July 4, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
705 
in the open, Amateur. The best thing for you to do 
will be to syringe your bushes, occasionally with 
soapsuds from the laundry. 
Layering Carnations. —You may commence 
operations, R. Isaacson, as soon as the greater part of 
the flowers are over, that is, towards the end of the 
present month. The wooden pegs for fastening 
down the layers should be at least 3 in. or 4 in. in 
length. 
Carnations bursting their pods. —This is a defect 
that is very common amongst the heavier flowers. 
Your best plan, M. Norton, will be to purchase a 
quantity of the small elastic rings used by florists. 
These may easily be slipped over the calyx, and will 
hold the flower together. These rings should be 
easily obtained from any horticultural sundries man. 
-* 5 *-- 
TRIAL OF GARDEN PEAS. 
For several years past, Messrs. Sutton & Sons, 
Reading, have been very energetic in the raising of 
new varieties of Peas, and encouraged by their 
success they have been more dilligent than ever 
lately. This is the conclusion we came to the other 
week after inspecting the extensive trial being con¬ 
ducted on their Seed Farm alongside of the Great 
Western Railway. To give an idea of the extent of 
labour these experiments entail, we may say that 600 
trials or in other words varieties) of Peas were all 
sown in the course of two days. Some were sown 
for the first time so that the results were purely a 
matter of speculation till they flowered and fruited. 
Some sowings show a mixture of tall giants mixed 
with pigmy sorts that go to prove that an artificial 
cross has been made. Others are in the second or 
third year of their trial in order to prove their merits 
and determine whether the new characters acquired 
have been fixed. Roguing or weeding out is, of course, 
attended to, and fresh selections may be made ; but 
in any case, care is taken that the true character is 
retained and fixed by harvesting and sowing the best 
types only. As many as thirty varieties are dis¬ 
carded annually, simply because they do not come up 
to, nor excel the standard varieties already in cultiva¬ 
tion and under name. Every feature and point is 
attended to in selecting new varieties, the aim being 
to secure very early, very late, and midseason or 
maincrop varieties, of good quality and prolific 
bearing tendencies. 
Naturally all the varieties are unusually dwarf this 
year, on account of the drought; but on the whole 
there is a remarkable variation in this respect. One 
decided advantage which Messrs. Sutton have been 
able to eflect is the securing of marrowfat varieties 
as early as the old-fashioned round Peas, which alone 
used to furnish the first dishes for the table in 
private establishments. American Wonder is grown 
alongside of the newer productions effected by Messrs. 
Sutton for the sake of comparison and as a starting 
point from which to diverge in the production of 
better varieties. The Sutton Forcing is dwarfer than 
American Wonder,and earlier while the pod is two or 
three times the size of that. The seeds must of 
necessity be correspondingly large. Sutton’s 
Seedling Marrowfat is equally early as American 
Wonder and three times as large. The haulm is 
slightly taller than that of the early forcing sort. To 
this list may be added Sutton’s Excelsior having 
pods of precisely the same shape as that of American 
Wonder, but twice as long and twice as thick. The 
pods must, therefore, be four times the size of those 
of that variety: at least that was how we were 
taught to count at school. 
The rest of the few named varieties we noted on 
the field were taller. The sorts would appear to 
have been arranged according to height; and we 
feel sure that such was the case for nothing is left 
to chance here, nor anything overlooked that can 
put all the varieties on an equality, giving them 
justice. The next we noted was Sutton’s Favourite 
Marrowfat, with haulm 12 in. to 18 in. high. It is a 
second early with broad and massive pods. 
Sutton’s Early Giant is one on which we commented 
some weeks ago It is a great acquisition, because a 
true marrowfat and early, with stems only 2£ ft. 
high as regulated by the present dry season. It 
bears heavily. Sutton's May Queen is similar in 
height, and a well known, early, heavy-cropping 
marrowfat. The light green foliage is a noticeable 
characteristic of this variety. On the contrary the 
foliage of Empress of India is of a rich dark colour. 
The haulm grows to a height of 3 ft. and bears a 
bountiful crop of large and very thick pods. Sutton's 
Bountiful is evidently going to make its mark as a 
popular Pea,for it is the only early Pea at Chiswick 
which has been reckoned worthy of x x x in the 
trials being conducted there this year. At Reading 
it is 2J ft. high, with light green foliage, and bears a 
heavy crop of large pods. It originated as a cross 
between a round and a wrinkled variety. 
Those just mentioned were the only named 
varieties we noted in this extensive trial. Numerous 
others varying greatly in height promise to be heard 
of in the future for all round qualities, but noted for 
some special feature or other. A few very tall kinds 
commenced bearing at no great height from the 
ground and have continued to develope other pods 
as they lengthened, so that they would be reckoned 
amongst the continuous bearing kinds. This is all the 
more remarkable after such a lengthy spell of drought. 
They were simply sown in the light sandy soil of the 
farm, kept clean and staked when that became 
necessary. No mulching whatever has been 
accorded them. The large size and rich colour of 
the pods .of other kinds indicate that they will be 
suitable for exhibition purposes, independently of 
their other qualities and uses. 
GERANIUM SANGUINEUM. 
Of all the species of Crane’s-bill, this one, perhaps, 
is the most common from a garden point of view. 
And yet, in a state of nature, it has a limited range, 
being only found in dry, rocky places, and in sandy 
soils contiguous thereto. On the Great Orme’s 
Head in North Wales, and in the pastures near the 
sea, it is, however, a conspicuous plant, and one well 
worth practical attention, as it makes a most excel¬ 
lent subject for the rock garden, and is otherwise 
useful as a hardy, herbaceous plant in gravelly soils. 
As there are not very many showy herbaceous plants, 
that adapt themselves so readily as this one to such 
soils as I have indicated, it follows that this one 
should be acquired by those to whom it would be of 
the greatest service. It has a fine spreading habit— 
makes, in fact, a dense dwarf tuft—and possesses 
flowers of a rich crimson or blue-blood tint, which 
are freely produced over a long period. 
To those who are fond of true Geraniums this one 
must not be omitted from the collection, as it is not 
only a splendid British plant, but a good garden 
ornament. It is surprising to find how few amateurs 
know it, and when its merits are pointed out they 
invariably exclaim, “ What ! Is that a Geranium ? I 
thought Geraniums were grown in greenhouses and 
used as bedding plants ? " And then they begin to 
regard you with so much incredulity that you are, 
perforce, made to feel the truth of the old maxim 
about its not being always expedient to proceed on 
strictly veracious lines. —C. B. G., Acton, W. 
— -- 
STYRAX JAPONICUM. 
The leafy month of June is also the flowery month 
amongst trees and shrubs ; or we might say that 
May and June are the flowery months for that class 
of vegetation in our country. Some trees do indeed 
flower later, such as the Limes and Magnolias, and 
late blooming shrubs are even more plentiful. 
The subject under notice is a native of Japan and 
was figured in'" Sieboldt and Zuccarini’s Flora 
Japonica,” I, 53, t. 23. The accompanying illustra¬ 
tion was prepared from a specimen we received from 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, who exhibited 
flowering branches of it at the meeting of the Royal 
Horticultural Society on gth June. From the more 
uprigkt branches others are given off horizontally 
which produce a profusion of white flowers, for all 
the world like miniature Snowdrops. The tree does 
indeed belong to the same family as the Snowdrop 
tree, but is altogether more graceful on account of 
the freedom with which the tree develops its twiggy 
branches. The leaves of the flowering shoots are 
very small compared with those of several other 
species of this genus, elliptic, slightly serrulate 
towards the apex, deep green above and paler 
beneath. The leaves of the vigorous growing, 
flowerless shoots are much larger. 
The illustration shows a very small shoot natural 
size, so that some idea of the beauty of this small 
tree or large bush may be gleaned. There is no lack 
of beautiful trees and shrubs at command for 
adorning our parks, gardens, and pleasure grounds ; 
yet we regret to notice a lack of the fine things that 
may be utilised for the purpose, particularly the 
more recent introductions. The Japan Styrax is so 
distinct from everything else, except perhaps the 
rarely seen Snowdrop-tree, that it might well be 
introduced to lawns and pleasure grounds to the 
exclusion of many common and uninteresting sub¬ 
jects that monopolise by far too much valuable 
space. 
--- 
GARDENERS, PAST, PRESENT, AND 
FUTURE. 
This was the title of a paper read by Mr. S. Heaton, 
at the last meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
Mr. George Bunyard occupying the chair. In his 
opening remarks the lecturer said that what we 
wanted now^a-days Was a better training for journey* 
Styrax japonicum. 
