August 26, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
819 
ABERDEEN FLOWER 
SHOW. 
In beautiful weather the sixty-ninth annual show of 
the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen was 
held on the 17th, 18th and igth inst, in the 
Central Park. It was expected that the quality of 
the exhibits would be somewhat below par, owing to 
the early season ; but this anticipation, it is 
gratifying to record, did not prove true. In every 
department there was an advance on former years, 
and never in the seventy years’ history of the Society 
were there such a large nnmber of entries. In 
addition to the entries proper, a considerable number 
of nurserymen and gardeners had choice collections 
on view, and without doubt these were the chief 
features of the show. Each of these collections was 
awarded the Society’s Silver Medal, while Mr M. 
Cuthbertson, Rothesay, secured the Gold Medal 
with a magnificent collection of Herbaceous plants. 
Messrs. Ben. Reid & Co., Aberdeen, had a beautifully 
arranged stall. A wreath and cross, grounded with 
Lichens, and having clusters of Stephanotis, Liliums, 
and Roses was much admired, as was also one 
grounded with Mahonia leaves and relieved with 
sprays of White Heather and clusters of Roses. 
Their shower bouquets also were deservedly 
admired. The stall of Messrs. William Smith & Son, 
Aberdeen, had a great number of admirers. Its 
most noticeable feature was the charming assort¬ 
ment of flowers on mirrors and velvet cloth. Messrs. 
James Cocker & Sons, Aberdeen, had on view (in¬ 
dependent of those they had in competition), a large 
display of Roses. This firm had also a superb 
display of pot plants. Mr. Joseph Dalgarno, White¬ 
hall Nursery ; Mr. John P'orbes, Hawick ; Messrs. 
D. & W. Croll, Dundee; and Mr. Campbell, 
Blantyre, had also beautifully arranged stands. 
Pot Plants. —The entries in this section 
numbered 319 as compared with 257 last year. For 
the collection of best grown plants, arranged on a 
side table 15 ft. by 4ft., Mr. Andrew Reid, Durris, 
took first place, Mr. Grigor, Fairfield, being a good 
second. Mr. Grigor carried off the premier honours 
in Ferns, exotic and hardy, with beautiful specimens. 
In the section for Ferns from the stove or green¬ 
house, Mr. James Strachan, Beechgrove, scored 
best. Begonias were a splendid show, the chief 
honours going to Mr. A. Robb, gardener to Mr. 
James Murray, Glenburnie Park. Mr. R. Kiloh, 
gardener to Mr. Collie, of Woodlands, had the best 
table decoration. Mr. G. Ross, gardener to Mr. 
McHardy, of Cranford, carried the first place in 
Pelargoniums with a choice collection. Mr. 
Strachan, Beechgrove, was deservedly first with 
plants for dinner-table decoration. For Pelargo¬ 
niums, bronze, tricolor, ’or variegated, Mr. Robert 
Kiloh, Woodlands, led the way. In Orchids a mag¬ 
nificent specimen shown by Mr. A. Howie, Fordoun, 
received the first prize. 
Cut Flowers. —These were very fine. Mr. 
Kiloh, Woodlands, won the premier place with a 
magnificent collection, arranged for effect on a side 
table, 6 ft. by 3J ft., Mr. D. McHardy, Cranford, 
being second. Mr. J. Robertson, Ferryhill House, 
was first for floral decorations for dinner-table, 8 ft. 
by 3| ft. Roses were somewhat similar to last year. 
For twelve blooms, Mr. R. Watson, Stoneywood, was 
first, and Mr. George Ross was equally successful 
with twenty-four blooms. Tea Roses were a grand 
collection, and were much admired. Mr. William 
Coutts, Ellon, was first. The trusses of cut flowers 
from the stove or greenhouse were grand. The 
chief prize-winner was Mr. J. Moir, Dundee. Mr. 
James Fife, junr., Aberdeen, exhibited some capital 
Carnations, and a grand assortment of Phloxes from 
Mr. A. Reid, gardener to Mr. Baird, of Urie, was 
deservedly awarded the first place. An old prize- 
taker, Mr. John Wilson, Charleton, Montrose, was 
again to the front with Dahlias. There was a big 
display of Asters, and the quality was extra fine. 
The bouquets, bride, hand, and buttonhole, were 
universally admired. 
Fruit. —The turn-out in this section, all things 
considered, was unquestionably creditable. Better 
bunches of Grapes could not be wished, while 
Peaches, Apricots, and Plums also presented a first- 
class display. The collection of nine distinct 
varieties shown by Mr. Reid, Durris, was considered 
the finest yet shown under the auspices of the society. 
Mr. Reid was also one of the chief prize-takers for 
Grapes. Mr. John Moir, gardener to Mr. Cox, 
Dundee, made a good second to Mr. Reid in the 
competition for the best nine distinct varieties. The 
hardy fruits were also of a very high quality, one of 
the most worthy collections in this class being that 
of Mr. George Taylor, Raeden, Stocket ; while the 
chief honours for Cherries and Pears went to Mr. 
Robert Grigor, gardener to Sir John Amory, Bart., 
Tiverton, North Devon. Gooseberries made a fine 
display, and Currants were large and well formed. 
A prominent prize-taker in the latter class was Mr. 
W. Williamson, gardener to Colonel Turner, of 
Turnerhall. Mr. John Wilson, Montrose, gained a 
well-merited prize with his fine specimens of Peaches. 
The chief honours for Apples went to Tiverton. 
Plums were above an average. Mr, F. Duncan, 
gardener to the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, 
exhibited some, which for quality and size would 
have been difficult to beat. 
Vegetables.—- The display in this section was 
acknowledged on all hands to be one of the best ever 
seen in Aberdeen. Finer collections of ten different 
varieties, arranged in boxes, than those forwarded by 
the professional gardeners, it would be difficult to 
imagine. Mr. George Milne, gardener to Lady 
Gordon Cathcart, Cluny Castle, headed the list 
with a superb collection, the second place going to 
Mr. T. B. Middleton, gardener to Sir Arthur Grant, 
Bart., of Monymusk. The first prize-takers in the 
various classes were—Mr. A. Reid, Urie; Mr. A. 
Davidson, Kepplestone ; Mr. Robert Grigor, Tiver¬ 
ton, North Devon; Mr. A. Gardiner, gardener to 
Mr. A. Burnett, Kemnay House ; Mr. Williamson, 
Turnerhall; Mr. J. Dalgarno, Pitgaveny, etc. 
The classes devoted to nurserymen and florists were 
well contested. For thirty-six Rose blooms, dis¬ 
similar, Messrs. James Cocker & Sons, Sunnypark, 
led the way. For Tea Roses, however, Messrs. D. 
& W. Croll, Dundee, sent the local firm to the right¬ 
about with a beautiful collection. The Messrs. 
Cocker, however, secured premier honours for cut 
flowers of Gladioli and a Bride's Bouquet. Mr. John 
McPherson, Deemount; Messrs. Croll, Dundee; 
and Mr. M. Campbell, Blantyre, also gave a good 
account of themselves. The exhibits sent in by 
amateurs and working men were a most creditable 
display. 
The arrangements were under the capable 
direction of the courteous Secretary, Mr. A. M. 
Byres, C.A. The takings for the three days were 
£357 I 7 S - ud- La'st year, the gate yielded for the 
three days £1,341 gs. yd., but the Military Sports 
were the great attraction then. 
--j.- 
Potatos at Chiswick. 
In going through the Potatos on trial in the gardens 
of the Royal Horticultural Society at Chiswick, 
there are to be seen a few very desirable varieties. 
Of course, Potatos are this season, as a rule, cooking 
better than usual, and those under notice cooked 
beautifully, besides turning out a good crop of 
regularly sized tubers. Sutton’s Triumph comes 
first, and is in my opinion the best one of the whole 
lot on trial; it is a good cropper, the tubers are of 
nice size, flatish-round in shape, with a slightly 
rough skin, and the eyes level with the surface, 
while its cooking qualities are everything that 
couid be desired. Windsor Castle is also a splendid 
Potato, somewhat of the same shape as Triumph, 
but slightly longer ; a fine crop of even shape and 
size, a good cooker, and of excellent flavour. Lily 
Langtry is not so good a shape as the foregoing, but 
it is a large cropper, and of good cooking quality ; a 
good allotment or field Potato. Redcliffe Kidney, 
Jeannie Deans, and Veitch’s Early Regent are all 
good croppers, and,like the above-named, after being 
cooked, received the full number of marks.— 0 . H. S. 
--«£•»- 
Petunias.—There are abundant illustrations thisyear 
of the suitability of these gay flowering plants for dry 
situations. Thesinglestripedones are the most largely 
used, but having seen a most glorious bed of a fringed 
double variety I must put in a plea for these, which 
are somewhat more difficult to obtain. The bed I 
refer to consisted of one variety, the colours rich 
plum and pure white, and being of a closer habit of 
growth than the singles, they are better adapted for 
small beds, and when well done amply repay the 
extra labour attending them.— G. 
QM^aning# front flDorUr 
of Sriencr* 
The White Man’s Foot. —When a plant or fruit 
is encumbered with numerous synonyms, it is evi¬ 
dence of its wide-spread distribution or its 
popularity. Mr. A. Davidson, writing in the West 
Ameiican Scientist about immigrant plants in Los 
Angeles County, California, says that the constant 
association of Plantago major with the homes of the 
early settlers, led the Indians to call it the White 
Man’s Foot. Seeing that it is so largely used for 
feeding cage birds in this country, the Plantain 
might have originally been introduced by the settlers 
on purpose; but that can hardly apply to the 
Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) a pro¬ 
lific weed which is said to have followed the Roman 
legions in their conquest of Gaul and Britain. 
Already it is abundant in California, although it pro¬ 
bably first landed on the east coast of America and 
followed cultivation across the great continent, as 
peacefully as did the Anglo-Saxon settlers them¬ 
selves. 
A more useful weed.— The leguminous plant 
familiar to us as Lucern (Medicago sativa) was intro¬ 
duced to Italy in 470 b.c. by the Romans, who 
brought it from Media. They probably introduced 
it to Britain during their occupation of it as fodder 
for their horses. It is still cultivated in some parts 
of the country, and is disseminating itself over the 
country by way of the railway embankments and on 
chalk cliffs and similar waste places. Now, after 
2,363 years since it first touched European soil, it 
has established itself on the Pacific coast of 
America as a naturalised weed. 
Black Mustard in California.— Although a 
native of this country, the common or Black Mustard 
(Brassica nigra) has never proved such a mischievous 
weed as the field Mustard or Cherlock (B. arvensis). 
In California, on the contrary, it has multiplied to 
such an extent as to prove an injurious weed by 
covering acres of ground to the exclusion of more 
useful vegetation. The same may be said of the 
Wild Turnip (Brassica campestris) and the Hoar- 
hound (Marrabium vulgan), and it is only an inade¬ 
quate supply of water that prevents the Watercress 
(Nasturtium officinale) and the Peppermint (Mentha 
piperita) from becoming equally troublesome. 
The Stork’s Bill as a Fodder Plant. —There 
are three species of Erodium, natives of this country, 
but we never hear of them being grown as fodder, 
nor are they at all plentiful, although E. cicutarium 
is tolerably frequently met with in certain localities. 
It, as well as E. moschatum, would appear to have 
been sown as fodder plants in the sandy soil of Los 
Angeles, and now they occupy the ground to the 
exclusion of the more permanent native grasses 
which would have afforded grazing for cattle long 
after the Erodiums, which are only annuals, have 
died down. 
Number of Immigrant Plants observed in 
Los Angeles. —Altogether forty-two European 
plants have now established themselves in Los 
Angeles, including ten grasses. Some are only 
maintaining an existence, while a large proportion of 
them have become a veritable nuisance to the farmer 
and cultivator generally. Of course, a considerable 
number are escapes from cultivation, while others 
are mere casuals ; but as time goes on it will be more 
difficult to determine the plants that are truly 
indigenous from those that are not without a record 
being kept of recent arrivals. 
Causes that operate for the spread of 
Plants. —These are manifold. Some are intention¬ 
ally introduced for one purpose or another. Seeds 
of others are introduced as weeds amongst grain and 
other agricultural seeds. Some, such as the Thistle, 
are furnished with a pappus which acts as wings, by 
means of which they are often carried to great dis¬ 
tances by the wind. Birds and furred animals also 
carry others which cling to their legs, wool, hairy 
bodies, etc. Once introduced, the conditions must 
be congenial to their welfare ; and we know that the 
circumstances are sometimes more favourable to 
them than to the native vegetation, for they are able 
to oust the latter. They sometimes grow with such 
uxuriance as to be scarcely recognisable alongside 
of European specimens. There are but few of the 
introductions to this country that oust the native 
vegetation to any extent except the troublesome 
Peruvian weed named Galinsoga parviflora. 
