January 10, 1903. 
The Gardening World 
GENERAL, NOTICES. 
We would earnestly urge secretaries of societies to notify us as far in advance as possible as to dates of meetings, shows, etc. Wo desire to do all in our power to have these 
adequately represented in the columns of The Gardening World. 
We respectfully request nnr readers, when they write to persons or firms advertising in his paper, to mention that their advertisement was se n in Til; Gardening World. 
They will thereby not only oblige this paper, but the advertisers. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“Success don’t konsist in never makin’ blunders, but in never makin’ the same one tmct."—Josh Billings. 
I 
Weekly Prize 
i FOR 
Short Articles. 
The Proprietors of The Gardening World > 
will give a cash prize of Ten Shillings for 
THE BEST PARAGRAPH, or SHORT ARTICLE, Sent (' 
by renders during the week. The Editor’s ( 
judgment must be considered final, and he will \ 
be at liberty to use any of the contributions ; 
sent in. The paragraph, or article, must not <; 
exceed one column in length, but the value, ( 
rather than the length, of the article will be \ 
considered in making the award. Competitors ) 
may send in items or news or comments on / 
news; hints of practical interest to gar- ( 
deners or growers of plants, fruits, or flowers; ( 
successful methods of propagating plants S 
usually considered difficult; or contributions ) 
on any subject coming within the sphere / 
^ of gardening proper. Letters should be < 
). addressed to The Editor, marked “ Competi- s 
) tion,” and posted not later than Monday night ) 
( to ensure insertion in the issue of that week. ) 
! Photographic 
i Competition. ; 
) A Prize of Two Guineas will be awarded for ) 
( the best photograph, sketch, or water-colour r 
\ drawing sent in for reproduction by readers ( 
) before February 28th, subject to the following 1 
) conditions:—(1) That the Editor’s judgment ) 
( must be final. (2) That the photograph, sketch, ) 
\ or drawing be accompanied by the following < 
> particulars: (a) The name of the subject, (b) ( 
) the name and address of the competitor, who ) 
( must be the actual photographer or artist, (c) ^ 
( when and where the subject was taken or ( 
S drawn. (3) That the competitor is the owner < 
) of the copyright. (4) That the photograph, j 
) sketch, or water-colour drawing has not been ) 
< used in any other publication. (5) That the ^ 
S Editor is at liberty to use any of the photo- ( 
j graphs, sketches, or drawings. Extra prizes of S 
) Five Shillings each will be awarded to any ) 
? subjects the Editor decides to use other than ) 
( that awarded the first prize. Letters must be j 
S addressed to the Editor, marked “Photograph.” ( 
> The Editor will not be responsible for the return i 
? of photographs, hut if stamps be sent an effoi't \ 
< will be made to return unsuccessful contribu- j 
S tions. ) 
Views and Reviews. 
The times change, so the fashion in flowers 
comes and goes. The world is restless and 
ever on the move, so let us gO‘ forward. We 
are wont to talk of the stationary nations! of 
the East, but they, too, will get linked with 
those of the West and have to move with 
the rest, even if slowly for a time. Our 
dominion is concerned only with what per¬ 
tains to the world of horticulture in its 
broadest sense. With one foot on the past 
we use it as a stepping stone so that we may 
go forward. The superstructure of the past 
has been built up by human industry, even 
in matters of gardening, and by knowledge 
gained in the operation of yesterday that of* 
to-day may be strengthened and brought to 
greater perfection. “ The present moment 
is our ain, the neist we never saw,” hut, all 
the same, we can use the present to help 
forward the cause of gardening in its multi¬ 
farious forms, and to be helpful to fellow- 
workers in the same line of thought and 
action. 
The past and the present of horticulture 
are known to us, even if it is necessary to 
hark back to the former occasionally to pick 
up and utilise the lessons it has taught us. 
Many of our older co-operators will remember 
the gigantic specimens of plants of various 
kinds which used to be the glory of the 
flower-shows of the past, and which were 
placed before an admiring public as the acme 
of perfection in horticultural skill. To in¬ 
dicate what we mean it is only necessary to 
mention the Heaths, Azaleas, Roses, Pime- 
leas, Tremandras, Allamandas, Dipladenias, 
Stephanotis, Trachelospermums, Alocasias, 
Orchids, and similar things on which days 
and nights of labour were expended in order 
to bring them to what, in those days, was 
deemed perfection in the art- that mended 
Nature. Many of the older workers, and 
even the onlookers and admirers, linger in 
loving memory over the show and fancy Pe¬ 
largoniums that were as entrancing in their 
pleasing and lively colours, but which have 
now all hut disappeared from our midst. 
The plants in some cases still remain, and 
additions have been made better adapted, it 
may be, to modern uses. The same may he 
said of zonal Pelargoniums and Fuchsias, 
which are regarded as common flowers, but 
indispensable to the needs of almost every¬ 
day life, hut more especially the former. 
Here and there new uses are found for the 
big Fuchsias, not at exhibitions, but for the 
adornment of public parks and private de¬ 
mesnes, and such uses we fain would en¬ 
courage, in order to allow of the natural and 
full development of which they are capable. 
If for a moment we stay to inquire the 
cause of the disappearance of the giants from 
our midst, we can trace various causes at 
work. The fashions have changed; the 
tastes of the public now run in other grooves ; 
the requirements are different, and the gar¬ 
dener lias to supply them. Instead of a 
display of flowers in their own particular 
season, a supply is now demanded for every 
day in the year, more or less, according to 
the size and pretensions of the establish¬ 
ment. The few gigantic plants of the olden 
time occupied all the space in the glass¬ 
houses, so had to give place to the greater 
number required to furnish the necessary 
display and ever shifting change of variety. 
The old houses were found unsuitable for the 
welfare of the newcomers, and, in detail, have 
been displaced by up-to-date inventions, 
which a closer study of plant life have shown 
to be necessary. Should occasion require it, 
the British gardener, with dogged persever¬ 
ance, leads the way in bringing the modern 
favourites to greater perfection, or follows in 
the wake of a more enterprising fellow- 
worker. Should the old-time favourites 
again be called into requisition, the art would 
soon be learnt by the rising generation, from 
the records of the past, and with the aid of 
modem invention. 
The needs of to-day are manifold ; the de¬ 
mand for cut flowers is everywhere ; whole 
batches of plants may he destroyed, or, at 
least, their flowers, that have taken weeks, 
months, or a year to develop, are made to 
minister to the enjoyment of a single evening 
of a few hours. Another phase of gardening 
is that it tends more and more to the utili¬ 
tarian aspect of every-day life. All the same, 
the love of flowers and plants for their own 
sake tends to increase, and long may the 
