52 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 21, 1892. 
light yellow with a large light brown blotch near the apex, and 
a few much smaller one3 below. The long claw of the lip, the 
side lobes and crests are white, the disc light purple, passing into 
light brown towards the apex of the front lobe. It was imported 
by Messrs. F. Sander & Co., with 0. naevium, Rchb. /., and has 
been sent to Kew for determination on two or three occasions ; 
a living plant has also been presented to the collection, and it 
has recently flowered. It seems quite constant in character, and 
different from anything which has before appeared, though at first 
I thought it must be an anomalous variety of O. Lindleyanum. 
The name is given in allusion to the ear-like side lobes of the lip. 
—(“ Kew Bulletin.”) 
NOTES ON GRAPES. 
The present is a good time to give copious supplies of liquid 
manure alternately with surface-dressings of Thomson’s Yine and 
plant manure immediately before giving clear water at the roots to 
Yines swelling their bunches. Providing the drainage is good, and 
the roots plentiful and active, these waterings may be given every 
week or ten days for the next month or six weeks with the most 
satisfactory results. The waterings in every case should be 
sufficient to moisten every particle of soil composing the borders, 
whether indoors or out. 
In the case of Backland Sweetwater and Foster’s Seedling now 
changing colour care should be taken to keep the surface of the 
soil underneath the Grapes fairly dry, leaving a little air on, 
together with turning on a little hot water in the pipes, in order to 
prevent the berries cracking. With the same object in view avoid 
draughts—that is, when the atmosphere is surcharged with moisture. 
The same remarks apply to Madresfield Court. Where these 
three varieties are growing together in one house it is an easy 
matter to prevent the berries cracking, but it is not so easy when 
they are growing in a house with late Grapes requiring different 
treatment as regards moisture at the roots as well as in the 
atmosphere, in which case the above remarks apply. 
A free lateral growth may also be allowed with advantage 
so as to draw away any superabundance of sap from the above 
thin-skinned berries. Especially is this desirable in the case of 
Madresfield Court. A few days ago I noticed that some berries 
in bunches of Madresfield Court and Foster’s Seedling close to the 
fop ventilators on the hip roof which were left open a couple of 
inches all day and night were cracked, the cause being obvious. I 
reduced the quantity of air to a minimum, and cut out the cracked 
berries, with the desired effect, no more cracked berries appearing 
in the bunches.—H. W. Ward. 
THE SUMMER GLORIES OF SWANLEY. 
My first visit to Swanley was paid one bitter day in the winter of 
1890-91, when the air was keen with frost and the snow lay deep in the 
cuttings. It was depressing, too, not one of those brilliant days when 
winter sunshine acts as an antidote to the cold, and makes one feel 
cheerful even when Nature sleeps, but dark, dismal, and mournful. 
But a few hours among Mr. Cannell’s magnificent Zonals made all 
things new. The warm and glowing colours of the flowers seemed to 
create ao atmosphere in which one could thaw in comfort, while in their 
superb size and form food for contemplation and pleasure was afforded, 
in which the mists of depression quickly vanished. Alas ! disappear¬ 
ance, mysterious but complete, attended the record which should have 
enshrined ia the safe pages of the Journal my thoughts and impressions 
of what I then saw. It passed away without, like the Kilkenny cats, 
leaving even a tail behind it, and the veil that hides its fate has not 
yet been lifted. Recollections of the winter glories of Swanley did not, 
however, vanish with it, and the revelation, for it was nothing less, 
of the w T onderful beauty and value of the “ Geranium ” in its highest 
form for winter flowering has left lasting influences behind it. In the 
summer time Swanley in general, and the “Home for Flowers” in 
particular, has a thousand added features of interest. The rapidly 
rising town is one of the great centres of Kentish fruit growing. 
Apples, Pears, Plums, and Cherries are grown in vast quantities, while 
the land devoted to Strawberries may be calculated by hundreds of 
acres. Mr. Cannell’s large nursery at Swanley, with its dozens of long 
glass houses, is now reinforced by a 800 acre farm at Eynsford, close 
to the first station from Swanley on the Sevenoaks and Maidstone 
branch. A garden-farm of 300 acres takes some filling, but energy is 
inborn with the Cannells, father and son, and much of the land is 
already smihng with flowers. It is largely devoted to seed-raising, for 
this department is growing apace, and large supplies are wanted. Notes 
made there must, however, rest unamplified at present, as Swanley 
furnished as many as space can be found for. 
Zonal Pelargoniums. 
The time has not gone by, I hope, for a few remarks on these to be 
read with interest. I do not wish to speak of them as bedders, though 
there will probably be a revival of them for this purpose some day, 
but as pot plants for greenhouses and conservatories. It would hardly 
be an exaggeration to say that there is still no flower to compare with 
them for general usefulness. The round-flowered types present us with 
many varieties of wonderful beauty. The tawdry, puerile talk about 
“ vulgarity ” of colour has no application at all to the pink, rose, and 
salmon shades, which vie with Begonias in refinement and delicacy. 
Moreover, the trusses are beautifully furnished—neither thin nor 
crowded—and symmetrical, while the pips are of great size and 
substance. A man would have a very large watch in his waistcoat 
pocket if it proved to be greater in circumference than they are. Con¬ 
sider, too, that it is not one month or two months that a supply of 
bloom can be had, but in every one of the twelve. A good sound 
compost, a light house, abundance of ventilation in the summer time, 
and a temperature of 55° in winter are the salient points to provide. 
There are no plants of equal beauty of which it is so easy to keep a 
constant succession by means of cuttings all the year round. I doubt 
if anyone who has not seen a great collection such as that at Swanley, 
where the plants fill several 100-feet houses, can realise what magnificent 
possibilities there are in this old flower. 
I give the names of a few of the very best singles. Lord Rosebery, 
bright crimson, splendid pip and truss ; White Lady, pure white, dwarf 
and free ; Lord Salisbury, reddish magenta, very large, beautiful shape ; 
Amphion, beautiful pink; Lady Brooke, white, pink centre, very 
delicate and pleasing in colour ; Marquis of Dufferin, crimson magenta, 
very fine, Duchess of Fife, deep blush, a flower of much refinement; 
Stella Massey, bright pink, dwarf and free ; Mrs. Robt. Cannell, salmon, 
very floriferous and beautiful ; Ayesha, rosy salmon ; Beauty of Kent, 
beautiful salmon, a very fine winter bloomer ; Katherine Morton, light 
salmon ; Mrs. Norman, bright salmon, very large and symmetrical ; 
N. V. Noulens, salmon orange, very distinct and free ; Maud of Wales, 
pink, very large and finely formed ; Spotted Gem, purplish pink, lower 
petals spotted ; Mrs. Wildsmith, rosy pink, very large pips and fine 
truss, one of the most beautiful of all ; Ethel Lewis, rosy pink ; 
Duchess of Portland, clear rosy pink, a lovely variety; and Swanley 
Single White, dwarf and pure, very large. Of the doubles the following 
are chosen as a few of the best:—Colossus, reddish crimson, of great 
size ; Turtle’s Surprise, deep velvety self, fine both as a summer and 
winter bloomer ; Lady Lena, salmon, very free ; Golden Rain, orange 
scarlet, very fine ; Gripper Banks, orange red, enormous truss ; Miller’s 
Gem, magenta, very distinct and fine ; M. D. Raydellet, cerise scarlet ; 
H. M. Stanley, deep pink, large, one of the very best; M. Caro, delicate 
pink, very pleasing colour ; Girome, pink, heavily shaded with purple ; 
Le Congo, deep crimson, dwarf and free; Sombre Horizon, intense 
crimson ; Cardinal Lavigerie, magenta, large and exceptionally fine ; 
Edison, lovely magenta ; Lord Hartington, salmon, dwarf and very 
free; Attraction, bright salmon; Beautfi Poitevine, bright salmon, 
dwarf and free ; White Abbey, pure white ; Hermine, pure white ; and 
Swanley Double White, dwarf, very free, a splendid winter bloomer. 
Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums. 
Hardly less remarkable than the display of Zonals at Swanley is 
that of Ivy-leaved. There is a grand collection of double varieties, 
probably one of the finest in the country. All the best varieties are 
represented, and the following comprise a special selection of them :— 
Beauty of Castle Hill, bright rose, very large flowers, freely produced ; 
Beauty of Jersey, scarlet, shaded purple, large, and wonderfully flori¬ 
ferous ; Liberty, soft magenta ; Edith Owen, rosy magenta, large, and 
of good habit; Surcouf, bright pink; GirofUe, purplish magenta; 
Ernest Bergman, crimson scarlet; Flambeau, scarlet, very rich in 
colour, one of the most useful of all; La France, lilac; Lamartine, 
orange red ; Souvenir de Charles Turner, deep rose, very large pips and 
bold truss, a free bloomer, of good habit, undoubtedly one of the finest 
of all; Galilee, rosy pink ; Berthelot, magenta, fine pips; Madame 
Thibaut, deep pink, large pips, and very free ; Jeanne d’Arc, white, 
suffused with lavender, distinct and good ; La Florif&re, rosy pink, very 
floriferous; and Isidore Fbral, rose, large, and very attractive. Two 
beautiful singles are Victoria, rosy pink; and Masterpiece, magenta- 
crimson. It is very satisfactory to find that the Ivy-leaved varieties 
are becoming more and more sought after. Although not equal to the 
Zonals in all-round usefulness they are of great value for various deco¬ 
rative purposes, not the least being their suitability for training over 
light frameworks of stakes or on trellises, which they quickly cover with 
foliage and flowers. 
The collection of Pelargoniums of all kinds at Swanley is wonder¬ 
fully large and complete. The Show, Fancy, Spotted, Regal, Bedding, 
Nosegay and Scented-leaved sections are finely represented, but space 
does not permit of particulars. Mention ought to be made, however, of 
the splendid bedding Zonal King of the Bedders, a scarlet variety that is 
an unmistakeable improvement on Henry Jacoby. 
Tuberous Begonias and Verbenas. 
There are several large houses full of Begonias, indeed the stock of 
plants is enormous. The varieties are, moreover, as remarkable for their 
fine quality as for their number. There are thousands of large healthy 
plants of the best type—compact, with large substantial foliage and 
vigorous stems that carry the flowers well clear of the leaves. Swanley 
is not behind the times with Begonias any more than it is with other 
things. The best strains producible or procurable are grown there. I 
need not give a long list of names, but I must mention two delightful 
varieties that no garden in the country should be without. Neither is 
new, indeed they have been out long enough to have spread in thousands 
