154 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



Turner, Messrs. Lane, Mr. Eraser, and 

 the leading amateur exhibitors. The 

 plants were generally so perfect as to con- 

 dition, and of such magnitude that to 

 look on a large group was like testing the 

 near relationships of pleasure and pain ; 

 the glow of colour was so intense and un- 

 broken, so little leafage to relieve it, and 

 the outlines of the huge pyramids so for- 

 mal that it may be said that art had at- 

 tained to a perfect triumph over nature. 

 Yet this perfection of contour and bloom 

 is an evidence of consummate skill, and 

 if skill is to be recognized and encou- 

 raged, we must bear with these excessive 

 displays of colour, and turn them to ac- 

 count by new modes of grouping, so as to 

 break up the masses by an intermingling 

 with them of ferns, palms, and other 

 plants, which affordigrand breadths of green 

 leafage. The principal exhibitors of 

 azaleas besides the trading firms just men- 

 tioned, were Mr. Carson, Mr. Penney, Mr. 

 Page, Mr. Melluish, Mr. Kaile, and Mr. 

 Rhodes. Considering the varieties ex- 

 hibited without respect to the style of 

 culture and the values of the awards, the 

 most remarkable was Purpurea conspicua, 

 from Mr. Page. The colour of this is 

 deep purplish-crimson, with intense crim- 

 son spots on the top petal, the flowers 

 large and well-formed, distinct from all 

 other azaleas. Criterion, Optima, Con- 

 queror, Extrani, Gledstanesi, Prestantis- 

 sima, Triumphans, Glory of Sunning-hill 

 Murrayana, Broughtoni, Barclayana 

 Variegata, Perryana, and Iveryana were 

 to be seen in nearly all the collections, 

 and are among the finest, safest, and most 

 desirable of all azaleas known. Other 

 fine varieties less generally cultivated were 

 the following : — Empress Eugenie, rich 

 rose, Gem, deepest Lateritia-red, Her- 

 bertii, a grand white, has a most accom- 

 modating habit for specimen growing, 

 Standard of perfection, rich magenta-rose, 

 Purpurea, rich pinky-puce, with deep 

 crimson spots on the top petal ; Ulustris 

 nova, a fine salmon, one of the best of this 

 colour ; Roi Leopold, salmon-red, rich 

 crimson blotch, remarkably showy ; Yio- 

 lacea superba, rich lake, peculiar and at- 

 tractive for colour, but the flowers rough 

 as compared with some of the best ; Alba 

 meliora, a grand white, the large flowers 

 having a delicate gauzy character ; Prince 

 Albert, a strong red, like Roi Leopold ; 

 Lateritia formosa, soft rose-pink, a very 

 useful shade of colour; Jennerii, fine 

 form, colour rich lake. 



Neio Azaleas. — Mr. Eraser sent a few 



new azaleas, many of which have been 

 many times exhibited. Amongst them 

 the most noticeable were Due de Bra- 

 bant, rosy-salmon, carmine spots, finely 

 formed, large ; Lorelly, white, with rose 

 stripes, a superb flower, much like Her- 

 mine, which appears to be scarcely so good. 

 Roi des Doubles, Deudonne Spae, Ma- 

 dame Ambroise Verschaffelt, Rubens, 

 Perfecta elegans, President Clayes, Due 

 de Nassau, Variegata superba, and Flower 

 of the Day, the last is one of the most 

 distinct and beautiful of all the new 

 azaleas, white, with rose stripes, greenish- 

 yellow centre. 



Pelargoniums. — Nurserymen and 

 amateurs were more nearly equal in point 

 of gettiug up and quality than is usually 

 the case at great shows. Mr. Turner's 

 collections were, of course, magnificent ; 

 so were those from Mr. Fraser, Mr. 

 Bailey, Mr. Weir, and Mr. Nye. Mr. 

 Turner's twelve show varieties were Rose 

 Celestial, Candidate, Guillaume Severyns, 

 Empress Eugenie, pure white, rose blotch, 

 remarkable for its fine form ; Desderaona, 

 Lord Clyde, scarlet with maroon blotch 

 and fiery margin ; Nestor, Yiola, Fairest 

 of the Fair, charming white ground, and 

 cherry-coloured blotch; Beadsmau, Bertie, 

 Leviathan, crimson-purple, with large 

 dark cloud, lovely form. Mr. Fraser had 

 Fairest of the Fair, Rose Celestial, Etna, 

 a superb variety ; Sir' Colin Campbell, 

 Peacock, Sanspareil, Desdemona, Osiris, 

 rich crimson, dark blotch, scarlet margin, 

 one of the most gorgeous of the high- 

 coloured varieties, and in this case well 

 done; Festus, Leviathan, Empress Eu- 

 genie, Beadsman. Mr. Bailey, gardener 

 to T. Drake, Esq., Shardeloes, had a 

 magnificent set of ten, amongst them the 

 finest Sir Colin Campbell in the show ; 

 also Monarch, clear rose, with rich top 

 cloud, fine form ; Rose Celestial, Etna, 

 Desdemona, The Belle, a dazzling combi- 

 nation of carmine, black, and white ; 

 Sanspareil, Scarlet Floribunda, Lord 

 Clyde, extra fine ; Ariel. Mr. Weir, gar- 

 dener to Mrs. Hodgson, The Elms, Hamp- 

 stead, sent William Bull, fine form and 

 colour, but the flowers small ; Ariel, Eu- 

 gene Duval, Guido, Prince of Prussia, 

 Mazeppa, The Belle, Sanspareil, Rose 

 Celestial, Aurelia. Mr. Nye, gardener to 

 G. B. Foster, Esq., Clewer Manor, Wind- 

 sor, had Desdemona, Sanspareil, Flora, 

 Fairest of the Fair, Yiola, a grand speci- 

 men of this peculiar and refined variety, 

 measuring four feet over, and as evenly 

 bloomed as if cast in a mould ; Spotted 



