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374 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY 
of Marantas, two kinds of Crotons, discolor being par¬ 
ticularly fine; Begoniapicta, extra fine; Aspidistra larida 
var., very fine, perhaps the best ever exhibited ; Pavetta 
Borbonica , Hydrangea, Tradescantia vittata , a variety 
of Pine ( Ananassa ) ; a very fine .Dumb Cane, Dieffen- 
baohia, Dioscorea discolor, Cissus discolor, Vriesia spe- 
ciosa, in fine bloom; and two more, the names of which 
I could not read. 
The second prize in this class was taken by the 
Messrs. Parker and Williams, the latter being a bud or 
graft since last May. Their beautiful specimen of San- 
seviera Zeylamca was truely named this time, and their 
others pressed hard on No. 1. Mr. Cutbush, of Barnet, 
followed in the same strain, his variegated Hydrangea 
being the best of the kind ever shown ; and the Messrs. 
Lee were next in succession. 
In another class of variegated, all out of bloom, Mr. 
Young was first, and after him a long list of others. 
Then, in the class of remarkable-looking and fine-leaved 
plants, the Messrs. Jackson and Parker and Williams 
were neck and neek. I put the Messrs. Jackson first, 
but on going round again I saw the Judges were against 
| me, though I marked the following as very superior:— 
Berberis trifurca, Rhododendron Falconeri , Gycas re- 
voluta, Gordylinc australis, and an Indian species of 
| Plectocoma. The best in Messrs. Parker and Williams’s 
were Jtheir splendid Dracaena, Philodendron pertusum, 
and Tupedanthus calyptratus. In the second collection 
of the variegated plants by Mr. Morris was a most 
splendid specimen of the Caricature plant, Grapto- 
phyllum hortense. A fresh profile of a man’s lace is 
seen in the blotches of the leavbs at each singe of 
growth. 
1 pass over all the Ferns and Lycopods till another 
day, and turn to the miscellany, the odds and ends— 
one of the richest departments of the Show. Mr. Car- 
son had a splendid Ixora coccinea here, and Dipladenia 
urophylla; Begonia rex, the “milky way” Begonia, 
from Tooting Nursery; Odontoglossum grande, the finest 
ever seen, from the Messrs. Jackson, and another new 
species of the same, more like an Oncid; a fine large 
Oleander in bloom from Mr. Mascot; a swan-neck 
Orchid, Gycnoches Loddigesii, and Miltonia spectabilis 
from Mr. Keile; Dichorisandra thyrsi/lora, but called 
ovata, from somebody; then Balsams, Verbena*, Petu¬ 
nias, and Gloxinias ; then a group of three kinds of five 
Ixoras, and five kinds of Scolopendrium vulgare, from 
Messrs. Parker and Williams; another group of dwarf 
scarlet Geraniums from Mr. Kinghorn; a seedling 
called Lord John Russell, which promises great things, 
as its namesake does now and then ; a collection of 
standard scarlet Geraniums from a different name from 
that of this time last year; and then the bedding Gera¬ 
niums in splendid confusion—three big errors in the 
first collection of sixes, Diadematum rubescens or eru- 
bescens being named Spinii, a wrong name to a different 
kind: Spleenii, after a German, is the right spelling. Mr. 
Gains gave the name and “ sent out the kind.” Spleenii 
is a very tall, strong flower; erubescens a bushy dwarf, 
j with a soft, fringed leaf, and is the parent of the 
sport called Surprise. The old original Diadematum 
j itself has a very thin, smooth, shining leaf, and 
| the flower is streaked all over like some bird’s egg 
on a rose ground. Diadematum coccineum, a very 
! lively flower, was called coccineum only. Diadematum 
j carminatum and D. jioribundum are in the same 
way. Rouge et JSFoir was true, and so was Touchstone ; 
j also the white Unique and Mr. Veitch’s new Quercifoil, 
which is an excellent autumn pm or border plant. Mr. 
Gains had all the Uniques, the Sidonia, and an oM half 
trailer, now called Princess Augusta, and about ten or 
twelve flowers among them all i Many of the scarlets 
were even worse, though more in bloom. The plants 
j were downright trumpery, and not a single Nosegay at 
the Show after all the handsome prizes offered for them. ; 
The Judges, if they gave a prize to any of the lots of 
common Geraniums which were “entered” as Nosegays, 
ought to be sent before the Lord Mayor. 
Mr. Bragg entered Princess Alice, Trentham Rose , and 
Cerise Unique as Nosegays ! (why not Tom Thumbs ?) 
while Mr. Gains entered Lady Plymouth, Prince of i 
Orange, Rose-scented Crowsfoot (pinnatijidum ), and Stag's 
Horn or Rasp leaf (bipinnatijidum) , with equal confi¬ 
dence as pure and simple Nosegays ; but there was one 
Nosegay in a very nice collection of variegated plants j 
from Mrs. Conway, called Silver Queen. She also had a 
very fine specimen of the Golden Chain and Brilliant; j 
but she had a misnamed kind in her collection of plain < 
scarlets, Lady Middleton being called CherrycheeJc Im¬ 
proved. The only really good specimens were from 
Mr Weatherill. D. Beaton. 
DERBYSHIRE—THE CLAYCROSS EXHIBITION, 
GARDENS, &c. 
This county is well known to tourists and others for 
its picturesque scenery, which is, indeed, in many 
parts of the most magnificent character. Clay cross is 
about three miles from Alfreton, and, although the 
scenery in these parts may by no means compare with 
the far-famed Matlock, yet it abounds in parts of hilly 
ranges, which are calculated to strike strangers from flat 
districts with astonishment. At a few miles from Al¬ 
freton on a lofty eminence may be seen “ Crich Stand ” 
or Observatory, one of the greatest elevations in this dis¬ 
trict. I ascended this rugged steep, and was delighted j 
with the vast amphitheatre. The whole circle of the 
horizon could be seen without the intervention of a 
single object. This is a famous place, I understand, for | 
pic-nic parties. Claycross, not long since a paltry 
country village, is now a most thriving town, and bids 
fair to be a place of high importance. Attempts have 
been made for many years to work a coal mine or two ; 
but, like the wounded snake, “ it dragged its slow length 
along” until the celebrated George Stephenson purchased 
the property, when it speedily assumed a new and rising j 
character, being in proximity to several railways. 
On Thursday, Sept. 3rd, the first season’s Exhibition , 
was held, and as a first essay was amazingly successful. | 
An excellent band was in attendance, and, placed in an | 
orchestra overhead, produced a capital effect in the i 
rooms, although, as 1 think, somewhat too loud for the I 
space in the interior of the building. Another, a juvenile j 
band, and which paraded outside the building, created 
much interest, being a drum and fife band, and com- | 
posed of boys from nine to fifteen years of age, dressed 
in a very handsome and lively costume of blue and white. 
The rooms were filled with tables in parallel lines, and 
one portion at the extreme end was converted into a tea 
room. The space allotted was thoroughly filled with 
exhibition matters, and, indeed, in some parts incon¬ 
veniently crammed, because much space was allotted 
to the tea parties, the hilarity and enjoyment of which 
proved one of the chief features of the Exhibition. 
In fruits there was little done. This county is by no 
means famed for the gifts of Pomona. There were some ! 
respectable Melons and Grapes, produced by Gladwin 
Turbutt, Esq., who is a well-known landed proprietor in j 
this part of Derbyshire, and whose dignified-looking de¬ 
mesne stands delightfully embosomed amongst the finely- 
wooded hills of liis extensive patrimonial estate. The 
Rev. T. Lund, also, had a very good Seymour's Perfec¬ 
tion Melon. Each of these took a first prize in this 
class. The latter gentleman also produced a capital 
brace of Cucumbers, Battleys Telegraph, and a fine 
dish of superior Greengages. This was much to his 
credit, as his garden, which I saw, is very small, and 
GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION, September 15, 1857. 
