APRIL. '71 



ward for the Schedule, which is promised shortly, and which is to 

 be arranged by a committee of Birmingham gentlemen, who have 

 undertaken to carry it out. I hope it will be of a more liberal and 

 universal character than that of last year, wdth less of the strait-laced 

 system of showing in it. The only part of the arrangement the 

 southern growers were allowed to participate in was, — finding the 

 money. The system of class-showing as carried out at Derby was 

 very absurd, and not warranted by the Schedule itself ; instead of 

 taking a liberal view of the regulation which said " all flowers should 

 be fairly open, to enable prizes to be offered for the best blooms," 

 the judges give them to buds, which could never have been intended : 

 neither purity nor form can be ascertained unless the flower is fully 

 developed. 



The accompanying woodcut represents what I consider a fea- 

 thered Tulip should be, and the state in which it should be when 

 exhibited. H. B. 



BRITISH PLANTS. No. II. 



With lovers of English Botany it proves at all times a source of de- 

 light to be engaged in contemplating the beauty and varied charac- 

 teristics of our various native plants ; and their actual cultivation is 

 scarcely attended with a less degree of pleasure. Confirmed as I am 

 in this impression, I may perhaps be permitted on this occasion to 

 notice a few additional inhabitants of our climate. Undoubtedly there 

 are many plants which, if better known and their improvement more 

 regarded, would enlist on their side a host of excellent admirers, who 

 would be both competent and willing to advance the interesting study 

 of Botany far beyond its present limited range. Were the present 

 disregard of indigenous plants attributed to any want of fine form, or 

 had it reference to blossoms insufliciently conspicuous to arrest atten- 

 tion, then the neglect could at once be accounted for ; but the reverse 

 being the case, I am convinced that agitation alone is wanted to pre- 

 sently add sensibly to the number of growers of select English flowers. 



Hypericum androscemum, or common Tutsan, may be considered 

 truly ornamental ; and though by some botanists stated to be rare, 

 it is frequently to be met with. In a rural district in the southern 

 part of England it is found distributed in many places over the vil- 

 lage. Near here, also, it adds splendour to some of our sheltered 

 banks, preferring in general a loamy soil. The same plant is occa- 

 sionally to be observed in Windsor Park. If planted in an exposed 

 situation, I do not find it to thrive equally well. It flourishes always 

 best in places moist and retired. 



Hypericum pulchrum abounds wherever the soil is heathy, and it 

 is admitted to be exceedingly graceful in our woody districts. The 

 flowers are golden yellow, tinged with scarlet. This species is of 

 much easier cultivation than that last mentioned. It succeeds in 

 almost any soil. 



Hypericum calycinum grows in most shady situations. It has. 



