July 9, 1868. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOKTIOULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



27 



tage of Bceing good orchardhoaso caltivntion, because such 

 knowledge is inoreasinf;ly in demand. In advocating the erec- 

 tion of a good house of this kind at Chiswiclc, I would most 

 eameetly oantion the Directors against spending money use- 

 VeBsly in a grand showy building, and, on the other hand, against 



putting up a shabby structure on wooden posts, which cannot 

 possibly last long, and would not in the end be cheap. I have 

 seen no houses equal to my own when the cost is taken into 

 consideration, and I shall be glad to show them to any one 

 who will pay me a visit.^J. Ve/lbboh,' ChilweU. 



EXHIBITIONS OF WINDOW-GARDENED PLANTS. 



We were among the first to advocate these shows for the 

 promotion of flower-culture under difficulties, for we knew the 

 beneficial results likely to arise from an occupation that renders 

 the humblest room brighter, and which adds to the number of 

 pnre pleasures. These exhibitions are yielding a large measure 

 of good, and are annually increasing in number. We have 

 received the following particulars relative to three of them. 

 And we accompany the details with a correct representation 

 of a southern window garden devoted to the cultivation of 

 Cactuses. ' 



Society fob Prouottng Window Gardening in Westminster. 

 — The third annual flower Show 

 of this Society took place on 

 Tuesday last, the 7th inst., in 

 Dean's Yard. The exhibitors were 

 working men or women, domestic 

 servants, and children in paro- 

 chial, national, infant, Sunday, 

 or ragged schools. About six 

 hundred potted plants were shown. 

 This excellent Society was founded 

 by the Rev. Canons Conway and 

 Jennings, Rectors of St. Mar- 

 garet's and St. John's, Westmin- 

 ster, and has been warmly sup- 

 ported by the Dean of West- 

 minster (who, with Lady Augusta 

 Stanley, takes great interest in 

 its success), Lord Justice Wood,_ 

 and many other influential resi- 

 dents in the united parishes of 

 St. Margaret's and St. John, in- 

 cluding Jeremiah Long, Esq., the 

 present churchwarden. The com- 

 petition amongst the working 

 classes, both old and young, 

 has been very animated, and there 

 cannot be a more pleasing sight 

 than the distribution of prizes, 

 enlivened as it is by the presence 

 of the patrons of the Society, the 

 exhibitors themselves (about a hunlred m number), and the 

 performances of a band of music. The Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, 

 and other plants cultivated under most discouraging circum- 

 stances in the crowded streets and courts of Westminster, 

 would do credit to a show of far greater pretensions, and it is 

 impossible to overestimate the dift'usion of light and air, the 

 habits of cleanliness, and the general refinement which the 

 operations of this Society have introduced amongst the poor of 

 the locality. Prizes were given to Fuchsias grown in the 

 workhouse windows. 



St. Clement's and St. Andrew's Hortiocltukal Society. — 



The first Show of the season will take placo at the St. Clement' 8 

 Schools, Lincaster R^ad West, Notting Hill, on Wednesday 

 and Thur.sday, July 1.5th and IGth. This Society, established 

 last year for the encouragement of cottage and window garden- 

 ing amongst the poorer inhabitants of the districts of St. 

 Clement's and St. Andrew's, has, at the request of residents 

 in the vicinity, recently extended its provisions to the whole 

 neighbourhood of Notting Hill. The success of the Show held 

 last autumn in tha infancy of the Society was very encourag- 

 ing, and the interest displayed by the cottagers has far surpassed 

 anticipation. Whole rows of untidy plots of ground now con- 

 verted into tasteful gardens, and 

 IiTnilSMMl numberless windows filled with 

 ^SmUill plants, testify to the eager readi- 

 ness of the poor to enter into the 

 friendly competition which this 

 Society invitee. 



Edinburgh Working Men's 

 Flower Show. — In the most 

 crowded districts of Edinburgh 

 there are many who, having few 

 opportunities of so innocent en- 

 joyment, regard the "Working 

 Men's Flower Show " as one cf 

 the most important occasions ci 

 the year ; and the testimony cf 

 " visitors " in these districts 

 strengthens the belief that the 

 attention required for the culture 

 of the plants for exhibition, and 

 the interest they awaken, exert 

 a very salutary inflaence. The 

 show of 1867 was held on the 

 3rd of August in the Corn Ex- 

 change, Grassmarket. Like the 

 two former shows, it proved a 

 complete success, the plants being 

 considerably better on the whole 

 than those previously exhibited, 

 and the Committee were grati- 

 fied to find that striking evi- 

 dence was afforded of increasing interest on the part of the 

 working classes. It is estimated that upwards of six thousand 

 persons visited the Exchange in the course of the day, five 

 thousand having paid one penny each for admission after 

 two o'clock, competitors with their families being admitted 

 free. This is a thousand more than in the preceding year. 

 There were fully three hundred competitors, upwards of one 

 hundred of whom were juveniles under fifteen years of age, 

 and their entries of plants, &c., for competition numbered 

 8.30. In 1865 there were only 100 competitors, and in 1866, 

 21-5, with -131 entries for competition. 



AGAPANTHUS umbellatus. 



This old species of Lily contributes a very imposing effect to 

 a conservatory in August and September. The lovely umbels 

 of bright blue, standing boldly erect among other plants, 

 contrast well, and at the same time make them strikingly 

 conspicuous ; indeed, their presence never fails to draw greet- 

 ings and flattering remarks, especially from the ladies, though 

 the construction of the heads debars them from entering largely 

 into the hand-bouquet, unless in single flowers plucked from 

 the crown. 



Propagation. — This is accomplished by seed, division of the 

 roots, and offsets. From seeds, by sowing in a pot any time 

 between March and June, so that the seedlings may acquire 

 sufficient strength to resist the changes in winter. Plunge the 

 pot to the rim in gentle bottom heat, and keep the soil con- 

 stantly moist, both before and after the plants appear above 

 ground. Pot-ofl' as soon as the seedhngs can be conveniently 



handled, and attend afterwards to watering, shading, i-c, as is 

 u.^iually done with such seedlings. Divieiun of the roots and 

 offsets are a ready means of extending the stock. For a com- 

 post, a light loamy mixture, with sand incorporated to the 

 extent of one-third of the bulk, will do. 



General Culture.— h'lMe need be added to the attention 

 generally demanded by free-growing plants. They all delight 

 in high living. A rich heavy loam, with a third of well-reduced 

 cow manure and sharp river sand thrown together without 

 riddling, will msike them grow strongly and well. Admit air 

 abundantly, administer water copiously in the growing season, 

 adding a stimulant in the shape of a little guano to the water, 

 when the flowers are in the process of formation ; and wherever 

 situated, air plentifully supplied ought never to be neglected 

 when the flowers are expaudiug, else the flowers will be defi- 

 cient of their bright blue, so much appreciated, as weU as in 



