July 4th, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
699 
great abundance, and it remains in bloom for a long 
time ; there are white and red varieties also, and they 
are most useful for cutting from. Trillium grandiflorum 
is also an excellent object with its large, pure white 
flowers. Then there is the pretty Mimulus cupreus, 
with its dwarf growth and multitudes of flowers, 
admirably adapted for rock-work. Silene alpestris 
is a charming rock or border plant, ever green, and 
grows with the greatest freedom in almost any soil 
or situation, forming tufts of dark green foliage, com¬ 
pletely covered with panicles of glossy white flow'ers, 
growing about 6 ins. in height. Lastly, there is the 
old Polemonium coeruleum, or Jacob’s Ladder, so 
called from its leaflets being arranged in pairs ; a 
grand old perennial that deserves a place in every 
garden. These are but a few of the gems to be found 
at Kew ; they may be enough to incite some of your 
readers to go and search for themselves.—Quo. 
Fuchsias. —At a meeting of the Floral Committee 
held recently at Chiswick, the Committee examined 
the collection of Fuchsias being grown on trial, when 
the following were selected as the best in their 
various classes : — Single Dark : Spitfire, Crimson 
Globe, Charming, President, Minerva, Dr. Sankey. 
Double Dark: Avalanche. Striped Dark: Lord 
Wolseley. Light Single: Lady Heytesbury, Prince 
Alfred, Miss Bright, Ellen Lye, Ericta, var. Novelty 
(very distinct), Alba coccinea. Double White Corolla : 
Artaban, Berliner Kind. Single White Corolla: 
Flocon de Neige. 
->±<- 
Narcissi in the Scilly Islands. —It may 
be roughly stated that several millions of Narcissi 
are grown on the three islands of St. Mary’s, 
Treseo, and St. Martyn’s. Mr. Smith has planted on 
his farm more than 500,000 bulbs of this flower, 
including almost every known variety. Upwards of 
100,000 are estimated to be grown on St. Martyn. 
On St. Mary’s there are planted at Holy Yale about 
400,000 ; at Boeky Hill, 400,000 ; and at Trenowath, 
over 300,000. About nine or ten other farmers grow 
the Narcissus more or less extensively. In the next 
few years these figures are quite as likely as not to be 
doubled, if not trebled, that is, of course, presuming 
the demand keeps steady. 
The most interesting flower farm of any on St. 
Mary’s is perhaps that of Bocky Hill, at present in the 
possession of Mr. Trevellick. Here the Narcissi are 
planted in beds generally the length of the enclosure, 
and about 4 ft. wide, in rows G ins. apart. They are 
not disturbed oftener than once in six or seven years. 
After the leaves have died down the beds are dressed 
with seaweed or stable manure, the surface soil being 
first lightly stirred and all wxeds removed. In October 
following, the pale green shoots begin to break through 
the soil, and from this time forward they make rapid 
growth. By December they are all flov'ering, and a 
very beautiful sight it is to see thousands of these 
flowers with their waxy-like petals poised on the long 
slender stems, in bloom at the same time. Some of 
the flower spikes are nearly a yard in length. Several 
fields will be full of the lovely yellow variety, Grand 
Soleil d’Or; the favourite pheasant-eye Narcissus, N. 
poeticus, flowering by tens of thousands in another 
enclosure, makes a magnificent spectacle; and 
thousands of the sweet Paper white, the earliest of 
the Narcissus, command no less our admiration. 
Other varieties grown here are the Grand Monarque, 
Bazleman (major and minor), Jaune supreme, Albus 
plenus odoratus, Grootvorst, Von Sion, and States- 
General, all of which are strikingly beautiful. 
And now' the business of the farm begins in earnest, 
and what prettier industry could possibly be imagined. 
Bevies of women and girls clad in short petticoats 
and snow-white hoods descend on the fair fields, and 
are soon playing havoc in their midst. It is a 
delightful occupation, snapping the fresh crisp stalks 
and inhaling at the same time the rich fragrance that 
rises like incense to your nostrils, and which on the 
morrow will gratify the dainty olfactories of lords and 
ladies. 
As they are gathered they are carefully placed in 
small round baskets, each of which is lined with clean 
paper, and are then carried to the farm house, w'here 
other hands deftly sort and tie them into bunches, 
each bunch containing a dozen stalks, and about 
sixty or seventy bunches making a basketful. In the 
busy season it is not unusual for as many as 1,000 
bunches or 12,000 spikes to be picked, tied up, and 
dispatched from a single farm in the course of a day. 
They are sent directly to the boat, and are conveyed 
through to London, where they arrive on the second 
day, the through rate being £6 10s. per ton. As much 
as Is. 6 d. a bunch is sometimes made on the earliest 
gatherings; Is. a bunch is always realized in the 
early part of the season, but this falls eventually to 
as low as 2 d. and lrZ. per bunch. When w e find 
that it is possible for the Seillonians to send flowers 
to the market at such a figure as that last quoted, 
w r e do not need to be told that the margin of 
profit made by selling the flow'ers at Is. Gd., or even 
Is. a bunch, is handsome, and well worth striving after. 
— E. Whitfield Crofts, in The Gardeners' Magazine. 
Camellia Madame P. de Pannemaeker.— 
A new and pretty variety of Camellia is figured in the 
April number of the Illustration Horticole, under this 
name. The flowers are of good shape, the petals 
white flaked with bright rose. It is said to be a free- 
flow'ering variety. 
- g—. •'TO «C> CT ' ■ _ J - 
The Kitchen Gardener’s Calendar.— Mulch¬ 
ing and Watering : Where former directions in the 
u'ay of putting on a good mulching of rotten manure 
on either side of rows of Peas, Broad Beans, and 
Scarlet Bunner Beans have not been attended to, the 
work should not be deferred one day longer than is 
absolutely necessary, for under the influence of a 
spell of powerful sunshine the surface-soil about the 
roots of not only vegetables, but also fruit-trees, shrubs, 
&c., becomes so dry and heated, that unless there is 
a surface-dressing of a few inches thick of rotten 
manure or half-decayed leaves laid on as above 
indicated, growth becomes stunted, and the haulms 
come into bearing before they have attained to their 
proper dimensions, the produce being poor and of 
short duration, in consequence of the plants not 
having had a sufficiency of moisture at the roots. 
From this cause crops growing in light shallow 
soils suffer much more than do those w'hich are 
growing in heavy and consequently moister land. 
The mulching wflll not only prevent the surface-soil 
from being parched by the sun, but it will also keep 
the roots of the plants cool, and prevent rapid 
evaporation from taking place when water is applied 
to the roots. This should not be given in dribblets, 
but in sufficient quantity to thoroughly moisten the 
soil about the roots. Thus treated, rows of Peas, 
Beans, &e., will not only yield better produce, but 
continue it w'eeks after crops not so treated have 
ceased to supply gatherings of Peas and Beans fit 
for table. 
Seed Sowing. —Make another sowing of James’s 
Intermediate Carrot, and a couple of weeks hence a 
sowing of Nantes Horn Carrot should be made in a 
warm border, and afterw'ards, in the absence of rain, 
be watered u'hen necessary, otherwise the crop will 
not come up well. Another sowing of Bosette Cole- 
wort should be made to supply plants for supple¬ 
menting the cuttings which the plants from previous 
sowing will yield. 
General Work. —This will consist in the watering 
of freshly-planted plants of Cauliflower, Cabbage, 
Broccoli, Borecole, and other wunter greens, and, as 
already stated, Peas and Beans, also Celery, Vege¬ 
table Marrow, and Bidge Cucumber plants, and the 
cutting down forthwith of all seedling weeds as soon 
as they appear, with the Dutch hoe. The earthing-up, 
staking, and, as indicated above, the mulching of 
successional sowings of Peas, Ax., should also be seen 
to in due time.— H. IF. Ward, Longford Castle. 
-- 
“ Queen” Broccolis. —I am quite ready to accept 
the assurance of that able gardener, Mr. Miles, that 
Gilbert’s Burghley Queen Broccoli is distinct from 
Sutton’s Late Queen, but, judging by the samples 
shown of the former, and what I had seen of the latter 
growing, I cannot admit that any improvement was 
shown. It is specially awkward that the designation 
“ Queen” should have been given to the one after the 
other had been put into commerce under the same 
appellation, and if Mr. Gilbert means to put his variety 
into commerce I trust he will first revise his nomen¬ 
clature. “ X. Y.” assumes that because in a private 
competition last year Gilbert’s kind was placed first 
and Sutton’s Late Queen not at all, that undoubted 
evidence of the superior quality of the first named was 
afforded. That is really too absurd, because we all 
know that in a second competition the places of these 
kinds might have been reversed. 
Certainly this I can aver, that the samples of Late 
Queen I saw at Heckfield and at Bearwood a few days 
previously were more solid and meritorious than 
wxre the samples of Burghley Queen shown at South 
Kensington on the 9th ult. But for that fact I should 
not have questioned what I thought to have been the 
strange award of the Fruit Committee. Again, what 
is difficult to understand, is that whilst some exhibi¬ 
tors of vegetables, however good and promising they 
may be, are politely requested to send their samples 
to Chiswick for growth and trial, others get a certifi¬ 
cate at the first asking, without any such stipulation 
being made. Clearly, what is sauce for the goose should 
be sauce for the gander. With respect to the origin 
of Sutton’s Late Queen, I am informed that it was 
selected from a batch of crossed seedlings at Maiden¬ 
head some years since, and has been grown and selected 
since then till now its form is perfect.— A. D. 
Cauliflowers.—Now that the Broccoli question 
has been amicably settled, I hope to the satisfaction 
of li A. I).,” suppose we proceed with the Cauliflowers. 
I am growing several varieties this season, and much 
regret that I did not send up some to the last meeting 
of the Fruit Committee, to be judged in company 
with those from dear old Chiswick. However, as this 
note will doubtless catch the eye of a good many 
Cauliflower lovers, I may express the hope that at the 
next meeting a good representative collection may be 
sent, so that wx can all gain by such a favourable 
opportunity for comparing notes.— B. Gilbert, Burgh¬ 
ley Park, Stamford. 
- —• 
CACTUSES. 
The best way to treat Cactuses in winter is to put 
them away in some place where the temperature does 
not fall below 45 degs., and to give no w'ater unless 
they are very much shrivelled up. Never mind a little 
shrivel, that does them good in most cases. Beware 
of cold damp places, or you will be sure to rot your 
plants. Those that flower late in the fall or spring 
I put outside, taking now and then a casual glance 
to see that they do not suffer too much, but there 
is little danger of that. In potting them special 
attention must be given to material and drainage. 
The material I use consists of good loam, old lime 
rubbish, with a fair share of coarse sand. The lime 
rubbish must be taken from some old ruin ; fresh 
is not good. Arrange to insure drainage, and above 
all things do not overpot them. Keep them in as 
small pots as the roots will admit of. The time to 
pot is just before you start them to grow; but never 
change them unless you see they are very much 
bound in the pot, and when you do so be sure to cut 
away all dead roots, or they will destroy the soil. The 
lumps of lime rubbish are more for keeping the soil 
open and ensuring perfect drainage than for any other 
thing. When growing, a fair share of water may be 
given. 
Cleanliness is always a material point to be observed, 
and a w'ash over now and then with tepid water will 
do much to invigorate them. This should be especially 
attended to when taking them from their resting- 
places into the house. The mealy bug is perhaps 
their worst enemy, and sometimes it is necessary 
to use some insecticide that w’ill run in on them and 
destroy them. When growing let them have free sun¬ 
light, and from 60 degs. to 90 degs. in temperature 
will do them no harm ; in fact, most of them enjoy 
a very high temperature. I keep mine on shelves 
close to the glass ; and when they are coming into 
flower place them amongst other plants in the 
houses, and they make a gorgeous display. At 
this time as low a temperature as they will bear 
will lengthen the duration of the flower .—American 
Gardeners' Monthly. 
