114 
August  10,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
beauty.  That  is  as  it  should  be,  and  all  who  go  to  Shrewsbury 
on  the  23rd  and  24th  August  will  find  it  there.  May  the  weather  be 
good,  then  there  is  no  fear  of  a  want  of  visitors ;  and  really,  if  the 
weather  be  not  very  favourable,  that  does  not  keep  back  the  Salopians 
and  their  friends  from  their  annual  show.  “  1  loreat  S.ilopia  !  ’ 
— N.  H.  P. 
[We  give  prominence  to  the  contribution  ot  the  restful,  yet 
watchful,  “  N.  H.  P.”  not  only  because  of  its  excellent  literary 
flav  ur,  but  because  of  its  timeliness  and  suggestiveness. 
It  is  just  in  time  we  would  fain  hope  to  enable  gardeners  and 
garden  lovers  to  make  arrangements  for  visiting  the  greatest  horti¬ 
cultural  tournament  of  the  year.  There  is  no  other  exhibition  in 
which  garden  produce  is  so  fully  represented  in  the  several  depart¬ 
ments,  and  it  may  safely  be  anticipated  that  the  best  that  is  producible 
in  them  all  will  be  forthcoming  on  the  occasion  in  question. 
The  unusual  magnitude  and  admitted  excellence  of  the  Shropshire 
Horticultural  Soci<  tv’s  show  are  due  to  a  combination  of  circumstances. 
Fir  t,  the  exhibition  may  be  said  to  be  held  at  the  harvest  time  ot 
the  gardening  year,  so  far  as  any  particular  date  allows  of  the  greatest 
abundance  of  that  which  is  beaut i  ul  and  good  br  ing  brought  to  a 
common  and  brau'iftil  centre.  In  the  parched  south  the  flush  of 
sum  rr  flowers,  such  as  Roses,  Carnations,  and  others,  is,  no  douhr, 
over;  but  it  is  not  so  in  the  north  and  the  west,  whence  they 
conn  in  almost  overwhelming  numbers  as  fresh  anti  bright  as  flowers 
can  he.  Wo  have,  then,  a  sort  of  sec  aid  summer  to  southerners  at 
Shrewsbury  ;  and  in  addition — and  a  splendid  addition  it  is — ti  e  first 
bright  gnat  flush  of  autumn  beauty,  the  combination  affording  beyond 
all  <•.  mparison  the  most  widely  representative  and  finest  spectacular 
display  of  garden  flowers  of  the  year. 
A-  in  flowers  so  in  fruits,  and  especially  those  which  embody  the 
gre  1  est  amount  of  cultural  skill  in  their  production.  Nowhere  else, 
so  tar  as  "e  know,  at  home  or  abroad,  can  so  many  triumphs  of  the 
garden-  r’s  art  in  the  representation,  cultural  and  artistic,  of  our  choicer 
fru  t-  he  seen  as  at  Shrewsbury.  The  great  class  mentioned  by 
“  N.  II.  P.”  ought  in  itself  to  make  a  show  worth  going  hundreds  of 
miles  to  see,  as  it  will,  if  some  of  our  first-class  growers  are  not  too 
much  afraid  of  each  other,  and  they  are  not,  as  a  rule,  lacking  in 
com  One  fact  at  least  they  will  recognise — they  cannot  distinguish 
themselves  if  they  are  not  there. 
We  have  been  asked  to  state  who  is  to  be  the  Scottish  judge  in  the 
great  c  ass  referred  to  in  the  place  of  the  late  Mr.  Dunn.  Mr.  McIIattie 
of  St  athfieldsaye  has  been  chosen  for  the  responsible  position.  It  would 
not  be  »asy  to  imagiue  anyone  whose  name  would  inspire  greater  con- 
fid'  i"  e,  and  we  are  looking  forward  to  a  magnificent  and  well  judged 
com  e'ition,  while  we  are  confident  there  will  be  no  depreciation  in 
oth  r  •'  the  famous  and  numerous  fruit  classes. 
Passing  to  vegetables,  no  one  who  may  he  privileged  to  witness  the 
extiK  rdinary  display — for  that  is  what  it  will  be — can  possibly  say 
th<  “  ime”  is  not  right  for  the  development  of  the  various  kinds  in 
the  1  est  condition  in  which  they  can  be  seen  for  use,  while  producing 
in  imir  wav  a  scene  of  beauty  which  they  unquestionably  typify  in  a 
very  |  renounced  way.  If  they  did  not  possess  this  attribute  in  their 
coni'"  r,  colour,  and  artistic  arrangement,  beautifully  dressed  ladies 
worn-  not  crowd  round  them  as  they  do  to  inspect  and  admire.  One 
of  Pe  most  characteristic  features  at  Shrewsbury,  immediately  after 
the  s'  ow  is  open,  is  the  crowding  of  the  vegetable  tents  by  the  leading 
fan  ilies  ot  (he  district.  True,  they  press  round  the  floral  decorations 
an<  nil  other  parts  of  the  show,  hut  they  do  not  shun  the  vegetables. 
Having  regard,  then,  to  the  different  sections  of  the  show,  the 
perioo  at  which  it  is  held  is  an  important  factor  as  contributing  to  its 
ext'  nt,  diversity,  and  success.  Another  factor  is  the  generous  policy 
adopted  by  the  directorate  in  the  provision  of  snb.-tantial  prizes 
throughout,  with  now  and  then  an  extra  “sensation”  in  commemora¬ 
tion  of  some  event  that  happens,  or  is  contrived  to  occur.  This  year 
it  i«  the  quarter-century  anniversary,  and  hence  the  cenlury  of 
sover«  igns  in  one  class.  But  the  generous  policy  does  not  end  with 
the  scheduled  prizes.  Show  scinething,  or  many  somethings,  beyond 
the  classes,  and  the  fiat  goes  forth  to  the  Judges  to  treat  them  well 
with  extras — medals,  such  as  they  deserve.  Everything  seems  to  be 
conducted  in  accordance  with  the  principle — unwritten,  but  active — 
the  better  we  treat  our  friends  the  more  they  do  for  us,  and  the  more 
we  give  to  tho  public  the  greater  is  the  response. 
Nor  is  there  any  niggardliness  in  respect  to  the  -Judges.  Sufficient 
men  are  chosen  for  doing  the  work  carefully,  and  as  well  as^their 
abilities  permit;  and,  moreover,  they  are  allowed  a  chance  to  do 
their  best  by  starting  at  the  appointed  time,  instead  of  being  deprived 
of  a  large  portion  of  it  by  laggard  exhibitors  and  their  abettors — easy¬ 
going  officials;  so  that  if  judicial  errors  are  committed  at  Shrewsbury, 
they  cannot  be  attributed  to  the  show  authorities.  These  gentlemen 
do  all  that  can  be  done  to  make  the  show  successful,  and  in  this  they 
succeed,  while  they  give  to  all  their  coadjutors  a  hearty  and  hospitable 
welcome. 
Those  are  some  of  the  elements  that  have  placed  the  Shropshire 
Society  in  tho  commanding  position  it  has  so  well  won,  and  rightly 
enjoys.  I  ts  coming  show,  as  embracing  the  best  products  of  amateurs, 
nurserymen,  gardeners,  and  cottagers,  will  be  the  most  extensive  and 
diversified  of  ihe  year.  It  will  be  held  during  “  holiday  time.”  What 
body  of  men  can  he  found  more  worthy  of  a  few  days  change  and 
congenial  lecicaiion  after  a  toils >me  season  than  devoted  and  zealous 
gardeners — men  who  work  regardless  of  hours  when  duty  crlls  ? 
There  are,  it  is  certain,  many  ladies  and  gentlemen  who,  if  they  were 
acquiintcd  with  the  nature  of  the  Shrewsbury  Show  and  its  great 
atiractive  force  in  the  gardening  world,  would  be  glad  to  afford 
lacililies  and  I  elp  for  their  gardeners  to  visit  it,  and  to  see  for  them¬ 
selves  ideals  to  attain.  Most  of  them  would  be  impressed  with  the 
splendid  object  lessons  there,  and  be  impelled  to  further  effort  in  the 
discharge  of  home  duties ;  and  thus  might  the  little  offered  holiday 
he  a  loss  to  none,  but  a  gtin  to  all.] 
NYMPHgEAS. 
I  am  fortunate  enough  to  have  in  the  midst  of  my  garden  a  “  piece 
of  water,”  consisting  of  a  pool,  fairly  deep,  and  a  stream,  or  “ditch  ” 
as  my  friends  call  it,  about  100  yards  long,  and  from  4  to  5  or  0  feet 
wide.  It  is  supplied  by  a  never-failing,  though  in  summer  very  small 
spring,  which  rises  about  half  a  mile  away,  and  the  overflow  supplies* 
my  stables  with  water.  The  water  stands  high,  within  from  3  or  4 
to  18  inches  of  the  grass  path  by  the 'side,  and  keeps  the  same  level 
in  all  weathers,  owing  to  the  constant  supply  and  overflow. 
I  have  long  wished  to  properly  fill  and  cultivate  this  water  with 
the  best  and  loveliest  flowers,  but  my  study  of  tho  lists  of 
“  Hardy  Aquatics”  in  nurserymen’s  catalogues  has  shown  me  that* 
with  the  exception  of  the  charming  Aponogeton  distachyon,  which  does 
very  well,  almost  all  the  other  named  hardy  flowers  are  simply  wild 
unimproved  English  ones,  most  of  which  grow  excellently  in  the 
River  Gipping,  200  yards  off. 
Mr.  Hudson’s  two  articles  in  the  -Journal  last  September,  however, 
on  the  new  hardy  Nymphtcas  gave  me  fresh  and  ardent  hopes,  which 
1  have  been  endeavouring  ever  since  at  considerable  cost,  to  carry  out. 
I  cannot  hope,  of  course,  in  this  short  time,  to  write  with  the  same 
experience  as  he  has  done;  but  I  have  learnt  two  or  three  points  in 
their  culture,  which  I  think  were  unmentioned  by  him,  and  are  of 
considerable  importance. 
The  first  is,  that  it  seems  to  me  he  wrote,  last  September,  just  too 
late,  and  that  I  am  writing  early  in  August  foi“  the  benefit  of  those 
who  wish  to  grow  these  charming  flowers,  just  in  time.  For  my  short 
experience  has  taught  me  tha*’  the  period  for  planting  is  most  impertant, 
and  that  from  the  middle  of  June  to  tho  end  of  August  is  the  best 
time  Mons.  Latcur-Marliac,  the  raiser  of  most  of  these  splendid 
hybrids,  says,  “Expeditions  are  made  (which  sounds  like  Major 
Marchand,  but  only  means  Water  Lilies)  from  April  1st  to  tho  end  of 
September,”  but  I  would  strongly  recommend  that  they  be  not  planted 
before  June.  They  are  lively  to  die  if  planted  before  the  sun  is  hot. 
and  the  water  and  mud  comparatively  warm  ;  and  if  they  do  not  die 
they  stand  still,  and  all  the  vegetarian  insocts  and  creatures  of  the 
water  naturally  think  they  are  placed  there  solely  as  food  lor  them. 
Besides,  in  the  summer  the  plants,  which  stand  a  journey  as  onishinglv 
well,  are  of  course  much  finer  and  stronger,  and  la  better  condition 
to  make  fresh  roots  and  leaves  at  once.  It  is  evidently  also  an  advan¬ 
tage  for  next  year,  and  against  autumnal  planting,  that  the  plants 
should  have  established  themselves  as  much  as  possible  by  large 
