144. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[June 5. 
year; and just before we penned tliis notice we rested on 
a grassy bank beneath a treillage of Roses, near borders 
gemmed with Geraniums, Pansies, spicey Stocks, Escli- 
scholtzias, and Wall-flowers. It was at that hour of the 
almost departed sun, when the blue mist is prophetic of 
another glowing day on the morrow, when the coolness 
is no more than refreshing, and when the quietude is 
rendered more striking by the buzz of the humble-bee 
being the loudest sound upon the ear, as he struggles to 
escape from the intricacies of the clustered flowers. 
In such an hour and place we proceeded to complete 
our perusal of this volume, and it seemed somewhat 
better than mere accident, that we opened its pages at 
those on which were these lines:— 
Broods there some spirit here ? 
The summer leaves hang silent as a cloud ; 
And o’er the pools, all still and darkly clear, 
The wild wood-hyacinth with awe seems bowed; 
And something of a tender cloistral gloom 
Deepens the violet’s bloom. 
The very light that streams 
Through the dim dewy veil of foliage round, 
Comes tremulous with emerald-tinted gleams, 
As if it knew the place were holy ground; 
And would not startle, with too bright a burst, 
Flowers all divinely nurs’d. 
***** 
Yes, lightly, softly move ! 
There is a power, a presence in the woods; 
A viewless Being, that, with life and love, 
Informs the reverential solitudes : 
The rich air knows it, and the mossy sod — 
Thou —Thou art here, my God 1 
We have received tlie following interesting communi¬ 
cation from Mr. J. Hensliall, dated Java, March loth, 
1851, and we shall be obliged by a continuance of such 
communications. 
“ I write to you these few lines in reference to Gordonia 
Javanica, noticed amongst the “New Plants,” in The 
Cottage Gardener, for December, 1850, vol. v., and page 
187-8, wherein it appears that the true habit of that plant 
is at present unknown. Should you think the following 
accounts are of any service to your valuable work, they are 
with pleasure at your serviceI tirst discovered this 
beautiful plant, Gordonia Javanica, on the plains in the 
district of Tocyoe, near the base of the mountain Pangeranyoe, 
at an elevation of 3500 feet above the level of tlie sea. It 
is only found in exposed situations, where the temperature 
ranges from Fahn. 04° to 70° in the day, and occasionally as 
low as 54° at midnight. In its native habit, it is a free 
flowerer, seldom exceeding five feet in height, and will, no 
doubt, prove a valuable greenhouse plant. The most 
suitable soil appears to be sandy loam, combined with 
vegetable mould, and a treatment similar to that given to 
Camellias. It is not, like many other plants, distributed over 
a wide surface of land, but is confined to the western parts 
of Java, known as the Sundanese district. Its native name 
is j Hocroe." 
GARDENING GOSSIP. 
There is scarcely a more brilliant plant than a well- 
bloomed Mimulus, and few flowers sport so much at 
different seasons ol the year; but they are so easily 
propagated that they are looked upon as weeds. 
. a batch of seedlings, we may see a hundred variations 
in the marking, although the colours are, perhaps, essen¬ 
tially the same. W e remember seeing, a few years ago, the 
spoiling of the ground to a cream colour, and the marking 
to a piuple. lhe varieties so marked came small, and we 
do not recollect to have seen them improved upon. In 
tact, the Mimulus was neglected as a thing too easily grown 
to show the skill of the gardener, but it ought not to be 
thrown aside. 
In judging Pelargoniums, there are several points 
frequently overlooked. In the first place, seedlings being 
often exhibited with one or two pips open, the cen¬ 
sors, naturally taken with the novelty and brilliance, 
perhaps also the good form of the individual flower, 
award it the prize, when it is possible that the plant 
will not truss well; the footstalks may be too long when 
all the blooms are out, and the flowers may lay or hang 
about, instead of forming a compact bunch. Again, the 
first flower in a truss may decay before the whole are 
full blown, and the colour may not stand; the brilliancy 
of the opening flower may depart before it is full-grown. 
Another consideration is the form of the flower, which, 
before it is quite open, may seem unobjectionable, be¬ 
cause it is in a cupped state, but opening wider it may 
be loose and worthless. Therefore, no seedling should 
be judged until it is shown with the trusses full bloomed. 
The habit of a plant has a good deal to do with its value, 
and no raiser should attempt to force a seedling, nor to 
grow it carelessly, for it impairs the flower, to say nothing 
about the disadvantage to the plant. 
It seems there are to be three Horticultural Shows 
at Vauxhall Gardens this season. We have not at 
present any distinct plan before us, but it seems there 
is to be a sum of twenty-five pounds given in prizes at 
each show, 
This is a hit at the South London Floricultural Society, 
which may he felt if their own members encourage the 
rivalry; but if they abstain from showing, it will have no 
bad effect. The more shows there are, the better for trade, 
so that they do not weaken one another. 
The Amateur Tulip Society is rapidly progressing, 
and, before this appears, they will have had their annual 
show at tlie Horns Tavern, Kennington Common. It 
was, at one time, feared that the bad judgment last year 
would have prevented some from exhibiting, but the 
addition of two judges has removed the chance of a 
second mishap. 
Gardening in New Zealand .—Our attention has been 
directed to Brees’ Panorama, now exibiting in London, 
in which are seen very distinctly the principal gardens 
of the English settlers, laid out with a great deal of taste, 
and showing that vegetation is most luxuriant. Our 
ordinary shrubs become in an incredible short time 
immense trees. 
Gardeners who contemplate emigration, must not fail to 
visit this exhibition, for they will gain more information on 
gardening in New Zealand than they can in a month’s 
reading; an intelligent man explains every thing, and points 
out the residences of several English settlers. We have 
before us, also, a letter dated Nelson, New Zealand, Sep¬ 
tember, 1850, in which the writer, after observing that 
month answers to our March, but that it has more of its 
characteristic “lamb” than of its “lion,” adds—“I think 1 
before many years are past, we shall be making champagne 
here, for the number of vines every body grows in their 
gardens is quite astonishing. It is said, by competent 
judges, that our hops and barley are the finest in the world.” 
Society for Encouraging Floriculture in Great Britain. 
The subject at the last meeting was Tulips, and tlie 
point for discussion, the plurality of names by which 
some Tulips are known, many of them being sent out 
under ten or twelve different appellations. Eew, how¬ 
ever, who talk of good and bad strains of the same flower 
