August  15,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
161 
Abbey  Park,  Leicester,  August  6tii  and  7tl| 
This  took  place  on  August  6th  and  7th,  and  it  is  an  immensely 
popular  one,  like  Shrewsbury  and  Hanley.  It  is  a  peculiar  institution 
in  that  it  is  managed  by  a  committee  composed  entirely  of  members 
of  the  Municipal  Corporation.  Any  proceeds  derived  after  the  payment 
of  expenses  is  devoted  to  the  beautifying  the  public  parks,  of  which 
there  are  four  in  this  large  town  ;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  a 
deficit  it  is  borne  by  members  of  the  committee.  The  Corporation 
of  the  borough  is  thus  closely  identified  with  the  show,  and  there  is 
always  an  opening  ceremonial,  in  which  the  Mayor  and  Mayoress  take 
part.  The  secretary  is  Mr.  John  Bury,  the  curator  of  the  Abbey  Park, 
and  thus  the  venture  is  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  Corporation  and  its 
officials.  The  Abbey  Park  is  well  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  a  flower 
show.  There  are  broad  stretches  of  turf  upon  which  the  tents  can  be 
erected,  and  all  round  about  there  is  a  charming  flower  garden. 
Despite  the  drought,  which  has  been  severely  felt  at  Leicester,  the 
floral  arrangements  in  the  park,  and  the  excellent  condition  in  which 
everything  is  kept,  does  the  park  committee  and  their  curator  the 
greatest  credit.  There  are  bold  and  striking  patches  of  sub-tropical 
gardening;  the  Leicester  folk  look  on  to  the  huge  Agaves  which  are 
planted  out  with  great  wonder.  A  large  circular  bed  of  Rhodo¬ 
dendrons,  among  which  are  to  be  seen  a  very  fine  lot  of  herbaceous 
Phloxes,  occupying  the  centre  of  a  junction  of  three  main  roads,  is  one 
of  the  features  in  the  park.  Away  towards  the  centre  there  is  a  very 
large  piece  of  flower  garden,  and  though  the  old-fashioned  bedding 
plants  are  used  the  garden  is  admirably  furnished,  and  it  is  a  source 
of  very  great  attraction  to  the  townspeople.  There  were  six  large 
marquees,  and  they  were  all  well  filled ;  in  addition  one  if  not  two  of  the 
large  plant  houses  had  to  be  cleared  out  in  order  to  accommodate  the 
children’s  exhibits,  which  were  very  numerous.  There  was  a  very  large 
display  of  cottagers’  vegetables. 
The  plant  classes  at  Leicester  calculated  to  bring  large  specimens 
are  few.  Mr.  H.  Blakeway,  gardener  to  P.  H.  Muntz,  Esq.,  M.P., 
Rugby;  Mr.  W.  Vause,  Leamington;  and  Mr.  W.  Finch,  Coventry, 
sent  Palms,  Crotons,  Allamandas,  Statices,  &o.,  and  these  formed  the 
bulk  of  the  plants.  Groups,  arranged  for  effect  on  a  space  of  160 
superficial  feet,  were  a  great  feature,  and  as  Mr.  J.  Cypher  of 
Cheltenham  exhibited  last  year  and  took  the  first  prizes,  his 
artistic  method,  seen  in  Leicester  for  the  first  time,  caught  on. 
Every  group  competing  with  his  this  year — five,  making  six  in  all — were 
arranged  in  the  same  style;  they  filled  the  middle  of  a  large  tent, 
and  made  the  most  striking  feature  in  the  whole  exhibition.  Mr. 
Thompson,  gardener  to  J.  W.  Turner,  Esq.,  Littleover,  near  Derby, 
came  nearest  to  Mr.  Cypher,  and  his  group  made  a  very  attractive 
second.  Specimen  plants  were  few.  Mr.  W.  Yause,  Leamington,  had 
the  best  six — Palms,  Crotons,  Allamandas,  Statice  profusa,  &c.,  the  most 
prominent. 
The  Abbey  Park  flower  show  is  made  up  very  largely  of  cut  flowers ; 
the  Carnation  and  Picotee  are  always  a  leading  feature.  There  are  a 
great  many  keen  florists  in  the  town.  As  it  was  late  for  southern  Roses, 
the  battle  for  the  leading  honours  was  between  Messrs.  D.  &  W.  CrolJ, 
Dundee,  and  Messrs.  A.  Dickson  &  Sons,  Newtownards,  Belfast.  If 
one  of  these  came  in  first  with  thirty-six,  the  other  was  first  with 
twenty-four  varieties,  they  may  be  said  to  have  fairly  divided  the 
honours.  The  best  twelve  H.P.’s,  one  variety,  resulted  in  a  tie,  Messrs. 
Dickson  &  Sons  with  J.  S.  Mill,  Messrs.  Croll  with  Alfred  Colomb.  The 
best  twelve  blooms  of  one  variety  of  Tea-scented  was  Luoiole,  from 
Messrs.  Croll. 
The  Birmingham  growers  of  Carnations  and  Picotees  generally  win 
in  the  open  classep,  and  Mr.  R.  C.  Cartwright,  who  scored  so  favourably 
at  Edgbaston  the  previous  week,  may  be  said  to  have  carried  all  before 
him  ;  his  seifs,  yellow  grounds,  and  Fancies  were  particularly  good. 
Messrs.  Artindp.le  &  Co.,  Sheffield,  and  Mr.  A.  R.  Brown,  Handswortb, 
also  scored  leading  second  prizes.  The  amateur  element  competed 
largely,  and  showed,  for  the  season,  very  good  blooms. 
The  only  exhibitor  in  the  class  for  a  large  collection  of  hardy 
herbaceous  and  bulbous  plants  were  Messrs.  Harkness  &  Sons,  Bedale 
and  Hitchin,  who  had  grand  bunohes  effectively  displayed.  They  were 
awarded  a  special  medal  in  addition  to  the  first  prizes.  Double  and 
single  Begonias,  as  cut  blooms,  were  finely  shown  by  Messrs.  B.  R. 
Davis  &  Sons,  Yeovil.  Hardy  annuals  were  an  interesting  feature. 
There  were  very  good  Cactus  Dahlias,  as  well  as  Show  and  Fancy 
types ;  and  the  collections  of  twelve  bunohes  of  Sweet  Peas  found  many 
admirers.  But  the  classes  for  cut  blooms  were  very  numerous,  and 
only  some  of  the  leading  ones  can  be  noticed.  In  the  amateurs’ 
division  for  Roses  Messrs.  W.  Boyes  of  Derby  and  M.  Whittle  of 
Leicester  secured  the  leading  prizes.  There  were  charming  bouquets 
and  delightful  baskets  of  flowers,  with  sprays  and  buttonholes  also,  and 
they  occupied  a  good  space  of  tabling. 
Some  very  good  fruit  was  staged,  the  principal  prizewinner  being 
Mr.  J.  H.  Goodaore  of  Elvaston  Castle  Gardens.  He  was  first  in  the 
collection  for  eight  dishes,  including  three  varieties  of  Grapes  and 
a  Pine ;  and  also  with  eight  dishes,  two  varieties  of  Grapes  only,  and 
no  Pine.  Muscat  Hamburgh,  Black  Hamburgh,  and  Muscat  of 
Alexandria  Grapes  were  finely  shown  in  the  first  class,  and  Muscat  of 
Alexandria  and  Muscat  Hamburgh  in  the  second.  Peaches  and 
Nectarines  were  also  very  good.  Mr.  A.  McCulloch,  Newstead  Abbey 
Gardens,  was  second  in  one  class,  and  Mr.  J.  Read,  Bretby  Park 
Gardens,  in  the  other.  With  four  varieties  of  Grapes,  two  bunohes  of 
each,  Mr.  Goodaore  romped  in  first  with  well  finished  examples  of 
Madresfield  Court,  Muscat  Hamburgh,  Gros  Maroc,  and  Muscat  of 
Alexandria  ;  Mr.  A.  McCulloch  was  second.  Mr.  Goodacre  was  first 
with  two  bunches  of  Black  Hamburgh,  also  with  two  bunches  of  White 
Muscats  and  two  bunches  of  any  other  black,  having  Gros  Maroc,  but 
the  judges  would  not  accept  his  Canon  Hall  Muscats  in  the  class  for 
white,  with  Muscat  of  Alexandria  exoluded.  Peaches,  Nectarines,  and 
Melons,  were  shown  in  good  character. 
Vegetables  were  very  numerous.  As  they  are  largely  grown  in  the 
allotment  gardens  about  Leicester  they  appear  in  many  classes.  Messrs. 
Sutton  &  Sons,  Harrison  &  Sons,  and  other  local  seed  merchants, 
offered  special  prizes  for  vegetables,  and  these  contributions  greatly 
helped  to  swell  the  total.  The  competition  was  very  keen  throughout. 
The  trade  was  largely  represented  by  miscellaneous  exhibits.  The 
London  division  was  represented  by  Messrs.  Yeitch  &  Sons,  J.  Peed  and 
Son,  B.  S.  Williams  &  Son,  and  A.  Perry  of  Winchmore  Hill,  all  of 
whom  had  very  interesting  exhibits.  From  the  provinces  came  Messrs. 
J.  H.  White  &  Son,  Worcester;  Clibran  &  Son,  Altrincham;  B.  R. 
Davis  &  Sons,  Yeovil  ;  H.  Deverill,  Banbury  ;  Harrison  &  Son,. 
Leicester;  Jones  &  Son,  Shrewsbury;  Hinton  Bros.,  Warwick; 
S.  Mortimer,  Farnham  ;  and  several  others,  enough  to  constitute  a  good 
sized  exhibition  in  the  form  of  non-competitive  exhibits. 
Malton,  Yorks,  August  7th. 
This  society  held  its  annual  show  on  Wednesday,  August  7th,  in  the 
Orohard  Field.  The  weather  at  the  beginning  of  the  day  looked  any¬ 
thing  but  promising,  but  only  slight  showers  of  rain  fell  before  noon.. 
The  afternoon  was  fine  with  a  comfortable  temperature,  and  there  was 
a  record  attendance.  The  entries  were  in  excess  of  last  year,  especially 
in  the  plant  classes.  The  cut  flowers  were  good,  especially  Roses  and 
Sweet  Peas.  Hothouse  fruit  was  well  shown,  but  hardy  fruit  was 
below  the  average.  We  regret  to  notice  that  very  few  plants  had 
names  attached  to  them,  although  in  one  of  the  rules  in  schedule  we 
read  : — “  The  plants  to  be  legibly  named,  so  that  visitors  can  read 
them.”  Flower  shows  lose  a  great  deal  of  their  educational  value  when 
the  exhibits  are  not  named.  We  would  like  to  see  this  rule  enforced  by 
the  Malton  committee. 
Plants. — The  most  important  class  was  for  six  stove  or  greenhouse 
plants  in  bloom,  for  which  prizes  of  £5,  £2  10s.,  and  £1  10s.  were 
offered.  Mrs.  Kitchen  of  Darlington  (gardener,  Mr.  Suffield)  staged 
nice  even  plants,  amongst  which  we  noticed  Dipladenia  amabilis, 
Clerodendron  Balfouriana,  Stephanotis  fioribunda ;  a  Statice  was  a 
weak  point  in  this  collection.  Messrs.  Simpson  &  Sons,  Selby,  were 
second  with  rather  finely  flowered  specimens.  Mrs.  Kitchen  was  also 
first  for  three  ditto,  and  Messrs.  Simpson  &  Sons  second.  The  latter 
exhibitors  were  to  the  front  for  a  single  specimen,  Mrs.  Wise,  Auburn 
Hall,  second.  Messrs.  Simpson  &  Sons  had  the  best  six  ornamental  or 
fine-foliage  plants,  with  Palms,  Crotons,  Dracsenas,  &o. ;  Mrs.  Kitchen 
second.  Four  very  good  exotic  Ferns  were  set  up  by  Messrs.  Simpson 
and  Sons,  with  Mrs.  Kiichen  again  second.  The  latter,  however,  was 
first  for  three  British  Ferns,  and  Mr.  J.  Ellerker,  Kirbymoorside, 
second.  Fuchsias,  Geraniums,  Liliums,  &c.,  were  well  represented,  and 
the  prizes  taken  principally  by  residents  in  Malton.  For  six  plants  for 
dinner  table  decoration,  adornment  allowed,  Mrs.  Kitchen  was  first  with 
graceful  plants,  Messrs.  G.  Longster  &  Sons  second,  Messrs.  Simpson 
and  Sons  third.  For  three  ditto,  the  same  exhibitors  carried  off  the 
prizes  in  the  same  order. 
Cut  Flowers. — For  twenty-four  Show  Dahlias  Messrs.  Clark  and 
Son,  Rodley,  were  the  only  exhibitors,  and  were  awarded  first  prize ; 
their  stand  contained  some  good  blooms.  They  were  also  first  for 
twelve  Show,  twelve  Fancy,  as  well  as  for  six  Cactus  and  srngle  blooms. 
Mr.  J.  D.  Hutohinson  set  up  six  capital  spikes  of  Gladiolus,  Messrs. 
Harkness  &  Son,  Bedale,  being  second.  The  twelve  best  Carnations 
came  from  Miss  Duncombe,  Nawton  ;  Messrs.  Clark  &  Sons,  second  ; 
Hon.  G.  N.  Dawnay,  Malton,  third.  For  twelve  Picotees  Messrs.  Clark 
and  Sons  were  placed  first,  followed  by  Messrs.  Harkness  &  Son.  The 
latter  firm  were  to  the  front  with  Roses,  being  first  for  six  distinct 
varieties,  three  blooms  of  each,  with  Mrs.  J.  Laing,  Exposition  de  Brie, 
Bessie  Brown,  Madame  Haussman,  White  Maman  Coohet,  and  Alfred 
Colomb.  They  were  again  first  for  twelve  blooms,  staging  Clio,  Horace 
Vernet,  Maman  Coohet,  Duo  de  Rohan,  Tom  Wood,  Paul  Neyron, 
Comtesse  de  Ludre,  Ulrich  Brunner,  Bladud,  M.  S.  Rhodooanachi, 
Pierre  Notting,  and  Marquise  Litta.  Mr.  J.  D.  Hutchinson  was  second 
in  both  these  classes  with  fair  blooms,  and  Mr.  R.  Dobson,  Marton, 
third.  Mr.  Hutchinson  was  first  for  six  Tea  Roses,  Harkness  &  Son 
second.  Mr.  G.  Cottam  had  the  most  tastefully  arranged  basket  of 
cut  Roses,  mostly  yellow,  white,  and  pink  blooms.  Messrs.  Harkness 
and  Son  second  with  a  rather  tstiff  arrangement  ;  Mr.  R.  H.  Wiles 
third. 
For  a  collection  of  four  varieties  of  fruit,  one  variety  of  Grapes  only 
allowed,  Mr.  McPherson,  gardener  to  the  Earl  of  Londesborougb,  was  a 
good  first  with  Muscat  of  Alexandria  Grapes,  Peaches,  Melon,  and  a 
Pine;  T.  Hague,  Esq,  Selby,  second  with  Black  Hamburgh  Grapes, 
Peaches,  Nectarines,  and  a  Melon  ;  Mr.  J.  S.  Upex,  gardener  to  the 
Hon.  H.  W.  Fitzwilliam,  third,  staging  Blaok  Hamburgh  Grapes, 
