September 17, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
39 
CARNATIONS AND PICOTEES. 
A large collection, consisting of over 600 pots and 
140 varieties, has been admirably cultivated by Mr. 
William Spinks, the manager of HansNeimand & Co.’s 
nurseries, Edgbaston, Birmingham, this season, the 
plants being remarkable for strong healthy grass, and 
wonderfully clean fine flowers, especially the Picotees, 
for purity and refinement was so characteristic through¬ 
out. I have never seen better growth, the blooms 
better staged, or a more effective arrangement' in a 
Carnation house. Amateurs commencing with these 
plants may safely take the following very fine varieties 
I selected from the collection. 
Picotees. 
Mary (Simonite).—An extra fine light purple edge, 
both in petal and form. 
Novelty (Matthews).—Light purple edge, extra fine 
in form and petal. 
Miss Small. —Light purple edge, very pure, fine 
form and splendid petal. 
Campanani. —Heavy red edge, fine petal and form. 
Clara Penson (Wilmer).—Light purple edge, large 
size, fine broad petal, with a little tendency to roughness, 
but a very fine flower. 
Fanny Helen (Niven).—Medium rose edge, fine broad 
petal, very pure, and extra fine form. 
Mrs. Allcroft. —Light red edge, a very refined flower, 
extra fine. 
Zerlina (Lord).—Medium purple edge, a fine well- 
formed petal, extra fine. 
Mr. Gordon (Simonite).—Light red edge, a beautiful 
flower, fine well-formed petal, and very pure. 
Mrs. Lord. —Medium rose edge, a beautiful shade of 
colour. 
Baroness Burdett Coutts (Payne).—Light purple edge, 
fine petal and form. 
Beauty of Bath. —Light rose, wire edge, so thin as 
to be scarcely perceptible ; a very fine flower. 
Brunette. —Heavy red edge, which is broad and very 
regular, with ivory-white ground-colour ; grand petal, 
and one of the very finest of the heavy reds. 
Dr. Epps. —Heavy red edge ; a fine flower, lacking 
the quality of Brunette, but well worth growing. 
Mrs. A. Chancellor (Turner).—Heavy purple edge, 
a very fine flower. 
Edith Dombrain. —Heavy pale rose edge, a very fine 
flower. 
Mis. Sharpe. —Heavy red edge, a very good variety, 
fine in substance and form. 
Mrs. Rudd. —Medium rose edge, a medium-sized 
flower of fair quality ; very good here. 
John Smith. —Medium red edge, rather heavy, fine 
petal ; a fine old variety. 
Liddington Favourite. —Light red edge, a very fine 
flower in every respect. 
Thomas William. —Light red edge, a good flower 
in every respect. 
Jessie (Turner).—Light purple, a large flower of fine 
quality. 
Miss Horner (Lord).—Light rose edge, a refined and 
lovely flower, very delicate in colour. 
Mrs. Dodwell (Turner).—Heavy red edge, a fine 
flower. 
Lucy. —Light red edge, a large flower of good quality. 
Carnations. 
Scarlet Bizarres. —Lord Napier, Charles Phillips, 
fine petal and form ; Master Stanley, George, Arthur 
Medhurst, and Admiral Curzon. 
Crimson Bizarres. —Rifleman, very fine ; E. S. Dod¬ 
well, J. D. Hextall, Dr. Cronin, Rev. F. Symonds, 
Thomas Moore, Junr., Joseph Lakin, very fine, and 
Black Prince, very bright coloured. 
Pink and Purple Bizarres. —Sarah Payne, James 
Taylor, Squire Llewellyn, Milly, extra fine; Squire 
Penson, and Unexpected. 
Scarlet Flake. —Henry Cannell, extra fine; Sportsman, 
Lady Curzon, Tom Lord, Ivanhoe, and Scarlet Keets. 
Rose Flake. —Dolly Varden, Mrs. Erskine Wemyss, 
Jessica, Rose of Stapleford, Mrs. W. M. Hewitt, very 
fine, but liable to run ; and Dorothy’s Sister, very 
pale pink, but fine and distinct. 
Purple Flake. —Sporting Lass, extra fine, and very 
bright; George Melville, a splendid flower in every 
respect; Squire Whitborn, President of Corpus, Master 
Sander, and Esther. 
Fancy Picotees. 
The class for fancy Picotees is now getting to be a 
numerous one, and there are some beautiful things 
amongst them, especially the following :— 
Sir Frederick Roberts. —Buff, with bright red mark¬ 
ings ; extra fine. 
Criterion (Spinks). —White ground, with bright 
scarlet bars ; a strong grower, and fine. 
The Mikado (Spinks).—A very finely-formed flower, 
with good pod, and of a bright shade of the old Clove 
colour ; fine form, and a free bloomer. 
Yum Yum (Spinks).—Clear yellow ground colour, 
with bright red bars ; a fine variety. 
Maude (Spinks).—Not yet sent out. A very beau¬ 
tiful flower, of an orange ground colour, shaded with 
bright carmine ; extra fine. 
W. T. Ward. —Rich yellow, with bright scarlet 
markings ; very dwarf habit, distinct and free. 
The Governor. —A Souvenir de Malmaison style of 
flower, but a great improvement in form and pod ; 
perfect shape, fine pod, a splendid flower. 
Comte de Chambord. —Similar to The Governor in 
character, but white, and with a strong clove perfume ; 
a fine variety. 
Lady Martineau (Spinks).—New, not yet sent out, 
perfect in form, very pure white with good pod ; an 
extra fine variety. 
Mr. George Hawtry.—Yngat primrose-yellow, large 
flower, good pod, and fine form; one of the best 
yellows. 
Royal Purgile (Spinks). —A very fine variety. 
Budge. —Light rose, fine in form. 
Murid Fanny. —Light rose, fine in form. 
Florence. —Salmon-yellow, not remarkable for form, 
but a fine attractive variety. 
Blush Clove. —A type of the old Clove in foliage, 
growth and perfume, a pleasing shade of pale blush- 
pink. 
All the varieties in the fancy section are most 
valuable garden decorative plants of easy culture, good 
free growth, and will become great favourites with all 
who may grow them. — W. D. 
-- 
Hardening ffoTES from 
§ GOTLAND. 
» 
Exhibition Products. —It is commonly asserted 
that when a season has been extra dry, and adverse to 
free vegetable growth, that exhibits will be inferior, 
and reduced in numbers ; but judging from what we 
have seen, heard, and read .of, such is untenable this 
year. So far as culinary vegetables are concerned, we 
do not remember having seen them of finer quality, 
and the great abundance which has been crowded on 
the exhibition tables show that those who cultivated 
them are indomitable in their exertions to secure 
success. W e know well that many of the articles are 
raised under protection at first ; and amateurs are the 
keenest workers for such early displays, and we might 
add not the least successful in their efforts. The strong 
points of this class (in northern parts) is the excellence 
of their Leeks, Onions, Parsnips, Celery, Potatos, 
Carrots, and yellow Turnips ; and this year the most 
inferior are Peas, Broad Beans, French Beans, and Beet¬ 
root. We have seen only two really good dishes of 
Peas exhibited this year, while we do not remember 
seeing a bad lot tabled last year. Cut flowers have 
been under par, generally, this season ; Pansies and 
Stocks especially. 
Among some of the best local exhibitions which we 
have attended this year, are Falkirk, Stirling and 
Denny. At the first - named the competition is 
generally keen, and this season was no exception to 
the rule, except in the way of pot-plants and fruit. 
Cut flowers were well represented, and most of them of 
good quality. The vegetables, probably, never were 
better represented at any show, and the kinds to which 
we have already referred were of superior excellence. 
Leeks of great thickness, blanched 1 ft. or more in 
some cases and sound to the core. The Onions were 
remarkably handsome ; one lot (half-a-dozen), of a 
selection from White Spanish, averaged over 16 ins. in 
circumference, and came from a patch of a working 
mechanic, whose presence as an exhibitor often fills his 
fellows in the conflict with dismay. ‘ ‘ Bob ” Wright, the 
name he likes best, goes to other shows beyond his 
own locality, and carries his prizes off with much ease. 
Some lots of the finest Carrots we ever saw were at 
Falkirk, of the James’ Scarlet class, but were passed 
over to make way for very coarse Altringhams. An 
absurd idea has taken possession of many northern 
growers that the last-named should stand pre¬ 
eminently above all other kinds ; but what are often 
exhibited should never have been brought forward for 
competition. 
At Stirling they are more wide awake, and ignore 
coarseness and popular names for genuine quality. The 
decisions are left to the judges, who should never be 
influenced by local popularity. At the Royal Burgh, 
plants, forced fruits, and cut flowers are largely repre¬ 
sented ; but, probably, the greatest cultural skill is 
found in the vegetable classes. The collections in the 
gardeners’ classes were superb, and left little to be 
desired ; but in all cases Peas showed that climatic 
influence was against them this season, while last year 
they were, in every instance, very near perfection. 
Cauliflowers of great size were numerous ; but it is not 
an easy matter to get such large heads combined with 
fine quality and freedom from rank flavour when served 
from the kitchen. Onions, collectively, were remarkably 
good, the Brown Globe class being extra handsome, but 
barely equal to the Falkirk lots. The amateur classes 
were noteworthy, comprising collections which would 
have done credit to any professional cultivator in the 
kingdom. A keen amateur and estimable character, 
who is widely known under his favourite name of 
“ Dan Kennedy from Doune,” takes a great number of 
prizes yearly ; he told us he had only a dozen this 
year. Grapes were of good quality, the finest bunch in 
the show being a Black Hamburgh from Airthery 
Castle. Muscats—white especially—were well repre¬ 
sented ; but most of them, though fine in bunch and 
berry, were barely ripe, the 1st of September being 
early for this class. Alicantes and Alnwick Seedlings 
were in fine form, and some Buckland Sweet waters A 1. 
At Denny the greatest enthusiasm prevailed among 
the exhibitors and their friends, and no wonder! 
This was one of the largest exhibitions of culinary pro¬ 
duce we have ever witnessed at any provincial show, 
and we feel sure that many of the exhibits would 
compare favourably with any which we have seen in 
large towns ; roots could hardly be surpassed. It is often 
alleged that the fine pictures seen in seedsmen’s 
catalogues are imaginary—no such thing—one cannot 
help being struck with astonishment when they examine 
the models before them at such shows as Denny. We 
know something of the labour, pains, and anxiety 
attending the cultivation of such produce, and the 
credit due to the enthusiastic growers is very great. 
Mr. R. Wright had his famous Onion at Denny, which 
was distinguished by a medal as being the article of 
the most superior merit in the show. Except two 
bunches of extra well-finished Alicante Grapes, there 
was nothing in the fruit classes which called forth 
special remark. Classes for dairy produce, eggs, home¬ 
made cakes and scones, were well represented, and gave 
much cause for admiration. Honey is also a speciality 
at the above exhibition. The first prize lots exhibited 
at Falkirk by Mr. Baird created great wonderment by 
their unique excellence.— Caledonian. 
Fruit Gathering. — It is noticeable that in 
the northern districts, hardy fruit is this season un¬ 
usually early and well matured. In ordinary cases, 
most of the Apples and Pears are smaller than usual, 
but their value is made up in a measure by their well- 
matured condition. If the fruit stores are all clean 
and ready for the harvest of fruit, it is no gain to leave 
them longer than possible to the swarms of wasps 
which have appeared since September began. The 
Codlin class and their contemporaries are the first to 
be gathered and should be handled with care, keeping 
the smaller size and damaged kinds separate from the 
choice fruit; any which are expected to be kept as late 
as possible should have a position to themselves, and 
need not be placed thickly on the shelves or in the 
drawers. Some remarkably late keeping is done by 
placing them in such positions. Barrels which are sent 
full in the immense consignments from America are 
also examples which are imitated for keeping fruit later. 
Damp should not be harboured among the fresh- 
gathered fruit ; and kinds which are not ripened 
should not be housed prematurely, otherwise shrivelling 
takes place and the fruit is rendered worthless. When 
all is stored and dry the fruit store may be kept close 
and dark. Pears must be kept thin and handled 
carefully. — Caledonian. 
Mr. Molyneux’s Book—“Chrysanthemums 
and Their Culture ”—has already done good 
work amongst the growers in the western counties, 
I have lately visited many of the leading men, who 
quote it continually. Moreover, in garden after 
garden, I found his style of staking and arranging for 
the summer most carefully followed. So we may fairly 
expect to see the marked and steady progress of the 
last few years fully maintained at the shows in 
November next.— Tauntonian. 
