HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
distinction made : they are all millstone-grits — we find in the one case the millstone-grit is 
mixed with sand ; in another case it is mixed with clay ; and, in the third, it is alone and un- 
covered. 
Thus far have we pursued our journey, and now it is time that we pause. I would hope that my 
sketch has been clearly followed, and that my design, imperfect as it is, has been strictly adhered 
to. 
In following the chemical history of a plant, we saw how interwoven were a variety of subjects 
ch • 1 h- to of w ith each other ; we saw, too, that the plant itself is capable of reading to us many a 
pinnts reveals certain lesson from the great book of nature, of bringing before us many of her beautiful 
operations ; of exhibiting to us clearly and distinctly some fuller proofs of that design, 
and order, and harmony, so palpably manifested in this our universe. 
So then man and nature can be viewed as two great forces here, the one progressive, and the other 
Man and nature. stationary, albeit though not still, yet both working out their proper ends in the 
universal scheme of that Great Designer, which it is past the feeble ken of man to penetrate. 
Such subjects as these must make us feel with Emerson that " the destiny of organised nature is 
Emerson on the aes- amelioration, and who can tell its limits ? It is for man to tame the chaos on every 
any of organised nature. s jd e) vy-fille he lives to scatter the seeds of science and of song, that climate, corn, 
animals, men, may be milder, and that the germs of love and benefit may be multiplied." 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
March 4th. — At this meeting the greatest novelties produced were two plants of the Sikkim Hima- 
layan Rhododendrons, about which so much has been said within the last two or three years ; but if 
the varieties to come are no better than those we have seen, few people will care to be troubled with 
them. The flowers are small and pale lemon-coloured, and the plants have a rusty and stunted 
appearance, anything but inviting. The plants were sent by Mr. Wells, gardener to E. Hussey, Esq., 
Lamberhurst. A much more beautiful plant was Rhododendron javanieum, deficient in colour, from 
Mr. Cole, gardener to H. Colyer, Esq., a remarkably handsome plant with one truss of flowers. Mr. 
Glendinning, of Chiswiek, sent a species of Labiehea, from Swan River, with yellow flowers, which 
promises to become a useful plant. Mr. Blake, gardener to J. H. Schroder, Esq., contributed a group 
of Orchids, among which Lycaste Sltinneri was a very remarkable plant. With it was a nice plant of 
Phalaenopsis grandiflora and Epidcndrum odoratissimum. Mrs. Lawrence sent Trichopilia suavis, 
displaying much more colour than when shown last year, with Burlingtonia fragrans, Cymbidium 
Gibsonii, and the singular terrestrial Orchid, Ponthieva maculata. Mr. Loddiges produced Dendro- 
bium nobile with remarkably large flowers, and the lovely-flowered Cymbidium eburneum. From the 
garden of the society came Lycaste plana, Dendrobiuni eucullatum, a good plant, and several kinds of 
Acacia, Cytisus, Epacris, and Polygala. 
March 18th. — Though the productions brought before the society at this meeting were not very 
numerous, yet several things of remarkable excellence were presented. Among these the Orcliids 
from the garden of S. Rucker, Jun., Esq., deserve special remark, as being, if possible, superior to what 
we generally see from that splendid establishment. The most remarkable plants were : — Dendrobiuni 
Cambridgeanum, with upwards of 100 expanded flowers studding the plant completely over ; the lovely 
Cymbidium ebui'neum, with 18 of its ivory flowers; and with it a small specimen of the same thing, 
the flowers of which were tinged with pink, and the lip spotted with rose and blotched with yellow ; two 
varieties of Lycaste Skinneri, one the ordinary pale kind, aud the other with the lip spotted with 
purple and the petals of a rich purple colour. With these were sent a splendid spike of Dendrobiuni 
anosmum, and the lovely Burlingtonia fragrans. Of novelties, Messrs. Vcitch sent Rhododendron 
jasminiflorum with one truss of its delicate flowers. Some dried vegetables of various kinds, such 
as Potatoes, Turnips, Carrots, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Beans, dried by a peculiar process, and 
suitable for use in sea voyages, were sent by the patentee, from France ; with them were some dried 
specimens of flowering plants, which were remarkable for the admirable manner in which the colour 
of the leaves and flowers had been retained. Of fruit, Mr. Butcher, gardener to W. Leaf, Esq., sent 
some Muscat of Alexandria Grapes, good for the season ; and Mr. Bennet, gardener to John Smith, 
Esq., and Mr. Higgs, gardener to Joseph Bare-hard, Esq., two punnets of Keen's Seedling Straw- 
berries. Mr. Jones, gardener to Sir John Guest, sent a Moscow Queen Pine. The plants from the 
garden of the society consisted of Azalea obtusa, and a rose-coloured species marked Fortune's No. 20 ; <» 
Forsythia viridissima, Epidendrum aurantiacum, Dendrobiuni nobile, and several varieties of Epacris, S 
Erica, and Acacia. ijjj- a 
