80 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEK. 



[ Jolr S9, 188S. 



deep crimgon over «9 whole eurfaoe, and ite flesh was also 

 tinted to some depth with the 8ama colour.— Thomas Eivehs. 



THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCH^TTS 



MANCHESTER SHOW. 

 Table Dbcoiutioss, liouQUExa, &c.— Tbo table decoratioBu, as 

 •well »s the bonqnuta, shown at tlie Moncbcstcr Exhibition. OiouRh 

 not 80 nnincrcns in tbo lonner caHO us in the Inltcr, woro well arransod 

 and attracted cousidcmblo nttcntion, isiieoiiiUy from the fcmalo 

 portion of tho company, first and eecoud spiciul pruica wore offered 

 bj William \YUson, Esq., and a third prize by Mr. John Shaw, fora vase 

 epergne, or centropieco for tho tiiblo. As mmh of adverse criticism 

 ■was passed on tho jndgment in this class, wo may annoniice that the 

 Joduea were tho Iter. S. Reynolds Hole, Cannlon Manor Newark: 

 Mr. William Im-tam, tho Gardens, Eelvoir Custlc, Grantham ; and 

 Mr. Charles McDonald, Iho.Gardcns. Woodstock Park. Inistioge, Ire- 

 land—men whoso ven- names wonld bo an aasnranco that they would 

 take to sncb a jndKmi-ut us this all that cultivalcd good tasto reqaured 

 to bo applied. The first prize was given, and most deservedly, to Mr. 

 R. S. Yates, Sale, Choshiio, for a stand of flowers that was to some 

 extent a happy breakaway from the somewhat stereotyped form of 

 the Marchiuu designs to bo met with at almost every exhibition. 

 The stand was on elegant dosiqn in silver, of a Palm supporting a 

 shallow Grape dish, and in this was most tastefully and elegantly 

 arranged a splendid bunch of choico flowers, Uio apex being formed of 

 a spike of the pure white Crinnm giganteum, -with Oncidinm. wbit« 

 Mobs Roses, Gardenia Fortnnei, Lffilia purpnraln, Allamanda Schottii, 

 Stanhopeas, Stephanotis floribnnda, relieved by and interspersed with 

 fronds of Ferns, &c., and having flowering-sboots of Stephanotis flori- 

 handa falling away from the base of the bnuih in "admired disorder.' 

 There was a happv combination of elegance, beauty, colouring, and 

 proportion, and they who so bitterly cavilled nt the judgment, must have 

 had a slavish regard for mere steorotyped desigus after the Marchian 

 model. Moreover, the elegant arrangement ulmoat hid the base of 

 the stand, and it was solely a splendid bunrli of flowers most tastefully 

 arranged, quite " a pretty dish to set before a king." 



The second prize was awarded to Mr. .1. Delamere, Oxton, Cheshire, 

 ■who had a pedestal supporting two glass dishes, oue almost at the base 

 of the design, the other near the top. Tho pedestal or base of the 

 design was lined with the sUvory-varicgated Acer negnndo, and leaves 

 of Wistaria sinensis. The flowers in tbo glass dish rested on o base 

 of Lycopodium, which served as an edgieg, and was composed of 

 Itoses, Fuchsias, Gloxinias, Pelarconiams, Bongainvillea glabra, 

 eJegantly intermingled with shoots of Lonieera aureo-reticnlata, and 

 leaves of Caladium Belleymei, C. argjrites, and Cissns discolor. 

 The apex consisted of a vase of Adiontum caneatnm. Unfortunately 

 for the Judges, the intense beat soon told oii the flowers, &c., and by 

 the afternoon this design looked pitiable indeed. It was past tho stage 

 of criticism. No donbt it must have been a praiseworthy design when 

 first arranged. . 



The third prize went to Mr. W. S. Dobson, of St. James s Street, 

 London, and it was respecting this stand a great deal of nnplcafant- 

 jiess occurred. It was an epcrgne of the Marchian type, having a 

 large base filled with flowers, tho centre being a kind of circular look- 

 ing glass, from whifh rose at the sides three small bouquet-holders, j 

 From tho centre of the glass rose a glass support, bearing at the | 

 top three small glass baskets in tho form of an inverted cone, sus- 

 pended by glass rings. The base of this design was somewhat elabo- : 

 jately filled with flowers, consisting of red and white Roses, Phalie- 

 nopsis amabilis, Oncidiums, Picotees, Gardenia Fortnnei, and other 

 fragrant flowers ; these being relieved by Fern fronds, &c. The small 

 glass vases were filled with small bfniqnets of Orchids; and tho 

 baskets suspended from the top filled with Oncidinm, Stanhopea, Ste- 

 phanotis floribnnda, with small bits of Fern fronds. At first sight the 

 eye was much attracted by this arrangement, perhaps to a great extent 

 tecanse it was a copy of the style we have been accustomed to regard 

 as the n« ;ilu3 nllm'ot dinner-tablo decorations. A second look took 

 jn the fnct of how much the design owed to the stand itself, and then 

 there followed the impression that there was a commonness about the 

 •vase, while it was utterly out of proportion to the rest of the design. 

 The longer one looked at it the less one liked it; on the other hand, 

 the design to which tho first prize was awarded grew in favour as it 

 ■was more minutely examined ; and in connection with this it may bo 

 remarked, that it were moch better tho decisions of tho Judges were 

 regarded as final on these occasionn. It did nppiar to betray a great 

 •want of oonrtcsy to their brethren, that two other Judges should have 

 gone down to the tent containing these decorations and there openly 

 jnsnlted the decision of their fellow censors while tho tent was crowded 

 •with visitors, to tho subversion of good order, as the other exhibitors 

 placed first and second could not but feel aggrieved at the reflections 

 so openly cast on the jndgment. .,.,.,.,,, oc 



In tbo awarding tho prizes for two bouquets for the hand in Class d(j, 

 some confusion occurred owing to the two best bouqnels having been 

 overlooked by the Judges. These came fmm Mr. J. Delamere, Oxton, 

 and eventually they were awarded equal first prizes with those exhi- 

 bited by Mr. K. S. Yates, Bale. Tbo bride's bouquet, exhibited by 

 Mr. Delamere, consisted of Phaln>nopsi8 amabilis, Stephanotis flon- 

 boBda, whito Jasmine, and small white Roses, most elegantly inter- 



mingled irith bite of scented PclarRoriums and Adiantnm cnneaftim; 

 the base was formed of Pteris serrolata and leaves of Caladinm 

 argyritca. Tho ball bouquet i-ntipiht<d of a centre of red lloees. 

 aroond which was Stephanotis lloribnuda and light Kochfias, and 

 towards tho base erect-flowering Gloxinias. Bonsainnllea glabra, high- 

 colonrod French-spotted Pelargoniums, while Orchids, Roses, rtc. the 

 flowers resting on an edging of A.Uantnm and leave* of Cissuu dis- 

 color. The<o bonquets wore eleganllv proportioned and cxqoMitely 

 arranged. The bride's bouquet shown by Mr. It. S. Yates was com- 

 posed of Gardenia Fortnnei, Kncharis nniazonica. Stephanotis, white 

 Tea Roses, and Crinnm, resting on a base of Adiantnm and leaTes 

 of tho Orange and Caladinm nrgyrites. Among the flowers were. 

 dotted hire and there, sprigs of the white-flowenng Hoteia japonic*. 

 Tho boll bouquet was composed of the Crinnm, red Moss Roses, StMi- 

 bopea, Stephanotis. yellow Tea Roses, I-telia purpnral*. with pcarlet 

 Trop:eolum in small Ilusters, resting on a base of Daviillia and Adian- 

 tum. Tho composition of other bouquets in this class need not be 

 particularised ; and of the bouquets shown by amatenra, it may be 

 said that they did not call for special remark. 



Of the special pri7.es given by Mr. II. Birley. MP., for eight varieties 

 of cut flowers, the first was taken bv Mrs. K. Cole & Son, of W ithnijtOT, 

 and consisted of Ixoracoccinca, I. Colei. a handsome whito species, Kalo- 

 aanthes pnnicea, Eucharis amazonicn, Diplodenia eraspinoda, I), ama- 

 bilis, Allamanda grandiflora, and l':iica venosa. These were arranged 

 on a Dahlia stand for twelve fl -. ,s, and the exhibitors filled up the 

 vacant back row by adding specimens of fonr forms of Ixora^nz., 

 javanica, amboynensis, Alexandrina, in the way of amlwynensis, and 

 having orange tjowers spotted with crimson, and salicifoha. iUtogeUier 

 this was a most interesting and instructive stand of flowers. Mr. K. h. 

 Yates was second with flowers somewhat roughly arranged in a deal 

 box, and comprising Crinnm pigantenm, a showy Amaryllis, Oncjdjom 

 flexnosum, Cattleya Loddigcsii, Gardenia Fortnnei, Ac, *c. inird, 

 Mr. S. Barlow, wlio had some nice flowers orrangcd in an ornamental 



flower pot. . , ^._. 



Ke\v Flori-sts" Flowers.— Scarcely so many flowers as mignt nare 

 been expected in so renowned a plant district were submitted to the 

 Floral Committee. Messrs. Downie. Laird, iS: Laing staged some ot 

 their new Gold and Bronze Zonal Pelargoniums, to one of "hi^, a 

 finely-marked variety by the name of Imperatnce Lup.me, a hrrt- 

 class certificate was awarded. It has a golden leaf ground, a rod- 

 dish chocolate strongly-marked -zone, and in the character shown wiU 

 make a most effective bedding variety. Mr. C. Tnmer, Slough, re- 

 ceived first-class certificates for Picotee Admiration, a heavy ro«y 

 purple-edged flower of tho finest quality and '""e't .8'-;''st&°<«' ™^ 

 notals large and stent ; and Miss Turner, a medmm light rose-edged 

 flower, fnU. and finelv marked. First-class certificates were awarded 

 to Mr C J. Perry, Castlo Bromwich, Birmingham, for Verbenas- 

 Rising Sun, glowing salmon ted, with small whit* eye, surronnded by 

 a rich deep maroon ring; and Butterfly, warm flesh, with a stntng 



crimson ring round a pale eye; '"-^ "<>7«" 'l^„'"l'y "°/'T,X; 



Perry's reputation as a raiser of new kinds. Mr. Pen? had also the 



Rev S. R Hole, R. H. Vert«gans. Ada King, Rev. J. Dix, and others, 



of which something will he said by-and-by. The deceptive propfrUes 



of Ught were somewhot singularly illustrated by a new bedding Lobdia, 



named Favourite, furnished by .1. Taylor, Esq. ; under canvas, and m 



the very subdued light, it had tho appearance of a deep violet hne, ui 



which 'form it would have proved a distmct and valnab e vane^. 



When exposed to the full glare of light outside the tent the chs«n 



was dispeUed, and the ordinary form of a dwarf-growmg bine boding 



' Lobelia was seen. Mr. F. Perkins hod some blooms of his new Per- 



i p"tua Picotee Prince of Orange which fuUy maintains '^ high repn- 



Ltion ; and Mrs. E. Cole & Sous had their showy Ixora Alexandrina. 



! described above. The other subjects wore but of small interest. 



Veoet vkifs.- The show of Vegetables was on a tolerably extensive 

 scale, one large tent being entirely filled with them Many good o^ 

 amples were shown from the pardons of the rich nobleman, «» wdl « 

 from tho plot of tho humble cottager ^'^Y^^^'^'AZ^'^'f^^n 

 they are the most important and useful of the products of a garden, 

 ney^r receive at an eSibition that amount of attention or admiration 

 °o which thev are justly enUtled. They are to the general v,«t» 

 certainly Icss-attractivc in appearance than "7"" "' '™"-. "^i^ 

 can thus understand how he should pass Uiem by. 'We are however, 

 at a loss to understand why so many gardeners themselves, who under- 

 stand tbo difliculty and importanco of their cultivation, ehonld take so 

 little interest in their exhibition. The present season, so far, has 

 been tolerably favourable for the growth of vegetables. 



Peas, the kHng of vegetables, were shown laigely and well ; Walton s 

 Supreme taking the lead a long way for "i^.l-pfh "'^i'TX^P^ 

 of Appearance Messrs. Carter & Co., who hold the "'^k of ^^ ^. 

 exhibited the same in fine condition, and some halt a dozen other 

 varieties-viz.. L.xton's Quality. Laxton's QuanUty, Laxton shine 

 navour, Laxton's Manifold, all soncariy resembling one another and 

 [nfertr to Supreme, as to bo altogether undesirable. Carter s non- 

 Sold seems to be a fine variety, althouoh much ,n the way of Ne 

 Pins Ultra. Celery, although Manchester is the head-<^usrters for the 

 cnWvaUon of this esculent, was not so well shown as '"'P", l'^" be«o 

 anadpated. Turnips and Carrots were, in general, particularly cl«» 

 and fine. CabbageS were, as a mle, poor, and very few were shown. 



