176 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
[ August 2l, 1884. 
of the tent, and were with few exceptions well-grown and well-bloomed 
plants, Mr. H. Gidding taking all the first prizes. His Zonals were Mrs. 
Blissard, Lord Gifford, White Venus. Lady Leathbroke, Da Lesseps, Mrs. M. 
Pollock, Pioneer and Leviathian. His Nosegiys were Louis Vallott, Emily, 
Bonfire, Indian Yellow, Apple Blossom, Jessy Dobbs, Wellington, and 
Lizzie, His doubles—Madame Lamoine, C. H. Wagner, Wonderful, and 
Madame Thibaut. 
Amateurs'' Glasses. —Mr. Cleave was first for eighteen stove and greenhouse 
flowering plants with Allamanda grandiflora, Lapageria rosea, Rondeletia 
brilliantissima. Erica Austiniana, Allamanda nobilis, Bougainvillea glabra, 
Ixora coccinea, Allamanda Hendersonit, Erica ampullacea, and Ixora Prince 
of Orange, very fine. He was also first for the best six with Erica Jacksoni, 
Dipladenia amabilis, Erica bicolor Wilsoni, Ixora Williamsii, Bougainvillea 
glabra, and another. In the class for four plants Mr. J. Marshall, Belmont, 
was first with Vinca alba. Vinca rosea, Bougainvillea glabra, and Allamanda 
nobilis. Mr. Cleave had a beautiful lot of Selaginellas, including Sela- 
ginella Williamsii, S. denticulata variegata, S. Martensii, S. apoda, S. um- 
brosa, (fee. These were, like all Mr. Cleave’s plants, models of good growth 
and health. The second or amateurs’ tent is to a great extent a repetition 
of the first, and therefore having noticed some of the principal points I 
take now the 
CUT FLOWEBS. 
It is obvious to everyone that this has been a most trying season for th 
various autumn flowers which are used to decorate our gardens at thi® 
season and to ornament an exhibition table, and the only wonder is tha® 
of some things, such as Boses, there is anything to exhibit. Who that ha 
seen the rapid expansion of his Roses, for instance, could suppose that there 
would be any to exhibit ? and therefore one was surprised at the goodly 
array of Gladioli, Roses, Asters, <fec., which were displayed, in the large tent 
especially. One great treat I always have at Taunton is the exhibition of 
Gladioli. It is so near the head quarters of our great raiser and cultivator, 
Mr. Kelway, and our chief amateur grower, Mr. Dobree, that to see their 
stands and to have what they call over the border a “crack” with them 
about one of my most special favourites is always a treat. Mr. Kelway 
exhibited a magnificent stand of flowers, mostly his own seedlings, and if 
anyone doubts the superiority of this to all autumn flowers the sight of this 
stand would dispel the doubt. Some of Mr. Kelway’s flowers were certainly 
extraordinary both in colour and size and closeness of spike, amongst others 
Maori Chief, a most peculiarly coloured flower, Mrs. W. Marshall, and Mr. 
Samson received certificates; but indeed it would be hard to say which of 
these flowers were not worthy of a certificate. Mr. Dobree, alas 1 the only 
exhibitor in the amateurs’class, exhibited besides his stand of twenty-four a 
collection of one hundred, in both of which were many of his own seedlings, 
some of great merit. They were Legouvb, Maggie, Rayon d’Or, Madame 
Marie Verdale, Miss Pallen, Colorado, Millee Dobree, Reputation, Hesperide, 
Jupiter, Baroness Burdett Coutts, a magnificent bloom; Herbert, a very 
fine flower, which was passed over, but which ought to have had a certificate ; 
Gallia, Feather Gem, Mrs. Cantley, Queen of Canaries, a very beautiful and 
soft-coloured fiower, for which a certificate was awarded ; Miss Benson, Mrs. 
Ware, F. Bonamy Hawtrey, (fee. I hope to say something more of Mr. Dobree’s 
Gladioli by-and-by, but may just add that I do not know any other amateur 
who can at all come near him either in the quantity he grows or the success of 
his hybridising. 
In Roses ilessrs. Cooling <fe Son of Bath were first in forty-eights with, 
for the season, good blooms. Amongst them were Herr Schulteis, Madame 
M. Verdier, Helen Paul, Felicien David, La France, Beauty of Waltham, 
Black Prince, Queen of Queens, Oxonian, Fisher Holmes, La Rosiere, 
Etienne Levet, Sophie Fropot, Vicomte Vigier, Madame Berard, Duke of 
Wellington, Reve d’Or, Duchesse d’Ossuna, Marchioness of Exeter, Souvenir 
de Victor Verdier. Gloire de Dijon, F. de Lesseps, Lmlia, A. K. Williams, 
Madame Eugene Verdier, Charles Lsfebvre, Marie Finger, Wilson Saunders, 
Archduchesse d’Autriche, Pierre Netting, Marechal Niel, Red Gauntlet, 
Magna Charta, Capitaine Christy, Julie Touvais, Rev. J. B. M. Camm. Mr. 
Hobbs of Lower Easton, Bristol, was second. Messrs. Cooling <fe Son were 
also first in trebles, and Mr. W. Smith second. In the amateurs’ class Mr. 
J. P. Budd, Bath, was first in twelves with Comtesse d’Oxford, Dr. Andry, 
La France, Capitaine Christy, Belle Lyonnaise, Louis Van Houtte, (fee. He 
was also first with fair blooms, amongst which were Belle Lyonnaise, 
Madame Lambard, Catherine Mermet, Bouquet d’Or, Mardchal Niel, and 
Comtesse de Nadaillac (?). 
Dahlias were sparingly shown, Mr. J. Watson taking the first place with 
George Smith, Royal Queen, Anna Neville, Thomas White, J. Croker, Mrs. 
Stopford, Goldfinder, Georgiana, Prince of Denmark, Constance, Percy 
Bennett, Peri, George Dickson, Flag of Truce, Harrison Weir, Shirley 
Hibberd, Sunbeam, Pioneer, and Canary. In Fancies he had Hugh Austin, 
Gaiety, Rev. J. B. M. Camm, Miss Lilly Large, (fee. But I must not trespass 
further on your space, but cannot omit to notice the very beautiful floral 
arrangements by Miss Cypher. Her table was the perfection of arrange¬ 
ment, and her bouquets the wonder of all who saw them. The fruit and 
vegetables were good, but perhaps not so numerous as on former occasions. 
A word must be said, too, with regard to the arrangement of the tents. I 
have never seen them look to so great advantage. Down the centre were 
ranged the magnificent stove, greenhouse, foliaged plants, and Ferns 
already alluded to, Fuchsias taking the place on the middle of the stage, 
where they were relieved by the Ferns; then Mr. Kelway’s stanii of 
Gladioli occupied the post of honour at one end, and Mr. Veitch’s (of 
Exeter) plants the other. On one side were arranged the Pelargoniums, and 
on the other the cut flowers. The arrangements all went smoothly, and too 
much praise cannot be given to the inclefatigable Secretary, Mr. Samson, 
and the Committee for the manner in which everything was carried out.— 
D., Beal. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
FRUIT AND FLORAL COMMITTEES AT CHISWICK. 
A MEETING of the Floral Committee was held at Chiswick on July 31st. 
Present, Mr. John Fraser in the chair ; Messrs. O’Brien, Turner, Woodbridge 
Dominy, Hudson, Herbst, Laing, and Barron (Secretary). 
Caladiums. —Three marks were given to the following :—Argyrites, 
candidum, Alfred Bleu, Pictum, Madame Marjolin Schaeffer, Clio, Madame 
Alfred Bleu, Mons. A. Hardy, Dr. Bindley, Ceres, Mithridate, Luddemannii, 
Rameau, Laingii, Prince of Wales, Ville de Mulhouse, Comtesse de Condeixa, 
Minus erubescens, Gerard Dow, and Paul Veronese. 
Two marks were given to the following :—Madame de la Devansaye, 
Princess Alexandra, Madame Heine, Chantini, Max Kolby, and John 
R. Box. 
Adiantums. —Three marks were given to the following ;—Cuneatum, 
Pacotii, Lathomi, gracillimum, decorum, Victorise, concinnum, scutum, 
Sanctse-Catharinae, trapeziforme, macrophyllum, pedatum, formosum, 
pubescens, hispidulum, Veitchii, amabile, rubellum, Capillus-Veneris, 
cardiochlmna, speciosum, concinnum latum, rhodophyllum, caudatum, 
farleyense, pentadactylon, and assimile. Two marks were given for 
Adiantum Luddemannianum. 
Foliage Begonias. —Three marks were given for Rex, Due de Brabant, 
Marshalli, Juliette Paulin, Seneque, Emilie Chate, Madame Trigneaux, 
Xanthina var. argentea, Helene Uhder, Louise Chretien, Bettina Rothschild, 
Discolor Rex Apotheose, Zenobia, Julie Serot, leptophylla, Comte A. de 
Leon, Marga, Sylvia, and Madame d’Halloy, 
Pentstemons. —Three marks were given for Purple Queen, Cerise Queen, 
Virginale, Edison, and Marjolaine. 
First-class certificates were awarded for 
Carnation Anna Benary (Ernest Denary) as a border flower. 
Sweet Pea Princess of Wales (H. Eckford). 
At a meeting of the Fruit and Vegetable Committee, held at Chiswick, 
August 19tb, present—Mr. John E. Lane in the chair ; Messrs. Paul, Crowley, 
Lee, Silverlock, Howeroft, Burnett, Denning, Ellam, and Barron (Secretary), 
the Committee examined the collections of Potatoes and Tomatoes growing 
in the gardens, when the following first-class certificates were awarded—viz.. 
Potato Ellingtonia, from Mr. Ellington, West Road Garden, Wildenhall, 
Suffolk. 
Potato Nott's Victor, from Mr. R.Nott, Vermont, U.S. America. 
Potato The Doctor, from Mr. G. Pritchard, Green Street, Sittingbourne. 
Potato Charter Oak, from Messrs. Bliss (fe Sons, New York. 
Tomato Sutton’s Beading Perfection. 
Tomato Hackwood Park Prolific. 
Tomato Yellow, from Mr. B. S. Williams. 
Tomato Lord Wolseley, from Mr. B. S. Williams. 
NITROGENOUS MANURES. 
Nitrogen occurs in manures mostly in three forms — ammonia salts, 
nitrates, and albuminoid matter. Ammonia sulphate (pure) contains 25f per 
cent, ammonia ; ammonia chloride (pure) contains 31f per cent, ammonia ; 
nitrate of soda (pure) contains 16'47 per cent, nitrogen, equal to 20 percent, 
ammonia; albuminoid matter contains about 16 per cent, nitrogen, equal to 
about 19 per cent, ammonia, which sooner or later becomes available as 
plant food. 
Plants obtain their nitrogen chiefly from or through the soil. It is main¬ 
tained by some that the leguminous plants and the broad-leaved root crops 
derive a portion of their nitrogen through the leaves from the atmosphere ; 
but this, to say the least, is doubtful. 
Nitrogen exists in the soil in three forms :—1, As insoluble organic 
compounds, the intermediate products of vegetable decay; 2, as soluble 
compounds of nitrogen, such as the ammoniacal and nitrate salts ; and 3, as 
free nitrogen, held in solution in the soil, water, or in the air. 
The sources from which the nitrogen of the soil is derived are—(a) From 
vegetable decay ; (J) from the air carried down, as ammonia, nitrates, and 
organic dust in solution, or in suspension by falling rain, snow, and dew ; 
(c) from the circulation of air through the pores of the soil j {d) from 
additions of manure. 
As regards the food forms of nitrogen, it is only when in the soluble 
form, as ammoniacal and nitrate salts, that nitrogen can be assimilated by 
the plant. 
Nitrification is the conversion of other nitrogenous compounds into 
nitrates. The leading conditions for bringing about this change are—1, the 
presence of mineral fertilisers, particularly of potash, and carbonate and 
sulphate of calcium—that is, limestone and gypsum. 2, The presence of 
oxygen of the air, and such substances as can supply oxygen, among which 
are red oxide of iron. Moisture acts as an agent of change. A free circula¬ 
tion of air also promotes the same change. On the other hand, the presence 
of caustic lime causes a serious loss of available nitrogen in converting even 
the already formed nitrates into .ammonia and preventing their formation, 
ammonia thus formed passing into the air. 3, The physical condition of the 
soil has likewise much to do with nitrification. Such treatment as promotes 
moisture during dry hot weather, and renders the soil friable, are important 
adjuncts. Nitrification is more active during hot weather ; but if the soil is 
very dry at the same time, or so compact as to exclude oxygen, ammonia may 
be formed from nitrates themselves, and thus be lost to the immediate use 
of the plant. 
Now as to the conditions favourable for the retention of assimilable 
nitrogen in the soil. The mention of the causes of loss will suggest the 
remedies. The principal loss is found in the solubility of nitrates and 
ammonia in water. In soils with nearly impervious subsoil the drainage 
may cause a very considerable carrying away of those and other nutritive 
elements. Another loss is found in the formation of ammonia, and yet 
another is caused by theabsence of those mineral compounds which act as 
absorbents, chemical and physical, of nitrogen compounds, such as phos¬ 
phates, carbonate of lime, and gypsum. One remedy against loss is to have 
a soil in such condition of looseness by ploughing and hoeing as increases 
the absorbing power for water, and decreases the evaporating power. 
Again, as to the relation which different kinds of crops bear to the food 
supply of nitrogen. Take first the amount of nitrogen found in different 
crops. If we have an average crop of 28 bushels of Wheat, with 2500 lbs. of 
straw, about 45 to 48 lbs. of nitrogen will bepresent. In a crop of 2^ tons 
of meadow hay, 50 to 60 lbs. (that is, to each ton, 20 to 24 lbs.), and in a 
crop of 2J tons of Clover, from 100 to 115 lbs. of nitrogen (each ton containing 
40 to 46 ibs.). In general the leguminous crops—Clover, Beans, Vetches— 
are rich in nitrogen, while the cereals and grasses are relatively poor in 
