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THE GARDENERS MAGAZINE 



&98 



medallist at the Co-operative Show, Crystal Palace, in 1897; the lattei 

 has been the winner of four silver and one bronze medal and about 

 thirty firsts for runner-beans ; his total successes at Oxford and elsewhere 

 amounting to fully five hundred k and fifty prizes for horticultural subjects, m- 

 cl^dmg a large percentage of chrysanthemums. The photograph from 

 which the accompanying illustration was made was taken after Mr Green 

 had gathered his special dishes for the Crystal Palace Show in August, 

 1807? and an examination of the clusters of pods will reveal the fact that 

 several of them contained nine beans each ; a portion of the leafage had 

 been cut away to show up the heavy-laden vines. Mr. Green s mode of 

 treatment is as follows : Prepare a trench as for celery, fifteen inches 

 deep • lay in nine inches of fat manure, and cover with four inches of soil ; 

 plant on May 1, fifteen inches apart, and stake at the same time with a 

 stout rod ; when the beans begin to grow freely water with liquid manure 

 occasionally ; eventually thinning the pods judiciously. He has named 

 his strain Excelsior, and claims that it is a cross between Ne Plus Ultra 



and Girtford Giant. 



With reference to the cottagers (i.e., farm or day labourers), the most 

 successful have been Mr. Barnard West, of Nuneham Courtenay, and Mr. 

 ames Simmons, of Kirtlington, the latter having been engaged in grow- 

 ng and selecting a strain for nearly thirty years, his first seed having 

 come from a Mr. Webb, basket maker, of Bicester, a known expert in 

 bean culture. From the above remarks it will be inferred that Oxford- 

 shire is well represented by both onion and runner-bean cultivators ; but 

 all the other sections of vegetables are equally well grown, though there 

 has not been quite so much enthusiasm displayed in these as in the two 

 classes named. ' _ 



Oxford. w - Green a way. 



The Cabbage. 



It is said that in some parts of the country the crops of cabbage are so 



numerous and heavy, probably owing mainly to the mild winter, that 



many acres are being ploughed in as manure, because they do not prove 



sufficiently remunerative to market. And yet, although the cabbage has 



been described by a high authority as " by far the most precious 



vegetable we have, eaten young, in the right season, and well cooked ; " 



those who are accustomed to dine in public places find out that in hotels 



and restaurants " cabbage as served up is frequently a disgusting mess, 



heavily charged with soda." M. Henri Vilmorin informs us th it the best 



cookery of cabbages may frequently be observed among cottagers and 



servants brought up in country cottages ; and he mentions the case of a 



duke with one of the finest gardens in England, bringing from London a 



specimen of some cabbage that he had relished, thinking the attraction 



was in the variety. And yet there is no lack of good cabbage, and the 



names of varieties are numerous. One catalogue gives as many as over 



fifty names, but many of them must be synonyms, as it is well known that 



a popular type of cabbage, as of some other vegetables, is grown under 



different names in certain districts of the country. But there are several 

 distinct types, varying so much as to suggest an origin from different 

 species ; and yet they are the varied offspring from a common parent in 

 the distant past. Between an ordinary white cabbage and a highly 

 develoj>ed cauliflower there appears to be a very wide and almost bridge- 

 less gulf of separation, and yet one is simply a development from the 

 other. M. H. Vilmorin, in the "Vegetable Garden," alludes to the 

 different sections of cabbages as differing perceptibly from one another 

 in the size of the seed, the Borecoles and Kohl Rabi producing the 

 largest seed ; next to these the ordinary round-headed varieties, and the 

 Swedish turnip ; and lastly, the cauliflowers and broccoli, which have 

 the smallest seeds of all. 



The importance of the cabbage as a cooked vegetable is shown from 

 the extensive way in which it is cultivated. Time was when at Fulham, 

 Wandsworth, Deptford, and other suburbs of London great areas of 

 cabbage were grown, but the growth of population has operated to drive 

 the cabbage gardens farther and farther afield, and now parts of Essex 

 and Kent are given over to cabbage culture. Cabbages are sown at two 

 seasons of the year— in spring and in late summer and autumn. April 

 is the month for the spring sowings, and the last week in July *i.d the 

 first in October that made in what is known as the autum 1. Cultivators 

 tell us that the true character of a cabbage is best shown 1 1 the case of 

 plants raised from spring sowings, the contrary being that if there are 

 defects in a stock of a certain variety the act of sowing in the autumn 

 will bring them out in the spring, when the plants are fully developed. 

 Bolting is a freak in cabbages, and most gardeners have had experience 

 of it. It occurs much more in spring than in autumn, the result being 

 that, instead of forming a good, solid heart, the plant throws up an in- 

 florescence, and is thereby prematurely matured. To save seed from 

 such is bad practice, because there is reason to believe the tendency to 

 bolt will be developed in the progeny. Fine and uniform stocks of 

 cabbage can be maintained only by the most rigid selection of perfect 

 plants tor the purpose. The several seed firms who possess some very 

 fine selections of cabbages assert that the most painstaking selection has 

 produced stocks which are bolting-proof, and they point to yearly trials 

 of their particular varieties, raised from seed sown both in spring and 

 autumn, as affording abundant proof of the correctness of their conten- 

 tion. I he time at which the seeds are sown, and especially so in the 



^ aS K°Ki S T ngS m , ade m Au gust, ^ something to do with bolting, and 

 probably the incidence of the season. This tendency can be conquered 



Si fh gC " 55 by / Carcful selection of Plants to produce seeds, and 



R* D. 



M 



Lodge, West Ke 



Mornington Lodge is, indeed, a veritable London garden, surround A 

 as it is with buildings, and almost under the shadow of the "Big Whe \» 

 It is the residence of Colonel Mount Batten, who succeeded to^h 

 collection of plants in general, and the orchids in particular, as left bv th' 

 late Mr. Nalder, an erstwhile enthusiastic orchid amateur, who lent his 

 name to a very fine variety of Cattleya Mossiae, pronounced by the hll 

 Professor Reichenbach as "an astonishing beauty." A full description 

 of this exceptional lorm is yiven in the sixth edition 

 "Williams' Orchid Manual" as having a general colour of a peculiar 

 rose-purple, with a slight greyish hue ; the sepals and petals are of 

 a much darker purple, which in the sepals becomes a border and 

 in the petals is a quite distinct marking. There are two similar' dark 

 bands converging before the apex, leaving a purple-rosy disc, and a 

 similar margin at nearly equal distances. Though described so long ago 



of 



and the collection has passed through severe vicissitudes, it is gratifying 

 to find that there are three portions of the original plant still in 

 existence here. The orchids here are contained in four divisions, mostly 

 grown in conjunction with other plants, and in particular instances their 

 healthy condition aptly proves the wisdom of such a course of treatment 

 A small, low structure, which at some more or less remote date was 

 evidently used for the more plebeian cultivation of cucumbers, see^ 

 well adapted to the needs of the more popular kinds of dendrobiums, such 

 as D. nobile, D. Wardianum, D. fimbriatum, D. densiflorum, D. Parishi, 

 D. chrysotoxum, particularly fine being some plants of D. aggregatum and 

 D. primulinum and D. giganteum. Here also had been grown, but since 

 removed to a more effective show house, a grand batch of a truly fine 

 form of Thunia Marshalli^. I counted sixteen large pots with several 

 growths in each, all of which were carrying grand heads of gracefully 

 disposed white and orange-yellow flowers. 



The main glass structure is a large span, with a lantern roof running 

 north and south, about one hundred feet long, divided into three com- 

 partments. The first contains, besides orchids, a general collection of 

 stove plants, with climbers such as Cissus discolor and Clerodendron 

 Balfouriana on the roof. On the east side stage is the main collection 

 of the ever popular Slipper orchids, those in flower at the time of my 

 visit being the distinct Cypripedium Druryi, several plants of C. Roths- 

 childianum, C. Stonei, C. Lawrenceanum, &c. ; also present are good 

 plants of C. Leeanum, C. laevigatum, C. Schlimi, C. sedeni, and a 

 wonderful specimen of C. Sanderianum with half a dozen growths, and 

 evidence of having flowered recently. Suspended overhead are some 

 useful examples of Cattleya aurea and C. gigas. Amongst the stove 

 plants on the central stage are suspended several plants of the 

 Garland Orchid, Ccelogyne Dayanum grandis, each with three or four 

 spikes of their peculiar biscuit-coloured flowers. High up in the roof 

 are some healthy plants of aerides, vandas, and saccolabiums, whose 

 roots drop down almost to the floor. Noteworthy plants are Vanaa 

 Denisoniana, with two spikes, V. Cathcarti, V. Sanderiana, Aerides 

 expansum Leone, and Saccolabium Blumei majus. There is also a large 

 plant of Angraecum eburneum, five feet high, and others of this peculiar 

 flowering genus, such as A. sesquipedale. On a shelf are batches of 

 Calanthe Veitchi, and C.vestita, orchids not worth growing near London 

 on account of their extreme susceptibility to the injurious effects of fog. In 

 the middle compartment are grown, on the west side, a varied assort- 

 ment of Cattleyas and La?lias, a fine, dark, shapely form of C. Mosskc 

 superba standing out conspicuously from the rest. Special examples are a 

 grand specimen of Lidia elegans, belonging to the M Turneri " section, 

 L. autumnalis alba, Cattleya Eldorado, C. Wallisi, and C. labiata. 



Suspended above are good specimens of Odontoglossum ci y? sn * um 

 their long drooping spikes of bloom emitting a delightful odour, and healthy 

 plants of O. hastilabum. Here also are several large specimens of Uen- 

 drobium Kingianum album, which is said to be rare, and has longer bulbs 

 than the type. In a corner is a group of the useful winter-flowering 

 Ccelogyne cristata and Lemoniana, now preparing for next season s dis- 

 play. The centre stage of this house is filled with palms, ferns, ana 

 specimen Cypripedium barbatum. The stage on the east side is partly 

 taken up with C. insigne, C. villosum,and C. Boxalli, Miltonia vexillaria--in 

 flower, good plants of If. Clowesi, a fine piece of the old Zygopeta urn 

 Mackayi, several species of ccelogyne, amongst which is a grand piam 

 of C. Massangiana, that recently carried sixteen spikes of bloom, in 

 flower was the pretty orange-scarlet Cochlioda Noezhana and U rosea, 

 Lycaste Deppei, L. aromatica var, and Anguloa Clowesi. I he tniru 

 section contains a mixture of camellias, fuchsias, liliums, and ° rc ™" 3 ' 

 These are on the western side, and comprise a goodly number ot uaoniu 

 glossum crispum, O. Pescatorei, and others. I noted O. lutco-purpurcum, 

 with two spikes, O. cordatum, large plants of Trichopiha fragrant, ai 

 several good pans of clean-leaved Pleione lagenaria. 1 he °* cnx ™ d 

 now in the hands of Mr. T. A. Hooker, who, with his Clare Lawn a 

 Blenheim Palace experience, may be depended upon to maintain 

 collection in the best possible condition. - . t An A a 



Besides orchids, Mr. Hooker has two vineries to think about, aw 



conservatory to decorate, though the latter, being of the oia "^ dodcn . 

 stamp, in which numerous plants,, .such as palms, tree ferns, rno 

 drons, and climbers, find a permanent home, but few ^f^P^ 

 are needed to give it a gay appearance. Colonel Mount Batten is J 

 proud of his fine batch of gloxinias, of which ^thcrc ^ 



hundreds, numerous examples being in sixteen-sized pots, wlth , Hcr 

 flowers and sturdy green leaves. The pure white variety DM}^ 

 Majesty is represented also by large specimens 



/arieiy - - 

 just out of flower 



luo J« l ) 13 icpicscruea also bv large bpeLimcua. , t flowers 



was a fine batch of Gesnera coralina, its brilliant orfngt-sc^^ ^ 

 and large green leaves making a very striking display, inc 1 . ^ 

 are also representative, many rare forms of adiantum * _ 



variegated form of A. cuneatum struck me as being part'cuia W ^ 



