798 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August loth, 1885. 
How, New Street, St. Neot’s ; Messrs. Burrell & Co., 
nurserymen, Cambridge; E. B. Lindsell, Esq., Hit- 
chin ; the Rev. H. B. Gall, Hitchin; the Rev. E. 
Fellowes, Wimpole Rectory, Royston ; Mr. Arthur, 
gardener to P. Meyer, Esq., Orwell, Royston; Mr. 
Williams, gardener to Geo. Bower, Esq., The Shrub¬ 
bery, St. Neot’s; and Mr. Beaumont, Eaton Town, 
St. Neot’s. The foregoing, coming from districts so 
wide apart, will show what an interest was taken in 
the St. Neot’s exhibition. 
When, accompanied by our able colleague, Mr. J. 
Wood Ingram, of the Huntingdon Nurseries, we pro¬ 
ceeded to make our awards in the leading classes, we 
found some admirable subjects had been staged. There 
were two classes open to all England: one of them 
was for twenty-four Roses, and here Messrs. J. Burrell 
A Co., nurserymen, Cambridge, were placed first with 
a very fine lot of blooms, the leading flowers being 
Duke of Edinburgh, Mdme. H. Jacquier, Dr. Andry, 
Victor Yerdier, Dr. Sewell, Comtesse d'Oxford, Alfred 
Colomb, La Rosiere, La France, Ulrich Brunner, 
Abel Carriere, Baroness Rothschild, Marie Rody, 
Louis van Houtte, and Madame Victor Verdier. E. 
B. Lindsell, Esq., Hitchin, was second with smaller 
but nice fresh blooms of the following : —Harrison 
Weir, Xavier Olibo, La France, Fisher Holmes, Marie 
Verdier, Madame Victor Verdier, Abel Carriere, Mare- 
ehal Niel, Gloire de Dijon, Ac. In the open classes, 
the best twelve Roses came from the Rev. F. H. Gall, 
Hitchin; and E. B. Lindsell, Esq., had the best 
twelve Tea Roses, a very nice lot indeed, fresh, and 
sweetly fragrant. 
Another class, open to all England, was for twenty- 
four bunches of cut-flowers, distinct. In this class Mr. 
Redman, gardener to J. H. Goodgainer, Esq., Eynes- 
bury, set up a superb lot of stove and greenhouse 
plants, which comprised fine bunches of Justicia 
carnea, Clerodendron Fallax, Bougainvillea glabra, 
Dipladenia amabilis, Allamanda Hendersoni, A. 
Cathartica, Eucharis amazonica, Franciscea calycina 
major, and such other subjects. Messrs. Wood A 
Ingram, of Huntingdon, were placed second with a 
wonderfully fine lot of hardy things, comprehending 
Yucca gloriosa, Helenium multiflorum maximum, 
Hyaointhus candicans, Salvia patens, Lilium Chalce- 
donicum, Harpalium rigidum, Ac., one of the best 
lots of the kind we ever saw, A stand of twelve 
excellent Dahlias was shown by Mr. Petfield, while 
Asters, though small, were good for the season, so 
were Zinnias, Marigolds, Carnations, and Picotees, 
Ac. There were many classes for cut-flowers, and 
it is impossible to give them all in detail, so we have 
just touched the leading ones. 
Plants. —Some very good plants indeed were shown. 
The Fuchsias, for instance, were much better than is 
usually seen at country shows, though they showed 
signs of the effect of the heat; here Mr. Pitfield was 
first, Mr. H. Williams, gardener to Geo. Bower, Esq., 
being second. Mr. Pitfield, whose contributions made 
the leading feature of the show, was the only exhibitor 
of six plants in bloom, having nicely grown and 
flowered examples of Dipladenia insignis, Bougain¬ 
villea glabra, Anthurium Scherzerianum, Statice 
profusa, Clerodendron Fallax, and Allamanda 
Hendersoni. Mr. Pitfield had the best six ornamental 
foliage plants, setting up highly creditable examples 
of Latania borbonica, Croton majesticum, Dracsena 
Baptistii, Anthurium crystallinum, small, but well 
marked, Croton Andreanus, and Caladium pictum. 
The best specimen foliage plant was a very fine 
Chamffiropsis humilis, from Mr. G. Bower ; Mr. Pit- 
field and Mr. Tillbrook, gardener to B. Brown, Esq., 
being placed equal second, the one with Croton 
Weismanni, the other with Alocasia metalliea. 
Some good Ferns were shown. Mr. Tillbrook was 
first with four exotic, as well as four hardy British 
Ferns; in the former case he had the following 
Adiantums in well-grown specimens : concinnum, 
concinnum latum, Williamsii, and cuneatum. Mr. 
Pitfield came second with A. Farleyense, formosum, 
cuneatum, and gracillimum. The best specimen Fern 
was a very fine plant of Platycerium alcicorne, from 
Mr. B. Brown, Mr. Redman being second with the 
same. Mr. Pitfield had the best specimen flowering 
plant, staging a very fine but untrained Bougainvillea 
glabra ; Mr. G. Bower coming second with Stephanotis 
floribunda. 
We are obliged to pass over the classes for fruit and 
vegetables, but all were very creditable indeed, and 
the Potatos some of the best we have seen this season. 
There were many classes for amateurs and cottagers, 
contributions of good quality coming from each, and 
as numerous as they were praiseworthy. 
At the close of the judging a good party sat down 
to luncheon under the presidency of a very genial 
chairman, Mr. Geo. Bower. An excellent feeling pre¬ 
vailed, and we were pleased to hear from the lips of 
the chairman a very well-deserved tribute to the value 
of the services rendered to the society by Mr. W. 
Ratchelous, to whom its success is mainly due. 
Clay Cross Horticultural.—The twenty-eighth 
annual exhibition of this society was held at Clay 
Cross on August 11th. This society has had a pros¬ 
perous career; it is well supported pecuniarily, and 
is in every way well conducted. Liberal prizes are 
offered, which is a great inducement to exhibitors, 
and the number annually increases. The show was 
arranged in three large marquees, and the amateurs 
and cottagers came out in full force, competition being 
very keen. The principal feature here, as at most 
other shows now, was the groups arranged for effect. 
In the open class for a group to cover 400 square ft. 
there were five competitors, and the prizes of £20, 
£16, £12, £8, £5, were awarded as follows:—Mr. J. 
Ward, gardener to J. H. Oakes, Esq., Alfreton, first, 
with a good group containing well-coloured Crotons, 
good Ixoras, Crassulas, Anthuriums, Ac.; second, Mr. 
A. Webb, gardener to G. H. Sutton, Esq., Kelham 
Hall, Newark, for a good group of well-grown plants, 
but lacking in colour ; third, Mr. A. Anderson, gar¬ 
dener to W. Walker, Esq., Lea Wood, Cromford; 
fourth, Mr. Lyon, gardener to Lady Ossington, 
Newark; fifth, Mr. W. Haslam, Hardstoft. These 
groups contained many well-grown plants, and the 
whole were arranged in a circular tent very effectively. 
Stove and greenhouse, fine foliage, and flowering 
plants were shown in quantity, but we have often 
seen them better. Ferns were in better condition, 
and Mr. Lyon was an easy first with well-grown 
plants. Table plants were well shown, good ex¬ 
amples coming from Messrs. Ward, Lyon, and Webb, 
who were awarded the prizes in the order named. 
Cut-flowers were poor, with the exception of Carna¬ 
tions, Picotees, and Dahlias, which, considering the 
changeable weather, were very fair. Bouquets and 
button-hole flowers were poor also. 
Fruit was shown in quantity, and some fair ex¬ 
amples in their respective classes were staged; 
Messrs. Ward, Lyon, and Webb were the principal 
exhibitors. Mr. Ward took the first prize for the 
collection, and the first also for Grapes ; while Mr. 
Lyon was first for Pines, Mr. Webb first for Melons, 
Peaches, and Apricots, and Mr. Goodacre, Elvaston, 
first for a collection of hardy fruits. 
Vegetables. —For a collection of twelve varieties, 
Mr. Ward was first, Mr. Goodacre second, and Mr. 
Frith third. These, considering the dry season, were 
on the whole a very meritorious lot. 
Liberal prizes are offered here to encourage cottagers 
and amateurs, especially the former, and the plants, 
flowers, and fruits exhibited by both were of a very 
meritorious order indeed, and the competitions were 
strong all round. The way in which some of these 
exhibitors show their produce reflects great credit 
upon them. The judges in these as well as other classes 
had a difficult task to perform, but their decisions 
gave great satisfaction, and everything passed off 
very harmoniously. The weather was for the greater 
part of the day fine, and the company very numerous. 
Great facilities are offered to people living at a dis¬ 
tance, and the special trains brought in hundreds, who 
yearly look forward to their outing at Clay Cross.— 
A. 0. 
—— 
SPARROWS—THEIR WORK OF 
DESTRUCTION. 
Mr.. J. E. Halting, in a paper handed to the Com¬ 
mittee on Wild Birds Protection, quoting from a 
French writer, says:—“ Under the sparrow’s nest the 
rejected wing cases of cockchafers were picked up; 
they numbered over 1,400. Thus one pair of sparrows 
had destroyed more than 700 insects to feed a single 
brood.” Dr. B. Morris, in his evidence given before 
the same Committee, says:—“ I have seen the 
sparrows hawking for cockchafers, and taking them 
in large numbers, killing them on the wing.” Gamma 
moths and cockchafers are not their ordinary food, 
but they do eat them occasionally, and in the ease of 
a plague of them it is probable they would take them 
in preference to Corn. Mr. H. Stevenson states that 
Professor Newton had seen the mouths of sparrows 
literally crammed with destructive chovies ; while Mr. 
Dillwyn says that “ in 1814 a lawn near Swansea was 
covered with immense numbers of this kind of beetle, 
and that on their first appearance the spat.: ~s fed on 
them until they became so gorged that several were 
unable to fly.” Sparrows will eat different kinds of 
aphides, including the Bean aplr- tut they have been 
oftenest observed eating the Rose aphis. Tne point at 
issue is this : Is the balance sufficiently against the 
sparrows to make it desirable to destroy them ? Miss 
E. A. Ormerod, entomologist to the Royal Agricultural 
Society, gives in her Manual of Injurious Insects, 
as being the most destructive to agricultural crops— 
aphis, crane fly (commonly called the “ daddy long 
legs”), Corn fly, Wheat midge, saw fly, wire worm 
(includingfour closely allied species, all very harmful), 
Turnip aphis, Turnip moth, and Turnip saw fly. 
Sparrows feed then’ young on the caterpillars of the 
crane fly and wire worm, though apparently not in 
large quantities in most districts, and there could be 
little doubt that they did the same with the cater¬ 
pillars of all the other species of insects enumerated 
by Miss Ormerod, where they are abundant. 
Sparrows had been proved to eat the click beetle, 
the weevil beetle, the satin moth, the crane fly or 
“ daddy long legs,” pale mottled willow moth, gamma 
moth, Cabbage white butterfly, tortoise moth, blue 
bottle moth, small white butterfly, magpie moth, blue 
bottle. Sparrows did a great deal of good by eating 
the seeds of the knot Grass, Chickweed, and Corn 
Bindweed, and in a less degree by eating various other 
kinds, among which may be mentioned the Buttercup 
Ribwort Plantain, Dock, Mouse Ear, and Wild 
Spinach. At the same time it must be admitted that 
they occasionally eat Turnip seed and Hay, Clover, 
and Trefoil seed. He had more than onoe seen from 
100 to 150 little seeds in the crop of a sparrow, and 
Dr. Schleh found 321 Chickweed seeds in a single 
sparrow in Germany. The right side of a sparrow’s 
neck was often bulged out like a marble with what it 
had eaten. Mr. Gurney then proceeded to give a 
short list of the most flagrant instances he had heard 
of damage done to farmers' crops by sparrows, remark, 
ing that it must be borne in mind that in most of 
the cases cited some of the damage was probably 
caused by other small birds, such as greenfinches, 
chaffinches, and yellow hammers. In the main, 
however, the saddle was laid on the right horse in 
charging the sparrow with nine-tenths of the harm 
done. Colonel Russell said a farmer near Chelmsford 
had an early field of Wheat not far from the village of 
Boreham. An acre was measured where the sparrows 
had been at work, and an adjoining acre which they 
had not meddled with, and the Corn on each of the 
acres was threshed separately, looking after the 
threshing himself. He found the deficiency to be 
two quarters, value £6.— Extract from a paper read 
before the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture. 
■— o_^ ■ —? —- 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Erratum.— At p. 774, in the article on Middle Green Farm, 
Slough, third line from the top, for “ James ” read “ Turner.” 
Through an unfortunate accident on the part of the compositor 
the former name was inserted for the latter after the proof 
had left our hands. 
Names of Plants. — Cottony. —11. Echeveria rosea; 12. 
Sempervivum chrysanthum; 13. Sempervivum Donkelaarii; 
It. Stapelia variegata ; 15. Crassula squarrosa ; 16. Cotyledon 
pulverulentum; 17. Sempervivum arhoreum; IS. Hydrangea 
hortensis, a starved specimen; 19. Send when in flower; 20. 
Salvia Heerii; 21. Allamanda Sehottii. We cannot undertake 
to name more than six at a time. — II. Marks .— Oncidium 
varieosum.—-V.—1. Selaginella Pruiti; 2. Selagmella Wil- 
denovi: 3. Onychium japonicum ; 4. Lastrea dilalata; 5. Be¬ 
gonia Marga ; 6. Kentia Eorsteriana. — F. I)., Tunbridge 
J Fells. —Oncidium dasytyle.— IT. JV—Erigeron speciosum; 
and the yellow flower Helianthus rigidus. 
Disas. — W. II. R .—See p. 796. 
Carnations in the South.—TF. G „ Bishop’s Waltham.— 
The gentleman who furnished us with the report had but littie 
time at his disposal, and in the hurry of the moment did over¬ 
look the Carnations. We are pleased to hear that the cultiva¬ 
tion of these flowers is evoking so much enthusiasm in the 
south, and hope that in time a love of the flowers for their own 
beauty, and not for the notoriety which the winning of a prize 
may bring in its train, will incline the growers you mention 
to he more charitable in their inferences. The reference to 
“ certain exhibitors ” is very paltry. 
Communications Received.— A. O.—A. H.—D. N. J.— 
E. D.-L. & Co.-D. P. L.—II. T—R. D.-W. H. R.-J. B, 
—J. O,—H. W. W.-W. G. 
