AUGUST. 



121 



LOUTH FLOWER SHOW. 



The Louth Flower Show was held on Thursday, July 10th, in the grounds of Elkin«ton 

 Hall, near Louth, in Lincolnshire, the seat of the Rev. W. Smyth, whose well-cultivated 

 gardens supplied some of the chief attractions to the Show. This gentleman's son, Captain 

 Smyth, is an energetic supporter of the Volunteer movement, and a combination was' made of 

 a review of the first battalion of Lincolnshire Volunteers by Major Amcotts, with the annual 

 summer Exhibition of Flower and Fruits, and both were held together, the proprietor having 

 liberally thrown open ample portions of his park for the purpose. The early mornin°- couT- 

 menced with rain and threatened a foul day ; but before the time of assembling the "clouds 

 broke, and a fine but not sunny day succeeded ; and special trains brought Together five 

 hundred volunteers, and some three thousand holiday-seekers. The general arrangements 

 were excellent, and accommodations were provided for all. The tent in which the Mayor of 

 Louth and a Committee of gentlemen gave a dinner to the Volunteers was calculated for 

 eight hundred. The review took place in an adjoining section of the park, commanding 

 which a "grand stand" was erected; and, on the sounding of the bugles, was speedily 

 filled with flowers more attractive than were staged in the tents they had left behind. The 

 undulating ground, which added much to the picturesque character of the scene, was calcu- 

 lated to try the men's perfectness in drill ; and the " marching past " was not accomplished 

 without exhibiting some unevenness between the several corps. But the evolutions as a 

 whole were creditable to all, and elicited the commendations of the commanding officer. 

 The bands of the several corps played in succession during the remainder of the afternoon in 

 the neighbourhood of the flower-tent. 



The arrangement of the Exhibition was a long centre tent, flanked by a circular one at 

 each end mto which it opened. The former was appropriated to the plants and cut flowers, 

 the two latter to the fruits and vegetables. The plants occupied the centre of all ; the Roses a 

 table stretching from one end of the plants, with a passage between them ; and tho other cut 

 flowers, a similar table from the other end, with a passage also between the plants and cut 

 flowers: thus the long centre tent had its exhibited objects ranged along its centre, and the 

 visitors before and behind them. This plan may have its advantages ; but for large plants 

 one effect must inevitably be to hide one half while the other is seen, and thus to detract 

 irom the effectiveness of the coup cVceil. Thus the Gloxinias were on one side of the bank, the 

 Achimcnes on the other; and the effect of the gorgeous blossoms of the Balsams could not be 

 contrasted with that ot the foliage of the Marantas and the Orotons ; and the general impression 

 to our eye was that of heaviness. We do not say this in the spirit of criticism, for nothine- 

 could be more evident than that every care had been taken to give due effect to all ■ but to ex- 

 press an opinion that families of plants look better in groups where they can be seen to°-ether 

 and that large plants should be not too many together when they hide their smaller brethren 



Occupying the highest place, and appearing to be the tallest plants in the Exhibition 

 (and we are not sure they were not so), were the Fuchsias, a great mistake but a very 

 common one ; moreover, it was too early for them, and only one or two were well in flower. 

 A few were well trained for old woody plants ; but not a few showed how great a mistake it 

 is to use old plants at all. The Ferns were very handsome, and a group of six by Mr. Chat- 

 terton of lathwell, had the first prize. His sorts were— Dicksonia antarctica (very fine), 

 Adiantum trapezifornie, Nephrodium exaltatum, Platycerium alcicorue, Polypodium aureum 

 and Gymnogramma chrysophylla. All these were large and healthy plants. The hand- 

 some-loiiaged plants came next in this department, and were very ornamental, only 

 needing the contrast of some stands of flowering plants near them. The best among them 

 was a Croton, well set off by Cissus discolor, Maranta zebrina, and others. The Achimenes 

 were not m good condition, and the lot that had the first prize were far too tall for the size of 

 pots, ihe Gloxinias were better, but not first-rate. Pelargoniums were past their best, and 

 did not show to advantage, for there are some well-grown collections in the neighbourhood. 

 The scarlets looked best, and helped to setoff the room; but the art of growing these for 

 exhibition has nowhere been cultivated as yet. A few stove plants of brilliant colours, such 

 as an Allamanda or two, and a very good Clerodendron infortunatum, relieved the density 

 of foliage m the centre stand. There were a few good Cockscombs, and one really fine lot 

 of Balsams from the Rev. James Pretyman, of Carlton. 



+h Bi n° w l6S t Ti f0V eut . fl0Wers consi sted, the one of miscellaneous articles, 



the other aU but exclusively of Roses. Of the former there was nothing very remarkable 

 except some pans of Sweet Williams, of which the first and second prize collections, twelve' 

 each distinct, certainly exceeded anything we expected from the flower. The Roses were in 

 several classes ; none however, more than twelve in a pan, of which there were two classes. 



1S TO f t0 ° lat n e /°I th6 ^ ; > fc th f ? W f re some S° od collections, but all more or less 

 out of character. Of the collections of twelve the chief prize of the first was a handsome 

 silver cup, and this was carried off by Mr. Reynolds Hole, as was meet. There could 



