44 THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOaiST. [ February, 



pains witli it. He sowed his seed in pans, in teat, to get the plants forward,, 

 and the result wns that they headed-in soon after midsummer, in a confused 

 state. This shows that the proper season for its use is during the autumn 

 months. It was just the reverse with my own. Some were planted in the open 

 quarters in the garden, others on south and west borders, and there was only one 

 plant which did not come true. — William Plester, Elsenham Hall Gardens. 



GARDEN GOSSIP. 



'HOUGH the year 1872 was not a propitious one for our Fruit crops, it has 

 left us some New Fruits. Amongst Grapes, which are the pride and glory 

 of British gardens, Mr. W. Thomson's DiiJce of Biiccleiich stands out 

 pre-eminent as a white summer grape, having berries of the largest size, of 



a rich Hamburgh flavour, succeedinpf thoroughly under the same treatment as that variety, but 

 ripening some weeks earlier. Mr. W. Paul's Waltham Cross, -which we have figured, has as 

 a lata white grape no rival, except the Muscat of Alexandria. Mr. Pearson has several im- 

 provements on the Alicante and Black Morocco which promise well, but require to be more fully 

 known. Among Peaches, Mr. Rivers' Goshaick and Sea Eagle deserve commendation, while 

 among Nectarines, Humboldt is a largo, splendid fruit of tho Pine-apple character, and Byron, 

 Dante, and Lord Napier are worth notice. Of Apples, Peasgood's Nojiesuch is a very hand- 

 some fruit, with the style and appearance of Blenheim Orange ; Welford Park Nonesuch ia 

 also a handsome sort, and is said to be a good dessert fruit ; while Empress Avqnsta, Red 

 Hau'thornden. and Yorkshire Beauty are all excellent culinary Apples, and quite distinct. Of 

 Pears, tbo Belgian Josephine de Binche and Beurr€ de Biseau, though promising, have yet to 

 be proved in this country ; Prince Imperial, figured at p. 7, is a fine October fruit, aa is 

 Mr. Ingram's Golden Queen. In Straioberries, Mi*. Laxton's Traveller, a hybrid between La 

 Constnnte and Sir C. Napier, ia a good new variety, partaking of the qualities of both its 

 parents. Of Gooseberries, Howson's Seedling is a medium-sized red, of fine rich flavour. 

 Finally, of Melons, Monro's Little Heath is a very commendable scarlet-fleshed variety. 



I^ovelties among Vegetables are every season forthcoming, the result 



either of cross-breeding or selection. This year Peas are in the ascendant, and 



to Mr. Laxton belongs the credit of introducing the earliest, Harbinger, a round 



blue sort ; the latest. Omega, a dwarf Ne Plus Ultra, of excellent quality ; and the largest- 

 podded, Superlative, which is grand for exhibition purposes; also several others. Carter's G. 

 F. Wilson is an improvement on Veitch's Perfection, James's Prolific, is a splendid white 

 wrinkled MaiTow, of fine appearance and quality. Kidney Beans have been represented by 

 Lee's Imperial Longpod and White Wax Runner, both excellent sorts, the latter, the Haricot 

 d'Alger of the French, having cream-coloured pods. Of Onions, the N^ew Queen, which closely 

 resembles the Nocera and the Naseby Mammoth, a selection of White Spanish, claim our 

 attention. In Turnips, we have the Cestrian Golden Gem, a fine selection of the Orange 

 .Telly; in Letftices. the Alexandra White Cos; and in Endive, the Round-leaved White 

 Batavian — all excellent sorts. Of new Broccolis, Excelsior, Leamington, and Sutton's Perfec- 

 tion are all good. Of Tomatos, Hathaway s Excelsior, a large round smooth American sort, 

 is one of the best yet obtained. Of Asparagus, a large and excellent variety named Connover's 

 Colossal is also an importatien from America ; the heads of this are larger and looser in the 

 scales than the common sorts. Finally, in Potatos, the most important of all the vegetable 

 tribe, the new claimants ujoon our notice are numerous, and many of them promising. 



^BOtJT 10,000 Straioberries are annually forced in pots at Sandringham, 



as we learn from Mr. Fish's description in the Gardener s Chronicle. The usual 

 course with the earlier batches is to start them in pits plunged in warm leaves ; 

 they are then placed on shelves, anywhci-e and everywhere that room can be found for them, 

 and gathered in quantity from the middle of February till they come in out-of-doors. The 

 following varieties are grown — from 2,000 to 3,000of those first mentioned, coming down to a few 

 hundreds of some of tho last mentioned : — President, Keens' Seedling. Sir Joseph Paxton, 

 Premier, Dr. Hogg, Coxcomb (better than the Doctor), La Constante, Eclipse, and British 

 Queen. The plants are laid early in 60 or 48-sized pots, potted into 5-inch pots as soon as 



