726 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 13, 1895. 
work, a "visit to a seed farm. Accordingly last 
Saturday afternoon the fifteen young horticulturists 
who hold the Council s scholarships went over to 
Withamwith the biological staff to see the trial plots 
belonging to Mr. Thomas Cullen, of that town. The 
son of the proprietor very kindly acted as guide, and 
spent his afternoon in explaining the nature of the 
trials, in pointing out the characteristics of the 
many plant varieties, and in answering the many 
questions asked of him as to the suitability of the 
various kinds of flowers and vegetables grown in 
the plots. 
The trials it appears are to test whether the 
various seeds sent out during the last season are 
truly the variety whose name they bear, so that evi¬ 
dence may be forthcoming in cases of doubt. In the 
first series examined were considerably over a hun¬ 
dred rows of Peas, all sown at the same time and 
representing the same number of seed-samples 
belonging to fifty named and unnamed varieties; 
most of these were true, but here and there the 
“ rogues ’’ or specimens of other kinds were in the 
majority. Occasionally a plant known as a " grey ” 
brought forcibly before one the biological law of 
11 reversion to type," which is true for artificially 
selected varieties, whether it be of Peas or of pigeons. 
The practical bearing of this law is of such import¬ 
ance that seven men are employed by Mr. Cullen to 
remove horticulturally unfit plants from the crops 
grown for him in the county of Essex alone. 
Some information was also obtained as to the 
methods of " working up a stock,” several newly 
selected variations being grown in the series of Peas. 
The rest of the time was spent in examining other 
series of vegetables and plants cultivated for 
ornamental purposes, including a fine collection of 
Tropaeolum, and in going over the substantial 
building in which the seeds are stored.— W.M.W. 
ROUPELL PARK NURSERIES. 
These compact and well-ordered nurseries, which 
are situated quite close to Tulse Hill Railway 
Station, Norwood Road, S.E., and are the property 
of Messrs. John Peed & Sons, have, during the past 
week, been wearing an especially attractive and gay 
appearance. Meesrs. Peed & Sons have for some 
time made a speciality of Caladiums and Gloxinias, 
devoting considerable attention both to the raising 
of new varieties to add to and increase their already 
extensive list, and to the certainly not less impor¬ 
tant point of growing standard sorts up to a high 
degree of merit. It is their custom each year to 
hold a special two days’ show of these two classes 
of plants, and to invite whomsoever will to go and 
take a peep at them. This season their show was 
held on Tuesday and Wednesday, the gth and ioth 
of July, and we were fortunate enough to get a 
glimpse at the preparations that were being made 
for the grand display, although unable to visit them 
upon the actual show days. Admirers of floral 
beauty in general, and of such important classes of 
plants as Gloxinias and Caladiums in particular, 
could scarcely fail to appreciate the treat prepared ; 
for the bright and showy flowers of the one and the 
gorgeously tinted and superbly marked foliage of 
the other baffle adequate description. 
Gloxinias. 
A threerquarter span-roofed house, some 150 ft. in 
length, was devoted to the accommodation of these. 
Wide, roomy shelves on either side of the house 
and running its entire length were all ablaze with 
fine, well-grown and not less well-flowered examples 
of this showy subject. Flowers of various hues, 
be-mottled and be-starred with all sorts of colours, 
were present in an innumerable profusion that spoke 
well for the wealth of the varieties that Messrs. 
Peed have upon their list. Nor must the health of 
the plants themselves pass without a word of favour¬ 
able comment, for from first to last the dwarfness of 
habit and vigour of growth they exemplified was 
remarkable, and the large dark green leaves admir¬ 
ably served to show ofi to the fullest advantage the 
brilliant colours of the blooms that surmounted 
them, a work in which the numerous potsful of 
Adiantum cuneatum that were used as ground work 
materially assisted. Indeed, when standing at one 
end of the house and looking down the long vista of 
floral beauty the visitor seemed to see banks of rich 
verdure on either hand plentifully relieved with 
brilliant touches of colouring as varied as it was 
bright. Regarding the plants at closer quarters we 
found that the greater proportion of them were 
strong young seedlings, in 48-size pots, obtained, we 
were told,from seed sown about the middle of January. 
Very large and clumsy specimens were conspicuous 
by their absence, and to the young blood all the 
glory of the show was due. 
At the time of our visit but very few of these 
seedlings had been christened, and thus from the 
lack of distinctive titles we are unable to detail the 
glories of most of them. The following, however, 
had been given a name, and they must serve as 
examples of the general excellence of form charac¬ 
terising the flower that was conspicuous through¬ 
out 
Owen Thomas is a rich glowing crimson-scarlet, 
the throat being prettily shaded with rose, and the 
base of the tube mottled dark brown. The segments 
are edged with a broad band of silvery whiteness. 
Duchess of York bears very large flowers, light 
mauve in colour, and profusely spotted with purple. 
Purity is well and apropriately named, having pure 
white flowers of medium size, and the corolla five- 
lobed and somewhat reflexed at the margins of the 
petals. G. W. Sawday is also a pure white, but 
seven instead of five lobes to the corolla are to be 
observed here. Very rich is Shahzada, which is, as 
we were told, something like its name-father, a 
"dark'un." Its blooms are of a rich dark purple 
hue, spotted with a rather lighter shade, and about 
3 in. in diameter. In Lord Salisbury we get a fine 
large bloom, the dazzling whiteness of which is 
prettily relieved by tinges of light violet. A very 
free bloomer is Howard Peed, closely resembling 
Owen Thomas, but of a somewhat lighter scarlet 
shade. The dark crimson blooms of Beacon are 
very distinct, whilst the leaves are exceptionally 
large and handsome, with their clearly defined and 
prettily netted veins. Robert Hyatt is dark maroon 
in colour, tinged with purple, and shading lighter 
towards the edges of the petals. A very large 
flower, brilliant vermilion-scarlet in hue, shading 
rather paler at the throat and in the tube, is A. 
Luff. Victoria Regina is of a rich crimson tint, 
flushed with pale rose at the throat, and having the 
edges of the petals shaded light red. Black Prince 
bears blooms of a rich dark purple hue, which the 
cream-coloured throat serves to render all the more 
conspicuous. 
All the sorts mentioned, in common with many 
more that we can only deal with in the mass for the 
reason before stated, were of very fine form, and are 
well worthy the attention of any and every one of 
those cultivators with whom the Gloxinia in all its 
forms and with all its varied hues finds well deserved 
favour. 
Caladiums. 
Much has been said at various times of the grand 
decorative qualities of which the Caladium is 
possessed, and at various shows throughout the 
country groups of some of its many varieties have 
appeared to great advantage. At the late Temple 
Show, for instance, a great deal of admiration was 
excited, and numberless favourable comments were 
elicited from visitors to that grand floral symposium 
by Messrs. Peed & Sons’ fine group of this noble 
decorative plant. Those of us who had the pleasure 
of seeing that fine collection were prepared to see a 
grand display at the nurseries from whence they came. 
Nor were we disappointed. A commodious span- 
roofed house, some 50 ft. in length by 20 ft. in width, 
was filled to overflowing with this brightly hued 
subject in all its glory and in all its pride of gorgeous 
beauty. The plants had been so arranged that a 
visitor pausing at the door was able to take in a 
large share of the display at a glance ; for stretched 
out before him was a long undulating bank sloping 
gently upwards until the hindmost plants were 
waving their large heart-shaped leaves in close 
proximity to the roof of the house. 
The arrangement here calls for a word of praise, 
and abundantly testifies to the fact that not only do 
they know how to grow Caladiums at Roupell Park 
Nurseries, and grow them well too, but that they 
are also quite an fait with the art of arranging them 
in such a manner that not only is a splendid effect 
obtained when they are regarded in the mass, but 
each plant is enabled to display its individual charms 
to the full without in the least infringing upon its 
neighbour. As material for edging the pretty little 
silver and green C. argyrites, together with its com¬ 
panion variety, C. minus rubescens, in which the 
leaves are reddish-crimson deeply bordered with 
green, were tastefully employed. 
From these diminutive subjects our eyes strayed 
to such noble varieties as Baron Adolphe de Roths¬ 
child, which has large orbicular-cordate leaves of 
rosy-carmine hue. Such a difference in appearance, 
and yet both are worthy members of the same genus 
and each valuable acquisitions to our lists of decora¬ 
tive plants. Duke of York, a new variety, has bright 
rosy leaves with crimson veins and footstalks. Very 
pretty is Duchess of York, with its somewhat dwarf 
habit and soft rose leaves suffused with light 
yellowish green, from which the brilliant carmine 
veins stand out clearly and distinctly. This is also 
a new introduction. Charlemagne, another fine 
rosy-red leaved variety with darker veinings, was 
likewise conspicuous. The white leaves of Candidum 
were very prominent among the darker leaved sorts. 
Very charming is Madame J. Box, in which the 
leaves are rose, veined with crimsoD, with a wide 
green bordering. Alice Van Geert should find a 
place in every representative collection, with its 
delicate creamy-white foliage veined with rose. 
Baronne Clara de Hirsch exhibits numerous rose 
spots upon a creamy-white ground, the ve’ns being 
dull red in hue. Ibis Rose is well worth attention, 
having leaves of a bright rose shade, while Ibis 
Rouge, a companion plant, is somewhat darker in 
hue. Very distinct is the dark red foliage of 
Triomphe de Compte, whilst, for contrast with it, 
the large white elliptic-cordate leaves and veins 
suffused with crimson of Rose Laing are sufficiently 
striking. Other good varieties which are deserving 
of extensive cultivation, and which Messrs. Peed & 
Sons have in grand condition, are Gaspard Crayer, 
Raymond Lemoinier, Reine deDanemark, Roncador, 
Princess of Teck, Auguste Carpentier, and John 
Peed. The sorts mentioned are, however, only a 
few of the many fine ones which were on view, and 
which w'ent to make up a collection at once compre¬ 
hensive and meritorious, and well worthy an extended 
notice. 
-•+■-— 
PEA SUTTON’S PEERLESS. 
From what we can see or have seen of this Pea it 
well earns its name. In the garden of E. H. Watts, 
Esq., Devonhurst, Chiswick, a sowing of it was 
made in pots during the third week of March, and 
later on planted in the opon. The first dish was fit 
for use on the 25th ult. It is a main crop Pea, 
coming in naturally some days, or say a week later 
than Duke of Albany under the same conditions. We 
have no intention of speaking about it as an early 
Pea, though a gardener may by treatment and cultural 
skill get it ready for exhibition to fit in with some of 
the Rose shows where vegetables are admitted. 
About the time above mentioned we measured pods 
3$ in. to 5i in. long. They are compressed, of a rich 
glaucous green with a beautiful bloom, and have a 
fine appearance on the exhibition table. Each pod 
contains eight to eleven seeds of the largest size and 
of a rich, glossy green hue. Mr. Gibson, the gar¬ 
dener, considers the Peas the largest of any he has 
seen, so that the variety should have a good future 
before it, both for table use and for exhibition pur¬ 
poses. The haulm this season is about 18 in. to 2J 
ft. high, so that 3 ft. in all probability would be the 
limit in average seasons. The foliage also is of a 
rich, dark, glaucous green. 
-- 
THE KITCHEN BURDEN- 
Cabbage. —The time is near at hand when prepara¬ 
tions should be made for a supply of this important 
crop for spring cuttiug. It is an open question as to 
which is the best date to sow for standing the winter, 
some recommending one time and some another ; 
but it is no doubt safest to make at least three sow¬ 
ings at intervals of ten days from now, because by 
so doing a full crop may be insured. Sow ihe seeds 
in drills very thinly, as much will depend on the 
sturdiness of the plants for standing the winter well. 
Give the drills a thorough soaking with water an 
hour or two before sowing, thus ensuring sufficient 
moisture fur germination. Use a select stock of 
Ellam’s Early Dwarf. It is one of the hardiest and 
best varieties that I am acquainted with. 
Mushrooms. —Where Mushrooms are sought for 
at this season, a very simple method, and one that 
commends itself to the notice of cottagers and 
