532 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 23, 1892. 
THE INTERNATIONAL 
HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION 
The International Horticultural Exhibition, to be 
opened at Earl’s Court on the 7th of May, and of 
which we give a plan on the opposite page, is now in 
such an advanced condition as to insure its being 
practically complete at the date of the inaugural 
ceremony. It bids fair to be the most interesting 
and attractive exhibition that has hitherto been held 
in these spacious grounds, which have undergone a 
transformation truly remarkable, the configuration 
of the landscape having been changed almost out of 
recognition with its former self, and it will be 
admitted the alteration has been for the better. 
It was a happy idea to hold an exhibition devoted 
mainly to the illustration of the various phases of 
the horticultural arts. The last International 
Horticultural Exhibition held in England was in 
1866, and in the interval that has elapsed since that 
date great strides have been made in the art of culti¬ 
vating flowers, plants, and vegetation generally. 
The object and purpose of the exhibition, therefore, 
are something more than mere amusement; although, 
as will be seen, the recreative element has been 
lavishly provided for. In aim, plan, and scope, it is 
not too much to say that the scheme embraces the 
science of horticulture in its entirety, and with a 
gentleman of such eminence in his profession as Mr. 
Henry Ernest Milner, F.L.S., Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., 
as director-in-chief, the best attainable results are 
likely to be realized. Knowing his subject 
thoroughly, Mr. Milner has been able so to arrange 
the building and grounds that when completed they 
will present a succession of scenes in which “ Flora 
and country green” are laid under contribution, 
constituting a charm and a delight to the eye at 
every turn. On all sides, the beauties of Nature, 
full of glow, and colour, and fragrance, will be there 
to captivate the spectator, no discordant features 
being allowed to encroach. The bazaar element 
has been excluded completely. It will be in every 
respect a genuine, wholesome, healthy exhibition, 
in which all classes of the country will find delight 
and instruction, and for those who want lighter 
amusements there will be military bands, the best 
that England and the Continent can provide, such 
miscellaneous outdoor sports as archery, shooting, 
and so forth, while the great arena and the adjacent 
ground will be given over to the attractions of 
Buffalo Bill and his augmented horde of Red 
Indians, whose interpretations of life in the Wild 
West are sure to afford excitement enough for every¬ 
one. 
Strenuous efforts are being made^so that by the 
opening day every vantage point will be aglow with 
flowers and foliage. In the large entrance hall a 
large fountain occupies the central position, and 
will throw its spray up admist a delicious setting of 
palms and ferns, whose refreshing greenness will 
form a beautiful point of radiation for the general 
picture. Figures and groups of statuary will show 
forth from masses of bloom, and one section of the 
hall will be ablaze with Roses and cut flowers of 
various descriptions, a constant succession being 
insured for the entire season. The side halls to the 
right and left are set apart as picture galleries, the 
contents of which will be chiefly illustrative of 
horticulture. 
In the main building, a central avenue 20 ft. wide 
will extend down the whole length of the building, 
interrupted only at the half-distance (at the foot of 
the Earl’s Court entrance steps) by an open space, 
where another large fountain, grouped round with 
masses of tropical greenery will form a striking 
object of beauty. Branching off from the main 
avenue on either side, will be a series of groups of 
exhibits of plants and flowers, and specimens too 
numerous to indicate here of garden accessories and 
implements of every kind. The side halls will form 
a continuation of the picture galleries previously 
referred to ; and a very pretty decorative idea is 
given effect to in the large central space, the four 
corners being occupied with groups of statuary and 
flowers illustrating spring, summer, autumn, and 
winter respectively. The columns that support the 
roof are daintily painted and decorated with bloom 
and foliage, and the roof itself is charmingly draped 
with coloured muslin, from which are suspended 
festoons of rose wreaths. A little distance beyond 
the fountain a band-stand has been erected, where, 
as occasion serves, one of the military bands will 
discourse sweet sounds. Conservatories and green¬ 
houses of the most approved patterns, specimens of 
garden pottery, ferneries of exquisite grouping, 
designs in rock-work, and appliances of every 
description will help to make up the general com¬ 
pleteness of the display. A large space at the 
northern end of the building, as shown on the plan, 
has been devoted to an undulating stretch of English 
landscape garden under cover, laid out with the 
utmost picturesqueness, with grass plots, gravel 
walks, and raised beds, and surrounded by a back¬ 
ground of painted scenery that seems to carry the 
illusion to regions remote, where purple hills and 
smiling valleys of rare verdure melt away into the 
horizon. Great palms, tree ferns, flowering shrubs, 
and the choicest flowers will combine to make this 
portion of the exhibition an exceedingly popular 
feature. Month by month the beds will be changed, 
so that the plants and flowers proper to the season 
may always be seen in perfection. Mr. Turner, of 
Slough ; Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, of Holloway ; 
Messrs. Cutbush & Son, of Highgate; Mr. Lane, of 
Berkhamstead ; and Mr. Phippen, of Reading, will 
supply the beds direct from their several nurseries. 
Mr. Halley, the well-known scenic-artist, is respon¬ 
sible for the panoramic and other paintings, and 
they do him very great credit. 
In the pleasure grounds all is changed from last 
year. The level stretches of ground upon which the 
theatre looks are no longer waste patches, but will be 
found laid out in great beds of flowering shrubs ; 
banks of brilliant Rhododendrons, clusters of gclden 
Yews, and masses of Azaleas, &c., and the outer 
boundary lines have been treated in such a manner 
as to largely enhance the beauty of the view. From 
the wall of the main building to a point near the 
theatre, a scenic background representing an elegant 
terrace garden has been erected ; and the top portion 
of the ground beyond the theatre is walled in-as it 
were by a gigantic painting, the perspective of which 
is so cleverly managed that the walks seem to stretch 
away into distant space. This monster picture de¬ 
picts the Long Walk in Windsor Park, which blends 
most effectively with the general scene, the illusion 
being perfect. The space between the theatre and 
the painted vistas of Windsor is devoted to the 
purposes of an enclosed flower market, where floral 
delights of every description will be on sale. At the 
other end of the picture there will be found a re¬ 
production of a Japanese Garden, with its temples 
and tea-houses arranged in dainty quaintness ; and 
close by an Indian Tea Garden will offer a very 
special attraction, Tea plants being shown in a state 
of healthy growth, while in an adjoining house 
visitors will be able to witness the manipulation of 
the precious leaf through its various stages of treat¬ 
ment until ready for the tea-pot, and after that they 
will be at liberty to sip the newly decocted beverage 
under conditions particularly acceptable and enjoy¬ 
able. Before crossing one of the bridges to the 
switchback side of the grounds it may be well to 
take a peep into the Insectivorous House, however, 
near the main building, and there be initiated into 
one of the most remarkable of the many curiosities of 
plant life. 
Crossing to that extensive portion of the grounds 
that forms the western boundary, occupying the 
entire space between the railway and the switch- 
back, the visitor will come upon a bewildering 
series of gardens, each separated from the other by' 
some cunning device of Mr. Milner’s in the shape of 
hedgerows or banks, terraces, or trees. 
A special object of attraction here also will be a 
massive presentment of a Tudor mansion and 
garden, with frowning battlements and other archi¬ 
tectural features characteristic of the period. A 
short distance away the scene changes from Tudor 
England to Ancient Rome, and in a charmingly 
arranged enclosure will be found reproduced with 
marvellous fidelity a Roman garden, with its colon¬ 
nades and terraces adorned with statuary, and 
having as its dominating feature a villa built after 
the style of that of Pliny. After that comes a bit 
of ancient Egypt, where the landscape gardener 
and the scenic artist have achieved a veritable 
triumph. A temple such as the Pharaohs 
worshipped in with the mystic rites is depicted for 
us, the entrance thereto being guarded by a model 
of the Sphinx, while intermingling with the view we 
have a glimpse of the Nile shown, its banks studded 
with Lotus trees and Date Palms. Another variety 
of garden is presented in a sample of a modern 
Italian garden, in which zig-zag walks, giant shrubs, 
sparkling fountains, and elegant statuettes and vases 
will form a fascinating combination of the beauties 
of art and nature. There is also a counterpart of a 
Jacobean garden, taking us back to a time when an 
affected pastoral simplicity' was associated with a 
systematic attempt to “improve” nature; trees, 
hedges, and flowers being cut, trained, and trimmed 
into geometrical shapes whose severity of outline 
was in direct opposition to natural growth and 
development. Here will be seen the prim, shaven 
and shorn yew hedges, the clipped trees, and the 
straight flower beds that may be regarded as 
typical of the artificiality of Jacobean times and 
manners. The Georgian era has also its repre¬ 
sentative garden, and finally' our own Victorian age 
will be amply illustrated, not only in a special 
garden to itself, but in the thousand and one 
evidences of floral beauty scattered over the ex¬ 
hibition generally. 
The exhibition is divided into sixteen different 
groups, ranging from A to Q, inclusive, and these 
groups again have their own particular sub-divisions. 
Every possible aspect of horticulture is provided for 
in these groupings, and in each of the sixty odd 
classes therein specified, prize medals of gold, silver, 
or bronze, and certificates will be awarded, as well 
as money prizes of considerable amounts. Not the 
least important feature of the exhibition, also, will 
be a series of daily lectures and practical demon¬ 
strations, which will take place in the lecture and 
experimenting halls. 
In the two large buildings near the North End 
Road, each measuring some 50 ft. wide by 200 ft. long, 
flower and fruit shows will be held from time to time, 
and there will be occasional flower fetes, in which 
we may expect to see festive displays recalling the 
famous floral festivities so common in Southern 
Europe. The dates of these special gatherings have 
not all been positively fixed as yet, but the following 
may be mentioned as having been already arranged 
for : Sho v of groups of plants (flowering and foli¬ 
age) from nurserymen, on May 7th, the opening 
day ; the great summer flower show on May 27th 
and 28th ; the market growers’ show on June 6th, 
7th, and 8 th ; the show of Roses, table decorations, 
etc., on July 5th and 6th ; the market growers’ and 
cottagers’ show on August 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ; and 
the show of autumn flowers on September 9 and 10. 
It ought to be added that the entire net profits of 
the exhibition will be devoted to such gardening 
charities as the executive committee may select. 
--*•- 
THE YULAN. 
When seen as a bush 3 ft. or 4 ft. high, Magnolia 
conspicua, or the Yulan of the Chinese, is attractive 
enough, but it is far more imposing when allowed to 
attain a height of 20 ft. or 30 ft., which it will do in 
this country where sheltered from the north and east 
winds, as it is at Gunnersbury House, Acton, where 
a tree in such a position is now one of the grandest 
objects of the garden. It is about 20 ft. high, and 
more than that in diameter, and flowers every year, 
but not always with the same profusion as it is doing 
jnst now'. The flow'ering period lasts for about three 
weeks, and during that time the ground could not be 
better occupied by any tree. What frost we have 
had does not seem to have injured the blossoms, 
judging from those shown at the Drill Hall on the 
12th inst., by Mr. J. Hudson, gardener to the 
Messrs, de Rothschild. Neither have the flowers 
ever been of a purer white, a fact which may be at¬ 
tributed to the dry state of the atmosphere and the 
comparative absence of fog since Christmas last. 
There has therefore been no deposit of soot or other 
filth upon the flowers from the atmosphere to spoil 
either their purity or fragrance. The fleshy nature 
of the petals enables the bloom to last in a present¬ 
able and useful condition for some time in a cut 
state, while several basketfuls would never be missed 
where the quantity is so great. Some people con¬ 
sider that the want of leaves is an objection or a fault 
in the tree ; but the flowers are seen to great advan¬ 
tage as they are, and would be greatly hidden by the 
presence of leaves. 
-- 
Preston and the Jersey Potato Trade —At a meet¬ 
ing held at Preston last week, it was demonstrated 
that a vessel sailing from Jersey with Potatos would, 
by putting in at Preston, enable the cargo to be 
delivered at its destination three hours and a half 
earlier than if it had been taken to Fleetwood, while 
the cost of railway carriage would be considerably 
reduced. 
