103 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Mat 24, 1859. 
out of every ten in tlio kingdom — a soft weed infesting 
walks. 
Tke Azaleas were most splendid; tho first prize for 
the largest number (ten) went deservedly to Mr. Carson 
and to Mr. Green — two of my next-door neighbours. 
A yellow sinensis in each group: JExquisita and Alba 
superba to match, in Mr. Carson’s, with Lateritia, Mur¬ 
rey ana, Broughtonii, Triumphans, and Berryana allround. 
Mr. Green had Symmetry in addition— Sir Charles Na¬ 
pier (a fine large kind), Iveryana, Semiduplex maculata, 
and Coronata, the clearest colour. Mr. Page was next; 
Purpurea and Triumphans being the most conspicuous 
in his lot. 
In collections of eight Azaleas, Mr. Terry was first 
with Glory of Sunning Mill, Rubra-plena, Magnificans 
(white). Criterion, Harlequin, with several kinds worked 
on one stem, with Duke of Devonshire and Delicata, were 
his best. Mr. Turner, of Slough, stood next. Variegata 
was his key-plant for setting ; it stood in the front row 
with Lateritia on one side and Glory of Sunning Hill (to 
match) on the other ; then two light ones behind— Crite¬ 
rion and Alba lutescens; and three at the back—two 
reds on each side of a purple, the purple being Arborea 
purpurea; and no lady could place them better. Mr. 
Atlee was next, and Mr. Hally, Mr. Ivery, and Mr. 
Gaines next in the nursery class, and a host of others 
all with fine plants. 
The collections of six Azaleas were not so numerous; 
Mr. Peed and Mr. Hamp being the luckiest for prizes, 
but the kinds not much different from the above. Mr. 
Ivery had a large collection of different kinds of Azaleas 
edged with his Rosy Circle, a very dwarf, bright, lively 
bloomer; Model, Gem, Crispiflorum, Admiration, Sir 
James Outran, and Criterion. Mr. Turner had in his 
tens, for which he took a first prize, Petuniceflora (a re¬ 
markable new style of bloom), and Prince Jerome (very 
rich). Among a large lot of cut blooms from Mr. Ivery 
was one large, light kind, called Flower of the Day, which 
he places high in the scales. 
Heaths were not so numerous. Mr. Peed took first 
and second prizes for sixes; Mr. Green was next, fol¬ 
lowed by Mr. Frost and Mr. Chilman ; but I need only 
mention those which had the first prize for a nurseryman. 
Mr. Cutbush, of Barnet, who had eight kinds— Albertii 
superba, perspicua nana, favoides, elegans (which was 
called glauca in another collection), depressa, florida, 
Ventricosa coccinea minor, and Beaumontiana. 
Then followed collections of tall Cacti, the best speci¬ 
mens yet exhibited. Mr. Green takes the lead in them; 
but Mr. Bunn and Mr. Summers were hard upon his heels. 
Mr. Green had a huge plant of crenata in fine bloom; 
his others were of the speciosa breed. Mr. Bunn had 
also a crenata Fgertonii, which is of the whipcord kind; 
the rest of speciosa breed. Mr. Summers had a remark¬ 
able seedling of the speciosissimus, the finest of the race, 
and called Scott’s Seedling, and a light orange one, which 
is also new, and called Pfersdorff s Seedling. 
Twenty-four kinds of cut Tulips and twenty-four cut 
Verbenas from Mr. Turner next. Cut Pansies from Mr. 
Shenton next. Six Hippeasters from Mr. Gaines ; but 
mauled sadly in St. James’s Hall the week before. 
Fuchsias were not so good as they will be ; nor were 
they placed right for effect. Strange that any one could 
place colours and habit so as to ruin both, as far as effect 
goes ! Mr. Elliott was first placed, three and three— 
Venus de Medici, Souvenir de Chiswick, alias Fairy 
Queen (white), Snowball, Voltigeur, and Madame some¬ 
thing. 
After the Fuchsias was a fine collection of Everlastings, 
or kinds of Aphelexis, from Mr. Laybank. 
Then six fine plants of Centaurea candidissima, the 
best silver plant, and six beautifully-grown plants of 
variegated Coltsfoot from the Messrs. Lee, who recom¬ 
mend this Coltsfoot for edgings to flower-beds; but I 
would much sooner order Morrison’s pills to a newborn 
babe. This very thing has got hold of my bed of early 
Cabbage, and I despair of over getting rid of it; and it 
would most certainly ruin the best flower-bed in England 
in three years. Yet it is a most beautiful leaf. 
Then a collection of novelties from Mr. Veitch— Aphe- 
landra Portiana being the best, and Begonia amabilis, 
from Assam, the next best, having a neat small leaf 
clearly marked with a light, broad “horseshoe,” as one 
might say, or foliis zona notatis, as a botanist would say. 
Begonia.Queen Victoria is not at all worthy of that name ; 
it is like a seedling from Beichenheimii— argentea is 
distinct, a large leaf of one colour, and the richest yellow 
flowers. Isoplexis sceptrum, a tree Foxglove, having the 
habit and leaf of some Anchusa, and a central spike of 
bloom, the flowers crowded on the top part, and dingy 
yellow, and of the size of a Foxglove flower three-parts 
grown; and some beautiful small Ferns, some of them 
under bell-glasses. 
In another part of the Exhibition, Mr. Veitch exhibited 
the lovely little variegated Potlios I mentioned from the 
hopeful at St. James’s Hall; also one of the Welling- 
tonias which were there; and the best of all his novelties, 
the Holly-like Olive from Japan; also a very pretty¬ 
looking Maple from the same, called Acer Japonicum 
polymorphism. It seems a slender thing, and the young 
leaves are purple like some of the old kinds when they 
first come out. Here stood two plants of Rhododendron 
Dalhousianum from Mr, Paul, of Cheshunt, with their 
Lily-like primrose-coloured large flowers. Two months 
back it was in bloom at Brahan Castle, near Dingwell, 
the seat of the once-powerful chieftain of the Mackenzies. 
By the side of these stood a very pretty variegated Gera¬ 
nium, from Mr. Turner, with white, green, purple, 
orange, and scarlet in the same leaf; the name is Pic- 
turata. A wrong use of that word—he meant Pictu- 
ratum. If we do not keep to the old rule of the adjective 
agreeing with the substantive, in “ gender, number, and 
case,” we shall have the Universities down upon us again. 
Calceolarias came next; few of them, and nothing par¬ 
ticular about the kinds, unless it is that one collection of 
nine kinds, after the Kentish Hero breed, may turn out 
to yield good bedders. We shall see. 
A large collection of Cacti, from Mr. Summers, by the 
side of his Spergulapilfer a (not pilosa). All true to name. 
A rare thing with them. One of them called Echino- 
cactum myriostigma, I gave Mr. Low forty guineas for a 
match pair of them, the first that were introduced 
twenty-two years back this summer, and I wa3 pleased 
to hear that the tribe was beginning to attract attention 
once more. Then a bank of British and Foreign Ferns, 
and odds and ends, and cut Boses. But stop till I come 
to Boses, and then-~. 
Orchids. —Beautiful, splendid, numerous, fine, and 
most brilliant. Mr. Dods first in tens, and Mr. Green 
first in sixes. £10 for the first; £5 for the next. £10, 
also, to Mr. Wooley, for fifteen plants. £15 to Mr. 
Carson, for his fifteen-plant collection. £15 to Mr. 
Gedney, for ditto. £20 to Mr. Bullen, gardener to J. 
Butler, Esq., Woolwich, for a twenty-plant collection. 
Besides the smaller sums, and those who went with no 
prize, and who can say Orchids are not still the rage at 
Shows ? I can only point out a few here and there, 
taking them in the order they stood. Mr. Green had On- 
cidium lanceanum, and he is almost the only grower who 
does it well. Mr. Page, who had a second prize for sixes, 
had Cymbidium aloifolium, with eight or nine long, 
drooping spikes of bloom. This, the oldest in the book, 
could not be seen in bloom at all till very recently. Mr , 
Dods had the finest Dendrobium densijlorum that was 
i ever exhibited; and Lcelia purpurata, with nine magnifi¬ 
cent blooms. Mr. Wooley the same Ladia, very fine, 
with five blooms. Mr. Gedney, Ijcelia cinnabarina, Den¬ 
drobium albo-sanguineum —a fine thing, Chysis bractescens, 
Lycaste Skinneri, and Pliaius Wallichii, among the best. 
Mr. Carson, Burlingtonia rigida, very large; Dendro- 
