328 
THE FLORIST. 
work. Of course I took notes of anything which struck me, and 
these I now transcribe from my note-book. 
I may first of all say, that I had no idea that the show would 
have been such a good one; I have never seen anything equal to 
it out of the metropolis; there were many individual plants, and 
some whole collections quite equal to anything ever seen at the 
Palace, or the Park, if not indeed superior to them. The large 
rooms of the Pavilion are well suited for this purpose, but they 
were not large enough, for in the grounds adjoining there were 
several tents all full of Ferns and other plants. Among the Ferns, 
by the by, there were but few novelties, except in regard to the 
nomenclature ; and I was rather amused to see Nephrodium molle, 
one of the commonest of the family, called Asplenium Braziliense. 
There were many other mistakes of a like character, which is 
greatly to be regretted, and is the more to be wondered at now-a- 
days, when so may ladies are scientifically proficient in this subject. 
But enough of grumbling! it was the only thing in the whole place 
I could see to find fault with, and, like a genuine Englishman, I 
have brought it forward at once. 
The entrance-hall gave a foretaste of what the Exhibition was to 
be ; it was very tastefully decorated with groups of Palms, and 
other plants, possessing remarkable foliage. This is something 
like the continental style of decoration, and is a step in the right 
direction. Brighton followed the example set by the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural at Kensington last spring, and offered a silver cup of the 
value of 10/., for the most tastefully arranged set of three stands 
of fruit for the dessert. We often find fault with the Railway 
Companies, let us also do them justice, when they are deserving of 
praise; this beautiful piece of plate was presented for this purpose 
by the L. B. and S. C. Railway Company. And this is not the 
only way in which the Railway Company promoted the interests 
of the Exhibition, for, I believe, they also brought the plants to 
Brighton free of cost. I walked round and round the table where 
the eight sets of stands were placed for more than an hour, and 
then, being ashamed to be seen for so long a time in one place, 
I walked away, but came back again several times. I never in 
my life enjoyed anything so much as I did these groups of fruit 
and flowers; no flower show will ever be complete without the 
addition of this feature in future. I shall never again despise one 
of the commonest of Ferns, which I must say has not had justice 
at my hands before ; it is Pteris serrulata, a mere weed in every 
stove, which comes up upon the soil, the paths, or even on the 
walls, if its spores can only find a moist and undisturbed footing. 
The long narrow pinnaB of this fern, hanging from the vases, 
looked quite as beautiful as those of any other plant, and much 
more graceful than those of many others. It was also shown how 
well the variegated leaves of the new Begonias are adapted for 
mixing with flowers and fruit. Thdre was another bouquet, 
which will for ever remain photographed upon my memory, it was 
a flat glass dish, filled with dark crimson roses, the spaces between 
