September  1,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
165 
“  Bi^  bud,"  the  bane  of  the  grower  in  most  districts,  gives  no  trouble. 
Hardly  a  trace  of  it  could  be  seen.  That  is  not  because  the  sort  is  a 
mite-proof  one.  It  is  Baldwin’s,  and  a  better  Currant  does  not  exist  ; 
but  in  some  parts  it  is  dreadfully  punished  by  the  Phytoptus.  Baldwin’s 
is  more  popular  as  a  farm  than  a  garden  Currant,  but  there  is  no  reason 
in  the  world  why  it  should  not  be  extensively  grown  in  private  places. 
Its  bold,  upright  growth,  and  the  freedom  with  which  it  produces  large 
clusters  of  fat,  luscious  berries,  combine  to  render  it  an  admirable  sort. 
So  good  is  it  under  liberal  culture,  that  those  experts  who  declare  the 
various  gigantic  forms  of  it,  which  are  talked  about  sometimes,  to  bo 
nothing  but  well- grown  Baldwin’s,  are  not  without  a  semblance  of 
justification. 
There  has  been  disappointment  amongst  growers  this  year,  for  prices 
have  been  low.  It  was  expected  that  with  the  shortage  consequent  on 
the  ravages  of  big  bud,  Black  Currants  would  stand  at  a  premium.  But 
the  grower  reckoned  without  his  foreigner.  Large  crops  appear  to  have 
been  the  rule  in  Holland  and  France  ;  anyway,  the  Dutchman  has  poured 
his  consignments  merrily  in. 
A  Remedy  for  Charlock. 
I  conclude  these  rambling  notes  as  I  began  them,  with  a  remedy  for 
a  troublesome  pest.  Mr.  Lee  showed  us  an  experiment  on  charlock 
infesting  ground  under  a  crop  of  Oats.  He  syringed  with  Bordeaux 
mixture  when  the  weed  was  young,  and  destroyed  it  without  injuring 
the  Oats  in  the  slightest  degree,  indeed  they  looked  rather  the  better  for 
the  application.  So  did  the  beautiful  acres  ot  flowers,  garden  Peas,  and 
Strawberries  on  Mr.  Cannell's  great  farm,  for  the  downpour  that  still 
went  on.  The  annuals  were  a  glorious  sight,  and  the  Asters  just  coming 
into  beauty.  But  the  dusk  was  gathering,  and  the  rain  falling  faster  and 
still  faster.  We  left  the  flowers  in  their  fresh  and  glistening  brightness, 
the  five-feet-nine  man  to  borrow  trousers  that  were  made  for  six-feet-two, 
and  muse  over  his  own  picturesquencss. — W.  Pea. 
THE  BUSINESS  OF  JUDGING. 
There  is  much  truth  in  what  “  Visitor  ”  has  said  on  page  147, 
re  judging.  But  I  cannot  agree  with  him  when  he  says  that  “  as  a  rule 
the  reasons  ought  to  be  as  clear  to  the  non-professional  visitor  as  to  the 
judge  or  the  competitor."  How  often  do  we  see  competition  so  close 
that  we  have  to  search  for  technicalities  before  we  can  decide  ?  Surely 
in  such  cases  this  should  not  be  an  easy  matter  for  the  non-professional  to 
discover. 
I  will  give  an  instance  of  what  I  mean.  I  was  recently  asked  to  judge 
at  a  small  show,  and  in  going  through  the  various  classes  I  came  to  one 
of  Fancy  Dahlias.  I  believe  there  were  three  competitors  in  this  class. 
Now,  one  of  the  stands  of  blooms  at  first  sight  was  far  superior  to  either 
of  the  others  ;  but  on  looking  a  little  closer  into  it  I  discovered  that  the 
best  side  of  each  bloom  was  placed  towards  London  (as  the  saying  goes), 
for  not  only  were  the  lower  parts  of  the  blooms  badly  decayed,  but  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  sides  of  some  of  them  also.  I  therefore  gave 
the  smaller  but  fresher  blooms  the  preference.  This  caused  disappoint¬ 
ment  to  the  exhibitor,  as  well  as  some  astonishment  to  the  visitors.  The 
exhibitor  wished  to  know  on  what  grounds  I  based  my  decision,  which  I 
readily  pointed  out  to  him  ;  w-hether  I  satisfied  him  is  doubtful. 
“  Visitor  ”  goes  on  to  say  that  the  trouble  generally  arises  from  the 
putting  of  men  to  judge  exhibits  of  which  they  are  comparatively 
ignorant.  Quite  so  !  But  then  every  society  cannot  employ  two  Judges 
for  each  section  of  the  exhibition.  Generally  speakings  provincial 
societies  can  only  afford  to  employ  two  J udges,  and  very  often  they  have 
to  start  work  an  hour,  and  sometimes  more  than  this,  later  than  the  time 
specified,  but  they  must  not  keep  the  public  waiting  outside  the  tent  or 
room.  Only  one  day  last  week  I  was  judging  with  a  well-known  gentle¬ 
man  at  a  country  show — our  duties  were  to  judge  the  flowers  and  fruit. 
Eleven  o’clock  was  the  hour  appointed  for  us  to  commence,  instead  of 
which  it  was  half-past  twelve  before  we  were  allowed  to  begin.  The 
public  were  to  be  admitted  at  two  o’clock,  and  as  that  time  approached 
we  were  constantly  reminded  that  the  public  must  not  be  kept  waiting, 
and  to  kindly  get  on  as  fast  as  possible.  Small  wonder  if  under  such 
circumstances  mistakes  are  made,  and  from  considerable  experience  I  fear 
that  this  is  not  an  exceptional  case. — Provincial. 
Esculus  PARVIFLORA. — This  is  one  of  the  oldest  exotic  shrubs 
that  we  have  record  of,  having  been  introduced  into  English  gardens 
by  Mr.  J.  Fraser  in  the  year  1725.  During  the  time  that  has  elapsed 
since  that  date  the  plant  has  had  a  variety  of  names,  the  best  known, 
possibly,  being  that  of  Pavia  macrostachya,  that  name  being  now 
dropped  in  favour  of  the  above.  However  old  it  is,  though,  it  is  a  really 
good  flowering  shrub,  and  should  be  seen  more  often  than  it  is,  for  it 
flowers  at  a  time  when  most  other  shrubs  are  past.  It  is  very  accom¬ 
modating  as  regards  soil  and  position,  as  it  grows  and  flowers  well  almost 
anywhere.  When  mature  it  is  from  8  to  10  feet  in  height,  and  makes  a 
perfect  shaped  bush  12  or  more  feet  in  diameter.  The  effectiveness  of  a 
bush  of  these  dimensions  may  be  imagined  when  every  shoot  is  termi¬ 
nated  with  an  upright  raceme  1  foot  in  length,  of  white  flowers  with  red 
anthers.  Besides  being  a  good  garden  plant  it  might  be  made  useful  for 
cover,  groups  in  parks,  plantations,  or  other  places.  It  can  be  readily 
increased  by  layering  some  of  the  lower  branches.  It  is  a  native  of  the 
South-eastern  United  States,  and  has  been  figured  in  the  “Botanical 
Magazine,”  t.  2118. — Kewite. 
Weather  in  London.  At  last  we  have  a  decided  change,  and  one 
which  those  who  are  still  holiday-making  will  scarcely  appreciate. 
Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday  morning  were  fine,  but  the  afternoon  of 
the  latter  day  brought  a  squall  of  wind  and  rain.  On  Sunday  evening 
rain  fell  heavily  for  some  time,  as  did  it  throughout  Monday  evening.  On 
Tuesday  it  was  bright  and  warm,  but  throughout  the  day  the  wind  was 
rather  high.  On  Wednesday  morning  it  was  clear  and  fine. 
-  Royal  Horticultural  Society.— The  next  Fruit  and 
Floral  meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  will  be  held  on 
Tuesday,  September  6th,  in  the  Drill  Hall,  James  Street,  Westminster, 
1  to  5  p.m.  A  lecture  on  “  The  Disa  ”  will  be  given  by  Mr.  T.  W. 
Birkinshaw,  at  three  o’clock. 
-  The  Fruit  Harvest.— In  Cambridgeshire  the  fruit  harvest, 
which  promised  so  well  in  the  spring,  is  said  to  have  turned  out  a  com¬ 
parative  failure  so  far  as  the  fruit  for  which  the  district  is  famous  is  con¬ 
cerned,  viz.  — the  Green  Gage.  Where  growers  have  been  able  in  previous 
years  to  send  off  consignments  of  10  tons,  they  can  this  year  hardly 
muster  one,  and  the  jam  manufacturers  who  buy  largely  in  this  district 
have  to  look  elsewhere.  The  price  obtained  is  much  higher,  but  it  does 
not  compensate  the  growers  for  losing  the  advantages  of  a  plentiful  year. 
Apples  are  a  variable  crop,  some  orchards  and  some  sorts  in  the  same 
orchard  yielding  abundance,  and  others  a  scarcity.  Bush  fruit,  which  the 
Cambridgeshire  growers  are  adopting  for  planling  between  Apples  and 
Plums  in  laying  out  new  orchards,  has  been  very  successful. 
- Death  of  Sir  Henry  W.  Peek.— The  death  took  place  at 
Rousden,  Lyme  Regis,  on  Friday  last,  of  Sir  Henry  William  Peek,  Bart., 
at  the  age  of  seventy-three.  The  deceased  gentleman  took  considerable 
interest  in  gardening,  and  several  years  ago  erected  an  imposing  range  of 
glass,  new  bothies  for  young  men,  and  an  excellent  house  for  his  head 
gardener.  We  think  Sir  Henry  was  one  of  the  first  to  encourage 
educational  gatherings  of  gardeners.  Meetings  were  regularly  held  in 
the  large  room  of  the  bothy,  Mr.  Ollerhead  having  liberty  to  invite  any 
of  the  gardeners  of  the  district  to  a  substantial  tea  dinner,  after  which  a 
paper  was  read  and  discussion  invited.  Many  such  happy  and  instructive 
evenings  were  spent  some  twenty  years  ago.  Eventually  Sir  William 
purchased  his  native  parish  of  Rousden,  and  for  several  years  was 
engaged  in  the  erection  of  a  mansion  and  the  formation  of  gardens  and 
pleasure  grounds. 
-  Royal  Botanic  Society.— Writing  in  a  recent  issue  of  the 
“Times,"  Mr.  C.  Brinsley  Marlay . says  :  — “ At  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Royal  Botanie  Society,  at  which  I  took  the  chair,  there  was  one 
aspect  of  the  Society  I  could  not  dwell  on  as  I  should  have  wished,  and 
yet  it  is  one  of  some  importance.  When  the  gardens  of  the  Society  were 
first  formed,  not  only  were  they  intended  to  promote  horticulture  and  the 
study  of  botany,  but  also  to  protect  a  spot  in  the  centre  of  London  where 
some  of  the  quiet  features  of  Nature  might  remain  untouched,  plants 
common  in  the  country,  but  rare  in  London,  might  still  find  a  home,  and 
birds  nest  there  undisturbed.  To  many,  too,  the  sense  of  quiet  and  repose 
which  the  gardens  gave  was  delightful— a  feeling  of  rest,  which  only  the 
country  can  give.  It  was  for  these  reasons  that  the  Fellows  reserved  to 
themselves  the  right  not  to  admit  the  public  indiscriminately  ;  that,  like 
the  squares,  a  character  of  privacy  was  maintained,  though  it  was  never 
difficult  for  quiet  people  to  obtain  admission,  or  any  serious  student  of 
Nature.  This  spirit  of  exclusiveness  is  not  now  maintained,  and  the 
gardens  are  as  much  open  to  the  general  public  as  is  possible,  if  they  do 
not  altogether  lose  the  original  intention  with  which  they  were  formed, 
and  the  natural  beauty,  which  they  still  possess,  altogether  disappear. 
To  turn  them  into  an  inferior  Ranelagh,  or  a  bad  imitation  of  the  Palmen 
Garten  in  Frankfurt,  would  probably  end  in  a  financial  failure,  and  take 
away  one  of  the  few  places  where  the  tired  man  of  business,  the  invalid, 
and  the  old  may  find  a  few  moments  of  repose,  a  few  minutes  of  quiet, 
away  from  the  noise  of  the  crowded  street,  the  cyclist,  and  the  omnibus. 
They  who  like  crowds  have  every  opportunity  of  enjoying  themselves  in 
London,  but  those  who  would  fain  be  a  moment  at  rest  hardly  know 
where  to  go.  Every  day  before  the  ruthless  builder  tranquil  spots  and 
relics  of  the  past  disappear.  The  few  which  it  is  possible  to  preserve 
become  every  day  of  greater  value." 
