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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  24,  1900. 
— namely,  to^grow  his  plants  equal  to  those  that  have  stirred  his 
admiration  and  aroused  a  keen  enthusiasm  to  excel.  As  with 
Orchids,  so  with  all  of  the  many  other  products  seen — each  serves 
as  a  whip  or  spur  to  urge  the  grower  ever  onward  towards  better 
things. 
In  addition  to  the  honour  that  must  be  accorded  to  the  Eoyal 
Horticultural  Society  for  its  excellent  work  in  bringing  together  these 
displays,  a  meed  of  praise  must  be  given  to  those  people  who  prodaco 
the  component  parts  of  the  exhibition.  These  comprise  both  owners 
and  growers,  who  for  the  credit  of  British  horticulture  spare  no 
expense  in  time  or  labour,  and  put  forth  their  best  efforts  to  insure 
the  Temple  Show  reaching  nigh  on  to  perfection  year  by  year.  But 
there  is  still  another  factor  in  the  great  machine,  without  which  the 
Temple  Show  would  cease  to  be.  This  is  the  permission  given  by  the 
Benchers  of  the  Inner  Temple  to  the  Council  of  the  Eoyal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society  to  use  their  beautiful  gardens  for  this  purpose.  It 
is  a  privilege  that  must  be  cherished,  for  there  is  not  another 
place  in  London  that,  a'l  things  considered,  equals  the  Inner  Temple 
Gardens  for  the  great  annual  show  of  the  leading  horticultural  society 
of  the  world.  The  weather  at  the  time  of  opening  on  Wednesday 
was  very  wet,  but  the  tents  were  crowded  with  visitors  during 
the  afternoon. 
In  this,  the  thirteenth  show  in  the  Temple  Gardens,  we  find 
comparatively  little  alteration  in  the  general  arrangement  of  the  five 
commodious  tents.  Year  after  year  the  applications  to  the  authorities 
for  space  become  more  and  more  numerous,  and  with  equal  regidarity 
each  applicant  has  to  be  cut  down  in  amount.  The  constant  though 
slow  influx  of  new  exhibitors  necessitates  compression,  which  is  the 
cause,  perhaps,  of  some  disappointment  on  the  part  of  those  who 
support  the  society  not  only  at  this  gathering,  but  also  at  the 
fortnightly  Drill  Hall  meetings.  But  the  result  is  always  the  same — 
a  magnificent  display  of  Orchids,  Eoses,  greenhouse  and  stove  plants, 
hardy  flowers,  fruits,  and  vegetables.  Quite  the  finest  produce  that 
can  be  grown  is  now  to  be  seen  in  the  Temple  Gardens,  and ,  as  usual 
many  thousands  of  visitors  will  enjoy  the  spectacle. 
As  the  Benchers  of  the  Inner  Temple  cannot  see  their  way  to 
permitting  more  ground  to  be  covered  with  canvas  the  tents  remain  as 
heretofore.  We  have  given  the  dimensions  of  them  before,  but  not  for 
some  years,  and  we  may  therefore  repeat  them  now.  The  row  of  three 
on  the  Embankment  Walk  are,  commencing  at  the  principal  entrance, 
respectively,  110  feet,  150  feet,  and  170  feet  long  by  28  feet  wide  each  ; 
the  central  tent  is  120  feet  long  by  40  wide ;  and  the  largest  of  all  is 
150  feet  long  by  60  feet  wide.  These  figures  are  not  given  as  precisely 
correct,  but  as  approximate  thereto,  and  are  sufficiently  accurate  to 
indicate  the  enormous  amount  of  space  that  is  available  for  exhibits, 
and  which,  great  though  it  is,  could  be  filled  twice  over  if  room  could 
be  found  for  more  tents.  But  in  the  general  opinion  it  is  large  enough, 
as  the  extension  of  space  would  probably  lead  to  no  more  desirable 
result  than  the  mere  duplication  of  many  of  the  plants  and  flowers 
shown. 
We  need  not  institute  comparisons  with  previous  exhibitions,  but 
will  rather  be  content  with  saying  that  the  present  show  is  generally 
speaking  equal  to  any  of  its  predecessors,  and  is  in  one  or  two 
directions  distinctly  superior.  There  have  been  fears  that  the 
unfavourable  weather  would  seriously  prejudice  the  excellence  of  the 
display  ;  such,  however,  does  not  prove  to  be  the  case,  for  though  some 
products  would  have  been  the  better  for  an  additional  three  or  four 
days  of  genial  conditions,  the  greater  portion  are  in  that  state  of  per¬ 
fection  to  which  only  the  sound  knowledge  of  the  British  gardener 
could  bring  them.  We  must  now  turn  to  the  particular  exhibits  in  the 
various  sections,  and  shall,  as  is  our  custom,  commence  with  the 
Orchids. 
Orchids. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  most  popular  section  of  this 
magnificent  show  is  the  one  devoted  to  Orchids.  Nowhere  else  in  the 
country,  or  out  of  it  for  that  matter,  can  such  superb  collections  be 
found,  and  while  we  miss  in  this,  as  in  previous  shows,  one  or  two 
exhibitors  who  rank  amongst  the  foremost  as  Orchid  growers,  there 
yet  always  remains  sufficient  to  please  the  ordinary  visitor  and  even 
the  specialist.  We  yearly  look  to  amateur  and  professional  growers 
for  the  products  of  their  skill,  and  though  this  is  the  thirteenth 
show,  they  have  never  yet  failed  to  respondlto  the  call.  We  found  in- 
the  Temple  Show  on  this  occasion  a  very  high  average  of  excellence, 
and  in  a  few  instances  plants  that  were  decidedly  above  the  usual 
standard.  As  has  been  the  case  in  former  years,  the  entire  central 
staging  was  devoted  to  Orchids,  and  even  this  does  not  suffice,  for  we 
found  in  the  next  tent  (No.  4)  other  collections  that  go  far  towards 
taking  this  unique  display  to  absolute  perfection.  Without  further  pre¬ 
amble  we  will  turn  to  the  several  exhibits,  taking  them  in  precisely 
the  same  order  as  they  are  arranged,  and  not  according  to  their 
individual  excellence. 
Messrs.  F.  Sander  &  Co.,  St.  Albans,  occupied  tbe  position  of 
honour  in  the  great  Orchid  tent,  and  seldom  has  it-  been  more  worthily 
filled.  The  plants  were  in  that  excellent  condition  which  ever  charac¬ 
terises  the  Orchids  from  St.  Albans,  and  the  beauty  of  the  arrange¬ 
ment  is  quite  on  a  par  with  the  quality  of  the  products.  The  group  was 
splendidly  diversified,  and  comprised  many  species,  hybrids  and. 
varieties  of  fine  form.  We  may  quote  as  amongst  the  most  conspicuous 
the  Cattleyas.  Some  of  the  choicest  of  these  were  C.  Mossise  Princess 
of  Wales,  C.  M.  Our  Queen,  C.  Mendeli  Countess,  C.  M.  Prince  Edward^ 
and  C.  M.  crispata,  C.  Schroderse  The  Baroness,  Lselio-Cattleya 
callistoglossa  excelsa,  Miltonia  Bleuiana  grandiflora,  Cypripedium 
Gertrude  Hollington,  C.  bellatulum,  C.  Lawrenceanum,  Oncidium 
concolor,  0.  ampliatnm  majus,  Cattleya  Lawrenceana,  Zygopetalum 
Perrenoudi,  Dendrobium  Victoria  Regina,  Batemannia  grandiflora, 
Odontoglossum  excellens  Victoria,  Dendrobium  Boxalli,  several  Odonto- 
glossums  including  forms  of  crispum,  Adrianse,  and  Pescatorei. 
Bulbophyllum  barbigerum,  and  a  handsome  plant  of  Coelogyne 
Dayana.  Messrs.  Sander  &  Co.  made  an  edging  of  a  plant  of  the 
Vanilla  in  fruit. 
The  small  group  of  Orchids  from  Mons.  le  Marquis  de  Wavrin, 
Chateau  de  Ronsele,  Somerghen,  Belgium,  was  composed  wholly  of 
Fig.  115. — Cattleya  citrina. 
varieties  of  Cattleya  Mossise,  some  of  which  were  of  exceptional 
excellence.  The  most  meritorious  were  C.  M.  fastuosa,  C.  M.  candid^la^ 
C.  M.  olivacea,  and  C.  M.  Ronseleana. 
Exceptionally  beautiful  was  the  collection  of  Orchids  from  Messrs. 
Charles  worth  &  Co.,  Heaton,  Bradford.  Regarded  as  a  whole  it  was 
singularly  attractive,  as  well  by  reason  of  the  effective  arrangement  as 
by  the  average  of  merit  of  the  individual  plants.  High  as  is  the 
reputation  of  this  Yorkshire  house,  it  is  well  sustained  in  their 
