312 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, September 6, 1350. 
stated that he had successfully applied them this season, and the 
result was an excellent crop of fruit. 
E. G. Graham, Esq., B.A., of Cranford, brought- a seedling 
Grape, which he considered was a hybrid between the Royal 
Muscadine and the Muscat. The hunch was not 'sufficiently ripe, 
hut the Muscat flavour was very marked. It was thought to he 
very like Chasselas Musqne, and when it is considered that that 
variety frequently reproduces itself from the seed, it is not at all 
improbable that it is so like that variety as not be held distinct. 
H. Webb, Esq., of Red Hill, brought some excellent specimens 
of Grosse Mignonne Peach, which were highly flavoured. They 
were shown as exhibiting the quality of fruit grown on an exposed 
situation on the South Downs, and in a light, sandy soil. He 
also exhibited specimens of Belle et Bonne Pear, as exemplifying 
the usual condition of that worthless variety. Flemish Beauty 
and Yellow Ingestre Apple were good. 
Mr. Spary, of Brighton, brought a miscellaneous collection of 
fruit, and some excellent specimens of Black Hamburgh Grapes. 
Among the former were well-grown and highly-flavoured dishes 
of Bellegarde Beach and Elruge Nectarine. 
Mr. Swinerd, of Minster, near Ramsgate, sent three varieties 
of Nuts, which were ascertained to be Fear son's Prolific, Cob, 
and a large, long-bearded variety, which appeared to us to be 
Lambert's Nut. 
Mr. Richard Ellison, of SudbrookeHolme,near Lincoln, through 
Richard Erankum, Esq., placed at the disposal of the Council 
the sum of Ten Pounds, to be applied as the Council may see fit, 
as a premium for the best seedling Grape; the competition to 
take place at a Meeting afterwards to be appointed to be held in 
1860. The thanks of the Meeting were unanimously voted to 
Mr. Ellison. 
Henry G. Bohn, Esq. intimated his intention to repeat his 
prize of Two Guineas for the best collection of Eruit to be ex¬ 
hibited at a Meeting to be held in 1860, and the thanks of the 
Meeting were unanimously voted to Mr. Bohn. 
It is gratifying to find that the number of members being 
private gentlemen and nurserymen who have given their consent 
to the annual subscription of £1 instead of 10s., amounts to 
fifty-four. There are many still from whom returns have not 
been received; but it is hoped that those who approve of the 
course that has been adopted will lose no time in sending in their 
adherence, that the Council may, as soon as possible, form an 
estimate of what the annual income of the Society will amount to. 
It having been intimated to the Council, by the proprietor of 
St. James’s Hall, that in consequence of certain alterations about 
to be made in that part of the building where the Society meets, 
he will not be able to afford the same accommodation as he has 
done hitherto, a Committee was appointed at the last Meeting to 
provide another place; and as it was now reported that much more 
commodious and convenient premises could be obtained at the 
Hanover Square Rooms, the Committee was instructed to con¬ 
clude with the proprietors of that establishment. All Meetings, 
therefore, subsequent to that of the 22nd of September, will be 
held in the Hanover Square Rooms. 
Applications were received from seven candidates for the Secre¬ 
taryship, and it was agreed to accept the services of Mr. William 
Keane, of Kensington, subject to the approval of the next Meeting [ 
of Council on the 22nd inst. 
VARIETIES. 
Gardens in Mauritius. —The habitations of the more re¬ 
spectable or wealthy classes in Port Louis, and almost all except 
those in the central and crowded parts of the town, are of stone, 
coloured white or yellow, and protected from the sun by 
verandahs or lattice-work. They stand within enclosures, open¬ 
ing by wide and ornamental gateways into the principal streets. 
Ihese courts are planted with flowers, and shaded by the most 
rare and beautiful of tropical trees. Amongst these, the most 
umbrageous are the Bread-fruit, the Badamia, and the Tamarind, 
with its lofty light-green foliage; while the most elegant are the 
Bamboo, the Cocoa-nut, the Date, and other species of Palms. I 
Mingled with these and other tall-growing species are numbers 
of choice flowering shrubs and trees, including Ixoras, and the 
Hibiscus, with blossoms of every hue ; the Poinsettiapulcherrima, 
with its large, rich, deep crimson bracts ; the Sangdragon or 
Pterocarpus draco, at times a large tree, presenting one mass of 
bright yellow bloom. In other parts are seen the Eugenia or 
Jambosaj with its pink and myrtle-like blossoms; the Kigelia 
pinnata, Chandelier tree, with its purple bell-shaped flowers, 
resembling those of the Cob a a scandens; as well as the Bauhinia, 
and more than one species of Erythrina. But conspicuous 
beyond all the rest is the stately and gorgeous Poinciana regia, 
compact-growing and regular in form, but retaining something 
of the Acacia habit, rising sometimes to the height of forty or 
fifty feet, and, between the months of December and April, pre¬ 
senting, amidst its delicate pea-green pinnated leaves, one vast 
pyramid of bunches of bright dazzling scarlet flowers. Seen 
sometimes over the tops of the houses, and at others in an open 
space, standing forth in truly regal splendour, this is certainly 
one of the most magnificent of trees. Its common name is Mille- 
fleurs or Flamboyant. The Poinciana and the large beautifully 
yellow-flowering Colvillia, as well as some fine and fragrant species ! 
of Dombeya, and other kinds, were introduced from Madagascar 
by M. Bqjer, who also brought the Kiglia from the coast of 
Africa in 1824. Besides these and other large-growing trees, there 
are numbers of gay shrubs and flowers, either indigenous, or im¬ 
ported from India, Java, and the adjacent isles, from South 
America, Africa, and Madagascar, as well as from Australia and 
Europe. The double and single-blossomed Oleander, Neriv.m 
splendens, the bright pink-leaved Dracaena, are grown in almost 
every garden; and near one of the public roads I sometimes 
stopped to look at a splendid Brugmansia, growing, not as we 
see it in England, in spacious and tasteful conservatories, but by 
the side of a ditch that drained part of the town, with numbers 
of its large white trumpet-shaped flowers hanging in clusters 
about the windows of a printing-office, and perhaps cheering, by 
the beauty of their form and colour, the labours of the workmen 
within. The rich, delicate, and fragrant'Stephanotis floribunda, 
with which the daughters of our highest aristocracy have gar¬ 
landed their brow's on the bridal morning, here climbs up the 
lattice-work of the verandahs, and contends for space with the 
scarlet Passion-flower, or the pink, waxy, and porcelain or gem¬ 
like flowers of the Jloya carnosa or the yellow-flowering Alla- 
manda cathartica. The beautiful Lalbergia scandens frequently 
covered the walls; and the Cryptastggia, a purple-flowered 
creeper from Madagascar, occasionally overspread the largest 
trees. The Lanlana aurantiaca in some places forms hedges; 
and elegantly-growing Cactuses, presenting at times long masses 
of bright yellow flowers, are cut off the tops and sides of the 
walls with a bill-hook or sickle. To all these, Roses from England 
have been recently added; and many of the sorts, especially the 
Bourbon, Tea-scented, and Chinas, thrive remarkably well, 
though the colour of the flowers is paler, and the fragrance fainter 
than when grown in England.— (Ellis's Madagascar.) 
Henna.— The Henna or A1 Hinna ( Lawsonia inermis), is 
found in great abundance in Egypt, India, Persia, and Arabia. 
In Bengal it goes by the name of Mindee. It is much used here 
for garden hedges. Hindu females rub it on the palms of their 
hands, the tips of their fingers, and the soles of their feet, to give 
them a red dye. The same red dye has been observed upon the 
nails of Egyptian mummies. In Egypt sprigs of Henna are 
hawked about the streets for sale, with the cry of “ O, odours of 
Paradise ; O, flowers of the Henna /” Thomas Moore alludes 
to one of the uses of the Henna :— 
Thus some bring leaves of Henna to imbue 
The fingers’ ends of a bright roseate hue, 
So bright, that in the mirror’s depth they seem 
Like tips of coral branches in the stream. 
— ( Pichardson's Flowers and Flotcer Gardens.) 
Botanic Gardens at Mauritius. —So far ns natural objects 
were concerned, no place in Mauritius was to me so attractive as 
the Royal Gardens at Pamplemouses. They cover about fifty 
acres of most excellent ground, and are well supplied with water. 
They appear to have been originally laid out on a truly magnifi¬ 
cent scale. Long walks or avenues, with stone seats at intervals 
on both sides, are bordered with the most rare and valuable trees 
of both hemispheres, interspersed with an almost endless variety 
of shrubs and flowers. Many improvements in the arrangement 
of some portions of the ground were in progress ; and the whole 
seemed to be kept in as good order as the number of labourers 
assigned to them were capable of maintaining. Many of the 
useful trees and plants of Europe may be found here; and 
the number of choice Roses recently introduced by Mr. Duncan 
add greatly to the charm and attractions of the place. But the 
gardens are especially rich in the productions of China, India, 
and the Asiatic Archipelago. Some of the most choice specimens 
are from Java and the adjacent islands; while there arc others from 
the continent of Africa, as well as from Australia and South 
