August 24, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
837 
must possess a very elastic imagination, and above 
all a sweet temper; for after perhaps having 
cherished a pet theory for some years something 
tarns up which explodes it in a merciless manner, 
and for the next few years you may follow a theory 
diametrically opposed to the first one only to be 
suddenly pulled up by another discovery, which 
proves that you have been again on the wrong track, 
and so the science grows. To many it may seem a 
wide stretch of imagination that the two orders 
above named have been evolved, the one from the 
other, but such is the case according to the present 
day teachings of authoritative botanists. They have 
many characteristics in common when closely 
examined ; for instance, they both possess syngene- 
sious anthers, that is, they are united at the edges 
and form a tube, although their filaments are free. 
Another point in favour of the theory is that 
Lobelias and the Liguliflorae section of the 
Compositae are both well supplied with laticiferous 
vessels containing a milky sap. Lobelias are very 
dangerous, being very poisonous. 
CAPPARIS SPINOSA. 
Some years ago the flowering of the Caper Bush 
was considered no small feat horticulturally ; but 
now that the specimen at Kew has become thor¬ 
oughly established, under proper conditions the 
flowering of it becomes regular. The plant in ques¬ 
tion is planted against the low wall of the economic 
house. Here some unheated frames have been 
erected all along the foot of the wall to shelter 
various Cape bulbs and similarly tender things. 
The Caper Bush is not very high, being limited to 
the foundation wall of the house, but the branches 
extend on either hand till they cover an area of 
io ft. or 12 ft. The flowers are produced singly in 
the axils of the leaves, but they are very numerous, 
being freely produced on most of the branches. 
They are pure white with the exception of the outer 
half of the filaments, which are purple, and make 
rather a strong contrast. It is the plant which pro¬ 
duces the capers used in flavouring and for making 
caper sauce. 
NESAEA SALICIFOLIA GRANDIFLORA. 
Yellow is such an unusual and unlooked for colour 
in the order to which this plant belongs that the 
connoisseur who beholds the above plant for the 
first time is somewhat non-plusred by it. The form 
of the plant and the shape of the flowers are closely 
similar to those parts of Lithrum Salicaria, the 
Purple Loosestrife. The similarity is so close that 
the beholder directly thinks of the last-named. N. 
salicifolia was first introduced to this country from 
Mexico in 1821, probably under the name of Heimia 
salicifolia which is still sometimes used for the 
plant. I i its native country it is a subshrub grow¬ 
ing to a height of 5 ft., but here the shoots generally 
die down to the ground and come up again like 
Lythrum. The stems of the plant under notice in 
the herbaceous ground at Kew are about 2^ ft. high 
and laden with large yellow flowers along a great 
part of their upper portion. The leaves are very 
similar to those of Lythrum, except that they are 
quite smooth, bright green, and arranged, either 
opposite, in whorls of three or on the upper part 
alternate. They closely resemble those of a Willow 
as the specific name indicates. The variety to 
which these notes refer differs from the type in 
having larger flowers. Altogether it is a very hand¬ 
some plant and well worthy of inclusion in the 
most select of collections. 
South African Floriculture.—The following is an 
extract from a letter from a gardener in that 
country " Some day in the far distant future this 
will be a great country, but at present one would 
think oneself transported back to the time of Noah ; 
and as a fact Table Mountain is believed by the 
Boers to be the same that old Noah bumped against 
while on his memorable voyage around the world. 
However that may be, no improvements have been 
made since, except that they have several of the 
Twenty-third Street, New York, horse cars—they 
are old and decrepit now, but the name can be 
plainly read —used as trailers on the electric tram 
line. I wish you could see some of the floral work 
created by the florists here. In most cases it looks 
as if they had used a press to pack the flowers ■ light 
and firm.’ ” 
SOCIETIES. 
EXMOOTH. —August 13 th and 14th. 
After something like fifteen years' grace, a summer 
show was again arranged for this well known resort, 
but unfortunately wretched weather marred the 
attendance on both days of the exhibition. It was 
held in a large marquee erected on the Manor 
grounds, the whole of which were illuminated at 
night with fairy lamps, and looked very pretty. 
The entries were not as many as could have been 
wished, still very little space in the tent was left 
unoccupied; but thanks are mainly due to the 
honorary exhibitors for this. 
The non-competitors comprised Hon.Ma-k Rolle, 
Bicton, who sent a varied and bright collection of 
foliage and flowering plants, as well as twelve 
dishes of fruit, which included good Queen Pine, 
Sutton's Scarlet Melon, Violette Hative Nectarine, 
Crimson Galande, Dymond, and Grosse Mignonne 
Peaches, good black Hamburgh Grapes, Washing¬ 
ton and Czar Plums, Morello Cherries, Lady Sudeley 
Apples, &c. 
Mr. Godfrey, nurseryman, staged a large display 
of good Cannas, Celosias, Geraniums, Fuchsias, as 
well as a quantity of cut flowers, such as Phloxes, 
Carnations, Asters, Gaillardias, &c. 
Mr. Street also put up a similar but much 
smaller collection, and included Grapes, Tomatos, 
Cucumbers, &c., the latter very fine. 
There were only two competitors for a half circle 
group for effect, W. Davis taking first honours, 
though the second prize group contained some well 
flowered Cattleyas, Gloxinias, &c., but the arrange¬ 
ment was bad. 
Mrs. Gordon won honours for six distinct Ferns ; 
W. Davis for six Adiantums. Mrs. Gordon also led 
for black Grapes, as well as that for white. Fruit 
was not well represented, with the exception of 
Apples and Currants. 
Table decorations were nicely done. Miss M. 
Harvey was placed first with a light arrangement of 
pink Sweet Peas and Carnations with Maiden Hair 
and Smilax for relief. Mrs. Hodgson was second, 
using Tiitonias principally, intermixed with 
Gypsophila paniculata. Mrs. Tobin came in third, 
using Madame Crousse Ivy-leaf Pelargonium. 
Lilum speciosum album, lightened with Gypso¬ 
phila. 
Cottagers exhibited well in the vegetable classes, 
in fact, most of the produce equally as fine as that 
shown by amateurs. Onions, Carrots, Potatos, 
Beans, and Shallots call for special mention. 
The greatest credit is due to Mr. Godfrey, the 
hon. secretary, upon whom the lion’s share of work 
fell in promoting such an attraction at this time of 
year when the town is usually filled with visitors. 
ONE AND ALL FLOWER SHOW — 
August 16th and 17th. 
Surely this admirable society has the clerk of the 
weather as cne of their members, for they have 
members of every class, anyhow ! They have so far 
been favoured by that mysterious gentleman by 
always having most propitious weather for their 
annual show, and there are not many societies who, 
on their fifteenth annual show, can boast of not one 
having experienced unfavourable weather. The 
Crystal Palace is often the scene of large gatherings, 
but of the number which we have visited none have 
we enjoyed more than those of the One and All 
gatherings. There is that jovial, good feeling all 
round that, although in the midst of strangers, one 
feels that he is surrounded by friends. The show 
quite deserves all the patronage it gets, as its 
supreme object is to develop a love of flowers and 
their cultivation among the working classes. 
We should have liked to have given a fuller 
report but unfortunately we could not find the space 
for it, and when we say that within a few feet there 
was a mile of tables, and all these were stocked with 
garden produce of all kinds, readers can judge the 
magnitude of the exhibition and the space a full 
description would occupy. 
A great feature of the show was the exhibition 
inaugurated by Lady Warwick. This was the first 
show of the kind ever organised in this country, and 
we believe that it is the nucleus of a great move¬ 
ment. We cannot give a full account of this move¬ 
ment here, but hope to put it before our readers at 
an early date, and we are sure that even if they 
are not co-operators, or even sympathisers with the 
cause, they will commend the efforts of Lady 
Warwick and her helpers, and give that help which 
she so much needs by propagating the cause of 
higher horticultural education for the working 
classes. All honour is due to organisers of this good 
work, and we heartily wish success to the movement, 
and the promoters may rest assured that we shall 
assist the good cause when in our power to do so. 
A conference was held during the afternoon 
of the first day in the great restaurant of the Crystal 
Palace, and many influential people took part in the 
discussion and promised their assistance. Lady 
Warwick was in the chair. 
Lady Warwick retired from the presidency of the 
Agricultural and Horticultural Association, and has 
been succeeded by that eminent agricultural 
worker, the Hon. Horace Plunkett. 
On Saturday afternoon music and singing were 
additional attractions, and some idea of the class of 
concert given may be gathered from the fact that 
there were 5,000 voices in the choir. 
Vegetables. 
In Class I. for a collection of vegetables, some 
remarkably fine stuff was put on the boards. 
Tomatos, of which One and All Perfection was the 
chief variety, were exceptionally good. Leeks, tco, 
were in fine form. The first prize was won by Mr. 
A. Basile, gardener to the Rev. O. L. Powels. 
Carrots were very good, but tco many had aimed 
at size, and not so much at quality. The smallest 
bunch was placed first, and was indeed well worthy 
of its position. It was exhibited by Mr. W. Emer- 
ton, Buckingham. 
In the class for Cucumbers, size seemed to be 
again the object with the majority of the exhibitors, 
but, taken altogether, the exhibits were of a high 
standard, and a prettier brace of Cucumbers could 
not be wished for than those which obtained the 
premier position ; they were exhibited by Mr. A. E. 
Kirtland. 
Mr. Basile was well to the front again for nine 
Leeks, and easily carried off the first prize. 
Onions were, as usual, a feature of the show, and 
those shown by Mr. R. Chamberlain, of Reading, gar¬ 
dener to F. W. Lonergan, Esq., not only contained 
our annual friend and companion of the Gooseberry 
—“ The Big Onion,” but were a collection of big 
Onions, and firm, too, beyond a doubt. They did 
not show the bottleneck feature too often met with 
in big Onions, but were perfect globes. Mr. Basile 
also exhibited some very fine stuff, and was well 
worthy of his position of second, although those in 
the third position, exhibited by Mr. W. Emerton, 
were not many points behind. 
Mr. Basile was also first for the best nine Tripoli 
Onions. Peas, considering the time of the year, 
were very good, and the dish of pods shown by Mr. 
Chamberlain were not large but well filled, and the 
pods carried a bloom like that of Plums. 
In the class for six dishes of Potatos, Mr. W. 
Emerton was placed first, but was closely run for 
that position by Mr. Bas'le. Mr. Emerton also 
carried off the first prizes in the classes for two 
dishes of white and two of red. 
The collections of Salads were well grown and very 
effectively staged, Mr. A. E. Kirtland, of Oxford, 
showing a very tempting lot, and securing the first 
prize. There was not much to choose between this 
and the second prize collection shown by Mr. 
Emerton. 
Mr. Basile was well to the front with Tomatos, 
and easily secured the first prize. 
Fruit. 
In the classes for single dishes of fruit, Pears and 
Plums were shown in very good form, especially the 
latter. 
For five Peaches, Mr. W. Powell, gardener to C. 
T. Weatherby, Esq., Addlestone, was placed at the 
top of the list, and the sample of fruit which he 
exhibited fully entitled him to this position. Mr. 
R. Chamberlain also showed very good fruit, and 
was placed first in another class for Peaches. Both 
exhibits were well coloured, and the fruit of good 
substance. As neither of them was labelled, it was 
impossible to give the names of the varieties. 
In the class for white Grapes, Muscats of Alex¬ 
andria were exceptionally good, and those shown by 
Mr. T. Osman, gardener to L. J. Baker, Esq., 
Ottershaw Park, Chertsey, were as good as could be 
seen at any show in the country at this time of the 
ytar. Mr. W. Taylor, gardener to C. Bajer, Esq., 
