THE GARDENING WORLD. 
3 2 3 
May ii, 1907. 
Daffodils at Birmingham 
Annual Exhibition of the 
The ninth annual show of the Midland 
Daffodil Society was held at the Edgbas- 
on Botanical Gardens, Birmingham, on 
qjril 23rd and 24th, when a splendid dis- 
ilay was produced in spite of the lateness 
if the season and the fact that some of 
he more important exhibitors were pre- 
euted from competing or otherwise bring- 
ng forward their produce, owing to the 
owers not being in bioom. The show 
as larger than on any previous occasion, 
nd many very handsome varieties were 
wought forward. 
On the evening of the first day Mr. 
lobert Sydenham, of Birmingham, en- 
ertained a large number of guests at the 
irand Hotel, including the principal ex- 
ibitors, judges, and visitors. Amongst 
thers were Capt. Sir Pieter Bam (of Cape 
’own), Col. Howard. C.B., M. Van 
V'averen, Rev. G. H. Engleheart, Rev. J. 
acob, Rev. S. E. Bourne, Messrs. W. A. 
lilner, P. D. Williams, and many others. 
Prizes were offered for a collection of 
o varieties of Daffodils (exclusive of the 
‘olyanthus section), and the lead was 
Been by Mr. F. H. Chapman, Rye, fol- 
rwed by Messrs. Pope and Son, King’s 
lorton, Mr. R. C. Cartwright. King’s Nor¬ 
ton, and Mr. F. M. Walton, Handsworth, 
a this order. Messrs. Pope and Sons led 
or 9 yellow trumpet Daffodils and 9 
icolor Trumpet Daffodils, followed in 
ach case by Mr. R. C. Cartwright. The 
rst-named took the lead for 9 of the 
lediocoronati section (yellow). Messrs', 
’ope and Son again came to the front 
or q of this same section having a white 
lerianth. 
The premier position for 12 varieties of 
he Parvicoronati type was taken by Mr. 
1 . C. Cartwright, followed by Messrs, 
'ope and Son. Mr. Chapman again came 
|0 the front for 6 varieties of the true N. 
oeticus type, and the Rev. J. Jacob was 
econd. 
In the amateurs’ group the premier 
dace for 25 varieties of Daffodils was 
jaken by Mr. H. B. Young, Lincoln, who 
7 as followed by Mr. W. A. Watts, St. 
iisaph, and Mr. A. R. Goodwin, Kidder- 
linster, in this order. The last-named 
pok quite a number of prizes, being the 
leading winner in the classes for 6 
aedium-crowned Daffodils with a white 
erianth, and 6 of the N. poeticus. type, 
or 12 pots of Daffodils, Mr. W. H. Par- 
pn. King’s Heath, had the best. 
Splendid Daffodils of the trumpet type 
I'V the above exhibitors wer€ Mme. de 
Lraaf, Glory of Leiden, Mrs. Ware, maxi- 
aus, Emperor, Mme. Plemp, Grandee, 
dory of Noordwyk, Olvmpus, Surprise, 
ring Alfred, Weardale Perfection, Vic- 
oria, etc. 
Handsome also were such medium- 
rowned Daffodils as Princess Mary, Glit- 
?r, Leonie, Lady Mary Boscawen, Will 
carlett, Nelsoni major, Vesuvius, Lul- 
orth, Flambeau, Homespun, and Red 
oat. 
Choice types of the short-crowned Daf- 
)dils were Horace, Chaucer, Firebrand, 
aturn, Ellen Barr. Picotee. Virgil. Ori- 
amme, Ariadne, Almira, White Ladv, 
:C. 
Midland Daffodil Society. 
Miscellaneous Exhibits. 
Not the least important features of the 
show were the numerous exhibits of Daf¬ 
fodils, Tulips, Alpine plants, Cinerarias, 
and other spring flowers put up by vari¬ 
ous nurserymen. 
Rev. G. H. Engleheart, Dinton, Salis¬ 
bury, had a splendid collection of hybrid 
and other Daffodils of his own raising. 
(Gold Medal.) 
Messrs. Barr and Sons, Covent Garden, 
London, also staged a large and very 
varied collection of the leading types of 
Daffodils in cultivation, including many 
new ones. (Silver-Gilt Medal.) 
Mr. Robert Sydenham, Tenby Street, 
Birmingham, displayed Daffodils., Ranun- 
cul : of the florists' type, and Spanish 
Irises. (Silver Medal.) 
Messrs. Dicksons,, The Nurseries, 
Chester, had Daffodils in great variety. 
(Silver Medal.) 
Messrs. Hogg and Robertson, Mary 
Street, Dublin, had a large collection of 
species and varieties of Tulips and Daf¬ 
fodils. (Large Silver Medal). 
Messrs. W. H. Simpson and Sons, Bir¬ 
mingham, had a collection of Daffodils. 
Large Silver Medal.) 
Messrs. Sutton and Sons, Reading, had 
a fine strain of dwarf Cinerarias, and a 
group of the single brilliant scarlet 
Ranunculus asiaticus, from Palestine. 
(Large Silver Medal.) 
Messrs. Dobbie and Co., Rothesay, 
N.B., exhibited a fine group of Violas and 
St. Brigid Anemones. (Silver Medal.) 
Messrs. R. Wallace and Co., Colches¬ 
ter, had a collection of Daffodils, her¬ 
baceous and alpine plants, including the 
rare Lewisia Tweedyi. (Silver Medal.) 
Messrs. Bakers, Wolverhampton, had a 
most interesting rockery 7 built of tufa and 
planted with suitable alpines, such as 
Gentians, Primulas, etc. (Silver-Gilt 
Medal.) 
Messrs. R. H. Bath, Wisbech, Cam¬ 
bridge, exhibited a splendid collection of 
Daffodils, including the pure white Snow 
Queen. (Large Silver Medal.) 
Mr. S. Mortimer, Rowledge, Farnham, 
Surrey, staged Lady Bountiful, Mrs. Bur¬ 
nett, and other winter flowering Carna¬ 
tions. (Silver-Gilt Medal.) 
Miss F. W. Currey, Lismore, Ireland, 
exhibited a splendid collection of Daffo¬ 
dils, as usual. (Silver-Gilt Medal.) 
Mr. W. B. Hartland and Sons, Cork, 
Ireland, had a very interesting exhibit of 
12 flowers of Narcissus bicolor of the 
Pyrenees, a very interesting wild type. 
Neav Daffodils. 
A large number of new seedling and 
hybrid Daffodils were staged by various 
raisers, and Awards of Merit were ac¬ 
corded the undermentioned. 
Aphrodite.—A hybrid of the Bur- 
bidgei type, with roundly triangular seg¬ 
ments, of a creamy white, a primrose cup 
and a green centre. Shown by Mr. P. D. 
Williams, Cornwall. 
Seville. — A variety of the Englehearti 
type, with a nearly orbicular pure white 
perianth and a flat, deep orange crown. 
Mr. P. D. Williams. 
CORALLINA. — One of the Leedsii forms, 
with creamy white segments and a deep 
apricot chalice || in. long. Messrs. Barr 
and Sons, Covent Garden. 
Brilliancy. — A glorified Barrii con- 
spicuus, 3J4-4 in. across, and having a 
bright yellow chalice, with a broad scarlet 
edge. Messrs. R. H. Bath, Ltd., Wis¬ 
bech. 
Kestrel. — A variety of N. poeticus, 
with pure white segments and almost the 
whole depth of the crown crimson-scarlet. 
Glitter. — A variety of N. incompara- 
bilis, with broadly overlapping, primrose 
yellow segments, forming a compact and 
round flower. The widely bell-shaped 
chalice is deep orange. Mr. Robert Syd¬ 
enham, Birmingham. 
Caltha polypetala. — A species of 
Marsh Marigold of remarkable vigour, 
with large • leaves, tall stems and golden 
yellow flowers. Messrs. R. Wallace and 
Co. 
-4-M-- 
On the Editor’s Table. 
"Woodland Tumsoses. 
A box of flowers under the above title 
has been sent us by Mr. W. Curtis, gar¬ 
dener to Mrs. Barnard, Cave Castle, 
South Cave. He says they are growing 
under trees without any preparation hav¬ 
ing been made for them. 
Latterly several names have been given 
to the old-fashioned garden flowers sent 
us and which have long been known under 
the name of Polyanthuses. All the same, 
a Primrose is not altogether a wrong 
name, as we have long been convinced 
that, the garden Polyanthus was simply a 
Primrose having the common flower stalk 
elongated, thus carrying the blooms aloft 
in an umbel or truss. The flowers sent 
us' were sweetly scented and showed a 
great range of variation in beautiful 
shades of colour. Some were pure white, 
with a dark orange eye, being much 
darker than those having a darker ground 
colour. The strongly marked contrast 
was very telling. 
Amongst yellows, the colours varied 
from light shades of primrose to a bright 
golden-yellow with darker markings of 
orange round the eye. Others ranged 
through various shades of rose, purple, 
and crimson, the latter, indeed, varying 
from reddish-crimson to dark marone- 
crimson. Some of them were more or 
less distinctly laced. In the woodlands 
these numerous and beautiful shades 
must have a telling effect. 
It is quite useless to speak of flowers 
being too old-fashioned, for it seems to 
us the older they are, that is, the longer 
they have been cultivated in gardens, the 
deeper the sentiment that clings to them. 
To illustrate this we need only mention 
Primroses, Polyanthuses, and Wallflowers. 
Although our correspondent made no 
special preparations for the Primroses, 
surely he must have spent some time 
selecting and improving the strain to get 
such a variety of beautiful colours. When 
once a good strain has been obtained the 
cultivator can keep on improving them 
bv selecting the largest flowers and the 
best colours from which to obtain seeds to 
raise a fresh batch annually. 
