Hay 30. 1867. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUBB AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



Ami, Charles Lawaon, General Jacqaeminot, a fine plant; Souvenir 

 de la Maimaison. Marechal Vaillaut, lovely ; Paul Perra9, Madame 

 Damaizin, and President. Messrs. Paul &: Son were third ; this 

 collection contained a lovely plant of Marechal Niel. In the class 

 for twelve Roses in eight-inch pots Messrs. Paul <fc Son were first 

 with nice younj* specimens of Princess Mary of Cnmbrid^ei Manrice 

 Bemardin. Souvenir d'un Ami, &c. Mr. Charles Turner was second, 

 and Mr. W. Paul third. Messrs. Paul & Son also exhibited some 

 boxes of beautiful cut blooms, to which an extra prize was awarded ; 

 and around these as usual was gathered a re^Iar bevy of delighted 

 visitors, who conned with more acumen than they did most things the 

 very beautiful blooms exhibited. 



For the last two years Mr. Turner has not been quite up to the 

 mark with Show Pelargoniums. He tried some experiments, I believe, 

 and they certainly had not been vci-y successful. Ho has now quite 

 recovered his ground, and I have never seen more magnificent plants 

 than those he cxliibited on Saturday, and with which he easily gained 

 the first prize. They were Desdemona, Rose Celestial, a plant which 

 was perfection itself ; Lilacinum, Royal Albert, a fine flower and very 

 effective ; Spotted Gem, very pretty ; Mdlle. Patti, a lovely flower 

 with a clear white throat ; Pericles, JBelle of the Ball, Fair Rosamond, 

 Exhibitor, and Fairest of the Fair. Mr. Fraser was a good second 

 with Celeste, a rich warm, rose, a little crumpled in the petal ; Sans- 

 pariel, Desdemona, Candidate, Empress Eugenie, Beacon, Regina For- 

 mosa, Pericles, Koseum, a beautifully bright flower, and James Lodge. 

 Amongst Amateurs Mr. Nye, gardener to E. Foster, Esq., Clewer 

 Manor, was first \vith Favourite, Mdlle. Patti, Royalty, Sir C. Camp- 

 bell. Belle of the Ball, Rose Celestial, Patroness, JFair Rosamond, and 

 Garibaldi. Fancy Pelargoniums were also very beantiful ; more diffi- 

 cult to show well than the show varieties, their successful culture 

 displays greater skill, and the plants exhibited really seemed the very 

 acme of perfection. Mr. Turner was again first with Lady Craven, 

 Ellen Beck, very pretty; Lucy, Delicatum, very fine; Roi des Fan- 

 taisies, and Undine, very fine. Mr. Fraser, who was second, had Clara 

 Novello, Undine, Delicatum, Ellen Beck, and Marionette. Amongst 

 Amateurs Mr. Donald was first, and Mi'. Weir, gardener to Mrs. 

 Hodgson, second. 



I can- well understand the perplexity into which the Judges must 

 have been cast at tho Tricolor Pelargonium Exhibition on the '21st, by 

 the sample from only three exhibitors on Saturday; but some limit 

 must be made, and especially now, as so much is said and thought 

 about them. The three exhibitors were Messrs. F. & A. Smith, of 

 Dnlwich. who had a large collection ; Mr. Watson, of St. Albans ; and 

 Messrs. Carter, who had some boxes of three varieties and a plant 

 of a new seedling, which, if it retain its character when propagated, 

 will be, indeed, a gem — Prince of Wales. It is very large, and a 

 noble-looking plant. Messrs. Smith obtained fii-st-class certificates for 

 Exquisite, Mr. Grieve, Resplendent, deep yellow edge, broad zone, car- 

 mine red with black, very fine; Jetty Lacy, really magnificent, bright 

 golden yellow, chestnut red and black zone ; Louise Smith, yellow 

 margin, zone of red and black. Mr. Watson, of St. Albans, had first- 

 class certificates for his two fine plants — Mi"s. Dix and Miss Watson, 

 and Messrs. Carter had one for Titania. 



Among the Show Pelargoniums Mr. Wiggins obtained a first-class 

 certificate for Hermit, a fine, large white flower, with deeply-marked 

 upper petals, and L'Empcreur, a fine warm rosy crimson flower, 

 and a second-class certificate for Queen of Roses, beautiful in colour, 

 though somewhat rough. Mr. Bull obtained a first-class certificate 

 for Lobelia Rosy Gem, a very curious and distinct colour ; Mr. 

 Cunningham a first-class for L'Elegante, silver-edged Ivy leaf ; and 

 Mr. Bull had Silver Gem, in the same style, but better. Messrs. Downie 

 and Co. received a first-class certificate for Emmeline, a rosy pink 

 Nosegay. — D., Deal. 



KOYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY'S SHOW. 



The first of the great summer Shows of this Society was held yester- 

 day, and was in every respect a charming display, for although many 

 of the suhjeets had appeared at the Crystal Palace on the previous 

 Sattirday, the fresh green turf banks employed at the Regent's Park 

 instead of stages, made the plants look fresher and more beautiful 

 than ever. Stove and greenhouse plants were as usual numerously 

 shown, and in excellent condition, and of Ferns and fine-foliaged 

 plants Mr. Williams had very fine collections. Heaths, too, were well 

 represented : and Pelargoniums, both Show and Fancy varieties, as ex- 

 hibited by Messrs. Turner, Fraser, Nye, and Ward, were not only largo 

 but in profuse bloom. Roses from Messrs. W. Paul, Turner, Paul and 

 Son, and others, were admirable, and contributed largely to the effect 

 of the Exhibition. Among Orchidtj Cypripedium caudatum, in a fine 

 collection fiom Mr. Wilson, gardener to W. Marshall, Esq., Enfield, 

 was the finest specimen of that singular and highly ornamental species 

 which we remember having seen. Odontoglossum Bluntii had no less 

 than eleven of its beautiful blossoms, the largest number with which it 

 has as yet been shown, except by Mr. Anderson, of Meadow Bank, who 

 exhibited it with twelve. Of new plants, Messrs. Veitch and Bull 

 had each interesting collections. Fruit was not invited at this Show, 

 bnt Mr. Turner, of Slongh, had some fine Muscat and Black Ham- 

 burgh Grapes, Grosse Mignonne Peaches, and Nectarines. Mr. John 

 Waterer's American plants, though not yet at perfection, were still 

 sufficiently advanced to add materially to the attractions of the Show. 

 We shall give a full report next week. 



THE APPKOACHING MANCHESTER HORTI- 

 CULTURAL, EXHIBITION. 



One eveniii!; last week I took one of my occasional walks 

 tbrough the Manchester Botanic Gardens, and was particularly 

 impressed with the extensive preparations which are being made 

 for holding the great National Horticultural Show in June next. 

 It occurred to me that a brief account of the arrangements for 

 the occasion would be interesting to jour numerous readers. 



It is, I suppose, generally known that there is in the garden 

 a large glass building, called the Exhibition-house. This 

 structure is 200 feet in length, and CO feet in width, and in it 

 all the ordinary flower shows are held. Along one side of this 

 structure, and connected with it, there will be erected a tent of 

 the same dimensions, and the large sliding doors in the side of 

 the building will be drawn back, so that persons may easily 

 pass from it to the tent, or the contrary, thus making the two 

 structures for all practical purposes the same as one. By this 

 means the amount of space available for exhibition purposeB 

 will be doubled. There will be a broad walk down the middle 

 of the tent, and a stage on each side for the various collections 

 which it will contain. 



In addition to the Exhibition-house and tent, another strnc- 

 ture is now being erected at right angles to these, extending 

 along and beyond one of their ends. This consists of a woodea 

 framework, covered with canvas, and is 60 feet wide and 

 300 feet in length. The internal arrangements of this wing 

 are somewhat similar in style to those adopted at the great 

 International Show of last year, consisting of a series of grass 

 banks and gravel walks. The space of 300 feet is divided into 

 six equal portions, and in the centre of each is thrown up a 

 circular mound, 6 or 7 feet high, and having three tiers or 

 stages all covered with green turf. These are surrounded by a 

 gravel walk 12 feet in width, and on the other side of this walk 

 there are more grass banks of two stages, extending the whole 

 length of the building. 



It will be understood from the above description that the 

 general form of the Show will be something like the letter L; 

 and it will be evident to the reader, that a person standing in 

 the angle thus formed would be able to see the whole length of 

 both wings without changing his position. This circumstance 

 has been taken advantage of by forming an artificial mound, 

 about 12 feet high, over the top of which the broad walk that 

 runs through the tent first described is made to wind, in its 

 way to the grass banks in the other wing. From the top of the 

 mound the whole of the exhibition will be seen at a glance 

 and will no doubt present a very imposing appearance. 



Orchids and the more tender stove plants will be placed itt 

 the Exhibition-house ; fruit, vegetables, and cut flowers will be 

 arranged in the tent at the side of the building ; and the larger 

 specimens of flowering plants. Ferns, and ornamental-foliageJ 

 plants will be staged on the grassy shelves which surround the 

 mounds in the long wing. The exit from the Exhibition is so 

 placed that the visitors, on emerging from the building, will find 

 themselves on a broad gravel walk which surrounds the flower 

 garden, situated on their left hand, and a lake of water, with 

 its islands and ornamental bridges, on the right. The various 

 ranges of hothouses, greenhouses, &c., together with the 

 lodges and entrance-gates, are all being repainted for the Show, 

 which, so far as I could learn, is likely to prove a great success. 

 — Tnos. Jones, Gardener, liusholme. 



CULTURE OF CUCUMBERS IN POTS. 



Pehmit me to add my small stock of experience of the pot- 

 culture of Cucumbers, having formed the opinion, before I saw 

 it advanced in the Journal, that the system was good. 



I have grown good crops of fruit on plants placed at the 

 bottom of 11-inch pots, set on an inside Vine border, the plants 

 being surrounded with loam as they increased in height, until 

 it was heaped up above the rim of the pot. I think I may say 

 they were good crops, as the fruit averaged 18 inches long, with 

 a circumference of 7 inches, some being as large as 22 inches 

 by 84 inches, and 3^ lbs. in weight. 



One of your correspondents mentioned 16 and 18-inch pots in 

 a way which led me to suppose my pots had been unusually 

 small, while another referred to the large size of the leaves of hig 

 plants. I have never permitted this luxuriant foliage, for my 

 practice has been to syringe freely, shut up early, and prone 

 severely. — Amateue. _...■ 



[We have grown Cucumbers and Melons in smaller potu 



