THE ELOKAL MAGAZINE. 



NEW SERIES.] MARCH, 1879. [No. 87. 



HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 



At present — as might reasonably be expected at this 

 season of the year — these are few and far between. The 

 usual monthly meeting of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society took place on February 11th, and though it 

 was the means of bringing together some pretty and 

 effective groups of plants, there was little in the way of 

 variety. One of the most interesting subjects was 

 Rubus rosseflorus, var. Coronarius, flowering specimens 

 of which came from Mr. C. Green, gardener to Sir 

 George Macleay, Bart., Pendrells Court, Bletchingly ; 

 and it was awarded a First-class Certificate of merit. 

 The Gardeners' Chronicle recently gave a woodcut of 

 this charming plant, and stated that it is " valuable for 

 decorative and cutting purposes, as it forms compact 

 little plants in small pots if attention be paid to stopping 

 during the summer while growing out of doors. In the 

 autumn the plants should be placed in a cool pit or 

 greenhouse, and a liberal supply of water given. When 

 the season is not too severe, the plant will survive in an 

 open border in a sheltered spot." This plant, which be- 

 longs to the Brambles, is " a native of the Himalayas, 

 Burma, &c, and has become naturalised in many sub- 

 tropical countries, but, though long introduced, is very 

 little known to modern gardeners ; it is one of the 

 most elegant little plants for greenhouse culture. The 

 flowers are pure white, very double, and the leaves are 

 more like those of a Rose than of an ordinary Bramble." 

 From the same exhibitor came cut specimens of Dahlia 

 Maximiliana, which is an attractive species of the D. Im- 

 perials type, with pretty, purplish lilac blossoms, but not 

 nearly so large in size as those of D. Imperialis. The 

 plant is said to " present a stately appearance, independent 

 of its flowers, growing to a height of eight feet, and 

 four feet in diameter. It continues in bloom for a con- 

 siderable time, and requires the same treatment as 

 D. Imperialis." The same exhibitor had blossoms of 

 the white-flowered Sparmanina africana. 



A First-class Certificate of merit was also awarded to 

 Mr. William Bull, King's Road, Chelsea, for a Cypho- 

 kentia macrocarpa, a handsome pinnate-leaved Palm, 

 the young unfolding leaves of which are of a bronzy-red 

 colour. The Gardeners' Chronicle states that it was 

 "introduced from New Caledonia in 1875, and was put 

 in commerce in the following year under the name 



of Kentia (Kentiopsis) macrocarpa, Brant, in M. Oswald 

 de Kerchove's handsome volume, Les Palmiers, pub- 

 lished in Paris last year." Mr. Bull also had a valuable 

 and interesting group of plants comprising some good 

 examples of the following Orchids : — Oncidium macran- 

 thum hastiferum, Oncidium cirrhosum Klabochorum, 

 Dendrobium Fytchianum, Lycaste Skinneri, Masdevallia 

 polysticla, and several Palms and handsomely developed 

 specimens of such Cycadaceous plants as Macrozamia 

 K. Kenzii, Encephalartos cycadsefolius duplicatus, E. 

 villosus, E. Hildebranditii, horridus, volutus, &c. 



Mr. John Wills, Onslow Crescent, South Kensington, 

 had a tastefully arranged group of plants that presented 

 a charming effect ; and Messrs. James Veitch & Sons, 

 King's Road, Chelsea, had a very effective group of plants, 

 including examples of Staphylea colchica, alluded to in 

 our last ; Lilacs, Gueldres Roses, &c. ; some pretty 

 Cyclamens; a small white-flowered hybrid Orchid named 

 Dendrobium endocharis, the result of a cross between 

 D. japonicum and D. heterocarpum ; and a pretty lilac- 

 pink fern-leaved Primula sinensis, named Peach Blossom. 

 Mr. B. S. Williams, Victoria Nurseries, Holloway, had 

 a capital group ol plants, which included the distinct- 

 looking Abutilon ignea ; Amaryllis Harry Williams, 

 with a large, deep-reddish crimson flower, mottled with 

 white ; Croton Princess of Wales, a sport from C. glo- 

 riosus, which it much resembles ; Asplenium neo-cale- 

 donicum ; some good examples of the white-flowered 

 Ccelogyne cristata, &c. Messrs. Osborne & Sons, 

 Fulham Nurseries, also set up a nice group of forced 

 flowering plants. From II . J. Buchan, Esq., Meton 

 House, Southampton, came a plant of Oncidium super- 

 bius, with a spike of seven somewhat large, bright- 

 brownish chocolate flowers. Mr. C. Raun, gardener to 

 J. Warren, Esq., Handcross Park, Crawley, Sqssex, ex- 

 hibited Phalrenopsis grandiflora gigantea, bearing three 

 flowers of unusual size, the plant being in robust health. 

 From Mr. H. Parr, of Harrow Weald Park, came some cut 

 specimens of Poinsettia pulcherrima, measuring some 

 fifteen inches across the head of the back, taken from 

 plants said to have been grown in six-inch pots. Mr. H. 

 Cannell, Nurseryman, Swanley, had as usual some 

 splendid cut blooms of Zonal Pelargoniums in fine con- 

 dition ; they were shown rising out of a carpet of Herbera 

 depressa, a very nice arrangement indeed. From the 

 Chiswick Gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society 

 was sent up a large collection of Primula sinensis fim- 



