JOl'liSAL  OF  IWHTlCrLTCRF. — ’USE  mh,  100/,. 
HORTICUliTUt^flli  exhibition  AT  HEGEHT’S  PAI^K- 
CONDON  was  not  the  piond  possessor  of  the  first  botanical 
garden  in  these  islands,  although  Chelsea  Physic  Garden 
and  the  experimental  grounds  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  take  us  far  back,  and  the  Royal  Gardens  at  Kew 
were  not  accessible  enough  to  be  generally  visited  in  bygone 
days  by  Londoners.  It  was  the  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
London  was  wanting  in  this  direction  that  led  a  number  of 
Metropolitan  residential  botanists  to  found  the  Royal  Botanic 
Society  in  the  year  1839.  A  short  history  of  the  society  was 
prepared  by  Mr.  William  Sowerby,  father  of  the  present  secre¬ 
tary,  and  from  its  pages  we  extracted  the  main  facts,  and  pre¬ 
sented  them  in  the  issue  of  June  11  last  year. 
The  Society’s  Gardens. 
The  area  of  the  Botanic  Garden  is  a  little  over  18  acres,  ! 
the  highest  point  being  129ft.  above  sea  level,  and  it  was  I 
planned  and  laid  out  by  Mr.  Robert  Marnock.  The  first  opera-  i 
tion,  after  clearing  the  grounds,  was  forming  the  lake  and  the 
mound  which  lie  to  the  right,  inward  from  the  entrance  gates, 
and  the  work  necessitated  the  removal  of  many  thousands  of  , 
yards  of  stiff  clay.  A  terrace  was  next  formed  at  the  north, 
on  which  the  conservatory  stands,  a  building  constructed  of 
iron,  and  built  by  Turner, ‘of  Dublin,  in  1845,  who  subseciuently 
built  the  Palm  house  at  Kew.  If  the  Regent’s  Park  house  is  j 
not  the  first  built  entirely  of  iron,  it  may  be  considered  the  first  | 
iron  house  of  any  size  in  England.  Behind  the  conservatory 
Mr.  Marnock  formed  the  well-known  exhibition  ground,  wdiich 
is  now,  however,  altered  to  a  level  surface. 
Between  the  conservatory  and  the  herbaceous  garden  lie 
the  plant  structures,  and  the  areas  of  medicinal  and  economic  : 
plants.  The  society  has  reason  to  value  this  department,  and 
to  be  anxious  for  its  renewed  development,  as  it  is  found  to  be 
exceedingly  useful,  not  only  to  medical  and  other  .students  from 
the  innumerable  colleges  in  liondon,  but  to  merchants  and 
manufacturers  and  others ;  in  fact,  all  persons  interested  in  the 
economic  products  of  the  vegetable  kingdom.  This  side  of  the 
garden  is  generally  considered  as  the  locality  for  plant  study, 
and  is  much  frequented,  as  we  ourselves  evidenced.  The  num-  : 
ber  of  free  students’  tickets,  for  three  months  each,  issued  | 
annually,  ranges  from  600  to  over  800,  and  the  cut  specimens  j 
given  for  study  at  one  time  amounted  to  40,000  to  50,000  per  | 
annum,  the  supply  of  these  being  somewhat  of  a  drain  upon  I 
the  society.  j 
Another  useful  feature  in  the  herbaceous  portion  of  the  | 
grounds  are  the  meteorological  instruments  and  apparatus,  i 
The  sunshine  recorder  is  on  the  tower  on  the  mound,  and  in  ! 
an  enclosed  space  near  by  are  the  earth  thermometers,  from  3in  | 
to  16ft  deep,  and  of  special  interest  to  gardeners  and  general  ! 
cultivators.  Daily  lecords  of  all  the  instruments  are  kept  from 
observations  taken  three  times  daily,  and  printed,  we  believe,  , 
in  the  London  “Evening  Standard,”  as  well  as  the  society’s  ' 
“  Quarterly  Record.”  j 
In  addition  to  the  large  conservatory  (of  the  interior  of  ; 
which  we  furnish  an  illustration,  on  page  501),  there  is  a  house  ! 
and  warm  water  tank  for  the  Victoria  Regia  and  tropical  ; 
aquatic  vegetation,  besides  ferneries,  orchid  houses,  stoves,  ■ 
greenhou.ses,  propagating  pits,  frames  for  alpines,  and  all  kinds  | 
of  ornamental  bedding  plants,  and  good  workshops,  potting 
shed,  and  offices.  The  head  gardener  (Mr.  E.  F.  Hawes) 
occupies  a  sub.stantial  cottage  close  to  the  glass  department. 
At  the  extreme  west  of  the  garden  is  the  museum,  secre-  : 
tary’s  office  (Mr.  B.  Sowerby  is  secretary),  meeting-room,  j 
dwelling-house,  and  the  recently  erected  and  well  appointecl  | 
experimental  laboratory.  The  museum  is  also  used  as  a  lecture  i 
and  reading  room,  and  has  a  botanical  library  attached.  The 
students  attending  the  Society’s  Practical  Gardening  School 
corne  from  places  far  apart,  and  most  of  them  are  youths  and 
maidens  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  twenty-three.  They 
seem  to  work  with  zest,  and  to  enjoj'  their  pleasant  and  varied 
occupations.  A  three  years’  syllabus  is  prepared,  and  this  they 
adhere  to,  as  in  the  similar  schools  and  colleges  elsewhere. 
Past  Exhibitions. 
The  exhibitions  held  by  the  Royal  Botanic  Society  have  a 
^special  distinction,  though  the  spring  .shows  declined  during 
recent  years.  The.se  began  in  1860,  though  flower  shows  have 
been  yearly  held  since  1843,  even  before  the  gardens  were 
finally  completed ;  and  in  1872  the  Society’s  Evening  Fetes, 
which  are  now  especially  popular,  were  inaugurated.  The 
Rhododendron  exhibitions  by  Waterer  and  Sons  of  Bagshot,  i 
the  Rose  displays  by  William  Paul,  and  the  hardy  plant  col¬ 
lections  staged  by  Barr  and  Sons  at  certain  set  periods  of  the 
summer  may  also  be  referred  to  as  work  undertaken  for  the 
encouragement  of  Horticulture,  and  in  a  secondary  measure 
botany.  In  1901  the  great  Nature  Study  Exhibition  found  a 
welcome  ho.spitate  in  Regent’s  Park  Botanic  Garden,  and  other 
societies,  with  a  recognised  utilitarian  aim,  have  received  full 
freedom  for  their  exhibitions  within  the  bounds  of  these  gar¬ 
dens.  With  the  unabated  attachment  of  its  numerous  influen¬ 
tial  Fellows,  and  under  the  wise  direction  of  experienced 
officers,  assisted  by  an  hone.st  and  efficient  staff  in  ail  depart¬ 
ments,  we  fear  not  for  the  future  of  the  Royal  Botanic  Society 
of  London ;  and  while  its  aims  broaden,  and  its  work  increases, 
it  is  impossible  for  it  not  to  command  a  high  respect. 
The  Present  Exhibition. 
The  present  great  exhibition  is  the  largest  the  society  has 
undertaken.  It  was  divided  into  sections,  the  sundries,  and 
some  of  the  educational  exhibits  being  particularly  valuable. 
The  classification  scheme  has  probably  been  drawn  up  too 
ambitiously  on  paper,  but  nevertheless  the  exhibition  was  very 
varied  and  highly  interestiii'r.  Mr.  E.  F.  Hawes  superintended 
the  placing  of  the  exhibits. 
Classification  of  Exhibits. 
Division  A — Horticulture:  Exhibition  of  plants,  flowers, 
fruits,  orchids,  alpines,  forced  and  retarded  plants,  vegetables, 
and  seeds.  2.  Market  gardening — Methods  of  grading,  pack¬ 
ing,  preparing  for  market,  Ac.  3.  Forestry — growing  timber 
trees,  methods  of  staking,  protection,  pruning,  &c.  4.  Ap¬ 
paratus  and  chemicals  for  destroying  insects  and  fungoid  pests ; 
manures — chemical  and  natural ;  etherisation  apparatus ;  re¬ 
tarding  and  cold  storage  apparatus.  5.  Horticultural  build¬ 
ings  ;  heating  and  hot  water  apparatus ;  summer  houses,  seats, 
&c.  6.  Sundries — gardening  tools,  machines,  implements,  Ac. 
7.  New  inventions. 
Division  B — Botanical:  1.  Experimental  research  work.  2. 
Exhibition  of  scientific  apparatus,  microscopes,  &c.  3.  Plants, 
seeds,  &c.,  used  in  medicines. 
Division  C — Educational :  Exhibition  of  methods  of  teach¬ 
ing  ;  books ;  nature  study. 
Division  D — Colonial:  Exhibition  of  fruits,  vegetables,  Ac., 
grown  in  the  Colonies. 
Division  E — Art :  1 .  Exhibition  of  pictures  of  flowers,  garden 
designs,  plants,  Ac.  2.  Table  decorations  and  decorative  uses 
of  flowers. 
Divi.sion  F — Garden  Sports :  Exhibition  of  croquet,  lawn 
tennis,  bowls,  and  other  garden  games. 
Horticulture. 
Plant  Groups. 
So  many  of  the  exhibits  which  come  under  this  and  allied 
heads  received  a  sufficiently  extended  notice  when  they  veie 
staged  at  the  Temple  Show  last  week  that  we  do  no  more  on  this 
occasion  than  refer  to  them  very  briefly.  Messrs.  AVilliam  Paul 
and  Son  again  had  a  glorious  display  of  Roses,  receiving  certifi¬ 
cates  for  two  varieties  and  a  gold  medal. 
Messrs.  Hugh  Low  and  Co.,  Bush  Hill  Park,  Enfield,  staged 
their  remarkably  well-flowered  orchids  and  their  Carnations, 
getting  a  gold  medal.  Messrs.  John  Laing  and  Sons,  Forest 
Hill,  S.E.,  had  Begonias,  Streptocarpi,  and  Gloxinias  (gold 
medal).  From  Messrs.  John  Peed  and  Son  came  a  magnificent 
display  of  their  admirable  Caladiums,  as  well  as  Gloxinias,  and  a 
silver-gilt  medal  was  accorded.  Messrs.  Blackmore  and  liang- 
don,  Twerton-on-Avon,  Bath,  had  their  wonderfully  fine  double 
tuberous  Begonias  (silver-gilt  medal) ;  and  Messrs.  Pollard,  Lee, 
S.E.,  had  a  bronze  medal  group  of  new  Pelargoniums. 
A  varied  display  of  Cactus  Pelargoniums,  Heliotrope  Lord 
Roberts,  Roses,  and  Coronation  Marguerite  came  from  Messrs. 
W.  and  J.  Brown,  Peterborough,  who  had  a  silver  medal. 
Hardy  annuals  in  pots,  similar  to  those  noted  on  page  478 
of  last  issue,  were  forward  from  Messrs.  Watkins  and  Simpson, 
12,  Tavistock  Street,  Covent  Garden,  and  we  can  compliment 
the  firm  on  their  excellent  plants,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  this 
is  the  best  way  to  bring  the  merits  of  good  annuals  before  the 
public.  They  had  a  silver  medal. 
Clemati.ses  in  pots,  as  well  as  hardy  shrubs,  were  shown  by 
Messrs.  Richard  Smith  and  Co.,  St.  John’s  Nurseries,  Wor¬ 
cester,  who  received  a  silver-gilt  medal.  For  Spirieas, 
Gloxinias,  Verbenas,  Ac.,  Mes.srs.  Carter  and  Co.  had  a  large 
silver  medal ;  and  for  zonal  and  decorative  Pelargoniums  Mr. 
Godfrey,  of  Exmouth,  had  a  .silver-gilt  medal.  Another  silver- 
