220 Provincial Horticultural Societies : — YorJc shire. 



Art. V. The London Nurseries. 



I HAVE not yet been able to extend my walks beyond the limits of the 

 London nurseries, which do not present any thing very striking or novel. 

 The display of forced flowers at Colville's is extremely brilliant, embracing 

 hyacinths, narcissuses, jonquils, and other bulbous roots; with an extensive 

 assortment of kmar^WidccB, seedling varieties, exhibiting all the diversified 

 shades of colours and habit to be found in the parent stocks from which 

 they have been procured At Mr. Knight's a most beautiful plant of 

 i?hododendron ariioreum is m fine flower; the three varieties of this in- 

 teresting species now well known in this countr\', exhibit a sportiveness in 

 nature which our hj'bridising cultivators are attempting to imitate, with 

 what success time alone can determine. The ingenious theory of a worthy 

 friend of ours, that nature is constantly producing new genera and species by 

 the intermixture of those already existing, is in a great measure warranted 

 by the productions of our gardens, which exhibit to the eye of the most 

 experienced botanist, forms with which he has hitherto only been made 

 acquainted by the introduction of plants from abroad, and which have 

 been already distinguished as new species. How far the dogmas of certain 

 learned persons, that these mules, like other mules in animal nature, will 

 be incapable of reproduction except by closely allied affinities, are defeated 

 by our present practice of increase, we can only judge by careful attention 

 to the present state of our collections. In these we have rhododendrons, 

 azaleas, kalmias, &c., so intimately blended in every possible shape and 

 feature, that it is already difficult to distinguish seedling varieties from well- 

 established species, and I may affirm the same thing of the hybrid produc- 

 tions from Amaryllis, Nerin;?, &c., obtained by the Hon. & Rev. W. Herbert, 

 of Spotfbrth, and so ably illustrated by him in his work on the Kubject. 

 At Dennis's, Leucojum vernum is in fine bloom, with /S'cilla prae^cox, both 

 of them now rather rare plants. jS'cilla bifolia, a common but interesting 

 plant, is also in fine flower. Some fine plants of Be'rberis Jquifolium, 

 (Mahonia of De Candollc), which have hitherto been scarce in the country, 

 have been recently imported from America; and 1 hope to see this fine plant, 

 in a short time, with its congeners, an ornament to our suburban gardens. 

 The new cypripediums from Dr. Fischer, sent to the valuable collection of 

 R. Barclay, Esq., are likely to bloom, and add to the splendour of that fine 

 botanical establishment, of the additions anti improvements to which, 

 under the care of its present able curator, Mr. Cameron, I hope from time 

 to time to be able to furnish you with accounts. — C. March 14. 1 829. 



Art. VI. Provincial Horticultural Societies. 



YOKKSHIRE. 



Floral and Horlicidluml Societi/ of Hidl. — This Society held its An- 

 nual Meeting on Feb. 11. The Secretary read the report of the Committee 

 for the last year, which was encouraging, and stated a considerable increase 

 of members, and a balance of some pounds in the hands of the treasurer. 

 A motion of thanks was passed to Messrs. Tindall, of Beverley, for trans- 

 ferring the money, awarded to them as prizes, to the funds of the Society ; 

 and another to the Committee of the Botanic Garden, for allowing the 

 curator of that institution to furnish evergreens, &c., wherewith to ornament 

 the show-room. The list of notices for motions, involving new regulations, 

 was a very long one, and produced a protracted discussion ; out of which 

 it may fairly be presumed that several valuable suggestions for future 



