433 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARPENEE. 



[ December, 7. 1871 



Committee, and kindly let me know their opinion of. They have been 

 ripe since the beginning of August, and so I fear may not carry very well ; 

 but I send them, as I think we always succeed in growinji that Gr-ipe 

 here very successfully both as to size and finish, and we sent them even 

 finer than those to the International Show in Edinburgh in 1869. I 

 attribute it to the borders being thoroughly aerated, and to there being 

 no manure of any kind in them, as they are composed of tea parts 

 rotted sods, one part of broken bones, and one part of lime rubbish, and 

 nothing else whatever. The Vines are now bearing the fifth crop, and so 

 they are, of course, at their best ; but as the bones were broken very 

 large, and there is no manure to be speedily exhausted, I expect they will 

 remain equally good, if moderately cropped, for many years. We have 

 grown White Tokay to 14, 16, iS, and 19 lbs., and never less than two 

 bunches on a Vine. On one Vine this year we had the largest and 

 smallest of these weights— 14 lbs. and 19 lbs. 



" Your obedient servant, 



" William S. F. A, Wallace." 



These, when they arrived, were large, handsome, and sound berries, 

 but as they came some days before the meeting they had decayed con- 

 siderably. Mr. A. Ingram, The Gardens, Alnwick Castle, sent 

 bunches of Mrs. Pince, Lady Downe'a, and a seedling. Mr. William 

 Paul, of Waltham Cross, exhibited a bunch of his new Grape, 

 "Waltham Cross, in splendid condition. The bunch was very large, 

 and the berries immense. This received a first-class certificate at a 

 former meeting, and it was again much admired. E. Hubbard, Esq., 

 exhibited a fruit of the Osage Orange, grown in the botanic garden at 

 Parma. Messrs. Lane & Son, of Berkhampstead, sent a grand eollec- 

 (ion of Grapes, consisting of Alicante, Trebbiano, Gros Guillaume, 

 Muscat of Alexandria, Bowood Muscat, Duchess of Buccleuch, Lady 

 Downe's Muscat Hamburgh, Black Prince, Foster's Seedling, Franken- 

 ihal, and Black Hamburgh. The bunches were splendid specimens 

 of high cultivation, and the collection received a special certificate. 



From Messrs. Stuart & Mem, Eelso, came a quantity of Borecole, 

 rlistiriguished as Stuart & Mein's Extra Curled. This was as densely 

 and beautifully curled as the finest curled Parsley. Unfortunately, it 

 arrived too late to be submitted to the Committee. 



Floral CosnnTTEE.— "W. Marshall, Esq., in the chair. Mr. Lee, 

 Horist, Arundel, sent blooms of several seedling tree Carnations, one 

 of which. Mars, was a showy crimson scarlet. Mr. Clark, market 

 gardener, Twickenham, exhibited a collection of Cyclamens raised 

 from seed sown January '2Sth, and in very good bloom. Mr. Goddard, 

 gardener to H. Little, Esq., Twickenham, also sent a collection of 

 Cyclamens. Queen of Crimsons, rich deep crimson, had a first-class 

 certificate. 



A first-class certificate was also given to Mr. Green, gardener to 

 W. "Wilson Saunders, Esq., Hillfield, Eeigate, for Argyroxiphium 

 Douglasii, with silvery long-lanceolate leaves, an ornamental little 

 plant from the Sandwich Islands. Yucca longifolia also came from 

 the same exhibitor. Mr. Chambers, gardener to J. Lawrence, Esq., 

 Beddington, sent flowers of Ipomaa ccelestina, large, and of a beautiful 

 azure blue. Messrs. Standish & Co., of Ascot, sent a very graceful 

 plant. Asparagus decumbens, with white and orange flowers, a native 

 of the Cape of Good Hope, bnt long known in this country. It would 

 be a pretty plant for table decoration. 



Mr. Eerr, gardener to J. G. Shephard, Esq., Wiokham Market, ex- 

 hibited tree Carnations, and Messrs. Downie, Laird, & Laing a good 

 ■white Chinese Primula, called New White. Mr. Eowe exhibited a 

 fine white sport of Chrysanthemum Venus. 



From Messrs. Teitch, of Chelsea, came several plants of a yellow- 

 fruited Capsicum, called Yellow Gem. These were admirably grown 

 on single stems of a foot or bo high, and each had from eighteen 

 to twenty-four fruit. A fine collection of hybrid Solanums, covered 

 with berries, from Mr. Williams, of Holloway, had a special certifi- 

 cate. Mr. Williams also exhibited a variety of Lycaste Skinneri, with 

 two flowers borne so closely together that they almost resembled a 

 doubled flower. 



Mr. Freeman, gardener to Sir J. Sebright, Bart., Beechwood, sent 

 five fine cones of Picea nobilis from a tree filty-eight years old. 

 Models of Umpleby's hot-water circulator, and of Eendle and Bur- 

 row's system of glazing without putty, were also exhibited. 



The dates of the Committee Meetings and Shows for 1872 are 

 January 17th, February 14th, March 6th and 20th, April 3rd and 17tb, 

 May 1st and loth, June 5th and 19th, July 3rd and 17th, August 7th 

 and 21st, September 4th and 18th, October 2nd, November 6th, and 

 December 4th. The second May Show will last two days, and the first 

 June Show three days. 



CUT FLOWERS FOR TABLE DECORATION. 

 It is said in the cookery-books : — 



" If the -woodcock had but the partridge's breast, 



'T would then be the finest bird ever was drest ; 



Or the partridge had but the woodcocks thigh, 



'X would sure be the finest bird ever did fly." 



And so it is with the arrangement of flowers. The exhibitor of 



Roses is fain to add the graceful frond of the Maidenhair Fern 



to back the brilliant Eose-bud, notwithstanding " the veil of 



moss around it thrown ;" but as the frond of the Maidenhair 



Fern bears no resemblance to the natural foliage of the Eose, 



i{ a pinnate leaf could be found equal to the Fern frond in 



graeeftilness, it would be a very desirable acquisition for table 

 decoration. For since Nature has generally supplied leaves of 

 more or less beauty as a back or foil to flowers, we cannot 

 great!/ err in imitating so good an example in our artificial 

 combinations. We have, moreover, in Nature a very notable 

 example of this principle holding good, for we see in the fair 

 colours of the rainbow that this glorious messenger rides upon 

 or spans a dark cloud, and its beauteous tints are thereby en- 

 hanced in brilliancy. The leaves of the plant that I am about 

 to recommend are not by any means tenacious of life, for if 

 they are left out of water for a very short time they quail and 

 dry up beyond all power of revival. It is a British plant, fond 

 of rich soil and plenty of water ; but when used for bouse 

 decoration with flowers that are to stand in water, this failing 

 of fondness for water becomes a virtue, and the leaves really 

 enjoy the in-door life and the water so much, that after a week 

 in a living-room I found that they had not only kept fresh, but 

 had curled up to the light, and felt quite firm and crisp, unlike 

 most leaves when kept a week in-doors. This is no other than 

 one of the Cinquefoils, Potentilla aneerina, the Goose Tansy of 

 the older botanists and the Moisies of Ihe north of Scotland. 

 The leaves being silky on the under side, elegantly cut, and 

 interruptedly pinnate, seem by Nature meant to adorn, and as 

 the plant belongs to the Eosaccae, the leaves fall in admirably 

 with Eoses and all the Eose tribe in table decoration. It is no 

 matter which side of the leaf is seen, as the back is a silvery 

 grey, and the face a light green. The foliage of this plant 

 should be treated as an aquatic when in-doors, and it will then 

 feel quite at home, and form a nest, or bed, or back for naked 

 fiowers, especially Roses, whose stems must of course be im- 

 mersed in water. 



So much for the wet medium in which to keep flowers, but 

 there is also a dry one for a very elegant tribe of plants which 

 are also extremely useful for table decoration — viz., the Grasses. 

 These should be raised high enough to let their graceful curves 

 and bends be seen to advantage, and should consist of mixed 

 species, not, as we frequently see them, a bundle or sheaf all 

 of one sort, and not only so, but caricatured and dyed red, blue, 

 mauve, magenta, or some other unnatural colour — for it is just 

 the unnatural arrangement of natural materials that is to be 

 reprobated in ordinary house and table decorations. 



Some may think the arrangement of flowers an easy matter, 

 and of little importance ; but if so, why are premiums offered 

 at exhibitions for the best? and what becomes of the millions 

 of nosegays that the Hebrew maidens manufacture in Lrindon, 

 in what one might term the " button-hole " business, where a 

 single Pelargonium leaf is the background, and any showy 

 flower, however plain, in red or yellow, is very unnaturally 

 mated to form the face ? I have watched the craft at work, 

 and have seen sprigs of Asparagus tied firmly and fast to a 

 shabby truss of Tom Thumb Pelargonium flowers, to form a 

 "posey knot" wild and disorderly. Now the flower of the 

 Potentilla anserina has five golden petals, and is of nearly the 

 same size as that of the wild Eose ; indeed, it is as like a single 

 Rose as it well can be ; it is, therefore, in every way a meet 

 companion for any of the members of the Eose tribe. 



Those who admire Ferns have to sober down their ideas from 

 gaudy flowers, for the flowerless Fern tribes expend all their 

 energies on the fronds, and therefore they can afford to rise 

 high in the leafy line. The Grasses, on the other hand, with a 

 few notable exceptions, have inconspicuous flowers, but their 

 habit and manner of flowering are exceedingly graceful, and 

 they have no need of water to preserve their beauty when kept 

 in-doors. This is no small recommendation to many parties, 

 who are so peculiarly placed that they could not keep flowers 

 in water; fjr I must not hide the fact that the water in which 

 decaying flowers are kept becomes exceedingly offensive : hence 

 the importance of dry flowers where there is any risk of flowers 

 kept in water being neglected. The three Brizas — maxima, 

 media, and minor — are, when in flower, very attractive, and 

 may serve as examples of beauty in our native Grasses. When 

 we see their hearts of chaff dangling in the meadow, we would 

 gladly carry them home and admire their beauty for years to 

 come, for they are vetitsble immoitelles, and when enclosed in 

 glass oases with stuffed birds they will last a lifetime. I men- 

 tion. these well-known species to show the sweet and cleanly 

 character of Grasses when adopted for house decoration. 



Let nc one think, much less speak, lightly of cut flowers to 

 make home look cheerful and happy. And this luxury is 

 within the reach of thousands, wherever there is a roadside or 

 hedge-bank or a common. I have used bushels of cut flowers, 

 grown on purpose, to adorn the apartments of noblemen'fs 



