COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
July 24. 
297 
Orchidaceous Plants, though not in such numbers as 
we have seen them at the Chiswick and Regent’s Park; I 
they were equally well-grown, and as freely flowered. 
Archibald Ivenrick, Esq., of Westbromwich, was the 
principal contributor, though there were some good i 
plants from John Ratcliff, Esq., of Edgbaston. Below 
the Orchids, we came upon the collections of Gloxinias 
and Achimenes, in full flower, as good as any I ever saw. , 
In a retired nook, surrounded by raised terraces, the 
homely, though certainly most useful, part of the Show, 
was the Vegetables. Most country shows make these a 
prominent part of the exhibition; but certainly such 
things as Onions, Turnips, Cabbages, Lettuces, or even 
Peas are not very ornamental objects, and, therefore, 
Mr. Catling, with his usual good taste and judgment, 
placed them in such a position that they did not 
interfere with the purely beautiful. I say nothing 
against giving prizes for and exibiting vegetables; I 
think it praiseworthy to do so, and thereby encourage 
the production and knowledge of superior varieties. 
We have now traversed the whole tent, and there only 
remains to notice a few salient and conspicuous points. 
The first is the single specimen plants. In Orchids 
there were two. One from Mr. Ratcliff was a splendid 
plant of Aerides odoratum. It was fully three feet high, 
and two-and-a-half feet diameter; I counted twenty- 
four perfect spikes of flowers upon it. Mr. Ivenrick 
sent a good specimen plant of the rare Vanda suavis, 
with one good spike of its beautiful flowers. 
Mr. Ratcliff had also a good Medinilla speciosa, with 
numerous spikes of beautiful pink flowers. There was 
also a good Boronia decussata, and more handsome 
plants of Crassida coccinea. These specimen plants 
were placed at the points between the recesses, where 
they formed conspicuous objects. From the hothouses 
in the garden there were placed in the tent some noble 
plants of the Musa Cavendisldi, placed in the centre of 
circular, grassy mounds. Around them were some good 
Roses in pots, exhibited by a nurseryman, whose name 
I did not learn. These, altogether, had a very pretty 
effect. 
Rare Plants. —From the gardens of Mr. Ratcliff 
came two nice, bushy plants of the new Conifer Welling- 
tonia gigantea ; also a well-flowered Impatiens Jcrdoncc. 
From Mr. Ivenrick came the rare Ae rides Lobbii, with 
four spikes of flowers, and a new Qaleandra, not very 
showy, but apparently a free bloomer. 
Florist’s Flowers were not numerous. It was too 
early for Carnations, and none were exhibited; but 
there were some good trays of Pinks and Pansies, and one 
collection of the latter in pots. 
The fruit was good, with the exception of the Pine- 
Apples, which were rather small. The best Melon was 
one named the Bromhall. In Strawberries, by far the 
finest was one named Sir Harry. It was raised by 
Mr. Underbill, near Edgbaston. It is sufficient to say, 
that in flavour, size, and colour, it surpasses Keens' 
Seedliruj, British Queen , or any other variety there. It 
was awarded an extra first-class prize. I was informed, 
by Mr. Underhill, and several good judges there, that it 
is a prodigious bearer, in addition to the other good 
qualities that were apparent by the sample exhibited. 
The Black Hambro’ Grapes were black indeed, and of 
excellent flavour. In White Grapes, the best was a dish 
of White Frontignans, almost the colour of gold, a fair¬ 
sized bunch, and excellent flavour. 
The Vegetables were above mediocrity, but the dry 
weather, for weeks previously to the Show, rendered the 
Peas rather old. There was one good dish of the 
Champion of England, which took the first prize. 
Potatoes were excellent, clean, and bright. I noticed a 
red Early Ash-leaved Kidney, which was said to be an 
excellent variety. Lettuces were particularly good ; the 
Oolden Cos was first in that class, and the Magnum 
Bonum in Cabbage Lettuce, both excellent, large, well 
blanched, and crisp. Cucumbers were shown in num¬ 
bers. The Manchester Prize was first; green as a leek, 
and as straight as an arrow, with the remainder of the 
flower still at the end, a proof of quick growth. 
The list of the prizewinners is, of course, only of local 
interest, and I think properly left to the local papers. 
I think, from the above report, our readers will agree 
with me in thinking that this was a very good exhibition 
upon the whole, and reflected great credit upon the 
managers, Mr. Catling, and the exhibitors generally. 
T. Appleby. 
French Agricultural News. —At Algiers the corn- 
market is plentifully supplied, and arrivals along the 
coast are continual. The principal part of the grain, 
however, belongs to the War Administration. The crops 
in Algeria present the most favourable appearance; the 
temperature is extremely favourable, and the extent of 
ground sown is treble what it was two years ago. The 
cattle-markets of Sceaux and Poissy are most abundantly 
supplied. Prices, nevertheless, are still looking up. 
Some of the finest animals which figured at the last 
cattle show in the Champ de Mars have sold very high. 
A cow of the Devon breed fetched 2,800f. Mr. Jonas 
Webb disposed of his fine rams of the South Down 
breed for 2,500f. each. One of them was purchased by 
the Emperor, and the other by Abbe Fissiaux, director 
of an agricultural colony near Marseilles. A bull of 
the pure Durham breed fetched 3,200f. The bulls and 
cows shown by Prince Albert were bought by Princess 
Bacciochi. The wine trade at Bercy was very brisk 
during the week. Prices maintain themselves firm, and 
even evince a tendency to rise, owing to unsatisfactory 
accounts from some vine districts in the south. Lan¬ 
guedoc brandy sells at 178f. per hectolitre, and spirits 
extracted from beet at 130f. 
NOTES FROM PARIS.— July 7. 
The immediate vicinity of the Champs Elysees is in 
perfect keeping, not only with the architecture of the great 
Palais dc /'Industrie, but also of the charming little garden 
of the Horticultural Exhibition. There is, first, close be¬ 
hind, the beautiful pleasure-ground of the Palais de l’Elysee 
Buonaparte, in which the first Emperor, after his precipitate 
return from Waterloo, walked in earnest consultation with 
his brother Lucien. This was the scene of his last pro- i 
menade in the capital of an empire he had covered with 
glory, and which he was now about to leave for ever. Every 
walk, every tree and bush, every seat, has its historical 
interest in connection with the great modern conqueror. The 
garden of the Elysee extends from the Faubourg St. Honore 
to the Champs Elysees, a distance of about two hundred and 
fifty yards. In the same line are several others nearly of 
the same length, but not more than fifty yards wide : one of 
these is that of the British Embassy. They are all laid out 
as pleasure-grounds, being mostly filled with tall, shady trees, 
or clumps of evergreen shrubs, arranged a la mode Anglaise, 
and which afford an agreeable shade during the very warm 
sunshine which prevails here. 
The garden of the Plorticultural Exhibition is very little 
more than a hundred yards long and about seventy wide; 
but though it is so small, its limits are carefully concealed, 
and it has been laid out with good taste. Looking at it 
from the avenue of the Champs Elysees, one might suppose 
it extended a good deal further; for, in fact, it is only sepa¬ 
rated from the garden of the Elysee by a narrow carriage¬ 
way, and the two gardens seem blended together. 
The entrance-gate of the Exhibition is worthy of a palace; 
and the pavilions in the form of Chinese pagodas are much 
more elegant than the common tents. These are in an upright 
hexagonal form; the several sides, excepting that forming 
the entrance, have ample window-like openings, furnished 
