April 18, 1867. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



277 



The case was as follows -.—The owner, being iU, was ordered 

 Grapes, which cost 7s. per lb. The gardener thought it a great 

 price, and resolved to risk the experiment of quick forcing on 

 account of his sick master. Accordingly he put his plan in 

 operation, and in sixteen weeks he had ripe Grapes ; but I am 

 very much in doubt whether if the same Vines had undergone 

 the operation again they would not have been rendered worth- 

 less. I saw them after they had performed their task, the 

 fruit was far from what it ought to be, and the foliage was 

 foiy, aye, very foxy. — Veritas. 



ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY'S SPRING SHOW. 



The second siirinR Show of this Society took place on Saturday 

 last, but, unfortunatoly, the -weather was such as to prevelit a large 

 attendance of visitors, being squally and showery in the forenoon, and 

 though the after part of the day was fan: the sky continued threaten- 

 ing till night. The principal features on this occasion were Azaleas, 

 Koses, and Cinerarias ; and these, with flowering and fine-foliaged 

 plants, made an etfective though not large display. 



Of Azaleas there were only two collections in the Nurserymen's 

 Class ; these came from Mr. Turner, of Slough, and Messrs. Lane 

 and Son. of Berhhampstead, and were awarded equal fii-st pi-izes. 

 Mr. Turner's sis consisted of excellent examjiles of Madame Miellez 

 and Louis Von Baden, white ; Kinghorni and Perfection, rose ; Beauty 

 of Keigatc, white, with occasional stripes of red ; and a union plant, 

 being Etoile de Gaud and Variegata superba worked together. Messrs. 

 Lane had Iveine des Blanches, Iveryana, and Ma,guiticent, white; 

 Chclsoni, orange scarlet ; Roi Leopold, salmon scarlet, and of Sir 

 Charles Napier, a finely-bloomed pyramid about -1 feet high. 



In the Amateurs' Class, Mr. Wheeler, gardener to Sir F. Goldsmid, 

 Bart., M.P., was first with Alba Cincta, in the wayof Etoile de Gaud; 

 Duke of Devonshire, scarlet ; Marie Louise, crimson ; SteUa, beauti- 

 ful orange scarlet, with violet purple blotches in the upper petals ; 

 Broughtoni and Semiduples, neither of which was sufficiently in 

 bloom. Mr. 'Wilkie, gardener to J. McHenry, Esq., Oak Lodge, 

 Kensington, was second with Optima, salmon scarlet ; Marie Louise, 

 Duchesse Adelaide de Nassau, a dense mass of scarlet blooms ;' Sinen- 

 sis, and standard iilants of Sir Charles Napier and Mrs. Fry, rosy 

 crimson. 



For three Azaleas sent out in 18G2, 1S63, and 1864, Messrs. Lane 

 were first with the beautifiJ Stella, Elegantissima, white with occa- 

 sional stripes of rose, a flower of great substance ; and Advance, rosy 

 crimson, heavily spotted in the upper petals. Messrs. Ivery & Son 

 had Flag of Truce, white ; Madame Dominique Vervaene, delicate sal- 

 mon pink, irregularly edged with white, and spotted in the upper 

 petals with crimson ; and Souvenir de Pronay, rosy crimson. Sir. 

 Turner had Stella, Prince of Orange, orange red, almost destitute of 

 spots ; and Charles Enke, salmon rose, each petal boldly edged with 

 white, and spotted in the upper petals with purplish crimson. Messrs. 

 Ivery were awarded a second prize, Mr. Turner a third. Messrs. 

 Ivery also exhibited several seedlings, the best of which were En- 

 chantress and Princess Alexandra, which respectively received first 

 and seccnd-class certificates. The former is white, slightly flushed 

 and streaked with dehcate salmon rose, and spotted iu the upper 

 petals with crimson, a fine bold flower ; whilst Piincess Alexandra is 

 white, mottled and streaked with purplish x>ink, some of the flowers 

 ■wholly pink, and in others only some of the petals of that colour. 



Roses, though prizes were not offered for them, formed the most 

 strildng and attractive featiu-e of the exhibition. Those from Mr. 

 "William Paul in particular were remarkable alike for the number, 

 brightness, and freshness of the flowers, and the size and health of 

 the fohage. Among them were noticeable MdUe. Marie Rody, with 

 two magnificent crimson scarlet flowers, a fine specimen of Glory of 

 Waltham, Fisher Holmes, Senateur Vaisse, Prince of Portia ; of rose 

 and pink varieties Madame Anna Alexieff, Madame Rousset, Centi- 

 folia rosea, Madame FilUou, Madame Boll, Madame Hoste, and 

 Madame Damaizin ; and of Noisettes and Tea-scented Celine Forestier 

 and Marquise de Foucault. Messrs. Paul ^ Son had hkewise a 

 collection in fine bloom, among which were excellent examples of 

 Madame Eilhon, Lord Clyde, Princess Mary of Cambridge, Fisher 

 Holmes, Exposition de Brie, General Jacqueminot, Charles Lawson, 

 Madame Victor Verdier, Marcchal Niel, Cehne Forestier, and Madame 

 VUlermoz. Messrs. Paul ifc Son also contributed five boxes of beau- 

 tiful cut blooms, of which Marechal Niel, Maurice Bemardin, 

 Alphonse Belin, Madame Victor Verdier, and Madame Villermoz, were 

 especially fine. Extra prizes were awarded for all three exhibitions. 



Cinerarias though not numerous had a very gay appearance, and 

 those shown by Messrs. Dobson, James, and Fahbairn were in ex- 

 cellent bloom. Conspicuous among Messrs. Dobson's plants, to which 

 a first prize was awarded, was that well-known and beautiful rosyi 

 purple variety. Lord Elgin, almost dazzling in its brightness ; among 

 the others were Conqueror, crimson self ; Miss Smith, white, broadly 

 edged with violet ; Eclipse ; and Admiration, white, with a broad rosy- 

 purple edge. The first prize in the Amateurs' Class was awarded to 

 Mr. James, gardener to F. Watson, Esq., Isleworth, for well-bloomed 

 plants of Snowflake, Lord Elgin, Perfection, Charles Dickens, Fair 

 Maid, and William Reeves. The second prize went to Mr. FairbaJm, 

 gardener to the Duke of Northumberland, Sion, who pressed his com- 



petitor so closely for first that it was difllcult to decide which had the 

 better collection ; his plant of WiUiam Dobson, a bold crimson self, 

 was admirably bloomed ; Creamy White, as well as his other plants 

 were also verj- good. Mr. August, Beddington, was third. For 

 Beatrice, a seedling raised by Mr. Fairbaim, Messrs. Dobson received 

 a flist-class certificate. It is a veiy large, bold, white flower, con- 

 spicuously edged with rosy purple. 



Among" other subjects were AmaryUises from Mr. Burley, of Bays- 

 water, and Mr. Wilcock, gardener to Dr. Pattison, of St. John's Wood ; 

 fine-leaved Begonias from Mr. Marcham, gardener to E. Gates, Esq., 

 Hanwell, and Mr. Wheeler, gardener to Sir F. Goldsmid, Bart., and 

 excellent pots of Lily of the Valley from Mr. Bartlett, who also con- 

 tributed a dozen admirably-bloomed specimens of Spiriea japonica 

 or barbata. These, though only in 48-pots, measured about 20 inches 

 across at the base, and 16 or 17 inches high, and each bore about a 

 dozen graceful white spikes of bloom. It is surprising that so efftctive 

 a plant is not more generally grown for decorative purposes at this 

 season, seeing that it is of easy culture. 



Of British Ferns Messrs. Ivery, of Dorking, sent as usual the best 

 collection, which included Asplenium trichomanes Moulei, a very 

 pretty slender variety ; Asplenium foutanum, Cystopteris fragUis an- 

 gustata, Blechnum spicant heterophyllum, of which the pale green of 

 the young fronds formed a pretty contrast with the dark hue of the 

 older ones ; Ceterach olficinarum, Scolopendrium vulgare marginato- 

 cristatum, Polypodiums, Athyrium Fihx-foemina formoso-eristatum, a 

 finely-crested variety with lively green fronds as shown, A. F.-f. thys- 

 sanotum, A. F.-f. pulchellum, also pretty, and a easeful of Tricho- 

 manes radicaus. Mi". James, of Isleworth, had the second prize for a 

 collection chiefly consisting of Athyiiums and Lastreas. 



Prizes were also offered for flowering and fine-foliaged plants, and 

 were taken by Mr. WiUiams, of HoUoway, Mr. Wheeler, and Mr. 

 Wilkie in the order of their names, with collections comprising Cordy- 

 liue indivisa. Variegated Aloe-leaved Yucca, Crotons, Alocasia me- 

 I tallica, Dicksonia antarctica, Eriostemons, Azaleas, GenetyUis fuchsi- 

 oides, and Dendrobium nobile. Mr. WiUiams likewise contributed 

 a collection containing Imantophylium miniatum, Tetratheca ericae- 

 foha, Bororda piunata, TrichopiUa suavis, and other Orchids, together 

 with a fine specimen of the beautifully-striped Yucca quadricolor. 

 Yucca albo-spica, Anauassa sativa variegata, Todea superba, and Hy- 

 menophyllum demissum. Messrs. Lane had a plant of the beautiful 

 hybrid Rhododendron Countess of Haddington, with large trusses of 

 its long-tubed rosy blush flowers ; also a plant of Edgeworthii, a 

 Sikkim species with large, campauulate, white flowers. 



Of new and rare plants a numerous collection came from Mr. Bull, 

 comprising Litobrochia undulata, Maranta roseo-picta ; Habenaria 

 margaritacea, with oblong dark green leaves, blotched with white, a 

 promising addition to variegated Orchids ; Iresine Herbstii aureo-reti- 

 culata, noticed last week ; Tradescantia repens vittata, in which some 

 of the leaves are half green half white, while others are broadly 

 striped ; Fittonia argyroneura, beautifully veined with white ; Athy- 

 rium Goringianum pictum, a beautiful and graceful variegated Fern, 

 with reddish midribs shading off to grey, and clouded towards the 

 base of the pinnse ; the Japanese Lastrea varia, with green and bronzy 

 fronds ; Polystichum augulare parvissimum, and some others. Mr. 

 WiUiams, of HoUoway, sent the rare Vanda gigantea, with a raceme 

 of its large thick blossoms, golden yeUow, with conspicuous cinnamon 

 blotches ; also a Strelitzia, with an orange and blackish violet flower ; 

 Dracfena sanguinea, witli long narrow leaves having red midribs ; 

 Lindsiea cultrata ; a smaU yeUow and brown-flowered Oncidium, and a 

 bv-no-means showy MaxiUaria, with numerous smaU purplish spots 

 on a buff ground. Mr. Wilcock, gardener to Dr. Pattison, St. John's 

 Wood, had two Odontoglossums, one being O. Bluntii, and the other a. 

 good variety of luteo-purpureum with nine large flowers. From Mr. 

 Shenton, Bamet, came several varieties of Retinosporas, not, how- 

 ever, of a size that their merits could be judged of ; and from Messrs. 

 Perkins, of Coventry, Tricolor Pelargonium Queen Victoria, a pretty 

 variety, which was adjudged a first-class certificate ; and Mr. WUliam 

 Paul had a similar award for Red Admiral. Mr. Paul also exhibited 

 several other promising variegated Felargonituus, and the beautiful 

 new double Scarlet Thorn. 



TREATMENT OF PEACH AND NECTAPJNE 



TREES. 



Plant if possible trees one-year-trained from the nursery, un- 

 less you like two-year trees best. After planting, put some rotten 

 manure over the roots, with soil, and water it in. I like to 

 plant in October or November, and I let the trees grow till May 

 before I cut them back. Should there be any shoot absolutely 

 useless I cut it ont, but no more ; then nail, as soon as of 

 sufficient length, as much wood as will form a good head. I 

 usually let the wood grow all it can in the spring tiU the fol- 

 lowing season — that is, I never cut a shoot from the trees tUI 

 I prune them, say in the middle of May ; then I go over the 

 trees and cut out the useless wood, disbud the wood left for 

 another year, take ofi the embryo fruit where it is too thick, 

 and then nail in properly. By this management I never miss 

 having a crop of fruit. The reasons I assign for this treatment 



