October 2, 1897. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
69 
A second crop of fruit has been produced by a 
Victoria Plum tree in the garden of Mr. Kelsey, 
Chessington. 
Messrs. Edward Humphries, Ltd., Pershore, have 
just received advice from the Committee of the 
National and International Agricultural Society of 
Holland, whose show is now being held at The 
Hague, that their improved and patented oil engine 
has received the first prize Gold Medal. 
Strawberries at Chiswick —The recently issued 
part of the Royal Horticultural Society's Journal 
commences Vol. XXI. The reports of five of the 
numerous trials conducted at Chiswick this year are 
included. Some idea of the magnitude of the trials 
may be gleaned from the fact that there are fifty-six 
varieties of Strawberries alone. Many of them are 
merely mentioned owing to the fact of their being so 
lately received that they had insufficient time to show 
what they were capable of doing. This means, we 
should understand, that the trial will have to be con¬ 
tinued the next, and possibly following years. Some 
of the varieties have borne heavily both the first and 
second year, yet their quality is declared to be 
decidedly bad. What then is to be the fate of 
heavily cropping, badly flavoured varieties? Some 
would declare that they must inevitably be dis¬ 
carded by growers and gardeners generally. We 
know, however, that some such varieties find con¬ 
siderable favour, even for dessert purposes. To their 
good looks, sweetness if not flavour, is added by 
means of sugar and cream. First-class Certificates 
have been awarded to Auguste Boisselot, Countess, 
Edouard Lefort, Latest of All, Leader, Monarch, 
Pioneer, Royal Sovereign, and Veitch’s Perfection. 
Mentmore and Wonderful received Awards of Merit. 
Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ Association.—The 
annual business meeting of this association was held 
in the Council Chamber of the Guildhall, Exeter, on 
Wednesday, the 29th ult., under the presidency of 
E. A. Sanders, Esq., J.P., the president. The busi¬ 
ness of the meeting was to receive the treasurer’s 
report for the past year ; to elect a president, vice- 
president, secretary, treasurer, and committee for 
1897—98; and to transact any other competent 
business that might be brought forward. The hon. 
secretary, Mr. Andrew Hope, has got together a good 
programme for the autumn half of the session. The 
association meets fortnightly. On the 13th October, 
Mr. J. Mayne, gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle, 
Bicton, will read a paper on “ The Qualifications and 
Duties of a Gardener.” Mr. R. Hodder, gardener 
to Mrs. Trevor Barclay, Ponsonby, Torquay, will 
discourse on “ How a Knowledge of Botany is a 
Help to Gardening ” on the 27th October. Mr. T. 
H. Slade, gardener to Lord Poltimore, Poltimore 
Park, will treat of •' Pruning and the General 
Management of Fruit Trees ” on the 10th November. 
“ Herbs—their Cultivation and their Uses ” will be 
dealt with by Mr. W. Andrews, gardener to W. 
Danby, Esq., Elmfield, Exeter, on the 24th Novem¬ 
ber. Mr. G. Camp, gardener to E. Byrom, Esq., 
Culver Gardens, Exeter, will speak about " Winter¬ 
flowering and Foliage Begonias,” on the 8th Decem¬ 
ber. The 22nd December will be set apart for sundry 
papers by the junior members. 
The Dahlia and its History —On this subject, Mr. 
George Blench, gardener to Thos. Carver, Esq,, 
J P„ recently read a paper before the Marple Gar¬ 
deners’ Association. A fine collection of blooms 
contributed by Messrs. Clibran, Altrincham, illus¬ 
trated the various points of the lecture. In his open¬ 
ing remarks, Mr. Blench stated that the Dahlia is a 
native of Mexico and Central America, and received 
its generic name after Dr.Dahl,a Swedish botanist,but 
was spoken of as late as the year 1812 as " Georgina.” 
In 1787 a Frenchman, named Nicolas Joseph Thiery 
de Renonville, was sent to America to find Cochi¬ 
neal, and described the Dahlias he had seen growing 
in the gardens of Mexico. In 1789 the director of 
he Botanic Gardens at Mexico forwarded seeds to 
the Royal Gardens at Madrid. In 1802 John Fraser, 
a collector of American plants, obtained from Paris 
seeds of Dahlia coccinea. He raised a batch of 
seedlings, some of which flowered in one of his 
greenhouses in 1803. In 1815 a stock of double 
flowers was imported from France, and since that 
time continual progress has been made. Mr. Blench 
then went into cultural details, and spoke of a well 
drained and manured heavy soil as being the best 
for them. Speaking of propagation, he said that 
seeds sown in March in heat under glass flower the 
same year, although cuttings form the means 
generally adopted, 90 per cent, of them rooting under 
skilful hands and proper conditions. The lecturer 
then dealt with the various sections or types of the 
popular flower. The show type embraces all the 
self-coloured and shaded flowers, the fancy section 
being a later development. The pompon or bouquet 
Dahlia is of German origin, and has a style and 
shape identical with the show flower, although the 
size is much less. The Cactus type is exceedingly 
popular, and since its introduction in 1880 much im¬ 
provement has been made in it. The decorative 
section is intermediate between the show and the 
Cactus types. Singles and and single Cactus varie¬ 
ties are also thought highly of, and are most useful 
to grow for supplying cut flowers. 
A Full Catalogue — The autumn catalogue of 
Messrs. Ant. Roozen & Son, Overveen, near Haar¬ 
lem, Holland, is stated on the front page to contain 
choice Dutch and Cape Bulbs, but a glance at the 
interior shows a vast number of subjects that can 
only be associated with bulbs by virtue of their 
having tuberous roots or rhizomes like these of 
Anemone, Paeony, Iris, Water Lilies, &c. The cata¬ 
logue runs to 101 pages, including the index, and the 
whole is closely printed, each species or variety of 
plant mentioned having an appropriate description in 
English. All of these plants are also numbered, 
running up to 4,514, and finishing up with three 
species of Ginger Plants, so that hardy and hothouse 
plants are included. Independently of these stand¬ 
ing numbers, so to speak, the new and rare plants 
are separately classified, and occupy the beginning 
of the catalogue. They, together with bulbs and 
plants for naturalisation, and for masses in wild 
gardens, &c., make an additional 224 to the general 
list, and for the sake of distinction are marked 0224. 
The fulness of the list of terrestrial Orchids will 
serve to give an idea of the exhaustive and compre¬ 
hensive nature of the collection of plants that may 
be associated with bulbs by virtue of their tuberous 
rcots. There are fourteen species of Cypripedium i 
and other species in proportion, including the greater 
number of British Orchids. Needless to say Lilies, 
Tulips, Hyacinths, and other popular bulbs are 
treated in the same comprehensive way. The work 
may be regarded as a valuable vade mecum for every¬ 
thing in the above line which may be required in the 
garden. 
- - 
PEOPLE I HAVE MET. 
Mr. James Hunter, of Lambton Castle 
Gardens. 
Who shall dispute the enthusiasm and popularity 
with which the judges’ decision in the great Diamond 
Jubilee fruit class at Edinburgh was received ? Mr. 
Hunter was the recipient of many congratulations 
and goodwill, as the hero of a well lought fight, 
no less than a man of great prominence in the ranks 
of horticulturists. I welcome him in the name of our 
thousands of readers to our portrait gallery. 
Born at Dirleton, near North Berwick, on the 
bonny banks of the Firth of Forth, in 1839, Mr. 
Hunter can point to nearly sixty years spent amongst 
us. His apprenticeship at Archerfield with Mr. 
Thomson extended to seven years, when he was sent 
to Thoresby Park, as foreman to Mr. Henderson, 
where he remained until he was chosen for Lambton 
by the late Wm. Thomson, of Dalkeith. As 
director-general of the beautiful gardens of the 
famous Castle of Lambton, the seat of the Earls of 
Durham, Mr. Hunter has proved himself the 
occupant of a worthily-filled position. 
In the. ranks of competitors at our leading horti¬ 
cultural societies’ shows his prowess is so well 
known as hardly to need comment; but it is in¬ 
teresting to trace Mr. Hunter’s history as an 
exhibitor since the days of his first competition at 
the Glasgow International Exhibition, where he 
defeated the late Mr. Fowler, of Castle Kennedy, and 
Mr. Johnson, of Glamis Castle. In the year follow¬ 
ing, at Edinburgh, and indeed, every year since, he 
has been prodigiously successful. Again at Man¬ 
chester, in the long-to-be-remembered Wills compe¬ 
tition for fifty guineas offered for the best twelve 
bunches of Grapes, Mr. Hunter was equal to the 
occasion; and the reputation of Lambton Castle 
still maintained its supremacy. Mr. Hunter’s 
winning twelve included Black Hamburgh over 
14 lb. to the bunch, only to be eclipsed at Belfast 
Mr. James Hunter. 
later on with another fine bunch from Lambton— 
also of black Hamburg—weighing .21 lb. 12 oz. In 
the Queen's Jubilee class at Newcastle, fifty guineas 
for fifty dishes of fruit also fell to Mr. Hunter’s 
share. My good friend’s thirty years' record at 
Lambton is a fine tribute to the man and the master 
whom he is proud to serve. 
One word more. I am sure Mr. Hunter will for¬ 
give me if I place on record the opinion of no less an 
authority than Mr. Thomson, who, on visiting 
Lambton this season remarked that "the bedding 
was not only original, but the prettiest and finest 
piece of work he had ever seen.” This, as a tribute 
to the gardens as a whole, shows our friend to be not 
only a doughty champion in the world of competi¬ 
tion, but also that the gardens themselves at 
Lambton Castle are a monument to his ingenuity and 
skill. Nor can I forget that Mr. Hunter was the 
raiser of the seedling Pineapple, named Lady 
Beatrice Lambton, put into commerce in 1882 .— Gyp. 
PIERIS FORMOSA AT BICTON. 
There are something like ten species belonging to 
this genus of the Heath family, natives of the 
Himalayas, Malayan Peninsula, Japan and North 
West America. In this country gardeners are most 
familiar with P. fioribunda and P. japonica, which 
are amongst the neatest in habit of evergreen shrubs 
in gardens. The former is a native of the United 
States, and the latter of Japan. Both are perfectly 
hardy in the south, at least, and P. fioribunda even 
to the far north. They are all best known to 
gardeners under the name of Andromeda, including 
the subject under notice, but that name covers many 
things which are very distinct both in appearance 
and botanically. 
Pieris formosa is a native of Eastern India and 
China, and is the handsomest and boldest of the 
genus, but unfortunately is not hardy except in the 
warmer and more sheltered places on the south 
coast of England, and possibly in Ireland. Even in 
the suburbs of London it requires the shelter of a 
greenhouse to make it thrive. It frequently flowers 
in the Temperate house at Kew, and we have been 
reminded of this fact by the receipt of the top of a 
shoot from a plant which has just flowered with Mr. 
J. Mayne, gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle, Bicton, 
Devon. It is growing under glass and has now 
reached the heignt of 14 ft. If planted out in a well 
lighted house it will flower while only 4 ft. to 6 ft in 
height. The foliage alone is highly ornamental, being 
