August 29, 1878. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
169 
rado, &c, Arranged around these was a collection of decorative 
plants, consisting of Aralias, small Palms, Reedias, Gloxinias, 
Ferns, and such-like furnishing plants, the whole being edged with 
a Pyrola, broken at intervals with Begonias. 
In the class for the best collection of Dracenas M. Lemoine 
received the first prize, and Mr. Wills the second, MM. Pigny 
pere et fils being placed third. M. Lemoine here excelled Mr. 
Wills in both size and numbers, there being no limit named in the 
schedule, but many of them lacked the colour of Mr. Wills’s 
Specimens. The best plants in the first-prize collection were 
Gladstonei, very well coloured; Baptistii, Andersonii, Youngii, 
Mooreana, and seyeral of the newer varieties. Mr. Wills ex- 
hibited picturata, Fredericki, terminalis alba, Tellingi, recurva, 
Elizabethz, regalis, Berkleyi, ignea, Renardw, amabilis, aurantia, 
Wilsii, salmonea, Bausei, stricta alba, Mrs. Causton, Mrs. Banse, 
Mrs. Wills, Thompsoni, venusta, Cantrelli, and Goldieana. 
Perhaps one of the finest collections of six specimen Crotons 
ever exhibited in France was that staged by Mr. Wills on this 
occasion. The plants were from 4 to 6 feet high, and were 
grandly furnished to the bottom of the pots and beautifully 
<oloured. They consisted of Jamesii, Prince of Wales, Queen 
Victoria, Volutus, Andreanus, and Majesticus. For the best col- 
dection of Crotons, numbers unlimited, MM. Chantrier fréres 
wrested the laurels from Mr. Wills, both exhibiting well. 
From the well-known establishment of M. Linden, Ghent, 
Belgium, came an admirable collection of large fine-foliaged 
plants, including Aralias elegantissima and Veitchii, Kentia Lin- 
‘deni, Artocarpus grandis, Dracena “ Basanore,’ Cocos Bonnetti, 
Anthurium crystallinum, Dieffenbachia imperialis, and Pritchardias 
mmacrocarpa and aurea. Adjoining the large marquee were several 
tents of smaller dimensions, MM. Truffaut fils, Versailles, entirely 
filling one with elegant foliage plants. An oval group of Dra- 
nas near the entrance was admirably arranged; the varieties 
grouped together were amabilis in the centre, followed by stricta 
and terminalis, with an outer ring of Guilfoylei. In this bank 
there must have been several hundred plants. The sides and back- 
ground of this tent were decorated with Palms; falling to the front 
there were grouped numerous varieties of Dracznas, all splendidly 
coloured and well finished. This tent was altogether effectively 
arranged, and fully displayed the wealth of M. Truffaut’s establish- 
ment. M. L. Duval, Versailles, was a great exhibitor. His col- 
lection of Gloxinias was one of the most striking features in the 
Exhibition. There were about 160 large plants arranged together 
on an oval mound with the pots slightly plunged in the soil; afew 
small Adiantums were dispersed amongst them, and near the edge 
Was a ring of Selaginella formosa, with an outer ring of cut 
blooms of Gloxinias placed in small bottles. They were for the 
most part new varieties representing every colour and marking 
imaginable. We noticed the following as particularly worthy of 
further cultivation—Mont Blanc, Boule de Feu, La Charme, Deli- 
‘catum, Madame Cardozo, L’Eclair, Harry Veitch, Sarah Bernard, 
Madame Duval, M. Truffaut, and Richard Wallace. On the 
opposite side to these was a similar bank of Achimenes from 
the same exhibitor, and several meritorious collections of orna- 
mental and other plants. 
From M. Poirier, Versailles, came exceedingly well bloomed 
‘collections of both double and single-flowering Pelargoniums, 
pyramid Heliotropes, collections of Petunias and Verbenas. The 
banks of double Geraniums arranged by this exhibitor were com- 
posed of well-grown plants of dwarf dense habit with excellent 
foliage, each plant having from six to a dozen good trusses of 
flowers. Deputé Berlet, Guillaume Mangilli, Lucie Lemoine, Deputé 
Viox, Madame Thiers, a salmon Emilie Lemoine, Asa Gray, and 
Litire were amongst the most noteworthy. Near this collection 
were two banks of Tuberous Begonias, one on either side, with a 
Smaller central mound of well-flowered Gloxinias. The whole of 
the plants were plunged in the soil to the depth of the pots, an 
arrangement that has much to commend it. Some beautifully 
coloured Amaranthuses, Coleuses, Petunias, Caladiums, and Asters 
Were arranged in bays and curves around the sides of the large 
tent. One very striking feature in the centre of this arrangement 
was a collection of well-bloomed Neriums (Oleander) Madoni 
grandiflorus, Augustine, coccinea Mabirki, Hacyile, alba maxima, 
Toseum, aurantium, Single White, and Madame Peigre. This old- 
fashioned plant, which was once a great fayourite in England, is 
well grown in France, and may be seen in quantities in the 
markets, where it makes a most effective display. 
Roses were very poor, and the style of exhibiting them was most 
unattractive. The blooms were arranged in long tubes affixed in 
a kind of framework with about ten bars across, and when filled 
with cut blooms forms a dense sloping mass; when empty it 
resembles a hurdle. Paul Neyron was conspicuous for its size, 
but all the rest were very disappointing to English growers. The 
best blooms came from M. Margottin, Bourg-la-Reine. Some of 
the collections were arranged in bottles—a very primitive method. 
Gladioli were very fine and numerously exhibited, but the spikes 
were exhibited in bottles of water. Zinnias and Dahlias were 
excellent; the flowers were very round, even, and massive. The 
same remarks apply to Asters, which were much finer than are 
generally seen in England. 5 
Frvit.—Both Apples and Pears were extensively shown, and 
nearly every variety was legibly named. The fruit was large and 
well coloured. Grapes were very inferior to those we are accus- 
tomed to see at home exhibitions. The varieties were those grown 
principally for making wines. Figs were very large and fine, 
especially a collection of Rouge de Figue and Grosse Violette. 
‘VEGETABLES.—These were very poor excepting Tomatoes, which 
were of prodigious size. The Beans looked like semi-dried speci- 
mens, and would not be tolerated in England, but it is the French 
custom to eat them partlyripe. Potatoes were numerously staged, 
but lacked the smooth clean appearance of English-grown tubers. 
A special feature of the Exhibition was an extensive assortment 
of specimen Coniferz lifted and plunged in groups out of doors ; 
the shrubs were very healthy, and superior to those usually seen 
at English exhibitions. There were also several collections of 
fruit trees lifted and planted again in groups to illustrate the cor- 
don, pyramid, and other systems of fruit culture. These, with a 
great variety of horticultural appliances, made an extensive and 
interesting outdoor display, amongst which the visitors could 
ramble and listen to the excellent band of over sixty performers of 
the Garde de Paris regiment. 
Lady Dorothy Nevill sent some skeleton leaves of Ficus religiosa, 
grown and prepared at Dangstein ; also various articles in oak 
wood, showing in place of the natural colour a green tint pro- 
duced by a fungus (Peziza eruginosa), which were much admired, 
and for which a medal was awarded. 
The site selected for the Exhibition was very suitable. The 
Show was a good one, enhanced as it was by the collections 
from England. The arrangement of the various groups was taste- 
fully and admirably executed. Nearly all the pots throughout 
the Exhibition were buried in the soil, so that each separate col- 
lection had the appearance of growing in its fixed position. The 
visitors were very numerous notwithstanding the excessive heavy 
rains on the first day. But though the arrangement of the plants 
was admirable, we regret to say that the system, or want of system, 
for placing the prize cards was extremely faulty. The judging 
commenced between 9 and 10 a.u. on Saturday morning, and up 
to 3 P.M. on Sunday there was not a prize card nor scarcely aname 
of the grower affixed to the collections, consequently the great 
point of interest to the majority who visit horticultural exhibi- 
tions on the first day was comparatively lost. Our good friends 
would do well to adopt the system of the Royal Horticultural 
Society of England, and instead of placing an ugly stick in the 
front of each collection, with three cards affixed about 8 inches 
long and 2 wide, with a simple number on one, exhibitor on the 
second, and the number of the class on the third, they should 
simply place one card with the name and address of the exhibitor 
on one side, and the number and class on the reverse, and allow 
the judges to affix the awards; they would then confer a great 
boon op the public and the press, and would save an immense 
amount of time and trouble to the hard-worked executive. What 
should we say in England to an exhibition being open for thirty- 
six hours without being able to ascertain the name of the exhi- 
bitors or the winners of the prizes ? 
NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
THE thirty-ninth anniversary meeting of the RoyAL Bo- 
TANIC SocrETY was held in the Gardens, Regent’s Park, on 
Saturday, Mr. James Heywood, F.R.S., in the chair. ‘The 
annual reports of the Council, Auditors, and Secretary were 
read. Erom these reports it appears that the affairs of the 
Society are in a satisfactory state; the receipts in each of the 
several items had exceeded those of 1877, the balance being 
some £600 better. The number of new Fellows elected was 
112. Four hundred and eighty-one free students’ orders for 
terms of two to six months each had been issued, including 
sixty-three to artists. The number of cut specimens given to 
students, professors, and teachers at the several medical and 
other schools was 63,414—an increase of 20,000 over last year, 
and 40,000 more than in 1871. The usual exchange of plants 
and seeds has been maintained with vigour; valuable contri- 
butions to the Society’s collections were received from corre- 
spondents, including the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, 
Mauritius, Dublin, &c., and also from the Royal Gardens, Kew. 
A CORRESPONDENT who has recently visited Mr. 
Treseder’s nursery at Cardiff states that the thousands of 
RosEs there are remarkable for strong, clean, luxuriant growth. 
Mr. Treseder seldom uses rooted Briars, but inserts cuttings, 
and in this way he not only finds them to root freely, but the 
roots are much superior to what are produced by the old club 
style of Briar root which is lifted from the hedgerows. 
THE EAst TOWER HAMLETS FLORICULTURAL SOCIETY 
held their fourteenth annual Flower Show on the 24th and 
25th inst. This Society, Mr. Cole of Kensington Gardens, who 
was one of the Judges, informs us, is, entirely local in its 
operations ; it was founded and is sustained by a number of 
