6 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  1,  1697. 
Events  of  the  Week. — The  shows  that  are  to  be  held  daring  the 
coining  week  are  very  numerous,  and  Koses  will  be  in  evidence  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.  Rosarians  will  be  most  interested  in  the  N.R.S. 
Metropolitan  Show  at  the  Crystal  Palace  on  Friday,  which  promises  to 
be  of  much  excellence.  Other  fixtures  will  be  found  in  the  list  on 
page  4. 
-  Weather  in  London. —  The  Diamond  Jubilee  celebrations 
were,  as  all  the  world  now  knows,  carried  out  in  what  is  recognised 
as  Queen’s  weather.  On  Thursday  evening  a  thunderstorm  passed 
over  London,  being  much  heavier  in  some  parts  than  in  others. 
Friday  and  Saturday  were  fine  again,  while  on  Sunday  morning  rain 
fell  heavily  for  about  two  hours,  the  afternoon  and  evening  being  fine. 
Small  rain  was  in  the  wind  on  Monday  morning,  but  the  afternoon  was 
clear.  Slight  showers  fell  in  the  evening,  and  again  on  Tuesday 
morning.  Wednesday  was  fine. 
-  Gardening  Appointment. — Mr.  John  Ricketts,  late  foreman 
to  Miss  Gretton,  Bladon  House  Gardens,  Burton-on-Trent,  has  been 
appointed  head  gardener  to  J.  P.  Jackson,  Esq.,  Stubben  Edge  Gardens, 
Ashover,  near  Chesterfield. 
- Newcastle  Summer  Flower  Show.  —  This  Show  will  be 
held  in  the  Recreation  Ground  on  Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday,  8th) 
9tb,  and  10th  Jnly.  Very  valuable  prizes  are  offered  for  Roses, 
including  a  special  Victorian  prize,  and  for  table  decorations  and  bouquets. 
To  nurserymen  who  put  up  stands  not  for  competition  the  Society  offer 
their  gold,  silver,  and  bronze  medals.  Besides  bands  the  Society  have 
been  fortunate  in  obtaining  the  Army  Gymnastic  Staff  to  give  displays 
each  afternon  and  evening. 
-  Employes’  Annual  Excursion. — The  weather  was  all  that 
could  be  desired  on  Monday  last,  when  the  employes  of  Messrs.  John 
Sharpe  &  Son,  of  the  Royal  Seed  Establishment,  Bardney,  took  their 
departure  by  the  nine  o’clock  train  en  route  for  Sutton-on-Sea,  where 
they  had  been  kindly  invited  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Sharpe  to  spend  the  day, 
accompanied  by  the  “  Bardney  Brass  Band,  ”  which  is  upheld  by  the 
firm,  who  added  greatly  to  the  day’s  pleasure  by  playing  lively  airs  in 
grand  style  at  interva’s.  On  arrival  at  Sutton  the  party  had  a  splendid 
dinner,  after  which  the  Vicar,  who  accompanied  the  party,  in  a  short 
speech  proposed  the  health  of  the  firm,  which  was  drunk  with  great 
enthusiasm.  A  march  was  then  made  to  the  beach,  where  cricket, 
donkey  riding,  and  other  seaside  pastimes  were  indulged  in  freely, 
enjoyment  being  the  order  of  the  day,  no  expense  being  spared  by  the 
firm  to  add  to  the  enjoyment.  Tea  was  provided  at  four  o’clock,  after 
which  the  party  returned  to  Bardney,  after  having  spent  the  happiest 
day  that  anyone  could  wish  foi. 
-  To  Regulate  the  Sale  of  Fruit.— Reform  is  in  sight  in 
the  marketing  of  fresh  fruits  in  Chicago  so  far  as  size  of  package  and 
quality  are  concerned.  A  new  city  ordinance  is  now  in  force  which 
covers  the  situation  quite  fully.  It  is  substantially  as  follows  :  It  is 
against  the  new  law  to  offer  for  sale  any  basket,  box,  barrel,  or  other 
package  of  fruit  or  vegetables  which  is  not  of  uniform  quality  and  size 
throughout.  Packages  of  Peaches,  Apples,  Quinces,  Potatoes,  Pears, 
Berries,  Plums,  Beans,  Onions,  Peas  and  all  other  kinds  of  fruit,  except 
Grapes  and  Bananas,  shall  contain  quarts,  pecks  or  bushels  and  mul¬ 
tiples  of  same,  and  the  entire  contents  in  each  package  must  be  distinctly 
marked  on  the  outside.  Section  2  of  the  ordinance  says  :  All  Grapes 
which  shall  be  sold  in  any  basket,  box,  or  other  package  or  parcel  con¬ 
taining  a  definite  quantity  shall  be  sold  in  one  pound  or  multiples  thereof, 
and  the  quantity  in  each  and  every  package  shall  be  distinctly  marked 
on  each  package  so  that  the  same  can  be  easily  read  by  the  purchaser. 
It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  this  means  in  actual  practice  that  the 
Grape  shippers  of  New  York,  Ohio  and  Michigan  must  put  exactly  9  lbs. 
in  a  9  lb.  basket,  and  so  mark  the  outside.  The  penalty  section  of  the 
law  provides  that  whoever  sells  any  package  which  does  not  run  uniform 
in  quality  throughout  or  is  short  in  weight  or  measure  shall  upon  con¬ 
viction  be  fined  from  10  dols.  to  25  dols.  for  each  offence.  Coloured 
netting  cannot  be  uied  over  baskets  of  Peaches  and  Grapes. — (“  American 
Agriculturist.”) 
-  Proposed  New  Public  Gardens. — Prizes  have  been  offered 
for  the  best  designs  for  laying  out  public  pleasure  grounds  at  Yeovil 
(Somerset)  and  at  Crediton  (Devon).  At  Yeovil  there  were  nine 
competitors.  In  both  cases  the  first  prize  has  been  awarded  to  Messrs. 
R.  Veitch  &  Son,  Exeter,  for  designs  prepared  by  their  landscape 
gardener,  Mr.  F.  W.  Meyer. 
-  Chrysanthemums  Mrs.  Airdrie  and  Duchess  of  Fife. 
— Will  anyone  who  has  grown  these  two  varieties  give  their  opinion  as 
to  their  similarity  ?  I  believe  they  are  the  same,  although  no  one  seems 
to  have  made  any  remark  upon  them.  Have  any  of  the  special  classi¬ 
fication  committee  grown  the  two  varieties?  If  so,  they  must  have 
noticed  they  were  the  same  in  habit,  foliage,  size  of  fiower,  and  colour. 
Intending  exhibitors  must  be  careful  about  staging  the  two  varieties 
as  distinct. — W.  Wells. 
-  Robert  Hogg  Memorial  Medal.— At  a  meeting  of  some 
leading  horticulturists  held  at  the  Horticultural  Club  on  Tuesday, 
the  15th  ult.,  it  was  determined  that  a  die  for  a  medal  in  memory  of  the 
late  Dr,  Robert  Hogg  should  be  cast  and  presented  to  the  Royal  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society,  who  will  from  time  to  time  issue  a  medal  for  fruit  to 
be  called  the  ”  Robert  Hogg  Memorial  Medal.”  A  committee  was 
formed,  of  which  Mr.  Harry  J.  Veitch  consented  to  be  the  Chairman, 
and  Mr,  Harrison  Weir  kindly  undertook  to  make  a  design  for  the 
obverse  of  the  medal.  Subscriptions  will  be  solicited  to  defray  the 
expense,  not  to  exceed  1  guinea,  while  smaller  subscriptions  will  be 
asked  for,  A  circular  will  shortly  be  issued,  and  in  the  meantime  any 
person  wishing  to  join  may  send  their  subscriptions  either  to  Mr.  Veitch 
or  to  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Dombrain. 
-  Our  Holiday  Number, — Just  as  everything  had  to  stand 
aside  last  week  in  London  for  the  great  Royal  procession  and  not  soon- 
to-be- forgotten  Diamond  Jubilee  celebration,  so  had  what  may  be  termed 
the  usual  work-a-day  contributions  to  this  Journal,  and  even  the  reports 
of  some  shows,  for  matter  of  a  different  kind.  We  took  care  that  no 
inconvenience  was  caused  to  inquirers  on  subjects  of  urgency,  as  they 
were  answered  by  post.  We  are  glad  to  know  that  the  change  of 
literary  fare  for  the  week  proved  so  universally  acceptable,  and  though 
we  cannot  publish  several  commendatory  letters  we  have  received  on 
the  subject,  we  thank  the  writers  of  them  all  the  same.  Mr.  Arnott 
desires  to  say  that  he  is  "  unfortunately  ”  not  (as  some  readers  seem  to 
have  assumed  he  was)  the  author  of  the  matter  preceding  ”  Balmoral,” 
intimating  at  the  same  time  that  he  would  like  to  know  the  writers,  and 
to  see  Mr.  D’Ombrain. 
-  Jubilee  Poetry. — We  have  had  numbers  of  verses  sent  to  us 
of  one  kind  or  another  relative  to  the  above  event,  the  best  being  the 
following  frcm  ”  Sixty  Years  a  Queen,”  by  Mr.  W,  Baylor  Hartland, 
Cork  : — 
“  All  London  put  by  toil  to-day — 
Old  Sol  came  forth  with  pride  ; 
The  rich,  the  poor,  ’neath  buntings  gay. 
Were  marshalled  side  by  side. 
Refrains  of  music  filled  the  air. 
Caught  up  by  hosts  unseen — 
The  same  old  song — the  same  old  prayer — 
That  prayer  I— God  save  the  Queen  111” 
The  lines  have  the  merit  of  conveying  truth.  It  is  a  bold  thing  to 
prophesy  as  to  what  “  Old  Sol  will  do  ”  (for  the  lines  were  written  some 
time  before  June  22ad)  ;  but  it  is  a  fact  that  the  sun  “came  forth” 
exactly  at  11.15,  the  time  of  departure  of  the  Queen  at  Buckingham 
Palace. 
- Notes  from  the  Isle  of  Wight. — The  thirteenth  annual 
Rose  Show  and  Exhibition  of  cut  blooms  was  held  in  connection  with 
the  Ryde  Horticultural  and  Exhibitions  Association  on  Tuesday, 
June  15th.  The  Exhibition  was  opened  by  the  Mayor  of  Ryde,  who 
stated  that  the  entries  were  not  so  numerous  as  in  previous  years, 
which  was  accounted  for  by  the  lateness  of  the  season.  The  day  was 
beautifully  fine  and  the  attendance  very  large,  over  £40  being  taken  at 
the  gates.  The  principal  prizewinners  were  Messrs.  F.  Cant,  J.  0. 
Brook,  T.  L.  Winthrop,  B.  Ladhams,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Murray,  Mrs.  Morritt, 
Miss  G.  Carter,  and  the  Rev.  J.  Shearme.  Splendid  collections  of  wild 
flowers  were  staged  by  Mrs.  C.  Kent,  Miss  L.  Kent,  and  Mr.  V.  Kent, 
over  150  varieties  being  in  the  first  prize  stand.  Mr.  B.  Ladhams  of 
Shirley  staged  a  magnificent  collection  of  hardy  perennials,  which  were 
greatly  admired.  The  Isle  of  Wight  Rose  Society  held  its  exhibition  on 
Friday,  June  18th,  in  conjunction  with  the  National  Rose  Show  at 
Portsmouth.  Many  of  the  usual  exhibitors  in  the  Island  were  con¬ 
spicuous  by  their  absence. — S.  H. 
