52 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
variety been seen in such condition. Mr. T. Jowitt followed with 
Duchesse de Moray, very handsome, and Messrs. John Jefferies and 
Son with Marguerite de St. Amand, also fine. For twelve blooms of 
a Tea or Noisette Rose Messrs. G-. Paul & Son won the premier 
honours with Niphetos in excellent form ; Messrs. Keynes & Son were 
second with the same variety ; and Mr. B. R. Cant was third with 
Marechal Biel, also taking the first place with that variety in the 
class for yellow Roses, in which Mr. G. Prince followed with Perle des 
Jardins neat and fresh, and Messrs. G. Cooling & Son with Marechal 
Niel. The only other class in this section was that for three trusses 
of a new seedling Rose, to be called the Rose of Sheffield, but only 
one exhibitor appeared, and the variety was not considered sufficiently 
meritorious to receive the award. 
District Classes. —Six classes were appropriated to Roses grown 
in the district of Sheffield, five being for exhibitors residing within 
thirty miles of the town, and one for those within six miles. Entries 
in the majority of the classes were by no means numerous, nor were 
the blooms of extraordinary quality—indeed, eome of the collections 
were much below the average. A few good stands were, however, 
contributed, and among these was the collection of thirty-six single 
trusses, with which the President of the National Rose Society, 
Canon S. R. Hole, of Caunton Manor, Newark, secured the silver cup 
given by the President of the Sheffield Botanical Gardens. The 
blooms in this stand were very neat, bright, and mostly of good sub¬ 
stance. The most noteworthy varieties were Xavier Olibo, Mons. 
E. Y. Teas, Marie Baumann, Madame H. Jamain, Louis Yan Houtte, 
Duke of Wellington, Penelope Mayo, and Marie Rady. The only 
other exhibitor was Richard W. Proctor, Esq., Ashgate Road, Chester¬ 
field, who was accorded the second prize. In the remaining classes 
the chief prizetakers were Messrs. R. Proctor ; Charles Storey, Atter- 
cliffe ; H. Brittain; John Bateman, South Street, Sheffield; W. G. 
Jackson, Mansfield; J. Mallinder, Hodsock Priory, Worksop; and 
T. Kirkby, Barnes Hall, Sheffield. The prizes for six trusses of Roses 
grown within six miles of Sheffield were offered by the Committee of 
the Botanical Gardens. There were thirteen collections staged, 
mostly of good quality considering the unfavourable district in which 
the Roses were grown. Mr. Enoch Holland, Sandygate, secured the 
chief position with fresh, bright, and pretty blooms, of which the 
best were Mons. E. Y. Teas, La France, Charles Lefebvre, Marquise 
de Castellane, and Fisher Holmes. This stand well merited its posi¬ 
tion, for the blooms would not have disgraced some of the larger 
collections. Mr. Frank Urton, Green Hill, Derbyshire, followed, having 
Mane Baumann, Capitaine Christy, Marquise de Castellane, and 
Charles Lefebvre in good form. Mr. J. Keeling, The Gardens, Mount 
Yiew, was third with Souvenir de la Malmaison, Marquise de Castel¬ 
lane, John Hopper, Charles Lefebvre, and Marie Baumann, fresh and 
neat. 
Roses in pots were represented by only one collection from Messrs. 
G. Paul & Son, who were accorded the premier prize for healthy and 
fairly well-flowered specimens of moderate size. Bouquets of Roses 
were numerous, and some were very tastefully arranged. These were 
distributed by lot among the lady visitors, and the demand was sur¬ 
prisingly great. The principal prizetakers in these classes were Messrs. 
Cranston, G. Davison & Co., G. Paul & Son, Cooling & Son, T. Kirkby, 
and G. Miller, Wadsley House. 
The Society’s silver medals for the best Hybrid Perpetual and the 
best Tea or Noisette were secured by Messrs.' Keynes & Co. for Lord 
Macaulay, and Messrs. Cranston for Niphetos, both handsome repre¬ 
sentative blooms of their respective varieties. 
HERBACEOUS AND ALPINE PLANTS. 
( Continued from page 26.) 
AQTTILEGIAS. 
A VERY showy genus, the generic name of which is derived 
from the inverted petals, which are lengthened out into long 
spurs, and bear a fancied resemblance to the talons of an eagle 
(Aquila) ; the English name Columbine, however, is derived from 
a far nmre peaceful member of the feathered tribe—the Dove 
(Columba), from a supposed resemblance of the flowers to little 
groups of these birds. The general characters of the genus are 
five regular petaloid sepals, which are for the most part highly 
coloured, and the same number of two-lipped petals, which are 
tubular and nectariferous at the base, whilst a portion of the 
stamens are very small and abortive, and five sessile many- 
seeded carpels, which assume the shape of little bags (follicles) 
when mature. In our younger days few gardens were without 
their Columbines, which were for the most part seedling varieties 
of the British species A. vulgaris, although some few exotic 
kinds have been introduced to cultivation upwards of a hundred 
years. We now, however, possess some very fine species, some 
natives of the mountainous parts of North America and Cali¬ 
fornia ; others from the alpine regions of Europe, whilst a few 
have come to us from the lofty Himalayas. With some of these, 
which naturally grow at considerable elevations, difficulty is ex¬ 
perienced in keeping them in a thriving condition ; indeed, in 
the southern parts of England Columbines appear to exhaust 
themselves in one or two seasons ; in the north, however, and in 
Scotland they thrive with very little care. We have found that 
Aquilegias prefer a moist and sheltered position, but they like 
good exposure to the sun. The strong robust kinds will grow 
well and flower profusely in almost any ordinary garden soil, but 
the dwarfer and more delicate kinds which are placed in the rock 
garden should be planted in good friable loam. These plants 
cannot be maintained true by seeds if several species are grown 
together on account of their so freely hybridising, and un¬ 
doubtedly many of the forms found wild are not distinct species, 
but natural hybrids and seedling varieties, so that when good 
and true seed cannot be obtained increase must be effected by 
division of the roots. 
A. alpina .—This fine rock plant produces flowers nearly 3 inches 
in diameter, and is sometimes known by the name of A. grandi- 
flora ; it is not of a delicate constitution, and may be grown either 
in the rock garden or the border. The height is usually about 
12 inches, but in some varieties this is exceeded, whilst in others 
it is considerably less. The whole flower is rich bluish purple in 
some varieties, in others the sepals and spurs are deep blue, whilst 
the petals in the centre of the flower are white ; it also has short 
spurs. May and June. Alps of Europe. 
A. aurea .—A vigorous-growing plant of great beauty. It attains 
a height of about 3 feet, bearing bold triternate glaucous leaves ; 
Fig. 9.—Aquilegia ccerulen. 
flowers of a uniform bright canary yellow tinged with green, the 
long spurs being recurved. May and June. California. 
A. ccerulea .—This beautiful little gem was originally confounded 
with A. leptoceras, a totally distinct plant. It is undoubtedly one 
of the very finest species yet introduced. The leaves are biternate, 
lobes broad and dark green. The stems are branched and bear 
a profusion of its large erect flowers. The sepals are delicate blue, 
and the petals white ; the very long and slender spurs are also 
blue with green tips. There is also a pure white form of this 
species. It grows from 10 to 18 inches high, and flowers in 
June, continuing many weeks in full beauty. It delights in 
rich loamy soil. Native of the Rocky Mountains. The annexed 
reduced figure represents a plant of this species. 
A. californica .—A superb border plant from California, attain¬ 
ing a height of 3 feet or more. It forms a fine mass. The flowers 
are deep orange outside, rich yellow within, the sepals and petals 
being much shorter than the spurs. July and August. 
A. canadensis .—This species was first introduced to our gar¬ 
dens from Canada by Tradescant so long ago as 1040. It was 
much admired at that time, and the seed was eagerly sought, 
but it did not perpetuate itself always true. It is a desirable plant 
on account of its bright colour. It grows about 12 to 18 inches 
