March 7th, 1885, 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
419 
SEEDSMEN 
By 
Boyal 
Warrant 
To 
Her Majesty 
The Queen, 
AND BY 
Special Warrant to H.B.H. the Prince of Wales. 
SUTTON’S 
PEIZE 
LAWN B RASS SEEDS 
AWARDED 
The Diplome d’Honneur, Amsterdam, 1883, 
The Special Gold Medal, Melbourne, 1880. 
SUTTON’S 
EVERGREEN MIXTURES 
SPECIALLY PREPARED FOR 
Garden Lawns, 
Tennis Lawns, 
Cricket Grounds. 
PRICES. 
Sutton’s Mixture for Garden ( Per bushel, 25s. Od. 
Lawns and CroquetGrounds 1 ,, gallon, 3s. 3d. 
Sutton’s Mixture for Tennis f Per bushel, 22s. 6d. 
Lawns and Bowling Greens { „ gallon, 3s. Od. 
Sutton’s Mixture for Cricket f Per bushel, 22s. 6d. 
Grounds.{ ,, gallon, 3s. Od. 
63" Sow .3 bushels per acre toformneic Lawns, or 1 bushel 
per acre to improve an existing sward. 
“Tour new plot of Grass is perfection itself, I don’t 
think I have ever seen better.”—J. C. EOX, Esq., Royal 
Horticultural Society, South Kensington. 
‘ The new Lawn made with Messrs. Sutton’s Grass Seeds 
has been a wonderful success. Everyone who sees it is 
astonished to find that it was only sown last May.”—Mrs. 
CRESSAVELL, Morney Cross. 
“ Tour Grass Seeds have quite surpassed anything ever 
seen about here before. My employer desired me to express 
his pleasure in playing on such a close sward of sown grass.” 
—Mr. J. McINTOSH, Gardener to AAA Lowsonf Esq., 
Tay mount. 
I have a wonderfully good Tennis Lawn from the seed 
supplied by you last season. Although only sown the 
second week m May, the Lawn was actually played upon 
the first week in August.”—T. AT. FORESHEW, Esq., 
AV'itney. 
SUTTON’S 
PAMPHLET ON THE FORMATION AND 
IMPROVEMENT of LAWNS from SEED 
May be had GRATIS and POST FREE on application. 
Seedsmen by Royal AA r arrant to II.AI. the Queen, 
AND ALSO THE FIRST SEEDSMEN BY SPECIAL WARRANT 
to H.R.li. the Prince op ATales. 
READING, 
Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man.”— Bacon. 
C|e Ikrkuitg lEork 
SATURDAY, MARGE 7 tit, 1885. 
Violets, Sweet Violets. —If the voice of the 
turtle has not been heard in the land, and here 
as a rule, turtle is more eaten than heard, at 
least the voice of the street-seller of our sweet 
lowly Violet has been far from dumb, for the 
rush of these perfumed flowers into the market 
has been truly remarkable. It is one of the 
difficulties of market-gardening that no one can 
well forecast the nature of the crops or their 
incoming. This is the case with some flowers, 
Violets especially, at one time the plants bloom 
all through the winter giving up driblets of 
flowers, and that is a season over which the 
growers rejoice, for they can command both the 
labour and the floral markets. In such seasons 
there is no great rush of bloom, because the long 
season of dribbling has very materially exhausted 
the crowns. 
The past winter has been a dissapointing one 
to some extent, because its open and compara¬ 
tively mild character naturally led to the belief 
that Violets would bloom moderately all through. 
This was not the case. The fact was, that the 
long drought of the previous season running 
right into the winter, had told upon the plants 
and kept them restful to an unwonted degree. 
But when the other day we got almost a flood 
of water, followed by some warm sunny weather, 
there came a remarkable reaction, and the plants 
began to give up their sweet blooms in marvellous 
quantities, indeed in such profusion that the 
resources of the growers were taxed to keep 
pace with the supply. 
Some, whose breadths were large, sent up 
1,000 dozen bunches per day, and when rain fell 
heavily, kept the women gatherers sheltered with 
sacks, a relay of dry ones being at hand, in order 
that the picking might go on. Of course in such 
a case, the Violet harvest is a short one, and 
though there is an enormous quantity of flowers, 
yet not so very profitable, for the price falls 
rapidly until it becomes miserably low. The 
myriads of street sellers may then make a good 
market, but the grower finds a season of such 
far from being one of profit. 
Fruit Prospects. —Several sunny days of real 
spring-like temperature have caused the buds on 
all kinds of fruit-trees to swell rapidly, and the 
promise of bloom is a glorious one. Nothing 
can well prevent a rich profusion of flowers on 
all kinds of trees, although the after-production 
is utterly beyond calculation ; at least the spring, 
if it he ungenial, will not have the aid of imper¬ 
fect bloom and unripened wood, as so often in 
previous years has been the case. It may well 
be doubted whether wood on trees was ever 
firmer or more thoroughly matured than it is 
now, and, judging by the plump nature of the 
buds, it Avould seem as if these were full of 
fertility. 
In the ordinary course of events we ought to 
have a grand fruit season immediately before us, 
and although none dare feel assured, yet anticipa¬ 
tion is strong that the event will he as indicated. 
All kinds of wall trees and of bush fruits share in 
the generally fruitful promise ; and now that we 
have had such a splendid rainfall, and the tree- 
roots arc well moistened, the soil should he fully 
capable of sustaining the trees and other crops 
when the demand is made upon it. It is no 
far-fetched assertion when we say that the 
present depression in trade will find strong 
counter-action in an abundant fruit crop, for 
such a crop means real gain in many ways; it 
means increased wealth, abundant employment 
for a considerable portion of the community, 
money put into active circulation, and through 
its aid a revival of trade. This does but need a 
start to create a general activity. 
Melons. —These fruits are produced in such 
exceeding variety and with such abundant nomen¬ 
clature that it is difficult to keep pace with them. 
We have no intention to cavil at this prolificacy; 
it would be as reasonable to pen a diatribe against 
the rapid increase of the human race. The present 
year will no doubt bring not a few other assumed 
new kinds into prominence, and of that we shall 
not complain either, especially if the raisers can 
exhibit something in Melons that shows us real 
gain. Perhaps in few of our ordinary garden- 
crops has there been less advance seen, for size, 
form, and average cropping remains now about as 
those features were in the Melons a dozen years 
ago. The only thing in which any claim for 
advance can be set up is in the matter of flavour, 
and upon that point perhaps more is assumed 
than can be proved. 
Melons unfortunately differ so much in flavour, 
even from the same plant. One fruit is perhaps 
delicious, another is as flat as a Turnip. That is. 
not a feature with the majority of fruits or even 
of vegetables. One fruit of a Cucumber or 
Tomato eats just about the same as another from 
the same plant. Apples, Pears, Plums, and other 
fruits are about as alike as can he from the same 
tree; hut the Melon is so erratic that, given one 
fruit out of half-a-dozen from any one plant to be 
exceptionally good, it is not possible to guarantee 
that any one of the remaining fruits will be equal 
in flavour and lusciousness. Can those who now 
and again produce what they believe to be new 
and improved forms of Melons undertake to raise 
any kind that shall have the merit of giving not 
only one of its fruits, hut all of its fruits alike, and 
equally good ? 
We have yet ample room for flavour in Melons, 
indeed it is a notorious fact that of a score of 
kinds put up for competition the proportion really 
showing good flavour is always small; so small, 
indeed, as to render the duties of the judges 
exceedingly unpleasant, for a bad Melon is little 
less than obnoxious. Then it is well worthy of 
note that no one kind can ever he relied upon to 
come out the best; indeed, the kind that is placed 
highest at one Show may be amongst the worst 
at another. For that reason, judging Melons by 
appearance or even by perfume, can never be satis¬ 
factory ; indeed it sometimes happens that the 
poorest-looking of the fruits may have the best 
flavour when tasted. What a gain it would be 
could we secure some one or more sorts the 
good qualities of which should he as marked, and 
as enduring, as are those of a Bibston Pippin 
Apple or Marie Louise Pear. 
It is worth while asking Melon raisers whether 
they have not inter-crossed upon the same stocks 
too much to produce any further element of 
novelty, or of special value from such sources. 
Melons seem to want fresh blood, and why not 
try some from good sources? They grow fine 
Melons out at the Cape, few, if any, of which 
perchance are known here. Then we have read 
glowing accounts of the Melons of Central Asia, 
where they are grown in vast quantities and are 
