MAY. 137 



guarded against as much as possible. In very dry weather small 

 seeds will occasionally require to be watered and kept shaded. Seed 

 culture is a subject of the greatest importance ; and a neglect of 

 attending to the conditions that are absolutely essential to success has 

 not unfrequently brought blame on many a respectable tradesman. 



M. S. 



ROYAL NATIONAL ANNUAL EXHIBITION OP TULIPS. 



It will be seen on reference to the advertisement that this annual 

 treat to all lovers of the Tulip is to be held this year at the Royal 

 Nursery, Slough, on Friday, May 20. By this arrangement many 

 advantages will be secured not only to Tulipomaniacs, but also to all 

 lovers of flowers who can manage to get down there. The former will 

 have the opportunity of seeing one of the very finest beds of Tulips in 

 the kingdom, and which this year will be in prime order, owing to the 

 very favourable season through which we have passed. A sight of this 

 bed alone, independently of the blooms that will be staged, will be a 

 treat which all enthusiasts in this flower (and there is not one that 

 boasts of more ardent ones) must feel will well repay them. The general 

 lover of flowers will be enabled to see the very admirable collection 

 which Mr. Turner grows, and I can answer for it, that if they have 

 never seen his Pelargoniums " in situ," they have a rich treat. I was 

 there last year, and endeavoured to give my brother florists a slight 

 sketch of the treasures I there saw, but all description must fall far 

 short of the reality. The three kinds — fancy, florists', and French — 

 will be in excellent condition, for it will be the best time for seeing them : 

 they are so fresh, so full of bloom, and will not yet have experienced the 

 scorching sun sufficiently to spoil their beauty in any way. Then there 

 will be banks of Azaleas in their rich and varied colourings ; and what 

 can be more lovely than these, from the snowy whiteness of Gled- 

 stanesi on to the rich glowing crimson of Duke of Devonshire ? There 

 may be, too, a few Auriculas, but the bloom has been so early that it 

 can be but the remnant of a large collection that can be seen. 



A stroll through the nurseries will show the visitors the perfect order 

 in which everything is kept, and there is a freshness and cleanliness 

 about a well kept country nursery that can never be attained in the 

 neighbourhood of London. As Mr. Turner annually throws open his 

 grounds for the exhibition of his own Tulip bed, and goes to the 

 expense and trouble of fitting up a large tent for the staging of his other 

 flowers, it will be no novelty to him, and visitors may be thereby 

 assured that everything that can administer to their comfort and 

 effect their wishes will be attended to. And let it not be forgotten that 

 in all this Mr. Turner acts without any reference to his own exhibition ; 

 he is honorary secretary, and does not stage a single flower of his own. 

 The expense consequent on such a show is not a trifling matter, and he 

 naturally looks for the increased support of his friends and the public, 

 and in this I believe he will not be disappointed. 



Deal, April 25. D. 



