February 16, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
387 
of the electors were bond fide vegetable cultivators. In 
some respects it would seem as if the more recently- 
introduced varieties of diverse vegetables were not 
much grown about Birmingham ; but, on the other 
hand, it may have been thought desirable to leave out 
of the selection varieties not thoroughly tested. It is 
obvious that if any selected has been grown three years 
a fair test of its merits has been obtained. A shorter 
period of trial seems hardly satisfactory, as many 
vegetables vary appreciably in different seasons. 
“The following seems to me to be a rather better 
selection :— 
Peas. —American "Wonder, William the First, Tele¬ 
phone or Duke of Albany (both are not wanted), 
Triumph, Stratagem, Reading Giant (a grand marrow), 
Ne Plus Ultra, Latest of All. 
Fiimner Beans. —Ne Plus Ultra and Exhibition 
Scarlet. 
Dwarf Beans. —As selected. 
Broad Beans. —Harlington Windsor would in many 
localities take the place of the Seville Long Pod. 
Potatos. —Of these a dozen diverse lists all good may 
be made. The following is one of the very best :— 
Ashleaf Kidney, Duke of Albany or Sutton’s Seedling, 
Prime Minister, Satisfaction, Chancellor, Imperator. 
Cauliflower. — Snowball, King of Cauliflowers, 
Autumn Giant. Early London and Walcheren are 
beaten by more recent introductions. 
Broccolis will do very well. 
Cabbages. —All Heart, Ellam’s Early, Heartwell. 
Large Cabbages are undesirable in private gardens. 
Brussels Sprouts. —Exhibition, Northaw Prize. 
Kales may stand, but the Late White is not required 
when Dwarf Green Curled is grown. 
Savoys.— Dwarf Green Curled, Early Ulm. The 
Drumhead is too large and coarse. 
Carrots.— Early Nantes, New Intermediate. 
Parsnip .—Student or Selected Hollow Crown, for 
Parsnips differ little. 
Lettuce. —All the Year Round Cabbage, Paris White, 
and Paris Green Cos, of the finest selections. 
Celery. —Both the kinds named are good, but Dwarf 
White Incomparable should be added. 
Turnips are both good. 
Onions. —The Queen (early), Bedfordshire Champion, 
Main Crop (a fine strain), Giant Rocca (for autumn 
sowing). 
Tomatos. —Earliest of All (for outdoors), Perfection 
(for indoors). Golden Queen should be added for its 
rich colour. 
Beet. —Dell’s Crimson, Crimson Turnip-rooted. 
Vegetable Marrows. —Both good kinds. 
“The list should have been extended to twenty-five 
kinds, to include Cucumbers, Coleworts, Asparagus, 
Endive, and Radishes, as then all the best vegetables 
would be included, although Sea Kale, Rhubarb, 
Spinach, &c., remain outside.” 
-•>*<-- 
NOTES ON VEGETABLES. 
Broccoli at the Grove, Teddington. 
A number of the best and more serviceable of the white 
varieties of Broccoli are grown at the above place, and 
notwithstanding the proximity to London and its 
smoke-laden atmosphere, most of the kinds have pulled 
through the winter admirably. They have neither been 
lifted nor heeled over, and, with the exception of 
Snow’s Winter White, were vigorous and healthy 
when we noted them the other day. 
Mr. G. A. Bishop, the gardener, sows the seed of 
Snow’s Winter White in September, and again in 
January, provided any accident should have befallen 
the first lot. The plants come into use in October, 
and last well into winter, provided the weather is not 
severe. If there is any quantity of it, however, it 
should be lifted and put in a cold frame or pit where 
the sashes can be put on during severe or wet weather. 
It produces medium-sized heads of excellent quality, 
and which are well protected by their own leaves ; but 
the plant proves rather tender, at least in that neigh¬ 
bourhood, as shown by the remains of what were left 
uncut. 
A vigorous late kind is Dilcock’s Bride. It comes 
into use during March, April and May at Teddington, 
and appears as vigorous and hardy as the Purple 
Sprouting Broccoli does in other parts of the suburbs 
during the winter months. A very old kind that has 
stood the test of many years is Knight’s Protecting, 
and which finds a place here, being still considered 
worthy of cultivation amongst other and more recent 
varieties. The growing of several kinds offers more 
advantages than that of mere difference in appearance, 
inasmuch as some prove more suitable for one locality 
than another, giving greater assurance of a crop. The 
sorts that come into use in autumn Mr. Bishop sows in 
September, and again under glass if necessary in 
January, while spring-flowering kinds are sown in 
spring, so that the plants would generally be about 
twelve months old when fit for use. 
-- 
THE FERNERY. 
Fern Rockeries. 
Those who contemplate the formation of a rockery for 
the cultivation of Ferns may be usefully reminded that 
they should set about the work immediately, so that it 
may be completed before the hurry of seed sowing, 
planting, and other work engages the whole of the 
gardener’s attention. The stone work should also be 
completed, and the pockets filled with suitable soil 
ready for planting the Ferns before growth commences, 
so that they may benefit by the whole length 
of our season, and become thoroughly established. 
This, of course, applies more forcibly to plants that are 
lifted from the open ground, or obtained from their 
native haunts. But even those to be planted out of 
pots will give greater satisfaction if placed in their new 
quarters before they have been urged into fresh growth 
by the aid of glass, and perhaps artificial heat. 
Rockeries may either be constructed in the open air 
or under glass. Iu both cases there is ample scope for 
the display of individual talent, when the space at com¬ 
mand admits of a work of some size. Out of doors the 
object of a rockery is sometimes to hide an unsightly 
background, a fence, or other deformed prospect. In 
such cases there is no choice of locality, and the best 
must be made of the local circumstances. There are 
many private establishments, however, where the 
natural features of the place offer advantages, both of 
utility and beauty, for the construction of a rockery 
suitable for the growth of Ferns. 
Natural shade is a matter of great importance, but 
the trees had better be sufficiently distant so as not to 
interfere with the roots of the Ferns nor impoverish 
the soil. Natural declivities and slopes near water are 
to be preferred, for then great variety of aspect can be 
obtained for the different kinds. Even when there is 
no natural stream of water close by, it may be diverted 
so as to run through the Fern garden or hardy fernery. 
An open stream of water is an immense advantage 
to Ferns, supplying some of them with moisture, keep¬ 
ing the atmosphere cool, and otherwise beautifying the 
whole. The banks of the stream may be roughly built 
with large irregular-sized stones, and planted with the 
larger growing kinds, such as the many beautiful forms 
of the Lady Fern, the crested varieties of the male Fern, 
bold pieces of the Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis), and 
even the Ostrich Fern (Struthiopteris germanica), which 
is perfectly hardy in this country, and delights in 
a moderately moist soil. 
Sandstone, either red or white, should be selected if 
possible for constructing bold banks, walls, slopes, 
pockets, and receptacles of every conceivable form in 
which to plant the different kinds. Porous material 
retains the moisture best, and should always be used if 
obtainable. Stones, however, of almost any kind, brick 
burrs, or even stumps of uprooted trees will answer in 
default of better ; but the last named may be used 
only for the very roughest of work on the edges of 
woodlands, or out-of-the-way places where the coarser 
kinds only may be planted. 
There is less scope as a rule for the display of 
individual taste and talent in the construction of in¬ 
door rockeries, because space is more valuable and 
limited. There are exceptional cases, however, where 
neatly constructed works of this kind give an 
additional attraction to a house, such as plants in 
pots never can. The kind of stone employed in 
stoves, ferneries, and other structures where a moist 
atmosphere prevails is of less importance than in dry 
houses or out-of-doors, because a sufficiency of moisture 
can always and readily be given. There are few 
establishments where something of the kind may not be 
attempted. There may be an objectionable or ugly tank 
to hide, some dull corner or end of a house that might 
profitably be occupied with Ferns, and rendered both 
attractive and interesting. 
Hardy Filmy Ferns. 
I often wonder why these pretty and easily managed 
Ferns are not more commonly cultivated. It must be 
that a wrong impression has gained ground regarding 
the treatment required to be bestowed on them, for 
rarely indeed does one meet with even a few specimens, 
and that too where hardy plants are grown in quantity. 
Ten years ago I purchased a collection of these plants, 
and I am happy now to relate that I have found them 
as readily managed as ever was a Hart’s-tongue or 
Lady Fern. 
The kinds I cultivate most successfully are Todea 
pellucida and superba, Trichomanes radicans, T. r. 
plumosum, and T. r. flexuosum, T. reniforme, Hymeno- 
phyllum loxum, H. demissum, H. Wilsoni, and H. 
Tunbridgense. 
The kidney-leaved Trichomanes (T. reniforme) had 
but three little fronds when purchased, but now the 
plant fills a 12-in. pan. Hymenophyllum demissum is 
a gem of the readiest culture and rapid increase. The 
fronds are a bright enticing green, thickly produced, 
and of unusual substance. Of the Killarney Fein it 
may well be said that it is one of our handsomest native 
species, while at the same time it is as easy to grow as 
a Pelargonium or Calceolaria. A small plant has run riot 
in a 14-in. pot in eight years. I used to grow them in a 
specially made frame with flanges on the sides to keep 
out wind, but now I have transferred them to an 
unheated kind of plant house, rudely erected. They 
are potted in good peat with silver sand, watered over¬ 
head at short intervals, and screened from sunshine, 
and that’s all.— A. D. Webster. 
--> Z -<-- 
§foTES from Scotland. 
-—-i-— 
A Bouquet from the North.— The Rev. D. 
Landsborough, who is well known in the West of 
Scotland as an enthusiastic naturalist, writes in the 
Kilmarnock Standard of the 2nd inst. :—“Mr. Camp¬ 
bell, Ledaig (on the coast, six miles from Oban), has 
just sent me a winter bouquet from the open air, the 
most remarkable I have ever seen, as it has all the 
freshness, variety, richness of colour, and the sweetness 
of perfume that one looks for iu a bouquet in summer. 
That it is such will be seen from a list of the flowers 
1, scarlet Rhododendron (R. Nobleanum) ; 2, scarlet 
Quince (Pyrus or Cydonia japonica) ; 3, scarlet Escal- 
lonia macrantha ; 4, scarlet-berried Pernettya mucron- 
ata ; 5, white-flowered Quince ; 6, common golden 
Crocus; 7, white-striped Crocus ; 8, large purple- 
flowered Veronica Andersoni ; 9, pink Heath (Erica 
herbacea) ; 10, single Snowdrop, very large ; 11, double 
Snowdrop ; 12, purple Polyanthus ; 13, yellow Winter 
Aconite ; 14, yellow Jasmine ; 15, white Hepatica ; 16, 
dark blue Hepatica (H. angulosa) ; 17, crimson Chinese 
Rose ; 18, yellow Senna (Coronilla emerus) ; 19, 
common purple garden Anemone ; 20, large Golden 
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum calycinum) ; 21, crimson 
Schizostylis coccinea ; 22, crimson Chrysanthemum ; 
23, blue Omphalodes verna ; 24, the exquisite dark 
blue Lithospermum prostratum ; 25, blue Hydrangea ; 
26, Christmas Rose ; 27, purple Christmas Rose. The 
whole is deliciously perfumed by the presence of the 
flowers of Wallflower and Sweet Violet, and the 
fragrant leaves of the Musk plant (Eurybia argophylla). 
Thus there were in all twenty-nine kinds of flowers in 
bloom. This number might have been added to if Mr. 
Campbell had sent everything he had in bloom.” 
Scottish Horticultural Association.— 
There was a numerous attendance at the monthly 
meeting held on the 5th inst. Mr. Dunn, Dalkeith 
Palace Gardens, presided, and Mr. Alexander Hutton, 
Dundee, contributed a paper on the Begonia. After 
dealing with the geographical distribution of the order, 
referring to the botanical peculiarities of the genus, 
and describing the fibrous-rooted section, of which 
Begonia Rex is the type, the writer gave an account of 
the introduction of the tuberous-rooted varieties, and of 
their suitability as bedding-out plants. Mr. Hutton 
strongly urged upon growers the propriety of giving 
more attention to the cultivation of the Begonia. An 
interesting discussion ensued, in closing which the 
chairman spoke highly of the practical value of the 
paper, saying he was sure their time had been very well 
taken up in discussing one of the most important of 
modern subjects which had come up before the society 
for some time. A vote of thanks to Mr. Hutton was 
heartily accorded. The exhibits on the table included 
a fine collection of Tomatos from Mr. Bell, Morton Hall, 
who was awarded a Certificate for his exhibit. Mr. G. 
Mackinnon, Melville Castle Gardens, forwarded a 
branch of Clematis indivisa lobata, which had been cut 
from a plant in the conservatory there. The shoot was 
14 ft. long, and on it there were 1,500 fully expanded 
blooms. After the ordinary business of the meeting it 
was reported by Mr. M'Kenzie, Warriston Nurseries, 
that he had already received, from members of the 
Association alone, guarantees to the amount of £130 for 
the forthcoming Chrysanthemum show. 
