September 24, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
51 
PHLOXES AT CHISWICK. 
Within relatively a few years past great improve¬ 
ment has been effected amongst Jhe summer and 
autumn flowering Phloxes, but especially the latter. 
The improvement has consisted chiefly in the 
enlargement of the flowers and the dwarfing of the 
plants. The fragrance, however, characteristic of 
the old varieties has mostly disappeared from the 
newer sorts, as in the case of Roses, Carnations, and 
other subjects. The early or summer flowering 
varieties have been raised from Phlox glaberrima 
suffruticosa, sometimes grown under the name of P. 
Carolina. The late varieties have been raised by 
hybridising P. maculata, better known in gardens as 
P. decussata and P. paniculata. A variety of the 
latter, namely, P. p. acuminata, has also been 
utilised. Of course the two species are very closely 
allied, and the progeny have been so intercrossed 
with one another that it is now no longer possible to 
distinguished which varieties belong to each original 
type. 
The collection grown upon trial in the gardens of 
the Royal Horticultural Society, at Chiswick, this 
year has been very extensive. The bulk of the 
plants were sent by Mr. John Forbes, of Hawick, 
and smaller numbers from Messrs. Dicksons, 
Chester; Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt ; and 
Messrs. Vilmorin, Andrieu & Co., Paris. A con¬ 
siderable number of them when gone over by the 
Floral Committee received three marks, and others 
little inferior to them received two marks. Visitors 
to the gardens during the course of August, and who 
were provident enough to take notes, would have no 
difficulty in making a selection of varieties that in 
after years must take a lot to beat them whatever 
the improvements that may be’effected. As to what 
are the best colours is often a matter of taste, but 
the difficulty vanishes when an inspection is made 
of the plants in bloom. Even now the quality of 
many of the varieties grown at Chiswick can be 
determined. 
The flowers of Flambeau are large, scarlet, flushed 
with salmon, and certainly fine, but liable to fade 
when old. Those of Moliere are rose shaded with 
white around a dark eye. Burnouf is of an intense 
crimson red, and the plant only 18 in. high. Even 
dwarfer is Henri Mugur, having white flowers with 
a purple eye. Similarly dwarf is Sulphide, having 
white flowers streaked with purple. The stems of 
Granville grow 2 ft. high, and the flowers are white 
with the eye faintly flushed with purple. Fine also 
is Boule de Feu, carmine, with a crimson eye and 
only 18 in. high. Eugenie Danganvilliers is only 
15 in. high, and soft mauve with a rayed white eye. 
It is very floriferous. The small white flowers of 
Countess of Mar have a dazzling purple eye and 
most attractive. One of the dwarfest types is Le 
Soliel about 12 in. high, with large soft rose flowers 
shaded with white round a pale purple eye. 
Very branching and floriferous is Delicata, with 
small white flowers and a palest shading of purple 
round the eye. The rich purple of Eclaireur 
exhibits a striking contrast to many of the above, 
but the flowers ultimately become paler in the centre. 
Those of Enchantment are mauve purple, with a 
rayed white centre. The soft salmon-pink flowers 
of Wm. Robinson are very pleasing. A floriferous 
and pure white variety named Amazon with 
medium sized flowers should prove useful for cut 
flowers. Neptune grows only about 18 in. high, and 
has soft rose flowers with a purple eye. Somewhat 
similar, but altogether darker in colour, is Nain 
Bebe, about 15 in. high and very floriferous. The 
medium sized flowers of Long Champs are white 
with a deep purple eye, and those of Alex Matheson 
are soft salmon-pink. Amongst the endless shades 
of colour few are more distinct than the violet 
flowers shaded with white of Paul Bert. All the 
above were accorded three marks by the committee. 
The flowers of Pantheon are large and rosy-purple, 
without the usual dark eye. Those of Aspasia are 
purple with a rayed white centre, and therefore 
approach those of Pantheon pretty closely. Iris is 
so distinct that it might well have been accorded the 
same honour as Paul Bert. It has large violet- 
purple flowers ultimately shaded with blue, produced 
on stems 18 in. high. The flowers of Claudot are 
pink, fading to flesh with a bright rose eye. The 
stems of Hirondelle are only 15 in. high, branched, 
bushy, and floriferous, with soft rosy flowers and a 
carmine eye. Dwarfer even is Regalos, being only a 
foot high bearing large bright salmon-rose flowers. 
William Muir is exactly three times as tall, and has 
rosy flowers with a carmine eye. As the name would 
imply Purite has pure white flowers, and although 
they are small they are produced in great abundance, 
and should prove useful for cut flowers. Eugenie 
Schutle has rose flowers rayed with white in the 
centre and produced in pyramidal panicles on stems 
18 in. high. Another free flowering sort is John 
Forbes, having bright pink flowers and a carmine 
eye. The soft lilac-purple flowers of Bayard are 
produced on stems 15 in. high. Those of Belvedere 
are deep rosy-purple with a dark eye. The large 
purple flowers of Thalie are shaded with white, and 
the stems only 18 in. high. Rather distinct in its 
way is Africain, irregularly splashed all over with 
purple on a white ground ; the plant is very bushy 
and free flowering. 
The above list, lengthy as it is, includes only those 
considered by the committee as worthy of three and 
two marks respectively. They would undoubtably 
constitute a very good collection for any private 
establishment, and also prove a good nucleus for any 
one wishing to cultivate them extensively. There 
are several others which might find favour, notably 
Pluton, a rich deep purple flower with a crimson eye. 
Purest of All has only medium sized pure white 
flowers, but they are produced in enormous quantity, 
a plant about 15 in. high, at Chiswick, forms a much 
branched bush about 18 in. in diameter, every shoot 
bearing a small truss of bloom which would be found 
useful for mixing with cut flowers. Other bushy and 
branched plants are La Fille d'Air, white with purple 
eye; Avalanche, pure white ; and Faust, large white 
with a purple eye; all are only about 12 in. high. 
Since making the above notes, three marks have 
been awarded to Etna ; Scarlet Aspasia ; Croid de 
Sud, white with purple eye ; Sam Ireland, rose ; Roi 
des Rose, rose ; Pluton ; and Epopee, purple with a 
white centre. 
--- 5 -- 
DURHAM FLOWER SHOW 
The twentieth annual show of the Durham Floral 
Society was held on the 13th and 14th inst., and was 
a success from all points of view. The society has 
a hard working committee, who may be congratu¬ 
lated on the result of their labours, which not only 
consisted of the organisation of a flower show 
proper, but also included an industrial exhibition of 
unusual extent and interest. The entries were far 
in excess of previous records, and the competition 
very keen in all the leading classes. The plants and 
cut flowers especially were very fine, notably among 
the former being some grand Heaths. P'or six stove 
and greenhouse plants, Mr. C. Ford, Darlington, 
was 1st; Mr. J. Morris, Felling, 2nd; and Mr. 
E. H. Letts, Aske Hall, 3rd ; ths first-named having 
fine examples of Ixora Williamsii, Clerodendron 
Balfourianum, Erica retorta major, and E. Austini- 
ana, etc., but Mr. Letts well held his own with 
perfect specimens of Dion edule, Croton Chelsoni, 
Kentia Fosteriana, and Encephalartos villosus in a 
class for four fine foliaged plants. Mr. McIntyre, 
Darlington, secured first honours for a group ; Mr. 
Ford coming in second ; and Mr. R. J. Knaggs, 
Whorlton, third. The cut flower classes were very 
strongly contested, and the table decorations, 
bouquets, button-hole bouquets, etc., ,vere especially 
good. 
The fruit was excellent all round, and the com¬ 
petition for six distinct dishes was exceedingly close. 
Mr. Tallet, of Raby Castle, eventually secured the 
first prize ; Mr G. Atkinson, Newcastle, the second ; 
Mr. G. Lonsdale, Yarm, the third; Mr. J. McIntyre 
the fourth ; and Mr. E. Hedley the filth. Black 
and White Grapes were very' good, especially the 
former, and Peaches and Nectarines, Apples, Pears, 
and Currants were also well to the front. Mr' 
Tallet had the best Peaches, and was also first for 
the two best bunches of Grapes (Black Hamburgh). 
In the class for any other sort of Black Grapes Mr. 
Joseph Witherspoon, of Chester-le-Street, secured 
the pink card with two beautifully formed bunches 
of Black Alicante. Mr. Shepherd, of Stone Bridge, 
carried off first with two bunches of Muscat °of 
Alexandria. The competition was perhaps keenest 
for the premier award for the two heaviest bunches, 
Mr. J. McIntyre, of Woodside, eventually becoming 
the fortunate possessor of the winning ticket for two 
bunches of Barbarossa, Mr. Witherspoon being a 
good second with two excellent bunches of Black 
Alicante. 
The vegetable classes also brought out a fine lot 
of produce, but if anything they were mostly shown 
too large, a fault that is common at many of the 
northern shows There was a capital entry for the 
collection, and overlooking the weak point indicated 
the display was both extensive and excellent.— Rover. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN, 
Notes on Potatos. 
All the early and mid-season varieties should now be 
lifted, those required for seed stored away on shelves, 
and all the eating ones pitted in the ground, unless a 
very cool shed facing the north is available, but in 
such case they must be deeply covered with straw or 
fern and mats. This is a matter which does not 
always receive so much attention as it ought to do. 
Potatos for eating must be kept from the air. Many 
people place large heaps of Potatos in hot sheds, 
with little or no covering, perhaps a few mats or a 
thin layer of straw only. They take no further care 
of them because they may all be used in a month 
or six weeks. Perhaps they will, but I believe that 
Potatos lose a great deal of their flavour if only 
exposed to the air for a few days. When I say 
exposed to the air I mean with only a very thin 
covering, which is much the same thing. 
The vegetable man, he who gathers and carries the 
vegetables from the garden to the kitchen, is one of 
the chief offenders in this respect. When the 
Potatos are dug up, he likes a lot to be taken to the 
vegetable shed to save trouble, and when these are 
finished, he goes to the pit and takes out a lot at one 
time, which he only very thinly covers in perhaps a 
very draughty shed if not looked after. What is the 
consequence ? Down comes a complaint that the 
gardener is sending in bad Potatos, and perhaps the 
variety or the soil is blamed, in some cases probably 
with good reason. What I wish to impress on 
everyone is my belief, that not nearly sufficient care 
is taken in keeping Potatos well covered from the 
time they are lifted until they are used. 
Another error of judgment which many commit is 
lifting their Potatos as soon as disease appears, and 
when they are not half ripe, under the impression 
that if lifted they will be safer from the disease ; but 
this is a fallacy. In practice I have found that even 
if disease is attacking the tubers, it is best to leave 
them in the ground until they are ripe, because lift¬ 
ing them before they are fully matured to a great ex¬ 
tent spoils their flavour. Of course, these remarks 
entirely apply to Potatos grown for home consump¬ 
tion. In the case of Potatos cultivated for sale, the 
grower gets them sold as early as possible out of the 
way of disease. 
Of Potatos which are seen to the best advantage 
this year in the Royal Horticultural Society’s trial 
ground at Chiswick, I may mention among others 
Reading Giant, which is a first-rate variety, a very- 
good cropper, and said to resist disease well. The 
Canon is a variety which took my fancy greatly. It 
was raised by Mr. A. Dean, and it is a splendid 
cropper, free from disease, and yields fine-looking 
tubers with very few small ones. Mary Anderson is 
a good sort and excellent in flavour. King 01 the 
Earlies is a kidney of good appearance, and I should 
think a fine early sort. Boston is a fine round with 
a rough skin, and a splendid cropper. White 
Kidney, Crawley Prizetaker, White Russet, and 
White Round, are all good varieties worthy of a trial 
elsewhere, as it is a well-known fact that Potatos 
vary much in quality in different soils, and it would 
be a pity to give any sort a bad name because it is 
not a success in any one particular soil. I fear there 
is a lot of disease this season, but we must hope that 
with the present fine weather it will not get much 
worse.— G. H. S. 
Pea : Sutton’s Exhibition Marrowfat. 
Permit me space to draw the attention of your 
readers to a Pea named “ Sutton's Exhibition 
Marrowfat.” Possibly some of your readers are 
already acquainted with it, but to those who have 
not grown or seen this grand Pea, I would venture 
these remarks. “ Suttoi.’; Exhibition Marrowfat” 
is a wrinkled Pea, and the grandest variety I ever 
grew, either for table or exhibition. It grows about 
4 ft. high, is exceedingly prolific, and the pods con¬ 
tain from eight to twelve Peas of the best flavour 
and colour. Truly, this Pea is excellent. Those 
who have seen it growing in these gardens this 
season can bear testimony to these remarks. I hope 
all who can will give this Pea a trial next year, as I 
feel certain it will give great satisfaction.— A. C. 
Grant, The Rookery, Dorking. 
The Carnation : its History, Properties, and Management, 
with a descriptive iist of the best varieties in cultivation. By 
E. S .Dodwell. Third edition, with supplementary chapter cn 
the ye low ground. London : Gardening World Oifice, i, 
Clement’s Inn, Strand W.C. is. 6d.; post free, is.yd.— [Advt. 
