250 THE FLORIST. 



flowers, to each of which a certificate of merit was awarded. The other 

 varieties were Lizzie, Slough Buck, Eugenie, and Napoleon. Several 

 seedling Verbenas were exhibited, none of which can be regarded as 

 important additions to the fine varieties we now have, Mr. Todman 

 exhibited a seedling fancy Pelargonium named Sir Colin Campbell, but 

 it is too much like many others already in cultivation. In Mr. George 

 Smith's stand of Verbenas, General Simpson and Glory of France were 

 very fine. Messrs. Keynes, W. P. Ayres, Andrew Henderson, 

 J. Baker, and T. Moore were the judges. Mr. Wyness, gardener to 

 Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace, Mr. W. Chater, Saffron Walden, 

 and Mr. R. E. Taylor, Camberwell, were elected members. 



THE ORANGE TREE. 

 A FEW words on the cultivation of the Orange tree, the Citrus auran- 

 tium of Linnseus, may not, perhaps, be uninteresting. This plant, 

 although extensively cultivated by our continental friends, is, generally 

 speaking, ail but neglected by us, although our ancestors were great 

 admirers of it, and beautiful specimens and collections of this tree were 

 formerly to be met with in the plant-houses of the nobility and gentry ; 

 even " Orangeries " were devoted to its growth ; but now, ,with few 

 exceptions, we are compelled to look for it in our modern Greenhouses, 

 in which may here and there be found one or two solitary, half-starved 

 specimens. 



The delicious fragrance of the exquisitely formed wax-like flowers, 

 and the handsome foliage, which, like that of the Camellia, retains its 

 beauty throughout the year, make the Orange tree a most desirable 

 plant for ornamental purposes, or for grouping with effect in the 

 conservatory. The poet Cowper thus eulogises it: — 

 " Who loves a garden loves a greenhouse too. 

 Unconscious of a less propitious clime, 

 There blooms exotic beauty, warm and snug, 

 While the winds whistle and the snow descends. 

 The spiry Myrtle with unwithering leaf 

 Shines there and flourishes. The golden boast 

 Of Portugal and western India there, 

 The ruddier Orange and the paler Lime, 

 Peep through their polished foliage at the storm, 

 And seem to smile at what they need not fear." 



In all stages of growth Orange trees are pleasing objects, the leaves 

 even yield an agreeable aromatic perfume ; and, on looking at the 

 graceful form of a large specimen, one may readily picture what a 

 beautiful effect masses of those trees must produce in the more sunny 

 climes of the south. In our ungenial isle, however, we must be content 

 to grow our favourites for the most part under glass, where they will, 

 nevertheless, always amply repay the trouble bestowed upon them. 



The cultivation of Orange trees is exceedingly simple. I find that 

 they require rather large pots, a compost of equal portions of peat and 

 rich loam, with the addition of a small quantity of sand and leaf-mould. 



