Ju)l» 19, 18S6. } 



JOURNAL OF HOSTICULTUKK AND COTTAGK GARDENER. 



455 



Joliana, Criterion, Symmetry, and Ivervana ; Mr. Ingram, gardener 

 to J. J. Blandy, Esq., of Beading, tliirj with Glon' of Snnninghill, 

 Iveryana, Prsstantissima. Rosea punctata, Sir C. Napier, and Cri- 

 terion. Again, for three greenhouse Azaleas, Mr. Kaile, gardener to 

 the Earl of Lovelace took first prize ; Mr. Kemp, gardener to Earl 

 Percy, second : and Mr. G. Wheeler, gardener to Sir F. H. Goldsmid, 

 third prize. It will thus be seen from how many quarters exhibitions 

 of this lovely and attractive spring flower were forwarded, contributing 

 as they did so much to the splendour and beauty of the Exhibition. 



Something has been said as to the manner of j udging, and complaints 

 made about it. I have had some little experieuce in such thiugs, and 

 I can only say that seldom have I seen fewer of what I believe to be 

 mistakes ; and that the plan adopted of breaking the Judges up into 

 small knots instead of having a crowd of decorated gentlemen bustling 

 one another, as at foreign shows, is infinitely to be preferred. I speak 

 thus with entire <lisinterestedness, for I had nothing to say to it in 

 any way. I pitied indeed many of them who had to hunt for this or 

 that collection ; but it was not to be wondered at that this should 

 have been the case where so large a collection of subjects was brought 

 together, and where, moreover, they were arranged more for effect 

 than for the comfort of the Jndges. Had it been imagined that the 

 Exhibition would have been kept open for so long, it would have been 

 better to have done as they do on the Continent — allotted Monday 

 afternoon for the judging, and the plants to have been put in their 

 places on Tuesday morning : but I would repeat it, that on the whole 

 the adjudication was as well managed as conld reasonably have been 

 erpected. — D., Deal. 



COMPOST FOR FL0\M3R GARDEN— THINNING 

 FLOWER-BUDS OF CLIMBING ROSES. 



Is the refuse of a garden (leaves, gi-ass, &c.), decomposed as 

 good a manure as I can have for general use for flower-beds, or 

 would it be the better of having stable manure mixed with it ? 

 Also, wiU it decompose more quickly if I keep it damp and 

 mix lime with it occasionally to prevent its giving out any 

 smell ? I may remark that the heap is kept under trees where 

 very Uttle rain can reach it. 



Will leaving many flower-buds on Roses prevent their 

 growing? I allude to some climbers I have which I want to 

 grow as much as I can this season to cover a space, and they 

 seem making little headway, which I attributed to their having 

 a good many buds on them ; so, shall I remove them or allow 

 them to remain and flower ? — F. J. 



[Grass and leaves mixed together make an excellent compost 

 for a flower garden, and will decompose more rapidly if mode- 

 rately damp. We would rather cover the heap slightly with earth 

 than mix lime with it to keep down the smell. For Eoses and 

 other plants that like rich food, a mixture of horse or pig dung 

 along with the above compost will be beneficial, and even in 

 any circumstances a little will improve your compost ; but for 

 flower-beds in general, decayed tree leaves and grass do very 

 well. We advise you to thin the buds of your climbing Eoses 

 that you wish to grow vigorously. — Eds.] 



BiBinNGHAM Rose Show. — The prize list for this great mid- 

 land gathering, which is to be held on the 5th and 6th of July, 

 differs in but few particulars from last year's. The most 

 striking alteration is in the niuserymen's class, and consists of 

 the reduction of ninety-six varieties, .single trusses, to seventy- 

 two varieties — a decided change for the better, and one which 

 will be certain to produce an improvement in the quality of 

 the stands shown in competition for the premier prize of the 

 Exhibition. No. 5, twenty-four varieties, single trusses, and 

 No. 6, twelve varieties, three trusses, are reserved for nursery- 

 men resident in the counties of Warwick, Worcester, or 

 Stafford only. These, as well as the other purely local 

 divisions, are yearly increasing, and now form a very im- 

 portant feature. To local residents they must be particularly 

 interesting and instructive, for in the local stands information 

 must be sought as to what varieties have proved most available 

 in the neighbourhood, and at the same time comparisons may 

 be made between the appearance which the same variety 

 presents as grown in widely different localities, under circum- 

 stances of climate, soil, &c., totally dissimilar. Bouquets have 

 hitherto always been too large and formal. The Committee, 

 with a view to make them smaller and less crowded together, 

 intimate that it is essential that they should be suitable for 

 the hand, and suggest the free use of Noisette, Moss, and Tea- 

 fioented Roses in a just-opening condition. We trust that on 

 this occasion the weather will be more propitious than last 

 rew, for in conseauence of .the exhibition days having been I 



wet, the expenses exceeded the receipts, and the balance had 

 to come out of the pockets of the Committee. We learn with 

 surprise that out of 300,000 inhabitants, only 200 subscribe to 

 the Eose Show. This should not be. 



PEAT CHARCO.\L FOR PRESERVING FRUIT. 



Finding so much pleasure in the perusal of your Journal, 

 and having experienced your courtesy as a correspondent on 

 more than one occasion, I am tempted to offer my little mite of 

 experience for the good of other readers. 



Having year after year used without success every care to keep 

 Apples fresh till spring, it occurred to me last autumn that 

 I would try paokiug them in peat charcoal. The restUt has 

 been so emiuetifly successful that I had my Apples crisp, fresh, 

 and juicy, as if pulled off the tree, till a few days ago when I 

 had my last dish. I used to keep them till April" or even May, 

 but they were shrivelled and insipid. The kinds I usually pnt 

 by are Eoss Nonpareil, and an Apple of which I do not know 

 the name, but it closely resembles the Eibston Pippin. I lost 

 some by packing too much in the boxes, or by piling the boxes 

 above one another to economise space. 



It strikes me that collectors of foreign bulbs, &c., would find 

 the charcoal a great preservative against decay from the moist 

 sea air. I have had presents from the Cape of bulbs, and always 

 found the roots so damaged as to be of little value. The only 

 objection to the charcoal for Apples is that they must be 

 washed after it. — A Scbscbibeb. 



THE JOURNAL of the ROYAL HORTICULTURAL 



SOCIETY. 



Edited by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, F.L.S., &c. New Series. 



Vol. I. Part 2. 



The Society commenced publishing a Journal in 1846, and 

 continued doing so until 1855, when financial weakness obliged 

 its abandonment. That weakness being removed, and the 

 Council being conscious that the Fellows were entitled to have 

 not only a record of the Society's proceedings, but of the dis- 

 coveries and improvements in horticulture effected in other 

 countries, have revived the Journal, and it bears evidence at 

 once that its preparation is confided to an editor not only well 

 known for competency, but, which is as important, judicious 

 and painstaking. 



There are in the two parts which have been published a very 

 satisfactory combination of the practical and scientific com- 

 munications ; the practical are not trivial, and the scientific 

 are not too elaborate — all contain information useful to plant- 

 cultivators. 



As an example of the practical contents we extract the 

 following : — 



'■ On Podophtllum Emodi. By Mr. Thomas Shortt. 



" Podophyllum Emodi, Wallh.' (P. hexandrum, P.oyle). is found in 

 Sikkim. Kumaon. and Cashmir, at an altitude varying from BUUO to 

 14,000 feet, and is one of the earliest spi-ing flowers of the Himalayas. 

 Particular interest is attached to this plant from its first appearance 

 above the ground to its decay. The fast growth of the plant is very 

 curious, the centre of the leaf appearing first ; the leaflets or segments 

 of the leaf are plicate and folded downwards on the petiole in bud, 

 and the whole plant has much the habit of Eranthis hyemalis +. After 

 two or three leaves are developed, the flower appears in the axil of the 

 upper leaf, and, to a casual observer, is much like that of Helleborus 

 niger, though smaller. When lirst opened it is of a delicate blush, and 

 when fully developed is of a pure white. 



" The flowers are rather fugitive and. if fruit (which is both interest- 

 ing and ornamental) is required, must be carefully watched and arti- 

 ficially impregnated as soon as the pollen is exposed. This generally 

 takes place on the morning of the first day. A very few days will show 

 when the fruit is set, as rapid increase of size indicates success. The 

 fruit remains green to within a few days of ripening, when it is suffused 

 with a delicate pink, which gradually changes to a deep scarlet, covered 

 with a delicate bloom. A well-matured fruit is drooping, egg-shaped, 

 and flattened, 3J inches long and 1^ inch thick, the stalk being inserted 

 at the broad end. It is pulpy, tasteless, filled with numerous seeds 

 about the size of wheat when in a milky state, and of somewhat the 

 same form, which are attached to a broad floahy lateral placenta which 

 occupies the centre of the Iruit. 



" The fruit is eatable, like that of P. peltatum, whoso leaves, however, 



• Beautiful specimens of ibis plant in fruit were exhibited atone of^ 

 the flcieutitic meetings by Mr. Shortt. , a 



i This and one or two other aentencos are borrowed from Hookor ■"_fl ■ 

 Thomson's 'Flora Indioa.' ''-. 



