90 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 29, 1886. 
mitted. It is a dwarf Pea, growing 2 feet high, but its large pods dragged 
it to the ground. They are of the colour of Telephone, which is pre¬ 
sumably one of its parents, but square ended, and packed with large fat 
peas. It is a splendid dwarf Pea without a doubt, and it is anticipated 
will become a general favourite, that being possibly the secret of its 
name. Still another floral impediment, for we have to examine the 
hybrid Wheats. It is a remarkable fact that while so much has been 
accomplished in the improvement of garden crops by artificial fertilisation 
and the resultant new varieties, the most important crop of all—Wheat— 
has been practically left to itself. It is true that varietal forms have been 
established, but this is by selection. From the peculiar form of the 
organs of fructification cross-fertilisation of the important cereal is not 
effected in an artificial manner. It is safe to say that not one person in 
ten thousand knows when Wheat is “ coming into flower.” “Wbat!” does 
some reader exclaim, “ are we blind ? Cannot we see the floral appendages 
protruding from the ears, little miniature tassels ? ” Yes, you may see them 
clearly enough ; that, however, is no sign that the Wheat is “ coming 
into flower,” but, on the contrary, conclusive evidence that it has “ gone 
out of flower,” which is quite another thing. Artificial fertilisation must 
be effected before the plants have reached the stage that is popularly 
known as flowering. The operation is one of great nicety, but that it 
has been successfully accomplished is apparent, especially in the case of 
one variety named “ Birdproof.” One of the parents of this was the 
American Mammoth, having long “ horns ” like Barley; the other, 
Carter’s Fillmeasure, a fine smooth velvet chaff Wheat, this latter being 
the seed bearer. The influence of the long-bearded pollen parent can 
be both seen and felt, for sure enough the chaff of the resulting variety 
terminates in short bristles, and it is found that when birds alight on 
ears they fly off again in a moment, the sharp erect appendages “ tickling 
their feet.” The name “Birdproof” is thus not meaningless, and apart 
from the peculiar characteristic indicated the variety promises to be abun¬ 
dantly prolific. Another variety, the result of a cross between Carter’s Royal 
Prize red, and the white Talavera, is remarkable as being a fortnight 
earlier than ordinary Wheats. This is quite evident, and is a fact of no 
small importance. The ripe seed or grain, too, is intermediate in colour 
between the two parents. A third variety established is from the square¬ 
headed red and Hunter’s White, and unites the characters of both. 
Messrs. Carter have great reason to be proud of what they have accom¬ 
plished, and though the main object of our visit was to see the flowers it 
was impossible to overlook these very interesting and highly important 
achievements in the intercrossing of Wheats. 
To resume. It is no figure of speech to say that in this and adjoining 
fields there are flowers by and for the million. It is impossible to 
adequately describe the effect produced by great blocks of colour in one 
field alone. This must be quite half a mile long, and as the ground slopes 
gently from east to west and also from the sides to the centre the visitor 
taking his stand at the lower end has a grand panorama of flowers before 
him. As far as the eye can reach there is nothing but flowers—new, rare, 
or not extensively grown kinds in small patches ; popular sorts covering 
from one to ten acres of ground, according to the demand for seed. 
Fancy ten acres of ground covered with Larkspurs in “lands” ot 
separate colours, with intervening blocks of Saponarias, for preventing 
any accidental mixing of the Larkspur seed. It is a beautiful sight. 
Look again at the grand masses of Godetias. There are acres of them, 
each variety separa e, and every plant “ tiue.” Lady Albemarle, Princess 
of Wales, Lady Satin Rose, The Bride, divided by breaks of other flowers, 
are simpiy magnificent. So are the similarly large masses of Chrysan¬ 
themum carinatum or tricolor varieties, than which few, if any, tall- 
growing annuals are more charmingly gay. Candytufts are grown on 
the same extensive scale—sheets of white, purple, and other colours, but, 
now fading ; and so it is with other favourite annuals, seed of which is 
harvested by the sack, and ihe aggregate amount can only be repressed 
in tons. Mignonette is in great force, so are the dwarf Trapseolums, and 
whoever may be fortunate enough to catch a bed of, say, five acres of 
King of Tom Thumbs in full beauty, a dense mass of dazzling crimson 
scarlet, will not s'on forget the spectacle. The sight cannot be said to 
be “good for sore eyes,” for the optic nerve must be strong to endure it 
for any length ol time ; and equally glittering are masses of its effective 
congener Golden King, while others of the family are scarcely less 
imposing. Then we see in the distance a great block of silvery white 
and “cannot make i r out; ” on a closer approach it proves to be White 
Rhodanthe, and not far distant is a corresponding mass of R. Manglesi 
and R. maculata. The seed appears to have been sown where the plants 
stand, in drills a foot apart. Their sturdiness is remarkable, and there 
must be waggenloads of flowers. 
There are acres of Antirrhinums grown from and for seed. Some 
selected varieties are kept distinct in large squares of yellow, white, and 
crimson seifs. These are very fine, the yellow particularly striking. 
Then there are squares of flowers with white tubes, yellow tubes, and 
striped forms, also a marbled strain. The number astonishes, and nothing 
approaching an inferior variety can be seen. 
Pansies surprise by their numbers, still more by their freshness. A 
bed of several acres in mixed varieties in every conceivable variety 
of colour in which these flowers are represented is as gay as in spring, 
and the plants are as healthy as it is customary to see them in Scotland. 
They were raised from seed sown under glass early in the season, and 
planted a foot or more asunder. They now cover the ground, and are, in 
turn, covered with myriads of flowers, while not a speck of mildew can be 
feen on the leaves ; yet they are exposed to the full sun, in light ra her 
than heavy soil, and in one of the driest districts in the kingdom. The 
s-.cret of their condition rests in their being seedlings instead of having 
been raised from cuttings. A bed of varieties 6triped and flaked like 
Carnations has a distinct and pretty effect; and not less effective are the 
improved Magpie Pansies, such as Countess of Kintore, Unique, and Lord 
Beacrnsfield, that are worthy of extensive cultivation. 
Among plants in smaller beds are some beautiful selected forms of 
Phlox Drummondi ; a sparkling mass of Linaria reticulata aurea covered 
with diminutive crimson and gold Snapdragon-like flowers ; Silene com- 
pacta, single and double, dense cushions of pink and white ; Golden Cloth 
Dwarf Tropoeolum, with small leaves the colour of Golden Feather; 
Phacelia campanularia, the brightest of blue with white stamens ; it is of 
the character of a Whitlavia, but dwarfer, and with much larger flowers; 
one of the most attractive of annuals ; Anchusa capensis, 18 inches high, 
its trusses of blue flowers covered with bees—a hint for apiarians ; Statice 
Suworowi, by far the best of the border forms, and should be grown more 
freely in pots and beds ; and so we might go on for half a dozen pages ; 
but enough has been said to indicate, necessarily imperfectly, the magni¬ 
tude of the display, and only one other bed can be noticed—a splendid 
mass of Lychnis Haageana, with trusses and flowers more than twice the 
size of Phlox Drummondi and in various shades of scarlet and yellow. 
The plants were raised from seed early last year, planted out, flowered 
slightly in the summer, were cut down in the autumn, and the bed is now 
like a brilliaut bouquet. The soil in which they are established is rather 
sandy and the position sheltered from the north. This gay Lychnis is 
worthy of being tried more generally in gardens, but it may not succeed 
equally in all gardens, soils, and districts. 
Nothing can exceed the care that is exercised to preserve the purity of 
the s ocks of everything grown on this great flower farm. The labour 
must be enormous in keeping all so clean and the plants so true to 
character; in a word, everything is thoroughly well done, and both the 
firm and their experienced “grower” are to be congratulated on the 
excellence of their work. 
A very simple yet important practical lesson in growing annuals is 
“ writ large ” at St. Osyth. The plants are afforded space for develop¬ 
ment. Take Mignonette, for instance. Each plant has most of a foot of 
space to grow in, and it produces many strong branches and flue spikes ; if 
packed together, as in scores of private gardens, the plants are confined to 
single stems, terminating in small spikes, and when these fade all is over. 
It is the same with annuals generally ; they are spoiled by overcrowding, 
and are said to be weedy and transient. That is not so much the fault of 
the plants as of the so-called cultivators, and a more rational system of 
management would produce infinitely better results. 
THE VALUE OF FRUIT AS FOOD. 
Few people are aware of the value of fruit as an article of food. 
Many persons look on fruit a3 a luxury, whilst some shudder at the idea of 
it, and conjure up internal tortures at the name. Children, on the contrary, 
will eat fruit at any time, and undergo much discomfort to get it. It is 
elderly people, or those past their first youtb, who cannot eat fruit and 
enjoy it. Cooked foods, highly seasoned meats, and alcoholic liquors have 
spoiled their taste, and in many instances a ripe Strawberry or Plum 
would inconvenience them sadly. But the person who values health, and who 
knows a little of the value of fruit, will make it a point to eat it daily, and 
ev-n on occasions to make a meal almost entirely of it. Another cause why 
ripe and wholesome fruits are given a bad name is because they are eaten 
at the wrong end of a meal. After many courses of heavy foods and 
strong drinks, a few harmless Strawberries are indulged in, and then when 
these rich foods and stimulating drinks upset the stomach the blame is 
put on the innocent Strawberry. The real place of fruit is at the beginning 
of a feast, and not at the end. A better plan still is to make a meal of 
bread and ripe fruit. The best meals to make thus are breakfast, lunch, 
or early tea. The bread should be brown and dry, and the fruit ripe and 
raw. Dry brown bread cleans the tongue and brings out the flavour of the 
fruit. Butter on the bread would give its own flavour, or even the salt in 
the butter wou'd destroy the pure taste of the fruit. 
Again, the fruit should be raw if possible, as many delicious odour3 
and delicate flavours are lost in the cooking. This weather, then, a meal 
of brown bread and ripe Strawberries, Cherries, Gooseberries, Raspberries, 
&c., should be looked upon as a wholesome corrective tr high living. 
Those who want to be ccol this warm weather, and who wish to retain 
their mental clearness all day, cannot do better than lunch off fruit and 
bread, leaving heavier and solider food until evening. Children may be 
given plenty of fruit, and as loDg as it is ripe no harm will result; on the 
contrary, it clears the complexion and skin, and acts as a laxative and a 
ccoltr. When children have a half-holiday, and they are in the way at 
home, yon should buy them some fruit and send them to the nearest park, 
common, or open space, where they can romp and play, and, instead of 
sickly and often poisonous sweets, they may regale themselves with the 
fruit you gave them. A picnic party should never depart without a basket 
of fju't, and that fruit should start the meal. It is astonishing how 
exhilarating and enlivening a meal of fruit is, and instead of feeling dull 
after it, as you do after ordinary food, you feel stimulated aud brightened 
up. It is not wise to eat raw fruit too late at night, as this does not digest 
so easily or lie so lightly as food we are constantly taking. Fruit is best 
in the morning. I have many patients who take an Oiange, Apple, or 
other fresh fruit the first thing in the morning, the same as many people 
take their early cup of tea. This early fruit-eating is to be commended, 
it clears the tongue, stimulates gently, and with many it is the cause of 
regulsr laxation. 
Many people—a good number of whom are doctors—are of opinion that 
utumnal diarrhoea is due to fiuit. This is an idea not borne out by facts. I 
