June 2, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



391 



THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S 

 EXHIBITION.— Mat 27. 



The vast area of the Great Exhibition, bo long empty and 

 silent, was on Wednesday last again full of life and bustle, for 

 it was there that the first of the great Shows of the Royal Hor- 

 ticultural Society was held. The structure would have sheltered 

 an unlimited number of visitors from the weather ; but for- 

 tunately its capabilities in this respect were not put to the test, 

 for the day was one of the loveliest of early summer, and free 

 from those chilling north-easters which have lately prevailed to 

 the alarm of the gardening community. The attendance of visi- 

 tors was, consequently, very large, notwithstanding that there 

 had been a flower show at the Regent's Park but a week before, 

 and one at the Crystal Palace only the Saturday previous. 



Just before the general public were admitted, their Royal 

 Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, attended by the 

 Duke and Princess Mary of Cambridge, honoured the Show with 

 a visit. They were received at the entrance by his Grace the 

 President and other members of the Council of the Society, and 

 were escorted through the Exhibition by Mr. W. Wilson Saun- 

 ders, the Secretary ; and their Royal Highnesses, by the manner 

 in which they examined the Bplendid examples of horticultural 

 skill which lay before them, evinced an interest in horticulture 

 that must have been highly gratifying to every lover of the art. 



The objects exhibited were ranged on each side of the nave, 

 which from its great breadth permitted a freedom of motion 

 which is rarely enjoyed at floral exhibitions where crowding is 

 usually the order of the day. Indeed, this was the only occasion 

 in our experience when it was possible with a large concourse of 

 visitors to examine the plants with comfort. We heard it ob- 

 jected by some that the height of the roof had the effect of 

 making the plants seem less than they really were, and this 

 certainly was to some extent the case, and it was urged that a 

 Bcreen similar to that employed at the Crystal Palace should have 

 been used ; but then it must be remembered that the roof there 

 being of glass admits a much greater amount of light than that 

 of the nave of the Great Exhibition building. It was, there- 

 fore, we think, wisely determined on the part of the officers of 

 the Society not to resort to such an expedient, which, had the 

 day proved less sunny than it was, would have inevitably caused 

 too great an amount of shade. 



The stove and greenhouse plants which were shown in the 

 first four classes afforded of themselves a noble display ; and in 

 Beveral instances the collections were so nearly balanced in point 

 of merit, that the Judges must have had a most difficult task to 

 decide which were the best. 



In Class 1, for fifteen Stove and Greenhouse Plants, a first 

 prize was taken by Mr. Peed, gardener to Mrs. Tredwell, Lower 

 Norwood, with Allamanela cathartica and grandiflora, Erioste- 

 mon neriifolium, Ixora alba and coccinea, Polygala acuminata, a 

 very large and fine Erica Cavendishii, Tetratheea ericsefolia, 

 Chorozema Lawrencianum, Aphelexis sesamoides supevba and 

 macrantha purpurea, Pimelea spectabilis, and Azaleas Criterion 

 and Murrayana. All the above were handsomely grown, and some 

 were of very large size. The second prize was awarded to Mr. 

 Green, gardener to Sir E. Antrobus, Cheam, for a collection 

 likewise of great merit, but Bome of the plants had lost their 

 freshness from having been at the Crystal Palace. In addition 

 to some of those already named, he had Rhododendron Gibsoni, 

 Dracophyllum gracile, Aphelexis macrantha rosea (very fine), 

 Eranciscea calycina, Pimelea Henderson), a large Eriostemon 

 intermedium, Hedaroma macrostegium, and Azaleas Prsestan- 

 tiBsima and Juliana. Mr. Baxendine, gardener to W. H. Small- 

 piece, Esq., Guildford, received a third prize, his collection, it is 

 almost superfluous to state, being likewise excellent. It included 

 a fine bushy Rhyncospermum jasminoides, Aphelexis humilis 

 rosea and macrantha purpurea, Iveryana Azalea, and the double 

 pink Glory of Sunninghill, Stephanotis floribunda (some of the 

 flowers, however, looking rather dingy), a fine bushy Erica de- 

 pressa nana, a large and fine Erica Cavendishii, Boronias Drum- 

 mondi and naicrophylla, a fine Coleonema rubra, Statice brassica;- 

 folia, Chorozema Henchmanni (beautifully covered with bloom), 

 Epacris heteronema, and Pimelea mirabilis. Mr. Rhodes, who 

 received a fourth prize, had among other specimens a fine Phee- 

 nocoma prolifera in full bloom, a large Erica Cavendishii, Har- 

 denbergia monophylla, Chorozema cordatum, and a fine Erica 

 ccccinea minor. 



ClaBS 2 was for twelve plants for nurserymen only, and here 

 MeBBrs. Eraser, of Lea Bridge, were first. They had the fine 



blue LeBohenaultia biloba major, intermedia of the same genus, 

 Clerodendron Krempferi with its Bhowy scarlet flowers, a large 

 and very fine Erica coccinea minor, Adenandra fragrans, Boronia 

 serrulata, and Eriostemon buxifolium ; but the two Azaleas 

 Gledstanesi formosa and variegata were anything but good, whilst 

 the Polvgala at the back appeared to be either past its best, or 

 else was suffering from want of water. 



Messrs. Lee, of Hammersmith, came second, with Borne very 

 good plants, among which were Phajnocoma prolifera, not fully 

 out ; a large Erica Cavendishii, a Heath which is deservedly a 

 favourite with all exhibitors ; Allamanda grandiflora ; a nice bush 

 of Leechenaultia formosa ; Adenandra epeciosa ; Hedaroma tu- 

 lipiferum ; Erica tricolor Wilsoni ; a email Aphelexis macrantha ; 

 Pimelea HenderBOtii superba, and Allamanda grandiflora, with 

 Beveral of its large showy yellow flowers. 



Mr. Cutbush, of Barnet, received a third prize for a collection 

 in which were Coleonema rubra and tenuifolia, Hypocolymma 

 robustum, and Phasoocoma Barnesii. Messrs. Jackson & Son 

 had fourth for an evenly-grown collection, containing Clero- 

 dendron Thomsonse, Labichea heterophylla, a fine plant of the 

 pretty Erica ventricosa tumida, a beautiful Pleroma elegans, &c. 



In Class 3, for nine plants, Mr. Chilman, gardener to Mrs. 

 Smith, Ashtead House, Epsom, came in first, all the specimens 

 being finely grown. They consisted of Erica Cavendishii, Heda- 

 roma tulipiferum and macrostegium, Aphelexis spectabilis grandi- 

 flora and macrantha rosea (both fine, but the latter particularly 

 so), a large Acrophyllum venoBum, Polygala Dalmaisiana, Pi- 

 melea Hendersoni and Franeiscea confertifolia, some of the bloom 

 of the last rather spoilt. 



Mr. Kaile, gardener to Earl Lovelace, came second with a 

 handsome Chorozema Lawrencianum, a nice Rhyncospermum 

 jasminoides, Epacris miniata grandiflora, and other plants already 

 named. 



Class 4 was for collections of Bix, and here Mr. Ingram, gar- 

 dener to J. J. Blandy, Esq., Beading, was first with some very 

 nice plants, the most striking, however, being Aphelexis ma- 

 crantha rosea (which was a beautiful mass of flowers), and 

 Pimelea Bpectabilis. Besides these there were a good Stepha- 

 notis, Statice brassicsefolia, Hedaroma tulipiferum, and Erica 

 Cavendishii. Mr. Page, who obtained the second prize, had fine 

 specimens of Pimelea decussata, Hedaroma tulipiferum, Alla- 

 manda Schotti, and a large Erica Cavendishii. 



Mr. Smith, gardener to A. Henderson, Esq., Norwood Grove, 

 was third. He had a fine Hoya bella, also a very good Rhynco- 

 spermum jasminoides. 



Extra prizes were awarded to Mr. Penny, gardener to H. H. 

 Gibbs, Esq., Regent's Park; Mr. J. Tegg, gardener to Baron 

 Hambro', Roehampton ; and to Mr. Wheeler, of Stamford 

 Hill. 



Among the Orchids were some magnificent examples of these 

 gorgeous flowers, those from Messrs. Veitch being by far the 

 finest, and, as might be expected, displayed to the best advan- 

 tage, principally in large pans as unobtrusive as regards colour as 

 possible. We wish we could say the same as regards the other 

 collections, some of which were set up with little or no regard to 

 effect; and in one, which was not only decidedly bad in this 

 respect, the plants were in ugly tubs, or rather pails, with open 

 sides, and by way of still further displaying the taste of the 

 exhibitor, they were painted red. Another exhibitor used per- 

 forated covers over the pots and of similar materials to these, 

 but quite new and clean ; and they too were open to the ob- 

 jection that the eye would rest upon them and not on the plants. 

 Such contrivances, so far as we know, serve no useful purpose, 

 and afford an excellent harbour for insects, which at all times are 

 sufficiently troublesome without being encouraged. Where the 

 object is to display plants to the best advantage the quieter and 

 more unobtrusive the colour of the pot or other utensil that 

 contains them the better. Paint and varnish can add nothing 

 to the beauty of the flowers, and when associated with these 

 almost invariably displease. 



Class 5 was lor twenty Orchids. In this Mr. Milford, gar- 

 dener toE. MeMorland, Esq., Haverat»ck Hill, was first, having 

 Phatenopsis grandiflora ; Cattlevas lobata, Mossise, and the beau- 

 tiful variety of the latter called aurantiaca, in which the lip is 

 stained with orange towards the edges; Lffilia purpurata splen- 

 dens, elegans, and Brysiana, all of them splendid flowers, the 

 last in particular; Cypripedium barbatum superbum and villo- 

 sum; jErides crispum, Fieldmgii, and Larpeutse ; Saccolabium 

 curvifolium ; Odontoglossum nsevium and Phulsonopsis ; also the 

 dusky Epidendrum nigro-roaeum, LaV.ia grandis, and Vanda 



