31 



NEWS OP THE MONTH. 



The Intebnational Horticultitbai, ExHiBiTiotf and Botanical Congress. 

 to be held at Kensington, and which will be the great event of 1866, has the. best 

 possible prospects of success, for subscriptions flow in rapidly, and English exhibitors 

 are preparing to do their utmost for the honour of English horticulture, knowing 

 that the foreigners invited will do their utmost too. The exhibition will be opened 

 on the 22nd of May, and will remain open till the 25th. M. Alphonse de GandoUe, 

 the greatest of living botanists, will preside at the Botanical Congress. There is 

 to be a grand banquet in connection with the event, which it is expected will 

 take place in the Guildhall of the City of London. 



The Eoyal Hoiiticultural Society's International FiuTr Show, De- 

 cember 9th to 16th, was an event of some interest; but as compared with former shows, 

 and the present requirements of horticulture, it was certainly far below the standard 

 of excellence which the Society ought to maintain. Mr. Lewis Solomons and 

 Messrs. Webber, both of Covent Garden, contributed magnificent collections of 

 selected fruits, and, as far as mere display was concerned, these were the only con- 

 tributions of the least importance in the exhibition. In the whole of the show 

 there were but seven bunches of grapes ; and the great bulk of the subjects were 

 collections of apples from Nova Scotia, the samples much injured by the voyage, 

 and unattractive specimens of vegetables and fruits from India. Messrs. Barr and 

 Sugden exhibited 1000 specimens of ornamental and edible gourds, which created 

 considerable interest. Mr. Ingram, gardener to Her Majesty, at Frogmore, sent a 

 very good collection of English fruits. It is much to be regretted that a society 

 enjoying so many advantages, and making so many high pretensions, should be able 

 to accomplish so little for the advancement of science and the gratification of its 

 supporters. 



Smithfield Club Cattle Show. — The exhibition of fat cattle at the Agricul- 

 tural Hall was a great success, considering under what peculiar circumstances of 

 gloom and fear it was held. Though in some classes of cattle there was a con- 

 siderable falling off, there'were, taking the show through, as many animals shown 

 as on any former occasion, and amongst them were examples of symmetry and 

 substance such as have never been surpassed. The exhibitors of implements and 

 agricultural produce appeared to have exerted themselves to compensate for any 

 possible disappointmentcaused inotherdepartments bythe cattle plague, and the result 

 was a brilliant display in the galleries. The finest display of roots was undoubtedly 

 that on the stand of Messrs. Sutton and Son, of Reading, who piled up mangolds, tur- 

 nips, beets, and carrots of enormous proportions and fine quality in such profusion as 

 has been rarely seen before. Roots of 30 lb. each appeared to be common, and many 

 of the samples were as remarkable for beauty as for size. Messrs. Carter and Co. 

 had a fine collection of roots, seeds, and vegetables, selected to represent fairly the 

 several classes of produce which it is possible to exhibit at this season. On this 

 stand was a large collection of samples of potatoes grown by Mr. Shirley Hibberd, 

 of Stoke Newington. The collection comprised about seventy distinct varieties. 

 Amongst them were some that were mere curiosities ; others, again, were as 

 attractive for their symmetry and size as for their known usefulness. Messrs. 

 Gibbs, of Halfmoon Street, Piccadilly, exhibited grand examples of cattle feeding 

 gourds, with seeds and miscellaneous roots. At nearly all the seedsmen's stands 

 were collections of dried grasses, winch were badly selected as to sorts, and most 

 miserably put up. It seems to be the rule at exhibitions of this kind, fir.=t, to col- 

 lect as many ugly species of grasses as possible, and then to spread them out in 

 fanciful designs ; as if no one could see the true character of a grass unless the 

 flower spikes were spread out in tlie form of a fan, or a wheel, or a star, or some- 

 thing else equally stiff and '.incongruous. Exhibitions of really beautiful grasses 

 put up in liglit plumes, without the help of gum, pasteboard, and pressure, might 

 teach people that some grasses are worth growing ; but exhibitions such as are 

 usually offered must have the effect of inspiring a belief that ornamental grasses 

 are the ugliest and most ignominious things on the face of the earth. 



