June 11, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
649 
this you will do well to see to it at once, as this will, 
without doubt, remedy the evil. 
Applying Manure to Vines. —Rob : After you have 
sprinkled the powder on the surface, fork it in gently 
with a small fork, keeping a bright look-out for any 
weeds that may be near the surface. Follow up with 
a good soaking of clear water. 
GESNERACEOUS PLANTS AT 
READING. 
The plants of this family are typified by Gesnera, 
several of which are handsome subjects, more or 
less cultivated in this country. Gloxinias are even 
more popular and widely cultivated. The collection 
in the Portland Road Nursery of Messrs. Sutton & 
Sons, Reading, is later this year than usual, not 
merely on account of the long continued cold and 
sunless weather, but because they were started later 
than usual, so that they should flower in June 
instead of May. There are three generations of them 
in the houses all coming along in succession, and 
thus keeping up a lengthened display. The larger 
ones are in 32, large 32, and 24-sized pots. The 
foliage is vigorous and healthy, covering the soil and 
hanging down over the pots. Even amongst the 
leaves is a considerable amount of variation, as if 
the plants were of hybrid origin. The leaves of 
Prince of Wales are quite hoary, and may be 
singled out readily. Other sorts are characterised 
by dark green leaves, while another set has a silvery 
venation. 
The flowers, however, always attract the greatest 
amount of attention, owing to their extremely varied 
and bright colours. The glowing and vivid scarlet 
of Sutton’s Reading Scarlet is in marked contrast to 
the pure white and massive flowers of Her Majesty. 
The sky-blue colour of Azure Blue is a charmiDg hue 
in this class, beautifully set off with the white throat. 
Amongst bordered Gloxinias, Duke of York is a bold 
and telling flower of a rich crimson, surrounded 
with a broad and regular white margin. Its com¬ 
panion, Duchess of York, is rich purple, bordered 
with white, and perfectly distinct. The flowers of 
Sutton’s Purple are dark and very rich in tone, 
while characterised by great substance, as, indeed, 
are any and all of them to which special names are 
given. No attempt, however, is made at naming the 
varieties generally. None but good varieties are 
used as seed parents, so that the standard of the 
strain is very high. 
Spotted varieties are accorded the attention they 
merit and afford endless combinations of colour, re¬ 
plete with beauty and interest to all who have the 
opportunity of watching the gradual expansion and 
development of the flowers. A giant strain is also 
being developed, with flowers 4 in. to 4J in. in dia¬ 
meter, or more. They bear the same relation to the 
type as the giganteum strain does to Cyclamen lati- 
folium. 
From Gloxinia to Saintpaulia ionantha is a far cry as 
far as size of flowers is concerned ; but the charms of 
the latter lie in another direction. From amongst 
the heart-shaped leaves flowers continually arise all 
through the summer, strongly recalling Violets both 
in shape and colour. Several shades already exist, 
varying from an intense to a light blue. 
The collection of Achimenes at Reading is very 
comprehensive, exhausting the cream of the varieties 
in cultivation, and numbering some twenty-five. 
They constitute the glory of one of the houses for 
many weeks together, but only a few of them are yet 
in bloom. One of the most remarkable and hand¬ 
some is that named Rosy Queen (see illustration), 
which has large, rich rose flowers and a white 
throat. The width of the latter and, indeed, the 
size and general aspect of the flower are distinct 
from every other kind. Some gardeners have even 
conceived it to be a hybrid with Gloxinia. In any 
case, it is of the easiest cultivation, flowers abun¬ 
dantly, and constitutes an excellent subject for the 
conservatory when in bloom. We are indebted to 
Messrs. Sutton for the accompanying illustration 
of it. 
Nor can we overlook a fine batch of Gloxinia 
maculata with its dark and metallic looking foliage 
and spotted stems. The latter attain a height of 
12 in. to 18 in., so that the species is entirely 
different from the better known and universally cul¬ 
tivated G. speciosa, the fine strain of which is noted 
above. The flowers of G. maculata are blue-purple, 
and short. 
The Gesneras, that hive found a home here, 
flower later on, and include a fine race of hybrids 
that produce pyramids of white, yellow, orange, and 
handsomely spotted flowers. A beautiful companion 
to the hybrids is G. zebrina discolor, with its velvety, 
claret and green bands and markings on the leaves. 
The bright scarlet flowers of G. cardinalis are also 
very effective. 
The same family is further represented by Strep- 
tocarpus, in a fine batch of hybrids in which a great 
range of colour may be noted. The large flowers 
vary from white to rose, purple, and violet, generally 
marked with dark violet bands in the throat. The 
huge leaf of S. Wendlandii is always full of interest 
independently of the flowers, which are blue, with a 
white throat and produced in branching cymes. The 
under surface of the foliage is dark reddish-purple. 
This species was crossed with the pollen of a white 
variety of S. Rexii, having the usual violet markings 
in the throat. One of the progeny of this cross is 
remarkable, inasmuch as it has pure white flowers 
unmarked even by jellow in the throat. Other seed¬ 
lings have light blue flowers, with a white throat. 
While passing through the houses we noted repre¬ 
sentatives of other families, including fine batches of 
the fibrous rooted Begonia semperflorens, which has 
been greatly improved by the Messrs. Sutton within 
the last few years. Many superb named varieties 
are now cultivated, and some twenty-five types and 
selections will bloom in the course of this month. A 
new rosy-red variety is very promising. This type is 
equally suitable for pot culture and for bedding out. 
--i—- 
GREVILLEA FORSTERII. 
Amongst New Holland plants this should take high 
rank, yet it is quite an uncommon subject in this 
country. The leaves are cut into long, linear pinnae; 
and the shoots and branches terminate in ovate 
spikes or heads of bright rosy-carmine flowers, 
beyond which their long styles of the same colour 
project. The individual flowers are large for the 
genus, and they are said to be produced in abun¬ 
dance. It has been noticed and described in this 
country as long ago as 1874, yet beyond the stater 
ment that it is reckoned to be an Australian plant its 
origin is unknown. The only method of propagation 
therefore, that can be recommended at present is by 
cuttings, which should be made some time between 
December and February. The cuttings should be 
inserted in sandy soil covered with bell glasses or 
cases kept at a temperature of 53 0 to 55 0 . Ventila¬ 
tion must be attended to in order to avoid damping 
as in the case of other New Holland plants. Roots 
will be emitted in the course of six to eight weeks, 
under favourable conditions. A coloured plate of it 
given in the Revue de 1'Horticulture Beige for 
January last, shows it to be a showy subject of con¬ 
siderable decorative value. Some of the Belgian 
cultivators consider that it will make an excellent 
commercial plant. 
- Ml . 
STOKE BRUERNE PARK. 
A visit to Stoke Bruerne Park, the residence of B. 
Wentworth Vernon, Esq., is always interesting; but 
it is especially so during April and May when the 
spring bedding is in its beauty. During the season 
just closed there has been a great success in every 
respect. It was my privilege to see these gardens 
during the Easter holidays, and after being used to 
the great masses of colour in the London Parks it 
was a welcome change to see each bed carpeted 
with some dwarf plant as a groundwork, in addition 
to the usual flowering bulbs, etc. In the flower 
garden there the beds are necessarily close together, 
and it requires no little amount of forethought to 
get all the colours to harmonise with each other, 
but this has been accomplished in such a manner 
that the most severe critic could have little at which 
to cavil. 
At each end of the flower garden is a colonnade or 
semi-winter garden, constructed with a glass roof 
and open at one side, but a difficulty is found in 
finding suitable flowering plants for winter. The 
value of Sutton’s new dwarf annual Wallflower 
cannot be overestimated for such a position, as it 
had been in full flower the whole winter. A number 
of narrow borders backed by a low wall looked 
charming with clumps of the best-named Daffodils 
and Wallflowers, with a groundwork of Myosotis 
dissitiflora edged with Crocus of various colours, 
Scilla sibirica, etc., to form a succession of blooming. 
Nowhere have I seen this Forget-me-not to such an 
advantage. It blooms very freely, and with its 
dwarf habit is much to be preferred to any of the 
other species that I am acquainted with, where it 
Achimenes Rosy Queen. 
