Royal Horticultural Society. A grand show of the Royal Horticultural Society was held yesterday in the Inner Temple Gardens in the pre- sence of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, with several of their guests, the Belgian Burgomasters, many of Her Majesty's Judges, the Marquis and Marchioness of TavistocL-, Lord Rothschild, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Cham- berlain, Baron Schroeder, Sir Trevor Lawrence, and the benchers, barristers, and students of the Inn (the Inner Templc), which had hospitably tbrown open its grounds to the horticulturists. It vas in the Temple-gardens more than 300 years ago that, the KIing-Maker Warwick,walking with other greatearls " and a lawyer," as the stage direc- tions to the first part of the play of Henry VI. expressly assert, plucked the red rose and the white that doomed "a thousand souls to death and deadly night," and the dry study of the law has time-honoured associations with flowvers, though the connexion may seem as incon- gruous as that between Portia and her Paduan gown. The twvo Temples have their own exhibitions of chr santhemums every autumn. A bencher of the Middle Temple, who has not long since passed away from us, Sir Laurence Peel, vas, perhaps, the chief amateur of the art of laying-out gardens ; Lord Justico Liudley has an hereditary cnnexion with botany; and the great lawyer of the Elizabethan age, Francis Bacon, has bequeathed no work more cherished by posterity than his charming essay "Of Gardens." They were to his mind the purest of human pleasures, and hb held that in the Royal ordering of gardens there ought to be gardens for all the months in the year, in which, severally, things of beauty may be then in season. It is interesting to note what in Lord Verulam's day were tho principal flowers in season at this time of the year. His enumeration, is very different from the prize list of tho Royal Horticultural Society. " In May and Jnne," wrote Bacon, "come pinks of all kinds, specially the blush-pink, roses of all kinds, except the musk, which comes later, honeysuckles, straw- berries, bugloss, columbine, the French marigold (this in The lViniter's Tale is " the Mary-gold that goes to- bed wi' the sun, and with him rises weeping "), flos Africanus cherry-tree in fruit, ribes, figs in fruit, rasps, vine-flowers, lavender in flowers, the sweet satyrian with the white flower, herba muscaria, lilium convallium, the apple tree in blossom." Except the roses and the lilies of the valley we recognize few of Bacon's favourites in the present show, and the roses are changed indeed, as any one may tell who compares them with the roses which still bloom for us in stono on the walls of the Royal chapels of the Tudor period. Pinks, indeed, are yet to have their day at the Carnation and Picotee Society's sLow, and General Boulanger's choice may give them new importance. Though not in flow er showvs, the apple blossoms, straw- berry flowers, &c., remain true to their season, and though the cherry is not yet in fruit, no one who vwas at the Botanic-gardlens on W ednesd.ay ean dispute the beauty of its blossom. But wve have added to the old Lord Keeper's list whole families of gorgeous exotias, of which his Spanish countemporarics were dscovering a few speci- mens in the royal aardens of Mexico. Inc oreflids, only represented in our English flora by a fewv pretty but by no means showiy varieties, were the great feature of yesterday's exhibition. It was a native of the East Indian Archipelago that was the most strikin' -Cymnbidium Lowianam-in Baron Schroeder's coUectionm This cymbidium occurred elsewhere in the show, but what was remarkable in Baron Schroeder's group was its size and magnificent development. Its yellowy-green perianth and red lip wvere many times repeated on long spikes, .be- tween which hung dowvn lash-like green leaves. On either side of the noble plant were massed, by way of set - off, roseate banner orchids, Laclias and Cattlevas, with their glossy white and purple tongues. Baron schroeder also showved a unique white fox- brush orchid from Assam. Sir Trevor Lawrence sent a gigantic Lissoechilus orchid from the Congo, which opened its rose flowers for the first time in this coantry. Messrs. Sanders and Co. received a silver cup for a magnificent display of orchids. They exhibited among these flowers a new Scuticaria, which, in honour of the Lord Mayor, they called Keyseriana. It is yellow, with dark red spots and long tailing leaves, and grows at an elevation of about S,W00ft. on the mountains of Venezuela. They have likewise imported a Rothschild's Cattleya Mdendelii from the United States of Colombia, which differs from the ordinary Mendelii in size and richness of colour and in the magenta band edging the whole of the lip. Another importation showvn was Cattleya Mossin Londinensis, from Caracas, with a frilled labellum and pink perianth. MIr. H. M. Pollett, of Bickley, Majotr Lundy, and 3r. Cypher, of Cheltenliam, sent their quota of inktresting orchids. Messrs. Paul and Son, of Cheshuntm were the first in roses. Mlessrs. Rumsey, Messrs. Paul, of Waltham-cross, and Messrs. Jaclkman also sent fine roses. It was stated on high anthority that such orchids and roses had rever been exhibited at any show of the society since its foundation in lS20. Messrs. Veitch staged pink peonies and white lilies, with brown and green Japanese maples. Bright red and yellow calceolarias came from Farnrham Roval (Messrs. E. James). The larger part of one tent was devoted to the exhibi- tion of flowers and fruits as sold at Covent-garden by the market gardeners, for which the Duke of Bedford offered three silver cps. Mr. J. Sweet received one for a collec- tion of plants composed of noteworthy mignonette, pelrgoiums, heaths, fuchsias, &c. To Mr. W. Iceton another cup was awarded for a group of foliage plants, and the third to Mr. 'W. Ponpart tor cut flowers, such as fragant lilies of the vallae, red, white, and yeUlow rmnunculus, &e. Messrs. Hawvkins and Bennett tastefully arranged lilies of the valley, pink ivy-leaved crane's-bills, and maidenhair fern. Mr. J. B. Thomas contributed specimens of fruits in their original boxes, showing from what a vast area the London market draws its supplies. There were Blenheim oranges, king pippins, and other apples from Australia, Italy, America, and Nova Scotia, bananas from Madeirn, Jaffa oranges from Palestine, Hambro' graes from BeIgium, kidney potatoes from the Clanaiesand -alta,North America cranberries, Austmalian ma3gQesi W114Chinese lychees in * case resembling a teA L4w G. _Ph .0. 3mo.tI r , g and green Peas from the Channel Islands. The stall- holders of Covent-garden are looking forward to an even- ing promenade in the Floral-hall, or market, which they hope will be graced by the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales. A visit to Covent-garden at 5 o'clock in the morning is one of the sights of London. On this occasion all the staging and arran'ain- of the market pro- duce is to be carried on during tle 'ay, to give visitors an idea of the provisioning of the great city. The pro- ceeds are to be devoted to the Gardeners' Orphan Fund. Mr. P. H. Garcia's bridal bouquet wascomposed of white lilies, stephanotis, tuberoses, and ferns. A beautiful posy was made up of red and yellow roses. Mr. Turner's pclargoniums wer6 as fine as usual. Mr. B. S. Williams, Nr. Cannell, and Messrs. Laing sent admirable groups of plants and flowers. 1Ir. W. Melliss received a siiver Bankslan medal for caladiums. The collections of Hugh Low and Co., Gabriel, Son, and Collins, T. S. W-are, Barr, J. and J. Hayes, R. B. BMay, and many others were well worthy notice. The exbibition continues to-day. BOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
