62 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 19,1894. 
when fully exposed to the sun. This is unfortunate, for otherwise it is 
a very fine variety. 
A deliciously scented kind is to be found in Maggie Laurie, the 
colour of which is delicate rose, the flowers being produced very freely. 
A brilliantly hued variety is the crimson J. L. Toole, the calyx of which 
seldom, if ever, splits. The plant is of medium height, carries a good 
number of blooms. Amongst the early flowering scarlets Napoleon III. 
still finds much favour with growers. Florence has yellowish-buff 
coloured, medium sized flowers, which are charmingly fringed and 
freely produced. Clove-scented, and of almost perfect shape, the bright 
scarlet flowers of Cantab are worthy of more than passing attention. 
A grand white is Empress, and for a dark crimson Ivanhoe is one of 
the best. A bed which attracts much attention is filled with Comtesse 
de Paris, which, as most readers will know, is of a chaste blush white 
colour, while the fringed flowers of the pure white Mrs. G-ifford find 
numbers of admirers. 
Flaked and bizarre kinds are very numerous, are largely represented 
by excellent forms, among the best of the former being St. Gatien, rose 
flake, of which the flowers are very large and of good shape, being, 
moreover, freely produced. Jas. Douglas is a grand purple flake. The 
plant is a good grower, and the flowers of very fine form and substance, 
while if another rose flake is desired Thalia will be found free in 
flowering and symmetrical in shape. True Briton is well worthy of 
heading the list of bizarres, it belonging to the scarlet division, and 
being of good shape, as also are the medium sized flowers of Showy, this 
again being a scarlet bizarre. Queen Victoria is a splendid crimson 
bizarre of perfect shape, as also is Dr. Cromin, which is very free in 
flowering, and of excellent contour. Princess Beatrice is the best of the 
pink and purple bizarres, now in flower. The flowers are fine in every 
way, and are freely produced. This is all the flakes and bizarres that 
can be mentioned now, though there are many others equally worthy of 
mention. 
It would not be doing justice to the collection of plants in the 
Chelsea beds if brief reference were not made to a few of the Picotees. 
Half a dozen have, therefore, been selected as being fairly representative 
of the remainder, to particularise the whole of which would take up 
so much time, without serving any good purpose. As a free blooming, 
purple-edged variety Mrs. A. Chancellor can only be termed one of 
the best, so good is the shape of the flowers. Dr. Bryant has large 
flowers and a crimson edge, but it also is proliferous and possesses 
broad petals of much substance. Floriferous and shapely is the rose- 
edged Louisa, which is in truth one of the most charming. Chastely 
beautiful is Grosteen with its thin crimson edges, while among the 
broad crimson edged forms Dr. Epps must be assigned a foremost 
position. A grand variety with broad purple edges is found in 
Admiration. The habit of the plant is very dwarf and sturdy, the 
flowers being borne with a most pleasing profusion. 
Not the least interesting feature of the collection is the freedom with 
which most of the varieties represented are producing growths, which 
must be taken as ample evidence of the care and cultural skill brought to 
bear on the plants by Mr. Weeks, under whose direction they have been 
grown. In pots the plants are fine examples and are in excellent health, 
a number of the beautiful yellow Germania forming a sight in them¬ 
selves worth a visit to Chelsea to see even if there were no others in 
flower. Let us congratulate all concerned in the success achieved in 
the cultivation of these charming flowers, which are suitable alike for 
town and country gardens.— Wanderer. 
FLOWERS IN COVENT GARDEN. 
{Concluded f rom page 13.) 
This competition between the local home grown and the distant and 
continental flowers, is becoming every year more pronounced, and is 
especially trying to certain growers. The advantages of climate enable 
the French and Riviera flower growers to send blooms to this country, 
grown at little expense in the open air, which compete against similar 
goods forced here under glass. 
It is a matter of opinion whether a certain amount of foreign trade, 
especially in blooming shrubs, such as the Acacia, and in Ferns, does 
not encourage the flower trade generally, and whether the earlier 
produced continental flowers, does not to the same extent create a 
demand for the same flowers produced naturally in England later on. 
Whatever view we take, one thing is certain, and that is, that the 
foreigner has felt the pulse of his English customer, and will be more 
and more a rival of the English producer. 
One thing the foreign producer of flowers has not yet, and probably 
never will be able to do, and that is to touch the best grown and 
choicest varieties of market stuff. Take Tomatoes and Grapes as 
samples in fruit particularly. What foreign goods of these kinds can 
equal the home-grown article ? (I consider Guernsey goods home-grown). 
No out-of-door Grapes or Tomatoes can ever equal English hothouse 
fruit, and for the foreigner to attempt house cultivation would place 
him on an equal footing with English growers, while his distance from 
the market would prevent any danger of his competition being ruinous 
to the home grower. So with our best grown English forced flowers, 
the Roses, Carnations, Scarlet Pelargoniums, Azaleas, Bouvardias, 
Tuberoses, Eucharis, Lilies, and Gardenias ; they need fear no rival 
from beyond the sea. The admirable manner in which they are grown, 
and the excellent condition in which they are marketed, defies competi¬ 
tion. There are so many features in our cut-flower trade, that I may, 
perhaps, be excused if I overlook some of them. Next to the 
wondrous succession of blooms, passing in gorgeous array, each in its 
time and season, like a revolving panorama, from the earliest flowers of 
spring to the latest Chrysanthemum of autumn, I am much struck with 
the excellent judgment displayed by the grower in timing his produce to 
suit the occasion. Take Easter and Whitsuntide festivals for example ; 
no matter when they fall, or how varied the season, there always seems 
an abundance of specially grown white flowers to meet the occasion. 
Perhaps I can best illustrate the growth of this cut flower trade, 
within my own experience, when I say that ten years or so ago the 
flower market was never opened during what we call the dull season, 
i.e., from August 1st to April Ist on the bye-days, Mondays, Wednesdays, 
and Fridays. What little cut trade there was to do on those days 
during the winter months was done on the old market stands, letter H. 
The inconvenience from want of space necessitated its removal—first, 
into a covered roadway adjoining the flower market, and finally into a 
portion of the flower market itself. The space allotted to this business 
has had to be enlarged from time to time, till now about one-third of the 
market is used for it, and if it continues to grow it is only a question of 
time how soon it may be desirable to open the whole flower market 
daily for morning market all the year round. 
In speaking of the cut flower trade I must not overlook the out-of- 
door farming flower grower, whose acres of Wallflowers, Daffodils, 
Violets, Pinks, Stocks, Roses, Dahlias, and Chrysanthemums are 
marketed at times in such abundance, often in the open general 
market. I have seen waggonloads of these goods, sometimes packed in 
bundles, loose, often in large rounds or hampers, scenting the very air 
with their fragrance for yards around. These are not unworthy casts- 
off, but admirably grown blooms. I have known cartloads of Stocks, 
e.g., fine double-bloomed heads often fit for exhibition in a flower show. 
Double white Daffodils, this spring, I have known as many as 
800 bushels, each containing four dozen bunches, sold by one man in a 
single morning before nine o’clock, without fuss or bother. Violets in 
bunches, six small bunches in a market bunch. I have, a few years ago, 
known as much as £50 or £00 worth sold by one man on a single 
morning. These were grown under Apple trees. Roses are not so 
largely grown, but their cultivation is increasing. Moss Roses, Monthly 
Roses, General Jacqueminot, and Gloire de Dijon are the chief varieties. 
Bunches of mixed flowers, ready tied up, are sold in the autumn, and 
amongst these the Dahlia is conspicuous. 
Perhaps nothing is more speculative, and certainly nothing more 
profitable, than the introduction of a new and popular variety of flower, 
say Carnation, Chrysanthemum, or Rose. But the public are very 
exacting in these respects, and demand an attractive size, colour, or 
scent, while the grower requires it to possess a constitution, habit, and 
vitality sufficiently to stand the test of continued forcing without 
deterioration of quality. Perhaps one of the latest examples of success 
in this line, is the Carnation Uriah Pike, one grower of which has at 
present a daily average cutting of 200 dozen blooms, which he hopes to 
increase. 
Look at the bulbs and seeds we grow and import—Holland, Germany, 
Japan, East and West Indies, the colonies, every quarter of the globe 
sends us roots and seeds. One little feature of our home trade must not 
be forgotten. I mean the humble Moss, Fern, and ornamental foliage 
and grass so useful and increasingly sought for. Winter and summer 
spring and autumn, each season sends us its representatives. The tinted 
sprigs from the early hedgerows, the Primroses, Ivies, and Moss of 
woodland dells, the brown and yellow autumn-tinted leaves, the berries 
of Hawthorn and wild Dog Rose, nothing of beauty in Nature is too 
insignificant for London supply. I think I cannot better conclude my 
observations than by adding up a morning’s items somewhat after the 
fashion of a market buyer or salesman. 
One morning in May—item 268 large vanloads, 114 small loads or 
barrows of boxes, 370 stands, with every available shelf packed to 
overflowing ; gangways blocked, corners used, out space crammed full; 
about 300 sellers. Here is a bill for the mathematical inquirer. How 
many buyers ? How many horses and vehicles to take them away ? 
What value ? How many acres of glass ? How many miles of houses ? 
How many miles of piping? How many tons of fuel? How many 
casts of pots ? How many hands employed to plant, tie, water, cut, 
and pack them ? What capital invested in the trade of the producers 
only ? Say nothing of the shops of the tradesman, or the living of the 
