June 6th, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
629 
Spruce or Laurel branches. If two or three situations 
are chosen, it is possible to have them in flower from 
early in March till well into August.— C. Warden, 
Clarendon. 
—e _ 9— 
THE RECENT STRAWBERRY 
PACKING COMPETITION. 
Having, from the first establishment of the Messrs. 
Webber’s competitions in fruit packing, taken great 
interest in them, and been at hand when all the 
awards have been made, I may be permitted to com¬ 
ment upon the recent one, which was confined to 
Strawberries only, the Messrs. Webber entertaining 
the belief that by dividing the competitions, instead of 
lumping them as in previous years, they were studying 
the wishes and conveniences of Strawberry-growers, 
all of w T hom cannot also show Peaches and Grapes. 
It was, therefore, somewhat disappointing to find that 
such excellent prizes for a simple box of 2 lbs. of 
Strawberries brought such poor competition as three 
lots only. Perhaps something was due to the fact that 
the competition took place in Whitsun week, when 
many families where in the country and gardeners 
were unable to spare so much fruit, for it must be 
remembered that these competitions have been almost, 
if not entirely, confined to gardeners. 
With respect to the pacldng awards in this parti¬ 
cular instance, it may be as well to state that these 
were made with the assistance of one of the largest 
and most experienced fruiterers in London, and who 
specially commended the method of packing adopted 
by Mr. Vert, stating that whilst the methods shoivn in 
the other boxes, viz., laying the fruits between leaves 
with the points slanting upwards necessitated actual 
handling of the fruits both in packing and unpacking, 
in Mr. Vert’s method the fruits (still between leaves) 
with the points slanting dowmwards enabled them to 
be laid in and removed by handling the stems only. 
Upon this result considerable stress was laid, and 
fruit and packing otherwise being equal, the first prize 
went to Mr. Vert. It is very obvious that when a 
few leaves and a thin layer of wadding is laid over the 
tops of the fruit and the lid screwed down that the 
contents are perfectly secure, absolutely as much so as 
if packed in any other way. If before packing the 
fruits a layer of wadding or the softest and cleanest of 
moss be placed in the bottom of the box, and upon 
that a layer of soft leaves, the points of the fruit will 
be well protected from pressure. But lest it may be 
thought that harm may come in transit, the sender 
has but to turn the box upside dov T n, and place the 
address on the bottom, with the information added, 
“lid beneath,” and the fruits would travel upon their 
stems rather than upon their points. 
It was worthy of remark that in both the first 
and second prize lots the fruits were fully ripe, well 
coloured, and had travelled admirably. It is also 
noteworthy that the plan of packing Strawberries in 
flat boxes and in single layers seems to be not only 
universally adopted, but is probably the best that can 
be devised, and therefore there can be little diversity 
of packing seen in the system. Naturally, when Straw¬ 
berries fetch in the market prices varying from 4s. to 
12s. per lb., it is of the greatest importance that they 
should reach the salesmen in the greatest perfection. 
When prices range from Id. to 3d. per lb. the condi¬ 
tion of the fruit is of less importance. 
It is generally found that the best-known traveller 
is Sir Charles Napier, but it is a sharper or more acid 
fruit than is either President or Sir Joseph Paxton, 
perhaps two of the next most popular market kinds. 
Very sweet fruits seem to be softer, hence are not 
such good packers. Growers who reside near the 
markets possess great advantages in this respect, that 
they can gather their fruits direct into punnets, and 
packing these in layers, in trays, or boxes, they can be 
sent into market at any hour, just as required, and 
with great ease. Good packing is a valuable acquisi¬ 
tion to those who reside at a long distance from town, 
and if they can by their skill enable their soft fruits to 
reach the market in perfect condition, they compete on 
even terms with the Metropolitan growers.— A. D. 
- g— . ' \ > <> C i- - -Si - 
The Herbaceous Calceolarias at Bedford Hill 
House, Balham, are now at their best, and worthy of 
inspection. Mr. Bapley, the gardener, who has paid 
great attention to this flower for several years, is now 
in possession of a strain that he has every reason to 
be proud of. 
THE W. F. BENNETT ROSE. 
A few years ago, when Mr. Henry Bennett was 
growing mutton on the Wiltshire Downs and raising 
Pedigree Boses in the Wiley Valley, we had the 
pleasure of paying him a visit, the object of which we 
may say at once w r as to see the Boses, not the flock. 
The quality of the mutton was proved without the 
necessity of a walk over the downs—none could be 
better. Well do we remember being ushered into our 
host’s sanctum, a small span-roofed house, in which 
for several years he had been quietly working away at 
the cross-breeding of Boses, with the same care and 
forethought as he bestowed on the breeding of his 
prize sheep. 
At that time not much was known of the Pedigree 
Boses, but they were being talked about beyond the 
village of Stapleford, and we, like others, were curious 
to know more. Well, Mr. Bennett took us into his 
confidence, and it was with genuine pleasure that we 
listened and inwardly digested the information so 
unreservedly vouchsafed to us. Plant after plant was 
brought out, its pedigree and age stated, and its merits 
discussed. Many of the seedlings, then in their 
infancy, have since been put into commerce. The 
others were cast aside. Mr. Bennett spoke with 
enthusiasm of his aims and objects, and among other 
things expressed himself hopeful of being able to raise 
a Crimson Tea, of which we were then somewhat 
sceptical. 
Well, time went on, the pleasures of Bose-growing 
became more engrossing—and, who knows, perhaps 
more profitable than farming in the Wiley Valley, and 
our friend determined to come nearer to the Metropolis. 
He established himself at Shepperton, built some com¬ 
modious span-roofed houses, and set to work raising 
seedlings again. Presently it was rumoured that the 
Crimson Tea Bose was an accomplished fact; we went 
to see it, and from that time have had abounding 
faith in the merits of “ The Bennett Bose,” as our 
American friends call it. Every spring since we have 
paid a visit to Shepperton to see the houses full of the 
“ W. F. Bennett,” the stock of which its raiser kept in 
his own hands for some time, sending the blooms, as 
many as fifty dozen a week from one house, to Covent 
Garden Market, and always obtaining the top price. 
The Bose is a true Tea in habit, for no sooner is one 
bloom cut than another is sent up by the bud below, 
and herein lies one of its three great merits as a winter¬ 
blooming market Bose. Its second merit is, of course, 
its colour, a rich, glowing crimson; and its third 
consists in its habit of producing its buds on stalks 
of sufficient length to enable them to be cut for 
bunching without having to wire them, and without 
having to rob the plant of a single bud. The shape 
of the bud in its best stage is shown in the accom¬ 
panying illustration, and it may, without exaggera¬ 
tion, be called a crimson Niphetos. Some time ago 
Mr. Bennett disposed of his stock of plants to an 
enterprising American florist, Mr. C. F. Evans, of 
Philadelphia, for a very large sum, and it is now being 
put into commerce. 
— —? — 
NOTES FROM IRELAND. 
Pot Boses on their own Boots. —Several of my 
gardening friends have from time to time complained 
that their Hybrid Perpetual Pot Boses have not given 
them for the extra care, trouble, and house-room 
anything like equivalent results. Some attributed 
this to the stocks, some to the prevalent mildew, and 
the “ red-spider ” is, generally with good reason, added 
to the catalogue of lamentation. I would like to ask 
if any of your readers have tried grow'ing Boses in 
pots from cuttings, and what has been the result ? I 
am not considering Teas or Bourbons raised under 
cloches, and by means of heat. I am now referring to 
cuttings of Hybrid Perpetuals, put in last October or 
November in the open ground, that have received no 
forcing, that were callused about February, and that 
n the majority of cases commenced root-action and 
an independent existence in March and April—some 
earlier and more later, according to variety. 
I put several dozens of different varieties in boxes 
of sandy loam, about 6 ins. or 8 ins. long, at that time 
and in this manner, and had not a single failure, 
except A. K. Williams, which I must admit is a shy 
grower. I am now making a selection from those, 
and potting them up in 8-in. pots, using a rather stiffish, 
good fibrous loam, with a considerable addition of 
bone meal. As to the bone meal, under the circum¬ 
stances I gave it preference for this reason: though 
Boses are voracious feeders, they can hardly exhaust 
all the soil this season, and the bone meal is more 
lasting, especially in supplying phosphates, than any 
other manure. Now, it was most remarkable the 
miniature mob of roots most of those cuttings had 
already made—not small dark roots, as you usually 
see, but great white fleshy ones. By lifting them with 
a ball of earth, potting up at once, and putting into a 
moist greenhouse or frame, no check will be sustained, 
and in a week they can be put into the open air, or 
an airy greenhouse; and even this season we may be 
rewarded with magnificent blooms. These being in 
pots and under control, they can be taken to the con¬ 
servatory, drawing-room, or sitting-room windows, 
and will be the envy of all visitors. To have them 
fine next year, the after treatment, when flowering is 
over, is of vital importance. Will some one tell 
us why this system is not more generally practised, 
especially by amateurs and suburban villa gardeners ? 
— W. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
— e— ■ -~ -i JT ’ .__a — 
Davallia Fijiensis plumosa.— This, I think, is the 
finest of the Davallias yet introduced. The fronds 
are more drooping than those of D. Fijiensis, and, 
like that elegant Fern, will be found one of the rarest 
of plants for the embellishment of rooms. Grown in 
shallow pans of a size suitable for stands, it is at once 
a captivating example of a class of plants which are 
held in high esteem by ladies, and of which too many 
cannot be growm in private establishments. The 
beauty of these plants cannot be surpassed, and their 
utility in point of labour is worthy the attention of 
practical cultivators having much to do in the way of 
furnishing. Such plants require no “making up.” 
You grow a plant of a certain size for a certain 
purpose, and no further labour is required than to 
transfer the plant from the fernery to its place in the 
wting - room, where it will be in harmony with 
flowering or foliage plants of any kind.— H. W. 
