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JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE JlSD COTTAGE GABDENEK. 



[ Jannary 12, 1871. 



and the efforts of the other in his care and culture of the 

 plantB entrneted to him. A very coramon subject of complaint 

 is, that in the garden the gardener assumes to be " Lord para- 

 mount," entirely ignoring all knowledge of his business in 

 those who employ him. It is to be feared that this is not 

 unfrequently the case, but it surely ought not to be so ; common 

 courtesy, to say nothing of duty, should teach one to receive 

 the commands of those whom one serves with the greatest 

 respect, and if possible to carry them out to the letter ; if this 

 cannot be done, a respectful remonstrance should suffice. 



Very much has been written concerning the trials and diffi- 

 culties which beset a gardener in the pursuit of his calling, but 

 it is very rarely indeed that anything is said about the privi- 

 leges and enjoyments which are his. I will venture to step 

 cut of this beaten path, and forget for a moment the anxieties 

 of frosty nights, unkindly seasons, and all the ills which 

 endanger our tender crops and delicate exotics, and will glance 

 at the " bright side of things." Surrounded by Nature's choicest 

 gems in an endless variety of form and colour, each season 

 presenting its peculiar attractions — the freshness of spring, 

 the richer developments of summer, the fulness and abundance 

 of autumn, and the soberness of winter, all are peculiarly his 

 to enjoy. Then there are the multitude of interesting objects 

 eonstantly claiming his attention, and if many of them do try 

 his skill to the utmost, why the greater the exertion the greater 

 the enjoyment of the success which generally follows. There 

 can be no complaint of sameness, but rather of repletion, for 

 novelties of all kinds are constantly pouring in upon us, ex- 

 citing much interest, and affording much amusement in the 

 comparison and trial of their merits. And so I might go on, 

 and enumerate all the brightness and beauty which we enjoy, 

 but I will rest contented with observing that we may all be 

 happier, better men if we go through life without giving undue 

 weight to its cares and sorrows, but rather striving to realise 

 its blessings, of which many of us possess a much greater share 

 than we are aware of until they are taken away. — Edvtaed 

 LocKHUESi, Old Lands, Buxied, Sussex. 



BEDDING GERANIUMS. 



Though I am afraid some of your readers will be tired of the 

 subject of bedding Geraniums, yet there are others who may 

 be interested in some notes I made last year, at the establish- 

 ments of three of the principal raisers of Zonal Geraniums— 

 namely, at Mr. Pearson's, of Chilwell ; Mr. W. Paul's, of Wal- 

 tham Cross ; and Mr. Laing's (of the firm of Downie, Laird, 

 and Laing), at Stanstead Park. I name them in the order in 

 which I visited them. 



ChilwoU Nurseries have been so well described by your able 

 correspondent Mr. Luckhurst, that I shall not say much with 

 respect to the nurseries themselves, but merely confirm what 

 Mr. Luckhurst says with regard to the thorough way in which 

 Mr. Pearson carries out all he does there. I consider Mr. 

 Pearson's glass ranges models of what glass houses ought to 

 be, and I agree with him in what he said in his article on horti- 

 cultural fallacies, that it is very astonishing to see the old 

 moveable sash-lights and slides, with heavy rafters, still being 

 built. 



My first visit this year at Chilwell was on the 24th of June, 

 when, owing to the exceeding drought, the Geraninms had not 

 sufficiently recovered their planting-out. Among the seedlings 

 sent out by Mr. Pearson in 1870, I consider the best to be 

 William Thompson (an improvement on Bayard), Thomas 

 Speed, and Douglas Pearson (also an improvement on Biyard). 

 Of these three Thomas Speed is the darkest, a crimson ; and 

 Douglas Pearson the brightest, a scarlet crimson. Duke of Port- 

 land and Duke of Devonshire are more of the true Zonal, and 

 likely to be very good for pot culture. E. J. Lowe is a very 

 fine rose pink, with large pip and truss, which may prove too 

 strong for bedding. Lawrence Heywood is a pecoliar shade 

 when bedded, lilac rose, with a fine head oJ flowers, though 

 rather weak in the flower stalk — in fact, I think the chief fault 

 of the Geraniums sent out by Mr. Pearson in 1870 is, that the 

 trusses are too large for the stalks, having too much of the 

 Black Dwarf strain. This fault is remedied in seedlings of 

 1870, which will most probably be sent out in 1872, as he has 

 several very valuable strains from Violet Hill, one of which (he 

 has named it Miss Eose Peach), will, if it turn out as well as it 

 promises, give us one of the desiderata, a dwarf pink bedder. 

 Another, a lilac seedling, called Mrs. Eeynolds Hole, is also of 

 great promise. He has also several fine seedlings of 1870, of 

 the Bayard strain, with stiffer flower stalks ; but of these I 



hope to give a further account next summer, and I hope, as the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Show is so near Nottingham, that we shall 

 see some of his seedlings there. It was still more difficult to . 

 test the 1869 seedlings, the best of which had been saved and 

 worked-up for stock, and the dryness of the weather had pre- 

 vented them showing to their best. 



My second visit to Chilwell was on the 5th of August, when 1 

 looked through several hundreds, if not thousands, of seedUngs. 

 Several very good pinks and lilacs of the dwarf section had 

 bloomed since I had been there before. Many of them were 

 put aside for future trial, and almost any would be valuable as 

 bedders, the great difficulty being to select the best. 



The Tricolors had much improved, and one called Mr. W, 

 Sanday (after an old and valued friend of mine, an eminent 

 champion with Leicester sheep), is one of the most distinct 

 and striking among the Tricolors, as a bedder, that I have 

 seen as yet. Other very good ones were Mrs. Edge and Edi'b 

 Pearson. It was still difficult to judge of the 1869 seedlings 

 owing to the very trying summer, but where there are so many 

 seedlings to select from, and with the care which Mr. Pearson 

 personally gives to the selection, the public may safely try any 

 Geraniums, especially Zonal Nosegays, sent out from Chilwell^ 



The next nursery I visited in pursuit of new Geraninms was 

 Mr. W. Paul's, at Waltham Cross. Having gone up to London 

 to assist at the inauguration of the Metropolitan Floral Show,. 

 I went on September 7th to Waltham. I was very unlucky in 

 my day ; it began to pour just as I was starting, and owing tc 

 the causeway in the Strand being all pulled up for repairs, I 

 missed the train at Bishopsgate Street by a few seconds, the 

 door of the station being closed as I was paying the cabman, 

 and I had to wait for nearly two hours. When I got to Waltham 

 it still kept on a pouring rain, and I had to see the Geraniums 

 under an umbrella. It was, therefore, a great trial to them, 

 especially as there had been heavy rain several times during 

 the ten days previous, but the Geraniums bore the trial well. 

 Among the best were : — Bonfire, a fine scarlet crimson, largG 

 truss, dwarf habit, with good footstalk, apparently a very free 

 bloomer, and a very desirable sort. Eobinson Crusoe, magenta 

 crimson, with a flame on two top petals, a fine flower to look 

 close at, and good for pot culture. Titan, fine rose, but too 

 strong a grower to please me for bedding. Waltham Nosegay, 

 well known, much like Waltham Seedling, but with a plainer 

 leaf ; and while referring to Waltham Seedling I cannot refrain 

 from mentioning one of its most valuable qualities which is 

 too often lost sight of, the continuity of blooming. I have twa 

 letters from friends to whom I recommended it, saying it had 

 lasted longer with them than any other sort, and I have heard 

 since from Mr. Paul, that he has had the same testimony from 

 Mr. Moore and Mr. Gibson. The young ladies of Beulah 

 Cottage condemned it for its smallness of truss. I can only 

 say I have measured the trusses from 4 to 5 inches across, and 

 though I quite agree with the young ladies that one of the 

 greatest merits in a bedding Geranium is size of truss, still 

 freedom and constancy of bloom, with a good habit of footstalk 

 to show the bloom to advantage and stand weather, are more 

 valuable still, and in this Waltham Seedling and Violet Hill 

 are as yet unbeaten. 



But to return. The next marked in my note-book was Eain- 

 bow, something of the colour of the old Sutton's Perfection, but 

 a Nosegay ; then Vesta, a dwarf dark scarlet, very favourably 

 reported on in the Chiswick trials (first-class certificate). Next 

 came Comet, a fine orange scarlet, not quite orange enough, 

 but of a very striking colour and fine habit of growth, dwarf 

 and compact. A fine pure orange is still wanted. Evening 

 Star, a peculiar shade of soft rose, also dwarf. Boadicea, i ather 

 like Eobinson Crusoe, but not so dark in colour; likely to come 

 out well in autumn. Cyrus, an improvement on Glory of 

 Waltham, more dwarf and free-blooming. Lilac Eival, of 

 which I cannot recall the habit. Dante and Ptnelope, both 

 very good rose pinks, adapted for pot culture, but also good 

 for stronger beds or ribbon borders. Claude Lorraine, another 

 fine shade of magenta, likely to prove a good bedder. I had 

 not time to go through Mr. Paul's seedlings as I should have 

 liked, as I was due at Sawbridgeworth at 3.20 to see Mr. Eivers's 

 nurseries, and I had not time either to take special notes of 

 Ihe Tricolors or white-edged varieties, of which Mr. Paul has 

 so good examples in Avalanche and Wshham Bride. 



The next day I went to Stanstead Park to see Mr. Laing's 

 nurseries, and was more favoured in my weather. I especially 

 went to see his seedling Bronzes, but there were Nosegay 

 seedlings as good as the Bronzes. Several of them I have 

 already described, and they are known to many of your readers. 



