1876. ] 
GAEDEN GOSSIP. 
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Pot-Roses; the middle tier of a bjind of Isolepis, in which were set several circular baskets 
of magnificent Mardchal Niel Roses, from the Oheshunt Nurseries ; and the front, a belt of 
finely-grown Cyclamens. The effect of this was particularly good, and altogether the Royal 
Aquarium Company made a very creditable d^hut, thanks to the good arrangements of their 
superintendent, Mr. John Wills. The Royal Horticultural Society has had one, and Royal 
Botanic Society two shows of the usual type, in which many interesting objects appeared. 
- SThe Exhibition of the Royal National Tulip Society is fixed to take 
place at the Manchester Botanical Gardens on May 26 and 27. We are glad to 
learn that the subscriptions are good, and the prospects of a large number of 
exhibitors very encouraging. It is to be hoped that everyone interested in these 
gorgeous flowers will do his best to add to its success. 
- 0N several occasions during the blooming season we have seen flowers 
of Mr. G. Lee’s Violet Prince Consort^ which we have no hesitation in stating is 
the finest variety yet raised, as to form and substance of flower, and quite equal 
to any other in habit, in colour, and in fragrance. The flowers are of a deep pm-ple, and 
completely eclipse those of the Czar, with which it has been compared. Mr. Lee states that he 
has grown flowers of this Violet in pots as much as 1 in. 5 lines to in. in diameter. So con¬ 
vinced is Mr. Lee of its merits, that he has determined not to let it out unless he obtains 
orders for it to the extent of £1,000, and ho is not at all anxious to dispose of it even on 
these terms, as he finds the blooms extremely valuable for market purposes. It is even 
better than Mr. Lee’s Queen Victoria. 
- She Common Comfrey has long been known as a fodder plant, but the 
Symphytum asperrimum^ or Caucasian Comfrey^ is said to exceed it in produc¬ 
tiveness, and according to a pamphlet published by Messrs. T. Christy and Co., of 
Fenchurch Street, yields from 60 to 120 tons per acre. It is said to be especially adapted 
for feeding and fattening stock, and for increasing the milk of cows; while on land yielding 
but eight tons per acre of grass, cut green, it gives a produce of 100 tons or more. It is 
claimed for this plant that, being a preventive of fever, cattle fed upon it are found to be free 
from the ravages of the foot-and-mouth disease. The pamphlet above alluded to contains 
the evidence collected in support of these statements. 
- ^HE Universal Translations Institute^ which has its quarters at 59 
Mark Lane, London, may not, at first sight, appear to have any very close rela¬ 
tions with matters of horticultural and floricultural interest. Nevertheless, as in 
these cosmopolitan times the interchange of plants and documents with foreign countries is 
by no means a rare occurrence, such of our readers as may be unskilled in foreign languages 
may be glad to know of the existence of such an establishment, at the head of which, more¬ 
over, is a name well known to horticulturists—Mr, Ernest Bergman, the proprietor, being a 
son of Mr. P. Bergman, the talented gardener to Baron Rothschild at Ferri^res, near Paris. 
The Institute has now been established about eight years, and the number of its clients attest 
its public utility. 
- ^HE original tree of the upright Oak, Quercus Robur fastigiata^ near 
the village of Haareshausen, by Aschaffenburg, is stated to be 100 ft. high, 
3 ft. 4 in. in diameter breast-high, and about 280 years old ; the first branches are 
given off at about 30 ft. from the ground. The first descendant of this fine tree adorns the 
grounds of Wilhelmshohe, near Cassel; it stands near the castle, and is 92 ft. high, and a foot 
less in diameter than the parent tree. The age of this specimen is estimated at 90 years, and 
it is a very vigorous, healthy tree, branched to the bottom, so that it may be expected to 
exceed the parent tree in height and size, as it does already in beauty. 
- Some New Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums^ which have been raised by Mr. 
George, of Putney, have passed into the hands of Messrs. E. G. Henderson and 
Son for distribution. They are of free and vigorous growth, with bold trusses 
of large well-formed flowers. Their names are,— Camballo, rich lilac, tinted with rose, and 
