AprU 23, 1868. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND OOTTAaE GARDENEB. 



309 



iural Exhibition ; and although the day is somewhat late for 

 the ?outb, the Show promises to he a great success. Admirers 

 of the Tulip will be well satisfied by a visit to it, for the culture 

 of this flower is carried out with spirit in this neighbourhood. 

 We remind intending subscribers thut no exhibitors' entries 

 can be received after April 25th. 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Second Sprtng Snow. — Ajvil ISth. — It has btfon freqnently nrged 

 that horticultnral exhibitions of late yeara have been too much alike, 

 that the same subjects were brought forward nhow after flhow and j'oar 

 after year by the same exhibitors, and that nearly the only variety 

 imported into them was that which r433ulted from certain kinds of plants 

 goinp cat of season and being replaced by others eqnallj' limited in 

 nauibor. Th^re was much truth in this charge, and doubtless the 

 decline of public interest in the horticultural exhibitions near Lon- 

 don, which at one time threatened their existence, was in some raea- 

 Bnro attributable to the absence of new features and the little variety 

 which they presented. Even the most ardent lover of plants became 

 weary of seeing time after time the same stove and greenhouse plants, 

 magnificent though the specimens were, the same Heaths, the Azaleas 

 atid Pelargoniums the same all hut in kind ; the interest flagged ; 

 the attendance of visitors fell off ; the funds were diminished instead 

 of augmented by the exhibitions ; loss and less became the amount of 

 the prizes and the number of subjects for which they were offered, 

 gi-eater and greater became the sameness of the shows. The establish- 

 ment of ^ring shows and Tuesday meetings has effected a great 

 change, for they bring before the public a class of plants which pre- 

 viously, except in private gardens, they had little opportunity of see- 

 ing, the exhibition season has been prolonged by several months, and 

 the cultivation of many plants, especially those which flower in the 

 early months of the year, greatly encouraged. Thus at the Show on 

 Saturday last there were beautiful collections of Anricnlas, the culti- 

 vation of which seems of late years to have languished in the south, 

 being confined to only a few ; but who could say, on seeing them as 

 ehown by Mr. Turner and Mr. James, that they are not well deserving 

 of more attention than they receive? That they will — that they must 

 — again come into favour we firmly believe. There were those old 

 favourites the Polyanthuses — charming flowers, which every one has 

 it in his power to grow, but not every one can grow well ; there were 

 Cyclamens of surpassing beauty ; and there were numbers of those 

 plants which our grandfathers delighted in, but which have been driven 

 oat of cultivation by the more showy but less enduring bedding plants, 

 and nearly lost — perhaps some of them quite so. Besides these, 

 there were the Koses, the great feature of the Show, but they will 

 always hold their own — they can never go out of fashion ; a host of 

 miscellaneons subjects ; and Messrs. Lane's exhibition of spring-flower- 

 ing plants re-arranged, and with its beauty enhanced by the introduc- 

 tion of fresh materials. All these combined to render the second spring 

 Show at Kensington one of the most varied and excellent displays which 

 it has been our pleasure to witness at this season. No wonder, then, 

 that the expressions of gratification were general, and that the attend- 

 ance of visitors was much more numerous than could have been ex- 

 pected from a cold ungenial forenoon, threatening to terminate in 

 rain. 



Roses, as already stated, were the great feature of the Show ; superb 

 specimens the most of them were, some having as many as thirty 

 blooms, exhibiting as much perfection as if it had been the height of 

 summer, and more of freshness. In the class for nine the competition 

 was very close, the three collections shoi\-n being of great excellence. 

 Mr. W. Paul took the first prize with Madame V. Verdier, splendid 

 cherry colour ; Elizabeth Vigneron, with more than a score of pink 

 flowers, some of which were 5 inches in diameter ; Beauty of Waltham, 

 very fresh and bright; Jean Goujon, beautiful red; Caroline de 

 Sansal ; Victor Verdier, with about a score of blooms and expanding 

 buds ; Louise Odier, rose, very full of bloom ; Madame Damaizin, 

 salmon ; and Celine Forestier, very fine. Messrs. Paul & Sou were 

 second, pressing very closely for first, with Francois Lacharme, very 

 fine colour ; Anna Alexieff ; Professor Koch ; John Hopper, very 

 fine; Charles Lawson, with about three dozen blooms; Madame 

 Villermoz ; Souvenir dun Ami ; Madame de St. Joseph, with a score 

 of blooms ; and of CV'-line Forestier a very fine specimen. Mr. 

 Tomer, of Slough, was third with a very excellent collection, in which 

 Victor Verdier. Mar«-chal Xiel, COline Forestier. and Madame Falcot, 

 were very remarkable for the number of the blooms ; the others being 

 Leopold Hausburg, puri^lish crimson, Charles Lawson, John Hopper, 

 Anna Alexieff, and Madame V. Verdier, all of which were also very 

 fine. 



In the amateurs' class the best six came from Mr. James, gardener 

 to W. F. Watson, Esq., Isleworth, and the second prize went to Mr. 

 Wilkie, Oak Lodge, Kensington. 



For the best single specimen Messrs. Panl & Son took the first prize 

 with President, and Mr. W. Paul was second with Comtesse de Bros- 

 sard, with very large straw-coloured flowers. Mr. Turner had Madame 

 Bravy, with upwards of twenty blooms and partially-expanded buda, 

 but not in such perfection as he usually exhibits this beautiful Tea 

 Rose. 



In the class for twelve new Rosea, first put in commerce in 1866 



and 1867, there was again a keen competition. The first prize was 

 awarded to Mr. \V. Panl for Mademoiselle Annie Wood, vrith large 

 aud finely-shaped red flowers, bearing considerable resemblance to 

 those of Senateur Vaisse, and having very vigorous foliage ; Souvenir 

 do Monsieur Boll, very largo, bright rosy crimson, free-blooming; 

 Madame Rival, verj' double, pink ; Madame la Baronne de Roths- 

 child, very large and fine, peach ; Aspasie, rosy crimson, shading off 

 to peach ; Antoine Dncher, very large, violet shaded crimson ; Charles 

 Verdier, rose ; Eugt-ne Scribe, largo, brilliant red, a flat Rose ; Gloire 

 do Montplaisir not in good condition ; Madeleine Konin, rose, not 

 expanded ; Tea Madame Margottin, pale yellow, very fine ; and 

 Monsieur Furtado, lemon, shading off to a paler colour, and altogether 

 a finer Rose than Celine Forestier. Equal second prizes were 

 awarded to Messrs. Lane & vSon and Messrs. Panl &; Son. The 

 former had Mdlle. Annie Wood, fine ; Madame Rival, rosy peach ; 

 Charles Verdier, pale rose, with a salmon rose centre, fine ; Madame 

 Margottin ; Antoine Ducher ; Madeleine Nonin, rose, suffused with 

 purplish lilac; Fran(;ois Treyve, crimson scarlet; Horace Vemet, 

 velvety dark crimson ; Panl Verdier, very fine, bright rosy crimson ; 

 Thorin, bright rose ; Madame George Paul, dark crimson, shaded 

 with violet purple; and Tea Ronton d'Or, small, lemon-coloured. 

 Messrs. Paul & Son had Madame George Panl ; Fran9oi9 Treyve, 

 fine ; Antoine Dncher, Horace Vemet, Paul Verdier, Charles Verdier, 

 fine; Madame Margottin; Monsieur Noman, pale peach; Princess 

 Mary of Cambridge, Monsieur Furtado, Napoleon III, violet-shaded 

 crimson, and Triomphe de Soissons, deUcate rose. Mr. Turner, of 

 Slough, also exhibited a fine coUecticin. 



In the miscellaneons class an extra prize was awarded to Messrs. 

 Paul & Son, for Roses in pots, among which were fine specimens of 

 Madame Villermoz and Gloire de Dijon with splendid blooms ; and 

 Mr. William Paul had also extra prizes for a collection, and for ten 

 boxes of beautiful cut blooms. Among these were several of the new 

 Roses ; for example, Souvenir de Monsieur Boll, Mademoiselle Theresa 

 Levet, pretty, pink, and Madame Bellenden Kerr in the bud state, 

 white, with a blush centre, in the style of the Maiden's Blush. There 

 were also fine blooms of Enfant de Lyon, pale yellow; Lamarque ; 

 Princess of Wales, crimson, with a fine glow of purple ; Safrano ; 

 Dr. Andre, splendid ; Triomphe de Gnillot fils.of a coppery or salmon 

 tinge, and deliciously scented ; and, lastly, remarkably fine blooms of 

 Cloth of Gold and Gloire de Dijon, produced by plants pruned on the 

 spur system, like Vines, and which, judging from the results which 

 Mr. W. Paul has already obtained, is likely to prove a decided success. 



Cinerarias came next in order in the schedule, and of these the 

 best were those from Mr. James, of Isleworth, who had neat well- 

 bloomed plants of Uncle Toby, large, violet purple ; Snowfiake, 

 white ; Lord Elgin, crimson ; Agrippa, white, dark disk, narrowly 

 edged with puqdish crimson ; W. Reeves, white, edged with rosy 

 crimson ; and Miss Smith, white, dark disk, purplish violet edge. 

 Mr. Fairbaim. gardener to the Duke of Northumberland, Sion House, 

 who was second, had Captain Schreiber, light blue ; Lady Theodore 

 Grosvenor, white, with a broad blue edge ; Prince of Wales, rosy 

 crimson, with a narrow white ring round the disk ; William Dobson, 

 deep crimson ; and Beatrice, white, edged with purplish crimson. Mr. 

 Marchara, gardener to E. Gates, Esq., Hanwcll, was third. 



Mr. James was the only exhibitor of Calceolarias, and received a 

 first prize for plants in very good bloom of the same excellent strain 

 which he usually exhibits. 



Of Amaryllids there were only two sets of six, one from Messrs. 

 Veitch, which received the first prize, and the other from Mr. Williams, 

 of Holloway. who was second. Messrs. Veitch had their new and 

 handsomely-marked variety called Pardina, Ackermanni pulchernma, 

 large and showy, velvety scarlet ; Invincible, dull scarlet, striped ; 

 Madame Goldsmidt, very large and show)', broadly striped and 

 feathered with white on a red ground, a veiy fine variety; Belle Bru- 

 nette, not so large, but somewhat similar in character ; and Vittata 

 rubra, deep red, striped with white. Mr. Williams had Regina, bright 

 scarlet, striped at the base of the segments ; Robusta aud Purpurea 

 maguifica, crimson scarlet, the latter very dark in colour ; Grayiana, 

 scarlet, with a white throat, good ; Johnsoni ; and Cleopatra, crimson 

 scarlet, striped with white. 



Of Camellias, cut blooms were furnished by Mr. Bull, Mr. Wilkie, 

 and Mr. Trussler, gardener to D. J. Kay, Esq., Hoddesdon, who re- 

 ceived prizes in the order named, also by Messrs. Lee, of Hammer- 

 smith ; and Mr. Wilkie had a first prize for three plants in bloom. 



Cyclamens, as already remarked, were of first-rate excellence, especi- 

 ally those from Mr. Wiggins, gardener to W. Beck, Esq., of Isleworth, 

 who gained the first prize, and who likewise exhibited a collection, for 

 which he took an extra prize. One potful, in particular, formed such 

 a dense mass of bloom, that it would have required a very consider- 

 able amount of time and patience to have counted the number of 

 flowers. Mr, Fairbairn and Mr. James were respectively second and 

 third. - - * 



The miscellaneons class was a most interesting one, being, m fact, 

 a show of itself, and though only three prizes were offered, the Judges 

 having, from a want of competition in two or three of the classes, a 

 small sum at command, were enabled to award several extra prizes ; 

 but as the miscellaneous class has of late acquired great interest and 

 importance, it may be questioned whether a larger amount of prizes 

 might not be left to the discretion of the Judges to award in it should 

 DO accidental circumstance such as that referred to occur, Mr. WiUae 



