THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Jut/t 19, 1859. 
221 
embosomed in the vale of Airdale—and these only the 
forerunners of the crowds expected the following day 
from arrangements made with the different railways ; and 
all, whether in the thronged tents, or traversing the 
roofless aisles, or walking on the green turf, or listening 
to the melody poured forth from five bands of music, or 
glancing at the rich, extremely diversified, and tasteful, 
though wide-sweeping dresses of the ladies—rivalled, as 
objects of beauty, only by the loveliness of the wearers 
and the flowers that competed for victory under mere 
canvass protection—all reminding us of gorgeous scenes 
never to be forgotten when Chiswick was in its young 
and palmy days. 
That the Exhibition was a good one, so far as quality 
was concerned, may be inferred from the facts that Mr. 
Turner, of Slough, and Mr. Edwards, of York, contributed 
great masses of Geraniums ; and Mr. Coles, of Manches¬ 
ter, late of Deptford, and Mr. Franklin, now gardener to 
James Garth Marshall, Esq., Headingly, but better known 
as one of the most successful metropolitan exhibitors as 
gardener to the late Mrs. Lawrence, contributed largely 
in collections of plants. According to our custom, leaving 
the minute account of prizes to the local papers, I would 
merely pick out a few of the prominent features of the 
Exhibition. 
To all who had not witnessed a metropolitan Show, the 
Geraniums from Mr. Turner were the most attractive | 
part of the Exhibition. The encomiums and notes of 
admiration bestowed upon them were endless. One lady, 
as a climax, declared she must leave them or she should 
be ill! Exhibitions confined to a certain locality soon 
lose their influence. The gardeners know pretty well 
what each and every of them can do, and can calculate 
pretty correctly the prizes they will receive. When ex¬ 
hibitors come from a distance, it is like dropping a bomb¬ 
shell in a comfortable snuggery. The wise quietly allow 
their self-satisfaction to get a good bump, and resolve to 
try and try again. Many of us have to thank Mr. Turner 
for shaking us out of our conceit and cleverness. The 
lants were splendid, as specimens, and not a leaf or 
ower out of place, though they had travelled so far on 
different rails. The kinds were partly old and cheap- 
priced, and partly new. The twelve large-flowering were 
— Leviathan, Pet of the Flock, Sir Colin Campbell, 
Saracen, Prince of Wales, Flora, Prince of Prussia, 
Prince of Wales (Hoyle’s), Topsy, King of Scarlets, 
Eugene Duval, and Carlos. The fancies were— Acme, 
Rosabella, Princess Royal, Prima Donna, Columbine, 
and Madame Rougiere. 
Mr. Edwards, of York, who exhibited in all the 
sections, showed beautiful, compact, bushy plants, well 
grown and healthy, but with the foliage too conspicuous, 
and, consequently, the flowers too thin to compete with 
his formidable rival, in whose plants the whole strength 
almost of the plants is thrown into the massive flower- 
stems. Such plants as Mr. Edwards’s looked as if they 
might do wonders in another year. Admirers as we are 
of the .John Bull pluck, that, though beaten again and 
again, will never give up in despair, we were truly de¬ 
lighted to hear Mr. Edwards express his determination 
never to be satisfied until he turned out better plants than 
the prize-takers. We truly hope he will do so, and also 
that we may have the pleasure of seeing them. Other 
growers, as Mr. Eastwood, took third and extra prizes. 
Among a collection of twelve new Geraniums, sent out 
since July,. 1857, and exhibited by Mr. Edwards, the 
most striking was Sweet Pucy, a very lovely thing, a 
French white fancy, with slight purple shading in the 
upper petals. 
Of the collections of twenty stove, greenhouse, and fine- 
foliaged plants I can only speak from memory. Mr. Coles 
was first, and among them were a fine plant of Statice 
Holfordii, the fine-foliaged Tupidanthus, a beautiful plant 
of Dipladenia crassinoda, Kalosanthes miniata superba, 
Pimelea mutahilis (a fine plant, a little past its best), a 
huge mass of Croton variegatum, a lovely well-bloomed 
plant of Jrrora coccinea, Rhopala De Jonghii (with its 
pretty singular foliage), a beautiful plant of Fpoem's 
miniata splendens, Aplielexis macrantha,FricaEasoniana, 
Rhopala magnifica (with its fine graceful foliage), Dipla¬ 
denia splendens (fine), a large Allamanda Cathartica, a 
beautiful Cibotium Sieboldii, Kalosanthes coccinea, Phono- 
coma prolifera ; and if we forget some, we never can for¬ 
get the charming foliage of the Cyanophyllum magnificum, 
the gem of the Exhibition, and the finest plant, so far as 
we are informed, of this charming novelty in England, the 
stratified and massive leaves measuring at their greatest 
length and breadth thirty inches by sixteen. 
Mr. Franklin followed these with huge masses of 
Begonia rex, a plant of Dracaena ferrea, Ananas sativa 
variegata, a fine plant of Caladium bicolor splendens, a 
large plant of Ixora coccinea , a gem of Dendrobium nobile, 
a huge mass of Begonia Xanthina argentea, a neat plant 
of Clerodendron fallow, Aerides odorata, a huge mass of 
Allamanda Cathartica- , a fine plant of Dracaena ferrea 
picta, fine plants of Dieffenbachia picta and variegata, 
a large plant of Maranta zebrina, and its next door, 
though, perhaps, higher-coloured neighbour, Maranta 
Warscewicsii, a name much easier to manage with the pen 
than the tongue. 
As a sort of index of the taste for superior gardening 
near Leeds, and also of what strangers may expect to 
encounter when they choose to enter the lists on future 
occasions, I may mention, as one instance, that Mr. 
Franklin showed successfully small collections of Heaths, 
Ferns, Orchids, six stove and greenhouse plants, and 
three sixes of variegated fine-foliaged plants. Among the 
most conspicuous of these were fine plants of Maranta 
regale and lineata alba, huge plants of Begonia rex, 
splendida argentea, &c., Dracaena ferrea picta, Croton 
pictum, Caladiums, bicolor, pictum-, picturatum, &c., and 
a dense large-spreading bush of the pearl-dotted Sonerilla 
margaritacea. The same gentleman also exhibited a fine 
lot of seedling Begonias, with beautifully veined, dotted, 
and blotched foliage, which were highly commended; 
whilst a certificate of high merit was awarded to one of 
these, named Marshallii, combining but exceeding the 
striking good properties of rex and grandis. Mr. Frank¬ 
lin was warmly congratulated for raising this beautiful 
gem. There can be no question that Marshallii will 
stand first at present among these fine-foliaged plants. 
I would then make grandis second, and rex third general, 
instead of generalissimo. 
The prizes for Gloxinias were taken by Messrs. Ander¬ 
son and Batger, the latter gentlejuan being gardener at 
Emery House, the residence of Joseph Gott, Esq., where 
great improvements are being effected, and from which 
fine views are obtained of the old abbey and other objects 
of interest in Airdale. Among the Gloxinias was a fine 
mass of an upright-growing kind, named Carthusiana. 
The fruit, on the whole, was medium in quality, and 
deficient in quantity, though there were not wanting fine 
specimens. In Pines and Grapes Mr. Batger was the 
most successful. Strawberries and Cherries had evidently 
partaken of the dry weather, which for two months pre¬ 
viously had visited that neighbourhood. All united in 
saying it was too early to see the fruit growing of the 
neighbourhood to advantage. An exception must be 
made in behalf of a tastefully-arranged group of fruit, 
but which came from a distance, I believe, and was ex¬ 
hibited by a Mr. Wilson. The group, as a whole, was 
about three feet and a half in height. The base was 
formed of a round vessel covered with beautiful foliage, 
on that, a framework was placed, like a wire trainer for 
creepers, and surmounted by another circular vessel; 
part of this open twiner, or pillar, was filled with flowers ; 
flowers also peeped out on the lower dish, among the 
heaps of Cherries, Strawberries, and (Nectarines. The 
upper dish was filled in a similar manner, but including 
magnificent Peaches and Apricots, centered by a nice 
