Jcly 7, 1888.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



19 



bv Mr. Plowright about a mouth ago. The a-cidio- 

 spores of G. clavariajforme were also sent Cor com- 

 parison. All the specimens sent were the products 

 of cultivation. A special vote of thanks was pro- 

 posed by Mr. Murray for this and other contributions 

 of Mr. Plowright. 



Spiral Torsion in Mint. — Dr. Hogg exhibited a 

 specimen of Mint in which the stem was so twisted 

 that all the leaves were placed in one continuous 

 line. The phyllotaxis, as pointed out by Mr. 

 Henslow, is really not interfered with in these cases. 

 The occurrence is not uncommon. [See Masters' 

 Vegetable Teratology, German edition, 18S6, p. 367.] 



Opuntia Shoots. — Mr. Morris exhibited joints of 

 Opuntia monacantha and 0. Dillenii, which bore 

 seeds in their interior, shoots from their upper edge, 

 and roots from their lower end. [Analogous cases 

 were observed as long ago as 1832, and various 

 references to similar phenomena are given in Masters' 

 Vegetable Teratology, German edition, 1880, p. 207]. 



Various Exhibits. — From the Royal Botanic Gar- 

 den, Edinburgh, came catkins and cones of Pinus 

 contorta and other species of Conifer;^. A malformed 

 flower of Odontoglossum crispum from Mr. Douglas, 

 was referred to Mr. Ridley. Brassia caudata and 

 Acanthophippium striatum were also shown. 



florist, Brixham. Mr. G. H. Pearce, Higher Union 

 Street, Torquay, staged baskets of excellent fruit 

 each of Sir Joseph and Dr. Hogg Strawberries, and 

 a very fine dish of Tomatos. Messrs. Lucombe 

 Pince & Co. staged several nice boxes of Roses, one 

 large box of Niphetos being remarkably good. Their 

 principal H.P.'s were Etienne Levet, Madame G. 

 Luizet, Baroness Rothschild, C. Bowyer, A. Soupert, 

 Charles Lefebvre, Ulrich Brunner, and John Hopper, 

 Mr. Walker sent up a basket of choice hybrids of 

 Aquilegia. A large quantity of baskets of Roses 

 (cut blooms) were also put up. The success of this, 

 the first attempt of the firm, has decided them to 

 hold a two days' exhibition next year. D. C. P. 



ROSE EXHIBITION AT THE DEVON 

 ROSERIES, TORQUAY. 



Jura 27. — In consequence of the abandonment 

 of the Torquay Horticultural Society's annual Rose 

 exhibition, Messrs. Curtis, Sandford & Co. arranged 

 for a Rose show on their own premises. The 

 object in view, as previously stated in these columns, 

 •was to form the nucleus of a fund to help distressed 

 gardeners, their widows and orphans, and to assist 

 invalid gardeners to come for needed rest and change 

 from the North to Torquay. Admission to the exhi- 

 bition was free to all, collecting boxes being placed 

 among the exhibits. The only drawback was the 

 very inclement weather during the early part of the 

 exhibition, but notwithstanding this the result more 

 than equalled the expectations of the firm, more than 

 £50 nett being taken, and which was placed to the 

 credit of the fund. 



The exhibits were arranged in a tent more than 

 100 feet long, erected over one of the long broad 

 walks in the nursery, so that the exhibits were 

 placed on stands erected over the borders on each 

 side. The entries numbered twenty-eight, some 

 hailing from Oxford and Bath. The prizes were 

 given by Messrs. Curtis, Sandford & Co., and were 

 awarded as follows : — 



Class 1 : 1st, Silver Cup ; 2nd, £1 Is. ; 3rd, 10s. 6(7., 

 for the best amateur's box of twenty-four cut Rose 

 blooms, distinct, single trusses, with foliage. — There 

 were five competitors. Mr. Guerdon, gr. to Miss 

 Watson Taylor, Headylin, Oxford, was placed 1st 

 with a splendid lot of blooms, principally Teas, nearly 

 all first-class blooms, including Niphetos, Jean 

 Ducfaer, Souvenir dune Ami, Camille Koch, La 

 France, Marechal Niel, Dupuy Jamain, Lady M. 

 Pitzwilliam, Belle Fleur d'Anjou, Madame Welche, 

 Catharine Mermet, Rubens, Perle des Jardins, 

 Devoniensis, Souvenir d'EliseVardon, MadameWatte- 

 ville, Comtesse de Xadaillac. Madame Willermoz. 



Class 2 : For twelve cut blooms of Roses, single 

 trusses, distinct, with foliage, open to amateurs in 

 Torquay and neighbourhood. 1st prize, £1 Is. ; 2nd, 

 10s. 6(7. ; 3rd, 5s. Seven competitors. — Major 

 Roderaz, Vale Lodge, Torquay, secured 1st, with a 

 very nice box of blooms ot' good substance, the best 

 varieties being Rubens, Duke of Wellington, Madame 

 Gabrielle Luizet, La France, and Innocenta Pirola. 

 Class 3 : Open to local amateurs ; six cut blooms 

 of Roses, all of one distinct colour. 1st prize, 

 10s. 6d. ; 2nd, 7s. 62.; 3rd, 5s. Nine competitors. — 

 1st, Mr. Warren, gr. to the Dowager Lady Haldon, 

 with very nice blooms of Devoniensis. 



Messrs. Curtis, Sandford & Co. themselves put up 

 twenty-eight boxes of cut blooms of Roses of their 

 usual merit ; very fine boxes each of Lady Mary 

 Fitzwilliam. Merveille de Lyon, Ulrich Brunner, La 

 France, and Mane van Houtte, were splendid. 

 Among their boxes of Tea Roses as being especially 

 good were Madame Cusin, Innocenta Pirola, Rubens, 

 David Pradel, Marechal Niel, Anna Ollivier, Comtesse 

 Riza du Pare, J. Pernet, Viscountess Folkestone, &c. 

 Among H.P.'s, which were excellent, the following 

 varieties were particularly good — Violet Bowyer, 

 Etienne Levet, La France, Baroness Rothschild, 

 Madame G. Luizet, Anne Laxton, Senateur Vaisse, 

 Souvenir de Paul Nei-on, Francois Michelon, &c. 

 A box of Dahlia blooms was shown bv Mr. Hammet, 



RICHMOND HORTICULTURAL. 



Jdlt 4. — Held in the customary locality the 

 Old Deer Park, the show suffered appreciably 

 from lack of help on the part of plantsmen, as the 

 large tent which used to look so brilliant with fine 

 plants and groups was but poorly filled. Cut flowers 

 were, however, plentiful, fruit fair, and vegetables 

 not only abundant but good. These facts indicate 

 what is found generally — that plants as an exhibi- 

 tion element are much less favoured than formerly. 



Honorary contributions formed, as usual, a marked 

 feature. These included a charming group of pot 

 Roses faced by a line of the variegated Eurya lati- 

 folia, and backed by Japanese Acers and standard 

 plants, ranging from 6 to 8 feet in height, of 

 Hydrangea paniculata, each carrying fine panicles of 

 flowers, some fully 10 inches long. This group came 

 from Messrs. James Veitch & Sons. Messrs. C. Lee 

 & Sons had one of their well-known and most inter- 

 esting groups of hardy trees and shrubs, the foliage 

 variegated and coloured in rich variety, helped by 

 some pot Roses and hardy Ferns. Messrs. J. Laing 

 & Son had a pretty group of Begonias, interspersed 

 with some good Gloxinias and foliage plants. From 

 Messrs. B. S. Williams & Co. came a pretty group 

 of Orchids and other choice plants, including some 

 of the scarlet Bottle-brush, Metrosideros floribunda. 

 Mr. E. Drost, Kew Road, had a big group of Palms, 

 some colour being added by the novel method of 

 tying bunches of Irises, &c, on sticks and standing 

 them amongst the foliage. Mr. Chambers, Isleworth, 

 had his beautiful pure white Viola Snowflake in 

 quantity ; Mr. T. S. Ware and Messrs. Barr & Son, 

 large and beautiful collections of hardy flowers, which 

 made a striking feature ; and Messrs. Veitch & Sons 

 had, in addition, a capital lot of cut Roses, including 

 most of the best varieties. 



Groups. — Only two were in competition for the 

 large groups, Mr. A. Brown, of Richmond coming 

 1st with a very taking arrangement, but some of his 

 tall plants, especially Tuberoses and Liliums, had a 

 " sticky " look ; Mr. James, of Norwood, was 2nd, 

 with a thin group, chiefly of Orchids. 



Stove and Greenhouse Plants. — Mr. W. Bates, 

 Poulett Lodge Gardens, Twickenham, was 1st in two 

 classes for these plants, having good Allamanda 

 Hendersoni, Bougainvillea glabra, Sobralia maeran- 

 tha, Gloriosa snperba, &c. In one class Mr. James 

 was 2nd, whilst in the other Mr. Munro, gr. to E. D. 

 Paul, Esq., Twickenham, was 2nd. He also had 

 Gloriosa superba and Kalosanthes coccinea, very 

 fine. 



Foliage p/<ni!.< were not first-rate, the first coming 

 from Mr. Chadwick.gr. to E. M. Nelson, Esq., Ealing, 

 who had a big Cycas revoluta, huge Areca lutescens, 

 good Crotons, Asparagus plumosus nanus, and Alo- 

 casia variegata. Mr. James took 2nd place, having 

 an immense Latauia borbouica, which overshadowed 

 all else. 



Exotic Ferns came from Mr. Munro and Mr. Chad- 

 wick, and generally comprised good fair-sized speci- 

 mens of Davallia, Adiantums. Ssc, the prizes going 

 in the order given. 



Palms were a strong but very sombre feature, 

 and made a heavy dull group. The best six came 

 from Dr. Wood, Roehampton, Mr. Bates, and Mr. 

 James following. 



Coleus, though smaller, were more attractive, be- 

 cause well coloured. These were chiefly flattish in 

 form, and came from Mr. Coombs, gr. to W. Furze, 

 Esq., Teddington, admirably done. Mr. Sullivan, 

 gr. to D. B. Chapman, Esq., Roehampton, and Mr. 

 East, gr. to F. Wigan, Esq., East Sheen. 



Orchids were very good, the best six being sent by 

 Mr. Hill, gr. to H. Little, Esq., St. Margarets, who 

 had the deliriously perfumed Aerides Leonii, with 

 six spikes, A. odoratutn purpurascens, Cattleya 

 Sanderiana, and C. intricate as named by Reichen- 

 bach ; and Cypripediuui barbatuni superbum and C. 



Veitchii. Mr. H. James was 2nd, with good pieces 

 of Cattleya Mendelii, Aerides Lobbii, Cypripedium 

 baibatum, C. nigrum, &c. 



Show aii'l Forney Pelargoniums. — Specimen plants 

 came from Mr. C. Turner only, medium-sized, well- 

 flowered, and very attractive. Two collections of 

 small plants in groups were staged, the best coming 

 from Mr. W. Clay, Kingston. Zonal Pelargoniums 

 were very showy, Mr. Hill having the best six in 

 four singles and two doubles ; whilst Mr. Barnes, 

 gr. to W. S. Graham, Esq., Roehampton, had chiefly 

 doubles, profusely bloomed. Fuchsias, were poor ; 

 Begonias very good, Mr. Hill having the best six 

 plants, finely done and flowered ; and Gloxinias were 

 also very good. 



Cut Flowers, Table Decorations See., filled a large 

 tent and made a brave show. The open classes for 

 thirty-six and twenty-four Roses in trebles brought 

 beautiful flowers from Mr. C. Turner, 1st in both 

 classes ; Messrs. Paul & Sons, Old Nurseries, Ches- 

 hunt, 2nd in both ; and Mr. W. Rumsey, Waltham 

 Cross, 3rd. Mr. Turner's flowers were specially fresh 

 and clean; but with the National Show at hand, we 

 need hardly recapitulate kinds. In the class for twenty- 

 tour singles (amateurs), Mr. West, of Reigate, was 1st, 

 and Mr. Warwick, Hampton. 2nd, whilst the latter 

 had the best twelve flowers, and Mr. Girdlestone, of 

 Sunningdale, the best twelve Tea Roses. Mr. Bates 

 had the best twelve bunches of cut flowers. A number 

 of pretty table stands and baskets of flowers were 

 staged, all very pleasing. Buttonhole bouquets and 

 sprays were capital, but hand bouquets poor. 



Fruit was fairly abundant, but had suffered from 

 lack of sunshine. Mr. Osman, gr. to L. H. Baker, 

 Esq., Ottershaw Park, was 1st, with six dishes, 

 haying fair white and black Grapes, Peaches, &c. 

 Mr. Palmer, gr. to F. Hume Dicks, Esq., Thames 

 Ditton, was 2nd. Mr. Bates had the best four dishes. 

 In the open class for Grapes the best pair of bunches 

 of black were staged by Mr. Osman, who had good 

 Hamburghs; Mr. Thompson.gr. to Messrs. W. 

 & E. Wells, Hounslow, coming next with grand 

 Madresfield Court, only wanting deeper colour. Mr. 

 Feist, gr. to W. Ashton, Esq.. Englefield Green, had 

 of white five bunches of Muscat of Alexandria, but 

 wanting finish ; Mr. Thompson being again 2nd, with 

 the same Grape, finely berried. In the local classes 

 Mr. Bates had the best black in good Alicante, and 

 Mr. Munro the best white, in Bnckland Sweetwater. 

 The best green-flesh Melon was William Tillery. 

 from Dr. Woods ; and the best scarlet-flesh was 

 Scarlet Reimer, from Mr. East. 



Vegetables were a remarkable feature, Mr. Waite, 

 gr. to Colonel Talbot, Esher, taking 1st place in 

 both the chief classes with wonderfully fine clean 

 samples, Mr. Palmer being 2nd also in both classes 

 with capital exhibits. Cucumbers were good and 

 numerous, and Tomatos in pots were fairly well 

 done. Nearly a score of large baskets of vegetables 

 were also staged, this department being unduly 

 crowded with exhibits. 



THE GARDENERS' ROYAL BENEVO- 

 LENT INSTITUTION. 



The forty-fifth anniversary festival of this Insti- 

 tution was held at The Albion, Aldersgate Street, 

 E.C., on Wednesday evening, when a large company 

 assembled. In the absence, through illness, of Mr. 

 Joseph Chamberlain, M.P., Sir Trevor Lawrence, 

 Bart", M.P., President of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society, presided. Horticulturists of all sections 

 were well represented, and many friends of the art 

 and of the Institution were present. 



The Chairman on rising to propose the toast of 

 the evening, " Success and Prosperity to the Gar- 

 deners' Royal Benevolent Institution," was received 

 with loud" cheers. He observed that it would be 

 unnecessary for him to say what a keen sense of dis- 

 appointment he felt when he heard that the Right 

 Hon. Joseph Chamberlain had been prevented by 

 illness from being in the chair that evening. He 

 had in his hand a letter from Mr. Chamberlain, in 

 which the writer expressed his great disappoint- 

 ment at being unable to be present that evening 

 through illness, but he also had a subsequent 

 telegram saying that he (Mr. Chamberlain) 

 would be happy to come on some other occasion. 

 The objects of the Institution were well known to 

 every one as well as its claims. But on looking 

 through the list of subscribers he was sorry to say he 

 found absent the names of a large number of friends 

 of his own who derived a large amount of pleasure 

 from their garden, and he felt sure it had not been 

 brought to their notice that they ought to subscribe 



