nORTlCULTL'KAL TEOGRESS DUIilNG THE 19th CENTURY. 3'29 
ago ^[essrs. Daniels, of Norwich, staged 500 dishes at a London show, 
mostly distinct. Speaking of Potatos, I feel that I must here mention the 
name of Mr. Robt. Fenn, who has during a long life devoted much skill 
and energy to the raising of new varieties. 
In the families of Peas and Beans as great an advance is evident, and 
whereas our forefathers were astonished at the size and productiveness of 
' Daniel O'Rourke,' and when to get a pod with five or six Peas in it was 
the exception, now we know it is a common announcement in our 
seedsmen's lists to read of " pods fully G in. long, containing eight to ten 
fine Peas of splendid flavour." The introduction of the dwarf early 
varieties of garden Peas is an inestimable boon, especially to amateurs 
and those whose space is limited. With Beans, again, the same remarks 
in great measure hold good, although many of the varieties grown in the 
early years of the century are still in commerce. Yet an advance is 
evident, as we now get Beans of the Broad section with pods 12-15 in. 
long and well filled. The introduction of the Climbing French Bean is 
also an immense advantage, and this class is very rapidly becoming 
popular. Iq reference to Peas and Beans what should now be aimed at 
is, I think, not so much length of pod as quality of the contents, for 1 am 
sure you will agree with me that many recent introductions need more 
body. 
Then in the Brassicas we have gone vastly ahead of our forefathers. 
In the early years of this century, a Cauliflower with a head thirty-six 
or thirty-eight inches in circumference, of perfect quality, was unheard 
of ; but it is by no means unusual to meet with them to-day. Indeed 
the Cauliflowers and Cabbages are assuming such giant proportions 
that our cooks are often at a loss to boil the giant heads whole. But 
this I do not look upon as altogether an advantage ; and it is, I think, 
now acknowledged by all the largest market growers as well as by 
private gardeners that what is wanted is a medium-sized sample, but of 
first-rate quahty. And this applies to other things than Cauliflowers. 
Though strictly speaking a fruit, it seems more fitting to include the 
Tomato among the vegetables, and it is of course patent to all what a 
tremendous leap into popularity the Tomato has taken, and that even in 
our own time. Anyone who has numbered fifty years could tell us of 
the time when it would have been useless to show a dozen baskets in the 
market, as the public had not then acquired the taste for them, and I 
myself remember when they were first produced in quantity. But what 
a change has come over the scene ! I am informed by a large producer 
that no less than ten tons of Tomatos are sold every week in the season 
in Norwich alone, and the quantity disposed of in the large industrial 
centres of the kingdom must total up to hundreds of tons a week during 
the season. I find that in 1852 one of the largest wholesale seedsmen 
in this country quoted only one variety, called the ' Red Love Apple, or 
Tomato,' and now almost every gardener and all nurserymen possess a 
variety of their own, which of course is always " the best in cultivation." 
And the growing of Tomatos has now assumed such proportions — in 
spite of the " Disease " of which we have heard so much during the past 
season — that the railway companies have in some instances been obliged 
to put in special sidings to provide further transport. 
