September IS, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



213 



ardson & Co., Darlington; a fine octagonal house from Messrs. 

 Mackenzie & Moncar, Edinburgh (sold on the ground for £170); 

 garden seats from MesBrs. Haughton & Thompson, Carlisle ; 

 boilers and lawn mowers from Messrs. Hartley & Sugden, Hali- 

 fax; also lawn mowers from Mr. Parkinson, Ripon ; summer 

 houses and wirework from Messrs. Gibson & Sons, Edinburgh. 

 Also wirework from Messrs. Bramhall; an imposing staud from 

 Messrs. Goulding, manure manufacturers, Dublin and Cork; 

 and an extensive seed stand, &e., from Messrs. Little and Bal- 

 lantyne. 



Such was the Show — a great Show unquestionably; but it is 

 to be feared that the fine weather following the opening day, 

 with the counter-attractions of the agricultural show, cannot 

 render it a great success. One thing is clear, the officials— Mr. 

 Baxter Smith, Mr. Thomson, Mr. Mounsey, and the Committee 

 — have worked hard, and their assistants have been zealous — 

 almost too zsalous at times, carrying out their instructions in 

 the unbending inflexible style savouring of military police. 



Although the opening day waB so disastrous the two following 

 days were fine, and the railways brought thousands of visitors 

 ■to the city and Exhibition. On the first day (Thursday) the 

 receipts were £133 14s. Gd., the second day £494 6s., and on the 

 third day £402, making a total of £1030 0s. 6d. ; and this with 

 the contributions and the rent of marquees for refreshments 

 will, it is hoped, result in what the promoters so richly merit — 

 a financial success. The prize-money was paid on Monday the 

 ^LOth inst., the day on which the exhibits were removed. 



At the luncheon in the marquee Lord Muncaster presiding, 

 the guests had to approach the banquet through a puddle, sit on 

 wet seats, eat soaked bread, wear their hats at table, and unfurl 

 umbrellas. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 

 Monday, the 3rd, was a very winterly day, the thermo- 

 meter never rising above 44°, and at night it descended to 

 35° at 2 feet above ground. Rain commenced on the evening 

 of the 2nd, and continued incessantly for more than twenty- 

 four hours. On the night of the 4th, after a bright day, the 

 mercury at 2 feet from the ground fell to 33°. The grass was 

 "frozen stiff on the mornings of the 4th and 5th, but nothing 

 seems to have Buffered excepting the points of Coleus a little, 

 and the flowers of Commelina ccelestis. — William Taylor. 



We recommend cultivators of the Petunia to add to 



their collections some of Messrs. Carter* Co.'s " green-edged." 

 The flowers are the fineBt and most varied we have seen. 



The Water Lily tank and the fine Tree and other Ferns 



associated with it afford one of the most pleasing features of 

 the Crystal Palace. Nymphsaas dentata major and Devon- 

 ians contain many fine flowers, but N. coarulea has not flowered 

 freely this year. It is noteworthy that these fine plants are 

 treated as biennials. Seed is sown at the present time, and 

 the plants are kept growing in small pots in a small aquatic 

 house throughout the winter, and are transferred to the 

 flowering tank in the spring. Seed has just been gathered 

 from them and sown, and the flowering plants will be even- 

 tually removed. It is a little singnlar that these plants will 

 not grow if much water is permitted to fall on the leaves. In 

 the centre of the tank is a large fountain, which plays for a 

 short time daily ; near this fountain the Water Lilies will not 

 grow — indeed, scarcely exist, but beyond the radius of its 

 falling spray they grow luxuriantly. 



One of the most attractive of variegated plants for 



growing in pots for general decorative purposes is the varie- 

 gated Hemerocallis, H. flava variegata. We recently saw a 

 good stock of it in Mr. Laing'a Nursery at Forest Hill, and 

 Mr. Thomson also grows it at the Crystal Palace. The leaves 

 arch over in a most graceful manner, and their variegation is 

 very pure and clear. It appears to come in the best condition 

 when grown in an intermediate house or a warm greenhouse. 



A yorkshireman writes to us that he has seen it recom- 

 mended by a great "authority" that Ceanothus azureub 

 should be grown in every garden having a sunny south wall. 

 Our correspondent thinks the writer's experience of the plant 

 must be limited, or he would have known that there are 

 hundreds of gardens where, if planted, it would be out down 

 by the severity of the winter. It is a beautiful wall plant in 

 the southern counties, but is too tender for cold districts. 



■ It is gratifying to notice that the valuable collections 



of plants employed in the decoration of the Agricultural Hall, 

 and where they remained for more than a week, sustained 

 little or no injury. The ventilation of the immense building 

 appears to be excellent, and it has proved itself well adapted 

 lor. the purpose to whioh it was devoted last week. The spikes 



of Gladioli continued attractive throughout the period, and 

 even such choice and tender flowers as thOBe of Dipladenia 

 Brearleyana, which were inserted in the moist carpet of Lyco- 

 pods, continued fresh and bright for nearly a week. The 

 decorations attracted large numbers of visitors, and we are 

 informed that the great " floral concerts " have been very 

 successful. 



Two cultivators from different districts inform us that 



Crawford's Early Peach has resisted the inclement weather of 

 the past spring better thau most other varieties, and that 

 this handsome-looking American sort is bearing good crop 

 on the open wall. 



In July and August, writes a Yorkshire correspondent, 



onr shrubberies exhibit too much green, too little colour. 

 Deutzia crenata flore-pleno forms a fioe upright bush 6 feet or 

 more high, bearing profusely its fine, depending, double pinkish 

 flowers, and is very fine ; D. scabra is also fine. The ligneous 

 Meadow-Sweet Spiraeas are grand summer-flowering shrubs, 

 especially S. graudiflora, white; S. arijefolia, very graceful; 

 S. callosa, rose, and var. alba ; S eximia, red ; S. bella, rose ; 

 S. argeutea, with silvery leaves; S. Douglasi, pink; S. opulas- 

 folia lutea and S. salicifolia carnea, with many others. They 

 grow freely and flower profusely in any free Boil. 



Abutilons appeur to be increasing in popularity for 



decorative purposes. The dwarf-growing free-flowering varie- 

 ties, such as A. Darwioii, A. nx-asflorum, <feo., reoently intro- 

 duced appear to be great acquisitions, and the new yellow 

 variety A. L9moinei stjn. La Boule d'Or is a plant of consi < r- 

 able promise. But perhaps the most useful for winter flower ug 

 is the white variety Boule de Noige, whioh should be grown 

 largely where cut flowers are in great demand. It is not 

 known by everyone that that sort forms a capital stook on 

 which the pendulous mottled A. vexillarium may be worked. 

 Mr. Spinks of Aston Park, Birmingham, thus grows A. vexil- 

 larium, as also does Mr. Thomson of the Crystal Palace, and 

 the bright weeping standards are ornamental even when not 

 flowering, and when in bloom are handsome dinner-table 

 plants. 



Now that wild flowers are so scarce, what few we have 



at this time of year being completely obliterated by the long- 

 continued rains, it is pleasing to see amid so much green 

 something that will fix the eye. Few subjects can vie with, 

 the bright coral-red berries of the Rowan tree or Mountain 

 Ash (Pyrus Aucuparia), its fine umbrageous head of Fern-like 

 foliage, from the points of its shoots bearing its clusters of 

 berrieB, are far more enduring than flowers, attractive objects 

 in shrubbery, park, and forest scenery, such as ought not 

 to be neglected in making provision for when planting time 

 arrives. It will grow anywhere ; its upright and weeping 

 forms, with the yellow-berried, deserving a place in the most 

 select arrangements of trees of moderate growth. Also very 

 conspicuous just now, as they have been for many weeks, are 

 the bright scarlet berries in massive bunches of the scarlet- 

 berried Elder, which, seen at any distance among green foliage, 

 are very showy and effective, especially if in front be a good 

 breadth of Darwin's Barberry; its clusters of shining deep 

 purple berries having in contrast with the scarlet of the Elder 

 a fine effect. 



Limnocharis Huhboldti. — It is a pity this lovely and 



most floriferous aquatic is not more employed for outdoor 

 work. It is one of the most effective plants for a tank or 

 quiet bit of water. The small outdoor tank near the Victoria 

 house at Glasnevin is nearly monopolised by this plant, and 

 at this season few features of the garden are more attractive 

 to the visitors. The tank is only about 10 feet in length 

 and 3 feet in breadth, and in this circumscribed space we 

 counted the other day over 160 flowers floating on the surface. 

 — (Irish Farmers' Gazette.) 



WINDSOR CASTLE. 



Last week a princely garden in the north was described and 

 the masterly practice of its manager was noticed. Such a 

 record cannot fail to stimulate other persevering and ambitionB 

 workers (for if a gardener is not ambitious he cannot excel) in 

 a kindred but lesser field, and to urge them on in the path of 

 duty, which sooner or later brings a reward. This week a 

 garden in the south may be fittingly noticed — a garden which 

 will always command attention — the garden of our Queen. 



Windsor Castle is a majestic pile, and the view from the 

 celebrated terrace, which is shown in the accompanying illustra- 



