372 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Feb. 14th, 1885. 
plants are concerned, and which it is most 
probable affects in some way shrnbs and trees. 
That is the excessive drought of last year, and 
specially of the autumn, which checked root 
development and at the same time the production 
of those stout crowns and growths which are so 
much the quicker amenable to excitability than 
are less robust growths. We see this specially 
evidenced in Polyanthuses and Primroses, which, 
often in free bloom at this date, are this year 
very late and dormant and also much wanting 
that robust leafage which a moister season leaves 
behind. On all kinds of trees there is still a 
restfulness that is both marked and encouraging. 
Probably the buds are harder or riper than in 
some seasons, hence their more restful or less 
excitable condition. This backward state of things 
is eminently satisfactory, because as long as the 
crowns and buds lay dormant they are safe, 
whilst if developed by warmer weather later on 
they come away with greater force and strength, 
and for that reason are all the more fruitful. 
There seems good reason to hope that we may 
have a more equable spring than some preceding 
ones have been. 
The Teee Tomato. —In the temperate-house 
at Kew a plant may now be seen in fruit of the 
the Tree Tomato, Cyphomandra betacea. Mr. 
Morris, who some time ago sent home a good 
batch of seeds from Jamaica, states that it is not 
generally known and the fruit seldom used, but 
as it answers in every respect the purposes for 
which the ordinary Tomato is esteemed, it is, 
without doubt, a fruit that should be more 
extensively cultivated for winter use, its bearing 
season being from November to March. The 
plant is of shrubby habit and 5 ft. or 6 ft. 
high, and Mr. Morris states in The Gardener’s 
Chronicle that it is easily raised from seed, and 
comes into bearing in about two years. 
cr~ - — 
KALAMAZOO CELERY. 
Midway between Detroit and Chicago lies the 
beautiful city of Kalamazoo, sometimes appropriately 
called Celeryville. Fifty tons of the esculent are 
exported from Kalamazoo daily now during the height 
of the shipping season. Kalamazoo Celery is famed 
from ocean to ocean, and is the brand called for 
everywhere. Shipping begins about July, increasing 
till the holidays, then gradually decreasing until the 
crop is disposed of in the spring. More growers are 
annually holding their crop until the firmer markets 
of spring. Three thousand tons were shipped from 
this point alone during 1883, and the shipment for 
1884 is estimated at 5,000 tons. From 1,500 to 2,000 
acres are devoted to the industry in this vicinity, and 
the production of a superior article has never 
exceeded the demand. Twenty thousand stalks are 
easily raised during the season on an acre, and 
the wholesale price ranges from 15 to 25 per cent, per 
dozen. 
Marsh land has become the home of this luxury, 
and Hollanders are the main producers. Driving 
north from Kalamazoo through the country, one 
passes great 100-acre farms devoted to the sweet- 
scented Celery, reminding one of that Methodist 
hymn— 
“ Sweet fields beyond . . . 
Stand dressed in living green.” 
One would never forget a drive through the Celery 
gardens in any direction from Kalamazoo; the long 
rows keeping their bright green till November, as crop 
follows crop ; and the fields being unmarred by fences 
or anything except the cozy cottages of the thrifty 
Hollanders. The irrepressible Yankee has, of course, 
bought large tracts and gone into its culture, but the 
mass of growers cultivate from 3 to 10 acres, raise the 
choicest article, and make the most money. Too 
much expensive hand-labour is required to justify 
going into the business on a large scale .—Detroit Free 
Press. 
Me. B. S. Williams, Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, 
Upper Holloway, has received a Boyal Warrant 
appointing him Nurseryman to H.R.H. the Prince of 
Wales. 
Mr. John Methven, of Edinburgh, has been elected 
president for the year of the Scottish Seed and 
Nursery Trade Association; Mr. B. B. Laird, vice- 
president, and Mr. David Hunter, secretary. 
Me. James Wells, the oldest pensioner on the books 
of the Gardeners’ Boyal Benevolent Institution, died 
a few days ago at Lyndhurst. Mr. Wells, who was 
elected a pensioner in 18G0, had reached the good old 
age of ninty-seven years. He was for many years 
gardener at Easthampstead Park. 
Another pensioner of the Institution has also died 
within the last few days, in the person of Mr. Charles 
Elworthy, of Taunton. Mr. Elworthy was gardener 
first to Sir John, and afterwards to Sir W. C. Trevel¬ 
yan, at Nettlecombe, from 1832 until a few years ago, 
when he was succeeded by his son. He was an 
excellent practical gardener and a great authority on 
British ferns, of which he raised many new varieties, 
especially of Athyrium and Scolopendrium, beautiful 
forms of which bear his name. 
An Exhibition of Plants, Flowers, and Fruits will be 
held in the Botanical Gardens, Sheffield, on July 17tlr 
and 18th. 
The Wirral Bose Show will be held on July 18tli, at 
Birkenhead. 
Mr. Heney B. Illman has resigned his appointment 
as foreman to the Cranston Seed and Nursery Com¬ 
pany, and commenced business on his own account 
as a nurseryman and florist, at Hampton Green, 
Tupsley, Hereford. 
Mr. Andrew Dick who some years ago was gardener 
at Dale Park, Arundel, and subsequently at Lord 
Vernon’s, Sudbury Hall, Derby, died at the Denham 
Boad Nursery, Uxbridge, on the 5th inst., aged 
seventy-six years. Mr. Dick, after leaving Sudbury 
Hall, went to Kew, where he remained until stricken 
down with illness some fifteen years ago. 
The Rev. James Sprunt with vffiom some years 
ago originated the sport from Safrano which developed 
into the popular Tea Bose Isabella Sprunt, recently 
died in Dupplin County, North Carolina. 
We regret to learn of the death on the 19th ult., 
of the distinguished American Pomologist, Charles 
Downing. 
Me. Jules Chuffort, Vice-President of The Boyal 
Society of Horticulture and Agriculture of Tournai, 
died on the 9th ult. 
The Seventh Annual Show of the Harpenden 
Horticultural Society has been fixed for Wednesday, 
August 26th. 
The prizes offered last year by the Scottish Seed 
and Nursery Trade for the best essays on “ The best 
and most economical system for the afforestation of 
waste and otherwise unprofitable lands in the United 
Kingdom,” have been awarded to Mr. Wm. Mackintosh, 
Lovat Estates Office, Beauly, and Mr. Wm. Lindsay, 
Kinnoul Hill, Perth. 
The Committee of the Broekham Bose Association 
have accepted an invitation from Sir Trevor Lawrence, 
Bart., M.P., to hold their Bose Show at Burford Lodge 
on June 27th. 
Me. Goldsmith’s late foreman at Hollanden, Mr. T. 
Crosswell, has been engaged as gardener to Lady 
Forester, at Meaford, Stone. 
At the meeting of the Preston and Fuhvood Horti¬ 
cultural Society, to be held this (Saturday) evening, 
at the Old Legs of Man Hotel, Fishergate, Mr. Wm. 
P. Roberts, of the Gardens, Cuerden Hall, will read 
a paper on “Bulbs, Conns, Tubers, and Rhizomes.” 
At the last monthly meeting of the St. Peter’s, 
Hammersmith, and District Gardeners’ Amateurs’, and 
Cottagers’ Improvement Society, held at 91, Black 
Lion Lane, Dr. Stephen Nockholds, Dr. Lawrence, 
Mr. Newton, Mr. Bray, and Mr. Bain were elected 
honorary members, and Mr. H. Wakeman, Mr. C. 
Smith, Mr. W. Griffin, Mr. C. Johnson, Mr. Finch, and 
Mr. Hedges, as ordinary members. The president, 
Mr. Stanton, read a paper on the Introduction and 
Cultivation of Chrysanthemums, the latter portion of 
his subject dealing with the plants from the cutting to 
the flowering stage. An interesting discussion ensued, 
in which the vice-president, Mr. Woods, and the hon. 
secretary, Mr. H. J. Farrow (a successful working-class 
amateur) took part. 
SHOW PRIZES AND AWARDS. 
In reference to Mr. Holmes’ criticisms of the 
proposals as to an entire rearrangement of the present 
mode of offering prizes at Exhibitions recently made 
in these pages, allow me say that as to the relative 
value of the prizes now to be offered in these champion 
classes respectively, whilst they are more fairly 
adjusted than has previously been the case, there still 
remains the obvious defect which I have pointed out, 
and, of course, it is a defect found in all or nearly all 
similar prize arrangements : that the proportion of the 
value of the prizes will probably be altogether diverse 
from the merits of the respective exhibits. Taking 
the first prize of £10 as representing 100 per cent., 
does any one who knows anything of the merits of 
competing collections of cut Chrysanthemums in such 
a competition as these champion classes will provoke, 
for a moment imagine that there will be anything like 
30 per cent, difference between the first and second 
lots, and still further, 60 per cent, difference between 
the first and third lots ? Of course, nothing is more 
improbable, whilst it is almost certain such is the 
experience of judges that the real difference between 
the first, second and third will be found within the 
limits of from 10 to 15 per cent, of points. Hence, 
whilst the winner of the first prize, with his 100 per 
cent, of points, gets £10, the other two, with 135 
points between them, gets only £11 very unequally 
divided. 
To fairly distribute the prize money in such a case, 
having full regard to the average merits of the respec¬ 
tive collections, the prizes should differ in value only 
10s. instead of £3 in both eases. Mr. Holmes must 
not be too sure that exhibitors would always prefer 
the existing pilan. it ma y be best for the first-prize 
winner, but, as a rule, it is unjust to the winners of 
seconds, thirds, and so on, and these, after all, 
constitute the majority of prize takers. It is true that 
so drastic a change or revolution (for such it is) in our 
present system of mailing Exhibition awards is apt at 
the first mention to take men’s breath away; but when 
they have recovered and are able to think over the 
proposal they will then see that it is based absolutely 
upon fairness and justice. 
Mr. Holmes seems to assume that the proposed 
plan of allotting a lump sum in three or more prizes 
to a class as the case may be, would be distasteful to 
judges as throwing more work upon them, but there 
he is in error, because it is not at all proposed to add 
to their responsibilities by calling upon them to appor¬ 
tion the prizes. In all cases judges should, instead of 
marking in the proper columns of the books with which 
they are furnished, first, second, or third, as the case 
may be, they would place the number of points each 
collection had been found to possess in those columns 
up to the number of prizes to be given. Thus, taking 
fifty points as a maximum, John Smith, instead of 
being marked first, would have forty-eight put against 
his name. Thomas Jones would come next with, say, 
forty-three, and William Robinson, third, with forty, 
and the judges’ work would be done. The apportion¬ 
ment of the total sum of money set apart for the class 
would rest with the committee, and assuming that the 
total sum was £6, the ordinary disposal of which 
would be £3, £2, and £1, the apportionment would be 
about this—first prize, £2 5s., second, £2, and third, 
£1 15s.; for absolute mathematical accuracy could 
not be ensured. 
But there is another phase of the present method of 
giving prizes, which calls for the consideration of 
show committees, because they are themselves often 
the sufferers. Is it not very often the case that in 
classes, plant classes especially, there is seen a 
fearful disparity between the merits of the first-prize 
lot and the second, or between the second and the 
third, and yet such is the hard-and-fast rule drawn 
by schedules now that plants of miserably inferior 
merit often get second and third prizes just because 
there are other collections of course worse, and the 
prizes must be awarded. If in such cases the judges 
could return the first-prize lot of plants as having 
fifty points, and the second and third lots as having, 
say, twenty and fifteen respectively, the prizes could 
then by the committee be allotted fairly according to 
the obvious merits of the competing collections. Too 
often now prizes are awarded to things which are so 
inferior as to make the committees ashamed of their 
presence, and yet they.are helpless as against the rules 
of their prize schedules .—The Writer. 
