December  25,  19C2. 
JOURNAL  OF .  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTA  IE  GARDENER. 
587 
Four-Flowered  Tulip. 
Respecting  the  four-flowered  Tulip  depicted  on  page  546,  I 
may  say  there  is  a  branching  Tulip  on  the  American  market. 
It  is  asserted  that  it  produces  two  or  three  flower  stems  per 
bulb,  each  of  which  branch,  so  that  five  to  eight  flowers  are 
borne  from  each  bulb.  In  colour  it  resembles  Keizerskroom,  and 
is  said  to  force  well. — T.  A.  W. 
Illegal  Showing. 
I  am  glad  to  see  that  Mr.  W.  R.  Raillem  has  come  into  the 
fighting  line  on  this  important  discussion,  and  thanks  also  to 
Mr.  Taylor’s  outspoken  remarks.  I  will  leave  it  to  more  able 
pens  than  mine  to  point  out  to'  the  miscreants  the  value  of  a 
prize  honestly  won  in  comparison  to  any  obtained  by  fraud. 
Surely  a  man  must  be  a  hardened  sinner  if,  when  his  friends, 
fellow-exhibitors,  and  the  Press  are  loud  in  praise  and  congratu¬ 
lation  to  him  on  his  success,  his  conscience  does  not  prick  him 
when  in  his  inmost  heart  he  must  know  that  he  has  no  legal  or 
moral  right  to  either.  Does  he  ever  consider  the  enormity  of 
his  misdeed?  We  will  suppose  there  are  six  exhibitors  in  a( 
class,  and  the  first  prize  is  awarded  (not  won)  to  a  false  exhibitor. 
He  deprives  the  second  and  third  prizewinners  of  their  proper 
awards  and  positions.  And  what  about  the  fourth  person,  who 
is  out  of  it  altogether,  and  who  probably  returns  home  out  of 
pocket,  disheartened,  and  with  weakened  reputation  ?  If  the 
head  gardener  at  the  hall,  manor,  or  castle  resorts  to  unfair 
means,  it  is  almost  a  certainty  that  one  or  more  of  the  men 
serving  under  him  wall  know  that  all  is  not  grown  on  the  place. 
I  myself  have  known  places  where  it  was  common  knowledge 
with  the  outdoor  men.  And  when  this  state  of  affairs  exists, 
what  can  be  expected  from  cottagers?  The  more  one  probes  the 
matter  the  worse  it  becomes,  and  there  seems  no  end  of  its 
evil  effects.  I  would  say  to  those  who  have  sinned,  Sin  no  more, 
but  brace  yourselves  up,  and  in  future  stand  or  fall  on  your 
merits.  Friends  and  acquaintances  with  whom  I  have  discussed 
the  subject  have  sometimes  replied  that  they  all  do  it,  meaning 
all  exhibitors.  This  assertion,  I  am  quite  sure,  is  not.  correct. 
But  if  ninety-nine  out  of  one  hundred  did  it,  it  would  not  make 
it  an  honest  practice.  I  entirely  agree  with  your  correspondent 
who  suggests  that  honest  exhibitors  and  committeemen  should 
band  themselves  together  and  fight  this  evil.  If  they  will  do 
this  I  am  convinced  good  will  result.  They  must  not,  however, 
confine  their  efforts  to  their  own  show,  but  be  on  the  alert  to 
give  information  to  neighbouring  committees.  To  make  my 
point  clear,  I  myself  during  the  last  three  seasons  could  have 
given  information  very  damaging  to  some  exhibitors  at  a  show 
eight  miles  distant  from  here.  When  people  have  the  audacity 
to  drive  round  collecting,  and  sometimes  purchasing,  the  best 
that  is  for  sale  just  previous  to  an  exhibition  in  their  village, 
I  fail  to  see  that  it  is  a  very  difficult  matter  to  unravel,  if  officials 
are  ready  and  willing  to  perform  the  unpleasant,  as  well  as  the 
pleasant  duties  pertaining  to  their  office.  Home  buy  theiij 
exhibits  at  one  exhibition  to  take  to  another.  Thus,  one  lot  of 
Onions  or  Tomatoes  may  do  for  three  or  more  shows  should  their 
dates  follow  closely.  Quite  recently  a  prizewinner  told  me  that 
a  gardener  wanted  to  buy  his  dish  of  Tomatoes.  Does  anybody 
suppose  they  were  wanted  for  himself  or  his  employer?  They 
might  have  been,  of  course,  but  I  happen  to  know  they  were 
not. — G.  G.  H.,  Bath.  _ 
The  only  salve  as  yet  prescribed  for  this  sore  appears  to  be 
that  of  official  inspection  of  produce  in  situ  prior  to  a  show.  If 
that  is  practicable  in  a  small  way,  that  is,  within  a  circumscribed 
area  from  which  exhibits  are  drawn  to  a  local  centre,  it  might 
prove  efficacious  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  it  certainly  does  not  go 
far  enough  to  cover  an  exhibition  of  contributions  from  the  four 
quarters  of  the  British  Isles,  and  it  is  here,  I  take  it,  that  illegal 
showing  reaches  its  most  rampant  form.  For  instance,  say,  an 
autumn  (or  winter)  show,  the  chief  constituents  of  which  are 
“Mum”  blooms  and  fruit,  and  for  “tricks”  of  trade  commend 
me  to  these  two  great  sections,  held!  in  Fogopolis,  Cottontown, 
Cakeville,  or  where  you  will,  what  check  could  obtain  over 
Trickyman’s  exhibit  from  Swindleton,  200  miles  away  ?  It  seems 
a  pity  that,  before  this  matter  dies  out,  something  wider,  farther 
reaching,  and  more  definite  could  not  be  evolved  instead  of 
leaving  it  as  a  legacy  for  the  next  generation  to  tackle,  when 
exhibitors  (honest  ones)  of  this  degenerate  one,  are  all  in  the 
better  land.  The  scheme  of  inspective  surveillance  might,  of 
course,  be  experimentally  started  at  cottage  shows,  or  small  local 
exhibitions,  but  I  fail  to  see  how  the  principle  could  apply  to 
the  high  places,  and  cause  the  seats  of  the  mighty,  to  be  mighty 
uncomfortable  for  them.  No.  I  guess  that  won’t  work,  and  I 
guess  I’ll  give  it  up,  as  I  gave  up  showing  years  ago,  in  disgust. 
— Quiz. 
Gardening  and  Inventions. 
Many  persons  wmuld  hail  the  meritorious  beginning  which 
recently  had  been  made  in  the  Journal  with  a  bearing  on  the 
application  of  the  genius  of  invention  to  gardening.  The  spark 
which  was  kindled  fanned  for  a  time,  and,  indeed,  bade  fair  to 
illumine  the  dark  corners  of  this  conservative  art,  but,  like 
the  meteoric  flame  which  crosses  the  dark  arch  of  the  heavens  on 
a  moonless  night,  the  glow  as  suddenly  died  away  in  the  depths 
of  apathy  as  the  other  in  the  depths  of  space.  This  will  be  con¬ 
sidered  by  many  a  most  decided  and  regrettable  pity,  for  it  is 
scarcely  creditable  that  in  such  an  immense  army,  shall  I  say,  of 
men  such  as  comprise  the  profession  of  gardening,  no  disposition 
of  the  inventive  faculty  should  be  discernible.  Personally,  I 
would  fain  believe  that  the  profession  commands  its  share  of  the 
genius  of  invention,  but  in  my  experience  I  found  a  very 
pernicious  agency  in  the  composition  of  the  average  gardener 
which  acted  always  as  a  deterrent  influence  in  the  free  course 
of  the  presence  of  such  a  gift-  Perhaps  something  of  this  nature 
accounts  for  the  meagre  response  which  the  opening  of  the 
subject  received  from  the  readers  of  the  Journal.  At  any  rate, 
I  hope  the  lapse  of  the  subject  is  not  traceable  to  a  growing 
spirit  of  diffidence  on  the  part  of  the  gardener.  If  so,  I  must 
say  it  is  altogether  new  to  the  pristine  character  of  the  profes¬ 
sion.  In  days  gone  to  return  no  more,  the  intellectual  calibre 
of  the  profession  was  indicative  of  no  smaller  symptoms  of  the 
inventive  faculty  as  applied  to  gardening  than  found  among  other 
trades  and  professions.  I  trust,  whatever  may  have  been  the 
cause,  that  it  shall  speedily  be  removed,  and  that  every  man  who 
is  in  any  way  connected  with  gardening  will  put.  on  record  the 
little  discoveries  he  may  have  made  from  time  to  time,  to  lighten 
the  yoke  of  a  heavily  laden  art.— Aster. 
Judging  Cottage  Gardens. 
it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the  conditions  of  cottage 
gardens  to-day  are  vastly  superior  to  what  they  were  some  four 
years  since.  Nor  is  the  cause  far  to  seek  ;  for,  as  well  as  county 
councils  and  other  public  bodies,  the  owners  of  many  estates 
give  prizes  for  the  best  cultivated  cottage  gardens,  and  also  hold 
annual  shows  for  the  exhibition  of  their  produce.  It  is  very 
satisfactory  to  notice  the  increasing  interest  that  is  taken  in 
these  gardens,  not  only  in  the  neighbourhood  of  our  large  towns, 
but  in  the  country  as  well.  The  cultivation  is  more  intelligent, 
and  the  desire  to  know  the  why  and  wherefore  of  things.  We 
also  find  that  the  owners  of  these  gardens  are  much  more  con¬ 
versant  with  the  different  varieties  of  fruits,  flowers,  and  vege¬ 
tables.  My  reason  for  penning  these  notes,  however,  is  to  give 
a  few  methods  for  judging  cottage  gardens,  upon  which  I  have 
had  to  work.  One  before  me,  which  is  copied  from  the  schedule 
of  an  exhibition  of  cottage  gardens,  is  as  follows :  “  Each  com¬ 
petitor  will  be  judged  on  twelve  articles,  six  compulsory,  viz., 
Potatoes,  Turnips,  Cabbage,  Onions,  Leeks,  Peas;  for  each  of 
which  twelve  points  is  the  maximum.  Six  others  must  be  chosen 
from  the  following  by  the  competitor,  viz.,  Beans,  Beetroot, 
Parsnips,  Parsley,  Carrots,  Celery,  Lettuce,  Rhubarb,  Cauli¬ 
flowers,  Curly  Greens,  Savoys,  Vegetable  Marrows,  fruits,  and 
flower  borders ;  for  each  of  which  eight  points  is  the  maximum.” 
This  is  an  expeditious  method  of  judging. 
On  some  estates  a  list  is  sent,  round  early  in  spring  giving  a 
list  of  articles  for  which  points  may  be  obtained,  the  maximum 
of  all  articles  being  equal.  This  list  is  written  in  a  book,  and  the 
pages  ruled  in  columns,  each  column  representing  a  garden.  In 
judging,  all  that  is  required  is  to  add  the  number  of  points 
obtained  by  the  competitor  opposite  the  respective  articles  in 
the  list,  the  name  of  the  competitor  being  written  at  the  top  of 
the  column.  A  similar  method  is  used  in  some  places,  but.  in¬ 
stead  of  pointing  all  things  equal,  the  most  important  crops,  such 
as  Potatoes,  Onions,  Cabbage,  &c.,  have  a  maximum  of,  say,  six 
points,  whilst  the  less  valuable  have  a  maximum  of  four  points. 
A  method,  which  I  do  not  consider  a  very  satisfactory  one,  is 
to  point  all  that  is  found  in  the  garden,  allowing  the  same  maxi¬ 
mum  number  of  points  for  all  crops.  This  makes  a  great  deal 
of  work  for  the  judges.  It  also  induces  competitors  to  grow 
tilings  that  are  not  of  very  much  value  to  them  simply  to  gain 
extra  points.  Points  should  always  be  allowed  for  order  and 
cleanliness.  In  some  country  gardens  are  found  a  number  of 
large  fruit  trees.  Some  consider  that  points  should  not  ie 
allowed  for  fruit  when  the  trees  have  not  been  planted  by  the 
present  occupier.  There  are  constantly  points  cropping  up  in 
connection  with  this  work  that  are  difficult  of  solution.  I  should 
be  glad  if  any  correspondent  of  the  Journal  would  give  what 
