THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 14, 1892. 
578 
which popular favourite on some market mornings 
is almost beyond belief. 
To crown all in the way of provision for London s 
wants we must not omit the trade in moss and other 
sundries, quite a number of persons being employed 
in gathering and bringing to market hampers of 
moss, Ivy, and coloured foliage of various kinds. — A . 
AZALEAS AT FALKLAND 
PARK. 
Since the large and tempting prizes for huge speci¬ 
mens of Azaleas at exhibitions have lapsed, Azaleas 
as they used to be seen have disappeared, and those 
that are presented to the public gaze are but poor 
apologies for those formerly seen. Azaleas are still 
grown, and extensively so in some establishments, 
but they are relatively small and valued only for 
their utility as general decorative subjects. A good 
collection, mostly of first-class varieties, have recently 
been got together at Falkland Park, South Norwood 
Hill, the residence of J. McMeekin, Esq., and which 
is now under the care of Mr. A. Wright. One of the 
large houses of the fine new range of glass-houses is 
devoted to their accommodation, both the central and 
the side stages being occupied with Azaleas, while 
the overflow is accommodated in the long corridor 
connecting the houses together. The Azaleas in 
question have been obtained from the Continent, and 
comprise a large number of new and highly improved 
kinds, noticeable for the profusion of bloom and the 
large size of the individual flowers. 
Double Varieties. 
One of the most popular of the double sorts at Falk¬ 
land Park is evidently Madame Van der Cruyssen, 
judging from the number of specimens of it arranged 
in different parts of the house. This is matter for no 
surprise considering its general excellence, the size 
of the flowers, and their beautiful, lively rose colour- 
The plants are simply a mass of bloom, almost com¬ 
pletely concealing the foliage. Another useful sort 
is Punctulata, with rosy orange flowers streaked 
and flamed with cherry-red and reddish-carmine 
spots. The blooms are quite full and last a long 
time in perfect condition ; the variety also flowers 
early. The vermillion-orange flowers of Phcebus 
are large and striking, the upper segments being bold 
and prominent. Empereur de Bresil must also be 
placed amongst the first class kinds on account of 
the large size, fine form and rose-coloured flowers, 
banded or striped with white. What is noticeable 
amongst these modern Azaleas is the liability of the 
striped or parti-coloured flowers to vary with different 
amounts of either colour. Sometimes whole flowers 
assume one colour only, a circumstance pointing to 
the separation of two originally combined colours, 
whether we regard those as a reversion or otherwise. 
The single flowers are more prone to this than the 
double kinds. We meet with similar cases amongst 
Dahlias, Carnations, Chrysanthemums, and other 
garden flowers which have been subjected to long 
cultivation, cross-breeding and selection. 
A floriferous kind is Bernard Andreas alba, having 
fully double white flowers. Deutsche Perle cannot 
be omitted from a list of even the best kinds, as it is 
well represented here, although it may be stated that 
it is now out of bloom, being naturally an early 
flowering kind. It has never been over-rated what¬ 
ever has been said of it as a useful decorative subject 
or for cut bloom. Docteur Merger is also a very 
perfect flower, produced in great abundance, and the 
plant is a vigorous grower; the flowers are rose 
coloured. Like Deutsche Perle, Rhea is also a double 
white variety, beautifully imbricated and useful for 
forcing. The varieties with Vervaene attached to 
them are all good, and Ed. Vervaene is no exception, 
having medium-sized claret flowers of fine form and 
useful for forcing. Roi de Hollande has orange 
flowers of large size and richly spotted with saffron. 
Single Varieties. 
One of the most charming of the single white kinds 
is Baronne de Vriere, with huge snow-white flowers, 
broad, rounded segments beautifully undulated, and 
reminding us of some of the white sports from 
Pelargonium Madame Thibaut. Sometimes the 
flowers have a few red stripes and are spotted with 
sulphur. Apollon is another grand kind with huge 
white flowers of fine shape, and sometimes though 
seldom striped with bronzy carmine. Ceres, on the 
other hand, has milk-white flowers, spotted with pale 
rose and produced in great abundance. A beautiful 
soft-coloured flower is that of Madame de Greve, of 
a lively flesh colour edged w 1th white, and having a 
pale crimson spot in the centre. One of the most 
popular at Falkland Park is Madame Camille Van 
Langenhove, on account of its extreme floriferousness. 
The blooms, asmight beexpected, are only of medium 
size, and white with salmon fed lines and some deep 
green spots. The foliage is complete]}- hidden by 
the bloom. An old favourite at exhibitions is 
Sigismund Rucker, having lilac-rose flowers netted 
and edged with white as well as having a large bright 
saffron blotch Equally prominent amongst dark 
kinds is Flambeau, with intense crimson red flowers. 
Souvenir de Arthur Veitch is a large salmon-crimson, 
and strong growing kind. One of good shape is 
Versicolor, with white flowers splashed with rose and 
streaked green and yellow-. Altogether the house 
presents a very attractive appearance at the present 
time, and it may be stated that all of the plants are 
untrained 
-- 
FORCING STRAW¬ 
BERRIES. 
It is quite remarkable to notice the diverse methods 
of dealing with pot Strawberries for forcing found 
in different places, and equally is it interesting to 
note the favour shown special sorts. A dozen 
growers would seem to have as many different 
fancies with regard to culture and methods of forcing, 
and all will favour different sorts. No wonder that in 
such case the tyro in Strawberry forcing finds it 
difficult to determine which method of culture in 
forcing is best and which sorts are best. It is indeed 
difficult to understand why one sort should force so 
well in one garden, and do so indifferently in another. 
There seem to be but two appreciable causes for 
this divergence : one in soils, which may and indeed do 
appreciably affect Strawberries ; the other in the 
method of treatment, for it would seem as if some 
sorts doing well under one course of treatment 
failed lamentably under another course. And yet 
there are growers so strangely constituted or else so 
happily placed as to laugh at this discrepancy and 
declare that it is all nonsense, that with them one 
sort does as well as another, and so on. Perhaps it 
is so. 
Very recently 1 was in a garden where n.ooo 
plants are annually forced. That is an enormous 
quantity, and as I saw what was nearly the last of 
the bulk, for several thousands had been already 
forced, I was justified in assuming that the plants 
were all equally well done, and that the sample was 
equally good. The garden, although the property of 
a wealthy man, was really devoted to fruit forcing 
for market, and, judging by appearances, was very 
likely a profitable speculation. Peaches, Nectarines, 
Grapes, and Strawberries were all first class ; could 
hardly have been better anywhere. Now the Straw¬ 
berry plants were not forced in houses or on shelves 
or stages, as is the rule, but were all in long low- 
ranges of brick frames, each having assistance in 
heat from hot-water pipes. These ranges, four or 
five in number, were each over iooft. long and 7 ft. 
wide. They w-ere first filled w ith a bed of leaves and 
stable-manure well mixed, into which the Strawberry 
plants in pots were plunged. 
There was a little artificial warmth generated by 
the bed at first, but it was too shallow to be of long 
duration. The bed served to furnish moisture for 
the pots, and some ammonia for the roots and foliage. 
The sorts grown were only President, Sir J. Paxton, 
and Sir C. Napier, the most favoured of all market 
varieties; and it was evident that whilst mam- 
growers of a few hundreds of plants hold that it was 
useless to look for fruit early from other than 
Hericart de Thyry, Keen's seedling, Le Gros Sucree, 
or Noble, here was a splendid early crop being ob¬ 
tained from President and Sir Joseph Paxton, Sir C. 
Napier coming on for the latest successional crop 
All the plants, and there were literally thousands 
fruiting at once, were doing wonderfully well, 
carrying large crops of very fine rich-coloured fruits, 
the w-hich fetched the best prices in the markets. 
Nothing co'uld be simpler, nothing more satisfactory; 
and it was evident that given ample frame room, 
and the plants, it would have been just as easy to 
grow- 100,000 as the number named. Now as to 
runners, "we pull out," said the grower, “strong tall 
runners in trebles in September, pinch out all bloom 
in the spring, and leave the plants to produce 
runners only, which they do early, hence we get 
plenty of fine young plants ; we don't overpot, and 
grow in rotted stiff loam. The plants are kept 
during the winter in cold Peach-houses, and thus 
suffer nothing from frosts, snowfalls, or heavy 
rains. — A . D. 
INTERNATIONAL HORTI¬ 
CULTURAL EXHIBITION. 
Under meteorological conditions of the most 
delightful character, as compared with the chilling 
weather of the previous week, the great show at 
Earl's Court, which is to remain open until October 
next, was opened on Saturday last by H.R.H. the 
Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, and we are 
happy to say that, considering the exceedingly short 
time which Mr. Milner and his staff had to get all 
things into working order, the display as a w hole was 
singularly complete, and the tout ensemble bright, 
gay, and exhilarating. In the party which made a 
tour of the Exhibition with the Duke were the Bishop 
of London and Mrs. Temple, Sir Charles Mills. Lord 
Rowton, Baron de Worms, M.P., Lord Ashbourne, 
Sir Charles Tupper, Lord Basing, Lord Balfour of 
Burleigh, the Lord Advocate, Lord and Lady 
Kilmorey, Lord Manners, Mr. Henniker Heaton, 
M.P., Sir J. Hay, and Admiral Mayne, M.P.-— 
Before declaring the exhibition open Mr. Milner 
read an address to His Royal Highness, who was 
understood to say in reply (for nothing could be 
heard beyond a few feet from the dais, sweldom 
having run riot through the usual barriers having 
been dispensed with) that he congratulated the 
promoters on the delightful improvement in the 
w-eather, and the beautiful display of horticultural 
products. Some two hundred and fifty persons 
subsequently sat down to luncheon in the French 
restaurant in the Western Gardens, and the toast, 
"Success to the International Horticultural Exhibi¬ 
tion,’’ was proposed by the Bishop of London, who 
spoke of the delights and educational uses of horti¬ 
culture, especially calling attention to the admirable 
series of exhibitions designed for successive months 
from May to October. To this Air. Milner, the 
chairman, briefly responded. 
The visitor to the Exhibition, if he takes his stand 
at the north end of the main building entrance, and 
looking along the central avenue, gets the best view of 
the whole from any one point. The roof of the build¬ 
ing is hung with wreaths of greenery from one end to 
the other (artificial of course), intermixed with Roses 
in some places. 
Sub-tropical Garden. 
The garden itself consists of large and variously 
shaped beds on undulating mounds with the inter¬ 
spaces of green sward, and intersected with broad 
gravel walks to which the public are confined. This 
will no doubt constitute the favourite promenade of 
the public during dull and wet weather. The beds 
are largely planted with Palms, some of which are of 
great size, and they are intermixed with other fine 
foliaged plants and flowering subjects round the 
sides, the latter of which will be replaced from time 
to time with plants in season. Messrs. B. S. Williams 
& Son, Upper Holloway, are the largest planters in 
this area. One large bed planted by the firm contains 
some fine specimens of Seaforthia elegans, Pbcenix, 
Rhapis fiabelliformis 8 ft. high and consisting of 
seventeen stems, Cordvline australis 12 ft. high, 
intermixed with Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and Lilies. 
Another bed consists of I’alms, Dracaenas, Crotons, 
and Araucarias ; while a long undulating border, 
running along each side of the building for the whole 
length of the garden, is planted with Conifers, Palms, 
and a mixed assemblage of other plants. On one 
side is a piece of rockwork and a dripping well. An 
interesting little bed is that filled with flowering 
Clivias and Azalea mollis grown as standards. 
Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, of Forest Hill, also plant 
a number of large beds, including one near the 
entrance containing an Araucaria 15 ft. high, Palms, 
Azaleas, Lilies, &c. Two other beds are filled with 
various stove and greenhouse plants, and the}- have 
several small groups of greenhouse plants in another 
part of the building. Messrs. Wm. Cutbush A Son, 
Highgate. fill two large curved figures with Palms, 
Dracaenas. Heaths, Azaleas, Ac. Mr. Geo. Phippen, 
of Reading, occupies two large beds, one of which 
represents the prince s feather, filled with Palms, 
Cycacls, Crotons, Pandanus, and flowering plants. 
An arrow-shaped bed is filled with Azalea mollis. 
An oval bed of the last-named in great variety is 
filled by M. Coster, Boskoop, Holland. A large 
irregularly shaped bed filled by Mr. C. Turner, 
Slough, contains a fine specimen of Chamaerops ex- 
celsa, 10 ft. high, and some large plants of Phoenix. 
He also has two other beds filled with a variety of 
plants and edged with pot plants of Roses in bloom, 
the pots being plunged in the soil. 
