November 2, 1871. ] 



JOTJBNAIi OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAJRDENEE. 



raising, fine colour, and free-blooming ; Star of Fire (Laing), a 

 very bright dark scarlet of about the same coloar as Bonfire, a 

 very good trass, and dwarf habit, likely, I think, to be a great 

 acquisition ; and Rainbow (Paul), fine truss, rather too strong 

 a habit, but it would be very good for large beds, and I can re- 

 commend it to those who prefer plain leaves. Another of Mr. 

 Paul's, very distinct in colour, is Claude Lorraine, a magenta 

 crimson ; it has been highly spoken of by many, but I have 

 not given it a sufiieient trial yet. I must also say much the 

 same of Eobineon Crusoe, Chief Justice, Amethyst, Caractaeus 

 (all Paul's) ; they have all grown rather too much with me this 

 year, to enable me to report properly about them. 



I next take the scarlet section. 



Lady Constance Grosvenor (Turner), is too weU known to 

 need any remark, it is decidedly one of the very best. 



Cybister (Carter), I have decided to cast, as too straggling 

 both in habit and petal. 



Maltiflora.— A good dwarf habit, and free-blooming. 



Sobieski.— One of the very best ; good truss, and carried well 

 above the foliage, nice compact habit. 



Kev. J. "WooUey (Pearson). — Fine colour, and a very fine pot 

 plant, but not quite free-blooming enough. 



Vesuvius. — This disappointed me very much early in the 

 season, but improved so greatly afterwards as to make me alter 

 my opinion, and not oast it as I had at first intended. The 

 trusses are not suffioiently large, and I do not like it so much 

 as many others. 



Much of the same colour are Vf. Underwood (Pearson), very 

 good early in the season, but the habit is not snfiiciently 

 branching ; Glorious, most uncertain, anything but glorious in 

 bad weather ; Eoi d'ltalie, flower-truss too small, with a bad 

 constitution, only good for very fine seasons. 



Grand Dake (Smith). — This is one of the very finest bedders ; 

 truss very large, habit good, free-blooming, and very constant. 

 It is more of a light red than scarlet, and I can strongly re- 

 commend it to anyone; it is a strong grower, but not coarse. 



Godfrey, much of the same shade of colour, is very good, 

 but rather too long in the footstalk ; it is, however, a very 

 pleasing bright colour. 



Kentish Hero I do not like either for its leaf or its flower, 

 and I have decided to cast it. 



Glow is a very good late-season variety, fine truss, and very 

 circular flowers. I was disappointed with it early in the season, 

 but it improved, as Vesavins did, so much that I shall grow it 

 again. 



King of the Nosegays, light red, seems to have too delicate a 

 constitution for bad weather. ^ 



Mrs. Laing is still a good variety, but well known. 



I find that I have omitted among the dark crimsons two very 

 promising varieties raised by Mr. Laing (Downie, Laird, and 

 Laing) — viz., Moor of Yenica and George Peabody ; also a 

 very good light scarlet, nearly the colour of Eoi d'ltalie, 

 Phcebus, which I expect will turn out very well. 



Lady Hawley (Downie & Co.), has grown too strongly with 

 me this year, but is a fine pot plant, 



I wiU take the cerise-coloured ones in my next communi- 

 cation, and will only add now some of the light crimson section 

 which it is difficult to classify, as the well-known Lord Pal- 

 meratoD, which I stiU think one of the very beat bedders, 

 though it will not stand the treatment which Mr. A. H. Kent 

 tested it with. 



Le Grand ia very uncertain, as a rule not free-blooming 

 enough, very fine at times. An undoubtedly good pot plant. 



Eclat (Smith), has a very large trass, but is too coarse except 

 for large beds. 



Masterpiece is all foliage and no fiower. 



David Garrick (Bell & Thorpe), is in the way of Eclat, but not 

 so coarse, and a finer fiower. 



I conclude now by saying if anyone wishes to have my 

 remarks on the warmer treatment of Geraniums in the winter 

 confirmed, let him go to Mr. Pearson's, of Chilwell, during 

 the winter, and, as I stated last year, many gardeners would 

 do much better to use their late vineries for bedding plants 

 rather than cold pits. If the temperature of the house is not 

 kept above 45° it wiU not unduly excite the Tines, and very 

 little fire heat will be needed. — C. P. Peach. 



Eoyal Ashleaf, Hogg's Coldstream, Lapatone, Daiutree's Seed- 

 ling, Wheeler'a Milky White, Almond's First Early, and York- 

 shire Hero, but the last-named is infinitely superior this year 

 to any of the rest. In 1S70 all were better than this year in 

 flavour and mealiness, except Yorkshire Hero, which is as good 

 this year as last. 



I find Early Eose really an early Potato and a good cropper, 

 all the tubers being ripe long before the diaeaae came. I should 

 say it is a good Potato to sell, as many retail buyers do not 

 seem to know a good-flavoured Potato from a tasteless one. 



I last year was imprudent enough to recommend good sorts 

 of Potatoes to my friends, but, as so few can cook a Potato, my 

 advice gratis met with the usual amount of appreciation. I 

 have seen the attempt nearly succeed to spoil a Yorkshire Hero 

 in the cooking, but it requires ingenuity.— Yam. 



YOEKSHIKE HERO POTATO. 

 That so many kinds of Potatoes should be named recently 

 in the Journal aa good, and no mention made of the best, is 

 lemaikable. I have this year grown in a light rich soil Bivers's 



GOLDEN CHAMPION GRAPE. 



We have received from Mr. Douglas, gardener to F. Whit- 

 bourne, Esq., of Loxford Hall, Essex, specimens of the Golden 

 Champion Grape, with the following note in reference to a 

 criticism on this Grape which recently appeared in the pages 

 of a contemporary : — " The smaller specimens are from a Vine 

 grafted on Black Hamburgh, and the others from one on 

 Trentham Black. This Grape haa done well with me in the 

 present year, and both Mr. and Mrs. Whitbourne think highly 

 of it, and have preferred it to Bnckland Sweetwater." And 

 well they might ! The berriea from the Vine grafted on Tren- 

 tham Black were of a fine golden colour, clear, and without the 

 slightest trace of spot, perfectly ripe, firm in flesh, excellent in 

 flavour, and 1| inch long by IJ inch broad. The Committee 

 that would ignore such a Grape submitted to them would justly 

 expose themselves to well-merited censure. 



REVIEW OF THE VEGETABLE SEASON. 



Although this, perhaps, has been one of the worst frnit 

 seasons on record, we may deem ourselves fortunate in having 

 a first-rate supply of all kinds of vegetables, and, with the ex- 

 ception of Potatoes, all of good quality. 



To begin with the most important — namely. Peas. Laxton 

 on the whole takes the lead with that excellent variety Alpha, 

 which, sown successionally, is the beat of Peas for all seasons ; 

 nevertheless, Carter'a Imperial Wonder is certainly the most 

 sugary of all Peas of my acquaintance. The following six 

 varieties of Peas I consider the best — three early and three late 

 — viz, Sutton's Eingleader [DiUistone's Early], Little Gem, and 

 Laxton's Alpha for early kinds, or the latter for late ; Carter's 

 Imperial Wonder, Laxton's Qaality, and Laxton's Sapreme, a 

 truly fine Pea for late crops and show purposes. 



Among Potatoes I know of nothing like Early Coldstream^ 

 not one tuber having here been diseased, and it being fine both 

 for use and for production, but selection is required in order to 

 keep up a true stock. Eoyal Ashleaf and Myatt's are both 

 good early varieties, and kidney-shaped Potatoes are preferred 

 for the dining table. For a late-keeping variety Lapatone heads 

 the list here. The American Potatoea have all been tried and 

 all found wanting. Among new varietiea Paterson's Bovinia 

 ia the moat promising. Carter's Main Crop is perhaps the 

 handsomest of all Potatoes, but lacka flavour ; stUl, I shall try 

 it again. The Marchioness of Lome, another of Paterson's 

 sent here for trial, is also particularly handsome, but I cannot 

 afiord to taste it this season. 



Of Canlifiowers and Broccoli I find Walcheren the very beat, 

 giving us ample suppUes from Jane to November, making 

 three sowings — viz., in the second week of March, the second 

 week of May for hand-lights, and the third week of August. 

 We are now cutting heads of 3 inches in diameter, and others 

 a foot across for secondary purposes, and of good qaality. This 

 is succeeded by Snow's, which keeps up a supply by protection 

 with fern until February, when we have Sutton's White Sprout- 

 ing and Osborn'a Winter White, but for the latest of all nothing 

 ia so good nor so hardy as Eclipse (Cattell's). 



Among Savoys I find nothing so valuable as Little Pixie. 

 Planted out 16 inches plant from plant, the ground ia literally 

 covered with small but delicious heads of from IJ to 2 lbs. 

 each. I shall advise all my gardening friends to grow this 

 Savoy largely. 



The most useful vegetable just now is Wliite or Sea-kale Beet 

 grown in weU-trenched rich ground. The leafstalks are nearly 

 a quarter of an inch thick, and as white as snow. It is a great 

 favourite with the cook. 



