HORTICULTURAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2566, 5 April 1887, Page 2

HORTICULTURAL.

[To the- - Editor,] Sin.—My first atubitioiiß attempt at .floriculture was .with a' 1 frame," and • in it "I attempted to grow- three • fucbuiaß for the show. . I had also in the frame a te%MaWchal Neal roso cuttings of /which It. was very proud, because people said they were hard to I. rike. I got the t'o ;tc r to look at my plants. "Yeß," said he; " your fuchsias are the makings of good plants but you must ckt back Hit branches." Oh horror K Fancy cutting back any portion of my beautiful plant I I could net .find it in my heart to do so. I consulted a friend, »vho kuew as much about floriculture as I did,- and we agreed that the Doctor was altogether wrong. "Cut them back," said-my•■• friend,"of course Sawbones,:delights in' cutting' they acquire the taste for thatiutlie dissecting, room." The result was that, my plants were alloweii to flourish without any aid from the pruning knife. lutitno they went to the show, and to my intense disappointment and surprise they were totally unnoticed by the judges. I was com•ndled to admit that my plantß, when, placed beside.those which took the. 'prize, were -uot,so well trained as they m'ight'-bave been.;,.Hnducedthe Doctor to have another look it them anl this timel, followed- Iris;advice with the result that I, wonjthe prize at the ■following show, beating, the gardener who had prevkrasly'tol'dme that none 'ro Slaveton could grow fuchsias 'like, lim. .rhaveilci doubt he spoke the 'truth, but agardeuer.who grows plants for Bale. is. ' at a'-groat disadvantage when competing at a flower 6how. • In the first place' be must give his attention to a groat number of .plautsinstead of to. one or. two. He must grow as mauy- plants as he can and as. each .class ; of plant requires-different treatment, both as regards light, heat, and air, it is impossible for anyone ■• possessing a large collection to give to each"plant the attention, and especially the artificial climatic conditions most siijtablo-to each, Thus the atmosphoie, light,heat etc., necessary to : grow a fnschia correctly Would kill many other kinds of plants, and therefore the fuschia must suffer in- order that -the other plants may thrive. Tho great trouble with amateurs in Slaveton was the necessity for all of those who supported the show, to grow as many kinds of plants as possible in order to make a show, and tho consequence was that the greenhouses were ovorfilled to such a degree as to preyent the necessary air and li«bt getting about the plants, and quality was sacrificed for quantity. The lesson which I learned from Slave* ton, was that an amateur or cottager who will content himself with growing only one kind of plant for the show, must, if be gives them reasonable attention, wiii the prize against his more wealthy neighbor because, 'having but one class of plants' to consider, he ia able to givo sufficient time to the few plants which he grows, and he can regulato tho temperature, light, and atmosphere, bo as., to secaro the conditions roost favorable to the plants which he is growing. At Home where competition is keen, very few.amateurs attempt to show 'more than one class of plant. Some become .noted for their pelargonium culture, others for roses, and so on, but those who attempt to grow a variety of planU in one greenhouse for show purposes are never successful at'any of tho great Horticultural shows, in Great Britain. I had a friend in Slaveton, he commenced to grow plants in a frame, and afterwards built a small greenhouse. I'used to give him a little help now and tuon in the way of advice, until he was ablo to dispense with my aid and to beat.me at the show, his particular lino being fuchsias, and he could grow them to perfection, indeed, - ho : showed one year the most; .perfect specimen that I have ever seen, even now his fuchsias are the best in Slaveton,although gout and other infirmities.: are creeping on him, which compels him to cense exhibiting and to deposit tho duty of attending to his plants to younger hands. I. think I have said enough to convince anyone that a person possessed of a greenhouse iB at a greaterdisadvantage than a person with a r>'ry snail one, overcrowding must be avoided in all cases, bat the time will come when amateurs will recognise .the stupidity of attempting to grow hothouse plants in a cool greenhouse, they f will also learn that if they are to excell and to be victorious at tho .flower show they must content themselves with growing a few plauts and growing mil. You will observe- Si?' tjiat my \

friends at Slavelonare nearly as off as they are in Masterton. I expect shortly to,receive aletter from mylsleol Wight friend, infpttoing me •what steps theyaretaking to remedy theeyilandrejuvenate their Society,-if his' letter is not too long I will hand it to you for .publication immediately I receive it. ...- "' raui'etc, "/;".•"" ."■' ■ JohnMcWh'irteb.