June THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 1C5 
in geranium growing, and are very beautiful when 
exhibited in such fine specimens as were seen at 
Chiswick. There is a neatness and elegance about 
them that is exceedingly pleasing; grown as the 
exhibitors manage their plants they are great orna¬ 
ments to the greenhouse. Amongst the many nice 
varieties now cultivated there is none in our opinion 
superior to Aniccs as a light one, and Statuiski as a 
dark one. 
Amongst the seedlings of this class Mr. Ambrose 
had one named Beauty, of a dark colour in the upper 
petals, with the lower ones blotched with rose, which 
promises to be a very good variety; also The Bar- 
land, a variety with a goodly quantity of that beau¬ 
tiful rose-colour, similar to Anias; and Formosa, of 
a much deeper rose and better shape. 
In the collections of the other kinds of pelargo¬ 
niums, amongst the older varieties, Mr. Stains’s 
Pericles, Miss TIolford, and Pearl, were splendid 
specimens of beauty and skill. Mr. Cocks, of Chelsea, 
had also a very fine scarlet-ground variety, named 
Salamander, which, for high colouring and large 
trusses of large flowers, was much and deservedly 
admired; he had, also very fine, Centurion, a dark 
flower; Pictum, rose chiefly; and Rosamond, a deep 
rose. 
Mr. Robinson’s Forget-me-not was a specimen not 
easily to be forgotten; it is a grand improvement 
upon the Duke of Cornwall; also his Pearl, Sarah, 
Negress, and Beauty of Clapham, were exceedingly 
fine. Seedlings of this class that were worth grow¬ 
ing again were somewhat numerous. Beck’s Major 
domo struck us as being one of the best both in form 
and colour, always excepting Hoyle’s Prince of 
Orange, which was described in our account of the 
May meeting; this splendid variety was again shewn 
at this meeting, and again in excellent condition; 
every geranium grower must have it. Hoyle’s Ru¬ 
bens and Ajax are also first-rate varieties. 
Upon the whole, the shew of pelargoniums was re¬ 
spectable as to quality, but deficient, sadly deficient, 
as to quantity; indeed, if tbe fancy varieties bad 
been absent the tent would have been half empty. 
How are we to account for this ? The fashion is to 
shew such large plants that very lew individuals 
either can or will afford greenhouse room enough, 
and this is the grand reason why there are so few 
competitors. Reduce the number of plants required 
for each prize, or have two sets of numbers. Why 
not have threes or fours as well as sixes? We throw 
out these hints for the serious consideration, of the 
Council of the Horticultural Society. 
Pelargonium Exhibition. —Agreeably to adver¬ 
tisement, an exhibition of seedling pelargoniums took 
place, on Friday, the 15th instant, at Upton Park, 
near Slough. This exhibition is got up by the 
raisers of Pelargoniums for the express purpose of 
provingtheir seedlings. Competent judges are chosen, 
and the plants placed before them to adjudicate upon; 
their judgment is to be final, stamping, of course, a 
great value upon such as they give prizes to. We 
like this plan much; there can be no mistake in 
this matter. The ordeal that each flower exhibited 
has to go through, should it win a prize, gives it “ a 
character for life.” 
The following were judged worthy of their respec¬ 
tive prizes:—Foster’s Gipsy Bride, a dark fine va¬ 
riety; Magnificent, a noble rose variety, raised by 
Major Foquet, Isle of Wight; Field Marshal (Veitch 
and Sons, Exeter), a bright scarlet-ground variety; 
Aurora's Beam (Beck), a dark rose variety. 
EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 
Driving away Moles. —In your answer to Jetliero, 
on the 10th of May, you say you know of no method 
of driving away moles out of liis garden. Now, there 
is a very simple plan 1 have seen adopted, and, if 
Jetliero still wishes to drive them away after what 
you have told him, he had better get some good strong 
onions, old ones will be best, and cut them in halves, 
and put one part just under the ground wherever he 
can perceive the moles at work; he will find they will 
very soon quit the premises: the smell of an onion 
fresh cut, it seems, is too strong for them.— Thomas, 
Boxley Road, Maidstone. 
Peas Boiled in their Pods. —In your answer to 
correspondents, under this head, you state that they 
can be procured in Paris, which is quite correct. 
They are grown all over the continent, and as far north 
as Sweden, but they are likewise grown to a very 
great extent in this country, I myself having two 
acres planted out for seed, comprising the under¬ 
mentioned sorts, which are those cultivated in this 
country:—Dwarf Sugar (or eatable pods), three feet 
high; Tall Sugar, five to six feet high; and Tamarind 
Sugar, five to six feet high. This last is very curious, 
the pod resembling the fruit of the tamarind, from 
the peas showing prominently outside; the pods of 
this last will grow five inches long and one inch 
broad. For cooking, care must be taken that they 
are young.—D. Hairs, Seedsman, St. Martins Lane. 
American Blight. — In your 34th number you 
enumerate many recommendations lor getting rid of 
the American blight from apple-trees. I have, for 
many years, used one which I have never found to 
fail, and is perfectly harmless to the trees, viz., spirits 
of turpentine. This year, thoroughly to test whether 
it would hurt a tree, I caused one to be washed all 
over with it, and it now appears one of the most vi¬ 
gorous plants in the garden.—C. 
Moon’s Influence. —I beg to inform you that 1 
have tried planting peas in the increase of the moon, 
and in the decrease. Those planted in the decrease 
look much better, and are a great deal thicker, than 
those planted in its increase. The soil, the seed, and 
the situations are exactly the same in each. The 
first crop was planted on the 19th of March, the 
other on the 28th. There is at least a fortnight dif¬ 
ference in their appearance.— A great Admirer, 
Malvern. 
[A great many more experiments, and all agreeing 
in their results, must be recorded before we shall 
have the belief established in us, that the moon's 
age at the time of sowing has any influence over the 
productiveness of the future crop.— Ed. C. G.\ 
Entire Eatable Peas and Autumn Planting 
Potatoes. —Seeing a notice about the entire eatable 
pea in your useful Journal, I inquired of my brother, 
who grew some at Mottingham last year. He says 
they are neither a profitable nor yet a very good pea, 
unless eaten so young as to be wasteful. They are 
not equal to the kidney bean, between which and the 
common pea, he says, they appear to be a cross (if 
such a thing is possible.) With respect to autumn 
planted potatoes, I may add the experience of my 
last year’s crop, which was a very good and healthy 
one up to the time we began lifting, which I intended 
doing by taking up every alternate row as required. 
We iiad not gone far when they were attacked with 
the blight, the tops all fell, and the potatoes became 
so spotted that I thought it advisable to lift them at 
once during the wet weather we had, and to dry them 
on a hot plate. These did not keep while we used 
