Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, Her Majesty, and Mrs. John 
Laing, three of the very finest Roses of the age, his 
memory would have deserved warm appreciation. 
Until some nine or ten years ago our deceased friend 
was a successful farmer in the West of England, and a 
keen judge of, and successful breeder of stock, especially 
sheep. He came of a good farming stock, and was 
born at Codford St. Mary, in Wiltshire, in August, 
1823. His first farm was in the parish of Cheriton, in 
Hampshire ; his second at Kilmiston, and his last at 
Stapleford, near Salisbury, in the famed Wiley Valley. 
He went to Stapleford in 1864, and left about nine 
years ago, when he settled down to his favourite 
pursuit — Rose growing — at Shepperton-on-Thames. 
Besides being a successful farmer, Mr. Bennett was a 
born florist, and was an exhibitor of Dahlias, Fuchsias, 
and Roses at the local shows over forty years ago, and 
a grower of Roses for a longer period than that. It 
was about 1867 when he commenced growing Roses for 
sale, but it was not until about 1879 that Rose growers, 
or perhaps we should more correctly say most of them, 
were gratified by the discovery that at least one grower 
at home was enabled to produce some novelties worthy 
of the highest place in Rose lists—and that grower was 
the Wiltshire farmer, Henry Bennett. 
In 1871, and the two following years, he paid visits 
to the Rose nurseries of Lyons, with a view to dis¬ 
covering, if he could, whether in the home of the 
Rose, the raisers resorted to manual fecundation, or 
worked on any scientific principle that he was not 
aware of ; but, as he has himself told us, he "could 
see plainly that Rose-raising in France was like cattle- 
breeding in Mexico, or horse-breeding in the New 
Forest, simply leaving Nature to herself, and selecting 
the best of her produce.” He then went to work him¬ 
self on scientific, not happy-go-lucky principles, and 
having discovered after some experiments how to 
fecundate the flowers, and make them produce ripe 
seeds in abundance, he judiciously crossed his var¬ 
ieties, selecting carefully his seed-bearing parents, at 
first using chiefly two Tea varieties, Alba rosea and 
President, and in a short time he produced a host of 
Roses of merit, especially for their brilliant colours and 
continuous blooming properties. Space forbids our 
going closely into subsequent details respecting his 
successes, the sensation which Her Majesty made when 
shown for the Gold Medal of the National Rose 
Society, and the sale to the American nurseryman, Mr. 
Evans, of Philadelphia, of some of his finest novelties, 
W. F. Bennett, the first crimson Tea Rose, Her 
Majesty, Mrs. John Laing, The Puritan, and The 
Meteor, at prices which had not previously been dreamt 
of, much less realised. 
Had Mr. Bennett started earlier in life to breed Roses, 
much more—we can hardly realise how much more— 
might have been accomplished ; still, late though it was 
in life when he began, his record of good work done is 
worthy of all praise, as the list of Roses given below 
which he raised, and that have been sent out, 
will show. He has left many unnamed seedlings, which 
were undergoing probation at the time of his death, and 
it may be interesting to note that the last he named, 
Captain Hayward, is not unlikely to find a purchaser 
in the United States. A man of somewhat abrupt rural 
manners, he was singularly good hearted, thoroughly 
sincere in his friendships, and a good hater of humbugs 
in whatever walk of life he found them. We lament 
his loss, as we do that of every old friend whose death 
leaves a sad void in the circle of our acquaintances. 
His body was interred at Stapleford on Saturday last. 
He has left four sons and two daughters to mourn the 
loss of a most indulgent parent, and it is not improb¬ 
able that the seedlings and nursery may ere long come 
into the market. 
The following is a list of the Roses raised by Mr. 
Bennett, with the dates of the years in which they 
were sent out: — 
Beauty of Stapleford, hybrid Tea (Alba rosea x 
Countess of Oxford). 1879. 
Duke of Connaught, hybrid Tea (President X Louis 
Van Houtte). 1879. 
Duchess of Connaught, hybrid Tea (President X 
Duchesse de Yallombrosa). 1879. 
Duchess of Westminster, hybrid Tea (President X 
Marquise de Castellane). 1879. 
Hon. G. Bancroft, hybrid Tea (Madame de St. 
Joseph X Lord Macaulay). 1879. 
Jean Sisley, hybrid Tea (President X Emilie 
Hausburg). 1879. 
Michael Saunders, hybrid Tea (President X Madame 
Victor Verdier). 1879. 
Pearl, hybrid Tea (President X Comtesse de Serenyi). 
1879. 
Viscountess Falmouth, hybrid Tea (President X 
Soupert et Notting). 1879. 
Princess of Wales, Tea (Adam X Elise Sauvage). 
1882. 
Countess of Pembroke, hybrid Tea (President X 
Charles Lefebvre). 1882. 
Distinction, hybrid Tea (Madame de St. Joseph X 
Mdlle. Eugenie Verdier). 1882. 
Lady Mary Fitzwilliam, hybrid Tea (Devoniensis X 
Victor Verdier). 1882. 
Earl of Pembroke, hybrid perpetual (Marquise de 
Castellane X Ferdinand de Lesseps). i882. 
Heinrich Schultheis, hybrid perpetual (Mabel Mor¬ 
rison X Mons. E. Y. Teas). 1882. 
Mary Bennett, hybrid perpetual (a seedling from 
Baroness Rothschild). 1884. 
Mrs. George Dickson, hybrid perpetual. 1884. 
Grace Darling, Tea. 1884. 
Ye Primrose Dame, Tea. 1886. 
Viscountess Folkestone, Tea. 18S6. 
Her Majesty, hybrid Tea (Mabel Morrison X 
Canary). 1886. 
William F. Bennett, crimson Tea. 1886. 
Princess Beatrice, Tea. 1887. 
Mrs. John Laing, hybrid perpetual (a seedling from 
Francis Michelon). 1887. 
The Puritan, hybrid Tea (Mabel Morrison X 
Devoniensis). 1887. 
The Meteor, hybrid Tea. 1887. 
Golden Fairy, Polvantha. 1888. 
Little Dot, Polyantha. 18S8. 
Cleopatra, Tea. 1889. 
Dulce Bella, Tea. 1889. 
Maid of the Mist, hybrid Tea (a white sport from 
Lady Mary Fitzwilliam). 1889. 
Minutifolia alba, Polyantha. 1889. 
Nancy Lee, hybrid Tea, was also raised by Mr. 
Bennett, but we have been unable to get the date when 
it was sent out. 
