June 2, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
633 
BROMPTON STOCKS. 
“What a delicious perfume that is which comes over 
your garden wall,” said a passer-by the other day; 
‘ ‘ what does it come from ? ” “ From Brompton Stocks, ” 
I replied. “Oh ! ” was the reply, “hownice it is to 
learn that there are still Brompton Stocks; I thought 
they had almost died out.” Well, the best evidence of 
the existence of the Stocks is found in the plants them¬ 
selves, and it is, in thus remarking upon them,'worthy 
of observation that I do not recollect a winter which 
has been so kindly towards these Stocks for many years 
as the past one has been. Sometimes I have had to see 
big breadths of them all destroyed before Christmas had 
come; sometimes the bitter 
keen east winds of March 
have withered up what the 
earlier winter had left. 
Still, through the whole 
time we have managed to 
preserve seed Stocks, and 
now is seen a real reward in 
the shape of hundreds of 
plants blooming beautifully, 
and filling the air with the 
most delightful aroma. 
There are both white and 
scarlet Bromptons, and the 
true Stocks are commonly 
called giants. There have 
been bastard strains, intro¬ 
duced from the Continent, 
but those are the Emperor 
or Cape type, and never 
equal our Bromptons in 
massiveness or dimensions. 
Everybody knows the fine 
scarlet type — and a fine 
type it is. Any good strain 
produces about 50 per cent, 
of doubles, a very fair 
average when seed is needed 
also. Sometimes strains go 
back so far as to be devoid 
of doubles, and in such case 
it is best to throw the 
Stocks away and get a better 
one as soon as possible. 
It is by no means impro¬ 
bable that in the course of a 
few years, by saving seed 
from flowers which produce 
from five to six petals, a 
good strain of doubles might 
eventually be regained, but 
a lot of time would be lost 
in the effort. Good strains 
of summer Stocks of both 
Dwarf Queen and inter¬ 
mediate strains will produce 
from 50 to 60 per cent, of 
doubles—a very high pro¬ 
portion indeed, but far from 
being unusual. To get 50 
per cent, in the Giant 
Brompton is, however, very 
satisfactory. 
The white Giant Brompton 
is a real duplicate of the 
scarlet kind, but the leaves 
are rather longer, and the 
flowers on the spikes are 
not quite so compactly set. 
Still, it is a grand Stock, and 
specially a fine companion 
variety to the scarlets. I 
obtained seed of this twenty years ago from a cottage 
garden in South Hants, and have retained the strain 
every year with varying luck, sometimes losing the 
greater portion of the plants through hard frost, and 
at others—as was the case this year—saving them very 
well. Strong plants, when in full bloom, will throw 
spikes to a height of 24 ins. or more. Seed should be 
sown just about now in the open ground, but be kept 
well watered until it has germinated. 
The plants should be put out on light porous soil, 
and in warm sheltered places if possible, to protect 
them during hard weather. September is a capital 
month for the planting out of Brompton Stocks. The 
old tradition, which favoured the tying of single and 
double-flowered spikes together for the purpose of pro¬ 
moting fertilisation, has long been exploded ; but there 
&re still many people who regard the doubles as real 
going to that ere place they called a Garden, at 
Kensington, and seeing Cart Loads of Pumpkins, 
Gouards, and all sorts of things. I met there a dark 
man wearing spectercles, Me Something or other was 
his name, but I daresay you knowed him. Why, 
says he to me, he never saw such a sight of fine Vege¬ 
tables, and didn’t know what to say about the strange 
looking Gouards. He war taking notes, and there war 
that number of sorts and varieties, he war quite puzzled. 
But lor, Zir, there warnt many people there ; sartently 
it war verry wet. 
But, Zir, what war those red Brick Arches at Ken¬ 
sington rally ment for ? I thought as they war for loose 
Boxes or two stall stables, 
but as they had no money 
left to put the fittings in, 
they tried to make them do 
for flower shows. Why, Zir, 
if the Royal had made them 
into lock ups for Croket 
Mallets, and Tenis Bats, 
they might have made hats 
full of money. But, Mr. 
Editor, however did they 
think of calling that ere 
place a Garden ? Why, 
would you beleve it, they 
had serpentines of Box 
edging running in and out 
amongst patches of red 
Brick, black coal, broken 
glass, and I don’t know 
what, and they called that 
Gardening ! Why, Zir, 
they really taught the folks 
about there that the arti- 
fical war better than the 
rale, being more lasting and 
chaper and then finds fait 
with them for belaving it. 
Why, Zir, who should they 
belave but them as professes 
to know. I don’t profess 
nothing, but I sometimes 
thinks a little bit. Things 
went on from one thiDg to 
another, and I think as 
how if the Counsel had 
Asphelted the ole lot and 
made Skating Rinks and 
Tenis Courts of the whole 
place the Gentry would 
have thought it fust-rate, 
and the Piper would have 
been easely paid ; but, Zir, 
the folks about there noes 
nothing about flowers, only 
as how they be things as 
grows some how, and Jeames 
who Japans their Boots, 
wears out their ole close by 
brushing them, and does 
the larder dar, is thought 
a sight more off than us 
poor fellows. Why, Zir, 
would you believe it, he has 
to remember that if there’s 
Salmon for dinner, Cu¬ 
cumber will be wanted ; 
that Maister’s togs must be 
ready by a sartain time, 
and that dinner is usually 
at Eight. Only think of it! 
Now, Zir, to be Zerious, 
we have to think months 
before hand about the Cucumber, and look out about 
frosts, insects, diseases, and I don’t know what; and we 
as nothing to think off, oh dear no ! But never mind, 
Zir, we shall some day be as well off as Jeames and his 
maister. But, Zir, as I said, the Royal taught those 
people some of these things, and that artifical was 
better than rale, so they stoped away from its flower 
shows and patronized the artifical, and they sartaintly 
do make the artifical flowers look well. I once noed 
a man who wanted to make out as he war a Cabbage, 
and who spoilt a lot of these things put in Pots for a 
Gent by overwatering of ’em and wetting their foliage ; 
now, Zir, I wont say as how I was sorry for the Gent, 
for I thinks it sarved him right for pretending he had 
his consarvatory full of the Genuine Article when they 
was only made of paper and orter have been looked 
after by his housemaid. Why, I sees, Zir, that the 
flowers, whereas they are but floral branches, the 
ordinary floral organs having quite disappeared. Not 
all flowers which thus change from single to double 
become infertile, but stocks are exceptions. For this 
reason it is essential that care should be taken in the 
selection of the best single forms, thinning of the 
flowers by pinching, to promote robustness in the seed- 
pods, and in every way helping to create seed of high- 
class quality.— A. D., Bcdfont. 
-- 
THE LATE TEMPLE SHOW. 
Mr. Editor, as I war at the Royal Society’s Show 
in them ere Temple gardens, I thought as how 
Cypripedium, Mrs. Canhaji. 
you would like to hear what I thought of it, and of 
things in general. Well, as you knows, I am what 
some folks calls a Cabbage, I suppose because I am one 
of the sort as grows them ere things. My Father was a 
Cabbage, so I spose that’s how it war I became one ; 
they makes fun of us when they calls us names like 
that, but lor, what doe it signify ? Why Zir, a Cabbage 
well cooked is about as good a thing a man can eat, and 
there’s lots as call us Cabbages who only pretend to 
cook the rale thing, they never does it. Arter all there’s 
lots of us poor Chaps as would take the wind out of 
their sails at cooking cabbage if they would only let 
us show them. But I say, Mr. Editor, I thought as 
how Horticulture ment the growing of Fruit and 
Vegetables as well as flowers ; well then, why don’t 
the Royal do more for Vegetables and Fruit ? I think 
as it used to, for I remembers a long, long wile ago 
