June 17, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
487 
Horticultural Society's Show [is in operation. The main entrance to the 
Show will be at the junction of Wavertroe and Exhibition Roads, while 
another has been provided for at a point in the Exhibition Road opposite 
to the main entrance of the “ Sbipperie?,’’ so as to enable visitors to 
pass freely from one Exhibition to the other. Every requisite will be 
provided in the way of refreshments for the comfort and enjoyment of 
visitors, and two military bands will perform each day, that of the Scots 
Guards having been engaged for the opening and succeeding days—viz., 
June 29th and 30th. With the exception of the space occupied by one 
large tent, which will be filled with Roses, and one or two smaller ones, 
the whole of the botanic gardens, including the lawns, will be available 
to visitors as a promenade. 
- Intending exhibitors of plants, &c., are reminded that 
the entries close on Monday next, the 21st. It is expected that this 
will prove one of the largest and most important of the exhibitions ever 
held by the Soeiety. Great progress is being made in laying out the 
grounds, and many of the hothouses are already erected. The implement 
exhibition being of great extent only fine weather is required to make it 
a thorough success. Vans will be in readiness at Edge Hill and other 
railway stations to convey the plants, &c., to the Exhibition, on giving 
notice to Mr. Richardson, Curator, Botanic Gardens, Liverpool, when they 
may be required ; and the several leading railway companies have agreed 
to carry the plants on their return journey at reduced rates. Prompt 
decision on the part of exhibitors now will greatly facilitate the work of 
the Managers. 
-The Royal Botanic Society’s evening fete will be held 
on Wednesday, June 30th, 1886, in the Garden, Regent’s Park. There will 
also, as usual, be an exhibition of floral decorations, in which the following 
will he classes :—1, Floral decorations arranged for a dinner-table 10 by 
5 ; 2, Ditto, ditto, dressed ready for use; 3, Ditto, three groups for ditto, 
only one kind of flower in each group ; 4, Ditto, leaves of hardy plants 
and Grasses only ; 5, Foliage and flowers, suitable for a sideboard ; 6, 
Group of plants, arranged for the decoration of a recess, alcove, or fire¬ 
place in a room ; 7, Standing basket, furnished with plants suitable for 
growing in a living-room ; 8, Hanging basket, with growing plants ; 9, 
Bridal bouquet; 10, Ballroom bouquet; 11, Group of flowers, &c., 
stalks in water, and neither tied nor wired ; 12, Flowers (either cut or on 
the plant) which only expand at night. Medals are also offered for the 
following :—A, Arrangements of flowers, leaves, &c., for personal adorn¬ 
ment, such as wreaths, chaplets, and the like, and also for use in dress 
trimming and ornament. These may be prepared ready for attachment to 
the dress, or the dress may be exhibited as ornamented. B, Lamps or 
illuminants for ornamental outdoor or conservatory use. C, Self-con¬ 
tained garden and conservatory fountains. D, Works of art. The Glass 
Corridor and Museum will be reserved for the exhibition of paintings and 
carvings of trees, plants, flowers as pictures, or on glass, china, wood, or 
other material. The prizes vary from £5 to 10s. 
- The Tuberous Begonias at Messrs. J. Laing & Co.’s 
Nurskry, Forest Hill, will shortly he in grand condition. Already 
there is one large span-roofed house filled with strong plants in flower, 
representing the superb varieties that have been raised by this firm in 
recent years ; but there are numbers of others advancing to prolong the 
display, including many very promising novelties which we shall have 
occasi n to notice shortly. Outside considerable space is this year devoted 
to seedling Begonias, of which there is a stock of 116,000. These have 
just been planted in beds as in previous seasons, and will in a few weeks’ 
time produce a magnificent display. In other houses are choice collections 
of useful Orchids, which now constitute one of the features in this 
nursery, and Caladiums also occupy much space, most of the best varieties 
being grown. 
- The water colour drawings of Orchids exhibited by 
Mr. A. Foord Hughes at the last meeting of the Royal Horticultural 
Society were tasteful and accurate representations of some choice varie¬ 
ties from Mr. A. H. Smee’s collection at Wallington, and were much 
admired by many visitors. More attention is now being given by artists 
to these popular plants, which from their varied floral forms and colours 
would make some charming pictures. Numerous examples of such works 
can he seen in Miss M. North’s gallery at Kew, which combine botanical 
accuracy with artistic effect. 
- A manual of twenty pages, by Mr. Alfred Stead, entitled 
“ How to Grow Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots in Small 
Gardens,” has been sent to us. The author has endeavoured to make the 
subject clear to the ignorant, but we doubt if his endeavour to do so by 
counting the number of buds to be removed and shoots to retain will be 
so well understood as he anticipates. We think he is in error in saying 
the Apricot scale produces a caterpillar ; at least, we have not seen any 
of this kind. The manual is pulished by Messrs. Hamilton Adams & Co., 
London. We have another treatise on Peaches, Nectarines, and Pears of 
a little more substantial character by Mr. Robert Smith, which we will 
refer to again. 
- Mr. T. Winkworth, The Gardens, Childwall Hall, Liverpool 
sends us a flower truss and leaves of Heliotrope White Lady, which 
are much the finest we have ever seen. The leaves are 7 inches long and 
3 j inches broad, stout, vigorous, and dark green ; the flower truss is over 
1 foot in diameter, and our correspondent states this is the average size. 
The flowers are not pure white, being very faintly tinged with colour, but 
they are extremely fragrant, and the variety evidently succeeds under 
Mr. Winkworth’s management. 
- We have received a copy of the twenty-second thousandth 
impression of Mr. E. W. Badger’s “ Cottage Gardening,” which has 
been revised and much enlarged. The mere fact of this useful little work 
having attained such a circulation is sufficient to commend it to those 
requiring a sound guide to cottage gardening. 
- Mr. J. Hiam sends us the following note on Asparagus 
without beds “ Enclosed is a sample of Asparagus grown without 
preparation of the ground in any way. It is apparently from a seed carried 
by the birds and dropped upon a place in my garden, where there is not 
a foot depth of soil, resting on a very stifE clay subsoil, without drainage, 
except a gradual natural decline. I have never seen any so fine as it 
usually is, although others may have still larger. This weighs 3j- ozs. 
The root is about five years old.” [It is a very fine head indeed ; a length 
of 7 or 8 inches tender.] 
- Early Strawberries. —Some plants of King of the Earlies 
and The Captain Strawberries, which were Bent us by Mr. Laxton, have 
fruited this season, and we find them the earliest of any other varieties 
with which we are acquainted, earlier even than Pauline, which was 
grown alongside, by quite a week. We have received fruit of Princess of 
Prussia from Mr. J. Gibson of Draycot Gardens, which were grown in 
the open air and which are perfectly ripe. May not this be Princess 
Frederick William of the “ Fruit Manual,” an early and highly perfumed 
Strawberry, good alike for forcing and open air culture ? 
- Horticultural Club. —The last dinner and conversazione of 
the season was held on Tuesday, June 8th, under the presidency of Mr. John 
Lee, Chairman of the Club. A valuable and interesting paper (see page 
479) was read by Mr. C. T. Druery, on variation, with especial reference 
to Ferns. In the after discussion, in which Messrs. Lee, Pearson, Cousens, 
and others took part, many valuable facts were elicited. The Club has 
thus brought to a successful issue a series of interesting meetings, in which 
some of our leading botanists and horticulturists have taken part. It was 
announced that the annual excursion would take place on July 28th, and 
would include a visit to Heckfield and Strathfieldsaye. 
- An American horticulturist, writing in Meehan's Gardener 6* 
Monthly, has the following note on the culture of Streptosolen 
Jamesonii :—“ I set out some young plants from cuttings in May, in 
the open air, which soon grew to be bushy plants. I pinched them in, 
with the idea of making them stronger, which operation we perform on 
Bouvardias, Chrysanthemums, Heliotropes, Stevias, Eupatoriums, and 
many other plants ; but I made a mistake. Some of my Streptosolens I 
did not pinch, but left only three or four shoots, which grew quite strong, 
from half to 3 feet high. They were potted in September, in rich loamy 
soil, and, on account of their many fibrous roots, soon started to grow 
again, and in about two weeks were brought to a sunny exposure in the 
house. With proper repotting and a moist temperature, from 50° to 60°, 
they develope their beautiful numerous clusters of orange yellow tubular 
flowers, clusters almost as large as Hydrangea, commencing to flower the 
latter part of January, and continuing to May. They afford a good show 
of charming blooms, far more perfect than those that have been pinched 
in. The shoots intended to bloom need the whole season’s undisturbed 
growth. Nature not having provided them with stalks quite strong 
enough to hold up their exquisite heads, the principal points in their cul¬ 
tivation are to leave a limited number of shoots, and to skilfully aid them 
by proper supports.” 
