81 
May b. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
of the earth at some inches below the surface, which is 
another characteristic of the season, have caused many 
plants to be unusually backward. We are writing this 
at Winchester, on the 28th of April, and we have 
scarcely a Currant-tree in blossom; and the first flowers 
of the British Queen Strawberry are this day expanded. 
, On the other hand, the continued drought has forced 
many of our kitchen-garden crops prematurely into 
flowering; and foremost among these are our spring 
Cabbages, among which we never before saw so many 
“ runaways”; nor did our Rhubarb ever before throw up 
; its flower-stems so early. The rain has commenced this 
day. 
Decandolle’s theory that the yellow, or Xanthic world 
of flowers, never admit a blue among their tribes, and 
that the blue, or Cyanic world of the same petaled 
, creatures are as inexorable in not permitting a yellow 
associate, we have long considered more fanciful than 
probable. We remember being told by Mr. Justice 
Kekwich, at the Cape of Good Hope, that he had 
there seen a yellow Geranium; and now Mr. Fortune 
announces that he has a yellow Camellia. It is probable, 
therefore, that a yellow Dahlia will not remain “a horrid 
monster which the world ne’er saw.” 
At a meeting of the Horticultural Society in Regent- 
street, in the third week of April, a reward was given to 
Mr. Solomon, of Covent-Garden, “ for fine examples of 
Paris Cos and Grand Armirable Lettuces imported from 
France.” We mention this fact to direct the attention 
of our readers to the subject, and to request that every 
I cottage gardener will try some experiments to remove 
this disgrace from our practice of the art. Import let- 
| tuces from France! There is no more reason for our 
doing this, than there is for our importing its President 
and its grenadiers; for very superior lettuces grown 
in England can be produced on table in April. They 
hare been so grown by Mr. Labouchere and others; but 
then we are told that the cultivators were Dutch gar¬ 
deners! Now what a Dutch gardener can do on English 
soil an English gardener can effect there; and for a 
few hints on the subject, we direct attention to Mr. 
Lockhart's communication at p. lob of our last volume. 
Mr. Lockhart was for several years in Holland. 
The following is extracted from a letter from Mr. M. 
Mayes, of Durdham Down Nursery, Bristol:— 
“ The Amaryllis which lias grown against the wall of our 
pine-house, is Amaryllis aulica, var., platypetala. There is a 
figure given of this plant in the Botanical Register, but I do 
not remember in which volume. It has flowered regularly 
with us in the month of October. Its roots adhere as firmly 
to the wall as those of an orchid to a stick. I have found 
it does not succeed well in the soil I use for other kinds of 
Amaryllis, but find it will do well in the composition 
generally used for growing orchids in pots. We grow our 
Achimenes in an equal mixture of half-decayed leaves, 
, chopped moss, peat, and sand. The pots are well drained, 
j and then half filled with the compost. The roots are then 
! planted, and as they advance in growth the pots are filled 
with the soil before mentioned, an occasional watering is 
given with liquid-manure once or twice a week. We keepi 
: them in a humid atmosphere, varying from 00° to 70°, and 
shade them from the midday sun. We have a plant of 
I Epidendrum bicornutum, showing six spikes of flowers; we 
also have Renanthera coccinea, showing flowers,” 
The following is a list of the Horticultural and 
Poultry Shows of which we are at present aware. We 
shall be obliged by any of oitr readers sending us ad¬ 
ditions to the list, and giving the address of the Se¬ 
cretaries. 
HORTICULTURAL SHOWS. 
Botanic, Royal, May 10, June 0, 30. 
Caledonian (Inverleith Row), Edinburgh, May 8, June 
3, Aug. 7, Sept. 2, Dec. 2. 
Cheltenham, May 13, June 15, Aug. 20. 
Clapham, July 8, Sept. 11. 
Chiswick, May 8, June 12, July 10. 
Colchester and East Essex, May 26, at Mr. B. R. Cant's 
Nursery; June 23, at Mr. J. Taylors, West Lodge, Lexdon 
Road; Sept. 8, at the Rev. T. Round’s grounds, Holly 
Trees, All Saints. 
Derby", May 26, Aug. 4. 
Durham, June 16, Sept. 8. 
Guildford, June 16 (Millmead House). 
Hampshire, May 18 (Southampton), July 1 (Winchester), 
Sept. 0 (Southampton), Nov. 18 (Winchester). {See. 
Rev. F. Wickham, Winchester.) 
Hexham, Sept. 15, 16. 
Hull, May 27, June 24, Aug. 4, Sept. 16. 
Kirkcaldy (Fifeshire), June 24, Sept. 0. 
Lincoln, May 25, July 27, Sept. 14. 
Liverpool, May 20, June 24, Sept. 2 (Botanic Garden). 
London Floricultural (Exeter Hall, Strand), May 11+, 
25, June 8+, 22, July 13+, 27, Aug. 10+, 24, Sept. 14+, 
28, Oct. 12+, Nov. 0+, 23, Dec. 14+. 
Mid Calder (Parish school-room), July 9, Sept. 10. 
National Tulip Society, May 27 (Birmingham). 
North London, Sept. 14; Nov. 23, Chrysanthemum. 
Northampton, May 25, Tulip ; June 29, Rose and Pink ; 
July 27, Carnation; Sept. 27, Dahlia. 
South London, Royal, May 13+, 20, June 17+, 23, July 
15+, 21, Aug. 19+, Sept. 2+, 8, Oct. 14+, Nor. 11+, 
Dec. 9+, 16. 
Shacklewell, Sept. 1. 
South Devon, May 18, July 13, Sept. 6. 
Surrey Amateur (George Canning, Grove Lane, Camber- 
well), Sept. 15, Dahlia. 
Turriff, June 11, Aug. 6, Sept. 17. 
Whitehaven, July 9, Pinks ; Sept. 17, Dahlias. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
Agricultural Society (Royal), Lewes, July 12. 
Cheltenham Monster Show, June 3. {Secretaries, 
Messrs. Jessop, Cheltenham.) 
ORCHARD HOUSES. 
Such a growing desire seems to exist for the orchard- 
house, or some modification of it, that w r e need not 
apologise for returning to the subject. In order to 
ground our future remarks on a tolerably sound found¬ 
ation, let us at once examine the position of the ques¬ 
tion, and endeavour to ascertain what may, and what 
may not, be expected from its adoption. 
In thus discussing it, we will assume that a demand 
exists for some more certain provision to obtain our 
superior fruits in all parts of England north of Bir¬ 
mingham. The assumption of this town is, of course, 
arbitrary on our part; but we take it for a double 
reason,—as being nearly the centre of England, and as 
indicating, perhaps, as nearly as any other town, the 
point where our more tender fruits, which do so well 
around the southern counties as ordinary standards, 
cease to prove satisfactory. To convey an idea of this, 
who can guarantee vines succeeding out-of-doors so as to 
be profitable, anywhere north of this parallel? Or who 
can fruit such pears as the Beurre cl’Arenberg, or the 
Winter Neilis, with high flavour, melting flesh, and 
keeping properties, on the ordinary standard, in any 
county north of Warwickshire? Such, we are told, can 
be done in the neighbourhood of the Metropolis, and 
we dare say through Gloucester, Oxford, Bedford, &c.; 
