July 28, 18S8.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE: 



107 



the growth of seeds before sending them out, but 

 not one of these would do so. One gentleman who 

 was for the opposition, was touched upon this point 

 by the seedsman's counsel — he was connected 

 with a London firm now defunct, and, I think 

 the man likewise, but if he still lives he may 

 remember stating that it was not the general 

 custom of the trade to test the growth of seeds 

 before sending them cut; and this, in my im- 

 pression, greatly injured the seedsman's cause. 

 This very gentleman was a witness before the select 

 committee of the House of Commons on the seed 

 adulteration before the passing of the Seed Adultera- 

 tion Act, and to inquiries there stated it was the 

 custom of the London trade to test the growth of 

 everything before it was sent out. Here was a man 

 as a Government witness giving opposite accounts. 

 Had the retail trade been half awake, as the whole- 

 sale trade were, this subject ought to have been 

 followed up all through the country, and a society 

 formed for their protection ; I have for years seen 

 the necessity of such a society, and the retail 

 trade ought to have seen at once the necessity of 

 protecting themselves. A single individual coming 

 forward having experienced a gross fraud, show- 

 ing his desire to serve the public with genuine 

 articles, and lighting single-handed a powerful 

 society — if there is a champion amongst seedsmen 

 he ought to be the one. I do not think it speaks 

 much in favour of the retail trade to allow a single 

 individual to be ruined in a good cause and a power- 

 ful society opposing. A society would not in any 

 way benefit me, as I have entirely left the trade, as 

 my card will show ; but after being many years con- 

 nected with the trade I still feel interested in it. 

 Apologising for trespassing on your space. I 

 Play. 



HAUTBOIS STRAWBERRY.— That this fruit does 

 not find a place in our fruiterers' shops in our large 

 towns is somewhat singular and disappointing, the 

 flavour being much liked for its piquancv, even if 

 the fruit at its best is only a small one. Many 

 growers having been supplied with plants which were 

 either male or female only, have necessarily not 

 succeeded in fruiting it, and have condemned" it as 

 unfruitful, and this belief has spread — it not having 

 become generally kuown that the male flower is pro- 

 duced on one plant, and the female on another. 

 Given runners selected from a plantation in good 

 bearing, and therefore of mixed sexes, the fruitful- 

 nesa of a new plantation is assured, and when the 

 plants are once possessed, the formation of new 

 beds, whenever found necessary, presents no difficul- 

 I have found the plant do best on a border 

 north, that is, behind a tall hedge or wall, so 

 as to secure some amount of shade from the 

 sin. and a cool soil: in warm positions the 

 plants do not usually set their fruits so well, 

 p issibly because it sets its fruits rather late, 

 wlien in the generality of summers the soil is 

 grtting in such positions exhausted of its moisture. 

 A good distance to plant the runners is 1 foot apart 

 ill the rows, and the latter at 2 feet or rather more 

 i the soil be good. It increases fruitfulness 

 i i the plants if the runners are allowed to root in the 

 r i'.vs the first year, as then there will be no want of 

 a due mixture of male and female plants. The 

 plantation in the second year may have the alleys 

 b -tween the lines reduced to 1 foot in width, by per- 

 mitting the rooted runners to extend 6 inches on 

 each side of the original row. In the third year — 

 and it is not advisable to destroy the plantation until 

 it is six or seven years old, or at any rate before a 

 new one is in full bearing — the alleys may be allowed 

 to become overrun with the runners, and every third 

 original row cleared out with the spade to form an 

 alley between what will then be beds of two rows 

 each. By following up this method of renewal, 

 but in various ways, the plants may be kept in bear- 

 ing for the time stated. As a manure for the Haut- 

 bois there is nothing better in easily accessible 

 materials, than leaf-mould and Mushroom bed dnng 

 spread over the plants during the winter. As the 

 fruits are borne on tall stalks there is seldom any 

 occasion to mulch the soil with short straw to pre- 

 serve them from the dirt, yet in all dry soils a mulch 

 is an improvement so long as the alleys remain open. 

 Now is a good time to lay down plantations. M. V,'. 



WHAT IS AN "HERBACEOUS'' PLANT ?— At 

 p. 73 Mr. E. Jenkins asks the above question, but it 

 is quite clear, from his remarks, that he has little or 

 nothing further to learn on that particular point. 

 To many per=ous, however, the term " herbaceous" 

 is bewildering, and is the cause of endless disputes 



at horticultural shows ; such being the case would it 

 not be better to substitute the word " perennial," so 

 that the wording of a class in prize schedules may 

 read thus — "Hardy perennial plants." Thi 

 now so many caulocarpic plants exhibited as her- 

 baceous — under misapprehension of the word — that 

 it seems to me the time has arrived for widening 

 the field to admit them. Of course in a class worded 

 as suggested it is quite possible for mistakes to occur 

 sometimes, but I think they would be less frequent 

 than they have been in the past. J, II 

 Inin/. 



CABBAGES. — 1 have seen during the past, few 

 days some few excellent new Cabbages, which bear 

 special merits, and are well worthy of mention. At 

 Messrs. Sutton & Sons' trial grounds, Reading, out 

 of myriads of Cabbages in trial, and all having 

 exactly the same treatment, there stood out specially 

 early and excellent Sutton's Little Gem, a very 

 dwarf emerald-green variety, very distinct, and with 

 solid hearts, which seems to be a "gem" indeed in 

 a large family. The second Cabbage is Sutton's 

 1 Dwarf, larger than the first, with hearts 

 of the usual conical form, but every one so firm, 

 white, and handsome that the variety commanded 

 attention. I should regard this kind for garden use 

 a- a very prince amongst Cabbages. The plants 

 will stand very close together, and for small gardens 

 would prove a great boon. The selected stock of 

 Sutton's Dwarf Biood-Red, or pickling Cabbage, is 

 also a very noticeable strain, and one which should 

 for ever supersede the old huge leafy stocks of 

 pickling Cabbages. If the heads are less big, they 

 are firmer, deeper in colour, less hard in texture, 

 and less strong in flavour. It is a very pretty as 

 well as a very superior pickling Cabbage. At 

 Heckfield Place Gardens, Mr. Wildsmith drew 

 special attention to a Cabbage named Veitch's 

 Earliest of All — of course a somewhat pretentious 

 designation, because some other Cabbages which are 

 smaller- hearted are earlier ; but for a large or rather 

 good-sized garden Cabbage, it is. withont doubt, a 

 superb variety, not only because so good at all 

 points, but so early for its size. This variety, whilst 

 carrying fairly large, clean, solid-pointed heads, has 

 very few outer leaves, and in that respect alone 

 merits distinction. There can be no doubt that 

 in the matter of Cabbages — thanks chiefly to the 

 keen watchfulness of our seedsmen in these sharp 

 competition days — we are going a-head, and it is 

 hoped in a fair way soon to obliterate all the large, 

 big-headed leafy stocks. Mr. Wildsmith also had a 

 few heads left of the French Early Etampes, a won- 

 derfully good Cabbage, which, without doubt, will 

 soou find its way — if it has not done so already — into 

 our English trade lists. A. D. 



Societies. 



ROYAL HORTICULTURAL. 



Tuesday, Juxi 24. — The exhibition held in the 

 Drill Hall. .lames Street, Westminster, in conjunc- 

 tion with that of the Southern Section of the 

 National Carnation and Picotee Society, made a 

 pretty display altogether, and fairly filled the table 

 space. The best feature of the whole, apart from 

 the. special exhibits of the latter Society, was the 

 line collection of Perns sent up by Messrs. Birken- 

 head, of Sale, Manchester. This were a surprise 

 to many South country growers, and was greatly 

 admired. The visitors during the afternoon were 

 more numerous than on any previous occasion, since 

 the Society removed from Kensington. 



Floral Committee. 



Present : G. P. Wilson, Esq., in the Chair, and 

 Messrs. Shirley Hibberd, H. Herbst, J. Eraser. W. 

 Bates, Rev. W. Wilks, T. Brines, Ii. Dean, C.Noble, 

 H. Ballantine, C. Pilcher, J. Dominv, H. M. TolleM, 

 .1. O'Brien, E. Hill, G. Paul, B. Wvnne, and 

 Dr. Masters. 



The Chairman contributed from his garden at 

 Wisley flowers of hardy Lilies of strong growth. 

 These were giganteum, Brownii, Martagon in three 

 vars., elegans, avenaceum, concolor, and Coridion, 

 the latter from a bulb growing in a pot. Sprays of 

 the showy crimson Spirrea palmat came from Mr. 

 Charles Noble's nurseries, Bagshot. 



A large group of stove and greenhouse plants and 

 Orchids was contributed by Mr. B. S. Williams, 

 Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, Ilolloway, and con- 

 sisted of several tine species and hybrid forms of 



Cypripedium, Cattleya gigas, Masdevallias, Vanda 

 teres, two well-bloomed pieces of Oncidium incurvum, 

 the spikes of bloom measuring from 3 to 4 feet 

 in height : Epidendrum cochleatum was a good plant 

 with ten flower spikes. Perns, Palms, and Dracienas 

 were interspersed as usual amongst the flowering 

 plants. 



Dahlias of the pompon, Cactus and single classes, 

 and H.P. and T. Koses, were sent by Messrs. Cheal 

 & Sous. Crawley. 



Roses, both II.P'.s and Teas, in considerable 

 numbers, and of capital quality, were shown by Mr. 

 B. R. (ant, Colchester, 



Gaillardias, Pentstemons, Delphiniums, Amaryl- 

 lis, and mixed herbaceous flowers, were shown in 

 quantity by Messrs. Kehvay & Sons, Langport, 

 Somerset. 



Some cut blooms of Pentsteraon in variety Came 

 from Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, some 

 of which were of extraordinary good quality : we 

 mention a few : — Bertha Kosch, light rose-pink : 

 Lord Chelmsford, scarlet and white ; Alp. Daudet, 

 crimson ; J. Robertson, scarlet, with a white tube ; 

 Dr. Tnke, one of the best, scarlet with white tube, 

 striped inside with crimson. Fuchsia triphylla, a 

 small plant, hung with orange-scarlet flowers in 

 some profusion, was worthy of special notice amongst 

 the Swanley plants. 



A pretty Lobelia eriuus, compact, and of the shade 

 of blue of Myosotis palustris, came from Mr. H. 

 Scott, Cambridge. 



Mr. T. Smith, nurseryman, Newry, showed a 

 good form of Lychnis hybrida, the parents, L. flos- 

 Jovis, and L. coronaria being shown alongside. 



Seedlings of Lilium elegans in orange, orange- 

 scarlet, and crimson colours, and each exhibiting 

 some point of difference in the form of petal, were 

 shown by Mr. W. Gordon. Twickenham. Other 

 exhibits from him were Iris Iuempferi seedlings, the 

 best being Kaiser Wilhelm, a white ground flower, 

 striped and flecked with purple ; and Enterprise, a 

 purple flower, marked sparingly with white. 



Messrs. W. Paul & Son. Waltham Cross, showed 

 new Roses, the best were Duchess of Albany, a deep 

 pink flower, a sport from La France, identical in 

 other respects with that variety; Cheshuut Scarlet, 

 a bright-looking flower, nice in the bud state ; 

 Brilliant, a H.P., was another of this kind — a deep 

 crimson flower, of the admired Hazel-nut form of 

 bud; Tea Rose White Lady, a French-white, excel- 

 lent as a half-opened flower. 



H.P. Rose Margaret Haywood was shown by 

 T. B. Haywood, Esq., Woodhatch Lodge, Reigate ; it 

 is a full flower, of deep pink, with the delicious perfume 

 of Rose Centifolia. 



Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, contributed a 

 group of uncommon and interesting plants. Clethra 

 aluifeilia. an old hardy shrub not frequently seen 

 now-a-days, was shown in 0-inch pots, and as it 

 produces its spikes of scented white flowers in great 

 abundance and for a considerable period, is likely to 

 grow in favour. Yucca obliqua was represented by 

 a cut flowering head ; the buds of this species are 

 bright red, which, with the creamy-yellow of the 

 interior of the flower, makes a bright appearance. 

 A New Zealand shrub, Notospartium Carmichaeliae, 

 with terete stems, bearing tufts of small bright 

 rosy-lilac, pea-like flowers. There was a Stuartia, 

 to which a certificate was given. It has flowers 

 of a satiny-white, slightly fimbriated margin, and 

 prominent yellow stamens, the flower being cup- 

 like in shape ; leaves oval dark green above, 

 lighter beneath, tinged witli brown in a young state. 

 Spirraa bullata, of dwarf habit with red flowers, small 

 deep green bullate leaves. Acer distylum, with red 

 young growths'; and Sambueus nigra heterophylla 

 with needle-like prolongation of the leaves. Cytisus 

 capitatus, the flowers borne at the tops of the shoots, 

 and a few specimens of hybrid Rhododendrons com- 

 pleted the exhibits. A certificate was granted to 

 one of the Rhododendrons, named Purity, pure 

 white. 



Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, Totten- 

 ham, staged a collection of cut hardy flowers — 

 Liliums, such as L. Brownii, L. chalcedonicum, L. 

 Humboldtii, L. Martagon, and L. candidum being 

 one of the chief features. There were also Iceland 

 and Shirley Poppies, various Gaillardias, Scabiosa 

 caucasica, Helianthus japonicus, Centaurea macro- 

 cephala, and a Perpetual Carnation, Mrs. Crombie, 

 creamy-yellow, with broad red edge shaded off into 

 the yellow. 



A group of a similar character came from Messrs. 

 Paul & Son, Cheshunt, to which was added a collec- 

 tion of Roses in ten boxes, including several fine 

 blooms of good varieties. The Shirley Poppies were 



