246 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Iforiicultural feimrtment 
To Horticulturists. — Our weekly issue of 
so large a journal, gives us ample room to devote 
to the different departments of cultivation, and 
we have commenced with this volume, to allot a 
separate space to Horticulture. We have secured 
additional efficient aid in its conduction, and we 
invite horticulturists generally, to send in their 
contributions on all subjects interesting and in- 
s tractive to those engaged in similar pursuits 
•n ith themselves. We are receiving the leading 
foreign and domestic horticultural journals, and 
shall be abundantly able to bring promptly be¬ 
fore our readers all that transpires, which may 
be new and useful. 
HORTICULTURAL SHOW OF THE RHODE 
ISLAND SOCIETY 
FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF DOMESTIC INDUSTRY. 
This Exhibition was held on Tuesday and 
Wednesday of last week, in the Hall over the 
Railroad Depot. The hall is very large, and the 
number of specimens made less show than if 
crowded into smaller space. The exhibition 
was well attended by old and young. We were 
especially pleased with the arrangement made 
to admit, at a particular hour, a large crowd-of 
the little folks. This should always be done, 
for such displays are well calculated to develop 
in the young mind a taste for the pure and lovely 
in nature. A beautiful font, of unique design, 
set up in the center of the hall, by William H. 
Topham, Jr., attracted much attention. As 
this font is somewhat of a novelty, we shall be 
glad to receive from Mr. T. a particular des¬ 
cription for publication. 
The rain and hail on Monday did much dam¬ 
age to all exposed plants, and materially in¬ 
jured many of those designed for the exhibition. 
The display of Roses and Strawberries was 
quite large. It was much to the credit of the 
managers, that every rose, and most other flow¬ 
ers and plants, were distinctly labelled. Their 
example is worthy of universal imitation at all 
similar exhibitions. 
The specimen that most interested us was a 
large and tastefully arranged bouquet, composed 
of fifty-five distinct species of wild flowers, 
gathered in the vicinity, each one plainly label¬ 
led with the common and the botanical name. 
It was prepared by Miss Mary Elizabeth Kent, 
of Lonsdale, a manufacturing town near Provi¬ 
dence. We were informed that this lady usually 
contributes a similar specimen at the exhibitions 
of the Society. Will Miss Kent please send us 
a list, embracing both names, of each flower in 
that bouquet ? 
We also noted fine specimens of Corypha 
Mauritiana; Thistle Cactus (mammilia;) Cactus, 
Eupherbia Mallirais, (resembling ears of corn,) 
and two candlesticks entirely covered with flow¬ 
ers of the wild daisy, the general form of the 
candlestick being preserved. The names of the 
exhibitors of these we did not learn, as the 
specimens were only numbered. Mr. Win. Nes¬ 
bitt, of Elm Grove, exhibited 16 showy speci¬ 
mens of the Coxcomb. 
The following list embraces the names of the 
principal exhibitors, with the premiums award¬ 
ed : 
STRAWBERRIES, 
R. Dalglish, 11 varieties, best collection, pre¬ 
mium of $4. 
S. H. Smith, 7 varieties, second best collection, 
premium of $3. 
J. J. Stimson, 5 varieties, third best collection, 
premium of $2. 
John Stone, of Warren, 1 variety, best dish, 
premium of $3. 
E. B. Pitcher, of Pawtucket, second best dish, 
premium of $2. 
Lewis Dexter, of Smithfield, third best dish 
premium of $1. 
Cornelius Manchester, of Fruit Hill, 1 variety 
gratuity of $2. 
J. F. Jolls contributed three varieties of Straw¬ 
berries, A. D. & J. Y. Smith three varieties, 
Wm. Viall two varieties. 
CHERRIES. 
L. Dexter, best collection, premium of $3. 
Mrs. P. Church, second best collection, pre¬ 
mium of $2. 
Joseph II. Brown, best dish, premium of $2. 
C. B. Manchester, second best dish, premium 
of$l. 
J. P. Smith, third best dish, premium of 50 
cents. 
Edward Aborn two varieties of Cherries, 
John Whipple, one variety of Cherries, Dr. H. 
Cleaveland, of Pawtucket, the finest samples of 
black Tartarians. They were not received until 
past 5 o’clock, or they would have had the pre¬ 
mium for the best dish. 
GRAPES. 
F. B. Durfee, of Fall River, first premium of 
$3. There were two varieties, the appearance 
in every respect showing skillful management. 
LEMONS. 
Two superb specimens from C. Allen, by D. 
O’Conner. 
VEGETABLES. 
The committee on Vegetables awarded premi¬ 
ums as follows: 
Crawford Allen, for best Cabbage, $2; for 
best Cauliflower, $2; for best Onions, $1; for 
best Turnips, $2; for best Radishes, $1; for 
second best Beets, $1. 
Richard Dalglish, for best Beans, $1. 
James Smith, best Cucumbers, $2. 
W. Nesbit, of Elm Grove, for second best 
Rhubarb, $1; for second best Cucumbers, $1; 
for only specimen of Endive exhibited, a gratu¬ 
ity of $1. 
S. B. Halliday, for best Beets, $2; for best 
Lettuce $1; for best Peas, $1; for specimen of 
seedling Rhubarb, very fine, a gratuity of $1. 
Thomas Haslam, for best Rhubarb, $1. 
->«•—— 
THE NEW-YORK HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
Held a Conversational Meeting at their 
rooms, GOO Broadway, on Monday evening the 
19 th inst. Vice-President, J. Groshon, in the 
chair. The subject for discussion was an inter¬ 
esting one, viz., On the Fruits on Exhibition. 
The Secretary, P. B. Mead, exhibited speci¬ 
mens of the following thirteen varieties of straw- 
lorries: McAvoy’s Superior and Extra Red, 
Longworth’s Prolific, Moyamensing Pine, Bos¬ 
ton Pine, Bicton Pine, Black Prince, Climax, 
Jenny’s Seedling, Walker’s Seedling, Barr’s 
New White Victoria, and Excellente. Mr. 
White exhibited McAvoy’s Superior and Long- 
worth’s Prolific. 
We arc glad to learn that Mr. Mead has en¬ 
tered upon a series of careful experiments on 
that delicious fruit the strawberry, and although 
it will take some years to make the experiments 
entirely reliable, yet his well-known skill and 
zeal will go so thoroughly through with it, that 
we shall look forward with great interest to 
the results. His success on plants set out this 
spring is quite unusual. Roses of fine sorts 
and other flowers were exhibited by John 
Cranston and others, and the discussions were 
interesting and practical throughout. 
FOREIGN HORTICULTURE. 
We sometimes wish our horticultural friends 
could sit down with us to enjoy the perusal of 
the numerous foreign journals that lie on our ta¬ 
bles. We have this moment before us the Lon¬ 
don Florticultural Cabinet, and Turner's Lon¬ 
don Florist for June. 
The Florist opens with an exquisitely-colored 
plate of five new seedling cyclamens, followed 
with a lively description of them and their mode 
of culture. We then find a sprightly article of 
four pages, in favor of brick walls and against 
glass walls for fruit-raising. This is succeeded 
by a well-written article on the harmonious dis¬ 
tribution of colors in stands or collections of 
Dahlias; and next we notice a descriptive list 
of hardy conifers, No. six, followed by hints on 
grape growing by a gardener from the country, 
in which he discourages the cultivation of nu¬ 
merous varieties of foreign grapes, declaring 
that Black Hamburgh is best, black and of 
white there is none better than the Muscats. 
He then contends that it “has been demon¬ 
strated over and over again, that turfy loam, a 
little road grit, or old mortar, and a little well- 
rotted dung—horse, cow, or pig dung, it does 
not matter which—are all that are really re¬ 
quired to grow first-rate grapes,”—only “ never 
meddle with these materials when wet.” 
On turning over the leaf, we see an article on 
frame-gardening; and the opposite page is de¬ 
voted to J. Houston, from the Royal Kew Gar¬ 
dens, on the Genus Epimedium. Next we come 
to a brilliant account of the exhibition of the 
London Horticultural Society; after which we 
have an interesting statement of the discovery 
of the Batti or White Clifton Moss Rose. The 
next is Memoranda from Kew speaking of the 
great havoc of the frost during the recent severe 
winter, and more particularly the frost of 24th 
April. After this we are introduced into the 
Crystal Palace at Sydenham ; after that to no¬ 
velties and new things, principally fine vegeta¬ 
bles. 
The Gardener’s Royal Benevolent Institution 
with all its excellences next passes under re¬ 
view ; then comes an article on numbering tal¬ 
lies, and design, No. 2, for Flower Gardens; after 
which we are treated to a description of the first 
great fete of the Royal Botanic Society, Regent’s 
Park, and the great Tulip Exhibition, the sale of 
Mrs. Lawrence splendid plants, which is fol¬ 
lowed by a valuable calender for the month, 
touching on auriculas, camellias, carnations, and 
picotus cinerarias, cold frames, conservatory ; 
and show house, dahlias, flower garden and 
shrubbery, forcing, hardy fruits, heaths and 
epacrises, hollyhocks, kitchen garden, mixed 
green-house orchids, paucics, pelargoniums, 
pinks, roses and tulips, closing with an an¬ 
nouncement of from one to seven meetings each 
sixty-three Horticultural Societies in England. 
From the above running sketch of one of the 
half dozen foreign horticultural journals, besides 
the still larger numbers at home, it will be 
readily seen we have the most abundant re¬ 
sources to furnish materials for our readers, and 
collect proof of the correctness or incorrectness 
of much that is said and written. Such articles 
