March 8, 1913. 
THl GARDENERS MAGAZINE. 
179 
in baskets, the groundwork being 
with Selaginella <5 dotted in between, while 
palms and adiantums considerably added to 
the display. , . 
For six single hyacinths grown in moss 
fibre in vases not exceeding six inches in 
diameter, there were three competitors. Mr. 
W. Howe, gardener to Lady Tate, Park Hill, 
Streatham Common, winning first prize with 
nice clean spikes. Miss Gordon Thompson, 
The Elms, Potter’s Bar, was second, and the 
Hon. Mrs. Guy Baring, St. Cross Mill, Win¬ 
chester, third. 
The tulips in moss fibre were excellent; 
the vases not exceeding seven inches in dia¬ 
meter gave sufficient room to display each 
variety to perfection. Mr. W. Howe secured 
the first prize with splendid vases of La Eeve, 
Prince of Austria, Keizerskroon, Montressor, 
Van der Neer, and Vermilion Brilliant. Tlie 
Hon. Mrs. Guy Baring was second with well- 
develop^ bowls. Miss Gordon Thompson 
was tnird. Strange to relate, there were 
but two exhibitions for six bowls of narcissi, 
Mr. W. Howe again securing the premier 
honours with vases timed to perfection. The 
varieties were Seagull, Mrs. H. ,1. Veitch, 
Golden Bell, Lilian, Lucifer, and Will-o’- 
the-Wisp. The Hon. Mrs. Guy Baring w^as 
H»cond. 
The Gentian Cup offered by Messrs. R. 
\yallace and Co. for the best exhibit of ah 
pines, bulbs, and dwarf shrubs, arranged on 
a space 5ft. by 3ft., brought out but one 
competitor, Mr. Graudfield, gardener to Sir 
Everard Hambro, Hayes. The exhibit was 
crowded between some trade displays in the 
annexe, and consequently seemed ratlier poor. 
It contained Cytisus Kewensis, Viola gracilis, 
and such fine saxifragas as Faldonside, Bur- 
jeriana Gloria, apiculata, Petrarchi, Eliza- 
bethap, Frederici Guilelmi, with primulas. 
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fruit growing for beginners. 
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OBITUARY. 
MR. MHLLIAM COCKER. 
Keen regret will be evinced by horticultur- 
ist-s generally, and rose lovers in particular, 
on learning of the demise, at the compara¬ 
tively earl;y age of 5b, of Mr. William 
Cocker, senior partner of the firm of Messrs. 
James Cocker and Sons, Springhill Nursery, 
Aberdeen, which took place at his residence, 
Springhill, near Aberdeen, on Thursday, 
February 27. He had been in indifferent 
health for a considerable time, and, hoping 
that a change might be beneficial, he went to 
Harrogate in the late autumn of last year, 
but it proved otherwise. Born on a nursery, 
the son of a nurseryman, and the grandson 
of a nurseryman, the love of his profession 
was instinctive. From a boy at school, the 
study of rose culture had always a keen fas¬ 
cination for him, and as he grew older he 
studied the scientific side of horticulture. In 
the early "70’s his father sent liim to Forest 
Hill, London, to engage for a period with 
Messrs. James Laing and Sons, where he 
studied rose culture. From thence he pro- 
notice. 
nuuw® . «*Py*encing diffi- 
Should wSr ,0 
'’UBLISHING manager, 
1«-9, Aldersgate Street, 
London, E.C., 
a.. 
attention. 
THE LATE MR. W. COCKER. 
ceeded to Slough Nurseries, under the late 
Mr. Charles Turner. On the completion of 
his apprenticeship he returned to Aberdeen 
to assist his father, and enter upon his life’s 
work. How well he accomplished his task is 
Well known. In his rose work, Mr.' Cocker 
considered that most beautiful rose, Mrs. 
James Cocker, one of his greatest triumphs, 
and he named it after his mother. The most 
recent triumph of the firm was the fine rose 
Mrs. Andrew Carnegie. It has been stated in 
various quarters that this rose was the work 
of Mr. William Cocker, but this is not the 
case. Its production was due to his brother, 
Mr. Alex. M. Cocker. 
As a hybridist, Mr. Cocker did some capital 
work, especially among polyanthuses, and the 
Royal Horticultural Society awarded liim a 
certificate of appreciation for his work in 
raising double varieties from seed. 
Mr. Cocker was not married, and the 
charge of the business—as has been the case 
for the past twelve months—will now devolve 
upon his surviving brother, Mr. Alex. M. 
Cocker. 
D AHT/IAS TO PERFBiCfnON.— A thorough ^xiid6 
to the •uooeseful culture of these popular flowers is 
“ Dahlia® aaid their Cultivation,” by J. B. Wroe, 
price 1j8. net, by post Ls. 2d., bound in cloth Is. 6d ’ 
by post. Is. 8d.. from W. H. and L. Collineridge, 
IAS, Aia^rgffate Street, London. ® ^ ’ 
THE R.H.S. FORTNIGHTLY 
SHOWS. 
As a constant visitor to these shows all the 
year round, I have read the remarks of your 
correspondent Corrigenda ” with consider¬ 
able interest, for the points raised have been 
pretty widely discussed at the last few 
meetings, and no doubt when the spring 
flowers come in with a rush, the discussions 
will become more acute. The exhibitors 
want more space for their displays; the 
visitors are clamouring for more room so 
that they can see the exliibits, while there 
is a section who attend chiefly to see their 
friends, and, to my way of thinking, block 
the gangways to their hearts’ content. And 
those of us who remember the sign posts 
and blind aReys that were tried a few years 
ago to lessen the evil of filling up the gang¬ 
ways, had good cause to be thankful when 
they were removed. 
I quite agree with your correspondent as 
to the monotony of the rock gardens, but is 
it not a sign of the popularity of this class 
of gardeaing.^ Some of the exhibitors do not 
stage their exhibits just for the “fun of the 
thing,” and if some of the exliibits 
staged are not up to the “hall 
mark,” they are generally the 
best the grower can produce. 
Sometimes it is a new exhibitor 
who is anxious to stage at Vin¬ 
cent Square; in such a case it 
would be very hard on him if his 
exhibit were rejected, for the 
chances are the second time he 
turned up a great improvement 
would be apparent. So I fear 
“ Corrigenda’s ” censorship is out 
of the question; and, to my way 
of thinking, if the shows were 
classified it would not mend mat¬ 
ters one bit; on the contrary, it 
would lessen the interest- taken 
in them. The great variety they 
now possess is part of their 
charm, for there is something to 
please the tastes of everyone, and 
the idea of cutting an exhibitor 
down to one show per month 
would cause havoc amongst the 
narcissi exhibitors, dahlia exhibi¬ 
tors, and all kindred subjects, for 
it would mean they could perhaps 
only put in an appearance once a 
year; and I am strongly against 
reducing the size of the^large ex¬ 
hibits. What figure would a 
group of forced shrubs cut in a 
ten-foot run of space; a collection 
of fruit trees in pots; or the 
grand displays of bamboos? What 
w6uld they look like? The super¬ 
intendent has a very difficult task 
to perform now, cutting down spaces wher¬ 
ever he can, without spoiling the effect of 
the show, or keeping away exhibitors. 
But I do think it time the “ off season ” 
finished, much as I like pictures to admire 
and please the eye, and much as I am de¬ 
voted to pickles, jam, and marmalade ad 
lib on the table at meal times, I do not 
think they should monopolise the main hall 
and crowd out the floral exhibits into the 
annexe. But there, I suppose all of us have 
our grievances, and no doubt the council 
are fully cognisant of the limiting of spaces 
to exhibitors, and the cramped gangways; 
but, unfortunately, they cannot push the 
outer walls, either into the playground of 
the school on the one hand, or the technical 
school on the other, much less the playing- 
field of the Westminster School in the front; 
so some further solution will have to be sug¬ 
gested. 
I think that your correspondent should 
bear in mind that all the horticultural in¬ 
terests of the kingdom (and they are many) 
look upon the “Hall” as a meeting-place, 
lx>th amateur and trade alike, so this in 
itself forms some congestion of traffic. In 
fact, there are so many interests bound up in 
the letters R.H.S. that it has become a sort 
of magnetic pole which attracts the hori- 
cultural world each fortnight; and I am 
