760 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 28, 1888. 
FLORICULTURE. 
NewISweet Peas. 
It was a charming collection of Sweet Peas, that Mr. 
Henry Eckford, of Boreatton, Baschurch, sent up to 
the meeting of the Eoyal Horticultural Society on the 
10th inst. Mr. Eckford is to be commended for the 
great care he has taken in making crosses, with a view 
of obtaining new varieties of these fragrant Peas, and 
he has succeeded beyond what anyone could have 
expected a few years ago. Our lists of Sweet Peas are 
the richer for his labours ; for he has originated new 
and distinct varieties of novel characters, and he has 
improved the size and substance of the flower also. 
These are distinct valuable gains. The Floral Com- 
mitee say the time has passed for giving Certificates of 
Merit to new varieties of Sweet Peas, which I think is 
a mistake, and they now commend the strain, rather 
than any fine and new varieties which assist to compose 
it. I regret this all the more, because I think we are 
only at the commencement of improvements, and by 
no means at the end of them ; and I like to see the 
labours of fertilisers rewarded by their choicest flowers 
being awarded Certificates of Merit. 
The sorts Mr. Eckford sent to the meeting above 
referred to were Purple Queen, maroon-purple standards 
with purple wings, a great advance upon the ordinary 
purple Sweet Pea ; Captain of the Blues, blue standards 
dashed with purple, and blue wings ; Maid of Boreatton, 
a very fine and distinct variety of great merit, mauve 
standards dashed with purple, and mauve wings ; Miss 
Hunt, delicate rosy crimson standards, and delicate 
mauve-pink wings, a charming variety, of distinct 
character and great merit; Empress Victoria, also very 
fine and novel, the standards flaked, dashed and 
striped with deep rose, and white wings ; Empress of 
India, rosy salmon standards and white wings ; Eliza 
Eckford, blush standards dashed with rose, and white 
wings ; Maggie Gerring, a very pretty variety, standards 
pink and salmon, with blush-pink wings ; Mrs. Sankey, 
pure white, large and very fine in all its parts ; and 
Queen of Stripes, also a charming and distinct striped 
variety, white ground, standard and wings striped with 
blue, a decided improvement upon our striped Sweet 
Peas. This makes ten varieties of excellent character. 
Only a few days ago Mr. Eckford sent me a bunch 
of flowers each of these varieties, when I had an 
opportunity of comparing them with the descriptions I 
took of them at the meeting of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, and I think I have underrated rather than 
overrated their qualities. 
I am certain that generally in sowing Sweet Peas 
they are placed too thickly in the soil. This is a 
mistake. Mr. Eckford grows his in clumps of two or 
three plants at most, or in lines sown very thinly, and 
it is remarkable to see how the plants branch and what 
very effective floral pictures they make. "When grown 
in lines according to the usual custom, with sticks on 
either side, the plants appear to flower only towards 
the top, and very little near the ground ; but when 
the plants are isolated, as one can see them at Boreatton 
they throw out numerous lateral shoots that bloom 
with remarkable freedom, and each plant becomes over¬ 
spread with flowers. They are also well grown_that 
is to say, they are not only planted in good soil, but 
mulched during the summer, with the result that not 
only is there plenty of bloom, but the flowers are large 
and brilliantly coloured.— R. D. 
ITew Pinks. 
Me. F. Hooper, of the Vine Nursery, Widcombe Hill, 
Bath, has forwarded some blooms of a very fine pure 
white Pink, with a slight purple base and richly 
fragrant well-formed petals ; also some seedling laced 
varieties of large size, full substance, and well marked, 
the lacing being deep purple in some and red in others! 
Mr. Hooper states that they are seedlings, and are of 
an undoubtedly fine strain. The laced Pinks of the 
florist are not nearly so much grown as they deserve 
to be, and yet they appear to be favourites all round. 
There is scarcely another flower so richly fragrant as 
the Pink.— R. B. 
Carnation, Mary Morris. 
For ordinary decorative purposes this variety seems to 
possess special merit, either for cultivation in pots or 
for planting out in the borders. Indoors the stems 
grow to a height of 2 ft., and we noticed some beau- 
tiful plants of it the other day, in the conservatory at 
feme Hall, Chiswick. It is a robust grower, with 
broad distinctly glaucous foliage, much in the -way of 
the old Clove. The flowers are large, rosy pink, and 
somewhat fragrant, with the petals incurved at the 
margin, which is shallowly toothed. It flowers very 
freely whether m pots or out of doors, and is a variety 
that should be grown extensively for pot-work or for 
cut flowers, ^s the blooms are large, regular, and 
SEEDLING BEGONIAS. 
0\ce upon a time, in the “Wild West” (Buffalo 
Bill's), I chanced upon a cowboy ruefully contemplating 
a sickly Pelargonium in his tent-garden. On one of 
the ladies of B. B.’s company passing by, he asked her 
if the state of the said garden was not melancholy, to 
which she replied, with characteristic point and 
brevity, “ Wal, it don't seem to come aloDg !” That is 
a remark which many of us may have made while 
looking at our gardens this summer. Begonia growers 
especially have had much to contend with, seedlings 
having been slow to move. Of late-sown plants—by 
which I mean those sown in the middle of February or 
early in March—some stand still and others actually 
get smaller. 
One grower told me the other day that he had bedded 
out his seedlings at the usual time, “And now,” added 
he, “ we can scarcely find them.” In spite of all this, 
however, my own experience this season tells all in 
favour of single Begonias as bedding plants. They 
seem proof even against the semi-tropical rains of the 
last three weeks. Zonal Pelargoniums are nowhere, 
while our beds of Begonia seedlings are marvellously 
beautiful, even already, and earn what they merit—the 
admiration of everyone who sees them. They have a 
way of hanging their heads before a shower, and so 
escape much mischief. I should add, however, that 
they were sown about the new year, and were good sub¬ 
stantial plants, showing bloom before we turned them 
out to undergo the rigours of the present season. Early 
sowing I take to be the only plan to insure success. 
Our doubles we sowed earlier still—viz., the first 
week in December ; but for these I believe pot culti¬ 
vation will always be found preferable to nursery beds, 
and I venture to predict that the experience of the 
present season will cause many growers to keep a large 
proportion of their seedlings under glass for the future. 
At Swanley I find they have adopted this plan with 
both singles and doubles, on the ground that in a 
backward season a seedling is scarcely allowed time to 
show its true character. In regard to doubles, I 
entirely agree with them ; but as to singles, I venture 
to differ, because my own are now producing flowers in 
the beds quite as fine as any that the plants would be 
likely to carry in pots. With the doubles we have 
followed the indoor plan, looking them over every two 
or three days, and getting the pick of them on one 
stage. 
No cultivator who has not saved his own seed and 
the different crosses separately, can understand the 
interest which is aroused by their various develop¬ 
ments, or the satisfaction experienced as this or 
that variety, with a fine name to it, is left evidently 
and hopelessly in the background, to be reserved only 
as a gift to some one who is not over particular, or who 
does not care to undertake the trouble of a seedling 
grower. 
I saw the Swanley seedlings last week, and although 
comparatively early in the season Mr. Cannell’s grower 
has a fine show upon the stage. The beauty of these 
will well repay a visit. The shape, colour and habit of 
many of them are excellent. If anything is wanting 
where everything is (so near perfection, it is a more 
upright flower stalk, which the experience of a few 
more seasons will certainly produce .—Somersetshire 
Rector. 
-- 
GARDENERS’ ORPHAN FUND. 
At the conclusion of the first year of the above, it is a 
source of gratification to me to review the success 
which has attended our efforts, and which is due to 
the hearty co-operation of all concerned. I take this 
opportunity of returning my personal thanks to all 
associated with me in the matter, and also the many 
gentlemen who have undertaken the office of local 
secretaries, and worked so zealously in the cause. The 
dinner, as is now well known, was a great success, 
thanks to the numerous kind contributions of fruit, 
plants and flowers. The room and tables presented an 
appearance which called forth unqualified expressions 
of admiration from the most competent and impartial 
critics. 
It now affords me no small degree of pleasure to be 
able to state that we are commencing the new year 
well, being empowered, as I am, to announce that Mr. 
Sherwood (Messrs. Hurst & Son), in token of the 
interest he takes in the movement, has generously 
offered to place an orphan on the fund solely at his 
own expense, in accordance with Rule XII., thus in¬ 
creasing the number of recipients from ten to eleven. 
The name and particulars of this annuitant will be 
announced in due course. It would afford me, and I may 
add the committee also, much pleasure if any other 
gentlemen, blessed with an abundance of this world’s 
goods, were to emulate this noble example. I can 
only say that there are plenty of deserving applicants 
to whom such a favour would be of the utmost service 
and benefit.— Geo. Beal (Chairman). 
-- 
THE FRUIT CROPS. 
Now that the heavy showers have washed the trees, we 
are able to form a tolerably correct estimate of the state 
of the fruit crops, which are very late. Some Apple 
trees iu this garden—notably Blenheim Orange, Mank’s 
Codlin, Scotch Bridgett, and Golden Noble—are heavily 
cropped, and they were so last year ; indeed, it is rarely 
that they are otherwise, except Golden Noble, which 
seldom bears two years in succession with us. Pears 
are a more even crop, and those trees having most on 
were burdened last year, which is opposed to the 
statement frequently made that trees are barren one 
year because they had heavy crops the previous one. 
From what information I have been able to get, the 
crops of Apples and Pears are very light, and much 
below the average. Some trees were rather deficient of 
blossom, but we had nothing to complain of in that 
direction, and matters went on all right until the trees 
had shed their blossom and the fruit set; then came the 
caterpillars, which rolled up the set and partially set 
fruit and the leaves near them, and settled down to 
devour them in a rapid manner. The birds, which 
were so attentive to the buds of our Gooseberries and 
Currants a few weeks earlier, gave us no assistance 
or relief, and never sought a maggot, so far as I 
could see ; and excepting a few fly-catchers, wagtails, 
and a starling or two all the others kept aloof. 
Plums are a good crop, Damsons being heavy in 
places. None of the Cherry trees are without fruit, 
but the crop of sweet ones is thin ; and the fruit not 
quite so large as usual; but Morellos are a heavy crop, 
and the trees look clean and healthy. Small fruit 
trees —except Black Currants, which are a failure—are 
heavily cropped where the birds did not interfere with 
the buds. To make sure of a few good Gooseberries 
near the side of the walk, we protect the buds with a 
net ; and there are on these trees as many bushels as 
there are quarts on the unprotected. 
Strawberries are considerably under the average; they 
were, perhaps, never worse, young plants and old alike, 
in all kinds of soils and situations, nor can one sort 
claim any superiority over another. Comte de Paris 
has been a great favourite with growers a few miles 
from here, but I hear it is one of the worst, in fact, a 
total failure. Amongst young plants, that is, those 
planted last August, we have fewer blanks amongst 
Loxford Hall Seedling thafi in any of the others ; 
but this may only be an unaccountable accident, 
and no inherent property of this particular variety, 
which is the most miserable grower of all the sorts we 
have. Viscomtesse Herieart de Thury, taking it alto¬ 
gether, is the best, James Yeitch and Unser Fritz, 
which are alwaj's so fine and good, being the worst, 
not more than 5 per cent of the plants flowering, 
though they had the same attention as those we grew 
in pots up to the time they were planted out ; they all 
threw up good trusses. Even our pot plants gave us 
more trouble than usual, and we had a slight experience 
of the mildew on President, though none of the other 
sorts were affected. The Raspberry is the crop of the 
year, the fruit being abundant and fine. Unlike the 
Strawberry, it is rarely that a single fruit is damaged 
by rain, and if the weather be fine for an hour or two, 
the fruit dries and is fit for gathering. Only a few 
odd ones are ripe with us at this date (July 30th).— 
TV. P. R., Preston. 
-~>I<~- 
CAMOENSIA MAXIMA. 
Tnrs species produces the largest flowers of any belong¬ 
ing to the Pea family. They are produced in short 
racemes from the axils of the leaves, each measuring 
about a foot in length. They remind one of the 
gorgeousness of Jaearanda, Cmsalpinia, or Amherstia, 
but are perfectly distinct from either. Four out of the 
five petals are spathulate and tapering to a long base, 
while the fifth one is orbicular and of enormous size. 
All of them are undulated or crisped at the margin, 
where they are of a beautiful golden yellow colour. All 
the central portion is white or creamy white, and 
beautifully veined. Only two species are known, and 
that under notice is the only one at present in cultiva¬ 
tion. It is a native of Angola, in West Tropical Africa, 
from whence it was introduced in 1878, but does not 
yet seem to have flowered in the British Islands. Like 
