43G 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
[ May 23, 1891. 
amongst seifs comes third, after Heroine and Mrs. Potts, both new 
flowers, and beating all the older flowers, such as Pizarro, Lord of Lome, 
Blackbird, C. J. Perry, Mrs. Douglas, &c., and having only three votes 
less than Heroine, and two less than Mrs. Potts, both of these being 
considered the very creme de la creme of seifs. 
There is another test which, perhaps, many would consider a fairer 
measure of strength than even this consensus of opinion, and that is—■ 
how they stand on the exhibition table ? what place do they hold, if any, 
in the winning stands? Taking, then, the Southern Exhibition, held 
on April 21st, I found the following record in the first prize stands :— 
In Mr. Henwood’s twelve Mrs. Dodwell, Black Bess, and George Rudd ; 
in his six plants Mrs. Dodwell and George Rudd were again shown in 
the class for fours, Mr. Wheelwright had in his first prize stand Mrs. 
Dodwell and George Rudd ; in the class for two Mr. Wheelwright again 
won, and one of the two was George Rudd. As to the single classes I 
do not think much is to be gained from them ; for if these were all good 
F. D. Horners they would win in greens, Lightbodys in greys, and Heroine 
or Mrs. Potts in seifs. In whites, I believe good plants of Acme w'ould 
sweep the board, unless such plants as Mr. Henwood’s John Simonite, a 
delicate grower, and therefore rarely seen, were to be staged. I cannot 
but think this is a very remarkable record for new varieties. 
In the Northern Exhibition w'e have to deal with the champion 
grow'er and raiser, the Rev. F. D. Horner, and it may suffice to show 
how successful he is when wm find that all his exhibits in the highest 
classes were his own seedlings, and with the exception all, I believe, 
only in his hands ; but Miss Woodhead took the second place, and in her 
lot w'ere two of her brother’s seedlings — Rachel and Mrs. Dodwell, 
while in the other classes George Rudd and Black Bess appear. 
It may be worth while for those who do not know" the flowers to give 
a brief description of them. 
George Rudd has a clear grey edge, dark body colour, and a 
yellow tube ; it is somewhat in the style of Traill’s Beauty, w'hen that 
very irregular flower can be caught right, but so far last better. 
Mrs. Dodwell. —A fine white edged flower, with dark body colour, 
which does not run out into the edge, and a deep coloured tube. This 
I think to be the best of the four. 
Rlach Bess. —A fine dark self with smooth petals, good tube, and 
solid paste. This is sometimes notched at the edges, but I believe with 
proper treatment this disappears, and it is a formidable rival to our best 
self. 
Rachel. —A grey edged flow'er, somewhat in the style of George 
Rudd, with excellent tube and paste. 
There are twm things noticeable in all these seedlings of Mr. Wood- 
head’s ; the one is their excellent constitution and the freedom with which 
they give offsets. We know how" trying it is to have a good variety, say 
Prince of Greens, and to watching it year after year to get some increase 
from it, and to be looking in vain, though a grower told me the other 
day that he had had a plant of Prince of Greens in perfect health for 
eight years, and had never got an offset from it. Another point about 
them in which some modern flowers are lacking is the yellow colour of 
the tube. How much this enhances the beauty of the flower can be 
easily seen by placing Prince of Greens and F. D. Horner side by side, 
the washy character of the tube of the former flower giving it a dead 
character, the yellow one of the latter brightening it up. 
I am glad to be able to say that, good as these varieties are, it is 
quite on the cards that we may by-and-by be having something even 
better, for while I am writing this I have just (May 20th) received 
from Mr. McDonald, Miss Woodhead’s able gardener, a pip of a white- 
edged seedling of great promise. It is to be named Miss Woodhead ; 
the flower is large, well formed, and the edge a most decided white, 
reminding one of the edges of such old flow'ers as Taylor’s Glory and 
Summerscale’s Catherina, and not of that very undecided character 
between white and grey wffiich marks so many of the flow'ers in this 
class—flowers which may sometimes be showm as greys. In thus draw¬ 
ing attention to these flow^ers, I feel I am doing service to those who do 
not know them, and I believe that the record of this year will be 
maintained.—D., Deal. 
WOKK.FtHl™!WEEK.. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Pines. —Plants of these under good management yield, as a rule, the 
finest fruits w'hen they show- them ten to twelve months from the time 
the suckers were first potted, but some allowance must be made for 
autumn suckers, which were then potted and have to make a part of 
their growth under adverse influences. Plants finally potted last 
September are showing fruit. If any of that age are not fruiting, 
subject them to comparative rest for four to six weeks, lowering the 
heat at the roots to 75°, and admitting air fully at 75° to 80°, and let 
the temperature fall to 75° before closing the house for the day. Little 
artificial heat will be required, but it must be afforded, if necessary, 
to prevent the temperature falling below 60° at night. Do not allow 
plants to become excessively dry, but whenever a plant needs it afford 
water liberally. The smaller suckers of the plants referred to potted 
this spring must be kept growing until the pots are filled with roots, 
when, if it be necessary, they can be subjected to the same course of 
treatment as advised for the larger plants, and these will afford a 
successional supply of fruit. 
Sucliers Potted in March. —The strongest of these should now be 
in their largest pots. If they are not yet potted do not tolerate further 
delay, as to retain them longer in small pots is detrimental to their 
after growth. Let recently potted plants have a regular bottom heat of 
85° to 90°, and be thoroughly supplied with water after potting, and 
give no more until the soil becomes dry, as it is necessary to exercise 
more care than usual at this stage, the state of the individual plants 
being ascertained before its application. 
Routine. —Young stock are making rapid progress, and must be 
regularly attended to, allowing such plants sufficient space for develop¬ 
ment, as nothing is so inimical to sturdy plants as crowding them in the 
early stages of their growth. Ventilate early in the day at 75° to 80°, 
to render the foliage dry before it is affected by the sun. Discontinue 
shading successional plants, but for fruiting plants wdth the crowns in 
close proximity to the glass a slight shade from powerful sun will be 
beneficial. 
Peaches and Nectarines. — Earliest-forced Houses. —The early 
varieties, such as Alexander and Early Beatrice, are nearly cleared of the 
truit. The shoots on which the fruit has been borne, if not required 
for the extension of the trees, must be cut aw'ay to admit light freely to 
the foliage. Syringe forcibly to cleanse the foliage of red spider, and if 
this and scale continue troublesome the prompt application of an insecti¬ 
cide will be necessary to eradicate those pests. It is highly important 
that the foliage be kept healthy, and to prevent over-maturity or 
premature ripening it is necessary to keep the houses as cool as possible 
by ventilating to the fullest possible extent after the fruit is gathered. 
The borders, floors, &c., must be moist, and in showery weather remove 
the roof lights. Keep gross laterals stopped, but avoid checking the 
growth by removing a quantity of foliage at one time, as this has a 
tendency to hasten the ripening of the wood, and when this is the case 
the trees will be swelling their buds through over-development when 
they should be resting. Trees of Hale’s Early, A Bee, Early Alfred, 
Early York, and Early Grosse Mignonne, with Royal George, Stirling 
Castle, and Crimson Galande in the same house, or in a house to them¬ 
selves, which is much the best, will now be ripening their fruit, and 
must not be syringed, though if the trees become, infested with red spider 
a thorough syringing may be given when there is a prospect of a fine 
day ; but with the water hanging about the skin is liable to crack in 
fruits that are partly ripe, w'hile those that are nearly ripe wdll be much 
deteriorated in quality ; in fact, they are given a very unpleasant musty 
flavour. The trees must have sufficient water at the roots, but any 
excess at this stage has a tendency to cause splitting at the stone. 
Houses Started Early in January. —The fruits are now advancing 
fast towards ripening. The leaves will have been turned aside and the 
fruit raised on laths placed across the wires of the trellis with its apex 
to the light. This insures the fruit colouring w'ell and ripening evenly. 
If the weather prove cold and w'et gent’e fire heat will be necessary to 
secure a circulation of air constantly, the temperature being maintained 
at 60° to 65° artificially at night and 5° to 10° rise by day. Cease 
syringing so soon as the fruit begins to be soft, and take care to have the 
foliage free from red spider before the syringing ceases, or the pest will 
increase so rapidly as to serious prejudice future prospects. See that 
there is no deficiency of moisture in the borders, and if necessary give a 
thorough supply of water, mulching with some light material such as 
partially decayed stable litter or spent Mushroom bed manure. 
Succession Houses. —During stoning the trees must not be hurried, 
but be given time to complete this exhausting process. Allow a free 
extension of the laterals as an encouragement of root action, but be 
careful not to crowd the principal foliage, and keep insect pests in check 
by syringing twice a day. When the fruits have stoned remove all 
surplus fruits, and turn the others to the light to insure their colouring 
wmll from the apex. Give thorough supplies of water through a good 
surface mulching of manure, and supply liberally any weakly trees 
with tepid liquid manure. Vigorous trees will not need more than a 
surface mulching, as high feeding will only cause grossness, and must 
be studiously avoided. Ventilate early and close early in the afternoon, 
with plenty of atmospheric moisture, so as to raise the heat up to 80° 
or 85°, and ventilate a little afterwmrds for the night, the temperature 
being allow’ed to fall to between 60° and 65°. 
Late Houses. —Young shoots that are to carry next year’s crop must 
be tied in, and allowed to extend as far as space admits, taking care to 
avoid overcrowding. Pinch all side shoots that are not w'anted for next , 
year’s fruiting or for furnishing the trees, and stop any gross shoots, so 
as to cause an equal distribution of the sap. In thinning leave a few 
more than will be required for the crop. A Peach to every square foot 
of trellis covered by the trees is ample. Nectarines may be left a little 
closer. Keep the foliage clean by syringing tw’ice a day in fine weather, 
and always sufficiently early to allow the foliage to become dry before 
night. Mulch the borders with manure, or if the trees are young and 
vigorous some lighter and less rich material will be better. Water 
thoroughly whenever necessary, always sufficient given at a time to 
reach the drainage. Ventilate early, and increase the ventilation with 
the sun heat, closirg early if the ripening is to be accelerated, but if 
wanted late keep as cool as possible by free ventilation day and night. 
Young Trees. —Those in course of formation for filling their allotted 
space must be properly disbudded, leaving the main branches or shoots 
