December  18,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
563 
writer  informs  us  that:  “I  asked  an  architect  and  a  builder 
what  they  would  charge  me  for  ‘ideas’  and  ‘"a  plan,’”  and  this 
on  the  face  of  what  wre  published  last  week,  that  “  the  sender 
will  alone  be  held  responsible  for  it.”  We  sincerely  trust  that 
many  of  the  plans  will  come  “from  the  bothy,”  and  hope  that 
they  will  be  individually  the  work  of  the  person  who  sends  them, 
else  where  can  the  honour  be  placed  ?  What  we  have  termed 
“  The  general  items  of  cost,”  includes  the  bricks  and  stones 
required,  the  timber  for  the  construction,  and  plaster  for  the 
walls.  The  bothy  equipment  would  not  be  included  in  the  cost 
of  the  building  itself.- — Ed.] 
Illegal  Showing. 
This  question,  unfortunately,  is  not  so  much  that  of 
where  illegal  practices  are,  as  it  is  that  of  where  they 
are  not  in  vogue-  As  Mr.  Raillem  hints,  honest  men 
as  exhibitors  are  very  backward  in  coming  forward  in 
the  matter;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  some  who  have 
found  their  efforts  handicapped  by  the  clubbing  processes  of  a 
clique  have  dropped  out  of  showing  altogether,  and  others  have 
copied  the  nefarious  tactics  in  order  to  fight  an  enemy  with  his 
own  weapons.  I  do  not  think  my  experience  is  unique,  but  I 
do  think  that  some  may  consider  such  assertions  too  vague, 
requiring  substantiation  by  facts.  These  I  am  quite  prepared 
to  give,  under  the  seal  of  confession,  to  our  Editor,  and  in  such 
a  manner  that  he  can,  if  necessary,  test  the  bona  fides  of  my 
statements.  “  R.  M.’s”  letter,  on  page  541,  is  very  much  to  the 
point ;  but  he,  too,  ignores  an  important  factor  in  the  question, 
viz.,  those  who  have  the  evidence  are  generally  minus  the  power 
and  position  to  use  it ;  or,  at  least,  that  is  their  feeling  on  the 
matter.  Mr.  Raillem,  on  same  page,  generously  recognises  this, 
inasmuch  as  he  calls  it  “  a  serious  matter  for  one  in  a  dependent 
position  to  bell  the  cat,”  and  very  pertinently  deplores  “a 
little  want  of  pluck  ”  originally.  However,  it  would,  I  think, 
be  as  hard  to  trace  its  origin  as  it  is  to  predict  its  end.  Pro¬ 
bably  it  began  at  the  first  flower  show,  and,  possibly,  it  will  only 
end  with  the  last ;  but,  doubtless,  Mr.  Raillem’s  suggestion 
“  that  honest  men  in  each  society  put  their  heads  together,,  stand 
by  one  another,  and  put  forward  a  general  motion  without  refer¬ 
ence  to  any  individual  case  at  the  annual  meeting  ”  would  be  a 
step  in  the  right  direction;  and  if  they  would,  or  could,  induce 
a  few  of  the  big  sinners  to  join  them  it  might  be  another,  for  to 
give  a  man  credit  for  what  he  is  not  sometimes  stimulates  him 
into  being  what  he  ought  to  be.  A  roundabout  method,  truly, 
but,  in  view  of  past  discussions  and  abortive  results,  no  shorter 
cuts  to  integrity  in  showing  present  themselves  to  the  mind  of — 
K.  D. 
It  is  not  only  too  true  that  illegal  showing  is  too  much 
practised,  and  all  who  have  the  interests  of  fair  play  in  compe¬ 
tition  should  endeavour  to  bring  the  force  of  public  opinion  to 
bear  in  trying  to  check  it.  Nobody  who  has  had  anything  to 
do  with  shows  in  an  official  capacity,  or  who  is  constantly  coming 
across  other  horticulturists  who  are  exhibitors  or  friends  of 
theirs,  can  say  that  this  illegal  showing  is  non-existent,  or  only 
carried  on  to  a  small  extent.  It  prevails  in  many  show  districts, 
and  is  so  insidious  in  its  ways  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
check  it.  The  attempted  remedy  or  precaution,  taken  by  many 
societies,  of  reserving  power  for  the  committee  to  visit  the-  gardens 
of  exhibitors  is  but-  little  called  into  operation,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  it  is  difficult  to  secure  anyone  to  perform  this  invidi¬ 
ous  duty.  In  many  shows  the  greater  part  of  the  work  after  the 
entries  have  been  taken  falls  upon  the  secretary,  and  he  has  no 
time  to  visit  gardens  then.  At  the  same  time,  I  have  seen  this 
power  exercised  to-  advantage,  and  can  in  particular  recall  one 
occasion  where  a  visitation  was  made  with  a  good  result.  One 
of  the  vice-presidents  of  a  certain  show  visited  the  garden  of 
an  exhibitor  who  had  entered  Asters,  and  found  that  it  was  im¬ 
possible  that  any  of  the  flowers  in  his  bed  of  these  plants  could 
be  open  in  time  for  the  show.  He-  made  no-  remark  until  the 
morning  of  the  show,  when  he  observed  the  exhibitor  in  question 
setting  up  a  board  of  capital  Asters.  He  spoke  to  the  man,  and 
told  him  that  he  had  not  grown  these  flowers,  and  that  he  would 
lodge  a  complaint  with  the  secretary  if  they  were  not  taken  away 
at  once.  The  exhibitor  waxed  indignant,  but  the  vice-president 
was  firm,  and  the  flowers  were  taken  away  before  judging  began. 
It  is  a  pity  that  the  complaint  was  not  formally  lodged,  as  the 
result  would  have  been  good  for  all  concerned.  This  system  of 
visitation,  while  good  enough  for  small  local  shows,  is  impractic¬ 
able  for  open  ones,  as  no  plan  of  the  kind  could  ever  be  carried 
out  with  them. 
But  I  do  not  think  that  the  honest  exhibitor  need  object  to 
this  visitation;  in  fact,  in  many  cases  he  would  welcome  it,  as 
he  is  sometimes  wrongfully  accused  in  local  gossip.  I  know  of 
a  recent  case  in  which  a  show  secretary  heard  some  men  discussing 
an  exhibit  of  a  certain  vegetable,  which  they  declared  could 
not  have  been  ready  for  cutting  at  that  time  in  the  district. 
The  official  interposed,  and  told  them  that  the  second  prize  one 
was  grown  in  a  garden  close  to  his  home,  and  that  he  could  show 
them  the  plant  from  which  it  was  cut.  Unfortunately,  there  are 
many  men  who  aid  and  abet  the  dishonest  exhibitor,  and  who 
seem  rather  to  take  pride  in  telling  that  some  of  their  vegetables, 
fruit,  or  flowers  were  away  to  such-and-such  a  place  to  be  shown 
at  a  flower  show  by  a  certain  person.  There  are  also  some  trade 
growers  who  will  supply  exhibition  blooms  without  asking  any 
questions,  but  knowing  all  the  time  that  they  are  for  competi¬ 
tion.  Now,  all  these  things  point  to-  the-  need  of  preaching  a 
higher  code  of  what  we  may  call  “  show  morality,”  and  the  thanks 
of  all  who  wish  well  to  horticulture  are  due  to  the  opener  of 
the  subject  in  your  lively  columns  devoted  to  “  Our  Readers’ 
Views.”  It  is  best  to  call  a  spade  a  spade,  and  to  say  that  no- 
amount  of  sophistry  will  alter  the  nature  of  the  practice,  which 
is  simply  a  fraudulent  one.  The  winner  of  a  prize  by  such  means 
is  on  a  par  with  the  criminal  who  obtains  money  or  property 
under  false  pretences. — A  Secretary. 
Sweet  Potatoes  and  Yams  in  the  West  Indies. 
During  the  period  of  stress  which  our  sugar-growing  Colonies 
in  the  West  Indies  are  passing  through,  pending  the  abolition  of 
the  foreign  sugar  bounties,  the  attention  of  the  planters  has 
naturally  been  given  to  other  produce.  In  Barbados  great 
success  has  been  achieved  in  the  cultivation  of  Sweet  Potatoes 
(Ipomcea  Batatas)  and  Yams  (Dios-corea  sativa)  of  the  very  best 
quality,  and  an  endeavour  is  now  being  made  to  introduce  these 
into  this  country.  The  Sweet  Potato  is  a  cheap  and  palatable 
vegetable,  but  a  good  Yam  is  a  positive  luxury.  During  a  long 
residence-  in  London  I  imported  several  barrels  every  year  for 
my  own  use,  and  out  of  the  numerous  guests  who  tasted  them 
at  our  table  there  wras  not  one  who  did  not  highly  appreciate 
them.  I  may  add  that  here  the  flavour  is  even  more  delicious 
than  in  the  West  Indies,  as  butter,  which  is  a  vital  ingredient 
in  a  well-cooked  Yam,  is  so  much  better.  I  am  returning  to 
Barbados  almost  immediately,  but  any  information  on  this 
subject  is  easily  obtainable  from  the  regular  importers.  Receipts 
for  various  ways  of  cooking  both  Sweet  Potatoes  and  Yams  arc 
sent  out  with  every  parcel.  I  shall  esteem  it  a  great  favour  if 
you  will  kindly  insert  this  letter  in  your  journal. — Forster  M. 
Alleyne,  Member  of  the  Legislative  Council  of  Barbados. 
Pear,  Gris  de  Chin. 
Your  readers  may  possibly  be  interested  in  having  an 
authentic  account  of  this-  Pear,  which  received  an  Award  of 
Merit  at  the  latest  meeting  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
[Owing  to  our  having  had  a  faulty  list  of  awards  from  the  Fruit 
Committee’s  table,  the  Poor  was  not  recorded  in  our  report  of 
the  show. — Ed.]  Tempted  by  the  voluminous  Pear  catalogue 
of  Mr.  L.  Van  Houtte,  Ghent,  some  thirty  years  ago,  I  closely 
analysed  the  glowing  characteristics  of  what  the  catalogue 
extolled  as  the  “  creme  do  la  creme  ”  of  Pear  individuality  by 
the  most  persuasing  of  adjectives.  I  knew  all  our  most  prized 
favourites,  and  yet  found  the  merits  of  such  as,  for  instance, 
Marie  Louise,  Thompson,  Doyenne  du  Comice,  &c.,  sorely 
occulted  by  seductive  characters  attributed  to  quite  three  dozen 
sorts  out  of  an  army  of  not  less  than  800  varieties,  that  former 
selection  being  entirely  unknown  to  me' and  to 'British  pomology 
generally.  I  ordered  a  tree  of  each  of  the  selection  of  some-  two 
scores  of  a  series  of  reputed  prodigies,  but,  alas!  never  came  to 
realise  my  dream  of  the  future  possessor  of  exquisites.  One 
after  the  other  these  precious  Pears  were  discarded  as  worth¬ 
less,  and  the  only  gem  was  Gris  de  Chin,  now  brought-  to  general 
notice  by  me.  A  few  years  after  my  early  acquisition  even  this 
genuinely  meritorious  subject-  disappeared  from  the  Belgian 
catalogue,  and  I  never  noticed  the  name  anywhere  since.  As 
we  are  told  by  some  other  nation  that-  Shakespeare’s  worth  was 
made  known  to  us  by  them,  might  bo  we  can  emulate  it  by 
re-exporting  Gris  de  Chin  to  Flanders,  even  with  greater  justice. 
Being  told  of  the  disappearance,  for  purposes  of  belated  re¬ 
porters,  of  an  exhibit  that  had  been  identified  but  had  emerged 
sadly  diminished  from  under  the  hands  and  palate  of  a  whole 
score  of  conscientious  and  appreciative  judges,  who,  just  for 
appearance  sake,  left  one  specimen  on  the  plate  to  my  own 
certain  knowledge,  and  which  was  undisturbed  even  an  hour 
after,  we  can  only  surmise  that  a  December  wasp,  if  not  hornet, 
made  off  with  the  balance  and  disappointed  your  reporter.  For, 
as  it  happens,  it  is  a  fact  which  speaks  volumes  as  to  the  excel¬ 
lence  of  the  fruit — the  presence  of  much  saccharine  in  this 
variety  supplementing  its  highly  pronounced  richness  of  flavour 
and  juiciness,  its  buttery  character  (although  the  product  of  a 
bush  in  the  open),  all  elements  which  rendered  it  an  object  of 
lively  interest  to  wasps — when  in  September-Oetober  the  crop 
approached  maturity  these  same  wasps  actually  despising  Marie 
Louise,  Doyenne  du  Cornice,  and  Thompson  growing  by  the 
side  in  excellent  condition. — H.  H.  Raschen,  Sidcup,  Kent. 
