APRIL. 
75 
depend mainly on the second growth for furnishing the tree, which under any 
circumstances can never be so good as the first growth is when well developed. 
Redleaf. John Cox. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The Saturday shows are becoming quite an institution in their way, and 
are very interesting indeed. Small, but charming groups of dowering plants 
are produced on the last day of each week; and as winter is now fast changing 
to spring, the groups become larger and more diversified. Spring-flowering 
bulbs have been the principal things exhibited, and among them were the 
following varieties of Crocus:—Lord Wellington, deep violet, edged with 
white ; small, but very pretty. Albion, a fine, dark, striped variety. La Majes- 
teuse, dark-striped ; large, and very fine. Madame Mina, a very beautiful pale 
violet, striped; very free-blooming. Comtesse de Morny, striped, but so faintly 
as to be scarcely distinguishable. Parnassus, another pale-striped flower, with 
a depth of colour between the two foregoing, but not so free-blooming. Grand 
Conquerant, pure white, edged with citron; a novel and pretty flower, and 
very free-blooming. Mathilde, small, pure white. Golden Yellow, deep 
yellow. Rhea Sylvia, a medium-sized pale-striped flower ; very pretty. Com¬ 
mandant, dull pale violet; too dull to be attractive. Duke of Cumberland, deep 
lilac, with stripes of purple, and tipped with white. Sir Walter Scott, a fine 
striped variety, darker than La Majesteuse. Alexandrine, lilac and violet 
ground colour, feathered and tipped with white; very novel and pretty. Elfrida, 
a small light-striped variety, but remarkably free. 
Of Polyanthus Narcissus, the following have been exhibited:—Gloriosa, large 
pure white, with orange cup, rough on the edges, fine ; one of the best. Soleil 
d’Or, yellow, with orange cups; show T y. Grand Primo, pale lemon, with gold 
cup ; and also the white variety of Grand Primo, with bright yellow cup ; large 
and fine. The white variety of Grand Monarque and Grootvoorst, which are 
the same as the last-named. Garibaldi, same as Gloriosa. States General, 
white, with golden cup ; and a very pale sulphur variety, with yellow cup, 
under the same name, but very poor. Miss Nightingale, white, with orange 
cup ; small as shown. Bazelman Major, large, white, with deep gold cup ; one 
of the very best; differing from the white Grand Primo only in the deeper 
colour of the cup. Sulphurea, lemon, with golden cup ; also small. Lord 
Canning, very similar to the foregoing, flowers rather larger, and colour of the 
cup deeper. Bridal Bouquet, sulphur, with gold cup ; not so good as Soleil d’Or, 
which it somewhat resembles. Bathurst, pure white, with bright orange cup ; 
very good and showy. Sir Isaac Newton, pale yellow, with deep golden cup ; 
more showy than the majority of flowers of this ground colour. 
A few Tulips have also been produced ; but a more extended notice of these 
general spring favourites shall be given in due course. 
R. D. 
THE PITH OF TREES. 
Since my last observations in these pages on the pith of trees I have given 
further attention to the subject, and am somewhat surprised that so little is 
known respecting the use of the pith, especially when so much has been said 
and written upon the theory of vegetation. I wish also to remark, that if 
those who write on botany and natural history could avoid, as far as possible, 
the use of scientific terms, perhaps their waitings would be more popular, be- 
