May 9, 1867. 1 



JOOBNA.IJ OF HORTICDLTDRB AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



329 



one need not, therefore, occupy space in describing that which 

 has no object of interest attaching to it. 



The great stake of the day was in the New Plants, and the 

 rivals were Messrs. Veitch, of Chelsea, and M. Linden, of 

 Brussels, both the victors in many a hard-woa fight. The 

 first class was for collections of Stove Plants of recent intro- 

 duction. In this Messrs. Veitch were the only exhibitors, and 

 a finer or more interesting lot we never saw exhibited when 

 the number is taken into consideration, there being no less 

 than thirty plants in all. Among them were to be seen several 

 of great novelty and interest, such as a Cinchonaceous plant 

 with long broadly-lanceolate leaves, and with bright red midrib 

 and veins, from Bolivia ; a singular species of Begonia from 

 Peru ; a Bertolonia from Madagascar ; a Drosera from the 

 Cape of Good Hope ; several species of Draoasnas from the 

 South Sea Islands ; Crotons, and a new species of Dicksonia. 

 There were also a fine specimen of Anthiirium regale, 

 Maranta roseo-picta, and Dieffenbachia gigantea. It was in 

 Class 2 that the great rivalry took place. It was for six plants 

 newly introduced, distinct. Messrs. Veitch and Mr. Linden 

 each showed two collections. That on which the first prize 

 was decided, Messrs. Veitch's, consisted of a new species of 

 Philodendron ; two new Dractenas, one beautifully variegated 

 green and white, and named Dracfeua regalis ; the other the 

 same colour as D. ferrea variegata, but with much larger and 

 broader leaves, and named magnifica ; a Crotou, from New 

 Hebrides, named C. Veitchii ; Sanchezianobilis variegata; and 

 Aralia Veitchii, from New Caledonia. Mr. Linden had a ne» 

 Commelinaceous plant which has leaves a yard long, and is said 

 to produce flowers of azure blue ; Bignonia ornata, from Bio 

 Negro ; the Dichorizandra mosaica which he exhibited at the 

 International Exhibition of London in 1866 ; Maranta virgi- 

 nalis, Ficus dealbata, and Maranta princeps. The first prize 

 was awarded to Mr. Linden, with 20 points ; and the second to 

 Mr. Veitch, with 19j. The difference being so slight it may 

 be thought, and was thought by many, that they should have 

 been equal ; but we believe it is a Perso-Median principle 

 of the Imperial Commissioner, that no two things can be of 

 equal value, not even a florin and a two-shilling piece, and, 

 therefore, the Juries are not permitted to make equal awards. 

 The second collection of Mr. Linden consisted of Hemerocallis 

 nova, a green and white variegated variety, from Japan ; Cyano- 

 phyllum spectandum ; Dieffenbachia nobilis, a now species of 

 Iresine, a new species of Spathiphyllum, and Eohites rubro- 

 Tenosa. Messrs. Veitch's second collection contained a species 

 of Araha, from New Caledonia ; Dieffenbachia Pearcei, Coleus 

 Veitchii, a beautiful striped new species of Pandanus, from 

 New Hebrides, Eetinoapora filicoides, and a beautiful new 

 double Clematis, in the way of C. Fortuni, but light purple in 

 colour, called John Gould Veitch. For this collection Messrs. 

 Veitch received a third prize, and Mr. Linden received a fourth 

 for his. 



For a collection of choice plants of recent introduction, and 

 which formed the third class, Mr. Linden and Mr. Ambroise 

 Verschaffelt were the only exhibitors. Mr. Linden's consisted 

 of Gunnera mauicata, Anthurium crinitum, Authurium tri- 

 lobum, Adelaster sp. nov., Maranta Legrelleana, Maranta 

 setosa, Maranta chimboraoensis, Caladium sp. nov. In the 

 fourth class also there was but one exhibitor, M. Ambroise 

 Verschaffelt. It was a much larger collection, and contained 

 Cibotium regale, Acer formosum, Acer sanguineum, Acer orna- 

 tum, Acer juoundum, A. amoeaum, A. Frederici-Gulielmi, Ficua 

 Ghieabreghti, Maranta illustris, pulchra, and Verschaffelti, 

 Agave mirabilis, eonipacta, grandis, and spectabiliif, Aralia 

 Sieboldi foliis reticulatis, Dracaena lentiginosa and Verschaf- 

 felti, Aristolochia insiguis. Daphne speciosa, Echites rubro- 

 venia, Cordyline Guilforglei, and Tillandsia grandis. For 

 this collection Mr. Verschaffelt received a first prize, and Mr. 

 Linden a third. The last of the classes in this group was for 

 a single specimen of a new plant remarkable for its culture. 

 Here Messrs. Veitch were first with a splendid specimen of 

 their Maranta Veitchii, and Mr. Linden second with a fine 

 plant of Anthurium regale. 



In Orchids there were only two exhibitors, Mr. Liiddemann 

 and Messrs. Thibaut & Keteleer, of whom the former took the 

 first prize and the latter the second, and their specimens were 

 not such as to require any special notice. There was, however, a 

 specimen of Van. la suavis, with several large masses of Cattleya 

 Skinneri, from the Due d'Agen, which not even equalled any- 

 thing of the kind ever seen iu England. 



The only other objects worth noticing were some extraordinary 

 bundles of Asparagus, exhibited by Messrs. L'HiSrault-Salbceuf 



et fila, Buo de Sannoia, Argenteuil, which for size have perhaps 

 never been surpassed and rarely equalled. M. Louis L'Hcrault 

 also exhibited some of extraordinary size, though not equal to 

 the former. 



VINES AND VINE BORDERS. 



Mr. 'Wills has carried the discussion of this subject from 

 the garden under his own charge to that of Mr. Meredith, and 

 if any inconvenience arises from this change, I shall not con- 

 sider it is my affair. I can only conclude he thought this 

 would give him an advantage; be it so. I shall try and show 

 him it is a mistake for him to treat a matter involving such 

 large sums in such a light way, and also that he has not given 

 us information enough fairly to support his deductions. 



The first time Mr. Wills makes reference to my letter is in 

 that very involved sentence or question, beginning with the 

 words " supposing it to cost £60 or £100, according to size, 

 and with a view to its lasting in good condition sixty or a 

 hundred j-ears." I never hear of any one finding in the dic- 

 tionary of facts either the word " if " or " suppose ;" but let 

 me ask. If a border which costs £50 will last sixty years, and 

 one that costs £100 one hundred years, as he " supposes," why 

 one which costs £15 should not last fifteen years, and one that 

 costs £20 twenty years ? and are there in the higher-priced 

 borders some more expensive materials used which cannot be 

 afforded in the cheaper ones ? and is this some patent manure 

 " that will last in good condition sixty or a hundred years ?" 



In his description of the early vinery, 65 feet long and 

 23 feet wide, Mr. Wills tells us the depth and width of the 

 inside borders ; but in speaking of those on the outside I see 

 only the depth and not the width ; nor do I in any single in- 

 stance see the size of any outside border given ! When I 

 was at Garston Mr. Meredith told me that the use of these 

 small borders was to save watering, and not to support the 

 Vines, and I wish to know if he has changed his mind. Mr. 

 Wills tells me " he did not make an examination of the Vine 

 borders," "but that any Grape-grower can tell from the Vines 

 that the borders were well filled with fine healthy roots," " and 

 that I may take his word for it that the roots are to be found 

 in quantity both outside and in," adding, " if there is any 

 difference in their healthiness, those in the outside border 

 perhaps will be the best." I am a Grape-grower, and I can 

 tell by looking at a Vine if it has plenty of roots to support 

 the crop it is carrying ; but, I confess, I cannot tell by looking 

 at a Vine in which border the greater part of its healthy roots 

 are. I do not say that this cannot be done ; but will Mr. 

 Wills tell me how, and excuse the doubt implied in the question ? 



After giving us a description of the semi-leau-to, 12S feet 

 long by 17 wide, and its wonderful crop last year, Mr. Wills 

 asks nie " what I think of the show system of Vine-border- 

 making after that ;" a very plain question, and I will try as 

 frankly to answer it. The examples given are a Lady Downe's 

 bearing twenty-two bunches, averaging 1* lb., or 3S lbs. in all ; 

 a Barbarossa with 30 lbs. contained in three bunches, a second 

 Lady Downe's with sixteen fine bushes, a second Barbarossa 

 with three bunches weighing about 20 lbs., and Child of 

 Hale with four bunches, the united weight of which would 

 be about 36 lbs., the largest counting for 12 lbs. I do not 

 think I can judge of the powers of a border by any one year's 

 result. Mr. Wills says this house has been planted about six 

 years ; surely Mr. Meredith would not grow these Vines so 

 many years without cropping them, that he might astonish 

 the world in tlie end by crowding six years' crop into one. ^ I 

 also want to know how many canes each Vine had, the dis- 

 tance they are planted apart, and how much the cane or canes 

 had been shortened the previous year ; which means. Were 

 these bunches produced from spurs or new canes ? Till I know 

 all this I must conclude that each Vine had only one cane 17 feet 

 long, and which cane was pruned on the close system. May 

 I calculate the previous year's crops at this rate progressively ?^ 

 I will take the medium 33 lbs. ; this is at the rate of 5J lbs. 

 per year's growth, the year of planting not being counted :^ 

 Sixth, 33 lbs. ; fifth, 27i lbs. ; fourth, 22J lbs. ; third, 17J lbs. ; 

 second, 12{ lbs. ; first, 7J lbs. ; total, 120J lbs. Say if a Vine 

 BO treated can produce ha:lf of this 120! lbs. in the first seven 

 years of its growth, or 60 lbs., it has done well ; and if the 

 house would average it, then it is my opinion that I should 

 differ from Mr. Wills in his conclusion that there is an out- 

 side border needed, and should be quite willing to point to 

 these facts as being a proof that my opinion was correct. 



I am surprised that after such facts as are here described 



