AUGUST. 
237 
I will not say of honest men, for they, I am proud, as an old exhibitor 
and as a gardener, to know, are plentiful, but of men who are qualified 
by a large experience to discharge the office of censor. It is not suffi¬ 
cient that a man should be fond of dowsers or that he should have a 
supervision of gardens, but he should be familiar with the objects 
submitted to his sentence. He must not only know that such and 
such flowers are beautiful, but he must know their degrees and capa¬ 
bilities of beauty. We can all of us admire what is lovely in Nature, 
but thoroughly to appreciate the cleverness and industry of Art you 
must have an Artist, 
H. 
SAXIFKAGA OPPOSITIFOLIA MAJOR. 
Tins was exhibited this spring at a meeting of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, by Mr. T. Rawbone, gardener to R. T. Adderley, Esq., Bar- 
laston Hall, Stone. Mr. Rawbone stated that this fine old native 
plant, of which large patches full of blossoms were exhibited, was then 
flowering in splendid condition on the stone edgings of the terrace beds 
in the flower-garden at Barlaston Hall. He wrote :— 
“ I believe this is one of the earliest flowering Saxifrages, and not 
in very general cultivation, though it certainly deserves to be widely 
spread. As an edging plant I know nothing to equal it in beauty and 
profusion of bloom. It has been cultivated here for upwards of 20 
years, and with Crocuses in the centre of the beds. The Crocuses we 
chiefly grow are yellow and white, and they certainly do contrast well 
with this beautiful purple Saxifrage, and are generally in great beauty 
at the same time. We replant some of the Saxifrage every year, and 
I find that growing on or over the sandstone edgings of the terrace 
beds it does remarkably well. We always pull it into small pieces 
before planting, which is done about September and October. 1 believe 
it will stand any sort of weather—in fact, it does so here, though the 
terrace is very much exposed. We contrive to keep the bedding 
plants from growing over it.” 
FILMY FERNS. 
The word impossible has now well-nigh become obsolete. The next 
generation will have to seek the word in a dictionary, before they can 
know the meaning of it; and practical gardeners have not been behind 
their comrades in helping to bring about this result. Our forefathers 
thought it was impossible to grow Orchids—the stages at the Kensington 
and Crystal Palace exhibitions will show whether or not they were right. 
But we need not go so far back for an example of the ingenuity and 
perseverance of the horticulturist, in overcoming difficulties quite as 
great as those surrounding the ephital wonders of the tropical forests. 
Trichomanes and Plymcnophyllums, which are found by scores in warm 
and humid climates of many parts of the world, had been repeatedly 
