198 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB, 



[ March 16, 1871. 



587,661. In Ireland in 1869 there were so planted 1,041,837 

 acres ; and in 1870 there were 1,043,788 acres. 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Maech 15th. 

 SPEING SHOW. 



A CHTLLY north-west wind and large flates of snow, which melted 

 as they fell, gave early in the day but a poor prospect of an enjoyable 

 Show even if held, as that Show was, in the Conserratory. Still, nn- 

 favonrable as the morning was, it was not so much so ss one which 

 some can remember, who in that same Conservatory had ''to dodge" 

 the falling sqnares of glass, broken by the weight of the sliding snow, 

 and there was room to hope for better things ; nor was hope dis- 

 appointed, for as the day advanced the snn broke forth and gave the 

 wished-for warmth and life. Mr. Eyles, however, had provided against 

 all contingencies, and whilst secnring the Conservatory for warmth, 

 he had an awning which at OBce protected the flowers from the sun 

 and showed them off to advantage. As regards the quality of the 

 exhibition, horticulturally speaking, it was fully equal to that of last 

 year, and nowhere was any falling-off visible. The Hyacinths and 

 the Tulips were simply magnificent, and it must be noted that the 

 largest portion of the display, both of these and miscellaneous sub- 

 jects, came from exhibitors showing in a way in which they could derive 

 from the Society no prizes which could nearly compensate them for 

 their trouble and expense. This speaks well for the good feeling 

 which exists towards the Society, and the general wish to promote the 

 success of its objects. The attendance of visitors was most satis- 

 factory. 



Class 1 was for eighteen Hyacinths, distinct sorts. In this Messrs. 

 Veitch were first with splendid massive examples of the following — ■ 

 vjz.. Single Red, Vuurbaak, fiery crimson, very brilliant and efi'eetive ; 

 Maeaulay, Garibaldi, remarkably fine. Double BgcJ, Koh-i-Xoor. 

 Mauve, Haydn, vei-y fine. Single Blue, King of the Blues, very fine; 

 La Grande Eesemblance, Charles Dickens, Blondin, Grand Lilas ; 

 General Havelock and Feruck Khan, of the black shades. Douhle 

 Blue, Laurens Koster. TeUov:i, Ida. Single White, La Grandesse, 

 magnificent ; Alba Maxima, LTnnocence, and Leviathan, very fine. 

 Messrs. Cutbush were second, also with a splendid collection, but with 

 some of the varieties not equal to those in the first-prize collection. 

 Messrs. Cntbush's collection consisted of — Single Bea, Von Schiller, 

 very fine ; Florence Nightingale, Princess Clothilde, Maeaulay, a 

 grand spike ; Gigantea. Douhle Red, Duke of "Wellington, fine. 

 Single Blue, Lord Palmerston, fine ; Charles Dickens, Czar Peter, 

 fine ; Ai-gus, Baron Von Tuyll, Marie, fine ; and General Havelock 

 and Feruck Khan of the black shades. Single Yellovj, Ida. Single 

 White, Mirandoline, Queen of the Netherlands, and Grandeur a 

 Merveille. 



Class 2 was for eighteen White Hyacinths. In this Messrs. Veitch 

 were again first with a remarkably fine collection, consisting of 

 Madame Van der Hoop, with large white bells, very broad in the seg- 

 ments ; La Grandesse, equally fine, and with a larger spike ; Baroness 

 de Vander Duiu, Grand Vainqueur, Orondates, Snowball, fine ; Levia- 

 than, a very fine blush ; Queen of the Netherlands, Paix de I'Europe, 

 Madame de Stael, Alba Superbissima, La Candour, Mont Blanc, 

 Grandeur a MerveiUe, Lord Shaftesbui-y, with bells of remarkable 

 size ; LTnnocence, Alba Maxima, and Prince of "Waterloo, double. 

 Messrs. Cutbush were second with several of the above kinds ; Tubi- 

 flora, Voltaire, and Maria Cornelia of the blush shades; Princess 

 Helena, Victoria Eegina, &c. 



In the amateurs' Class 3, six varieties, Mr. J. Douglas, gardener to 

 F. Whitboui-n, Esq., Loxford Hall, Ilford, was first with excellent 

 spikes of Koh-i-Noor, Marie, Florence Nightingale, De CandoUe, Alba 

 Maxima, and Baron Von Tuyll. The second-prize lot came from Mr. 

 Weir, gardener to Ma*s. Hodgson, Hampstead, who had some very good 

 spikes ; and the third prize went to Mr. F. Stephenson, Tredegar 

 Place, Bow Eoad. 



Class 4 was for six new kinds never before exhibited. Messrs. Cat- 

 bush were first with Eobert Lowe, pale yellow, and promising to have 

 a larger spike than the older yellows ; Lord Derby, blackish purple ; 

 Marquis of Lorne, with a magenta sti-ipe along each segment, shading- 

 off towards the edges, and having a fine close spike ; George Peabody, 

 brilliant rosy crimson, a splendid colour, and when the bulbs become 

 stronger if it produce a closer spike it will be a great acquisition ; W. 

 M. Thackeray, rich plum ; and Lilacina with a large loose spike of 

 purplish lilac bells, with a deep shade in the centre of each segment. 

 The second prize went to Messrs. Veitch for Brilliant, a vei-y promis- 

 ing crimson ; Prince Teck, a large-belled double pale porcelain blue, 

 but rather loose ; Princess Louise, with numerous pure white bells ; 

 Von Moltke, much in the style of Lord Palmerston, but darker, with 

 a mauve tinge ; M. Thiers of the black class, and Mauve Queen. 



Narcissi, for which the prizes were ofi'ered by Mrs. Lloyd Wynne, 

 came next in the schedule. Messrs. Cutbush were the only exhibitors, 

 and took the first prize for the best collection, and admirably bloomed 

 it was. Bazelman Major, Grand Monarque, Soleil d'Or, Gloriosa, 

 and Perle Blanche were especially good. 



Class 6 was for the best twelve pots of Tulips of six kinds. In this 

 Messrs. Veitch were first with Fabiola, Eose Applati, Vermilion Bril- 

 lant, White Pottebakker, Proserpine, and Keizera Kroon in splendid 



bloom. Messrs. Cutbush were second with Eose Applati, Jaght van 

 Eotterdam, Due d'Aremberg, Joost van Vondel, W^hite Pottebakker^ 

 and a kind called Proserpine broken, but which we are assured by an 

 eminent Dutch grower is Pierot Feuillermorte, or Maurice Granade. 

 In the amateurs' class Mr. Weir, gardener to Mrs. Hodgson, was firsts 

 and Mr. Searle, gardener to B. C. Steele, Esq., Marlesford Lodge, 

 Hammersmith, was second. 



Crocuses were on the whole poor. The first prizes in the nursery- 

 men's and amateurs' classes went to Messrs. Cutbush and Mi\ Ste- 

 phenson respectively ; Mr. W. Paul, however, showing a fine lot not 

 for competition. 



The only exhibitions of Double Wallflowers came from Mr. Wood- 

 ward, gardener to Mrs. Torr, Garbrand Hall, Ewell, consisting of large 

 plants in tolerably good bloom, and from Mr. Ware, of Tottenham. 



The best six plants of Mignonette consisted of nicely-trained, very 

 fine pyramidal bushes in excellent bloom from Messrs. RoUisson, of 

 Tooting. A thii'd prize was awarded to Messrs. Standish for small 

 plants with large heads of bloom. For pyramidal plants the first prize 

 went to Mr. E. Laing, gardener to P. W. Flower, Esq., Tooting Com- 

 mon, for three well-grown plants 4 feet high. An extra prize was- 

 given to Mr. Goddard, gardener to H. Little, Esq., Cambridge Villa, 

 Twickenham. 



Miscellaneous groups of plants constituted one of the main features 

 of the show, and were most attractive. Messrs. Veitch exhibited a 

 splendid bank of Eoses, Hyacinths to the number of 150 pots, equal 

 in quality to those in their first-piize collection, and a gorcjeous collec- 

 tion of Tulips, the whole most effectively arranged. Mr. W. Paul also 

 sent, not for competition, a group of bulbous plants, consisting of 

 Hyacinths. Tulips, and Narcissi, the whole of which well maintained 

 the high reputation he enjoys for the successful cultivation of this 

 class of flowers. Mr. WUkie, gardener, Oak Lodge, Kensington, had a 

 first prize for a collection consisting of Ehododendrons, Azalea amcena,. 

 Dendi'obium uobile, &c. ; and Mr. Ware a second prize for a collection 

 of spring flowers, in which were beautiful pansful of ScUla sibirica, 

 Erythronium dens-canis, and the blue Grape Hyacinth. Mr. Wil- 

 liams sent an excellent group of Orchids, Palms, and other plants ; 

 Messrs. Eollisson a group of Palms andDracsnas ; Mr. BuU, Orchids, 

 Palms, and Cycads, together with a number of grafted Ancubas densely 

 clustered with berries, "though the plants were but small. For these 

 a special certificate was given. Messrs. Cutbush also sent a beautifully 

 variegated sort. Mr. Ware sent a fine collection of Alpines ; Messrs. 

 Lane, Camellias in pots, also cut blooms of the same; and Mr. 

 Howard, gardener to J. Brand, Esq., Balham, had a special certificate 

 for fine boxes of cut blooms. 



Messrs. Standish & Co., Ascot, sent a number of Cinerarias of new 

 kinds, some of them very beautiful in colour, Ehododendrons, and 

 Aucubas. Mr. Denning, gardener to Lord Londesborough, Grimston 

 Park, contributed a very effective group of Orchids, containing fine 

 specimens of Dendrobium Devonianum, forming a wreath round 

 Vanda tricolor ; Lselia cinnabarina, extremely brilliant ; Cypripedium 

 hirsutissimum and others, and Cymbidium eburnenm. 



By far the grandest exhibition of Orchids we have seen for some 

 time was that from Mr. May, gardener to Lady Ashburton, Melchet 

 Court, Eomsey, who had Phalaenopsis SchUleriana with, it was subse- 

 quently stated at the meeting, no less than SO flowers, forming a 

 glorious mass of delicate purple-tinted rosy blossoms, more like one of 

 those beautifully tinged clouds of an early autumn sunset than any- 

 thing else we can compare it to. Ccelogyne cristata, gold and white, 

 as well as Dendrobium speciosum, were also magnificent specimens. 

 It is almost superfluous to state that the Committee marked theu- ap- 

 preciation of the Phalffiuopsis with a special certificate, and further 

 recommended the collection as worthy of the Lindley medal. Mr. 

 Speed, gardener to the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth, sent cut 

 specimens of Amherstia nobilis, so rarely seen in this country, and 

 then of late years from Chatsworth only. For these a special cer- 

 tificate was given. A similar award was made to Mr. Needle, gardener 

 to the Comte de Paris, Twickenham, for a box of Ophrys tenthredini- 

 fera, which had been brought by the Comte de Paris from the Pyrenees ; 

 to Mr. Bull for Musa africana, for Orchids, and for Palms.ct-c. ; to 

 Mr. Williams for his miscellaneous group, and to Messrs. Eollisson for 

 Palms, &c. Several extra prizes were awarded in the miscellaneous- 

 class, as wiU be found in another column. 



Fruit CoanirrTEE.— G. F. Wilson, Esq., F.E.S., in the chair. A 

 tray of Lettuce and Endive was exhibited by Mr. Looker, which had 

 been grown in his Acme garden frame. William Sanday, Esq., Ead- 

 cliffe-on-Trent, Nottingham, sent a dish of Winter Crasanue Pear 

 {named Bergamotte Esperen), grown on diagonal cordons, planted 

 against a west-south-west wall, 16 inches apart. The largest specimen 

 grown weighed 9 ozs. The fruit was very well flavoured. Mr. 'U ild- 

 smith, gardener to Viscount Eversley, Heckfield, sent three bunches 

 of Lady Downe's Grape, which were cut on the 10th of January, and 

 kept hi bottles of water in a dark place. They were awarded a special 

 certificate. Mr. Thomson, of Dalkeith, sent a handsome bnuch of 

 White Lady Downo's, but the flavour was deficient. Mr. Phipps, 

 gardener to Lord Shrewsbury, at Ingestrie Hall, sent a very mterest- 

 incT and valuable exhibition of three fine bunches of Gros Guillaume, 

 and also bunches of Lady Downe's, Trebbiano, Alicante, and White 

 Tokay. This was a very m"eritorious exhibition ; all of them were hand- 

 some bunches, and in fine condition, and the flavour in every case was 



