208 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Septembsr 3, 1885. 
“Nectarines. —Downton, Elruge, Galopin, Hardwick Seedling, Pit- 
rnaston Orange, Yiolette Ha'ive, Albert Victor, Milton, Improved Down- 
ton, Lord Napier, Newton, Pine Apple, Rivera’ Orange, and Stanwiek 
Elruge. 
“Plums. —Belgian Purple, Coe’s Golden Drop, Denniston's Superb, 
Green Gage, Lawrence’s Gage, Oullins Golden, Reine Claude de Bavayi 
and Transparent. 
“ Pears.— Jargonelle, Beurre de l’Assomption, Beurre d’Aremberg, 
Bsurr6 Superfin, Souvenir du Congres, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Beurrd 
Hardy, Marie Louise, Durondeau, Bonne d’Ezde, Pitmaston Duchess, 
Doyenne du Comice, Duchesse d’Angouleme, Beurrd Diel, and Beurr6 
d’Aremberg.” 
TUBEROUS BEGONIAS AT RATHRONAN HOUSE. 
One of the places in this locality that Tuberous Begonias are better 
grown from year to year is at Rathronan House, near Clonmel. A dozen 
beds are filled in the flower ground, some of the most intensely brilliant 
colours, such as Laelia, Sedeni, OriSamme, Vesuvius, and many others, 
including locally raised seedlings, chiefly remarkable for their floriferous- 
ness and compactness of habit. I have seen the best varieties, both single 
and double, bedded out ; but many of those do not do at all so well as 
those better furnished, though the individual blooms may be finer. So 
intensely brilliant were some of the beds, for instance, two of Lselia, a 
deep crimson pink, that some of my gardening friends whom I drove out 
found it difficult to gaze long on them. So of the orange reds ; whites do 
not seem to be popular for bedding out. Madame Saladin, a yellowish 
white, very free flowering, I have grown outside for a few years, hut it is 
not showy. If well treated it becomes semi-double. 
The variety here is very extensive, and as I frequently see inquiries 
in the Journal as to really good varieties, I cannot do better than copy 
the names of some of the best sorts that Mr. Gough has retained, after 
“ weeding out ” those inferior. 
Doubles. —Miss Wise, soft, full, rosy pink ; Mons. Keteleer, this is like 
the last, and very desirable ; Agnes Sorrel, salmon pink; Ophelia, Mdrae. 
Comesse, very fine ; Jules Lequin, Marie Lemoine, David M. Home, good ; 
Edith, Alba Plena, beet double white; Citrina Plena, and Duchesse de 
Cambaecref. 
Singles. —Snowflake, magnificent tinted white, a shade over 6 inches 
•across ; Mrs. F. Freeman, very fine ; Countess of Kingston, still one of 
the largest and finest crimson reds; Mrs. Iligbgate, immense size, 
scarcely inferior to Mr. Cannell’s monsters ; Hon. Mrs. Brassey, large rich 
crimson, that no collection should be without; Sir Stafford Northcote, 
Ball of Fire, Marquis of Bute, La Rosiere, F. E. Laing, Aspaeia ; and 
among the earlier-raised varieties still deserving of patronage would be 
Oriflamme, Trocadero, Progress, Monarch, Mdme. Stella, Souvenir de M. 
Saunders, &c. 
Here the custom is to start early, say in February, and then grow 
slowly along so as not to allow the plants to get drawn. Much care is 
required in keeping them over the winter, so as to prevent rotting on the 
one hand or drying up on the other. Even if no water is given, great 
risk is run even by laying them under the stage, should the atmosphere 
of a house be at all moist. In this way, at Cork last year, one of the 
finest collections in the British Isles were seriously injured, much more 
than 100guineas’ worth being lost when examined. 
The risk is much greater with the newer developments of doubles and 
semi-doubles coming from MM. Crousse, Lemoine, Keteleer, &c., in 
France than those raised by Cannell, Laing, and others in this country. 
Many singles, and some doubles, on the other hand, as Gloire de Nancy, 
I have known to live outdoors the whole of last winter merely covered 
with coal ash. Many are under the impression they can get fine Tuberous 
Begonias from seed. No doubt there are fine strains advertised in your 
columns from time to time, but if one worth naming was found in 10,000 
the raiser would be lucky.—W. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
ESTIMATE OF VEGETABLES. 
Peas. —The dry season has been very much against these. The late 
crops are a complete failure, falling a prey to aphides, and the mid-season 
varieties were badly infested with mildew, whilst the earlies came in 
quickly and were soon over. Of the earlies, Dickson’s First and Best 
cropped splendidly, producing well-filled pods, bringing 3s. per bushel, 
and next to this came William I., a good crop of fine well-filled pods, 
which realised no more, and the crop being fully a fourth less the ad¬ 
vantage is considerably in favour of the first named. Veitch’s Extra 
Early was fully a week in advance of the two previously named, and as it 
gives its crop all at once is a very desirable early variety. It realised 
double the price of the others per bushel, but it must be borne in mind 
that its yield was fully one-third less than for them. Early Sunrise 
(Day’s) may be mentioned as having filled its pods well, which it does not 
always do, and it is fully a week later, though a more telling variety in 
the pod than First and Best and Kentish Invicta, a bluo Pea, ought to be 
mentioned as a prolific variety, coming in a little later than William I. 
My selection of the earliest sorts are Veitah’s Extra Early as a first crop 
on warm borders or situations, and then First and Best with William I. 
for the main supplies, but I by no means wish to disparage the others, 
as they crop well, and under field culture pay as well as any. 
Of the second earlies I find Criterion a fine variety, and where sticks 
can be had it is, I think, the most prolific and best in quality of all the 
second earlies. What better than Huntingdonian and Champion of 
England? Yes, better by nearly half in crop, and equal in quality; 
indeed, it is a Ne Plus Ultra of high flavour and heavy cropping 
qualities. Telegraph beat Telephone hollow ; it cropped heavier, and 
though its pods were not quite so big, its colour and high quality gave 
it an advantage ; anywise, it brought more money. Prizetaker, though 
green as grass, disappointed ; grown along with Criterion it cropped less, 
and brought less, taking quantity for quantity, and may be classed with 
such kinds as Hundredfold and Dickson’s Favourite, good in their way, 
but not comparable to Criterion. 
Of second earlies of medium height, or 3 feet or so, I give Gladiator 
first place; it is superior in cropping to Fillbasket, and the quality is 
excellent. Marvel was very productive, and its quality is excellent. It 
succeeds Gladiator, being more a main-crop than second early variety. 
Dr. Maclean did capitally, and it is too good a Pea to be omitted ; and 
that good sort Essex Rival certainly ought not to be passed, on account 
of its good constitution and productiveness. But I have nothing to record 
in favour of John Bull nor Robert Fenn, Stratagem, and others of like 
ilk. They please me wonderfully well in the garden, but they do not pay. 
Veitch’s Perfection did not do well, the drought was too much for it, and 
similar remarks apply to Best of All, which is of the same type. In 
ordinary seasons I have found them unsurpassed as medium height main 
crop varieties. The Pea that seems to have done well this season is a 
kind I have not grown—viz., Albert Victor ; it is a large Pea of medium 
height, great cropper, and not subject to mildew, being highly eulogised 
by at least one grower for market. 
Of the late sorts the only one that cropped at all profitably in the tall 
kinds was Ne Plus Ultra. It cropped well, and brought 4s. 63. per 
bushel, but none seemed to be able to bear the drought, and were soon 
over. Blue Scimitar I heard of as doing well, but I did not grow it. Cul- 
verwell’s Giant Marrow did well, but it did not take in the market. 
Omega was anything but prolific, and a similar remark applies to Sturdy, 
which, however, for table is much esteemed. Walker’s Perpetual Bearer 
may be placed in the same category as not being paying sorts—not, at 
least, this season ; therefore I give as selections Ne Plus Ultra and Blue 
Scimitar, the former for sticking, the latter will do without, but I find 
sticks are necessary for all to have them in perfection, yet they cannot 
be used in field crops generally. 
Evolution cropped well, and certainly is the finest flavoured Pea I 
have tasted. It is a grand Pea for any purpose. The Wordsley 
Wonder, which I had for the first time, was a marvel of productiveness, 
and is a second early, coming in a few days only after the earlies, 
beiDg a blue wrinkled kind of medium height, about 3^ feet, and the 
quality is excellent. It is certain to become popular, for if it keeps up 
its character as shown this season, it must take first rank amoDgst the 
earliest kinds, if, indeed, it does not supersede them.— Utilitarian. 
MIXED FLOWER BEDS. 
Flower beds filled with two or more'distinct kinds of plants set out 
so that the colours of the flowers, though mixed, yet harmonise or con¬ 
trast, is an old method of bedding which might with advantage be em¬ 
ployed more often thaD it is. Setting aside the obvious usefulness of the 
system in cases where the supply of the finer bedding plants is below the 
requirements, we would place the system on the basis of its own merits 
a3 a good system. Some of the very prettiest and longest lasting beds 
we have ever seen have been mixed beds, and although these arrangements 
lack the massiveness which a block of one colour gives, they nevertheless 
do not fail in effectiveness, which in reality is the main point. 
In commending mixed bedding we must not on that account be 
supposed to do so at the expense of any other method of filling the beds. 
The fact is, there is plenty of room in most gardens for many styles of 
bedding, and in the case of those of more limited extent there is no 
reason why the same thing should be done year after year without change ; 
so that we would not in any way say a word against the method adopted 
by anyone to make his flower garden bright. At the same time, it may 
be worth while to present the mixed method to notice as being as worthy 
of adoption as any other. 
At first sight mixed bedding might be considered as a very simple 
matter, but it is possible to invest it with more than the simplicity of 
merely placing out in alternate rows plants of two kinds of flowers. 
Either that system may be adopted, or a modified one of having each 
plant in the row following in alternate order according to the kinds used. 
For somethings that system is a very good one, and especially where the 
plants employed form a striking contrast. Even where the colours 
harmonise a simple mixing of the plants as above may be employed, but 
it does not follow that we should confine ourselves to that method of 
planting alone. Much better effects are produced by forming a ground¬ 
work of one colour, and dotting in it ancthir kind of plant. The 
groundwork may form such a slight relation to the general arrangement, 
as that each main plant may be divided from its neighbour merely by a 
narrow band. Or it may be that the groundwork takes up the whole of 
the bed with the exception of a few dot plants, which give character to 
the whole. However, it must be observed that the principle of mixed 
bedding is in all cases present. Two things to be avoided in mixed 
bedding are insipidity and glaring colours. On the whole the insipid 
arrangement is preferable to the other even when judged on their indi¬ 
vidual merits, but the former can also in most cases be improved and 
made presentable by the addition of a few plants of bright colouring, 
whereas the other always remains intolerable. The most extreme example 
