May 29. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
343 
Street as Hedaroma ; and the author of the name, Dr. 
Lindley, spells it Hedaroma ; in “ The Vegetable King¬ 
dom.” Surely the Doctor must be right ? 
Embothrium coooineum, a new half-hardy plant, from 
Mr. Veitch, looked exactly like a young Ixora coccinea, 
but was not well coloured. I heard, five-and twenty 
1 years since, that this was one of the most brilliant scarlet 
flowers belonging to South America. Anderson was in 
raptures with it; but the seeds he sent home failed. I 
! think it ought to have cold frame culture from the 
moment the flower-buds appear. Like Hedaroma, the 
least forcing may be fatal to the colour. 
The rice paper plant, Aralia papyrifera, was shown 
by Mr. Veitch, but not in bloom. It has large, soft, 
palmate leaves. 
Andromeda formosa, from Pine-Apple Place, would be 
a fine thing if it would bloom out-of-doors. Perhaps it 
will. I recollect fioribunda being kept in the greenhouse. 
Formosa has all the parts larger than fioribunda. 
Grevillea sulphurea is not much, but G. lavendulacea 
is better. Both were in Mr. Henderson’s collection, also 
Gastrolobium and calycinum Drummondii, Pultencea, erici- 
folia, with small, brownish-yellow pea flowers, with two 
species of Rhopala, and some older kinds. 
The best-grown single specimen at the show was a 
Heath, from Mr. Veitch, named Bruniades, a variety of 
Gnaphalioides, and of which Eriocephalis is another 
variety. The three, if there is so much difference in them, 
are the most difficult of all the Heaths to getup as first-rate 
specimens. I saw just such another specimen of Gnapha- 
lioides, in May, 1837, with Mr. McNab, at the Edin¬ 
burgh Botanical Garden, who is my authority for this 
difficulty; also, Odontoglossum Karuveskii, which looks 
in the way of Epidendrum leuchochilum, and three pots 
| of Sivainsonia lessortiatfolm, which promises to be a good 
thing. The flowers were purplish. 
Mr. Dennis had six of his Alma, a forcing Geranium, 
mentioned already. 
Mr. Windsor had a standard Fuchsia, trained umbrella¬ 
like. This was the only Euchsia at the show. 
Mr. Cutbush had a very pretty novelty, called TTypo- 
calymna robusta, the very opposite to the specific name, 
being a graceful, slender plant, four feet high, with long, 
straggling shoots, loaded with little pink flowers as close 
as they could stand. 
There were many more “ specimens,” the three best of 
which was a Gompholobium barbigerum, from Mr. Clark ; 
a large, deep rose Azalea, called Empress Eugenie, from 
Messrs. Rollinson ; and an Erica favoides elegans, four 
feet high and six feet through, from the same firm. 
Mr. Lane had a silver medal for a collection of hybrid 
Rhododrendrons, in which were two good yellow ones; 
a pale buff one; a fine rose, called Augustum ; a white, 
called Nivalis ; and a very large Gibsoni, nearly pure 
white. 
Mi\ Gains had another such collection, of which 
| Delicatissimum was the most distinct. 
Messrs. Standish and Noble, among other things, had 
the large Rhododendron Edgewortlii, mentioned at 
j page 106, where I am made to say twenty heads of 
j flowers, instead of twenty flowers. This splendid Rho- 
j dodendron had the twenty flowers full open that morn- 
i ing, but not quite so many after the royal visit. Her 
Majesty never admired a plant so much before; and who 
would begrudge her one of the shoots ? 
I 
AZALEAS. 
There never was seen at one show such a number of 
Chinese Azaleas. I was regularly astonished at the sight; 
one side of the longest tent was filled with them from 
end to end; they were of all heights under eight or nine 
feet, and of all diameters under seven feet; some of 
them, as those from Mr. Clark, had not a single stick in 
them, and those from Mr. Lane were very free from 
stakes. The double red is now the one admired the 
least. Exquisita, and Variegata, Iveryana and the 
“union” ones, are the most admired of the light ones; 
the union is, when two or three kinds are grafted on one 
plant. The most conspicuous of the red ones are 
Decora, Coronata, and a new one to the exhibitions, called 
Susanna; it was in a collection of standards by Mr. Bray ; 
I never saw it before.' I think there were twelve collec¬ 
tions of them. Messrs. Lane and Fraser took the best 
nursery prizes, and Mr. Carson, gardener to W. G. F. 
Farmer, Esq., was at the head of the private growers. 
FRUIT. 
A single fruit of the Mangosteen ( Garcinia Mangos- 
tana ), from Sion Llouse, was the lion of the day; it was 
gathered with two opposite leaves to the spur on which 
it grew, and was about the size of a small Orange, Snd 
of a dark purple colour. One of our great patrons of 
gardening came up at the time and gave me the follow¬ 
ing note, respecting the Mangosteen, “ for your Cottage 
Gardener.” There were but three specimens of it 
ripened, one of which was cut and “passed round” at 
Sion House ; the second was presented, the other day, 
in Paris, by the Duchess of Northumberland, to the 
Empress of the French ; and the third, then before us, 
was to be sent to the Queen, at Buckingham Palace, that 
evening. 
There was a collection of Mandarin Oranges, little 
plants in pots, from Mr, Fleming; and two very dwarf 
pot-Vines loaded with White Muscadine Grapes, from 
Mr. Constance, gardener to C. Mills, Esq., Hilling¬ 
don ; such another hit as Roses in pots. I never till that 
day saw a Vine in a pot which I should like the credit 
of sending to a gentleman’s table ; but Mr. Constance’s 
pot-Vines would be an ornament on the best dessert 
: table in this country, aud, likely enough, will rouse the 
spirit of Grape-growers and dessert fanciers to such a 
pitch, that pot-Grapes, or Grapes in pots, will be as 
much sought after at table as pot-Strawberries; for the 
latter we are indebted to Mr. Fleming for hitting on the 
plan of having all the Strawberries on a plant ripe for 
I table at the same time. 
The Black Hamburghs and the Strawberries were 
exceedingly good. Cherries were also superior, and the 
whole had a richness and lusciousness about them, as you 
looked down the long benches, as I never saw before at 
a May Show. Mr. Clements, of East Barnet, had the 
first medal for Black Grapes; Mr. Slowe, gardener to 
W. R. Baker, Esq., had the second best medal; Mr. 
Dods, the same, and, I believe, Mr. Fleming as well; at 
all events, there was little difference between the three 
lots. Mr. Breadley, gardener to Sir S. M. Peto, at 
I Summerleyton, had a prize for very good Black Grapes, 
; as also Mr. Munro, gardener to Mrs. Oddie. Mr. Sparry, 
of Brighton, would seem to have a distinct variety of 
Black Ilambro —they are always small in bunch and 
berry, but as black as sloes at all times. Mr. Breadley 
had the best White Grapes, but this dull, cold spring 
was so much against the appearance of White Grapes, 
that none of them were nearly so good as we had in 
May, 1854. Lord Boston’s gardener, Mr. Robinson, had 
the heaviest and best Pine—such another Providence 
as he sent to Regent-street on the 8th of May — it 
weighed 7 lb. 4 oz. There was another showy Providence. 
from Mr. Clements, above 5 lbs. Mr. Fleming, and Mr. 
McEwen, of Arundel, were also successful with smaller 
Pines. Mr. Fleming had the best Peaches and Necta¬ 
rines, also best Cherries—the latter, and the Elruge 
Nectarines, were particularly well-coloured, as was also 
a dish of Cherries from her Majesty. Strawberries were 
numerous. Mr. McEwen took the best prize for them, 
and for Raspberries. Mr. Cox, gardener to J. Hodges, 
