304 Foreign Notices. — England. 



It will be Been that the most popular tribes of plants are the aza- 

 lea, erica, cactus, pelargonium, calceolaria, fuchsia, roses, the family 

 of climbing plants, and the orchidaceaD. At the May show the aza- 

 leas took the lead, and were objects of unbounded admiration, to 

 such a state of perfection has their cultivation arrived. 



We must invite our cultivators to attempt an improvement in their 

 management of this plant; for it is rare to see even a decent looking 

 specimen, being, for the most part, tall straggling plants, half cloth- 

 ed with foliage, and quite unsightly only at the time that they dis- 

 play their large and showy flowers. 



How seldom is it that a climbing plant in a pot is seen in our 

 green-house collections; and yet, how much of beauty and interest 

 must they possess, when brought to that state of growth described 

 below. Many individuals are inclined to look upon a running plant 

 as an object unworthy of growth, and some cultivators discard them 

 entirely from their collections. We trust a better fate awaits them, 

 and that we may see the long neglected Sollya, Manettia, kenned- 

 ias, clematises, anagallises, passifloras, yet holding a conspicuous 

 place among green-house plants. 



In our next number, when we give an account of the June exhi- 

 bition, we shall embrace the occasion to offer some further remarks. 



"Neither the most zealous devotee of horticulture, nor the most ar- 

 dent patriot, could have afforded a more striking proof that their pur- 

 suit or their country were not in an inactive or declining state, than 

 was furnished at the Exhibition of last Saturday. It is difficult to 

 decide whether the natural beauty of the flowers, their tasteful ar- 

 rangement, the tokens of skill in cultivation they afforded, or the in- 

 terest which the comjjany evinced in their inspection, was the more 

 gratifying or remarkable. The previous rains had brought everything 

 in the gardens to the highest perfection. The day was fine, with a 

 genial, but not oppressive warmth, the lawns and walks neither damp 

 nor dusty; vegetation just clothed in that lovely green which is pecu- 

 liar to the present season. The noble Wistaria sinensis, that finest 

 of hardy climbers, was completely laden with its newly opened and 

 delicately perfumed blossoms: the ])lants in the great conservatory 

 yet more luxuriant than those in the open air, and some of them 

 splendidly in flower; the collection of exotics in the exhibition, va- 

 ried and rich in the extreme, their disposition as to the diversity, 

 contrast, and yet harmony of their colors, was the subject of admi- 

 ration; and the visitors were numerous, but select, and by no means 

 crowded. The three military bands performed in their usual style; 

 and, as if to finish the whole, and give an additional zest to all the 

 other attractions, a friendly nightingale 



'All clay long her amorous descant sung' 

 within fifty yards of the principal tent. 



"Cultivators will be j)leased to learn that their productions were 

 gazed upon with approbation by her Majesty and Prince Albert, who, 

 with the Duke of Devonshire, the Duchess of Sutherland, Lady Car- 

 lisle, Lady Newburgh and suite, honored the exhibition with their at- 

 tendance. The other visitors, including many illustrious names, 

 amounted to 5,500. The subjects of exhibition were so abundant, and 

 generally so fine, that nothing but a mere outline can be attempted, 



