COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
293 
; July 24. 
Elliot, Mahnaison, Geant des Battailes, and Queen of 
j Bourbons. 
There was not a stand, or box, present that was not 
; worthy of commendation, and would, in many places, 
have been good enough to carry ofi’the principal prizes. 
The chaugeableness of the weather lately, from rain to 
sunshine and the reverse, following such a course of 
dry weather, entailed difficulties in securing first-rate 
blooms tliat can only be appreciated by those who have 
| tried. Whether the visitors thought of this or not, 
I they gave indubitable proofs, by their clustering round 
| the stands, that they appreciated the beauty and fra- 
J grance of the Roses. 
GLOXINIAS. 
These 'were shown by nurserymen and gardeners, 
those of the latter being much superior to the former. 
Even these, however, though possessing fine foliage, 
and large, well-formed flowers, were not so effective for 
display as they used to be at Northampton, because the 
flowers were not so thickly studded. This I attribute to 
no abatement of cultural skill, but to the introduction 
of newer kinds, which, of necessity, must have smaller 
roots. To combine luxuriance with redundance of 
bloom, roots about three years old are generally best. 
When the conns get very old and large, there is an 
excess of flower, with a diminution of luxurianoe, unless 
very large pots are used. Seedlings, sown early in 
spring, and cuttings made then, will produce nice flowers 
in the autumn, and better the following year, but they 
will not be so prolific in bloom as older plants. Mr. 
Gardener and Mr. Mackie stood respectively first and j 
second. 
I 
ACHIMENES. 
These were viewed with a mingled feeling of delight 
and regret. Mr. Gardener and Mr. Mackie had the 
field again to themselves. Mr. Gardener exhibited j 
much the same sorts as last year. So far as I recollect, 
a huge bush of longijlora major, and the white mar- j 
garetta, were, perhaps, the most striking. All the six ! 
plauts were perfect specimens of horticultural skill. I 
The branches wmre not so thick as last season, and 
looked all the more elegant in. consequence, there being 
a little light and shade to show the flowers off to ad¬ 
vantage. Of course, these plants had been neatly 
staked, but not a twig was visible. It is not the crutch j 
I find fault with, if it be necessary, it is the obtruding 
the sight of a faggot of these upon the eye, as if there 
was beauty in whittled stakes that lent a charm to the j 
plant so erutched and bolstered. Mr. Mackie, un¬ 
fortunately, in the present instance, dispensed with stakes 
altogether, and substituted a raised one in the centre, ! 
with a somewhat semi-circular wire-guard, through 
which the shoots might pass, and be held in their places 
without the assistance of sticks. Such a mode would 
answer perfectly for home embellishments, as the plants 
could be carefully lifted from place to place. In the 
railway vans from Northampton, the points of the 
shoots had rustled against each other, and the flowers 
were much damaged. In some cases, the longer shoots 
might be secured in bunches to stakes, and then these 
stakes be removed at the exhibition-table. Excellent, 
however, as we conceive the idea to be, it is more fitted 
for the parlour and the greenhouse than for travelling. 
Some of the plants were very large, something like a 
yard in diameter, and trained out from the sides of the 
pot, so as to form nearly two-thirds of a ball. From 
the mass of unopened buds the plants will be fine a 
week hence. There was a small plant of Achimenes 
Ohirita, treated in the same way, but the branches were 
all secured, and the flowers did not suffer, but I should not 
think it would ever assume the massive appearance of 
longijlora major, Margaretta, Tugivelliana, patens, &c. 
I have been at Courteen Hall and Delapre, and, con¬ 
sidering what is attempted, the plants that have to be 
grown, with the conveniences at command, it would be 
an honour to produce second-rate articles; and the 
honour is proportionately increased when from such 
means such fine specimens of cultivation are exhibited. 
FUCHSIAS. 
There were four groups exhibited : two belonging to 
the nurserymen, Messrs. Jeycs and Perkins ; nice, stubby, 
little plants, well grown, which would have commanded 
more attention, but for the fine groups of Messrs. Mackie 
and Gardener. These were placed equal first, and well 
worthy they were of it. They were grown in the one- 
stem pyramidal style, furnished with branches all round, 
densely covered with bloom. Both gentlemen placed a 
light and a dark variety in pairs. Mr. Mackie showed 
Banks's Glory, Duchess of Lancaster, Matildiana, Nil ! 
Desperandum, Ajax, England's Glory, Kossuth, and a | 
Lady Something, a light one. 
Mr. Gardener showed Gem of the Season, Diadem of 
Flora, Matildiana, Nonsuch, Splendissima, One in the 
Ring, Pearl of England, Kossuth. Besides these, Mr. 
Mackie contributed a number of large, tall, well-grown 
plants for the filling up of the tables, which were much 
admired, highly commended, and received an extra 
prize. 
MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTION OF PLANTS. 
Mr. Jeyes was the only nurseryman that exhibited in 
this class. Most of the plants were small, and among 
them were neat plants of Hebeclinium ianthemum, so 
useful for giving lilac Ageratum-like flowers in winter 
and spring; Echites atropurpurea, Mitraria coccinea, 
Erythrina cristagalli, and a neat bush of Cytisus 
Attleana, one of the very best for greenhouse deco¬ 
ration, as it hardly knows how to give over flowering. 
Among gentlemen’s gardeners, Mr. Gardener stood 
first, and Mr. Mackie second. Mr. Gardener had a fine 
dwarf plant of Vinca rosea, a Achimines longijlora major, 
two feet high from the surface of the pot, and three feet- 
and-a half in diameter; Erica Cavendishii. well bloomed; 
Clerodendron sguamatum, with four spikes; Kalosantlies 
coccinea; Erica vestita alba; Lantana mutabilis, a stiff, 
bushy plant, smothered with bloom, produced, I believe, 
by growing it fully, then checking it suddenly, and 
giving air and light to set the flower-buds; a Cleroden¬ 
dron fallax, with four spikes; Vinca rosea alba; Pimelea 
decussata; Pimelea Hendersonii, fifteen inches high 
and twenty inches across, a neat bush, smothered with 
bloom; and Mitraria coccinea, well bloomed. I was 
lately informed, by a successful grower of this plant, that 
it requires resting a little, placing it in a temperature 
intermediate between stove and greenhouse, to grow it 
freely, and then returning the plant to an airy green¬ 
house wheu the flowers appear. 
Mr. Mackie exhibited a nice plant of Gloxiana Duke 
of Wellington. ; a neat, healthy, well-flowered, small plant 
of Boronia serrulata; Achimenes patens major, large and 
fine, and not injured by carriage; Allamanda cathar- 
lica ; Allamanda Neriifolia, a huge bush; Erica tricolor 
speciosa; Indigofera decora, an interesting plant, when, 
as in this case, it was well studded with its pink ra¬ 
cemes ; and a huge plant of Crinum Asiaticum, with a 
very fine spike of bloom. 
Eor the Miscellaneous Collections, open for competition 
to all comers, Mr. Brown, gardener to Sir Charles 
Knightley, Fawsley Park, took the first place, and Mr. 
Jeye’s nurseryman, Northampton, the second place. 
Such a collection as that of Mr. Brown’s is seldom seen 
at a provincial exhibition. This group consisted of two 
Ixoras coccinea, one having thirteen fine heads of 
bloom; two huge masses of Coleus Blumei ; two great 
barrel-shaped plants of Allamanda cathartica; two 
