160 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ October. 
small side-shoots should be taken off, so that' 
as much light and air as possible may get to 
the wood, and ripen it. In like manner, we 
shall soon commence cutting out all the lateral 
growths in pyramid and bush-trees, to give free 
access to currents of air, to harden the growths, 
for there is now no danger of such pruning 
encouraging fresh growths. So far, all trees 
appear as if they would promise to do well for 
next season; and if the wood can be well ripened, 
the prospects of a fruit crop next spring will 
be much assured. If fine drying weather last 
until the middle of the month, gardeners will 
have much reason to rejoice and be glad. Next 
month, we will give select lists of fruit-trees 
for planting in villa gardens, as we shall then 
have reached the time when such operations 
can be carried out.— Suburbanus. 
GARDEN GOSSIP. 
f HE Royal Horticultural Society’s 
Meeting on September 17 brought 
together a nice exhibition of Dahlias, 
the blooms of which appear this season to be highly 
coloured and unusually attractive. Several seed¬ 
ling Dahlias were shown, of which three obtained 
first-class certificates,—namely, Aurora, a bright 
golden orange, from Messrs. Keynes and Co.; Joseph 
Ashby, an orange-scarlet, from Mr. C. Turner; and 
Clara, a lilac-rose, from Mr. G. Rawlings. Second- 
class certificates were given to Messrs. Keynes and 
Co. for Rosy Morn, of a particularly bright and 
attractive rose-colour; and for Gaiety, a rather 
coarse yellow fancy, striped with red and white, 
and tipped with white, being somewhat novel 
in colour. Mr. H. Cannell received first-class 
certificates for two single-flowered Dahlias, named 
respectively Paragon and Lutea ; they were evid¬ 
ently varieties of D. variabilis, the first having the 
florets velvety maroon, edged with dark crimson, the 
second being pure yellow. Mr. C. Noble showed 
a bunch of his remarkably free-blooming H.P. 
Bose Queen of Bedders. Mr. W. Bull exhibited 
Macrozamia cylindrica, a handsome plant, with 
oblong-ovate leaves, cut into long, narrow, glossy 
segments, ivory-white at the base; awarded a 1st- 
class certificate. He also showed the interesting 
Artocarpus, or rather Ficus exculpta, which has 
sinuately bipinnatifid leaves, and small, roundish 
green fruits. Other lst-class certificates were 
awarded to Begonia Nelly May, from the Society’s 
garden, a free-growing variety, with large, droop¬ 
ing, rosy-pink, very showy flowers, the result of a 
second cross from B roseeflora; to Messrs. Hooper 
and Co., for Begonia Louis Tliibaut, a profuse-flowered 
dwarf double-crimson of good properties; to Messrs. 
Laing and Co., for a fine tuft of Eulalia japonica 
zebrina, upwards of a yard high, in which 
each leaf was marked by some five to six pallid 
bands, and which proves to be quite hardy ; and to 
Mr. Green, gardener to Sir G. Macleay, for Nelum- 
bium luteum as a hardy aquatic, with ornamental 
foliage, the peltate leaves having a beautiful velvety 
surface. A collection of Abutilons was sent from 
Chiswick. 
— |«E. Cannell has sent us flowers of 
Dahlia Paragon, a single-flowered variety of 
Dahlia variabilis, in which the flower-heads 
consist merely of a single row of ray florets sur¬ 
rounding the yellow disk, these ray florets being of 
a rich, velvety maroon, edged with dark crimson. 
The blossoms are remarkable for their quiet beauty. 
The single-flowered states of D. coccinea with 
orange-scarlet, of D. mexicana with crimson-scarlet, 
and of D. Cervantesii with crimson-scarlet and 
yellow flower-heads, are all most remarkable for 
their decorative capacities, and would certainly be 
more freely grown as border-flowers, if they were 
better known. 
— Et is, we think, not generally known 
that Perennial Asters, the Michaelmas 
Daisies of our gardens, and some, at least, of 
their allies, e.g., Boltonias, may be raised from seed, 
with the result that the seedlings flower during the 
first year. Such at least, we are assured, is the 
experience of M. Vilmorin, who has in his private 
garden distinct lines of many species of this 
genus, all sown in the spring of the present year, 
and all, as we understand, in blossom at the present 
time. 
— ®he rare Ophioglossum lusitanicum 
has been found this summer in Ireland, by Mr. 
Henry Chichester Hart, the naturalist to the 
recent ‘ Challenger’ Expedition. It was discovered 
in the wilds of county Donegal, and though it had 
already been recorded as a “ British ” plant in 
virtue of its occurrence in Guernsey, yet this Irish 
habitat extends the known area of its distribution, 
and should encourage botanical tourists to search 
for it on the warmer coasts of England, and in other 
parts of the sister-isle. 
— ®he Neill Prize —the “ blue ribbon ” 
of Scotch gardeners—has been awarded this 
year to our valued correspondent, Mr. Webster, 
gardener at Gordon Castle. Mr. Webster and the 
Caledonian Horticultural Society may both be con¬ 
gratulated on the judicious selection which has been 
made. 
©&ttuavg. 
— fStR. John Nicolas Haage, of Erfurt, 
died on August 9. Mr. Haage, who was 
botanising in the neighbourhood of Mtirren, 
in Switzerland, fell down a steep precipice, sus¬ 
taining injuries from which he did not recover. He 
was the founder and head of the firm of Haage and 
Schmidt. 
— JttB. Anthony Nicolas Bijvoet, of 
Overween, near Haarlem, died on August 26, 
in his 78tlr year. Mr. Bijvoet was the head 
of the well-known firm of bulb-growers, and a fine 
example of a Dutch country gentleman, beloved and 
respected by all who knew him. 
— fPlR. James Brown, for many years 
gardener in the service of the late Duke of 
Buckingham, and of Lord Southampton, died 
at Crowton, Delamere, Cheshire, on September 9,' 
in his 93rd year. About the year 1822, Mr. Bi’own 
grew one of the largest Pine-apples that had then 
been obtained in this country, and which was pre¬ 
sented to George IV. 
