140 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



keep the roots too Avet before they have got to work in their new ma- 

 terial. One more remark must be sufficient for the present. Ground 

 well kept, not allowed to get baked into a hard crust, kept open with the 

 hoe, and liberally mulched, Avill suck in all the rain that falls, and at this 

 time of the year the showers are sometimes short and sudden ; but where 

 the soil is as hard as a brick and as close as a pavement, every drop will run 

 off and be lost for the benefit of the drains and pools, mayhap a mile away. 



NOTES or THE MONTH. 



EoTAL HoKTicuLTUEAL, June 5th. — This was an event to be remembered 

 both for its importance in the history of contemporaneous horticulture, 

 and its grandeur and completeness as a public spectacle. There had been 

 heavy rain, a little thunder, but by the time the company began to arrive, 

 the walks were dry, the grass not too wet for the foot, and the magnificent 

 scene all the fresher and brighter for the shower. The gates were thrown 

 open at one o'clock ; by that time there was an immense throng ready to 

 take possession of the grounds. Though the evidences of incompleteness 

 were in many places more than visible, for to quit the main walks was to run 

 the risk of getting knee-deep in mud, the main features of the garden pre- 

 sented a tone of finish and beauty such as the most sanguine could scarcely 

 have expected who a few weeks previously had taken note of the immense 

 amount of work that had to be accomplished, even to make ready for a formal 

 opening. The exhibition in the grand conservatory was the chief object of in- 

 terest to the majority of the visitors, and it was such an exhibition as it rarely 

 falls to the lot even of London gardeners to behold. The colonnades were de- 

 corated with ornamental plants and fruits in massive groups, conspicuous 

 amongst which were pelargoniums in the very first style of show culture. At 

 four o'clock the gates were closed and a procession formed. In the procession 

 were the foremen of gardeners and works, the contractors, superintendent, 

 members of committees. Her Majesty's Commissioners for the Exhibition of 

 1851, the council and vice presidents of the Society, and the distinguished 

 visitors, at the head of them H. E. H. Prince Albert, the president of the 

 Society. During the procession the bands played the National Anthem 

 and the Cobourg March. On arriving at the Conservatory, Dr. Lindley, the 

 secretary, read an address in which the history of the Society was succinctly 

 narrated. To this His Eoyal Highness made a reply. The iJishop of London 

 then read the collect for the day and offered up a prayer adapted to the 

 occasion. The Prince Consort then declared the garden to be opened, and 

 the procession moved off amid cheers towards the spot chosen for the plant- 

 ing of a memorial Wellingtonia near the south end of the northern terrace 

 on the east. The tree was presented for the purpose by Messrs. Veitch. 

 The Prince Arthur, Princess Mary, and the Duke of Cambridge, each had 

 their turn in shovelling earth upon the roots of the tree, and in a very brief 

 space of time it was royally planted. As the prize list in this particular case 

 is of great importance, and will be valuable for reference hereafter, we 

 depart from our usual plan and give it entire ; for if we attempt to charac- 

 terize the respective excellences of the contributions we must occupy a dis- 

 proportionate amount of space, and even then pass over many things deserv- 

 ing of high praise. 



AwAHDS OF THE JuDGES.— Flo WEHS. — Class 1.— Fifteen Stove .ind Greenhouse 

 Plants. (Open.) 1st prize to W. May, J. Spode, Esq., Kugeley, 20/. ; 2nd ditto to B. 

 Peed, J. Treadwell, Esq., Norwood, 151. 



Class 2. — Twelve Stove and Greenhouse Plants. (Nurserymen.) 1st prize to J. 



