53 
September 23, lb99 THE GARDENING W ORLD. 
New Roses. 
r "FEN QUITE NEW VARIETIES 
1 . first-class Roses are to be sold under the best cond tlon. 
The description will be suit on demand.—J. K., Gardening 
World Offices, Clement's Inn, Strand, Lonaon. 
LAIRD’S 
“DEMOTIC” 
J AS been pronounced by one and all to 
* be the 
Best Artificial Manure 
on the Market. 
No Gardener can afford 
- - to do without It. 
FOR 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS, 
VINES, PLANTS, 
AND 
VEGETABLES 
It has proved to be indispensable to good 
cultivation. 
PRICES : 
Per cwt., 17/6 ; i-cwt., 9/- ; £-cwt., 5/- ; 
14 lbs., 3 /-. 
1 Cwt. and upwards Carriage Paid. 
Sole Manufacturers : 
it. B. LAIRD « SONS, 
LTD., 
17a, South Frederick St., Edinburgh. 
“ Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man.”—B acon. 
Edited by J. FRASER, F.L.S, 
SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 23 yd, 1899. 
NEXT WEEK'S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Tuesday, September 26th.—Royal Horticultural Society’s 
meeting in the Drill Hall, Westminster (vegetable compe¬ 
tition for the "Sherwood Cup”); Harrow and Roxteth 
Allotment Society's Exhibition of Vegetables. 
Thursday, September 28th.—R.H.S. Fruit Show at the Crys¬ 
tal Palace (3 days) 
$7That they say of the Edinburgh 
Show.— Whatever there may be said 
regarding the number of classes in a 
schedule of prizes issued by any society, 
they are no criterion of the character of a 
show from the public point of view. There 
may be hundreds of classes and strong 
competition in each, but a large proportion 
of the various kinds of garden produce 
that must be included cannot be displayed 
in such a way as to give effect in a building, 
tent or marquee, whether they be large or 
small. The old style of exhibiting single 
flowers or trusses of the same upon boards, 
whether Dahlias, Roses, Carnations, Pan¬ 
sies, or a host of other things that could 
be instanced, has scarcely been improved 
upon, we imagine, since show boards were 
first called into requisition. Some hundreds 
of such boards huddled into, generally, a 
limited amount of space, can only be des¬ 
cribed as a congeries of articles ; but they 
are ineffective in producing a display that 
can be taken in at a glance or bird’s eye 
view. On the other hand a large number 
of classes in which prizes are offered, are 
a source of strength to a society or their 
show, inasmuch as an equivalent number of 
gardeners are interested in the show, and 
strengthen the same by their presence as 
well as by their contributions in money as 
in produce. Some genius, however, may 
yet invent some method of exhibiting these 
odds and ends in such a way as to add to 
the general effect as well as occupy space 
and gain prizes. The mere novelty of such 
a change would create a fresh enthusiasm 
that would serve to draw the public for 
the sake of seeing the flowers as well as 
listening to the music, or being attracted by 
side shows. The perfecting of any such 
method of attractive exhibiting would 
stimulate gardeners to fresh enterprise; 
and could hardly fail to find imitators in 
other or all parts of the country in the 
course of a few years. 
As far as the Edinburgh show was con¬ 
cerned the multitude of small exhibits has 
not yet excited any attention; but there 
were features that appealed both to connois¬ 
seurs and the general public. Some of the 
most attractive exhibits occurred in the 
competitive classes scheduled, and others 
were outside that range. The general 
consensus of opinion was again expressed 
that the exhibits of hardy cut flowers were 
a striking feature of the exhibition. Most 
of them were culled from a wide area of 
Scotland and the north of England, ranging 
in fact from Aberdeen to Bedale. That in 
some sense may be due to climate and the 
latenessof the season owing to latitude, forin 
the south of England the best of the hardy 
flowers were past their best. But that 
displays so gorgeous could be grown and 
gathered from the open air should furnish a 
greatly increased incentive to the extended 
culture of hardy herbaceous plants. They 
are equally as effective, if not more so than 
indoor flowers; equally suited for cut 
flower purposes, so much in request at the 
present day ; and likewise adapted for out¬ 
door garden adornment. Even those 
who competed in these classes had non¬ 
competitive exhibits, consisting largely, it 
may be said, of the surplus material not 
required for competition. In the way of cut 
flowers it may also be stated that Dahlias, 
of all classes, but par-.icularly Cactus var¬ 
ieties made their presence felt in no mistak- 
able manner. The non-competitive exhibits 
in this case were certainly the most attract¬ 
ive ; and this was due in a large measure to 
the method of arrangement being left to 
individual initiative, unhampered by the 
levelling down influences often exercised 
by competitive groups which must all con¬ 
form to a certain plan of arrangement that 
will admit of comparison by the judges who 
have to adjudicate upon their merits. 
Several of those who made post-prandial 
speeches or remarks upon the show, especi¬ 
ally those from the southern side of the 
Cheviots,admittedthat thegeneral charac er 
of the show conduced largely to its effective¬ 
ness. In other words many shows are held 
at London or even the near provinces that 
are more or less of a special character, and 
devoted to the wellbeing or advancement 
of a particular class of garden products. 
The Royal Caledonian Horticultural 
Society holds two shows only in the course 
of the year, so that the autumn show is 
about as general in character as it might 
well be, including fruits, flowers and 
vegetables of all classes in season. In¬ 
dependently of the subjects asked for in 
the schedule the nursery element was in 
strong force, many of them hailing from 
London and the immediate neighbourhood. 
Several of them set up exhibits that were 
decidedly novel at Edinburgh, or for the 
matter of that, in the north. That was as 
it should be at all shows and is the result of 
the cosmopolitan or broad views of the 
executive of the society which encourages 
exhibits from a distance as if the show was 
an international one. This applies, not 
only to the non-competitive, but to the 
competitive exhibits, for a large number of 
competitors came from the south, though it 
is equally true that many of them were 
Scotchmen looking back to the amenities 
of the old country. Notwithstanding the 
large number of groups put up, it was freely 
admitted that nothing was of a rubbishy 
character, intended merely as a fill up. 
Several of the groups might be described as 
common place in the matter of plants and 
the style of arrangement, though the 
former were good of their kind, that is, 
well grown. 
On this occasion several classes were set 
apart specially for amateurs. Not only was 
competition good, but many of their 
exhibits of flowers were very creditable. 
This was no cause for surprise nor much 
comment at Edinburgh, however, because 
amateurs had previously been in the habit 
of entering the open competitions, and that 
too with success. Vegetables were in 
smaller quantity, perhaps, than on previous 
occasions, but there was no falling away in 
quality compared with the shows of some 
years past. The question may well be 
asked how it is that a Scotchman from 
south the border manages, from the dry 
climate of the sunny and droughty south, to 
