The Sun.
London, England, 1862-03-20 00:00:00

ROY AL lIORTICULTU.RAL SOCIETY.

The London season may almost be said to have
commenced with the Early Slang Flower Show of
yesterday, which heads the programme of the Royal
Horticultural Society's arrangements for the year
1862. Hitherto the fashionable drives and pro-
menades of Hyde-park and the aristocratic localiti es
of Belgravia and South Kensington have, owing to
the long continuance of the cold and wet which
have marked the opening months of the present
year, been comparatively deserted. Yesterday they
were alive with gay equipages, and the immediate
neighbourhood of the Horticultural Gardens and
the International Exhibition was all but impassable
from the influx of visitors, attracted not so much,
perhaps, by the expectation of a brilliant horticul-
tural display, which is hardly pcssible in the third
week of such a March as this has been, as by
the bright sunbeams which, almost for the first
time since their return to town, shone out with
sufficient promise of permanence to draw them
from the warmth and shelter of their firesides.
But, considering all things, the show itself was
most creditable. The hyacinths, whose beautifully
formed petals, pure colours, luxuriousness of
flower, and exquisite but powerful aroma could
scarcely be surpassed, were in great profusion, and
well deserved the commendations they obtained
from the cognoscenti. The camellias, white, red, and
variegated, were unexceptionable, and, as regards
those which obtained prizes especially, told of the
care which had been bestowed upon their culture.
There was not so large a display of tulips as a more
genial season would doubtless have produced,
scarce, except lilies of the,
but the few that were there were extremely
good. Early open air grown spring
plentiful enough, and amongst
them some bunches drooping with the weight or
valley,a smight
which
ha nwtei criep ated,
their white bead-like blossoms. The primula,
epicias, and other open air spring flowering plants,,
and the stove amaryllis, did credit to their respee-.
tive growers as well as to the exhibition of which,
they formed a part. Besides the competing plants,,
there was a magnificent display, as far as quality is,
concerned, of rhododendrons, and a few beautifully,
developed roses, both red and white. There was.,
but one drawback to the show, and that was that,
the confined area in which it was held, and the im-
mense number of visitors, rendered it all but impose
sible to see one half of the many very interesting 7
specimens of the floricultural art it embraced. From.
a little after one o'clock, when the doors opened,
until dusk, there was a continuous stream of visitors
passing through the council chamber, which ou this
occasion was the somewhat inconvenient route of
the exhibition, and the necessary efforts of the
attendant policemen to keep the stream flowing
prevented that attention being given to the "points"
of the flowers which an area of more extended
limits would have allowed. This is a defect which
will be no doubt remedied by the next flower show,
and may well be excused in the present instance,
remembering that the very unpromising weather
which prevailed yesterday would have made the
substitution of a marquee in the gardens a dan-
gerous experiment.
The band of the Ist Life Guards attended in the
grounds during the afternoon, and enlivened the
out-door portion of the entertainment with a selec-
tion from some of the most popular composers.
Taken as a whole, this, the opening day of the
season, was most successful, and promises well for
the numerous other fetes, which are set down in the
published programme of the year, and which are to
follow each other in rapid succession.

The following is the list of the prizes in the
various classes to which the competition extended
Class 1-18 pots of hyacinths, 12 distinct kinds (opus)
W. Cutbush and Son, Highgate Nursery, N. £2.
Class 2-12 pots of hyacinths, distinct kinds (amateurs),
W. Young, gardener to R. Barclay, Esq., West-hill House,
Highgate, £2 2s.

Class 3-6 pots of hyacinths, distinct kinds (amateurs),
W. Young, gardener to R. Barclay, Esq., Highgate, £l.
Class 4-6 pots of hyacinths, new distinct kinds (open),
W. Cutbush and Son, Highgate Nursery N., £1 10s.
Class 5-24 pots of tulips, 3 bulbs in a pot, 6 kinds
(nurserymen), W. Cutbush and Son, Highgate Nursery,

N., £2 10s.
Class 6-18 pots of tulips, 3 bulbs in a pot, 4 kinds
(amateurs), W. Young, gardener to B. Barclay, Esq.,

Highgate, £2.

Class 7—t2 pots of tulips, 3 bulbs in a pot, 3 kinds (ama-
teurs), W. Young, gardener to R. Barclay, Etq.,
gate, £l.

Class 8 —G plants, camellias, distinct kinds (amateurs),
no competition.

Class 9-4 plants, camellias, distinct kinds (amateurs),
no competition.

Class 10—Single plant of camellia (open), John Standish,
Royal Nursery, Baphot, £l.

Class 11-9 pots of lilies of the valley (open), Mrs. Mary
Conway, Earles-court Nursery, Brompton, 15s.
Class 12-6 pots of stove amaryllis, 3 kinds at least
(open), W. Parker, Exotic Nursery, Tooting, S., 11 10s.
Class 13-6 pots of any kind of primula (open), Thomas.
Todman, gardener to H. Hudson, Clapham-common, 15s,
Class 14-12 forced geraniums (open), no competition.

Class 15-12 pots, spring plants in flower, not forced

(open), J. Veitch and Son, Chelsea and Exeter, £2.
Class 16-12 plants in flower, forced, J. and J. Fraser,
Lea-bridge-road Iturseries, Leyton, £2.

MISCELLANEOUS CLASS.
Flowers and plants-Ist prizes : to W. Cutbusb. and Co.,
for collections of 10 hyacinths, £1 10s. ; (equal) to A. Hen-

derson and Co., for collection of hyacinths and tulips, £1
10s. ; (equal) to W. Paul, for collection of 100 hyacinths,
£1 10s. 2d prizes : to W. Cutbush and Solt, for collection
of 36 varieties narcissus, £1; (equal) to J. Standish, for 5
camellias, £1 ; (equal) to W. Paul, for new and rare plants,
£1; (equal) to T. Todman, for collection of 6 roses, 11.
3d prize to W. Paul, for two boxes of cut roses, 15s. ;
(equal) to B. S. Williams, for collection of miscellaneous
plants, 155.; (equal) to the Rev. F. Beaton, for 3 boxes cut
camellias, 15s. 4th prizes : to Paul and Son, for 1 box of
cut roses, 10s. ; (equal) to F. and A. Smith, for collection
of new and rare plants, 10s. Extra prize to I. Salter, for
2 pots .variegated lilly of the valley, Th. 6d.
The Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess
Mary of Cambridge visited the show in the early
part of the morning, attended by the Duke of Buck-
ingham. Her Royal Highness was received by Sir
Wentworth Dilke, Mr. Fairbairn, and other mem-
bers of the Council.