630 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 3, 1898. 
were connected with the firm of Hurst & Son felt 
justly proud of. and he was sure the visitors would 
not envy them a little exultation, nay, would enter 
into the spirit of their joy and rejoice with them. 
He asked his hearers to think for a moment what an 
important part a large business like theirs played in 
promoting the welfare of the country. Anyone walking 
through their various departments in the busy winter 
season would see a great amount of work going on 
on all sides, and that work, continuing as it did 
through the winter and spring months, led to results 
of the most beneficial character, results which gave 
dignity to the work, and lifted it out of the sordid 
rut of mere drudgery. Who, for instance, could 
estimate the amount of joy and gladness that would 
be obtained from the thousands of packets of flower 
seeds which they made up and distributed ; think 
again of the thousands of appetites that would be 
tickled, and the gallons of English blood that would 
be purified when the vegetable seeds brought forth 
their increase, and of the flocks and herds that would 
be fed by the produce of the agricultural seeds which 
they cleaned and sampled with so much care. Such 
reflections made them feel a little prouder of them¬ 
selves. Their labours went for peace and plenty, 
and their trade was a truly peaceful one. As to the 
position of their house, he thought it was a good 
healthy sign for a business to exist for fifty years ; 
but for it to grow and wax strong in its later years 
was something to rejoice over. It showed that such 
a business was auspiciously born, and kindly nursed 
through its early manhood, and the patient care 
taken of it in its early days had resulted in a healthy 
and vigorous prime. It was a splendid thing to 
have a good beginning, but that was not everything 
in a business like theirs, which, constantly increasing 
in volume, rendered the successful guidance of it far 
more difficult every day. There had been critical 
times in the history of the firm, when new admini¬ 
strators had come to its head, but fortune had 
smiled on them, and the stern testimony of results 
declared that a more fortuitous succession could not 
have taken place. The outside world knew the head 
of their firm, Mr. Sherwood by reason of his kindly 
and genial personality, and his many acts of 
philanthropy, and they in their inner world gratefully 
acknowledged and thanked him most sincerely for 
the kindness and consideration which he showed to 
every member of the staff, and as a token of their 
esteem and goodwill towards him he asked Mr. 
Sherwood’s acceptance of two very handsome and 
valuable gold-mounted claret jugs, and a very hand¬ 
some album containing the following address, beauti¬ 
fully emblazoned on vellum and signed by ninety-four 
employes:— 
To Nathaniel N. Sherwood, Esq.' 
Sir,—Wa, the present staff of the firm of Hurst & Son, 
offer you our hearty congratulations on the completion of its 
Jubilee, and on the great and increasing success which has 
attended the business since its commencement, and particu¬ 
larly under your direction. We have unanimously resolved 
that this is a fitting opportunity to show our appreciation of 
your guidance of the fortunes of the house since you have been 
its head. Some of us have been associated with the firm from 
its earlier cays, and we all feel proud of our connection with 
a house of such world-wide and honourable repute. As a 
token of goodwill to yourself personally, and as a souvenir of 
this memorable occasion, we ask your acceptance of the 
accompanying claret jugs. We wish you and your family 
health and happiness, ard we sincerely trust that the kindly 
relations existing among us may be maintained, and the 
prosperity of Hurst & Son be long continued. 
The toast was most enthusiastically responded to 
and accorded musical honours. 
Mr. Sherwood, in responding to the toast, 
acknowledged in feeling terms the handsome 
compliment which his friends in "the house” 
had paid him, and assured them that that 
day would be remembered by him as one 
of the happiest in his life. He rejoiced to see so 
many of the old employes of the firm around him 
that evening, and was especially gratified by the 
presence of their former manager, Mr. Johnson, 
who had so well served the firm for nearly forty 
years. He was sure they were all as pleased as he 
was to see that their old friend had recovered his 
health, the failure of which necessitated his retire¬ 
ment in 1890. For himself he could only say that 
he had tasted the sweets of success, and suffered 
grievous domestic afflictions, but hoped that he 
might be spared to be among them for many years, 
and always to enjoy their confidence and kindly 
regard. At any rate he would ever strive to deserve 
it. 
Other toasts followed, including “ The Heads of 
Departments,” responded to by Mr. Titt and Mr. 
T. N. Cox ; “ The Home and Continental Represen¬ 
tatives,” acknowledged by Mr. W. W. Pslden and 
Mr. T. Howie; "The Visitors,” responded to by 
Mr. Johnson; “The Nursery and Seed Trade,” for 
which Mr. Harry Turner replied; " The health of 
Mr. William Sherwood,” and others ; and the party 
returned to London by the 10.15 train. 
We have much pleasure in including in our pages 
this week portraits of the founders of the firm and 
the present sole proprietor of the business, Mr. 
Sherwood, together with the staff taken in a group, 
and illustrations of the premises of the firm, which 
will serve to give our readers some idea of the 
magnitude of its operations, and its proud position 
among the great seed distributors of the world. 
-- 
PELARGONIUMS AT 
LEWISHAM. 
It is pleasing to note activity and progress in any 
branch of gardening, however old. The other week 
we paid a visit to the Ryecroft Nursery, Hither 
Green, Lewisham, originated and carried on with 
spirit by Mr. H. J. Jones. Pelargoniums in various 
sections are the prevailing feature at present, particu¬ 
larly the show, decorative, and regal varieties. 
There is also a rich and varied lot of zonal kinds. 
The show varieties, some three years old, are grown 
with the view of showing what can be done without 
the complicated training and tying practised by 
exhibitors of those kinds. 
Show and Decorative Sorts. 
The upper petals of Sir Trevor Lawrence are purple- 
red shaded with maroon, the rest are shaded with 
chocolate, and the throat is white. It is considered 
the best variety of its colour. Very different is 
Purple Emperor, a vigorous habited sort with large 
purple flowers, with two maroon blotches on the 
upper‘petals. Magpie is in the way of Kingston 
Beauty, but there is a crimson blotch on each of the 
white petals. The flowers of Dark Chinese are 
moderate in size, and salmon-rose, with nearly black 
blotches edged with scarlet. Jubilee is a decorative 
variety, with crimped petals of a China pink, with 
two crimson blotches. The large blooms of Dorothy 
are salmon, shaded with rose, and edged with white, 
and having two feathered crimson blotches. Some¬ 
what similar is Princess Maud, but the flowers are 
larger, and the eye of a purer white. Charming is 
the colour of Countess, being cerise-salmon, with 
two very large feathered blotches. The leaves of the 
decorative La Volonte National alba are literally 
hidden by the wealth and profusion of white flowers. 
Two small blotches on the flower sometimes entirely 
disappear. Mrs. H. M. Stanley stands out pro¬ 
minently from all the rest by the great size and 
distinct appearance of its flowers, which measure 
from 2^in. t0 2§ in. across, without being spread out. 
They are soft lake or mauve, with two maroon 
blotches. Empress of India has salmon-orange 
flowers, with two crimson blotches, which sometimes 
disappear leaving the flower self-coloured and hand¬ 
some. A decorative variety in the style of the old 
Dr. Masters is Mrs. Hollingsworth, with deep rose 
flowers and two crimson blotches. It is a useful 
market sort, being a compact and continuous 
bloomer, keeping on for quite two months together. 
The flowers of Chas. E. Pearson are rich scarlet 
feathered maroon, and the brightest of the scarlet 
kinds. They are late coming into bloom. Those of 
Princess May are dark fleshy-pink, feathered with 
maroon, likewise large and showy. J. T. Hayes is 
crimson with the two dorsal petals cf a blackish- 
maroon, and on the whole a very dark and smooth 
flower. A variety that finds great favour with the 
general public is Mrs. Stone, with deep mauve 
flowers, a white eye, and the greater portion of the 
upper petals feathered with long crimson lines, not 
blotches. The plants above mentioned are about 
three years old, or slightly over, and simply staked 
with the branches in their natural position. They 
are merely a selection from a batch of many kinds 
occupying a large house. 
The five varieties mentioned hereunder are being 
put into commerce for the first time. The large 
flowers of Agnes Cook are pale lilac with two 
maroon blotches on the upper petals, which are 
feathered nearly all over. It continues in bloom for 
three months at a time, and is of compact, sturdy 
habit. Mrs. H. J. Jones is one of the largest 
flowered kinds, with blush white petals and the upper 
two blotched with crimson, shading into scarlet red. 
The flowers of Scarlet Gem are of a warm, bright 
scarlet, with two small maroon blotches. . On a 
plant of Mr. H. J. Jones, grown in a 32-size pot and 
about sixteen months old, there were about 200 
flowers open, and as many more had fallen. This 
would give an idea of its floriferous character. The 
flowers are scarlet, shaded with rose, and having 
two maroon blotches. The variety is suitable for 
exhibition purposes. Very rich is May Queen, with 
cerise flowers and the upper petals almost wholly 
maroon or black. 
Regal Varieties. 
The sorts that may be classed under this heading 
resemble the decorative kinds, in having crimped or 
wavy petals, but the latter are more numerous, 
giving the flowers a semi-double appearance. Those 
of Duke of Fife are lake with white edges and eye. 
A most floriferous kind is Lady Duff, with lake 
coloured flowers shaded with scarlet. Those of 
President Harrison are light rose with a white eye 
and edges. Princess Beatrice is pure white. On 
the other hand, the Duke of Clarence has purple 
maroon flowers netted all over with darker veins. 
Prince of Wales is brilliant scarlet, slightly blotched 
with maroon on the top petals The huge flowers 
of Prince Henry are cerise shaded with scarlet on 
all the petals which are white at the edges. All of 
them are of great decorative.value and most effective 
for conservatory work. 
Zonals. 
Amongst a large number of kinds grown by Mr. 
Jones, the following is a selection of new or 
relatively new kinds. The crimson scarlet flowers 
of Dr. S. Gray are something in the way of Henry 
Jacoby, but they are larger and choicer for pot 
work. It may here bejstated that the whole of the 
collection is grown entirely for pot culture, so that 
the best and most select only are kept in stock. The 
flowers of W. Wright are clear salmon with a white 
eye. The leaves of Mr. A. F. Grace have a dark 
zone which serves to augment the beauty of the 
Apple blossom-like flowers. Those of Mr. G. 
Colville are brilliant scarlet with a white eye. 
Since Souvenir de Mirande first made its appearance 
several varieties of that type have been raised, in¬ 
cluding Madame Bondville, the flowers of which 
may be described as like crushed strawberry or 
white with a covering of scarlet gauze thrown over 
it. Another choice acquisition is Mrs. Wright, with 
large trusses and flowers of a bright magenta with a 
scarlet blotch on the two top petals. It is the 
nearest to a blue variety that has been raised and 
supersedes R. Dean. 
The numerous double varieties that were raised 
some years ago, with small and densely packed, hard 
flowers that could scarcely be got to expand, have 
all disappeared, and their place has been taken by 
another race, with loosely open or semi-double 
flowers that are more effective in every way, and as 
easy to manage as the single kinds. Their colours 
are also getting very varied. Raspael Improved is 
considered the best scarlet of this type, and is cer¬ 
tainly a useful and free-flowering kind. Mr. J. S. 
Phillips has a very large and open, orange-salmon 
flowers. Mr. W. S. Sach has brilliant scarlet flowers, 
and a dark zoned leaf, so that on the whole it bears 
a close resemblance to a double form of the old 
Vesuvius. Very interesting is the variety Mrs. J. 
Sermon, the flowers of which are blush-coloured 
when they expand, soon changing to pink, and then 
to rose. All the stages may be seen in the same 
truss, and constitute a substance of delicate, beauti¬ 
ful, and variable colouring. Orange-coloured flowers 
are rare and choice amongst Pelargoniums. The 
best of the double kinds is Golden rain, of a bright 
orange. It is a better grower than Sunray, which is 
identical in colour, but single. There is no difficulty, 
however, in growing either of them, and they are de¬ 
cided features in a collection, and may, in the future 
give rise to a true yellow. 
- S- - 
French Beans in Frames. —As the plants grown 
here come into bearing give them good supplies of 
water, for the drain of moisture by evaporation at 
present is considerable. 
Winter Greens. —Now that we have been 
favoured with rain, and the ground is in suitable 
condition, rapid progress should be made in the 
planting of Asparagus Kale, Cottagers’ Kale, Savoys, 
Broccoli, late crops of Brussels Sprouts, Leeks, and 
Curled Kales. 
