July 12, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
709 
VEGETABLE NOTES- 
Veitch’s Exonian Pea. 
We have many early Peas, but they are practically 
flavourless, and are indifferent bearers. Among the 
late sorts there are many which excel both in flavour 
and productiveness. But this new sort combines in 
itself the good points of several. It is beyond any 
doubt an early Pea, being quite a week or ten days 
before William the First. Its quality is unquestionably 
superior, and the colour of the peas is a fine deep green, 
which they retain for some time, and which gives them 
a fine appearance when cooked. As to cropping 
qualities no Pea could be better, for the haulm is well 
covered with pods from a foot from the ground to the 
top (it grows 3 ft. to 4 ft. in height), and the pods are 
exceptionally well filled with good sized peas, seven and 
eight peas in a pod being very common, and many 
that I counted had nine and as many as ten peas in a 
by no means large pod. The pod has much of the 
character of Ne Plus Ultra in it, being rather short, 
round, and packed almost to bursting. I saw a field of 
Exonian growing a few miles from Exeter, and, 
happening to be at the Exminster nurseries of Messrs. 
Veitch of Exeter the same day, I there again saw a good 
breadth of it growing and looking uncommonly well. 
My own impression, as well as that of a brother 
gardener who was with me at the time, is that it will 
soon make its way as an extra early Pea of first-rate 
flavour and cropping qualities, a sort which is much 
wanted. I understand that it is to be sent out next 
season, and as it has the prestige of a First Class 
Certificate from theRoyal Horticultural Society attached 
to it, it will make its appearance under favourable 
conditions and take a good place among new Peas.— 
Devoniensis. 
Early Cauliflowers. 
Has your correspondent, Mr. J. Rushton (p. 694), 
tried Veitch’s Early Forcing Cauliflower ? If so, I 
should like to know which he considers the earliest, 
that or Methven’s. Until three years ago I relied upon 
Early London, Dean’s Snowball, and ‘VValcheren, and 
they came into use in the order named. Then the 
latter was dropped, and Early Erfurt substituted, 
which came into use a few days before Early London. 
Last autumn a friend gave me a pinch of seed of 
Veitch’s Early Forcing, which came in earlier still, and 
quite fourteen days before Early London, both of which 
were under protectors and in the open. Our protectors 
are very little better than full exposure, consequently 
cutting in May has not taken place before this year, 
when Gilbert’s Victoria Broccoli (kindly sent me by 
the raiser) was all but finished. I like the look of 
Veitch’s Model, which was in use about the same 
length of time. What I am allowed to spend for seeds 
does not permit of the purchase of one-sixth of the 
advertised varieties of Broccoli in order to make com¬ 
parisons, so that I always welcome the reports of trials, 
and especially those conducted at Chiswick. It is 
only by having the reputed early or late varieties of 
any vegetable sown and planted side by side at the 
same time that their respective merits can be decided, 
and I attach very little importance to much that is 
claimed for some of the new candidates in the absence 
of this test, as seasons, local circumstances, and skill 
have a great deal to do in such matters. —- IV. P. P. 
I unfortunately omitted to get seeds of Snowball this 
year, but the description which Mr. Rushton gives of 
Methven’s Extra Select Forcing Cauliflower closely fits 
with what can be said of it. I have grown Snowball 
for four years, and under precisely similar conditions it 
is from five to eight days earlier than Dwarf Erfurt, 
and from twelve to sixteen days earlier than Early 
London. Like Mr. Rushton, we sow from the third 
week in January, grow on, and plant out 15 ins. apart, 
and according to weather, sooner or later, cut in the 
middle of June. Our actual elevation is 732 ft. above 
the sea, and the 20 ins. given by “A. D.,” and his 
fifteen to eighteen days earlier, must be accounted for 
by his more favourable situation. I do not think there 
is much gain in autumn sowing.— B. L. 
-- 
AMARANTHUS OAUDATUS AND 
A. TRICOLOR. 
Our illustrations represent two closely allied plants 
which differ remarkably in habit when in flower. That 
with the drooping inflorescence, consisting of long tail¬ 
like branches, is Amaranthus caudatus, popularly 
known as Love-lies-Bleeding, originally named so, no 
doubt, from the drooping inflorescence, the flower 
bracts and branches of which are of a dark purple. 
There is a variety in cultivation with those parts of a 
pale yellow, but it is less effective than the type, and 
chiefly interesting for the sake of contrast. The species 
is a native of India, and was introduced as early as 
1596. A. tricolor was introduced in 1548 from the 
East Indies, and is chiefly interesting or valuable for 
the sake of its parti-coloured leaves, the base of which is 
purple or deep carmine, while the upper part is bright 
aE 
Amaranthus caudatus. 
yellow, and the tip green. The leaf-stalks are also 
yellow. Seeds of both kinds may be sown in the open 
air about the beginning of May, or the plants may be 
had in beauty much earlier in the season by sowing in 
April, placing the seed pans on a hot-bed, and planting 
out the seedlings about the end of May, after they have 
been thoroughly hardened off. 
--— 
THE CULTURE OP THE PINK. 
The garden Pink in its various forms has been in full 
beauty for some time, and whether the hopes or 
expectations of the cultivator have been realised for 
the present season or not, preparations will have to be 
made for another year. Propagation may be effected 
in two or more ways, but the leading methods are by 
cuttings and by seeds. Layering is also resorted to in 
certain instances, but the majority of Pinks offer less 
convenience for this process than do Carnations, owing 
to the shortness of the leafy or barren shoots, which 
cannot therefore be bent into position, _nor the joint 
covered with soil. 
Seed is seldom sown, except for the purpose of 
raising new varieties. In this respect there is yet 
plenty of room for improvement, for we cannot say that 
the Pink is incapable of further improvement. The 
most important varieties, from a florists’ point of view, 
have all been raised during the present century, but 
within recent years they have been suffered to fall into 
neglect, except by a few enthusiasts, as was evidenced 
at the recent Pink show at the Aquarium. There is, 
however, hope for a resuscitation of the Pink, not 
merely for the florist alone, but on the broader basis of 
Pinks for everybody. Border Pinks and varieties 
suitable for forcing must also find a place, and in 
raising new varieties from seed, all these types ought to 
receive due attention, not necessarily by one grower, 
but by many. 
In the raising of new varieties, it will be advantageous 
to the beginner to know that flowers intended to be the 
seed parent should have the stamens carefully removed 
before the anthers burst, to distribute their pollen, 
at the same time carefully avoiding injury to the two 
long stigmas which project from the flower. Then 
pollen should be taken from some other variety having 
some desirable quality and transferred to the stigmas 
of the intended seed parent by means of a camel-hair 
brush. The pollen should be applied to the upper or 
inner faces of the long stigmas, and not merely to the 
top in this particular case, as, indeed, in all of the 
genus Dianthus. In order to make sure that no pollen 
is brought from other sources by insects or other 
agencies, the flowers might be covered up with a piece 
of thin gauze for a few days till the stigmas wither, 
after which it may be entirely dispensed with. Nothing 
further will be necessary till the seed pods are ripe and 
begin + o burst open, when they may be gathered and 
put in a dry place to thoroughly mature and become 
fit to be removed from the husks, and put away in bags 
till the proper time arrives for sowing them. Should 
the cultivator be desirous of noting the results of certain 
crosses for his future guidance, he will be careful to 
label the plant upon which he has operated, and also 
from whence the pollen was obtained. By this means 
he could tabulate the results when the seedlings come 
into bloom, and if no improvement has been effected, 
he will be able to avoid a recurrence of the same 
mistake, and vice versa. 
The seeds should be sown in April in pots, and 
afterwards pricked off when fit to handle in a compost 
of equal parts of sifted good turfy loam, well rotted 
leaf-soil and clean silver sand. They should be planted 
about 2 ins. apart either way at first and again trans¬ 
planted to wider distances before they get in any way 
crowded. Finally they should be transferred to their 
permanent quarters in September or October, in order 
to get established before winter sets in. The seedlings 
will flower the following summer, about the same time 
as the old and named varieties. 
The other method of propagation is by means of 
cuttings, generally termed pipings. These should be 
taken off while the plants are in bloom, so that it may 
be done immediately if not accomplished. The young 
or leafy shoots should be taken off, one or two of the 
lower pairs of leaves removed, and the end cut off 
immediately beneath a joint with a sharp knife. Where 
short laterals can be obtained they often give the 
largest percentage of rooted plants. In selecting 
pipings, the succulent and gross-growing ones should 
be avoided if a sufficient number of others can be 
obtained of a more wiry nature. A bed of sandy soil 
should be prepared in a frame or under hand lights, 
and the cuttings dibbled in firmly, pretty closely 
together, or say in lines about 2 ins. apart, and 1 in. 
in the lines. The stronger cuttings will require a 
little more room at the discretion of the operator. 
Shading will be necessary for a time, unless a position 
can be selected behind a north wall, or under the 
partial shade of trees or bushes. On warm, dewy nights 
the lights may be entirely removed. 
As the cuttings get rooted they will commence to 
grow, after which the lights may be entirely taken off 
and the young plants fully exposed to light and sun¬ 
shine if the conditions permit. They may be planted 
out about 4 ins. apart in good soil some time during the 
month of August, according to the state of their for¬ 
wardness, using about 3 ins. of good loam spread over 
the surface to encourage the production of good roots 
and healthy growth. Towards the end of September 
or in October the plants are relegated to the positions 
in which they are to flower. This time they should be 
planted in lines about 9 ms. apart each way. Strong¬ 
growing varieties if considered necessary might have 
a foot between the lines allowed. This will be suffi¬ 
cient for the first year in the case of plants just raised 
from cuttings. Good results may be obtained from Pinks 
in any fairly good garden soil, but a different method 
of procedure must be adopted if large flowers for 
exhibition purposes are desired. 
Some cultivators raise the beds above the general 
ground-level, and lay on a compost about 1 ft. in depth 
of turfy loam, leaf-soil and well-decayed manure. In 
such a case it will be necessary to form an edging of 
some sort, to prevent rain and any water that may be 
given from running off. During droughty weather it 
is often needful to water heavily at night to keep up' 
the vigour of the plants. A top-dressing of old hot¬ 
bed manure lightly pointed into the soil during the 
month of March will be found of great advantage. 
During dry weather it is often necessary to resort to 
mulching to retain the moisture. In order to get 
large blooms, disbudding must be practised, and side 
shoots removed to throw the vigour of the plants into 
the heads that are left. Stake all stems likely co be 
broken down by the wind.— Wild Pink. 
