190 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



. 



\ 



I Mna7~b7 useful to "A. L." to , were better covered with foliage and more perfectly 



J. • , , ... Krown than the oth ers. Mr. Gaines also bad examples 



of scarlet Unique, a useful variety for bedding purposes. 

 Of Orchids six of the beautiful plants shown by Messrs. 

 Veitch, at Sydenham, were reproduced here, and the 

 same remark applies to the group from Messrs. Rollisson. 



Ants (see p. 376). _ „ . 



know that a small quantity of arsenic mixed about the 

 thickness of paint, and put into a saucer with a little 

 sugar and water or milk, will soon destroy his trouble- 

 some companions. I have stuffed rags in their holes, 

 and soon bad others made in the place of them. Con- 

 stant Header. 



Vinegar Plant.— The following is an excellent receipt 



for making vinegar from this plant. To five pints of 

 water add half a pound of treacle, heat to boiling, and 

 then pour it on half a pound of coarse brown sugar, let 

 it cool until about milk warm, and then put the plant 

 into it, and set it in a moderately warm place ; a cup- 

 board in a recess by the kitchen fire is the best situation 

 for it. A young piece taken from the mother plant 

 should be used as soon as possible, but it may be kept 

 an hour without injury. /. 2?. Jf„ The Cottage, Duxford. 

 Bidding Plants and Bottom heat.— I quite agree with 

 Mr. Ayrea' plan of keeping flower-beds systematically 

 turned or forked-up during seasonably warm weather, 

 not only as a means of obtaining a considerable amount 

 of bottom heat, but also as affording an opportunity of 

 breaking up and exposing the soil to those atmospheric 

 influences which are now so well known to be essential 

 to the healthy development of plants. The plan of 

 nursing young plants in prepared beJs so early as 

 April speaks for itself. A moderate quantity of heating 

 material should be placed below the compost which is 

 intended to adhere to the roots on taking up. This will 

 encourage quicker growth. For I do hold that the 

 larger we can get young plants for bedding out, so 

 as to cover or nearly so the beds at once, the better. 

 On comif ig to England some six years ago I was sur- 

 prised to see so generally adopted the system of bedding 

 out small plants, which in some cases took all the season 

 to fill the beds. This seemed so much at variance with 

 all my installed and preconceived ideas of bedding, that 

 I could scarcely comprehend the reason of it tili I dis- 

 covered that no desire existed to have the plants so 

 small but that there was no accommodation to grow 

 them larger. Necessity is said to be the mother of 

 invention, and probably this is the reason why people 

 in cold climates are made more alive to their wants than 

 those of more favourable climes. 



The flowers on both these collections were perfect, and 

 even as fresh and beautiful as if they had only newly 

 expanded. Not a bruise could be seen on any of them, 

 a remarkable fact considering the moving and travelling 

 about to which they have been subjected. Messrs. 

 Henderson, of Pine-apple Place, had a collection of 

 stove and greenhouse plants, among which was a good 

 specimen of Mediuilla magnifica, and along with them 

 Isolepis gracilis, an interesting little plant found on 

 rushy moors in Germany, and extremely useful for 

 hanging up in baskets, over the sides of which the foliage 

 falls like masses of green hair. This plant was stated 

 to stand smoke and dust better than most others ; it may 

 therefore prove suitable for windows. Mr. Ingram, 

 gr. to her Majesty at Frogmore, sent cut specimens of 

 Paulovnia imperialis literally loaded with blue Gloxinia- 

 like flowers. They were stated to have been taken 

 from a tree about 15 feet high, growing near the 

 Terrace at Windsor. It had had no protection what- 

 ever ; on the contrary it must have been much 

 exposed, and yet its flowers wrapt up all last winter 

 in their woolly envelopes have come out perfectly 

 unscathed. To the dry warm autumn of last year 

 and to the vigour of youth in the tree having settled 

 down into more moderate growth, may, doubtless, 

 be attributed its blossoming so finely this season. Now, 

 however, that a flowering habit has been induced 

 it will probably keep it, and certainly a tree in the con- 

 dition in which the one in question is must be extremely 

 handsome. Some small Tea, Noisette, and Hybrid 

 Perpetual Roses grown in pots were shown by Mr. 

 Wilkinson, of Ealing, in order to prove how well suited 

 the Celine stock is for Roses cultivated in this way. 

 Mr. Glendinning showed a seedling Heath, a dwarf and 

 doubtless very use f ul kind. It had been raised between 

 E. depressa and E. hybrida. Messrs. Veitch had a 



lew 



not there 



The 



ascertaining whether 

 any difference in their period of npenincr 

 were Keens' Seedling Ingram's Prince of w T^^* 

 Maud and British Queen. The result is that S £ 

 first had ripe fruit on them, ripe in the order ta^g 



they are mentioned, while the last had not blZ? 

 colour. v °*&* 



The list of medals, &c, awarded on the occaa« 



fminri in nnv nr vert cm« /»~1 vv -^«810ll 



be found in our advertising columns. 



is 



HC I 



was 

 and 

 and 

 feet 

 the 



Horticultural Show at the Crystal P ALl j* 



denham, June 2.— How far the interior of th*^ 

 derful building is suited; to the exhibition ot^^H 

 will be explained in a leading article. PortiuE^ 1 

 what were shown there were accommodated b iu 

 nave, up the centre of the east end of which i 

 double bank 281 feet in length and three *** 

 deep, and in the west end was a similar stMtfi 

 156 feet in length. The rest of the exhibit 

 arranged in the tropical end of the bnildS 

 in the open corridors facing the terrace gardiS 

 park. Over the whole awnings were fixed a few 

 above the plants, serving to screen them from 

 sun. When we state that there were banks of 

 Orchids 240 feet in length, Ferns and Lycopodg 40 fegL 

 Stove and Greenhouse plants 690 feet, plants renurf 

 able for fine foliage 92 feet, Cape Heaths 200 feet 

 Azaleas 100 feet, Pelargoniums 180 feet, Calceahrfc 

 66 feet, Fuchsias 40 feet, and " odds and ends" 72 fat 

 some idea of the magnitude of the show may be rot 

 ceived. Its different parts were, however, bo 

 scattered about that the general effect produced by * 

 many plants was less striking than might harebea 

 anticipated. 



The Azaleas, with the exception of a magnified 

 collection from Sir E. Antrobus's gardener, M 

 Green, were decidedly past their best, and tone of 

 them were even miserable specimens of eiltin. 

 tion. In this respect, indeed, the whole exhibit* 

 formed a striking contrast with that at Gore Hoa*. 

 whose great distinguishing characteristic was that thtfe 

 was not a bad plant to be found, while here in n«ij 



duced one of the finest specimens of Erica ventricosa 

 magnifica perhaps ever seen. It was literally a ball of 

 flowers and healthy foliage nearly 4 feet in diameter. 

 The same firm had also a po.tfull of the New Holland 

 Pitcher plant mentioned in another column. 



Among Fruits there were some good things. Mr. 



Dodds, gr. to Col. Baker, had a smooth-leaved Cayenne 



Pine, weighing 4 lbs. 5 oz ; Mr. Davis, gr. to J. Dixon, 



On the 8th of last month I Esq., a Jamaica Pine, weighing 3 lbs. 2 oz. ; and Mr. 



Barron, gr. to Mrs. Vivian, of Singleton, a Queen, 

 weighing 4 lbs. 9 oz. Mr. Tillyard, gr. to the Right 

 Hon. the Speaker, exhibited three bunches of Black 

 Hamburgh Grapes, well swelled and finely coloured. 

 Murray Nectarines, and a dish of very fine May Duke 

 Cherries came from Mr. Fleming, gr. to the Duke of 



Messrs. Toyne & Son, of 



Hounslow, had two pots of Cut bash's Prince of Wales 



what damaged branch to show the freedom with which ; Raspberry bearing fruit pretty freely. They appeared 

 they flower, and have selected for this purpose a branch to have been last year's canes potted in autumn, 

 whose flowers are not yet expanded. I would have sent and were very well done. Of British Queen 



One thing I know is 

 that until of late years I never saw small plants bedded 

 out, but plants that filled the beds at once, and such as 

 required it were pegged down in their place. Of the 

 various modes, therefore, of getting bedding plants 

 prepared for the parterre, that best fitted for the 

 purpose well deserves our attention. Peter M'Phail, 

 Hammer smith. 



Hybrid Rhododendrons* 

 sent you three flowers of hybrid Rhododendrons, the 

 earliest then in bloom. I now send you 12 heads of 

 flowers from as many different plants, to show their 

 varieties of form and colour. Among them are umbels 

 from the same plants from which the former flowers 

 were gathered, and which are still in bloom. Some of 

 these plants have had from 60 to 80 heads expanded Sutherland, at Trent ham. 

 upon them at one time. I send also a small and some- 



small plant of Lilium giganteum. Messrs. Rollisson pro- every class, to say the least of it, instances of indiftmi 



•*•-*' • " **-' *— • cultivation might have been pointed out. This is the 



more remarkable when we know that the majority 4 

 the exhibitors kept back their plants as much as p» 

 sible, in order that they might bring them forward m 

 this occasion in the best condition of which they iw 



capable. 



The most important feature of the show wis «• 

 tainly the Orchids, which were, notwiihstandin* th* 

 great numbers, just in perfection, and altogether • 

 fresh and beautiful as if it had been the middle of Mij. 

 Messrs. Veitch had a remarkably fine group, iowW 



of Phalaenopsis, Dendrobian, 



Lalias (am* 



many similar branches, the flowers of which were fully 

 blown, but they would occupy too much room in the 

 basket. The duration of the individual umbels is very 

 remarkable ; some have lasted in flower fully 10 days, 

 whilst a succession of bloom keeps the plants in beauty 

 for at least a month, during which time the splendour 

 of their appearance can hardly be surpassed. The 

 flowers are unquestionably more lasting than those of 

 the American varieties, perhaps because they bloom at 

 a cooler season. These plants have not received the 

 Slightest protection, either recently or during the winter. 

 J. R. [These flowers were intended to have been shown 

 at the Horticultural Society's meeting last Tuesday, but 

 they arrived too late for that purpose. All of them 

 were brilliant crimson kinds, and extremely handsome.] 



Horticultural, June 5.— The Rev. W. B. L. Haw- 

 kins in the chair. Mrs. J. H. Vivian, J. Stewart, Esq., 

 W. E. D. Cumming, Esq., J. L. Ricardo, Esq., M.P., 

 J. D. Cooper, Esq., G. Field, Esq., and Mr. J. Young, 

 Elm Cottage, Taunton, were elected Fellows. There 

 was again an excellent exhibition on this occasion. Of 

 rare plants, Messrs. Veitch showed the golden Rhodo- 

 dendron Brookeanum, and R. californicum, mentioned 

 in another column ; also R. purpureum splendens, a 

 purplish lilac kind, very much spotted in the upper 

 |J*als ; a large purple Moutan, and a branch of Embo- 

 thrium coccineum. Messrs. Rollisson had the beautiful 

 Indian shrub Meyenla erecta, alluded to in the report 

 ot the Crystal Palace Show. Of cut Rhododendrons 

 there were several exhibitions. Mr. Ingram, gr. to 

 wi laiKi ^ Mi «»nt a boxfull, among which were 

 tI^TT' ^ ° f thG be8t 0f tl'ehigh-cJoured kinds, 



IV^STS^ *?T D8 ' I™™*' Captation 

 i^yei estianum, & c ; an d Messrs. Moore and Son, of Bir- 



regulations. Mr. Games sent a white 

 yellow coloured Ghent Azaleas p*u. * L » 



fancy and other kinds, e^S^fc^ 

 Gaines, and Baron GoMsmid's g^ A K' ^S 

 them were well-flowered ; but those from MessVs. Fras^r 





and two pink and 



were very 



Strawberries Mr. Dunsford had some very fine fruit, 

 well coloured to the very points. This variety and 

 also Myatt's Eleanor, famous specimens, came from Mr. 

 M'Ewen, gr. to the Duke of Norfolk ; but as only 30 of 

 each sort were sent, instead of 50, the number required 

 by the schedule, they were disqualified. The same 

 grower had also a dish of Hautbois, which is still 

 favourite Strawberry with many. Mr. Allnutt showed 

 Keens' Seedling, as did also Mr. Ingram, gr. to J. J. 

 Blandy, Esq., and Mr. Chesher, gr. to S. Ware, Esq. 

 Mr. Pestridge, gr. to E. H. Heyward, Esq., sent ex- 

 amples of Elton Strawberries. Of Melons the best, a 

 green-fleshed variety, came from Mr. Boreham, gr. to 

 Sir Fitzroy Kelly ; it was incorrectly named Ispahan. 

 Mr. Frost, gr. to E. L. Betts, Esq., had what was catted 

 the Preston Hall, hybrid green fleshed, apparently a 

 good Melon. Finally, Mr. Ferguson, of Stowe, sent 

 some 6000 green Peaches and Nectarines, the thinnings 

 of trees that had never borne fruit till they were 

 covered with gla.«s, and now the crops they are pro- 

 ducing were stated to be immense. So much for glass 

 protections. 



From Arundel Mr. McEwen showed 50 heads of 

 Asparagus about 7 ins. in length, which weighed 2£ lbs. 



Of Miscellaneous subjects, Mr. Glendinning produced 

 the Chinese garden pot, of which a representation was 

 given the week before last, at p. 357. Mr. Kestell, of 

 Burnham, Bucks, showed specimens of his labels, which 

 have proved so useful at Frogroore, Dropmore, and 

 other places about that quarter. They are made of 

 iron with sunk faces, on which the names are written 

 or printed ; after some patent preparation glass is then 

 put on, leaving no vacancy between it and the letters, 

 and the whole is thus hermetically sealed. They are 

 warranted by the patentees to stand all extremes of 

 heat, cold, and moisture, and are manufactured in dif- 

 ferent forms and 



were 

 Aerides, 



such masses 



, Vandas, Lady's Slippers, 



which purpurata was conspicuous), and An 8" !o "v" 

 have rarely been seen together before. Messrs. tow 

 also sent, among other fine things, a noble baAJI 

 Oncidium sphacelatum in admirable condition , tfp 

 pedium Lowi, with two blooms on it ; two large SobnM* 

 the rare Cattleya Aclandae, and the curiously formal 

 buff flowered Bolbophyllum Lobbianum. Mr. Mywj 

 gr. to G. Reed, Esq., had some extremely good DM 

 of the Moss Cattleya, the Fox-brush Aerides the i» 

 Butterfly plant (Phatenopsis), Anguloa Clowe*, t» 

 tleyas Skinneri and intermedia, C) pripedium Loju™ 

 five flowers on it, and others in equally fine 1 eJJJ 

 These may be said to form the elite of the «*«« 

 Orchids produced on Saturday last. 0tlie \^ m 

 maud little remark, having for the most P^JJJJJ 

 noticed this season elsewhere. Some fine *P e f^ 

 Phalaenopsis in wire baskets, constructed on uiejg 

 ciple of those permanently employed for ■ j-g 

 plants" in the Palace, must not however befo£g 

 These were furnished by Messrs. Veitch, ana 

 purpose of placing plants of this 1 desenpt on m 

 hibition they seemed perfect, their »«^i5 

 forms associating well with the waving masses 



that overhung them. , , eftee*** 



The offering prizes for plants gr?oK f ^ w * 

 out of flower was a move in the righ [^^ 

 was badly responded to by g arden ^' , by Me* 

 did better, and the collections V* ^^ d 

 Veitch and Rollisson were really very ^ 

 effectively staged. On the top A jel f Me«» ^ 

 had a Norfolk Island Pine some 8 f f » ^g^^ ft* 



densis of similar altitude, with a ^yra ^ 

 between them. In fi« * * (** 

 Nepenthes distillatoria loaded ^J^be^^ 

 discolor clothed with foliage of remarka ^ ^H* 



between them Oncidium **™™™>*^ it mc&** 

 or bottom shelf were Platycermm ^grand ^ 



corcova 



Sindryana 



to suit the different purposes to 

 which they may be applied. They are uncommonly 

 nice, and as regards prices were said to vary from 2rf. 

 to 1*. 6rf. each. 



From the garden of the Society came Viburnum 



macrocephalum and plicatum, the double yellow Datura, 

 a singular looking herbaceous plant, and some other 

 things, together with flowers of Mr. Fortune's Montane, 

 and of the white Glycine. The same establishment 

 likewise furnished three pots each of four varieties of 

 Strawberries, which have been treated exactly alike, with 



inver 

 had they 



d 



)uoni aneix ™*.*- * „, rt „U have JOO*^' 



ted pots (wWch, bowevenwould Jj^rf. 

 they been nia 

 ide of it was A 

 on the other Erica ^ — -- i^Ws. "n 7 a 



best of the class to which it Mc . J» ^# 



been hid among Moss 

 one side of it was A P^£^ 



macrantha purp^J ^ 



very nest 01 mo w~ — rardema r oruP ^-nrf 



side' of this centre piece "'"fe & * d ^"'l^ 

 white flowers, large and double^ ^^ 



A ngiopter is erec», ^ ^ Uo# yjm 



delicious perfume ; A ngiop«»- ---- sye iJ .. 

 davallioides, a purple-co.oured AjjJ^ the 

 two variegated Screw-Pines ( l a " op0 dioo 

 Nepenthe^ ..vis ^^SSJ& ^S 



the Box an 



he rose-flowered Adepanar ^j 



piemtn, while on -J^JX^S 

 „d Oleander-leaved Enostein o#er) ^ 



, Polygala opposing* (not w-v i*jrj 

 ' y arie,ated Screw-Pme, fij» ^^ 



pertusum, * "ye- ~ .^ p ine 

 Heath, a variegated fecreW "V, cie8 

 Caladium bsematostigma, a "P" 





