Deoomber 2:!, 187S. ] JOURNAL OF HOSTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



551 



Soath Konsington, I, a good honest " Sawnie," looked down 

 the arcade and saw what at first I imngiaed to be a small 

 Boction of Tooley Street, and heard certain whippera from those 

 who were vieitiug the place, I thought " the force of humbug 

 can no further go." Uravo, Yankee Doodle ! you are a " emart 

 'un," and have certainly "wiped the eye" of ua poor Brit- 

 ishers. It was a smart notion that, setting us to see how 

 many pounds could be grown from one pound of seed. Plow- 

 ever, hke Shylock'a pound of flesh, there is more behind. I 

 wonder whether there is any truth in the statement that along 

 with the offer of the prizes there was a " Bliss-ful " suggestion 

 that a pound of eyes was a pound of Potatoes. But what an 

 absurd humbug it was altogether ! An uglier member of my 

 family than one of those exhibited Eureka I have never seen ; 

 indeed I rather thought it was an " ugly mug" raised by my 

 friend Mr. Paterson — " Bovinia," which had been sent out to 

 Yankeedom, and then, with a feeling that doss them infinite 

 credit, had been rechristened and sent back to us. And 

 then who was to tell whether the pound had been honestly 

 gained and planted ? And even it all were " honourable 

 men," what possibly could these, being sent to South Ken- 

 sington, do in confirmation of this asserted fact? The 

 Fruit Committee of the Society never did a wiser thing than 

 declaring they would have nothing to say to such a barefaced 

 humbug. 



As I am on this point I may as well say a few words on 

 Potato shows in general. If they are to serve any good pur- 

 pose, which I very much doubt, they must be very different 

 to what they are now. I believe that it is no secret that 

 some of the principal prizes at tho Potato Show at the 

 Alexandra Palace were gained by people who never cultivated 

 one-quarter of the Potatoes they exhibited, and that even 

 respectable firms were sending in all directions for dishes of 

 Potatoes. There was no rule against doing this, so that there 

 was no dishonesty in the matter. But what purpose can it 

 answer thus to exhibit ? Moreover, a Potato Show gives no 

 idea of the value of tho sorts exhibited either as to productive- 

 ness or quality. It is not true of the Potato that " one may 

 smile and smile, and bo a villain ;" but one may look well, 

 have a smooth skin and be altogether presentable, and yet have 

 not the slightest claim to be of any use. I could name varie- 

 ties which are described as fine exhibition kinds, but which 

 are utterly useless for the table. And what havo exhibitors 

 done to improve the Potato? Have they suggested better 

 means of culture, taught us anything about the Potato disease, 

 or advanced in any way the " noble tuber?" 



And now as to varieties. Here is one of the grand sources 

 of humbug. I look back a few years and I remember, besides 

 myself, some of my excellent friends who then were highly 

 esteemed. There was my dear early companion Hyatt's Aeh- 

 leaf ; Old Lapstone, a sturdy Yorkshire boy ; Dalmahoy, who 

 bailed like myself across the border; Victoria, worthy of her 

 name; and a few others. We thought we were decent fellows, 

 but we were told that we might as well hide our heads. A 

 flourish of trumpets came "floating o'er the sea." Enter a 

 host of Y'ankees — Early Rose, Climax, Prolific, Vermont Beauty, 

 Very Early Vermont, Brownell's Beauty, Eureka, Snowflake ; 

 one after the other they came, and with one or two exceptions 

 they have met the fate many of us predicted they would. 

 Early Rose was to beat all early Potatoes out of the field, but 

 I know one case at least where two or three acres were planted 

 and the luckless grower can get no sale for them. Now and 

 then one hears of one which in some place or other has 

 answered, but the general verdict is, " Fit for the pigs." I saw 

 in a contemporary the other day that an " eminent firm " has 

 been dodging the public by letting out at least three old Pota- 

 toes under new names, and I doubt not the said firm will find 

 out that other " eminent firms " have been doing the same. 

 One fruitful source of neio (?) varittits is that sometimes a 

 Potato grown under special circumstances assumes a different 

 character for a while. It is immediately seized upon by some 

 " eminent " letter-out of " novelties," but when it comes into 

 general cultivation reverts to its oii>ital type. Oxfordshire 

 Kidney, Cambridgeshire ditto, Somerselshire ditto, and a host 

 of other names suggest themselves where one Potato does duty 

 under a number of aliases, for all the world reminding one of 

 Woodin or Howard Paul, who appear in twenty different cha- 

 racters in as many minutes. 



With regard to those which are really new varieties, such as 

 those raised by that enthusiastic horticulturist Mr. Fenn, I 

 ■wish one could speak better of them than I find myself able 

 to do. They seem to me sadly to lack flavour. They are 



mealy, but they want that genuine Potato flavour which is 

 possessed by such varieties as the Lapstone or by myself ; and 

 they are, moreover, so liable to disease that they can never 

 come into general use. Rector of Woodstock is one of tho very 

 first to be smitten by the disease, and generally suffers more 

 than any other early variety. Onwards ia a ball of flour, and 

 in truth tastes very like it. 



I am not, I hope, conceited, although, like most of my 

 countrymen, I do not like to be underrated; but I very mush 

 question whether amongst round Potatoes — ([ say nothing of 

 kidneys) — there has anything come out, either old or new, in 

 the last few years that can " take the shine" out of your old 

 friend — The Dunbar Regent. 



GROS COLMAN GRAPE. 



" Ex-ExniBiTOK" asks for experiences of Gros Colman 

 Grape; I give mine. Some years ago I planted a Gros Colman 

 Vine which was sent to me by mistake for another variety 

 suited to a cool vinery. It grew and fruited freely, but the 

 fruit was quite worthless, as it never ripened. Slill I let it 

 remain ; but this year I gave it pleuty of heat, and was 

 rewarded by an excellent crop of well-ripened drapes, which 

 came in when all my others were gone, aud have kept well up 

 to the present time. I am confident they would hang much 

 longer, ouly that I was obliged to shut off heat for the sake of 

 bedding plants, which I wished to keep at rest. 



During the summer I gave the Vine a good deal of liquid 

 manure, as its large berries require liberal feeding to swell 

 them properly. I also thinned the berries well, and did not 

 allow much more than half the bunches to remain. Everyone 

 who has tasted it proQOunced it all that could be desired in 

 flavour. I may add, that though I gave plenty of heat, I gave 

 also abundant ventilation. I consider Gros Colman a first- 

 rate late Grape for a well-heated vinery, and worthless under 

 other conditions. 



Is not " Ex-ExniBiTOE" in error in saying that Mr. Rivers 

 describes Gros Colman as ripening its fruit in a cool vinery ? 

 In his catalogue for this year he gives a very good description 

 of it, and says it requires heat. — Feedeeick Tyiions, Cloghran, 

 County Duhlin. 



[" Ex-ExniBiTOR " may have referred to the time at which 

 he planted his Vine. Iq Mr. Rivers's catalogue for 1870 ( tros 

 Colman ia marked " C V." What is the experience of others 

 on the quality and cultural requirements of this fine-looking 

 Grape?— Eds.] 



NEW GLADIOLI. 



Theee is evidence that our English groivers are endeavour- 

 ing to turn the tables on the French raisers as they have done 

 in the matter of Roses; for while M. Souchet, or rather his 

 successors Messrs. Soullard tt Brasselot, advertise a dozen, 

 Mr. Kelway of Langport sends out eighteen new varieties, some 

 of them double — nay, treble of the price of the French varie- 

 ties ; and in a catalogue sent to me by Messrs. Robertson and 

 Galloway I find, besides the French and Langport varieties, a 

 number of others raised by Mr. Sampson of Yeovil marked at 

 the same high figures, besides some raised by Messrs. Cunning- 

 ham, Codling, and others : and aa I am frequently asked what 

 is my opinion of the novelties, it may suffice for my many 

 correspondents if I give these few notes. Of the foreigners 

 I know nothing from personal observation, having been pre- 

 vented from paying my annual visit to Paris and Fontainebleau 

 this year. I have neither seen anything nor heard much of 

 them. A friend has, however, told me that the following may 

 be relied upon as really valuable varieties — Fiammetta, Lfiau- 

 dre, Phcenix, and Titania, and as I find them amongst the 

 highest-priced sorts of M. Souchet's lists I have little doubt 

 that they will prove to be as reported to me. The descriptions 

 given of them, thoroughly French and characteristic, are as 

 follow : — 



Fiammetta. — Splendid spike of perfect flowers ; white ground 

 glazed with tender rose, largely aud richly blazed bright car- 

 mine; large yellow spots, striated carmine. 



Liandre. — Extra large flower ; very long aud splendid spike, 

 slightly tinted carmine ; very largo spots, pure white, with a 

 white lino on each division. 



P)in:ni.c. — Large flowers, cherry rose, white, pure ground 

 edged light cherry rose, blazed darker. 



2'itania. — Very long and large spike ; flesh salmon colour 

 flamed cherry on white ground. 



