388 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND C0T1AGE GARDENER. 
[ May 15, 1884. 
speaks of the high appreciation in which it is regarded, affording satis¬ 
faction to the untiring energies of the gardener, Mr. Ingram, who is ever 
ready to welcome and instruct all lovers of hardy plants.— E. Jenkins. 
ROSES IN THE AZORES. 
The accompanying Rose pods are from gardens in the islands of 
St. Michael’s, Terceira, and Fayal in the Azores. Out of a large collec¬ 
tion made by me during the past winter (the seeds without pods weigh¬ 
ing over half a pound) I have selected these for their size, in order to 
give some idea of the strength of the plants which have produced them. 
Some are of sorts I found unnamed, the others consisting chiefly of 
Teas Cloth of Gold, Madame Willermoz, Safrano, and Souvenir d’un 
Ami. On my way home I had an opportunity of showing the entire 
collection to a number of German gentlemen (principally planters) 
returning from Brazil, and they informed me that they had not seen such 
large Rose pods in Biazil. One or two Scotch gardeners who have seen 
them have also been surprised at the size of the pods. As some of them 
have now been collected two and three months they have of course 
shrunk considerably. 
It will amuse your readers to know that I have constantly been asked 
whether these Rose pods were not small Apples.— Alexander Hill 
Gray, Fast Ferry , Dunkeld. 
[The pods are very fine indeed, and we have little doubt are those of 
the Japanese Rose, Rosa rugosa, a spray of which was figured on page 
293, vol. iii., third series, of the Journal, the issue of September 29th, 
1881.] 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
May 13th. 
Though the exhibits were less numerous than at some previous meetings 
this season, a beautiful display was provided in the conservatory, the Roses 
forming an exhibition alone. Calceolarias and hardy flowers were also in 
good numbers, the rare plants keeping the Floral Committee fully employed 
for a considerable time. 
Fruit Committee.— J. E. Lane, Esq., in the chair. Present—Messrs 
J. Ellam, Phillip Crowley, G. T. Miles, S. Lyon, J. Burnett, G. Bunyard’ 
C. Silverlock, A. W. Sutton, W. Paul, G. M. Breese, F. Rutland, J. Lee, 
H. J. Yeitch, J. C. Mundell, and G. Goldsmith. The principal exhibit, and 
an extremely meritorious one, was that from Mr. Coyst, gardener to C. H. 
Wood, Esq., Newbold Revel, Rugby, which consisted of six handsome Melons, 
beautifully netted, of even but moderate size, flesh deep, and flavour fairly 
good for such early fruits. The variety is a cross between Conqueror of 
Europe and Scarlet Gem, and the cultural commendation awarded was well 
deserved. Mr. Ham, The Gardens, Mountains, Hildenborough, sent samples 
of a fine Broccoli with solid white hearts. It was a selection from Leamington, 
which was sown with Suttons’ Late Queen and Cattell’s Eclipse in the middle 
of June, 1883, and came into use at the same time as Late Queen. Mr. 
Ham finds Cattell’s Eclipse the latest of the three, with fine solid hearts. 
A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. W. Divers, The Gardens, Wierton 
House, Maidstone, for a dish of Ashtop Fluke Potatoes and a collection of 
Rhubarb of good colour. Mr. B. S. Williams, Upper Holloway, showed fruits 
of an early Melon named Basing Park Hybrid, which were of moderate size, 
globular in form, with the flesh fairly deep and of a rich yellow colour. Mr. 
C. Turner sent a dish of well-kept Winter Pearmain Apples, and Messrs. 
Lane & Son, Great Berkhampstead, showed two dishes of Apples—Galloway 
Seedling and Lane’s Prince Albert, the latter being especially good. A 
specimen contrivance for assisting in bunching Asparagus was shown by Mr. 
H. Eldridge, Chesterfield Park Gardens, Saffron Waldron. It consisted of 
two flat pieces of wood secured together by hinges, the shorter one at right 
angles with the other. In the lower longer piece several holes are bored, in 
which pegs are placed to regulate the size of the bundle, the end piece keep- 
ing the heads all even, and the bundle is then readily tied. 
Floral Committee.— Section A.—John Fraser, Esq., in the chair. 
Present: Rev. G. Henslow, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, and Messrs. E. Hill, 
J. O’Brien, J. Hudson, J. Woodbridge, H. Herbst, J. Laing, H. Ebbage, and 
T. Moore. Section B.—Shirley Hibberd, Esq., in the chair. Present • 
Messrs. H. Bennett, W. Bealby, G. Duffield, D. C. Lathbury, H. Cannell' 
W. B. Kellock, and H. Turner. ’ 
A group of Roses such as that contributed by Messrs. W. Paul & Son, 
Waltham Cross, at this meeting is very rarely seen in May, and the gold 
medal adjudged for it by the Council was only a fitting recognition of its 
merit. About seventy plants were staged, varying in height from 3 to 
5 feet, and in pots from 10 to 18 inches in diameter, while twenty large 
exhibition boxes of cut blooms placed along the front served to complete 
a group which for freshness, colour, and fragrance could have scarcely been 
surpassed. The plants were in extremely vigorous health,the foliage rich green, 
and well developed, the blooms mostly of good substance, but in a few 
instances, owing, no doubt, to the sudden heat of the past few days, they 
were a trifle too full; however, there was abundance of fresh bright buds and 
half-developed blooms. Numerous varieties were represented, and amongst 
them were some fine examples of Ulrich Brunner fils, with large rich rosy 
crimson blooms ; Queen of Queens, bright and beautiful; Madame Lelievre 
Delaplace, a comparatively new variety with broad petals of a rich rose tint; 
Charles Lefebre, extremely handsome, unsurpassed in colour; Marguerite de 
St. Romans, a globular bloom with shell-like petals, pale pink, of good sub¬ 
stance ; Crown Prince, a pretty Rose, especially in the bud, deep crimson, 
occasionally with a scarlet tinge ; Mdlle. Emile Fontaine, bright crimson 
scarlet, free; Etienne Levet, Masterpiece, and Madame Montels were also 
notable. A seedling Hybrid Perpetual of dwarf habit, and said to be valu¬ 
able for bedding, was included in the group. The blooms are not of first- 
rate form, but of a rather pleasing rose tint, and are produced in great 
numbers. The Noisettes, Solfaterre and Reve d’Or, were fine, the general 
favourite, La France, being represented by several plants bearing from 
eighteen to twenty-four large blooms. The plants were tastefully arranged 
in the western portion of the conservatory, where they occupied considerable 
space. 
Next in importance to the Roses were the Calceolarias, of which two 
beautiful collections were staged, and for each a silver Banksian medal was 
awarded. By far the most tastefully arranged was that from Mr. May, 
Dyson’s Lane, Edmonton, in which a suitable proportion of healthy Adian- 
tums were employed, together with a margin of wonderfully strong Isolepis 
gracilis. These formed a pleasing foil to the richly coloured flowers of the 
Calceolarias, and showed them to much better advantage in consequence. 
The plants were dwarf and compact, bearing fine heads of diversely coloured 
blooms, seifs or spotted, in great variety. It is evidently a useful strain, and 
well adapted for market. The other group was from Mr. H. B. Smith, 
Ealing, whose skill as a grower of such plants is well known. They were all 
in good health and admirably flowered, but their beauty as a group was 
much lessened by the absence of foliage plants. For richness of colour this 
strain is admirable, and the flowers also are well formed, full, and neat. 
Much improvement has been effected amongst the Calceolarias grown for 
market of recent years ; they are now much more compact and dwarf than 
formerly, and though the heads of flowers are not quite so large, the first- 
named characters are of the most importance. 
Hardy flowers constituted another attraction of equal interest to the 
preceding, and again were silver medals awarded for two representative 
collections. Mr. T. S. Ware, Tottenham, had a very choice and beautiful 
selection, prominent amongst which were several varieties of the hand¬ 
some Tree Pseony, Pseonia Moutan, the large imposing flowers being of 
several shades of rose or crimson, differing but slightly, though all were 
beautiful. Erigeron aurantiacum, with large dark orange flower heads, 
was especially noteworthy; other good plants being Linum flavum, with 
abundant pale yellow flowers of good size for a hardy Flax; the Irish Butter- 
wort (Pinguicula grandiflora), a charming little free plant with violet purple 
flowers; the creeping Lithospermum prostratum with its purplish blue 
flowers, so pretty on a rockery; the scarlet dwarf Pentstemon-like plant 
Ourisia coccinea; the very distinct shrub Eurybia Gunni, of which the 
white flower heads are so suggestive of the shrubby autumn-flowering Asters ; 
several Fritillarias, F. pyrenaica being especially notable for its recurved 
petals; a host of charming Daffodils, still fresh and beautiful; and a pot of 
the pretty Houstonia ccerulea alba. The collection of choice named Tulips 
(byblcemens) must not he omitted, for they were greatly admired, and 
formed a very pretty addition to the group. Messrs. Barr Son, King 
Street, Covent Garden, principally exhibited Daffodils, and it was sur¬ 
prising what a number of varieties were still in bloom. The N. poeticus 
forms, such as ornatus and poetarum, were unsurpassed in their section. 
N. bicolor and its variety primulinus were good. Abscissus, Nelsoni, the 
double Codlins and Cream, Barri conspicuus, incomparabilis expansus, and 
many others were very attractive. Of the general collection, Anemones, 
Irises, Tulips, and Scillas were the chief features, several pretty varieties 
being included, such as the white, pink, and blue forms of Scilla nutans, 
and the Emperor and Empress varieties of Scilla campanulata, which are 
distinguished from the type by their larger flowers. 
The Japanese Maples were much admired, and considering the elegance of 
these plants and their hardiness in most parts of England, even as far north 
as York, it is surprising that they do not become more popular. Messrs. J. 
Yeitch & Sons, Chelsea, had a collection of distinct and graceful varieties, 
several of which were certificated. The best were Acer polymorphum sep- 
temlobum elegans purpureum (an appalling name), which has neatly divided 
purple leaves ; ribesifolium with green close leaves ; laciniatum, leaves deeply 
and finely cut; atropurpureum, dark purplish red, and japonicum aureum, 
pale golden yellow. With these also were grown the bright rosy salmon 
Azalea rosseflora, and a white variegated Dogwood named Cornus brachypoda 
variegata. The New Plant and Bulb Company, Colchester, also had a group 
of these Maples under their Japanese names. Some of the varieties were 
extremely pretty, and as a curiosity may be noted one plant upon which had 
been grafted no less than eight distinct varieties. For these groups bronze 
medals were awarded. 
Alpine Auriculas, richly coloured and extremely fragrant, formed a 
pleasing group from Mr. C. Turner of Slough; and from about fifty, many of 
which were seedlings, the following were selected as the most distinct:—Mr?. 
Ball, crimson shaded, gold centre ; Arthur Potts, violet purple shaded, cream 
centre ; Ellen Terry, rich purple shaded, white centre ; Queen Yictoria, light 
crimson shaded, cream centre ; Model, bright crimson shaded, cream centre ; 
and Homer, crimson scarlet shaded, gold centre, free and very effective. _ A 
box of a dozen fine Marfichal Niel Rose blooms and two boxes of Carnation 
blooms were also contributed by Mr. C. Turner. Of the latter, the best 
varieties were Mrs. Maclaren, certificated ; Mrs. Llewelyn, pink ; Ruby, 
purple, very large; Rufus, scarlet; and Negro, maroon. All seifs except 
the first. 
New or notable plants were also contributed by the following exhibitors, 
to whom votes of thanks were accorded :—Mr. B. S. Williams had several 
Orchids and other plants, such as Cattleya Mossire magmfica with large 
grandly coloured flowers; Odontoglossum Alexandras splendens, a mag¬ 
nificent variety; Masdevallia Veitchi grandiflora with flowers 6 inches long 
and 2 in diameter; Selaginella viridangula, a tall-growing form with 
much-divided leaflets; Osmunda javanica, Aralia reginro, and Glonena 
jasminiflora, the latter bearing a number of its white flowers. From 
Messrs. Veitch came a fine plant of Boronia elatior profusely flowered, and 
a plant of Gloxinia Purity with pure white flowers. By the New Plant and 
Bulb Company a fine variety of Cattleya Mendelli named Wallacei was 
shown, the sepals and petals blush-tinted, the lip half crimson and white. 
T. 0. Cunningham Graham, Esq., Dunlop House, Stewarton, Ayr, sent 
some fine spikes of Vanda suavis, variously coloured. Mr. Robbins, 
gardener to J. Vanner, Esq., Camden Wood, Chislehurst, showed a 
beautiful variety of Odontoglossum citrosmum named roseum, which has 
large white sepals and petals and a bright purple lip. Sir Trevor Laurence, 
Bart., Burfora Lodge, contributed plants of the profuse and attractive 
Masdevallia rosea, and an extraordinarily fine spathe of Anthurium 
ferrierense 6 inches broad and 7 inches long, the spadix being of similar 
length ; the colour was a fine deep red. Messrs. Lucombe & Pince, 
Exeter, sent spathes of Anthurium Schertzerianum giganteum, a variety 
distinguished by its great sire and deep colour. Mr. C. Noble, Bagshot, 
had some double and single Clematis flowers; Messrs. Laing & Co.,Forest 
