246 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December it, 1898. 
When the fruits are set they ought to be judiciously 
thinned. Another very important point is to gather 
the fruit at two or three different times, which pro¬ 
longs the season of each sort. When living at 
Bignor Park, Sussex, I had no proper fruit room, 
only a loft. There happened to be an old dairy, the 
roof all covered over with Ivy ; I laid the fruit on the 
old marble slabs. 
I had two fine trees of the Winter Nelis, which, 
being a weak grower, I worked on the Pear stock. I 
gathered the first fruit the first week of November, 
and the last about the end of that month. I sent in 
the first dish about the end of November, and the 
last at the end of February. The fruit is of 
medium size, handsome, and the most delicious of 
any kind I know for late use. Were I confined to 
one Pear I should prefer it, as it never goes rotten at 
the core like most of our kinds. I happened to leave 
Bignor, so was not able to prove if the good results 
were due to placing the fruit on the marble slabs, 
which I believe had a great deal to do with it. It 
might be interesting to many of your numerous 
readers to prove it by placing strong sheet glass or 
thin slabs of-slate on the boards of the fruitroom. 
As s'ewing Pears are much esteemed, Catillac, 
Vicar of Winkfield, Doyenne Boussock, and 
Uvedale's St. Germain, will be quite sufficient to 
meet all requirements.— William Carmichael, 14, Pitt 
Street, Edinburgh. 
---— 
CHRYSANTHEMUM EARLSWOOD 
BEAUTY. 
A great number of single varieties of Chrysanthe¬ 
mum have been raised at one time or another, but 
relatively few of them are cultivated for any con¬ 
siderable time. For this reason it may be taken for 
granted that more judgment and care is necessary in 
selecting single Chryranthemums than one would at 
first thought imagine. Coarseness in a single variety 
is condemned by most growers, and the public 
generally. Really beautiful and refined forms secure 
many admirers ; and where cut flowers are required 
in private establishments, and Chrysanthemums are 
grown for their own sakes, choice single varieties 
are cultivated for many years, though seldom seen in 
public by comparison with big Japanese blooms, 
which are the champions of the show boards at 
present. 
Earlswood Beauty is new, and the accompanying 
illustration prepared from a photograph taken at the 
Chrysanthemum show of the Ulster Horticultural 
Society, Belfast, in November last, shows the regular 
contour of the flowers, gracefully poised on long 
stems. The curvature of the florets gets rid of that 
formality which clings to some of the best of existing 
orms. The florets are of a beautiful creamy-white, 
and the blooms (here much reduced) measured 3 in. 
to 4 in. in diameter at Belfast, where they attracted 
more attention, perhaps, than any other single 
exhibit of Chrysanthemums in the show. The 
variety also appeared in grand form during the 
following week at London, Dundee, and Aberdeen, 
and in all cases was shown by Mr. W. W T ells, Earls¬ 
wood Nursery, Earlswood, Redhill, Surrey, Daisy 
Brett, a pure white sport from Earlswood Beauty, 
was shown at the same time and places. 
-M »l . — -- 
SUTTON’S AMATEUR’S GUIDE IN 
HORTICULTURE FOR 1899. 
Most opportunely is this Horticultural Annual 
issued immediately on the eve of the New Year, and 
there can be no doubt that in general interest the 
new edition far surpasses any of its predecessors. 
No less than 355 illustrations, chiefly reproductions 
from photographs, adorn its pages, and exceedingly 
beautiful they are. It is impossible to glance 
through previous issues without being impressed 
with the progress achieved in the vegetables and 
flowers grown from seeds. Even the most homely 
subjects afford convincing evidence that the art of 
making useful things beautiful has not been 
neglected. Years of patient labour have enabled 
Messrs. Sutton to introduce a series of new varieties 
which show a marked advance on those formerly 
grown,and the superiority is frequently acknowledged 
by Awards from the Royal Horticultural and other 
important societies. 
As specialists in raising new varieties of Potatos 
the great Reading house has won a reputation 
altogether unique. By the introduction of robust 
seedlings the Potato trade of this county has been 
revolutionise!. The weight of the crop has been 
augmented, immunity from disease increased, and 
the highest table quality maintained. At the same 
time the critical demands of the show standard have 
been fully met. 
Striking changes have been effected in the flowers 
grown in beds and borders, and also in those culti¬ 
vated with the aid of glass. New and charming 
types of the most familiar garden plants have been 
raised, affording great diversity of colour, with the 
further advantages of a free blooming habit and 
long duration in full beauty. In the culture of 
nearly all flowers Sutton’s Amateur’s Guide urges 
the adoption of methods proved by experience to be 
both simple and economical. The finest biennials 
and perennials can be grown as annuals, thus effect¬ 
ing a considerable saving in labour, glass and the 
cost of fuel. Our readers will find full details in 
the publication under notice, which is crowded with 
information conveyed in clear and lucid language 
free from troublesome technicalities. 
Children are all born gardeners, and a special page 
(p. 164) is devoted to their requirements. The col¬ 
lections of seeds prepared expressly for their use 
should be a source of joy to thousands of young 
people, and will no doubt afford almost as much 
pleasure to the parents. It is well known that Her 
Majesty the Queen has manifested so warm an inter¬ 
est in the horticultural pursuits of the Royal children 
as to keep the plots and implements in perfect order 
to the present time. On p. 86 tools are offered for 
the use of ladies, and also a suitable set for children, 
comprising a hoe, rake, spade, and fork, which may 
be taken for granted as the simple essentials to gar¬ 
dening after ground and seeds have been secured. 
Floral novelties for 1899 are recorded and de¬ 
scribed on pp. 88 and 89, and include a number of 
ornamental and interesting subjects for the gratifica¬ 
tion of those who are always on the outlook for 
some new thing to add to their collections by way of 
supplementing existing forms or colours, or import¬ 
ing a fresh feature to their gardens. The greater 
number of novelties consist of new varieties of 
florists’ flowers in the wider sense of the term, but 
Browallia speciosa major, Nicotiana sylvestris, Kud- 
beckia Golden Sunset, Sunflower Stella, Hibiscus 
Manihot, and Leptosyne Stillmani furnish something 
both for the conservatory and the open garden. 
Hibiscus Manihot is a striking subject for conserva¬ 
tory decoration in pots, the yellow flowers being of 
enormous size, and freely produced. 
-- »l« - 
FAIRFIELD, ABERDEEN. 
Fairfield, the residence of Alex. O. Gill, Esq., is 
beautifully situated, not far from the Dee, at Aber¬ 
deen, and overlooking the valley of the same. 
Under the guidance of the gardener, Mr. Alexander 
Grigor, we took a glance at the contents of the 
houses, as we hurried from one to the other during 
a very stormy day at the end of last month. 
A span-roofed house, the first we entered, con¬ 
tained Chrysanthemums grown for conservatory 
decoration and cut flowers. Annie HoldeD, a yellow 
sport from Mary Anderson, possesses all the fine 
qualities that recommend the latter, while charm¬ 
ingly distinct in colour, dwarf and bushy. Very 
highly coloured were the flowers of Charles Davis, 
Viviand Morel, and others that often come pale from 
the early buds. Lady Brooks was a creamy-yellow, 
sweet-scented, semi-double variety, flowering .freely 
in bush form. 
Though late in the season, Tomatos formed the 
feature of another house, and still carried a good 
crop of fruit in the process of ripening. They were 
planted out and trained to wires. The varieties 
included Perfection, Golden Jubilee, and Sutton’s 
A 1, each sort giving abundant satisfaction. 
Seeing that Mr. Grigor is a regular exhibitor at 
both the Aberdeen flower shows, it was inevitable 
that we should find Chrysanthemums well repre¬ 
sented ; nor were the houses left in disorder, although 
the Chrysanthemum show was being held during our 
visit here. The climate is suitable for prolonging the 
display till a very late period ; and W. H. Lincoln 
was still in the small bud state. Single varieties 
were an interesting feature of another house, all of this 
section being grown in the bush form for decorative 
work and cut flowers. Irene, Mary Anderson and 
Purity are single white varieties that would take a 
lot of beating in their section. The maroon-crimson 
rays of Annie Tweed, and the large rosy flowers of 
Emily Wells also supply great quantities of blossom, 
for they are very floriferous single varieties, the 
latter resembling Miss Rose, but having larger and 
darker flowers. 
It is by no means the brightest season for Orchids, 
yet we noted a fine variety of Oncidium Forbesi, 
and finely blotched varieties of Oncidium tigrinum, 
Odontoglossum cirrhosum, aod O. maculatum in 
bloom or just commencing. The gardener is also 
very successful with Oncidium macranthum, which 
does well every year. Last year it developed a 
climbing flower stem 32 ft. in length. This may be 
the case again in spring, for a strong spike is makiog 
vigorous and rapid growth, which will continue 
lengthening during the greater part of winter. 
The conservatory was filled with a mixed assemb¬ 
lage of various subjects in bloom, including Orchids. 
Cattleya labiata exhibited a considerable amount of 
variety, but a choice one excelled all the rest by 
reason of its dark crimson-purple and large, well 
formed lip. Odontoglossum harryanum kept the 
Cattleyas company. Begonia Gloire de Lorraine 
Single Chrysanthemum Earlswood Beauty. 
