202 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 28, 1884. 
and their value for decorative purposes could not be over-estimated at this 
time of year. 
Mr. C. Turner, Slough, had some stands of Show and Fancy Dahlia blooms, 
about ninety being staged of many varieties, their merit being recognised by 
the award of a bronze medal. Some of the most notable varieties were the 
following—Mrs. Douglas, scarlet; Prince of Denmark, maroon ; Mrs. Glad¬ 
stone, blush ; Mr. Harris, dark scarlet; Eoyal Queen, white tipped with 
purple ; Seraph, blush ; Lucia, white with a purpie tinge ; Cecilia, yellow ; 
Mr. Foreman, bright purple; Charles Lidgard, orange tipped with red ; 
Juliet, white with purple tint; and Loadstar, dark crimson. A plant of 
Lilium auratum rubro-vittatum was also shown by Mr. Turner, and a vote 
of thanks was accorded for it. The petals are narrow and widely spreading, 
with a dark red central band in each, which gives the flower a most distinct 
appearance. 
Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm, Tottenham, contributed a beautiful collection 
of choice single Dahlias, selections from a large number of trials, and dis¬ 
tinguished by their bright, pure, and rich colours, and the excellent form. 
Especially fine were the following :—Mrs. Bowman, warm purple ; Christine, 
rich pink; Mrs. Castle, distinct dark crimson scarlet; White Queen, pure 
white; Mrs. Cullingford yellow ; Indian Yellow; Lucy Ireland, rich 
crimson ; Negress, deep maroon ; and Lutea grandiflora, pale yellow. Bouquet 
or Pompon varieties were represented by some neat blooms. A box of a 
scarlet bedding variety, something in the way of a small Juarezi, was shown 
under the name of General Gordon ; it was very bright and effective. A 
group of Pancratium maritimum flowers, with the orange scarlet Montbretia 
crocosmseflora, the pale yellow Lilium neilgherrense, the orange red Lilium 
superbum, and the pure white Milla biflora was very attractive from the 
same firm. 
Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, showed a pretty collection of single 
star-shaped Dahlias, very graceful and bright, particularly good being Mr. 
Moore, maroon ; Midget Improved, scarlet; Sunset, yellow and red ; Bo- 
tundity, scarlet; and Curiosity, buff. A neat bouquet variety named Golden 
Gem, of a bright clear yellow hue, was also very pretty. Flowers of Abutilon 
Thompson! plenum, with well-developed double flowers, will no doubt pu-ove 
an acquisition, and may probably lead to a new race of Abutilons. Some 
handsome seedling Gloxinia flowers, large, finely formed, and varied in colours, 
were also shown, together with several enormous double Sunflowers, for 
which a vote of thanks was awarded. Messrs. Rawlings Bros., Romford, 
sent a box of Show Dahlia blooms, large, well-shaped, and of good colour. 
G. F. Wilson, Esq,, Weybridge, exhibited stems of Lilium tigrinum fl.-pl., 
8 feet high, bearing numerous large double flowers, and of L. tigrinum 
jucundum 7 feet high, also with several flowers. Messr.s. Lane & Son sent 
flowers and fruits of the Japanese Rose, Rosa rugosa and rugosa alba. Mr. 
Aslett, Warren Wood, showed a plant of a large double pink seedling 
Tuberous Begonia, of good habit and free. Mr. R. H. Monday sent a collec¬ 
tion of double and single Zinnia blooms, very fine and bright; and Mr. 
Bealby, Roehampton, sent some fine double Begonias. 
First-class certificates were awarded for the following :— 
Dahlia Mrs. Douglas (Turner).—A beautiful Show variety, very neat and 
well-proportioned, of a bright clear scarlet colour. 
Dipladenia Eliotti (Lucomhe, Pince & Co.).—Flowers of great size, of 
a soft yet bright rose tint. Very handsome and apparently floriferous. 
Besseria elegans (Ware).—A pretty bulbous plant with rush-like foliage, 
and terminal clusters of eight or nine flowers each, li inch in diameter, 
wflth narrow spreading petals, scarlet on the outer surface, buff on the 
upper side of the petals, with a central and two marginal scarlet Lines 
on each. 
Gladiolus St. Gotien (Kelway).—An effective variety, with massive 
spikes and large flowers of a peculiar crimson-scarlet hue, with a narrow 
white line in the centre of the petals and a broader one in the lowermost 
petal. The portion of the spike bearing expanded flowers was over 
18 inches in length. 
Begonia Souvenir de W. Saunders (Laing).—A double scarlet Tuberous 
variety, with very full globular brightly coloured flowers. It is of good 
habit, compact and free. 
Begonia Queen of the Bedders (Cannell).—This was shown with another 
variety named King of the Bedders, as being especially suited for bedding 
purposes; dwarf, strong, very floriferous, with bright flowers of moderate 
size, standing strongly above the foliage, and not drooping as in many of the 
large-flowered varieties. The one certificated is of a beautiful rose shade, 
very clear and bright, and it well merited the honour accorded it. The other 
is scarlet, equally free, but with slightly smaller flowers. They will no 
doubt form a type most useful for bedding purposes. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Cauliflomers .—Early spring Cauliflowers are much valued by many, 
and to have them as early as possible the seed must be sown the pre¬ 
ceding autumn. Now is a suitable time to sow the seed, and the old 
Early London variety is still a good one. The seed should be sown on a 
south border, and when the plants are large enough they can be trans¬ 
ferred to their winter quarters. We sow our seed in drill.'^, and avoid 
crowding, as only dwarf robust plants will stand the winter well. A 
pinch of Veitch’s Autumn Giant seed should also be put in now, as the 
plants from this will head immediately after the Londons, and come in 
earlier than by sowing in spring. 
Endive. —A good and last batch of this should be sown for an all- 
the-winter supply. The Broad-leaved Batavian is the best of all. It 
produces splendid heads of the highest quality, and they are uncommonly 
hardy. Sow the seed thinly on good ground, and when the plants are 
ready for transplanting thin them out, and allow enough to stand in'the 
seed beds to form a crop, and dibble the others in on any vacant spots. 
We prefer a dry sunny place for our winter Endive, as in such a position 
it does not suffer much from damp or slight frost. 
Lettuces for Winter. —These may be treated in all respects like the 
Endive. Bath Cos, Hammersmith, and Moor Park are suitable varieties. 
There is another, too, which may be noted here for the first time, and 
that is Jefferies’ Little Queen, the smallest-growing of all the Cos family, 
dwarf and most convenient for putting in frames, very hardy in con¬ 
stitution, and superb in quality. 
Radishes.—The China Rose is a splendid winter sort, the best in 
my opinion. We sow it largely now on one of our borders to give a 
supply from October until March, and it never fails to do this. 
Cahhages. —More seed may be sown, and as the young plants from 
the first sowing have now half a dozen or more leaves, the largest may 
be drawn up and dibbled-in to their bearing quarters. The latter should 
be deep well-manured ground, and the plants be put in about 18 inches 
apart each way. Spring Cabbages are an important crop, and it is best 
to sow two or three times at intervals, and plant out under the same 
rule to meet the vagaries of the winter. 
Peas. —Late ones just coming into bloom are very apt to become dry 
at the root at this season, and if they do mildew will soon follow, and 
further, the crop will be severely checked ; but care should be taken that 
nothing of the kind occurs, as it is always easy to prevent evils of this 
sort by timely and copious watering. Midseason Peas are now nearly 
over, and we are clearing away our crops fast, but before throwing away 
the straw we pick off all the seed and put it away in a dry shed until 
a wet day, when it will be cleaned. The warm weather of June, July, 
and August has suited Pea seed admirably, and we never had a better 
sample. Of late we have gathered about thirty bushels of seed pods, 
and this all from our surplus stock. Webb’s Wordsley Wonder, Paragon, 
and Duke of Albany have proved excellent Peas with us this season, 
and the same may be said of some of Messrs. Carter’s varieties, especially 
Telegraph. 
Vcgetaile Marrows. —Many of these which were not wanted for the 
kitchen have become yellow and ripe, and few young ones will form so 
long as they remain on the plants, but by cutting all the yellow ones off 
a large and fresh batch of fruit will soon form and be most useful in 
the autumn. 
Winter Spinach. —A large patch of the Prickly-seeded Winter 
Spinach should be sown at once, as it is important that the plants be 
robust and the leaves well developed before winter. Put it in a piece of 
land which was well manured for some spring crop. Sow thinly in 
drills 18 inches apart, and try and sow as much as possible, as this is 
one of the most delicious and useful of all winter vegetables. Hoe all 
weedy surfaces, and take the chance so long as the sun is powerful of 
killing these by this means. Keep all winter greens free from shading 
of every description. Where they are growing between Potatoes turn the 
tops of these to one side where they are inclined to run over and smother 
up the greens. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Peaches and Nectarines.— A’arZy House. —The trees will by this 
time have completed their growth and the buds plump. The months of 
September and October may be considered their resting period, and in 
order to give them the full benefit of the few weeks that remain before 
they are again excited into growth means should be adopted to keep 
them as cool as possible. If they are trained under fixed roofs all the 
ventilators and doors may be kept constantly open, and in the event of 
the flower buds becoming very prominent some of the squares in the roof 
should be removed, so as to increase the current of air and reduce the 
temperature of the house. When the roof lights are moveable, as they 
ought to be, they may be taken off, as exposure to dew and autumnal 
rains will benefit the roots and foliage, when the trees may be finally 
pruned— i.e., after the leaves fall, but the weak and useless wood having 
been cut away immediately after the fruit was gathered, very little, if 
any, autumn pruning will be required. The soil of the borders must 
not be allowed to become dry, as many trees are permanently injured 
by want of water, and it i.s owing to this cause mainly that the buds drop 
in the spring when they should be advancing. If properly drained no 
danger need be apprehended from overwatering, and the mulching 
should remain on until the time arrives for replacing it with the annual 
top-dressing of rich compost. In badly drained borders Peach trees send 
their roots down in quest of moisture, and persist in throwing up breast- 
wood and watery growth when the trees should be at rest. To remedy 
this evil carefully lift the roots and relay them in fresh soil resting on 
good drainage, and this should be done when the foliage shows signs of 
ripening, but before it falls from the trees. 
Late Houses. —The roots of trees in late houses having the run of 
external borders, and now swelling their crops, will, if the weather be 
dry, derive much benefit from supplies of diluted liquid manure and an 
additional mulching of manure, especially when the trees are carrying 
heavy crops. When the fruits have all been gathered, treatment the 
reverse of that advised for the early hou83 may be necessary to insure 
the proper maturation of the wood. If the house is heated it will be 
advantageous, gentle fire heat with a free circulation of air being of great 
