July 24, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
747 
FRUITS, FLOWERS & VEGETABLES, 
White Viola. —Your correspondent, “ B. L.” 
(p. 715), wishes to find a good white Viola with the 
old Perfection habit. Allow me to recommend one 
which ha? given me great satisfaction, and if “ B. L.” 
is not already acquainted with it, I may describe it as 
of a very dwarf upright growth, hut the flower partakes 
more I think of the Pansy than the Viola proper. It 
was sent out by Messrs. Dicksons & Co., of Edinburgh, 
some years ago under the name of Snowdrop, since 
which time it has been much used here, and is now 
the only white one I grow. I find its chief merit to 
be that it is much more effective when the plants are 
two or three years old than when young plants are used 
yearly, as it gains a much more stocky habit when old, 
and also flowers more freely. Some plants, which have 
not been disturbed since I had them, shortly after being 
sent out, until this season—a proceeding I now very 
much regret, the drought in this locality having caused 
plants to do so badly—have hitherto, year after year, 
been a mass of bloom, the foliage being almost hidden 
by it. They were originally planted in a mixed border, 
and the flowering growths cutback yearly.— B. Stevens, 
Poston. 
Earwigs and Chrysanthemums.—I do not 
think that Chrysanthemum growers generally can 
endorse Mr. George Kidson’s remarks respecting ear¬ 
wigs (see p. 724). Having been a grower for many 
years, I agree fully with what Mr. W. E. Boyce states 
in his Guide— viz., that they do great injury to the 
plants. It is a well-known fact that serious injury is 
often done to the shoots and buds by the ravages of 
these garden pests.— A. B. 
Apricot-coloured Roses.— When looking over 
the fine collection of Boses staged by Messrs. William 
Paul & Son, of Waltham Cross, at South Kensington, 
on the 13th inst., I made a note of four varieties that 
1 thought came under the denomination of Apricot- 
coloured Boses. They were Ma Capucine, bronzy or 
dark apricot, beautiful in the bud (Mr. Geo. Prince 
grows this Tea-scented Bose grandly at his nursery at 
Longworth, and gets on to it an edging of silvery rose) ; 
William Allen Bichardson, Noisette, deep orange- 
yellow, the edges of the petals paler ; Shirley Hibberd, 
Tea-scented, deep nankeen-yellow, something of a novel 
colour, very pretty in the bud-state; and Madame 
Francois Jamin, deep orange-yellow, the centre occa¬ 
sionally tinted with coppery apricot. I think these are 
all well worth growing for cutting from. Little 
pruning is necessary in the case of these Boses, and 
spiral training is recommended for all of them. Shirley 
Hibberd and Madame Fran 5 ois Jamin may, perhaps, 
require a little closer pruning and a fairly rich soil. I 
find that at a Bose show, when Boses of the type of 
William Allen Bichardson are shown, the adies 
especially linger over them, as if they were of a pecu¬ 
liarly attractive character.— B. D. 
The Fruit Crops in Northumberland.— 
The drought this summer has been unusually severe in 
this neighbourhood, no rain of any consequence having 
fallen from the last day of May until the 12th of the 
present month, since which time we have had a few 
good showers, which have already told wonderfully 
upon all crops. The fruit crops are, therefore, very 
much under the average, and likely also to be small in 
size. Apples and Pears are a thin crop in the open ; 
here, and in one or two places "which I have visited, 
they have been dropping from the trees, and there was 
no help for it, through lack of water supplies. On walls 
both these fruits are somewhat better, though under a 
medium crop. Apricots are nearly a failure ; but in 
our own case the fault is partly my own I believe, as 
this year they were so late in coming into bloom, and 
the weather being exceptionally fine, I did not apply 
so much protection as usual, and the consequence was 
they got caught. Plums on walls are good, especially 
Victoria ; but most of the Gages are useless to depend 
upon about here. Peaches have been given up out¬ 
doors, except in some cases where heated walls are built. 
Of small fruits, Currants are fairly good, black a trifle 
thinner than usual, but still a good crop. Gooseberries 
also are good where the birds have left them alone ; 
sparrows are the worst enemies to these here, and this 
year most of the damage was done during winter, when 
we had such a long-continued snowstorm that they were 
driven to the buds, as no other food was to be had, 
unless near farm-buildings. Strawberries are a capital 
crop, and ripening fast now ; these and Cherries are 
the only fruits I can reckon as exceeding the average.— 
B. Stevens, Poston, Northumberland. [We should be 
glad to hear from our readers, on this subject, in other 
parts of the country. —Ed.] 
Gumming in Peach Trees.— Would you 
kindly inform me what is a reliable cure for gumming 
in Peach trees. I have [ ome young trees affected.— 
W. IV. [We do not know of any reliable cure for 
gumming, and should get rid of any trees badly 
affected. Yours being young trees, it is possible that 
they have been planted in too heavily manured borders, 
in which case you must let them grow freely and prune 
as little as possible, so as not to check the flow of the 
sap. Bemove the exudations carefully, and wash the 
bark frequently with water. —Ed.] 
-- 
FLORICULTURE. 
Carnations and Picotees at Home. —The home 
to which I allude is at Slough, where Carnations 
and Picotees have been grown for many years past. I 
think I never before saw a better and healthier stock. 
It is computed that there are 2,600 eight-inch pots, 
and as each pot, in most instances, contains three 
plants of one variety, your readers can give some idea 
of the enormous quantity of plants now in flower, or 
rapidly coming into bloom. For the convenience of 
housing and layering, Carnations and Picotees are 
grown in pots, and now one can see them at Slough 
housed under glass—three houses at least being full of 
them ; and there is as fine a head of bloom as one can 
well desire to witness. Evidently the season is favour¬ 
ing a good head of bloom, and I think that Mr. Doug¬ 
las, as well as Mr. Turner, will show in splendid form 
on Tuesday next, on the occasion of the National 
Carnation and Picotee Society’s Annual Exhibition. 
I saw the Slough collection on Saturday last, and 
though the flowers were young there were ten days for 
them to perfect themselves into fine' development, and 
I left the place with the conviction they will do so. 
What a rich class the scarlet bizarres are !—so strik¬ 
ing in colour when the flakes and dashes of scarlet are 
vivid. I made a note of the following as the best 
among them then in bloom :—Bobert Lord, James 
McIntosh, Master Stanley, Lord Napier, Charles Tur¬ 
ner, and Arthur Medhurst. Crimson bizarres rank next 
in value, of these there were Bifleman, Harrison Weir, 
Crimson Banner, E. S. Dodwell, and Mrs. Maclaren, 
the last named a tree carnation that is now blooming 
in fine condition, at the same time it sports freely into 
many fancy forms. The Pinks and Purple Bizarres 
are represented by Turford Perfection, Sir Garnet Wol- 
seley, H. K. Mayor, Sarah Payne, Squire Llewellyn, 
Falconbridge, Princess Beatrice, and Joe Bagstock. In 
looking over the raiser’s names of the foregoing one is 
able to see )how many of them Mr. E. S. Dodwell 
has raised and put into cultivation. 
The Picotees are all so very pretty that one can only 
heartily admire them without distinction of variety. 
They are divided into red, purple, and Bose, and scarlet 
edges, and while the petals of some are healthy, those 
of others are only delicately loud with colour, hence 
they are subdivided into heavy and light edges. A few 
good Picotees will be found among the following :— 
Bed edges : Blanche, Dr. Epps, J. B. Bryant, Princess 
of Wales, and William Summers. Purple edged : Clara 
Penson, Her Majesty, Mrs. A. Chancellor, Norfolk 
Beauty, and Princess Dagmar. Bose edged: Constance 
Heron, Evelyn, Favourite (Liddington), Miss Homer, 
and Mrs. Payne. 
In reference to the management of the Carnation and 
Picotee this month, Mr. E. S. Dodwell writes in his 
book as follows : “ Trap earwigs incessantly, and watch 
for and destroy every class of destructive slugs, green¬ 
fly, &e. ; disbud constantly as the laterals rise, in all 
buds requiring this attention, and open the points of 
the calyx so as to permit the expansion of the petals 
equally, and thus avoid a split pod, which is always, 
where incurred, a slur upon the grower.” Water must 
be given as required, and, as a matter of course, not a 
single weed, or anything in the shape of green, should 
be allowed to grow upon the surface. 
We may, therefore, confidently expect a fine show, 
and a good head of bloom on the 27th inst. I, for one, 
hope to be there to see it.— B. D. 
ROSE SHOW AT BIRMINGHAM. 
The provincial exhibition of the National Bose 
Society was held in the Botanical Gardens, Birming¬ 
ham, on July 15th, and was, so far as the exhibits 
were concerned, a most successful exhibition. Com¬ 
petition ran very close indeed in many of the classes, 
and quality prevailed throughout. The weather was 
fortunately cool and cloud}’, and the new exhibition 
building was crowded with exhibits. The arrange¬ 
ments were ably carried out by Mr. Latham, and great 
praise is due to him. In the class for seventy-two 
blooms there were five exhibits, The Cranston Nursery 
Company, Limited, being first, with a very fine lot ; 
second, Mr. B. B. Cant, Colchester, with smaller but 
good blooms ; third, Mr. Frank Cant; fourth, Messrs. 
G. Paul & Son. 
For thirty-six trebles there were five exhibitors, first, 
Mr. B. B. Cant, Colchester ; second, Mr. Frank Cant, 
Colchester ; third, Messrs. G. Paul & Son ; fourth, Mr. 
C. Turner. For eighteen Teas or Noisettes, open class : 
First, Mr. Frank Cant, with a fine lot; second, Mr. 
George Prince, Oxford ; third, Mr. B. B. Cant, and 
two other lots were staged. For thirty-six blooms, 
nurserymen : First, Messrs. Harkness & Son, Bedale, 
Yorkshire ; second, Messrs. J. Burrall & Co., Cam¬ 
bridge; third, Messrs. John Jefferies & Son, Cirencester; 
and fourth, Mr. T. Mattock, Headingham, Oxford, 
with three other exhibitors in this class. For eighteen 
trebles, nurserymen, there were six exhibitors, first, 
Messrs. John Jefferies & Son, Cirencester, with a very 
fine stand of blooms ; second, Messrs. G. Cooling & Son, 
Bath, with smaller but good blooms ; third, Messrs. 
Harkness & Son. In the nurserymen class for twelve 
Teas or Noisettes there were five exhibits staged, first, 
Mr. J. Mattock ; second, Messrs. Harkness & Son ; 
third, Messrs. G. Cooling & Son. 
The following classes were for amateurs :—Thirty-six 
singles, four exhibits : First, Bev. J. H. Pemberton, 
Havering, Bomford, with a very fine lot; second Mr. 
T. B. Hall, Bockferry, Birkenhead; third, T. W 
Girdlestone, Esq., Sunningdale ; fourth, Mr. W. J. 
Grant, Hope End Farm, Ledbury, with one other ex¬ 
hibit. In this class throughout, the quality of the 
blooms was excellent. For twelve trebles there were 
four exhibits, first, Air. W. J. Grant, Ledbury, with a 
very fine stand of blooms ; second, Mr. T. B. Hal], 
also a fine lot; third, the Bev. J. H. Pemberton. For 
twelve Teas or Noisette: First, Mr. T. B. Hall, with a 
grand lot, Hon. Edith Giffard andComtesse deNadillac 
being very fine ; second, the Bev. E. G. King, D. D., 
Madingby Vicarage, Cambridge ; third, Bev. J. H. 
Pemberton, with two other exhibits in this class. For 
twenty-four Boses: First, Mr. C. Williams, Lower 
Eaton, Henford ; second, the Bev. L. Garnett, Chester, 
with an even good lot; third, the Bev. E. N. Pochin, 
Barkby Vicarage, Leicester ; fourth, the Bev. H. W. 
Watson, Birkswell, with one other exhibitor. For 
eighteen distinct Boses, five exhibits : First, Mr. W. 
Marroway, Headington Quarry, Oxon, for a fine lot; 
second, Mr. G. Taylor, Old Heddington, Oxon, a clean, 
even good lot ; third, Mr. W. Boys, Milford, Derby ; 
fourth, Mr. B. Bamsden, Chadwick Manor, Knowle. 
For nine Teas or Noisettes there were five lots staged. 
First, Mr. W. Marroway ; second, the Bev. L. Garnett ; 
third, Bev. H. W. Watson. For six Boses : First, the 
Bev. F. B. Barnside, Chipping Camden ; second, Bev. 
F. S. Taylor, Evesham ; third, Mr. E. Mawley, Berk- 
hampstead. For six Teas or Noisettes, six exhibits : 
First, the Bev. F. B. Barnside, Chipping Camden ; 
second, Mr. J. Stadden ; third, Lieut.-Col. Standish 
Hore. For six new Boses : First, T. W. Girdlestone, 
Esq., "with Princesse de Bearne, Grace Darling, 
Alphonse Soupert,, Etendard de Jeanne d’Arc, 
Madame de Watteville, and Madame Marsicault ; 
second, Mr. Wm. Boys, Melford, Derby, with a very 
fine Etendard de Jeanne d’Arc, Mrs. C. Swailes, and 
Alphonse Soupert, also very fine, and others. For 
twelve new Boses : First, Messrs. G. Paul & Son, with 
a beautiful stand, Benoit Comte, Madame Marsicault, 
Marshal P. Wilder, Pride of Beigate, Ella Gordon, and 
Etendard de Jeanne d’Arc, all first-rate as shown. In 
the open classes for twelve Teas and Noisettes, Mr. 
B. B. Cant was first with a superb lot ; Mr. G. Prince, 
Oxford, second ; Messrs. G. Paul & Son, third. For 
twelve yellows, there were five lots staged. First, 
Mr. B. B. Cant; second, Mr. Frank Cant; third, 
Messrs. J. Burrell & Co., all Marshal Niels. In the 
open class for twelve white Boses, Merveille de Lyons 
swept the board, all in fine condition. For twelve 
crimsons, open : First, Mr. B. B. Cant, with A. K. 
Williams ; second, Mr. F. Cant, ditto ; third, Mr. G. 
Prince, with Alfred Colomb. For twelve dark velvety 
crimsons, open class, Mr, B. B, Cant was first with a 
fine lot of Eeynolds Hole ; second, Messrs. Cranston & 
Co., with Prince Camille de Bohan ; third, Messrs. G. 
Cooling & Son, with Xavier Olibo. For twelve blooms 
of any Bose, open class : First, Mr. B. B. Cant, with 
Marshal Niel ; second, Mr. W. G. Grant, with Baroness 
Bothschild ; third, the Cranston Nursery Company, 
with Prince Arthur. The few other remaining classes 
were well filled. The premier Tea Bose bloom was in 
Mr. Girdlestone’s 36 stand, a Marshal Niel; and the 
premier H. P. in the Bev. J. H. Pemberton’s 36, a fine 
A. K. Williams. 
