June 5.1 THE COTTAGE GARDENER 145 ! 
think of this simple fact: seeds out of the same pod will 
bring flowers a good deal alike; but there is no such 
thing as good and bad strains of the same identical 
variety. If we have a very foul flower, and a very line 
one that we know to be from the same origin, we may 
call the better one a line strain, and the other a coarse 
strain ; but another season the so-called fine strain will 
be as coarse as it can be, and the coarse one altogether 
as fine. 
We know there are many tulips called Polyphemus that 
arc not true, they are as similar as two seeds from the same 
pod may be, and one may be liner than another. A so-called 
Polyphemus that will constantly come fine would be invalu¬ 
able. Brown’s Ulysses is a seedling from Polyphemus, and 
in constancy, as well as good points, in many respects su¬ 
perior. Tulips were reported to be backward. Nothing of 
consequence exhibited. 
No less than seventeen nurserymen have availed them¬ 
selves of permission to exhibit plants in the Crystal 
Palace, and to us, Goths as we are, the plants formed 
the most striking feature. 
The public have learned rather an important fact, too, for 
Mr. Fergusson, of Stowe, informs them in a very conspi¬ 
cuous manner, that he sends out bedding-plants at a shilling 
a dozen, and has taken orders at the palace for thousands. 
Nurserymen are the only people that do actual business in 
the exhibition, and the people in the refreshment-rooms 
seem to be the only ones that do business near it. 
National Florticultural Society, May 22nd.— 
A. W. Newhall, Esq., of Woolwich, in the chair. Censors, 
Messrs. Davidson, Woodhouse, Robinson, Ayres, Lid- 
gard, Goldliam, Parsons, and Staines. Thirteen new 
members were elected, and four proposed to be ballotted 
for at the next meeting. As usual there were a great 
number of seedlings of all the florists’ flowers now in 
bloom exhibited, and none were without some desi¬ 
rable quality; but it must be allowed, very few had a 
decided improvement in every point. The censors only 
selected the following:— 
A certificate to Mr. E. ft. Henderson, of St. John's Wood, 
for a Cineraria, named Rosalind, with a grey disc, white 
ground, and beautifully edged with sky blue. It was, also, 
of a good form and substance. A certificate to Mr. Hunt, 
of Maida Yale, for a Pansey, named Pandora, with a yellow 
ground, edged broadly with purple, pleasingly shaded with 
puce; a fair size, good form and substance. A commenda¬ 
tion was given to Mr. Ambrose for his Cineraria, named 
Formosa, with a white ground, dark disc, and rosy purple 
tip. A commendation to Mr. E. G. Henderson for his 
Cineraria, named Nonesuch, a light purple self of fair pro¬ 
perties. A commendation to Mr. Chater, of Saffron Walden, 
for a Cineraria, a white self of a good shape; likely to be 
useful. Pelargoniums, Magnet, Chieftain, and Herald, came 
from Mr. Hoyle, of Reading. The first and second we have 
already noticed; the third is new, and desirable, with dark 
top petals, and the lower beautifully mottled, and a clear 
white eye. The censors desired this to be shown again. 
Mr. Dobson, gardener to E. Beck, Esq., Isleworth, sent 
his Pelargonium, Incomparable, a flower of considerable 
merit, and Malle, a new striking flower, with dark upper 
petals, and light lower one tipt with dark colour. 
Mr. Bragg, of Slough, sent also some seedlings of Pelar¬ 
goniums, the most remarkable of which was one named 
Prince Albert. This was a smooth well-formed flower, the 
upper petals dark purple, the lower a pleasing rose-colour. 
Mi-. Ambrose had also several seedling Fancy Pelargo¬ 
niums. The best was one named Figaro, with very large 
flowers of a light rosy colour. 
Mr. Gaines, sent several seedling Calceolarias of some 
merit, especially those named Confidence, a dark flower well 
marked, and Minerva, yellow ground, and covered noth well- 
defined dark spots. Messrs. Henderson, of Pine-apple - 
place, sent several seedling Calceolarias, well marked, but 
deficient in form. 
Mr. Willison, of Whitby, Yorkshire, sent several breeder j 
Tulips of some merit, especially one named Juliet, a finely- 
formed rose with a clean bottom. Mr. E. G. Henderson 
had some seedlings or new Gloxinias; one named Thin 
Humboldt was good—a light variety in the way of Alba | 
sanguinea. 
Mr. Moore, of Perry Bar, near Birmingham, sent several I 
seedling cut flowers of Rhododendrons, chiefly scarlet, but ' 
not sufficiently distinct to merit a notice by the censors. 
The tables were ornamented with collections of Cinerarias 
of named kinds, from Messrs. Henderson, of Pine-apple j 
place, and from Mr. E. G. Henderson, of St. John’s Wood; 
also collections of Tansies from Messrs. Bragg, Turner, j 
Brown, and Skinner. Fancy Pelargoniums from Messrs. 
Ayres, Ambrose, and others. These collections of approved 
named varieties are exceedingly useful, as well as orna¬ 
mental : they serve as a beacon and guide to tlie censors 
not to give any prizes to any seedlings but what are decided 
improvements upon those of established character. 
The Trowbridge Horticultural Society’s Second Grand 
Exhibition will be held on the 20th of August, and not 
on the 27th, as originally announced. The prizes are 
liberal, varying from A5. downwards. E. Y. 
NEW PLANTS. 
THEIR PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. 
Officinal or Indian Tamarind (Tamarindus offici¬ 
nalis or Indicus). —The genus Tamarindus was named by 
the great Linnaeus, from the Arabic name of the Date, 
Tamar, and Indus, India, that is literally the Indian 
Date. In his sexual system it stands in the sixteenth 
class, Monadelphia, the stamens being monadelphous— 
that is, joined together with the style at the bottom, 
and 6th order Decandria, the stamens being nine or ten 
in number, three of which only are fertile. It belongs 
to the Rectembryous division of Leguminous Plants 
