332 THE GARDENER. [July 



size, named Ladyburn Rival, apparently very constant from the number of Blooms 

 shown. 



First-class certificate to Messrs Dickson & Co., Leith Walk, for a pretty yellow- 

 ground flower named Thomas Carlyle. 



First-class certificate to Mr John Fraser, Belmont, for a yellow-ground flower 

 named Mrs Fraser. 



First-class certificate to Messrs Downie, Laird, & Laing, for a pretty fancy Pansy 

 named William Baird. 



First-class certificate to Messrs Downie, Laird, & Laing, for fancy Pansy named 

 David Thomson, a deep golden yellow of large size, blotched and striped with 

 intense black. 



First-class certificate to Mr John Hampton for a curious ultramarine-coloured 

 flower named John Downie ; to the same exhibitor was also awarded a first-class 

 certificate for a fancy named Mrs Hampton, of very fine form. 



Mr David Thomson, gardener to the Duke of Buccleuch, Drumlanrig Castle, 

 exhibited a large collection of bedding Pansies of intense blue with large dark 

 blotches in the centre ; those attracted considerable attention, and the whole was 

 considered so meritorious that the judges awarded Nos. 1 and 2 first-class 

 certificates, and No. 3 a certificate of merit. 



A certificate of merit was also awarded to Mr Thomas Nicol, Florist, Morning- 

 side, for a light blue bedding Pansy named Blue King, apparently a very free 

 bloomer. 



Messrs Peter Lawson & Son sent a fine collection of new and rare ornamental 

 foliaged plants to decorate the room. 



The judges on gardeners' flowers were John Baillie, Esq., Coatbridge; Mr 

 Downie, West Coates Nursery; Mr Tait, Leith Walk Nursery. On nurserymen's 

 and amateurs' flowers — Mr Currie, Parkside ; Mr Henderson, Cowden Park ; Mr 

 Fraser, Belmont ; Mr J. Thomson, Summer Place. 



After the Exhibition, about thirty of the members dined together in the Albert 

 Hotel. Mr Mitchell, of Mitchell & Arnott, occupied the chair, Mr D. Syme, 

 of Messrs P. Lawson & Son, acting as croupier. 



REVIEWS. 



Mushroom Culture, its Extension and Improvement. By William Robinson, 

 F.L.S. Frederick Warne & Co., Covent Garden, London. 

 At last we have a work on the Mushroom that will come to be regarded as a 

 standard book of reference in relation to its cultivation. Other pamphlets, all 

 very useful in their way, have skimmed the surface of the subject, but in this 

 interesting book the author, who is an intense believer in the value of the Mush- 

 room, covers the whole of the ground, and presents its culture in many aspects, 

 and under varying circumstances. The contents of the book are divided into 

 twelve chapters ; those of the greatest practical value are chapters 7, 8, and 9, 

 treating on the culture of the Mushroom in the open ground. We once saw in 

 the south of England very fine Mushrooms being grown in the open air between 

 rows of Cabbages and Potatoes in some newly-broken sandy loam. The ground 

 had been manured with dung from an old bed highly impregnated with spawn, 

 and the warm early summer showers, combined with hot sunny days, brought 

 forth great quantities of Mushrooms of fine quality. To this part of the subject 



