FOR CHARITY’S SAKE. 
I F I mistake not, chanty owes a great deal to the God¬ 
dess Flora, taking my observations from the very 
fine exhibitions of plants, flowers and designs made by 
Mr. Klunder, March 9, 10 and 11. The wealth of the 
flowers, as well as their high quality, was truly astound¬ 
ing. The perfect and unique collection of plants and the 
very excellently made designs were worthy of the highest 
praise. Unfortunately, I cannot find room to say all I 
wish about the many groups, so must be satisfied in 
noting the more impressive features. The treatment of 
the walls of the hall was well handled, considering that the 
place of exhibition was not the very best to display flowers 
advantageously; yet the clothing of the walls with green 
branches and the draping of the windows with Southern 
moss provided quite a good background for color effect. 
The roses, as might be expected, were in the greatest 
proportion, and to say there were thousands conveys no 
idea of the quantity; there were positively wagon-loads, 
the hybrid remontants being marvelous in size and perfect 
in shape, of such varieties as Magna Charta, Paul Neyron, 
Anna de Diesbach, General Jacqueminot, Achille Gonod. 
Baroness de Rothschild and Countess of Oxford. There 
were immense vases of each, containing from 150 to 250 
flowers, forming masses of color over three feet in diameter. 
Of other hybrids in smaller quantities there were fine 
examples of Duchess de Vallambrosa, Xavier Olibo, Cap¬ 
tain Christy, Mabel Morrison, Comtesse de Sereneye and 
Glory of Cheshunt; a single flower of the Pride of Kent, 
rich deep red or light crimson, of the most perfect shape 
and deliciously perfumed, was much admired. 
The tender roses were not less abundant; correspond¬ 
ing groups of these in large vases vieing with the brighter 
hybrids were formed of Cornelia Cooks, Catherine Mer- 
mets, Perles des Jardin, Safranos, Marechal Niels, La 
France, Bon Silene, Madame Cusin, Sunset and Niphetos. 
In smaller quantities were Souvenir d’un Ami, Douglass, 
Duke of Connaught, Madame Lambard, Reine Marie, 
Henriette and Souvenir de la Malmaison. 
Among the new roses, William Francis Bennett, the most 
brilliant of all crimson tender roses; American Beauty, 
with its deliciously-scented reddish crimson flowers, and 
the Countess of Pembroke, a rich salmon rose of the same 
perfect shape as La France, divided the honors among 
many admirers. These were the principal varieties shown, 
though others in small quantities and of less note were to 
be found. 
The collection of orchids was rich in the extreme. A 
panel fifteen feet wide and twelve feet high was completely 
smothered with plants and flowers—lovely phalaenopses, 
odontoglossums, dendrobiums, cattleyas, lycastes cces- 
lognes, cypripeds, cymbidiums, lrelias and oncidiums, in 
all their grace and delicate coloring, were draped over the 
green background—was a full page of delight in one’s 
lifetime. 
The hyacinths, tulips, narcissi, lilies-of-the-valley, and 
other bulbous spring flowering plants, were in masses by 
the thousand, besides many fine specimen plants. A 
group of choice plants composed of palms, crotons, ferns 
and dracaenas, arranged as for a parlor decoration, was 
beautiful, as also a window group of lilacs and Easter 
lilies, banks of Baroness de Rothschild roses, amaryllis, 
carnations and primroses, plateaus of tulips, dells of 
snowdrops and patches of heather. 
A very elaborate circular dinner-table arrangement, 
the centre being entirely composed of Anna de Diesbach 
roses, with lilies-of-the-valley and Jacqueminot roses for 
favors, received many words of praise. Perhaps the 
most effective draping ever seen was that where the As¬ 
paragus tenuissimus covered the columns. Several made- 
pieces were of exquisite arrangement, especially a font 
of nearly all-white flowers, a marriage bell and several 
shields and fans for wall decorations ; a screen of smilax 
fringed with Acacia pubescens, and the top margined 
with narcissi, was one of the most beautiful conven¬ 
tional floral pieces ever seen; almost everywhere were 
vases of mignonette, lilacs, violets and heliotrope ; though 
of modest coloring, they were redolent with fragrance. 
Was there ever such a gathering of fine flowers before, 
occurred to us many times, and as the exhibition was 
gotten up for the most laudable purpose, the promoters 
must be delighted, and Mr. Klunder deserves the thanks 
of all connected with floriculture for the admirable man¬ 
ner in which he carried it out. But few individuals 
would have attempted such a task, and scarcely one 
would have made such a complete picture. 
. John Thorpe. 
ICLUNDER’S SHOW AS SEEN BY A DYSPEPTIC. 
I FELT on the bitter cold morning of March 9 that at 
least a few hours cheerfulness could be obtained by 
visiting one of the finest exhibitions of flowers ever held 
in New York. I was not disappointed, and for full three 
hours I roamed around drinking in all the beauties of 
color, shape and fragrance. After the feast I concluded 
to try and digest what I had feasted on, but with that 
chronic desire to find fault to which all dyspeptics are sub¬ 
ject, I began to pry into the weaknesses of the fine display, 
and with a grim satisfaction found that the arrangement 
of the orchids, as shown in the wall panel, was too con¬ 
ventional and illusive. I could not entirely conform my 
ideas of arrangement to several species of flowers crowded 
together in one small holder, as were to be found in three 
flowers of Cypripedium insiqne, and a spike of odonto- 
glossum, cattleya and oncidium; Odontoglossum Alexan- 
