226 General Notices. 



to witness near London, arising from the circumstance, above alluded to, of 

 setting off the plants to the best advantage ; for example, a large semicir- 

 cular stage had the back decorated with a variety of palms ; the end of the 

 stage, reaching up to the palms, was covered with a blaze of camellias. 

 These palms were introduced in continuation, succeeding the camellia. 

 Then there was a gorgeous bank of scarlet Rhododendrons. These were 

 broken again by a bank of tree ferns, and the end was finished off by a 

 mass of Ghent azaleas in full bloom. The reader may readily conceive 

 what kind of effect such grouping would produce, in the case of a vast 

 exhibition, varied at every turn with magnificent orange trees, huge palms, 

 and tropical tree ferns, with miniature tree forests of all sorts of araucaria 

 and other rare conifers. 



Although I have stated that cultivation does not constitute the primary 

 element in continental gardening, there were, nevertheless, numerous exam- 

 ples, of which the English gardener might well have been proud. At the 

 extreme end of the casino, and fronting one of the great banks similar 

 to that already described, was a beautiful specimen, in a tub, of Deutzia 

 gracilis, measuring 5 feet across and 3 feet high, and in the highest floral 

 perfection ; while on each side of it stood a standard plant of the same 

 kind, 6 feet high. These were grafted on Philadelphus grandiflorus. The 

 stems had moss tied on them from top to bottom, in which had been depos- 

 ited a quantity of common garden cress, which had vegetated sufficiently 

 to produce a striking living green stem. The owner's name (Mr. J. 

 Baumann) was represented in a similar singular manner ; cress, sown on 

 flannel, exhibited the letters most accurately. Large examples of finely 

 cultivated rhododendrons, of the best scarlet and other varieties, were 

 abundant and in splendid bloom. The same may be said of Indian and 

 Ghent azaleas, which were both plentiful and good. 



There were some first-rate examples of camellia, as regards both cultiva- 

 tion and bloom. They were pyramidal in form, and literally covered with 

 flowers from the pot to the apex of the cone ; these varied from 5 feet to 8 

 or 9 feet high. Orchids were neither so good nor so plentiful as might 

 have been expected. This might have arisen from exhibitors being deterred 

 from sending them, being fearful of the injury they might have sustained 

 in the transit, owing to the extreme coldness of the weather. This defect, 

 hoAvever, was adequately compensated for by magnificent exhibitions of 

 amaryllids, which were grown and bloomed in the highest style of art, and 

 they were in great variety. Hyacinths were equally abundant and fine. 

 One feature in the exhibition, which attracted especial attention, was the 

 hardy herbaceous plants in flower ; they were quite as fine as I ever saw 

 them in the open ground at their natural season. These were in great 

 variety. Amongst them were epimediums, adonis, tritonias, primulas, 

 scillas, &c. There were a number of bouquets, but nothing very remark- 

 able — with the exception of one or two from Madame Saeyher, which were 

 formed of white camellias, and each flower was bordered with Lycopodium 

 denticulatum ; another, similarly made up, had flowers of hardy heaths 

 instead of lycopodium, the heath being white and the camellias red. This 



