November 19, lb92. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
177 
OUR FLORICULTURAL 
MAYORS. 
Florists, if keenly alive to the necessity for paying 
close attention to their favourite plants, and so devote 
much time to them, are yet willing to take their 
share of public duties, and it is with more than 
ordinary pleasure that we refer to the fact of there 
being now two gentlemen of good social standing 
who are ardent florists, and who have been called 
upon to occupy the highest municipal offices in the 
towns in or near which they reside. One is Mr. 
Samuel Barlow, Stakehill House, Castleton, Man¬ 
chester, who has just entered upon the office of 
Mayor of Middleton ; the other is Mr. W. Herbert 
Fowler, who on the 9th inst. was elected Mayor of 
Taunton, a younger man than Mr. Barlow, but also 
an ardent and highly successful florist. 
So much has been said in past numbers of the 
Gardening World concerning Mr. Samuel Barlow, 
that there is danger of repetition. A lifetime florist, 
commencing with a bed of 
Pansies and a few annuals 
when quite a lad, Flora 
claimed him for her own, 
and ' faithfully and pa¬ 
tiently, through failure 
and success, he has served 
his floral mistress with 
unswerving fidelity, and 
made a name with the 
Tulip—for does he not 
possess the choicest col¬ 
lection in the world ! — the 
Gooseberry, Polyanthus, 
Auricula, early Chrysan¬ 
themums, and in later 
years he has become a de¬ 
votee of Pomona, growing 
fruit with much success at 
his new home near Llan¬ 
dudno,with some of which 
he took high honours at 
the now famous Guildhall 
Show in 1890. 
We have said he has 
the choicest collection of 
Tulips in the world ; so 
he has also of gold-laced 
Polyanthus. Pinks are a 
leading feature at Stake- 
hill, and so are Carna¬ 
tions ; and though grown 
under considerable diffi¬ 
culties, having regard 
to the atmospheric and 
climatal conditions that 
prevail about the district 
in which he resides, yet 
with a very commend¬ 
able amount of success. 
In winter and early 
spring there are Christ¬ 
mas Roses, Primroses, 
Polyanthus, Pansies, Vio¬ 
las, Hepaticas, and some 
other floral harbingers of the flowery season ; 
then there are within doors Auriculas, Azaleas 
Chinese Primroses, large bushes of y autumn- 
sown Schizanthus, etc. Then follows, in the 
open, Rhododendrons, Roses, Pinks, Tulips, and 
numerous choice hardy plants; anon Early Chrys¬ 
anthemums, Carnations, Picotees, etc., followed by 
Gladioli, Delphiniums, Chrysanthemums ; and so, 
within and without, the floral succession is main¬ 
tained. As a raiser of new Auriculas—the green 
edges—C. M. Royds, Greenfinch, and Mrs. Hen- 
wood ; Mrs. Potts, Mrs. Barlow, and Mrs. Bently 
among seifs, testify to his industry. A few years 
ago he had some fine seedling Alpine Auriculas. 
Who has not heard of S.B. Carnation Robert Houl- 
grave, our premier flower in its class ? and a very 
fine scarlet flake has also rewarded Mr. Barlow’s 
labours as a raiser of the fragrant Gillyflower. 
Stakehill is full of floral treasures, if one could only 
be there at all seasons to note them. 
Our good friend is a vice-president of the Manches¬ 
ter Botanical and Horticultural Society, president of 
the Auricula, Tulip, Carnation, and Pink societies ; 
and he has recently added to his floral honours, that 
of becoming a vice-president of the National Chrysan¬ 
themum Society. 
In public affairs he is a magistrate of Lancashire, 
a member of the town council of Middleton, was 
formerly a member of the County Council; and in 
Manchester also has public relationships. A 
generous patron of the fine arts, he has assisted 
struggling young men of ability to win their way to 
fame. 
Privately he is a man of estimable character, as 
everyone who enjoys his hospitality knows. 
Hundreds visit his Stakehill garden annually, all 
who are interested in flowers are free to walk round 
it, and the privilege is rarely, if ever, abused. In 
Mrs. Barlow florists who enjoy the privilege of 
admission to the domestic circle find a hostess whom 
to know is to esteem, reverence and honour, and when 
his year of civic office comes to a close, we believe 
the universal verdict of his fellow-townsmen will be 
Well done, Sammy J using a familiar name by which 
he is known among his neighbours and workmen at 
Stakehill. Our best wishes go with Mr. Barlow 
throughout the year of his mayoralty of Middleton. 
Rose is as low standards on the seedling briar, and 
so the dwarf bush is disappearing from his garden. 
There is great force in Mr. Fowler’s opinion that he 
not only gets finer blooms but that the flowers are 
raised so far above the ground level that they are 
kept clean and pure, and saved from disfigurement 
from splashings by rain. As an exhibitor of Roses 
in the West, Mr. Fowler has achieved great success. 
So he has with the Gladiolus, as was seen at the 
September show of the National Chrysanthemum 
Society at the Royal Aquarium. 
We had complete evidence of Mr. Fowler’s prowess 
with the Chrysanthemum and especially with the 
Japanese type at the recent great show at the 
Royal Aquarium on November 8th. He was the 
winner of the Holmes Memorial Challenge Cup 
with 48 blooms, that in their evenness, freshness 
and fine development appeared to be faultless, 
and the winneralso of the first prize with 24 
varieties. It is [anhonour to be the first holder 
of one of these valuable memorial cups. 
As a cultivator of the 
Carnation and Picotee 
Mr. Fowler is making his 
mark. He has made con¬ 
siderable advance since 
last year,and will, we have 
no doubt, achieve consi¬ 
derable success presently 
As a member of the 
Committee and a Fellowof 
the National Chrysanthe¬ 
mum Society, Mr. Fowler 
is thoroughly in earnest in 
the promotion of its best 
interest. He is not so well 
known in London flori- 
cultural circles as he de¬ 
serves to be, but time is 
on his side. We earnestly 
wish him all the success, 
as mayor of Taunton, he 
can desire, and that his 
year of office will be 
satisfactory to his fellow 
townsmen we can have no 
doubt 
Mr. Samuel Barlow, J.P. 
Mr. W. Herbert Fowler is somewhat younger 
in years than Mr. Samuel Barlow. Mr. Fowler, the 
newly-elected Mayor of Taunton, is well known in 
that busy town as a man of high public spirit and 
ability. His elevation to the mayoralty is the best 
proof of the estimation in which he is held by his 
fellow townsmen. A banker, of good social stand¬ 
ing, foremost in any enterprise having as its object 
the good of the town, it is not to be wondered at that 
he is placed at the head of its municipality. 
As a successful florist Mr. Fowler has made a great 
and deservedly high reputation. Residing at Clare¬ 
mont, which is in one of the best suburbs of Taun¬ 
ton, his garden is replete with evidence of the tastes 
and skill of the florist; and among the flowers he 
loves so well, and cultivates so successfully, he must 
find many pleasant hours of grateful recreation. To 
our mind Mr. Fowler seems the beau ideal amateur, 
working hard and unceasingly among his flowers, 
always with them when his presence is possible, and 
satisfied with nothing short of the very highest de¬ 
velopment. With the Rose, the Tea Rose especi¬ 
ally; the Tuberous-rooted Begonia, which he grows 
superbly ; the Gladiolus and Chrysanthemum he has 
repeatedly triumphed, and that gloriously. It may 
be interesting to know his favourite form of the Tea 
TREE PANSIES. 
In reference to a note on 
this subject, p. 151, a cor¬ 
respondent, Mr. Chas, 
Kay, Mill Farm, Gargun- 
nock, N.B.,says that most 
of the fancyPansies which 
he grows and some of the 
show varieties are much 
stronger growers than the 
bedding Viola Columbine. 
In proof of this he sends 
some specimens of a 
fancy Pansy named Mrs 
W. S. Young with a stem 
exactly a yard long. All 
parts of the plant in¬ 
cluding the flowers were of gigantic proportions. The 
leaves were about 5 in. long and the stipules 3J in. 
The stems were proportionately stout, but not strong 
enough to support themselves without staking, and 
under other conditions must only trail along the 
ground, thus losing all the individuality which stak¬ 
ing would secure for them. The staking of Pansies 
would be a new departure, but there would certainly 
be some novelty about it. We are doubtful whether 
this variety or any other fancy Pansy would attain 
such dimensions in the more sunny south .with its 
drier atmosphere during the summer months. The 
climate of Scotland is more favourable to Pansies 
and Violas in general, making their cultivation a 
comparatively easy matter. All the races are grown 
to some extent in the south of England, but we have 
never seen them so vigorous as the specimens sent 
us and for which we thank our correspondent. The 
flowers measured 2|in. in diameter, which-is saying 
much for them at this period of the year, more 
especially when taken from the top of such tall 
stems. 
The Carnation: its History, Properties, and Management, 
with a descriptive list of the best varieties in cultivation. By 
E. S. Dodwell. Third edition, with supplementary chapter on 
the yellow ground. London : Gardening World Office, t , 
Clement's Inn, Strand. W.C. is. Gd ; postfree, is.7d. — [Advt, 
