224 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  September  14,  1899. 
It  is  a  comparatively  cjramon  experience  to  find  a  fruit  weighing 
1  lb.  placed  before  others  of  fair  or  five  times  its  weight.  The 
•effective  comparisons  between  the  two  cannot  be  disputed,  when 
placed  side  by  s  de  on  the  stage.  The  principle,  however,  has  been  so 
loDg  continued,  and  has  become  so  deeply  rooted  in  the  official  mind, 
that  it  seems  a  hopeless  case  to  plead  for  any  alteration  ;  but  the 
-change  might  be  made  experimentally  if  only  to  compare  results*.  There 
is  no  le.uon  why  classis  should  not  be  instituted  for  two  or  three 
^Melons,  as  is  done  with  Apples,  Plums,  or  Pears.  For  example,  i 
think  a  class  for  three  varieties  representing  white,  green,  and 
scarlet-fieffied  sorts  would  be  strongly  supported  if  exhibitors  had 
the  assurance  that  the  fruits  would  be  judged  by  appearance,  and 
nut  by  flavour  as  decided  by  cutting.  Some  societies  give  prizes  for 
.Melons  in  pairs,  and  occasionally  judges  are  allowed  to  use  their  own 
■discretion  as  to  the  necessity  of  cutting  and  deciding  by  flavour. 
I  feel  perfectly  certain  that,  much  as  might  be  said  in  favour  of 
judging  by  cultural  merit,  many  readers  will  still  maintain  that  the 
proper  test  cf  quality  comes  only  by  cutting.  There  always  were 
two  opinions  on  this  point,  and  if  it  were  not  so  there  would  be  no 
need  for  the  trouble  of  penning  the  foregoing  remarks.  I  am  con- 
winced  that  the  close  of  the  exhibition  season  is  the  most  fitting  time 
for  exhibitors  who  are  interested  to  give  their  opinion  of  the  principles 
of  staging  and  judging  Melons,  and  the  Editor  would,  I  feel  sure,  not 
only  give  countenance  to  an  expression  of  opinion  from  Journal 
readeis1,  but  give  his  casting  vote  to  the  course  which,  from  experience, 
he  has  found  the  better. 
There  is  no  reason  why  both  systems  cannot  be  adopted  at  any 
■well  supported  show.  Two  open  classes  are  often  provided  by 
societies,  and  sometimes  not  a  little  confusion  exists  in  the  terms  of 
the  schedule.  Then,  too,  in  addition  there  are  special  priz.s  given  by 
reputable  seedsmen  for  their  own  varieties.  Where  such  a  practice 
prevails  no  great  effort  is  needed  to  make  reform.  Nor  are  Melon 
prizes  of  such  v  due  as  to  debar  an  extra  class  for  fruits  on  the  lints 
.suggested.  To  same  judges  I  am  sure  the  change  would  be  most 
welcome,  lor  the  task  of  tast  ng  a  quantity  of  badly  flavoured  Melons 
is  by  no  mean;  a  pleiEant  oue  to  perform.  Many  Melons  are  con¬ 
demn. el  at  the  show  simply  because  they  are  either  under  or  overripe, 
.anl  the  uncertainly  of  the  flavour  test  as  previously  intimated  is  such 
that  growers  di  not  often  care  to  risk  good  fruits. 
It  must  be  ndmittel,  however,  that  size  is  not  always  a  criterion  of 
•excellence  in  flavour,  but  it  cannot  at  the  same  time  be  disputed  that 
a  small  Melon  fails  to  show  the  same  cultural  merits  as  a  large 
one.  A  fruit  not  more  than  1  lb.  will  sometimes  prove  of  richer 
flavour  than  a  large  one  on  the  day  of  a  show,  but  where  is  the  com¬ 
parative  value  between  a  1  lb.  and  a  4  or  5  lbs.  fruit  for  dinner  or 
garden  parties  ? — W.  S.,  Wilts. 
[A  good  deal  may  be  said  on  both  sides  of  the  question  or 
questions  introduced  by  our  correspondent,  and  our  readers  are  at 
liberty  to  express  their  views.  It  is  certain  that  prizes  have  been 
adjudged  to  numbers  of  Melons  “for  flavour”  that  did  not  weigh 
nearly  a  pound,  and  which  would  have  been  no  ornament  to  any 
dessert  table.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  equally  well  known  that  fruits 
-of  thrice  the  size  and  of  good  appearance  have,  when  cut,  been 
^described  by  judges  as  positively  “  nasty.” 
Again,  those  whose  duty  and  fate  it  has  been  to  judge  hundreds  of 
-Alelons  know  how  common  it  is  to  find  fruits  in  the  “  green  flesh  ” 
olaes  with  scarlet  flesh,  and  fruits  in  the  “  scarlet  flesh  ”  class  with 
green  flesh ;  while  occasionally  they  are  found  in  both  classes 
neither  green  nor  scarlet  but  a  combination  of  both,  and  the  flesh  of 
one  colour  behind  the  other  in  ripening.  It  does  got  seem  particularly 
•clear  how  these  colour  characteristics  could  be  determined  without 
•cutting  and  looking  inside. 
Some  judges  are  strongly  of  opinion  that  evident  good  cultivation 
with  handsome  appearance  of  the  fruit  should  be  recognised  as 
meritorious,  while  others  prefer  the  “  flavour  test  ”  alone,  and  when 
'his  test  is  specified  in  the  schedule  they  are  not  infrequently 
•obliged  to  give  the  first  prize,  however  reluctantly,  to  what  they 
describe  as  a  “setubby  little  fruit.”  It  would  seem  that  this  asp.ct 
of  the  question  was  considered  by  the  Board  of  Judges  when  the 
Iv.H.S.  “Rules  of  Judging”  were  formulated,  for  we  find  on  page  15 
that  neither  flavour  alone,  regardless  of  size,  nor  size  alone,  regardless 
of  flavour,  is  sufficient  for  indicating  a  standard  of  excellence,  and 
hence  the  paragraph  which  we  cite  as  follows : — 
“  Melons.-—' The  fruits,  which  should  be  about  18  (and  not  less  than 
15)  inches  in  circumference,  must  be  cut  and  tasted.  The  flesh  must 
be  rich  iu  flavour,  melting,  and  juicy  ;  the  fruit  thick  in  the  edible 
part  and  thin  in  the  rit.d.  Scent  is  not  a  sufficient  guide  for  deter¬ 
mining  condition  and  quality.” 
This  and  all  the  points  mentioned  by  “  W.  S.”  are  worthy  of 
discussion.  At  a  recent  show  in  which  prizes  were  offered  in  the 
usual  way  for  scarlet  and  green  flesh  Melons  in  separate  classes  fruits 
with  white  flesh  were  disqualified  by  the  Judges.  Some  gardeners 
thought  they  were  wrong,  because  it  is  customary  to  admit  such 
fruits  in  the  green  flesh  class;  others  thought  the  Judges  were  right 
because  the  flesh  was  not  “  green,”  while  still  others  considered  the 
time  had  arrived  when  three  classes  should  be  provided  for  Melons — 
scai let,  green,  and  white  respectively.] 
AUDIT  OF  GRAPES  AT  SHREWSBURY— WITH 
COMMENTS. 
Your  report  of  the  late  show  is  so  exhaustive  that  it  is  difficult  to 
say  much  that  is  fresh  about  the  Grapes  there  staged.  Such  an 
unprecedented  provision  was  made  for  a  display  of  this  fruit  that  it 
has  been  the  topic  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  horticulturists  for  some 
months  past.  With  a  view  to  providing  further  information  to  those 
persons  who  had  not  the  privilege  of  seeing  this  grand  display,  I  have 
prepared  an  audit  of  all  the  varieties  there  staged,  showing  how 
many  times  each  was  represented.  The  following  is  a  complete 
summary  of  the  varieties  and  number  of  bunches  staged. 
Varieties 
Exhibited. 
Bunches. 
Muscat  of  Alexandria 
•  •• 
... 
•  •• 
•  •  • 
81 
Black  Hamburgh 
•  •  • 
... 
65 
Madrestield  Court  ... 
•  •• 
... 
53 
Gros  Maroc . 
49 
Black  Alicante 
18 
Foster’s  Seedling 
•  •• 
•  •• 
17 
Cooper’s  Black 
•  •• 
•  •• 
8 
Alnwick  Seedling 
•  •• 
•  •• 
8 
Canon  Hall  Muscat... 
... 
*  - 1 
6 
Muscat  Hamburgh  ... 
... 
6 
Appley  Towers 
... 
•  •• 
6 
Buekland  Sweetwater 
... 
6 
Duke  of  Buccleuch  ... 
... 
6 
Mrs.  Pince  . 
•  •  • 
6 
Gros  Colman . 
•  .  • 
4 
Mrs.  Pearson ... 
2 
Golden  Hamburgh  ... 
•  •• 
•  •• 
2 
Barharossa  (Gros  Guillaume) 
... 
•  •• 
2 
Trebbiano  . 
2 
Bowood  Muscat 
2 
Rai-in  de  Calabre  ... 
2 
Diamond  Jubilee 
2 
Black  Duke . 
•  •• 
l 
Chasselas  .Napoleon  ... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
... 
1 
Total  number  of  bunches 
355 
Varieties. — Black,  13  ;  white, 
11. 
Total 
24. 
In  the  great  class  for  twelve  bunches  the  six  exhibitors  staged 
eighteen  varieties,  if  Bowood  Muscat  and  Muscat  of  Alexandria  can  be 
regarded  as  being  distinct.  In  my  opinion  they  are  not,  and  should 
not  be  admitted  as  such,  nor  were  they  admissible  according  to  the 
schedule.  The  eighteen  varieties  were  as  follows  : — 
Bunches 
10 
10 
8 
8 
4 
4 
4 
4 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
Black  Hamburgh  . 
Gros  Maroc . 
Muscat  of  Alexandria 
Madresfield  Court  ... 
Muscat  Hamburgh . 
Mrs.  Pince  . 
Alnwick  Seedling  . 
Duke  of  Buccleuch . 
Cooper’s  Black  . 
Golden  Hamburgh . 
Appley  Towers  . 
Barbarossa  (Gros  Guillaume) 
Trebbiano  . 
Bowood  Muscat  . 
Gros  Colman . 
Black  Alicante  . 
Foster’s  Seedling 
Canon  Hall  Muscat . 
From  the  foregoing  list  it  will  be  seen  that  the  great  class  brought 
together  a  thorough  representation  of  all  the  best  varieties  of  Grapes. 
