Jane 8, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
439 
Madame Chereav .—Standards and falls white, feathered and 
edged violet; very free-flowering. 
L Innocence .—Standards clear white, falls white veined purple 
and orange ; very fine. 
I ictorine .—Standards white blotched bluish purple, falls violet 
veined white ; good. 
. Poiteau .—Standards white tinged lavender, falls dark purple 
veined white ; fine large flower. 
Sir Garnet Wolscley .—Standards white flaked purple, falls crimson 
veined white ; supeib. 
Elavescens .—Standards and falls primrose ; large and fine. 
A urea .—Standards and falls deep yellow ; superb. 
. Chenedole .—Standards deep yellow ; falls pale yellow, veined 
cinuson, tinged purple. 
Mag??et.~Standards yellow, falls purple veined white. 
Matlhioli ,—Standards and falls yellow, veined crimson and white. 
Sylvia .—Standards deep yellow, falls velvety crimson veined 
ye low. 
, Darius .—Standards chrome vellow, falls purple margined yellow ; 
fine. 
Gracchus .—Standards lemon, falls pale yellow veined purple ; of 
compact growth and very free. 
Rebecca. — Standards bronze, falls crimson veined white and 
sa phur. 
Mozart .—Standards bronze, falls purplish ; large. 
Bnssuet .—Standards bronze, falls white veined purple ; fine. 
Madame Sontcig .—Standards lavender, falls violet feathered white. 
- Marianne .—Standards lavender, falls purple veioed white ; fine. 
Bridesmaid .—Standards lavender, falls white bordered lavender. 
Queen of May .—Standards rosy lilac, falls rosy lilac veined yellow. 
Cordelia .—Standards rosy lilac, falls purplish crimson margined 
white ; fine. 
Pallida dalmatica .—Standards lavender, falls lavender tinted 
purple. 
Madame Paquette .—Standards purplish red, falls rosy purple. 
Victor .—Standards purple-bronze, falls purple. 
Luricla .—Standards purplish bronze, falls deep purple ; scented. 
Atro-purpurea —Standards and falls purple ; free and early. 
Celeste .—Standards and falls blue or deep lavender, orange beard. 
Othello .—Standards and falls rich bluish purple ; fine.—G. Abbey. 
GRAPE-THINNING. 
Your correspondent “ T. A. B.” otters at page 380 a few hints to 
beginners on Grape-thinning, and so far as to getting a good set I quite 
agree with him ; but as regards his method of thinning, as well as some 
of his other remarks, I hold a different opinion. To begin with, 
*’T. A. B.” does not say what size his bunches are. Perhaps they are 
like some of the monsters we have seen at the International Shows held 
at Edinburgh and elsewhere within the last ten years. Supposing the 
bunches to be of large size they will require some tying, otherwise I 
consider tying inadvisable if the Grapes are grown for the table, or even 
for exhibition. Take for example two bunches that are growing side by 
side. Tie and thin one as recommended by your correspondent, thin the 
other without tying. When they are ripe cut both, place them either 
on a fruit dish or on a stand for showing, and mark the difference. I 
am certain that the one which was tied will fall flat—at least the 
shoulders will shift, damaging the bloom, which spoils the appearance 
of a bunch of Grapes, no matter how good it may be in other respects. 
The untied bunch will lie like a ball if it has been properly thinned. 
Thinning Grapes is a very important operation, and requires much 
experience before it can be satisfactorily accomplished. The operator 
should know the habit of the bunch to be thinned, such as the length of 
the pedicels or fruit stalks, the size of berry, &c. When the fruit stalks 
are long they require less thinning. A very good example is the Black 
Hamburgh and Lady Downe’s. The last-named needs more than double 
the thinning that the former requires. I consider a bunch has been 
properly thinned if after the berries are fully swelled they retain their 
places. 
Your correspondent next recommends tying a piece of twisted matting 
round the stem on the lower part of the bunch for moving it as required. 
I am at a loss to see how the bunch can be moved after it has been tied 
out first as he advises. A piece of stick 6 or 7 inches long, with one of 
the ends formed like the letter V, answers the purpose very well. 
“ T. A. B.” also says the berries should not touch one another. I fail to 
see how good Grapes can be grown without the berries touching each 
other. This he says is a certain way to produce scalding. Scalding, so 
far as my experience goes, takes place when the berries are stoning. At 
this stage of growth, if the vinery is kept quite cool and airy, Ihere is 
little danger of scalded berries. I have had a few damaged, owing to 
having too many varieties growing in one house, otherwise it can be 
prevented. I have seen them scalded on the very point of the berry. 
So ihat proves that the berries touching each oth-r is not the came as 
indicated by “ T. A. B.”—J. J. 
Gilbert's Late Queen Broccoli. —I notice in the Journal of 
Horticulture that my new white Broccoli is described as very much like 
Cattell’s Eclipse. This is an error, inasmuch as the latter has upright 
foliage and the head is yellow, or approaching to that colour, while the 
heads of my Late Queen are white and perfectly protected by its incurved 
foliage.— R. Gilbert. 
SPECIALITIES AT READING. 
The spring Exhibition at Reading invariably attracts many visitors 
to the town, a large proportion being gardeners or others connected with 
horticulture, and to these Messrs. Sutton & Sons’ seed grounds and 
nursery are equally as great an attraction as the Society's show. There 
is always one great feature at that time—namely, the Calceolarias; and 
this year was no exception to the rule, though the hot weather had brought 
them rather forward. Several houses were filled with healthy, sturdy, 
well-grown plants, and in one special show house a hank of flowers was 
formed which for brilliancy of colour and varied tints could not he sur¬ 
passed. It is surprising the number of shades that have been produced 
by close attention to crossing and intercrossing the different types ; and 
the markings have also been greatly varied, from the most delicate lacing 
to the heaviest solid blotches of colour, which stand out boldly upon 
yellow, cream, and wh te grounds. In some, too, there is a combination 
of spots with a regular netting, and in others the light grounds are 
replaced by a pale rosy crim-on colour, upon which the spots and lacing are 
strongly marked in a darker shade. The flowers, too, are of good size 
without being coarse, even, well-proportioned, and full, mostly in compact 
heads just above the foliage, so that they can be clearly seen. Very 
prominent amongst them was the handsome yellow self Cloth of Gold, 
which is wonderfully effective and true. Of the other colours the follow¬ 
ing will give some idea. Cream grounds with deep crimson spots and 
veins, rich crimson blotch, crimson-purple dots suffused with the same 
colour ; white grounds with crimson and rose dots ; yellow grounds with 
deep red marbling, crimson netting, bronze netting very handsome, and 
dashed with maroon ; while of seifs, puce, bronze-red, cinnabar, crimson, 
rose, a bright reddish scarlet, creamy rose, purple and maroon are all 
represented with many intermediate and indescribable shades. 
Gloxinias were not at their best, as it was too early for them, but a 
few typical varieties were in flower which indicated the value and beauty 
of the strain. Several very pretty forms have been obtained in which 
the colouring is very clearly defined, either with a white throat or a white 
margin round the lobes of the corolla, the colours in the latter case being 
arranged in crescent-formed blotches. Intensely rich as well as most 
delicate and soft shades have been secured from white through pink to 
bright red, crimson, and purple. One group of white-flowered varieties, 
some of which have lemon-coloured tubes, have been raised from a cross 
between Avalanche and Boule de Neige, and will undoubtedly become 
popular, as they are very free, sturdy in habit, requiring no sticks, and 
the flowers are large, pure, and symmetrical. The erect-flowering type 
is the favourite, the foliage elegantly recurving, and in many cases quite 
concealing the pots. The drooping-flowered varieties are useful for 
baskets or suspending from the roof of a house, but when on a low stage 
their beauty is lost. 
Tuberous and other Begonias of the B. semperflorens character, it is 
well known, have for some time engaged the attention of this firm, and 
several useful strains have been obtained, not the least of which is Snow¬ 
flake, a pure white, dwarf, and profuse flowering sort, which is most 
valuable for decorative purposes. A fine hybrid has also been raised 
between B. Schmidti and B. semperflorens rosea, in which, curiously 
enough, the pistillate flowers are pink and the staminate flow r ers white, 
which have a curious but pleasing appearance on the same plant. In 
habit this is exactly intermediate between the two parents, and more 
compact than B. semperflorens and stronger than B. Schmidti. 
Many features might be enumerated; for instance, the Alpine Auri¬ 
culas, of which a beautiful strain has been gradually developed, and either 
for culture in pots or borders many of the seedlings are not inferior to 
named varieties. The charming Freesia refracta alba is also grown in 
large numbers, its pure white fragrant flowers being much appreciated. 
Of the outdoor flowers the prominent plants thus early are handsome 
strains of Wallflowers and Stocks, of which an extremely dwarf type has 
been raised, forming dense bushes of flowers 8 or 9 inches high and from- 
1 to 11 foot in diameter, most varied in colours. Enormous numbers of 
annuals are tried every year, a great space of ground being devoted to 
them, and the merits or defects of everything is thoroughly tested before 
distribution. 
SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER-FLOWERING 
HEATHS. 
Only a few years ago a collection of greenhouse plants was 
considered incomplete without a number of Heaths, but unfor¬ 
tunately of recent years they have been almost entirely discarded 
from private gardens, and at the present time their cultivation is 
confined to those who grow plants for exhibition. It is probable, 
however, that they will again occupy a prominent position in 
gardens, and what plants are more deserving of general culti¬ 
vation? During the spring and early summer months they are 
unsurpassed for the decoration of houses that have to be kept 
gay with a number of flowering plants. The cause of these not 
being grown is neither the want of skill nor accommodation, but 
the large and increasing demand upon the gardener for cut 
