August 5, 1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. Ill 
to only vigour and habit we must claim to be better judges than 
the French, for the habit of very many of the best of our exhi¬ 
bition Roses is nearly perfect.—J. A. W. 
LIVERPOOL HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION’S 
SHOW.— July 31st. 
Favoured with a fine day after several weeks of rain, the second 
Show of this Association opened under pleasant auspices. The Show 
last year was an excellent one, but the Exhibition under notice was 
much superior. Specimen plants were of unusual merit, local exhi¬ 
bitors giving abundant evidence of their skill as cultivators. Fruit 
was plentiful and of great excellence, black Grapes being splendid ; 
cut flowers very good, and vegetables admirable. Five very large 
marquees were quite filled round three sides of a square in the beau¬ 
tiful Sefton Park, the horticultural structures, etc., occupying the 
fourth side, the whole having a very imposing appearance. The tent 
devoted to specimen plants arranged on the ground down the centre, 
with Roses on the tables on one side and bouquets, &c., on the other, 
had a rich effect; such plants as Ixoras, Allamandas, Bougainvilleas, 
&c., with huge and highly coloured Crotons, appearing to great ad¬ 
vantage amongst the grand Palms and fine Ferns. Fuchsias occupied 
gracefully the centre of the fruit tent. Tuberous Begonias were large 
and brilliantly laden with flowers, the finest display we have seen in 
competition. Zonal Pelargoniums, fresh and good, imparted bright¬ 
ness to the tent in which they were arranged ; and Coleuses were 
6 feet in diameter, close, and of excellent form and colour. The Exhi¬ 
bition w r as opened by the Mayor, who delivered an appropriate and 
interesting address, and a very large and select company attended 
during the afternoon. 
Stove and Greenhouse Plants. —In the open class for twelve 
specimens, six foliage and six flowering, three admirable groups were 
arranged ; the first prize being well won by Messrs. E. Cole <fc Sons, 
Withington, with, among others, grand plants of Kentia Forsteriana, 
Latania borbonica, Croton Weismanni, Cycas revoluta, Ixora Prince 
of Orange, and Erica Lindleyana. The second-prize group, staged by 
Messrs. J. Caldwell & Sons, Knutsford, included a well-coloured 
Croton variegatus, a large Areca Bauerii, and beautifully flowered 
plant of Bougainvillea glabra. Mr. J. Cypher, Cheltenham, was 
the only other exhibitor, and was adjudged the third prize. This 
group included a fine Clerodendron Balfourianum, well flowered 
plants of Erica venosa, and Anthurium Schertzerianum, a grand 
specimen of Latania borbonica, and a well-coloured Croton majes- 
ticus. Four exhibitors staged groups of six stove and greenhouse 
plants, the first prize being secured by F. R. Ley land, Esq. (F. Faulkner, 
gardener), with a very even lot, the most noticeable of which were the 
well-flowered specimens of Vinca rosea and Allamanda Hendersonii. 
Messrs. E. Cole & Sons secured the second prize. The best group 
of eight fine-foliaged plants was staged by Messrs. J. Caldwell <fc Sons, 
the second prize going to Mrs. Allison Johnson (R. Gibbon, gardener). 
The most noticeable plants in the premier group were Zamia Lindleyii 
and a large but rather weather-beaten Cycas revoluta in flower. Messrs. 
R. P. Kerr & Sons were the only exhibitors of six new Crotons, and were 
deservedly awarded the first prize for neat little specimens, C. Prince 
of Wales, C. Baronne Rothschild, C. Bergmanni, a large broad-leaved 
variety with beautiful creamy variegation ; Croton Evansianus, and 
C. Hawkerii. The latter is a very distinct variety, of good habit, and 
broadly blotched with pale yellow. The same exhibitors also staged 
the only group of six Dracaenas, and were awarded the first prize. Of 
these D. anerleyensis and D. Mrs. Wills were the best. 
The premier prize group of eight table plants was exhibited by 
J. H. Oakes, Esq., Alfreton, Derbyshire. These consisted of rather 
too tall plants of Croton Weismannii, Aralia filicifolia, Croton pic- 
turatum, Calyptronoma Schwartzii, Dracaena marginata, and Pandanus 
Veitchii. Plants worthy of notice in the other competing groups 
were Acalypha musaica, Aralia Veitchi, Cocos Weddelliana, and 
Croton Johannis. The best eight exotic Ferns were exhibited by 
R. Rayner, Esq., Wavertree, among which the most striking were the 
excellent specimens of Davallia Mooreana, Gleichenia dichotoma, Cibo- 
tium regale, and Cyathea dealbata. W.E. Bateson,Esq. (H. H.Elliott, 
gardener), also staged well in this class, and secured the second prize 
for, among others, good examples of Davallia Mooreana, Adiantum 
farieyense, and Cibotium princeps. 
Orchids were not shown in great numbers, nor of any very marked 
superiority. The best six exhibited by M. Sparke, Esq., consisted of 
Grammatopbyllum Ellisii, Saccolabium Blumeii Russellianum, Cat- 
tleya Dowiana (very richly coloured), Oncidium Wentworthianum, 
Disa grandiflora, and Saccolabium Blumeii majus. The best four 
were staged by Mr. T. Faulkner, and included a fine pot of Miltonia 
spectabilis. Mr. James Cyphei also exhibited successfully. 
The first prize for six Fuchsias was awarded to T. Drysdale, Esq. 
(G. Butler, gardener), Worsley Hill, for tall well-flowered pyramidal 
specimens of Mrs. Marshall, Alpha, Rose of Castille, Weeping Beauty, 
Yainqueur de Puebla, and Venus de Medici. W. Bowring, Esq. 
(J. Hurst, gardener), Aigburth, also staged well in this class, and 
obtained the second prize. This exhibitor staged the best six Zonal 
Pelargoniums, of which the most noticeable were the specimens of 
Madame Vaucher, Triumph, M. de Lesseps, and Madame Van Houite. 
Several other exhibitors staged exceedingly well in this class. 
In the classes open only to residents within ten miles of Liverpool, 
some of the freshest and best specimens of both flowering plants 
were staged, the progress made by several growers being very marked 
indeed. The premier prize group of eight stove and greenhouse 
flowering plants belonging to C. W. Newman, Esq., and exhibited by 
W. Mease, comprised large and remarkably well-coloured specimens 
of Croton interruptus, C. angustifolius, Alocasia macrorhiza varie- 
gata, Maranta Veitchii, a grand plant of Begonia Vesuvius fully 
4 feet high and as much through, and fine well-flowered specimens 
of Ixora amabilis, Allamanda Hendersonii, and Dipladenia Brear- 
leyana. The. second-prize group, exhibited by R. Rayner, Esq., 
Wavertree, was but little inferior to the foregoing, and nothing could 
much surpass the beautiful specimens of Croton angustifolius, 
Calamus ciliaris, Bougainvillea glabra, Gleichenia dichotoma, and 
Croton Disraelii. Another excellent group, and which secured the 
third prize from F. W. Leyland, Esq., comprised a beautiful specimen 
of Vinca alba and a good Gleichenia glaucescens. H. Cosfield, Esq. (W. 
Blomley, gardener), and W. G. Bateson, Esq., also staged well in this 
class ; beautifully flowered Ixora coccinea were included in each lot. 
The fine specimens of Croton majesticus, Alocasia macrorhiza varie- 
gata, and Alocasia Marshallii were conspicuously good, and the pre¬ 
mier prize group of six fine-foliaged plants, exhibited by R. Rayner, 
Esq. M. Sparke, Esq., likewise exhibited some good plants in this 
class. There was good competition in the classes for various single 
specimens, and the same may be said of the Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, 
and Coleus. R. Horsfall, Esq. (J. Stevenson, gardener) exhibited 
very fine specimens of the latter. The display of tuberous-rooted 
Begonias was unusually fine, notably the beautifully grown plants of 
Emperor, Sedenii, and Kallista, and a very fine seedling included in 
the premier prize group exhibited. E. Lawrence, Esq. (W. Wright, 
gardener), Aigburth. Cockscombs were well shown by L. Pilking- 
ton, Esq. (J. Moore, gardener), W. Mease, and others. The latter 
exhibitor also had the best pan of Achimenes. J. S. Cross, Esq. 
(S. Whitfield, gardener), secured the first prize for three Zonal 
Pelargoniums with remarkably grown and flowered specimens of 
Lyon, John Gibbon, and Mary Pearson ; Mr. Wright being awarded 
the second prize for three but little inferior specimens. S. Cross, 
Esq., also secured the first prize for six varieties, staging in this 
instance good pyramidally-trained plants. 
The silver cup offered for six stove and greenhouse plants wa3 well 
won by that very successful exhibitor Mr. Mease with grand speci¬ 
mens similar in size and quality to those in the class for eight 
specimens. 
Roses. —The display was comparatively limited, the incessant rains 
for some weeks previous to the Show having done great injury to the 
expanding buds ; yet some excellent stands were exhibited. In the 
principal open class for forty-eight triplets Messrs. Cranston added one 
more to their remarkable list of honours without any trouble, as they 
had no competitors. Some of their finest blooms were La France, 
La Duchesse de Morny, Mrs. Jowitt, a splendid Rose, having a general 
resemblance to Marie Rady, but brighter in colour and having much 
of the fragrance of the old Provins Cabbage Rose; Etienne Levet, 
Annie Wood, Dr. Hooker, very bright; Mary Pochin, very rich ; and 
Constantin Tretiakoff, splendid. The firm was in the same position 
in the class for thirty-six singles with fresh fine blooms, Jean Sury 
splendid; and Abel Carriere, John Stuart Mill, Alfred Colomb, and 
many others, very good. Messrs. James Dickson cfe Sons, Chester, 
followed rather closely with very full and fine blooms ; they also 
staged still finer blooms in the class for eighteen Roses, Comtesse 
d’Oxford and Souvenir de Victor Verdier, grand; and Mdlle. Annie 
Wood and Alfred Colomb excellent, and secured the only prize (first) 
awarded. In the amateurs’ class, T. B. Hall, Esq., Larchwood, Rock 
Ferry, secured the first position with twenty-four single blooms, 
small, but very fresh; T. Griffiths, Esq., Birkenhead, being second 
with generally larger flowers. We understood the points were equal 
for these stands, a casting point being awarded to the flower for 
general freshness. H. Thompson, Esq., Aigburth, (Mr. Savin, gar¬ 
dener), was third, but the blooms were pressed much too deeply in the 
moss. For two blooms, W. Just, Esq. (Mr. McMaster), Eastham, was 
an excellent first with excellent blooms admirably set up; T. Grif¬ 
fiths, Esq., being a good second, and T. B. Bull, Esq., third ; an extra 
third being deservedly adjudged to C. P. Newman, Esq., AUerton 
(Mr. Mease, gardener). An extra prize was awarded to Messrs. Cran¬ 
ston & Co. for an extensive miscellaneous collection, and a first-class 
certificate was granted to them for the fine Rose Mrs. Jowitt, above 
described. Messrs. Dickson <fe Robinson, Old Millgate, Manchester, 
also exhibited standards of large full blooms, but much injured by 
the heavy rains. ^ 
Cut Flowers. —For a collection of twenty-four varieties Messrs. 
James Dickson <fc Sons were first with a splendid stand, in which 
Dahlia Cervantesii, Coreopsis grandiflora, Centaurea Cyanus major, 
and Lilium puberulum shone conspicuously. E. W. Newman, Esq. 
(Mr. Mease), was a very close second; and C. Harvey, Esq. (Mr. 
Bostock), an excellent third. For stands of twelve flowers F. R. 
Leyland, Esq. (Mr. Faulkner), was an easy first with fine trusses, and 
Mr. Bostock third. 
