96 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 15, 1892. 
Chiswick'are or are not the equivalent oFa 
Certificate of Merit. If they are, what 
possible reason can there be for not actually 
giving the Certificate ? If they are not, 
what inducement is there for sending things 
to Chiswick for trial, if the coveted award 
can be obtained at the Drill Hall only ? 
We have always considered a certificate 
gained at C hiswick, where the things are seen 
growing, and can be compared with others 
growing side by side and under the same 
conditions, of much greater commercial 
value than a certificate gained at the Drill 
Hall, where the means of comparison 
seldom exist, but the Council by its recent 
minute does not appear to share in this 
opinion, and we regret it, because we can 
appreciate the amount of harm which their 
depreciatory resolution will do to Chiswick. 
It is obvious to all who send things to 
Chiswick for trial that the Certificate of 
Merit is the only possible award that can 
be of any use or value to them, and if any 
difficulty be placed in the way of obtaining 
such Certificates then not only great unfair¬ 
ness results, but much disappointment also. 
The Council should remember that Certifi¬ 
cates obtained at Chiswick have a consider¬ 
able trade value, or the senders of subjects 
for trial would not be so eager to obtain 
them, and we should be glad to see them 
encouraging this spirit, as of old, and not 
repressing it, as the new rules undoubtedly 
will do. 
We have always upheld the integrity of 
Chiswick and its trials, and certainly the 
more it is understood that subjects sent 
there for trial will receive the fullest consid¬ 
eration, and that awards made will receive 
every publicity the better will it be for all 
concerned. The rule used to be, to give 
Certificates when they were deserved, and 
to publish the results of the trials imme¬ 
diately after their conclusion. We hope 
the Council will be able to see their way to 
a reversion to the old order. 
-TTmateurs and the Royal Horticul- 
tural Society.— We are entirely in 
accord with our correspondent of last 
week, Mr. D. B. Crane, and those who pre¬ 
ceded him, as to the need that exists for a 
revision of the Society’s present definition 
of an Amateur. When commenting re¬ 
cently upon the lack of exhibitors for the 
Society’s prizes at the Drill Hall we were 
fully aware that the term “ amateur ” so 
clashes that it includes in this case every 
person who gardens other than an actual 
trader. That is an old R.H.S. definition ; 
it was framed many years ago, when ama¬ 
teur gardening to the extent that it is 
carried on now did not exist, and in its 
day it was a definition that served the 
Society’s object admirably. But it has 
become out of date by the effluxion of time 
and the changes that have taken place in 
the gardening fashions and in the habits of 
the community, and is now out of harmony 
with the received practice of almost all 
other societies in the kingdom. It is, in 
fact, a commencement de siecle rather than a 
Jin de siecle definition. 
Most societies now define an amateur as 
being one who is other than a trader, a pro¬ 
fessional gardener, or one employing a 
professional gardener regularly. A true 
amateur is now generally understood to be 
one who is engaged in some other vocation 
for a livelihood if needful, yet finds time 
and pleasure in working in his garden, and 
so far as possible attends to the require¬ 
ments of the things which he grows him¬ 
self. There are thousands of this class of 
amateur now to hundreds that existed when 
the Society’s definition was framed, and of 
course are not included in the sphere of the 
Society’s operations to the same extent as 
they deserve to be. 
It should be the aim of the Council (to 
move with the times, and to encourage this 
important section of horticulturists. We 
believe it would greatly strengthen the old 
Society if some scheme could be devised 
whereby these enthusiasts could be brought 
within the fold. As a tentative move in 
this direction, we should be glad, should 
the Council decide to offer prizes another 
year, if they would class the professional 
gardeners and amateurs separately. Such 
a procedure would be no hardship to the 
former, but would open the door to vast 
numbers of the latter who now consider 
their chances of competing successfully as 
next thing to hopeless. In any case a 
season’s trial can do no possible harm, but 
may—and we believe would—be productive 
of much good. All the same, seeing to 
what a great extent the trade help to make 
the Society’s meetings interesting and suc¬ 
cessful, it is worth taking into considera¬ 
tion their claims to some encouragement 
also. 
|The Apples at Earl’s Court.— What 
has been without doubt the finest and 
most impressive exhibition of garden pro¬ 
ducts held at Earl's Court is now over, and 
with it the last of the series for the present 
year. What another year may bring forth 
none can tell, but we at least in common 
with all gardeners are very grateful for the 
exhibitions that have been furnished. We 
remarked that the recent Show was the 
most impressive of the series. That such 
was the case admits of no disputation, be¬ 
cause above all others it presented a display 
of human food material. 
We have never seen a grander lot of 
Apples anywhere, and rarely so fine a show 
of Potatos, whilst Pears and other products 
were excellent. The Apple,above all things, 
however, commanded most attention. For 
size, beauty, colour and finish, we have 
never before seen the like. Even the famous 
exhibition held at Guildhall did not give 
such a brilliant Apple display as was seen at 
Earl’s Court. The average of excellence was 
unusually high. Some lots were indifferent, 
but there ever will be found some exhibitors 
so full of egotism as to believe that their 
productions are all diamonds. What must 
have struck any ordinary observer, how¬ 
ever, was the fact that if we can produce 
fruits absolutely unequalled in the whole 
world, how is it that we still depend so 
largely upon Canada and other of our 
colonies for our mid-winter and spring 
supplies? What can be produced by 
bushels ought to be produced by tons. 
Then it is evident that so superb are our 
scores of varieties there is little room or 
need for room for new ones. How is it 
possible to obtain finer, handsomer, richer 
coloured, more productive or better 
flavoured sorts than we now have. It 
seems as if it were folly to expect to secure 
better. Still new varieties will come yet 
without doubt. The Apple Show merited 
the praise of being a national demonstration 
of our capabilities to produce the finest 
hardy fruits in the world. 
|The Late Potato Show. —Although it 
^ seems to us that the Potatos shown at 
Earl’s Court last week, were not fully up to 
the fine average of quality and finish seen 
at the later Potato Exhibitions at the 
Crystal Palace, still it was a remarkably 
fine display, and showed that, let who may 
go and who may come, there are plenty 
of good Potato growers in the kingdom. Of 
course there were many samples of the 
highest excellence, and there were some 
that would have been best under the table, 
still these latter were very few indeed. 
The finest and brightest samples served to 
educate the growers of the rough ones, and 
they have helped once more to define in an 
object lesson what are the properties of 
good class exhibition Potatos. 
It was a very happy circumstance, and 
showed how much of care had been exhi¬ 
bited in the judging, that no one seemed 
aggrieved.The question naturally was asked, 
“ When shall we have such another Potato 
Show as this ? ” Would that we could reply, 
“ Again next year.’ - The re-institution of 
the International Shows if in good hands 
and well supported would be hailed with 
great heartiness. Those of old were always 
very pleasant re-unions, and always secured 
the most interested attention. 
There is in this country a big future for 
the Potato. It now comes as vegetable 
food for man, second only to wheat, and 
the consumption is truly enormous. We 
ought to exalt the Potato highly, and in 
no way can we do so more completely than 
by holding Annual International Exhibi¬ 
tions of the noble tuber. Fine as are the 
sorts now in cultivation it is not possible 
to say what grand varieties may yet be 
evolved from out of the womb of time. 
-- 
Mr. D. Findlay, for the past three years foreman at 
Westmount, Kelvinside, has been engaged as 
gardener at Muirend House, Cathcart, Glasgow. 
Mr. Frederick Kneller, nephew of Mr. Kneller, of 
Malshanger, has been engaged by the Marquis of 
Ripon as gardener at Studley Royal, Ripon, York¬ 
shire. 
The Hartlepool's Chrysanthemum Society’s Show is 
announced to be held on November 15th and 16th. 
Kew Gardens. —The Richmond Town Council at 
their meeting on Tuesday night adopted a resolution 
in favour of the earlier opening of Kew Gardens on 
week-days, and decided to approach the First 
Commissioner of Works on the subject. Although 
efforts have been made from time to time by the 
local governing bodies of Richmond and other places 
in the neighbourhood with the view of opening the 
Gardens at an earlier hour than at present, the opposi¬ 
tion of the officials has hitherto proved too strong ; 
their contention being that the admission of the 
general public before the usual hour of 12 o’clock 
would tend to interfere with the work of the students 
and of the gardeners and workmen. 
“Gardening” is the title of a new claimant for 
popular favour among the amateur gardeners of the 
United States. It is to be published bi-monthly, 
and the first number, before us, was issued on 
September 18. It is published by the Gardening 
Co., Monon Buildings, Chicago, at the price of two¬ 
pence each, English currency, and is edited by our 
old friend Mr. William Falconer, of Glen Cove, 
N. Y. The copy before us gives promise of a useful 
and successful career, and we congratulate editor 
and printer alike on its production. 
The R.H.S. and its Certificates. —The attention of 
the council having been drawn to a difficulty in the 
awarding of Certificates, etc., to plants which have 
received X X X at Chiswick, passed the following 
minute at its meeting on the 14th inst. :—“The 
council request that in future whenever any plant 
(fruit, flower, seed, vegetable, etc.), shall have had 
XXX given it by a committee meeting at Chiswick, 
the superintendent of the Gardens will (if it be 
possible) bring it forward at the next (or nearest 
possible) general meeting of the society at West¬ 
minster or elsewhere, in order that it may, if still 
thought deserving receive a more definite award.” 
The council also passed the following minute :— 
"The definite award made under the above minute 
of council will be given (as all the society's awards 
are made) to the plant in question, and the custody 
of the certificate or other award will vest in the 
person sending the plant, etc , to Chiswick for trial.” 
Woolton Mutual Improvement Society. —This Society 
opened its winter session on Thursday, the 6th inst., 
with a grand floral concert at the Parochial Hall, 
Woolton. The Committee secured the best Liver¬ 
pool talent, which was highly appreciated by nearly 
500 persons. The stage was a floral picture and 
highly creditable to the members of the Society 
whose handiwork it was. In the front of the stage, 
standing on the floor, were single stemmed and well- 
coloured Crotons, intermixed with fair-sized Palms, 
the pots being hidden by Fern fronds. On the stage 
