786 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 8, 1896. 
VEGETABLES FOR EXHIBITION.* 
It may seem somewhat strange that I should venture 
to approach this subject before an Ealing audience, 
so complete must be their knowledge in the art of 
growing vegetables of the highest merit. Doubtless, 
papers treating on the matter here have already 
taken a leading form in sessions of the past, but it is 
always refreshing to have some controversy of 
opinion on any point that has for its object the per¬ 
fection to which anything may be grown, soth at a 
greater interest may not only be taken in our gardens 
at home, but that exhibitions may be raised to a 
higher standard, and the public enabled to show a 
higher appreciation of what is placed before them. 
In the growing to vegetables for exhibition, many 
points require to be well studied before any com¬ 
mencement is made. In the first place it will be 
quite useless to attempt to grow anything for exhibi¬ 
tion with the slightest chance of success, unless the 
grower has a thorough interest in the work that is 
before him. It must be to him a labour of love, 
otherwise excuses are soon found that may possibly 
have little grounds beyond a lack of determination 
to achieve the desired end, and failure sooner or later 
becomes evident. 
Another point that has to be taken into considera¬ 
tion before commencement, is the dates on which the 
exhibitions are fixed, so as to have the different 
vegetables at their best at a given time; also, note 
should be taken of the names of the varieties most 
suitable, and the number of each that is required. 
This will facilitate matters somewhat, and a founda¬ 
tion is laid from which to work on. There are many 
gardeners who hold the opinion that vegetables 
should not be grown specially for exhibition, as a 
great deal of time and expense is necessary. Well 
this is a matter that entirely lays with the gardener 
himself. If he chose to exhibit, as there are a few that 
do, from week to week throughout the summer and 
autumn months, then the time and expense must 
necessarily be great, and I think on that point there 
is good ground for complaint ; but, on the other hand, 
should he simply exhibit at a few shows, with the 
double object of seeing the exhibition and trying his 
strength against his neighbours, no necessary time 
and expense need frighten him, and exhibiting 
becomes as it should be, a work of pleasure, without 
in any degree sacrificing the other duties entrusted 
to him by his employer. I may here mention that I 
do no not propose in this paper to treat in any way 
of the history of each vegetable, as their cultivation 
will require all the space at my command, and I 
shall begin with the Potato as the most important 
of all vegetables whether for exhibition or home use. 
Potato. 
To obtain Potatos of the finest quality for exhibition, 
may be the means of considerable difficulty; or on 
the other hand, no trouble at all may be involved, so 
variable are the natural soils even in the same 
locality. In one garden the soil may be dry and of 
a light, sandy, and loamy character, and all that can 
be desired for the production of high class tubers ; 
but in the next place it may be the very opposite, 
and here the difficulty arises. In any case the soil 
should be trenched to a depth of 2 ft. at least, not 
necessarily bringing the bottom spit to the top, but 
breaking it well and leaving it there. This is best done 
in the autumn or early winter, and if heavy, the soil 
will be much improved by ridging, as the action of the 
weather covers a greater surface, an d it is more readily 
pulverised by the frost. In the case of light soil 
trenching has also an advantage. Should the season 
be a dry one, the moisture will be more readily 
retained, and the roots enabled to search deeper for 
nourishment. Another point that should always be 
observed in trenching, is to carefully break all the 
bottom spits as work proceeds, otherwise there is no 
further chance of reaching them. The application 
of manures of a rank and raw character should 
always be avoided, such as that collected fresh from 
the stables or cow shed ; much better it is to follow 
some crop that has had manure applied to it 
previously. The preparation of the seed is an 
important matter, and should begin when the crop is 
being lifted, as there is a greater chance of a better 
selection then. The tubers should be laid aside to 
become green, then, when dry, stored in any shed 
that can command plenty of light and air. By the 
beginning of January the sets should be placed 
thickly in boxes with their ends upwards, so as to 
'■ A paper read by Mr. James Gibson, at a meeting of the 
Saliog and District Gardeners’ Society, 
enable Sprouts to become strong and tough. These 
growths should be thinned out to one, leaving the 
strongest; and if grown cool as they should be. 
without any risk of being frozen, they will be about 
2 in. or 2J in. long at planting time. 
Assuming then, that we are ready for planting, and 
the weather favourable, about the end of March, or 
the first week in April, the trenched ground should 
be coated with hot lime, thoroughly forked over, 
and flat lines drawn 6 in. deep with the drawhoe. 
The sets should be placed in the rows about 8 in. 
apart, and if the lines are 3 ft. between, as they 
should be, plenty of room will then be afforded. We 
now come to a point worthy of attention, and that is 
the different character of the soil; where unsuitable, 
each set should have about two shovelfuls of soil 
composed of wood ashes, burnt soil and sand placed 
over them, which have previously been put through 
a half-inch seive, Then the lines should be earthed 
up in the form of a ridge. After the young growths 
have attained the height of about 8 in. they should 
be finally “ furred ” up. 
It will be noticed that I have recommended a con¬ 
siderable width for the sets, but after much 
experience on this point, there can be no doubt of 
the advantages derived from giving plenty of room. 
In the first place the growth has sufficient room to 
become properly developed, through the sun and the 
air maturing every part of the stem and leaf, as 
growth proceeds ; and through this becomes to a 
great extent disease-resisting. On the other hand 
those planted close have no chance of doing justice 
to themselves, as the haulm becomes a perfect 
thicket and a ready prey to the disease, and deformed 
tubers are usually abundant. Potatos for exhibiting 
should be lifted as near the time of the show as 
possible, and no time lost in washing them in soap 
and water with a soft sponge, and each wrapped in 
soft paper ready for staging. A dish of Potatos to 
obtain the maximum number of points should be of 
medium size, even with shallow eyes, spotless skin, 
somewhat rough and white. Of varieties of Potatos, 
much will depend at the time of the year they are 
required; but for early work, Snowdrop and Sutton’s 
Supreme, and for later shows, Satisfaction and 
Windsor Castle are hard to beat. 
(To be continued.) 
-- 
DERIVATION OF SCUTELLARIA. 
Mr. J. C. Stogdon has been good enough to take 
exception (p. 772) to a statement I made, by way of 
illustration (p. 754) concerning the interest which 
sometimes attaches to the etymology of plant names. 
Moreover, he quotes Dr. W. Smith against me, and 
otherwise, by implication, imputes a certain want of 
knowledge, by reiterating Pope’s famous line, that 
“ a little learning is a dangerous thing.” 
Now, if Mr. Stogdon will be kind enough to read 
Pope's " Essay on Criticism,” in its entirety, be will 
find that the above quotation is specially directed 
against critics, of whom Pope, like Byron, was par¬ 
ticularly impatient. However, I will not attempt to 
put myself in Pope’s position, for I court criticism ; 
but I must add that the phrase in question, as it 
stands, without the context, is quite out of unison 
with my sentiments. I believe that 11 a little learning 
is a dangerous thing”—in chemistry, and in 
chemistry alone ; for in that science a non sufficient 
knowledge is likely to lead to the most disastrous 
results. As an instance, take glycerine and nitric 
acid, or sulphur and chlorate of potash, which are 
comparatively innocent in themselves, but which in 
amalgamation are calculated to upset the equilibrium 
of the sternest experimenter who knows but a 
“ little.” On the other hand, and in a general way, 
I must record my opinion that "a little learning” 
is a great incentive to further knowledge, for without 
the ” little ” the “ further " would never come. On 
this principle, therefore, I maintain that “a little 
learning,” say, in gardening, botany, etc., or even in 
Latin, is better than none at all. 
But, to our derivation. According to Smith 
scutella is “a salve or waiter, of a nearly square 
form,” while scutula is “ a little dish or platter, of a 
nearly square form ”—a distinction without much 
difference, as both are diminitive terms, and both 
are derived from scutra, a flat tray, dish, plate, or 
platter. Against this put Riddle, another authority, 
who in his Latin-English Lexicon, says that scutella 
is ” a small flat dish, almost square.” I find also, 
that Nicholson s “ Encyclopaedia of Gardening,” 
and Hooker’s “ Students’ Flora,” are likewise on my 
side ; for the former says scutella is a dish or platter 1 '; 
and the latter states that the genus Scutellaria is 
derived from “ scutella, from the rffsA-like scale on the 
calyx." But, better than all, I am pleased to note 
that Craig’s ” Universal English Dictionary ” is 
absolutely in accord with my views, for, under the 
term scutella, it is there written, (•• Latin, a dish or 
saucer”), the identical explanation I gave! My 
critic, however, may still object that “dish” and 
"saucer” are not interchangeable terms. Let us 
see. Let us consult Webster. Here, then, we shall 
find that "saucer” is rendered as "a small dish, 
like a deep plate.” Truly the English language is 
unique in construction, and profound in fact ! 
However, as no useful purpose will be served by 
carrying this quibble further, I trust that my readers 
will admit that sufficient evidence has been sub¬ 
mitted to show that my etymology of Scutellaria is 
not inaccurate, and that " a little learning is (not) a 
dangerous thing.” — C. B. G., Acton, TV. 
--f-- 
STANSTEAD PARK NURSERY. 
Some time ago we noted the fine collection of 
tuberous Begonias in the nursery of Messrs. J. 
Laing & Sons, Stanstead Park, Forest Hill. On 
this occasion we revert to the flowering and fine 
foliaged stove and greenhouse plants, of which a very 
large assortment is kept in stock. 
Palms and other Foliage Plants. 
A great amount of decorative work is carried od, and 
for this purpose Palms are of leading importance. 
Plants of the rare Cocos insignis bear six to eight 
leaves, well furnishing the stem from the base 
upwards. The pinnae are about 12 in. long, and 
give the leaves a graceful appearance. Geonoma 
imperialis is a much stronger growing species than 
G. gracilis ; and the young expanding foliage is 
reddish. The leaves of plants in 48-sized pots are 
18 in. to 24 in. long. A very pretty fan Palm is 
Livistona rotundifolia, with small round leaves and 
dwarf habit. A beautifully distinct Palm is Latania 
rubra, with red petioles, sawed on the edge, and red 
margins to the pinnae. An uncommon species is 
Rbopaloblasta hexandra, and a large plant of it here 
has 3J ft. of clear stem and pinnate leaves. 
Amongst Dracaenas the variegated D. Doucetti is 
always a graceful and useful subject for decorative 
work, being cheerful alike summer and winter. 
Altogether different is D. lentiginosa, of which there 
are several varieties differing in colour chiefly. The 
foliage is of a dark bronzy-green hue tinted with red. 
The leaves of D. Veitchi are of a brighter hue, but 
tinted with red and graceful in habit. The red and 
bronzy leaves of Dracaena Alexander Laing are very 
handsome, the variety is of garden origin, and the 
narrow leaves render this a popular subject for 
garden decoration. 
Useful decorative Ferns are grown in several of 
the houses. Pteris Wimsettii is at once curious and 
beautiful on account of its irregularly pinnate fronds, 
the tips of the pinnae being crested. Adiantum 
lambertianum belongs to the A. mundulum type, but 
the pinules are longer and more graceful. Some 
large pieces of Scolopendrium vulgare undulatum 
have finely and much crisped fronds. A pleasing 
form of a popular Fern is Pteris tremula elegans, 
having all the stronger pinnae crested. Pteris 
tricolor is now well known, and a beautiful thing 
when in good condition. Numerous Maidenhair 
Ferns are kept in stock, including Adiantum Collisii, 
having smaller pinnules than the well-known A. 
Williamsii. For buttonhole work A. Pacotti is 
extremely well adapted. A. farleyense is also well 
grown at Stanstead Park. Very graceful is Pteris 
tenue, with long, slender and drooping pinnae. 
Crotons are also grown in great numbers and 
variety. The leaves of Gold Ring are curiously 
curled, and exhibit a mixture of red, yellow, and 
green. Cupania filicifolia is a beautiful stove shrub, 
with the leaves four times pinnate and very much 
resembling a Fern, as the name would indicate. 
A collection of Bromeliads may be regarded 
either as flowering or foliage plants, for they are 
both. Nidularium fulgens has a red centre when 
the plants are in bloom, and the colour lasts a long 
time. There are several fine forms of Aechmea, 
Tillandsia, and Cryptanthus. Orchids are seldom 
used as decorative plants, yet Lipparis elegantissima 
has metallic-green leaves with paler edges. Pavetta 
borbonica is allied to the Ixoras, but does not seem 
to have yet flowered in this country. The leaves are 
of a riqh dark green, with a red midrib, and blotchecj 
