460  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  December  15,  1898. 
Cox  s  Pomona. — Too  soft  and  pretty.  Tits,  wasps  and  hornets  play 
havoc  with  it  ;  a  bad  one  to  keep. 
Lanes  Prince  Albert.— Wonderful  cropping  may  be  all  quite  true,  but 
requires  either  good  soil,  or  thinning,  or  both,  to  come  ot  large  size. 
And  it  is  acid  :  others  may  noi  agree  with  me,  but  I  find  plenty  of  acidity 
in  life  without  going  to  Apples  for  it. 
Gascoyne  s  Scarlet  Seedling  and  Stirling  Castle  want  better  soil  than  I 
can  give  them,  and  the  iatter  in  its  short  season  has  rivals  superior 
to  it. 
Small  s  Admirable  I  do  not  know  ;  the  fact  that  Mr.  Bunyard  has  cut 
it  out  of  his  list  would  be  enough  for  me. 
Lord  Derby  I  have  retained  for  the  present,  but  it  is  not  long  enough 
in  use,  and  will  certainly  not  grow  everywhere. 
Northern  D'impling  I  do  not  know,  and  doubt  its  being  wanted. 
New  Ilawthornden  does  not  bear  well  with  me,  and  if  it  did,  1  can  only 
say,  in  the  words  of  the  critic  of  “  The  Jumping  Frog,”  “I  don’t  see  no 
p  ints  about  it  better  A  any  other  ”  Apple.  It  was  actually  the  only  variety 
that  failed  to  crop  with  me  this  year. 
Ecklinvi'le  is  not  early  and  late  enough  ;  not  so  early  by  two  months 
as  Lord  Grosvenor,  ar.d  lasts  but  very  little  longer. 
Newton  Wonder  I  do  not  grow.  It  it  “partakes  of  the  flavour  of 
Dumelow  s  Seedling,”  one  of  the  sharpest  I  know,  I  want  none  of  it. 
The  above  is  my  experience,  which  I  have  earned.  I  planted  a  good 
many  sorts  some  years  ago,  and  my  soil  is  poor.  I  do  not  want  a  number  of 
varieties,  but  the  best  that  my  soil  can  grow,  to  last  from  the  beginning  of 
the  season  to  the  end,  and  Lord  Grosvenor  and  Bramley’s  will  be  my  sheet- 
anchor  in  future.  I  have  found  out  what  I  ought  to  have  known  at  first, 
that  what  1  want  on  poor  soil  is  strong,  healthy,  large,  powerful  leafage, 
to  make  the  roots  work  hard  to  find,  and  to  be  quick  in  finding,  among 
my  small  gravel  stones  what  I  can  give  them,  and  to  pump  it  out  of  them 
vigorously  for  the  benefit  of  the  trees. 
For  dessert  I  would  take  Red  Quarrenden,  followed  by  Lady  Sudeley, 
if  I  wanted  eating  Apples  before  October  ;  then  American  Mother,  with 
Blenheim  Orange  it  required,  which  it  should  not  often  be,  to  fill  the  gap 
before  Cox’s  Orange  is  ready,  and  this  latter  should  last  till  D’Arcy  Spice 
comes  in,  to  “  finish  the  season.”  I  may  say  that  at  present  I  cannot 
grow  1)  Arey  Spice,  but  am  still  experimenting,  nor  Ribston  Pippin,  but 
that  is  not  so  much  wanted. — W.  li.  RAILLEM. 
THE  UNIT  IN  HORTICULTURE. 
The  appeal  of  “Northern  Gardener ”  for  more  consideration  for  the 
unit  in  the  judging  of  garden  produce  may  be  in  some  respects  timely, 
but  in  others  rather  late.  Really  most  intelligent  judgments  of  produce 
are  based  on  the  unit,  and  in  point  judging  the  only  possible  satisfactory' 
method  of  dealing  with  large  collections  the  “unit”  has  long  been  the 
basis  of  all  such  awards.  Even  in  judging  single  dishes  of  fruit  or 
vegetables,  or  of  quantities  of  flowers — such  as,  tor  instance,  Roses  or 
Chrysanthemums — the  unit  basis  is  always  adopted,  no  other  being 
satisfactory'.  If  in  the  judging  ot  a  collection  of  fruit,  for  example,  the 
dish,  and  not  the  individual  fruits  in  it,  becomes  the  unit,  yet  does  the 
dish  unit  lose  points  if  there  be  individual  defects  in  the  fruits.  In  the 
case  of  single  dishes  each  fruit  is  valued  according  to  its  merits. 
The  only  case  so  far  as  fruit  is  concerned  in  which  the  “  unit  ” — viz., 
the  berry,  is  not  sufficiently  regarded,  is  found  in  Grapes,  and  remember¬ 
ing  the  grand  Grape  class  which  is  to  be  furnished  at  Shrewsbury  in 
August  next,  no  more  fitting  opportunity  will  offer  for  showing  considera¬ 
tion  for  the  unit  or  berryr  than  then.  It  would  be  great  gain  could  there 
be  some  clear  statement  made  in  the  schedule  which  embodies  that  class 
that  the  judges  will  be  invited  to  give  most  weight  to  individual  excellence 
in  berry,  mere  size  or  weight  of  bunch  being  a  secondary  consideration. 
( >f  course,  I  do  not  desire  that  loose  ungainly'  bunches,  having  large  and 
even  well  finished  berries  alone,  should  be  placed  before  others  of  more 
compact  form,  and  presenting  correct  contour  ;  that  would  be  putting  a 
premium  on  overthinning. 
Very  much  consideration  is  due  to  proper  thinning,  which  is  exactly 
the  desideratum  in  that  operation,  and  is  not  over  or  under  done.  But  in 
relation  to  mere  size  of  bunch,  we  may  not  overlook  the  fact  that  these 
giants  are  usually  obtained  by  hard  bunch,  and  not  berry  thinning  ;  and 
the  average  crop  on  a  rod  may  be  less,  and  the  size  of  berry  and  finish  of 
bunch  also  may  be  less  than  is  found  when  useful  sized  table  bunches  only 
are  carried,  in  one  case  a  rod  is  carrying  three  or  four  giants,  a  total 
weight  ot  say  25  lbs.  In  the  other  case  the  rod  carries  twelve  buuches  of 
a  total  weight  of  say  28  lbs.,  all  of  most  serviceable  size,  and  possibly  of 
perfect  finish  ;  yet  in  how  many  cases  are  not  the  big  cumbrous  bunches, 
that  are  so  wasteful  when  used  tor  dessert,  placed  first  by  judges  ?  When 
so  judged  the  bunch  becomes  the  unit,  and  not  the  berry. 
Ihe  big  bunch  system  would  bring  ruin  to  market  growers.  When 
they  produce  eighteen  to  twenty  bunches  on  a  12-toot  rod  we  may  be 
sure  that  2  lbs.  weight  is  the  average,  and  the  size  so  obtained  is  for 
Grapes  by  far  the  most  profitable.  Even  in  such  fruits  as  Reaches, 
Nectarines,  Apples,  and  Rears  it  may  be  possible  to  worship  size  too 
much.  A  dish  of  six  grand  Peaches  may  be  something  to  be  proud  of, 
;md  may  also  win  a  good  prize.  But,  after  all,  may  they  not  have  been 
largely  the  produce  of  hard  thinning,  so  that  if  the  six  weigh  4  lbs.  a 
dozen  of  excellent  and  perhaps  less  weighty  fruits  might  have  been  carried 
on  the  same  tree  area,  and  have  weighed  5  lbs.  ?  Is  not  the  securing  the 
d'»zen  fruits  in  this  case  the  more  meritorious  ?  Judges,  of  course,  have 
to  deal  with  products  as  presented  to  them  ;  but  if  our  judgments 
tend  to  the  production  ot  lesser  quantity  in  obtaining  mere  size,  then  they 
need  amending. — ADJUDICATOR. 
ROSES  IN  POTS. 
No  time  should  be  lost  in  looking  over  the  earliest  stock  of  Roses 
in  pots.  See  that  the  drainage  is  efficient,  and  unless  much  root- 
bound  and  in  small  pots  do  not  disturb  too  much.  Removing  the 
surface  soil  and  giving  a  good  mulch  of  very  rich  compost  is  ample  in 
most  cases.  Small  pots  containing  nicely  ripened  plants,  even  if  not 
very  strong  and  large,  are  suitable  for  early  forcing.  I  would  plunge 
these  into  half-spent  manure,  and  not  shut  up  the  house  too  closely 
for  a  time  should  the  present  mild  weather  continue.  Later  they 
can  be  kept  going  by  a  little  tire  heat,  and  will  still  be  benefiting 
Irom  the  manure. 
G.  Nabonnaud,  Madame  Ealcot,  Perle  des  Jardins,  Maman  Cochet, 
Niphetos,  Papa  Gontier,  Souvenir  de  Wootton,  Isabella  Sprunt,  Perle 
de  Feu,  Rubens,  Souvenir  de  C.  Guillot,  Mrs.  \V.  C.  Whitney,  Marquis 
of  Salisbury,  and  General  Jacqueminot  are  grand  for  winter  flowering 
in  small  pots.  Reine  Marie  Henriette,  William  Allen  Richardson, 
and  Marechal  Niel  are  the  three  climbers  lound  most  successful  by 
_ U>  r>  A  PT  I  P  IT 
LATE-FLOWERING  ROSES. 
The  most  valuable  Roses  are  those  which,  while  blooming  well  in 
summer,  also  accomplish  something  considerable  in  the  direction  of 
floral  activity  during  the  autumnal  mouths.  This  highly  important 
qualification  is  much  more  characteristic  of  the  Teas  than  of  the 
so-called  Hybrid  Perpetuals,  though  several  of  these,  such  as  A.  K. 
Williams  and  Captain  Hayward,  are  notable  exceptions  to  the  general 
rule.  Among  Tea  Roses  some  of  the  finest  late  bloomers  are  Marie 
Van  Houtte,  Madame  Hoste,  Madame  Lambard,  Anna  Ollivier, 
Catherine  Mermet,  Souvenir  d’un  Ami,  and  Souvenir  de  S.  A.  Prince. 
Mr.  Wm.  Paul’s  Enchantress,  Medea,  Sappho,  and  Empress  Alexandra 
of  Russia  are  also  splendid  autumnal  bloomers  when  atmospheric 
conditions  are  favourable. 
Gloire  de  Dijon  and  Bouquet  d’Or  bloomed  early  and  late,  and  with 
remarkable  facility,  considering  the  compactness  and  number  of  their 
petals.  China  Roses  and  Polyanthas  are  still  flowering  in  my  garden 
on  the  confines  of  December  ;  as  also  are  several  of  the  Hybrid  Teas. 
Of  the  latter  the  most  admired  are  Viscountess  Folkestone,  Kaiserin 
Augusta  Victoria,  Lady  Henry  Grosvenor,  Marquis  Litta,  Countess  of 
Caledon,  White  Lady,  Clara  YVatson,  Caroline  Testout,  Madame  Pernet 
Ducher,  and  the  incomparable  La  France. 
Among  Hybrid  Perpetuals,  three  of  the  most  reliable  for  effective 
autumnal  flowering  are  Mrs.  Sharman  Crawford,  Margaret  Dickson, 
and  Merveille  de  Lyon. — David  R.  Williamson. 
NATIONAL  ROSE  SOCIETY. 
Annual  General  Meeting. 
There  was  a  fair  attendance  at  the  annual  general  meeting  of 
the  National  Rose  Soc.ety,  which  was  held  at  the  Hotel  Windsor,  on 
Thursday  the  8th  inst.,  under  the  chairmanship  of  Mr.  G.  E.  Shea. 
Some  familiar  faces  were  absent,  but  it  was  pleasant  to  see  the 
Rev.  H.  H.  D  Ombrain  in  his  customary  place.  We  observed, 
also,  Messrs.  Geo.  Bunyard,  V.M.H.,  0.  G.  Orpen,  T.  B.  Haywood, 
Conway  Jones,  C.  Cant,  J.  Burrell,  W.  Tayler,  G.  Moules, 
Frank  Cant,  J.  Bateman,  J.  D.  Pawle,  H.  P.  Landon,  G,  Mount,  Geo. 
Paul,  V.M.H.,  E.  Mawley,  and  Dr.  Shackleton ;  with  the  Revs.  G.  E. 
Jeans,  J.  H.  Pemberton,  and  F.  R.  Burnside,  as  well  as  numerous 
others.  The  circular  convening  the  meeting  having  been  read,  and  the 
minutes  of  the  previous  annual  general  meeting  taken  as  read  and 
signed,  Mr.  J.  Burrell  and  Dr.  Shackleton  were  appointed  scrutineers 
ot  the  ballot,  when  the  Chairman  called  upon  Mr.  Mawley  to  read  the 
report,  of  whose  favourable  tone  our  readers  may  judge  for  themselves, 
as  it  is  herewith  subjoined. 
Report  of  the  Committee  fob  the  Year  1898. 
The  past  year  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  steady  progress,  whether 
the  point  of  view  laken  be  that  of  the  Society’s  exhibitions,  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  members,  or  the  issue  of  its  publications. 
The  most  complete  arrangements  had  been  made  by  the  Society’s 
local  representatives — Mr.  R.  B.  Cater,  the  President  of  the  Bath 
Floral  Fete  Committee,  and  Mr.  W.  F.  Cooling — for  the  Southern 
Exhibition  at  Batn,  but  the  season  unfortunately  proved  such  a  very 
backward  one  that  only  exhibitors  from  the  most  forward  districts 
were  able  satisfactorily  to  compete — -in  fact,  it  was,  without  exception, 
the  smallest  show  the  Society  has  yet  held.  For  the  same  reason  the 
Metropolitan  Exhibition,  which  took  place  at  the  Crystal  Palace  a 
week  later,  was  of  rather  less  than  average  extent. 
If,  however,  not  so  large  as  many  of  its  predecessors,  it  was 
