December 26, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
257 
the old style, and without rims. Each of the com¬ 
petitors had a helper to keep him supplied with empty 
pots, and to remove the trays when filled. The 
winner of the first prize was George Martin, who 
neatly and well potted 1,277, his work being done at 
the rate of 21 28 per minute. The second prize 
winner potted 1,115 ; and the man who took the third 
award potted 1,238, but his work was so poor that 
the judges felt they could not place him higher. 
Gardeners’ Orphan Fund. —At a meeting of the 
committee, held on the iSth inst., the honorary secre¬ 
tary announced the receipt of the following special 
contributions Proceeds of concert organised by the 
Chiswick Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society, 
/20; collected at the Leighton Buzzard Chrysan¬ 
themum show, per Mr. J. Smith, Mentmore, £10 10s ; 
Mr. Matthew Todd, by sale of fruit and flowers, &c., 
at the Edinburgh Chrysanthemum Show, £2.0 ; total 
of amounts collected in a dozen money boxes, 
^18 5s. 6d. The committee very carefully examined the 
applications of some thirty candidates, and, all being 
regular, were ordered to be placed on the voting list 
for the next election. January 4th has been fixed 
as the last day on which applications can be received, 
and the committee will meet again on that day. 
Primula Forbesi.—M. de Vilmorin, of Paris, sent 
to the last meeting of the Scientific Committee 
growing plants and cut flowers of this new species. 
It w. s discovered by Abbe Delanay in the province 
of Yunan, China, growing wild in marshes and Rice 
fields, where it is practically an anuual. The plants 
were raised from seed received from the Abbe, and 
the 15th inst., and a capital lot of vegetables, 
were exhibited by Messrs. A. Farmer, J. Buckland, 
G. White, and G. Dubbery, in the gardeners’ class, 
and by Messrs. Waghorn and Wolfe amongst amateurs 
the prizes being awarded in the order named. A First- 
class Certificate was awarded to Mr. W. Searing 
for cut blooms of Chrysanthemums. The initial 
business being over, Mr. Searing opened a discussion 
on the culture of the Chrysanthemum, handling the 
subject in a very able manner. Chemical manures, 
when and how to apply them, etc., were discussed at 
some length by Messrs. Smith, Hughes, Hoadley, 
Potter, Buckland, Farmer, Cooke, etc., the general 
opinion being that drainings from the farmyard or 
cowshed were preferable to chemicals. All the 
questions put to him were satisfactorily answered by 
Mr. Searing, and a vote of thanks was passed to him 
for his excellent address. 
THE Ch7cAGO~EXHIBI¬ 
TION. 
The accompanying illustration represents the front 
elevation of the Horticultural Hall, which will be a 
conspicuous feature at the World’s Fair in 1893. The 
building is situated immediately south of the entrance 
to Jackson Park from the Midway Plaisance, and 
faces east on the lagoon. In front is a flower terrace 
for outside exhibits, including tanks for Nympheas 
and the Victoria regia, The front of the terrace, 
with its low parapet between large vases, borders the 
water, and at its centre forms a boat landing. 
The building is 1,000 ft. long, with an extreme 
another and play hide-and-seek with the foliage. 
Beneath this rock-mountain will be a cave, 80 ft. in 
diameter and 60 ft. high, brilliantly lighted by 
electricity, where, during the whole six months of 
the Exposition, the experiment will be tried whether 
plants will grow under electric light as well as under 
sunlight. The exterior of the building is in 
staff or stucco, tinted a soft warm buff, colour being 
reserved for the interior and the courts. 
The following particulars with reference to this 
section of the Columbian Exposition are taken from 
a paper by Mr. James Dredge, published in the Society 
of Arts Journal for December nth :—“ Opposite the 
wooded island in the lagoon, will be created the 
Horticultural Building, a great conservatory, 1,000 ft. 
in length, and 287 ft. in maximum width. The 
general features of this building are to be a central 
dome, 187 ft. in diameter and 113 ft. high. At each 
end is a large rectangular pavilion, and these wings 
are connected with the central rotunda by the main 
body of the building, each side of which is divided 
into two courts, 88 ft. wide by 270 ft. long. The 
courts facing the wooded island are constructed 
entirely of iron and glass, and will be used for espe¬ 
cially tender plants. The rear courts, while they will 
receive abundance of light, are not entirely glazed ; 
they will be specially adapted for fruit-growing ex¬ 
hibits, which may require a cool temperature. 
“ A large section of the courts will be devoted ex¬ 
clusively to the exhibition of Orange culture in 
California and Florida. The central dome will be 
chiefly given to Palms, Bamboos, Tree Ferns, Cacti, 
The Horticultural Hall at the Chicago Exhibition. 
under cultivation proves to be a most perpetual 
bloomer. It much resembles P. obconica in the 
succession of flower stems, but otherwise is quite 
unlike it in appearance. The flower stems are very 
slender, and bear several (3-6) whorls of flowers, 
which, individually, resemble those of P. farinosa. 
It has produced but few seeds as yet, possibly re¬ 
quiring a high temperature. It does, however, well 
in a cool house. The specimens appear to be all of 
the long-styled form, which may possibly account 
for the paucity of seed. A vote of thanks was given 
to M. Vilmorin for his interesting contribution. 
Lectures on Botany at Liverpool. — At a meeting 
recently held of the Woolton Gardeners’ Mutual 
Improvement Society, Mr. R. G. Waterman an¬ 
nounced that the County Council had, in reply to a 
request of the Committee, allotted the sum of ^30 
for a series of botanical lectures in connection with 
the Lancashire and Cheshire Association for the 
extension of university teaching. The committee 
have further been successful in securing the valuable 
services of Mr. R. J. Harvey Gibson, M.A., F.L.S., 
F.R.S.E., Lecturer on Botany at University College, 
Liverpool, who will deliver eight lectures on the 
“ Geographical Distribution of Plants,” illustrated 
■with lime-light views. The total estimated expenses 
will approach /40, or £ro above the grant, 
which is to be met by a small charge for season 
tickets for admission. The lectures will be open to 
the public who it is hoped will support this bene¬ 
ficial work, which has our heartiest good wishes. 
SevenotksGardeners and Amateurs’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Society. — A well-attended meeting of this 
society was held at the Dorset Arms Hotel,onTuesday- 
width of 286 ft. The plan is a central pavilion with 
two end pavilions, each connected to the centre 
pavilion by front and rear curtains, forming two in¬ 
terior courts, each 88 ft. by 270 ft. These courts will 
be beautifully decorated in colour and planted with 
ornamental shrubs and flowers. The central pavilion 
is roofed by a crystal dome 187 ft. in diameter and 
113 ft. high, under which will be exhibited the tallest 
Palms, Bamboos and Tree-ferns that can be procured. 
On the roof round the dome, an elaborate display of 
roof-gardening will be made. It is expected that 
this will not only be pleasurable to visitors, but will 
afford valuable suggestions that will be utilized by 
persons who live in large cities and are deprived of 
door-yards and lawns. There is a gallery in each of 
the pavilions. The galleries of the end pavilions are 
designed for cafes, the situation and the surround¬ 
ings being particularly well adapted to recreation 
and refreshment. These cafes are surrounded by an 
arcade on three sides, from which charming views of 
the ground can be obtained. 
In this hall will be exhibited all the varieties of 
flowers, plants, Vines, seeds, horticultural imple¬ 
ments, etc. Those exhibits requiring sunshine and 
light will be shown in the rear curtains, where the 
roof is entirely of glass and not too far removed from 
the plants. The front curtains and under the galleries 
are des gned for exhibits that require only the ordi¬ 
nary amount of light. Provision is made to heat such 
parts as require it. In the centre of the building 
will baa miniature mountain, 70 ft. high, upon which 
will grow giant Tree-ferns and Palms, and other 
vegetation, finding there a congenial home.* A 
mountain stream will dash from one declivity to 
Eucalyptus, &c. Ten miles of ijin. pipe will be re¬ 
quired to heat the dome alone, and a still greater 
length will be wanted for the high temperature courts. 
The ground floor of each pavilion will be chiefly used 
for fruit exhibits, collections of seeds, and horticul¬ 
tural appliances. Broad galleries will run around 
these pavilions about 25 ft. above the ground. The 
greater part of this area will be used for cafes and 
restaurants, and as the architectural treatment of 
the buildings includes an exterior arcade running 
around three sides—this arcade being extended to 
the upper storey in the pavilions—an additional 
amount of open-air space will thus be obtained, 
whence some of the most attractive views in the 
grounds will be seen. It is the intention of the chiefs 
of the horticultural department to encourage the best 
possible displays of all meritorious exhibits in the 
various groups of pomology, viticulture, floriculture, 
culinary vegetable, seeds, arboriculture, methods and 
appliances of horticulture, &c. As the available space 
is very limited, a careful selection will be made of the 
objects accepted. 
“The classification of this department will embrace 
everything of professional interest to horticulturists, 
whether they are engaged on a large or a limited 
scale, and there can be little doubt but that the display 
will give us as great an impetus to the gardeners’ art 
as did the similar but much more limited exhibit at 
the Centennial Exhibition of 1876. Already the 
applications for space in this conservatory from the 
United States alone would fill the building several 
times over, and a system of the most rigid selection 
is therefore necessary. From Australia and New 
Zealand, from Latin America, and from China and 
