154 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ August 23, 1S73. 



early morning mating, ami selling for a real, bouquets which in 

 I/oudoa or New York could not be got for a guinea. Roses, 

 Verbenas, Heliotropes, and Carnations grow like weeds ; and, 

 besides the Inade-up bouquets, the Indios from the mountains 

 bring down packs on then- backs of the " Flor de San Juan" 

 (Bouvardia), a flower like an immense white Jasmine, and for 

 a"quartilla" (IM.) you can buy an armful of it, which will 

 scent a whole house for a week. Our rooms were always fra- 

 grant with the bouquets which came in every two or three 

 days, and sometimes round the hanging baskets in the windows 

 a lovely humming bird would hover like a living emerald, and 

 dip his long bOl into the flowers for honey.— [Good IVords.) 



A FEW NOTES ON STRAWBEBRIES. 



I HAVE read with interest the various communications on 

 Strawberries, and am rather surprised not to see any mention 

 made of two sorts of which I am in possession — namely, 

 Souvenir de Kieff and James Yeitch. The former I have 

 grown for several years, and have found it an excellent 

 Strawberry, an abundant cropper, of good flavour, and a good 

 traveller, which is a great point in its favour ; it also remains 

 a long time in bearing, ripening-off the latter part of the crop 

 nearly equal in size to the first. I was induced to grow it by 

 seeing Dr. Hogg's commendation of it in The Joukxal of 

 HoETicuLTDEE some years ago. James Veitch is another 

 Strawberry I hope to retain in my collection, as it is one of 

 the finest-flavoured Strawberries that has come under my 

 notice for years, and will, no doubt, become a favourite when 

 better known. It will succeed to a certainty on light soil as 

 well as heavy. A gentleman, whom I know to be a good judge 

 of fruit, paid me a visit during the Strawberry season, and 

 after tasting Lucas, The Amateur, Sir J. Paxtou, and several 

 others, pronounced it the best flavoured of them all. The 

 plant is hardy and very prolific, and the fruit firm when ripe, 

 and will bear packing and travelling well. 



I am glad to see that Dr. Eoden has obtained these proper- 

 ties in some of his new varieties, as such are most essential 

 for market purposes. I am sorry to find La Coustaute de- 

 ficient in the above good qualities, particularly in wet seasons ; 

 the fruit is then so very soft that it will not bear a touch, pack 

 it how you may. I am in favour of Mr. Luckhurst's sj'stem of 

 Strawberry-culture, which is the same as that which I have 

 adopted for years, and I always found that whatever I planted 

 after Strawberries gave a good return. — W. Graves, Market 

 Gardener. 



NOTES AT SOUTH KENSINGTON. 



Wednesday, August 20th, was the show of Gladioli and 

 Hollyhocks, and these two elegant and noble autumn flowers 

 have seldom been seen to better advantage. The HoUyhook 

 has been long grown, and one would almost suppose that very 

 little improvement could take place in the build of the in- 

 dividual flowers and the formation of the spikes, but the fact 

 that Lord Hawke obtained six first-class certificates from the 

 Floral Committee in one season shows the falsity of any such 

 reasoning. Not only has he improved the flowers, but he has 

 obtained new coloui-s as well ; his Vanguard and Lilac Queen 

 are quite distinct. 



The Gladiolus has also been vastly improved within the last 

 six or seven years. Mr. Kelway has made a speciality of this 

 flower, and is rapidly improving it, but there is much need 

 still for variety in colour. We want a few more dark varieties. 

 Jupiter, one of M. Souchet's new sorts sent out last year, is a 

 move in the right direction ; it is a maroon crimson, but is a 

 very delicate sort, and the flowers are too far apart on the 

 spike. The new ones sent out by the foreign growers this year- 

 are in no way remarkable. One variety which I exhibited 

 at South Kensington named Octavie seems to be the best. 

 Addison is distinct, a sort of claret colour, and the spike is 

 good. 



There is much grumbling amongst the growers about the 

 degeneration of their roots. Well, I fancy a good deal of it is 

 their own fault. If you overfeed anything that has life, be it 

 animal or plant, the result will be a disarrangement of the 

 system. The Gladiolus is grown year after year in ground 

 highly manured, and this is not enoush — it is supplied with as 

 much manure water as the roots will take up, and the result 

 is death in many cases, and in others grand spikes for one 

 year ; but as far as my experience has yet gone, the same roots 

 will not stand driving another season. As to the disease, 



which has been so much written about, I do not think we can 

 say anything about the nature of it. I have many spikes 

 which change to yellow prematurely. I believe everybody who 

 has grown the Gladiolus for one year will have seen it. Mr. 

 Dombrain says it is the disease, but on pulling such plants up 

 in the collection at Loxford not a root is spotted ; but as our 

 collection is very large, we can afford to destroy all such, and 

 thus the unhealthy roots are reduced to a minimum. 



I have just looked over youi' announcement of the arrange- 

 ments of the meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society for 

 next year. I do think it a wise step tc reduce the number of 

 shows, but I do not at all like the first week in September for 

 the autumn show ; if the Gladiolus is to be introduced, the 

 best blooms wiU be over. If it could be held one or two weeks 

 earlier it would be better for the Gladiolus, and I fancy if the 

 Dahlia and Hollyhock exhibitors were consulted, it would be 

 found to answer equally well for them. 



There were also exhibited at this meeting three specimens of 

 a remarkable Cockscomb from Mr. McLachlan, of Glasgow. 

 The dmiensions were given in last week's number. I have 

 seen very good Cockscombs exhibited at different provincial 

 shows ; I have grown and exhibited some very good ones 

 myself, and have taken first prizes with them ; but anything 

 to equal the Glasgow specimens I have never seen. There 

 was considerable discussion amongst the fraternity, whether it 

 was a new variety, or whether such excellent examples were 

 only the result of good cultivation. The Committee evidently 

 held to the latter opinion. Mr. McLachlan says it is a cross 

 between a variety he received from America and the old Scotch 

 variety. He says the difference is quite perceptible when they 

 have been staged for competition at Glasgow. I think it 

 would be well if the Royal Horticultural Society would give a 

 prize for Cockscombs. They are grown by several people in the 

 neighbourhood of London. A bank of well-grown specimens 

 would form a novel feature at the September show. — J. Douglas. 



TRICKS OF TRADE. 



There are few persons who engage in the interesting pursuit 

 of attempting to improve flowers and fruits who are not en- 

 couraged as much by the love of fame as by the hope of pecu- 

 niary reward. There are some few, indeed, who never wish to 

 make money by their seedlings, and many who may be actuated 

 by a mixture of motives who fail to do so. A man who raises 

 a single seedling may raise a fine variety, but he who intends 

 to be a successful raiser knows that number is an important 

 element in his calculations. There is a fascination in the em- 

 ployment which resembles that which gamblers appear to feel, 

 though without the injurious moral effects of their pursuit. 

 To raise a new and good flower or fruit, not by mere chance; 

 but as the result of careful breeding, appears almost hke a 

 creation, and I believe the raiser has a keener enjoyment than 

 falls to the lot of the man who is only a cultivator. But this, 

 like every other pleasure, has its drawbacks. The small number 

 of prizes to the multitude of blanks is a serious consideration j 

 and if he has been successful in the past, the difficulty of 

 making further improvements often appears an increasing one. 

 Thus to keep up the same rate of improvement we are annu- 

 ally tempted to greater exertions. Now, if the raiser is im- 

 portant to horticulture, he ought not to be robbed of half his- 

 reward — that is to say, of his fame, when he happens to be 

 successful. 



These remarks will not appear uncalled for to any person 

 who has been a successful raiser of any fruit, flower, or vege- 

 table. How often do we find our pets renamed, or sent out in 

 such a way that others have the credit of their production. 

 Raisers, like artists, are said to be a vain race, and perhaps 

 only raisers know how vexing these things are. 



I have been induced to make these remarks by a perusal of 

 Mr. Cannell's catalogue, seventeenth edition, just received, 

 which I think appears as unfairly compiled as any ever pub- 

 lished. It is known to many of your readers that one of my 

 hobbies has been the raising of bedding Geraniums, and that 

 I have grown thousands per year to pick out a dozen, but the 

 public is often ignorant of the fact that a favourite sort came 

 from Chilwfill. This is inevitable, because in naming a plant 

 it is impossible to always name the raiser; but the case to 

 which I call attention is quite another affair. The facts are 

 these : In 1871, having been unusually successful in raising 

 sorts that appeared worth cultivation, I sent out twenty-four 

 varieties in 1872 ; and that no one might be dissatisfied in case- 

 all were not equally good, I not only charged a low sum for 



