44 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 20,1887. 
55° on dull days, raising it to 65° or 70° by sun heat, and syringe 
overhead on all bright afternoons. When the trusses commence 
appearing the temperature should be risen 5°. At this stage a sharp 
look out must be kept for green fly, which is very troublesome. As 
soon as detected the house must be fumigated for two or three 
successive nights, taking care that the soil is perfectly dry before 
commencing. 
In some cases early forced Strawberries are bad to set, but I 
have always succeeded in securing a good crop by carefully dusting 
the blooms as they opened with a camel-hair pencil at midday and a 
very slight syringing on very bright afternoons. As soon as suffi¬ 
cient fruit is set thin to about twelve good fruits to a plant, and 
syringe on bright days until the fruits begin colouring. Some 
varieties are very subject to mildew, especially that excellent 
old vaiiety Black Prince, which is admirably adapted for early 
forcing, being easy to set and of excellent flavour. As soon as the 
first signs of mildew show, syringe with milk and sulphur, which 
will soon cure the malady. 
La Grosse Sucree is an excellent variety for early forcing, 
splendid fruit for size and colour, but only second-rate for flavour. 
Yicomtesse Hericart de Thury is another excellent variety with 
splendid fruits of first-rate quality. But when forced early it is 
very shy in throwing up its trusses. The flowers can scarcely be 
seen above the foliage. Therefore, to allow the sun to get at them 
it ia necessary to pick the middle lobe of each leaf out, and in some 
cases the whole leaf may be taken out when young. President and 
Sir Harry, two other well-known varieties of first-rate quality, are 
well adapted for second early or late use. 
If fruits are not required before March the plants need not be 
placed in heat until the beginning of December, but if wanted 
earlier they should be started accordingly. In concluding, I will 
pass a few snore remarks about watering and give a little advice to 
young gardeners who have charge of them. Examine the plants 
very carefully every morning, watering only those that are dry, and 
by no means water any plants that can go without until the next 
morning. Liquid manure may be supplied, but if the plants are 
placed on saucers filled with loam and Beeson’s manure as I have 
advised, liquid manure is not necessary. I have grown equally as 
good Strawberries when supplied with clear water as when liquid 
manure was used.—E. Collins. 
PRIMULAS AT READING. 
The striking success achieved by Messrs. Sutton & Sons at the last 
meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society in securing six first-class 
certificates for as many varieties is sufficient justification for giving a 
short description of their Primulas at home. Having recently had the 
privilege of inspecting the plants at Reading I am not able to justly 
characterise them otherwise than as magnificent, and I have no doubt 
those who saw them in London will admit their commanding excellence 
both in respect to variety and culture. The plants, which are grown in 
a series of low span-roofed houses, are remarkable for their sturdiness, 
symmetry, and vigour, each apparently a counterpart of the other, those 
of the several varieties appearing as if cast in a mould. They are 
grown in 5-inch pots, and it is very evident that from the moment of 
germination till the present time they have not been permitted to 
Sustain a check from any cause to arrest their growth, for if they had 
been overcrowded when small, cramped at the roots in their early stages, 
scorched in summer, or saturated in autumn, such plants could not have 
been produced from seed sown in May and June. Those exhibited in 
London were all raised from June-sown seeds, and no one who saw 
them could question their excellence. 
Turning to the varieties, Ruby King maintains its position as the 
king of its own peculiar colour. The opening flowers were, it was 
observed, somewhat pale, but as they attain maturity they assume a 
richer hue. Many are 2 inches across, and they are borne with great 
freedom, while the habit of the plant is perfection. Reading Scarlet is 
a fine representative of the brilliant scarlet section, being most showy 
hi colour and exceedingly free. These are a brace of very popular red 
Primulas. They have a white companion that is well worthy of them 
in Pearl, which has a large and beautiful flower. Two other exception¬ 
ally fine single forms may be noticed—namely, Reading Blue and Read¬ 
ing Pink. The former has the most distinct blue tint of any I have met 
with, and is fairly floriferous ; while the latter is of a beautiful salmon- 
pink hue and blooms most profusely. Several double varieties are par¬ 
ticularly noteworthy. Sutton’s Double White is very fine, having large, 
pure white double and semi-double flowers that are borne in the 
greatest profusion. The value of this Primula for cuttting should 
render it much sought after. Double Scarlet, Double Rose, and Double 
Carmine, the colours of all of which are indicated by their names, are 
large and free-flowering forms, admirably representative of their class. 
The last-named is exceptionally rich in colour. A novelty that should 
attract much attention is a double blue, which has a somewhat similar 
hue to the single blue, and bears large double and semi-double flowers. 
These are great acquisitions. The Fern-leaved Primulas at Reading bear 
the same stamp of excellence as the others mentioned, the most note¬ 
worthy of them being, perhaps, the variety named Snowdrift, whi?h 
blooms in wonderful profusion throughout the winter. The flowers are 
pure white, and the large head of bloom renders the name particularly 
appropriate. Sutton’s White Fern-leaved is a fine selection of this 
popular form. The singularly chaste flowers, which have large yellow 
eyes, are 2 inches across, and the habit of the plant is perfection. Rosy 
Queen is of a beautiful salmon rose hue and is wonderfully free. Two 
novelties in this class are a single and a double blue variety, both of 
good colour. The former blooms very freely, and both will doubtless be 
much sought after when they are offered to the public. A beautiful 
lilac variety has also yet to be introduced. It is one of the best 
varieties grown. Messrs. Sutton have now added an ornamental foliage 
section to their already large collection. One of these—Gipsy Queen— 
is very distinct, having very dark foliage with purple stems, and bearing 
white flowers, which, however, are spotted with pink as they develope. 
Moss-curled White has bright green curled Parsley-like foliage and 
white flowers, and Moss-curled Lilac resembles it in habit, but the 
edges of its leaves have a bronzy hue, and the flowers are lilac. A leaf 
and a flower of either of these varieties form a charming buttonhole. 
The condition of all the plants at Reading evokes great admiration 
The majority are specimens a foot across, with broad healthy foliage and 
bold heads of bloom—such plants in fact as can only be produced by 
skilled cultivators. 
As may be imagined, the seed distribution departments of the firm 
in its spacious warehouses are now working at high pressure, but the 
magnitude of the trade that is now being carried on can be demon¬ 
strated only by ocular evidence. A courteous member of the firm, 
whose business education at home has been ripened by a sojourn 
amongst the immense flower, vegetable, and grass seed farms of 
Germany and France, conducted me over the premises, and exposed the 
colossal nature of the trade that is done by an important British seed 
house. The buildings cover several acres of ground, and now, with the 
order season just commencing, they are packed with seeds from floor to 
ceiling, activity prevailing everywhere. The resources of this vast 
establishment are really wonderful, and the manner in which it is con¬ 
ducted is a striking example of business aptitude and enterprise.— 
A Visitor. 
A PEA CONFERENCE. 
While scanning almost every seed catalogue with more or less in¬ 
terest, the thought which has suggested itself to my mind the last 
season or two is whether this important vegetable has not reached a 
standard of merit and popularity sufficient to make it worthy of an 
effort to have something in the shape of a Pea conference. We have 
had fruit congresses, and surely in these times a special display of Peas 
would not be out of place. It may be thought there is not now time to 
prepare, but this should not prove a stumblingblock, as little or no seed 
is yet sown. Others, however, far more competent, and also the trade, 
may offer sound opinions, and whether its centre should be north or 
south.— E. Burton, Kirkby Lonsdale. 
STR\Y NOTES. 
As all will, who have to do with horticultural hot water in a 
natural and not figuratively unpleasant sense, I have been in¬ 
terested in the question of water in furnace ashpits. One of the 
contributors to the discussion, Mr. Burton, is so near a neighbour 
that I have had opportunities of seeing the water plan in action 
under his supervision, and practically it works and has long worked 
well. The fire bars, especially where the steam has caught them, 
look particularly clean, and if not bright as a housemaid might 
count brightness, they seem not only free from corrosion, but as 
though hardened with a steely surface as if the vapour that passed 
over them were charged with some antiseptic agent. The fire 
burned clearly with an unimpeded draught, and the clinkers, as 
they neared the bars, seemed to crumble and fall quietly away in¬ 
stead of forming a party of obstruction in the process of com¬ 
bustion. 
I particularly noticed the freedom from ashdust and sulphurous 
fumes, which is always pleasant, and I think safe in cases where the 
furnace may be under the same roof as the potting shed, where 
valuable compost material lies. Soil is so absorptive that I do not 
think I would trust, say Orchid peat long stored, in an atmosphere 
that pretty often smelt of sulphur ; nor would I care for a whiff 
of these fumes to pass in with anyone who entered a range of 
houses by a back door opening into the potting shed and boiler 
house. A watery grave for ashes obviates all this, and it is better 
to renew a few furnace bars, even if they were prematurely eaten 
away, than to replace some valuable plants that might mysteriously 
sicken or die. My own “ mileage ” of pipes is not great, and the 
boiler that heats them is heated in turn hy a “ tortoise ” furnace. 
Perhaps these larger sizes might be dignified as “ turtles.” Its 
horticultural want is a small ashpit, but still I contrive that all 
ashes when removed drop into water, and I have found the cultural 
advantage in the stoppage of dust and fumes. 
Sunflowers, all head and no body. I would note a very in¬ 
genious and effective arrangement by Mr. Burton of big Sun- 
