August 12, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
791 
L. longiflorum Harrisi. Mr. W. Howe, gardener to 
H. Tate, Esq., Park Hill, Streatham Common, was 
the only exhibitor of a group cf Crotons and 
Dracaenas, and received the first prize. He 
was rather hampered for room, so that his group 
took an oblong shape. The Crotons were particu¬ 
larly well coloured. The first prize for a collec¬ 
tion of hardy herbaceous flowers was taken 
by Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, who had 
a most conspicuous group of Phloxes, Lilies, Roses, 
Sunflowers, Statices, and others. The Statices were 
worked in amongst the others in great profusion, 
and added much to the general effect, ihe second 
prize went to Mr. E. F. Such, Maidenhead, who 
made a bold attempt at original display in a some¬ 
what concave bank'rising behind with a gorgeous set 
off with Gailiardias mixed with Asparagus. An 
extra prize was awarded to Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, 
who certainly had a very meritorious group arranged 
in the usual style, it was more than half circular 
rising gradually behind, and besides the Lilies, 
Phloxes, Gailiardias, Roses, Lobelia splendens 
Victoriae, and other things in season, they had some 
German Irises as a second crop of bloom. The first 
prize for herbaceous flowers in the amateurs class 
was awarded to Mr. G. AVythes, who had Phloxes, 
Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, pyramidal Bell¬ 
flowers, Lilies, and others. Mr. G. H. Sage, 
gardener to Earl Dysart, Ham House, Richmond, 
was second with a more extensive collection, in¬ 
cluding some fifty varieties in fresh and attractive 
condition. The collections of twenty-four varieties 
of hardy herbaceous plants made a fine display, 
and contained masses ' of Phloxes, Sunflowers, 
Echinops ruthenicus, Malva moschata, Rudbeckia 
purpurea, Statice latifolia, Anemone japonica j 
Montbretia Pottsii, Conopsis lanceolata, Veronica 
longifolia subsessilis, one of the finest of all, 
Chrysanthemums, Gladioli, Chelone barbata, 
Dracocephalum speeiosum, Achillea Eupatorium, 
Lilium chalcedonicum and others too numerous to 
mention. These displays should encourage the more 
extended cultivation of a most useful and not expen¬ 
sive class of plants which thrive and flourish satis¬ 
factorily even in dry seasons like what the present 
has been and is again renewed as dry and hot as 
ever. The first prize for twenty-four bunches was 
awarded to Messrs. Paul & Son, Mr. M. Cuthbert- 
son, Rothesay, Scotland, being a good second. Mr. 
E. F. Such took the third place, but his flowers were 
not very tastefully displayed in this case. The first 
prize for twelve bunches in the amateur s class was 
awarded to Mr. A. Newell, gardener to Sir E. 
Sanders, Fairlawn, Wimbledon Common. Mr. G. 
H. Sage was a good second, having fine bunches of 
Malva moschata alba and others already named. 
The third prize went to Mr. G. Wythes who had a 
large bunch of Nymphma alba, and another of 
Anemone japonica alba in his group. An extra prize 
was awarded in this class to Mr. E. Tickner, gar¬ 
dener to John Watney, Esq., Shermanbury House, 
Reigate. There were seven entries in the class. 
The first prize for six dishes of hardy fruit was 
awarded to Mr. G. Wythes who had Apples, Pears, 
Peaches, Nectarines, Plums and Morello Cherries. 
Mr. G. H. Sage took the second award, he had 
three dishes of Plums, but added a fine dish of Mul¬ 
berries. Mr. T. A. Hester, gardener to W. G. 
Dawson, Esq., The Links, Plumstead Common, took 
the third place. 
In the miscellaneous class a large and effective 
display of hardy herbaceous plants was made by 
Messrs. Barr & Son, Covent Garden, on a raised 
bench ascending in terraces and occupying most of 
one end of the tent. The salient features of the 
collection were Lilium tigrinum splendens, late 
flowering Phloxes, Sunflowers, Statice latifolia, 
Eryngiums of various species, Rudbeckia speciosa, 
Pentstemons, Balsams, Gladioli, Veronicas, and the 
bold effective Reed Mace (Typha latifolia), with 
long black heads. (Silver Medal.) An extensive 
display of Gladioli was made by Messrs. Kelway & 
Son, Langport, Somerset. The collection included 
many new varieties of exquisite colour, with six to 
twelve open blooms on a spike and numerous buds. 
Cannas, Belladonna Lilies, Veronica longifolia 
subsessilis, Gailiardias, and other herbaceous plants 
formed part of the same exhibit. (Silver-gilt 
Medal). A bold and effective group of Campanula 
pyramidalis, with its white variety, edged with ferns 
and tall Panicums, was set up by Mr. J. Hudson, 
gardener to the Messrs, de Rothschild, Gunnersbury 
House, Acton. (Silver-gilt Medal.) A side table 
was occupied with hardy flowers by Mr. M. 
Cuthbertson. Phloxes, Iceland Poppies, Gailiar¬ 
dias, early Chrysanthemums, Gladioli, and 
Delphiniums were the prominent features of this 
exhibit. (Silver Medal.) Cut foliage of choice 
deciduous trees and shrubs, some in flower or fruit, 
and including Ampelopsis Veitchi ruffordensis, 
Acer platanoides Schwedleri and many orna¬ 
mental Conifers, was exhibited by Messrs. W. 
Barron & Son, Elvaston Nurseries, Borrowash, 
Derby (Silver Medal). A collection of ioo spikes of 
Hollyhocks, cut full length, with their foliage all 
perfectly free from disease, and all consisting of 
named sorts, was set up by Mr. John Forbes, 
Buccleuch Nurseries, Hawick, Scotland. He also 
had a large group of East Lothian Intermediate 
Stocks in half-a-dozen varieties grown in pots. They 
formed tall plants with numerous spikes of bloom 
(the first spike being over). About 8o per cent of 
them came perfectly double, and the colours were 
distinct with no trace of striping. Antirrhinums and 
Penstemons were also specialities (Silver Gilt Medal). 
A tasteful lot of Cactus, Pompon, single, and other 
Dahlias, as well as Sweet Peas, was shown by Messrs. 
J. Cheal & Sons, Crawley, Sussex (Silver Medal). 
Some stands of show Dahlias, in fine condition, were 
exhibited by Mr. J. Walker, Thame, Oxon, (Silver 
Medal). Messrs. J. Cheal & Sons also had an 
attractive display of ornamental Gourds, Apples, 
Pears, and Plums, the Apples being finely coloured 
(Silver Medal). A collection of Apples, neatly dis¬ 
played, in basketsand plates, were shown by Messrs.S. 
Spooner & Sons, Hounslow, Middlesex (Silver Medal). 
Mr. R. Nicholas, gardener to Earl Fortescue, Castle 
Hill, South Molton, North Devon, exhibited eleven 
huge Pineapples (Silver-gilt Medal). Mr. Alfred W. 
Young, 137, Holmesdale Road, South Norwood, 
exhibited cut flowers of Begonias and Gloxinias 
(Bronze Medal). A fine collection of Apples, 
Grapes, Peaches, Plums, Tomatos, Pears, Mul¬ 
berries, etc., was shown by Mr. J .T. Hoar, gardener 
to T. J. Cooper, Esq., The Grange, West Molesey, 
(Silver Medal). Roses and herbaceous plants were 
shown by Messrs. Paul & Son, Cheshunt, (Silver 
Medal. Twenty-two dishes of fruit including grapes, 
Melons, Peaches, Plums, Cherries, Apples, &c. were 
shown by Mr. A. H. Rickwood, gardener to the 
Dowager Lady Freake, Fulwell Park, Twickenham. 
(Silver Medal) Mr. T. A. Hester, gardener to W.G. 
Dawson, Esq., exhibited a good collection of Apples, 
Pears, Plums, Cherries, Peaches, Apricots, &c. 
(Silver Medal). Cut flowers of Chrysanthemums, 
including five blooms of Edwin Molyneux, Annie 
Clibran, Elaine, Admiral Symonds, Marie Hoste, 
C. Wagstaff, Mary Anderson, and several others 
were exhibited by Mr. A. McMillan, Trinity Cottage, 
Edinburgh. He also had four plants bearing 
three to four large blooms each, and all 
in fresh condition (Silver Medal). A small 
but interesting group of Lily of the Valley for the 
season of the year, was exhibited by Mr. T. Jannoch 
Dersingham, Sandringham (Silver Medal). Begonia 
semperflorens Vernon’s, Caraguata cardinalis, a new 
Carnation named Stanstead Beauty, and others were 
exhibited by Messrs. J. Laing & Sons. A table of 
various floral arrangements was arranged by Miss 
Lilian Hudson, Gunnersbury House, Acton. Some 
of the taller devices were bold and effective (Silver- 
gilt Medal). A splendid dish of Peaches was shown 
by Mrs. Pocock, Cranford Gardens, Cranford, 
(Bronze Medal). Seedling Cucumbers were shown 
by Mr. F. K. Eames, Cross Roads, Twickenham. 
--j—- 
PALM GROWING IN UNITED STATES. 
One hundred and ten thousand feet of glass, and 
every foot earning money, is a sight worth going 
miles to see. The above florist's dream is to be 
found at Henry A. Dreer’s establishment at River¬ 
ton, New Jersey. Outside in the large grounds 
surrounding the houses the same condition of affairs 
exists. Every available foot of ground is filled up 
with “ up to date ” varieties of plants, and all in 
good condition. We feel we are safe in saying that 
this is not only the largest, but also the most 
successful, nursery of its kind in this country. 
Palms and Ferns are to be seen here by the million, 
in all stages of growth and in the greatest variety. 
Cocos Weddeliana is grown in large quantities, the 
annual sowing being some 100,000 seeds. 
11 The demand for Cocos,” said Mr. Eisele, who 
kindly conducted us through the houses, " already 
large, is constantly increasing, thousands being used 
for dinner table ferneries alone. A notable feature 
of this Palm is that freezing the seed does not seem 
to affect the germ. We received a consignment of 
seed last winter, which you can see came up very 
well, nearly, if not all, the seed germinating, and yet 
it had withstood for two or three days a temperature 
of 28°. The seed comes from Brazil, and is probably 
gathered in mountainous districts, where they may 
have occasional frosts. It is quite different with the 
Areca; if the seed of this speces is subjected to a 
temperature of 40° for any length of time, it is 
sufficient to chill the seed to such an extent as to 
destroy the germ. 
“ The last lot of Palm seed received came in 
sealed tin lined cases, packed in a material that 
looked like sawdust; it was just a trifle moist, and 
started the seeds to swelling, so that they are now 
commencing to germinate, although they have only 
been planted since the 1st of July. There are 50,000 
Areca seeds in this lot and they look very promising. 
I hardly like to say what the result would have been 
in case of delay in the delivery.” 
“ You still import, do you not ? ” 
“ Yes, more than ever, mostly Kentias and 
Latanias; we can never hold on to the young 
stock long enough to get it above a 5-in. or 6-in. pot.” 
‘‘Is it not cheaper to import the larger sizes than 
to grow them ? ” 
“ No ; they can be grown profitably here, but the 
demand has been so great for all kinds of Palms, 
particularly the larger sizes, that we have to go to 
European markets to supply it. There are two ways 
to get up a stock of large Palms ; one is to put up a 
prohibitive price on the growing stock, and as the 
plants grow raise the figure until the required size is 
reached. The other is to fill a house or range of 
houses with selected stock which is not to be sold 
until it has attained the desired size.” 
“ What varieties of Palms sell the best ? ” 
" Arecas and Kentias are now the leaders : the 
Latania held the van for a long time, and there is 
more of it sold every year, but the demand for the 
others has increased to such an extent that they are 
now the most popular Palms. Four houses in this 
large range, which is 100x130, are filled with Arecas 
in the centre and Kentias in the side beds.”— Ameri¬ 
can Florist. 
THE SWEET PEA. 
It would be interesting to know what was the exact 
character of our charming Sweet Pea w'hen first 
introduced from Sicily about 200 years ago ; but we 
may reasonably suppose the original form was 
purple in colour, because Philip Miller, writing about 
thirty years afterwards, speaks of it as the “ broad¬ 
leaved, hairy, soft chickling, with a large and very 
beautiful purple, sweet-smelling flower, commonly 
called sweet-scented Peas.” Chickling is an old 
common name applied to Peas, but not much in 
vogue in our days. 
The Sweet Pea is Lathyrus odoratus. Lathyrus 
is derived from la, to add to, and thorous, an irritant 
to increase excitement, referring to the supposed 
qualities of the seeds. It is an annual ; that is to say, 
it grows, flowers, and dies away in the space of a 
year; though it is not an uncommon practice to 
treat the Sweet Pea as a biennial, sowing the seeds 
at the end of the summer or early autumn, preserving 
the plants through the winter, and flowering them in 
summer, before the plants obtained from seeds sown 
in spring can come into bloom. During the first 
century of its culture in this country the varieties 
increased but slowly, as a very reliable catalogue of 
annuals published in 1817 gives but six, obtained, 
there is no doubt, from sports ; and up to twenty 
years ago the increase of varieties was very slow 
indeed. Then it occurred to a very intelligent and 
enterprising gardener—Mr. Henry Eckford—to try 
to increase the varieties by cross fertilisation, and he 
has succeeded to a remarkable degree ; at the present 
time it would not be difficult to obtain as many as 
fifty varieties, the results of Mr. Eckfordls praise¬ 
worthy work ; and while giving us new colours and 
combinations of colours, he has greatly improved the 
size and substance of the flowers also. The Pea, 
though it seeds freely, does not readily lend itself to 
artificial fertilization, because the organs of genera¬ 
tion are contained in a petal which takes the shape 
of a keel, and which holds them firmly in its grasp. 
The flower, when it is artificially impregnated, has to 
be taken at a certain stage of its youth, and the pistil 
