678 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
June 24, 1899. 
ROCKERIES AND RIVULETS. 
Under this title, Mr. F. W. Meyer, landscape gar¬ 
dener to Messrs. R. Veitch & Son, of Exeter, 
gave a lecture before the Fellows of the Royal Hor¬ 
ticultural Society, at their meeting on June 13th, in 
the Drill Hall, Westminster. After a short perora¬ 
tion, in which the chief point was his conclusion for 
the adoption of natural formation, Mr. Meyer went 
on to discuss the site for the rockery, and advocated, 
when forming a new rockery, to have the stones so 
placed that their united combination will resemble 
the jutting heads from one jmass of rock. Though 
the stones may only be 9 in. or 1 ft. deep, the com¬ 
pleted union should give one conception of a body of 
rocks, reaching far down. Going a little into the 
geological aspect, the lecturer pointed out that 
stratified and unstratified rocks should never be laid 
the same way. The reason is clear. These two 
great classes have originated by opposite means, and 
in Nature they lie massed in exactly different ways. 
The first lie flatly ; the second are perpendicular or 
sloping, but never flat. So it follows that in using 
basalt, greenstone, or other rocks and stones which 
bad a volcanic origin, and'are unstratified, we must 
place them in the manner we find them naturally. 
Lime-stones, slates, chalk, &c. lie in layers formed 
by water, and, therefore, must be placed logically. 
Two other points were put forth— the planting up by 
means of shrubs or tall plants the spaces between 
the divisions of the rockery, for this was one of Mr. 
Meyer's most impressive points, that of never having 
a whole rockery, but one, which, though united in its 
parts is yet dis-united as a whole, by, as was 
pointed out, being planted to screen off in a slight 
manner, one part from another, and this applies 
to large and small rock gardens. The other 
point was the immunity from tree roots, and an open 
unobstructed light. In introducing waterfalls care 
must be taken to have rising ground above the fall of 
the water, else incongruity will result. Water, 
especially when in motion, he said, was life to a rock 
garden, and fully explained the making of ponds and 
pools. In planting the rockery rosette-leaved plants, 
such as Sempervivums, Ramondia pyrenaica, &c., 
should be introduced within the fissures of rocks or 
stones as much as anything to save their centre from 
harm by water lodgment. For Spiraeas, Astilbes, 
Iris, or for true aquatics like Nymphaeasand others, 
prepared beds should be made. The lecture was 
well appreciated, and the Rev. W. Wilks, who 
officiated, accorded the thanks from himself and the 
audience to Mr. Meyer. 
Strawberries are ripening very quickly, but if no 
rain comes before the next ten days pass many of 
the fruits from plants on light ground will be 
undersized, and perhaps deformed. With the 
earliest batches, where such varieties as Royal 
Sovereign, Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury, and 
British Queen are grown, it is well to thin the 
bunches of fruit. The mid-season varieties are 
generally in too vast amount, and time so precious 
that thinning would not pay. We are in need of 
more first-class late varieties. It seems to me from 
the hints of my own employers and many others 
that the Strawberry season goes past too quickly. 
Within recent years Mr. Carmichael, of Edinburgh, 
has introduced some very late varieties of standard 
merit. Princess of Denmark is one of them, 
Richard Gilbert is another. Messrs. Veitch & Sons, 
of Chelsea, lately sent out the latest fruited Straw¬ 
berry of all, named Veitch’s Prolific. From what I 
saw of it in pots it seemed an acquisition worth the 
having. Two good new varieties were shown this 
year at the Temple Show, one named Lady Suffield, 
raised by Mr Allan.the gardener at Gunton Park Gar¬ 
dens, from which place a few other good Strawberries 
have been given to us. Three great points for this Lady 
Suffield are (1) its colour, (2) flavour, (3) its delight¬ 
ful aroma, which quality alone I am positively con¬ 
fident would cause its sale in any market. The 
other variety was raised by Messrs. Laxton Bros., of 
Bedford, and named LaxtOD’s Fillbasket, an 
enormous cropper, which nowadays is what is 
wanted, for if the flavour of a Strawberry be high 
or not so sugar and cream can, and generally do, 
supply any deficiency. But by this we do not in the 
least infer that Laxton’s Fillbasket lacks flavour. 
A variety coming from Royal Sovereign and Latest 
of All could not be thought of as in any sense 
poor. 
Slugs and flies have not much chance to flourish 
in the present weather conditions, but timely 
removals of any of them must always be performed. 
Protect Cherries, &c., and water wall trees. Syringe 
plentifully. Pinch Currant lateral shoots at the 
fourth leaf. Thin out Peach and other tree shoots 
of a like nature.— J. H. D. 
ORCHID NOTES & GLEANINGS, 
By the Editor. 
Cypripedium rothschildianum, Falkland 
Park var.—The flowers of this variety are notable 
for their great size and fine colour. The plant is 
also of vigorous growth, which may be largely due to 
the cultural skill of Mr. A. Wright, gardener to C. 
Hay Walker, Esq , Falkland Park, South Norwood 
Hill. On applying the rule we found that the 
flowers measured 11 in. across the expanded petals; 
but they are sometimes eveD larger. All parts of the 
flower are very dark, but this is brought out most 
conspicuously on the dorsal sepal, which is almost 
covered with dark purple-black bands following the 
course of the veins. Equally fine in its way was C. 
lowianum, which carried five flowers on a single 
raceme, a number that is by no means common. 
Odontoglossum andersonianum, Falkland 
Park var.—The ordinary forms of O.andersonianum 
have a white or yellow ground, and vary consider¬ 
ably in the amount of spotting, though some of 
them are scarcely spotted at all. The variety 
under notice has flowers of the largest size peculiar 
to the type, and the rich spotting is brought out 
very prominently by the white ground colour of the 
segments. The brown spots cover the flower all 
over, each one standing out distinctly. As the 
name would imply we noted the variety in the fine 
collection at Falkland Park, South Norwood Hill. 
Cattleya gigas, from Ravenswood, Melrose. 
— We have on sundry occasions received some hand¬ 
somely grown samples of the Orchids cultivated at 
Ravenswood,Melrose,the seat of Admiral Sir H. Fair¬ 
fax. His gardener, Mr. W, Yea, on this occasion sent 
a magnificent spike of Cattleya gigas, carrying five 
flowers of enormous size, and having a gorgeous 
appearance. The lip alone was 4J in. in length, and 
within a small fraction of being 3 in. across the 
lamina. The petals were equally long, and 2|- in. 
wide, the texture corresponding to the size. The 
top flo wer was very little smaller than the bottom 
one. Both sepals and petals were of a warm rose ■ 
while the lip was of a rich crimson-purple, with very 
conspicuous eye-spots of white and yellow bordering 
the throat. The flower scape measured i£ in. in 
circumference just below the flowers, which will give 
an idea of the amount of material that must have 
been drawn from the plant. The pyramidal truss of 
bloom covered an area close upon 144 sq. in. when 
laid upon the table. Accompanying the above was 
a very pretty variety of Odontoglossum citrosmum, 
the spike carrying fifteen flowers of great substance. 
The sepals and petals were lightly suffused with 
blush , while the lip was a beautiful shade of rosy- 
mauve, making a fine contrast to the delicacy of the 
rest of the flower. The broad lamina which pre¬ 
sented this contrast measured if in across. The 
above specimens show that the hand of Mr. Yea has 
lost none of its cunning in the cultivation of the fine 
collection of Orchids at Ravenswood. 
--«»*—- 
PEOPLE WE HAVE MET. 
Mr. E. J. Deal. 
Few of our readers at a distance from London and 
the immediately surrounding counties may have ever 
heard of the subject of this sketch; but there are 
many diligent and successful workers in the field of 
horticulture of whom the world seldom bears, yet 
well deserve to be known and get credit for their 
status in the profession of gardening. 
Mr. E. J. Deal was born at Kelvedon, Essex, the 
centre of the chief seed-growing district of the 
county, and from his boyhood he has been closely 
connected with the profession. When still at school 
his spare hours were utilised in writing inside tickets 
for sacks,aDd outside labels for the despatch of seeds, 
from the seed farmer then employing his father, to 
the leading merchants of that time; and his 
acquaintance with the names of Hurst, Nutting, 
Sutton, Waite, Finney, Wheeler, &c., therefore dates 
almost from his infancy. 
Mr. E. J. Deal. 
While still a boy he accompanied his father to one 
of the International Potato Exhibitions at the 
Crystal Palace, and for the first time saw on Messrs. 
Sutton’s stand the huge photos of their various 
departments, with which most of our readers are 
acquainted ; and it is a remarkable fact that on this 
occasion he said to his father “ I shall one day be a 
foreman in that firm "—a prediction which has 
proved to be true. 
At this time he was engaged on one of the largest 
seed farms in Essex, and had unusual opportunities 
of acquainting himself with the cultivation of land, 
the selection of stocks and " rogueing ” of crops, 
the sowing and harvesting of all kinds of seeds, and 
the whole range of work pertaining to the growing of 
garden and farm seeds; and of these opportunities 
full advantage was taken. 
Sixteen years ago Mr. Deal left Kelvedon, and 
commenced his career with the Reading firm. 
Since that time he has by his perseverance, business 
ability and desire to excel, made many friends, not 
only in the trade, but throughout the country. We 
have, ourselves, on various occasions added to 
our store of knowledge by meeting Mr. Deal in the 
Trial Grounds at Reading, and elsewhere. We may 
say that when he became a head of department he 
was younger in years of service and in age than any 
hitherto appointed to such a position. 
There are few (probably none) who have had the 
same opportunities as our friend for gaining the 
experience so necessary to a successful seed grower 
and merchant. Among his duties we may mention 
the inspection of crops at home and abroad, the 
selection and improvement of stocks, the Trial 
Grounds, and the attendance at important shows 
throughout the kingdom ; and many of our readers 
will recognise him as having been in charge of the 
firm’s exhibit at the recent Temple Show. 
Mr. Deal has now resigned his position at Reading, 
having been offered the important post of general 
manager to the well-known firm of Messrs. W. W. 
Johnson & Son, Ltd , seed growers and merchants, 
Boston, Lincolnshire. The firm have chosen wisely 
and well, and we are quite sure that Mr. Deal's 
extensive, up-to-date knowledge will prove of great 
value not only to the firm whose affairs are now 
under his control, but to their numerous clients. 
Mr. Deal is a good business man, and we predict 
for him a continuance of that success which he 
deserves, and which has hitherto attended his work. 
The accompanying portrait will serve to introduce 
him to readers at a distance, who have not hitherto 
had the pleasure of meeting him. 
