1371. J 
NOVELTIES, ETC., AT FLOWER SHOWS. 
61 
peculiar and distinguishing feature of the tree, which is one of moderate growth, 
and in situations where it will thrive, namely, in rather moist peaty soil, is one 
of the most distinct and interesting trees which can be employed for the decora¬ 
tion of the pleasure-ground, its gracefully drooping feathery spray being alike 
charming, whether wearing its summer livery of green, or putting on the more 
glowing tints of autumn. The accompanying engraving, prepared from a 
photograph taken at the Knap Hill Nursery by Messrs. Letts and Co., from a 
handsomely-grown tree of about 20 ft. or more in height, gives a good idea of 
the plumy tufts in which the annual spray is produced. It certainly is “ one of 
the most beautiful of deciduous trees.”—M. 
NOVELTIES, Etc., AT FLOWER SHOWS. 
(^fHE Royal Horticultural Society deserves to be congratulated on the very 
pleasant gathering of plants and flowers seen at South Kensington both on 
'“Ad the 18th of January and the loth of February; for from the aristocratic 
Ay Orchids down to the more homely Hyacinths, there was a charming series 
of gay-flowering plants. On the former occasion, a First-Class Certificate was 
given to Messrs. Veitch and Sons, for the pretty hybrid Cypripedium vexillarium , 
a dwarf form raised between C. Fairrieanum and barbatum ; also to E. J. Lowe, 
Esq., for two new British Ferns, namely, Adicmtum Capillus-Veneris admirabile , a 
most graceful, free-growing kind, with something of the character of A. cunea- 
tum ; and Scolopendrium vulgare consummatum , with broadish, curiously branched, 
and prettily toothed fronds. Messrs. A. Henderson and Co. received a Second- 
Class Certificate for Ficus lanceolcita , a distinct plant, with narrow, coriaceous, 
shining leaves a foot long, standing out horizontally from the erect* stem. A 
similar award was given to Messrs. Veitch and Sons for the singular buff-coloured 
large-flowered Mormodes Colossus. 
At the February meeting, Mr. Bull obtained a First-Class Certificate for a 
pretty African bulb Gastronemci sanguineum jlammeum , a two-flowered variety, 
with rosy-carmine flowers. Similar awards were made to Mr. Denning, gardener 
to Lord Londesborough, for the charming white TrichopiUa (Pilumnci) fragrans ; 
and to Mr. Green, gardener to W. W. Saunders, Esq., for the dwarf-habited 
Agave Bessereriana cimcena , a plant which appears to be grown also as A. macro- 
donta. A new variety of Primula sinensis named Princess Louise , shown by 
Mr. Tomkins, Spark-Hill Nursery, Birmingham, was awarded a First-Class 
Certificate; the flowers were of large size, and of unwonted substance, smooth, 
nicely fringed, white, flushed with rosy lilac. Mr. William Paul also showed 
some grand plants of his Waltham White Primula , one of the purest-coloured 
varieties ever seen, and though it has hitherto failed to obtain it, equally 
deserving a first-class certificate with the foregoing, because so distinct in 
character. 
The collections of Cyclamen persicum were very beautiful and varied, and 
