Ansu3t 6, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



119 



Jiim by the Hon. Sec. from the gate money ; but Mr. Prince 

 ran him uncommonly close. I believe the jndgment was 

 perfectly right, but I went through those stands time after 

 time all through the day, and I never saw, except for our prize 

 at Exeter, a closer thing. Bravo the seedling Briar ! To fight 

 Mr. Keynes almost at home, and to press him so hard as Mr. 

 Prince did at Frome, spealvs volumes for the staying enduring 

 properties of that stock. I do not know how we are to do 

 without cultivating it if we wish to exhibit at the later shows, 

 for the hot suns of July make short work of Manotti and 

 standard Roses, and the seedling only comes to perfection 

 when the others are done. The Teas that I bought of Mr. 

 Prince are now just in their first beauty against a south wall, 

 whilst the other Teas are preparing for their second blooming. 

 I do not think an exhibitor who wants to ensure a succession 

 can do better than buy a certain quantity of seedling Briar 

 Roses of all the best sorts. He will then, iu my opinion, be 

 able to show at the Crystal Palace, and if he likes at Grantham 

 on the "iSth of .July. 



At Frome this year Mr. Prince showed a treble of Baron de 

 Bonstetten, exceedingly good; indeed, all his high-coloured 

 Roses were perfect. He spoilt his box — and at every show yet, 

 in my opinion, he has done the same — by staging great coarse 

 specimens of that abomination Paul Neron. What beauty can 

 there be in this Rose '.' It is large, immense indeed, but it is 

 coarse, washy in colour, and generally of very bad form, and 

 yet there are some good judges of Roses who always show 

 it. My friend Mr. Turner, of Slough, is never without it, 

 and it did more to spoU his box, and so make him lose the 

 first prize for seventy-two at the National, than anything 

 else. 



At Frome, as elsewhere in the country, wherever a Rose show 

 is held, hospitality was the order of the day, and how kind 

 our good friends at Frome were I cannot tell. Oae gentleman, 

 in whose grounds the Show was held, a perfect stranger to 

 me, took me to his house, put refreshments before me, told me 

 that he must leave me, but begged me to make myself at home, 

 stay as long as I liked, do what I liked, and I should delight 

 him. And I did, Messrs. Editors: I found a shady tree on his 

 lawn near the band (the excellent band of the loth Regiment), 

 lay down, listened to the music till ([ blush to say it) I went 

 off into a most delicious dose ; then at six o'clock I went to 

 evensong at the glorious church which Mr. Bennett has made 

 famous throughout the world. Late at night I landed at 

 Bridport, with ten miles" drive before me, and the comet to 

 light me on my way home. — John B. M. Camm, Monhlon 

 Wyld. 



BOTAL HOKTICULTDRA.L SOCIETY. 



August 5th. 



FnuiT Committee. — Alfred Smee, Esq., F.R.S., in the chair. 

 It having been brought to the notice of the Committee that in 

 the schedule of the Esbibitiou on September 2nd no number is 

 specified as to the quantity to form a dish of Potatoes, it was 

 decided that henceforth a dish of Potatoes shall consist of nine 

 tubers. 



A Cucumber called Green Gem was sent by Mr. Dean, of 

 Bedfont, which was passed. Messrs. Cutbush & Son, of High- 

 gate, sent specimens of Princess Alice Cucumber, a good, pro- 

 lific, and hardy variety of good deep colour, but it was not 

 thought any better than other varieties in cultivation. Mr. 

 -Alfred Smee brought specimens of autumn-sown Tripoli Onions 

 of various kinds, from seed supplied by Messrs. Carter & Co., 

 which had been manured with phosphate of ammonia. They 

 were very good specimens. 



Two very handsome epeciraena of Smooth Cayenne Pine were 

 sent from the Royal Gardens at Frogmore. They weighed 9 lbs. 

 each, and were awarded a cultural commendation. Mr. A. Craw- 

 ford, the Gardens, Thornden, Brentwood, sent fruit of a seedling 

 Nectarine. This was of an excellent flavour and a good fruit, 

 but it was so similar to Ebruge that the Committee thought it 

 was not advisable to iutroduce it as a new variety. Mr. Sag€j, 

 of the Gardens, Ashridge, brought excellent specimens of Wal- 

 bnrton Admirable. Mr. J. Clark, Roehampton, sent a dish of 

 Moorpark Apricots, which were of good flavour. Mr. Wood- 

 bridge, of Sion House Gardens, Isleworth, exhibited five dif- 

 ferent varieties of Plums. Mr. N. Kneller, Malshanger, sent a 

 seedling Melon, which was not sufficiently good to merit a cer- 

 tificate. 



Zygopetalum with a bluish purple lip and brown-black sepals 

 and petals — a very effective flower. The same firm also sent a 

 choice group of Orchids, including fiue specimens of Odonto- 

 glossum Scleiperiauum, Saccolabium Blumeimajus ; also Cypri- 

 pediums Sedeui and Domiuiauum, together with Dferaonorops 

 fissus and other ornamental Palms. 



From Mr. Bull, of Chelsea, came a group of new plants, as 

 Campsidium filiciforme, P^icus Parcelii, Odontoglossum Roezlii 

 with a charming flower, Verschaffeltia melanoch;etes, &c., which 

 have been noticed in previous reports, together with Metroxylon 

 filare, a handsome Palm for table decoration, which received a 

 first-class certificate. Mr. Denning, gardener to Lord Londes- 

 borough, had a like award for a Dendrobium with very small 

 but extremely numerous orange flowers, marked with narrow 

 purplish streaks. Messrs. F. it A. Smith, of Dulwich, sent a 

 splendid group of Balsams ; Mr. Offord, nurseryman. Upper 

 Clapton, an Ageratum, called Clapton Gem, but of coarse habit, 

 though producing large heads ; Mr. Eckford, gardener to the 

 Earl of Radnor, Coleshill, a stand of seedling Verbenas ; and 

 Mr. H. Lodor, gardener to H. B. Hinnell, Esq., Forest Hill, a 

 gigantic specimen of Lilium auratum in an 11-inch pot, with 

 two spikes 10 feet high, but the flowers past. G. F. Wilson, Esq., 

 Heatherside, Weybridge, had a first-class certificate for Lilium 

 speciosum atrosaoguiueum rubrum, coloured like the true 

 L. speciosum rubrum, but with flowers larger (fully 8 inches in 

 diameter) and much earlier, the typical variety being one of the 

 latest of the group. Mr. Rudolph Barr again contributed a 

 group of Lilies, consisting of about a dozen species and va- 

 rieties. 



Mr. Kiughorn, of the Sheen Nurseries, Richmond, exhibited 

 a Fuchsia, called Richii, sent to H. W. PownaU, Esq., by Dr. 

 Suter, Bishop of Nelson, New Zealand. This received a botani- 

 cal certificate, and was subsequently identified as F. procumbens 

 (is. Cunningham). It is a neat basket plant, but presents nothing 

 remarkable in its flowers, which are small, nearly erect, yellow, 

 with purplish stamens. Mr. R. Dean, of Ealing, sent cut 

 flowers of African and French Marigolds, the latter very fine, 

 and recommended for bedding, but there was no means of judg- 

 ing of the habit of the plants. Some cut flowers of shrubs 

 were also shown, including Pavia macrostachya and Clethra 

 arborea, of which the flowers bear a striking resemblance to 

 those of the Lily of the Valley. From Messrs. Paul cS: Son, 

 Cheshunt, came a large collection of cut Roses. 



PACKING FRUITS. 



Flor.1l Committee. — Mr. J. Eraser in the chair. The number 

 of subjects submitted to the Committee on this occasion was 

 small as compared to those brought forward at the earlier meet- 

 ings. Messrs. Veitch had a first-clasa certifica'e for a seedling 



To prevent the placing of boxes of fruits and flowers on 

 their sides, it has long been my practice to tie one, two, or 

 three boxes or baskets on the top of a larger one, so that one 

 position only is left for the parcel to rest on. But a basket 

 with a cross-handle, and strong wooden or osier lid, I find 

 is the best article to use. A Peach-box or flower basket, 

 if flat, can act as a bottom tied to the other. I have found 

 no plan so satisfactory as this. Of coarse it is very im- 

 portant that nothing should be moveable when packed ; no 

 shaking of trains or vans should put the articles out of their 

 place. 



Grapes are generally sent into Covent Garden in cross- 

 handled baskets, named Sea-kale baskets, placed on soft paper 

 shavings, with clean paper next the fruit. Each bunch is 

 placed upright, as close together as they can be packed, but 

 not wrapped in anything, as the bunches rub each other less 

 than any material which can be used ; thin paper is placed 

 over the top, and wadding or soft shavings used to fill up any 

 vacancies between the fruit and sides of the baskets. 



There are few fruits which wadding does not taste when 

 placed next them. Thin tissue paper should be between the 

 fruits and wadding. — M. Temple (in The Gardener). 



LESSONS FROM THE DROUGHT. 



Throughout the greater part of the country the drought has 

 been severely felt. In some parts it has been disastrous to the 

 farmer ; and coupled with the dry and frosty nights, has had 

 disastrous effects on nursery stock and on gardens, the cause 

 of much anxiety and extra labour in watering and other care, 

 wherever trees and shrubs have been recently moved on any 

 extensive scale : even those moved early in autumn with balls, 

 and which looked quite fresh up to the middle of April, though 

 quite taken to the new positions, suffered nearly as much as 

 those spring-planted, simply because they had not had time to 

 root deep. When the moisture became exhausted from the 

 immediate surface, they were in equal distress with those 

 planted in spring. 



In pulling up some shrubs lately which were dead, or seem- 



