36 



HORTICULTURE 



January 13, 1906 



British Horticulture 



seedsmen's centenary 



This year the firm of Messrs. Sutton and Sons, seeds- 

 men, of Reading, will celebrate their centenary. The 

 business was founded in 1806 by the late Mr. John 

 Sutton, the grandfather and great-grandfather of the 

 present proprietors, and it has gradually extended until 

 it has reached a leading position in the country. When 

 asked some time ago as to the chief causes of the suc- 

 cess achieved a representative of the firm replied: "One 

 is that the whole of the work at home and the growing 

 of crops for seed is under the personal supervision of the 

 partners of the firm. Another is the cleaning of the 

 seeds, and a third the testing." From September to 

 March a large staff of women is employed in cleaning 

 seeds. The workers are not paid according to the 

 quantity of seed they pick over, but for the quantity of 

 bad and soiled seed discovered, thus encouraging the 

 greatest vigilance. The seeds are tested for germina- 

 tion in the house, and for character afterwards in the 

 open. In every case they are counted; an entry is made 

 of the date of sowing and as the germs appear the num- 

 ber is recorded. To prevent the possibility of an error 

 the trials are duplicated, and. in the event of conflicting 

 results, entirely repeated. A remarkable feature of the 

 business is that do agents or travelers are employed. 

 The founder of the firm originated the plan of selling to 

 the customers direct, and this system lias been continued 

 to the present day. 



iiK. ji. j. button's achievements 



Mr. Martin J. Sutton, the head of the firm, is one of 

 the busiest men in the country. In addition to taking 

 an active part in the business, he finds an outlet for his 

 energies in divers directions. He has made. a special 

 study of pastures and the cultivation of grass-lands. 

 His well-known book is recognized as the standard work 

 on this subject. For a quarter of a century Mr. Sutton 

 has been prominently associated with the leading agri- 

 cultural societies. At the French Exhibition in 1878 he 

 was personally decorated by the President of the French 

 Republic with the Cross of the Legion of Honor in con- 

 sideration of the distinguished services he had ren- 

 dered to agriculture, whilst in 1901 the French Govern- 

 ment bestowed upon him the Order du Merite Agricole. 

 Mr. Sutton was the first to introduce the Irish breeds of 

 Dexter and Kerry cattle into this country, and obtain 

 recognition of their merits by the offering of prizes for 

 them at the chief agricultural shows. In the depart- 

 ments of religious and philanthropic work Mr. Sutton 

 has helped lavishly by his purse and by his effective pub- 

 lie service. Last year he was elected Mayor of Reading, 

 his term of office being distinguished by a large amount 

 of useful work on behalf of the district. About three 

 years ago he received the edom of the borough, in 

 recognition of his public set ces, and on that occasion 

 Prince Christian unveiled a handsome statue of King 



Edward VII. erected by the munificence of Mr. Sutton, 

 near Reading railway station. 



DINNER TABLE DECORATIONS 



This is the season when special attention is given 

 to the floral adornment of dinner tables, and a few 

 details as to some designs noticed this Christmas on this 

 side may be of interest to American florists. A pleas- 

 ing effect is produced with an arrangement of Cedrus 

 deodora, variegated Euonymus radicans, with blooms 

 of Christmas rose and sprays of jasmine in the large 

 trumpet vase in the centre. A wreath of moss sur- 

 rounds the base upon which is arranged Physalis fran- 

 chetti, relieved by sprigs of "Honesty"' (Lunaria). 

 Four smaller vases are arranged opposite the sides of the 

 table and four as an outer set opposite the corners. 

 The inner set are dressed with light sprays of mistletoe 

 and jasmine, and the outer with Christmas roses and 

 holly. The four inner vases are linked with green rib- 

 In m. and the outer with scarlet ribbon. The base of the 

 smaller roses is surrounded with a small wreath of 

 moss upon which a star is formed in the case of the 

 outer ones of Physalis. and the inner of "Honesty." A 

 good use is made of begonia Gloire de Lorraine for 

 decoration. Three plants in 5-inch pots are placed 

 down the centre of the table, and smaller plants in 

 3-inch pots down each side. These are sometimes 

 placed in china bowls. The pots are connected by long 

 sprays of Asparagus Sprengeri, and the arrangement 

 looks well either by daylight or artificial light. 



A SHOW OF WINTER FLOWERING CARNATIONS 



Since my last note on this subject further progress 

 has been made towards arranging a show of winter flow- 

 ering carnations. Mr. Hayward Mathias, of Thames 

 Ditton, a leading expert, has taken up the matter, with 

 the co-operation of several noted specialists, and it has 

 been decided to invite the growers to make a special 

 display at one of the Royal Horticultural Society's 

 meetings late in February or early in March. The 

 Society is to be asked to grant medals and certificates to 

 the exhibits. It has also been decided to convene a 

 meeting at the show with a view to the formation of a 

 Winter Flowering Carnation Society. From the excel- 

 lent displays of carnations which have lately been made 

 at the shows of the Royal Horticultural Society, partic- 

 ularly on December 19th, there can be no doubt that a 

 very attractive exhibition will be arranged. The only 

 point arising is, seeing that there is already a National 

 Carnation Society in existence, holding a July show, 

 whether it is advisable to have a separate organization 

 for a winter display. Carnation culture is now a very 

 important line with trade growers, immense quantities 

 being marketed during the season. Unfortunately this 

 particular branch, like several others, has been over 

 done. Some of the pioneers made money in the early 

 stages, but the large increase in competition has brought 

 down the prices. Competition has full play at Covent 

 Garden, for there is no organization amongst the florists 

 to regulate supplies. 



>V3rl, ftelitlZ. 



Loudon, Jan. 1, '06. 



