5 22 
THE GARDENING WORLD\ 
August 3, 1907. 
Sweet Peas at Westminster. 
Annual Exhibition of the . 
National Sweet Pea Society. 
The seventh annual exhibition of the 
National Sweet Pea Society was held in 
the Horticultural Hall, Vincent Square, 
Westminster, on the 16th inst., and tak¬ 
ing it altogether, we consider it was the 
finest show yet held by the Society. The 
season has been very late, yet the last 
few days brought the Sweet Peas to per¬ 
fection, except in those instances where 
they were damaged by wind and rain. 
The flower stems were long, the flowers 
large, and in the majority of instances 
well coloured. The hall was so strongly 
scented with them during the heat of the 
day as to be almost overpowering. There 
was a much greater attendance than last 
year, showing that the votaries of this 
beautifully refined and sweet scented an¬ 
nual are beginning to find out where they 
can see their favourite in all its wealth 
of queenly beauty. 
Trade Excluded. 
The premier award in the special 
“audit” class for 15 varieties of Sweet 
Peas (the Sutton Silver Challenge Cup, 
the Gold Medal of the National Sweet 
Pea Society, etc.) was secured by Mr. Thos. 
Stevenson' The Gardens, Woburn Place, 
Addlestone, who had gracefully set up 
vases of Navy Blue, Jeannie Gordon, 
Princess of Wales, John Ingman, and 
Gladys Unwin in the back row; Helen 
Lewis, Dorothy Eckford, Black Knight, 
Dainty and Duke of Westminster in the 
middle row; and Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon, 
Mrs. Walter Wright, Helen Pierce, King 
Edward VII., and Lady Grizel Hamilton 
in the front row. Every bunch was in 
splendid condition, and the colours were 
everything that could be expected of the 
varieties staged. The colours were also 
well distributed, and intended to repre¬ 
sent the best of certain named varieties 
from which the 15 were to be selected. 
Mr. T. Jones, Bryn Penylan, Ruabon, 
N. Wales, took the second place (Silver 
Medal of the National Sweet Pea Society) 
with a very fine exhibit indeed, though 
not equal to the first named. The Sweet 
Pea leaves he employed were notable for 
their enormous size. He had Coccinea 
and Agnes Johnson different from those 
in the first prize exhibit. 
Mr. H. H. Lees, Warblington Cottage, 
Havant, took the third place with another 
charming exhibit, though a bunch or two 
had rather short stalks for the others. 
Open. 
The “Classification Class” was for 20 
varieties of Sweet Peas, one variety to re¬ 
present each of the 20 colour classes into 
which Sweet Peas are divided. This class 
was open to all, and the lead was taken 
by Mr. C. W. Breadmore, 120, High 
Street, Winchester. The varieties he 
staged were: Dora Breadmore, John Ing¬ 
man, Dorothy Eckford, Duke of West¬ 
minster, Helen Lewis, Romolo Piazzani, 
and Jeannie Gordon in the back row; 
Helen Pierce, Agnes Johnson, Geo. Gor¬ 
don, Duchess of Sutherland, Princess of 
Wales, Countess Spencer, and Lady 
Grizel Hamilton in the middle, row; and 
Jessie Cuthbertson, Black Knight, Mrs. 
W. P. Wright, King Edward VII., Lottie 
Eckford and Coccinea in the front row. 
He had far more than 20 sprays in a vase, 
which used to be the regulation number, 
but they were so disposed that every 
flower could be seen and there was no 
crowding. The second prize was taken 
by Messrs. G. and A. Clark, Dover, who 
also had a very attractive and tastefully" 
set up exhibit. 
Class 3 was for 36 bunches of Sweet 
Peas, and here the lead was again taken 
by Mr. C. W. Breadmore, who had fine 
bunches of Audrey Crier, Cyril Bread¬ 
more, Phenomenal and several seedlings. 
Messrs. G. and A. Clark, Ltd., Dover, 
again took the second place. They had 
handsome varieties in Beacon, Queen 
Alexandra, E. J. Castle, Paradise, etc. 
Messrs. G. Stark and Son, Great Ry- 
burgh, Norfolk, took the third place, with 
a beautiful exhibit. Messrs. Jones and 
Son, Shrewsbury, took the fourth place 
with another beautiful lot. 
Mr. C. W. Breadmore also had the best 
exhibit of 24 bunches of Sweet Peas. 
Very fine were the bunches of Etta Dyke, 
Elsie Herbert, Cecil Crier, Mrs. Collier, 
Queen of Spain, and King Alfonso. 
Messrs. G. and A. Clark, Ltd., again took 
second place with fine varieties, but they 
had been somewhat injured by rough 
weather. Messrs. Saltmarsh and Son, 
Chelmsford, Essex, took third place, with 
fine flowers in smaller bunches. Messrs. 
E. W. King and Co., Coggeshall, Essex, 
were fourth. 
For 12 bunches of Sweet Peas, Mr. 
C. W. Breadmore was not to be beaten. 
For size of flowers and length of flower 
stalks these Sweet Peas stood head and 
shoulders above those on either side of 
them. Grand flowers were George Her¬ 
bert, Audrey Crier, Helen Lewis, Etta 
Dyke, Vera Jeffery, and J. T. Crier. 
Messrs. Isaac House and Son, Westbury- 
on-Trym, Bristol, were a good second, 
with fine bunches of Harold, Frank 
Dolby, Mrs. Alfred Watkins, etc. Mr. 
W. Lumley, Dawn Nurseries, Havant, 
came in third with some fine flowers. 
Messrs. Paul and Son, 6, Wormwood 
Street, E.C., took the fourth place. 
Trade Excluded. 
W. H. Rawnsley, Esq. (gardener, Mr. 
T. Vickers), Alford, Lines., took the pre¬ 
mier place for 24 bunches in the ama¬ 
teurs’ class. His flowers were notable for 
the great length of their stalks. Fine 
varieties were Rosie Sydenham, James 
Grieve (yellow), David R. Williamson, 
and Mrs. Charles Foster. Mr. Silas 
Cole, Althorpe Park Gardens, Northamp¬ 
ton, took the second place in strong com¬ 
petition. Charming varieties were Coun¬ 
tess Spencer, Lady Sarah Spencer, Mrs. 
Hardcastle Sykes, David R. W. William¬ 
son, and John Ingman. Mr. T. Jones 
took the third place with a very good ex¬ 
hibit indeed. Mr. S. Hibbins, Rowland 
Hill Alms Houses, Ashford, took the 
fourth place. This class filled a whole 
table. 
For 1 ST bunches of Sweet Peas the lead 
was taken -by George D. Faber, Esq., 
C.B., M.P. (gardener, Mr. J. Dymock), 
Rush Court, Wallingford, Berks, who had 
a well grown exhibit of well coloured 
flowers with long stalks. Fine varietie 
were Dora Breadmore, Romolo Piazzani 
Lord Rosebery, Phyllis Unwin, Mr; 
Hardcastle Sykes, and Nora Unwin. Mr 
A. H. Hickman, Eagle and Spur Inn 
Cookley, near Kidderminster, took th 
second place with a well coloured lot 
Mr. Geo. Davidson, Elm Lodge, Quad 
rant Road, Thornton Heath, was fourth 
The Eckford Cup for 12 bunches 0 
Sweet Peas was secured by Mr. Thoma 
Stevenson, who had grand bunches, witl 
long stalks, of Geo. Herbert, Romoh 
Piazzani, Mrs. Hardcastle Sykes, Dori 
Stevenson, Nora Unwin, Helen Lewis 
Black Knight, King Edward VII., Rosi< 
Adams, Mrs. Collier, Henry Eckford 
and Paradise. These flowers and thei 
colours were splendid in every way. Tht 
second prize was taken by Mr. T. Jone 
with another exhibit scarcely in any wa^ 
inferior to the first prize lot. Mr. V. B 
Johnstone, Ryhall Hall, Stamford, was ; 
good third, his greatest weakness being 
the short stems to the flowers. Mr. Sila: 
Cole came in fourth with a very fine ex 
hibit indeed. 
Mr. E. Basile, Woburn Park Garden; 
Weybridge, took the lead (Horace Wrigh 
Challenge Cup) for 9 bunches of Swee 
Peas, which were notable for the size anc 
colour of the flowers and the length 0 
the stems. W. H. Rawnsley, Esq., tool 
the second place with a fine lot of long 
stemmed flowers. Mrs. Tigwell, Harrow 
View, Greenford, was third. Mr. J 
Watson, jun., The Gardens, Oxforc 
House, Ham Common, Surrey, came ir 
fourth. 
The first prize for 6 bunches of Sweei 
Peas was taken by Mr. Silas Cole, whe 
had charming bunches of John Ingman 
Helen Lewis, Lady Sarah Spencer, anc 
Lady Althorp, a creamy white. Mr. 
A. E. Usher, Ranston House, Blandford. 
Dorset, was second; J. Courteney 
Esq. (gardener, Mr. W. Pagram), Th 
Whim, Weybridge, third; and Mr. F. E 
Castle, Foxcombe Hill, Oxford, fourth. 
There were 28 classes for exhibits 01 
named varieties in stands of 12, 3 anc 
single bunches, open to all , and 2c 
classes from which the trade was ex¬ 
cluded ; also 7 classes for Sweet Peas with 
waved standards. Another class for the 
trade only was limited to varieties with 
waved standards. Fourteen classes were 
set apart for small growers. A class foi 
plants in pots and two for floral decora¬ 
tions were limited to those not in trade; 
while five more for Sweet Pea decoration: 
were open to all. The result was that 
the entire hall and both annexes were 
filled to overflowing. 
Non-competitive. 
Mr. J. Unwin, Histon, Cambs., was 
awarded a Gold Medal for a splendidly 
arranged group of Sweet Peas in bamboc 
stands and vases. Very fine were Mrs. 
W. J. Unwin, Bobbie K., and Etta Dyke: 
Mr. Chas. W. Breadmore, Winchester, 
had a fine exhibit of Sweet Peas in vases, 
and all gracefully arranged. Miss 
Audrey Crier, Cecil Crier, and Prince of 
Asturias were very fine. (Silver Gilt 
Medal.) 
Mr. Henry Eckford, Wem, Shropshire, 
had a beautiful exhibit of many handsome 
varieties of Sweet Peas, including Queen 
Alexandra, Queen of Spain, Henry Eck¬ 
ford, Duchess of Portland, Marbled Blue,- 
etc. (Silver Medal.) 
Messrs. Sutton and Sons, Reading, had 
an exhibit of a lovely salmon pink new; 
