Brave "British Queen"!
Send it victorious,
First-Prizer glorious,
Fill Rads censorious
With envious spleen!

As you _will_, my Beauty! When did swaggering H-RC-RT's horticulture
produce such goodly fruits? Or sour-mug'd M-RL-Y's? Or leary L-BBY's?
Or Slawkenbergian M-ND-LLA's? Or even that of the Grand Old Grower,
GL-DST-NE himself, with all his fluent patter about British Pomona,
and the native Jam-pot?

I know the badly-beaten lot maintain that the plant is a "Sport" from
an old purchase of their own. Bless you, they claim _all_ the good
stocks--always did. Who cares? My young floricultural friend, JOE
of Birmingham, who knows a bit about fruits as well as concerning
orchids, let me tell you,--JOE, I say, laughs their preposterous
pretensions to scorn. Look at G-SCH-N's own particular plant there--a
bit late, but very promising, and probably destined to take a prize
before the season's over. Didn't JOE recommend the stock to GL-DST-NE
years ago? And didn't the haughty Hawarden horticulturist turn up his
nose at it as an "Unauthorised" intruder upon his own Prize Programme?
And, more by token, didn't JOE get the hump in consequence, cut the
old connection, and set up on his own account in the forcing-house
line, with a friendly leaning to our firm? Aha! "_Hinc illæ
lachrymæ_," as the Guv'nor would say. Hence, also, this Colossal
Strawberry!

Thanks of the Society? I should rayther think so! They may chaff
"OLD MORALITY" as much as they like--but morality _pays_, even in