552 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 27, 1895. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Bedding Plants. 
It is quite natural that everyone who possesses a 
flower garden, even although it may be somewhat 
limited with regard to area, should like to see it look 
gay and bright during the summer months. Indeed, 
in many districts in the vicinity of large towns there 
usually exists a spirit of friendly rivalry amongst 
neighbours as to whose garden is to eclipse the 
others in splendour. Where this is the case the 
severity of the past winter will have caused not a 
little worry and trouble to many an amateur who 
sees its deplorable results before him on every hand, 
and views with rueful eyes his woefully decreased 
stock of bedding plants. Even the usually hardy 
Calceolarias have had their numbers thinned con¬ 
siderably, and as was only to be expected from the 
soft and succulent character of the cuttings last 
autumn the deaths in the ranks of Zonal Pelar¬ 
goniums have been exceptionally large. This 
dearth of material may have been partly made up 
for by the systematic striking of cuttings, where 
these have been obtainable, during the last few 
months ; but still there will yet remain many gaps 
to be filled. 
There can be no doubt whatever that much of the 
charm of the flower garden depends upon the variety 
of the display afforded in it, and thus the wholesale 
destruction of Pelargoniums and Calceolarias may 
not be altogether an unmixed evil, as it will bring to 
the notice of the owner of the garden many plants 
that have not before been thought about. Many of 
the most showy Annuals can be raised from seed at 
a surprisingly small cost, and the results obtained 
from a judicious utilisation of their profuse blooming 
qualities are as gorgeous as could be wished. 
Tropaeolums.— No showier or more easily grown 
plants than these exist. The dwarf-growiDg sorts, 
such as Tom Thumb and the pretty double yellow, 
make splendid subjects for the filling of beds. These 
latter of course need to be struck from cuttings, 
which will root very easily in a gentle heat. The 
tall-growing varieties of T. majus and the bright 
yellow T. canariensis cannot be beaten as quick 
growing subjects for the covering of bare brick or 
stone walls. The one great drawback to the exten¬ 
sive employment of Tropaeolums in the flower garden 
is that they are exceedingly susceptible to the blight¬ 
ing influences of frost. 
Sweet Peas. —Where the garden is a very small 
one it would not, of course, be advisable to give 
Sweet Peas a place in it, as they must be allowed 
sufficient room if they are to produce a fine effect, 
and to introduce them into a small front garden 
would not be at all wise. If any objectionable 
corners need to be hidden, however, nothing can be 
more suitable for the purpose than a row or two 
of Sweet Peas, which, when neatly staked up, will 
make a perfect wall of flowers. If seed has not 
been sown no further delay must be made in seeing 
to it, for, although the plants resulting from seed 
sown now will not commence to bloom until the 
summer has pretty well advanced, they will come in 
when the earlier rows are past their pristine splen¬ 
dour. For filling up any gaps that may have been 
caused in the shrubberies such things as the taller 
growing Perennial Asters (Michaelmas Daisies), 
Hollyhocks, Sunflowers, Perennial Phloxes, and 
Dahlias may be used, for a judicious employment of 
a few of these will greatly assist in doing away with 
much of the monotony and sombreness that per¬ 
tains to most of the shrubberies usually seen. 
The White Marguerite, too, is an exceedingly 
useful plant. Cuttings which were struck last 
autumn, and which have been stopped once to 
induce a bushy habit, make splendid material, and 
will flower away all summer as profusely as could 
be desired. The blue Cornflower may also be 
allotted a little space with advantage, as the flowers 
look exceedingly pretty when cut and placed in 
vases indoors. For some reason or other the blue 
Cornflower has become a very fashionable flower of 
late, and there is no reason at all, as far as we are 
aware, why the amateur should not follow fashion if 
he feel so disposed when to do so means the growing 
of such a lovely plant as the blue Cornflower. The 
bright flowers of some of the many fine varieties of 
Phlox Drummondi, and of the bedding Verbenas 
produce very fine effects when grown in patches, 
and a packet of seed sown under glass of the former 
in the early months of spring will give an abundance 
of plants. Verbenas are notoriously hard to keep 
through the winter, as they are so liable to be 
attacked with mildew, but where they can be so 
preserved we prefer to propagate by cuttings rather 
than raising new plants from seed each year; for 
unless this latter is obtained from a reliable source 
disappointment will likely ensue. 
Stocks are almost indispensable plants, and a 
number of the dwarf German Ten Week, the large 
flowering Pyramidal Ten Week, and of the East 
Lothian varieties will be found very useful. Seed of 
two or three sorts of China Asters may be had very 
cheaply, and for late summer and autumn display 
nothing can be finer. There are several different 
types of flower, one which is usually called the dwarf 
pyramidal section beingespeciallysuitableforcutting. 
One or two varieties of both the Chrysanthemum 
and Paeony flowered sections should also be grown. 
For late flowering seed may yet be sown in well- 
drained pots or pans in a cold frame. 
Antirrhinums. —No list of bedding plants, how¬ 
ever unpretentious, would be complete without a 
reference to the Snapdragons. A great deal of 
improvement has been made in them of late 
by the florist both as to habit and length of 
flowering period and we have now some exceedingly 
dwarf varieties well under a foot in height that are 
all that can be desired for the filling of beds in the 
flower garden. 
In addition to the foregoing the following will 
also be found to be very showy and easily grown 
plants : Marigolds of both French and African 
sections, Petunias, more particularly the single 
flowering varieties, Zinnias, Candytuft, both crimson 
and white, Nemophila insignis, Linum coccinium, 
Clarkia pulchella, Helichrysum monstrosum and 
Collinsia bicolor. A few plants of the Tobacco, 
Nicotiana affinis are also very showy and effective 
and are well worth growiDg.— Rex. 
- - — - 
HARDY FRUIT GROWING 
IN THE FUTURE. 
In the recently published issue of the Royal Agricul¬ 
tural Society’s Journal, Mr. Lee Campbell, Glew- 
stone Court, Ross, takes exception to a statement 
reported to have been made to the Canadians by the 
Governor General, Lord Aberdeen, that there was an 
inexhaustible market for fruit in England. As a 
matter of fact, says Mr. Lee Campbell, no market is 
inexhaustible—witness the present collapse in the 
price of cereals. In a report of Vice-Consul 
Mortimer, of Los Angeles, on the orange crop of 
California, it is said :—“ Oranges are produced in 
quantities far in excess of the demand in consequence 
of too extensive planting." Look also at the present 
over-production of Grapes, when, quite recently, 
tons of this fruit were rotting in the cellars at Covent 
Garden through the impossibility of finding buyers, 
and Channel Island Grapes were being hawked 
about the streets of London at 4d. per lb. How 
much does that mean for the grower ? And to cite 
only one more case, what about the enormous Pear 
crop of last season ? What proportion was allowed 
to rot, because it was not worth handling? Of 
course, the general depression in everything accounts, 
in part, for this state of things ; but I think enough 
has been said to justify the objection that Lord 
Aberdeen, in giving such encouragement to the 
Canadian growers, is luring them on, perhaps, to 
their ruin, and rendering our position more onerous. 
Perhaps the source of greatest aggravation to the 
fruit grower is the enormous disproportion between 
the net result to him, and the price paid by the con¬ 
sumer. On this subject I have the authority of Mr. 
R. D. Blackmore, who thus gives his experience of 
growing pyramid Pears :—" Of course, it never paid 
to do so. My enthusiasm, though forty times 
annually disappointed, is not dead yet. I have 
about ten acres of Pears, but lose a lot of money 
every year, although my fruit is superior to that of 
many growers. This year I have the largest crops 
ever known, and hoped to make a profit, but shall 
have a loss once more, through very low prices, while 
the figures in the shops have been as high as ever. 
Pears have been 2d. each even in the streets, and 
qd. in the shops, when mine, of the same size and 
sort, were going at six a penny. This exorbitance 
limits the demand, and stimulates importation, as 
well as sanguine, but mad, competition." 
In fact, the producer, who has borne the burden 
and expense of twelve months’ labour and worry, 
starves while the middleman thrives. 
From what has now been said it will be gathered 
that the risks in fruit-growing are many and serious. 
Indeed, except under very favourable conditions, I 
must question the wisdom of engaging in it. A 
vital matter remains to be considered. Who are to 
be the fruit-growers of the future ? The farmer 
never was qualified to undertake the work. He has 
not the technical knowledge, nor has he the 
experience in details of management. The state of 
our old orchards affords incontestible proof of this, 
and now he lacks funds. Landlords can hardly be 
expected to risk their capital in a venture which 
depends largely on the aptitude of the tenant, who 
may be here to-day and gone to-morrow, and be 
succeeded by some one who is quite incapable. The 
only promising extension in this way would be on 
the lines proposed—but I believe never carried out 
—by the late Earl Beauchamp, that he should supply 
tlae trees, and that a competent man should go round 
the plantations to see that all the trees were kept in 
order. The solitary hope I can hold out is, that a 
race of practical fruit-growers may spriDg up, either 
possessing sufficient capital themselves, or associated 
with others who are more fortunate in this respect. 
Such men should have served an apprenticeship, 
and have paid for their experience. After many 
years of farming I am quite sure that the worries 
connected with fruit-growing put those of farming 
entirely in the shade, and that to ensure success in 
fruit-growing more than ordinary qualifications are 
essential. 
My task would not be complete if I did not give 
some details of the results attending my own opera¬ 
tions. Under circumstances, in the main far more 
favourable than those which will fall to the lot of 
most growers, I ought to be able to chronicle a con¬ 
spicuous success. Taking the eleven years of work¬ 
ing, I allow five years for the trees coming to full 
growth. During the period I had several years of 
partial crops, three years of severe insect attack, 
two years of too much rain, and one year of drought, 
which also affected the results of the following year. 
In 1892 I picked 14 tons of Victoria Plums from one 
acre, and these grossed £176. Another year I have 
only picked 13 cwt. I have sold Apples—Peasgood’s 
Nonsuch—at 32s. per cwt., whilst my lowest price 
has been 6s. The net results have not been such as 
to cause either undue elevation or depression. 
Fruit-growing is a most fascinating and absorbing 
occupation, but must in the long run, like every 
other business in this hard, practical age, be judged 
by the test, Will it pay ? 
--f- 
RICHARDIA ELLIOTTIANA. 
The introduction of this yellow Richardia to British 
cultivation was a general acquisition, and all praise 
is due to Captain Elliott, of Farnborough, Hants, 
who brought it from South Africa. The plant is 
dwarfer than R. africana under the same cultural 
conditions, whatever it may ultimately develop to 
under the hands of a skilful cultivator. The broadly 
arrow-shaped leaves are of a rich dark green, 
spotted or finely blotched all over with white mark¬ 
ings, reminding one of some of the Caladiums. 
The spathe is similar in shape to that of the better- 
known species, but is more suddenly narrowed to a 
point, of a uniform clear jellow on the inner face, 
but tinted with green externally in the earlier 
stages. The spadix is golden yellow, and almost con¬ 
cealed in the folded or tubular portion of the spathe. 
A few plants of it first turned up at the 1 emple 
Show of the Royal Horticultural Society, on the 
25th of May, 1892, but since then a First-class 
Certificate has been accorded it by that body. It is 
to be hoped that it will soon get distributed through¬ 
out the length and breadth of the country, so as to 
make its appearance alongside of the white one, for 
which it constitutes an excellent companion. R. 
africana is now a highly appreciated cottage window 
plant, and it is to be hoped that R. Elliottiana will 
prove as amenable for that purpose. We are in¬ 
debted to Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, for the 
present opportunity of figuring it. 
Vines and Vine Culture— The best book on Grapes. By 
Archibald F. Barron, Superintendent of the Royal Horticultura 
Society's Gadens, Chiswick; Secretary of the Fruit Com¬ 
mittee. Demy 8vo., Handsomely bound in Cloth, Price, 5s. 
post free, 5s. 3d., from Gardening World Office, 1, 
Clement's Inn, Strand, W.C. 
