August 10, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
789 
half-past-nine. Here carriages were in waiting to 
convey the party to Ven House, Milborne Port, Sir 
Edward Medlycott having kindly granted permission 
for the members of the Association to inspect bis fine 
gardens and grounds, over which they were 
courteouly conducted by Mr. C. J. Bower, the head 
gardener. The weather being fine the drive to 
Milborne Port was much enjoyed, and the return 
drive to Henstridge was also a pleasant one. On 
arriving at Inwood House, the residence of Lady 
Theodora Guest, the party were received by Mr. T. 
Wilkins, the head gardener, who piloted them round 
the kitchen garden and through the glass houses, of 
which there are no less than twenty-six. The 
magnificent collections of plants, Palms, Ferns, &c., 
(collections probably unequalled in this part of the 
country) were greatly admired, and those well 
qualified to judge and criticise were unanimous in 
oheir approbation of all that there was to be seen. 
At one o’clock the company gathered together in a 
marquee erected near the house, where they partook 
of Lady Theodora Guest's hospitality in the shape 
of a splendid luncheon served up by Mr. Clark (the 
house steward) and Mrs. Ball (housekeeper). The 
hospitality of Lady Theodora Guest was further 
tested by the provision of a capital tea, which was 
done thorough justice to. After enjoying one of the 
pleasantest possible “outings,” the members returned 
to Bournemouth by train, reaching home about ten 
o'clock. 
— 
EXAMINATION IN HORTICULTURE. 
Royal Horticultural Society. 
The results of the examination in horticulture, held 
by the Royal Horticultural Society, have been 
issued. The candidates came from various widely 
separated districts in England and Scotand, and as 
far as England is concerned 122 of the students 
passed, twelve of them in the first-class, thirty- 
seven in the second, and seventy-three in the 
third. Of those who passed first-class, Kent and 
Surrey furnished five each, and Leicester and 
Norfolk one each ; a third of the whole in this 
class were women, and the list was headed by Miss 
A. U. Gulvin, Kent, who had 260 out of a possible 
300 marks, and secure the Royal Horticultural 
Society's Medal. Of the thirty-seven which passed 
second class, six were women. Surrey furnished 
seven out of the thirty-seven students; Kent and 
Staffs, six each ; Essex, Suffolk, and Yorks, three 
each; Norfolk, two; and Leicester, Glamorgan, 
Hants, Herts, Cheshire, Devon, and the Isle of Man, 
one each. Of the seventy-three who passed in third 
class thirteen were women. Surrey heads the list 
with twenty-five successful students; then comes 
Kent with seventeen ; Staffs, seven; Essex and 
Herts, five each; Leicester, Suffolk, Yorks, and 
Cheshire, two each ; Lancs, Middlesex, and Hants, 
one each. Taking the 122 who passed, eighty-one per 
cent, of them in round numbers were men, and nineteen 
were women. What are all the other eeuntries 
doing towards providing their teeming populations 
with a proper education ? Surely all of them have 
gardeners fn their midst. At the examination eight 
questions in the Elementary Principles of horticul¬ 
ture were set, and the students were only desired to 
answer four, one question being compulsory. A 
like number of questions in Horticultural Practice 
was set, and only four of them were to be answered, 
the students making their own choice. 
Summer School of Horticulture. 
In our last issue we gave an account of the 
Summer School of Horticulture at Chelmsford, 
organised by and under the auspices of the Essex 
County Council The results of the examination 
held on July 20th were issued too late for publica¬ 
tion in our last number; and we, therefore, now 
publish the results from Biology Notes as follow :— 
First Class. 
1. W. H. Patterson, Colchester. 
2. B. W. Bull, Ramsden. 
3. A. W. Day, Stock. 
4. O. D. Carter, Great Baddow. 
5. H. Kingham, Woodford. 
6. F. H. Harris, Chelmsford. 
Second Class. 
7. F. L. Coote, Ingatestone. 
8. A. Feast, Chigwell. 
9. F. P. Burton, Wickford. 
10. H. J. Parmenter, Braintree. 
11. C. B. Smith, Birch. 
Third Class. 
A. F. Smart, Chigwell. 
A. Valentine, Braintree. 
14. H. Sparkes, Wakes Colne. 
15. F. J. Stock, Takeley. 
The students in every case seemed anxious to learn 
and willing to work. They were always ready to 
follow instructions, and invariably carried them out 
to the best of their abilities. They expressed a 
wish to continue their studies, and a home-study 
course is being arranged for them. The first lesson 
of this course is given in the present number of 
Biology Notes. 
-- 
Scarlet Queen Strawberry, 
MESSRS. CUTBUSH & SON’S 
STRAWBERRIES. 
IT is well known that Messrs. Wm. Cutbush & Son, 
Highgate, London, N., are very energetic in putting 
new varieties of Grape vines into commerce; but 
they are also notable for the large collection of 
Strawberries which they keep in stock and cultivate. 
The list of varieties is lengthy, but it will suffice 
to say that all the best of the standard sorts in culti¬ 
vation are retained, while the same may be said of 
those that have been acquired in more recent years, 
and which are notable in many cases for the huge 
proportions which they attain. Vicomtesse Hericart 
de Thury, Sir Joseph Paxton, President Keen’s 
Seedling, British Queen, Black Prince, Auguste 
Nicaise, and Elton Pine, amongst old sorts, still 
attest their value for general cultivation and will 
doubtless hold their proud position for many years 
to come. Amongst the newer varieties that are now 
becoming well-known in every garden abreast with 
with the times, are Royal Sovereign, Gunton Park, 
King of Earlies, Lord Suffield, Noble, Sensation, 
White Knight, and Empress of India. Several of 
these are well adapted for forcing while a still 
greater number is in the front rank for size. 
It was well proved last winter that the new 
variety, Stevens’ Wonder (see illustration), is well 
Stevens’ Wonder Strawberry'. 
adapted for forcing, seeing that it was extensively 
grown and forced for market by a market grower. 
Dishes of fruit and plants in fruit were exhibited at 
the meetings of the Royal Horticultural and Royal 
Botanical Societies, early in last spring, at which 
time we fully described the variety in our pages. It 
is a prolific bearer of large fruits, which, though pa’e 
in colour, are of good flavour, highly perfumed and 
sufficiently firm in the skin to carry well to market. 
The stock of this has been acquired by Messrs. 
Cutbush, who are growing it largely. Another new 
variety is George Rundle, which is considered an 
improvement on British Queen. It was raised by 
Mr. George Rundle of Chrysanthemum fame. It 
bears heavily, and has large, light red fruits of 
excellent flavour, and often weighs over an ounce. 
Scarlet Queen (see illustration), is a beautiful 
Strawberry, regular in form, bluntly conical, earlier, 
and of better flavour than Sir Joseph Paxton to 
which it may be compared. It is remarkabably 
early, richly coloured, and the vigorous plants bear 
very heavily. We are indebted to Messrs. Cutbush 
for this opportunity of figuring the two varieties 
accompanying these notes. 
-- 4 *- 
THE RETIREMENT OF MR. A. F. 
BARRON. 
It will come as a surprise to many of our readers, to 
whom Mr. Barron's name has been as a household 
word, to hear of his retirement from the super¬ 
intendence of the gardens of the Royal Horticultural 
Society at Chiswick. For the past thirty-five years 
Mr. Barron has been loyal to the cause of the 
Society, both under affluent and adverse circum¬ 
stances, as, for instance, when dragging along a 
doubtful existence under the wretched management 
at South Kensington. We take it for granted that 
the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society have 
given the matter their fullest consideration, and have 
not taken this step without being convinced that 
material advantage will accrue to the Society and 
all concerned by way of compensation for such a far 
reaching change. 
Practically a life time of invaluable services, has 
to be placed in the balance, when calculating the 
indebtedness, the Society owes to a faithful servant. 
The older members, at least, of the Council cannot 
have forgotten Mr. Barron's services on various 
occasions to the cause of pomology, fruit culture 
in general and grape growing in particular. He 
came to the rescue of the first plantation of vines in 
the big vinery at Chiswick, when that was obviously 
a failure. His book on Vines and Vine Culture is 
admitted to be the standard work on the subject, in 
other countries than Great Britain. Even if that is 
claimed to be outside his official duties, the same 
can hardly be admitted for British Apples which 
appeared more recently. 
Coming to practical work of more recent 
times, we have seen more than one vinery filled 
with flourishing and fruitful vines. The trials 
of Peas, Potatos, French Beans, Scarlet Runners, 
Cabbages, Strawberries, Tomatos, Figs, Peaches, 
Apricots, Apples and Pears have been conducted 
fairly and equitably on a more or less exten¬ 
sive scale. The collections of Apples and 
Pears, but particularly the former, have been 
greatly enriched by the addition of expanding plan¬ 
tations of healthy and fruitful, young trees on the 
dwarfing stocks instead of the cumbersome old trees 
that have been gradually disappearing. Need we 
refer to the extensive trials of Dahlias, Phloxes, 
perennial and China Asters, Violas, Paeonies, 
Carnations, Sunflowers, Sweet Peas, hardy Annuals, 
Cannas in pots and others that have been described 
ia our pages for many years past. All these things 
speak for themselves, and urge that the principal 
worker should neither be overlooked nor allowed to 
go unrequited. Mr. Barron's services to the 
Gardeners' Orphan Fund also give him a claim 
up in the recognition of all concerned. 
-- 
POPULAR FLOWERS AT EYNSFORD. 
Some time ago we had the pleasure of walking over 
and inspecting the nursery and seed farm of Messrs. 
H. Cannell & Sons, at Eynsford, Kent, but being 
pushed for time owing to other engagements we 
have been unable hitherto to utilise our notes. The 
drought which prevailed at the time has come to an 
end, and the various subjects in the open ground 
