190 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
Nov. 22nd, 1884. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOWS. 
Reading.—This was the first Exhibition of a new 
Society, having an organization quite distinct from 
that of the long-established Reading Horticultural 
Society. The Hon. Secretary is Mr. Richard W. 
Catchgood—who has worked hard to secure the success 
of the new movement, and, we are happy to state, 
not without ample reward—assisted by Mr. William 
Smith. The Exhibition took place on November 14th, 
and it was a great improvement upon that held last 
year by the Reading Horticultural Society. There were 
enough subjects to fill both Town Halls, the old and 
new, which are in one set of buildings. The plants 
were pretty good, the cut flowers very fine. Some¬ 
thing has yet to be learned by local growers in 
regard to turning out thoroughly good specimens, but 
what was seen on this occasion^was such an advance 
upon last year that there is ample reason to believe 
next year will show a still greater improvement. Mr. 
Farey, gardener to C. Shepherd, Esq., Woodley Hills, 
Reading, had the best nine plants of Large Flowering, 
and Mr. Brooker, gardener to R. Tompkins, Esq., 
Reading, the best six. The former lot were dwarf- 
trained specimens, the latter plants of upright growth, 
carrying good-heads of bloom. Mr, Turton, gardener 
to John Hargreaves, Esq., Maiden Erleigh, the 
President of the new Society, had the best three 
Specimens; Mr. Farey had the best three Standards, 
Japanese varieties being admissible in all. Mr. Ashby, 
gardener to W. Fanning, Esq., Whitchurch, had the 
best six Pompons, upright-grown plants, with excel¬ 
lent heads of bloom. A fine dark variety named 
Fanny, and the golden St. Michael were particularly 
noticeable. 
In the class for a Group of Chrysanthemums to fill 
a space of fifty square feet there was a good competi¬ 
tion ; the best ,came from Mr. Brooker, well-grown 
plants of Japanese and incurved, having good heads of 
bloom; Mr. Baskett, gardener to W. J. Palmer, 
Esq., Reading, was second; and Mr. Ashby third. 
Extra prizes were awarded to Messrs. Turton and 
Hatch. 
The prizes for Incurved Blooms brought several 
outside growers of note. The best twelve came from 
Mr. W. R. Strong, gardener, Wellington College, and he 
staged very fine examples of Golden Empress, Cherub, 
Golden Queen of England, Empress of India, Lady 
Hardinge,Prince of Wales, Queen of England, Empress 
Imperial (a yellow sport from Queen of England, greatly 
resembling Golden Empress), Empress Eugenie, 
Mr. Jay, Lady Slade, and Mr. Shipman. Mr. Farey 
came in second with a very good lot indeed. Mr. 
T. W. Flight, Twyford, Hants, had the best eighteen 
incurved, a very fine lot indeed, the following being of 
high-class quality:—Mr. W. Shipman,Empress of India, 
Hero of Stoke Newington, Golden Empress of India, 
John Salter, Empress of India, Nil Desperandum, 
Princess Teck, Prince Alfred, Barbara, Mr. Bunn, Mr. 
Brunlees, Lady Slade, Eve, Lady Hardinge, Venus, 
Cherub, and Isabella Bott. Mr. Strong, Wellington 
College, was second, with a very good lot also. The 
best six, and they were superb blooms, came from an 
old friend, Mr. Wildsmith, whom we were pleased to 
see reaping honours in a new field of action. The 
reflexed Varieties were very good, better, we thought, 
than at the Royal Aquarium. Mr. Elliott, of Maiden¬ 
head, had the best twelve, and Mr. Flight the best six; 
these were very fine, and consisted of Pink Christine, 
Golden Christine, King of Crimsons, Dr. Sharpe, 
Cloth of Gold, and Mr. Forsyth. In the Japanese 
Classes there was a very keen competition. The best 
twelve came from Mr. Flight, who had really grand 
blooms of II Japonaise, Mr. Barnes, Comte de Germiny, 
Sultan, F. M. Davis, Fanny Boucharlat, Comtesse 
de Beauregard, Fair Maid of Guernsey, Duchess of 
Albany, Thunberg, Baronne de Prailly, and Alba 
plena. Mr. Wildsmith was first in the class for Six 
Varieties, staging perfect blooms of Fail' Maid of 
Guernsey, Comtesse de Audiguier, Soleil Levant, 
Comte de Germiny, Hiver Fleur, and Thunberg. The 
anemone-flowered varieties, both large flowered and 
Pompon, were very pretty, and appeared to attract 
much attention. Pompons in bunches of six varieties 
were very good also. 
Epergnes,Baskets and Bouquets of Chrysanthemums 
were well done; but especially so by Mr. George 
Phippin, of the Oxford Road Nursery, Reading’s 
chief floral decorator, who had a stand of crosses, 
wreaths, bouquets, &e., of choice flowers that formed 
a leading feature in the Show. 
There were a few Fruit Classes : for Grapes, collec¬ 
tions, &c. The Grapes were below par, but then it is a 
little late for them. Mr. Turton had the best six dishes 
of fruit, staging Lady Downes and Muscat of Alexandria 
Grapes ; Beurre Diel Pears, King of the Pippin Apples, 
Medlars, and Filberts. Mr. Mills, gardener to R. 
Ravenhill, Esq., was second; and he had a dish of well- 
kept Coe’s Golden Drop Plums. Mr. Turton had the 
best six dishes of Apples, staging capital examples 
of Ribston Pippin, King of Pippins, Cox’s Orange 
Pippin, Court Pendu Plat, Prince Albert, and Mere 
de Menage. Mr. Hermon, gardener to F. Skurray, 
Esq., Reading, was second. Mr. Turton had the best 
six dishes of Pears, staging very fine examples of 
Catillac, Beurre Bachelier, Triomphe de Jodoigne, 
Beurre Diel, Beurre Clairgeau, and Beurre d’ Aremberg. 
The show-rooms were completely crowded during the 
afternoon. 
Manchester.—The annual Chrysanthemum Show 
of the Royal Botanical Society of Manchester was 
held on Wednesday and Thursday, in the Town Hall, 
and compared favourably with former ones of the 
same class. It was, indeed, a larger and more 
complete exhibition of Chrysanthemums than has 
been seen in this city for some time. The Society 
had, as usual, offered a series of money prizes, 
amounting in the aggregate to about £50. The 
entries were numerous, and the Show would have 
been still larger if all the expected exhibits had 
been staged. The present autumn has been on 
the whole favourable to the cultivation of the 
Chrysanthemum, though probably a little more 
moisture would have been an advantage. Mr. Charles 
S. Agnew, whose name will be familiar to many 
readers in connection with the growth of these 
plants, carried off the principal award of the day, 
namely, the first prize in the class for nine large- 
flowered, distinct varieties. His specimens were of 
great merit, and well deserved the position assigned 
to them. The blooms numbered from seven to twelve 
on each specimen, and were finely developed and 
beautifully coloured. There were one or two plants 
of Chevalier Domage, a blaze of yellow; an exquisite 
Princess of Teck, a mass of white; Hero of Stoke, 
pink, and others. Mr. William Holland, of Higher 
Broughton, took the second prize with a collection of 
more than usual excellence, including Chevalier 
Domage, Mr. Bunn (another yellow variety), and the 
dark Triomphe du Nord. Mr. Thos. Statter, of 
Whitefield, took the third prize with a series in which 
there were a number of very good plants. An extra 
prize was awarded in this class to Mr. M. L. Yates, of 
Didsbury, for a number of plants which in point of 
merit approached closely to those of the other 
exhibitors named. In. the next class, for four large- 
flowered distinct Chrysanthemums, Mr. Charles S. 
Agnew again took the premier position. His capitaj 
quartett of specimens included Queen of England and 
Empress of India. Mr. William Holland was again 
second, and the third prize fell to Mr. James Fletcher, 
of Stoneclough, who competed without success in the 
class first mentioned. The Pompon and Japanese 
Chrysanthemums, whilst not so numerous as the large- 
flowered varieties, were nevertheless very good. In 
the class for four Pompons the first prize was 
awarded to Mr. M. S. Bles, of Broughton Park. Well 
flowered, and of varied colour, the specimens sent by 
him were at the same time of good habit, and bore 
evidence of careful and intelligent cultivation. Almost 
equally good were those of Mr. Thos. Dickins, of 
Higher Broughton, who obtained the second place, and 
of Mr. A. Bles, Higher Broughton, who secured the 
third prize. 
In the class for eight Chrysanthemums for Conser¬ 
vatory decoration, not disbudded, the first prize was 
taken by Mr, Thomas Dickins. Among the plants 
shown were illustrations of Golden Cedo Nulli, Mons. 
Plancheron, La Nymph, and Mulberry. In the class 
for Six Japanese Chrysanthemums, Mr. C. S. Agnew 
carried off the palm with some beautiful flowers. 
Noticeable in his collection was a fine specimen of La 
Nymph, with nearly thirty blooms, and an equally 
good Cossack, with a great mass of flowers. Mr. M. L. 
Yates took the second position with some exhibits of 
great merit, which had evidently been carefully culti¬ 
vated, whilst the third prize went to Mr. Thos. Statter. 
Mr. J. Allen, of Oldfield Hall, Altrincham, showed, not 
for competition, a capital series of large-flowered 
Chrysanthemums consisting of some forty plants. 
The judges considered the collection so good that they 
awarded Mr. Allen an extra prize. There was a large 
and attractive show of cut blooms of Chrysanthemums 
and a number of exquisite bouquets. In the latter the 
prizes went mostly to nurserymen. Messrs. Dickson, 
Brown, and Tate, Messrs. G. and W. Yates, Mr. J. 
Hooley (Stockport), and Mr. A. J. A. Bruce, Edge 
Lane, Chorlton, exhibited miscellaneous collections of 
plants including a few Chrysanthemums. The Silver 
Medal of the Society was awarded to Mr. T. W. 
Tatton, of Wythenshawe, for a rich collection of 
Apples, embracing some forty dishes and nearly as 
many varieties. Apples are also shown by Mr. W. G. 
Caldwell, nurseryman, Knutsford, and Messrs. Richard 
Smith & Co., of 'Worcester. 
-■ : - 
Birmingham. —The twenty-fourth annual Exhi¬ 
bition of Chrysanthemums, Fruit and Flowers at 
Birmingham, was again held in the Town Hall on 
Wednesday and Thursday, and surpassed all its 
predecessors in the number and beauty of the exhibits. 
The arrangement of the exhibits was an improvement 
on last year’s, the stages in the centre of the hall 
having been lowered, and those under the galleries 
dispensed with, thus enabling visitors not only to see 
to greater advantage the general effect of each collec¬ 
tion, but to inspect with greater ease the beauties of 
individual specimens. In the centre of the hall were 
ranged the large Chrysanthemums, and in the midst 
of these stove and greenhouse plants. Under the 
galleries the cut flowers and groups of flowering and 
foliage plants were shown ; while the galleries were 
chiefly devoted to fruit. The Chrysanthemums in 
pots formed the most numerous department, and 
taken as a whole, were wonderfully good. In the 
class for nine there were three competitors, the plants 
running very close together in point of quality. H. 
H. Hill, Esq. (gardener, Mr. W. Doughty), took the 
first prize for a very fine lot of plants; the second 
going to Mr. J. Crook, whose plants were exceedingly 
well-flowered; and the third to the Mayor (Alderman 
Martineau). In the class for six, the Mayor was 
first, and the whole of the plants shown in the class 
were of high quality. Among other specialities in 
the pot-classes were some very fine Japanese varieties, 
which took a first prize. This collection included one 
of the finest specimens ever seen in the district. The 
Pompons were much finer than usual. Prizes were 
awarded for groups of Chrysanthemums without any 
condition as to the number of plants shown in each. 
J. Marigold, Esq. (Mr. W. H. Dyer, gardener), took 
the first prize for an excellent group, remarkable for 
great variety of colour and specially fine blooms. 
Of the cut flowers it is impossible to speak too 
highly, the flowers throughout the exhibition being of 
the first quality. The first prize in the Premier Class 
fell to F. H. Gossage, Esq., of Wooton (gardener, 
Mr. J. Jellicoe). The blooms in this collection were 
marvellously fine, especially the Japanese. This 
gentleman and Sir H. Allsopp, Bart., who took the 
first prize in the class, showed well throughout the 
exhibition. In the class for eighteen Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, the first prize went to Mr. Gossage, the second 
to Mr. G. A. Everett (Knowle), and the third to Mr. 
J. Marigold. The class for twelve Japanese Blooms, 
was a very interesting feature of the Show. Mr. 
Gossage was first, and Sir H. Allsopp second. 
In the miscellaneous department the Mayor took 
the first prize for a collection of plants of very great 
meril^ which included a magnificent specimen of 
Croton Veitchii. The collection also included very 
fine specimens of Eucharis Amazonica and Caflicarpa 
purpurea. The second prize collection was shown by 
Mr. H. H. Hill, and included splendid examples of 
Cycas revoluta, and Croton augustifolius. In the class 
for Stove and Greenhouse Plants, Mr. J. Marigold took 
the first prize with a collection conspicuous in which was 
a good example of Gleichenia Mendelli and a beautiful 
Croton majesticus. The Rt. Hon. J. Chamberlain, M.P. 
(gardener, Mr. J. Cooper), exhibited a very pretty and 
well-grown group. Mr. H. Elkington also showed a 
fine collection of plants, well-grown and uniform in 
