October 12, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
93 
Cabbages, and Bush Beans, the latter term being 
equivalent to dwarf or French Beans as we speak of 
them here. 
Pansies are very popular in America, and Messrs. 
W. Atlee Burpee & Co. make a speciality of them, 
procuring seeds from various European sources. 
Other subjects of note are Zinnias, Hollyhocks, 
Carnations, Aquilegias, Chrysanthemums, Cam¬ 
panulas, Mignonette, Begonias, Balsams, Poppies, 
Scabious, Dahlias, Verbenas, Marigolds, Lathyrus, 
aud many others. One result of the experiments 
here, has shown that Verbenas raised from seed are 
as healthy and as floriferous as those from cuttings. 
The intermingling of patches of flowers and 
vegetables on the same piece of ground is a feature 
that strikes the visitor to a place like this ; but the 
practice is common on all large seed farms, and is 
intended to keep the different kinds separate, to 
prevent allied kinds and varieties from being mixed 
and adulterated by bees and insects generally. 
A special feature that must not be overlooked is 
Sweet Pea Cupid (see illustration), one of the most 
remarkable of recent instances of evolution in the 
plant world. In 1893 a single specimen was dis¬ 
covered in the seed grounds of Messrs. C. C. Morse 
& Co., California. The Rev. W. T. Hutchins, the 
NOTES FROM SWANAGE—II. 
It is a lovely September morn. The air is fresh and 
sweet and full of buoyancy. The hills are decked 
with roseate hues ; and the sky and sea combine 
their blue in richest rivalry. It is a morning particu¬ 
larly suitable to study the poetry of nature. It is, 
in fact, just the sort of weather for a ramble, and 
seems to have been specially created to enable us to 
carry out our intentions of yesterday. So we will be 
up and doing, and, while the early bathers are taking 
their customary dip, we will make our way along the 
shore, cross over the Ulwell stream, turn up the 
Ulwell Road, and take the fields to Ballard Down. 
Ere we cross the stile, however, we are confronted 
with a notice that—quite apart from its questionable 
legality—is unworthy of the man who placed it there. 
It runs thus :—"Any person found picking flowers, 
grasses, etc., on this estate, will be prosecuted.” 
Clearly, no encouragement is given here for another 
kind of prosecution, namely, the study of wild flowers 
in their native homes. But I only refer to this 
terrible notice en passant, assured that the real in¬ 
tentions of its author have, somehow, got obscured. 
So we push on, and soon forget the warning in our 
anxiety to see, once more, those floral forms which 
showing the effects in the “ struggle for existence,” 
however, I may mention that some of the flowers have 
only Jour instead of five divisions to the corolla. But 
it is fortunate for us that the sun shines freely, other¬ 
wise we should not have the satisfaction of seeing them 
at all. The Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia), of 
course, displays its beauty, but it would be difficult 
to decide whether it were deeper in colour than the 
elements above or below. A near relative, the 
common Sheep’s-bit (Jasione montana), is sometimes 
mistaken for a Scabious, for its tiny bell-shaped 
blossoms are congregated together into little grayish- 
blue heads, on slender stems, which lie amongst the 
grass in myriads. The little Eyebright (Euphrasia 
officinalis) is also here—the Euphrasy of the poets, 
with white flowers streaked with purple—a delicate 
and wondrous thing when seen through the pocket- 
lens. 
Here is a large stone seat on which we are 
invited to “ rest and be thankful.” Let us do so, 
and take a general survey of the scene. What a 
panorama ! On the one hand, nearly 500 ft. below 
us, lies Swanage, strong in her strength, and nestling, 
as it were, beneath the “everlasting hills” across 
the miniature Naples-like Bay. No, not quite like 
Naples—it wants (?) the volcano. On the other 
The Unique New Dwarf Sweet Pea—Cupid. 
eminent Sweet Pea specialist of Indian Orchard, 
Massachusetts, visited this farm in 1894, and saw 
100 plants of Cupid all perfectly true from the seed 
of the solitary plant of the previous year. He says 
that it is the only genuine dwarf Sweet Pea that he 
knows, and has sported so at one jump. Plants 
grown in England were shown at a meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society on June 25th last, and 
surprised many by their dwarf and floriferous 
habit, and pure white flowers as large as those of 
Emily Henderson. An Award of Merit was 
accorded the variety. Seven acres of it have been 
grown by the Californian firm for Messrs. Burpee & 
Co. this year, and to the latter we are indebted for 
this opportunity of figuring a field of the novelty. 
The plant is of prostrate habit, 3 in. to 5 in. high, 
and forms a tuft never more than 12 in. to 15 in. in 
diameter. The secret of its profuse and continuous 
blooming is that young side shoots are continually 
being produced all through the season, each bearing 
two or three large, waxy white flowers of great 
substance. It will make a fine subject for pots, 
borders, and rockeries. 
The National Chrysanthemum Society's Year Book 
for 1895 .—Edited by Mr. Harman Payne F.R.H.S. Price is. 
post free, is. ijd. from the Publisher of the Gardening 
World, i, Clement’s Inn, Strand, W.C. 
only put on their best behaviour at some elevation 
above high-water mark. 
Ah! here is the pretty, pale-blossomed, yellow 
Rock-rose (Helianthemum vulgare), with shrubby 
stems, and large, round, attractive-looking flowers. 
Attractive it certainly is, for the bees are already 
busy with it, and this fact goes to prove that it does 
not display its beauty for man alone. A little higher 
up another, and quite a different class of plant is 
also receiving much attention from the bees. This 
is the sweet wild Thyme, of which there are two 
distinct forms or species (Thymus Serpyllum and 
T. Chamaedrys), which cast a fragrance o’er the 
wind-swept downs. What a fascination there is 
about these lowly plants when growing on the 
breezy heights ! And if we may not gather the flowers 
themselves, we may note the physical conditions 
under which they live, and gather much philosophy 
therefrom. Unless the observer may have a critical eye 
he will be apt to overlook the small, dull purplish 
blossoms of the Felwort Gentian (Gentiana 
Amarella), which hardly rises above the 
short brown turf. He cannot, however, mistake an 
ally in the pink, star-shaped blossoms of the Red 
Centaury (Erythraea Centaurium), which, although 
Only about 3 in or 4 in. high, is bright with colour. As 
hand Studland, interesting and pretty, spreads itself 
out, so to speak, at our very feet. Studland has been 
compared to Lynton, North Devon, but in my 
humble opinion it is no more like that picturesque 
place than Swanage is like Venlnor. Beyond Stud¬ 
land, however, the country is flat and marshy, with 
creeks and islands, sandy dunes and miles of heath. 
But let us descend. As we do so we must notice a 
little Orchis (Spiranthes autumnalis), with spikes of 
fragrant, whitish flowers, which all point one way. 
The Yellow-wort (Chlora perfoliata) is also here, 
and indicative, too, of the chalk of which this 
breezy down is composed. The Yellow-wort has 
gray-green leaves, which unite round the stems, 
hence the specific name is well applied. Its bright 
yellow flowers only open when the sun is shining i 
and as they are now fully expanded, the state of the 
weather may be assured. There are many other 
yellow flowers in the Hawkbits and Hawkweeds, but 
we cannot stop to identify them. In fact, when I 
look at their numerous forms and the difficulties 
they present in the matter of nomenclature to an 
amateur botanist, I console myself with an observa¬ 
tion of Goethe, that— 
" Nature makes individuals ; man genera and 
species.” 
