20S 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  29,  1901. 
For  twelve  Roses  Mr.  Little,  gardener  to  G.  H.  Pilkington,  Esq., 
Wheathill,  Roby,  came  a  capital  first,  Caroline  Testout,  Madame  Hosce, 
Madame  Lambard,  Marquise  Litta,  and  Jeannie  Dickson  being  especially 
fine.  Mr.  Irvine,  gardener  to  P.  C.  D.  Castle,  Esq.,  won  with  six.  The 
t  able  decorations  for  ladies  only  were  remarkable  for  good  taste,  not  a 
faulty  one  to  be  seeD,  Miss  Kendall  taking  a  by  no  means  easy  victory. 
r]f Fruit. — The  highest  praise  would  not  b3  grudged  the  exhibitors 
in  this  class,  every  dish  being  of  the  best.  The  class  for  six  dishes 
went  to  Mr.  Ferguson,  gardener  to  Mrs.  Paterson,  Rook  Ferry,  with 
fine  Hamburghs  and  Muscats,  Dr.  Hogg  Peaches,  Pineapple  Nectarines, 
Doyenne  d’flte  Pears,  and  Green  Gage  Plums.  Mr.  Irvine  was  a  very 
good  second,  and  won  with  extra  choice  dishes  of  hardy  fruits.  Mr. 
A.  Crisp,  gardener  to  W.  P.  Richards,  Esq.,  won  with  Black  Ham¬ 
burghs,  the  classes  for  BlaoK  Hamburghs,  Madresfield  Court,  and 
Muscat  of  Alexandria  going  to  Mr.  J.  Richards  with  handsome 
examples.  A  perfect  dish  of  Bellegarde  Peaches  came  from  Mr.  Crisp, 
and  good  Elrnge  Nectarines  from  Mr.  Morgan,  garde  er  to  M.  Harvey, 
Esq.  Melons  were  a  great  competition,  the  winners  being  Mr.  T.  Tinte, 
gardener  to  T.  W.  Oakshott,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Irvine.  Plums  were  excel¬ 
lent,  Mr.  Morgan  and  Mr.  Bryan  being  the  winners. 
A  large  room  was  devoted  entirely  to  vegetables,  Mr.  G.  Taylor, 
Little  Sutton,  staging  the  best  nine,  noticeable  being  fine  Carrots, 
Beet,  Potatoes,  and  Onions.  Mr.  Irvine  had  the  second  position,  and 
Mr.  D.  McLean,  gardener  to  Mrs.  Kendall,  Lancelyn,  Rook  Ferry,  the 
smartest  six.  Grand  Celery  and  Onions  and  Potatoes  came  from 
Mr.  J.  Williams.  Splendid  Tomatoes  came  from  Mr.  Millington,  and 
superb  Carrots  from  Mr.  J.  R.  Carter,  Langhall  Mill.  The  Rev.  W.  L. 
Paige  Cox,  Vicar  of  Rock  Ferry  (chairman),  and  Messrs.  J.  P.  Moffat 
and  W.  J.  Little,  did  huge  work  in  connection  with  this  first  show  with 
its  large  number  of  exhibits. — R.  P.  R. 
Newton  and  Earlstown,  August  24tti. 
The  fifteenth  annual  exhibition  was  held  in  a  most  suitable  park, 
kindly  lent  by  Mr.  John  Randall.  In  the  group  class  Mr.  F.  Woods, 
gardener  to  Mrs.  Smith,  had  a  special  arrangement,  consisting 
principally  of  handsome  foliage  plants,  used  to  the  greatest  possible 
advantage,  and  quite  the  feature  of  the  show.  A  good  second  was 
arranged  by  Mr.  T.  Foden.  Mr.  Foden  quite  superseded  all  others  for 
six  Begonias,  three  Coleus,  and  six  Zonal  Pelargoniums.  Mr.  R.  Barton 
staged  the  finest  three  greenhouse  plants,  a  good  plant  of  Vallota 
purpurea  being  the  most  prominent.  There  were  many  classes  of 
Ferns  shown,  an  undoubted  win  coming  from  Mr.  R.  Newport  in  the 
class  for  British  Ferns,  the  exotic  class  being  taken  by  Mr.  Barton  with 
excellent  Adiantum  cuneatum  and  gracillimum. 
Many  choice  dishes  of  fruit  were  staged,  and  here  again  for  six 
dishes  Mr.  Woods  came  well  to  the  fore,  Mr.  Foden  being  a  fair  seoond. 
The  same  exhibitors  won  respectively  for  Muscat  of  Alexandria  and 
Blaok  Hamburgh  Grapes.  Vegetables  were  throughout  of  extra  good 
quality,  Mr.  W.  Sephton  for  twelve  kinds  staging  Veitch’s  Marrow, 
Perfection  Celery  and  Leeks,  Autumn  Giant  Cauliflower,  Model  Carrot, 
Ailsa  Craig  Onion,  Gladstone  Pea,  Polegate  Tomato,  Special  Potato, 
Dobbie’s  Purple  Beet,  and  Best  of  All  Bean.  Fidler’s  Royal  Standard, 
Reading  Russet,  Goldfinder,  Vicar  of  Laleham,  International,  and 
Perfection  Potatoes  were  the  leading  six  kinds  from  Mr.  Sephton,  who 
also  won  easily  for  three  sticks  of  Celery  and  the  best  Runners,  Mr. 
Woods  having  a  superior  lot  of  Onions. — R.  P.  R. 
Shirley  and  District  Gardeners’  Association. 
On  Monday  evening  the  members  held  a  meeting  at  the  Parish 
Room,  Shirley,  when  a  goodly  number  of  exhibits  were  staged,  a  great 
novelty  being  a  St.  Joseph  Strawberry  from  the  grounds  of  Col. 
Sinkins,  J.P.  (gardener,  Mr.  Wilcox).  The  same  exhibitor  also  staged 
a  splendid  collection  of  twenty -six  varieties  of  annuals,  which  received 
from  the  judges  a  VHC.  G.  P.  Perkins,  Esq.,  J.P.  (gardener,  Mr. 
Todridge),  sent  a  collection  of  fruit  and  vegetables.  Messrs.  B. 
Ladhams  as  usual  sent  a  grand  collection  of  herbaceous  blooms,  which 
was  very  highly  commended.  Mr.  B.  Ladhams,  F.R.H.S.,  in  the  absence 
of  the  president,  took  the  chair,  and  the  secretary,  Mr.  J.  Miles,  having 
read  the  minutes  and  some  correspondence  regarding  the  outing  of  the 
society,  stated  that  arrangements  had  been  made  to  visit  the  nurserieB 
of  Messrs.  James  Veitch  &  Sons  at  Coombe  Wood  on  September  4th. 
The  chairman  explained  that  this  was  an  open  night  for  discussion,  and 
he  called  on  the  hon.  sec.,  who  had  produced  two  pieces  of  wood,  one 
cut  from  an  Elm  and  the  other  from  a  Jargonelle  Pear  tree,  both  having 
been  bored  by  the  caterpillar  of  the  Wood  Leopard  moth,  which  is  most 
destructive  to  fruit  trees.  Mr.  Miles  gave  instances  of  fruit,  Elm, 
and  Poplar  trees  having  been  killed  by  these  boring  caterpillars ;  he 
also  read  a  paper  issued  from  the  Board  of  Agriculture  Department  on 
these  destructive  insects.  Mr.  Wilcox  next  described  his  treatment  of 
the  St.  Joseph  Strawberry  which  he  exhibited.  The  plant  was  grown 
from  a  runner  last  year,  and,  as  they  saw,  it  bore  a  very  nioe  crop  of 
fruit  after  all  other  Strawberries  had  finished.  His  plan  was  to  cut  off 
all  runners  and  bloom  up  to  the  end  of  June;  by  doing  so  he  was  able 
to  pick  a  dish  of  fruit  every  day.  The  greatest  enemy  to  the  fruits  at 
this  time  of  year  was  the  wasps.  A  good  discussion  took  place  on  the 
best  method  of  destroying  this  pest,  the  secretary  saying  that  one  of 
the  best  was  cyanide  of  potassium  ;  Mr.  J.  Jones  said  he  used  a  squib 
made  of  gunpowder ;  some  thought  sulphur  the  safest,  as  cyanide  of 
potassium  was  a  most  deadly  poison,  and  required  very  careful  using. 
Red  spider  was  next  touched  upon.  Here,  again,  cyanide  was 
recommended  by  some,  others  thought  softsoap  best,  while  some  said 
paraffin  was  a  good  insecticide.  Mr.  Greenslade  spoke  of  the  great 
value  of  these  open  nights  to  the  members  of  the  society,  and  trusted 
that  in  making  up  the  next  six-month  programme  there  would  be  one  or 
two  nights  set  apart  for  this  purpose.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman 
»nd  exhibitors  closed  a  very  instructive  and  entertaining  evening. — J.  M. 
- *•••> - 
Young  Gardeners’  Domain. 
Hints  for  Young  Heads. 
Dear  and  worthy  kingdom  of  Bothydono  !  “  Where’er  1  roam, 
whatever  realms  I  see,  my  heart,  untravelled,  fondly  turns  to  thee.” 
If,  under  the  above  heading,  “An  Old  Boy  ”  can  keep  in  touch  with  it, 
then  will  he  hive  his  heart’s  desire.  To  do  so,  our  lines  of  communi¬ 
cation  must,  of  necessity,  run  on  fresh  ground,  and  in  the  doing  lies 
the  danger  of  poaching  on  other  men’s  preserves,  for  what  was  hitherto 
advanced  was  more  in  direct  relation  to  the  worker  than  his  work, 
and  that  was  for  the  bothy  and  winter  Dights.  In  bringing  the  work 
— the  great  work — to  the  front,  summer  days  will  prove  a  more 
convenient  season,  and  this  is  for  the  garden.  “  A  summer’s  day  ;  all 
work  and  no  play,-’  says  some  young  iell  >w.  Possibly  so,  young 
friend,  but  I  do  not  pity  you  ;  sympathise  with  you  I  do.  To  help  you 
shall  be  my  endeavour — endeavour  to  bring  inspiration  into  “the 
common  round,  the  daily  task,”  that  the  longest  and  hardest  day’s 
work  may  resolve  itself  into  a  labour  of  love. 
Now  for  the  poaching  part.  Head  gardeners,  as  a  rule,  are  liberal 
minded  men,  apt  to  look  at  all  sides  of  a  question,  when  they  have  time 
to  do  so,  otherwise  even  they,  from  misjudged  motives,  may  draw  wrong 
conclu-ions.  Possibly  some  old  “  head  ”  may  say,  “  Oh  !  it’s  not  your 
business  to  teach  my  chaps  how  to  do  their  work.”  That  is  admitted, 
lor,  according  to  Theodore  Hook,  what  is  a  pleasure  is  not  a  business. 
But  far  above  and  beyond  the  pleasure  of  preaching  and  teaching  in 
bothydom  lies  the  intuitive  feeling  that  trying  to  help  our  boys  has, 
somehow,  grown  to  be  my  mission  in  life,  and  any  opportunity  that 
offers,  or  any  excuse  that  can  be  made  to  do  so,  is  readily  availed  of. 
They  must,  perforce,  do  as  they  are  told,  that  is  the  letter  of  the  law  ; 
if  the  spirit  of  it  can  be  inculcated,  then,  surely,  it  will  benefit  all 
concerned.  Amidst  all  phases  of  life  in  the  world  of  woik  young 
gardeners  rank  high  for  intelligence  and  common  sense,  hence  they 
will  readily  understand  that  anything  promulgated  here,  whilst  being, 
it  is  hoped,  of  advantage  to  them  now,  may  not  be  fully  available  till 
hereafter,  when  freedom  of  thought  and  action  will  enable  them  to 
sift  all  men’s  methods,  and  adapt  the  fittest  to  their  own  particular 
circumstances.  Should  this  apologetic  preliminary  hint  to  old  “heads” 
not  cover  all  the  ground  which  in  due  course  may  be  entrenched  upon, 
then,  please,  forgive  me  my  trespasses. 
Stove  Plants. 
To  a  lad  keenly  interested  in  his  work  probably  a  greater  fascination 
is  to  be  found  in  the  cultivation  of  tropical  plants  than  in  any  other 
phase  of  gardening;  and,  once  and  for  all,  with  lads  not  keenly 
interested  in  their  work  I  have  nothing  to  do — to  them,  nothing  to 
say.  Plant  stoves  are  generally  fed  from  the  propagating  pit,  which 
may  take  but  the  simple  form  of  a  frame  fixed  on  the  pipes  of  the 
stove  house  proper,  where  a  brisk  bottom  heat  of  85°  to  90  is 
maintained  from  early  spring  to  midsummer.  The  propagating  pit, 
preferentially  a  low  span-roofed  .house  with  bottom  heat  always  at 
command,  containing  the  aforesaid  frame  or  hand-lights  for  cuttings,  is 
a  splendid  nursery  for  giving  the  young  plants  a  good  start  in  life.  As 
a  hospital  for  the  restoration  of  the  debilitated,  or  rejuvenation  of  the 
aged  after  cutting  back  and  shaking  out,  it  is  unsurpassed.  So 
essential  is  the  propagating  pit  felt  to  be  as  an  adjunct  to  the  stove 
proper,  that  one  would  advise  our  young  “  head,”  who,  on  taking  his 
first  command,  finds  it  is  the  one  thing  wanting,  to  use  the  opportunity 
so  often  afforded  to  the  new  man  of  obtaining  it.  This,  of  course,  where 
tropical  plants  are  not  only  appreciated  but  in  constant  demand  as 
decorative  subjects. 
“Oh!  You’ll  never  get  it ;  the  last  gardener  sickened  ’em  with 
his  wants  and  woes,”  was  the  consolation  (?)  given  to  a  young  friend 
by  a  critical  acquaintance  when  a  similar  matter  was  under  discussion. 
Our  young  “head,”  however,  thought  the  matter  out,  saw  what  could 
be  done  and  how  it  could  be  done ;  went,  in  fact,  into  the  whole 
question  of  ways  and  means,  waited  for  an  auspicious  moment  (there’s 
a  time  for  everything)  to  broach  the  subject,  and  so  clearly  explained 
the  details  with  well-drawn  plans  that  victory  was  secured  on  the  spot. 
This  shunting  on  to  side  tracks  off  our  main  line  of  thought  may, 
perhaps,  be  excused,  for  in  a  hasty  rush  to  reach  the  terminus  young 
travellers  would  miss  much  that  is  helpful  on  life’s  journey.  The 
propagating  pit  with  its  bottom-heat  bed  of  plunging  material,  cocoa 
