September 28, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
67 
With an eye to the best effect, plant Begonias so 
that the flowers will all look in that direction from 
whence the greatest number of eyes will be directed 
upon them. They then seem like an audience, all 
attention and full of expectation, when a popular 
speaker is about to address the assembly. This can 
easily be managed at planting time by any intelligent 
workman who can insert the plants so that the 
leaves will point in the direction the flowers are 
intended to look. In circular beds, of course, the 
blooms should look in all directions away from the 
centre. 
Sale ofOrchids.—The three days’ sale of the Beech- 
lawn collection of Orchids, belonging to W. R. Lee, 
Esq., which commenced at Manchester on Tuesday 
last, has, up to the time of going to press, been 
very sucsessful, some rare plants fetching high 
prices. Amongst them may be noted Cypripedium 
Winnifred Hollington, which realised £73 10. ; 
Cattleya Iabiata alba, £63 ; Cattleya speciosissima 
Sanderae, £78 15s.; Cattleya Reineckiana, £42 ; 
and Cattleya Hardyana, £68 15s. 
Begonia Lafayette.—Those who like double 
Begonias with small flowers, especially for outdoor 
culture, would do well to give this one a trial. The 
plants usually grow 6 in. to 9 in. high, and bear a 
profusion of fiery scarlet blooms well above the small 
dark green leaves. It resembles a double form ofB. 
Davisii and is practically a Tom Thumb by com¬ 
parison with many of the giants now in cultivation. 
Nothing could be more suitable for small beds on 
the lawn and under the windows, for it is more 
effective than any Pelargonium dwarf enough to be 
tolerated in such situations. 
The Florist of the future.—Mrs. Emily T. Boyle,in 
reading a paper on this subject at the last meeting 
of the Chicago Florists’ Club gave it as her opinion 
that the business must be advanced in the eyes of 
the public ; towards that end the florist of the future 
must have well appearing employees who will bring 
brains into the greenhouse. We must get out of the 
ruts by looking out for novelties and little used 
plants of merit. After Roses and Carnations all 
winter, people want a change when spring comes, 
hence the fancy for wild flowers or herbaceous 
material. The Dahlia would again come into popu¬ 
lar favour through the efforts of the Dahlia Society ; 
her own taste inclined to the single and Cactus 
types. 
Preservation of Wild Flowers.—The destruction of 
these caused by excursionists, field clubs, etc., is 
very great. If there is not a change in their 
practices we shall soon have nothing left but 
bracken and common weeds. The writers of 
botanical text-books are not altogether free from 
blame in this matter, for they recommend students 
to take up specimens by the roots, and thus rare 
plants are speedily exterminated. Now there are 
many roots that cannot be transferred to the 
herbarium, and it is seldom necessary that any 
should be. All that the ordinary student of botany 
requires is the power to identify plants, and generally 
a portion of a plant with some of the leaves and 
flowers on it is quite sufficient for this purpose. 
-- 4 *- 
THE SPRINGTHORPE CUP AND TUBE. 
Various inventions have been brought before the 
exhibitors of the popular Chrysanthemum, to facili¬ 
tate the arrangement of exhibition blooms on the 
show boards. Each new invention has some 
modification or improvement upon pre-existing ones, 
so that perfection must ultimately be attained if any 
such thing is possible. In the present instance the 
Cup has one brass side spring which enables the 
exhibitor to adjust his flower with speed and 
accuracy in the Tube or Water Container. It also 
has a very simple arrangement to prevent the 
necessity of plugging. The Tube or Water Con¬ 
tainer has also one brass side spring which passes 
through a flange fixed to the showboard from the 
underside. By using these tubes the exhibitor can 
raise his flowers seven inches from the board with 
instant adjustment. The advantages which this 
invention offers are simplicity, ease of adjustment, 
durability, efficiency and great saving of time. 
Testimonials from various exhibitors speak in most 
favourable terms of the value of the invention to 
those engaged in bringing the universally-popular 
flower before the public in its most presentable con¬ 
dition. Amongst those who thus testify to the utility 
of The Springthorpe Cup and Tube, are the well 
known and successful exhibitors Mr. W. Mease, Mr. 
C. Orchard, Mr. W. G. Drover, Mr. Geo. Woodgate 
and Mr. Peter Blair, of Trentham Girdens. Mr. C. 
Orchard says it is a simple and serviceable arrange¬ 
ment meeting all the objections of other tubes ; and 
Mr. Mease says it is the very thing that is wanted, 
perfectly simple and effective. It has been highly 
commended by the National Chrysanthemum 
Society. For incurved varieties of Chrysanthemum 
there are two sizes of Cup, namely, 2 in. and 2J in. ; 
and for Japanese blooms the diameter is 3 in. 
——- 
ALLINGTON NURSERIES. 
There is no better way of increasing one's know¬ 
ledge of fruits, and getting hints regarding the most 
recent improvements in cultivation, than by visiting 
some of the large nurseries where everything is up 
to date. With this intention we paid a visit to the 
far-famed nurseries of Messrs. George Bunyard & 
Co. at Maidstone. The Allington Nurseries, where 
the Apples, Pears, and other fruit trees are so 
extensively grown, are about two miles from Maid¬ 
stone, but more easily reached from Barming on the 
London, Chatham and Dover Railway. The day 
being fine, we had a good “ constitutional ” over 
the nurseries, of which 100 acres are devoted to 
fruit, Conifers and Roses. We were too late to see 
the houses when fully occupied with fruit trees and 
other subjects, but we nevertheless inspected them 
for the lessons they offer. 
The Glass Houses. 
Abaut 5,000 Peach and Nectarine trees are grown 
in pots, and healthy pyramidal specimens they are, 
about 4 ft. to 6 ft. high. Three long, span-roofed 
houses are devoted to them, but only the late 
Peaches were still located here, the rest being out of 
doors. Those from which the fruits are now being 
gathered are Walburton Admirable, Princess of 
Wales, Sea Eagle, Barrington, Lady Palmerston, 
and Gladstone, all select and useful kinds for the 
latest picking. One house contained a collection 
of three dozen of the best sorts of Figs all 
fruiting in pots. Messrs. Bunyard consider that 
Brown Turkey, St. John’s, Negro Largo, Brunswick, 
Boughton Place, White Marseilles, and Osborn's 
Prolific are the cream of the collection. All are 
very suitable for forcing, and some for outdoor cul¬ 
ture. We noted a curiosity in one Fig growing out 
at the apex of another, in more than one instance. 
A fine lot of Tomato Laxton's Open Air was ripen¬ 
ing a crop in pots. There were two stems to each 
plant, and which had been stopped at 3 ft. in height. 
The variety is annually subjected to the process of 
selection, so that the fruits are much smoother than 
they used to be. The pots are stood in a cold 
house with plenty of ventilation, and Icok the 
picture of health. The crop is grown for seed. In 
another house Telegraph Cucumber was ripening a 
heavy crop of seed. Close by we noted about 500 
plants of the Marechal Neil Rose grafted on Seed¬ 
ling Briers and grown in pots. All the leading 
varieties of clitnbling Roses occupy another house, 
and constitute the third batch reared and brought 
on in this way. Crimson Rambler was very con¬ 
spicuous here. 
A collection of Apples and Pears is grown in 
houses, and then brought out to ripen their fruits. 
They are stood in a long wire cage to keep the birds 
away, and canvas is hung on the sides of the 
enclosure to break the force of the wind during 
storms. We saw some fruits in the open that had 
been marked and pitted with a recent hailstorm. 
Most of the fruit of the pot plants is now in the 
fruit room, but late kinds still hang, including Cor¬ 
nish Aromatic, Tibbett's Pearmain, Gascoigne's 
Seedling, Belle Pontoise, a good late Apple, Cal- 
ville Rouge, and others. The size and colour of 
Gascoigne’s Seedling is something remarkable, yet 
both these recommendations are altogether sur¬ 
passed by specimens grown entirely in the open air. 
The Pears under the same conditions as the above in¬ 
clude Le Lectier, bearing large, pyriform, late ripen¬ 
ing and good fruits, also splendid samples of Marie 
Benoist, Doyenne du Comice, Beurre Superfin, and 
Madame la Baltet. The latter is a good Pear 
though not very large. Just in front of this wire 
cage is a plantation of Pears amongst which we 
noted grand samples of Catillac, The Conference, 
Beurre Foucqueray and Dr. Jules Gugot. The 
latter is a beautiful yellow Pear of large size and 
comparatively new, as are the two previously 
named sorts. 
The Fruit Room. 
By the third week in September it is absolutely 
necessary to visit the fruit room if the earlier 
varieties are to be seen. Gathering and storing is 
being conducted every day, so that a magnificent 
spectacle already greets the eye of the visitor upon 
entering the building, where -the large and hand¬ 
somely coloured specimens are stored only one layer 
deep. Those grown in the Orchard house are mostly 
stored here, and we shall deal with them first. They 
are notable for the clear and clean-looking character 
of the skin. Seeing that the Messrs. Bunyard have 
been able to turn out 500 varieties at a single show, 
we cannot be expected to mention more than a few 
of the best here. Grand samples may be seen of 
the highly coloured Washington, Lady Henniker, 
Cox’s Orange Pomona, Ribston Pippin (we have 
never seen finer), Golden Noble, Bismarck, Lane's 
Prince Albert (altogether out of character with size 
and colour), Bietingheimer (like a red Myrobalan 
Plum in colour), Calville Rouge Praecox, Tyler’s 
Scarlet, Emperor Alexander, and' Reinette du 
Canada (russety when grown out of doors, but 
beautifully coloured under glass, and an exception to 
to the general rule). The comparatively newOkera, 
in shape and colour, resembles a gigantic plum. 
Never, perhaps, has it been more highly coloured. 
Those that have been grown in the open air, are 
as a rule, by far the most highly coloured and the 
heaviest. Amongst them we noted huge and hand¬ 
some samples of Stirling Castle, Bramley's Seed¬ 
ling, Hormead's Pearmain, Grenadier (yellow and 
polished) Pott’s Seedling, Red Ribbed Greening, 
Hereford Crimson Queen, Tippet's Pearmain (huge 
and conical) Winter Peach (with a soft Peach tint 
and keeping good till May), Welford Park Nonsuch 
(red), Swedish Reinette (crimson), Queen Caroline 
(yellow, and very fine), American Mother (shining 
red and very handsome) Evagil (yellow and three 
times the size of Ingestre), and Tom Putt, a striking 
red Apple from Somerset. Ecklinville, a useful 
market Apple, may be seen in quantity and of hand¬ 
some size. Foster’s Seedling is a highly coloured 
