250 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
SEA POINT HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 
Annual Spring Show. 
I expect some of your readers will open their eyes 
a little as they read the heading of these notes 
sitting in England or Scotland in dark December as 
the Autumn Queen has scarcely finished her reign 
for another season, and when fogs, frost, snow, &c. p 
hold sway, and the sun is mostly conspicuous by its 
absence. A breath from this charming suburb of 
Cape Town now arrayed in all the glory and 
fragrance of legions of spring flowers may prove 
acceptable to my fellow gardeners who are not so 
fortunate as to see it themselves. The afternoon of 
Friday, November 9th, found us in the Town Hall 
viewing, with great pleasure, the exhibition above- 
mentioned, held under the auspices of this flourishing 
society. 
The society is confined exclusively to amateur 
gardeners, and no one employing professional gar¬ 
deners is eligible to compete in any of the classes ; 
Rule IV. saying, " The society shall consist of such 
persons other than professional gardeners, &c.” As 
you will see by the list I enclose, a society embracing 
such a wide field for mutual improvement could not 
be otherwise than beneficial to the few professional 
gardeners round the district, especially those newly 
come to the Colony and, on the other hand, profes¬ 
sional gardeners, men who have studied horticulture 
in its many branches as a means of livelihood could 
not fail to impart many little items of information 
that would prove advantageous to the enthusiastic 
amateurs around Sea Point. 
I must say the quality of the exhibits showed very 
plainly a fair amount of intelligence in the cultiva¬ 
tion of plants in general. On entering the hall one 
was at once struck by the delicious perfume, dispell¬ 
ing, at once, the illusion that flowers grown in the 
Cape are without smell. 
Roses, of course, were the prominent feature ; and 
such Roses ! Mr. T. M. Duncan's collection con¬ 
sisted of 800 blooms in about 200 varieties, arranged 
on a slightly sloping table, and well shown off by a 
background of mixed plants including several 
Cattleyas, Cypripediums, Anthuriums, &c. The 
individual blooms were almost without exception 
perfect, though, perhaps, to British ideas a trifle far 
blown ; and it seems to me hard to believe that those 
who have seen them other years declared them below 
the average. 
The Queen of the Roses in this case was an ex¬ 
ceedingly large and fine bloom of Her Majesty, sent 
by Mr. Arderne.The Hill, Claremont, who also sent, 
for exhibition only, a nice selection of his fine Rhodo¬ 
dendrons and Water Lilies, both rarely seen around 
Cape Town. Carnations were another fine feature, 
Mr. Strange being most successful here with a 
pretty collection, which I took to be mostly seedlings. 
Sweet Peas here, as elsewhere, seem to be coming 
rapidly to the front ; and here again Mr. Duncan 
scored a signal triumph all round, especially for Mr. 
Sydenham's (Birmingham) prizes, his stands includ¬ 
ing most of the latest and up-to-date varieties. 
A little further round a stand of Salpiglossis got 
more than its share of attention; also a glass or 
two of the light and graceful Cosmos ; while 
Poppies in various colours were very attractive. 
Pot plants are often the weakest points in amateur 
exhibitions, though it can hardly be said so about 
Sea Point. On the right hand of the door a beauti¬ 
ful large plant trained on a balloon of Rhyncosper- 
mum jastninoides was very noticeable. Ferns, too, 
were very fine Some very large plants of 
Adiantums, Davallias and Pteris were shown ; 
while special mention must be made of Mr. Donald 
Ross's Orchids, Cattleya Mossiae, C. Mendelii and 
C. bowringians, all large plants in perfect health, 
and all carrying heavy spikes of, flowers, petting 
up to the platform we found ourselves in the ladies' 
section, viewing with admiration the decorative use 
of cut flowers and the skill and care displayed on 
this most fascinating art. Undoubtedly the table 
decorations were very fine, Mrs. C. H. Thomson 
carrying off the honours with pale yellow Mar- 
gueritesand Adiantums; though Mrs. C. Mathew's 
S weetPeas and some of our beautiful Cape grasses must 
have been a very close second ; while Mrs. Maskew’s 
pink Poppies were just a trifle heavy. Eclipsing 
them all was a beautiful heliotrope arrangement of 
Mrs. M. Versfield's, consisting of white and helio¬ 
trope Sweec Peas and grasses, resting on a ground¬ 
work of heliotrope and white silk, very effective. 
There was also a fine display of bridal and other 
bouquets, sprays, &c., which must have given a lot 
of work to the fair competitors. 
Descending again on the other side we came to the 
fruit and vegetable section, though it did not take up 
so much space as one would have expected (probably 
from the earliness of the season), still some very nice 
exhibits were staged, including a fine dish of Straw¬ 
berries from Mr. Ross ; some magnificent Lemons 
from Mr. Le Sueur, and a good collection of white 
Onions from Mr. W. A. Anderson. 
Beside Mr. Le Sueur’s Lemons, and also belonging 
to him was a fine little glass of Iris Robinsoni (the 
New Zealand Bridal Flower), for exhibition only, 
which was very deservingly receiving a great deal of 
admiration. I do not know whether this Iris is much 
grown in England or not, but it was the first time I 
had the pleasure of seeing it, and I assure you it was 
well worthy of all the attention it was receiving. [It 
has been flowered at Kew. Ed ] 
I was fortunate enough to find Mr. Le Sueur 
beside it, and he was very proud to have succeeded 
in flowering it before they were able to do so in the 
Botanic Gardens here. He was also kind enough to 
give me a few hints regarding his method of cultiva¬ 
tion, so I may yet be able to have it adorning some 
part of the Mount Nelson grounds. 
However, speaking generally, the Sea Point 
Society (committee and members) have every reason 
to congratulate themselves. To me the visit to my 
first South African flower show was a pleasure 
indeed. How nice to note the friendly rivalry thus 
engendered, the pride and pleasure each seemed to 
take in his or her own special pets, bringing back to 
happy memory days of long ago when the Scottish 
village show was the great occasion before we joined 
the ranks of professional gardeners, and thus 
debarred ourselves for ever from this special class of 
exhibition. 
And last but not least, how grand to find, on read¬ 
ing over the prize list in this troubled land of ours, 
and in those troublous times throughout the world, 
names representing Dutch, French, Russians, 
Germans, and British, not in martial array, but in 
unity of heart and purpose., seeking, striving, and 
assisting one another in their endeavour to aclima- 
tise old friends, to make the aquaintance of new 
ones, blending and harmonising the best of both to 
suit their new environments, making pleasant, 
happy, and prosperous homes in the land of our 
adoption, and drawing us all closer and closer 
together in the bonds of friendship, peace and good 
will, through the gentle influence of the " art that 
mends nature,” and the " purest of human 
pleasures.” May it be so is, at least, the wish and 
aim of your correspondent.— Jim Good. 
— 
WHITE HEATHER. 
Recently, when touring in Cornwall, I made 
several enquiries concerning the subject of this 
note; but the answers were invariably vague. 
White Heather had been seen somewhere—it was 
supposed to grow in the county, but the locality was 
always indicated as remote; so much so, that its 
existence seemed to be quite of a mythological 
character. If one preferred the query in the south 
or south-east, for instance, the north or north-west, 
would be considered " probable.” If, per contra, dis¬ 
tance would still lend its enchantment to the troubled 
querist, it seemed to be quite outside the range of 
practical possibility. Remembering, however, the 
liability of plants to vary, I decided to settle this 
matter for myself, if possible, and devote a day to 
the quest. I fixed on the Hensbarrow Downs as a 
“ golden mean,” a fine, open, breezy, Heather-clad 
height of about 600 ft. elevation, in the vicinity of 
St. Austell. 
I took train to the nearest point—Victoria, an un¬ 
pretentious village, with a grand appellation— 
received counsel of the station-master, who, I 
verily believe, regarded me as a visionary, and 
thence to the Downs. I had not been searching 
very long before I discovered the wli'te variety of the 
Ling (Calluna vulgaris), which grows here in great 
profusion, and is, notwithstanding its commonness, 
an elegant plant in all its stages. 
Linnaeus called it Erica vulgaris, but it is quite 
distinct from the true Heaths as the most casual 
examination will disclose. Its tiny bell-shaped 
corolla, however, is quite superseded by the rose or 
lilac-coloured leaves of the calyx, and this again is 
surrounded by four small green bracts, which appear 
December 15, 1500. ; 
to form a second calyx. Its leaves are small, fine,- 
and closely imbricated and of a beautifal bright 
green. The Ling is, perhaps, the best known plant 
of our British Ericaceae. The white variety, of 
course, could not be allowed any longer to waste its 
whiteness on this upland moor. A fine rich rose 
variety was also " vasculumed.” 
Where the Ling grows the fine-leaved Heath 
(Erica cinerea) is almost a certainty. Here it strives 
with the former for the supremacy. And so we 
have Heath and Ling, and Ling and Heath without 
number. E. ciaerea is often called the “ Scotch 
Heather,” probably on account of its feature-giving 
character to the typical northern "land of the 
mountain and the flood.” However, that may be, 
it is also a typical Cornish plant, and flaunts its 
beautiful drooping reddish-purple " bells ” in as merry 
profusion as in the 
Land of brown Heath and shaggy wood.” 
It is a richly coloured flower of surpassing beauty ; 
it purples the hills with delight; it lends a regal 
lustre to the landscape ; it is beloved of all. 
Its flowers are rather urceolate than campanulate 
in contour, and vary in colour from rich red to royal 
purple. The flowers ate sometimes white. On a par¬ 
ticular plant here they were so. Long and diligent 
search rewarded me ! Doubts were now dispelled. 
White Heather was not a myth. I had encourage¬ 
ment to proceed. The only other species of Heath 
I could discover on this happy hunting ground was 
E. Tetralis, or the cross-leaved Heath. Now the 
flowers in this species are produced in terminal 
heads, are of a delicate wa^-like consistency, and of a 
pale pink tint, which underneath shade off to creamy- 
white. It is a charmiDg flower, scarcely less lovely 
than its Cape congeners. It grows here pretty 
freely, but is nothing like so " vulgar ” as the other 
species. However, I applied myself to the quest 
with renewed energy—the sun had long passed the 
meridian—when lo, the white one came before me like 
an apparition! Scepticism was now out of the ques¬ 
tion, success had been recorded, joy prevailed, for the 
white Heather in three species was now a felicitous fact, 
I could, therefore, justify myself before my suspector, 
and I was glad. So, packing up my treasures care¬ 
fully, I took a last general survey of the purple and 
the gold—for the dwarf Furze (Ulex nanus) was also 
in full glory—descended the rugged slopes, and bade 
arewell to Hensbarrow. There was one small 
regret, however. I could not " spot ” the Cornish 
Heath (E. vagans) on these Heather uplands. 
Still, I think I am fairly entitled, under the circum- 
cumstances, to consider Cornwall as the 
“ Land of the White Heather." 
— C. B. G., Acton, W. 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED. 
The undermentioned awards were made by the 
Royal Horticultural Society on the 4th inst. :— 
Ordhid Committee. 
Odontoglossum Rolfeae Meleagris. — The 
supposed parents of this natural hybrid were O. 
Pescatorei and O. harryanum, between which it is 
intermediate. Several varieties of this hybrid have 
already made their appearance, but that under 
notice is considered the best by connoisseurs. The 
sepals and well spread out petals are white, finely 
marbled and spotted with light purple-brown. The 
lip is white and closely spotted with violet on the 
lower half. The varietal name, Meleagris (guin- 
eahen) refers to the spotting. (First-class Certi¬ 
ficate.) W. Thompson, Esq. (gardener, Mr. 
Stephens), Walton Grange, Stone, Staffs. 
Cypripedium leeanum Prospero majus. —The 
parentage of this hybrid was C. spicerianum x 
insigne Sanderae, the latter being the pollen parent. 
The dorsal sepal is of great size and white with a 
green base, both the green and the lower portion of 
the white being spotted with purple. The petals 
are greenish-yellow with a brown rib. The lip is 
shaded with brown, and glossy. (Award of Merit) 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Ltd., Chelsea. 
Floral Committee. 
Chrysanthemum Golden Gem. —In this we have 
a beautiful single, clear yellow Chrysanthemum of 
medium size. The florets are of moderate width, in 
three rows, and gracefully recurved towards the 
tips. (Award of Merit.) G. W. Bird, Esq. (gar¬ 
dener, Mr. Redden), Manor Hou 3 e, West Wick¬ 
ham. 
