August  11,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
National  Rose  Society’s  Metropolitan  Show. 
I  am  desirous  of  correcting  an  error  in  my  notes  on  the  above 
show  with  regard  to  the  medal  Roses.  My  friend  Mr.  C.  J.  Grahame 
has  pointed  out  to  me  that  the  silver  medal  for  the  best  Ii.T.  was 
awarded  not  to  Mr.  B.  R.  Cant,  but  to  Messrs.  Paul  &  Son  ;  but  I  am 
not  quite  to  blame  in  the  matter,  as  by  some  extraordinary  blunder 
the  name  on  the  card  was  put  Mr.  B.  R.  Cant,  and  placed  in  Messrs. 
Paul  &  Son's  box.  Mr.  Grahame  saw  it  and  had  it  altered,  but  I 
suppose  I  had  taken  my  note  of  it  before  the  alteration  was  made. 
As  I  have  mentioned  Mr.  Grabame’s  name  I  ought  to  supply  an 
omission  in  my  account  of  the  origin  ot  the  southern  show,  that  it 
was  he  who  originated  the  idea  of  adding  Hybrid  Perpetuals  to  the 
classes  at  the  Drill  Hall,  and  indeed  offered  the  prizes,  so  that  it  may 
be  said  that  the  southern  show  owes  its  origin  to  him  ;  but  in  truth,  he 
has  been  so  generous  a  supporter  of  the  N.R.S.,  and  has  given  so 
many  valuable  prizes  to  it,  that  I  may  be  well  excused  for  not 
remembering  all  of  them. — D.,  Deal. 
Looking  Back. 
It  is  said  that  when  a  certain  witty  American  author  wrote  his 
humourous  description  of  a  trip  on  the  Continent,  he  himself  had  never 
made  the  tour,  and  I  remember  reading  a  story  in  which  the  scene  was 
laid  in  one  of  the  colonies,  and  very  realistic  descriptions  were  given 
of  the  scenery  and  inhabitants,  so  that  one  was  obliged  to  say  the 
author  must  have  been  a  keen  observer,  yet  one  tound  afterwards  that 
he  had  never  been  out  of  England.  I  am  therefore  following  good 
examples  when  I  write  something  concerning  the  National  Rose 
Society’s  show  at  Halifax.  Kind  friends,  on  whose  judgment  I  can 
rely,  have  given  me  some  particulars,  and  there  are  other  matters  that 
are  clear  and  patent,  so  that  anyone  who  runs  may  read.  I  was  there 
myself  four  years  ago,  I  know  the  place  where  the  show  was  held, 
and  the  whole  exhibition  is  present  to  my  mind’s  eye. 
The  first  thing  I  think  that  strikes  one  in  looking  through  a 
prize  list  is  to  see  how  large  a  proportion  of  the  principal  prizes  went 
to  southern  growers,  both  in  the  amateur  and  professional  classes. 
It  was  a  s  >ut hern  grower,  Mr.  E.  B.  Lindsell,  who  carried  off  the 
amateurs’  challenge  trophy ;  while,  as  might  have  been  expected,  in 
their  own  county  and  near  their  own  home,  Messrs.  Harkness  &  Son 
carried  off  the  nurserymen’s  challenge  trophy,  though  they  were  run 
very  closely  by  the  Colchester  fiim.  As  far  as  my  recollection  serves 
me,  the  amateurs’  Jubilee  trophy  has  never  since  the  retirement  of 
Mr.  T.  B.  Hall  been  won  by  a  northerner — by  northerner  I  mean 
anyone  living  north  of  the  Trent,  which  amongst  florists  has  been 
generally  considered  the  dividing  line  betwixt  north  and  south.  It 
would  include  in  the  former  division  growers  in  Leicestershire  and 
Derbyshire;  while  Worcester,  Hereford,  and  Gloucester  would,  of 
course,  bo  reckoned  as  belonging  to  the  southern  division.  The  late¬ 
ness  of  the  season  this  year  gave  the  latter  a  great  advantage, 
although  I  think  in  most  seasons  the  result  has  been  the  same.  The 
Hybrid  Perpetuals  were  generally  exhibited  in  better  condition  than 
at  either  of  the  preceding  shows  of  the  National  this  year;  and  Mr. 
Lindsell’s  stand,  with  which  he  won  the  challenge  trophy,  fully 
maintained  his  high,  character  as  a  grower  and  an  exhibitor,  for  the 
two  things  are  distinct.  An  amateur  may  grow  well,  and  yet  not 
know  now  to  set  up  his  flowers. 
The  most  remarkable  feature  probably  of  the  show,  with  the 
exception  of  the  gold  medal  Roses,  were  the  abundance  and  excellence 
of  the  Teas  and  Hybrid  Teas.  This  was  shown,  not  merely  in  the 
classes  especially  set  apart  for  them,  but  in  the  number  and  quality 
in  the  stand  of  mixed  varieties;  indeed  the  difficulty  was  to  find 
H.P.’s  which  would  be  equal  in  point  of  merit  with  the  Teas.  Of 
course,  as  might  have  been  expected,  the  winning  stands  of  Teas, 
both  in  the  nurserymen  and  amateur  classes,  came  almost  exclu¬ 
sively  from  the  south,  Mr.  Alex.  Hill  Gray  leading  the  way  in  the 
amateurs’  division,  and  Mr.  Prince  in  the  nurserymen’s. 
The  exhibition  was  remarkable  in  another  respect — namely,  that 
three  gold  medals  were  awarded  for  new  seedling  Roses.  Two  of 
these  were  gained  by  Messrs.  Dickson  &  Son  of  Newtownards,  and 
one  by  Messrs.  Cocker  &  Sons  of  Aberdeen.  Messrs.  Dickson’s 
flowers  were  Mrs.  Edward  Mawley,  a  Tea  Rose  of  attractive  colour, 
being  a  mixture  of  soft  pink  and  yellow ;  the  other  was  Mildred 
Grant,  a  Hybrid  Tea  Rose  of  large  size,  pale  flesh  colour.  This, 
unlike  Mrs.  Edward  Mawley,  has  not  been  seen  before ;  but  we 
have  so  many  of  these  fight  Roses  that  I  do  not  think  the  Judges 
101 
would  have  awarded  it  a  gold  medal  if  it  had  not  some  exceptional 
merit.  The  Rose  by  which  Messrs.  Cocker  &  Son  gained  the  gold 
medal  from  far  Aoerdeen,  Mrs.  James  Cocker,  is  a  hybrid  between 
Mabel  Morrison  and  Mrs.  John  Lamg.  They  write  of  it  as  a  fuller 
sweet-scented  Baroness,  and  as  such  it  will  doubtless  be  acceptable  to 
most  rosarians.  Thus  altogether  five  gold  medals  for  new  Roses  have 
been  awarded  this  season.  There  is  not,  however,  one  dark  Rose 
amongst  them,  and  it  is  iu  that  class  that  we  especially  desire  additions. 
The  Roses  for  which  the  silver  medals  were  awarded  in  each 
division  were  in  Hybrid  Perpetuals  Airs.  John  Laing,  exhibited  by 
Mr.  B.  R.  Cant,  and  Her  Majesty,  shown  by  Mr.  Whittle  ;  in 
Hybrid  Teas  Lady  Mary  Fitz william,  a  fine  bloom  shown  by  Mr. 
W.  Boyes  of  Derby,  and  Bessie  Brown,  shown  by  Messrs.  Dickson 
and  Sons,  Newtownards.  This  is  the  Rose  for  which  a  gold  medal  was 
awarded  to  them  at  Bath,  and  it  is  considered  by  some  on  whose 
judgment  I  can  rely,  as  one  of  the  best  Roses  yet  obtained  by  this 
firm.  In  Teas  the  medals  were  obtained  by  Catherine  Mermet,  a 
grand  bloom  exhibited  by  Mr.  E.  B.  Lindsell,  and  by  Comtesse  de 
Nadaillac  shown  by  Mr.  Prince  of  Oxford. 
Garden  Roses  were  again  a  great  source  of  attraction.  They,  too, 
came,  many  of  them,  from  a  considerable  distance — Messrs.  Paul  and 
Son,  Cheshunt;  Messrs.  Cooling  &  Sons  of  Bath;  Mr.  H.  V.  Machin 
came  from  Worksop,  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Pemberton  from  Essex,  and 
Miss  Mellish  from  Hodsock  Priory.  At  this  time  many  of  those 
single  Roses,  which  were  conspicuous  at  the  early  shows  have  passed 
out  of  flower,  but  a  number  of  very  beautiful  blooms  were  shown ; 
amongst  them  were  Gustave  Regis,  Bardou  Job,  Laurette  Messimy, 
L’Ideal,  Allister  Stella  Grey,  Perle  d’Or,  Mignonette,  Crimson  Rambler, 
Gloirede  Polvantba,  and  Madame  Pernet  Ducher.  Nor  must  I  omit  to 
mention  the  decorative  s'and  set  up  by  Mr.  Prince  of  Oxford,  in  which 
more  taste  seems  to  have  been  exhibited  than  is  usual  in  these  classes ; 
the  centre  consisted  of  a  fine  group  of  Comtesse  de  Nadaillac,  sur¬ 
rounded  by  light  bunches  of  garden  Roses  charmingly  arranged. 
It  will  be  seen  how  loyally  members  of  the  National  have 
supported  the  Society,  and  contributed  to  make  the  Halifax  Show  one 
of  the  best  provincial  exhibitions  that  was  ever  held.  They  came 
from  all  parts  except  the  very  southern  counties,  and  it  is  pleasant  to 
have  to  record  that  they  did  not  come  in  vain.  It  must  hive 
been  very  gratifying  to  Mr.  Hill  Gray,  for  instance,  that  although  he 
had  to  exhibit  from  a  very  early  place  in  a  very  late  season,  that  he 
carried  off  the  chief  honours  amongst  Teas. — D.,  Deal. 
THE  DAHLIA. 
This  beaufiful  plant  is  a  native  of  Spanish  America,  and  though 
noticed  by  the  Spaniards  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
did  not  attract  much  attention  till  it  had  flowered  at  Madrid  in  1790, 
when  Cavanille  described  it  in  the  first  volume  of  his  “  leones.”  In 
1802  he  sent  plants  to  Paris,  where  they  were  successfully  cultivated 
by  M.  Thonin,  who  shortly  afterwards  published  coloured  figures  and 
a  description  of  the  plant.  The  first  introduction  of  the  Dahlia  into 
England  was  made  by  the  Marchioness  of  Bute  in  1789,  but  these 
plants  were  soon  neglected  and  lost.  In  1802-3  others  were  sent  here 
from  Paris,  and  in  the  following  year  some  seeds  came  to  hand  from 
Madrid.  Yet  for  several  years  afterwards  the  Dahlia  made  but  scant 
headway  amongst  us — indeed,  being  hardly  heard  of. 
Their  habits  were  unknown,  and  the  plants  increased  very  slowly, 
although  on  the  Continent  during  this  time  innumerable  beautiful 
and  positively  sp'endid  blooms  were  being  produced.  In  fact,  it  was 
not  until  after  the  peace  of  1815  that  the  Dahlia  came  fully  amongst 
us  in  the  full  variety  of  its  many  tints  of  colour,  exciting  the  astonish¬ 
ment  of  every  beholder,  and  the  joy  of  those  who  could  number  the 
possession  of  such  beauties  among  their  own  collections.  Since  that 
time  they  have  rapidly  increased  and  improved,  and  this  country  can 
now  boast  of  varieties  as  superb  as  any  in  the  world. 
The  Dahlia  takes  its  name  from  Andrew  Dahl,  a  Swedish  botanist, 
and  ought  to  be  pronounced  with  the  a  open,  as  in  far,  to  distinguish 
it  from  a  very  different  genus,  Dalea,  called  after  our  own  countryman 
Dale.  It  belongs  to  the  natural  order  Composite,  and  is  now  so 
common  that  anything  like  minute  description  is  quite  unnecessary. 
In  form  and  stature  it  is  Proteus,  in  tints  it  is  a  vegetable  prism ; 
neither  are  the  forms  or  colours  constant  in  the  same  individual.  1  he 
first  flowers  will  be  single  and  of  one  colour,  and  the  last  double  and 
another  hue  ;  and  such  is  the  versatility  of  the  self  colour  of  a  parent, 
that  its  seedlings  will  be  edged,  or  striped,  or  blotched,  and  altogether 
as  unlike  the  parent  plant  as  change  of  colour  can  make  them.  I  am 
not  aware  of  a  blue  variety  ever  having  been  reared  any  more  than  a 
blue  Chrysanthemum;  indeed,  according  to  an  eminent  authority, 
De  Candolle,  the  production  of  such  a  hue  in  the  Dahlia  is  impossible. 
— Wm.  Norman  Brown. 
