The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-12 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1864.

The waning of the splendour of our flower gar-
acne is amnng the regular signs of the passing away
of summer ; and the autumnal months, though
lighting the monarchs of the woods with tints and
shades. which some think eclipse even the fresh ver-
dure of the spring, are only looked to by the hum b:e
floriculturist as bringing the first signs of decay and
desolation. The limited gardens in the metropolis
and its vicinity generally give early evidence of the
change, perhaps because their owners are in the
habit of taking flight themselves early in autumn,
And are therefore indifferent to the appearance of
their gardens and conservatories when the reign of
the rose is over. There is very little doubt that,
with proper care in the selection of plants, and a
due regard. to their natural seasons for flowering, a
garden even in this climate may be induced to pre-
serve a cheerful appearance through the greater
part of the year. This is the fact which Sir JOSEPH
PAXTON, no mean authority in the art of external
decoration, has taken the opportunity of bringing
under public notice in a letter addressed to the
assistant secretary of the Royal Horticultural So-
ciety. Now the din of Parliamentary battle is for
awhile suspended, and argument, lamentation, and
recrimination have hem well nigh exhausted about
the Danish Duchies—while the American war goes
on its endless round, and we have no more exciting
subject to divert our attention than murders and
suicides, experiments at Shoeburyness, and madmen
in railway carriages, Sir JOSEPH PAXTON pro-
bably supposes that his remarks on the principles
of horticulture generally are less likely to pass una
heeded than in the earlier days of the season. Per-
haps he thought, too, that the moral of his story
would receive a better illustration now than when
flowers abound on every side, and botanic shows
and exhibitions are the order of the day. It is with
regard to the merits and defects of these exhibitions
that Sir JOSEPH PAXTON has written his letter,
having been requested to give his opinion as to the
nature and character of the exhibitions which it is
most desirable that the Royal Horticultural Society
should encourage tor "the true advancement of
horticulture and its accompanying sciences. In the
first place, Sir JOSEPH is by no means satisfied
with the existing state of things, notwithstand-
ing the gorgeous array visible at some of our
flower shows. The general condition of our
horticulture is he considers artificial and unnatural,
and he attributes this principally to the arrange-
ment of our exhibitions. They have, he considers,
been advantageous in encouraging improvements in
the culture and management of plants, but the
good which they have effected has not been unmixed.
O wing to the time of the year in which they are
held, the Efforts of cultivators are exclusively
directed to the production of such plants as will
bloom at the London season, to the total disregard
of ail other periods. Some plants are forced, others
are artificially kept back, so that all may flower
together, thus crowding into a month or two the
ornaments of the year, and entirely neglect-
ing those plants which will not submit to
such meddlesome interference. Some years ago,
the .:ritic tells us, he called to see a first class Lona
don garden of great repute. It was an exhib;tion
day, and so only a few lonely plants were visible.
Again he called later in the season, but a e show
days were altogether over, BO there was no more to
be seen, for the training system h% d begun, and all
s in preparation for the next year's competition.
If the efforts of the Horticultural Society are
directed to/ securing the greatest number and most
beautiful display of plants in the haltdozen exhi-
bition days of the London season they are certainly
successful, but if their object is rather to en-
courage horticulture as a science, then
these "spasmodic efforts," as Sir JOSEPH
PAXTON terms them, which leave a refit
part of the year unemployed and unproductive, are
not altogether satisfactory. The exhibition system
has certainiy succeeded in producing a wonderful