74 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  26,  1900. 
the  exhibition  at  the  Crystal  Palace  on  Friday  and  Saturday  last. 
Honour  to  whom  honour  is  due. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  actual  numbers  of  flowers  exhibited, 
and  the  general  remarkable  quality  observable  throughout  practically 
the  whole  of  the  show,  there  could  be  found  nothing  at  which  to  cavil. 
There  were  no  “  walks  over  ”  in  this  grand  display  ;  every  class  was 
keenly  contested ;  no  less  than  seven  growers  faced  the  judges  in 
the  great  class  for  100  bunches,  and  in  the  “coming  of  age”  class, 
for  which  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons  and  Henry  Eckford  were  answerable 
respectively ;  every  man  was  on  his  mettle  ;  everyone  was  determined 
to  win  the  coveted  awards.  All  the  greater  honour  is  therefore 
due  to  Mr.  Peter  Blair  and  Mr.  Edwin  Beckett,  amongst  others 
who  were  represented  by  some  of  the  most  magnificent  Sweet 
Peas  that  have  ever  been  shown  or  grown  in  the  United  Kingdom. 
Many  readers  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  will,  of  course,  be 
aware  that  the  Sweet  Pea  has  “  caught  on  ”  in  America  to  a 
degree  that  would  never  be  dreamt  ot  in  this  country ;  and  yet 
the  Kev.  W,  T.  Hutchins,  who  came  over  the  herring  pond  for 
this  celebration,  was  emphatic  in  his  d  claration  that  nothing  to 
equal  the  Crystal  Palace  display  had  ever 
been  seen  in  the  United  States. 
We  must  not,  however,  continue  our 
plaudits  any  further,  but  must  put  in  a 
word  of  mild  criticism  respecting,  not  the 
show  itself  but  its  arrangements.  We  had 
hoped  that  as  the  majority  of  the  executive 
committee  had  had  considerable  experience 
in  the  management  of  shows  this  one 
would  be  beyond  reproach  ;  but  this  was 
not  the  case.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
exhibition  sub-committee  performed  its 
duties  in  a  decidedly  perfunctory  way  ;  so 
much  so,  indeed,  that  the  judges  were 
not  instructed  to  mark  the  cards,  the 
classes  were  spread  here  and  there  over 
the  great  area  of  the  northern  nave,  and 
at  four  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Friday 
the  whole  of  the  first,  second,  and  third 
prize  awards  were  not  legibly  placed  on  the 
exhibitors’  cards.  Further  than  th's,  two  of 
the  central  tables  in  the  nave  were  almost 
empty,  while  the  remainder  weie  packed 
to  an  unwarrantable  degree.  We  can  only 
ascribe  this  to  the  sub-committee  named, 
as  the  honorary  secretary  was  certainly 
indefatigable  in  his  efforts  to  make  every¬ 
thing  a  perfect  success.  Probably  if  a 
further  show  of  Sweet  Peas  were  held 
under  the  same  auspices  such  contretemps  would  not  occur,  but 
they  are  none  the  less  regrettable. 
Reverting  now  to  pleasanter  themes,  we  have  to  record  the  fact 
that  the  exhibition  was  declared  open  by  Lady  Treloar,  the  wife  of 
Alderman  and  Sheriff  Sir  William  Treloar,  who  was  president  of  the 
celenration,  attended  at  the  Crystal  Palace  on  Friday  in  semi-State 
dress  and  wore  his  chain  of  office.  The  opening  ceremony  was  fixed 
for  1.30  P.M.,  and  within  a  few  moments  of  that  hour  Miss  Sherwood 
presented  an  artistic  bouquet  of  Sweet  Peas  to  Lady  Treloar,  and  in  a 
few  words  the  affair  was  complete.  At  this  hour  the  judges  had 
finished  their  duties.  In  the  afternoon  a  special  sub-committee 
was  formed  to  make  the  awards  in  the  case  of  the  several  non¬ 
competitive  exhibits,  some  of  which  were  composed  wholly  of  Sweet 
Peas,  white  in  others  there  were  miscellaneous  flowering  and  foliage 
plants. 
The  Luncheon. 
At  an  early  stage  of  the  proceedings,  and  even  before  the 
celebration  had  assumed  really  definite  shape,  it  was  suggested  that  a 
banquet  be  held  to  which  the  foreign  guests,  with  distinguished 
home  growers,  could  be  invited  and  entertained.  This,  however,  fell 
through,  and  we  think  very  few  persons  really  regretted  it.  In  its 
stead  came  the  Luncheon,'j  which*  was  far |  more]  enjoyable  than  the 
formal  banquet  with  its  necessary  restrictions  could  possibly  be.  As^ 
president  Sir  Wm.  Treloar  occupied  the  chair,  and  a  more  genial,, 
homely,  and  entertaining  chairman  never  graced  a  horticultural 
festive  board.  Sir  William  was  supported  by  the  Rev.  W.  T. 
Hutchins,  Mr.  N.  N.  Sherwood,  Mr.  Leonard  Sutton,  Mr.  Gofton 
Salmond,  Mr.  Fritz  Benary,'Mr.  Henry  Eckford,  and  practically  the 
whole  of  the  members  of’thej  executive  |committee,  together  with  a 
considerable  number  of  distinguished^  British  growers.  Naturally 
enough  the  horticultural  Press  was  in  great  force,  all  the  prominent 
daily  papers  being  also  represented.  The  luncheon  having  been 
disposed  of  a  somewhat  lengthened  toast  list  was  turned  to,  and. 
carried  through  with  enthusiasm. 
After  the  loyal  toasts  had  been  received  came  the  presidential 
speech,  which  was  brightly  (conversational  throughout,  and  provoked 
roars  of  laughter  from  everyone  fpresent  (before  it  was  finished.  Sir 
William  said  it  had  been  some  time  before  he  grasped  why  he  should 
have  been  asked  to  become  "president,  but  had  concluled  that  if  was 
because  of  his  similarity  toThe  flowers  they  were  gathered  together  to 
exalt — the  Sweet  Pea.  The  resemblance,, 
continued  Sir  William,  lies  in  -  the  fact 
that  ]both  are  useful  for  table  decoration 
— indeed  the  speaker  went  so  far  as  to 
assert  that  the  value  was  merely  deco¬ 
rative,  and  had  no  intrinsic  .worth.  He 
was,  however,  delighted  to  be  present  at 
what  was  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
horticultural  exhibitions  that  had  ever  been 
gathered  together  within  the  precincts  of 
the  Crystal  Palace  ;  and,  moreover,  he  had 
understood  from  his  friend  the  Rev.  W.  T... 
Hutchins  that  such  a  show  had  not  yet 
been  seen  in  the  whole  of  the  United  States 
of  America.  He  spoke  in  terms  of  con¬ 
gratulation  to  those  who  had  been  instru¬ 
mental  in  bringing  the  affair  to  such  a 
successful  issue,  and  in  conclusion  exhorted 
all  the  speakers  to  follow  the  excellent 
example  he  had  set  to  them,  and  be  as 
brief  as  possible.  He  gave,  them  the  toast 
of  “  Success  of  the  Sweet  Pea  Bicentenary.” 
Mr.  George  Gordon  responded,  and  laid 
stress  upon  the  success  that  had  crowned 
the  efforts  of  those  with  whom  was  the 
management,  and  spoke  of  the  generous 
support  that  had  been  accorded.  He  briefly 
reviewed  the  history  of  the  movement,  and 
considered  it  had  been  successful  from  the 
first  moment  until  the  present.  He  spoke  of  the  pleasure  it  gave 
his  committee  to  know  that  the  work  that  had  been  done  was 
appreciated  throughout  the  whole  of  the  land,  on  the  Continent,  and 
even  in  America. 
Mr.  W.  P.  Wright  proposed,  “The  Donors  of  Special  Prizes,”  of 
whose  necessity  in  connectioniwith|  horticultural  shows  he  had  long 
been  convinced.  He  was  particularly  emphatic  in  his  complimentary 
remarks  to  the  excellent  work  of  Mr.  Henry  Eckford  during  the  past 
twenty-one  years,  and  said  what  a  pleasure  it  was  to  him  to  see 
the  veteran  present.  The  names  of  Messrs.  Leonard  Sutton  and 
John  Collingridge  were  coupled], with  this  toast,  and  both  of  whem. 
responded. 
“The  Exhibitors  and  Judges”  was  given  by  Mr.  T.  W.  Sanders 
in  brief  terms,  and  responded  to  by  Messrs.  W.  Cuthbertson  of 
Rothesay  and  W.  Balchin,  jun.,  of  Brighton.  Like  all  the  others,, 
this  toast  was  splendidly  received. 
To  Sir  William  Treloar  was  entrusted^tbe  task  of  proposing  “The 
j  Foreign  Guests  and  Visitors,”  which  he  didin  a  short  speech  that  was 
;  full  of  pungent  wit,  though  tit  contained  comparatively  little  in  relation 
to  its  text.  He,  however,  accorded  to  them  a  most  hearty  welcome. 
’  The  names  of  the  Rev.  W.  T.  Hutchins,  Philadelphia;  Herr  Fritz 
'  Benary,  Erfurt;  and  Mr.  Henry  Gillman  were  coupled  with  the  toast. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Hutchins  said  at  the  outset  that  he  had  been  called 
Fig.  18.— Mr.  N.  X.  Sherwood. 
