110 



THE aARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[April, 



under no pretense whatever ask any questions 

 about what they see, except the prices of the dif- 

 ferent vegetables. In the flower department 

 every one appeared very anxious to inform us 

 what we asked them. 



Upon the whole, I really think London — the 

 Empire City of the world — should possess a vege- 

 table market something in keeping with her 

 great size and immense wealth. For the benefit 

 of the readers of the Monthly, I shall give a list 

 and the prices of some of the principal vegeta- 

 bles, plants, and cut flowers which were in the 

 market at the time of my visit. 



Turnips were in large quantities and of good 

 quality, but not very large in size ; they sold for 

 4d. per bunch. Carrots were splendid, not extra 

 large, but clean and free from canker; 6d. per 

 bunch. Rhubarb, at Is. Gd. per bundle, was 

 finely colored, although forced, which is what is 

 not always seen, and what many gardeners do 

 not deem requisite to have in forced rhubarb, 

 but what is not well colored is not well flavored. 

 Plenty of air and light are necessary in obtaining 

 color. Green peas, at Is. Gd. per ft., were not 

 very plentiful. Considerable quantities of new 

 potatoes were in the market, and for about Is. 

 6d. per small basket. A good many tomatoes I 

 saw, but of a quality which would not be much 

 relished by Americans, who are so much accus- 

 tomed to such fine fruit at home; they brought 

 from Is. to 2s. per dozen. Scakale was in splen- 

 did condition, thoroughly blanched and, there- 

 fore, very tender; sold for about 2s. per punnet. 

 Asparagus was plentiful, and of excellent quality ; 

 home-grown brought from 8s. to 10s. per bundle. 

 There were also cucumbers, onions in large quan- 

 tities, leeks, celery (mostly red varieties), lettuce, 

 endive, cabbage, Brussel-sprouts, and cauliflower^ 

 which all sold at good, fair prices. Taken alto- 

 gether, the vegetables were the best and in larger 

 quantities than I had previously seen anywhere. 



The fruit was also very good and in large 

 quantities; some excellent grapes of Lady Downe's 

 and Black Alicante varieties. These are the two 

 best kinds we have for hanging late, but it ap- 

 pears to me the true Alicante is not always seen 

 bearing the name. It is a fine keeping and good 

 looking, but not an extra flavored grape. They 

 ranged in price from 2s. to 6s. per ft. Plenty of 

 foreign grapes at much lower prices. 



There were some good specimens of Ne Plus 

 Meuris, Easter Beurre and Beurre Eance, pears, 

 large lots of American apples, plenty of oranges, 

 figs, nuts, melons and pine-apples. The plants 



were mostly growing in six-inch pots, but were 

 well grown and free from insects ; those in flower 

 appeared as if their blooms had just opened, so 

 as to be in their best that very day. The plants 

 of Azaleas were grown mostly as standards, and 

 the smallest of the plants full of blossoms, both 

 single and double varieties; they sold for from 

 £2 to £3 per dozen. 



Bouvardias were not in such good condition as 

 I have often seen some of the American garden- 

 ers having them ; they sold for about 12s. per 

 dozen. Wlien visiting the large plant establish- 

 ment of Messrs. Hugh Low & Co. I saw a great 

 quantity of the different varieties of bouvardia 

 growing in pots flowering very freely, but what 

 drew my attention most was the large size of trusses 

 they had. Primula sinensis astonished me to see 

 the excellent strains of some of the lots exposed 

 for sale here. It is very strange some of the en- 

 thusiastic florists throughout the United States 

 have not got into the cultivation of some good 

 strain of Primula and raise seed for home de- 

 mands. As it is, gardeners in want of fine kinds 

 have to import from England, and although the 

 highest price is paid for it, far superior strains 

 are seen for sale in Covent Garden than any I 

 have ever seen raised from any of our " im- 

 ported " seed. 



Tlie plants have foliage of fine substance, the 

 flowers, which are very large, are produced in 

 large trusses, and raise above the leaves just high 

 enough to make them look well. The fine strains 

 brought 12s. per dozen. 



Poinsettia pulcherrima is grown in six-inch 

 pots. The plants are very dwarf, and the bracts 

 very large. Some of the white one — alba — are for 

 sale, but not nearly so abundant as the red one ; 

 they brought about £1 per dozen. Tulips were in 

 variety and very fine. They are planted five 

 bulbs in a pot, and sell from 9s. to 18s. per dozen. 

 Hyacinths are grown singly in pots, and bring 

 about the same price; except Eoman Hyacinths, 

 which sell for as much as 30s. per dozen. There 

 was a great show of the diflerent colors of Cycla- 

 men, selling for from 12s. to 18s. per dozen. 



Besides the above, there were large lots of 

 Heaths in variety, Begonias, Echeveria retusa 

 floribunda, Cyperus alternifolius, Epiphyllums, 

 Dracsenas, Mignonette, Pelargoniums, and Ficus 

 elastica. Cut flowers were not so plentiful as are 

 seen in the florists' establishments in the United 

 States. I have seen in a single establishment 

 there more flowers at one time than there were 

 in all Covent Garden Market. Some of the prin- 



