lesony?) 3 2 Fol. 
toni, Canaletto, Roseum superbum and picturatum, Fanny, Ingrami, 
Mammoth, Peruzzi, and Tacsoni. Of whites, the most striking were 
Minnie, Butlerianum, Alarm, Album elegans, Gloriosum, Maculosum, 
and perspicuum. When we saw them some of the early kinds were 
past their best, and others scarcely in bloom; we may therefore have 
omitted naming some worthy of notice. The groups of Rhododendrons 
were nicely relieved by the best kinds of English and Ghent Azaleas, 
Kalmias, &c., which greatly assisted the beautiful display the collection 
presented. 
ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY. 
May 380.—With all the past glories of Chiswick in one’s mind, Mrs. . 
Lawrence’s gigantic plants and Mr. Rucker’s collections of Orchids, 
its aristocratic company, and its royal patronage; with the present 
glories. of the Crystal Palace—the palace. of the people, which 
always has a prohibitive price upon it when there is anything 
the people specially wish to see; with all the coming glories of Ken- 
sington Gore—Mr. Nesfield’s terraces, embroidery gardens, and maze— 
there never has been, there is not, and I question if there ever 
will be, an exhibition that can vie in beauty with those held under the 
auspices of the above Society in the Regent’s Park. And of all the 
exhibitions they have ever held, they have never had one to equal, in 
quantity of colour, or in excellence of growth, the one held on the 30th 
ult. The absence of all stages, the green sward throwing up the flowers 
in such fine relief, the nicely gravelled walks, the undulating character 
of the ground, and the soft light of the canvas tent, always give, on a 
fine day, an especial charm to these exhibitions; and although many 
flowers are not in their prime till a month later, yet the immense 
masses of Azaleas present such a wondrous quantity of bloom, that it 
is impossible to rival them in this respect. Admitted, by the courtesy 
of the indefatigable curator, to a private survey, I had a thoroughly 
good view, and proceed to mark what appeared to me the most attractive 
features of the exhibition. 
With regard to stove and greenhouse plants, I think that nine-tenths 
of the observations one hears concerning them are, ‘‘ What wonderfully 
grown plants!” and the other tenth has reference to their intrinsic 
beauty. Iam free toconfess that I am not amongst the discriminating 
minority. I can and do admire the marvellous perfection of growth, 
the freshness and freedom of bloom ; but it is well known that a plant 
is not grown for the purpose of showing, unless it will do well—that is, 
bear all sorts of training, and carry a great head. Time was when 
Pelargoniums used to be grown in immense pots, but the rules of 
restricting them to smaller pots has brought out the very perfection of 
growth—small plants, but one sheet of bloom, Why not offer prizes 
for greenhouse plants in certain sized pots? it might have the same 
effect. | 
Where all was fine it is difficult to select, but I do not think there 
