850 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 4, 1893. 
co-operation of his son with true florist’s instincts, and Mr. William 
Barr is destined to make his mark in the Tulip world. 
The Long Ditton collection is in full beauty now. The plants 
are not vigorous nor the flowers large, as the long drought and 
abnormal heat have brought them out before the proper time ; but 
the characters of a number of varieties are well displayed, and the 
collection, while full of interest to experts, affords valuable lessons 
for learners. Day by day, from far and near, come old florists’ 
and young aspirants to view them. Every flower is scanned, its 
points noted, and merits or defects recorded. An hour to a bed 
may be termed a quick examination, and thus a long day may and 
is spent by many among Tulips. Good stocks of some of the 
leading named varieties are already established, while others are 
represented in yet small numbers, but increasing yearly. Among 
the Roses, Aglaia, a fine stock, is charming in its translucency, and 
the same may be said of Middleton Maid ; Alice is small but pure, a 
dainty gem ; Modesty, both flamed and feathered forms, is one of 
the loveliest; Lady Derby is splendid in form, pure, and beauti¬ 
fully marked ; and Mabel is represented in goodly number, but 
there will never be too many of this delightful Tulip, for whether 
in breeder or broken form it commands admiration. Of the 
Byhloemens Lord Denman is in the greatest force ; it is beautifully 
marked, but has not the clear basal disc that is desirable, and hangs 
down its head, still it is one to begin with ; and to it those who 
can may add Storer’s No. 2, of fine character ; Agnes, stately and 
upright ; Downie’s Feathered, very chaste ; Bessie, in feathered 
and flamed form ; Chancellor, in three strains—Bentley’s, dark ; 
Douglas’s, light and neat; Leach’s Medium—all good ; Duchess 
of Sutherland, very clear ; Friar Tuck, fine form and chaste ; 
Talisman, small, but perfect; and Mrs. Jackson, almost black, 
stencilled with silver. Of the more rich coloured Bizarres two 
dwarf forms, Caliph and Colbert, shone very brightly ; Charles X., 
taller, darker, and good—a fine display ; Royal Sovereign, a 
feathered form of the last named, splendid ; Duke of Devonshire, 
bold and fine ; Dr. Hardy, a fine stock of a grand Tulip ; Everard, 
rich and glowing ; Orion, very bright; George Hayward, a noble 
flower in splendid colour ; Masterpiece, dark and well flamed ; Pilot, 
bright, well marked, a fine stock ; Sir Joseph Paxton, one of the 
best, Barr’s strain, very fine ; and Lord Stanley, of similar 
character. The varieties named are only a few of the notabilities 
at Ditton, and whoever is fortunate in obtaining them will have 
the nucleus of a good collection. 
From these series of beds of named varieties and mixtures near 
Surbiton Station we are whirled to the Sussex coast to see the Tulip 
bed of an amateur—just one bed of sixty-three rows of seven 
plants each under a canvas tent, but something to remember. 
At Ditton there is a large collection ; under this Sussex tent a 
choice selection of splendidly grown plants and magnificent blooms. 
Mr. Barr was so entranced that he had to rush home and send his 
son to gather hints and inspiration. Rose, bybloemen, and bizarre 
is the order of planting throughout, each in sequence from end to 
end of the bed ; and the soft warm flush of the first, the purity 
and delicacy of the second, and the rich glow of crimson and gold 
of the third type, forma combination that can only be seen in these 
flowers. It is not only a difficult matter which to admire most, 
but hard to tell whether the breeder or broken forms of the same 
variety are the more beautiful. Take Mabel in its first stage, a 
shimmering rosy salmon with a spotless circular base ; then take 
the flower when the white shoots up in silvery streaks and, so to 
say, crushes the body colour together in darker folds ; both are 
alike beautiful, and can be looked at again and again. It is the 
same with purple seifs and the central silvery moons, which in due 
time break into bybloemens, and the dark reddish seifs with golden 
discs that develop into bizarres—the dark ground deepening when 
the yellow shoots through it in golden rays, and the nearer the 
former approaches black the better. 
It can only be said that some of the more striking blooms in 
this glowing bed were among Roses —Mabel, above mentioned ; 
Modesty, a charming flower ; Annie McGregor, equally beautiful 
in its deeper hue ; Madame St. Arnaud, very bright; Mrs. Barlow, 
a grand breeder, also breaking into a perfect beauty ; Apollo, tall 
and stately, with Lizzie Watkins, Hermione, and Mrs. Whitta’xer, 
all worthy of their rich surroundings. Of Byhloemens Storer’s 
No. 2 heads the list with its magnificent blooms correctly marked, 
though the goblet is a litcle deeper than the coveted champagne 
glass form ; then follows each with distinct properties of its own. 
Duchess of Sutherland, Friar Tuck, Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Pickerill, 
Queen of May, Talisman, and a fine break from one of Hepworth’s 
breeders. In Bizarres George Hayward stands out grandly with 
glorious blooms ; Dr. Hardy attracted by its richness and bright 
clear pencillings ; Sir Joseph Paxton, in different strains, was in 
splendid condition ; Masterpiece, in brilliant colour, black and gold, 
but the disc not quite perfect; while Ajax, Hardwick’s grand 
Bizarre, John Brook, Lord Lilford, and Pilot, with the dwarfer 
Vivid and Colbert, shone brightly in the collection. 
This beautiful Tulip bed affords the owner much pleasure, 
though he does not sit on an elevated throne at the end of the tent 
for days together watching the flowers as an old florist used to do 
in past times in Hertfordshire. Dr. Hogg—the name is out—has 
other things to divide his attention, namely a fine collection of 
hardy shrubs, including a grand seedling Horse Chestnut as well as 
a collection of young and beautiful fruit trees giving a great 
promise of fruit all round ; but Tulips are just now in the ascen¬ 
dant and charm all who see them, as well they may, for it is doubt¬ 
ful if there is an equal display of grand blooms to be seen in the 
south of England.— Probationer. 
POLLINATION OF TOMATO FLOWERS. 
American writers use the term pollination in the same sense 
as we do the word fertilisation in referring to the transference of 
pollen from the stamens to the stigma of the pistil connected with 
the seed vessel. In most cases this occurrence is absolutely 
necessary in the case of Tomatoes. Fourteen years ago 1 proved 
to my own satisfaction, and briefly stated in my first edition of 
“ The Tomato,” that more than ordinary pains ought always to be 
taken in fertilising the flowers if perfect formed fruit are desired. 
On page 49 I pointed out that the fruit is apt to swell unevenly 
unless the flowers are properly impregnated, and fully demon¬ 
strated what could be done in the way of improving the form of 
varieties not noted for their handsome appearance, by repeatedly 
showing Trophy in nearly as good condition as Perfection is 
frequently shown now-a-days. The flowers which preceded these 
fairly handsome fruit were selected, those with fasciated pistils 
being early pinched off, the pollen from one flower being trans¬ 
ferred by contact with the pistil of another, two flowers being 
“ pollinated ” at one time. This may have been a rather rough 
and ready method of achieving the desired object—viz., perfect 
fertilisation, but it answered well, or better than merely tapping 
the flower stems when the pollen was dry enough to disperse, 
depending upon some of this to lodge on the stigmas. 
I think now that not enough was made of this point, and it has 
been left to Mr. L. H. Bailey, Professor of Horticulture, Cornell 
University, Ithaca, New York, to more amply demonstrate how 
much may be done in a more effective manner than occurred to 
me to try. In connection with this University there is an agri¬ 
cultural experiment station, and the various experiments being 
constantly conducted and ably reported comprise much that is of 
interest to fruit growers generally. Tomatoes being extremely 
popular in America, they receive a rather large share of attention 
at the hands of Mr. Bailey and his assistants, this including house 
as well as open-air culture. The conclusion has been arrived at that 
during the short, dull days of winter “some artificial aid must be given 
the flowers to enable them to set,” and also that the common prac¬ 
tice of tapping the plants sharply several times during the middle 
of the day with a padded stick is not so effective as desirable. The 
practice is stated to be “ better than nothing,” but compares un¬ 
favourably with the plan of transferring the pollen by hand. I 
cannot do better than to let Mr. Bailey describe his and a friend’s 
practices in his own words. “ There are various methods of 
pollinating the flowers. The most expeditious and satisfactory 
method which I know is to knock the pollen from the flowers, 
catching it in a spoon, watch-glass, or other receptacle, and then 
dipping the stigmas of the same or other flowers into it. There 
is a time in the life of a flower when the pollen falls out readily 
