214 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKB AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



[ September 18, 1873. 



of space was the sole fault of the whole Exhibition ; and this 

 I believe to have arisen from some mistake, for there was 

 no lack of enterprise, no stint of means on the part of the 

 promoters of the Show, who in their programme intimated 

 their intention of spending £11.100 in prizes and other expenses, 

 and I believe, so far as liberality and courtesy to all were con- 

 cerned, they well fulfilled their duties and promises. 



Amongst the plants exhibited were good specimens of Alla- 

 manda, Dipladeuia, Lapageria, Bougainvilliea, Clerodendron, 

 Boudeletia, Ixora, and that ever-lovely Amazon Lily, Eucharis 

 amazonica, with the usual mixture of fine-foliaged plants, as 

 Alocasias, Marautas, Dracaenas, Monsteradeliciosa, and others. 

 A remarkably fine pot or pan of Tritonia aurea was conspicu- 

 ous, besides Heaths and other plants usually seen at such 

 iihows ; but I did not see the plants of Mrs. Cole & Sons, 

 from Manchester, which I believe were in previous years 

 exhibited here. The show of plants was good for the end 

 of August, but I have seen better Fuchsias at a show of 

 less pretensions. 



I expected more competition in Pine Apples in a neighbour- 

 hood where glass and coals are so plentiful, for there were but 

 few; these, however, were good, yet inferior to what I had 

 seen a day or two before at Lambton Castle, as were also the 

 Grapes ; but as the fruit from that remarkable place consti- 

 tuted such an important element in the great Manchester Show, 

 and as I believe Mr. Hunter, from Lambton, was a judge at 

 the place, his fruit could not be exhibited. Some fair Grapes 

 were shown, the black being especially good, while some of 

 the white ones, as is often the case, were not ripe, and, of 

 course, fine-looking bunches had to be passed over. Peaches 

 were very fine, as were also Nectarines and one or two dishes 

 of Apricots ; but the Plums, Pears, and Apples fell short of 

 what are often met with in the south of England, and I was 

 somewhat disappointed with the Melons, which were numerous 

 enough. Small fruits were exhibited in sufiicient quantity to 

 meet the requirements of collections. The vegetables were in 

 most cases all good, excepting the Cucumbers, which were 

 much too old, but most of the Peas, Lettuces, and the Celery 

 seemed to be better than we see in the south, where a hot 

 summer renders their production very uncertain. 



Cut flowers, especially Dahlias, very very few, Eoses but 

 few. Asters good, but 1 did not notice any Carnations. Per- 

 liaps the most conspicuous flower in the whole Show was the 

 Gladiolus, of which there were some excellent stands. There 

 were two large tents devoted to the general exhibitors, and 

 one to cottagers, but I fear that the exhibitions in the latter 

 section were not in accordance with the intention of those 

 giving the prizes, for the productions differed but little in 

 character from those in the other two tents. Vegetables may 

 be as well grown by the cottager as by the gentleman's gardener, 

 and even hardy fruits and ordinary liowers may be quite as 

 good: but good examples of LUiums, Fuchsias that could not 

 well ba accommodated in any ordinary window, large, hand- 

 some, well-flowered, double Geraniums, as well as Coleuses of 

 several kinds, were amongst their collections, and I saw one 

 or more plants of well-bloomed Eucharis, which indicated 

 that tlie means of the exhibitor were much beyond those of 

 the ordinary cottager. 



Before taking leave of the Show, which has now been 

 established for many years, I need only point out that I believe 

 its support depends almost solely on that very important 

 element which backs up so many similar institutions — the 

 outside public. I am told the shilling admittances are ex- 

 pected to make up £1000 or more, and on the occasion of a 

 fair day like that of August 29th, when the Exhibition took 

 place, and at a time when the working classes have so much 

 to spend, it is not unlikely it far exceeded that amount, the 

 admission from eleven to one being 2s. Od., and after that Is. 

 The attractions of the place, with the best musicians that can 

 be engaged (I was told they were the same performers that 

 represented the English in its contest with America some 

 time ago), brought together such a number of weU-dressed 

 people as can only be met with on great fiMe days in the 

 metropolis or other large towns. It was pleasing to note their 

 general good behaviour, and, what is equally encouraging, 

 their critical taste for music ; their remarks, too, horticultural 

 way were often terse and to the purpose, showing that the 

 ship-builders from Sunderland and the Tyne, the iron-workers 

 from Cleveland, the seafaring population from Hartlepool 

 and Tynemouth,and the colliers spread over the southern part 

 of Northumberland and Durham, have a taste for the arts 

 which tend to refine humanity. All credit is due to those who, 



in getting up an exhibition like that at Bishop Auckland, do 

 so much to benefit their fellow workers. — J. Eobson. 



NOTES ON LILIES.— No. 2. 



LILIDM LONGIFLOEUM WILSON! (Leichtlik). 

 The portrait of this was taken from the only pot in bloom 

 at the time that L. longiflorum (see page 170), was photo- 

 graphed. The plant, not being a strong one, does not do the 

 Lily justice. The distinguishing features are that the growth 



^$^Mms^ 



Lilium longitlonim "WUsoui. 



is stronger, the stem taller, and the tubes much longer than 

 in the case of L. longiflorum. We have had five blooms to a 

 stem with tubes 8 inches long to the reflex. In the present 

 specimen the height was only 3 feet 1 inch, with two flowers 

 to a stem, and the length of tube only 7J inches. On com- 

 paring the two photographs, however, the dift'erence of length 

 and form of the tubes is apparent. Some years ago we had a 

 pot of this Lily in full bloom, when a great cultivator of 

 Orchids, and, indeed, of most beautiful plants, paid it a visit. 

 His first exclamation was, " I would have come twelve miles 

 to see it ! " It is indeed a beautiful Lily. The only defect we 

 can see in it, and that not a very serious one, is, that the 

 petals being of a rather more delicate texture than L. longi- 

 florum, the flowers do not last quite so long. A first-class certi- 

 ficate was awarded to a plant from here. — George F. Wilson. 



PELABGONIUMS AWAEDED FIEST-CLASS 

 CERTIFICATES 



BY THE EOTAJj HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

 The following list of the Pelargoniums which have received 

 equivalent to first-class certificates at the Chiswick trials of 

 the Eoyal Horticultural Society, 1873, with the names of the 



