BIISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 153 



PART II. 

 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 



LONDON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 



EXHIBITION AT THE GARDENS, BIaY 15. 



Tim exhibition took place on one of the finest of May days, with no north- 

 east winds to chill the throng of visitors, nor a single threatening cloud to raise 

 the apprehensions of the invalid. The gardens, too, with the Rhododendrons 

 and \zaleas in full flower, the noble Glycine sinensis decorating the walls with 

 its countless bunches of fragrant blossoms, and the bright, clear, full-grown 

 foliage of the trees, uninjured by frost or drying winds, were in a state of greater 

 beauty than is often seen at the close of an English spring, Five thousand 

 seven hundred visitors filled the grounds, among whom were II. R. H.the Duke 

 of Cambridge, the Duke of Devonshire, Lady Carlisle, Lady Dover, Lady Mary 

 Howard, Lady Newburgh, Ladv Bridport, Lady Grenville, Countess de Sails, 

 the Marquis of Northampton : Earls Fitzwilliam, Carlisle, Talbot, Uchester, 

 Bradford, and Delawarr ; Lords Hill, Portman, Rodney, liurghersh, Oranmore, 

 Sandon, Morpeth, Stavordale, and Prudhoe ; Sir William and the Hon. Lady 

 Middleton, the Hon. Mrs. Rushout, the Count and Countess Bjornsherna, Baron 

 Blome, M. de Gersdorff, the American Minister and his lady, together with a 

 crowd of other persous of rank and station. The bauds of the Coldstream, the 

 Royal Horse Guards, and the First Life Guards, played during the afternoon. 



Never was there a more signal exemplification of the benefits which an insti- 

 tution like this is capable of conferring. The establishment of horticultural 

 exhibitions, by encouraging competition, excites a degree of emulation which 

 could not be obtained without the prospect of public praise or reward. Hence, 

 though (there was exhibited last Saturday a varied collection of whatever is 

 either beautiful or rare at the present period, the most remarkable feature in the 

 objects brought forward was the singularly successful manner in which they had 

 been grown. The majority of the specimens possessed vigour and prodigality 

 as well as richness of blossoms, which a knowledge of the true principles of cul- 

 ture and a correct acquaintance with the habits of individual tribes could alone 

 have produced. 



Azaleas formed one of the classes in which the most striking improvement 

 has occurred. When the beautiful varieties now cultivated to such perfection 

 were originally introduced, there was a barrenness of stem, a deficiency of foliage, 

 and a scarcity of flowers which detracted much from their splendour. Enlarged 

 acquaintance with the different modes of treating them has brought them into a 

 totally opposite condition. In the specimens of Messrs. Green, Butcher, Falconer, 

 and others, the stems are barely perceptible; the shoots bend over the edges of 

 the pots, and the blossoms and leaves are so dense that it is almost impossible to 

 see through them, patches of the latter being only here and there visible, and 

 thus giving greater brilliancy to the (lowers. The character here spoken of was 

 especially conspicuous in A. Indica latevitia, variegata, Smithii, and ;a magnifi- 

 cent crimson variety in Mrs. Lawrence's group, with blooms of an immense size 

 .1 dazzling brightness. It is probably the one called A. Indica splendens. 

 Mr. Green's double red kind, though not so compact in habit, was likewise par- 

 ticularly showy. Next to Azaleas, the Cactaceous race was most noticeable. 

 The Cereus Jenkinsonii and Epiphy Hum spec^osum. from Mr. Green, gardener to 

 Sir E. Antrobus, Hart., of Cheam, were amazingly large, and well covered with 

 Specimens of the same kinds, together with a large Cereus speciosis- 

 simii-, and a fine plant of < '. Mallisonii, with its rich crimson flowers, were sup- 

 plied by Mr. Butcher, gardener to Mrs. Lawrence, of Ealing Park; while Mr. 

 Bruce, gardener t,> B. Miller, Esq., Tooting, exhibited a dwarfer plant of Epi- 

 phylhun speciosum, which was literally a complete mass of delicate pink bloom; 

 and Mr. Jackson, of Kingston, contributed a charming E. Ackermanni, which 

 was nearly as broad as it. was high, and of the most elegant proportions; the 

 flowers of the last were very gorgeous. In all these, and many more, which 



