The Express.
London, England, 1850-05-20 00:00:00

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

On Saturday the first exhibition of the season
took place at the society'e gardens, Chiswick, and under
much more tcv.furable auspices than could have been pre-
dicted from the unpromising state of the weather in the
early part of the day. The gardens were f,leen at tbe usual
hour—one o'clock—and previeut to that time there had
.been a heavy shower of rain, which produced the most
gloomy apprehensions; but, as the afternoon advanced,
the prospect brightened, and the sun shone with sufLient
brilliancy to give cheerfulness sad vitality to the scene.
There was a lull attendance of visitor.. The froth firrren
and the onparched appearance of the grad a award gave
abundant proof that, whilst we in Linden may
have found reason t 3 grumble at the late tame, there are
places within half a Mace milts of Hyde Para Corner, to
whom those visi•• ions must hove been a source of comfort
and sstbfaction. As regarded the fitter of the grounds for
a " fashionable pr..menaele " it may be remarked that those
delicate thread-paper shoes, which the ladies wore, berayed
a somewhat haz.rdous indifitrence to the dangers of damp
feet

Of Ale flower-show itself what can be said save th..t it pre-
sented all those delicate combicativos cf form and calour
which have always distiogni,tt LI similar exhibitions at the
same sear..n of the year. The azalea', pelargoniums, and
heaths were displayed in the greatest lrolusion, al-
though it may he remarked that the tarsnmen-
tioned fi root did not app.ar in such high puma
tion as on previous occasions. By far the most attractive
objects in toe exhibition, as showing the rt felts of a well-
chanred cultivation, were the heaths- There were tome
beautiful specimens of cintrar.m, exotic orchids, ned calceola-
rim, roses, and a variety of masealianeous pants, of great ex-
cellence.

Tne inlet catravriinary ani interesting feature of the ex-
hibition was a specimen of that hugo 111.&ltr lily. the Victoria
Regis, graven en the emu,' of the Duke ot Northumber-
land. The ti art r was seen undsr a glass case, and its gigan-
tic dimensions, combined with its bi may of form. were the
objects of surprise a:.d admiration. The leaf, which is die
played is stank of water, kept at a tiring temperature, is at
large as a round table of erdinary eircumterence. It it
quite a sew feature in the exhibitions of the Horticultural
Society. Amongst the fruits was a choice variety of grapes,
cherries, straw berris a, pineapples, and melons, and the power
of hothouse cultivation, in producing colour as well as size,
was meter more forcibly displayed than in ttis tempting
se-
lection. On the whole, the exhilsition was most successful
coast& ri: g the difficulties which the cultivators have bed t,
contend with. There were three bands of music oa the
ground—those of the Royal Horse Guards (Blue), the Cold-
stream, and the Ist Life Guards—and their perform-
ances produced the usual ir.spiriticg malts. Amongst
the company present were the Duchess of Kent, the Duke of
Cambridge. the Duke of Northumberland, the Duke and
Duchess of Sutherland, Lord Stsaley, bird and Lady Jobs
Russell, the Earl of Zetlaad, Lurd Sondes, ow.

ARTISTS' AMATEUR PERFORMANCE.—On Saturday
evening an amateur performance tock place at the St.
James's Theatre in aid of the funds of the Artists' General
Benevolent Ituititui.a. The entertainments consisted of
Douglas Jerrold's drama of the " Ilene Day " and Colmaa's
comedy of the "Poor Gentleman." The leaditg characters
were played by Messrs. Hamerton, Topham, T. W. Angell, J.
Hull, Tenniel, George Cruit kshant, and othert, assisted by se-
' versa ladiesof the theatrical profession including Miss Cooper,
Miss Tellet, Mrs. Tayleure, acd Mrs. Giilfltbs. Of the ama-
teurs it is only just to say that they reormed the parts
„ assigned to them in a manner which would have (untied
marked
wi reapednhcievherwyautte netir,7ns.muointle teetriff,:eiceet,ni viitt..blitrepiidenedir
tht
thede,
, them to applause in a company of kroheatd ac.°rs. The
pe'anltrdieormanthnteD
acey "w audience,iwthu
: ballad of "Lord Bateman " was sung bt Mr. George Cruick-
shank with much characteristic humour; and, aims wiiele,
the entertainment gave very general satisfaction.
THE COMET NOW VislßLE.—(Fr‘m Mr. John
Hartnup, of the Liverpo 1 Observatory.) The come: dis
covered in the constellation Dram, by Dr. Pet•nee, of the
, Altona Observatory, to which attention was drawn last
week, is exciting much interest among astronomers in eon-
, sequence of the neat approach which it w ill certainly mike
to our earth. Approximate e'.,ments have been calculated
by Mr. Hind, from the observations already obtained, from
, which it appears that the nearest approach of the comet to us
will not be far trona the time of perihelion passage—about
the 241 of July. Accurate gamentrie positions of toe comet
, are in great demand, to enable calculators to approximate
more closely to the true olemtnu of the orbit; anJ, as the
large equatorial, at the Liverpool Observatory, is peculiarly
adapted for this clots of observations, I beg to enclose the le-
lowing posHons of the comet, taken at the Liverpool Obser
vatory, and corrected fur refraction and parallax :
Greenwich Cowes Sight Coniet's
Me.in Tinto. Atereelas. Destinstiec.
deg. in. 0. deg• m, s. dew. in. s.
May 8...12 3i 20........19 0 57.79 70 20 tar
Mar 9AO 55 45 l9 13 53.21 :2 '4 31.7
May 12..,10 59 51 19 a 30.25 12 59 44.9
' May 11...17 3 V 19 0 21.13 l3 II 4.2
' The comet is wow vYible is a telescope of 21 inches ape?-
' tuns, and those who wish to And it will obtain its p. sition
approximately for a few days, by diminishing the last obese-
vatroa in right ascrosi an IA the rate of about 4 minutes a day,
and by increasing the declination at the rate of about 8
minutes a day.—Litterpoel Journal.
Hot' Derr,—Oa ThUrfieley a Lumerotta matting
took place at the Town Hall, Maidstone, to ascertain the
opinions of the growers relative to an acreage ciey on t.ops.
Mr. Golding, of Hadlow, was in the chair, ant T. L.lloilgss,
Esq , M.P., was present. The meets-g was of a stormy
character, and lasted for some time. A motion brought to:-
ward by Mr. T. H. eutbush, of Tateling, against the acre-
age duty, was declared by the chairman to have been carried,
although his decision was warmly disputed by many p, none,
who declared that Vac resolution was lust by a large
—Surrey Standard.
SUICIDE OF A SCANIeIi GENTLF.MAN.—On Thurs-
day evening laid, the report of a pistol was heard in the road
leading from the Old Swan to Broaditreen, nearly opposite
?dr. Chalaner'e mansion, and some poisons approaching this
place found a young gendtman lying on the land Mar the
palling. He was dead. The deceased wa. Ca tsin Su ~.I,e, a
native of Bsreelone, who came to Liverpool a ehert time
sine* to purchase a ship for his hrother-in.law, an ,potent
merchant in his native city. lie stopped at Mrs. Harriecn's,
Commercial Inn, Canning-;lace ; and, having purchased the
vessel (the Timothy Hasten) as he int, ceded, was preparing
to return in her to Spa.n, in company with some ladies term
Manchester. Fur the purpo•• of expediting has departure,
he bad Owed ample fluids in the hands of Messrs. Bohr,
Behrend, and Ce., to tit out the ship, &e., and wort to
Manchester on Tuesday on business. Front Mauchestir
he wrote to a relative here, t net istng a la ket, a Lek of his
hair, anti a Ol. sore. •The first was to be sent to his el ter,
the second to his mother, and the third was to be retained
by the receiver of the le.ter as a reward for his trouble. We
know nut what dart hit relative made to find him after this
alarming intelligence; but it appears that WI Thuredry even-
ing he inquired at the ow Swan for the residence of samer:-,
rispeetable catholic. He was d;ree.ed to Mr. Ch
and was no doubt on hi. way to that gentleman's :itta
.
when he perpetrated It. fatal deed. He was 25 ye
.4
The cause of the rash act is not exactlyka. wn. ITV ••• l• •
modest, intelligent, and muoh-esteemed young man,
entirely exempt from all kiuds of pecan ary club f SA,
—Liverpool Journal
X.swe ,FX
11,47
VP 141.