g j 

 6 1 8 Provincial Horticultural Societies : — 



or mushrooms. Mr. Ingram, gardener at Parkhil], produced fine seedling 

 apples, which excited much attention, from their combination of good qualities. 

 (Ibid., May 2.) 



May 30. The tulips were remarkably fine, and excited very great admir- 

 ation : a manifest improvement was observed in these flowers since the last 

 time any were shown. We may notice the superb collection of exotics from 

 Callendar House, combining great beauty and rarity; and the very large heads 

 of Indian corn. Mrs. Walker sent from Camelon House some plants of the 

 more delicate ericas, "which were much admired. A large and remarkable 

 specimen of the Coccoloba uvifera was exhibited by Mr. James Miller, and a 

 basket of preserved apples by Mrs. Keir. [An allusion is made to a previous 

 number of the Stirling Journal, in which the process adopted by this lady is 

 detailed : not having seen that paper, we should feel very much obliged if Mrs. 

 Keir, or any of her friends, would give us an account of her method.] (Ibid., 

 June 6.) 



Sept. 12. The peaches and nectarines were very fine. The vegetables were 

 very good; especially the gourds, and among others was a giant gourd 4^ ft. 

 long. The georginas were very beautiful. (Ibid., Sept. 19.) 



IRELAND. 



Horticultural Society of Ireland. — Jan. 2. This was a private exhibition of 

 pears, apples, and grapes, for which prizes were given. Some of the fruit 

 was fine, the apples in particular, but they were only of common kinds, there 

 not being a single specimen of any of the newly introduced and finer varie- 

 ties. Many discrepancies appeared in the nomenclature of both apples and 

 pears, and the Society have determined to get models made of well-ascer- 

 tained fruit, for gardeners to have recourse to, for the purpose of verifying 

 names. Only three bunches of grapes were exhibited. A very empyreumatic, 

 but strong, spirit, distilled from the mangold wurtzel, was presented by the 

 assistant secretary, Mr. Pooler. (Irish Farm, and Gard. Mag., Feb. 1834.) 



Jan. 16. An examination was held in Botany and Horticulture, for the 

 purpose of awarding premiums and certificates to young gardeners. Only 

 three young men offered themselves, and the first prize was gained by Mr. 

 Russell from the College Botanic Gardens. All the young men acquitted them- 

 selves very creditably. (Ibid.) 



April 24. A collection of plants of extraordinary merit was sent from the 

 College Botanic Gardens ; but the stove plants entered for competition, and 

 the fruit, were by no means equal to what they have been heretofore. The 

 heaths and other green-house plants were particularly fine and well flowered. 

 The culinary vegetables were excellent. (Ibid., May.) 



May 15. Dr. Plank, and A. B. Crofton, Esq., were the most successful 

 competitors for tulips, and Mr. Keefe, nurseryman, for pelargoniums. Among 

 the green-house plants sent by Mr. Niven, was a new hybrid epiphyllum. 

 A fine spike of flowers of Banksza marcescens was among the articles sent by 

 Mr. Mackay from the College Botanic Gardens. (Ibid., June.) 



June 19. The number of plants, both from private gardens and nurseries, 

 was very great, and some of the specimens were very beautiful. Among the 

 new plants was a new Passiflora alba, shown by Messrs. Toole, and a new 

 double purple rocket, by Messrs. Simpson. Mr. Mackay sent as usual some 

 beautiful specimens, among which were some extremely fine new calceolarias, 

 raised from seed by Messrs. Dickson of Chester. The committee presented 

 Mr. Mackay with a handsome piece of plate, to mark their sense of his 

 liberality in declining to compete for prizes, and yet sending so many fine 

 plants to the exhibitions. Mr. Lumsden, gardener to Isaac M. D'Ollier, Esq., 

 exhibited some fine native oranges, the produce of a tree which had supplied 

 that gentleman's table during the past year with some hundreds of fruit, of 

 a quality rarely equalled in this climate. Specimens of Phormium tenax 

 (New Zealand flax), were exhibited by Mr. M'Cabe, gardener to the Right 

 Hon, William Saurin ; an unusually large purple stock, by Mr. Kelly, gar- 



