42 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 15, 1804, 
THE DUKE OF YORK 
TOMATO. 
We do not know why we should waste our time in 
replying to a parcel of irresponsible statements [?]. 
such as those made by your correspondent on p. 21 
of your last issue, still it may be satisfactory to your 
readers if we clear ourselves of the calumnies he 
thinks fit to bring upon us. It may interest your 
correspondent to know that the Duke of York 
Tomato was raised by a well known Govent Garden 
Grower, who has discarded all others in its favour [?], 
and when he readsyour correspondents' experience, 
will no doubt belfte to take care of himself. The 
overwhelming evidence we adduce from men eminent 
in their profession should convince Mr. Pettinger, 
that a ‘'bad market” must not be made the outlet 
for one's feelings, and we cannot help expressing sur¬ 
prise, that you should have permitted his un¬ 
warranted grievance [?] to occupy your generally 
interesting columns. The reports we enclose are for 
your private perusal, kindly return them when 
finished within envelope enclosed for that purpose. 
James Carter 6- Co. 
As I am the raiser of the Duke of York Tomato, I 
should feel obliged if you will insert the following 
letter:—On getting your issue of last week I was 
surprised to see the article under the heading of 
" Tomato Notes," which had reference to the Duke 
of York. I can say with confidence that it is the 
best Tomato I ever saw, and this has been the 
opinion of all who have seen it growing in my 
nursery, both last year and this. I showed six 
bunches of the fruit at Earl’s Court on July 19th, 
1893, and the bunches were as follows :—One bunch 
had twelve, another eleven, then ten and nine, and 
two had eight. I also showed a single dish of twelve 
fruif and for these and other varieties I received a 
Silver Medal. 
The house in which it grew is a span-roof 76 ft. by 
12 ft., with two tanks, so that the planting room 
would be about 70 ft. It was planted, I think, 
about the end of January or early in February. I 
began to cut the fruit about the middle of May, and 
up to the beginning of October I had cut 1,416 lbs. 
of good fruit; after that date I did not keep account, 
as the crop began to get small. This year I planted 
five houses the same size at the beginning of the 
year, and began to cut fruit the beginning of May, 
and they are still hanging thickly with fruit, all 
being of good colour and perfectly round. 
I should like Mr. Pettinger to see them. It would 
not pay me to grow a " bad-shaped " Tomato to send 
to Mr. Geo. Monro, or he would not give me the prices 
that he does, so that I think my Tomatos will stand 
the test of most grower’s fruit. This year I have 
planted twenty large houses with Tomatos and most 
of them are of the Duke of York, and next year I 
hope to plant all my houses with the same variety. 
I shall be very pleased for Mr. Pettinger or any of 
his friends to come and see them growing, as I am 
often visited by growers from different parts of the 
country. The Duke of York is a very good setter, of 
good colour, and a heavy cropper, I should say 
judging from the figures above.it is also of good 
flavour, decidedly not coarse, and has no trace what¬ 
ever of the ‘‘Old Red.”— E. Ryder, Northumberland 
Nursery, Orpington, Kent. 
In reading the remarks from Mr. Pettinger on this 
Tomato in your last issue, I quite agree with him 
that the season for Tomato culture has been in many 
cases far from profitable, and I quite agree that it is 
exceedingly difficult to condemn new varieties before 
they have had a fair trial. To begin, he mentions 
the Duke of York Tomato and says that no Tomato 
ever came out with such a character, and I must say 
from what I have seen of it that it will retain that 
character. I had the pleasure of seeing the house 
of Tomatos Duke of York last year, which was saved 
for Messrs. Carter and Co., and I was much struck 
with it, for the stems were carrying bunches of 
Tomatos, five and six on a bunch, from the bottom 
of the house to the top, the fruit being of even size, 
good shape, and of a beautiful colour. Only on 
Saturday last, September 8th, myself and a friend of 
mine who is a nurseryman and a Tomato grower saw 
twenty-six houses of Tomatos, and out of that 
number six were of Duke of York. They were planted 
the last week in December, so of course the fruit 
from the bottom of the stems had been cut but the 
top part of the houses were covered with a splendid 
crop of good marketable fruit. I was asked to try 
one which I did and found it very good, the flesh 
being very firm and very little seed. I believe it will 
become a great favourite when better known. In 
fact my friend was so taken with it that he is going 
to give it a trial. 
I am sorry that Mr. Pettinger has had such a failure 
with it, but I find there are a lot of Duke of York 
being sent out by seedsmen which are, plainly 
speaking, very rough, and no more like the one I 
know than chalk is like cheese. I saw a variety only 
this morning under the same name which was sent out 
by a respectable seedsman,but it was not so good as the 
Old Red; and I also know of others who have failed 
with Challenger this year just in the same way as he 
has with the Duke of York, but they put it down to 
the dull, damp season. I am very chary myself 
about trying new things ; I like to know something 
about them before I try them.— F. London. 
That the truth is not always pleasant is a fact 
which most people are cognisant of, and especially 
when their own interests are concerned. My recent 
comment on the Duke of York Tomato has certainly 
put someone out, but who or what he is I do not 
know, as he has forgotten to put either his name or 
address to the post-card he has sent me, and which 
I enclose to you. He invites me to go to the Drill 
Hall, Westminster, to see the Duke of York Tomato 
grown in pots, and I thank him for the invitation, 
but must remind him that I have it at home, and, as 
I have already said, in a house which cannot be 
excelled for lightness, heating apparatus, ventilation, 
and other qualities conducive to successful market 
Tomato growing. I must remind my anonymous 
friend also that I did not say it was impossible to 
get a fair crop of fruits on the Duke of York. 
What I said, and what I repeat, is, that it is 
not what it was represented to be, nor is it by a 
long way, so far as my experience goes. I certainly 
do not always believe what I see pourtrayed, and I 
think I shall never forget the sensation which the 
plate gave me when I saw it. Opinions vary as to 
what weight of fruit a Tomato plant should yield to 
pay. In my opinion, iolbs. to i2lbs. is a good crop, 
but how many sorts are there that only give three or 
four pounds ? When it is considered that they are 
bought wholesale at second hand, at from 3d. to 
3^d., it will soon be seen what the grower gets, and 
also that it is imperative he should grow those sorts 
which give the best returns. If the gentleman who 
wrote me will kindly look at the Journal of Horticulture 
for August 23rd, p. 176, he will find stated what I 
have found to be true in a fair experience of Tomato 
growing in good weather and bad, that huge 
fruits are generally thinly produced, whilst a 
medium-sized sample usually represents a heavy 
crop of the most useful fruit. Tomatos, to give a 
good return require unceasing care and attention, 
and I am one that would follow a prolific crop as 
far as they would care to go, but when truss after 
truss of flower is shown and the result is that two 
or three at the most set, and many a time none at 
all, I think it is time to speak. That my correspon¬ 
dents may understand I have no unreasonable bias 
in the matter, and desire only that the truth shall 
prevail, I will send him either fruits or seeds of my 
own saving of either Prelude, Challenger, or Duke 
of York, and he can then compare them for himself. 
But he must send me his address.— J. G. Pettinger, 
Strawberry Dale Nurseries, Harrogate. 
- + - 
NATIONAL DAHLIA 
SHOW. 
The National Dahlia Society’s Annual Exhibition 
was held on Friday and Saturday of last week at 
the Crystal Palace, and was specially marked by the 
number of entries and the excellence of the exhibits. 
Dahlias of all classes were well represented, The 
Cactus and show varieties were particularly strong, 
and the competition between exhibitors was ir most 
of the classes very keen. In the nurserymen's 
classes for show and Fancy Dahlias, intermixed, Mr. 
Charles Turner, of Slough, was awarded the first 
prize for sixty blooms, distinct. This was a very 
fine exhibit, and well deserved the first place. Mr. 
Turner’s blooms of Mrs, Gladstone, Miss Cannell, 
Flag of Truce, Nellie Garret, Arthur Ocock, John 
Walker, Colonist, Maud Fellowes, and Alice Emily 
were magnificent. Messrs. Keynes, Williams & Co. 
came second with a collection but little inferior to 
that of the first-prize takers. Their blooms of such 
sorts as R. T. Rawlings, Mrs. W. Slack, Duke of 
Fife, Kathleen, and Chieftain, were of the best. The 
third prize fell to Mr. John Walker of Thame, 
Oxon, Mr. S. Mortimer, Swiss Nursery, Farnham, 
Surrey, coming in fourth. 
Mr. Charles Turner was again successful in carry¬ 
ing off the first prize for forty-eight blooms, distinct, 
whilst all the blooms were good. Eldorado, Shirley 
Hibberd, R. T. Rawlings, Clara, Frederick Smith, 
Ethel Britton, Hope, Mrs. Shirley Hibberd, States¬ 
man, Queen of the Belgians, Seedling, Octavia, 
Diadem, Glow-worm, Prince Bismarck, James 
Cocker, Flag of Truce, and J. T. West, may be 
mentioned as some of the very finest varieties. The 
second prize went to Mr. John Walker, of Thame. 
He had Duke of Fife, Mrs. Humphries, Mrs. George 
Rawlings, and Gwendoline, in very fine order. Mr. 
S. Mortimer, of Farnham, took third place. 
In a class for thirty-six blooms, distinct, a first 
award was made to Mr. George Humphries, of 
Kington Langley, Chippenham. His blooms of 
varieties like Thomas Hobbs, Mrs. Saunders, 
Rebecca, Mrs. Gladstone, Mrs. Dodds, Seedling, 
Harry Keith, and Mrs. Harris, were of a very high 
standard. Messrs. Saltmarsh & Son, The Nurseries, 
Chelmsford, won the second prize. The blooms of 
Coronet, Peacock, Constancy, and T. S. Ware in this 
exhibit were particularly fine. The third prize fell 
to the lot of Messrs. Kimberley & Son, Stoke 
Nurseries, Coventry. First honours in a class for 
twenty-four blooms, distinct, were taken by Messrs. 
Saltmarsh & Son. Prince of Denmark, Mrs. W. 
Slack, Perfection, Harrison Weir, Coronet, Pandora, 
and Mrs. Langtry were in superb condition. Messrs. 
Kimberley & Son came in second. Blooms exhibited 
by them of Mrs. Frisleton, Mrs, J. Downie, and G. 
Rawlings did them great credit. Mr. G. Humphries 
won the third prize, whilst the fourth was carried oft 
by Messrs. Perkins & Sons, of Coventry. Messrs. 
J. Cheal & Sons, of Lowfield Nurseries, Crawley, 
had the best twelve blooms, distinct, Mr. J. R. 
Tranter, of Henley-on-Thames, and Mr. Henry 
Harris, of Writtle Road, Chelmsford, takingsecond 
and third places respectively. The exhibits of 
Cactus and decorative varieties were simply superb. 
For eighteen varieties, in bunches of six blooms 
each, of Cactus and decorative sorts, Messrs. J. 
Cheal & Sons deservedly obtained a first award. 
They had Duchess of York, Lady Penzance, Beauty 
of Wilts, Violet Morgane, Matchless, Apollo, 
Bertha Mawley, Countess of Radnor, Josephine, 
Kaiserin, May Pictor, Beauty of Eynsford, Delicate, 
Ernest Cannell, Kynerith, Baron Schroeder, and 
Duke of Clarence in really magnificent condition. 
Messrs. Keynes, Williams & Co. came second with 
Vesper, Brilliant, and Earl of Pembroke, especially 
good. The third prize fell to Mr. C. Turner. 
For twelve Cactus varieties, in bunches of six 
blooms each, Messrs. J. Burrell & Sons, of Howe 
House Nurseries, Cambridge, were granted a first 
award. Apollo, Matchless, Professor Baldwin, Purple 
Prince, and Robert Cannell, were amongst their best 
sorts. The second and third prizes fell to Messrs. 
Keynes, Williams & Co., and Mr. F. W. Seale, 
respectively. Pompon Dahlias were well repre¬ 
sented, and in a class for twenty-four varieties in 
bunches of ten blooms each, Mr. Charles Turner, of 
Slough, was first. His blooms of Arthur West, 
Isabel, George Brinckman, Cecil, Mars, Bacchus, and 
Hector, were of the finest. The second prize was 
carried off by Messrs. Keynes, Williams & Co., the 
third going to Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons. Mr. F. W. 
Seale, had the best twelve varieties in bunches of ten 
blooms each. Blooms of Lilian, Phoebus, Favourite, 
Whisper, and Bacchus, were well worthy of mention. 
Messrs. J. Burrell & Sons, took second place, with 
fine blooms of Red Indian, Eurydice and E. F. 
Spinkel, particularly noticeable—Messrs. Paul & 
Son, of the Old Nurseries, Cheshunt, coming in 
third. For twenty-four varieties of single Dahlias, 
in bunches of ten blooms each, Messrs. J. Cheal & 
Sons again distanced all competitors. Blooms -of 
Evelyn, Marion, Lowfield Beauty, Mrs. Wythes, and 
Goldenlocks, were in good condition. The second 
prize went to Mr. F. W. Seale. He had first rate 
examples of Lady Whitehead, Amos Perry and 
Yellow Satin. Messrs. Paul & Sons, were awarded 
a first for twelve varieties in bunches of ten blooms 
each. 
In the Amateur's classes for show and fancy 
