July  2fi,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
85 
Ifr,  B.  \  Cant. 
Yes!  we  all  knew  him  better  as  Ben  Cant.  I  think  the  very  use  of 
•that  abbreviation  is  a  sure  index  of  the  place  he  occupied  in  our 
affections  ;  genial,  courteous,  and  kind  he  ever  was,  and  one  felt  that 
when  illness  laid  hold  upon  h  -  and  that  he  could  no  longer  appear  at 
onr  committees  and  gatherings,  we  had  lost  one  of  the  best  of  our  Rose 
growers,  and  certainly,  I  believe,  the  very  best  of  our  exhibitors.  I  do 
not  wish  to  disparage  anv  of  those  who  entered  into  competition  with 
him,  but  I  still  maintain  that  in  finish  and  refinement  his  Roses  came 
■up  to  the  very  ideal  of  perfection,  while  the  arrangement  of  his  stands 
always  showed  that  he  had  the  eye  of  an  artist.  It  is  many  years  now 
since  I  made  his  acquaintance  and 'I  went  to  see  him,  and  with  him 
visited  his  friend  Mr.  Hedge,  who  was  then  the  most  distinguished  of 
amateur  Rose  growers.  Between  them  they  laid  the  foundation  of 
that  success  which  has  made  Colchester  the  very  metropolis  of  Rose 
growing. 
Ho  was  a  man  who  was  slow  to  form  his  judgments  on  the  claims  of 
flowers  for  admission  into  the  charmed 
circle  of  exhibition  varieties,  but  when 
he  had  once  made  he  had  seldom  cause 
to  alter  his  opinion.  At  one  time  he 
(used  to  receive  all  the  new  Roses  from 
France,  enter  them  into  a  memorandum 
book,  and  record  his  opinion  of  them. 
Many  a  time  has  he  permitted  me  to  see 
this  record.  He  was  never  a  raiser  of 
seedling  Roses,  and  the  only  Rose  that 
bears  his  name  is,  I  think.  Prince  Arthur, 
a  sport  from  General  Jacqueminot.  As 
a  judge  none  surpassed  him  and  few 
equalled  him ;  his  long  experience  gave 
him  unusual  facilities  for  carrying  out 
his  wishes.  He  was  always  courteous  to 
his  fellow  judges,  even  where  he  differed 
■from  them. 
In  the  “  Rosarian’s  Year  Book  ”  for 
1886  there  appeared  a  portrait  of  Mr. 
Hant,  and  I  may  be  excused  perhaps  for 
repeating  what  I  then  said  of  him — 
“  ‘  There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men,’ 
■&C.,  and  probably  a  good  deal  of  the 
success  or  failure  of  men  arises  from 
their  seizing  or  neglecting  that  chance. 
Such  a  crisis  there  was  in  Mr.  Cant’s 
life,  and  to  his  riding  on  that  flood  he 
attributes  his  after  success  in  life.  It 
was  in  the  year  1853  that  a  friend  of 
his,  Mr.  Penrose  of  Dedham,  returned 
from  Prance.  He  was  an  enthusiastic 
horticulturist,  and  especially  fond  of 
Roses.  During  his  stay  there  he  had  paid  a  visit  to  his  old]  friend 
Laffay,  who  spoke  in  glowing  terms  of  three  Roses  which  were  then 
•coming  out  for  the  first  time — Gloire  de  Dijon,  General  Jacqueminot, 
and  Jules  Margottin  (what  a  year  that  was) — and  so  impressed  Mr. 
Penrose  with  his  enthusiasm  about  them,  that  he  bought  them,  and 
when  he  came  home  he^offered  them  to  Mr.  Cant, 
“  These  he  accepted,  although  dissuaded  by  an  eminent  Rose  grower 
of  the  day,  and  he  soon  got  up  a  stock.  The  Roses  became  popular,  and 
it  shows  the  discrimination  of  Laffay,  for,  as  Mr.  Cant  justly  observes, 
they  are  three  of  the  best  garden  Roses  that  we  have.  They  were 
quickly  propagated,  rapidly  sold,  and  for  ever  fixed  Mr.  Cant  as  a  Rose 
grower,  and  gave  him  his  first  start  in  life.”  Numberless  are  the 
trophies  of  Mr.  Cant’s  success  which  he  possesses — caps,  vases,  medals, 
&c.  ;  but  I  think  that  the  greatest  of  all  his  victories  has  been  the 
sincere  regard,  respect,  and  esteem  he  has  won  from  all  rosarians,  who 
I  think  will  cherish  among  their  pleasantest  recollections  that  of  the 
kindly,  courteous,  genial  Ben  Cant. — D,,  Deal. 
Gro'wtb  of  Puff-balls. — The  “  Man,  learned  in  fungi,”  (page  56) 
who  asserts  that  a  giant  Puff-ball,  up  to  1^  cwt.,  “grows  in  one  night,” 
will  have  to  prove  it  before  I  and  others  will  believe  him.  Mushroom 
gatherers  know  that  this  is  a  popular  delusion. — W.  R.  Raillem. 
I{ose  Sliows. 
Natioiial  Rose  Society— Birmingham,  July  19tl|. 
The  northern  exhibition  of  the  National  Rose  Society  was  held  on 
Thursday  last  in  the  Botanical  Gardens,  Edgbaston,  Birmingham,  in 
almost  tropical  weather.  Under  the  (for  the  purposes  of  a  Rose  show 
insufficiently  shaded)  glass  roof  of  the  conservatory  a  certain  proportion 
of  the  blooms  were  completely  spoiled  by  three  o’clock,  and  visitors 
after  that  hour  might  gather  that  the  exhibition  was  comparatively 
poor.  Such,  however,  was  not  the  case,  for  during  the  morning  when 
the  covers  had  been  removed  from  the  boxes  it  was  readily  seen  that 
splendid  flowers  were  numerous,  both  in  the  amateurs’  and  the 
nurserymen’s  sections.  The  garden  Roses  and  local  classes  were  placed 
in  an  open  tent  in  the  lower  gardens,  and  the  former  were  really  superb  ; 
both  Mr.  Maohin  and  Mr.  Mattock  were  in  great  form.  The  local 
section  was  not  so  well  supported  as  we  anticipated,  considering  the 
enthusiasm  with  which  gardening  is  followed  up  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  midland  metropolis. 
Perhaps  the  best  feature  of  the  entire  show  was  the  improvement 
that  was  manifest  in  the  dark  Roses,  which  were  much  more  largely 
shown  than  is  generally  the  case.  As  everyone  can  readily  imagine, 
the  appearance  of  the  stands  containing 
these  dark  flowers  was  much  better  than 
where  light  varieties  preponderated. 
This  richness  of  colour  must  doubtless 
be  ascribed  to  the  sunshine  of  the  past 
few  days,  which  if  it  develops  the 
colouring  pigment  also  quickly  bleaches 
it  again  ;  however,  at  B  rmingham  the 
blooms  had  been  taken  just  at  the  right 
moment,  and  consequently  the  show  was 
a  very  beautiful  one.  Mr.  E.  B.  Lindsell 
followed  up  his  Crystal  Palace  successes 
by  annexing  the  amateurs’  challenge 
trophy  and  other  prizes.  SMr.  Conway 
Jones  was  in  exceptional  form,  as  also 
were  Messrs.  A.  Slaughter  and  Wm. 
Boyes.  The  former,  though  hailing  from 
Sussex,  was  much  stronger  than  at  the 
Crystal  Palace. 
The  arrangements  of  the  exhibition 
in  the  hands  of  Mr.  E.  Mawley  and  the 
secretary  of  the  Birmingham  Botanical 
and  Horticultural  Society  were  most 
praiseworthy.  It  was  noticed  that  Mr. 
Latham,  the  curator  of  the  garden,  was 
rendering  valuable  service  in  his  quiet, 
unobtrusive  way;  while  Professor  Hill- 
house  was  determined  that  none  save 
the  representatives  of  the  Press  should 
be  present  during  the  period  of  adjudi¬ 
cation. 
Nurserymen —General  Section. 
In  the  class  for  thirty-six  distinct, 
single  trusses,  the  first  prizewinner  holds 
for  the  year  the  nurserymen’s  Jubilee 
challenge  trophy,  value  50  guineas,  and 
receives  also  a  memorial  gold  medal. 
This  coveted  position  was  secured  by 
Messrs.  Harkness  &  Sons,  Bedale,  who 
staged  an  even  collection,  comprising  a  good  proportion  of  well- 
coloured  dark  flowers.  The  varieties  were  Gustave  Piganeau,  Mrs. 
J.  Laing,  Chas.  Lefebvre,  Bessie  Brown,  Capt.  Hayward,  Mrs.  W.  J. 
Grant,  Marie  Baumann,  Madame  Eugene  Verdier,  Duke  of  Edinburgh, 
White  Maman  Coohet,  Alf,  Colomb,  Her  Majesty,  Pierre  Netting, 
A.  K.  Williams,  Madame  Cusin,  Horace  Vernet,  Souvenir  d’Elise 
Vardon,  Duke  of  Teck,  Louis  Van  Houtte,  Comte  Raimbaud,  Marechal 
Niel,  Victor  Hugo  (fine),  Maman  Cochet,  E.  Y.  Teas,  Duke  of 
Wellington,  Chas.  Lamb,  Sir  R.  Hill,  Helen  Drew,  Madame  Haussman, 
Dr.  Andry,  Reynolds  Hole,  Duchesse  de  Morny,  Edouard  Andre,  Etoile 
de  Lyon,  Earl  Dufferin,  and  Exposition  de  B -ie.  Messrs.  A.  Dickson 
and  Sons,  Newtownards,  were  second  with  smaller  flowers;  and  Messrs. 
D.  Prior  &  Sons,  Colchester,  third.  There  were  seven  competitors  in 
this  class. 
In  the  class  for  seventy-two  distinct  varieties  the  Right  Hon.  Lord 
Calthorpe  offered  a  silver  cup,  value  7  guineas,  in  addition  to  the 
premier  prize  of  £3,  given  by  the  Society.  Messrs.  A.  Dickson  &  Sons 
were  first  with  a  stand  containing  some  flowers  of  excellent  quality, 
while  others  were  weak.  The  varieties  comprised  Star  of  W  iltham, 
Countess  of  Caledon,  Gustave  Piganeau,  Mildred  Grant,  A.  K.  Williams, 
Marchioness  of  Londonderry,  Dupuy  Jamain,  Comtesse  de  Nadaillac, 
Ulster,  Bessie  Brown,  Beauty  of  Waltham,  Helen  Keller,  Horace 
Verner,  Mrs.  J.  Laing,  Marie  Rady,  Marchioness  of  Dufferin,  Pierre 
Netting,  Capt.  Christy,  Reynolds  Hole,  Souvenir  de  S.  A.  Prince, 
D  :o  de  R  >han.  Her  Majesty,  Marie  Baumann,  Mrs.  Conway  Jones, 
Gladys  Harkness,  Duke  of  Wellington,  Souvenir  d’Elise  Vardon,  Charles 
Lefebvre,  Alice  Lindsell,  Duchess  of  Bedford,  Catherine  Mermet,  Earl 
Fig.  23.— The  Late  Me.  B.  R.  Cant. 
