92 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIBT. 
[ June. 
capital night-flowering town plant, the gas¬ 
ometer, in full blow! 
It was all in very sad, depressive contrast to 
the beautiful palace of light at Sydenham, 
where the air and sunshine are so free, and the 
glare of the noon-tide so sweetly tempered to 
the delicate bloom by fleecy-white light 
shadings, that are made to float like clouds 
across the open spaces overhead. Manchester, 
with her mighty industries, perhaps, cannot 
keep her air more pure, and her fogs less like 
an aerial soup ; but she has better accommoda¬ 
tion for intramural flower-shows than any she 
will grant at present, and it is but worthy of 
the great fame the smoke-dried city has for 
the quality and magnificence of these exhibi¬ 
tions, that she should afford the plants and the 
public the advantages of the best available 
space. 
The flowers were shown in fair condition, 
but all the season through, the bloom has, 
neither north nor south, been of so high a 
quality as last year ; and some of the great 
Auriculas, notably Lancashire Hero and George 
Lightbody, have not put forth their splendid 
powers. 
I hardly agree in thinking with “ D., Deal,” 
that “ there was a freshness and a brightness 
here which would be vainly sought for among 
the plants at the Southern Show.” There 
were many bright young flowers, but so there 
were also in the South. In fact, at Manchester 
Mr. Simonite, who, among other winnings,led the 
first two classes, had actually to largely use his 
London plants over again, which must, there¬ 
fore, presumably, have been fresh and bright 
enough almost a week before. Mr. D’Ombrain 
also remarks that he “ cannot believe in the 
freshness of Auriculas opened in 60° of heat, 
and brought up there a couple of hundred of 
miles, and two or three days out of their pots.” 
Well, they somehow are brought fresh, but 
this is not exactly what they have gone through. 
The Southern growers were already forward 
enough for the Palace Show, so were my own 
flowers; in fact, many of my seifs and earlier 
edged flowers were too far gone, and I, for one, 
certainly never used G0° of heat. I fought 
very hard against it on sunny days, but 
was once driven to G5°. A man must 
be in an uncomfortable hurry who cares to 
bloom his auriculas above 55°. Neither are 
our Northern plants in London two or three 
days out of their pots before-hand. I sit up all 
night, and pack mine by the morning before 
the show. The distance, alas ! I cannot deny. 
It was feared there would be a short bloom 
for Manchester, but it is wonderful how bravely 
a flower like the Auricula will endeavour to 
come up to time. Mr. Wilson had almost de¬ 
spaired of getting anything out, but with a 
touch of kindly weather the plants were quickly 
ready, while other growers, who wrote to me 
dolefully declining labels, drew nigh on the 
day of the show with a goodly capacity for 
them. 
Prince of Greens made a sensation in the 
hands of Mr. Wilson, indeed I have never had 
it or seen it so fine before. The paste, body, 
and edge were superb in every point, and only 
the poverty of the ever-weak tube stood to 
detract from the high beauty of a first-rate 
green-edged Auricula. Mr. Wilson had a bloom 
well done of old Countess of Wilts, a white 
edge, given to being small and buffy in the 
white, while the plant is an odd, and generally 
not a pretty grower. 
Mr. Simonite brought his green seedling 
Talisman, but it has not been the sort of season 
in Sheffield in which to expect any good thing 
to struggle up to the mark. You have to 
multiply wind, and fog, and frost by smoke 
and deadly gases, to understand the difficulties 
of Floriculture, in a land where green things 
are forgotten, except at Bough Bank. Mr. 
Simonite had Alex. Meiklejohn, as a white edge, 
which is commonly a grey; and a very distinct 
and fine Lovely Ann, so constantly a green 
edge of superior quality to the usual plants of 
it as to be a strain. Hardly any flower lasts 
so long in perfection as this untiring old sort. 
There were no Lancashire Heroes worthy the 
old name ; and Lightbody was not great, though 
neat and bright on some specimens. Smiling 
Beauty was heavyish in ground-colour, and not at 
her whitest on the edge. There was Ashworth’s 
Regular, a very scarce white, pretty, but like 
Catharina, too small in the pip, and sometimes 
reflexing, but always very correctly marked. 
The plant is very distinct in habit, with pale, 
straw-coloured, mealed foliage. Frank Simonite 
is a lovely violet-grounded white, and was both 
here and in London. It has great staying- 
powers, and is a truly rich addition to the class. 
