26 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September 12, 1885. 
mostly, and in the surrounding or outside beds, were good 
rows of Gladiolus, good spikes of Hyacinthus candicans, 
with good green foliage of its own, some of the most 
perfectly double Calendula officinalis I have ever seen, 
Agapanthus, Cannas, Nicotianas, Solanums, Single 
Dahlias, and some beds were devoted to the herba¬ 
ceous Anemones, flowering very freely. 
At either end of the south front there are small con¬ 
servatories. One of them was full of large tree ferns, 
with tanks of water about; and the other one was all 
aglow with the lovely red and white Lapageria, flower¬ 
ing most profusely, the white one perhaps more so than 
the red. Their long growths were literally covered with 
flowers. What grand climbers these are ! On the west 
side is the lawn tennis ground, with its banks planted 
with Yew, and kept so low that there is no obstruction 
to the view from any part. Proceeding northward the 
grounds are not so modern, for here we come into 
glades of forest trees, vistas and groves, and formed 
many years ago, as the trees testify, and very delightful 
these must be in the hot bright weather. Reaching the 
east side of the mansion, where the principal carriage 
entrance is, there is a large expanse of gravel, and on 
rising ground in the dressed grounds and among 
trees stands Gunton Church. The best end—which 
faces the entrance front of the mansion — has a hand¬ 
some portico of the Doric order. This Church has no 
tower, but history informs us that it was rebuilt by Sir 
William Morden, Bart., father of the first Lord Suffield, 
who became heir to the estate in 1742, when he assumed 
the name of Harbord. Sir Harbord Harbord, the 
second baronet, was created Lord Suffield in 1786. The 
graveyard has no boundary fence to part it off from the 
surrounding grounds, and close by is the entrance to 
the kitchen gardens, which are six acres 'inside the 
walls and about two acres outside. 
Amongst the many things worthy of notice was a 
batch of 1,600 Strawberries in pots, all plumping up 
their crowns well, and such crowns of Yicomtesse Heri- 
cart de Thury as we seldom see ; this is the first crop 
forced here, and the first dish is generally picked early 
in March, as we have seen by reports of fruit shows iu 
past springs, when Mr. Allan, the gardener-in-chief 
here, has exhibited them. I saw some Muscat Grapes i-n 
one house that were quite fit to grace the board of any 
nobleman in the Kingdom. On the wall we noticed a 
good crop of Peas swelling to a good size, also some 
fine fruits on some bush-apple trees, and the finest bed 
of Beet for good colour and culinary purposes I ever 
saw ; the variety is Dell’s crimson. Not feeling very 
well I did not go through the glass structures, or take 
such an extended walk through the kitchen garden as 
I should have liked to have done, for Mr. Allan does 
everything well, and his work will stand examina- 
nation. — Visitor. 
- *■>=£<«- - 
MIGNONETTE FOR EARLY 
SPRING FLOWERING. 
A sowing should be made at once, so that the plants 
may get strong enough to stand through the winter. 
The most trying time is from November to the end of 
January, but if the plants have attained sufficient size 
and are strong and sturdy, they may with care be kept 
in a healthy state, hut will, except under very favour¬ 
able circumstances, make very little progress during 
the three months, therefore it is necessary that a little 
extra care should be taken in preparing the compost 
for this batch, as the plants have to stand so long in 
the same pots. The compost should consist of good 
fibrous loam, two parts, and one part of well-rotted 
manure, to which may be added some old lime rubbish, 
this will help to keep the soil sweet, as well as being 
beneficial to the qdants. The pots should be well 
drained, and a little soot should be mixed -with the 
drainage to keep the worms from penetrating ; the pots 
must be filled very firmly, and the seeds should be well 
covered with soil that has been sifted through a | inch 
sieve. After the seed is sown sufficient water should be 
given to penetrate through the soil, after which only 
an occasional sprinkle should be given to keep the sur¬ 
face moist. 
The best position for it will be in a pit or frame with 
a southern aspect, the pots should be plunged up to the 
rims, and the closer to the glass that they can be kept 
the better ; the lights should be kept close until the 
seed has germinated, when air should be given on all 
favourable occasions. As soon as the plants are large 
enough, they should be thinned out, leaving about 8 or 
10 plants in a 48-sized pot, this will allow for a few 
damping off, or, if this does not occur, a few more may 
be pulled out later on. During the winter the plants 
will require sufficient protection to keep the frost off, 
but no artificial heat should be given if it can be avoi¬ 
ded, as it will in no way forward their flowering, and 
will only tend to make them start into weak and sickly 
growth. The main elements towards success are, to 
keep the roots healthy by avoiding over watering, or 
allowing the pots to become too dry ; give them all the 
light available, and plenty of air on all favourable 
occasions. 
Varieties.— Since 1871, when “Parsons’ White” 
was sent out, and which proved to be such a great 
improvement on anything that had previously been 
offered, there has been such a number of so-called new 
varieties offered, that it has become somewhat diffi¬ 
cult to make a selection, and from what we have seen 
there is little difference, except in name, although some 
are inferior. All that we have seen may be divided 
into three sorts, i.c., Red, White, and Yellow. Vilmor- 
in’s “ grandiflora ” is a good type of the first-named, 
it is of dwarf habit, the flower spikes are very stout, 
the individual flowers large, and the anthers are very 
conspicuous, which gives the flowers a reddish appear¬ 
ance ; of the “ Whites,” Parsons,’ if obtaimd true, is 
still one of the best; it is of vigorous growth, and 
produces very fine spikes of almost pure white flowers ; 
on examining the flowers the petals will be found to be 
very large in comparison to the other sorts, and the 
stamens have veiy small anthers, in some spikes that 
we have examined these have been quite absent. Miles’ 
Spiral is another good form of the White, the flowers 
are not quite so white as in the preceding, but it is of 
dwarf habit, and undoubtedly one of the best, especi¬ 
ally for pot culture. Golden Queen is the best yellow, 
the anthers are yellow, and very conspicuous, which 
gives the spikes ef flowers quite a yellow appearance. —H. 
-->X<-- 
FRUITS, FLO WERS & V EGETABLES. 
Potatos. — I notice, with satisfaction, in your re¬ 
port of the Sandy Flower Show that, amongst Potatos, 
The Dean, Chancellor, and Prime Minister, stood out 
well. During a long association with the growth as 
well as’Yaising from seed of new kinds of Potatos, I 
have been struck with the need for sorts that will stand 
out well in poor soils iu ordinary seasons, or in all soils 
in dry seasons. Still farther, I have found that where 
large-tubered kinds can be induced to produce fine crops 
of fair-sized tubers in soils of moderate quality, such 
crops are always far more free from disease in bad 
seasons than are other kinds grown in rich soil with 
dressings of manure. The kinds of Potatos named are 
all robust growers, producing large tubers of fine 
quality; but if grown in rich garden soil, as so many 
gardeners unfortunately do, |not only are the haulms 
out of all fan proportion to the crop, but the 
tubers are usually far too large to be useful for domestic 
purposes. On the other hand, if grown in ordinary 
field land, which has been manured fora previous crop, 
and broken up to a depth of 12 to 14 ins., the produce 
will be a first-class healthy one, the tubers showing 
good clean ware size, rather than an undue proportion 
of big ones. Spite of the drought this season, 
which has so cruelly discounted Potato crops generally, 
and especially those of medium-growing kinds, I have 
lifted from the field splendid crops of The Dean and 
Prime Minister, but Chancellor being later, and not 
ready till October, is not yet lifted, still a good crop is 
plainly evident. I wish very much market-growers 
would employ the fork to cultivate their land 
with rather than the plough. They manure heavily, 
but the soil is never deeply worked, and in such seasons 
as the past one, the crops lacking root room, soon fail, 
and the produce is poor indeed.— A. D. 
Propagating- Violas for Bedding pur¬ 
poses. —No time should now be lost in securing 
cuttings from those varieties which, either on account 
of their fioriferousness, or from excessive drought, could 
not be obtained earlier in the season. Cuttings of the 
right stamp will be fairly plentiful now, and where a 
limited number only are required, the best cuttings 
will be found about the base of the plants, and by re¬ 
moving a little soil therefrom, the operator will be 
enabled to secure many with small fibrous roots 
attached, these will not be very much behind the earlier 
batch. "Where required in quantity, the tops will have 
to be utilised, the extremities making the best cuttings. 
They will need cutting to just below the joint, removing 
the leaves, and retaining a cutting from 2 to 3 ins. long, 
and if placed in any shady position, either under hand- 
lights, or under a north wall, they will soon form 
roots. — J. 
The Reading Russet Potato. —Can any of 
your readers suggest the reason why this grand Potato 
is so susceptible to cracking both before and after being 
lifted. With me, it has always cracked more or less, 
but this season much more than usual. If lifted sound, 
a great number crack shortly after, and of course are 
worthless for storing. I am sorry it has this bad 
quality, for in all other respects it is a splendid sort to 
grow. — Potatoist. 
The Fruit Crop at Frant Court.— Alien out 
for a ramble last night, through the pretty little village 
of Frant, which is situated on one of the highest points 
in Sussex, almost due east of Crowboro’ Hill, and 
facing the Deer Park, at Bridge, I paid a brief visit to 
Mr. Henderson, gardener to the Hon. Miss Canning, 
who at all times gives a hearty welcome to members of 
the craft. My attention was there directed to the fruit 
trees in the kitchen garden, which is situated nearly 
200 feet below the village, they were it seems all moved 
late in November last, and that they have been greatly 
benefited by the operation, you will be able to see for 
yourself, by some wonderful clusters of Apples and 
Plums which I send you to-day. The Damsons have 
set as thick as Alicante Grapes, and the great clusters 
are not unlike well finished bunches of that variety. 
The few sprays of the Harvest Plum, a small red variety' 
which has another name that I cannot now remember, 
will also show how freely that sort is bearing.— J.D. 
Aug., Sth. [The specimens received amply bear out our 
corresjrondent’s statements. The Apple shoot, Blen¬ 
heim Orange, though only IS ins. long, bears fourteen 
large cleanly grown fruits. It would be interesting to 
know what sort of crops the trees bore before being 
lifted. -Ed.] 
Japanese Anemones.— Some strong plants of 
A. Japonica alba, or Honorine Jobert, are the admiration 
of all who see them. The plants bloom so freely and 
persistently, and the blossoms are of the purest white. 
Then there is A. japonica itself, with its pale rose flowers ; 
a plant that is not half so much appreciated as it 
deserves to be. It is a charming companion to the 
white ; not quite so strong growing, but very pretty 
indeed. A. japonica intermedia comes between the two ; 
the colour pale rosy pink. All that is required is that 
they be planted and left alone, and then they will 
establish themselves and bloom for years to come.— D. 
Strawberry, Barnes’ Prolific.— This Straw- 
berry, which “W. P. R.” mentions in last week’s issue, 
p. 6, has been a general favourite in this locality for 
the last fifteen years. It was introduced in this neigh¬ 
bourhood by Mr. Thomas Baxendale (at that time 
gardener to Henry Crowtlier, Esq., of Lockwood), who 
found it when in full fruit, in a cottage garden, at a 
small village called Hoyland, near Barnsley. Being 
struck by its hardy and prolific qualities, he secured a 
few plants of it, and came away with them as proud as 
the late Mr. Lee was, when he carried off his Fuchsia, 
as described in your first volume. Mr. Baxendale 
questioned the cottager as to where he had obtained 
his plants, but elicited no more explicit reply than 
from an old farm house in Lincolnshire. Mr. Baxendale 
took the plants home and increased his stock as soon 
as possible, and every year was rewarded with the 
finest and most abundant crops of Strawberries that 
anyone could wish to possess. A gentleman from 
Matlock hearing of Mr. Baxendale’s crops, called 
upon him, and pronounced it to be Barnes’ Seedling, a 
standard variety, grown about Matlock, and now 
known here under the same name. Whether it got 
from Lincolnshire or Matlock to Lancashire, or vice- 
versa, I cannot say, but if it was in existence upwards 
of twenty years ago in the neighbourhood of Preston as 
“ W. P. R. ” states, in all probability it originated there. 
In any case, it is a good variety, and well adapted for 
these northern districts, on account of its hardy consti¬ 
tution, prolifieness, and the firmness of its fruits. I 
grew it for ten years previous to a year or two ago, 
when I discarded it, as it seemed to degenerate or wear 
itself out. I find that Strawberries, like Potatos and 
