THE SUMMER GARDEN 121 



Steeple Morden, kindly sent me to try in 

 1905. Every one of my own seeds came true, 

 and nearly every stem, from 12 to 18 inches 

 in length, bore four flowers. Miss Willmott 

 was equally fine ; and my old favourite 

 Oriental nearly as good. 



Countess Spencer if one can get the true 

 stock, for the ordinary stock is more sport 

 than true Prima Donna, Florence Spencer, 

 Boltons Pink, Janet Scott, and Agnes Eckford 

 are my other pinks for this year ; with the 

 fine rosy-carmine John Ingman, and E. J. 

 Castle (1907). Scarlet Gem, which other- 

 wise did well, suffered a little last Summer 

 from the intense sun which always causes 

 it to burn. But Eckford's new Queen Alex- 

 andra, while possessing all the merits of Scarlet 

 Gem in colour, size, and habit, is happily sun- 

 proof, and an even finer flower. For crimson, 

 though I am faithful to a row of my old friend 

 Salopian, for a main crop nothing equals the 

 grand King Edward VII., one of the finest of 

 all the novelties of the last three years from 

 Wem ; and here it was indeed magnificent. 



