312 THE FLORIST. 



Certificate of Merit to Lord Palmerston. Miss Burdett Coutts was all 

 shown in fine condition. These sorts have been described in our pages, 

 so that we need not here give their colours. A Certificate of Merit was 

 also awarded to Hollyhock Rubens, pale rosy crimson, medium size, and 

 very close, exhibited by Mr. Laing, of Dysart. Mr. Chater also exhi- 

 bited cut flowers of the following Hollyhocks — Rose of England, some- 

 thing like Beauty of Cheshunt and not so close ; Autocrat, very large 

 shaded rose ; Empress, Criterion, and Fearless, three fine flowers all 

 very close in colour, but Fearless the best ; Fenella, saffron shaded with 

 rose but rather coarse ; Alpha, something the colour of J\Iiss Ashley, 

 but with more of a salmon tinge, good ; Picotee, silvery black, mottled 

 on the edge with pale purple, but pockety ; and Vitelina, deep orange 

 salmon and coarse. 



Mr. Busby, gardener to J. Crawley, Esq., Stockwood Park, Luton, 

 Beds., obtained a First Class Certificate for his seedling Grape Golden 

 Hamburgh, which is certainly a valuable acquisition. 



We have not space for a full report of the Caledonian Horticultural 

 Society's Meeting, but we have much pleasure in acknowledging the 

 courteous attention received from Mr. Evans, of the Experimental 

 Gardens, who had the management of the Exhibition. 



NOTES ON THE MONTH. 



With a few unimportant changes, the weather has been all that could 

 be desired since I penned my last notes. My remarks then on the 

 luxuriant appearance of the green crops, both in the garden and field, 

 only require endorsing, for 1 certainly do not remember vegetables of 

 all kinds in a more flourishing condition than at the present time, 

 while the pastures are positively overgrown with herbage. 



The Potato harvest, if I may so term it, has commenced, and, un- 

 fortunately, verifies our prediction of last month, that the crop would 

 be short ; in fact, from what I have seen taken up, I do not antici- 

 pate much more than half the crop of last year, and even taking into 

 account the larger breadth planted, there will yet remain a large de- 

 ficiency in this valuable root. I am, however, happy to inform your 

 readers that the Fluke Kidney, which was favourably spoken of in last 

 year's Florist, has alone braved the disease, and though not entirely 

 fi-ee from it, yet there remains a sufficient quantity of healthy leaves on 

 the plant to mature the crop of tubers, which will be large. This 

 variety cannot be too strongly recommended for its valuable properties, 

 combining, with its power of resisting the attacks of disease better than 

 any other variety, the best of qualities as an eating and keeping Potato. 



Apricots have been as plentiful as blackberries ; Peaches and Nec- 

 tarines the same : the crop, though fully a fortnight later than in ordi- 

 nary seasons, has ripened bt autifully under the fine weather of the last 

 three weeks, which, besides, has equally benefited the wood for next 

 year, and if dry weather continues, our Peaches and Nectarines will do 



