May -3!, 1873. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE G.iRDENER. 



Mr. Badger informed me that the idea -n-hicli liad suggested ' the great tent at the Regent's Parli when filled with specimens 



at ail fit for exhihitiou. We have said before — we say it again — 

 it is a scene of fairyland. The finest feature in the Show was 

 decidedly the Azaleas shown by Mr. Neighbour, gardener to Sir 

 "W. Clayton, Harleyford, Great Marlow. These were giant speci- 

 ,,'.,..,-,,, - , ,. -.1 .,, V 11 1 mens, upwards of 6 feet high, and each literally a mass of flower, 



and also that instead of a formaUlinner there will be each day j.^^^.^ ^^^ ^^^ rose-purple of Coronata, the scarlet of Gem, the 



white of Vesta, the red-striped form of the white Gledstauesi, 



itself to me, and which I mooted in a contemporary, had also 

 oecui'red to the CouncU at Birmingham, and that a room will 

 be specially set apart for horticulturists for meeting, where 

 wi-iting materials, &c., will be provided (but no refreshments) 



dinner provided at a moderate charge, which will be presided 

 over by some horticulturist, and when opportunity tor friendly 

 -chat and intercourse will be given. It is also the intention of 

 the Council to invite Prince Arthur to a public luncheon, 

 ■which will of necessity be an expensive affair. It is not known 

 yet whether he will accept the invitation. 



I have one word of advice to give to those who may wish to 

 spend the week at Birmingham, and that is to secure beds before- 

 hand. Fh'st-class hotel accommodation did not seem to be 

 very abundant in Birmingham. There wUl be a great influx of 

 visitors, and ah'eady the accommodation in one or two of the 

 principal hotels has been bespoken. — D., Deal. 



WOODLICE. 

 In your paper of the 2.5th ult. (page 3.52), in an answer to 

 " 0. 0.," you say, " You must be mistaken ; they will not walk 

 through, much loss 'under' water." Are you quite sure? 

 Have you ever happened to put their breathing organs under 

 the microscope ? I have been assured by an eminent scientific 

 authority, a profound microscopist, that those organs are true 

 gills. Be that as it may, it is certain that they can live and 

 walk under water, although they may not like to do it by 

 choice. Four or five years ago I had some small fish in a glass 

 globe, and, foohshly forgetting that their throats were too 

 smaU to enable them to swallow woodlice, I threw half a dozen 

 in to them. Not one of them was eaten, but all were walking 

 about at the bottom of the globe for several days. Ido not 

 remember how many, nor do I now remember how they were 

 ultimately disposed of. 



I do not suppose there is any difference in the species of 

 our woodlice in the Undercliffe ; they are our greatest plague 

 of the insect world. I remember, some eight or nine years 

 ago when I came " in residence " here, complaining to my man ; 

 and his answer was, " Well, su', I know they are a very great 

 plague ; but it may be some consolation to know that for every 

 one you have got here. Captain Cowper Coles (who then lived 

 on a level .50 feet lower) has got fifty." By the way, our 

 woodUce do not roU themselves up in a ball when disturbed, 

 and possibly there may be some difference of species. — H., 

 Ventnor. 



[There are many species of woodUce, and some are aquatic. 

 Your species probably is Oniscus assellus, which does not 

 assume a globular form when disturbed. The common wood- 

 louse, 0. armadillo, does assume that form, and, though we 

 know that it dislikes that fluid, wUl not touch it voluntarily, 

 and hastens out of its haunts if water is applied to them, 

 on the receipt of your letter we placed a not very strong 

 specimen in a half-pint tumbler of water, kept it there more 

 than an hour, and in five minutes after being taken out it had 

 so far recovered itself as to commence a retreat. We will 

 experiment further. — Eds.] 



ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY'S SHOW. 

 May 22 and 23. 



HoBTicuLTUE.UL exhibitions come thick and fast upon us ; 

 the Crystal Palace, Royal Horticultural, Manchester, and now 

 the Royal Botanic Shows, have followed in close successiou. 

 The last-named Society has been somewhat unfortunate in its 

 fixtures this year, for two of its shows clash with others — that 

 of to-day and yesterday with Manchester, that of June 19th with 

 the Royal HorticiUtural Society's Meetiug of the same date. It 

 Blight be thought that Manchester would not affect London — 

 but it did ; it may be thought that a subsidiary meeting at 

 South Kensington vriW not affect the June Show at the Regent's 

 Park— we think it -nill ; and, though not advertised, if the Royal 

 Botanic Society's authorities were aware, previous to fixing on 

 that day, that another London meeting had been already ar- 

 ranged for the same date, we consider their adoption of it 

 neither in good taste nor conducive to their own interest. 



Coming now to the Show itself, the conciu-rence of Manches- 

 ter had evidently a great effect, not only on the quantity but 

 the quality of the subjects exhibited ; the Show is thin com- 

 pared to those of past years, but it must be acknowledged, and 

 it is on all hands, that there is no more charming sight than 



aud Extrani, violet-rose. Mr. Turner, of Slough, sends several 

 excellent groups of Azaleas, as also Messrs. Lane & Son, of 

 Berkhampstead; some well-grown Rhododendrons in pots come 

 from the same firm ; and Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, & Co., of 

 Exeter, also exhibit a group. 



In stove and greenhouse plants the grand specimens of Mr. 

 Baines were much missed ; but there is another good man to 

 the front — namely, Mr. Ward, gardeuer to F. G. Wilkins, Esq., 

 Leyton, who seems to have adopted the " veni, vidi, vicl,** of 

 Caisar, for wherever he appears it is as a conqueror. He has 

 by far the best collection of nine in the Show, by far the best 

 six, had the best Pelargoniums, aud, better still, was a long way 

 ahead of all others in Orchids. To return to his stove and 

 greenhouse plants — among his specimens in the class for nine 

 are remarkably fine examples of Erica tricolor Wilsoni and 

 elegans. Erica candidissima, Statice profusa, GenethyUis tulipi- 

 fera, and Statice profusa. In his group of six are very fine 

 plants of Tetratheca eriCtefolia, Erica Massoni, Dipladenia ama- 

 bihs, and GenethyUis fuchsioides. Mr. J. Wheeler is second, 

 aud Mr. G. Wheeler, gardener to Sir F. Goldsmid, Bart., Regent's 

 Park, third, in the same class. Among nurserymen the prizes 

 went to Messrs. Jackson, of Kingston ; Mr. Morse, of Epsom ; 

 and Mr. W. Cutbush, Barnet. For a group of twenty stove and 

 greenhouse plants in 8-inch pots, Messrs. Jackson are first 

 ^■ith a very ordinary gi'oup, neither remarkable for novelty nor 

 fine growth. The same firm also contribute Heaths, which, as 

 usual with those they exhibit, are very good. 



Roses in pots from Messrs. Paul & Son and Mr. Turner, of 

 Slough, ai'e exceediugly well represented both as regards large 

 and smaU specimens ; and in the amateurs' class Mr. Terry, of 

 Youngsbury, has a more than usually good group of six. 



Mr. Ward, as already stated, is far before all others for Show 

 Pelargoniums, with Maid of Honour, 4 feet in diameter, and 

 large, splendidly bloomed plants of Lady Canning, Alabama, 

 and others. Mr. James, of Isleworth, is second, aud Mr. 

 Neighbour third. Excellent groujis of Calceolarias are shown 

 by Mr. James and Messrs. Dobson & Sons, of Isleworth ; of 

 hardy herbaceous plants by Mr. Parker, of Tooting, and Mr. 

 Ware, of Tottenham, also of alpine plants by the latter. 



For nine Orchids Mr. Ward is first with excellent specimens 

 of Odontoglossum Alexandra, Cypripediums viUosum and cau- 

 datum, and Oncidum bifolium. Mr. Hill, gardener to B. Han- 

 bury, Esq., The Poles, Ware, is second with excellent examples 

 of Chysis Limminghii, Cattleya Mossiffi, the Foxbrush Aerides, 

 aud Phalasnopsis Liiddemanniana. For six Mr. T. Godfrey is 

 first. 



For Exotic Ferns Mr. Williams, of HoUoway, is first with 

 fine specimens of Gleicheuias semivestita and flabellata, Asple- 

 nium nidus, &c. ; aud among amateurs Mr. Godfrey has a very 

 nice group. Mr. Wilhams sends a fine group of Palms aad two 

 large specimens of tree Ferns. 



The only collection of bedding plants is from Messrs. E. G. 

 Henderson & Son — this is exceedingly well arranged in a demi- 

 lune edged with Echeveria glauca. Golden Feather Pyrethram, 

 and Coleus Verschaffelti. 



For new plants and florists' flowers certificates were given to 

 Mr. Turner for forcing Pink Coccinea, and Tree Carnations 

 Marchioness of Westminster, CaUban, Queen of the Belgians, 

 and Princess Christian ; to Messrs. E. G. Henderson for Golden 

 Tricolor Pelargoniums Enchantress and Golden Eagle ; to Mr. 

 Williams for Zamia cycadiefoUa, Veitchia canterburyana, Kentia 

 austrahs, and Davallia Tyermauni ; to Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, 

 and Co. for Polystichum angiilare cristatum ; aud to Mr. Barker 

 for Iberis Pruiti. 



A. Smee, Esq., of Finsbury Circus, sends a dish of Apples of 

 this year ; aud Mr. R. Dean, EaUug, Mauve Beauty Stock, a 

 very fine pyramidal kind densely j)acked with flowers. 



MANCHESTER HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION. 



May 17. 

 " Only a provincial show !" wUl not apply to those that are 

 held at Leeds, York, or Manchester ; in fact, now-a-days pro- 

 vinces seem to be set on one side in exhibiting. If we hold a 

 show in the metropoUs we are dependant on the provinces to 

 furnish their quota, and Rugeley, Y'ork, Beverley, and other 

 places send their contributions ; and a show that can gather 

 together WiLUams from HoUoway, Paul from Cheshunt, Baines 

 from Southgate, Lane from Berkhampstead, RoUisson from 

 Tooting, and Dixon from Beverley, can in no way be caUed pro- 

 vincial, and may well lay claim to being national. Nay, more : 



