108 
JOUr.XAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  9,  1899- 
I  CHR 
UMF 
TflE  N.C.S.  AND  INCURVED  VARIETIES. 
On  reading  the  Chrysanthemum  notes  in  the  Journal  of  the 
2nd  inst.  I  was  rather  sarprised  to  find  “Sadoc”  taking  objection  to 
The  Egyptian  being  included  in  the  incurved  section,  and  I  rather 
expect  he  has  not  seen  it  in  its  true  character.  I  have  not  seen  many 
blooms  of  it  staged,  but  it  has  been  present  in  winning  stands — first 
prize  stands  1  believe— in  the  principal  incurved  class  at  Bristol  for 
the  past  two  years  in  typical  form. 
As  to  actual  experience  with  it  we  grcAV  one  plant  last  year  which 
carried  three  first-rate  flowers  as  true  to  the  incurved  type  as  they  could 
possibly  be,  and  required  scarcely  any  dressing.  I  should  class  it  as 
being  in  the  first  rank  of  its  section,  and  should  say  it  would  comjiare 
favourably  with  any  variety  we  have,  provided  it  keeps  up  to  the  high 
standard  at  which  I  have  seen  it. 
I  quite  agree  with  “  Sadoc  ”  that  the  N.S.C.  is  sailing  rather  close 
to  the  wind  wnth  regard  to  some  varieties  that  are  included  amongst 
ti  e  incurved,  many  of  them  requiring  an  amount  of  labour  and 
jiatience  to  make  them  even  presentable  on  the  board,  and  are  scarcely 
a  credit  to  the  section  when  there.  As  to  varieties  of  The  Egvptiau 
tyi^e  I  should  say  the  more  of  them  the  better. — J.  Wilkinson,  'Bristol. 
COMPLAINTS  AND  GRIEVANCES  EE  THE  N.C.S. 
M  e  have  received  another  list  of  complaints  on  the  past  delin¬ 
quencies  and  recent  shoitcomings  of  the  N.C.S.  As  to  the  past  it 
will  be  better  to  consider  it  as  buried,  as  no  possible  good  can  be  done 
by  attempts  at  resuscitation,  especially  as  it  seems  that  a  rule  was 
adopted  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  one  of  tlie  practices  com¬ 
plained,  of. 
Among  recent  grievances  is  one  stating  that  a  certain  exhibitor 
had  a  “  gold  medal”  attached  to  the  exhibit  for  which  it  was  awatded 
four  hours  before  the  awards  were  ])laced  on  those  of  other  trade 
growers.  Ihis  Ave  are  in  a  position  to  explain,  as  our  reporter 
happened  to  hear  all  that  transpired  on  the  subject. 
'I he  gold  medalljst,  seeing  that  the  judging  was  completed,  at  once 
stepped  up  to  the  Secretary  and  was  told,  in  answer  to  a  question  on 
the  subject,  that  he  was  awarded  the  gold  medal.  “  Then,”  rejoined 
the  exhibitor,  “  I  suppose  I  may  put  cn  the  card?”  The  response  was, 
“  Certainly,”  ami  the  card  was  jiromptly  obtained  and  attaclied  by  the 
exhibitor,  not  by  the  Isecretary.  It  was  on  the  eve  of  luncheon,  and 
the  official  awards  were  not  placed  on  ihe  exhibits  till  afterwards. 
I  he  particular  exhibitor  was  “  smart,”  no  doubt,  but  so  far  as  wm  can 
see  hjs  action  was  quite  legitimate.  If  another  exhibitor  had  acted 
similarly  in  a  quick  inquiry,  and  the  Secretary  bad  refused  a  reply  of 
the  same  nature,  he  would  have  b.en  open  to  the  charge  of 
“  favouritism.” 
Another  complaint  has  been  made  to  us  at  least  a  dozen  times,  but 
we  have  not  published  it  mainly  because  of  the  peculiar  forms  in 
which  it  has  been  ]ircsented.  The  grievance  seems  to  be  so  keenly  felt 
that  we  publish  it  now,  as  it  is  well  to  go  to  the  bottom  of  things  so 
far  as  this  may  be  fathomable.  This,  then,  is  the  terrible  grievance — 
namely,  that  long  Jiotices  ap[iear  in  the  columns  of  the  Loudon  daily 
papers  of  the  exhibits  of  one  particular  trader,  while  those  of  others 
are  either  passed  or  receive  scant  attention.  If  these  notices  were 
supplied  by  show  officials  the  charge  avould  be  grave,  but  they  are 
again  the  result  of  smart  trade  enterprise. 
The  gardening  Press  reporters  recognise  the  merits  or  other¬ 
wise  of  what  they  inspect,  and  not  only  do  not  want  any  prompting, 
but  would  re]  cl  attempts  in  that  direction  ;  but  it  is  totally  different 
in  the  case  ot  reqiorteis  for  the  “dailies.”  These  ubiquitous  indi¬ 
viduals  are  glad  t)  gt  t  hold  of  an  expert  to  point  out  objects  specially 
worthy  ot  notice,  and  it  is  no  secret  to  those  who  know  that  there  are 
always  expert  exhil  itors  ready  to  get  hold  of  them  ;  indeed,  it  is  not 
a  little  amusing  to  i  b^erve  the  finessing  that  is  resorted  to  to  “catch 
the  speakei’s  e\e  ’ — or,  rather,  the  reporter’s  ear. 
This  is  not  the  case  at  the  N.C.S.  shows  only,  but  at  all  impor¬ 
tant  exhibitions,  metropol  tin  and  provincial.  'I'he  editor  and  reporters 
of  every  gardening  jouinal,  when  rending  reports  of  horticultural  shows 
in  the  “Moining  '1  nimpcter  ”  or  “  Evening  Swaggerer,”  know  very  well 
Avlio  have  been  the  jmimpters  atid  inspires.  It  may  all  seem 
wicked;  but  ihe  wmild  and  its  ways  have  to  be  taken  as  they  exist, 
and  the  time  does  not  appear  to  have  arrived  when  a  reporter’s  guide, 
philosopher,  and  friend  will  pass  by  his  own  sjdendid  exhibits  as  only 
worthy  of  scant  mention,  and  sing  the  praises  of  those  of  competitors 
which  may  i  r  may  not  be  belter  or  worse  than  his  own. 
M’hether  the  complainants  of  daily  Press  reports  would  act 
differently  or  not  w^e  cannot  tell  ;  but  we  should  know  if  we  read  the 
reports  of  shows  at  which  they  had  obtained  the  oft-coveted  position 
of  chaperon,  perhaps  to  some  fascinating  young  lady  with  a  note-book. 
Now  having  pricked  the  bubble  of  the  daily  paper  reports  complained 
of,  we  cannot  refrain  from  the  expression  ot  opinion  that  those  who 
continue  to  indulge  in  their  grievances  against  them  xvill  seem  to  be 
engaged  in  something  like  the  quixotic  exercise  of  tilting  against 
windmills. 
Other  matters  of  complaint  we  have  before  us  relate  to  the  N.C.S. 
official  selections  and  classification  of  Chrysanthemums.  On  these 
subjects  a  complainant  writes  :  -  “  In  the  Year  Book  of  the  N.C.S.  we 
find  varieties  which  were  nut  deemed  worthy  of  a  certificate  given  in 
the  selections  of  the  best,  whil.it  varieties  which  have  been  certificated, 
both  by  the  N.C.S.  and  R.H.S,,  are  omitted.”  This  is  attributed  to 
favouritism  accorded  to  one  exhibitor,  and  prejudice  indulged  in 
against  another.  M^e  should  require  strong  unbiassed  testimony  in 
support  of  the  truth  of  such  extraordinary  allegations  before  admitting 
them  as  facts. 
That  such  opinions  exist  is  undoubted,  and  surely  all  will  agree 
that  it  is  better  they  should  be  fully  known  than  passed  from  mouth 
to  mouth,  not  being  modified  as  they  go,  as  if  certain  individuals  had 
abused  their  position  as  responsible  officials.  We  cannot  possibly 
believe  that  this  is  the  case,  and  it  could  not  be  without  the  presence 
of  enemies  in  the  camp,  who  Avould,  with  whatever  object,  be  sapping 
the  foundations  of  any  society  with  the  conduct  of  which  they 
happened  to  be  entrusted. 
Reverting  to  the  admittance  of  non-cirtificated  varieties  into 
officially  recommended  lists,  and  the  exclusion  of  tho.-e  which  have 
been  honoured  by  Floral  Committees,  we  have  no  difficulty  in 
agreeing  with  our  correspondent  when  he  says,  “  This  does  not  say 
much  for  the  value  of  certificates.”  It  obviously  does  not,  but  savours 
rather  of  something  like  a  stultification.  The  apparent  conflict  in 
estimating  the  merits  of  varieties  is,  however,  perhaps  explainable : 
as  the  matter  stands  it  sugge.'^ts  either  that  there  are  some  “experts’'' 
wiser  than  Floral  Committees,  or  that  the  members  of  these,  assuming 
that  they  made  the  selections,  are  expert  in  changing  their  minds. 
Attention  is  also  drawn  to  the  “unwarrantable  haste”  in  rushing 
novelties  into  the  incurved  section,  one  of  which  is  “  not  to  be 
distributed  till  1900,”  while  others  are  excluded,  and  one  at  least 
that  has  been  certificated,  both  by  the  N.C.S.  and  R.H.S.  We  have  no 
means  of  accounting  for  such  decisions,  whether  they  are  right  or 
wrong.  We  know  they  ought  to  be  right,  but  our  complainant 
evidently  thinks  they  are  not,  because  he  sa3’s,  “It  is  these  little  sins 
of  omission  aud  commission  that  the  trade  generally  find  so  annoying.” 
And  he  goes  on  to  say,  “A  society  styled  ‘National’  should  not  allow 
favour  to  be  shown  to  any  firm,  nor  permit  a  representative  of  any 
firm  on  committees  for  selection  and  clas.-ification.” 
We  did  not  know  that  such  was  the  case  ;  but  assuming,  for  the 
sake  of  argument,  it  to  be  so,  we  should  expect  that  any  jierson  having 
interest  in  anything  placed  before  the  Committee  would  promptly  leave 
the  table  pending  the  consideration  ot  the  product.  This  is  the  custom 
at  the  R.H.S.  Committees,  and  many  poorsons  besides  ourselves  will  be 
surprised  to  hear  if  it  is  not  the  same  at  the  N.C.S. 
In  cases  of  grievances  we  wish  to  be  absolutely  fair  to  both  sides 
interested,  our  onl\'  object  being  the  elicitation  of  truth  and  the 
rectification  of  any  imperfections  in  an  amicable,  business  waju 
Only  when  societies  are  widely  trusted  can  they  be  piermanently 
strong  and  satislactorily  fulfil  the  object  for  which  they  are 
established. 
NATIONAL  CHRYSANTHEMUM  SOCIETY". 
Annual  Meeting. 
On  Monday  evening  la.^t  the  annual  general  meeting  of  this  Society 
was  held  in  St.  Stephen’s  Hall,  Royal  Aquarium,  Westminster,  Mr.  C.  E. 
Shea  presiding.  In  spite  of  the  weather  mere  was  an  excellent  gathering, 
and  the  tone  of  the  meeting  was  decidedly  conciliatory,  although  the 
interest  in  the  proceedings  was  keen.  Under  the  able  guidance  of  the 
Chairman,  all  the  business  was  conducted  with  promptitude  and  siriet 
regularitp',  which  resulted  in  the  last  item  on  the  agenda  paper  being 
reached  shortly  before  half-past  nine. 
The  business  commenced  with  the  Chairman  calling  upon  the  Secretary 
to  read  the  notice  convening  the  meeting,  and  this  avus  followed  by  the 
minutes  of  the  adjourned  general  rneeiing  of  21st  March  last.  Then 
followed  correspondence  from  various  genilemen  regretting  inability  to 
he  present.  These  preliminary  matters  being  disposed  of,  the  Secretary 
proceeded  to  read  the  report  of  Iho  Executive  Committee,  as  follows  ; — 
Report  of  the  Executive  Committee. 
The  close  of  the  year  1893  finds  the  National  Chrysanthemum  Society 
stib  at  the  head  of  those  societies  having  for  their  object  the  cultivation 
and  exhibition  of  some  particular  flower.  In  common  with  kindred 
societies  the  N.C  S.  can  look  hack  upon  a  year’s  operations  in  which  it 
has  maintained  its  prestige,  and  its  hold  upon  the  Chrysanthemum-loving 
community.  Despite  the  incidence  of  a  summer  and  early  autumi 
characterised  by  a  prolonged  drought,  and  at  times  great  heat,  which  gav 
