268 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 24, 1891. 
through ravages of injurious crop insects. Through the sound infor¬ 
mation which has been brought forward during the many years I have 
worked on the subject, and placed in my hands for publication by my 
correspondents and co-operators (the agriculturists, fruit-growers, and 
foresters of this country), enormous advance has been made. We can 
point to the information they have given on turnip fly, wireworm, hop 
aphis, warble, and other great scourges, and which they have permitted 
me to embody in my yearly reports. 
“ With their help I hope I may be permitted to continue this work. 
It was begun years before I was connected with the ‘ Royal,’ and has in 
great part been continued without any official reference to it, and I hope 
to be permitted the pleasure still of being consulted, and of replying to 
all inquiries just as before, whether to the 1 Royal ’ members or to the 
general agricultural public, from which the mass of the inquiries are sent; 
•only that the information that 1 look forward to being permitted to 
supply, would be sent wholly gratuitously, instead of as at present 
being (nominally) in case of members of R.A.S.E. on payment of a 
small fee. 
“ As before, I purpose to embody the information received in an 
annual illustrated report. This (as before), to be presented to each 
contributor of serviceable information, and (also as before) I hope to be 
allowed the aid of the agricultural Press, which has so long, and so 
ably and courteously been accorded, and still to benefit by their help in 
bringing points of interest regarding crop attacks before the public, and 
to reply to inquiries of any special interest which their Editors (as 
for many years past), may desire my opinion on. 
“ It is, with very deep regret, that I have deemed it desirable to sever 
any connection with the Royal Agricultural Society, amongst which I 
have many kind friends, and cease to be able to claim the highly 
honourable title of its ‘ Consulting Entomologist,’but my great desire 
is to be of service practically, and this I believe I can be much more 
fully when freed from the anxieties and possible ties which public office 
necessarily brings with it.” 
A YISIT TO NORWICH. 
“What is Norwich famous for?” was a question once asked me; 
and although I had never visited East Anglia I ventured to answer the 
question thus, “ What is the ancient City not famous for ? ” and now 
that I have visited Norwich three times in four weeks I am bold to think 
that my question was a good answer to my friend’s question. Old 
Thomas Fuller, in his work styled “ Worthies of England,’ writes : 
■“ Norwich is either a city in an orchard or an orchard in a city.” It 
has also been called “ the city of gardens,” and verily and indeed it 
may be so called to-day. I have visited nearly every city in Great 
Britain and Ireland, but never have I had such a general floral treat as 
in my perambulations around the chief town in East Anglia. Moreover, 
how very interesting to the antiquary and the archaeologist must be a 
city held successively by the Romans, Saxons, and Danes ! The old 
part of the city is most picturesque, and its cathedral, as the world 
Smows or ought to know, is one of the most beautiful and interesting in 
the three kingdoms. But apart from that which appeals to our higher 
nature, Norwich is, though situated in a purely agricultural district, 
noted as a manufacturing town. Its crapes and bombazines are world 
famed, and, believing in the truth of the saying that “ there is nothing 
like leather,” we find the staple trade of the city to be that of boots and 
shoes. Agricultural and horticultural machinery is very largely 
manufactured, and Messrs. Boulton & Paul’s advertisements of con¬ 
servatories and all horticultural and garden appliances may be seen and 
read in the Journal of Horticulture every week. There are five or six 
widely known carriage makers ; and who has not heard of, if not tasted, 
Colman’s mustard ? Perhaps some of your readers may not have heard 
the story said to have been told by Mr. Gladstone's late host, Mr. 
J. Colman, M.P., how that the famous mustard firm made their huge 
profits, not so much by the amount of the condiment consumed, as by 
the amount left on the plates of the consumers. 
On the last two of my visits to this historic city, my “ objective,” 
as our only General (not Booth) would put it, was Messrs. Daniels’ 
nurseries, about which I had heard glowing accounts, and I was not 
disappointed ; so I think a short account of my visits may possibly be of 
interest to your readers. 
Met at the Victoria Station by Mr. Forder, one of Messrs. Daniels’ 
trusty lieutenants, we at once made our way to the offices and seed 
■warehouses situated in the heart of the city, and there Mr. George 
Daniels personally conducted me over these “ big ” premises. In the 
flower seed department there are many “cases” of pigeon-holes, each 
case containing from 700 down to about 350 holes. There is one pigeon¬ 
hole corresponding to every number in the firm’s catalogue, and as the 
numter of different seeds described as for sale in the catalogue is about 
1300, and that the pigeon-holes are reduplicated in order that four sets 
of workers can be executing flower seed orders at the same time, your 
readers will easily calculate the number of pigeon-holes required. In 
the vegetable department exactly the same principle is carried out, 
the number on each “ hole ” corresponding with the number in the 
catalogue. 
It was most interesting to note the manner in which the seed 
Potatoes were stored ready for immediate packing. Trays made of 
strips from old packing cases, all exactly of the same size, are used. 
Placed one on the top of another, forty on the floor at eight trays high, 
you get a solid block of 320 trays, each tray containing five stone, and 
the whole block exactly ten tons of Potatoes. How many of these 
blocks there were I should be afraid to say, but Mr. Daniels told me 
that when the vaults were filled they reckoned on having in them 
150 tons. 
But we must off to the nurseries ; so after fortifying the inner man 
a pleasant drive of about two miles, through beautiful suburbs with 
lovely gardens containing magnificent shrubs and trees, we are landed 
at Mr. George Daniels’ private residence, where my guide and host 
makes trials of Tomatoes a special study and practice. Out of a great 
number I noticed as particularly good Solid Scarlet, President Garfield, 
Horsfield’s Prelude, new to me; Chemin, a new French sort ; Round 
Yellow, Paxton’s Open Air, and last, but not least, Cluster Plum and 
Daniels’ “ Very-Own.” This last is excellent. I say this, not because 
it is of Mr. Daniels’ raising ; I should say the same if it were called, 
like one of our crack cavalry regiments, the “ Devil’s-Own.” 
Crossing the avenued road we at once enter the extensive nurseries, and 
make for the Potato and Pea trial grounds. Messrs. Daniels have been long 
known as very large growers of the staple vegetable, and have sent out 
varieties fixed as well as distinct in character, and which are now very 
largely grown, White Elephant in particular, especially in East Anglia. 
I saw several very promising seedlings shallow-eyed, and with a skin 
that looked like resisting disease. A curious seedling with black flesh, 
but said to be a fine cooker, named Norfolk Blackbird, attracted atten¬ 
tion. Another fine new one was named after our Poet Laureate. 
Upwards of 350 varieties are being grown and tried. My attention was 
now drawn to the Peas, 200 kinds of which are on trial, and 100 acres 
of land is found necessary for the work. I -was glad to find Sharpe’s 
Queen so largely grown, ten acres being set apart for this one variety. 
I have grown it since it was first sent out and consider it ac the top of 
the tree. Half an acre here of a new Pea, named Matchless, was 
grandly cropped, and elsewhere eight acres are being grown. I noticed 
this excellent new Marrowfat in a private garden in July, and the head 
gardener told me that he should next year grow this variety alone for 
his main or general crop. One more new one to be noticed and 
deservedly so, The Daniels, a cross between Alpha and Best of All. 
Of Dwarf Beans forty-eight varieties are on trial, and of these Ne 
Plus Ultra and Early Black Wonder are preferred to Canadian Wonder. 
This last is too rank a grower, I find, in a wet season ; and this year 
every plant that I did not carefully stake was broken off at the base of 
the stem. 
One more vegetable I must mention, a Lettuce named Continuity. 
It appears to resist drought well, and certainly not one on the plot I saw 
showed the slightest sign of bolting. The fact, too, that this useful 
Cabbage Lettuce is now being grown in 5000 gardens proves that its 
merits have been discovered. 
Next was pointed out to me a hedge 250 yards long—a hedge of the 
Myrobella Plum. Not only does this hedge afford a grand shelter and 
a handsome boundary fence, but it is put to practical use, as at intervals 
of 6 to 12 feet a strong single stem is allowed to grow, and each is 
budded with either the Victoria or the Czar Plum. Now, when we come to 
realise that the Myrobella is infinitely superior to the ordinary White 
Thorn, for a capital fence can be made with it in three or at the most four 
yearn, I am not surprised to find that the supply is barely equal to the 
demand, and yet in these nurseries I saw one breadth of seedlings from 3 to 5 
feet high in number upwards of 200,000, the seed having been sown only 
in April last. Those from cuttings are not so satisfactory. Landlords 
and farmers ought to take advantage of every opportunity to buy this 
Plum—(1) for repairing old fences ; and (2) for making new ones ; and 
they should adopt the plan of having a profitable Plum tree at 9 or 
12 feet intervals. At five plants to the yard (and this is sufficient), the 
cost is 15s. a 100 yards. Nine years ago the present writer when living 
in Worcestershire filled up great gaps in fences with this Myrobella, 
and in four years they were impenetrable to cattle. This Plum is also 
used as a stock for Prunus Pissardi, a Japanese Plum with very dark 
purple foliage, which, owing to its rapid growth, is likely to rival the 
Purple or Copper Beech in gardens and plantations. 
Apples and Pears in all forms are largely propagated, the culinary 
kinds most popular in the Norwich district (so the fruit-tree foreman 
told me), being Warner’s King, Keswick Codlin, Lord Suffield, Cellini, 
Stirling Castle, Ecklinville SeedliDg, Norfolk and Striped Beefing, Mere 
de Manage, Peasgood’s Nonesuch, Normanton Wonder or the Wellington 
of the London Markets, Norfolk Bearer and Beefing, Jolly Beggar, The 
Queen, and Lane’s Prince Albert; while among the table fruits Cox’s 
Orange, Ribston, Court Pendu Plat, Fearn’s Pippin, Adam’s Pearmain, 
Kerry Pippin, King of the Pippins, Sturmer Pippin, and Mr. Gladstone 
are mostly in demand. A new Apple “Vicar of Beighton ” looked 
promising. What especially struck me was the marvellous growth 
made by the maiden Plums and Cherties, budded mostly, but a few 
grafted. 
I must get to the flowers, and in passing I stayed a few minutes to 
watch the rapidity with which quite young lads were helping to bud 
the 175,000 Manettis. Flowers indeed 1 Over a mile of single Dahlias, 
and two miles of Dahlias altogether. Among the Show varieties 
especially good were Crown Prince (buff), Mrs. Gladstone, Primrose 
Dame, Mrs. Langtry, Colonist (grand), and two new ones, J. C. Vaughan 
and Coronet, appeared promising. Among the Fancies a new one named 
Comedian took my fancy. The new Cactus, Harry Freeman and 
Crimson Beauty, were to be seen in excellent form, while among the new 
singles, Eclipse, Northern Star, and Miss Glasscock appear likely to be 
useful. Raisers of Decorative and single Dahlias must, however, be 
very careful to, in the first case, keep as close as possible to the true 
Juarezi type, and in the second case strive towards the smaller rounded 
