THE FLORAL WOELD AND GARDE lV GUIDE. 223 



and Sopliia Dnmaresque, Silver zonal not in commerce, first, Messrs. F. and C. Lee, 

 ■with 31rs. John Clutton. Best bronze zonal not in commerce, Messrs. Smith first, 

 with Criterion. Best golden leaf not in commerce, Downie, Laird, and Laiug first, 

 with Golden iJmperor. Best silver variegated not in commerce, Mr. Turner first, 

 with Mai/ Queen. Besides the above, there were several hundred kinds of various 

 degrees of merit, but we have named the best and most distinct only. 



Royal Botantc Society. — The second exhibition of this Society was held 

 June 17 and 18, and was a brilliant aff'air. Besides grand groups of stove and 

 greenhouse plants, ericas, orchids, ferns, and immense quantities of fruit, there 

 were several fine collections of cut roses, pinks, and pansies. With Pansies Messrs. 

 Downie, Laird, and Laing, Stanstead Park Nursery, first for thirty-six, with grand 

 blooms of Princess of Prussia, Mary Lamb, Francis Low, Miss H. Minto, Rev. H. 

 Dombrain, General Lee, Jessie Laird, Invincible, John Downie, Princess of Wales, 

 Eclat, Chancellor, Countess of Rosslyn, Yellow Queen, Sir James Graham, Alice 

 Downie, Defoe, Lady Lucy Dundas, Miss Ramsey, Miss Muir, Gem, Lavina, Emilj'- 

 Lyle, George Wilson, Village Maid, Arab, Allan Ramsey, Cupid, Czar, A. Smith, 

 Attraction, Margood. Mr. Turner's first prize collection of twenty-four Pinks con- 

 tained the following first-class kinds : — Rev. George Jeans, Bertram, John Ball, 

 Exhibitor, Lord Herbert, Marion, Formosa, President, Beauty of Bath, Mary Ann, 

 Device, Elcho, Constance, Alma, Minnie, Invincible, Excelsior, Goliath, Attraction, 

 Dr. Maclean, and Blondin. There Avere several other collections, but were made up 

 chiefly with the kinds as enumerated above. The names of the exhibitors, and the 

 positions which the collections occupied, is a sufficient guarantee that better selec- 

 tions could not be had than those we have named. 



TO COREESPONDENTS. 



Want of Colour i^t Grapes. — Agnes, — Sometimes this can be accounted 

 for through the border in which the vines are growing be^'ng too wet and cold. 

 But over-cropping is the most prolific cause of the want of colour in grapes. 

 Amateurs, and many professionals too, are so anxious to get all they can from the 

 vines, and leave more bunches than the vine is able to support properly ; and the 

 consequence of this is, the berries are deficient in colour, and they get a large 

 quantity of inferior, foxy-coloured grapes, instead of a medium quantity of good, 

 well-coloured bunches. Some cultivators labour under the impression that they get a 

 greater weight by leaving a large number of bunches on. It is often erroneous, 

 for there is not much diff'erence between having one bunch at three pounds, and 

 three at one pound each, with the exception of the berries in the first instance 

 being jet-black and the others red. Grapes colour best when exposed to plenty of 

 light ; so that if your grapes are not yet quite ripe, and the foliage is trained so 

 that it forms a complete canopy over the roof, and through Avhich it is next to im- 

 possible for the light to penetrate, you may, perhaps, aid them by turning out the 

 laterals, and judiciously removing some of the foliage. Do not do the latter indis- 

 criminately, or you will do more harm than good. 



Globe Artichokes.—^. B. S. — You can keep these fresh for some time after 

 cutting, if you stick them in moist sand in a cool cellar or outhouse. Cut them 

 with a good length of stem, and then you can cut about an inch off" every third 

 day, and keep tlie sand fresh. It will take up the moisture better than when it is 

 either dried up or partially decomposed through being in the wet sand. 



Fuchsias for Exhibition. — 0. P. Q.— Water your plants with guano-water, 

 made in the proportion of half an ounce of guano to a gallon of water, and stop to 

 within six weeks of the time they are wanted to be in flower. If the plants are 

 young and particularly vigorous, the stopping process should be discontinued two 

 months beforehand. "Your best remedy for keeping the red spider down is to keep 

 the plants well syringed. The cause of the flower-buds dropping off" before they 

 expand can be attributed to the atmosphere being too dry, or through a too liberal 

 or not sufficient supply of water at the roots. Examine your plants, and if they 

 are too dry, give more water, and if too wet, give less than they have been re- 

 ceiving. 



