REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OX FLOWERS. 49 



well. There were Cheilanthus elegans, silvery and very delicate ; 

 Pteris tricolor, very beautiful ; Gyninogramme chrysophylla, the 

 finest of all the golden ferns ; Adiavtum Farleyense, one of the 

 most beautiful of all the adiantums, pronounced by some the best ; 

 A. formosum, a charming variety ; A. caneaium, one of the oldest 

 and best ; A. trapeziforme, a very beautiful fern ; A. tenerum, an 

 elesatit evergreen stove fern ; A. cardoii/chlina, very beautiful ; A. 

 sanctce Catherince, very beautiful. 



It would be impossible to say which one of the nine varieties of 

 Adiantum was the best ; the least that can be said is that all were 

 magnificent. 



The handsomest pair of Tree Ferns that were ever exhib- 

 ited, were the splendid specimens of Atsophila australis and 

 A. excelsa, from S, R I'ayson. They were from twelve to 

 fourteen feet high, and their magnificent fronds, spreading out at 

 least twelve feet in diameter, reminded us that we, for once at 

 least, saw something that approached the natural size. They were 

 especially admired by all. 



There were several collections of Lycopods ; all of them were 

 well grown. The best collections were those of S. R. Payson, and 

 Governor Claflin, which contained nine varieties, Lycopodium 

 Schottii, L. stoloniferum, L. formosum, L.Willdenovii, L. dentictda- 

 tum, L. divaricatum,L. circimde, 1j. pluviosum, L. ccesium. The Dra- 

 caenas were splendid. Never were finer plants seen ; they are, without 

 doubt, one of the indispensable; ornamental plants for conservatory 

 or garden, and for rooms there is nothing superior. In Robinson's 

 " Parks and Gardens of Paris," he says : " I know one Versailles 

 cultivator who annually raises five or six thousand plants of the 

 bright-leaved Draccena terminalis alone, and by far the greater 

 part for room decoration." 



The collection of E. Butler, gardener to Wellesley College, con- 

 tained superior specimens of Draccena indioisa lineata, D. indivisa 

 callocoma, D. stncta, D. nigricans, D. Veil Jiii, D. Rumphii. Hovey 

 & Co. exhibited a collection of small, well grown plants of Dra-' 

 coina Jerrea, D. Cooperi, D latifulia, D. latifolia j)endula, D. Guil- 

 foyJei, D. nigricans. 



The Palms were splendid. The prize established only two years 



ago has proved one of the best, from an ornamental point of view 



alone, and we can hardly over-estimate their value. The grace and 



magnificence of the plant combined, render them very desirable 



4 



