28 



JOtlENAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ Joly 8, 1876. 



Croes, Mr. Miles,' Mr. Chard, and Mr. Osman ; and the sorts 

 William I , Unique, Dr. Hogg, Supplanter, Omega, and Fill- 

 batket. This firm also offered prizes for the best six dishes of 

 Mr. Laxton's Peas, which were won by Mr. Miles, Mr. Cross, 

 Mr. Smith, seedsman, Bomford, and Mr. Cox with collectioDsof 

 great excellence. 



We may say generally that the vegetables which competed in 

 the several classes were in the highest degree crditable to the 

 raisers, vendors, and growers ; indeed, but for them the Show 

 would have been a complete failure, but with them it was highly 

 interesting and instructive. 



Fbdit Committee.— Henry Webb, Eeci., in the chair. Mr. 

 William Paul of Waltham Cross sent a seedling Strawberry 

 called Wallham Seedling; a large bright-coloured fruit, and of a 

 conical shape, inclining to cockscomb. The flesh is very firm, 

 like La Constante, and having been grown in the garden at 

 Chiswick Mr. Barron reported that it possesses very hardy habit, 

 and is an abundant bearer. It was awarded a first-class certifi- 

 cate. Mr. Miles of the Gardens, Wycombe Abbey, brought a 

 dish of Early Beatrice Peach ripened against an open wall. The 

 fruit, though not so large nor so highly coloured as when grown 

 under glat-s, was quite ripe, and considering that these were 

 gathered on the 7th of July it is perhaps the earliest Peach from 

 an open wall ever grown in England. A vote of thanks was 

 awarded to Mr. Miles. He also exhibited a dieh of the Tomato- 

 shaped Capsicum, which iu shape is similar to a Tomato, but 

 much darker in colour. From the garden of the Society Mr. 

 Barron exhibited the Early Orleans Gooseberry, which was pro- 

 nounced to be the best early Gooseberry. It was awarded a 

 first class certificate. Mr. Mills of Chiswick exhibited Monarch, 

 a variety grown in preference to any other by the London market 

 gardeners because of its great fertility, large size, and its free- 

 dom from the attacks of birds. Mr. Mills also sent fruit of two 

 varieties of Currants, and received a vote of thanks. Mr. J. 

 Hatton, 93, Goswell Road, sent fruit of Allen's Golden Gem 

 Melon. Mr. W. Gallot, Bradford Gardens, Dorchester, sent a 

 seedling Melon called Princess Alexandra ; Mr. James Groom, 

 Henham Hall, Wangford, also sent a seedling Melon, but none 

 of thete were of sufHcient merit to obtain a certificate. 



Messrs. Carter & Co., Holborn, sent fruit of Marquis of Lorne 

 Cucumber, exhibiting a remarkable roughness of surface set with 

 spines. These were only found on one plant, which was in per- 

 fect health. Mr. J. McLellan, The Gardens, Grove House, 

 Tottenham, sent a seedling Cucumber of handsome shape, but 

 not differing from others in cultivation. Mr. Sage of Ashridge 

 Gardens brought a brace of fine fruit of Tender and True Cu- 

 cumber. Mr. Barron exhibited plants of the Seville Long Pod 

 Beans, laden with long-podded fruit. Its great recommenda- 

 tion is its earlinesa and prolific bearing. He also showed 

 bunches of Early White Naples, New Queen, Neapolitan, Marza- 

 jole, and Nocera Onions. Messrs. Carter & Co. exhibited the 

 American Gathering Lettuce which has originated in Germany, 

 raised by Mr. Heineman of Erfurt, a curled brown semi-cabbage 

 variety, very crisp and brittle. 



Mr. Richard Dean of Ealing sent specimens of Early Snow- 

 ball Cauliflower, very similar to Early Erfurt, which was repre- 

 sented to have been sown on the 3rd of March. It was decided 

 that it be tried at Chiswick, and that iu the meantime Mr. 

 Barron be requested to investigate the conditions under which 

 the plants were grown. 



Flok.1l Committee.— Dr. Denny in the chair. Mr. Bull ex- 

 hibited a cuUpction of Liliums in bloom, Phalienopsis eru- 

 bescens, and Hydrocotyle nitidula. Mr. Bateman exhibited 

 blooms of Lilium Bloomeriauum oscillatum, and had a vote of 

 thanks awarded. Double Clarkia elegans, Salmon Queen, and 

 Purple King, sent by Mr. Hardy, Stour Valley Nurseries, Bures, 

 Essex, had first-class certificates awarded. Mr. Croucher, Sud- 

 bury H'luse, had a vote of thanks for Masdevallia Harryana 

 with thirteen fine blooms; as also had Mr. Douglas, gardener to 

 F. Whiibourn, Esq., for magnificent blooms of Cattleya gigas. 

 First-class certificates were awarded to Messrs. J. & C. Lee, 

 Hammersmith, for splendid seedling Begonias Coltoui and 

 Bodwelli, with large blooms of rich orange scarlet. Mr. George 

 sent Zonal Pelargoniums Saltan of Zanzibar and Criterion. 

 Mr. R. T. Veitch, Exeter, had a vote of thanks awarded for well- 

 grown plants of Nertera depressa. A first-class certificate was 

 awarded to Messrs. T. Crippa & Son, Tunbridge Wells, for Cle- 

 matis Fairy Queen, a very large blush variety. Mr. Laxton 

 sent double Pelargoniums; and Mr. Dean, Canterbury Bells and 

 Stocks of good quality. 



THE (ENOTHEEAS. 

 The Evening Primroses form a genus of very beautiful 

 plants for the decoration of our flower beds and borders. A 

 few of them are of trailing habit and are half-hardy. These, of 

 which E. Drummondimay be mentioned, are suitable for small 

 beds and for hanging over the edges of rockwork and rustic 

 baskets. The hardy hr rbaceous Eection are also of dwarf habit 



and are interestiDg and attractive border and rock plants. 

 CE. CiespitoBa, QZ. fruticosa, CE. speciosa, and others are all 

 adaptable to this mode of culture. 



The hardy biennials, of which we give a typical representa- 

 tion, are, however, the most showy, their tall spikes of soft 

 primrose-coloured flowers which open in the evening being 

 very beautiful ; the foliage of these plants is also clean and 

 bright, and the plant's habit is stately and agreeable. For 

 planting in Rhododendron beds and for imparting a cheering 

 touch of colours to shrubberies iu the evening few plants are 

 better suited than are these stately ffinotheras. Neither haTe 



Fig. 4.— (Enothera. 



we any plants of more easy culture. In many gardens when 

 once established they will take care of themselves, yet they 

 seldom increase so fast as to be an incumbrance. They flourish 

 in the full sun and also under trees better than do most tall- 

 growing plants. In wet weather they seldom are injured, while 

 on hot dry banks they will remain fresh after most plants are 

 withered by drought. At this period of the year many gardens 

 are made attractive by their towering spikes, and in the twilight 

 especially no plants are more striking. For Mr. Taylor's ideal 

 semi-natural garden these plants are amongst the best can be 

 used. They are not to be used as cut blooms for the ex- 

 hibition in the daytime, but it is for the decoration of the border 

 and shrubbery at eventide that these good old plants are worthy 

 of extended culture. 



They are increased by root-division in the autumn and by 

 seed. Seed sown at the present time in the open border, and 

 the seedlings, when large enough, transplanted will grow into 



