80 
THE FLORIST AND FOMOLOGIST. 
[May, 
active time in the kitchen garden, and a well- 
ordered garden bears testimony to a pains¬ 
taking gardener.—S uburbanus. 
GARDEN GOSSIP. 
T the Meeting of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society on April 2, com¬ 
paratively few subjects were shown, in 
consequence, probably, of the Ghent show being 
open. The most striking among the First-class 
certificated plants were Amaryllis Crimson Banner, 
from Mr. H. Little, of Hillingdon, a fine crimson in 
the way of Akermanni pulcherrima,—a variety 
which, by-the-by, made its mark long ago, and is 
often quoted from recollection as being superior to 
modern novelties, a position which an actual com¬ 
parison does not always sustain. Primrose Prince 
Charming, from Mr. R. Dean, Ealing. A Botanical 
Commendation was given for Masdevallia radiosa, 
a curious species. Messrs. Yeitch and Sons showed 
a fine collection of Orchids; and Mr. Lovesley, 
Spring Grove Lodge, Isleworth, was awarded a 
medal for a new dwarf compact strain of decorative 
Cinerarias. On April 16 one of the best displays of 
the season took place. First-class Certificates were 
awarded for Caltha palustris fl. pi. minor, a very 
double form of Marsh Marigold ; and to Saxifraga 
purpurascens, a deep red, broad-leaved species, of 
showy character, both from Mr. Parker, of Tooting. 
Grevillea rolusta filicifolia, from Messrs. Rollisson 
and Sons, of Tooting, a greenhouse shrub, with re¬ 
markably elegant foliage. Crinum purpurascens, 
from Messrs. Veitch and Sons, a dwarf species, from 
Fernando Po, with undulate leaves and narrow- 
petaled flowers. Adiantum tetraphyllum gracile, 
an elegant stove bipinnate fern, the young fronds 
of which are beautifully tinted with crimson; 
Davallia fijiensis, one of the most charming of the 
larger speciesof hare’s-footfem, the fronds being very 
finely cut; and Lastrea aristata variegata, a hardy 
evergreen fern from Japan, remarkable for its 
variegation, which consists of a yellowish-green 
band down the centre of the pinnae, all from Mr. 
Bull, of Chelsea. Amaryllis E. Pilgrim, from Mr. 
B. S. Williams, of Holloway, a bright scarlet, with 
white striped-petals. Wallichia zehrina, also from 
Mr. Williams, a beautiful palm, with a mottled 
stem. Mr. Barr exhibited a very fine collection of 
cut blooms of Narcissi; and many beautiful mis¬ 
cellaneous collections were staged. We may add 
that No. 4 of Yol. v. of the Society’s Journal has 
recently been published, and shows, in its marked 
improvement on the recent issues, evidence of the 
beneficial supervision of the new Secretary, Mr. 
Jennings, by whom it is edited. 
— ith tlie view to tlie revival of the taste 
for Amaryllids, which are undoubtedly amongst 
the handsomest and grandest of our garden and 
hothouse bulbs, Colonel Trevor Clarke has been 
inviting exhibitions of them at the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society’s meetings, and offers prizes of £5, £3, 
and £1, to be awarded at the end of the season, to 
the most meritorious contributors. The sums 
offered, he observes, are not of an ostentatious 
character, nor are they meant to be so, because it is 
desired that the competition should be considered 
less of a flower-show affair than as an appeal to the 
scientific instincts of the Fellows and exhibitors. 
The conditions imposed are four in number :—(1), 
The plants exhibited to be true species, to the best 
of the exhibitor’s belief; (2), rare plants may be 
shown in or out of flower; (3), plants exhibited 
need not necessarily be the property of the exhibitor; 
(4), cut flowers will be received, in cases where the 
plant itself will not admit of removal. 
— ®he proprietor of tbe Garden , Mr. 
Robinson, proposes to give a series of Prizes 
for Asparagus, extending over a period of 
seven years, to be given in London, Dublin, and 
Edinburgh, and in the north and west of England, 
in consecutive years. The chief object in instituting 
these prizes is to have the mode of culture which is 
so successful in the vicinity of Paris thoroughly 
tested in all parts of this country. While the 
French plan is recommended for trial, competitors 
are not to be bound by it, but may adopt whatever 
plan they may consider . best and most suitable to 
their soil and locality. _ 
— According to Mr. Gilbert, of Burgkley, 
Barr’s Criterion Cabbage is a most excellent 
early cabbage. Sown on July 17tb and planted 
out on September 2nd, it produces beautiful little 
hearts in abundance by the beginning of March. 
Carter’s Heartwell Dwarf Imperial, sown and 
planted at the same time, though sturdy plants, 
were not fit to cut before the end of April, thus 
losing a crop, and that the best of all kitchen-garden 
crops—viz., Myatt’s petatos. The ground on which 
the Criterion was grown was dug between the 
20th and 25th of March, and was planted early in 
April with Myatt’s Prolific Potato. 
— S&t the Paris Exhibition of 1878, 
Messrs. Sutton and Sons’ stand will contain 
one of the most exhaustive displays of Horti¬ 
cultural and Agricultural Produce ever brought 
together. Messrs. Sutton have been actively 
engaged for nearly 12 months in preparing their 
stand, which is 95 feet in length, is to accommodate 
more than two thousand models from nature of the 
principal kinds of Agricultural and Horticultural 
plants and roots, in addition to nearly 500 specimens 
of Permanent Pasture Grasses, as well as 800 
samples of seeds. The display occupies a large 
portion of one of the extensive buildings erected at 
the special desire of H.R.H. the President, for 
illustrations of English Agriculture. In the Exhi¬ 
bition grounds nearly three acres have been sown 
with Messrs. Sutton’s Grass seeds, which are now 
rapidly forming a beautiful sward. 
Pollard, of Exeter, is about to 
publish a small demy-8vo volume, The Plant- 
Lore and Garden-Craft of Shakespeare , by 
Rev. Henry N. Ellacombe, M.A., Vicar of Bitton, 
Gloucestershire. In this work every passage is 
quoted in which Shakespeare names any tree, plant, 
flower, or vegetable production. A short account 
of each is given, identifying Shakespeare’s plants 
with their modern representatives, with illustra¬ 
tions from contemporary writers, and notices of 
any points of literary, botanical, and historical 
interest connected with the plants named. 
— ®he Royal National Tulip Society 
will hold its next exhibition in the Manchester 
Botanical Gardens, on June 1. The making-up 
meeting will be held on May 4, at 3 p.m., at the 
Bull’s Head Inn, Market Place, Manchester; and 
all entries must be sent in on or before May 11. 
The Prize Schedule has been issued, and may be 
had on application to the Hon. Secretary, S. Barlow, 
Esq., Stakeliill House, Chadderton, Manchester. 
