July 4, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
701 
SCOTTISH 
SOCIETY’S 
PANSY 
SHOW. 
Contrary to general expectations, the forty-seventh 
annual competition, promoted by the Scottish Pansy 
Society, held in Edinburgh on the 19th ult., was of 
unusually high merit, and altogether, perhaps, the most 
successful the society has ever held. In the north, as 
in the south, the growers have had to contend against 
cold and dull weather, nevertheless blooms came from 
all parts of Scotland, and the fancies especially were 
in grand form. In the trade competitions for twenty- 
four show Pansies, Mr. M. 
Campbell, Blantyre, came 
in first ; Mr. Alex. Lister, 
Rothesay, second ; and Mr. 
John Smellie, Bushby, Glas¬ 
gow, third. Mr. Lister took 
the lead with twenty-four 
fancy Pansies, beating Mr. 
Smellie and Mr. Campbell 
in the order named. Mr. 
Andrew Irvine, Tighna- 
bruaich, took permier 
honours for six seedling 
show Pansies ; and Messrs. 
Dicksons & Co., Edinburgh, 
had the best twenty-four 
bunches of bedding Violas, 
Mr. George Wood and Mr. 
J. Forbes, both of Hawick, 
coming in second and third. 
In the open classes, Mr. 
Andrew Irvine showed the 
best twenty-four seedling 
fancy Pansies, twelve seed¬ 
ling show Pansies, best 
fancy seedling, best show 
seedling, best white self, 
dark self, yellow self, and 
primrose self—a very credit¬ 
able performance. Mr. A. 
Lyster had the best dozen 
fancy Pansies, and the finest 
nine show and fancy 
blooms. That very successful 
raiser, Mr. Baxter, of Dal- 
dowie, held his own with 
sixteen seedling Violas. 
Another most successful 
competitor was Mr. W. 
Erater, Linlithgow, who 
took leading honours with 
six bunches of seedling 
Violas, three blooms of Mrs. 
Freeland, and three blooms 
of Mrs., Browell. Among 
other successful prize¬ 
winners were Mr. C. Kay 
(Gargunnock), Mr. A. 
Borrowman (Beeslack), Mr. 
W. Dick (Kirknewton), and 
Mr. G. Ross (Laurencekirk). 
Mr. R. Stewart, of Lenzie, 
secured five first prizes 
in the practical gardeners’ 
competition ; and Mr. A. 
Ottar, of Campbelltown, 
and Mr. D. Allan, Stobhill, 
among amateurs distin¬ 
guished themselves in the 
leading classes. 
Mrs. Robert Laird con¬ 
tributed the most tasteful 
table of Pansies ; Miss Grieve, 
Pilrig Cottage, taking second 
honours. The best six most 
tastefully arranged small 
glasses came from Miss 
Effie Welsh (Liberton Mains), 
Miss Ruby Laird (Pinkhill) being second. Miss 
Smith and Miss Grieve had the best baskets of fancy 
Pansies. 
-- 
CALADIUMS. 
The richness, variety, and blending of the various 
colours to be found in this showy class of plants is 
almost endless. A batch of them, when well grown, 
never fails to prove one of the most conspicuous and 
effective ornaments of the stove ; while for exhibition 
purposes, Caladiums are also unique in their way. 
The accompanying illustration, for which we are 
indebted to Messrs. Laing & Sons, Forest Hill, gives 
some idea of the arrangement or distribution of the 
colours, but fails to give anything of the richness of the 
colours themselves. The large-leaved and stronger¬ 
growing kinds, if otherwise sufficiently meritorious, 
are utilised for exhibition purposes. But besides these, 
a large number of small kinds are of great value for 
decorative purposes, including the well-known and 
universally cultivated Argyrites, and its companion 
plant Minus Erubescens, with reddish crimson centre 
and broad green margin. The latter is almost equally 
dwarf as the first. 
Varieties of Caladium. 
The exhibition kinds always command the greatest 
attention when grouped by themselves. One of the 
finest of the newer kinds is Mrs. H. Veitch. The whole 
leaf is suffused with pinkish red on a white ground. 
Comte de Gorminy is almost entirely of a dull salmon- 
red, and very fine. Old varieties of standing reputation 
are Candidum, white, with green ribs ; Clio, bright 
rose, shaded with white ; Leopold Robert, rose and 
white, edged with green ; Nithridate, crimson-lake, 
with a bronzy green border ; Mrs. Laing, finely veined 
with rose and green on a white ground ; and Triomphe 
de l’Exposition, crimson, with a green margin. Several 
of them have leaves of a delicate and sub-transparent 
porcelain-white; and Madame Fritz Kcechlin stands 
pre-eminent amongst them for this peculiarly delicate 
appearance. No description is adequate to give a 
correct idea of the various blending of the colours, and 
the living plants must bo seen to be appreciated at their 
full value. 
-- 
SWEET PEAS. 
Those interested in these beautiful and useful hardy 
annuals will have ample opportunity of seeing a large 
collection of both old and new varieties growing in 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons’ 
seed trial grounds in the 
London Road at Reading. 
The collection is not so 
complete that it can be 
said to include all the newer 
varieties of recent intro¬ 
duction, but it does contain 
a large and well-selected 
representation of them ; and 
is, therefore, of great value 
as affording opportunity for 
any one to make a selection 
for a small garden, or a 
large one either. 
It was about the year 1700 
that the Sweet Pea came to 
us from Sicily. In 1817 
we had the White, Black, 
Purple, Scarlet, Painted 
Lady, and Striped, and we 
do not appear to have ad¬ 
vanced much beyond this up 
to 1850, or later. Then 
appeared at intervals various 
new varieties, which origi¬ 
nated as seedlings or sports 
—some of home and of 
continental origin—but no 
systematic attempt was made 
to improve the varieties we 
had until some fifteen or 
sixteen years ago. Mr. Henry 
Eckford, of Boreatton, took 
them in hand and achieved 
a remarkable success, and 
now every season we look 
for a batch of new varieties 
from Mr. Eckford. 
It is worthy of remark 
that while the seed of our 
ordinary white Sweet Pea 
is so light in colour as to 
justify the term “white” 
being applied to them, the 
seed of Mrs. Sankey, one 
of Mr. Eckford’s new white 
varieties, is black. I think 
this fact may be accepted 
as showing the cross¬ 
breeding which Mr. Eckford 
has brought to bear upon 
the Sweet Pea ; also, it may 
be remarked, that he had 
undoubtedly imported size 
and substance to the 
flowers — a no small gain 
—seeiDg how much they 
are grown for decorative 
purposes. 
The finest white is Mrs. 
Sankey, large and hand¬ 
some. Butterfly has a pure 
white ground, the petal 
edges distinctly edged and 
suffused with blue. Mr. 
Gladstone is a beautiful 
bright variety, pale rose 
predominating. Duchess of Edinburgh is scarlet, 
shading to rose. Miss Hunt is also a pretty, deep, 
rosy tinted variety. Splendour is a very distinct one, 
rich bright rose, shading to crimson-magenta, very 
striking. Invincible Carmine is also very bright. 
Vesuvius is a very distinct and novel variety, I think 
of continental origin, the purple wings are edged with 
white, the standards maroon, salmm and blush. 
Queen of the Isles and Striped Invincible are much 
alike, though greater size can be found in the former. 
Princess of Wales is also very distinct, striped and 
suffused with blue. Boreatton, the standards chestnut, 
the wings bluish purple. Captain of the Blues, salmon- 
rose and maroon standards, the wings pale purplish 
