THE FLORAL MAGAZINE. 



NEW SERIES.] APRIL, 1879. * [No. 88. 



HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 



The pleasant Spring Exhibitions may be said to have 

 commenced with that of the Royal Horticultural Society 

 on March 11th, when the leading features were the 

 splendid groups of Cyclamen from Mr. H. B. Smith, 

 Ealing Dean Nursery, Ealing, and Messrs. Edmonds and 

 Gohm, Hayes Nursery, Middlesex ; that of Orchids from 

 Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P. ; and that of Amaryllis, 

 &c., from Messrs. James Veitch and Sons, King's Road, 

 Chelsea. 



Of new forms of the increasing popular Cyclamen 

 Persicum, Mr. H. B. Smith received First-class Cer- 

 tificates for two fine novelties — viz., Crimson King, a 

 rich lustrous purple-crimson variety, very deep and yet 

 bright in colour, and excellent habit ; and Picturatum, 

 a large-flowered variety of the grandiflorum type, colour 

 pink, shaded with rose ; the mouth of the flower of a 

 lich rosy purple. Of several line new forms of Amaryllis 

 staged by Messrs. James Veitch and Sons, one named 

 Virgil received a First-class Certificate. This is a mag- 

 nifieently formed flower of the Leopoldii type, the large 

 expanded and almost flat blossoms measuring seven inches 

 across, the petals smooth and well rounded, and of a 

 creamy white colour, barred and shaded towards the 

 centre with crimson. A. Purpurea, A. Leopoldii, A. Dante, 

 and others were very fine indeed. From Mr. A. Heims, 

 gardener to F. A. Philhrick, Escp, Q.C., Avenue Road, 

 Regent's Park, came Ipsea speeiosa, a terrestrial Orchid, 

 introduced from Ceylon some forty years ago, and having 

 an erect scape two feet or so in height, with a truss of 

 pendant lemon-yellow coloured flowers. This was accorded 

 a First-class Certificate of Merit ; in addition to its 

 pleasing colour, the blossoms are sweetly scented. The 

 gem of the exhibition in the way of new plants was the 

 fine new Cymbidium Lowianum from Messrs. Hugh 

 Low and Co., nurserymen, Clapton. As Mr. Fitch has 

 made an excellent drawing of this for figuring next 

 month, we may briefly describe this splendid new impor- 

 tation as resembling C. giganteum, having large greenish 

 yellow sepals and petals, and a striking deep velvety 

 crimson lip ; the spike of flowers large, long, and 

 extremely handsome in appearance. This was unani- 

 mously awarded a First-class Certificate of merit. The 

 same award was made to M. Auguste Van Geert, of Ghent, 

 for a semi-double flowered variety of Azalea indica, named 



Empress of India, the petals pink, margined with white, 

 and much blotched with crimson purple towards the 

 centre ; and also to Messis. Veitch and Sons for Davallia 

 Mariesii, a dwarf evergreen species, with finely cut lace- 

 like pinna?, said to be hardy in a cold frame. 



Other interesting novelties consisted of cut flowers of 

 Stifltia chiysantha, an interesting composite stove shrub, 

 with showy orange-coloured flowers springing from 

 amongst long coloured pappus hairs, introduced from 

 Brazil nearly forty years ago, but little known ; a variety 

 of Odontoglossum crispum, named Macleayi, and a fine 

 bloom of the singular Vanda cathartica, which had been 

 cut three weeks, and promised to keep in good condition 

 for three weeks more. These come from Mr. C. Green, 

 gardener to Sir Geo. Macleay, Bart., Pendrellt Court, 

 Bletchingley. From Messrs. Hovey and Co., Boston, 

 U.S.A., was sent some cut blooms of Camellia; Mrs. 

 Hovey, a peach-coloured flower of fine substance, and 

 without that blotch in the points of the petals which is 

 regarded as a blemish in some otherwise fine varieties; and 

 a Japanese Azalea, named Iloveyi, which had the appear- 

 ance of a greatly improved form of Amocua; unfortunately 

 the plant suffered from frost during the journey to Eng- 

 land, and was almost denuded of leaves. In the way of 

 novelties, Mr. William Bull, King's Road, Chelsea, had 

 iEchmea Leopoldi, the topmost leaves of which are very 

 finely coloured; a fine plant of Adiantum bellum ; a 

 highly coloured form of CattleyaTriana?, named Splendida ; 

 and Pteris umbrosa cristata, a free-growing and very 

 ornamental fern. 



We may draw upon the columns of the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle for some reference to the leading features of 

 Sir Trevor Lawrence's fine groups of Orchids. These 

 " reflected the highest credit upon their cultivator, Mr. 

 Spyers, every plant being in perfect health, profusely 

 flowered, and without a spot or blemish of any kind. 

 Perhaps the most attractive plants in the group were 

 three or four grandly-flowered specimens of that lovely 

 Dendrobe, D. Wardianum, but to the Orchid connois- 

 seur there were more remarkable objects than these to 

 claim his admiration. The first of these was a remarkably 

 healthy plant of Cymbidium eburneum, with eight of its 

 noble looking, waxy white flowei-s ; the second being a 

 plant of the handsome and rare Brazilian Lselia 

 harpophylla with five spikes of brilliant orange scarlet 

 blossoms." (This was a most striking feature, the colour 

 being superbly developed.) " The three largest plants of 



