October  10, 1895. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
347 
-  CoAESE  Vegetables. — Noting  the  correspondence  anent  the 
judging  at  Shrewsbury  I  am  reminded  of  a  glaring  instance  of  coarse¬ 
ness  at  one  of  the  Birmingham  Chrysanthemum  shows.  In  the  first 
prize  collection  of  vegetables  shown  by  a  gardener  in  Shropshire  were 
three  heads  of  red  Celery,  gigantic,  but  with  every  leafstalk  as  hollow  as  a 
keck,”  and  the  heart  hardly  blanched — in  fact,  they  were  bad  enough 
to  disqualify  the  collection. — AN  Old  Showman. 
-  Keeping  Peaes. — If  Pears  are  wanted,  says  a  writer  in  an 
American  publication,  for  late  autumn  and  winter  eating,  pick  them 
early  and  handle  as  carefully  as  possible.  Get  a  package  of  paper  and 
wrap  each  Pear  separately.  Then  pack  the  fruit  in  shallow  boxes  and 
store  in  a  cool,  dark,  dry  place.  The  nearer  the  temperature  can  be 
kept  to  the  freezing  point  the  longer  the  Pears  will  keep.  By  wrapping 
in  paper  the  flavour  is  not  lost  as  it  is  when  Pears  are  kept  in  cold 
storage.  Early  picking  and  perfectly  sound  specimens  are  essential. 
-  Feuit-geowing  in  Ameeica. — Some  idea  may  be  gained  of 
the  scale  on  which  fruit  farming  is  carried  on  in  America  from  the 
operations  of  one  establishment  alone,  the  Hale  Orchard  Company, 
which  in  1891  planted  100,000  Peach  trees  in  Georgia.  During  April 
and  May  this  year  fifty  men  were  occupied  all  day  in  removing  excess 
fruits  in  order  to  allow  the  rest  to  have  room  to  develop.  They  began 
to  come  to  maturity  in  June,  and  from  the  20th  of  that  month  350  men, 
aided  by  fifty  mules,  were  engaged  every  day  gathering  and  carting 
away,  filling  4000  baskets  in  the  twenty-four  hours.  Imperfect,  bruised, 
and  scratche'd  fruits,  separated  from  that  in  prime  condition,  amounted 
to  300  bushels  a  day.  It  took  from  525  to  600  baskets  to  fill  a  railway 
refrigerator  van,  and  each  vanload  represented  a  value,  including  cost 
of  gathering,  packing,  and  transport,  of  £100.  From  this  single 
orchard  eighty  vanloads  were  sent  away  this  year.  In  Houston  County 
Peach  cultivation  gives  employment  to  3000  people, — (“  Echo.”) 
-  The  “  Thoeoughfaee  ”  Teee.  —  The  gigantic  Oaks  of 
Sherwood  Forest  are  remarkable  for  various  peculiarities.  The 
Greendale  Oak,  which  we  have  here  designated  the  “  Thoroughfare  ” 
tree,  has  a  roadway  through  its  trunk.  This  was  cut  in  1724,  and  was 
wide  enough  for  a  carriage  and  four  to  be  driven  through  it.  This  was 
actually  done  by  the  Earl  of  Clare,  who  laid  a  heavy  bet  that  he  could 
perform  the  feat,  and  he  won  the  wager.  The  dimensions  of  this  arch¬ 
way  are  noteworthy.  Its  height  is  10  feet  3  inches,  and  its  width  6  feet 
3  inches  ;  the  circumference  of  the  tree  in  a  line  with  the  crown  of  the 
arch  was  35  feet.  The  tree  is  reckoned  to  be  at  least  1500  years  old, 
and  it  is  now  propped  up  and  braced  together  with  chains.  There  are 
many  other  giant  tiees  in  this  forest,  such  as  the  Major  Oak,  which  is 
30  feet  in  circumference.  The  spread  of  this  tree’s  branches  overshade 
a  space  240  feet  across  from  side  to  side.  There  is  a  hollow  in  its  trunk 
big  enough  to  hold  a  dozen  persons  standing  close  together. — (“  The 
People.”) 
VEGETABLE  JUDGING  AT  SHREWSBURY. 
Youe  correspondent,  “One  of  the  Shrewsbury  Judges,”  it  is  so 
evident  not  only  writhes  under  criticism,  but  is  so  weak-minded  as  to  let 
all  the  world  see  that  he  does  so.  It  is  unfortunate  for  any  man  who 
undertakes  public  work,  done  in  the  fierce  light  of  to-day,  such  as 
judging  at  flower  shows,  to  be  so  thin-skinned  and  so  irritable ’under 
comment,  seeing  that  comment  on  judgment  is  an  ordeal  which  all  men 
who  undertake  public  duty  of  that  kind  should  be  prepared  to  face.  If 
he  is  not,  then  he  should  forego  the  duty.  When  in  the  face  of  adverse 
criticism  men  prefer  to  shelter  themselves  behind  the  tradition  that 
being  “  eminent  ”  gardeners  they  can  do  no  wrong,  and  are  as  judges 
infallible,  then  does  the  world  of  lookers-on  but  smile.  Shrewsbury  is 
not  the  first  show  by  scores  at  which  your  reporter  has  indulged  in 
criticism.  One  of  the  forms  in  which  his  assumed  inexperience  and 
^‘incompetence”  was  recognised  was  his  selection  by  the  Council  of 
the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  as  a  member  of  its  code  of  Judging 
Committee,  not  merely  to  be  constructively  as  well  as  critically  helpful, 
but  also  specially  to  take  charge  of  the  vegetable  code  department,  a 
very  onerous  position  indeed.  True,  it  might  have  been  filled  by  more 
eminent  ”  men,  but  then  the  Committee  needs  men  of  wide  practical 
experience  on  specific  subjects.  As  to  judging  capacity,  I  have  been  at 
that  sort  of  function  for  the  past  thirty  years,  and  have  yet  two  other 
considerable  shows  to  tackle  this  season.  Being  in  other  directions  so 
very  busy  I  apologise  for  farther  discussion  with  a  disappointed  judge. 
— Youe  Sheewsbuey  Vegetable  Repoetee. 
Yes,  Mr.  Editor,  you  are  quite  right  in  stating  in  the  editorial 
footnote  (page  324),  under  the  above  heading  in  last  week’s  Journal  of 
llorticulture,  that  ‘“One  of  the  Judges’  has  not  always  kept  silent 
when  other  judges  have  not  pleased  him  as  an  exhibitor.”  But  there 
not  having  been  any  dissatisfied  exhibito,  s  to  be  dealt  with  at  the  last 
nor  previous  shows — vegetable  (open)  classes — held  at  Shrewsbury,  the 
reference  to  this  point  is  foreign  to  the  question  at  issue. 
If  the  awards  made  in  some  of  the  vegetable  classes  at  Shrewsbury 
were  not  quite  in  accordance  with  your  reporter’s  ideal  standard  of 
excellence,  he  would  have  been  acting  within  his  right  to  have  pointed 
this  out  when  noting  the  position  of  the  exhibits  in  these  classes  ;  but 
he  certainly  was  not  justified  in  condemning  in  the  way  he  did  the 
awards  made  by  two  sets  of  judges. 
There  has  been  no  question  in  the  minds  of  the  vegetable 
judges  at_  Shrewsbury  as  to  “whether  it  is  right  or  wrong  that ‘size’ 
or  ‘  quality  ’  should  be  the  predominating  factor  in  determining 
the  awards.”  The  Shrewsbury  judges  having  always  been  influenced 
by  size,  shape  and  quality  combined — quality  being  in  every  case  the 
guiding  star  in  determining  the  awards.  I  am  quite  ready  to  admit, 
having  had  a  chef  to  deal  with  during  the  last  twenty-four  years,  that 
medium  sized  Cauliflowers,  requiring  no  skill  to  produce,  are  preferable 
to  large  ones  for  table,  but  at  shows  we  must  have  high  quality  with 
size  as  displaying  superior  cultivation. — One  of  the  Judges, 
[We  are  inclined  to  think  that  this  subject  has  been  sufficiently 
ventilated.  Our  reporter,  it  seems,  laid  himself  open  to  castigation,  and 
— feeling  sure  it  would  not  hurt  him — we  allowed  him  to  be  castigated 
by  a  judge  who  confesses  to  have  indulged  in  a  practice  which,  as  applied 
to  himself,  he  condemns,  We  know  very  well  that  all  the  Shrewsbury 
judges  are  competent  men,  also  we  know  that  our  reporter  is  as  com¬ 
petent  as  any  of  them  as  a  judge  of  vegetables.  It  is  a  question  of 
“  views  ”  in  respect  to  the  standard  of  excellence,  by  which  judges  should 
be  guided  in  awarding  prizes  for  exhibited  produce. 
At  a  show  in  the  south  of  England,  where  the  size  of  the  products, 
it  was  thought,  gradually  degenerated  into  coarseness,  a  class  was 
formed  in  which  high  quality  of  produce  was  imperative,  size  a 
secondary  consideration,  provided  that  all  the  products  were  large 
enough  to  be  generally  useful.  The  judging  had  to  be  done  by  points 
throughout  the  collections,  and  these  points  published,  the  prizes 
being  divided  yjru  rata  in  accordance  with  the  numbers  attained  by 
the  best  six  exhibitors.  Our  reporter  has  assisted  in  the  adjudications. 
In  results,  the  contest  has  year  by  year  given  complete  satisfaction 
to  the  show  authorities,  exhibitors,  and  visitors. 
Could  not  an  interesting  feature  of  the  same  nature,  including  the 
exhibition  of  all  the  points  of  merit  awarded,  be  added  to  the  splendid 
show  at  Shrewsbury  ?  The  same  exhibitors  might  be  eligible  to  compete 
in  this  “  special  ”  as  well  as  in  the  general  classes,  and  there  would  need 
no  change  in  the  judges  ;  but  as  the  pointing  takes  time  a  little  further 
assistance  might  be  needed — at  least,  it  was  found  to  be  so  at  the 
excellent  southern  show  at  which  the  plan  originated.  It  is  not  in  the 
least  likely  to  be  changed,  as  apart  from  the  beautiful  vegetables 
exhibited  enormous  interest  is  manifested  in  the  posting  up  of  the 
points. 
As  to  the  hasty  suggestion  that  our  reporter  desired  to  supplant 
any  one  of  the  Shrewsbury  judges,  the  idea  is  preposterous.  He  is  quite 
old  enough  to  know  that  if  such  had  been  his  object  he  resorted  to  the 
best  of  all  possible  ways  of  defeating  it.  He  is  fully  aware  that  the 
Shrewsbury  officials  are  gentlemen  in  the  best  sense  of  that  honourable 
appellation,  with  almost  unrivalled  experience  of  the  idiosyncracies  of 
individuals,  and  they  extended  to  him  and  to  all  who  shared  in  reporting 
their  last  great  show  the  utmost  courtesy.] 
JUDGMENT  WITHOUT  LAW. 
Undee  this  heading  your  correspondent,  “  Invicta  ”  (page  326)  very 
amiably  and  without  prejudice  discusses  a  subject  of  exceeding  interest. 
It  is  undoubtedly  a  fact — one  which  few  have  stopped  to  think  about — 
that  exhibitors  at  flower  shows  are  all  subject  to  judgments  without 
law.  All  judgments  are  assumedly  based  on  recognised  requirements  in 
the  products  ;  but,  all  the  same,  these  are  liable  to  various  interpreta¬ 
tions  just  as  they  are  administered  by  various  persons.  Thus,  a  mere 
whim,  a  blunder,  or  bias  may  in  one  case  punish  an  exhibitor  who  should 
be  rewarded,  by  refusing  him  a  money  prize,  which  goes  to  someone  else 
perhaps  not  deserving. 
Practically,  flower  show  judging  is  full  of  uncertainty,  and  entirely 
dependent  on  the  whim  or  fancy  of  the  judges.  Now  in  civil  life  all 
our  actions  are  controlled  by  a  recognised  code  of  laws.  If  we  do 
wrong — that  is,  violate  any  of  the  provisions  of  that  code — we  know 
that  punishment  comes  not  from  any  judge’s  personal  whim  or  bias,  bat 
because  the  law  requires  it. 
How  can  we  in  flower  show  judging  create  law  that  shall  be  in  its 
provisions  inexorable,  and  compel  righteous  judgments?  Practically 
such  a  thing  is  impossible.  It  may  interest  “Invicta”  to  learn  that  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  is  at  the  present  moment  engaged  in  pre¬ 
paring  a  code  of  judging  applicable,  so  far  as  is  possible,  to  all  flower 
show  exhibits,  and  it  is  hoped  will  be  published  in  a  few  weeks.  Still, 
though  a  work  of  long  and  careful  deliberation  and  of  inquiry,  yet 
its  provisions  cannot  be  in  any  case  enforced  because  the  R.H.S.  cannot 
command  or  compel  it. 
The  most  that  can  be  done  is  to  induce  all  flower  show  committees 
to  adopt  its  provisions,  and  require  from  judges  that  they  not  only 
possess  a  copy  of  the  code  but  shall  faithfully  make  awards  in  all  cases 
on  the  basis  the  code  prescribes.  “  Invicta”  will  find  that  so  far  as 
vegetables  are  concerned  what  he  suggests  in  relation  to  a  consultative 
conference  has  already  been  done,  and  the  code  so  far  has  received 
practically  unanimous  sanction  from  many  leading  growers  and 
exhibitors.  If  unanimous  judging  at  all  shows  cannot  be  secured  at 
least  an  effort  will  have  been  made  to  insure  it. — A.  D. 
