JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  4,  1900. 
3U 
Britisli  Grown  Frnit, 
Crystal  Palace,  September  27tl|,  28tb,  and  29tli. 
Once  more  the  great  exhibition  of  British -grown  fruit  held  annually 
in  the  Crystal  Palace  has  come  and  gone,  and  again  we  have  to 
chronicle  an  unqualified  success.  Amidst  the  many  thousands  of 
individual  exhibits  there  were  of  course  those  of  inferior  quality,  but 
they  formed  an  infinitesimal  minority,  for,  generally  speaking,  the 
standard  was  exceptionally  high.  The  fruits,  it  is  true,  had  not  the  size 
that  has  characterised  them  at  some  previous  shows,  but  there  was  a 
clearness  of  skin  and  a  brilliance  of  colour  that  have  not  been  common 
in  the  past.  Pears  especially  were  wonderfully  refined,  and  several 
varieties  have  seldom  been  exhibited  in  such  excellent  form.  It  is 
gratifying  to  learn,  too,  that  with  the  general  improvement  in  quality 
came  a  rise  in  quantity,  the  entries  in  this  section  being  double 
those  that  are  customarily  received.  The  most  noticeable  instance  of 
diminution  in  numbers  was  in  the  single  dish  Apples  classes,  where 
the  exhibitors  showed  material  decrease.  The  competition,  however, 
remained  just  as  keen,  if  not  a  little  keener,  owing  to  the  high 
merit  of  the  majority  of  the  specimens.  A  notable  absentee  from 
this  and  other  sections  was  Mr.  Mackenzie  of  Linton,  who  is  suffering 
from  indisposition,  subsequent,  we  believe,  upon  an  attack  of  pneumonia. 
Mr.  Woodward,  who  was  missing  last  year,  was  back  this  time  in  his 
old  form  ;  but  another  Kentish  grower,  Mr.  W.  T.  Stowers  of  Sitting, 
bourne,  proved  a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel,  and  certainly  secured  a 
full  share  of  the  laurels. 
Stone  fruits  came  right  to  the  fronton  the  present  occasion  and  were 
staged  in  exceptionally  large  quantities.  As  with  Pears,  we  were 
informed,  the  entries  of  Peaches,  Nectarines,  and  Plums  were  double 
those  of  last  year’s  show.  In  each  case,  too,  they  were  of  magnificent 
quality,  and  had  with  great  size  a  beautiful  richness  of  colour.  It  was 
pleasing  to  observe  with  what  care  the  individual  fruits  had  been 
packed,  for  the  abundant  bloom  on  some  of  the  Plums  was  scarcely 
touched,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  had  travelled  many  miles 
by  road  or  rail,  or  both.  We  found  in  one  of  the  Plum  classes  that 
the  second  prizewinner  had  not  named  his  fruit.  This  at  an  exhibition 
like  the  present,  which  is  essentially  of  a  highly  educational  value,  is 
a  serious  omission,  and  it  should  involve  disqualification  at  future 
meetings.  The  measure  may  be  drastic,  but  if  the  greatest  value  is 
to  be  derived  from  the  shows  then  it  is  quite  essential,  as  to  the 
lay  mind  a  dish  without  a  name  conveys  nothing  ;  it  is  a  Plum  or  a 
Peach  or  an  Apple  or  any  other  fruit  and  no  more. 
In  no  section  was  improvement  more  manifest  than  in  the  Grape 
classes,  which  throughout  indicated  decided  progress.  The  competition 
in  some  of  the  classes  was  disappointing,  notably  in  that  for  the  Wood 
trophy,  for  which  only  two  growers  competed,  and  furthermore  neither 
was  up  to  his  proper  standard.  In  the  remaining  Grape  classes  there 
was  occasionally  very  smart  competition,  and  almost  invariably  fine 
quality.  White  Grapes  were  not,  we  think,  quite  up  to  the  mark,  as 
in  almost  every  instance  with  Muscat  of  Alexandria  the  berries,  though 
large  and  of  good  form,  had  not  the  depth  and  richness  of  colour  which 
is  universally  regarded  as  compatible  with  perfection.  The  magnificence 
of  the  black  varieties,  however,  served  to  take  the  average  excellence 
above  that  of  the  immediately  preceding  shows  under  the  same  auspices 
at  the  Crystal  Palace. 
The  market  growers’  section  in  the  opinion  of  those  versed  in 
this  aspect  was  a  marked  advance  on  previous  occasions,  but  still  fell 
very  far  below  what  it  will  have  to  be  before  it  is  entirely  repre¬ 
sentative.  With  these  views  we  are  in  entire  consonance.  The 
produce  shown  and  the  systems  of  packing  were  of  the  first  quality, 
and  were  a  few  dozens  more  of  exhibitors  to  bring  forward  examples 
of  their  craft  we  should  find  the  section  become  an  exhibition  in 
itself.  And  what  a  valuable  one  it  would  be !  For  does  it  not  teach 
the  grower  of  fruit  for  market,  who  is  a  little  inclined  to  be  slipshod 
in  his  methods,  how  he  must  proceed  ere  he  can  attain  to  the  greatest 
success  ?  We  met  one  grower  at  the  Palace  who  proudly  asserted 
that  sending  the  finest  produce,  and  packing  in  the  most  approved 
style,  had  insured  him  returns  that  were  200  per  cent,  over  average 
market  prices.  Such  a  man  as  this  should  surely  have  other  secrets 
to  tell  beyond  excellence  of  produce  and  packing.  As  usual  the 
nurserymen  s  competitive  classes  were  a  magnificent  success,  and  we 
know  that  it  was  an  eye-opener  to  some  American  cousins,  who  could 
scarcely  believe  that  such  fruit  could  be  produced  in  Old  England. 
This  proves  that  the  Americans  do  not  yet  know  everything. 
Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  another  aspect  of  the  entire  question. 
This  has  relation  to  the  schedule  and  its  prizes.  We  think  the  time 
has  now  come  for  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society — 
to  whom  all  honour  is  due  for  the  excellent  work  already  done — to 
adopt  a  more  generous,  policy  in  its  prize  list.  We  do  not  think 
the  major  portion  of  the  growers  show  so  much  for  mere  monetary 
gain  as  for  the  honour  of  the  society  and  the  country.  It  is,  however, 
quite  obvious  that  a  gardener  cannot  be  continually  putting  his 
hand  in  his  pocket  for  the  wherewithal  to  bring  himself  and  the  pro. 
ducts  of  his  skill  to  London  to  uphold  British  prestige  in  a  friendly 
arena,  and  help  swell  the  coffers  of  the  Crystal  Palace  Company.  The 
society  boasts  of  its  numbers  of  Fellows,  its  status,  and  its  affluence, 
and  we  wouM  therefore  suggest  that  three  prizes  be  given  in  every 
class,  and  that  the  value  of  the  awards  in  the  more  important  be 
materially  raised.  We  think  that  the  gardener  should  have  a  chance  of 
earning  something  towards  out  of  pocket  expenses.  It  might  be  argued 
that  he  has  such  chance  already,  but  this  is  very  doubtful.  The  large 
grower  may  be  quite  safe,  and  can  take  care  of  himself ;  it  is  on  behalf 
of  the  smaller  man  that  we  put  forward  this  plea.  Offer  more  prizes, 
and  these,  if  possible,  of  higher  value,  and  we  are  confident  that  the 
show  will  improve.  Maintain  the  conditions  of  the  moment,  and  we 
fear  that  it  must  of  necessity  dwindle  away  until  to  designate  it  a 
representative  show  of  British  grown  fruit  will  be  nothing  short  of  a 
farce.  It  must  ever  be  remembered  that  it  is  not  the  one  or  two 
“  big  ”  men  that  make  a  national  show,  but  the  multitude  of  smaller 
though  not  less  earnest  people,  and  these  should  have  a  proportionate 
chance  of  reasonable  success. 
We  would,  too,  call  the  attention  of  the  Council  to-  the  practice  of 
certain  nurserymen  who,  having  failed  to  get  an  award  as  competitors, 
place  cards  on  their  stands  bearing  the  words  “  Not  for  competition.” 
This  is  not  as  it  should  be.  If  they  enter  in  a  competitive  class  and 
are  honestly  beaten  they  should  take  their  defeat  like  men,  and  not 
try  to  cloak  their  discomfiture  beneath  the  words  “Not  for  competition.” 
The  representative  of  one  firm  made  matters  worse  by  assuring  the 
reporter  of  one  of  our  contemporaries  that  the  collection  had  never  been 
entered  for  competition.  Surely  the  Council  could  prevent  this,  and 
also  the  practice,  that  is  in  direct  contravention  to  the  rules,  adopted  by 
a  ceitaih  manure  firm,  of  scattering  their  cards  over  any  and  every 
stand  to  delude  the  visiting  public  into  thinking  the  produce  exhibited 
was  grown  by  the  aid  of  this  artificial  food. 
We  must  not  close  our  introductory  remarks  without  an  acknow- 
ledgement  of  the  admirable  arrangements  of  the  whole  show,  and  of 
the  courtesy  extended  to  everyone  by  the  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  and  Messrs. 
S.  T.  Wright  and  T.  Humphreys,  the  superintendent  and  assistant 
superintendent  respectively.  Beyond  a  somewhat  serious  delay  before 
judging  was  commenced  everything  ran  as  smoothly  and  pleasantly 
as  possible.  The  preparation  of  our  exhaustive  report  of  the  show 
was  largely  facilitated  by  the  arrangements,  and  the  readiness  of  the 
officials  named  to  afford  all  germane  information. 
OPEN  to  GARDENERS  and  AMATEURS  ONLY. 
Collections  of  Under  Glass  Fruits. 
In  addition  to  a  money  prize  of  £4,  Sholto  H.  Hare,  Esq.,  presented 
a  silver  cup  to  the  winner  in  the  class  for  a  collection  of  nine  dishes  of 
ripe  dessert  fruit,  six  kinds  at  least,  only  one  Pine,  one  Melon,  one 
black  and  one  white  Grape  allowed,  not  more  than  two  varieties  of  any 
other  kind,  and  no  two  dishes  of  the  same  variety.  The  premier 
position  was  secured  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Goodacre,  gardener  to  the  Earl  of 
Harrington,  Elvaston  Castle,  Derby.  The  exhibit  comprised  Grapes 
Black  Alicante,  fine  in  berry  and  colour  ;  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  splendid 
berries  and  colour,  but  rather  loose  in  bunch  ;  Peaches  Prince  of  Wales 
and  Golden  Eagle  ;  Apple  Cox’s  Orange  Pippin,  remarkable  colour ; 
Fig  Brunswick  ;  Pear  Doyenne  du  Comice  ;  Melon  Premier,  very 
handsome ;  and  Pine  The  Queen.  Mr.  G.  Mullins,  gardener  to  Lady 
Henry  Somerset,  Eastnor  Castle,  Ledbury,  was  an  excellent  second. 
He  showed  Grapes  Gros  Maroc,  splendidly  finished,  and  Muscat  of 
Alexandria,  long  in  bunch  and  berry,  but  with  several  greenish  berries  ; 
Melon  Countess,  very  fine ;  Peaches  Sea  Eagle  and  Barrington,  excel¬ 
lent;  Pear  Pitmaston  Duchess;  Nectarines  Pme  Apple- and  Albert 
Victor,  and  Apple  Ribston  Pippin,  very  fine.  Mr.  J.  Mclndoe,  gardener 
to  Sir  J.  W.  Pease,  Bart.,  Hutton  Hall,  Guisboro’,  was  third.  Pears 
Beurre  Hardy  and  Souvenir  du  Congr^s,  Apple  Washington,  Pine 
Queen,  and  Melon  Hutton  Hall  Green  Flesh  were  the  best  dishes.  There 
were  four  exhibitors. 
Mr.  W.  Mitchell,  gardener  to  J.  W.  Fleming,  Esq.,  Chil worth  Manor, 
Romsey,  Hants,  annexed  the  first  prize  in  the  class  for  a  collection  of 
six  dishes  of  ripe  dessert  fruit,  four  kinds  at  least,  only  one  Melon, 
one  black  and  one  white  Grape  allowed,  not  more  than  two  varieties  of 
any  other  kind,  and  no  two  dishes  of  the  same  variety.  Pines  excluded. 
The  winning  exhibit  comprised  Grapes  Madresfield  Court,  fine  colour. 
