168 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 29, 1878. 
that seemed so thoroughly to fulfil the idea of what a good 
and profitable one should be as this. The whole place, which 
has been considerably altered and improved, evinces the care 
and taste which might be expected from a member of this 
well-known firm. 
At the same visit I took notice of what I believe is likely to 
be a valuable new Potato, one of Mr. Fenn’s raising—Wood- 
stock Kidney. I saw several roots of it lifted on the trial 
grounds, and have had a fewin my own garden. The tuber 
is smooth and handsome, very free from eyes, and, unlike many 
that are only good to look at, it is a splendid cooking Potato, 
mealy and white. The number of new, or so-called new, 
Potatoes is legion, but the number of really good ones very 
select. Woodstock Kidney is, imagine, likely to be a favourite 
with all who value a really good tuber. I say nothing as to 
immunity from disease, for I do not believe in it. Planting 
early and lifting early are the only means of warding it off. 
—D., Deal. 
INTERNATIONAL HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION 
SOCIETY OF SEINE-ET-OISE, VERSAILLES. 
AUGUST 25TH TO 28TH. 
Ir has been said that were Paris blotted from the face of the 
earth, leaving nothing behind it but the palace and gardens of 
Versailles, that this fairy-like structure—with all its promenades, 
fountains, and artificial lakes—would alone_repay the visitor for 
his journey from England. 
Versailles abounds in historical associations, and some of very 
recent date. It was here that Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen 
Victoria was received, with all the honour and_brilliancy due to 
her, by the late Emperor Napoleon III., 1855. It was the head 
quarters of the German army during the late sanguinary war, and 
in this palace King William of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor 
of Germany in the midst of his generals, and surrounded by his 
victorious army, in January, 1871. . 
The Exhibition was held in an enclosure at the foot of the mag- 
nificent terrace leading from the palace front. The collections of 
choice exotic and other flowering plants were arranged in an im- 
mense almost circular tent, covering fully the space of an acre. 
The interior was tastefully laid out with gracefully sweeping 
spacious walks, which passed by circular, oval, oblong, and other 
shaped raised mounds, on which the plants were disposed, the 
whole presenting a very imposing appearance. Around the two 
massive columns which supported the vast canvas structure were 
some large Palms from M. Chantin of Montrouge, Paris. Very 
near this central oblong bed were four circular beds, one of which 
contained the magnificent and unique collection of plants from 
the Chelsea nurseries of Messrs. Veitch & Sons. These plants 
were not in competition. The effect from the entrance to the 
large tent was charming in the extreme. The corresponding 
circular bed to this was arranged with collections of Orchids and 
decorative plants sent by Mr. Wills, Onslow Crescent, Brompton. 
Mr. Wills was a very large and most successful exhibitor at this 
Show, and his collections added greatly to the extent and beauty 
of the Exhibition. Mr. Wills not only received the grand prize of 
honour, a Sévres vase, valued at 800 francs, but obtained fifteen 
first prizes and one second from the sixteen classes in which he 
competed. This speaks well for English enterprise and English 
horticulture, and especially when we consider the difficulties of 
reaching Versailles—the plants shut up in closely packed baskets 
and yans, undergoing the journey of nearly a week by road, rail, 
and water. From a collection of over two hundred plants sent by 
Messrs. Veitch and Sons not a leaf nor a bloom was injured, and 
on Saturday morning the collection looked as fresh as when ex- 
hibited at South Kensington. The task for Mr. Wills was even 
greater, from the greater quantity of plants staged by him. The 
collections were the admiration of the multitudes of fashionable 
visitors which crowded the tents directly after the Show was open 
to the public at 3 P.M. on Saturday, and from early morning on 
Sunday until its close. 
In addition to the prizes obtained in the classes M. Mozer, Ver- 
sailles, received the prize of honour, a gold medal valued at 
500 francs; M. M. L. Duval, Versailles, was awarded a prize of 
300 francs, and M. Perrette, Bellevue, 200 francs. M. C. Lemoine, 
Angers, received the prize of Madame Heine, valued at 150 francs, 
and Messrs. Chantrier fréres and Boivan fils 100 francs. Several 
other medals were awarded to foreign exhibitors. Although the 
Messrs. Veitch did not compete in any of the classes, the Jury 
marked the high estimation of the Chelsea collection by presenting 
them with a work of art. 
The centre plant of their group was a large specimen of An- 
thurium Brownii, surrounded with four magnificent Nepenthes— 
Hookerii, Rafflesiana, intermedia, and Chelsoni. Grouped on one 
side of these were Nepenthes Courtii, hybrida maculata, ampul- 
lacea vittata major, Sedeni, zeylanica rubra, Stewartii, Kennedyana 
ampullacea. <A fine plant of the beautiful and rare Araucaria 
Neipreschkis was yery conspicuous and much admired. Alocasia 
Thibautiana was prominent by its beauty, while that superb An- 
thurium Veitchii, with bronzy foliage quite 3 feet 6 in length, 
formed an exquisite background for Mr. Dominy’s greatest 
triumph of hybridisation Cattleya Veitchiana, to which Cattleya 
gigas Normani with three very large blooms formed a fine com- 
panion ; and in charming contrast was Phalenopsis grandiflora 
with snowy white flowers overshadowing a beautifully coloured 
example of Croton Prince of Wales. Long spikes of Odonto- 
glossums Alexandre and triumphans fell carelessly into the bosom 
of a grand plant of Lomaria discolor bipinnatifida. A group of 
Cypripediums, amongst which were Sedeni, seligerum, zenan- 
thum, calanthum, euryandrum, and Ashburtoniz, were backed up 
with Croton Truffautianus and Draczena speciosa; Masdevallia 
Veitchii, Odontoglossum Laurenceanum, Epidendrum yitellinum 
majus, and Cattleya Dominana being arranged in front of them. 
Erythrina marmorata and Anthurium hybridum stand out bold 
and effective. A fine plant of Anthurium Warocqueanum, with 
foliage 3 feet in length, was in splendid condition, and arranged 
alongside of it were Cattleya hybrida picta and Oncidium pre- 
textum. The lovely Dendrobium formosum, with fourteen snowy 
white flowers, was on the front side of the group, also a plant 
of Lapageria alba was conspicuous by its purity. Sarracenias 
Stevensi, Drummondi, Chelsoni, and purpurea, intermixed with 
Darlingtonias, Cephalotes, and Droseras, were gracefully arranged 
in a bay on the opposite side of the pitchers, amongst which was 
exhibited for the first time a seedling Sarracenia formosa. It is 
the result of a cross between S. psittacina and S. variolaris, and 
has the erect habit of its parent variolaris with the colour of 
psittacina. It is quite intermediate between the two and a valuable 
novelty. Draczena Robinsoniana and Yucca filamentosa aurea 
elegantissima were also very much admired. A miniature col- 
lection of Bertolonias, Sonerilas, and Goodyeras were grouped 
together on the one side, while on the opposite side an extremely 
tare collection of insectivorous plants commanded general ad- 
miration. Adiantums farleyense, Liiddemannianum, and other 
Ferns were tastefully interspersed in the foreground, while very 
fine spikes of Oncidiums stelligerum, incurvum, and Odonto= 
glossum hastilabium were weeping over the top of the group. 
For the best plant in flower Mr. Wills was awarded the first 
prize for a specimen of the new and distinct Dendrobium super- 
biens, haying three good spikes and twenty-five expanded flowers. 
In the corresponding class for the best fine-foliage plant the same 
exhibitor won first honours with a massive plant of Dracena 
Goldieana, without doubt the finest plant in Europe ; its colouring 
and markings were indeed grand. In the class for a collection of 
new and rare plants exhibited for the first time in France Messrs. 
Wiuls, Duval, and Desbois competed. Mr. Wills was awarded first 
honours also for a collection of thirty-six plants, which com- 
prised Draczenas Goldieana, Willsii, and Fredericki, Ficus Grelli, 
Anthurium Warocqueanum, Calyptronoma Swartzii, Sarracenia 
Moorei, Bromelia Binotii ; Crotons Prince of Wales, Mutabilis, and 
Earl of Derby ; Ceterach aureum, Nephrolepis Duffii, Davidsonia 
pungens, Curmeria Wallisii, ichmea Veitchii, Nepenthes superba 
and Hookeriana, Bertolonia superbissima, Acalyphas musaica and 
Macafeeana, Sarracena Moorei, Alocasia Johnstonii, Asplenium 
ferulaceum, Anthurium Veitchii, Goodyera Rollinsoni, Anzecto- 
chilus ornatus, Grevillea filicifolia, Bowenia spectabilis serrulata, 
and Coleuses Exquisita, Lord Falmouth, Kentish Fire, and Fascina- 
tion. In the class for three ornamental plants not in commerce 
twelve collections were staged, Mr. Wills again securing first 
honours for large and well-coloured specimen Dracenas Leopoldii, 
majesticum, and albo-marginata; he was also placed first in the 
class for a single plant in or out of flower, remarkable for its good 
culture, with a large plant of Sarracenia flava maxima with over 
sixty developed tubes. M. David was placed second, and M. 
Lacroix third. In the class for an unlimited collection of foliage 
plants remarkable for their good culture there were four com- 
petitors ; Mr. Wills again secured chief honours. In the collec- 
tion we noticed a very fine Nepenthes with over thirty pitchers ; 
Sarracenia purpurea, remarkable for its deep brown colour ; a pair 
of large Yucca filamentosa variegata, Caladiums Princess Royal 
and Prince of Wales, Crotons majesticum and Earl of Derby, 
several Bertolonias and Sonerilas, Anthurium Williamsii, and 
several of the new Draczenas, richly coloured. 
Ferns were not numerously exhibited, and with the exception of 
Mr. Wills’s first-prize collection of ten varieties the plants were 
small. The Brompton plants were Jarge and well-grown speci- 
mens of Dayallia Mooreana, Adiantum gracillimum, Lomaria 
gibba,a Gymnogramma, Cyathea Dregei, Microlepia hirta cristata, 
Gleichenia Mendeli, a Pteris, and one or two others. In the classes 
for five Palms and a collection of Orchidaceous plants Mr. Wills 
was the only exhibitor, and was worthily awarded the first prize 
in both cases. His Palms were grand and well-finished specimens 
of Cocos Weddelliana, Phcenix reclinata, Plectocoma assamica, 
Phoenix rupicola, and a very beautiful plant of Pritchardia grandis, 
His Orchids were arranged in the centre of the circular mound, 
corresponding to Messrs. Veitch, and comprised about sixty plants, 
amongst which we noticed good examples of Oncidium flexuosum, 
Odontoglossum Alexandre, Saccolabium Blumei majus, Vandas, 
Epidendrums, Maxillarias, Aérides, Masdeyallias, Cattleya Eldo- 
