THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, November 16, 1858. 
97 
since last Slay, is doing it, certainly. He had, also, 
General Canrobert, Adele Prisette, Mustapha, Aurore 
Borealis, Helrne, and more common ones. He had, 
also, a second prize in sixes, in which were— Comte 
Achilla Vigier, Model, Mignonette, St. Thais, and Bob. 
Mr. Forsyth had the first prize for sixes, in eight-inch 
pots. Here Madame Celestine Philopel took the lead over 
live other well-known beauties. 
How, begging pardon of those not named above or 
below, let us go to the cut flowers. They were magnifi¬ 
cently and splendidly dressed. Let them talk against dress¬ 
ing till tire comet comes hack again, but they shall never 
get me to join them against dressing babies, line-looking 
ladies, and Chrysanthemums; for they all bear to be 
dressed to the full top of the pitch, without ever looking 
to bo overdone. The half - crown - day visitors joined 
us, and loads of seats had to be brought from before the 
orchestra, for wise people to sit down in front of the 
dressed side of the cut-flower stand, which occupied a 
long way in the centre of the great east transept. 
Depend upon it, nothing will go down at a show so well 
as dressed flowers; and, as the Chrysanthemum is also 
shown in the natural way, and as there is no dis¬ 
guising the fact of dressing,—and no prize is offered for 
undressed cut flowers,—there is not only no deception in 
it, but it is a positive model for improving the race. It 
is only what nature will do when she is tickled on to do 
it. Whereas, the way they have of distorting the plants, 
by their Chinese way of cramping their beauty, is exactly 
the opposite and obvious opposition to, and violation of, 
all natural rules and tendencies. Get rid of the Chinese 
system of training them, and you may dress every one 
of them lit for a queen’s ball, and be thanked. 
At the top of the stand stood twenty-four fine sorts of 
Pompones, which require no dressing, except a shift now 
and then, to keep them going. Here they are:— Bob, 
Donna Alba Gonzales (which is superior to La Vogue), 
Aurore Borealis, Durujlet, General Canrobert, Asmoides 
(a wrong name), Ida (a fine yellow), Bequiqui, Madame 
Fould, Alexandre PeUe, Cedo Nulli, Helene, Salomon (a 
fine black), Bose Pompon, Autumnum (not named), Thetis, 
President, Model, Bijou de V Horticulture, Mignonette, 
Brilliant, L’Escarboucle, and a few common sorts. 
The large dressed kinds were just such as I named last 
year from the same growers, and I only need tell the 
world this time who were the most lucky of them :—For 
the best dressed twelve, Mr. Wortley, of Stoke Newing¬ 
ton. Second, Mr. James, of the same place,—a fierce 
contest. Third, Mr. Saunders, Stanhope Street, Regent's 
Park. Fourth, Mr. Saunderson, Lanfield Road, Borough. 
For twenty-four :—First, Mr. Wortley. Second, Mr. 
Saunders. Third, Mr. James. Fourth, Mr. Saunderson. 
Extra, Mr. Osman. 
For six:—First, Mr. Saunders, Regent’s Park. Second, 
Mr. Wortley. Third, Mr. James. Extra, G. Nicholson, 
Esq., Stamford Hill. 
They cannot dress the bull-eyed ones, lest the eye 
should get hurt, and look black and suspicious; and, 
therefore, the single Anemones, as they call them, stood 
thus :—First, Mr. Wortley ; second, Mr. James ; and 
third, Mr. Williams, from the very centre of Stoke New¬ 
ington. The best dresser in England, therefore, accord¬ 
ing to this trial, is Mr. Wortley; the next best is Mr. 
James. Hoping they will teach the art to their children 
and grandchildren, let us say, continued good luck to 
them! 
There were three designs in cut flowers, to which first 
and second prizes were given. The first prize to Mr. 
James, and the second to Mr. Hodgkinson, of Sydenham, 
who had a model of the Crystal Palace, in flowers. Mr. 
James’ device was on a square platform, four feet on 
the side, with a gilt moulding : the top was covered with 
damp moss, and that planted with Lycopodium dentic.u- 
latum. Out of the centre of this platform rose a vase, 
a yard high, and two feet across the mouth. The pedestal 
for this vase was the only thing wanting to make the 
device an artistic thing. The leg and body of the vase, 
so to speak, were covered with evergreen sprigs of 
Conifers, and the top was beautifully filled with cut 
flowers, rising to a point in the centre. From the four 
sides of the platform to the body of the vase were four 
festooned ropes of cut flowers—all Chrysanthemums; 
and on the four corners of the platform stood four little 
vases, covered and filled as the principal vase. It was 
a very good conception. 
The Crystal Palace garden looked as well as it could 
do a month earlier. The beds were full on the terrace, 
and in fair bloom : the vases were the same. Tropceolum 
elegans was just as good as in August; but on the eastern 
side of the Rose mount it was dead, and gone to a jelly: 
but the next bed to it there—the white Mesembryanthe- 
mum—was in full bloom, as good as ever. A little 
further to the leeward, Ignescens superba was very little 
hurt. The China Roses were in good bloom, and the 
Dahlias not amiss. All the woody plants and trees 
about the garden seemed to have ripened their annual 
growth much better than is usual. 
The climbers in the colonnade were better than I have 
ever seen them, so late. The free fasters—as Cobcea— 
were loosened at top ; all their support of tendrils and 
claspers were cut; and the long shoots were hanging 
down in front of the old wood to the surface of the 
border. This was the first time I had seen that excellent 
arrangement applied to winter climbers ; but it is only 
applicable to the back of plant-houses. 
Passijlora Neiomanii.- —Every one should have it, for 
its profusion of fruit, to hang on the best part of the winter. 
It is a seedling of the common Passion-Flower, which 
seeds like a weed, and the seed-pods are like golden eggs 
all over the plant. 
The New Zealand Yeronicas, the Cherry-pie, the 
Fuchsias, Scarlet Geraniums, and some Roses, gave just 
enough flowers to show the season was not quite ended 
for them. The Acacia grandis, and affinis, make the 
finest wall-elimber-like plants. Both have reached the 
top of the wall, and both are in fine bloom-bud. Passi¬ 
jlora Billotti is also doing well on this wall. Most of 
the Ceanothuses do as well for the wail as these Acacias. 
Inside the Crystal Palace every plant and leaf looks 
remarkably well, and not the slightest appearance of dust. 
The blue Water Lilies are yet in bloom at both ends, and 
the red one at the warm end. Limnocharis, the same. 
Habrothamnus elegans has begun to bloom for the winter. 
The water was alive with gold and silver fish, and the 
boys feeding them, as boys only can do and enjoy. 
The Inkerman trophy was left standing from the pre¬ 
vious day (the 5th of November), which was held in 
celebration of the battle. That trophy is, by many 
degrees, the most artistic work of extempore design they 
have yet done here. A raised oblong-square pedestal, 
four feet high, eighteen feet one way, and fifteen feet the 
other, covered on the top with dry, benty grass and 
scrubwood, just as Mr. Russell wrote. This was in turf, 
cut from some common ; here and there boulders, stones, 
and projecting rocks ; and cannons lying in all directions. 
In the centre of all this rose a square vase, with four 
figures of Victory,—one standing at each corner; and 
on shields between them, on the face of the base, were 
the arms of the Allies and the Sultan. Over this, from 
the centre, rose another square vase, with four other 
figures of Victory,—one in the centre of each side,—so as 
to “cut in” between and over the four at the corners 
below. The figure then rises, and rounds, and diminishes 
to a pyramidal point, in bronze imitation; and a ball on 
the top, with an angel pointing his right hand south-east, 
to Inkerman, finishes the trophy. Between the upper 
figures of Victory are three tablets, with the date of the 
battle ; and the fourth tablet is inscribed with the names 
of those who received the Inkerman medal, and the re¬ 
giments and companies to which they belonged. On the 
