December 30 , 1893 . 
276 TH 
GARDENING IN THE PAST 
AND COMING YEARS. 
Another season is about to close, and we shall soon 
be entering on a new one. That of 1893 will long be 
remembered as one of the most peculiar on record, 
as it afforded many opportunities of noting down 
incidents that are not likely to happen again for a 
long time. The first of these was on Thursday, 
April 20th, when the thermometer in the shade rose 
to 84° before midday, the lowest registered the 
night previous being 51** Fahr. From time to time 
other interesting incidents happened, one of which 
was the long spell of dry weather from the beginning 
of March till the end of May, as no rain fell here 
between the 3rd of the former month and the 27th of 
the latter. On June 19th the thermometer rose to 
92° in the shade, and on several occasions in July it 
reached 86", so that the summer was one of unusual 
warmth. 
The autumn, too, was an exceptional one, for up 
till November there had scarcely been any frost 
registered in some districts, French Beans being as 
fresh as in July. Apples have been an abundant 
crop, and some of the finest fruit ever grown in the 
open air in England, or, in fact, any other country, 
was to be seen at some of our great shows, some of 
the fruit grown on bushes weighing as much as 
lbs. each being gathered. Pears were not so plenti¬ 
ful, especially in low-lying districts where the frost, 
from the 13th to 15th of April, was very severe. 
With us as many as 15° were registered on two of 
those dates. Finer samples of these fruits have 
seldom been grown than some of the varieties pro¬ 
duced last season, as in not a few instances speci¬ 
mens from ij lbs. to 2 lbs. were gathered, thus 
proving that a hot dry season is beneficial to the 
growth of this luscious fruit, especially where they 
could be supplied with the requisite moisture. 
Peaches were abundant and good ; so also were 
Apricots and Plums. Cherries were not so plentiful 
in some districts, for, like the Pears, they suffered 
from the frost in April. Strawberries and bush 
fruits in general were good, though their season was 
a short one. Wasps and other insects, too, had a 
splendid time of it, for never in our recollection has 
there been anything to equal the number of nests of 
the former. 
Turning to the vegetables, we have some curious 
facts to note. As early as the beginning of May 
good dishes of Peas were gathered from seed sown in 
the open ground, and splendid marrow kinds were 
ready for use by the middle of that month, but after 
the middle of June the crop was a light one. 
especially in the southern counties. Potatos, though 
not so heavy a crop as in some former seasons, have 
still been very good, and never since the disease 
appeared have the tubers kept so sound. Though 
Cabbage and Cauliflower made but little progress 
during the summer, they have more than compensated 
for that short crop by their growth during the mild 
autumn, as all kinds up to the present time are in 
abundance. Roots, where the soil was fertile, have 
turned out satisfactory, so that taking the year all in 
all, it must be recorded from a gardening point of 
view as one of the most prolific during the memory 
of man. 
We are now about to start on another year, and the 
receipt of the seedsmen's catalogues remind us that 
the time is drawing nigh for us to be preparing for 
sowing. Never have these lists been so full of fresh 
novelties. These astute business men have an 
accute eye to their profession, for they place their 
wares before the public in the most tempting manner 
possible. From several catalogues already to hand 
we find these choice and delicate productions of 
flowers, fruit, and vegetables shown in the most 
artistic manner. Some of the illustrations of fruit 
and vegetables one is inclined to think are much ex¬ 
aggerated, but when we are told that they are from 
photographs that cannot lie, we may rest assured 
that though in the ordinary course of gardening 
such specimens could not be produced, yet by un¬ 
tiring exertions, and a study of the plants’ require¬ 
ments, there is no telling what could be accomplished. 
It is not, however, to these monstrosities that we 
wish to draw attention, but to the great improve¬ 
ment that has taken place of late years in the 
quality of some of the novelties introduced by these 
enterprising firms. 
The money expended by some of them in intro¬ 
GARDENING WOR 
ducing these new varieties must be enormous. We 
cannot help noticing, however, how very few of the 
best of these novelties are recognized by the R. H. S. 
Is this because that august body is incompetent to 
pronounce on their merits, or because raisers in 
general are sceptical about submitting good and 
valuable things to their judgment; but rather rely 
on their own merits to bring them into popularity ? 
There may be, and no doubt is a little of both, which 
accounts for holders of sterling novelties not favour¬ 
ing that body with a trial of them, knowing that such 
could not be done satisfactorily by them. So that 
gardeners having no authentic guide must purchase 
and give them atrial themselves. Could theR. H. S. 
be relied on to give a useful record, there would be 
less need for this extra trouble, and no doubt a 
greater number of good things would be presented 
to the Society, but as it is, no one cares two straws 
for those kinds certificated ; on that account many of 
the best kinds are kept away, and were it not that 
seedsmen present them before their customers in 
such a lucid manner, they would be a long time in 
becoming known to the general public, so that 
gardeners have much cause to be thankful for the 
pains seedsmen take in bringing these novelties to 
their notice.— H. C. Prinsep. 
--t-- 
THE COMMERCIAL 
VALUE OF ORCHIDS. 
Owing to the progressing spirit of the age, and the 
enterprise of our traders, a great many things which 
were comparatively unknown fifty years ago have 
become staple articles of commerce, and among these 
the Orchid holds a very prominent place. Orchids, 
their rarity, value, and cultivation, are constantly 
and most interestingly dealt with in your columns, 
yet I think there are one or two points in connection 
with these plants that have been somewhat over¬ 
looked by most writers, hence 1 ask for a little space 
in your paper for the following inquiry ; How is 
the value of Orchids fixed ? All other commercial 
products are sold and the prices governed by the 
return they will yield for the outlay; and we have 
within the last few years heard of some stiff prices 
paid for Orchids. For instance, we are told that in 
Baron Schroder’s collection there is a Cypripedium 
Sanderae which is valued at /i,ooo; and also 
that Mr. Lee once purchased a Cattleya Trianae 
for 250 guineas. Now I ask, supposing these gentle¬ 
men expect anything beyond the pleasure of 
possessing such a valuable plant, what interest they 
would get for their outlay ? The answer, I fear, 
must be comparatively nothing, and that for all 
practical purposes their money is placed in a sink¬ 
ing fund that yields no dividend. 
But let us look at the commercial value of 
Orchids in another light. What would be the re¬ 
turn these gentlemen would get supposing they cul¬ 
tivated their valuable plants for the bloom they pro¬ 
duce ? Well, we will take first the plant that is 
estimated to be worth ;^i,ooo. At the very most a 
Cypripedium would only produce in twelve months 
from a dozen to twenty blooms, and taking the 
market value in Covent Garden at, say, is. per 
bloom, the interest on /i,ooo would not be a frac¬ 
tional part of a penny. That is one side of the 
question, let us turn to another. A few 
weeks ago Mr. Holmes, gardener to George 
Hardy, Esq., Pickering Lodge, Timperley, cut from 
off one plant of Cattleya Bowringiana to send to the 
Drill Hall in London, two fine spikes, one bearing 
fifteen blooms and the other sixteen, leaving still 
several spikes upon the plant. Supposing then that 
we make a very moderate computation and say that 
the plant bore seventy blooms and they were sold in 
the same market at the same price, it would show a 
return of ^3 los. ; and supposing the plant to be 
worth £is. he would nett an interest of over 22J per 
cent. 
Let us still go a little further, in connection with 
the same establishment. In company, with Mr. 
Mitchell, the late Dr. Ainsworth’s gardener, Mr. 
Hardy and Mr. Holmes recently took me into a 
house that contained over five hundred plants of the 
autumn flowering Cattleya labiata, with a thousand 
blooms fully expanded, and of the gayest of colours. 
It was a sight unequalled before in this country, so 
you may imagine the effect, and we counted over 
one thousand buds still to come out. Now, putting 
the number of blooms at two thousand that would 
LD. 
represent a return of one hundred pounds, and 
supposing each plant to be worth two pounds each, 
their market value would be one thousand pounds, 
so that would give a percentage of ten per cent. 
From these deductions I conclude that Orchid 
growing on the Pickering Lodge principle must be a 
paying business, while the cultivation of rare and 
valuable plants must be a costly undertaking.— 
R. Hinde, Broomfield, Sale. 
- mim - 
CHRYSANTHEMUM ROSE WYNNE. 
We are now in a position to give an illustration of 
this grand new variety, one of the gems of the 
season, which obtained three First-class Cer¬ 
tificates in various parts of the country during 
the autumn months. It was honoured with a First- 
class Certificate by the Floral Committee of the 
National Chrysanthemum Society on November 8th. 
Flowers, have appeared at various meetings and 
exhibitions extending over a considerable period, 
so that the public have been able to see it in various 
stages of its progress. The first blooms that 
appeared were only partially developed, and were 
pure white, while succeeding blooms, probably taken 
from the terminals, were of a uniform blush pink, 
delicate and attractive. The variety belongs to the 
incurved Japanese section, and measures 7 in. to 
8 in. across. A few of the outer florets are tubular, 
but all the rest are broad, slightly fluted and incurved. 
It was raised from Miss Annie Hartshorn, crossed 
with some other Japanese variety, and came off the 
same head as Viscountess Hambleden, to which it is, 
therefore, closely related, and shows it in several 
respects, but is several shades paler, even when most 
highly coloured, and the florets are less twisted in a 
lateral direction. Mr. Robert Owen, of Castle Hill, 
Maidenhead, was the raiser, and we learn from him 
that the plant grows about 6 ft. high, and that the 
terminal buds give the best form and colour. It is 
rather a robust grower and may be stopped during 
May to keep it dwarf. The form is quite distinct, 
and the habit of the plant is likewise different from 
that of all others, 
-.j-- 
THE CAMELLIA. 
Although one of the best known of our hard- 
wooded greenhouse plants, and universally esteemed, 
the Camellia is still as regards culture one of the 
most misunderstood and most mismanaged of plants. 
I grant that in well-appointed places and especially 
where they are planted out, grand well-grown speci¬ 
mens are constantly met with, but on the other hand 
there are multitudes of places where a really well- 
grown plant of a Camellia in a pot is quite an excep¬ 
tion. Considering the length of time, some 150 
years, that has elapsed since its introduction, its 
requirements ought, at least among professionals, to 
be as well known as are those for instance, the Zonal 
Pelargonium. Where planted out it is seldom that 
they are not in a satisfactory condition, and one 
reason why this is so is that plants so placed are not 
subjected to the violent changes to which plants 
grown in pots oftentimes are in our variable 
climate. The cultural treatment they receive may 
possibly be correct up to the time of removing them 
from the vinery or other glass structure in which 
they have been making their growth into the open 
air, at a time selected for this purpose when the 
atmospheric conditinns were most favourable, and yet 
should a sudden lowering of the temperature accom¬ 
panied with heavy rains much unseen and unsus¬ 
pected injury may be done to them all. Who can 
afford the space would do well to keep their plants 
constantly under glass w'here the supply of water to 
the roots can be regulated in accordance with the 
requirements of the plants, whereas when placed 
outside they are liable in some seasons to have their 
roots soddened with rain for days and even weeks 
together, and that at a time when having completed 
their growth they really require less w’ater than 
when in active growth. 
Another and more frequent cause of failure is to 
be found in the choice of potting material and the 
method of using it. Our Continental friends are in 
some measure the cause of many going astray in 
Ferns and Fern Culture. By J. Birkenhead, F.R.H.S.— 
How to grew Ferns, with selections for stove, warm, cool and 
cold greenhouses ; for baskets, walls, wardian cases, dwelling 
houses, &c. Price, is.; by post, is. 3d. Publisher, Garden¬ 
ing World, i, Clement’s Inn, Strand, London, W.C. 
