August 18, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
189 
colour, a bright tint of dark shaded blue lilac, with a light 
blotch in the centre. The flowers are large and rather coarse, 
not possessing the refinement of the preceding varieties, but 
it would be grand in a mass as the colour is so bright, striking and 
distinct. 77/91 is a greyish tinted white with faint purple stripes, 
very large and thin in substance. I am doubtful if this flower 
would stand much hot weather. It is quite distinct and will please 
many. Lady Dufferin is deep in body colour, and distinctly flaked 
with very pale purple. It is a quite distinct and very pretty 
variety. Laverock is a seedling from Skylark or Blue Cloud, and 
13 exactly the same type of flower, but pure white with a narrow 
even margin of sky blue on each petal, and not so broad or deep in 
colour as is Skylark or Blue Cloud ; itis a charming variety. Colleen 
Bawn is the same style of flower as Laverock, but with only a 
Picotee edging or margin of very pale blue, a quite distinct and 
pretty variety. Mr. Stuart also sent blooms of his Golden Flake, an 
excellent pure Yellow self, but I think identical with Prince of 
Orange, to be sent out by Messrs. Dobbie & Co. I can see little or no 
difference in the flower. On the 9th inst. I received from Mr. Samuel 
McKee, a Belfast merchant, and like his friend Mr. Stuart, a votary 
of the Viola, a box of blooms of seedlings, and it is evident that 
Belfast is coming to the front with sterling new varieties. These 
were all under numbers only, so that it is of no use to your readers 
to refer to them here beyond saying that one is a fine variety of the 
Quaker Maid type, another an improved Hugh Ainslie, and another 
a Sunrise style of flower. Two or three others also very fine. 
A long spell of dull showery weather, with an occasional 
thunderstorm, and about thirty hours of continuous rain on the 
18th and 19th of July, brought out in a wonderful degree the 
lasting power of the Violas as outdoor decorative plants. Whilst 
other portions of the flower garden were dull the Violas every¬ 
where were in superb condition, and folk now wonder why they 
have so long been insensible to their beauty and great value. 
Amongst the more recently introduced kinds I may just 
mention as well worthy of notice the following sorts :—Countess 
of Elgin, a greatly improved John Burns, and a beautiful flower ; 
Dorothy Tennant, H. M. Stanley, Golden Gem, Bridesmaid, 
Countess of Wharncliffe, William Niel, Master of Arts, Duchess of 
Fife, Spotted Gem, Lady Amory, Cottage Maid, The Mearns, Hugh 
Ainslie, Neptune, Princess Beatrice, Rosie Clark, Wonder, Mr. 
Charles Turner, Mina Baxter, Ethel Baxter, Wonder, Sir Joseph 
Terry, Marchioness of Tweedale, and others. 
New Fancy Pansies. 
At the Exhibitions at Birmingham, Leicester, and York, where 
Pansies are specially encouraged, some very fine seedlings have been 
seen, to which certificates have been awarded, and the varieties will 
be sent out in the autumn or spring of 1893. At the second annual 
meeting of the Midland Counties Pansy Society there was a fine 
display of the newer kinds, the Scottish growers, Messrs. Smellie, 
Irvine, and Campbell, and Mr. Bailey from Sunderland, showing 
extensively. Mrs. D. Johnson, shown by Mr. Smellie, Busby, 
Glasgow, is a fine back row flower of great size, form, and substance, 
with rich violet top petals, and with a very large solid blotch of the 
same colour with clear white margin. William Watson (Smellie) 
has rich blue vio’et top petals, a grand clean solid blotch, with 
small primrose belting ; a very fine flower. Mrs. B. Smellie 
(Smellie) is a Miss French style of flower and fine. Arthur 
Prater, shown by Mr. William Frater, Linlithgow, has a clean solid 
blotch with rich deep primrose belting of the lower petals and deep 
blue lilac top petals, and is of fine form. John Knox, shown by 
Mr. Irvine, Tighnabruaich, is an Allan Ashcroft style of flower, but 
much brighter and a great improvement on it. It is a flower of first 
class properties. A certificate was also awarded to Mr. Wm, 
Sydenham, Tamworth, for a rich gold Fancy Tamworth Yellow, of 
fine form and substance and dense solid blotch. 
At the Midland Counties Exhibition the following Fancies were 
generally shown, and fine :—David Rennie, fine everywhere ; Mrs. 
David Allen, Kate McArthur, Maggie A. Scott, Agnes Mormon, 
Mrs. R. S. Niven, William Adam, Lady Duff, Maggie Douglas, 
Louis Westers, Bella Johnson, Betsy Kelly, James S. Irvine, Lord 
Tennyson, a fine flower ; Jeannie Paterson, Mrs. Train, very fine ; 
and Henry Eckford ; all prize flowers. Mr. Irvine was also 
awarded a first-class certificate for a lovely primrose self Show 
Pansy, Winnie Irvine, a very refined flower. 
At the Leicester Pansy Show Lord Randolph Churchill was to 
be seen very good in some of the stands. Neil M‘Kay and Tom 
Travis were frequently met with, and always good. May Hynd, 
Neil Gillies, Lord Hamilton, Mrs. Hugh Weir, and David Strachan, 
in addition to those already named, were frequently seen at-both 
exhibitions in fine condition. Mr. Irvine staged at Leicester some 
very fine newer varieties—viz., James S. Irvine, a richly coloured 
flower, with superb large solid blotch, and of the finest form and 
substance ; Mr. John M'Connell and Lord Hamilton, two well- 
known, fine sorts ; Mr. W. Dean, a fine attractive flower of excel¬ 
lent properties, white with large blotch, and petals flushed with 
blue lilac ; Lizzie Irvine, very rich in colour ; that fine older 
variety Donald Morrison ; Robert Jamieson, a superb flower of 
the style of Donald Morrison, and very fine ; and William Scott, 
a very fine flower with claret top petals, superb blotch, smooth, and 
of fine form. Tom Travis, grand in its massive blotch was fine 
everywhere ; so, also, was George Anderson, rich gold, with bright 
bronzv-brown top petals, and superb dense clean cut blotch. 
Maggie M‘Phail is a charming and distinct flower of fine form and 
substance. Alexander Duncan is something like Lord Hamilton, 
but distinct and very fine. Archie Scott, in the style of 
J. J. Ashton, with grand lower petals and the side petals 
shouldering high and close, is a first-class flower. Mrs. D. Pinkerton 
is the finest white I have seen, with very dense, clean cut blotch. 
Alexander M'Crossan, in the style of Allan Ashcroft, but brighter, 
is a grand flower in form, size, and substance. Helen Yallance is 
a very fine flower, with*a little of the Lord Hamilton character in 
it. Mina Scott is much brighter than Archie Buchanan, a splendid 
flower in form, substance, and blotch. T. Morton is a distinct, 
very fine flower, deeper in colour than James S. Irvine. George 
Irvine is a rich crimson, velvety tinted flower, of finest form and 
substance ; and Captain Steel is another richly coloured flower of 
excellent properties. 
Pansies were well represented at York in all the classes, the 
three stands for forty-eight dissimilar Fancies, open to the trade 
growers, being especially fine. Mr. A. Bailey, jun., Sunderland ; 
Mr. Campbell, Blantyre ; Mr. J. Smellie, Busby, Glasgow ; and 
Mr. Irvine showing prominently. Interest was largely centred 
in the class for twenty-four new Fancy Pansies, the first prize 
being a handsome gold medal presented by friends of the Midland 
Counties Pansy Society, and this was won by Mr. Andrew Irvine ; 
second, Mr. Campbell ; third, Mr. Smellie. The Show Pansies 
were scarcely up to the average, but some good blooms were to be 
seen. The amateur classes were well filled, and many fine blooms 
were staged, the principal prizewinners being Mr. Archer of 
Sunderland ; Mr. Robt. Mann, Shad well, Leeds ; and Mr. Thornton, 
Bradford. 
First-class certificates were awarded to Mr. A. Irvine, Tighna¬ 
bruaich, for twelve seedling Fancies, which ought to have been 
named, but were not ; also to the same exhibitor for Show Pansy 
Winnie Irvine, previously alluded to ; also to Mr. Campbell for 
two fine Fancies, Dr. Bostock and Maggie Douglass ; to Mr. 
Smellie for William Watson and W. B. Smellie ; and to Mr. 
Wm. Frater for Andrew Frater. Mr. Campbell had a bloom or 
two of a seedling Fancy Mrs. Mackie, a very fine variety, but three 
blooms were necessary to receive a certificate.—W. Dean. 
OPEN-AIR PEACHES. 
I look upon our outdoor Peach crop as the most certain of 
hardy fruits, for the reason that we are enabled to give the 
blossoms protection at the most critical period—the time when they 
are fully expanded. For this reason I think that the outdoor 
Peach crop is more at command in the majority of neighbourhoods 
than any other. There need be no difficulty in annually obtaining 
a full supply of good bearing avood thoroughly set with flower buds 
if a few simple rules are observed—at least I have none, and our 
soil is heavy and cold enough. We have Peaches growing in 
various aspects—south, east, and west ; and all succeed alike. 
I have many times been surprised at the heavy crops we get from 
one tree on an east wall. It is very much exposed to east winds, 
which give us an annual full crop of “ blister ; ” but the trees 
grow out of it in an astonishing manner. This they would not do 
were the roots not in a satisfactory condition, and the wood of the 
previous year thoroughly matured. The border in which the trees 
are growing is 11 feet wide. The part specially set apart for them, 
and which has not been dug over or moved in any way for the last 
ten years, is 4 feet wide. The surface is, in consequence of the 
constant treading to which it is subject in attending to the trees, 
something like macadam, so hard is it. The space in front is 
occupied with herbaceous plants. No doubt some roots from the 
Peach trees are running into this, and as we trench this border 
every third year for the benefit of the herbaceous plants the trees 
receive a root-pruning, which is to their advantage, checking 
exuberant growth. 
The main point in disbudding the young growth is not to take 
off too many shoots at a time and to leave rather more than are 
really needed eventually until the trees have recovered from the 
“ blister ” with which they are annually affected. A fault in out¬ 
door Peach culture is the laying in finally of too many shoots ; 
4 inches between each is not too much space to allow, but more 
frequently only 2 inches is what is allowed. Directly the trees are 
