126 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



])laced in prominent positions about 

 tlje ground ; many of them as big as 

 the trunk of a large tree, and from six 

 to eight feet high. About the Horti- 

 cultural Hall the grounds were very 

 })retty and well kept, but elsewhere 

 they were in a rough and unfinished 

 state, some portions sodded, and others 

 merely ploughed and left in that con- 

 dition. The intention had evidently 

 been to finish all in proper style, had 

 tlie necessary funds been available. 



Thei-e were a number of very inter- 

 esting ti-ees and shrubs in the collections 

 adjacent to the Hall, a large number 

 of them having been sent from Cali- 

 fornia ; and the weather was just such 

 !is to tempt one to ramble among them. 

 The following were specially noted, 

 inost of wliich were from San Jose, 

 Cal. Six varieties of olives ; a lovely 

 shrub, covered with elegant purple 

 flowers ; Polijijala dalniatianum. Spar- 

 tium album and Genista eiiru]>ea, both 

 in bloom ; Ligustrum japonicum, an 

 attractive shrub, with thick, glossy 

 foliage ; Eriobotrya japonica, known 

 as the Japanese ])lum, with very large, 

 curiously plicated leaves ; Raphiolepis 

 iudica, a lovely shrub, with beautiful 

 foliage and small pinkish-white flowers. 



]Most of your readers are doubtless 

 familiar with the appeai-ance of Horti- 

 cultural Hall. It is in appearance, 

 and in fact, an immense conservatory, 

 600 feet long and 194- feet wide; the 

 centre of which is filled with tables 

 decoi-ated with an immense number of 

 varieties of fruit, and the sides filled 

 with collections of growing plants. A 

 large portion of one side is occupied 

 with large circular beds of cactuses, 

 including an immense number of speci- 

 mens belonging to some 300 species, 

 the greater ])ortion of which is from 

 Mexico. These range in size from an 

 acorn to plants twenty feet high and 

 more than three feet in circumference. 

 Part of the space on the opposite side 



is taken u]) with a tropical greenhouse, 

 250 feet long and 25 feet wide, in 

 which is an immense assortment of 

 southern plants, especially orchids, of 

 which we counted no less than 650 

 specimens. These have been sent fron\ 

 all parts of the tropics, twenty or more 

 of the number were in flower, some of 

 the flowers being very brilliant and 

 attractive, others curiously cut, fringed 

 and spotted, and tinted with a variety 

 of hues. There were in addition a 

 number of other rare plants which it is 

 unnecessary here to enumerate ; and 

 many objects of general interest, such 

 as coflee trees with the berries on them, 

 tea, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, black 

 pei)per and vanilla, all in a growing 

 condition. 



After a hasty general survey, the 

 fruits were more carefully inspected. 

 Attracted by the word " Canada," in 

 j)rominent lettere, thatquaiter wasfii-st 

 examined. It was found that there 

 still remained of the collections sent 

 by the writer and our ex-president, 

 Mr. P. C. Dempsey, seventy seven 

 plates of very ) )resentaV>le fruit. It 

 was ascertained that the Canadian fruit 

 had been awarded two first prizes on 

 single varieties, one on Esopus Spitzen- 

 burgh, and one on Ribston Pippin ; a 

 creditable I'esult when we consider the 

 immense efforts made by all the western 

 States, and the fact that there were 

 some twenty thousand plates of fruit 

 on exhibition. While the apples ex- 

 hibited in the Canadian collection were 

 very fine and deservedly commended, 

 they were entirely eclipsed by the ex- 

 hibits from some of the westei'n States. 

 Arkansas carried off" the gold medal 

 and $200 for the best collection of 200 

 varieties. The- samples of Arkansas 

 fruit were simply immense, no one 

 accustomed to ordinary displays would 

 have concei^^ed that the varieties ex^ 

 hibited could have been grown so large. 

 Missouri ranked next, and took cue 



