F/RS T FR UITS. 



365 



The most interesting display to me in the hall was the 

 center-stand without a tall palm, but with a hundred 

 year-old wistaria in bloom of white and purple. Its 

 stalk was about a foot in diameter, dividing into two 

 branches, one of white, one of lilac, mingling charm- 

 ingly with its pale, silky leaves. Golden and red rare 

 azaleas and tree pseonies, double clematis, white mag- 

 nolias and hundred-year-old cedars on either side 

 were upon this stand. To think of being able to have 

 on one's parlor table, for fifteen dollars, a tiny green 

 cedar tree, a century old ! The Japanese Gardener's 

 Association, Oakland, was awarded a silver medal. 

 One of the azaleas had four different colors blooming 

 profusely at once ; and several of the beautifully incis- 

 ed and bright-colored leaved maples, a few inches high, 

 had four or more varieties grafted successfully on one 

 stem, sometimes growing apart and then joining to- 

 gether like a bridge, from which grew different kinds of 

 leaves. 



The display of roses was of course the largest and 

 finest of all, as at this season they are in their greatest 

 profusion. The President, Professor Wickson, showed 

 some beauties from his garden, his blooms of Papa 

 Gontier being the finest in the whole show ; this, as 

 most of your readers know, is of a rich crimson 

 with some yellow, the buds particularly large, globose, 

 long and having the richest ''tea" fragrance. His 

 Henri Meynardier is paler, and Madame Lambard a 

 beiutiful rosy salmon, the outside of the petals crimson 

 rose. Mrs. Smyth's roses were the finest in the exhibi- 

 tion ; she had one of the silver cups. There were a 

 number of money prizes given. People liked Madame 

 Scipion Cochet, tea, just bloomed from slips imported 

 from the east (which means the cold Atlantic coast) ; 

 it is of most delicate pale pinky yellow with large petals. 



None of the growers seem to have had success with 

 the Homer, but they all adore the splendid large double 

 carmine President, shaded with crimson, dozens bloom- 

 ing at once, on one bush. The Scipion Cochet is said, 

 by a California florist, to be " born perfect, live perfect 

 and stay perfect till it fades ;" the Riza du Pare blooms 

 finely but the curve of the lip of the petal is too apt to 

 fade, should a shower touch it. Madame Cusin, a stand- 

 ard pink tea, is always in bloom. There was only one 

 Admiral Rigny, a grand bloomer, in the room. The 

 florists do not allow roses to fade on the plant. There 

 was a great display of the large nankeen or orange-col- 

 ored, rich Shirley Hibberd, massed together, and of 

 Princess Stephanie, salmon yellow with rosy crimson 

 tints, petals bent, hollowed and overlapping each other. 

 La Fay is a favorite ; also the pure white, long budded 

 Niphetos and its similar, but climbing sister ; the deeo 

 pink hybrid tea, Camoens; and Marquis de Viviens, tea, 

 of similar rich color, with Mr. Hopkins' Duchess of 

 Albany, a deeper pink than the old favorite La France. 



Mr. Rock, of San Jose, presented all the palms and 

 other decorations to the Society ; entered for three 

 prizes and won three, one a silver cup. He has 300 

 different kinds of roses, the Baron H. de Loew being 



the handsomest ; petals very large, of palest straw color; 

 has a vase-like form in bud ; si.x buds and one blossom 

 on one short stem. Dr. Grill is deep golden, its petals 

 turning over, when open, more than those of the Bar- 

 on. Charles Rovolli is a deep pink tea ; the petals do not 

 curve over. Jean Liabaud, hybrid perpetual, is of the 

 richest, deepest, red-crimson. Many other beautiful 

 ones were in his collection and in Prof. Wickson's. 



Mrs. Townsend showed a new pink tea she named 

 Eureka, handsomer than Duchess de Brabant, its 

 mother. Mrs. Colville gave us the pleasure of seeing 

 some of her fine collection of roses and foxgloves ; 

 Mrs. Crane, of San Lorenzo, shows Niphetos and other 

 roses, camellias, pelargoniums with laced white edges, 

 and pansies ; H. T. Greenough took first prize, silver 

 medal ; Warren Cheney second prize, bronze medal ; 

 Mrs. Fish, third certificate for cut roses of amateurs, 

 while the premiums awarded for best collection of 

 twelve cut roses, were given to Mrs. W. H. Smyth, first, 

 and Warren Cherry, second. M. Michel's roses and 

 cacti were admired. It seems an especially good plan 

 in Miss Pratt to give premiums of a dozen of her rare 

 roses, including the Bride. A very shell-like double 

 rose of palest pink resembling a camellia but very fra- 

 grant, is Clotilde Soupert, a new tea polyantha, sent 

 by Charles Pach of Martinez. 



In Mr. Garden's display were red and purple rounded 

 trusses of rhododendrons, two branches each with 

 three or four long lily-shaped flowers of most delicious 

 fragrance, white as snow, each four inches long, upright, 

 the stamens arranged in the graceful spread-out manner 

 peculiar to the rhododendron and azalea ; the leaves 

 stiff as though cut out of leather, curling over at the 

 sides and covered underneath with brown fur. Hemerc- . 

 callis alba was shown, imported from India, at Golden 

 Gate Park. In Mrs. Smyth's collection was Nicotiana 

 affinis, looking like whit2 petunia. Timothy Hopkins 

 showed a marvellous collection of sweet peas. 



The caladiums from Golden Gate Park bore white 

 and pink variegated leaves thin as paper, two feet long 

 fifty of them near the entrance of hall, with immense 

 red poppies. A basket of the golden eschscholtzia on 

 a pillar with golden ribbon ; another of the delicate 

 lilac-and-white wild Collinsia bicolor from Mrs. Harris 

 and from Mrs. Ross of Woodneath, Belmont, were en- 

 joyed ; and daisies were there in profusion. There were 

 Spanish iris from Australia and large double yellow and 

 crimson ranunculus. 



This State Floral Society does not seem to include the 

 regular florists of the city or country ; they would fill 

 up the hall and take all the premiums. It is intended 

 for amateurs and some professionals who do not employ 

 much help, hoping to increase the love of flowers. 

 Whoever exhibits any flower is expected to pay a dollar 

 and become a member even if unable to attend the meet- 

 ings, when interesting papers are read monthly. 



Fresh flowers were supplied every day, save of the 

 wild-flowers, for which collection, Mrs. Vestey received 

 a prize. 



