September 15, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



201 



npon it, thosa who spend their leisure hours in the cultivation 

 of flowers will have their minds guided to higher thoughts, 

 and set a goGd example to all around them. — L. W. 



MANDEVILLA SUAVEOLENS HARDY. 



Lovees of this most beautiful and useful plant should more 

 frequently try to grow it out of doors. I believe that with care, 

 aad good judgment in selecting a proper position, it will thrive 

 in many parts of England. I have this summer seen it grow- 

 ing at three or four different places that I have visited ; but 

 just before I left Lillesden I called upon my friend Mr. Jack, 

 of Battle Abbey, in Sussex, and among the many choice things 

 he showed me was a large plant of the Mandevilla growing 

 against the walls of the old Abbey. It was so luxuriant, and 

 flowering so freely, as to quite surprise me ; the foliage was 

 very large and healthy, which is very different from the state 

 in which it is many times found when the plant is under glass ; 

 the flowers were fine and white, and the clusters large. If my 

 memory does not deceive me, there were two plants growing 

 against the wall. The larger one was planted about twelve 

 years ago, and it covered many square feet of the old abbey 

 wall ; the smaller plant was a seedling raised from the old one, 

 and was planted by Mr. Jack about seven years ago ; it, too, 

 was in a perfectly healthy condition, and flowering freely. 

 Both plantB, Mr. Jack told me, withstood last winter's frost 

 uninjured without the protecting material that was usually put 

 over the plants. Perhaps they were a little sheltered from the 

 cold and cutting winds by the large stone buttresses that stand 

 at regular intervals along the front of the Abbey, but even 

 these were no defence against last winter's frost ; and the par- 

 ticularly healthy appearance of the plants, after what some 

 would call an unnatural treatment, I thought was not only 

 worth notice as an unusual circumstance, but also as suggestive 

 of the question whether we give the plant its proper treatment 

 under glass. Except in a few places, I have seldom seen a 

 healthy plant growing under such protection ; red spider and 

 thrips appear to be its greatest enemies, especially if the roots 

 are confined in too small a space, in which case the plants 

 Beldom thrive or flower satisfactorily ; and as to growing 

 plants in pots, I have never found it worth trying — the 

 growth the plants make is not strong enough to produce more 

 than three or four flowers where there ought to be large clusters. 

 In my opinion the Mandevilla wants plenty of rooting space 

 in a well-drained, deep, rich soil, abundance of water when 

 growing, both at the root and overhead, care to thin out the 

 shoots when growing, and, finally, every means to be adopted 

 to well ripen the wood before the leaves fall. 



There are adorning the Abbey walls many other choice 

 plants which are not commonly met with elsewhere in such 

 positions ; the vigorous growth and free flowering of most are 

 remarkable. The early maturation of the wood is apparent, 

 also that the roots are in a comfortable medium. The latter 

 condition is no doubt in a great measure owing to the immense 

 quantity of soil brought there to form the upper terrace, which 

 is well drained, and to the great depth and age of the material 

 forming the foundations of the Abbey, and which the roots of 

 the plants are induced to penetrate. — Thomas Recoed, Hatfield 

 Gardens. 



A STANDARD EARLY YORK PEACH. 

 On the 8th of September I gathered the last of thirty-one 

 Peaches from a small pyramid tree that has been standing 

 without any protection throughout tho winter and spring ; they 

 were rather small, but of excellent flavour and perfectly ripe. 

 I should mention that the variety is the Early York. About 

 fifteen days prior to this I gathered the fruit of Rivers's Early 

 York from a tree against an oak fence, so there was not much 

 difference in the ripening as regards protection, Rivers's variety 

 being said to be about ten days earlier. I know that this is 

 not the first time the above Peach has ripened its fruit without a 

 wall or protection, but I thought I would call attention to it, 

 as others might like to try a bush or a pyramid where they 

 had little or no wall to spare. — Haeeison Weib, JVeirleigh, Kent. 



at Nottingham to consider certain important details and ar- 

 rangements. Amongst those present were Mr. E. J. Lowe, 

 Mr. Pearson, of Chilwell, and Mr. Ingram, of Belvoir CaBtle 

 Gardens. From the thoroughly earnest manner of all present, 

 and the announcement of the numerous promises already made 

 of liberal sums towards a guarantee fund, it is very probable 

 that a most successful provincial exhibition will at length be 

 held by the Royal Horticultural Society. 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



We noticed in our last issue that the Society had resolved 

 to hold its country exhibition in 1871 at Nottingham. On 

 Thursday, September 1st, a supplementary meeting to that 

 reported by us at page 159 was held in the Mayor's parlour 



THE METROPOLITAN FLORAL SOCIETY'S 

 FIRST SHOW. 



Although your reporter has already given a full report of 

 this wonderful exhibition, yet I cannot allow it to pass without 

 recording a few observations which have struck me as connected 

 with it. 



1. It proves conclusively that the race of florists is not dead or 

 buried under the superincumbent mass of bedding-out plants, 

 or sick at heart through the unworthy attacks of those who are 

 now far too magnificent to allow themselves to be styled florists. 

 Never had a more unfavourable season been experienced by 

 florists. The long-continued drought had not only made it 

 indeed a labour of love to attend to the wants of their flowers, but 

 it had so forced prematurely into bloom many such as the 

 Hollyhock and Gladiolus, that some advised we should post- 

 pone the show for a year, as it was not possible that we could 

 obtain flowers ; yet, withal, the skill and perseverance of the 

 poor despised florist conquered all difficulties. It required no 

 small amount of constant care and attention, watering, shading, 

 &c. ; but florists are a hard-working race, they take pride in 

 their pets, and the result was the grandest show of cut flowers 

 ever held. 



2 It shows the great advance that has been imperceptibly 

 made in the quality of florists' flowers. In talking about the 

 show to many people before it was held one gentleman remarked, 

 " The Dahlia — ah ! there's nothing to be done with that ; you 

 can't improve upon it." Yet I venture to say such stands of 

 flowers as were shown at the Palace were never exhibited 

 before. We sometimes look back on the past, all with the old 

 feeling, laudator temporis acti, and think that no days were like 

 those ; but could we conjure up a stand of forty-eight Dahlias 

 such as used to be shown at the Surrey Gardens in days gone 

 by, and place them alongside of those Mr. Keynes or Mr. May 

 exhibited last week, I venture to say horror would seize us to 

 think we could ever have praised those older flowers. The 

 Gladiolus, too, was unknown then save in a few now-discarded 

 flowers, and what a gorgeous addition they are to an autumn 

 show ! How magnificent the spikes of Mr. Kelway and Messrs. 

 Stuart & Mein ! Hollyhocks, too, thanks to Mr. Chater, Messrs. 

 Downie, Laird, & Laing, Mr. Hawke, and others, are as dif- 

 ferent from the flowers of those days as light from darkness ; 

 and although we have been running rather too much on light 

 and undecided colours, yet some magnificent scarlets and dark 

 flowers were exhibited the other day. My experience goes back 

 now through a good many years. I have visited many autumn 

 shows, and I unhesitatingly declare that such a show was never 

 before held in or near the metropolis. 



3. It shows clearly that if prizes are offered, good in amount 

 and reasonably adjusted, you will induce competitors to come 

 forward from all parts. By "reasonably adjusted" I mean 

 giving small growers a chance — not putting the nursery- 

 man who has his hundred acres on a par with the man who 

 has only a dozen, or the amateur who grows fifty or a hundred 

 Dahlias with one who grows three or four times the number. 

 In proof of this let me say that the entries were over two hun- 

 dred ; that the best twenty-four Gladiolus came all the way 

 from Kelso, and the best twelve Asters from Shoreditch, two 

 very opposite localities. And that the Show was all I have 

 stated may be gathered from the following comparative table — 



Exhibition of 1870. Last Autumn Show at Crystal Palace. 



Dahlias 85 entries 24 entries. 



Asters SS 6 



Hollyhocks 18 5 



Verbenas 8 2 



Gladiolus 12 5 



This is, I think, conclusive ; and as to quality, the opinion has 

 been very decidedly expressed by all who visited the Show, that 

 it was really wonderful. 



And now as to our future. I cannot but look forward hope- 

 fully ; and for the success that has been attained I have to 

 thank many kind friends. The Judges, who were the very 

 best that could be obtained, gave their services gratuitously, and 



