48 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  17,  1902. 
or  a  particular  crop  just  at  its  best?  Gardeners  always  talk 
shop,  but  they  are  never  aware  of  it,  because  to  them  there 
is  no  other  topic  half  so  pleasant,  neither  does  it  seem 
possible  to  take  a  keen  interest  in  horticultural  matters 
without  having  some  genial  spirit  to  share  it  with  you. 
Perhaps  it  is  this  mutual  tendency  to  be  sociable  that  first 
led  to  the  formation  of  horticultural  societies  about  which  I 
have  a  few  words  to  say. 
First  of  all  there  is  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  with 
its  far-reaching  influence,  which  embraces  gardeners  of  all 
classes  ;  then  there  are  the  societies  of  provincial  centres, 
such  as  Shrewsbury,  York,  and  Hanley,  that  hold  magnifi¬ 
cent  shows  every  year  ;  and,  thirdly,  the  societies  devoted  to 
the  welfare  of  particular  flowers,  such  as  the  Chrys¬ 
anthemum,  the  Rose,  and  the  Dahlia.  We  know  all  about 
these  institutions,  gardening  papers  tell  of  their  doings  week 
by  week  ;  but  there  are  hundreds  of  other  societies  scattered 
over  the  land  that  make  no  bid  to  fame,  beyond  an  occasional 
paragraph  in  the  local  newspaper,  and  yet  it  is  impossible  to 
over-estimate  the  amount  of  good  they  are  doing  in  the  wrorld 
of  horticulture.  The  village  society  holding  its  annual  show 
is,  comparatively  speaking,  an  old  institution  ;  but  in  the 
suburbs  of  every  town  of  size  the  gardening  spirit  moves, 
and  of  recent  years  societies  have  sprung  up,  at  the  meetings 
of  which  knowledge  is  distributed,  and  the  productions  of 
the  members  are  displayed. 
Perhaps  the  chief  aim  of  the  rural  gardening  society  is  to 
have  an  exhibition,  and  in  many  a  country  village  the  event 
of  the  annual  show  is  a  red  letter  day  of  the  year.  There  is 
scarcely  need  to  describe  it,  for  who  has  not  been  to  a  village 
flower  show?  Generally  on  the  same  day,  and  in  the  same 
field,  the  tent  appears.  You  observed  the  horny-handed 
workers  proudly  stage  the  produce  that  has  cost  them  many 
an  hour  of  toil  and  care,  you  note  the  comparisons  they  make, 
and  the  decisions  they  arrive  at  before  the  judges  allot  the 
prizes,  and  aftenvards  you  observe  the  eagerness  with  which 
they  enter  the  tent  to  learn  their  fate.  In  the  afternoon  the 
band  plays,  the  villagers,  from  the  lord  of  the  manor  down¬ 
wards,  flock  in  between  then  and  evening,  and  stout  lads 
and  winsome  lassies  trip  the  fantastic  toe  on  the  green  turf. 
Such  is  the  village  flower  show  day,  a  time  of  absorbing 
interest  to  the  gardening  element,  because  it  is  the  culmina¬ 
tion  of  earnest  effort,  a  day  of  healthy  recreation  and  amuse¬ 
ment  to  the  villagers,  and  an  event  to  be  remembered  till  the 
time  again  rolls  round  for  the  next  show.  It  is  only  those 
who  are  acquainted  with  village  life  and  .village  gardening 
who  can  estimate  the  benefits  derived  from  the  institution 
of  the  flower  show.  I  have  wTatchecl  their  progress  in  many 
instances,  and  have  observed  the  interest  they  have  aroused. 
In  every  village  there  is  a  community  of  persons  interested 
in  gardening,  and  they  only  want  stimulating. 
The  flower  show  has  this  effect,  the  spirit  of  competition 
asserts  itself,  enthusiasts  vie  with  each  other  in  friendly 
rivalry,  and  the  general  standard  of  gardening  is  raised  in 
consequence.  Exhibitors  soon  learn  that  to  gain  honours 
they  must  not  only  grow  crops  well,  but  they  must  grow  che 
best  forms.  This  prompts  them  to  make  a  study  of  varieties, 
to  search  catalogues,  to  read  horticultural  literature,  and  to 
add  to  their  stock  of  knowledge  by  every  means  possible. 
This  all  tends  to  improvement,  and  if  a  census  could  be  taken 
of  the  best  village  gardeners  in  the  country  it  would  be  found 
that  they  are  mostly  members  of  horticultural  societies. 
In  some  instances  amateur  societies  are  instituted  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  running  an  annual  show  ;  but  in  such 
cases  an  element  of  general  usefulness  is  lost.  A  gardening 
society  should  be  one  of  jnutual  improvement,  and  this  can 
hardly  be  the  case  when  a  show  is  held  once  a  year,  and  the 
members  rarely  come  into  contact  with  each  other  except  on 
these  occasions.  The  tendency  is  to  think  too  much  of 
growing  for  the  show  alone,  exhibitors  are  apt  to  grow  mer¬ 
cenary,  jealousies  creep  in,  and  these  things  have  been  the 
downfall  of  more  than  one  society.  In  many  country  villages 
in  the  South  of  England  the  society  is  managed  on  different 
and  better  lines.  There  is  the  annual  show,  of  course  ;  but 
in  addition  to  that  the  society  has  its  headquarters,  where 
meetings  are  held  monthly,  and  in  some  cases  fortnightly. 
Seasonable  produce  is  staged  at  the  monthly  meetings,  for 
which  points  are  given.  A  record  is  kept  of  the 
latter,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  prizes  are  given, 
the  amounts  varying  according  to  the  financial  position 
of  the  society.  To  prove  that  prize  money  is  not 
the  sole  aim  of  village  gardeners,  I  could  point  to 
instances  where  men  have  exhibited  regularly  at  the  monthly 
meetings  and  at  the  annual  show,  and  through  bad  weather 
or  other  circumstances  they  have  not  received  a  penny  in 
reward.  But  they  have  not  withdrawn  their  support,  and  to 
their  credit  have  kept  on  exhibiting  just  the  same.  In  most 
cases  the  society  is  able  to  guarantee  the  prize  money  ;  but 
not  in  all,  and  I  have  known  wet  days  to  dash  the  hopes  of 
the  exhibitors  entirely,  though  they  have  accepted  the 
situation  cheerfully,  and  worked  unitedly  to  recoup  the  loss 
to  the  society. 
The  monthly  meetings  are  interesting  gatherings,  and 
through  them  the  members  are  kept  in  frequent  touch  with 
each  other.  Reserve  is  forgotten  when  they  sit  round  the 
meeting  room,  and  through  the  discussion  much  useful 
knowledge,  founded  on  experience,  is  dispersed.  In  some 
instances  arrangements  are  made  for  papers  to  be  read,  or 
lectures  to  be  given,  which  adds  greatly  to  the  interest,  and 
though  the  working  cottage  gardener  is  not  much  for  public 
discussion,  he  is  a  profound  listener,  and  in  his  quiet 
moments  on  his  own  little  plot  he  proves  by  practice  what  he 
learns  by  precept  in  the  meeting  room.  Further,  it  is  worthy 
of  notice  that  many  of  these  societies  are  not  run  by 
influential  persons  under  patronage.  They  are  started  and 
managed  by  the  working  men  themselves,  with  as  much 
financial  support  as  they  can  get  from  outsiders.  They  may 
aim  at  no  great  things,  in  the  eyes  of  some  they  perhaps, 
appear  to  be  conducted  on  monotonous  lines  ;  but  the  village 
gardening  society  has  to  move  slowly  and  keep  solvent,  and 
with  limited  resources  much  enterprise  is  prohibited. 
What  I  would  point  out  is  that  societies,  even  in  a  small 
way,  are  the  outcome  of  a  true  love  for  gardening.  The 
support  they  get  is  perhaps  not  in  proportion  to  the  good 
they  do,  when  we  remember  that  their  objects  are  to  further 
horticultural  interests,  to  circulate  practical  knowledge,  and 
to  encourage  the  cultivation  of  the  best  produce. — H. 
Abnormal  Ferns. 
Mr.  R.  Lloyd  Praeger  writes  in  the  July  number  of  “  Know¬ 
ledge  ”  on  Fern  varieties :  “  In  my  last  article  the  normal  forms 
of  our  British  Ferns  were  under  brief  consideration.  In  dis¬ 
cussing  the  curious  phenomenon  of  apospory,  it  may  have  been 
noticed  that,  in  every  instance,  this-  was  detected,  not  in  the 
type  form  of  any  species,  but  in  some  abnormal  variety.  The 
abundance  of  these  varieties,  in  our  native  Ferns,  and  their 
marvellous  range  of  variation,  are  very  remarkable,  features,  well 
worthy  of  consideration.  In  no  other  group  of  plants  throughout 
the  whole  \  getable  kingdom  do  we  find  such  an  amazing  range 
of  abnormal  forms.  They  are  often  treated  as  mere  florist’s 
monstrosities,  and  no  more  worthy  of  recognition  by  the  botanist 
than  the  rainbow-tinted  galaxy  of  Chrysanthemums  or  Pansies ; 
but  two  facts  concerning  them  place  them  at.  once  on  a  different 
footing.  As  many  and  as  remarkable  Fern  varieties  have  been 
found  in  a  state  of  nature  as  have  been  produced  by  the  combined 
efforts  of  all  the  horticulturists;  and  a  large  number  of  them 
reproduce  themselves  absolutely  true  generation  after  genera¬ 
tion,  and  are  even  capable  of  carrying  (by  crossing  with  other 
forms)  their  peculiar  characters  into  other  varieties.  The  features 
which  distinguish  these  abnormal  forms  follow  certain  definite 
lines  even  in  species  of  widely  separated  genera,  and  are  capable 
of  classification.  A  remarkable  point  about  these  Fern  varieties 
is  that  they  are  essentially  a  British  group  of  plants,  and  their 
study  is  a  British  hobby.  While  some  foreign  Ferns  yield  well- 
known  varieties — such  as  the  crested  forms  of  several  species  of 
Pteris  and  Maidenhair — still  these  are  as  nothing  compared  with 
the  wonderful  number  and  range  in  character  of  those  which 
have  been  found  wild  in  our  islands,  notably  in  the  south-west,  of 
England.  Another  curious  point  is  that  the  species  which  are 
so  variable  with  us  appear  to  lose  this  character  even  in  neigh¬ 
bouring  countries.  France  and  Germany  have  yielded  one  or 
two,  but  only  one  or  two  varieties',  where  English  hedgerows 
have  yielded  literally  hundreds.  These  varieties,  sports, 
monstrosities,  or  whatever  we  choose  to  designate  them,  have 
occasionally  a  wide  distribution,  in  which  case  they  frequently 
obtain  recognition  from  systematic  botanists.  Frequently — and 
this  is  a  very  remarkable  fact — a  highly  abnormal  variety,  some¬ 
times  even  one  combining  several  quite  abnormal  features,  will 
occur  as  a  single  plant  growing  amid  normal  forms,  and  the 
most  careful  search  will  reveal  neither  parent  nor  offspring,  in 
spite  of  the  high  fertility  of  Ferns,  while  in  cultivation  it  will 
propagate  freely  and  preserve  its  peculiar  character.  That  famous 
variety  of  the  Lady  Fern,  A.  F.-f.  Victoria,  thus  occurred  in 
Stirlingshire — a  form  in  which  both  the  cruciate  and  crested 
characters  are  perfectly  developed,  and  are  constant  in  the 
offspring.  The  equally  remarkably  A.  F.-f.  Frizelliae  has  been 
twice  found — in  Wicklow  and  in  Donegal — single  plants  in  both 
cases,  which  can  have  had  no  connection  with  each  other;  and 
innumerable  other  instances  might  he  cited.” 
