THE GAB DE NEBS 1 CHRONICLE. 



273 



scarlet, to deepest crimson, the base of the petal in 

 every case marked with a deep black- purple spot. 



The National Footpath Preservation 



SOCIETY is making itself felt throughout the king- 

 dom — rousing people to the great importance of pre- 

 serving rights of way both on land and water. Many 

 of our readers have heard of the two great successes 

 that the society has lately achieved — one in resisting 

 the Great Western Railway Company preventing the 

 people of a considerable district having access to 

 their market town, Neyland (Pembrokeshire). The 

 other case was a right to walk on the tow path of 

 the Grand Junction Canal Company, which right was 

 proved to have existed for a long period, but had been 

 subsequently stopped by the company. This also was 

 gained. Who can estimate the value of the rights 

 of way in these two cases alone? We cannot rind 

 space to recount all the matters now before the 

 Society. It seems almost as if all England was 

 going mad stopping footpaths and cribbing road- 

 side slips of land, but in truth this has been going 

 on for years unchecked until this useful Society 

 was formed four years ago, and the people should 

 strengthen the hands of the Society by becoming 

 members. The minimum subscription is 5s. a year; 

 the London office is 42, Essex Street, Strand ; and 

 Mr. Allnutt the Secretary. 



National Chrysanthemum Society. — A 



largely attended meeting of the committee took 

 place at Anderton's Hotel, Fleet Street, E.C., on the 

 3rd inst., Mr. E. Sanderson - , President, in the chair. 

 The minutes of the last meeting having been read, 

 an interesting letter was read from the Secretary of 

 the Victorian Horticultural Association, Melbourne, 

 and a deputation from that Societv had subsequently 

 callel upon Mr. W. Holmes for information as to 

 the working of the Societv. The following societies 

 were admitted into affiliation, making forty in all: — 

 The Barnsley, Hampstead, Isle of Sheppey, Stroud 

 (Gloucester 1 ), and Truro. Mr. G. T. Miles, Wycombe 

 Abbey, Bucks, was appointed one of the judges of 

 fruit and vegetables at the November show at the 

 Royal Aquarium, in the place of the late Mr. John 

 Woodbbidge, and a vote of condolence was ordered 

 to be sent to the family of the latter. The Secre- 

 tary reported that all the preliminaries of the pro- 

 vincial show at Sheffield had been satisfactorily 

 arranged, and there was every reason to believe it 

 would prove highly successful. Two new Eellows 

 and forty-eight new members were elected. The 

 Secretary, regretting the unavoidable absence of 

 the members of the Catalogue Revision Committee, 

 said the publication of the revised catalogue was 

 in a very forward state, and he hoped copies would 

 be in circulation before the show on September 12. 

 The cost of the new catalogue would be about £30; 

 already eighty copies were ordered, and it was 

 believed that the advertisements in the catalogue 

 would more than cover half the cost of publication. 

 The schedule of prizes for the first provincial show 

 at Sheffield on November 16 was laid upon the table, 

 also that of the Barnsley Chrysanthemum Society. 

 The proceedings closed with a cordial vote of thanks 

 to the Chairman. 



Bishop's Stortford Horticultural So- 

 ciety. — The summer exhibition took place as usual 

 in the grounds of The Grange, the residence of T. J. 

 Mann, Esq. The competition is mainly confined to 

 amateurs aud cottagers, and a good display resulted, 

 especially in the classes for cut flowers and vege- 

 tables. The Hon. Secretary of the National Dahlia 

 Society, Mr. Henet Glasscock, was to the fore with 

 Dahlias, and, considering the heavy storm which 

 swept over the district on the previous eveninc, 

 doing a great deal of damage, and flooding many 

 gardens, it is indeed surprising cut flowers were so 

 good. Plants were small, but clean and bright. 

 Fruit was limited in quantity. A good collection, 

 not for competition, came from Mr. E. Atkins, gr. 

 to the Misses Pulteney, Stanstead ; also an admir- 

 able group of plants, arranged with great taste ; a 

 group of plants from W. A. Blyth, Esq., Croft 



House, Stanstead ; a large collection of cut blooms of 

 hardy plants, Dahlias, &c, from Messrs. Paul & Son, 

 (lid Nurseries, Cheshunt ; Balsams and Roses, from 

 Messrs. T. Rivers & Son, nurserymen, Sawbridge- 

 worth ; Golden Champion Grapes from The Grange 

 girdens, &c. The cottagers' produce from the 

 allotment gardens was remarkably good through- 

 out. 



Large Deciduous Cypresses. — In the 



grounds of J. C. Raphael, Esq., Castle Hill, Englefield, 

 are three specimens of Taxodium distichum, which 

 may be regarded as remarkable ones in this country. 

 The trees stand by the edge of a deep pool of water, 

 aud the ground around, and more especially the very 

 angle of the bank nearest to the water, is covered 

 bv woody protuberances which emerge from the roots 

 of these trees, some of which are 2 feet in height. 

 The largest tree measures about 3 feet 6 inches in 

 diameter at breast height, and is about 70 feet in 

 height. The others are somewhat smaller, but still 

 stately trees. The boles of all of them appear of 

 remarkably stout proportions, not spindling much 

 as they ascend, and the branches appear of dispro- 

 portionately small dimensions. Our old correspond- 

 ent, Mr. W. Swan, has charge of the gardens at 

 Castle Hill, but his attention will not be so exclu- 

 sively given to Orchids, although there exists the 

 nucleus of a choice collection — as in some other 

 gardens of which he has had the charge. 



Chrysanthemum Show Fixtures. — The 

 annual exhibition of the Pembrokeshire Chrysan- 

 themum Society is fixed for November 9 and 10, and 

 that of the Winchester Horticultural Society on 

 November 13 and 14. 



The Neill Prize. — At a meeting of the 

 Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, held in the 

 Waverley Market Hall, Edinburgh, on Wednesday, 

 September 5, the Council of the Society presented 

 the Neill Prize — amounting this year to £40 — to 

 Professor Bayley Balfoue, of Edinburgh, well 

 known for his travel and researches in Socotra, 

 whence he introduced some remarkable plants into 

 our gardens. The late Dr. Neill left to the Society 

 the sum of £500 for the purpose of the interest being 

 applied in furnishing a medal or other reward every 

 second or third year to any distinguished Scottish 

 botanist or cultivator, to be voted by the Society. 

 The practice has been to allow the interest to accu- 

 mulate for two or three years, and then vote it as 

 a money prize. 



Scottish Horticultural Association — 



The monthly meeting of this Association was held 

 last night at 5, St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, the 

 President, Mr. Alexander M'Kinnon, Scone Palace 

 Gardens, in the chair. There was a large attend- 

 ance. Seven gentlemen nominated at last meeting, 

 including Professor Bayley Balfoub, were admitted 

 members. Mr. Dcnn, Dalkeith, drew attention to 

 the Fruit Conference held last week at Dunkeld, and 

 suggested that steps should be taken towards the 

 formation of a pomological society, or a pomological 

 branch in connection with the Association. All 

 would agree, he thought, that there was great room 

 in Scotland for such an organisation. He hoped 

 something definite would be done before the coming 

 winter set in. Mr. Mackenzie, Warriston, Mr. 

 Geieve, Pilrig. Mr. Milne (Messrs. Jaaies Dickson 

 & Sons), having spoken in favour of the formation 

 of a pomological branch, the Secretary, Mr. 

 Robeetsox Muneo, in seconding the motion, 

 said that while he did not in any way depre- 

 cate taking steps on the lines suggested, he did 

 not think their Association should take up the matter 

 exclusively for fruit. The holding of excursions such 

 as that to Dunkeld Gardens, had been referred to, 

 but he thought if these were of benefit to those in- 

 terested in fruit culture they would be equally inter- 

 esting to others having a liking for other depart- 

 ments of horticulture. After some further conversa- 

 tion the motion was adopted unanimously. Mr. Todd, 

 7a, Maitland Street, read a paper by Mr. Matthew 

 Smith, Prestwick, Ayrshire, on the culture of 



Gladioli. Some discussion took place on the paper, 

 and at the close it was resolved that the thanks of 

 the Association be communicated to Mr. Smith, 

 Among the exhibits were twenty-four specimens of a 

 new seedling Carnation, Maggie Laurie, of a pale pink 

 colour, forwarded by Messrs. Dicksons & Co. A fine 

 collection of blooms of Gloxinia was shown by Mr. 

 John Clark, Links Place, Leith. Mr. Fhasee 

 (Messrs. Methven & Sox) exhibited a cluster of 

 Damson Plums and samples of Hops which he had 

 brought from Kent the other dav. 



NOVELTIES. 



The following new plants are announced for the 

 first time in Mr. W. Bull's Catalogue, where descrip- 

 tions may be found : — 



Aglaonema picta compacta, stove Aroid. — Java. 



Alocasia marginata, Brazilian Aroid — stove foliage 

 plant. 



A. pnnceps, Malayan Aroid — stove foliage plant. 



Aphelandra amcena, Brazilian Acanthad — stove 

 foliage plant. 



Ardisia polycephala, East Indian shrub — leaves 

 red when young ; berries black. 



Crotons Delight, Junius, Magnificent, Monarch, 

 and Victory. 



Cypripedium Saundersianum = C. caudatum X 

 Schlimii. 



Dracaena argenteo-striata, South Sea Islands ; 

 leaves linear, streaked with creamy-white. 



Eomecon chionantha, a Chinese Papaverad — half 

 hardy perennial. 



Esmeralda bella, Orchidacea.-. See Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, February 4, lsss. 



Mussamda erythrophylla, Congo — stove shrub ; 

 bracts scarlet. 



Nidularium striatum, Brazilian Bromeliad. — 

 Leaves white, variegated. 



Panax crispatum, lepidum, nitidum, ornatum— all 

 Brazilian forms. 



Pavetta natalensis ; stove shrub. — Natal. 



Pinanga lepida, East Indian Palm. 



Rhododendron (greenhouse) Diana and Fair Rosa- 

 mond. 



Gloxinias Alpha, Casino, Lucrece, Sabina. 



Pelargonium (spotted) Argus, Rubis. 



Foreign Correspondence, 



NANCY. 



At all times a visit to these gardens is to the 

 horticulturist a source of much and instructive 

 enjoyment, Nancy being the birthplace and home of 

 many of our choicest aud best florist flowers, is, as 

 it were, the " Mecca " of gardeners. But at the 

 present epoch of gardening, when various sections of 

 florist flowers have reached a point of perfection 

 which a few years since would have been considered 

 unattainable, a visit is of more than ordinary interest. 

 Not to mention more than hybrid Gladiolus and 

 Tuberous Begonias, the amateur can imagine what a 

 field of interest lies before him, these alone being 

 sufficient to repay one for a visit to Nancy. 



The grower of Tuberous Begonias finds at the 

 garden of M. Crousse a superb series of seedling 

 double Begonias ; the double white and double 

 yellow of various shades are as yet unequalled in 

 any other establishment. The size, perfect form, 

 and habit of many of these magnificent flowers leave 

 nothing further to be desired. Some of the seed- 

 lings raised this year are absolutely perfect, and 

 make one long for the day when they will be found in 

 the Catalogue of M. Crousse. At this garden the 

 Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums also are very noteworthy. 

 Amongst those to be sent out by-and-bye are several 

 of great promise. The Cannas raised by M. Crozy. 

 of Lyons, are largely grown in this garden; but in 

 our climate they will be more generally useful for 

 indoor culture, owing to want of continued sunshine 

 and heat to develope them fully. (An instance of 

 this can now be seen by any visitor to the nursery 

 of Messrs. Cannell, at Swanley.) 



At the nursery gardens of M. Lemoine the great 

 point of interest "is the new race of hybrid Gladiolus, 

 a beautiful cross between Gladiolus Saundersii 

 superbus and M Lemoine's hybrids, made known on 

 the exhibition table by Messrs. Veitch. Only one 

 who has seen these exquisite flowers can have an idea 

 of what is in store before very long for growers of 

 hybrid Gladiolus. The form, size, and markings, are 



