July 20, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OB HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



51 



foliage, are both good to grow for foliage for these families. 

 Coupe d'Hebe, Hybrid Bourbon, has fine, fresh, plentiful 

 foliage. All the foregoing varieties grown for this purpose will 

 require little pruning, cutting out the old wood will nearly 

 suffice.] 



THE BRIGHTON SUMMER SHOW. 

 Lovely weather, numerous entries — the majority of which 

 proved meritorious — a crowded company, &c, rendered this 

 Show a perfectly successful one. It was held at the Royal 

 Pavilion for the twenty-fourth time on Wednesday laBt, and re- 

 mained open till the evening of Thursday. A show extending 

 over two days may be objectionable if it is devoted solely to 

 Roses, but when, as in this instance, it embraces plants and 

 fruit in addition to cut flowers, and is held in so large a town as 

 Brighton, a second day — " a people's day " — with a low rate of 

 admission, not only affords a treat to those sons and daughters 

 of toil with whom the expenditure of every shilling is a matter 

 of no light importance, but is really a profitable investment 

 from a financial point of view. 



_ The Exhibition, filling five rooms and a large tent, was of con- 

 siderable excellence both as regards the collections shown and 

 the skilful and tasteful manner in which they were arranged. 

 Take, for example, the Banquet Hall, in which the Roses in 

 competition for the Ashbury cup wero staged ; the 648 trusses of 

 Roses brought together in contest for this the premier prize 

 made the centre and front of the ball gay with colour, which 

 was agreeably relieved by magnificent groups of Palms and fine- 

 foliaged plants at each end. In the Music Saloon, too, a pleasing 

 effect was produced by placing table decorations and artificial 

 flowerB in the centre and front of the room, with groups of 

 Ferns arranged along the walls. The management of the inte- 

 rior of the tent afforded further proof of the sound judgment 

 and good taste of the Superintendent, Mr. E. Spary, for here all 

 the gayest flowering plants gained an additional charm from the 

 subdued light which the tent afforded. We will now turn our 

 attention to the collections, beginning with the 



Roses.— Here Messrs. J. Mitchell & Sons, Piltdown Nur- 

 series, Uckfield, were placed first, winning the ten-guinea cup 

 given by James ABhbury, Esq., M.P., with seventy-two trebles 

 of great excellence. The most Btriking characteristics of their 

 collection were the large size yet compact form of the flowers, 

 combined with brightness of colour and an air of freshness 

 that was very charming. Of course every individual flower 

 was not quite first-class, but there was certainly nothing like a 

 bad flower among them. The most notable were Souvenir du 

 Champ de Mars, a splendid crimBon variety ; Paul Verdier, in 

 capital form and condition ; Marie Baumann, one bloom oi this 

 being especially fine ; Madame Pulliat, a brilliant scarlet kind 

 of fine form; Clotilde Rolland; Francois Michelon, very fine; 

 Duchesse d'Aoste, a charming light pink ; Marquise de Castel- 

 lane, three magnificent trusses ; Xavier Olibo, Madame de Bid- 

 der, BaroneBs Rothschild, and Alfred Colomb— a select dozen 

 of sorts old and new, which as shown here by Messrs. Mitchell 

 it would be difficult to match. It may be well to note here 

 that a detailed Rose list is not contemplated in this report, 

 and the few kinds noticed may be regarded as the cream of 

 those exhibited. In other stands were excellent flowers of 

 Madame Lacharme, not very large, but good both in form and 

 colour. Antoine Ducber, Maurice Bernardin, Devienne Lamy, 

 Alfred Colomb, was goud in several stands, and notably so in 

 one by Mr. Piper, nurseryman, Uckfield, who also had fine 

 blooms of Paul Verdier, Richard Wallace, La Fontaine, and 

 Mdlle. Therese Levet, a charming pink kind. Mr. Knight of 

 Hailsham had excellent examples of Fisher Holmes, Due de 

 Rohan, nnd Exposition de Brie. A stand of trebles exhibited 

 by Mr. W. Lacy, gardener to C. T. Mortimer, Esq., Wigmore 

 Park, contained three of the finest examples of Marie Baumann 

 I have ever seen, very large in size, close and compact in form, 

 and bright in colour ; they were certainly worthy of especial 

 notice, but unfortunately the stand took no prize, as the other 

 Roses in it were not so meritorious. 



Plants.— The first prize for ten variegated and fine-foliaged 

 plants was well won by Messrs. Balchin & Nell, nurserymen, 

 HaBsocks Gate, with a fine group very well arranged. A Cha- 

 maarops, an Encephalartos, and a Latania— all fine plants, and 

 well matched as to size— formed a central triangle, around 

 which swept a semicircle composed of Croton variegatum in 

 fine colour, a noble specimen; Pandanus Veitchii, Croton ma- 

 jesticum, Yucca aloifolia variegata, Croton Veitchii, Dracama 

 australis, and Croton angustifolium. There were some good 

 plants in the second-prize group, a Draciena Shepherdii being 

 worthy of eBpecial notice from the stately and striking appear- 

 ance which it presented. In Fuchsias Messrs. Balchin & Nell 

 were again first with fine plants of pyramidal form, and about 

 6 feet high. It was to be regretted that flowering Begonias 

 were not better represented. The only really good specimen of 

 this most useful class was our old favourite B. Weltoniensis. 

 Some of the Ferns were excellent examples of skilful culture. 



Mr. Meachin, gardener to E. Armstrong, Esq., and Messrs. Bal- 

 chin & Nell taking the first places in two classes, the first having 

 good plants of Asplenium nidus, Lygodium soandeus, and the 

 charming little Adiantum gracillimum ; and the other a grand 

 Woodwardia radicans, a magnificent specimen with fronds 4 or 

 5 feet in length and of proportionate width ; Davallia pyxidata, and 

 Cyathea medullaris. The plants in the tent consisted principally 

 of stove and greenhouse plants, with zonal and fancy Pelar- 

 goniums. The latter were especially good, a perfect mass of 

 bloom, reflecting much credit upon Mr. W. Miles, by whom 

 they were exhibited. The zonals by the same grower were 

 excellent plants in fine flower, but there was rather an un- 

 necessary display of stakes. The most notable kinds were 

 Kisber, a rich scarlet of fine form ; Marechal Vaillant, orange 

 scarlet ; and the bright pink Rose of Allandale. Messrs. Bal- 

 chin & Nell were an excellent first with eight Btove and green- 

 house plants, all fine specimens, the best being a Bougainvillea 

 glabra, 5 to 6 feet high, and nearly as much in diameter, laden 

 with its mauve-coloured bracts ; a Stephanotis, equally good ; 

 Erica Paxtoni, very fine, and a grand plant of Kalosanthes 

 coccinea. Mr. Meachin, who took second honours, had capital 

 examples of Vinca rosea and Allamanda Hendersoni. 



Dinneb-table Decorations. — These offered nothing new, nor 

 was the contest a severe one, Mr. and Mrs. C. Burley of Brent- 

 wood easily taking first honours in all three classes. The lead- 

 ing colours were white, pink, and blue, intermingled with sprays 

 of Grasses and Ferns. Most of the stands were of the Marsh 

 pattern, or modifications of that elegant form. The tenacity 

 with which exhibitors cling to one form of stand is a remarkable 

 instance of the general tendancy to run in a groove, and yet in 

 actual practice the same set or pattern of stands is never used 

 on consecutive nights ; but, on the contrary, a change of stands, 

 colours, and style of arrangement is required every night, no 

 arrangement or part of an arrangement being admissible twice 

 in the same week. Why, then, do we not find this better illus- 

 trated at our horticultural exhibitions 1 



Near the table decorations waB an attractive display of wax- 

 paper flowers, to which a first-clasB certificate was awarded. 

 They wore exhibited by Mr. Snelling of the Chain Pier Bazaar, 

 and'were of the highest order of merit. Plants of Dracamas, 

 CaladiumB, Gloxinias, and Mignonette, and flowers of Orchids, 

 Roses, and many stove plants being copied so faithfully as to 

 entirely deceive one. 



The prizes for miscellaneous cutflowers broughttogetheramost 

 attractive collection. Among the most beautiful a cluster of the 

 deep scarlet rosettes of the Pomegranate was very conspicuous; 

 another of Desfontainea spinosa, the long, rich, scarlet tubes 

 tipped with yellow mingk d with the dark green holly- like foliage 

 was very charming ; Begonia nitida, the white flowers tinged 

 with a delicate shade of pink was very lovely; Bougainvillea 

 glabra, effective as it is, was never more so than in such a col- 

 lection ; then came Bouvardia Vreelandii with its lovely small 

 white clustering flowers, the striking white spikes of Swainsonia 

 grandiflora, the delicious Tuberose, the magnificent Carnation 

 Souvenir de la Malmaison — the white flowers slightly suffused 

 with pink are so fine as not unfrequently to be mistaken for 

 Roses when cut; the old but very charming Bouvardia jas- 

 minoides, the orange-coloured Ixora amboynensis, and Statice 

 profusa with dense clusters of lovely blue flowers. There is 

 nothing very new or novel among these few select kinds, but 

 they are some of the very best flowers in cultivation for deco- 

 rative purposes. 



Fkuit. — Black Grapes were well represented by many bunches 

 of good size, capital colour, and fine large berries, both of Black 

 Hamburgh and the more choice Muscat Hamburgh. Muscat of 

 Alexandria was shown large in bunch and berry, but Badly 

 deficient in colour, which was much better developed in some 

 Buckland Sweetwaters. Of Strawberries the first prize fell to 

 that excellent sort Dr. Hogg in both claBBes for single dishes, 

 Sir C. Napier coming second in both instances. These with a 

 dish of the dark-coloured Empress Eugenie shown in the col- 

 lections were the only really good Strawberries in the Show, 

 the whole of the fruit in the other dishes being so small as to 

 be more suitable for preserving than for the dinner-table. A 

 few Melons, Peaches, Nectarines, and a Pine or two were also 

 exhibited, but none of them call for espeoial mention. — E. 



TABLE DECORATIONS AT THE AQUARIUM 

 SHOW. 



It would be a calamity if what one hears be true — that table 

 decorations are going out, and that the upper ten especially 

 are setting their faces against them. There are indeed indi- 

 cations that the thing has been overdone, and the trouble and 

 expense connected with it has somewhat sickened people. Few 

 persons except those -who have tried it know how much is 

 involved in it ; and if the mistress of the house could delegate 

 theBe things to a servant it might be very well, but not one 

 servant in a thousand has correct ideas of taste — indeed many, 



