xii 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



gold flowers, and only requiring to be kept cool to induce it to 

 flower well. Mr. Parks, gardener to Gr. Cooper, Esq., Old Kent 

 Eoad, received a Special Certificate for three beautiful specimens 

 of Phalamopsis Sc]iille7*iana with unusually large flowers ; these 

 were recommended for the Lindley medal. Mr. Bull contributed 

 the beautiful and interesting DalechampiaRoezliana rosea, a Euphor- 

 biaceous plant whose rose-coloured floral leaves remain bright in 

 colour for six weeks, and after the flowers have died away still 

 give a cheerful appearance to the plant. Like some other plants 

 belonging to the same family, the beauty of this plant is in its 

 bracts, which in this case consist of two rather large ovate bright- 

 rosy organs, which overlap the blossoms, the most conspicuous 

 parts of which are confused trusses of abortive stamens, consti- 

 tuting bright-yellow, spongy masses. It comes from Vera Cruz, 

 one of the hottest districts of Mexico, and will therefore require 

 stove treatment. A magnificent head of flowers of Rrownea 

 grandiceps was shown, from the garden of Sir Hugh Williams, at 

 Bodelwyddan. The tree which produced it was stated to be of 

 considerable age and size, so much so, indeed, that the house in 

 which it is growing has had to be enlarged once or twice, in order 

 to give it sufficient room. The terminal bright-crimson flower- 

 heads are 6 or 8 inches in diameter ; the flowers are very nume- 

 rous and arranged in tiers, as it were, round a conical axis, the 

 outer ones expanding first. It is nearly related to Amlierstia 

 and Jonesia. Messrs. E. Gr. Henderson and Son sent a collection 

 of Cyclamens of great beauty, one of them producing both rose- 

 coloured and white blossoms from the same root, the former ap- 

 proaching the Persicum, the latter the Coum type. Shimmia 

 oblata came from Mr. Standish ; this plant formerly produced 

 hermaphrodite flowers and an abundant crop of berries, which 

 latter had yielded plants, of which about one-half were females, 

 approaching near to the mother plant, which had latterly borne < 

 less perfectly developed stamens, and the other half were exactly 

 like S. fragrantissima, of which only the male had been known, 

 thus confirming the opinion that S. oblata and 8. fragrantissima 

 were the two sexes of one dioecious species. 



March 19. — This was the first Spring Show, and notwith- 

 standing the occurrence of a snow-storm in the morning, and 

 cold north-easterly winds and showers of sleet during the after- 

 noon, the display was most satisfactory ; Hyacinths, Narcissi, 

 Cyclamens, Primulas, Lilly of the Valley, and Roses were 



