FlirtRUARY 12, I898. 



GARDENERS' 



MAGAZINE. 



I feel that, without a thorough knowledge of the surroundings of each case, such 

 estimates must be rather conjectural and hypothetical. 



The judicious marketing of the cress is an important problem, and needs much 

 attention and forethought. London claims the first consideration, as the largest 

 consumer, but the big towns in the provinces must be remembered. The probable 

 demand must be gauged as far as possible, or the markets would certainly be 

 glutted. The gathering and packing of the crop are mainly done by men, whilst 

 women take a part in tying up the bunches. In cutting the cress, the men in big 

 bo ts wade through the beds, having long; boards to stand on when the depth of 

 the w ater is abnormal or the bottom of the bed is treacherous. The use of boards 

 has also the advantage of pressing the roots of the plants into the soil, and 

 flatter ing down the stems and foliage under the water. Careful workmen are 

 most particular in selecting the forward stems, which should be gathered singly, 

 or, tt most, two or three sprigs at a time ; the more cautiously this is done, the 

 sooner the bed is ready to be culled again. The picked cress should be carried in 

 biskets or half-load baskets to the shed, where it is washed free from duck- weed or 

 any trivial impurity. Women t*ke up this department, and tie the cress up En 

 small bunches at about %d. per dozen, and skilled hands often earn 23. 6d. per 

 day. Raffia, the epidermis of the leaves of Raphia Ruffia, which reaches us from 

 Madagascar, via Mauritius, and also of Raphia taedigera, which comes from 

 Brazil, is now largely imported for tying purposes. The cost of the raffia ranges 

 from £40 to ^50 per ton. The cress, after tying, has to be packed in baskets 

 called flats, which contain about eighteen dozen bunches. The weight of a flat 

 varies according to the size of the bunches, which again depends on the season ; 

 some growers make them up about half a hundredweight in the flat, but there is 

 no uniform weight for all districts. 



t. 

 fa 



NSWERS. TO 



CORRESPONDENTS 



.lw T ™!c^ e M 6 l fc Villa *f e * n England.-S. C, Sefton : We believe that 

 the questionable honour of being the wettest village in England belongs to 

 Seathwaite, at the head of Borrowdale, in Cumberland, Writing from memory 



in^omeTearf ^ ^ C ° meS near * U P to one hundred^nd fifty 'nchS 



frait C l U e 8 e S iC w f t S da t h! nd . P f Gtash '- L - T'» Cookham : It is too late to dress the 

 b inches n thl h„t m,XtUrC eXCCp ^ ° n the trunk and bases of the stout 

 would "Sure n ° W .P° V™?™**- Unless put on carefully the mixture 



Ss!i; sStofsss* 11 13 not likely to actual,y kni iLn,ess iarge 



Zonal Pelargoniu 



erowzonal ne1 a ranmn^rfl'~ F '- B '' L South Cro y don : You should be able to 

 SJtoZSWJ -r €Il f a thC a / tUmn and winter in the structure you 

 early auE I IZ« P * fnUB ? f ° r their activation during summer and 

 you S?t will bilLZ VCr} ; hea . Vy dmD *** wi "ter in the locality in which 

 ki^wffL^ Plants for winter flowing, as 



the^rar^LlTd^'Tht fc^'/? ^ ^ fi ' 5t " ate ^san- 

 following: Mn lohnShri^ J°% Se - nd ' x Ut >'° U mi S ht very well try the 

 Mo*. (?. Biron Arona SSif 8 ' ^S^SS*^' Baron A ' ^ Rothschild, 

 the set, and should onlv £ J 5* u Wond «- These are the best of 



exhibition varied andthe h° I y ° U *T e made sure of the '«ding 



the past season ' ^ ° l the neW 0nes desc »bed in our columns during 



Water 



W. II., Leeds: There are several ways of making 



A " tobacco 



tobarrn u,^», r 7-.T" ' ^^os : mere are 



tender plant of Mlec^» ^ u° 1 Ty the mixture with ^me moderately 



'his be not don i te^^ " 5" ° f the tobacco is known - If 



hy steeping four ounce Tof cofri ,? lantS / A g° od mixture » made 



stirring it occasionally t her > tV» ? * ^ ° { J° h Water fo1 sev «al days, 



water ?n which tlo or three n fn ^VT* and add to it half a gallon of ho 



good mixture for dinriL ° f ^ S ° ap haS been di ^olved. This is a 



Plants one m Co^h a ewh C o./' This ardisia » • Chinese 



^eds. It is dwarf and has v«v Lh ^7 V * reatment *™ A. crenulata 



as do the berries. The latter iJf T ^u h attracts as much attention 



'he same ^^ta^ STSe^ /JT^ ^ do ^ show themselves to 

 A. maniillata is easily croW n fn fL ^ 1*£ ^J 1 ^ 11 Mexican A - crenulata. 

 ^rlier stages. 1 he gen US araUi, tlT' ^ * kept near the S lass in " 



ar*» ~ - * . ^ B cnu S araiSia IS bv no mpans; crv>o1l a r^. 



There 



D - Ihe aennc *.a- • • u ' uul " 1UU1U uc Ke pt near the g, 

 ffe a considerable nfXr ^ 15 7 n ° meanS S °r Sma11 as y° u su PP ose - There 



"amamelis virg ; nica . J g ^ St^fa. , I, Daphne Mezereum ; 2 , 



3, Pellet ^ corda a- ^ n um „. concin " un ? Iftum ; 2, A. cuneatum Le 

 Hardens ^ D . Mooreana ' 4 ' aVa " ,a P enta P h y 1Ia 5 5, D. pallida, known in 



_ \ C.',' Tmol'pofylal^?^ 3 ^ sa . rm ^ ntosa 5 ^ Cyperus alternifolius. 

 •^nt, but if y ou w4 f f; rr a 13 ^^^^ name of the specimen 

 R»andiflora. ° be u P"to-date you should label it Polygala myrtifolia 



B -L. T.-M. H. W.-1 T . J W T J " A ' J ' _W - W,_ 



!05 



Royal H 



Soc 



F 



8. 



chemist 



thousand 

 . re vent a 

 soon be a decrease 



Jw/j C , P y u hat u et the S aze of the numerous visitors to the Drill Hall on the 

 £? hPrJ ^ ^ ^J*™ ™* welcome. The last few days had £etT^M 



summer hiW beaUty ; r ° S6? ' t0 °' ^ eminded us ° S 



fr«T^ ^ r ^ids of varied hues delighted fhe senses of sight and smell while 



runs made many long to exercise their sense of taste. It was a first-me d£k? 

 throughout, and also a large one. Novelties were not over plentiful, bul Lt mlnl 

 of these successfully passed the examination of the committees. Y 



x , , Floral Committee. 



number of e*h \iut . Work , d ^ 0,ved "Pon his committee, as there was a considerable 



merited I r^i g o- { °7* rd ' th ° Ugh n ° ne Save An *urium Dr. Laurence 

 mented a certificate Primulas, ferns, early spring fbwers, camellias, and 



euonymuses were the leading features. 



A charming exhibit was the large group of freesias that came from Mr. 



we°«^dffil^ r 10 H Maj ° r , l t J 10 "' IL C Le ^> Slough; the specimens 

 were beautifully flowered, and the flagrant blooms were of the purest whiteness. 



Mr. George Mount Canterbury, staged two dozen particularly handsome and 

 fragrant flowers of Catherine Mermet rose ; ' 

 remarkably large and substantial. 



for the season these blooms were 



^ f- j • r r ^ „ Messrs. R. and G. Cuthbert, Southgate, had an 



attractive display of bulbous plants ; the straw-coloured Roman hyacinths showed 

 up well amid a collection of crocu.es in all shades of blue, purple, cream, and 

 white, but no ye low ones; Scilla siberica and ils white variety were freely 

 flowered. A handsome bank of primulas came from Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons, 

 Chelsea ; these were all finely developed specimens, and the varieties were very 

 distinct; Chelsea Rose, Fringed Red, Veitch's Salmon, Gigantic Rose, and 

 Ghelsea Crimson all attracted attention by reason of the s?ze of the flowers and 

 trusses and the beauty of the colouring ; the Star primula, and numerous double 

 torms, including the handsome and rich Double Crimson and Double Salmon, 

 were staged amid other varieties ; baskets of blue primroses flanked the other 

 primulas. Mr. J. Russell, Richmond, sent large baskets of the beautiful and early 

 flowering mezereons, staging Daphne Mezereum fl jre-alba, and D. M. atro-rubra, 

 the latter very fine indeed. 



If anything could induce horticulturists to again take up the culture of camellias 

 on a large scale it should be the grand exhibits that Messrs. W. Paul and Son, 

 Waltham Cross, frequently stage at the Drill I tail early in the year. On this 

 occasion, the clean handsome foliage on the shapely specimens, and the fine bjld 

 flowers in all shades of red and rose and white could not fail to draw attention. 

 It is needless to particularise the varieties, but perhaps Marchioness of Exeter 

 was as attractive as any. Mr. John Russell, Richmond Nurseries, Richmond, 

 put up a splendid lot of euonymuses, a class of plants that needs bringing more 

 before the public ; there were numbers of neat examples of E. microphallus, E. 

 radicans Silver Gem, E. latifolius albo-marginatus,and standards of E. japonicus 

 ovata aurea, and E. j. ovata-alba ; the bright shining foliage and clear colours 

 were most attractive. Messrs. J. Peed and Sons, Norwood, put up a collection of 

 forced plants, staging lily of the valley, lilacs, genistas, daffodils, &c, with 

 cyclamens, begonias, Saint paulia ionantha, and a few cypripediums and cinerarias. 



Messrs. J. Hill and Son, Lower Edmonton, made up a pretty and interesting 

 exhibit of" ferns, showing large specimens of Davallia hirta cristata, Asplenium 

 Nidus-avis, Adiantum Farleyense, Nephrolepis davallioides furcans, Davallia 

 Tyermanni, &c. ; in front of these were staged baskets of smaller plants of such 

 interesting subjects as Pteris longifolia Manesi, Gymnogramma peruviana argyro- 

 phylla, Adiantum rhodophyllum, A. concinnum, Cheilanthes elegans and C. hirta 

 Ellisiana, Pteris serulata gracile, &c. ; Lygodium scandens was not the least 

 interesting plant in this group of ferns. An extensive exhibit of primulas from 

 Messrs. EL Cannell and Sons, Swanley, attracted a deal of attention and was 

 greatly admired. The Star primula occupied a prominent position, as did 

 Lady Whitehead, a new cross from it. All the plants were splendidly flowered, 

 and the several trusses made up fine pyramids ot bloom ; Lady Marsham. white ; 

 Mrs. R. Cannell, white and orange ; Swanley Giant, deep purplish red ; Cannell s 

 Pink, and Cannell's Red, and Victory, a fine purple, were among the best. 



Some glorious branches of Bougainvillea spectabilis shown by Mr. W. B. 

 Camm, gardener to the Duchess of Cleveland, Battle Abbey, were admired as 

 much as anything in the show, the flowers being crowded on the growth, and of 

 the richest colour ; Bignonia venusta, from the same source, was also finely repre- 

 sented. Two baskets of flowering sprays of Amygdalus Davidiana alba came from 

 Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons, Chelsea. Spring flowers from Mr. T. S. Ware, 

 Tottenham, were greatly appreciated ; daffodils in pots, especially Henry Irving 

 and Golden Spur, were very fine; irises were represented by I. reticulata in pots 

 and pans, L stylosa, and I. histriodes ; crocuses, scillas, hellebores, saxifragas, 

 Primula denticulata, a tiny plant of Adonis amurensis, Leucojum carpaticum, 

 Anemone pulsatilla, and some blue primroses combined to make up a beautiful and 

 very interesting collection. Messrs. Paul and Son, Cheshunt, sent branches of 

 Alnus erutinosa aurea. bearing an abundance of male catkins, Helleborus 



Pulmonaria 



glutinosa aurea, 



colchicus in variety, H. orientaiis, H. lutescens, Cyclamen coum, 



" " were all well represented ; the hellebores 



medicine venders. — [Advt.J 



azurea, and Saxifraga lutea purpurea 



were specially attractive. A Lig bunch of anthurium spathes, the variety, Dr. 

 Lawrence, with spathes seven inches by eight inches and of a salmon-pink shade ; 

 the tip of the spadix yellow ; leaves very large, was shown by Mr. Bain, gardener 



to Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart. 



Messrs. R. Veitch and Sons, Exeter, sent two flowers of Magnolia Campbelli 

 that opened in the open air at Exeter. Messrs. R. Wallace and Co., Colchester, 

 sent some pots of Iris reticulata, L r. Krelagi, I. histroides, and the charming L 

 histrio. A very fine soft scarlet single pelargonium was submitted by Mr. R, 

 Parker, Goodwood Gardens, Chichester, but failed to gain an award though both 

 pips and trusses were large and shapely. Crinum zemensis with two spikes of 

 white flowers came from the Rev. W. Shirley, Kareham. 



Orchid Committee. 



Dendrobiums and cypripediums formed the bulk of the orchid display on this 

 occasion. Both trade growers and amateurs were fairly well represented for thus 

 early in the season. 



From Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons, Chelsea, came a pretty group of orchids, 

 dendrobiums making up the bulk of the exhibits ; D. Cordelia flavescens, D. 

 euosmum, D. Endocharis, D. Schneiderianum, D. Domini, D. aureum, and D. 

 crassinode, made a charming display, and among them also contributed a 

 delightful fragrance ; cypripediums well shown were C. Godseffianum, C. 

 Adrastus — the fine hybrid between C. Leeanum and C. villosum Boxalli — C. 

 Creon, and C. Lathamianum, the latter carrying ten very fine flowers. Epiden- 

 drum O'Brienianum, Cirrhopetalum picturatum, and Platyclinis glumacea valida, 

 were other interesting orchids shown by the Chelsea firm. Messrs. II. Low ami 

 Co.'s contribution included several good forms of Odontoglossum crispum, Lcelia 

 cinnabarina, L. anceps alba, Cypripedlum Preweti, a new hybrid having C. 

 villosum as one parent ; Cattlcya Triana> plumosa, a very pretty form with rich, 

 violet purple tips to the petals ; Dendrobium nobile Ballianum, a white variety ; 



