i8o 



IHISIl (JAHDFATXG 



New Fruits, 



Some vears ago I looked throimli the catalomu' 

 of J. L. Chikls. of Floral Park, Now York, and 

 was attracted by the following ])ararri'aj>li : — 



\'lNK Fri'it. 



(ididni Lnnon. — This new vegetal )le is a great 



boon to all those t-ections of the eountrv 



where fruit is scarce, as its fruits make 



delicious ])re!-erves, sauces, &c,. and are 



nioro easily prepared. This is something 



like the A'ine Peach, but needs no Lemon 



in ])utting uj). as it is much luore acid. 



Cultivated like the musk melon. Pkt. ;>c. 



Yin" Poach. — This sort has fruit the size of a 



large peach and of a bright orange 



colour. Flesh firm. and when cooked with 



lemon to give it a slight acidity, juakes 



fine ])ies, sauce, sweet ]iickles and iire- 



serves. Easily grown and a good keeper. 



Stored in a cool, dry place they keep 



fresh and good for several months. 



Pkt. Tk'. : oz. lilc. 



1 ordered some seeds of both. My gardener, Jas. 



Fletcher, sowed the seeds in an ordinary hot-bed 



in February, and treated them exactly like 



melons. In August the frtiit was ripe. The 



leaves are Hke those of a melon, but smaller. 



The fruit of the Lemon Fruit looks like a lemon ; 



you cannot eat it uncooked, but T found that 



when peeled and stcAved like an a])])le it makes 



a delicious dish ; the fiavour is peciUiar : ])e'-ha]is 



I sh )uld say it is not unlike a pine ap|)lc : I found 



it excellent for a dessert preserve, 'i'he ^ine 



peach is very similar ; it is of a more orange 



colour and smaller ; I do not see any advantage 



in it over the garden lemon. I grew melons in 



the same frame and cucumbers in another 



frauK^ in the Siime yard ; but I never noticed that 



thc'r being there made any difference. 



The result was thd same every year until 1015. 

 In 1916 I sowed the seeds as usual ; the spring 

 was exceptionally damp and cold, and the Vine 

 Peach did not come to anything. The Garden 

 Lemon grew as usual, and jjore the usual kind of 

 flowers and leaves ; but instead of producing 

 Garden Lemon fruit, it bore only three fruits 

 wliich looked exactl}' like cucumbers in size and 

 shape, and were of a grey-green colour. When 

 the first one ri]oened I cut it open, and foutul 

 that the flesh smelt and tasted exactly hke a 

 melon ; the colour was pale yellow, like that of a 

 musk-melon. I wrote to Childs, and asked him 

 if he could account for it, but it was quite new 

 to him. So T gave the two other fruits to Sir 

 F. Moore, thinking that they might interest him 

 as a botanical curiosity. 



F W. Pennefather. 



Double^flowering Border Plants. 



Dorm.K-ii.ow KKiNd |)lan(s aic irwaluable in the 

 bolder, owing to the fact that they remain in 

 l)loom longer than most suigles. Wliile many of 

 the doubltss are rather heavy f.>r cutting jmrjxoscis, 

 a numl)er of varieties are very suitable for the 

 purpose. As it is by the tiansformation of 

 stamens into petals, that double flowers are 

 ]>r(Kluced. no seed is availal)le fnim the plants, 

 aiul consequently root division aiul cuttings are 

 the only means of propagation ; the seeds, 

 however, from the semi-double forms of some 

 si)ecies give a fair pei'centage of double 

 flowers. 



Achillea ])tarmica flor.^ pleno i-; very poor and 

 hardly woi-th growing, but the varieties The 

 J 'earl and Perry's White are charming border 

 ])lants possessing double white fiowers, the latter 

 and newer variety being ]iarticularly fine. 



Alyssum saxatile flore pleno is a usefid plant 

 for the front of the border; the yellow flowers are 

 very ])retty in the early ])art of the year. In a 

 similar ])osition Arabis alliida plena is also 

 excellent in sirring, the double white flowers, 

 carried on long stalks, being very freely pro- 

 duced. 



The perennial Asters are notably absent of 

 d«^)uble flowers, there being only <me or two 

 varieties. Beauty of Colwall is a really fine 

 double Ast?>r, with flowers of a clear lavender- 

 blue ; it is extremely free-flowermg, .and forms 

 a nice clump about 4 feet in height. 



Of the border Camjianulas, C'. persicifoUa 

 alba plena is by far the best. The lovely pure 

 white flowers are borne on erect stems about 

 31 feet \n height, a beautiful ]ilant for the 

 border. 



Geum coccineum, one of the test border plants 

 having scarlet flowers, possesses a number of 

 forms, while not being really double are very 

 near so. Of these Mrs. Bradshaw is really the 

 best. This variety is of recent introduction, and 

 is a deservedly jwpular plant. It is of a high 

 decorative value, either as a border plant for the 

 display it gives there or as a cut bloom. The 

 flowers are very large, averaging about 2h 

 inches in diameter, and are of a brilliant 

 sca.rlet. 



The double-flowering form of Gypsophilla 

 paniculata is a great improvement on the single 

 form ; while possessing all the light and graceful 

 characteristics of the single variety, it has th? 

 advantage of lasting longer in a cut state. For 

 many decorative purposes, such as in th;? 

 arrangement of cut blooms, the double form will 

 be found invaluable owing to its lasting qualities. 



During late autumn the perennial Sunflowers, 



