April 28, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



315 



weed removed frcm off the crowns of the roots early in March, 

 and old barrels or Sea-kale pots put over them — a plan which 

 I think is superior to that of jour correspondent : firstly, be- 

 cause the Sea-ka'.e is much more easily got at ; and secondly, 

 because it keeps the Sea-kale nice and clean, neither are the 

 Kale shoots so likely to be broken, as from their erispness they 

 are very apt to be. 



In strong soils, however, especially if they are at all retentive 

 of moisture, I should be very doubtful of its suitability as an 

 application to Asparagus. I have never had an opportunity 

 myself of experimenting with it in soils of this kind ; but a gentle- 

 man, an amateur friend of mine, informs me that he had 

 his Asparagus-beds thickly covered with it one winter, and the 

 result was anything but satisfactory. The beds were very thin 

 the following spring ; and upon examining them large num- 

 bers of the crowns of the roots were found to be rotted to a 

 perfect jelly. The soil in this case was a deep loam, not wet, 

 but moist rather than otherwise. It is probable that a surface- 

 dresBing with seasand would be more suitable for Asparagus- 

 growing in strong soils, as has been suggested by the Editors. 

 However, as it is only conjecture, perhaps some of the readers 

 of The Jouenai, of Hobtictjltotje who have had an oppor- 

 tunity of testing its value will favour ns with the result. 



One thing, however, is pretty certain — namely, that seaweed 

 should always be used as fresh as possible, as there is a positive 

 loss of nutritive matter if it is allowed to remain in a heap and 

 ferment. 



In dry soils it is also an excellent manure for Potatoes. I have 

 had first-rate crops of this vegetable by the use of seaweed alone, 

 and where it can be had in plenty, it may be dug iuto the 

 ground for general crops. — J. Dunn". 



THE KOYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY'S THIBD 

 SPEING SHOW. 



This, the last of the Spring Shows for the season, was held 

 on Saturday the 25th inst. ; and the display, aB on former 

 occasions, was excellent. The weather, too, so important a con- 

 sideration in connection with a flower show, was highly favour- 

 able ; the day having just enough of sun to make shade agree- 

 able, and just enough of breeze to keep the atmosphere from 

 becoming languid. Roses, cut and in pots, together with the 

 miscellaneous collections of flowering and foliage plants, consti- 

 tuted the principal features of attraction ; to which Cinerarias. 

 Pelargoniums, and Azaleas lent no unimportant aid. 



Roses in pots were in the highest perfection, especially those 

 contributed by Mr. Turner, of Slough, Mr. William Paul, and 

 Messrs. Paul & Son. Those from Mr. Turner were Souvenir de 

 la Malmaison, Madame de Cambaceres, Paul Ricaut, Paul Perras, 

 and Chenedole — all of which, as regards size and abundance of 

 bloom, could not have been surpassed. Mr. W. Paul's collec- 

 tion of six were likewise magnificent, consisting of Madame 

 Boll, Empereur de Maroe, Anna Alexieff, Paul Ricaut, Souvenir 

 d'un Ami, and Charles Lawson, the last particularly fine. The 

 same distinguished cultivator had also a nice collection of ten, 

 among which Beauty of Waltham, Comtesse de Chabrillant, 

 Senateur Vaisse, Victor Verdier, and Laelia caught the eye ; but 

 the remainder were almost without exception equally fine. 



In Messrs. Paul & Son's collection were fine plants of 

 Madame de St. Joseph and Souvenir de la Reine d'Angleterre ; 

 whilst in that of Messrs. Lane and Son, Paul Perras and Paul 

 Ricaut were fine examples of those highly esteemed varieties. 

 Mr. Cross, gardener to Sir E. Goldsmid, Bart., Regent's Park, 

 likewise contributed a collection, in which Souvenir de la Mal- 

 maison and General Jacqueminot, standing side by side, were of 

 striking beauty. 



Eine boxes of cut blooms, comprising nearly all the leading 

 varieties, came from Mr. W. Paul, Lane & Son, Messrs. Paul 

 and Son ; and Mr. Treen, of Rugby, was likewise an exhibitor. 



Collections of foliage and flowering plants came from Messrs. 

 A. HenderBon & Co., among whoBe plants were a large Dracaena 

 ferrea and Jacaranda filicifolia, remarkable for its elegant fern- 

 like leaves. Also from Messrs. Lee, of Hammersmith ; E. & A. 

 Smith; Cross; and from Mr. Smith, gardener to the Duke of 

 Northumberland, at Syon House, who had a magnificent 

 Maranta zebrina, an enormous Latania borbonica, Azalea 

 Triumphans (a splendid pyramid of bloom), Caladium bicolor 

 Madeira, also large and fine, and Acacia grandis. 



Mr. B. S. Williams exhibited two collections, one being of 



mixed foliage and flowering plants, the other of foliage plants 

 exclusively. Among the former we noticed a magnificent 

 Cyanophyllum and a remarkably fine specimen of TheophraBta 

 imperialis. Gleichenia flabellata, Vanda suavis, with two fine 

 spikes of bloom, and a nice pryamidal plant of Azalea amoena, 

 in full bloom, were the most striking of the remainder. 



Of Cinerarias there were several excellent exhibitions, the 

 best coming from Mr. Lamb and Mr. Turner. Those from Mr. 

 Smith, of Syon, and Mr. James, of Isleworth, were also very 

 good. 



In Pelargoniums, Mr. Wiggins, gardener to W. Beck, Esq., 

 Isleworth, had Multiflora, Beadsman, Alma, Pline, Virginie, all 

 of which were in good bloom ; also, a group of Beck's seedlingB, 

 of which Princess Alice seemed the finest. Mr. Turner, of 

 Slough, had fine plants of Clarissa, Spotted Gem, Phcebe, 

 El Dorado, VeBial, and Pescatore ; and Mr. Cross was likewise 

 a successful exhibitor. 



Of Auriculas, the finest were from Mr. Turner, the kinds 

 being Spalding's Metropolitan, Oliver's Lovely Anne, Maggie 

 Lauder, Cheetham's Lancashire Hero, Meteor Elag, and Dick- 

 son's Duke of Cambridge. Mr. Turner had also a very interest-, 

 ing collection of sixty pots of the best varieties. In the col- 

 lection of six sent by the Rev. H. Dombrain, which was also 

 excellent, Meteor Elag and Campbell's Pizarro were, perhaps, 

 the finest. Good exhibitions of this flower also came from Mr. 

 Holland and Mr. James, of Isleworth, the latter of whom had 

 also six Alpines. 



Pansies in pots were contributed in fine condition by Mr. 

 James, who had also twenty-four cut blooms ; whilst Mr. Bragg, 

 of Slough, had a stand of twenty-four, and two stands of thirtj- 

 six each, as well as a pretty seedling called Vesuvius. 



Of miscellaneous objects the most conspicuous was a group of 

 seven magnificent Azaleas from Mr. Turner, of which Barclay- 

 ana, Holfordi, and Chelsoni were particularly remarkable. 

 Messrs. Perkins, of Coventry, again exhibited their truly unri- 

 valled Verbena Lord Leigh. Gloxinias, both of the drooping 

 and erect kinds, came from Messrs. E. & A. Smith ; and one 

 hundred blooms of different varieties of Verbena from Mr. 

 Treen. Mr. James had fine herbaceous Calceolarias ; Messrs. 

 Dobson & Sons, Snowflake, a fine white dark-centered Cineraria ; 

 Mr. Turner, Bougainvillaea speciosa, flowered in small pots ; and 

 Mr. Bull, of Chelsea, a large collection of new and rare plants, 

 among which were a fine specimen of Pandanus javanieus varie- 

 gatus, Acer Negundo variegata, with very ornamental white 

 variegations ; Rhododendron Victoria Regina, with very fine 

 white flowers with yellow spots ; a handsome red-veined Pteris ; 

 Pogonia discolor, from Java ; and Serissa foetida variegata, the 

 small deep green leaves of which were nicely edged with white. 

 Lastly, Messrs. A. Henderson & Co., had Rhododendron Edge- 

 worthi, the large white flowers of which perfumed the tent; 

 and several nicely-filled flower-baskets, flower-vases, and pots 

 of pottery ware in various designs. 



NEED NEW FLOWEBS BANISH OLD 

 FLO WEES? 



AccoBDnra to some writers, it would appear that the modern 

 system of bedding-out and massing bright colours in the flower- 

 borders engrosses the attention of the whole gardening world s 

 and that the old-fashioned method of planting the borders with 

 a heterogeneous mixture of herbaceous plants arranged in 

 picturesque confuBion has altogether died out. Those who 

 entertain that opinion should inspect suburban gardens, and 

 they will find numerous small gardens managed on the old- 

 fashioned principle. 



The amusing account given by " Town-bbed," of his first 

 exploit in the study of old-fashioned garden lore, haB brought to 

 light two important facts : — First, That there are intelligent 

 people in the world who are willing that old-fashioned border 

 plants should not entirely die out ; and, secondly, that the gene- 

 rality of modern gardeners seem to take very little interest in 

 them. 



There are many so-called gardeners who gird themselves 

 with a blue apron, which gives them the appearance of knowing 

 something about gardening, and who discourse eloquently on 

 " Gereenums," " Ellytropes," " Verbinias," &c, but who are 

 blissfully oblivious of such border plants aB Geums, Potentillas, 

 Saxifrages, Veronicas, and the like, and who would hear for the 

 first time of such things as the Eraxinella, Trollius, Gentiana, 



