106 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 16,1897, 
■O'——- * 1 ~ ~ 
schizophylla and other novelties; also a splendid 
batch of Maidenhair for cutting purposes. Another 
house is complete with a fine collection of young 
Palms. Noticeable also is a fine batch of Gloxinias 
and Cannas, which from their bright colours attract 
one's attention. 
There is a fine range of vineries occupied with 
young Vines, of which all the leading sorts are 
grown, and giving a good account of themselves ; 
for grand bunches, fine in berry, and well coloured, 
meet the eye. Peaches and Nectarines receive the 
best of attention, and reward the trouble with fine 
crops of fruit. There is a good house of Pineapples in 
extra strong plants,throwing up fine fruit, of which one 
may be proud. Melons do well; fine crops of grand 
fruits in succession are here. Figs are grown likewise, 
in pots, fruiting freely. Some splendidly fruited. 
Oranges in pots are very ornamental for decorative 
work. Other pits and frames are full of useful 
winter-flowering plants. A grand batch of Chrys¬ 
anthemums will be useful for months to come. 
These, with forced Azaleas, Lilacs, Viburnums, 
Hydrangeas, well grown Cyclamens, and Solanums 
will keep the houses gay during winter and spring. 
Zonal Pelargoniums come in useful for the decora¬ 
tion of the noble conservatory, which stands in a 
prominent position in the pleasure grounds. It is a 
noble building of a most ornamental design, and 
most suitable for its position. It was very gay at 
the time of my visit, noble Tree Ferns and Palms, 
&c., stand down the centre, with chairs and tables 
underneath. The side stages were gay with early 
Chrysanthemums, Tuberous Begonias, Cannas, well 
done, various Liliums and zonal Pelargoniums, all 
combined, making a bright and most pleasant dis¬ 
play. 
The picture from the conservatory is charming, 
the beautifully-undulated grounds, the streams of 
water, the choice trees and shrubs, the various kinds 
of bedding—carpet and ribbon, and massed beds— 
and the autumn tints upon the woods and trees 
produce such a picture that no words of mine can des¬ 
cribe. There are many acres of pleasure grounds, 
including the lawn tennis ground, with every 
modern convenience. The splendid walks, all well 
kept—at every turn you meet something pleasant and 
fresh—convince one that the place has been well 
studied in every way. There is a picture of wealth, 
combined with good taste, assisted by a practical gar¬ 
dener's skill, and backed up by the principal factor in 
the case,a gentleman who believes in doing everything 
well; for Sir John is a thorough believer in this, 
and carries out his ideas to the letter. He is a 
gentleman of broad views, and a great lover of 
everything that is beautiful. 
In addition to what I have mentioned a grand 
kitchen garden is in a sheltered position and well 
stocked. A fruit wall covered with young trees is 
noteworthy. The demand all round is great, but the 
gardener-in-chief is equal to the occasion. A word 
in praise of a gardener’s comfort. How often we see 
gardeners' houses located in some out of the way spot 
with no convenience. Sir John’s gardener’s house is 
a model, built of stone with some ten or twelve fine 
lofty rooms, having every convenience in a command¬ 
ing position in its own grounds. Being well planted 
it is more like a palace than a gardener s house. 
May many follow the example, I say. Mr. James 
Moir is the gardener, and he fully appreciates the 
kindness of his noble employer. I congratulate Mr. 
Moir upon his all round abilities, as a thoroughly 
practical man. To walk round his lovely estate with 
its liberal owner, accompanied by his enthusiastic 
gardener, is a great treat to any one like myself 
interested in horticulture; for Sir John is greatly 
interested and willing to make any improvements that 
will suit his taste for the benefit of his beautiful 
estate .—Alfred Outram, F.R.H.S., 7 , Moore Park Road, 
Fulham, London. 
- -*- - 
Californian Oranges.—The American liner St. Paul, 
which brought up at Southampton on the morning 
of Wednesday, 22nd ult., had a cargo of 4,403 cases 
of Californian Oranges. The St. Paul docked 
at 10 a m., the fruit was discharged, loaded into 
railway vans, and delivered by 7 p.m., nine hours 
after the steamer docked at Plymouth, and seven 
days four hours after leaving New York. The fruit 
was ultimately placed on the market in capital con¬ 
dition. 
THE PROGRESS IN VEGETABLE 
CULTIVATION DURING QUEEN 
VICTORIA S REIGN.* 
Probably no more fitting subject could be chosen 
for one of the papers to be read at a Conference of 
the R.H.S. in the sixtieth year of Her Majesty’s 
Reign. And yet, though the subject is so appro¬ 
priate, I cannot but think that our worthy secretary 
might have made a far happier choice when selecting 
a speaker. It is manifestly impossible for anyone of 
my age to tell you from personal knowledge what the 
condition of the vegetable garden was in 1837, and 
consequently it is impossible for me to say from my 
own knowledge what progress has been made. 
Mr. Wilks invited my father (now in his 83rd year) 
to contribute a paper on this subject, but like many 
others whose memory carries them back over the 
past sixty years, his physical powers are not equal to 
his mental activity, and be was compelled to decline. 
Although yielding to Mr. Wilks’ somewhat pressing 
request that I would myself prepare a paper, I feel I 
owe this assembly an apology for attempting what 
others could do so much better. It was only possible 
for me to glean the necessary information from those 
who were actively engaged in horticultural pursuits 
at the time when our Gracious Sovereign came to 
the throne, and though I have met with the greatest 
willingness to impart knowledge, it is a somewhat 
striking fact that my correspondents had a far clearer 
recollection of fruits, methods of culture, and even 
the scale of garden wages, than they had of the 
vegetables grown in 1837. I can only conclude that, 
as was no doubt the case, there was nothing very 
noteworthy about the vegetables in use at that time, 
at least as regards their intrinsic merit. 
It will be noticed that the title speaks of " Progress 
in Vegetable Cultivation," but I do not suppose I 
was intended to speak so much of the cultivation as 
of the improvement of the vegetables cultivated. 
Had it been otherwise, I cannot doubt that one of 
the many able gardeners connected with the Society 
would have been invited to read a paper rather than 
myself. 
In sketching the outline of my paper I therefore 
felt that I could not do better than take the leading 
vegetables, enumerating the kinds in cultivation in 
1837, and then briefly mention the improvements that 
have since followed. It is obvious that unless there 
had been a very marked advance in the vegetables 
grown the progress in cultivation would have been 
comparatively insignificant. In saying this, I do not 
for a moment suggest that the gardeners of to-day 
are not far in advance of those of 1837, but that what¬ 
ever method of culture might be adopted, no very 
great advance would be possible without improved 
vegetables to work upon. Without further introduc¬ 
tion I will proceed at once to the all important 
subject of the 
Garden Pea. 
Without hesitation I may say that the progress made 
during the last sixty years in the improvement of the 
Garden Pea has been fully commensurate with the 
position this vegetable occupies, and which may 
fairly be called the Prince of all Vegetables. I think 
also I am correct in saying that this proud position 
has been attained solely through the progress made 
in its improvement since 1837; an evolution truly 
marvellous, as I think all will admit when we com¬ 
pare the Peas of 1897 with those of 1837. In the 
thirties and for many subsequent years the 
gentleman’s garden—as well as the market garden— 
was dependent upon such varieties as Woodford's, 
Bedman's Imperial, Scimitar, Early Charlton, War¬ 
ner’s Emperor, Early May, McCormick’s Prince 
Albert, and Early Warwick, the other principal sorts 
cultivated being Blue Prussian, Bishop’s Early 
Dwarf, and Auvergne. These are Peas which we, 
with more cultured taste and better varieties at our 
disposal, now look upon as chiefly suitable for 
boiling in a dry state. Knight’s Tall Green Marrow, 
a wrinkled Pea, was certainly available at this time 
but was not so generally grown as the round-seeded 
sorts, which an old gardener now living informs me 
were so hard and dry when cooked that they were 
known as Buckshot Peas. 
During the next decade a few varieties, such as 
Sangster’s No. 1, Champion of England, British 
Queen, and Hair’s Dwarf Mammoth, were added to 
*A paper read by Mr. Arthur W. Sutton, of Messrs. Sutton 4 
Sons, Reading, at tbe Crystal Palace Conference of the Royal 
Horticultural Society, 1st, October, 1897. 
the list, the first three of which are still largely 
grown by those who have had no opportunity of test¬ 
ing better sorts; but no considerable interest was 
awakened until the advent of that popular favourite, 
“ Ne Plus Ultra,” which was introduced under three 
or four names in as many successive seasons. Even 
at the present day when testing year by year all the 
so-called Dovelties as they appear, we frequently find 
that still another name has been added to the already 
long list under which ” Ne Plus Ultra” is offered. 
Of its class as a tall late marrow Pea it is doubtful if 
any later introduction has ever shown, comparatively, 
a greater advance on previous kinds. 
In passing it may be of interest to some to know 
that three of the principal Peas distributed by my 
house in 1841 were Blue Prussian, Woodfords, and 
Scimitar, from which we may form a fairly correct 
idea of the class of Peas then grown by gardeners. 
Up to 1857 there had been introduced Daniel 
O’Rourke and our Early Champion as representing 
improved types of early Peas; and Glory, Climax. 
Dickson's Favourite, Prizetaker, and Epps's Lord 
Raglan. 
In 1859 that popular Pea, Veitch's Perfection, was 
introduced, and in the same year also the first 
selections of Dr. McLean's Seedlings were put on the 
market by Mr. Charles Turner, including Princess 
Royal, followed a few years later by Little Gem, and 
these continued to be favourites for a quarter of a 
century. This was the commencement of that period 
of activity which has extended with increased vigour 
till the present day,—the skilful hand of the hybri- 
diser in conjunction with the keen eye of the expert 
producing such Peas as Her Majesty’s gardener 
never dreamt of in 1837. Here I may remark that 
the work of selecting is in no degree less important 
than that of hybridising. This will be better under¬ 
stood when I explain that a seedling Pea is now 
generally the result of so much inter-breeding that 
very many distinct types will often be represented 
in the ultimate cross. This will give a pod contain¬ 
ing from six to ten or more seeds, and it is at this 
point the work of the hybridist ceases and that of the 
selector commences, but it is only a commencement. 
When sown the following year these seeds will in 
all probability produce as many distinct seedling 
Peas, some partaking of the character of the parents 
and some not, but the difficulty increases when we 
find that seed saved from each of these plants very 
frequently varies in each case to such an extent that 
the greatest patience is required in order to secure 
any fixed type at all. Let me make my meaning still 
clearer if possible. The first year we start with, say, 
six seeds in the one pod. 
The second year we have six seedling plants. 
The third year we have six rows, short or long, the 
produce of the six plants of the preceding year, but 
we also find in each of these six rows Peas of all sorts 
and types, some tall, some dwarf; some early, others 
later ; some large podded, some small; some pale 
green in colour, some dark ; some curved in the pod, 
some straight; some pointed at the end, and some 
square (this difference alone being sufficient in some 
cases to distinguish two popular garden varieties); 
and last, but not least, some may be round-seeded 
and some wrinkled-seeded. It is clear the selector 
must commence again and starting from the most 
promising plant in each row endeavour to build up a 
seedling Pea which will reproduce itself from seed 
without variation, a task often extending over many 
years. In scarcely any instance known to me has a 
seedling Pea been put on the market direct from the 
hybridist’s hand. 
Between i860 and 1880 many varieties raised by 
McLean and Laxton were introduced; amongst 
them being Prince of Wales, Dr. McLean, 
Omega, William the First, and William Hurst, 
all of which are more or less popular at the 
present day. During the same period the first results 
attained by the veteran William Culverwell—whose 
excellent work deserves grateful recognition from all 
who value Marrowfat Peas—came to light in 
Telegraph, Telephone, Stratagem, and Pride of the 
Market, which varieties were introduced by Messrs. 
Carter. By this time Henry Eckford was endeavour¬ 
ing, and with considerable success, to infuse the 
blood of Ne Plus Ultra into a dwarfer race of Peas. 
From various sources appeared during the next few 
years Autocrat, Duke of Albany (which is certainly 
one of the most popular Peas of the present day), 
Sharpe's Queen, Webb's Wordsley Wonder, and 
others. In 1881 my house introduced American 
