November 14, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
7 11 
le Culture of . . . 
The preesia. 
:rine Countess of Altamont. 
The flowers of this Nerine are of uni- 
rm salmon-orange. Award of Merit by 
e R. H. S., when shown by Mr. T. D. 
idman, South Lodge, Horsham. 
jraorial of the late Mr. Geo. Nicholson. 
The Council of the Royal Horticultural 
■ciety have been requested to raise a 
nd for the establishment of a perma- 
nt memorial of the late Mr. Geo. 
cholson. V.M.H., F.L.S. With this 
'ey most cordially agree. There are 
w, if any, men to whom the present 
neration of gardeners owes a deeper 
ligation than to the author of " The 
ctionary of Gardening,” a work which 
las done more towards the standardisa- 
, n of plant names and developing an 
terest in horticulture than anything 
iblished since ‘Loudon,' 1829.” Mr. 
cholson was for many years a most 
lued member of the Scientific Com- 
ittee of the Society. He also took a 
ry active part and keen interest in the 
-establishment of examinations by the 
■ciety, and himself acted as one of the 
aminers It is in view of this iast 
int and after carefully estimating the 
iount likely to be subscribed that the 
mncil propose to establish a “ Nichol- 
n Prize " to be awarded annually alter 
animation to the Students at W isley. 
ibscriptions should be sent addressed 
The Nicholson Prize Fund, R. H. S. 
ffice. Vincent Square, London,” and 
eques and postal orders made payable 
“The Royal Horticultural Society,” 
ossed “London and County Bank.' 
W. Wilks, Secretary. 
“By Order of the Council.” 
-f+4- 
This delightfully fragrant flower is not 
.rays well grown, and a few simple hints 
its management may be helpful to 
ise who have failed to have satisfaction 
ih it. The best compost is mellow- 
,rous loam three parts, leaf mould one 
rt, and some coarse sand to keep all 
:eet. The addition of a small quantity 
■ thoroughly rotten flakey manure is an 
provement should the loam be at all 
or, and a dusting of bone meal and 
■od ashes is also good. Use w : ell- 
^ained 5-inch pots, and plant about nine 
lbs in each, burying them about an 
:h under the surface. Do not plunge 
; pots, although I am aware that some 
iters advise that this be done, but set 
a cold frame, or even outside on a 
nny border, until frost threatens. In 
Jy case, cover with a mat, but examine 
; short intervals to see that the growths 
not get drawn and weakly. As soon 
top growth is apparent, give all the 
i;ht possible, and whenever there is likely 
. be hard frost remove to a sunny shelf, 
i)se to the glass, in a cool greenhouse, 
ve plenty of air, but avoid draughts. 
|> soon as the flower stems show, an 
casional dose of weak liquid manure is 
ry beneficial. If potted at interval's of 
■brtnight up till end of October a long 
ason of bloom may be had. 
C. Blair. 
Preston House, Linlithgow. 
First Prize Stand of Pompon Dahlias 
At the London Dahlia Union’s Exhibition. 
At all Dahlia exhibitions of any im¬ 
portance, classes are set apart for 
amateurs or those who do not trade in 
Dahlias. There were several very suc¬ 
cessful amateurs at the exhibition of the 
London Dahlia Union, Regent's Park, on 
September 10th last. One of these was 
Mr. H. Brown, Dahlia Dene, Havelock 
Road, l.uton. 
The accompanying illustration shows 
a very neat stand of six varieties of 
Pompon Dahlias, grown so as to be of 
moderate size, neat and compact as a 
Pompon Dahlia should be. The final 
stage that enables a competitor to win 
is the tasteful arrangement of the flowers 
in the stand, so that the darker varieties 
will contrast with and show- off the lighter 
ones. A photograph is not the best 
means of showing these colours, because 
some of the varieties of a rose or lilac 
hue will appear of the same colour as 
the white ones. We shall, therefore, 
briefly describe the varieties set up on 
this particular occasion. 
Queen of Whites occupied the top of 
the stand as shown in the picture. Be¬ 
low' this on the right w r as Darkest of 
All, a variety that is nearly black. To 
the left of this was Phoebe, an orange 
variety. Immediately below' Queen of 
Whites w'as Nellie Broomhead. a neat 
and pretty lilac flower. Below this again 
on the right was a yellow variety tipped 
with crimson and named Jessica. To the 
left of this is Dintinction, a magenta 
variety suffused with maroon-red. As 
the photograph show's, all of the above 
had a definite arrangement to one 
another, making the whole exhibit very 
neat and attractive. Mr. Brown was 
awarded the Dean Memorial Medal in 
the shape of a Gold Medal. He also 
gained prizes at the annual exhibition 
of the National Dahlia Society. 
First Frize Stand of Pompon Dahlias. liaclaren and Sons. 
