144 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  17,  1899. 
Recent  Weather  in  London. — Though  the  weather  continues 
very  hot  during  the  middle  of  the  day,  the  mornings  and  evenings 
•n  distinctly  cooler.  On  Sunday  the  wind  blew  chilly,  as  it  did  on 
Monday,  and  this  alone  made  mid-day  pleasant,  as  the  sun  was  very 
powerful.  On  Tuesday  the  heat  was  intense,  and  there  was  quite  a  gale 
of  wind  in  the  evening,  with  local  storms.  Wednesday  was  fine,  but  cooler. 
-  Medallion  of  Sir  Joseph  Hooker. — An  addition  to  the 
large  collection  of  portraits  of  eminent  botanists  and  travellers  has  recently 
been  made  by  the  kind  consideration  of  the  President  and  Council  of  the 
Linnean  Society  of  London,  who  have,  says  the  “,Ivew  Bulletin,”  presented 
a  framed  cast  in  bronze  of  the  original  model  of  Sir  Joseph  Hooker, 
G.C.S.I.,  C.B.,  P.-P.R.S.,  executed  by  Mr.  Prank  Bowcher.  It  is  an 
excellent  portrait  of  Sir  Joseph  at  the  age  of  eighty,  and  records  the 
completion  of  the  “  Flora  of  British  India,”  and  of  a  period  of  sixty  years 
service  to  science.  It  has  been  placed  in  the  Museum.  A  gold  medal, 
specially  struck  for  the  occasion  for  which  the  medallion  was  designed, 
was  presented  to  Sir  Joseph  Hooker  at  the  anniversary  meeting  of  the 
Linnean  Society,  on  May  24th,  1898. 
-  CAPEL,  OCKLEY,  HOLMWOOD,  AND  NEWDIGATE  SHOW.— 
This  is  a  popular  composite  flower  show,  and  was  held  in  a  large  field 
at  Capel,  the  central  village  of  the  district,  on  August  9th.  Organised 
several  years  since  as  a  purely  cottagers’  exhibition,  it  seems  to  so  far 
have  accomplished  remarkably  good  work,  as  the  products  seen  in  the 
various  classes  exhibited  great  average  excellence,  nothing  coarse  what¬ 
ever  being  seen.  This  is  a  vast  improvement  on  what  was  presented  at 
the  earlier  exhibitions,  and  shows  how  good  judging  serves  to  correct 
imperfect  knowledge  ultimately.  Having  regard  to  the  season,  the 
hardness  of  the  soil,  which  is  generally  clay,  and  the  comparative  scarcity 
of  water,  some  of  the  exhibits  were  remarkably  good,  and  would  favour¬ 
ably  compare  with  similar  products  anywhere.  It  was  very  interesting 
to  find  that  such  out  of  the  season  products  as  Rhubarb,  Parsnips,  and 
tap-rooted  Beets  were  not  invited  in  the  schedule.  It  has  been  a  wise 
observance  that  Short  Horn  Carrots  and  globe-shaped  Beets  have  classes 
provided,  as  these  are  roots  emphatically  in  season.  But  whilst  not  a 
penny  in  prizes  are  ottered,  the  local  gardeners  make  up  a  brilliant 
display,  having  the  entire  centre  of  a  big  tent  at  their  disposal  for  groups 
Some  really  very  fine  and  attractive  ones  were  thus  staged  from  Mr 
Roger,  gardener  to  W.  A.  Calvert,  Esq.,  C.C.  (the  President)  ;  Mr. 
Stephens,  gardener  to  —  Lyne,  Esq.  ;  Mr.  Holden,  gardener  to  Colonel 
Calvert ;  Mr.  F.  King,  gardener  to  A.  F.  Perkins,  Esq.  ;  Mr.  Wilkins, 
gardener  to  II.  T.  Broad  wood.  Esq. ;  Mr.  Lacey,  gardener  to  C.  Mortimer, 
Esq.,  who  also  set  up  a  fine  collection  of  fruit ;  and  Mr.  Shepherd, 
gardener  to  Mrs.  Cazalet.  Messrs.  J.  Cheal  &  Co.  sent  a  nice  collec¬ 
tion  of  cut  flowers,  including  beautiful  Cactus  Dahlias. 
-  Winter-sown  Onions. — There  is  hope  yet  for  the  winter 
raised  Onion  in  relation  to  show  classes.  For  the  first  time  in  my 
experience  1  met  at  the  above  named  Surrey  show  with  no  less  than  three 
classes  for  Onions,  and  thus  the  much  troubling  winter-raised  bulbs 
were  separated  as  sheep  from  the  goats  of  the  outdoor  sown.  The  result 
was  the  production  of  several  exhibits  of  remarkably  fine  bulbs,  the  Ailsa 
Craigs  from  S.  Laverty,  a  postman,  ranking  amongst  the  finest  and 
handsomest  bulbs  I  have  seen  anywhere  this  season.  Large  and  weighty 
as  were  the  Tripolis,  and  they  have  generally  been  found  very  fine  this 
season,  these  winter-raised  Ailsa  Craigs  fairly  beat  all  for  weight,  depth, 
and  beauty,  as  they  were  very  handsome.  The  classes  (three)  in  the 
schedule  are  thus : — Spring  sown,  ditto  sown  in  the  open,  and  winter 
Onions.  In  neither  case  is  the  description  happy,  but  so  well  were  they 
understood  locally  that  although  there  was  large  competition,  no  one  had 
made  a  mistake  as  to  the  proper  class.  We  had  some  trouble  in  deter¬ 
mining  as  to  the  best  in  the  “sown  in  the  open”  class,  as  the  best  bulbs 
were  so  fine,  either  Ailsa  Craig  or  Cranston’s  Excelsior,  that  they 
resembled  winter-sown  ones.  We  were,  however,  assured  on  undoubted 
authority  that  they  were  from  an  outdoor  sowing,  but  the  stock  was  a 
long  way  superior  to  those  commonly  sown.  I  hope  all  committees  will 
soon  see  their  way  to  include  three  classes  in  their  schedules  for  Onions, 
and  they  Bhould  be  for  autumn  sown,  and  spring  sown  in  the  open,  and 
winter  sown  under  glass.  I  think  those  descriptions  would  meet  all 
requirements.— A.  KINGSTON. 
-  Liability  of  Nurserymen  Selling  Poisonous  Com¬ 
pounds. — In  a  prosecution  recently  instituted  by  the  Pharmaceutical 
Society  against  Mr.  J.  H.  White,  florist  and  seedsman,  of  Worcester,  for 
selling  poison  without  being  a  duly  registered  chemist,  the  Judge, 
Sir  Richard  Harington,  held  that  Mr.  White  was  not  liable  for  the  fine 
of  £5  under  the  Act.  The  poison  sold  was  “  Weed-killer,”  and  Mr.  White 
gave  receipts  bearing  the  name  of  the  firm  manufacturing  it,  taking  special 
orders  for  the  mixture  and  not  keeping  any  stock  of  it  upon  the  premises. 
This,  the  Judge  held,  was  sufficient  evidence  that  he  (Mr.  White)  acted 
merely  as  an  agent,  and  was,  therefore,  not  personally  liable. 
-  “Congo  Sticks.”  —  The  “Kew  Bulletin”  says: — We  are 
indebted  to  Messrs.  Henry  Howell  &  Co.,  of  180,  Old  Street,  for  a  further 
contribution  to  the  series  of  umbrella  sticks  and  walking  canes,  which 
have  from  time  to  time  been  presented  by  them  to  the  Museums  of  the 
Royal  Gardens.  The  specimens  now  received  are  the  rough  and  finished 
sticks,  known  in  the  trade  as  Congo  sticks.  The  word  “  Congo  ”  is  a 
purely  commercial  name,  the  sticks  being  saplings  of  the  Chestnut 
(Castanea  sativa),  which  apparently  offers  advantages  over  other  woods 
for  manipulation  while  growing.  The  characteristic  knots  or  markings 
for  which  the  so-called  Congo  sticks  are  valued  are  produced  by  lacerat¬ 
ing  the  bark  through  to  the  wood  while  growing.  They  were  formerly 
obtained  from  the  north  of  France,  but  are  now  almost  exclusively 
produced  in  Austria-Hungary,  the  precise  district  being  near  Carlstadt, 
in  Croatia. 
-  Flower  Show  at  Hardwicke. — A  successful  show  was  held 
at  Hardwicke  House,  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  on  Bank  Holiday,  the  charming 
grounds  and  flower  garden  being  again  opened  to  the  good  people  of 
Bury,  who  flock  there  in  their  thousands.  The  Italian  garden,  as  usual, 
formed  the  centre  of  attraction  for  many  people,  and  this  year  it  is  in 
remarkably  fine  condition,  bright  and  fresh-looking,  full  of  flowers  and 
charmingly  arranged,  a  credit  to  the  gardener  in  chief,  Mr.  Ben  Marks. 
The  herbaceous  borders,  too,  were  very  beautiful,  there  being  plenty  of 
room  for  such  plants  as  Bocconia  cordata,  various  Acanthuses,  and 
similar  large-growing  stock  to  extend  and  show  their  true  and  beautiful 
forms.  In  the  flower  show  itself  competition  was  extremely  keen,  and 
the  Judge  in  many  cases  had  a  difficulty  in  coming  to  a  decision.  The 
competition  was  keen  in  the  chief  classes. — Visitor. 
-  Gypsophila  paniculata.— Although  I  am  not  at  all  in 
sympathy  with  the  spreading  practice  of  using  this  Gypsophila  as  an 
addition  to  floral  arrangements  at  shows,  such  as  showing  it  with  Sweet 
Peas  and  other  flowers,  there  can  be  no  two  opinions  as  to  its  grace  and 
elegance.  For  decoration  at  home  or  for  use  in  vases,  epergnes,  and  table 
decorations,  no  fault  can  be  found  with  exhibitors  for  using  it,  but  when 
judging  at  a  local  show  recently  I  felt  compelled  to  disqualify  an  exhibit 
of  twelve  varieties  of  hardy  plants  in  which  this  had  been  used  for  dressing 
every  bunch.  Of  course  the  exhibitor  thought  he  was  harshly  treated 
but  when  a  dozen  varieties  are  asked  for,  it  is  wrong  to  show  thirteen. 
But  the  many  ways  in  which  this  beautiful  plant  may  be  used  in  decora¬ 
tion  should  insure  its  being  grown  in  every  garden.  I  like  it  best  in  large 
clumps,  and  these  are  easily  made  by  sowing  a  small  quantity  of  seed  in 
small  pots,  thinning  the  seedlings  to  about  half  a  dozen  in  each,  and 
planting  these  out  as  soon  as  strong  enough.  The  panicles  of  flowers 
will  spread  laterally,  and  a  dense,  though  not  ungraceful,  clump  result. 
In  conjunction  with  mauve,  purple,  or  pale  blue  flowers  its  effect  is 
exceedingly  pretty,  and  I  also  noticed  it  used  with  Carnations  recently 
with  great  success. — Florist. 
-  The  Shrewsbury  Festival. — As  the  devotees  of  cricket  are 
betaking  themselves  to  the  Oval,  the  tired  town  dwellers  to  the  seaside, 
or  the  co-operator  enthusiasts  to  the  Crystal  Palace,  so  will  the  horti¬ 
culturists  be  wending  their  way  to  their  western  Mecca  of  Shrewsbury, 
where  ere  another  journal  is  in  print  the  clans  of  the  gardening  com¬ 
munity  will  have  gathered  to  worship  at  the  famous  shrine  in  the 
Quarry,  over  which  Messrs.  Adnitt  and  Naunton  so  devotedly  preside. 
That  the  annual  festival  will  be  a  great  one,  and  that  thousands  of  garden¬ 
ing  disciples  will  flock  from  all  parts  to  take  part  in  it,  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  Happily  it  is  not  a  Lourdes  pilgrimage,  but  one  of  more  practical 
and  happier  aspect.  It  is  festival  for  the  time  dedicated  to  work,  and 
work  of  the  best  and  purest,  for  it  is  a  great  gardening  feast,  where,  to 
admiring  thousands  from  far  and  near,  will  be  exposed  the  products 
of  the  gardeners’  labour  and  art,  and  the  best  too  that  the  nation  can 
furnish.  Anticipations  even  now  run  almost  riot  in  regard  to  the  show 
of  Grapes,  and  wonder  is  great  as  to  what  the  £100  class  will  produce. 
Where  in  all  the  world,  famous  as  many  of  its  parts  are  for  its  Grapes 
and  its  wine,  can  we  find  such  grand  fruits  as  will  be  seen  at  Shrewsbury 
festival  next  week  ? — A.  D. 
