September 18, 189?. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
89 
to 4 ft. in height. The leaves are large, deep green, 
and palmate in shape, the segments being irregularly 
serrate. Award of Merit. Mr. F. D. Lambert, 
Bookham. 
Fruit Committee. 
Melon Mrs. Herrin. —This is a Melon of fine 
appearance, with white flesh of great depth and 
good flavour. The fruits are oval in shape, and 
handsomely netted. Whes ripe, the skin is a rich 
yellow. This new variety was obtained as the 
result of a cross between Favourite and another 
seedliDg. Award of Merit. Mr. C. Herrin, The 
Gardens, Dropmore, Maidenhead. 
Blackberry Mitchell's Seedling. —In this 
we have a very free fruiting variety that is well 
deserving of attention. The fruits are large, conical, 
and the drupes fleshy. The flavour is pleasantly 
acid and brisk. Award of Merit. Mr. W. Mitchell, 
Farpham Royal. 
The National Chrysanthemum Society awarded 
First-class Certificates to the undermentioned 
Dahlias at the Royal Aquarium on September 7th. 
John Tranter. —A new show variety of medium 
size, and salmon-scarlet in colour. Mr. R. Tranter, 
Henley-on-Thames. 
Harbinger. —A very pretty show form. The 
colour is delicate mauve, and the bloom of fair size 
and good shape. G. St. Pierre Harris, Esq., Orping¬ 
ton. 
Thomas Anstiss. —Here we have a bright and 
handsome magenta-hued flower of striking individ¬ 
uality. Mr. T. Anstiss, Brill, Bucks. 
Keynes White. —This is a medium sized Cactus 
form, and marks the latest advance towards the 
coveted pure white. There is a little yellow in the 
centre. The form is good. Messrs. Keynes, 
Williams & Co., Salisbury. 
Mary Service. —A handsome Cactus variety. 
The blooms are of good size, with long revolute and 
incurving florets, rosy-salmon in colour. The florets 
are tipped with magenta. Messrs. Keynes, Williams 
& Co. 
Laverstock Beauty. —Another good Cactus 
flower, has long florets, and exhibits a bright shade 
of orange-salmon, Messrs. Keynes, Williams & Co. 
Arachue. —This is a curious Cactus form. The' 
outer florets are white with a broad central band of 
orange-red. The central florets lack the white. 
The form is good. Messrs. Keynes, Williams & Co. 
Alfred Vasey. —A large, bright salmon-hued 
Cactus sort, with rather heavy florets. Messrs. 
Keynes, Williams & Co. 
Falka. —This is another charming Cactus variety. 
The flowers are large and fine, and the colour is 
rosy-magenta—a charming and distinct shade. 
Messrs J. Burrell & Co., Howe House Nurseries, 
Cambridge. 
Cassilda —Here the wide florets suggest the 
decorative rather than the most approved Cactus 
type. The colour is a bright primrose-yellow, the 
size medium. Messrs. J. Burrell & Co. 
Annie Turner.— A fine Cactus bloom of fair size 
exhibiting a bright shade of rose-crimson. Mr. G. 
Humphries, Chippenham. 
Nellie Broomhead. —This is the latest addition 
to the ranks of the pompons. The blooms are neat, 
and of a delicate lilac hue. Mr. J. T. West, Tower 
Hill, Brentwood. 
Mr.Moore.— This is a magnificent Cactus variety 
of great merit,and destined to become a great favourite 
in all gardens where dark-hued Dahlias are admired. 
The colour is a deep black crimson. The flowers 
are of perfect form, and borne on long stout stalks 
that lifts them well above the foliage. Mr. John 
Green, Norfolk Nurseries, Dereham. 
Night. —Appropriately enough is also a deep black- 
crimson flower. It is large, and has very long florets. 
It belongs to the Cactus section. Mr. J. Stredwick, 
Silverhill, St. Leonards-on-Sea. 
Island Queen. —A rosy-pink Cactus variety of 
considerable merit. Mr. J. T. West. 
True Friend.— Another very fine deep crimson 
Cactus form, but several shades lighter than either 
Night or Mr. Moore, The flowers are of medium 
size and capital shape. Mr. J. T. West, 
Gypsy. —This may be relegated to the decorative 
section, as the florets are too broad to put in the 
ranks of the true Cactus varieties. The colour is 
crimson, with a magenta shade evident at the tips of 
the florets. Mr. G. Humphries. 
E. J. Deal is a symmetrical Cactus flower of great 
merit. The colour is fiery-scarlet, and the blooms 
are both bright and showy. Mr. S. Mortimer, 
Rowledge, Farnham. 
Dorothy Seale. —is a very handsome single 
variety. The outline is perfectly circular, and the 
petals full and even. The colour is white with a 
central area of orange-red irregular outline, and of 
varying size. In some of the blooms the flowers 
have the appearance of being orange-red with a 
white margin, whilst in others the relative size of 
the two colour areas is altered. The sides of the 
petals are occasionally margined with yellow. Mrs. 
F. W. Seale, Sevenoaks. 
Colton Beauty.— This is a striking and hand¬ 
some single flower. It is pure white, but the mar¬ 
gins of the petals at the sides are bright yellow. The 
effect is somewhat curious. Size, outline and shape 
are all first-class. T. W. Girdlestone, Esq., Sun- 
ningdale, Berks. 
First-class Certificates were also awarded to 
Messrs. J. Burrell & Co. for the two Gladioli named 
below. 
G. Eunice. —This variety throws a huge spike, 
and the individual blooms are also large and sub¬ 
stantial. The colour is flesh-pink with a cerise 
blotch on the lower segment. There is also a circu¬ 
lar blotch of cerise at the base of the segments in 
the centre of the flower. 
G. Oriental. —The spike and flower are both as 
large here as in the former variety, but the colour is 
rich orange-salmon. The segments are striped and 
edged with deep violet in a most attractive manner, 
and the flower altogether has a very distinct indi¬ 
viduality. 
As the days of autumn creep on it becomes an in¬ 
creasingly difficult task to keep the flower garden in 
ship-shape condition. The wear of the year is 
beginning to tell heavily upon many things, but it is 
the gardeners task to prevent this from being too 
obvious. Up to the time of writing we have at least 
been spared the experience of sharp frosts, although 
for at least two nights during the past week the tem¬ 
perature on the' grass was quite down to freezing 
point. The beauty of Dahlias, Gladioli, and other 
handsome but tender flowering plants may thus be 
left to us for a little while longer, although after the 
middle of September has turned we can never depend 
upon frost holding off for even a day. 
Gales of wind and storms of rain have, in the 
absence of the frost,done their best to pull the plants 
about, and there is much tying and tidying necessary. 
The Herbaceous Border is presenting a truly 
autumnal appearance with the starry flowers of the 
earlier Michaelmas Daisies, Gladioli and Dahlias in 
variety. Here there will be plenty to do. The 
Perennial Asters are a host in themselves, and are 
worth all the attention that can be given them. 
Skilful staking and careful tying are among the most 
important of attentions. How often, however, do we 
see the poor plants looking sadly like brooms with 
their stems strained together in a hideous bunch, and 
their natural symmetry entirely spoiled. Gardens of 
any size might well include amongst other special 
features a border devoted to Michaelmas Daisies. 
We have so many fine forms exhibiting a consider¬ 
able range of habit, colour and size of flower. Such 
a border if planted with due regard to these differ¬ 
ences of habit may be made io look very handsome 
but may also in the hands of the man lacking in taste 
look very stiff and proportionately ugly. Those who 
propose making such a feature in their garden will 
do well to observe closely the characteristics of all 
the good forms they may come across. 
Zonal Pelargoniums. — By this time all the re¬ 
quired cuttings of zonal Pelargoniums will have 
been got in, and many of the earliest ones rooted, 
especially in cases where the practice of putting the 
cuttings in the open ground to root is adhered to. 
Generally, it is necessary to lift and pot these up be¬ 
fore the end of September, but as long as the frost 
holds off they will be better outdoors than in. 
The beds themselves look rather straggling where 
the plants have been cut at all hard, but they will 
pay for a clean up and a hoe over, if only to prolong 
the season for another fortnight. 
The propagation of the tenderer bedding plants 
will be going on apace. As these have to be struck 
in heat they are usually left until the last. Besides, 
there is a natural disinclination on the part of the 
gardener to upset until the last moment the strict 
lines of a carpet bed in order to obtain the needful 
stock. Alternantheras, Iresines, Helitropes, Lobelias, 
etc., all strike freely in a hot bed, and it is worth 
while to erect one on purpose for their accommoda¬ 
tion. 
Pentstemons. —The value of these handsome 
flowers is not recognised so generally as we should 
expect. Occasionally one sees them used for bed¬ 
ding, and in every case they are brilliant successes. 
They flower with remarkable persistency and free¬ 
dom, and given a fairly rich soil the flowers are of 
relatively large size, also the spikes. Their propa¬ 
gation is remarkably easy, for cuttings root readily. 
At this time of the year numbers of side shoots 
and others thrown up from the base make their 
appearance. These constitute capital cuttings if cut 
off at a length of about 4 in. Instead of putting 
them in pots or pans we prefer making up a bed of 
soil in a cold frame, and dibbling them into it. 
Shrubby Calceolarias answer well to the same treat¬ 
ment. After they are rooted a fair amount of air 
may be given, but no attempt should be made to 
disturb them until the winter is past. Artificial heat 
is not needed, but we believe in covering the frames 
up very warmly in cold weather. 
General Work— As the grass is growing now 
with exceptional vigour there is more mowing to do 
than there has been at any time of the year. Tennis 
is over now for the season, and advantage may be 
taken of this to give the green a good dressing of 
soot. If this is done immediately before a shower 
so much the better. Showery weather should, of 
course,- be chosen. The laying of turf may proceed 
apace. Continue to gather seeds of any choice 
annuals that are ripe, also attend to the drying cf 
those that have been gathered. Do not delay too 
long in submitting orders for bulbs to the selected 
firms. Bulbs nowadays are both cheap and good, 
and no spring arrangements can possibly be com 
plete without the inclusion of a good quantity of 
them.— A. S. G. 
-=>*>-- 
Just now the all engrossing task is the gathering of 
Apples and Pears as the different varieties become 
fit for plucking. Gales of wind are to be expected 
now, and thus it is not advisable to leave Pears on 
the trees after they will part readily from the foot¬ 
stalk, as a sudden squall may leave the gardener 
lamenting the loss of some of his best fruit. The 
necessity of careful handling, and of as little of that 
as possible, has been insisted on by all writers cn 
the subject, and the practical man knows full well 
that such advice is not to be gainsaid. 
The storeroom shelves will have been brushed 
down previously, and the walls whitewashed where 
the latter was possible. Do not, as is frequently 
done, line the shelves with a layer of hay, or the 
flavour of the fruit will suffer as a constquence, 
particularly the later varieties of Apples and Pears. 
Clean, bare shelves are all that is required. 
Late Apples and Pears. —Where trees of the 
later varieties are carrying good crops it will be 
advisable to get all those whose size renders this 
possible. With the gathering in of the grain crops 
the birds have had a good deal of their food taken 
from them, and hence they make a dead set at the 
fruit. It is most provoking to find the largest and 
best samples with holes pecked in them, and as the 
birds usually select a spot near the foot-stalk for 
their operations there is very little chance of the 
fruit keeping, although sometimes the wound will 
heal over enough to permit of the fruit keeping. 
Alpine Strawberries.— Although it cannot be 
claimed that the Alpine Strawberries are a serious 
rival to the larger-fruited summer varieties, they 
come in very handy for prolonging the season, and 
there are many who appreciate their delicate flavour. 
Seed sown in spring, in light soil, in shallow drills 
about 6 in. apart, will furnish fruiting plants in the 
autumn if the latter are carefully transplanted. A 
heavier crop will be obtained the second year, after 
which the beds should be destroyed. An annual 
sowing is thus necessary to keep up a good supply. As 
these Alpines are easy to manage, there is no diffi¬ 
culty in obtaining fruit at all seasons, both by plant¬ 
ing beds in different positions as well as by lifting 
the plants and fruiting them under glass. — A. S. G. 
