152 
JGURXAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  15,  1895. 
CARNATIONS  AT  HAYES  COMMON. 
A  PEEP  at  Mr.  Martin  Smith's  Carnations  on  Saturday,  July  20th, 
will  leave  a  lasting  impression.  Entering  the  first  of  two  large  span- 
roofed  houses  we  found  it  entirely  filled  with  the  most  vigorous  plants 
in  large  pots,  usually  three  plants  in  each,  carrying  immense  heads  of 
bloom.  The  outer  stages  were  filled  with  varieties  which  had  been  fully 
tested,  many  having  been  already  distributed  to  the  public  ;  while  the 
centre  stage  was  covered  with  the  last  two  years’  seedlings  for  trial,  no 
plant  being  allowed  to  go  into  commerce  until  it  has  been  thoroughly 
tested. 
Some  of  these  we  noticed  had  already  been  named  ;  others,  which 
really  appealed  to  our  highest  sense  of  admiration,  were  not  in  accordance 
with  the  standard  required  by  Mr.  Martin  Smith,  and  would  be 
consequently  discarded.  As  a  proof  of  the  necessity  of  these  trials  it  is 
occasionally  found  that  seedlings  which  the  first  year  have  reached 
the  required  standard  have  fallen  away  the  second,  and  so  lost  their 
name. 
The  second  house  we  found  also  filled  with  splendid  robust  plants 
full  of  bloom.  These  were  all  kinds  which  had  borne  the  test  of  con¬ 
stancy,  with  many  of  which  we  are  already  familiar.  Here  we  noticed 
the  systematic  care  with  which  the  feitdisation  of  the  blooms  is  carried 
out.  Already  plump  pods  of  seed,  labelled  with  the  cross,  were  in 
evidence.  In  this  galaxy  of  beauty  it  was  difficult  to  concentrate  one’s 
admiration  to  individual  varieties,  but  among  the  newer  kinds  the 
following  are  deserving  of  special  mention  : — 
White. — Ellen  Terry,  Mrs.  Eric  Hambro,  Lady  Ridley,  and  Sea  GuU. 
White  with  a  shade  of  blush. —  Waterwitch  and  Her  Grace.  Very  dark 
crimson. — Mephisfo  (this  variety  attracted  our  attention  by  the  very 
erect  manner  in  which  its  blooms  were  carried).  The  Master  and  Boreas. 
Scarlet.  —  Hayes’  Scarlet,  King  Arthur,  Solon  and  Centurion.  Yellow. — 
Corunna,  Miss  Audrey  Campbell,  Duke  of  Orleans  and  Britannia.  Buff 
or  crimson  on  a  yellow  ground. — The  Dey,  George  Cruickshank,  Cardinal 
Wolsey  and  Mrs.  Seymour  Bouverie.  Rose  colour. — Braw  Lass,  Horace 
Trelawney,  Sadek  and  Princess  May.  Yellow  ground  Picotees  — Cowslip, 
Gilda,  Eudoxia,  Ceres,  Gift  and  Pbcebus.  Terra-cotta. — V/inifred,  The 
Hunter  and  The  Pasha.  Blueish  purple. — Bendigo. 
Passing  from  the  houses  through  the  garden  to  the  shrubbery  w'e 
found  numerous  semicircular  beds,  cut  in  the  lawn,  filled  with  seedling 
Carnations  in  bloom,  many  of  great  merit.  We  could  not  fail  to  be 
struck  with  the  extraordinarily  robust  habit  of  the  plants,  both  under 
glass  and  in  the  borders,  except  the  flakes  and  bizarres,  which,  at  least 
in  contrast  with  the  border  varieties  raised  by  Mr.  Smith,  seem  to  be  of 
singularly  feeble  growth. 
In  the  kitchen  garden  we  noticed  on  each  side  of  the  centre  walk  a 
row  of  the  newer  kinds  of  border  varieties,  such  as  Cardinal  Wolsey, 
Corunna,  Ellen  Terry,  and  others,  all  in  vigorous  growth  and  throwing 
splendid  blooms,  showing  that  those  who  have  no  glass  houses  to  flower 
such  varieties  in  can  succeed  perfectly  well  with  them  in  the  open. 
Before  taking  our  departure  yet  another  surprise  was  in  store,  for  in 
an  adjacent  field  we  were  shown  about  6000  seedlings,  planted  in  beds 
about  4  feet  wide,  in  full  bloom,  truly  a  magnificent  sight. 
We  have  regarded  the  name  of  Martin  Smith  in  connection  with 
Carnations  as  a  sufircient  guarantee  of  their  quality,  but  it  is  only  by  a 
visit  to  The  Warren  that  one  is  able  to  realise  the  splendid  work  that  is 
being  carried  out  by  this  king  of  Carnation  raisers,  assisted  by  his  prime 
minister,  Mr.  Chas.  Blick,  to  whose  genial  kindness  and  attention  in 
showing  us  all  we  have  noticed  above  we  desire  to  bear  testimony. — 
Sydenham,  Woodford, 
FROST  AND  HEAT  AT  WAKEFIELD. 
A  STATEMENT  having  been  made  at  a  meeting  of  the  Wakefield 
Paxton  Society  that  24°  of  frost  were  registered  in  a  garden  near  that 
town  in  June  of  the  present  year,  we  suspected  that  a  mistake  had  been 
made  of  an  innocent  and  not  uncommon  nature — namely,  that  the 
mercury  fell  to  24°  on  the  scale,  or  8°  below  freezing.  That  it  did  fall 
to  this  extent  we  know,  in  several  places,  and  as  a  consequence  Potatoes 
and  other  tender  plants  were  cut  down  to  the  ground. 
Mr.  Pitts,  gardener,  Thornhill  House,  Walton,  near  Wakefield,  the 
author  of  the  statement  in  question,  now  writes  in  answer  to  the  letters 
we  have  published  which  questioned  its  accuracy.  We  are  desired  by 
Mr.  Pitts  to  insert  his  communication  in  its  entirety,  “  taking  nothing 
from  it  nor  adding  thereto.”  With  every  disposition  to  oblige  our 
correspondents  we  really  cannot  go  so  far  as  to  let  every  man  be  his  own 
editor  ;  and  in  this  case  id  must  suffice  to  cite  from  Mr.  Pitts  as 
follows  ; —  ’ 
“  The  minimum  thermometer  6  inches  from  the  ground  registered 
24°  of  frost.  The  needle  stood  at  8.  The  minimum  4  feet  from  the 
ground  stood  at  34,  or  2°  above  freezing.  To  the  inexperienced  it  may 
seem  a  gieat  deal  of  difference  between  the  readings  of  the  two  ther¬ 
mometers  ;  but  the  fact  remains  the  same — it  is  so.” 
We  quote  accurately,  giving  Mr.  Pitts  whatever  advantage  he  may 
obtain  by  his  grammatical  rendering  of  the  case,  and  we  suspect 
that  everybody  will  agree  with  him  that  the  difference  in  question  was 
very  great  indeed.  He  f  urfner  states,  “  The  thermometers  are  the  best 
Messrs.  Negretti  &  Zambra  can  supply.”  It  will  be  admitted  then  that 
they  were  good  when  supplied  ;  buc  it  will  also  be  admitted  that  the 
benc  of  thermometers,  like  the  best  of  watchc^,  go  wrong  at  times.  We 
were  once  called  to  witness  a  tbermometer  registering  28  ”  degrees  of 
frost.”  The  mercury  had  fal'en  to  4°  on  the  scale,  which  was  just  20° 
too  low.  The  mercury  had  got  divided.  A  few  sharp  jerks  of  the 
instrument  put  it  right,  and  its  proper  level  was  24°  on  the  scale,  or  8° 
below  freezing.  Thermometrical  vagaries  are  not  always  apparent  at  a 
glance. 
Mr.  Pitts  is  so  convinced  that  the  facts  are  as  he  has  stated  that  he 
wants  to  give  a  sovereign  to  some  institution  if  he  can  be  proved  wrong. 
He  must  be  something  of  a  humourist,  for  if  the  instruments  remained 
stationary  at  their  “  differences  ”  they  would  be  very  remarkable 
thermometers  indeed.  We  have  no  doubt  he  recorded  accurately  what 
he  observed,  and  had  no  intention  whatever  to  mislead,  though  we 
suspect  he  did  not  see  quite  all  that  was  to  be  seen  on  careful  examina¬ 
tion  in  a  good  light.  The  subject  scarcely  seems  appropriate  for  heated 
argument,  and  the  whole  matter  may  now  well  cool  down  to  its  proper 
level  of  not  being  worthy  of  further  discussion  in  the  Press. 
We  have  received  another  letter,  written  by  Mr.  G.  W.  Fallas,  Hon. 
Secretary  of  the  Wakefield  Paxton  Society,  who,  after  failing  to  see  the 
necessity  of  a  “splenetic  correspondence”  on  the  temperature  question, 
goes  on  to  say  : — 
“  What  I  particularly  desire  to  refer  to,  by  your  kind  permis¬ 
sion,  is  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Garnett’s  letter  (page  80)  as  to 
repudiating  any  connection  with  our  Society.  Let  me  say  that  the 
Committee,  not  Mr.  Garnett  himself,  terminated  his  connection  with 
the  Paxton  Society  by  passing  a  resolution,  on  the  20th  March  last, 
expelling  him  from  the  Society  unless  be  within  a  few  days  of  the  notice 
being  given  denied  the  authenticity  of  a  letter  which  had  appeared  in 
the  local  papers.  This  w'as  voted  unanimously  at  a  meeting  attended  by 
twenty  members  of  the  Committee.  They  had  the  best  of  reasons  for 
assuming  him  to  be  the  writer,  and  which  was  clearly  proved  by  subse¬ 
quent  letters.  The  Paxton  Society  at  Wakefield  is  stronger  to-day  than 
ever  ;  and  the  Committee  intend  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the 
Society.” 
[It  would  seem  that  Mr.  Garnett  preferred  expulsion,  and  then  dis¬ 
claimed  nothing  that  he  had  written.  We  have  seen  some  remarkable 
statements  in  a  local  paper,  and  a  discussion  of  far  too  heated  a  nature 
for  our  columns,  and  we  shall  decline,  as  we  have  declined  now,  to 
publish  matter  of  an  obviously  acrimonious  nature.] 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY’S  EXAMINATION. 
RESULTS. 
Mr.  a.  Dean  (page  60)  says,  “  One  marvels  to  find  not  a  single 
candidate  from  Scotland,  Ireland,  or  Wales.”  If  Mr.  Dean  had  read  the 
list  carefully,  he  would  have  seen  that  Wales  was  represented  by  at 
least  one  candidate,  who  stands  at  No.  1  in  the  second  class. 
Having  more  or  less  successfully  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  the 
R.H.S.  exam,  I  should  like  to  offer  a  few  remarks  to  encourage  those 
who  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  the  requisite  100  marks.  In  the  first 
place  I  say,  “  try  again.”  It  is  no  disgrace  to  fail  to  pass  such  an 
examination  as  the  last  one  proved  to  be,  for  1  believe  that  every  one  of 
the  candidates  will  admit  that  it  was  stiff,  especially  so  to  those  who, 
like  myself,  have  not  been  able  to  attend  classes  or  lectures. 
There  is  one  thing,  however,  in  the  power  of  every  young  gardener 
to  obtain,  and  that  is  a  gardening  paper.  For  myself,  1  have  taken,  or 
had  taken  for  me  by  my  employers,  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  for 
about  twelve  years,  and  I  believe  the  last  volume  to  be  one  of  the  best 
published  in  that  time.  There  are  many  articles  in  it  especially  useful 
to  students,  giving  more  information  than  many  men  would  obtain  in  a 
lifetime  by  hard  work.  May  I  advise  those  who  intend  having  another 
try  next  year  to  keep  a  notebook  (a  penny  exercise  book  would  do), 
and  when  they  read  an  article  they  think  will  be  useful  to  them,  write 
down  the  chief  points  contained  in  it,  as  I  think  this  helps  one  to 
remember  things  better  than  by  simply  reading  them  ? 
Another  bit  of  advice  I  would  give  to  young  gardeners  is  this,  If 
you  read  anything  you  do  not  understand  ask  your  chief  to  explain  it  to 
you,  and  if  it  should  be  beyond  his  power  to  do  it,  write  a  short  and 
courteous  note  to  the  editor  of  the  paper  you  are  reading,  who  will 
gladly  give  you  any  information  in  his  power.  If  you  have  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  join  a  class  in  the  coming  winter.  If  you  cannot  attend  a  class 
on  horticulture  join  one  on  any  useful  subject,  as  this  will  give  you  most 
useful  practice  in  composition,  handwriting,  and  spelling,  as  I  believe 
these  are  all  taken  into  consideration  by  the  examiners.  As  an  instance 
of  the  benefit  derived  from  joining  a  class,  a  friend  of  mine,  a  professional 
gardener,  was  a  member  of  a  “  science  and  art  ”  class,  subjects  mining 
and  geology,  under  an  excellent  instructor,  and  the  experience  he 
gained  was  of  the  greatest  possible  use  to  him  when  sitting  at  the 
R.H.S.  exam. 
I  do  not  consider  it  is  very  surprising  to  see  other  than  gardeners 
taking  passes  at  the  R.H  S.,  as  in  the  classes  I  have  alluded  to  my  friend 
took  a  first  advanced  pass  in  mining,  and  an  advanced  pass  was  taken 
by  another  friend,  who  is  a  signalman  on  the  Midland  Railway.  I  hope 
next  year  to  see  the  number  of  candidates  at  least  doubled.  It  will  not 
be  any  fault  of  mine  if  there  are  not  several  from  this  district,  and  I 
hope  Scotland  and  Ireland  will  not  allow  Mr.  Dean  to  repeat  what  he 
has  said  on  page  60,  in  the  sentence  quoted  above. — Second  Class, 
Glams. 
As  one  who  sat  for  this  examination  I  have  been  greatly  interested  in 
the  articles  that  have  appeared  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  on  this 
subject  from  your  correspondents,  Mr.  A.  Dean,  “  \V.  D.,”  and 
“  A  Candidate.” 
