The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-06-04 00:00:00

HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION AT THE
BOTANIC GARDEN.

The first of the three horticultural exhibitions of the pre-
sent year took place on Friday week, at the Botanic Garden.
The day was sunny and warm, and the attendance, we are
glad to say, more numerous than we remember to have
noticed on any former occasion, including many of the
first families and individuals of the town and neighbour-
hood. The carriages—the greater part handsome private
equipages—lined a long length of the road on each side,
opposite the establishment ; and on this occasion the
company were exempted from the usual annoyance of
dust by the judicious employment of two water-carts near
the entrance. The garden itself, notwithstanding the
want of rain, looked beautifully fresh and inviting ; the
shrubs and hedges, which have now attained an umbra-
geous height, giving it a much more shady and verdant
effect than it formerly possessed. Towards three o'clock
(an hour after the opening to the visiters generally) the
various broad walks presented a delightfully gay appear-
ance, from the presence of a fashionable throng, including
many elegantly attired ladies, who promenaded place
to place, or paused in groups to examine the varied plants
and flowers that everywhere invited attention. The major
part of the company, however, congregated on the green
in front of the conservatory, in the centre of which the
waters of the fountain sparkled in the sunny rays; or
sauntered under the spacious marquee, admiring the com-
peting flowers, which were arranged on large tables; or
amused themselves in the well-plenished greenhouses and
hothouse. In one of the former a number of curious
specimens were exhibited for competition. In a tent, on
one side of the lawn, refreshments were served ; and at
the top of the centre walk was stationed Mr. Parker's
Cheltenham band, who played a variety of pleasing airs
throughout the afternoon.

The show of plants, flowers, and fruits, was admitted
by all to be the most extensive, select, and rare, that had
ever been submitted at this garden. The geraniums (or
pelargoniums) were many of them splendid, particularly
a collection of ten exhibited by our townsmen, Messrs.
Davies, of Wavertree Nursery, who, it will be found,
obtained four prizes. They brought five collections of
plants in all, and would probably have carried off a prize
for the fifth, but found that the class to which it belonged
was not on this occasion open to competition. There
were also some splendid geraniums and other plants from
the respective nurseries of Mr. Skirving and Mr. Cun-
ningham, and not a few sent by private growers. We
noticed several beautiful azaleas, and a fine stove plant,
the Pimelia decusala, from Mr. 0. F. Meyrick, Angle-
sea. Mr. Charles Horsfall also produced some excellent
greenhouse plants, and obtained several prizes. There
were some beautiful roses in pots, and all the baskets of
plants were fine. Mr. E. D. Falkner sent some superb
roses, but not for competition. One of the finest of the
class, however, belonged to the Garden—a splendid large-
flowered white, produced from a comparatively very small
plant. It is called " The Duke of Devonshire," and one
of the flowers was upwards of four inches in diameter.
Mr. Johnson sent a fine specimen of the Catlleya Mossece.
The fruit shown was of course limited in quantity,
owing to the earliness of the season, but all of excellent
quality and large size. The pine-apples, melons, cherries,
and black grapes in particular, were very fine. Mr. C.
H. Horsfall exhibited—not for competition—a dish of
fine plump and sound apples, the growth of 1842. The
show of vegetables was also good, including some large
new kidney potatoes; but where all was superior, it were
invidious further to particularise, and we must therefore
refer to the following

LIST OF THE PRIZES.
PLANTS.

Cape Heaths.—Eight varieties-Ist prize, Messrs. T.
Davies and Co. ; 2nd, Mr. G. Cunningham.
Fuchsias.—Eight varieties—Messrs. Whalley, nursery-
men.

Pelargoniums.—Best ten—lst, Messrs. Davies ; 2nd,
Mr. Skirving ; 3rd, Mr. Cunningham. Best six-Ist,
Messrs. Davies ; 2nd, Mr. Skirving ; 3rd, Mr. H. Winch,
Seacombe.

Roses.—Ten varieties-Ist, Mr. H. Winch ; 2nd, Mrs.
rester, of,Woolton.

Stove or Greenhouse Plants.—Best six—lst, Messrs.
Davies ; 2nd, Mr. Cunningham ; 3rd, Mrs. Foster. Best
of four—Mr. Horsfill. Best single specimen-Ist, Mrs.
Earle, of Speaklands ; 2nd, Mr. R. Alison ; 3rd, Mr. 0.
F. Meyrick.

Exotic Orchidacece.—Six specimens-Ist, Mr. Chas.
Horsfall; 2nd, Mr. John Moss. Three specimens-Ist,
Mr. T. Johnson, of Runcorn; 2nd, Mr. Chas. Horsfall.
Single specimen-Ist, Mr. T. Johnson; 2nd, Mr. John
Moss.

Basket of Plants.-Ist, Mr. C. Horsfall ; 2nd, Mr. W.
Blain. Extra prizes-Ist, Mrs. Foster ; 2nd, Mr. Winch ;
3rd, Mr. Skirving.
Rare Ornamental Plants.—Single specimen—Mr. G.
Cunningham.