424 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
[ May 25, 1882. 
the 16th inst. did much damage to Potatoes in that neighbourhood. 
We also learn from Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Kent, Durham, and 
Nottinghamshire that recent frosts have seriously injured Potatoes 
both in fields and gardens. 
- We may remind our readers that the Manchester Whit¬ 
suntide Show to be held in the Royal Botanical Society’s 
Gardens, Old Trafford, will commence on Friday next, the 26th 
inst., and continue until the following Friday, June 2nd. Plants 
constitute the chief attractions at this Show—Orchids, stove and 
greenhouse plants and others being particularly well provided for, 
the prizes being very liberal in all the principal classes. 
- On Tuesday and Wednesday the 30th and 31st inst. the 
Sheffield Floral and Horticultural Society will hold 
an Exhibition of plants, flowers, and fruits in the Cutlers’ Hall, 
thirty-eight classes being provided ; in the first three of which, 
for stove and greenhouse plants and Roses, the prizes vary from 
£5 to £1. 
- One of the chief attractions now at Kew is the numerous 
beds of Ghent Azaleas situated a short distance to the right 
from the Sion House Vista. The different varieties of A. pontica 
and A. mollis are very attractive, and will continue in beauty for 
some time. The colours vary from almost pure white to deep 
rose, with all the intermediate shades of orange, pink, yellow, and 
lilac. They are charming plants for outside borders as well as for 
growing in pots for the conservatory, and their value for either 
purpose cannot be overestimated. 
- In the same gardens what is known as the Hollow Walk or 
Rhododendron Walk is all aglow with some of the choicer varie¬ 
ties of Rhododendrons, which are planted along the bottom and 
slopes of the walk. Amongst the most conspicuous is R. Brough- 
toni. This must rank as one of the best of all Rhododendrons, 
producing trusses of flowers of enormous size and deep crimson 
lilac ; the upper petals are dotted with a dark brown. One plant 
is carrying nearly one hundred trusses of bloom, and is indeed a 
sight not soon to be forgotten. A tall-growing variety, named 
Mrs. Standish, is well adapted for planting in the centre of clumps. 
The flowers are pure white except a few spots of yellowish green 
on the upper petals; the trusses are a fair size and good form. 
R. Johnsonii in habit is very compact and distinct, closely 
approaching R. arboreum in flower and foliage, and well adapted 
for planting as single specimens in a sheltered position. 
- The St. Ives (Hunts) Horticultural Society will 
hold their annual Flower Show in the grounds of H. Goodman, 
Esq., Somersham Road, on Thursday, July 13th. 
- We are informed that at the recent Agricultural Exhibi¬ 
tion, held at Port Elizabeth, a silver medal was awarded to Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons of Reading for their collection of grasses, seeds, 
models, &c., this being the highest award for 6eeds made at the 
Exhibition. 
- A gardener’s wife sends the following recipe for making 
Dandelion wine, which is almost identical with that published 
last week :—“ Flowers should be gathered early in May, or as 
early as possible. To every gallon of water add one gallon of 
flowers, 3 lbs. of moist sugar, one orange, and one lemon. Place 
the flowers in a thin bag and boil for half an hour, pare the fruit, 
remove the bag, and add the sugar, rind, and a small piece of 
ginger ; boil for half an hour, slice the fruit into the pan or tub, 
and when ready add the boiling liquor ; when cool use a little 
yeast. It may be put in barrel in three days, filling up as re¬ 
quired. When kept a few months it is very bright and good.” 
Mr. Taylor, Acacia, also communicates the following :—“ Pour 
12 gallons of boiling water over 4 gallons of Dandelion flowers, 
picked clean from the heads as you would Cowslip flowers. Let 
it stand till cold, then strain it and add 3 lbs. of lump sugar t 
every gallon ; boil it half an hour, then put it into a tub. When 
cold add the rind of twelve lemons and twelve oraDges and the 
juice of each ; ferment with a little yeast for four days, then put 
it in the cask, and in a week stop it down. Let stand six months, 
then bottle off, or it can be drawn from the cask.” 
- The first Exhibition of the Northamptonshire Horti¬ 
cultural Society will be held on the Northampton Racecourse 
on September 21st and 22nd. One hundred and thirty-two classes 
are provided for plants, cut flowers, fruit, and vegetables, the 
three principal sections being 1, open to all exhibitors; 2, for the 
county gardeners and amateurs ; and 3, cottagers. The prizes 
are liberal in all the chief classes, and the Society is under dis¬ 
tinguished patronage. A very practical Committee has been 
elected, and a satisfactory Exhibition may be confidently expected. 
- Messrs. Thos. Christy & Co., 155, Fenchurch Street, 
London, E.C., have submitted to us some neat samples of BOXES 
for sending fruit by rail. They are made cheaply of stout 
wood, planed and hinged, with fastenings and holes, through which 
a string can be passed and sealed on the top to prevent all tam¬ 
pering or pilfering. Moveable wooden divisions keep each Peach 
or other fruit in its place. Wrapped in tissue paper they fit in 
firmly. The boxes will stand many journeys, and are all sten¬ 
cilled “ Fruit.” 
- A charming little shrub flowering at the present time is 
Cytisus SESSIL1FOLIUS, which is very attractive in several nur¬ 
series, but especially so in Messrs. C. Lee & Sons’ arboretum, Isle- 
worth, where it is largely represented by handsome specimens of 
various sizes from 2 to 4 or 5 feet in height, and as much in dia¬ 
meter. It is remarkably compact, and, flowering so freely as it 
does, it is unquestionably entitled to a foremost position amongst 
early-blooming dwarf shrubs. The leaves are sessile on the young 
branches, as the specific name indicates, each consisting of three 
small round leaflets of a fresh green colour. The flowers are very 
bright yellow, about half an inch long, with a heart-shaped stand¬ 
ard as much in diameter, and they are borne in short terminal 
racemes of four to six flowers upon the young shoots of the cur¬ 
rent year. It is surprising that this is n t more frequently seen 
in gardens, for it is one of the oldest of our introduced shrubs, 
having been in cultivation upwards of 250 years. 
- Somewhat similar in general appearance to the above is 
Genista hispanica, but it is dwarfer and of stiffer less graceful 
habit than the Cytisus. In Mr. Parker’s nursery at Tooting it 
seems to thrive especially well, and some scores of plants there 
now are literally a mass of bright yellow flowers. A few spe¬ 
cimens along the margin of a shrubbery or in the borders of 
herbaceous plants have a very pleasing effect. 
- A Rose-grower writes :—“ Of several new Roses recently 
shown by Messrs. W. Paul & Son, Waltham Cross, at Kensington, 
the one which pleased me the most—though it apparently did not 
give the Committee satisfaction—was the Hybrid Perpetual 
Rose Queen of Queens. The blooms are large, full, and of 
good form, the colour being a very distinct pink shade, most deli¬ 
cate and pleasing. Another good quality of the variety is its free¬ 
dom of growth and floriferous habit, the foliage being particularly 
vigorous. Mr. Paul states that it is the result of a cross between 
a Hybrid Perpetual and Maiden’s Blush. This I consider—and 
I am not alone in my opinion—is likely to become a favourite 
both for exhibiting and ordinary garden culture.” This variety 
was certificated at the recent Show of the Royal Botanic Society, 
Regent’s Park. 
- In reference to the Summer Show of the Royal Bo¬ 
tanic Society held last week, it is worthy of remark that a 
