March 28th, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
477 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Royal Horticultural.— March 24tlu —The meet¬ 
ing to-day brought out the largest display of the season 
so far—a bright and pretty Show of spring flowers. 
Hyacinths, Tulips, Cyclamens, and Daffodils formed 
.the leading feature. Of the former, Mr.B. S. Williams 
put up the largest and best collection we have seen 
from Holloway, the spikes being large and massive, 
the colours bright and well assorted. Mr. Williams 
also staged beautiful collections of Tulips, Narcissi, 
Chinese Primulas, Cyclamens, and Azalea Mollis, & - c., 
a large and most meritorious contribution, which 
deserved a higher award than the Silver-gilt Banksian 
Medal that was awarded to it. A similar award was 
also made to Messrs. James Veitch & Sons for a first- 
rate group of Hyacinths and Tulips, and flowering 
specimens of Pieris (Andromeda) japonica, a fine 
free-flowering, white, hardy shrub, and Spirasa 
confusa, also a hardy plant of shrubby habit, well 
worth growing for forcing purposes for the sake of its 
useful white blossoms ; to Messrs. William Cutbush & 
Son, for a large group of well-grown Hyacinths and 
Tulips, accompanied by beautifully-flowered specimens 
of Laurestinus lucidus, a most useful cool greenhouse 
plant, which yields a fine crop of pure white flowers, 
somewhat larger than those of the common Laurestine; 
and to Mr. Clarke, of Twickenham, for an extensive 
display of Cyclamens of the finest quality. 
Silver Banksian Medals were awarded to Messrs. 
Barr & Son, for an extensive display of Daffodils, and 
other spring-flowering bulbous plants ; to Mr. T. S. 
Ware for a somewhat smaller group, but containing 
a greater number of Laehenalias, Scillas, Primulas, 
Freesias, &c.; and to Mr. William Bull for a group of 
new and rare plants. Of Bronze Medals, four were 
awarded, viz., to Mr. Anthony Waterer, for a particu¬ 
larly pleasing bank of hardy Primroses, pretty variet ies 
of all shades of colour; to Messrs. Paul & Son, The 
Old Nurseries, Cheshunt, for a pretty group of minia¬ 
ture Boses, standards and dwarfs of the Parqueritte 
and Mignonette varieties of Bosa Polyantha, the old 
fringed Musk Bose, and the old white Burgundy, 
accompanied by a choice assortment of hardy Alpine 
plants; to Messrs. Collins, Brothers & Gabriel, for a 
large and showy group of Daffodils and Anemones; 
and to Mr. J. Aldous for a small group of Adiantum 
Farleyense, mixed with small Palms. Messrs. Cannell 
& Sons sent a fine basket of flowers of Gilbert’s Har¬ 
binger Primrose, a very large, white-flowered variety. 
Mr. L. Pointon, Knypersley Nursery, Congleton, sent a 
beautifully-spotted variety of Odontoglossum Alexandra;; 
Mr. B. Dean, Ealing, some pretty hardy Primroses, 
and hardy species of Primulas ; and Mr. Walker, of 
Thame, some cut-blooms of that valuable white¬ 
flowering, cool, greenhouse climber, Clematis indivisa 
lobata. 
New Plants.— Besides the Amaryllis, Boses, and 
Orchid, which were certificated, and which are alluded 
to in other columns, First-class Certificates were 
voted to Mr. William Bull, for Azalea Illuminator, a 
very fine variety belonging to the amama section, 
and in the way of Mrs. Carmichael, with remarkably 
bright rosy-purple blossoms ; to Messrs. Barr & Son, 
for Chionodoxa Sardensis, a species with flowers of a 
much darker shade of blue than in C. Lucilire, and 
with only a little white in the centre ; to Mr. B. S. 
Williams, for Camellia Commendatore Betti, a parti¬ 
cularly fine variety, with broad, well-rounded petals of 
a rich, rosy-cerise colour—a fine thing, though not 
exactly new ; and to Messrs. Paul & Son, for Primula 
Wulfeniana, a diminutive growing species, with lan¬ 
ceolate leaves and large, purplish-lilac blossoms. 
Royal Botanic.— March 25th .—'The Begent’s Park 
authorities were unfortunate in having a very cold dull 
day for their First Spring Show, which as regards the 
plants and cut blooms exhibited, and the arrangement 
of the exhibition generally left little to be desired. As 
usual the bulk of the subjects staged had been seen at 
South Kensington the day before, so that to those who 
had been there much of the novelty had worn off. 
Amongst these contributions may be named the fine 
groups of Hyacinths, Tulips &c., staged by Mr. B. S. 
Williams, and Messrs. Cutbush & Son ; the Cyclamens 
of Mr. Clarke, and Mr. H. B. Smith; the Daffodils of 
Messrs. Barr & Son, Mr. T. S. Ware, and Messrs, 
-ollins, Brothers, and Gabriel; and the hardy Prim¬ 
roses of Mr. Anthony Waterer. First among the 
subjects that had not been seen the day before, must 
be placed a very remarkable display of Cinerarias 
from Mr. J. James, Woodside, Farnham Boyal, and 
which included several seedlings of such a depth and 
richness of colour, and of such a size and substance 
combined with perfection of shape that has never 
been attained before. Certificates were accorded to 
several as recorded below. Mr. Hill, gardener to H. 
Little, Esq., Uxbridge, staged an interesting group of 
varieties of Lycaste Skinneri, an orchid which Mr. Little 
grows somewhat extensively, and grows well too, as 
testified by the plants staged, one of which had ten 
flowers, all produced by one bulb. Messrs. James Carter 
& Co. staged a beautiful little group of Scarborough Lilies, 
flowering like the Amaryllis before they have made any 
leaves,, these results being obtained by starting them, 
and otherwise treating them the same as Nerines. 
Mr. Wiggins, gardener to W. Clay, Esq., Kingston- 
on-Thames, had a nice group of Cyclamen. 
In the competitive classes there was not much that 
calls for special comment. The first prize for six 
Amaryllis, given by an amateur, was won by Mr. James 
Douglas, gardener to F. Whitburn, Esq., Great Gearies, 
with strong well-flowered plants of John Heal, Marcus 
Aurelius, James Douglas (Veitch), Empress of India, 
Madonna, and Great Gearies. From the same half- 
IVY-LEAVED CHINESE PRIMULA. 
dozen, John Heal was selected for the first prize 
offered for the best light variety ; and Madonna for the 
second; Great Gearies as the best dark variety, and 
Empress of India as the second best. Mr. Butler, 
gardener to H. H. Gibbs, Esq., St.Dunstans’s,Begent’s 
Park, was second, and Mr. Douglas came in first 
again in the open class fortwelve. The largest and best- 
flowered half-dozen plants of Deutzia crenata also came 
from Mr. Douglas, who was besides first with Hardy 
Primulas and hardy herbaceous plants. In a fair class 
of Chinese Primulas, Mr. Hill, gardener to Henry 
Little, Esq., came in first, as he did also in a first-rate 
competition with Cyclamens, showing a very compact 
lot of large plants, and specially fine dark-coloured 
varieties. Mr. Wiggins, gardener to W. Clay, Esq., 
was second. Mr. H. B. Smith won the first prize in 
the open class, with a superb lot of plants. Messrs. 
Paul & Son, Cheshunt, were the only exhibitors of 
forced Boses, and they made a good display. 
Messrs. H. Williams & Son were well first, with a 
dozen Hyacinths in the nurserymen class, Mr. H. B. 
Wright coming in second. In the amateurs’ class, 
Mr. James Douglas was first, as he was also for Tulips ; 
while in the trade class Messrs. Cutbush & Son took 
the lead, Messrs. H. Williams & Son coming in 
second. Mr. Watson, nurseryman, Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne, staged a nice lot of flowers in this class, but 
was unsuccessful in gaining an award. He, however, 
secured first honours with Lily of the Valley, staging a 
grand lot of plants, with unusually well-developed 
bells. 
New Plants.— As usual at these Shows a large 
number of new plants was submitted for Certificates, 
and the judges were by no means sparing in their 
awards. Of Botanical Certificates, the lion’s share fell 
to Mr. William Bull, the plants staged by him and 
which were so honoured being the showy Haemanthus 
Kalbreyeri maximus, Bentinckia eondapanna, a hand¬ 
some Palm in the w 7 ay of Areca Baueri; Oreodoxa 
plumosa, also a very elegant Palm; Sarracenia 
Atkinsoniana, a hybrid between S. flava maxima and 
S. purpurea, with the upper side of the petals of a 
pretty cherry red colour ; Masdevallia Wagneriana, a 
small species with creamy-yellow blossoms, Lycaste 
Skinneri alba, Dendrobium nobile insigne, a well- 
coloured, showy variety; Dendrobium Ainsworthii 
Odontoglossum Bossi coneinnum, a very good form 
of Bossi majus; Sellaginella amiena, and Lomaria 
lieterophylla. The same award was also made to 
Mr. B. S. Williams for the showy Dendrobium nobile 
nobilius, and Calanthe Sanderiana ; to Henry Little, 
Esq., for Lycaste Skinneri magnifica, a large and very 
richly-coloured variety, and for Dendrobium crassi- 
node giganteum, one of the finest forms of this species 
we have seen. To Messrs. Paul & Son, for Anemone 
pulsatilla patens, and Primula Wulfeniana ; to Messrs. 
Veitch & Sons for Bhododendrons Teysmanni; and 
to Messrs. Barr & Son for Chionodoxa Sardensis. 
Floral Certificates were accorded to Messrs. Thibaut 
& Keteleer of Paris, for Begonia Glorie de Sceaux ; to 
Mr. James Douglas for Amaryllis, Helen Lodge, 
crimson, with a light centre, and Great Gearies, 
crimson scarlet; to Mr. B. S. Williams for Camellia 
Commendatore Betti ; to Mr. James, for Cinerarias, 
Mrs. A. Sutton, very distinct—a rich, bright reddish- 
maroon flower of exquisite form ; Viceroy, rich, dark- 
rose, shaded with violet; Paragon, a wonderfully 
bright-velvet crimson, with a grey disc, very pretty ; 
Mary Anderson, a pretty shade of rose, suffused with 
purple ; General Gordon, pure maroon, large and fine 
in form; Dante, rich rosy-crimson with a Avhite ring 
round the disc—a very large flower, some of the pips 
measuring 3 ins. in diameter; and Rob Boy, a violet- 
shaded magenta; to H. Little, Esq., for Azalea Jean 
N. Verschaffelt, and Primula The Queen (Tomkins), 
a very fine fern-leaved, white variety. 
-— 
Liverpool Horticultural Association.— March 
24th and 25th. —The third spring exhibition organized 
by the members of this Association was held in St. 
George’s Hall, on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we 
are pleased to hear that both horticulturally and 
financially it was a complete success. The exhibition 
was far in advance of any of the preceding Shows of 
the Association, while it was generally conceded that 
in point of quality the exhibits were immeasurably 
superior to any seen in Liverpool for many years past. 
A finer or more varied collection of plants and flowers 
could not have been presented, and the admirable 
manner in which they were arranged on three tables, 
running the entire length of the hall, gave additional 
beauty of the scene. The entries numbered two 
hundred and fifty, these being classified as under :— 
Varieties of Hyacinths, Orchids, Lilies of the Valley, 
and Mignonette, ninety; and general exhibits, one 
hundred and sixty ; showing an increase of twenty on 
the entries of last year. One of the features of the 
exhibition was the fine display of Orchids, which were 
more numerously represented than any other class. 
Specially noteworthy among the exhibits were a group 
of Azalea Mollis, shown by C. W. Neumann, Esq., 
Allerton, (Mr. Mease, gardener) ; fine collections of 
plants from Messrs. R. P. Ker & Sons, and The Liver¬ 
pool Horticultural Co., Garston ; some black Grapes 
from A. B. Gladstone, Esq., and Samuel Smith, Esq , 
M.P. For a group of miscellaneous plants the first 
prize went to W. H. Watts, Esq., Wavertree, (Mr. 
Cox, gardener); and for ten hardy herbaceous and 
bulbous plants, Messrs. James Dickson & Sons, 
Newton Nurseries, Chester, were well to the front. 
The highest awards for twenty-four and eighteen 
Hyacinths were taken by R. Singleton, Esq., Aig- 
burth, (Mr. Kelly, gardener); while Mrs. Barnsley, 
St. Michael’s Hamlet, and W. H. Watts, Esq., 
secured the leading honours for six. For Tulips 
the leading awards ivent to R. Cornelius, Esq., S. S. 
Parker, Esq., and T. S. Rogerson, Esq. Mr.Neumann’s 
gardener, was successful in winning first prizes for 
