494 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Junp 6, 1903. 
memory,” so that the suggested pilgrimage would equally 
probably have been to an invisible shrine, to the greater con¬ 
fusion of its leader. Finally, we have not yet reached the 
millennium, and, as is seen, I was not the only one present at 
the discovery, and it is by no means probable that my views 
as to the desirability of leaving it untouched would have been 
so 1 sympathetically respected as to ensure its non-removal later 
by some more acquisitive spirit. 
The find was really in a village dyke, pointed out to us as 
containing “a zight o’ Fearns ” by an olcl man in the adjacent 
inn. My shout of delight and the rapid collection of our 
group of three were certainly not unnoted, and it would be very 
odd indeed if the little gap caused by the extraction were not 
subsequently inspected, or, if the plant had been left, it would 
not. have been, found and lifted by some curious inquiring spirit 
on the spot. Since that time my peregrinations have never 
taken me within thirty miles of the spot, and, considering the 
erenera.1 character of the country, are never liable to do so. 
Take another case out of many involving similar conditions. 
My beautiful Lady Fern (Athyriuni F.-f. eristatum Kilruthense), 
acknowledged to be the finest crested wild find of all, was found 
by me in a drainage cutting on an absentee’s estate in Ireland, 
the bulk of which was as wild as Nature could make it. The 
cutting was overgrown with a. jungle of Brambles, Briars and 
Bracken, beneath which there was just room to crawl and in¬ 
spect the lining of Blechnum spicant on either side of it. My 
guides here were two children, and a half-heard remark from 
one of these induced me to' part the tangled growth in order to 
speak to them. In the gap as made by me was this beautiful 
Fern, a small struggling specimen, crushed as if by the passage 
of some animal and evidently in the unhappiest possible state. 
Here again was a, state, of affairs in which pilgrimages were 
out of the question, survival doubtful, and removal absolutely 
essential, if such a gift of Nature was to be profited by at all. 
For a season I named the plant as a dwarf, but subsequently, 
grateful doubtless for generous treatment, it rose robustly and 
assumed its- present splendid character; and although its beau¬ 
tiful and numerous progeny are rarely exact replicas of it 
('another strong point against the collection of spores and leav¬ 
ing in situ idea) it has stood division several times. 
These two cases are really typical ones of many. The finds 
are usually in very out-of-the-way spots, as might be expected, 
and also in such surroundings that it would be extremely diffi¬ 
cult to localise them subsequently, and possibly years after¬ 
wards, however carefully landmarks might be noted at the time. 
I found once, for instance, a. veiy foliose Lastrea. montana, in 
Kendale, when out with an experienced hunter living in the 
locality. It was so mixed up with an immense mass of 
normals as to be difficult of extrication without a spade or 
strong fork, and my friend consequently offered to return in 
a week or two and get it for me. He went again, but, despite 
his experience and local knowledge, he got off the track, and 
it is doubtless there to this day. How about a pilgrimage in 
this case, and who is the better for my find and abstention ? 
The local flora is certainly the richer, but. Flora herself is not 
mankind (nor womankind, despite her name), and hence, 
despite the Editorial, I am sorry this “ find ” does not figure 
in my local flora instead. 
Finally, some years ago, I was informed that in a certain 
spot in Perthshire there was a station of a very rare Fern, 
which, being normal, only interested me as a case to be even¬ 
tually discreetly cited. I was conducted thither, but found “ the 
cupboard was bare,” and ascertained that a body of botanical 
students headed by a professor had “made a pilgrimage” 
thither the previous week, which, rightly or wrongly, was 
assumed to account for my disappointment. This assumption, 
if correct, amply justifies my protest against, mere herbarium 
raids as opposed to. collection, propagation, and dissemination 
of varietal sports on the lines I have indicated, and, as I hope, 
more than justified.—I am, dear Mr. Editor, the vandalphobe 
who signs himself Charles T. DruEr?, F.L.S., V.M.H. 
Unattached Floral Competitions. 
When exhibitions, small or large, are organised by recog¬ 
nised horticultural societies they are of necessity very much 
of th,e normal order, and are arranged and taken part in gene¬ 
rally by those who have some gardening knowledge. Bv 
“ unattached ” I mean such a competition as you gave a brief 
notice, of in a recent issue, as being organised here in Kingston- 
on-Thames by the committee of the Friends’ Adult School, 
which includes both sexes. These people are generally in the 
condition of the mass of the town communities, in having the 
very least knowledge of gardening, and it is with a view to 
stimulate them to the acquirement of a little such knowledge 
(for it is far from being a^dangerous thing) that the Hyacinth 
competition, held in March last, and the Chrysanthemum com¬ 
petition, to be held in October next, were arranged. In the 
case of the Hyacinths each competitor was given three bulbs 
in diverse colours, and last November I attended a large meet¬ 
ing of the members, and gave them a demonstration as to 
potting bulbs and growing them in glasses, also a dissertation 
on window culture for town residents. The little show held 
in the spring was singularly encouraging, and gave great 
pleasure, for, whilst, the-bulbs w T ere only bedders, some had 
capital, solid spikes. In the case of the Chrysanthemum com¬ 
petition, 300 well-rooted plants, costing Id. each, all of one 
variety—Kyecroft’ Glory—were obtained and distributed in 
trebles to 100 competitors. It. was when this distribution took 
place that I attended at the school, gave the members a. little 
plain, talk about, the Chrysanthemum and its culture, and also 
gave a. potting demonstration, showing how the plants'should 
be potted into 60’s, then later into 1 48’s, and finally into 16's, 
to give them ample root room. The competition will include 
classes for two plants and one plant, also, one bunch of cut 
flowers of the variety thus distributed. In this humble way 
knowledge in horticulture may be inculcated. A. Dean. 
Liverpool Botanic Gardens. 
Year by year that these gardens increase in popularity is 
conclusively proved by the thousands of patrons who delight in 
the charming floricultural displays arranged by direction, of the 
Parks and Gardens Committee of the City Council. Possibly 
the seasons that draw the. greatest numbers, and certainly the 
most capable of judging the merits of the exhibits, are the 
early spring and autumn, the former for the Amaryllis and the 
latter the Chrysanthemums. In both cases, special houses have 
been provided—for the first-named for the special culture re¬ 
quired, and for the autumn queen, as a. suitable show house. 
It was a, happy inspiration that led to the introduction of the 
Hippeastrums, into the Liverpool parks ;; and when it is con¬ 
sidered that the thousands of bulbs now belonging to the Cor¬ 
poration are the outcome of a, small purchase only a few years 
ago, the result is most surprising and most creditable to the 
courteous curator, Mr. J. Guttridge. This year’s display, which 
commenced on February 20th and continued until the end 
of April, was slightly more extensive than that of last year, but 
a most distinct advance in the quality of the blooms. Natur¬ 
ally, by careful hybridising and raising some few hundreds 
each season the quality will be improved by careful selection. 
The chief points noticeable in the present display are smaller 
pots, rangingfrom 41, in. to 64 in. ; smaller bulbs, which appeal 
most strongly to Mr. Guttridge (large bulbs, he will tell you. 
will not give equal results to- fair-sized firm specimens); and 
the charming array of colour, from the nearly pure white, rang¬ 
ing through pink, salmon, to intense crimson, the flowers of 
good form on strong stems, varying in height from 1 ft. to *2 ft., 
without the least sign of any disease or pest, so usually preva¬ 
lent on all the inmates of our hot-houses. No attempt has 
been made in naming this huge family, and as they are not 
likely to come into commerce of course it, will not be needful. 
On Easter Monday the attendance was enormous, and could 
only be dealt with by the mass of visitors moving one way. 
