June 24, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
675 
The season had told its tale on the pot Roses, but 
any shortcomings in this direction was more than 
compensated for by the greatly increased number of 
cut blooms and their grand quality. In the cut 
bloom classes the awards for seventy-two singles 
went to Mr. H. May, Bedale, Messrs. Harkness & 
Sons, and Mr. G. Mount, of Canterbury ; but Mr. 
Mount came out first in the classes for forty-eight 
and thirty-six blooms respectively ; and Mr. E. B. 
Lindsell, Hitchin, secured premier honours for 
twenty four and eighteen. The Rev. F. R. Burn¬ 
side, Birch Rectory, Hereford, was. in grand form 
with his Teas and Noisettes, securing two first 
prizes, and also another first for any variety of Tea, 
with a lovely box of Innocente Pirola. Pansies and 
Violas made a great display, and are noticed in 
another column. 
The fruit classes were better contested than usual, 
and the quality was excellent all through. Mr. 
Mclndoe, Hutton Hall, secured the first prize for a 
collection, beating Mr. R. Parker, of Impney Hall, 
and Mr. Edmonds; and in the classes for six and 
four varieties respectively, Mr. Bannerman, gar¬ 
dener to Lord Bagot, Blithefield, won both the 
premiers, Mr. Mclndoe being second with six, and 
Mr. Leadbetter with four dishes. 
■* 
Rhubarb Ryder's Perfection. 
The stalks of this variety are 2 ft. to 3 ft. long, and 
i| in. to 2 in. in diameter across the wider part near 
the base. They have a deep or yellow groove on the 
upper surface, with rounded edges. At the base 
they are deep red, marbled with that colour for some 
distance up, and almost entirely green towards the 
top. In the young state the red colour would of 
course be more predominant. On the whole it seems 
a promising variety, and a free grower, producing a 
bulky growth. In some respects it may be compared 
to the Victoria Rhubarb, but it is dwarfer when 
allowed to attain its full dimensions, and in the young 
state the colour would give it an attractive appear¬ 
ance, while it would be profitable to grow on account 
of its vigour and the weight of produce it supplies. 
It is a new variety, and a fine piece of it may be 
seen in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, where it has received no special attention, 
but is planted in heavy soil inclined to clay, and 
close to some pyramidal Pear trees. 
Strawberries. 
Although the Strawberry cannot be regarded as a 
vegetable, yet it has to come under consideration in 
the rotation of cropping followed in the kitchen 
garden, especially in light sandy soils where two 
years is the utmost it will stand to be a profitable 
crop. This year Strawberries, with the exception of 
a two-year old piece of President in the open, and a 
similarly aged plantation of Oxonian, under an east 
wall, are with me nearly a failure. One large planta¬ 
tion made last year with strong layered runners, 
which would in an ordinary season have given our 
best fruit, is not worth netting, notwithstanding the 
fact that they were watered several times. This 
bed contained President, Dr. Hogg, Sir C. Napier, 
Sir J. Paxton, James Veitch, British Queen, &c. 
Noble, on a south border, I forgot to mention among 
those that did well, but these were were well watered 
John Ruskin I do not intend to grow again, as it is 
with me very small and liable to mildew, and very 
little, if any better in flavour than Noble, which for 
an early Strawberry far excels it in appearance, and 
cropping qualities. To get Noble at its best it must 
be planted yearly. Layer, as soon as the crop of 
fruit is gathered, into small pots, and when well 
rooted plant them about 18 fn. apart on a warm 
border which has been thoroughly manured. The 
plants will then make good crowns for the following 
spring.— G. H. S. 
Early Peas and Strawberries. 
I commenced picking Sutton’s Earliest Peas on May 
15th, and they yielded splendidly for a month. I 
am now gathering Duke of Albany, the pods 
measuring 5$ in. in length, and containing nine and 
ten Peas in a pod. Sutton’s Earliest was sown in 
the middle of February. Noble Strawberry was 
ripe in the open on May 18th, and they were very 
fine, several berries weighing 2 oz., and splendid in 
colour.—IF. Pepper, Holme Mead, Lymington, Hants. 
THE BARONS, TWICKENHAM. 
In the fine collection of Orchids at the Barons, 
Twickenham, belonging to Henry Little, Esq., a 
number of good things are now in bloom, and 
amongst them a grand display of Cattleyas. It is 
satisfactory to note that the whole of the Cattleyas 
under the care of Mr. Little's grower, Mr. A. 
Howard, are in better condition than I have ever 
seen them. The Cattleya house is full of large 
specimens, and the varieties of Cattleya Mendelii are 
of a specially high order, being all selected and very 
gorgeous forms, most of which were certificated by 
the Royal Horticultural or the Royal Botanic 
Society a few years ago. They have grown into 
lovely plants, and some thirty-three specimens are 
now in flower, and carrying from five to fourteen 
blooms on each plant. One specimen I noticed 
particularly, it being a grand plant with six buds 
and fifteen flowers, the sepals and petals of which 
are delicate rose, and very broad, and the lip crim¬ 
son, with a deep white fringe. 
Cattleya Mendelii Miss Little is a beautiful 
variety of splendid form and good substance, the 
sepals and petals being white, and the lip white, 
withasmallpurpleblotch. C. Mendelii Selbornense is 
a very large specimen, the sepals and petals rose, and 
the lip very large and of a beautiful shade of crimson, 
and deeply fringed. This plant is really a grand 
sight, the flowers being of enormous size. C. M. 
grandiflora, another superb variety, has a quantity 
of its beautiful flowers, the sepals and petals of 
which are very broad, and the lip dark crimson, 
with a bright orange throat. Another C. Mendelii 
has very delicate tinted sepals and petals, almost 
white, and the lip pure white, with a small blotch of 
pale rose. A second, with eight flowers, has the 
sepals and petals pure white, and very broad, and 
the lip very dark crimson, with a bright orange 
throat, very distinct; and a third, Mr. Little’s fa¬ 
vourite variety, has ten bulbs,with twenty flowers, the 
lip being of enormous size and very richly coloured. 
C. Mendelii grandis is undoubtedly the finest of all 
the Mendelii varieties, the flowers being of a lovely 
shape, of enormous size and of great substance, 
with a very rich crimson lip. 
There are also in the collection several good 
varieties of Cattleya Mossias, notably C. Mossiae 
aurea, very fine, the lip bright orange-yellow with 
violet streaks. Of C. Sanderiana Mr. Little’s enor¬ 
mous specimen is one of the finest in the country, 
having about 153 bulbs, sixteen leads, and eight 
flowers fully expanded, with several more to open. 
The flowers are dark, rich crimson in colour, of 
great size and substance. There are also here 
several fine varieties of C. Warnerii, and one large 
specimen with eight bulbs carries eighteen flowers, 
each of which measures 9 in. across, the sepals and 
petals being dark, and the lip purple-crimson with a 
white throat. 
Laelia purpurata is represented by several speci¬ 
mens. One with 150 bulbs and twelve buds has 
very large flowers, with the lip broad and of a very 
dark plum colour. Another is a very fine thing, the 
sepals and petals being broad, of a rich purple 
colour, and the lip very large and of a deeper shade. 
Cattleya intricata is a natural hybrid between 
C. amethystina and Laelia elegans, with the sepals 
and petals of good substance and spotted with a few 
small crimson spots, the lip being purple-crimson. 
On a fine batch of Vanda teres I noticed over fifty 
flowers fully expanded, and a lovely variety. About 
thirty specimens of Miltonia vexillaria, all in full 
flower, make a grand display. Some good examples 
of Dendrobium suavissimum with thirty spikes 
of its beautiful yellow flowers with a dark velvety 
blotch in the lip, also claim attention. 
In the East India house there are several beautiful 
Aerides, including, A. Fieldingii with spikes 2 ft. 
long, A Larpentse, very handsome; A. expansum 
Leonis, a fine specimen with ten growths, each with 
eight to ten pairs of leaves and seven spikes; A. 
Lobbii, a nice specimen with one spike over 3 ft. 
long; A. Lawrenceiana with a grand spike of forty- 
two flowers ; and A. odoratum majus, a fine speci¬ 
men well flowered. 
In the Cypripedium house there are some very 
fine plants, including a C. Parishii, with two spikes, 
one bearing nine and the other eight flowers, and a 
very good variety ; several specimens of C. Curtisii, 
with very large dark flowers ; and a fine batch of 
the lovely C. Veitchianum, Dr. Dimidoff’s variety, 
consisting of nine specimens in flower of this lovely 
variety ; C. superciliare grandis, a very beautiful 
form with ten flowers; C. ciliolare, C. Hookerae, C. 
Exul, C. Volontianum, C. albo purpureum, C. 
tonsum, C. Lawrencianum, with twenty flowers; C. 
barbatum superbum, with thirty-three flowers, and 
a fine dark variety, with many other fine things. 
Great praise is due to Mr. Howard for the manner in 
which he has grown the Cattleyas and Laelias at The 
Barons this year.— H. A. T. 
-- 
©leanings fttom fh^ JDoidti 
of Science. 
Cause of the colouration of fruits.— L'lllus- 
tration Horticole says that this cause resides in the 
colouring matter found in the leaves, and which 
passes into the fruit. To prove it, Vine branches 
bearing berries have been defoliated when the fruit 
was almost ripe. After that operation the berries 
remained green. If, in place of detaching the leaves, 
one presses the petioles to oppose the passage of the 
colouring matter, it remains in the leaves which be¬ 
come reddish, so that the berry, also ripe, retains its 
green colour. That matter, composed of crystal¬ 
lised tannic salts, modifies and completes itself in the 
skin of the fruit. 
Japan Lacquer.—This is the product of the tree 
Rhus vernicifera, the milky juice of which is utilised 
for making the beautiful articles, both useful and 
ornamental, which are known in this country as 
Japan Lacquer ware. Some trees, according to 
L'Illustration Horticole, were planted in the Botanic 
Garden at Frankfort by Professor Rheim, in 1885, 
and already some of them are seven yards high, 
from which it is permitted to conclude that the 
culture of the tree for lacquer could be established 
and spread in central Europe. Chemical analyses 
hardly establish a difference between the juice fur¬ 
nished by trees which have been developed at Frank¬ 
fort and that brought from Japan. 
The Centigrade Thermometer.— At the Horti¬ 
cultural Congress of Antwerp in 1885, M. Rodigas 
proposed that the centigrade thermometer, which 
alone can be adopted in discussions and scientific 
works whatever they may be, should be employed 
exclusively in horticultural publications. That pro¬ 
position, says L'Illustration Horticole, was admitted by 
the Congress, which expressed a desire to that effect. 
That has not hindered the publishers, even those 
who were present at the meeting, from continuing 
the antique usage of the Reaumur and Fahrenheit 
thermometers. The Government of Germany is sub¬ 
stituting the centigrade thermometer for that of 
Reaumur. That example will certainly be followed 
elsewhere. It is also high time that a similar sub¬ 
stitution of the centigrade for Fahrenheit's ther¬ 
mometer were made in this country, for the latter is 
a very stupid instrument and based upon erroneous 
ideas. 
Black Aphis of Peaches. —A recently-discovered 
species of Aphis, now named A. persicae-niger, has 
been spreading rapidly and doing much damage in 
Peach orchards in some of the states of America. 
The insect is small, brownish-black, and appears in 
such numbers on leaves, twigs, and roots, that it 
dwarfs the tree and often causes the death of it. 
Vigorous measures have to be adopted to effect its 
extermination on the exposed parts of the tree, while 
the roots are more difficult to deal with effectually. 
Kerosine emulsion or a strong decoction of tobacco 
have been used as insecticides. The authorities of 
the entomological division of the Cornell University 
Agricultural Experiment Station give the undermen¬ 
tioned receipt for making the emulsion in Bulletin 49. 
Dissolve half a pound of hard or soft soap in one 
gallon of boiling water; while still hot add two 
gallons of kerosene, and agitate the whole mass with 
a syringe for five minutes till it assumes a creamy 
colour adhering to the sides of the vessel. This, 
when cold, will assume a semi-solid form and maybe 
kept for some time. If wanted immediately add nine 
or ten gallons of rain water to each gallon of the 
emulsion and spray the affected trees with it till they 
are quite wet. The tobacco solution is made by 
steeping five pounds of tobacco stems in three gallons 
of water for three hours, strain and add four 
more gallons of water to it, and then use it as a 
spray. 
