80 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



exhibition by their presence. The 

 flowers were arranged partly in the 

 entrance-hall, in the council-room, 

 and the adjoining arcades. The dis- 

 play was, all things considered, one 

 of the finest which has been seen for 

 several years. The Hyacinths were 

 in great perfection ; two collections 

 of 100 each, shown respectively by 

 Messrs. Cutbush and William Paul, 

 making a very fine display, and fill- 

 ing the room with their fragrance. 

 More beautiful flowers it would be im- 

 possible to produce, those of Messrs. 

 Cutbush being particularly fine, and 

 taking first prize in all the classes in 

 which they competed. Mr. Paul's 

 flowers were not far behind, his finest 

 specimens being in the class for 

 eighteen, which were considered by 

 the judges worthy of an equal first 

 prize. The Hyacinths shown by ama- 

 teurs were extremely fine, approach- 

 ing nearer in beauty and general 

 merit to those exhibited by nursery- 

 men than is generally the case, Mr. 

 Young, gardener to R. Barclay, Esq., 

 High gate, having by far the finest 

 display. 



The early flowering Tulips are 

 such very effective decorative flowers, 

 that it is surprising they are not more 

 extensively cultivated. No one could 

 look at the exquisite collections of 

 Messrs. Cutbush without a feeling of 

 intense admiration. Among the mis- 

 cellaneous subjects, were some charm- 

 ing things. Messrs. Paul and Son, 

 of Cheshunt, delighted the ladies with 

 half a dozen small pyramid Roses in 

 pots ; which, considering the time of 

 year, were beautifully bloomed. A 

 nice little collection of pyramid Aza- 

 leas in flower was shown by Mr. Tod- 

 man, gardener to R. Hudson, Esq., 

 Clapham Common. Messrs. Cutbush 

 had a fine lot of Narcissus ; and Mr. 

 Parker, of Tooting, some beautiful 

 Amaryllis. There were also some fine 

 pots of Lily of the Valley, beautiful 

 specimens of Primulas, and excellent 

 stands of cut Camellia blooms. But 

 perhaps the most interesting plant in 

 the exhibition was a specimen of Au- 

 cuba Japonica vera in fruit, from 

 Mr. Standish, of Ascot. It was about 

 eighteen inches in diameter, and co- 

 vered with large bunches of orange 



scarlet fruit. British horticulturists 

 have been acquainted with the 

 blotched form of Aucuba for nearly a 

 century, and have found it to be one 

 of the most valuable evergreens we 

 possess. But now that they have an 

 opportunity of seeing it in its truly 

 normal state it acquires a great addi- 

 tional importance, for when seen 

 covered with its bright scarlet oblong 

 berries, it is undoubtedly the finest 

 hardy shrub we possess. The reason 

 we are not familiar with the fruit of 

 the Aucuba, may be easily explained. 

 The plant is dioecious, some indi- 

 viduals producing only male, and 

 some only female flowers. The form 

 common to our gardens are the 

 female plants, and as we have not 

 hitherto had in this country any of 

 the anther-bearing individuals their 

 fertilization was impossible ; and 

 therefore, although they flower freely, 

 they never produce fruit. Mr. For- 

 tune, during his late travels in Japan, 

 succeeded in sending to this country 

 a male plant, which last spring blos- 

 somed with Mr. Standish for the first 

 time in Europe. That spirited nur- 

 seryman was thus enabled to fertilize 

 the mother plant, and the production 

 of beautiful scarlet berries is the re- 

 sult. We may thus confidently ex- 

 pect that at no very distant day, we 

 may see in our shrubberies the Au- 

 cubas covered with fruit. The plant 

 sbown was awarded a first-class cer- 

 tificate, aud recommended in addition 

 that it be distinguished by the award 

 of a medal. 



The class for new Hyacinths 

 naturally attracted a large share of 

 attention. There were some beauti- 

 ful flowers staged, Mr. Cutbush ob- 

 taining the first prize ; Mr. W. Paul, 

 the second ; and Messrs. Barr and 

 Sugden third. The following may 

 be considered desirable acquisi- 

 tions : — From Mr. Cutbush, Jose- 

 phine, a beautiful flower, colour, 

 intense orange scarlet, the tube 

 shaded witli a lighter tint, fine spike ; 

 Schwarzwald, a fine dark purple, 

 almost black ; Robert Fortune, a 

 delicate mauve, with darker stripes 

 of the same colour, spike very tine, 

 the bells small, but very numerous. 

 From Mr. W. Paul, Alba Nova, very 



