READY. 
August 18, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
799 
ORCHIDS. 
Clean Healthy Plants at Low Prices. 
Alwuys worth a visit of inspection. Kindly send for Catalogue, 
Exotic Nnrseries, CHELTEliHAM. 
The Late MR. DODWELL’S 
GRAND CARNATIONS. 
THE FINEST GROWN. 
All Classes, 10/6 per dozen. 
List ot Specialties can be obtained of— 
Mr. A. MEDHURST, 
Thk Cottage, Stanley Road, Oxford. 
GRAND NEW ZONALS, 1894. 
Selected from Pearson’s, Cannell’s, Miller’s, and my 
own sets. 
Cuttings .. .. ■ • • • 6s. per doz. 
New Zonals, 1893, Cuttings.. .. 3s. ,, 
Very fine previous introduction .. 2S. ,, 
Free, Cash with Order. 
H. J. JONES, 
Ryecroft Nursery. Hither Green, Lewisham. 
For Index to Contents see page 810. 
“ Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man.”— Bacon. 
NEXT WEEK'S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Wednesday, August 22nd.—Shrewsbury Great Floral Fete 
(2 days). 
Kingswood St. George Flower Show. 
Friday, August 24th.—Orchid Sale at Protheroe & Morris’ 
Rooms. 
Edited by BRIAN WYNNE, F.R.H.S. 
SATURDAY, AUGUST iSth, 1894 . 
Overcrowding in Gardens. —Taking one 
^ garden with another, it is the rule 
rather than the exception to find too many 
rather than too few plants in them. One 
of the chief causes of this is the endeavour 
to grow an excess of subjects in a given 
space, and another reason may be found in 
the fact that we do not sufficiently confine 
ourselves to a few only of the best species 
or varieties of a genus. It may also truth¬ 
fully be said that far too much time and 
trouble is spent upon procuring a collection 
of the many rather than a selection of the 
few. Young gardeners are the chief 
offenders in this respect; they naturally 
try to grow all the plants their employer 
may desire to have, instead of at once 
pointing out the undesirability of so great 
a mixture. Very few of our small and 
medium-sized establishments are capable 
of growing one-half of the various subjects 
which some employers expect to see in 
their gardens. There are not sufficient 
houses to secure the necessary variations 
in temperature, and to have such a hetero¬ 
genous mixture as it has been our lot to see 
upon many occasions, cannot possibly fail to 
be unsatisfactory. It is easy enough to have 
variety in all houses and gardens, by a 
little judicious selection; but why try to 
cultivate those which a moment’s thought 
would convince us are totally unsuited to 
a similar temperature, aspect or soil ? 
This, however, is but one side of the 
subject of overcrowding, and a word must 
also be said as to the great harm done by 
trying to grow a score of plants when a 
dozen or so of the same subject would be 
so much more satisfactory; not only as 
regards produce in the case of fruits and 
vegetables, but also the appearance and 
value of any subject we can name. From 
the lowly Cabbage, or a bed of Parsley, to 
a half or full-sized specimen of some choice 
stove plant ; from the Gooseberry to the 
Apricot, in fact everything in plant life, we 
note what a pleasing difference exists 
between those with sufficient room to 
develop fairly, and the unfortunates which 
have literally to fight for life, and carry out 
the theory of the survival of the fittest. 
When crowded, we have double the labour 
upon the same ground or staging, and do 
not get nearly so satisfactory a growth. 
These remarks do not, of course, apply to 
trade growers, who have to study quantity; 
but even these know how great an error of 
judgment is committed by overcrowding. 
Whe Multiplicity of Prizes. —It is an 
ancient maxim that honour should be 
rendered to whom honour is due ; and if a 
grower is capable of taking a greater 
number of prizes than his rivals, why 
endeavour to curtail him ? So long as a 
schedule contains say twenty classes in 
which a grower can compete, surely it is 
unreasonable to say, “ You shall only 
receive a certain number of prizes, even 
if you win more by your superior skill.” 
But we know of some few, happily a very 
few, shows where such absurd rules exist, 
and the natural consequence of which is 
that competition is by no means so keen as 
it might be. 
No one is likely to go to the trouble and 
expense of exhibiting when they know that 
the prize is not likely to be handled by 
them, although honestly won and deserved. 
But what to us seems even more strange is 
that m the case now more particularly under 
notice, the schedule is broken up into divi¬ 
sions and classes tied against one another. 
Where are our good old maxims of “ Strike 
while the iron is hot,” “ Make hay while the 
sun shines,” etc., to be if one is checked in 
this form ? Wherever any curtailing is ne¬ 
cessary on the grounds of swamping the 
smaller growers, it is so simple to frame 
the schedule in such a form that one class 
or division is protected against the big man. 
It has even been suggested that a limit be 
placed upon the number of classes which a 
competitor may enter for ! This jealousy 
ot success in neighbours is not to be com¬ 
mended, and it does indeed seeni hard 
lines to withhold prizes from the legitimate 
winner. But it has not come to pass yet; 
nor, we venture to say, will it ever become 
general. We dislike'the mere pot-hunting 
spirit as much as anyone, but, because an 
exhibitor may be said to have done very 
well in taking a few prizes, it is a poor 
argument to say that he ought not to take 
more if he can, simply that someone else 
less able may get a share of the spoils ; and 
certainly it is no benefit to Horticulture 
that anything which tends to lower stan¬ 
dards should be encouraged by such 
narrow-minded rules. 
f ARNATioNS IN Towns. —Very few of our 
florists’ flowers will thrive better in 
town and suburban gardens than does the 
Carnation. Always a popular flower, very 
lasting both in a cut state and upon the 
plant, it is a matter for great surprise that 
we do not meet with them more often. 
Seedlings, as a rule, are much better than 
named plants propagated from layers, as 
far as the town gardener is concerned, and 
in this connection there is the saving in 
money besides the advantage of more 
