496 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



I December 19, 18?2. 



reach the size and grandeur of our subject. — {New Zealand 

 Illustrated Paper.) 



[The Arauearia escelsa, formerly described by Lambert under 

 the name of Dombeya excelsa, is a native of New Caledonia, and 

 was discovered there by Captain Cook on the occasion of his 

 second voyage. He saw it growing at the extremity of Queen 

 Charlotte's Foreland, and in some off-lying islands, one of 

 which was so thickly covered with it as to be named by the 

 navigators " The Isle of Pines." One specimen is mentioned 

 by him which was 120 feet in height and 11 in diameter, 

 but there were others that had a much greater altitude. Cook 

 seems to have thought the loftiness of their stems and the 

 length of their branches, as well as the nature of the wood, 

 which, he says, was close and tough, qualified them for making 

 good masts and spars. Captain Hunter, however, who sub- 

 sequently visited the region, was of a different opinion. He 

 describes the wood as being exceedingly heavy, spongy, and 

 short in the grain, and only fit for building purposes. The 

 trees themselves were often very defective, for in obtaining 

 seven spars he was obliged to cut down thirty-four of them, 

 out of which twenty-seven were useless. Lieutenant King 

 corroborates this statement of the badness of the wood, and 

 also says that the turpentine coming from thern was in- 

 applicable for marine purposes. When the trees grow old 

 enough to bear fruit, the young loosely imbricated leaves fall 

 oli, and are replaced by much smaller and more closely ap- 

 pressed ones, which give the whole plant an almost different 

 appearance. It was introduced into this country by Sir -Joseph 

 Banks in 1793.— Ens.] 



THE EMERALD GEM PEA. 



Messrs. Sutton, of Reading, have forwarded us the follow- 

 ing letter : — 



Royal Berks Seed Establishment, Dee. 10, 1872. 

 Mr. A. F. Barron. 

 Beau Sih, — We are in receipt of your letter, informing us that you are 

 requested by the Fruit and Vegetable Committee of the Eoyal Horticultural 

 Society, to ask us whether the names " Suttons' No. 1 Green/' and " Suttons' 

 First of All," refer to the Pea we are offering for sale as Suttons' Emerald 

 Gem. 



As we had already informed you in our letter of November 20th, and as 

 we have also stated in our advertisements repeatedly in the horticultural 

 papers, that they do refer to the same Pea, the Committee cannot need any 

 repetition of this statement for the sake of information; we conclude, there- 

 fore, that that body has been urged by certain of its members to write a 

 letter, which should imply that we were influenced by some unworthy motives 

 in adopting the present name. 



"We therefore assert distinctly that no other object ever entered our. minds 

 than that of giving the Pea a name suited at once to its earliness and to its 

 peculiar green colour. 



If it is sought to be inferred that the name was changed because no Cer- 

 tificate was awarded to it, we deny positively that this had any consideration 

 with us. Indeed, although we have introduced many new Peas and other 

 vegetables to the public on our own responsibility, we have never asked for a 

 Certificate for any Pea from the Koyal Horticultural Society's Fruit and Vege- 

 table Committee, as we find it quite unnecessary for the successful conduct 

 of our trade, our own trial ground being most efficient for our own guidance, 

 and our own recommendation being accepted as quite sufficient for our own 

 customers. 



In the present case it must be obvious that we could not have expected that 

 Committee to judge of a Pea from a few plants sent in a pot, which were, 

 indeed, only sent as a curiosity on account of their peculiarity of colour, 

 which colour we had not seen since the days of the old Danecroft Rival, which 

 we believe has long been extinct. 



We have, as you know, been requested to send "novelties" for trial at 

 Chiswick, and this year we sent a small sample of this Pea to you, as we did 

 also to a few of the leading horticulturists in this country and abroad. 



Not considering it of any importance to fix on the permanent name until 

 we offered it for sale, we sent it to you under a provisional name familial - to 

 us during our trials — viz. ," No. 1, Green." When a few growing plants in a pot 

 were sent to the Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Kensington, they 

 were labelled '• Suttons' First of All," believing at that time it would prove 

 even earlier than our " Ringleader," as, indeed, is still the opinion of several 

 of our correspondents. From others, however, we had results of trials in 

 which it was stated that it came in the same time as Ringleader, and there- 

 fore we felt it might be better to give a name which would be merely de- 

 scriptive of the characteristic colour, and accordingly named it " Emerald 

 Gem." It is under this name alone that it has been offered for sale. 



Our letter to you of November 20, and our advertisements in the gardening 

 papers, render it impossible that the London seedsmen belonging to the 

 Royal Horticultural Society's Fruit and Vegetable Committee could be in any 

 doubt as to what the Pea was which they were purchasing. 



As soon, however, as we found that au attempt was being made to shake 

 tho confidence of the public in our new Pea, we caused a circular letter to be 

 Bent to every customer in this country who had ordered the Pea, calling at- 

 tention to these adverse statements, and offering to cancel then- order if they 

 desired it. The result was, that only one of the whole number did-so, whilst 

 two of the oldest and largest houses in the London seed trade (not members 

 of the Committee), replied as follows (and others to similar effect) : — 



" Dec. 2, 1872. — We telegraphed you to-day, iu reply to your letter of the 

 29th ult., about the Emerald Gem Pea. We do not pay much attention to 

 the nonsense that is written about new seeds in the paper, but prefer taking 

 our own opinion — we certainly wish to havo all we ordered/' 



" Nov. 30, 1872. — In reply to your letter to hand this morning, we beg to 

 say we have no desire whatever to cancel tho order given to you for Emerald 

 Gem Peas, and we have every faith in all the novelties you send out." 



If the members of the seed trade on the Fruit and Vegetable Committee 

 included, as formerly, only wholesale merchants, probably no exception need 

 be taken to the arrangement. 



It has been kindly suggested by several Fellows of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society that a member of our firm should join this Committee in self-defence, 

 but we prefer not thus to sanction and help to perpetuate the practice of 

 seedsmen awarding Certificates of Merit to each other's novelties. 



We should have publicly remonstrated some weeks since as to what ap- 

 peared to be a deeply- laid scheme to -injure our reputation, but we then felt 

 that the matter would soon show itself to the public in its truo light, and 

 that those members of the Committee who saw they had for a time been 

 misled, would have been able to prevent our being called upon to vindicato 

 our conduct in this matter. 



You are aware that last spring you received two samples of Peas for trial, 

 which both showed the same peculiar green-coloured haulm and pods ; the 

 one sample was sent by us, the other by Mr. Laxton. 



We know that our own Pea, after carefully watching it in our own grounds 

 for the several years required for getting-up a stock, has proved itself as early 

 as any of the earliest Peas, and eight or ten days earlier than " Emperor." 

 We need not remind you that the last time "Danecroft Rival " was sown at 

 Chiswick, in the year 1860, it was represented in the " Transactions " of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society as coming-in the same day as Emperor and 

 several other Peas, now classed as second early, and about a week later than 

 Dillistone's, which was placed alone at head of Synopsis; this quite coincides 

 with our own experience. Yet it is this Pea, " Danecroft Rival," which it is 

 now sought to be set forth as synonymous with our Emerald Gem. 



We could not undertake to speak for the sample sent by Mr. Laxton ; but 

 we may state that in September last that gentleman wrote us that with him 

 his Pea, called by him'" Danecroft Early," came " slightly earlier than most 

 of the modem early sorts," and "that it was not the same as 'Danecroft 

 Rival," " which " is a much later Pea;" and he says, also, that he had written 

 to Chiswick to the same effect. Mr. Laxton now writes, under date of Decem- 

 ber 6 th, the opinion of his man to the contrary, which, he kindly tells .us, he 

 has also forwarded to the Committee. 



If Mr, Laxton's own opinion is correct, it would seem that he has a Pea as 

 forward as ours, of the same peculiar colour (which is quite possible); but we 

 have not seen it, nor did we hear of it till now, whereas our own has been 

 grown during the last five years on our own trial farm, from a very small 

 quantity purchased from the raiser in 1888, after the first year's trial ; but if 

 it is possible that Mr. Laxton has preserved a stock of the old " Danecroft 

 Rival," and sent a sample of the same to the Royal Horticultural Society, 

 Chiswick, as his man now thinks, then the Committee must have failed to 

 notice the fact that our Pea was forwarder than his, which oversight is 

 scarcely surprising if, as we believe, they inspected the Pea trials only once in 

 the whole season. 



We may remark that we find it absolutely necessary to personally examine 

 our Pea trials daily during the blooming and podding season. 



We do not for a moment impute either to Mr. Laxton or his man, or to the 

 Committee as a body, or to those engaged in the Pea trials, any desire to 

 act unfairly in this matter ; indeed, we are satisfied they would not do so ; 

 but it is impossible to ignore what is said of our Pea by those who had similar 

 samples sent at the same time as we forwarded the one to you at Chiswick. 



It is easy to decry what are called testimonials, but it is not so easy to 

 discredit the statements concerning this Pea made by those who are admitted 

 to be among the leading horticulturists of this and. other countries ; which 

 statements we have recently published in our advertisements. Some of these 

 authorities are doubtless personally known to you as being both good judges 

 of what a first early Pea should be, and also as quite incapable of mis- 

 representing one when they have tested it. 



We forbear to mention in this letter some additional facts which have come 



to our knowledge in connection with this subject, and we shall be glad if your 



forthcoming official report of " Trial of Peas " at Chiswick is such as to 



render it unnecessary for us to protest against it, or further to refer to this 



I subject. — Sutton & Sons. 



PEIMULA JAPONICA FROM SEED. 

 We have here a nice lot of plants in 60-sized pots, raised 

 from the seeds of a plant that flowered this spring. Tho 

 seed was sown as soon as ripe in a pan of sandy loam and peat, 

 and placed in a cool house with a piece of glass on the top of 

 the pan. The soil was kept moist until the seed began to 

 germinate, then the glass was removed. There were plants 

 in the rough leaf in seven weeks. The seed was sown in the 

 middle of June. The plants have now leaves from 2 to 

 3 inches long, with roots coming through the bottom of tho 

 pot. — H. Drover, Lower Grounds, Birmingham. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



In the tropical house at Kew a great many Anthuritois can 

 now be seen in flower. Conspicuous among them is A. acaule, 

 the spadix of which is about 8 inches long and of a light purple 

 colour. 



— - There may be seen in the kitchen garden of Mr. George 

 Bolster, Lower Searragh, near Mallow, a Pear tree in blossom 

 foe the third hme this year, the fruit being nearly ripe from 

 the second bloom. Although the late rains and high winds 

 have injured the bloom, it is not quite gone yet. 



The fine hairs which cover the shoots of the Bambtjsa 



Thouarsii are used by the Chinese to rid themselves of persons 

 obnoxious to them without exciting the suspicion of the law . 

 A few of them are taken and put into tho pocket handkerchief 

 o,f the victim, who, after inhaling them, becomes afflicted with 

 all the symptoms of a severe inflammation of the brain. This 

 rapidly increases, and the unfortunate sufferer at last expires, 

 after undergoing the most intense and unallayable tortures. 



