408 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 23, 1889. 
The Gold-laced Polyanthus. 
You asked iu a recent issue, “Cannot some raiser do for 
these florists’ flowers what Mr. Horner has done for the 
Auricula?” Being an exhibitor of these flowers, I, 
several years ago, tried seedling raising with some 
amount of success ; but am sorry to say the first and 
principal reason why I have not followed it up, is owing 
to this class of florists’ flower only growing and living 
under treatment that is specially their own. My plants 
all died one dry summer, owing to red-spider ; and 
unless the locality is eminently suitable to their cul¬ 
tivation, they do not live or get the attention they 
require. I have never yet met with anyone who has 
been able to say that these plants grow with them like 
weeds in the open garden. I mean, of course, the 
gold-laced Polyanthuses, not the garden varieties, from 
which they seem to have a different constitution 
altogether. 
With Mr. Horner, seedling Auriculas will grow in the 
open garden winter and summer, and two years ago I 
tried the same experiment with my seedling Auriculas, 
hut lost the entire lot, and some of them were three 
years seedlings—so much for situation. If gold-laced 
Polyanthuses would only live with us in Lancashire iu 
the open, I have no doubt we should soon have some 
fresh faces. Around Middleton, near Manchester, 
they are very successful in growing them, but it is 
owing to their peculiar treatment in frames, &c., that 
needs a daily care. Such varieties as Lord Lincoln have 
even died out with them, and of Beauty of England and 
Kingfisher I question if there is a plant in existence. I 
have never seen either. There are seedlings being 
raised, however, and I have seen several obtained by 
Mr. Barlow, whose Sunrise is in my opinion the finest 
red ground in cultivation. 
Owing to these plants not growing in the open 
borders with any degree of success, the stock of a seed¬ 
ling takes several years before it makes sufficient 
quantity to be of any use to exhibitors. I saw several 
seedlings raised by Mr. Oldham, of Middleton, which 
give great promise, hut am afraid they may get into 
the hands of those who will not take the trouble to 
increase them so as to be of any service in future years. 
None of the varieties yet raised is anything near per¬ 
fection. Cheshire Favourite, although one of the best, 
is full of faults, and rarely, if ever, is the lacing correct. 
There are two varieties of this—the common one, with 
a broad lacing and a good constitution, while the lacing 
seems ragged on the inner edge ; the other with a fine 
lacing hut poor constitution. Of the latter you seldom 
see three correct pips on a truss, but when perfect they 
are gems. Its fault is that the lacing does not cut 
through. 
The gold-laced Polyanthus has not the same fascina¬ 
tion when in full bloom as a house of Auriculas with their 
self colours and edges, which are a lovely sight, while the 
laced Polyanthuses have a great sameness about them, 
the only difference being in the colour of the ground— 
black and red, and if there is plenty of sunshine even 
that is very little. In an old florist work published in 
1822, there is a picture of a purple-ground flower, but 
I am sorry to say I have never seen one like it yet. 
It is only during the last six years or so that the gold- 
laced Polyanthus has had many prizes awarded to it 
at the National Shows, except for a pan of three, con¬ 
taining either black or red grounds, but now they 
have pans of black grounds, and the same of red 
grounds. The last exhibition in the Manchester Town 
Hall was the best of these plants I ever remember to 
have seen. In Manchester it has been usual to have 
one truss only, but in London there was no restriction, 
and the plants were often overgrown, and the flowers 
coarse and out of character. — TV. Bolton, Warrington. 
Yellow Hyacinths. 
My edition of Thomas Hogg on the Culture of the 
Carnation and Other Florists’ Flowers (1822), contains 
a list of nine named double yellow Hyacinths taken 
from a Dutch catalogue, the names of the varieties 
being Bouquet Orange, Chrysolora, Due de Berry, 
Heroine, L’Or Yegetale, Louis d’Or, Ophir, Pure d’Or, 
and Yainqueur. I have just referred to the Bulb 
catalogue of Messrs. E. H. Krelage & Son for 1888-89, 
and I find that they still catalogue all but the first and 
last of these nine varieties. That some of these had 
been in cultivation many years previously there can be 
no doubt. In 1822 the single varieties of Hyacinths 
were scarce indeed ; and, in fact, the double forms were 
legarded as much more valuable than the single. It is 
within my own recollection that this preference existed, 
but now, with but few exceptions, the single varieties 
are the rage, both for decorative and exhibition pur¬ 
poses. Hogg gives four single yellow, five single 
white, twelve single red, and the same number of 
single blue ; and of these latter Grande Yedette, 
Orondates and Staten Generale still find a place in Bulb 
catalogues. But there was no lack of single varieties 
at that time, as it is stated in Page’s Prodromus (1817) 
that of the garden Hyacinth “ there are more than 
one hundred varieties of single, and as many of double 
named sorts.”— R. D. 
The Florists' Laced Pink. 
I am pleased to see my old friend Mr. James Thurstan 
calling attention to the claims upon florists of the 
beautiful fragrant laced Pinks, and his generous offer of 
Tulip bulbs is one that I hope will be availed of. It 
would be a pity if the accumulated wealth of named 
varieties of the florists’ Pink, including Mr. Thurstan’s 
fine new varieties, were lost for lack of enthusiasts to 
grow them. If an exhibition can be arranged in London, 
I shall be happy to render such small help as I can in 
the matter. I can grow the Pink only in pots, and 
then at a great disadvantage, as the London fogs during 
winter try them severely, and anyone who wishes to 
grow the laced varieties near London should get without 
the range of the fogs, so that suitable soil and a pure 
atmosphere may aid him. I have succeeded in bringing 
through the winter in pots a few of the named laced 
and forcing varieties, and they will presently go into 
the open ground, turning the plants out of pots without 
disturbing the ball, and planting them in fresh and 
suitable soil. 
I am glad to see that Mr. Dodwell is turning his 
attention to the florists’ Pink. I last year flowered 
three or four seedlings he sent me, and very beautiful 
they were, even with such poor round of culture that I 
could give them, but there was enough to show me 
that the strain is good and full of promise. 
If anything is to be done by way of forming a Pink 
centre, in order to carry into practice Mr. Thurstan’s 
suggestion, it should be done at once. Will Mr. Harry 
Turner convene a meeting of those who take an interest 
in the Pink, doing this at some convenient time, 
such as one of the meeting days of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society ? I am afraid the venture means the 
floating of another special society ; but if any special 
work is to be done in these days, it is only by means of 
overs of a particular flower banding themselves together 
for the express purpose.— R. Dean. 
The “ Greensides ” Pink and its Raiser. 
There worked at Medlock Vale, when I was a lad, a 
man named John Bradshaw. He was a very keen 
florist, but unfortunately he was a little deficient in his 
upper storey. He was like what our friend Edwin 
Waugh calls about ninepence to the shilling. But for 
all that he had a real and genuine love—aye, a passion— 
for flowers, and I remember with distinct pleasure his 
taking me to Stockport, in 1838, to see two very large 
collections of Dahlias. They were the finest I ever 
saw, I think. They were remarkable all over the 
country at that time. Well, Jack Bradshaw, by 
crossing Bow’s Suwarrow with another Pink, raised a 
purple laced Pink, which he named “ Greensides,” 
after the place at which he lived, and very proud he 
was of it. I remember him taking me to see it in 
bloom, and the way in which he went on about it was 
something of a caution. However, it did turn out as 
well as he anticipated, and it was the leading purple 
laced Pink for several years afterwards. 
Jack used to indulge in strange whims. One of his 
constant wishes was to be able to find “an old field 
that somebody had done with,” and then he said he 
would show somebody how to grow Potatos. He never 
got it, as far as I remember, because fields that folks 
have done with are rather scarce. I have never seen 
one yet. Jack, among the whims that florists often 
have, wanted some soil on one occasion, and as he was 
prowling about he saw some good soil in a field belonging 
to a farmer named Dick Worswick, -who kept “The 
Humphrey Chetham,” at Clayton. Jack never con¬ 
cealed anything, but told all the workpeople about his 
affairs ; so one day he met one of them named Hulme, 
a fellow of infinite humour, and said to him, “ Robin, 
I’ve sin some rare good soil i’ Dick Worswick’s meadow. 
I could do wi’ a good lot o’ that rarely. Dost think he 
would let me have it, if I wur to ax him ?” “To be 
sure, he would,” replied Robin, “but I should never 
trouble about axing him at o’. Borro’ a harrow, and 
help thisel’ to it.” So Jack fetched about half a dozen 
barrowsful from the place, which was about half-way 
between his garden and the farmer’s house. Then Dick 
got to know about it, and so Jack was summoned, and 
was fined 5s. for trespass and about 2?. 6i 1. for the 
value of the soil. This preyed on his mind for some 
time, and he often said, “ I’ll be straight wi’ that chap 
some road.” And so he went about for a day or two, 
when he came to my father’s, and said, ‘ ‘ Here, Barlow, 
I know what I shall do wi’ Dick’Worswick.” “Give 
over bothering about it,” said my father. “Nawe,” 
he said, “I shanno. I’ll catch a mad dog and set it 
at his cows !”— From a paper on Garden Gossip, ly Mr. 
S. Barlow. 
-->gE<—- 
NOTES ON VEGETABLES. 
How Synonyms are Multiplied. 
We are just in receipt from our London office of a copy 
of The Gardening World of February 23rd, in 
which we note the letter of Mr. James Muir on “ How 
Synonyms are Multiplied.” We must express to you 
our appreciation of your courtesy in publishing this 
article, and also our sense of the importance of the 
subject. As you will see by the marked paragraph 
enclosed from our Farm Annual for 1889, we are trying 
to curb to the best of our ability this iniquitous system 
of selling the same variety of seed under several names. 
Mr. Muir speaks particularly of Messrs. Oakshott & 
Millard using the same American illustration of Charles 
Downing Potato which appeared in our catalogue for 
1888, to advertise apparently the same Potato as their 
“Satisfaction.” 
We have before us a copy of this firm’s catalogue for 
the current year, and note on p. 14 that they have 
appropriated our copyrighted illustration of Laxton’s 
Evolution Pea, which appeared in our catalogue for 
1888, to advertise their “Speciality Pea.” 
On p. 20 they have appropriated the original illus- 
stration of our Cardinal Tomato to illustrate their 
“ First Little Beauty,” while on p. 18 they prominently 
announce “Oakshott & Millard’s Mammoth Silver 
King Onion,” claiming as their own a variety which 
was first named and introduced by us in 1884. While 
we have pirating in America, it is seldom that we meet 
with quite such bold piracy as in this catalogue from 
Reading. 
Last year Mr. R. H. Vertegans also bodily transferred 
a number of our American illustrations of vegetables, 
evidently procuring seed from America and introducing 
them as new and distinct novelties into England. 
The re-naming of novelties in vegetables and flowers 
in America is now taken in hand by several of our 
leading journals, assisted by the State Experimental 
Stations, and it is likely that this deceptive practice 
will be largely curtailed. We are glad to see that your 
journal is so fair and impartial as to take the same 
stand in England. — TV. Atlee Burpee <£• Co., Phila¬ 
delphia, U.S.A., March 8th. 
Potato, The Puritan. 
I am tempted by Mr. Kipling’s interesting communica¬ 
tion in your last issue to give this variety a trial, as I 
do most new vegetables that I think are conscientiously 
recommended. Can your correspondent or any other 
reader tell me if The Puritan is the samevarietyas isheing 
advertised under the name of Early White Hebron ?— 
A mateur. 
- *>*<- - 
ICELAND POPPIES. 
The Poppies popularly known under this name are 
varieties of Papaver nudicaule, the naked-stemmed 
Poppy. It is a native not merely of Iceland, as the 
popular name would lead us to infer, but of the Alpine 
regions of the whole of the northern hemisphere. P. 
alpinum, although a dwarfer kind with generally more 
divided leaves, shows a similar range in the variation 
of the flowers as to colour, and botanically cannot he 
considered a distinct species. The three most common 
colours now to be met with in gardens are the typical 
clear yellow, the white (P. n. nudicaule alba), and 
the orange variety (P. n. miniatum). Other shades 
occur, such as lemon and sulphur-white, but unless a 
collection is the desideratum, the first-named will be 
found quite sufficient for all ordinary decorative 
purposes. As cut flowers they are extremely elegant 
when cut and placed in glass vases or flower-holders. 
They should be cut when they first expand, and put 
into water immediately. Iceland Poppies are peren¬ 
nial, but they produce seed freely and can be readily 
raised by an amateur even, in this way. The three 
kinds are obtainable either separately or mixed, and 
may be grown in beds, borders, or rockeries, according 
to the fancy of the grower or his convenience. Y e 
give an illustration of the white variety (P. nudicaule 
alba), for which we are indebted to Mr. T. S. Y are, 
Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham. 
