828 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 29, 1891. 
FliORicUUTURE. 
Pentstemons from Hawick. 
A box containing flowers in bunches, of some twenty 
varieties of Pentstemons, has reached us from Mr. 
John Forbes, Buccleuch Nurseries, Hawick, N.B. 
Eight of them were white-flowered varieties, or near 
enough to be considered as such. The purest was 
Virginale, but the flowers were rather small. The 
largest was Titian, a fine flower, tinted "with pink on 
the outside of the upper segments. Mont Blanc, 
edged with pink, Oliver de Serres, tinted pink on all 
the segments, Madame A. Schauffele, and Serenade, 
tinted rose, Bridesmaid, tinted pale mauve on the 
upper segments, and Pyramide, pale mauve-purple on 
all the segments, made up the list of white sorts, all 
of which were perfectly distinct. Amongst the 
coloured sorts, W. M. Baillie was a striking scarlet 
flower, with a pure white throat extending down on 
the lamina, and Argow was a dark violet-purple sort 
of considerable merit. Other sorts we should pick 
out were Vesuve, crimson, shaded purple ; Eugene 
Labiche, dark-crimson ; Mrs. Forbes, large, mauve- 
purple and a white throat; William Oliver, scarlet, 
striped crimson in the throat ; Renown, purple, and 
blackish-crimson in the throat; Comedie, red and 
striped crimson inside; Eclipse, purple, with a 
blackish-crimson throat, and W. Comfort, deep violet, 
purple. Other sorts were Mrs. Bosanquet, crimson, 
heavily-shaded-purple; Conspicua, violet-purple, and 
nearly white in the throat ; Derviche, blackish-purple 
externally, and deep violet on the inner face ; William 
Lumley, red, striped crimson in the throat; A. 
Sinclair, rose and red, with a crimson-striped throat; 
Le Borda, violet-purple, and blotched with deep- 
crimson in the throat; Matamore, deep reddish- 
purple, and W. E. Gladstone, deep reddish-purple 
and rose, blotched-crimson in the throat. Unfortu¬ 
nately all the larger flowers had dropped, making it 
impossible to determine the actual size of the blooms 
of the different varieties in many cases. Pentstemons 
are showy and useful flowers at all times, but in 
Scotland they are more particularly autumn than 
summer flowers. 
BEGONIAS AT FOREST 
HILL. 
Tuberous Begonias, whether under glass or in the 
open air, continue to hold a _high pl ace in the 
estimation of those who give them a fair trial so as 
to thoroughly test their capabilities. Old tubers 
may be started into fresh growth almost at any time, 
and a succession can be kept up by the use of several 
batches, as well as by raising seedlings every' year, 
both for decorative purposes and with the object of 
obtaining improvements. One batch of plants will, 
however, keep up a succession for many months, as 
may be seen in the nursery of Messrs. J. Laing & 
Sons, Forest Hill, where numbers of the plants 
which were exhibited at the Temple Show are still 
in bloom. 
Single Varieties. 
Many of the old varieties still maintain a position 
alongside of the newer ones, w'hich continue to 
be added from year to year. Light coloured forms 
of the Delicatissima type are now very numerous, 
and show a considerable range of tints and combina¬ 
tions. This variety gave rise to Distinction, having 
a white ground and a carmine edge. Charmer 
succeeded with a much broader margin, and Enchan¬ 
tress, of a deep carmine with a' white eye, carried this 
type still further. All of the above are erect 
flowering sorts, but an unnamed seedling closely 
similar in colour to the last-named has decidedly 
pendulous flowers, and is used as a basket plant. 
It forms a companion plant to Pendula, which is 
notable for its wealth of large drooping flowers. 
Lady Whitehead, with bright rose flowers and a 
pale centre, Prince Albert Victor, orange-scarlet, 
Darkest Africa, blackish-crimson, Lady Iddesleigh, 
deep scarlet and crimson on the back, Mrs. Richard 
Dean, rosy red with a white centre, Mrs. Louise, 
large, white, and Princess Victoria, rose, shaded with 
white in the centre, show some of the many varia¬ 
tions to which this showy class of plants has given 
rise 
Giants are not always the most desirable, but a 
comparatively new one possesses the merit of being 
floriferous with huge deep-red blopms borne on very 
stout stems a yard high and fairly well branched. 
It would make a capital plant for the centre of a 
group, and serve to break the monotony of a 
uniformly graded mass of bloom such as one fre¬ 
quently sees at exhibitions. A pleasing contrast to 
the above is met with in Her Majesty, which has 
white flowers, with a delicate pink, crumpled margin. 
The Duchess of Westminster is a deep" carmine 
scarlet with a white eye. A pure white and flori¬ 
ferous variety is Constance. The yellow sorts are 
represented by many shades of colour, and Leah is 
one of the best golden yellow types. In strong 
contrast to the above is Duchess of Leinster, having 
large orange flowers and a darker centre. The foliage 
is also beautiful, showing an affinity with Begonia 
Pearcei. 
A curiosity in its way is Juirezi, a semi-double 
form with four to five blooms on a spike and 
crimson sepals, ragged at the edge. An unnamed 
seedling with semi-double flowers, the outer sepals 
scarlet and the inner one shaded with rose, is even 
more suggestive of a Cactus Dahlia than the last- 
named. Several other semi-doubles might also find 
admirers. Scented varieties amongst tuberous 
Begonias are already a reality, for the New Scented 
Yellow reminds one of the odour of a Marechal Niel 
Rose. It has been flowering all the summer, and is 
of compact, erect habit. Another delicate pink 
variety also possesses the same merit. Another 
striking curiosity is a bicolor which it is hoped will 
remain constant ; the two outer sepals are rose and 
the two inner ones deep crimson-scarlet. 
Seedlings that have not yet been honoured with a 
distinctive name are both numerous and often of a 
high order of merit, possessing large orbicular 
flowers, with a stiff, erect habit, and therefore useful 
either for pot work or for bedding out. Some of 
these are rosy-scarlet, orange with a yellow centre, 
scarlet, crimson-red, soft pink, yellow shaded with 
orange with a deeper eye, canary yellow, and many 
other shades. A very distinct departure is seen in 
some red sorts that are shaded with purple, vdiile 
another form has wholly purple flowers. 
Double Sorts. 
Of. recent years the double forms have been greatly 
improved by the selection of seedlings presenting 
regularity of segments arranged round a single 
centre, instead of the huge lumpy masses that were 
too crow'ded to be elegant, and possessing numerous 
centres looked more like a small bouquet of 
flowers than anything else. Camellia is a magenta 
rose-coloured variety [with crisped sepals and of 
fine form. Somewhat similar is Gertrude with 
soft pink flowers, but the central sepals stand 
erect bearing considerable resemblance to a Rose-bud. 
Rather pretty in its way is that named Vicountess 
Cranbrook, having rose flowers and a white centre. 
Double yellow varieties show a great improvement 
on the original types; some are clear yellow', 
others creamy yellow, pale apricot, creamy white, 
or yellow shaded with orange. Some of them have 
been selected for their erect habit and others for the 
improvement in the individual blooms which have 
only one centre. The outer sepals of Duchess of 
Teck are pale yellow, and resemble the guard petals 
of a Hollyhock surrounding a deeper yellow centre. 
The white flowers of Lucy Closon are pure white, 
very full, and surmount stems about 8 in. high. 
Prince Christian has bright scarlet flow'ers with a 
single centre, and beautiful dark foliage; it has been 
flowering since the Temple Show, and has not 
received any special treatment nor potting since that 
time. A beautiful rose variety shaded with salmon 
is that named Mademoiselle Perron. Rev. Lascelles 
is a bright scarlet sort of erect habit; and another 
of some merit is that named B. R. Davis, with pale 
soft yellow flowers. Picotee is a charming pink 
variety with a distinct rosy-carmine edge. 
In speaking of seedlings it sounds rather para¬ 
doxical to hear of one which has been grown here 
for the past seven years and is still classed in the 
same category for the simplereason that it has never 
received a distinctive name. Numerous others of 
this year's raising come within more reasonable 
limits of the time during which it should be considered 
a seedling. One of them was notable for the great 
size of its white flowers. Many of the scarlet, orange 
and yellow sorts have been selected for their erect 
habit. A seedling from Picotee is notable for its 
compact and beautifully undulated, flesh-coloured 
sepals edged with a darker hue. A house is devoted 
to the single varieties and another to the doubles, 
while frames and pits are also largely occupied with 
seedlings. 
Begonias in the open Ground. 
The double varieties were planted out very late, and 
consequently do not present the showy appearance 
of the singles, which occupy the same amount of 
ground as last year. The beds are mostly planted in 
different colours, but when viewed from one side of 
the ground, they appear to be mixed with numerous 
shades harmoniously blended. The scarlet, crimson, 
rose, and magenta forms are very fine, and being of 
vigorous constitution the}'have made excellent growth 
and are flowering finely notwithstanding the cold, 
wet and comparatively sunless nature of the summer 
generally. They will yet be more largely grown for 
bedding purposes. 
._- 
♦ 
WHAT IS A FRUIT, OR A 
VEGETABLE ? 
It is a notorious fact that terms in common use 
respecting fruits and vegetables, like the popular 
names of plants, are very frequently at variance with 
scientific terms and names, and sometimes with 
actual reality. The tomato may be mentioned as an 
instance of this. Its wide-spread use as an article of 
food in Britain is of comparatively recent date ; and 
as it became more and more popular in different 
parts of the country, classes were provided for it in 
the schedules of local flower show societies. 
Whether to classify it amongst fruit or vegetables 
remained a puzzle for many years, and probably the 
question is yet far from settled in the minds of 
many. Science would of course answer immediately 
that the edible portion of the Tomato plant was a fruit; 
and further that the ovary or seed vessel with its 
contents constituted a fruit in the truest sense of the 
term, no matter to what plant it belonged. Other 
fruits have accessory parts, and some are compound, 
that is they consist of a number of fruits more or less 
united so as to form a complete whole. But the 
essential part, that is, the walls of the ovary, no 
matter of what stage of maturity, together with the 
seeds and other contents, must always be present to 
'constitute a fruit in a strict scientific sense. 
Gardeners in a general way define a fruit accord¬ 
ing to the use made of it, and the difficulty in the 
case of the Tomato arose from the fact that most 
people at one time used the Tomato only in a cooked 
state, either in the form of sauce, or variously served 
up in a boiled, baked or fried state. They therefore 
defined it as a vegetable, and accordingly, the Tomato 
was often classed amongst vegetables in exhibition 
schedules. The Tomato is now largely eaten in the 
raw state when ripe, and to keep pace with the times 
it found a place amongst fruits, and is now generally 
recognised as such in exhibition schedules, although 
it is as frequently admitted in a collection of vege¬ 
tables. Herein lies a great incongruity, and popular 
use justifies its continuation notwithstanding the 
fact that the distinction between a fruit and a vege¬ 
table remains undefined and is likely to continue so. 
Cucumbers are pared, sliced and eaten in the raw 
state, while Vegetable Marrows are pared, cut up 
and boiled before being eaten ; yet they are both 
fruits in the technical sense, while at the same time 
they are by common consent considered as vege¬ 
tables and spoken of as such. The Melon belongs to 
the same family, and its fruits are consumed only in 
the ripe state. Popular consent here classes it 
amongst fruit and is justified in doing so; but why 
should the fruits of its nearest relations, namely. 
Cucumbers and Vegetable Marrows be termed 
vegetables ? Of course all are vegetable pro¬ 
ductions, that is, they belong to the vegetable 
kingdom; but the edible portions only are taken into 
consideration, and separated into two classes, 
namely, fruits and vegetables, but the distinction be¬ 
tween the one class and the other has never been 
defined with any degree of accuracy. Gourds, 
including the Snake Gourds, also Pumpkins, 
Squashes and other members of the Cucumbej: 
family, whether edible or inedible and eaten or not, 
are by common consent considered as the fruits ol 
the respective plants to which they belong ; yet Cu¬ 
cumbers and Vegetable Marrows, their cousins, 
xvhich are edible and are eaten, are dubbed as vege¬ 
tables. 
Peas and Beans, the produce of Pisum sativum and 
Vicia Faba respectively, are universally spoken of as 
vegetables, thus putting them pn "a par with' 
