June 23, 1863. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



that purpose for several years. The first shower," he added, 

 " washes the tannin and finer particles down. Slugs, too," he 

 remarked, " do not like to travel amongBt it, and I much prefer 

 it to anything else that I have tried." 



It has just struck me that where cocoa-nut fibre can be obtained 

 at a reasonable price it would be an excellent thing for the same 

 purpose. — D. Pkessly, Knockmaroon, near Hublin. 



THE EOYAL HOETICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 



Is Sir C. W. Dilke authorised to represent the Council of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society, and do the rest of its members do 

 ko-too to him ? I ask this because of the following circumstance, 

 for the correctness of which I appeal to the parties mentioned : — 



Previously to the issuing of the schedules of prizes this year, 

 I hear that Sir C. W. Dilke solicited an interview with Mr. 

 Marnock at Kensington, to which Mr. Marnock replied that if 

 Sir Charles wished to see him he would be happy to receive him 

 at the Regent's Park. I hear also that the interview took place, 

 and that Sir Charles then proposed that they should arrange to 

 cut down the prizes offered exactly one-half, making twenty-pound 

 prizes £10 ; ten, £5, and so on ; that Sir Charles considered that 

 the Crystal Palace was a commercial concern, and not to be taken 

 notice of, although I believe, in some circuitous way, the same 

 reduction was suggested to Mr. Bowley. I hear further that 

 Mr. Marnock, with a correct sense of what is for the interests of 

 the Society and is due to the exhibitors, told Sir Charles that 

 he would certainly bring the proposal before the Council of the 

 Royal Botanic Society, but that he entirely differed from him, 

 and that he thought some of the classes had prizeB not large 

 enough ; and so the interview ended. 



Now, I ask, is not this just the sort of proceeding that 

 destroyed the Royal Horticultural Society before ? Or did the 

 Council sanction the proposition, and authorise Sir Charles to 

 arrange, if he could, a reduction of prizes ? — An Inquibeb. 



[We have no relative information on the subject ; but we do 

 know that if the Council of any Society allows one of its members 

 to become dictator, no one fitting to belong to that Council will 

 remain. It is equally certain that if the Council of any society 

 enrolled for the promotion of an art or science, and, finding its 

 expenditure excessive, begins retrenchment by diminishing its 

 outlay on legitimate objects, and yet continues its outlay on ob- 

 jects not within its charter, that Council are derelict of duty, and 

 pursue a course which sooner or later will be the Society's ruin. 



There certainly are rumours afloat that the expenditure on 

 the Kensington and Chiswick Gardens is to be very largely 

 reduced, and if bo, that is not the direction towards which one 

 would have thought a horticultural society would have directed 

 its economy. But having no specific information we refrain from 

 commentary. — Eds. J. of H. ] 



THE ELOEAL DECOEATIONS AT THE CIVIC 

 ENTEETAINMENT. 



The gorgeous display of flowers that adorned the Guildhall 

 on the occasion of the civic entertainment to their Royal High- 

 nesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, was furnished, we 

 understand, by Mr. B. S. Williams, of Holloway. It is but due 

 to Mr. Williams that the fact should be recorded, for we have 

 been aBked on many occasions since who it was to whom the 

 credit was due of having supplied so admirable a collection of 

 plants. On application to Mr. Williams we have been furnished 

 with a list of the plants of which the collection was composed ; 

 and those acquainted with their beauty and value will at once 

 be enabled to form some conception of the effect that waB 

 produced. 



Oeoheds. — Vanda suavis, 5 feet high, tricolor, insignis j Sac- 

 colabium guttatum ; iErides Larpentae, affine, odoratum pur- 

 purascens ; Cattleya Mossise, Warnerii ; Laelia purpurata ; Pha- 

 lsenopsis grandiflora, amabilis ; Cypripedium Veitchi, barbatum 

 superbumj Calanthe masuca. 



Eeens. — Dicksonia antarctica ; Alsophila australis iu the most 

 luxuriant health, aculeata, radens ; Gleichenia dicarpa, hecisto- 

 phylla ; Cibotium Schiedei, princeps ; Cyathea elegans ; Adian- 

 tums, a number of kinds, among them were the Gold variety 

 lately introduced ; Gymnogrammas, the Gold and Silver, also 

 the tasselled sulphur variety. 



Eine-ioliaged Plants. — Chamserops excelsa, Cordyline in- 



diviaa, Draceona indivisa, Cyanophyllum magnificum, AlocaBiame- 

 tallica, A. Lowii, CycaB rsvoluta (splendid specimen), Dion edule 

 (magnificent plant, 14 feet through), Dracama Draco Bcerhavei 

 (the finest in the country, very rare), Rhopula corcovadensis, 

 R. magnifica, Stadmannia Jonghii, Theophrasta imperialis, Tupid- 

 anthus calyptratus, Agave filifera, Yucca aloifolia variegata, 

 Pandanus elegantisiimus, P. javanicus, Thrinax elegans, Aralia 

 Sieboldii variegata, Ananassa sativa variegata (several fine speci- 

 mens), Azaleas (fine specimens), Chelsoni, Exquisite, Gled- 

 stanesii, Glory of Sunning Hill, Juliana, Extranei, Eulalie Van 

 Geert, Gledstanesii formosa, Lateritia ; a monster Erica Caven- 

 dishii in a large tub. Specimen Roses, 4c., were kindly lent for 

 the occasion by Mr. W. Paul of the nurseries, Waltham Cross. 

 Mr. Williams had also the honour of having Bupplied the 

 bouquet for Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales. 



ADMITTING AIE NEAE SMOKY TOWNS. 



On reading a lady's inquiries on the above subject I thought 

 a little of my own experience would not be out of place in the 

 Journal. I am close to a large town which contains about forty 

 thousand inhabitants. On the east of me there is nothing but 

 factories and houses, and only the breadth of two fields in front ; 

 on the west and north I am free from both, but have Ashton 

 Moss, which a short time ago was a swamp. There are two large 

 cotton mills within 300 yards of my place, and they have not 

 much less than 300-horse power of engines, with the requisite 

 number of boilers, giving me more smoke than I can well 

 reconcile myself to. 



I have, therefore, adopted the following plan to prevent the 

 smoke from passing into the houses. Over the ventilators I 

 have put a screen made of Shaw's tiffany, and find that it 

 " riddles " the soot from the air as the latter passes through — 

 that is, the air iu reality passes through a sieve. I find that it 

 answers very well, for the tiffany is made as black as soot in a 

 short time, the soot adhering to it instead of going into the 

 house. As Boon as my hands are not so much employed as at 

 present I shall have a little more to say on airing in smoky 

 places. — John Hague, Groby Lodge, Ashton-under-Lyne. 



EOYAL HOETICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 



June 17th. 



Fioeai Committee. — At the second great Exhibition, this day, 

 the subjects brought before the Sub-Committees were of a very 

 interesting character. The new plants on this occasion were 

 more numerous than the florists' flowers, and though many 

 beautiful specimens of the latter were exhibited, but few received 

 awards. We shall notice them as they presented themselves. 



Mr. Mills introduced a new bedding Verbena, Othello, a 

 dark puce or claret, dwarf habit, compact trusses, and very free- 

 flowering. This is likely to prove a very useful bedding variety, 

 and was commended. 



Mr. E. J. Lowe sent a very good stand of seedling Pansies, 

 Among them a promising Eancy variety,. Pallas, violet back 

 petals, dark eye on yellow ground, lower petal very dark, 

 singularly belted with violet. This will probably become a 

 useful flower. Commended. 



Messrs. Smith, Dulwich, had a seedling Fuchsia, Pillar of 

 Gold, a distinct golden variegated form of this plant, and was 

 commended for its foliage. 



Mr. Williams, Holloway, had Amaryllis Perfecta marginata, 

 a distinct and good variety of the numerous seedlings of this 

 class. Its form and peculiar white markings or stripes on a 

 dull red ground rendered the flower attractive, and was awarded 

 a first-class certificate. 



Mr. Hally, Blackheath, Bent Pelargonium Adonis, a zonale 

 which had been grown in 1862 in the gardens at Chiswick, 

 where it was much admired and classed among the best varieties 

 for its beautiful darkly-zoned foliage, bright orange scarlet 

 flowers, and conspicuous white eye. It now received a first-class 

 certificate. 



Messrs. E. G. Henderson, had a collection of hybrid Mimulus 

 of the same character and colour as those exhibited by Mr. Bull 

 earlier in the season. Commended. 



Mr. Turner exhibited Petunia Mrs. Sherbrook, a fine decora- 

 tive variety resembling Mrs. Ferguson, but of the large pent- 

 angular form of the old variety Prince Albert. Should the 



