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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 18, 1885. 
colour being a delicate pink or flesh colour, of good substance. This variety 
I have no doubt will prove a great acquisition to this now very 
popular class of autumn flowers ; but if we are to have it in flower in the 
month of June we will be having Chrysanthemums all the year round. 
These nurseries have only been established little over eight months, and 
taking into consideration the short space of time since the houses were 
finished, the results are surprising. The whole of the houses, eight or nine 
in number, are already filled with fine healthy plants of the best strains of 
florist flowers. Tuberous Begonias are a specialty, and are being grown 
in large numbers.—G. S. 
LILIES IN POTS. 
ABNORMAL GROWTH OF L. CANDIDUM. 
I HAVE been very successful in the culture of Lilies in pots. I have 
found the following treatment answer well :—When the stems die down 
I continue to keep the soil just moist, and when the bulbs have had 
sufficient time to ripen I repot them in good loam and sand, and plunge 
them in cocoa-nut fibre, where they remain until they begin to show 
growth, when I remove them to a greenhouse. When they commence 
forming surface roots from the stem I place the pots, each containing one 
bulb, into larger pots, giving good drainage, and fill with loam, broken 
bones, and a good sprinkling of soot. I have found this treatment far 
better than shifting the roots into pots a size larger. In repotting Lilies 
I never take any of the old soil from the ball, but simply remove the 
surface soil, and when they have been growing freely I feed them well 
with soot water. 
I have a Lilium auratum which I have had under the above cultivation 
for the last five years, and it is still in splendid condition, and has 
produced during that time three or four dozen bulbs, which I am 
cultivating. 
I send you herewith a very curious specimen of a Lilium candidum 
which flowered splendidly last summer, and which was treated in the 
same manner as the other Lilies. In February last it began to throw up 
a stem, and when it had reached about 1 foot in height I noticed the 
leaves on the stem began to turn yellow. I took the pot down from a 
shelf to examine it, and found to my surprise that it had produced a bulb 
on the top of the stem in the place of bloom. You will see I have cut off 
the greater portion of the withered leaves.— N. Moore. 
BIRMINGHAM BOTANICAL & HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The annual Exhibition of this Society took placs on Friday and Satur¬ 
day, the 1-th and 13th inst., at the Botanic Gardens, Birmingham, the 
arrangement of the ground and tent being similar to that of the Royal 
Botanic Society, Regent’s Park. Mr. J. E. Wilson’s gardener, Mr. W. Jinks, 
took the first prize for six stove and greenhouse plants, fine well-bloomed 
specimens ; Mr. J. Eaton (gardener, Mr. Lusted), taking the second prize. 
Two extremely fine lots of nine ornamental plants were staged by Mr. J. E. 
Wilson, who took the first prize, and in whose collection were grand 
examples of Crotons Wiesmanm and Andreanum, the second prize falling to 
Mr. C. E. Mathews (gardener, Mr. Walter Jones), a marvellously fine speci¬ 
men of Phormium tenax variegata being conspicuous. Mr. C. E. Mathews 
obtained the first prize for three capital Azaleas and the first prize for a 
grand six herbaceous Calceolarias. A goodly lot of Orchids were staged 
by the local cultivators, and they attracted much attention. In the class 
for nine there were five competitors, Mr. Charles Winn (gardener, Mr. H. 
Rogers) taking the lead with a well-flowered lot, especially Thurinia 
Marshallii, Dendrobium Dearii, and Masdevallia Harryana superba. Mr. 
Cooper, gardener to the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, M.P., was second 
with a good lot, which included Thunia Bensoni and Oncidium macranthum. 
An extra prize was awarded to Mr. H. W. Elliott (gardener, Mr. A. Thomp¬ 
son), who also took the first prize for six Orchids, a capital lot of medium¬ 
sized plants, which included an excellent Cattleya Mossise and Dendrobium 
Falconerii. The second prize fell to the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, 
as well as the first prize for three Orchids, and the second prize to Mr, 
Elliott. Mr. Cooper was awarded the first prize for single specimen Orchid, 
a very fine plant of Laelia purpurata. Two capital sixes of exotic Ferns 
were staged, Mr. W. Mathews (gardener, Mr. G. Caldecott) taking the first 
prize, and the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain the second prize. 
British Ferns were fairly well represented, the first prize for nine falling 
to Mr. F. A. Walton, Handsworth (gardener, Mr. F. Denning); the second 
to Mr. J. Cartland (gardener, Mr. George Robinson). Mr. J. E. Wilson was 
strong in six Dracaenas and six Caladiums, taking first prizes in each, and 
the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain second in each. Mr. W. Hughes, 
gardener to Mr. F. Osier, took the first prizes, as well as a special recogni¬ 
tion of a collection (not for competition) of extremely well-grown Gloxinias. 
The Society has a class for nine miscellaneous plants in pots not ex¬ 
ceeding 9 inches inside measurement, and four exhibitors staged for the two 
prizes. Mr. J. E. Wilson’s gardener was again to the front with a fine lot, 
including a well-grown Dendrobium thyrsiflorum and Alocasia Yeitchii in 
fine character. Pelargoniums, although not yet reaching the high standard 
of cultivation seen at York and elsewhere, were fairly well represented 
here. Mrs. Marigold (gardener, Mr. W. H. Dyer), Mr. W. Mathews, and 
the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain being the chief exhibitors. The Society 
has generally held its exhibition later in the season, and admirably grown 
Fuchsias have been a great feature. The early fixture of this Exhibition did 
not enable some of the growers to stage, but the highest praise is due to 
Mr. Caldecott (gardener to Mr. W. Mathews) for three superbly flowered 
and well-cultivated specimens. Tuberous Begonias are coming to the front 
here, and the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain led off with his first-prize lot, 
which included striking plants of Marchioness of Bute and Black Douglas, 
two fine single varieties. Mr. W. Mathews was a good second. 
In the class for three new and rare plants Mr. F. A. Walton was placed 
first with Nepenthes Mastersiana, N. sanguinea, and Drosera capensis in 
good character. For one new new or rare plant in flower—first, Mr. J. E. 
Wilson with Cypripedium ciliolare; second, Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain 
with Epidendrum Wallisii. For one new and rare plant not in flower—first, 
Mr. F. A Walton with Nepenthes Waltonii; second, Mr. J. E. Wilson with 
Alocasia Thibautiana. Mr. A. H. Griffiths w’on first honours with an excel¬ 
lent stand of twelve Tea Roses, and some fine Pansies and Yiolas were 
staged. 
The fruit part of the Exhibition was weak, but Mr. Cooper’s six Royal 
George Peaches, which took the first prize, were very good. 
A special certificate was given to the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain 
for a distinct and high-colouted form of Odontoglossum vexillarium named 
superbum, and Mr. Cooper staged in one of his collections a heavily blotched 
distinct form of Odontoglossum Alexandra. In addition to the Orchids we 
have indicated, Mr. E. Wright, one of the oldest orchidists about Birming¬ 
ham, and a prizewinner on this occasion, and Mr. H. W. Elliott also con¬ 
tributed groups of Orchids not for competition. 
The local nurserymen were well represented by Mr. Vertegans, who 
staged a group of fine Rhododendrons in flower and an extensive collection 
of alpine and herbaceous plants, including in excellent character a pan of 
the Edelweiss (Gnaphalium leontopodium), also Gypsophila cerastioides, 
and Dianthus glacialis. Mr. Hans Neimand (manager, Mr. W. Spink) set 
up a handsome group of plants arranged for effect, in which The Bride 
Gladiolus, Tuberoses, miniature Roses, and the superb Caladium Baroness 
James de Rothschild were conspicuous. Messrs. Hewitt & Co. contributed 
a bright group, in which were a goodly number of very fine Tuberous 
Begonias. We recently gave an illustration and notice of the new range of 
glass just comDleted here, and this was filled with a fine lot of Orchids, 
Amaryllises, Gloxinias, and other plants in flower, as well as ornamental- 
foliaged plants. The outside grounds are also in fine order now, and Mr. 
W. B. Latham is to be congratulated on the good management which is 
everywhere to be seen. A special Rose Show is to be held in the gardens 
next month. 
THE BAOBAB TREE. 
The Baobab or Monkey-Bread, Adansonia digitata, has long afforded 
the most celebrated instances of vegetable longevity ; Humboldt indeed 
calls them “ the oldest organic monuments of our planet.” They are not 
uncommon on the western coast of Africa. The tree is remarkable for the 
small height it attains, compared with the immense diameter of the trunk 
and length of its branches. Trunks which are 70 or 80 feet in circum¬ 
ference rise to the height of only 10 or 12 feet, when they divide into a 
great number of extremely large branches, 50 or 60 feet long, which, 
spreading widely in every direction, form a round verdant mass perhaps 
150 feet in diameter, and only 70 feet in height. The roots likewise are 
of vast length ; one of these, laid bare by a torrent which had washed 
away the earth, was traced to upwards of 110 feet without reaching the 
extremity. To these peculiarities, rather than to the nature of the wood, 
