The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-05-02 00:00:00

4.; iltsbire.

WILTS lIORTICULTITRAL SOCIETY.

The first spring show of the Wilts Horticultural
Society took place in the Council Hall, Salisbury, on
Tuesday. Mr. Blake's fine range of Cinerarias first
streak the eye on entering the room. Amongst the
other principal exhibitors was the Rev. W. P. Pigot,
(gardener, Mr. Lampard,) who carried everything before
him in collections of plants and single specimens, his
Hoya Imrriolii, and also a specimen of the rare
Alocasia Metallica, one of the new Japanese plants,
being particularly admired; although the prime speci-
men of Alocasia was that exhibited by Mr. Griffin,
(hon. sec.,) who also excited great interest by the
exhibition of the Gossipunt, or cotton plant, in full floes.
Sir Frederick Bathurst, amongst other superb oontri-
butione, exhibited roses in pots, amongst which
we noticed Grant des battailles in all his glory.
One of the most interesting departments was the dis-
play of bouquets for the dinner table competed for by
ladits, under sealed mottoes of quite a moral and in-
tellectual turn, and several of them in Latin I It is but
Just to say that there wee no pedantry, however, about
thebouqueto which were one and all sochaste and beautiful
that we cannot tell how the judges came to their
decision, which they seemed to have done, after
all, conscientiously, The company whieh crowded
the hall from one till three and from three to five, and
again, we believe, in the evening, was composed of the
elite of the city and neighbourhood.
The music provided by Mr. T. E. Spinney, and
executed half-hourly daring the day by Miss Rattle
Spinney, a young lady on whose abilities London critics
at St. James's Hall have pronounced with unqualified
approbation and Mr. Frank Spinney a young pianist
of remarkable promise,was performed on one of Erard's
ooneertgrands procured expressly for the occasion and
valued at from 180 to 200 guineas. The programme
opened with " Le Crepuscule" (The Twilight), a very
delicate and beautiful original composition of Mr, T. E. I
Spinney's. This was followed by a truly fairylike
piece of execution by Miss Mettle Spinney, Godfroid's,
Mame dee fees" or dance of the fairies which ravished
all ears and chilled much admiration, notwithstanding
the disadvantages of performing amidst plante, and
in fact, in a Conservatory, besides that the Council-
room itself is really one of the worst adapted for
concert purposes, indeed for hearing in generaL It is
needless to say that in "Rome Sweet Home," Thalberg's
arrangement, which Miss Spinney played by desire, she
was equally suocessfuL Nor must we omit mentioning
the quaint humour and address with which the young
gentleman next took up "A mortis dance" • composi-
tion suggested to his father by • procession of morris
dancers in Salisbury, and written descriptively of the
occasion. Mr. Frank Spinney also performed aeveral
of Chopin's " Valses brillantes." We did not hear the
evening performances by these accomplished players,
bat the programme comprised Ascher's "Sane Bond,"
"La Ilarpe Eolienne" of Mr. Sydney Smith • Thalberg's
celebrated fantasia (Miss Spinney) and other exquisite
sioroewax.

The judges of plants, Mr. Wheeler, of Warminster,
and Mr. Hearn, gardener to Lieut.-General Buckley,
M.P., awarded the prises as follow :
GINTLEDIEN OR VIZIR GARDINER& —Mr. Jones,
gardener to Lady Mill, Mottisfont :—Best Queen pine;
best black grapes; best white ditto; best strawberries;
best collection four dishes of fruit, without pine,;
best W asparagus best cucumbers; 2nd kidney
beans; beat potatoes; best brocoli ; best cabbage;
best collection six dishes of vegetables; best
collection six dishes salad.—M. H. Marsh, Esq., M.P.,
Bamridge House :-2nd strawberries; 2nd cucumbers;
best kidney beans; 2nd potatoes—Mr. Lanyard,
gardener to the Rev. W. P. Pigott, Bemerton :—Best
stove plant; best greenhouse ditto; best climbers;
extra, collection 12 variegated plants; best collection
six stove plants; best specimen plant; best azaleas ;
beet bulb; best cinerarias ; best roses in pots; best
six ferns.—Mr. Silk, gardener to W. Pinckney, Esq.,
Milford :-2nd azaleas; 2nd best collection six plants;
2nd best ferns.

AIIATZUB3.—Mr. R. Blake, the Elms, Winterbourn
Dauntsey i—Best cinerarias ; best bulbs: 2nd ferns;
2nd cueumbera—Mr. F. R. Fisher, High-street :
Extra asaleas ; 2nd cinerariaa—Mr. G. Gregory,
Fisherton Mills :-2nd collection four planta.-11r.
Large, Milford : —Best 30 asparagus ; beet cucumber,.
Mr. S. Griffin, Lucerne Villa, Wilton-road :-3rd col-
lection four plants; best colleetion ferns ; best oabbage ;
extra for stove plant (Alocaria
Warren, Salisbury :-3rd ferns—Mr. R. Futcher,
Wilton-road :-2nd asparagus; 3rd collection four dishes
vegetables; 2nd six table apples—Mies Jacob, the
Close :—Best six table apples.
CorrActicas.— Francis :—Bess nosegay; best cabbage;
beat lettuce ; best rhubarb.— Williams :-2nd cabbage.
LADIES' PRIZEB.—Best bouquet for the dinner table
(motto, "Bate Perpetua"), Miss E. Griffin; 2nd ditto
(motto, "Every art is taught by example"), Miss
Fisher; best basket of flowers (motto, "Patience is •
motto that grows in every garden"), Miss Smith,
Baverstock ; 2nd ditto (motto,
"Things beautiful and fair,
Each fitted_ to fulfil Its task

Of use and beauty here"),
Miss Winzar ; 3rd ditto (motto, "Labor ornate rincit"),
Miss Griffin.