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JUNE. : BvI77 
HORTICULTURE IN IRELAND. 
From all who know anything of the country, we are continually hearing 
of the great progress that Ireland is making in every material object ; 
and we are especially told that the old, miserable, wretched system of 
agriculture is rapidly giving way to one more in accordance with the 
dictates of science, the requirements of the people, and the progress of 
the day. - A few words, then, from an eye-witness as to the twin sister 
of agriculture, may not be out of place. The Florist for May showed 
that in the culture of the Vine our neighbours. know a thing or two ; 
and I can testify to their apparent determination to go ahead in flori- 
culture. It so happened that during the time of my recent visit the 
spring show of the Royal Horticultural Society took place, and I was 
solicited to act as judge upon that occasion ; consequently a very good 
opportunity was afforded me of testing the present exhibition with what 
it used to be, ‘‘ when I was young,” and 1 myself contending in what I 
fear was not at times a very peaceful arena. But not satisfied with 
this, I visited the gardens of two of our wealthy Dublin merchants, 
and I am bound to say I saw a degree of labour bestowed there, and 
money spent, that clearly showed they were in earnest. In both Mr. 
Bewley’s garden and Mr. Gray’s were orchard houses, stoves, and 
greenhouses of large size, and filled with costly plants. Mr. Bewley’s 
orchard house, I thmk the gardener said contained 6000 square feet, 
and his collections of Orchids and Ferns were remarkably fine; some 
large masses of Dendrobium and others were such as one rarely sees ; 
while Mr. Gray, although he has one or two nice stoves, seems to be more 
anxious about greenhouse plants, Pelargoniums, &c. If, thought I to 
myself, these are samples of what the exhibitors are doing, one may 
expect a tolerably good show; and with this feeling in my mind, I 
attended the Royal Horticultural Society’s exhibition, nor was I dis- 
appointed in my expectations. I remember when szx greenhouse 
plants used to be shown in a basket; now I saw plants nearly equalling 
in size the masses that. used to come from Mrs. Lawrence and Mr. 
Collyer. _Azaleas were things almost unknown as exhibition plants in 
those days ; mow I saw large and well grown plants one mass of bloom. 
Then Orchids were indeed ‘‘rari nantes in gurgite vasto,” one here. or 
there; now there were several collections of these which showed that 
pains and skill had been bestowed on their culture ; then Pelargoniums 
if shown at all in April (and it is too early) were miserably lanky 
things—now they were, despite their forcing, bushy and tolerably 
‘stubby plants. And better than this, even; then there was squabbling 
and jealousy, and “ evil surmisings and disputings,” because the judges 
had known whose the plants were, whereas ow the exhibitor’s name 
is appended to each, so that, if partiality is shown, it must ‘be with open 
eyes; and I was informed by the secretary that there are far fewer 
complaints of wrong judging than when the names were unknown. It 
_ was interesting to remark that the collection of Orchids which gained 
~ the first prize was grown in the city itself, beating even Mr. Bewley, of 
whose fine collection I have already spoken. This belonged to Joseph 
VOL. XIV., NO. CL. N 
