July 1, 18V6. ] 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEi;. 



rooms kindly make their flowers into bonqnets ? Where one 

 garden would not supply flowers for a basket several might 

 contribute a few, and send them, carriage paid, to the Wilber- 

 force Mission House, The Pamgou, New Kent Road. 



[Those having abundance of flowers could not better bestow 

 some of them than by sending them to "The Wilberforce 

 Mission House." — Eds.1 



ELECTION OF STRAWBERRIES. 



This apparently being an age of election, could not we readers 

 have one of Strawberries, which would, I think, be a most 

 useful one 1 now being the time to take votes ; four or five sorts 

 for early, the same for midseason, and of course late, making 

 twelve or fifteen in all — sufficient for any useful purpose ; also 

 naming staple of soil, as light, medium, and strong, with any 

 other useful hint thought worth notice for some peculiar 

 quality. Bosariane have richly benefited by the elections, why 

 should not fragarians ? And as one is said to do well where 

 the other flourishes, I hope to see an election soon, in which I 

 shall be happy to join. 



[In vol. xxiii., page 397, is an election of Strawberries, but 

 we will readily publish in arranged form further lists of varie- 

 ties which are found by our readers to succeed in their locali- 

 ties and soils, which must be particularised. — Eds. J 



THE ORIGIN OF OUR GERANIUMS OR 

 PELARGONIUMS. 



I SAVE now in bloom Pel. Zonale and Pel. Zonale transparens, 

 and it is very hard to believe these can be tho parents of our 

 beautiful bedding Geraniums. What a vast improvement has 

 been effected ! I often feel what a pity it is there should be so 

 little recorded of what our ancestors did in the way of crossing 

 these plants. Who knows the plants poor Donald Beaton 

 employed ? Which were the parents of EoUissou's Unique, 

 Sydonia, Little Pet, Major Clarke's seedling, or Madame 

 Gewitzski ? To what are we indebted for the various races of 

 large-flowered Pelargoniums, French and Fancy V These have 

 evidently not descended from the same original Cape species, 

 and yet no one I ever met could give me their history. By 

 their- history I do not mean the history of the gradual im- 

 provement by crossing and selection, but the history of how 

 the first of each race was obtained. The man who effects the 

 first cross between two dissimilar plants, particularly if the 

 result of such cross should prove fertile, has effected much 

 more than he who improves the plant afterwards ; he has 

 given the start to a new breed, and no one can tell what 

 beautiful plants may be produced from it. 



Botanists have been often accused of making too many 

 species, but anyone who has grown a large collection of Cape 

 Pelargoniums and tried to cross them will hardly think they 

 have erred in this manner with regard to this genus. How they 

 differ in foliage, habit of growth, saying nothing about size 

 and colour of flowers ! How little glaucifolium, oblongatum, 

 tricolor, echinatum, betulinum, radula, ardens, Ac, resemble 

 each other ! Then, again, it appears impossible to cross many 

 of them with dissimilar kinds — at least it is very difficult. Mr. 

 Wills stated that he had tried thousands of times to effect a 

 cross between the Zonals and Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums before 

 he succeeded in raising Willsii, and many of the crosses pro- 

 duced appear nearly or quite sterile. Who has seen a seed of 

 Mangles's Variegated or Little Pet ? and many others might be 

 mentioned which very rarely produce seed, if ever. Yet when 

 we remember how many beautiful plants grown under the 

 general name of Pelargoniums (bedding or show) have been 

 raised, and how many species there are growing in Africa, 

 who can say what we may yet see obtained from them ? How 

 many changes may be rung on a hundred bells ? and we have 

 many more distinct Pelargoniums if we can but induce them 

 to cross. If a few have given us such beautiful races of plants, 

 what may we not expect in the future ? I have great hopes 

 our Pelargonium Society, if kept up with spirit, will produce 

 great results. 



Liberal prizes for collections of native kinds will bring into 

 notice what may be considered raw material, and good prizes 

 for plants the result of first crosses between native species 

 cannot fail to bring to light plants which may prove parents 

 of improved races. The raisers of such plants are apt to 

 undervalue them because they are not perhaps very showy, 

 and neglected plants are soon lost ; whereas othnr persons 

 might have perceived in a plant of this description a fresh 



starting-point with great possible results. Loudon described 

 some 210 species, and as many garden varieties produced from 

 them ; how many of these can now bo found in cultivation ? 

 If, as may be supposed, many of them are lost, how much may 

 we not have lost with them of possible improvement ? 



It will be observed that I have headed this paper "Gera- 

 niums or Pelargoniums," for I do not believe in the distinc- 

 tion, having many plants the produce of two species of Pelar- 

 goniums which I cannot induce to seed ; whilst I have a plant 

 raised by Mr. E. J. Lowe between a Zonal Pelargonium and a 

 Geranium which has produced seed. They all belong to tho 

 order Geraniacea;, and I remember the time when it was 

 thought quite pedantic to talk of Pelargoniums at all. After 

 a time the large show varieties were called here Pelargoniums, 

 and the bedding kinds Gerauiums ; and really we require some 

 distinguishing names for these two classes. "Show "Pelar- 

 goniums will not do when all are shown ; " French " and 

 "Fancy" are poor distinctions, equally appHcable to many 

 of both classes ; " Scarlet " is absurd as applied to a class 

 where scarlet no longer predominates, and which contains 

 every colour from white and pink to dark crimson ; " Zonale " 

 is equally absurd, when many of the best have no zones; 

 "Nosegay "is no longer applicable, when it is impossible to 

 say whether a plant has more Nosegay or Zonale blood in its 

 composition ; " Bedders " will not do, for many beautiful pot 

 plants do not do well out of doors, but which are grand for 

 the conservatory. So I shall continue to call my pets Gera- 

 niums and the others Pelargoniums till we are provided with 

 better names by the recognised authorities. — J B. Peaeson, 

 Chilu-ell. 



THE CARTER CHALLENGE CUP. 



We again remind intending exhibitors that the competition 

 for this great prize takes place next Wednesday at theKojal 

 Horticultural Society's Gardens, South Kensington, and have 

 been requested to give publication to the following important 

 announcement : — 



" As some doubts have been expressed relative to the diiu- 

 culty gardeners in the more northern parts of the kingdom 

 will have in producing Carter's Champion EnunerBean atthis 

 early season, Messrs. Carter, in order to make the competition 

 as great and as general as possible, have kindly consented to 

 make its production optional on the part of the exhibitor, as 

 well as that of the Fern-leaved Parsley." 



The schedule is therefore thus revised ; — Scarlet Runner 

 Beans, optional; any good variety of Parsley, and eighteen 

 pods of Beans in all cases. 



BELVOIR CASTLE.— No. 1. 



THE SE.\T OF THE DUKE OF EliTLAND. 



Anyone looking at the map of the midland portion of Eng- 

 land will see that the three great ducal seats of Chatsworth, 

 Trentham, and Belvoir form a triangle, and nowhere perhaps 

 shall we be able to match such a noble trio. They have each 

 of them their differing characters, but all alike are of that 

 class of which it is said our late dirty visitor the Shah confi- 

 dentially informed the Prince of Wales that it was not for tho 

 security of his throne that such grand places owned by such 

 mighty seigneurs should exist, and signified that he should 

 adopt a short and easy method, iiuite in accordance with hU 

 Eastern notions, of getting them into his own possession. 1 

 had seen Chatsworth with its palatial residence and grand sur. 

 roundings, and Trentham with its soft and luxurious scenery ; 

 and it now remams for me to visit Belvoir, unUke in many 

 respects to either of the others— a grand baronial residence, 

 with its turreted battlements, standing high above all around 

 it, towering up in the midst of a level country, a great deal of 

 which is owned by the Duke, whose tastes have doubtless been 

 fostered by the character of the country in which from earliest 

 childhood he has been brought up, and which tastes have to a 

 certain extent stamped their character on the style and manner 

 of gardening which so wise and intelligent a man as my excel- 

 lent friend Mr. Ingram has adopted to meet the requirements 

 of the place. 



The Duke of Butland is a sportsman, and as Belvoir is situ- 

 ated in the best hunting county in England, it forms hia 

 residence during the winter and spring months. When the 

 hunting is over he is off to London for the season, and then to 

 his seat in Derbyshire for shooting, and so on, and therefore 

 gardening at Belvoir is carried on in special reference to the 

 time when he is in residence. Now, go into any ordinary place 



