September 26, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
61 
selected type of Intermediate, of which Sutton’s and 
Veitch’s are reliable. Pragnell’s Exhibition and 
Sutton’s Blood Red are two of the best varieties of 
Beet, while the Student and Dobbie’s Model Pars¬ 
nips are unequalled. It is advisable that these roots 
should not be lifted any length of time before the 
show or else they will assume a rusty appearance, 
and lose that fresh look so desirable in all vegetables. 
Cauliflowers. 
Few are the collections of vegetables shown without 
Cauliflowers, which form a strong point when in 
good condition. The seed should be sown either in 
boxes, frames, or the open border, according to the 
time they are wanted, and the variety that is grown. 
If to be raised outside, the best method is to sow 
broadcast on a bed, very thinly, and as soon as ready 
for pricking off, this should be done. It the ground 
has been prepared with some old hot-bed manure or 
half decayed leaves, the plants should be pricked off 
6 in. apart each way, and a good wateriag given 
them. After due time they will lift with the trowel 
with good ball 5 , and may be transplanted to their 
permanent quarters. The soil cannot well be too 
rich, and if deeply trenched and heavily manured 
the Cauliflowers will grow very quickly, as they 
should do, and form heads of a suitable character for 
exhibition. 
The distance they should be planted apart will 
much depend on the variety, but it is always safe to 
give them plenty of room, otherwise the lower leaves 
soon assume a yellow tinge and rot, and the plants 
are deprived of their natural support. Two feet each 
way will be sufficient for medium or small varieties, 
such as the Early London, but 3 ft. is a good distance 
for the Autumn Giant type. The Cauliflowers, like 
most of the Cabbage family, are moisture-loving 
plants, an i are benefited by copious supplies of liquid 
manure and water; but it must not be assumed that 
they will thrive in badly drained soil where stagnant 
water is evident. Should the season be a wet one a 
sprinkling of any safe fertiliser will be an advantage, 
but in dry ones water or manure in a liquid form is 
preferable. 
Should the heads seem too early for the desired 
purpose, they should be pulled up with the roots 
adhering to them and placed in a dark cool shed or 
cellar and the leaves and roots merely sprinkled with 
water. It is astonishing how long they will keep in 
this manner in a perfectly fresh condition. The best 
Cauliflowers ever I exhibited were kept in this way 
for a fortnight. If these had been left in the ground 
till the date of the show they would have been 
useless. It is necessary to tie the leaves over the 
curd as soon as it begins to form, otherwise the sun 
and weather soon readers them useless for exhibiting. 
The great points to be observed are medium size, 
perfectly white and spotless curds, and solid heads. 
The caterpillars of the Cabbage moth will un¬ 
doubtedly give trouble, but persistent hand picking 
is the surest remedy. There are numerous other 
insects and diseases that are less or more trouble¬ 
some, and the club or finger-and-toe amongst these 
is in many places beyond the control of the 
gardener, but I cannot here touch on them all. 
Cabbages, Sprouts, and Broccoli may be similarly 
treated as the Cauliflower, with this difference in the 
case of Sprouts, that the ground where they are to 
be grown, if rich, should be solid, otherwise the 
growth becomes too soft to stand the winter and the 
Sprouts lose and are not sufficiently solid for 
exhibiting. This remark also applies to the Broccoli, 
but it is seldom they are required for show work. 
Of varieties of Cauliflowers,Veitch’s Pearl is excellent 
for early shows, and for those later nothing can equal 
Sutton’s Autumn Mammoth and Veitch’s Autumn 
Giant. Brussels Sprouts are valuable as a green 
vegetable in collections from October onwards, and 
the Wroxton and Sutton’s Exhibition are excellent 
sorts for producing solid buttons. 
Broad, Runner, and Dwarf Beans. 
Under one heading I shall next take the Broad 
Runner, and Dwarf Beans, as their culture is in 
many particulars the same as the Peas, I need not 
go over the same ground again, but merely touch on 
a few points of detail. The Broad Bean may be 
sown from January onwards, and as soon as it has 
formed three or four trusses it should be topped with 
the double object of securing larger pots, and in pre¬ 
venting black fly attacking them. Two or three pods 
will be sufficient to grow on each stalk, and the rest 
should be thinned off. Care must be taken to stake 
or in some manner prevent the wind damaging 
the stalks by twistiDg them about. Sutton’s Exhibi¬ 
tion Longpod, and Carter’s, are invaluable for produc¬ 
ing even and long pods. The Runner Bean must not 
be sown before the third week in April, out of doors, 
but may be started in pots and planted out about the 
end of that month. By this means the grower is en¬ 
abled to get an earlier return. The great point is to 
plant thinly. Like most other seeds, we are apt to 
sow too many of them in too small a space, and the 
results are not so satisfactory. Thinning the pods 
and stopping should be practised, and of course, the 
reward is soon attained. 
Sutton’s Prizewinner still heads the list of Runner 
Beans, but I would here mention that Tender and 
True is working its way to the front, and is a Bean I 
think highly of. The pods are of the Canadian 
Wonder type. For Dwarf Beans Canadian Wonder 
is one of the very best, and hard to beat when well 
shown. I might mention that these crops, such as 
Peas, Beans, and Onions are much benefited by being 
top-dressed, as this conserves the moisture and, of 
course, benefits the plants, and has the additional 
advantage with the Peas and Beans, of allowing the 
gatherer better footing when the ground is wet 
instead of wading through the soil. 
Leeks and Celery. 
We now come to Leeks and Celery and their culture 
is much the same for show-work. Sowing should be 
done thinly in pans about the middle of February, 
in a temperature of 6o°, and as soon as fit to 
handle, the seedlings should be transplanted into 
other pans or boxes about 2in. apart, and grown on 
in the same temperature till the middle of March, 
where if necessary these may be further transferred 
into other boxes, using a rich compost of loam 
and rotton cow manure. As soon as they are again 
growing freely they should be removed to a cold frame, 
and after a time duly hardened off. In the mean¬ 
time, the trenches should be prepared to grow them 
io, and these may be 18 in. wide and the same in 
depth, then filled in with any rich material in the 
shape of cow manure, pigeon or chicken dung, or in 
fact a mixture of all, adding of course wood ashes. 
Part of the soil should be taken out to form the 
trench, and the whole filled up to the level. The 
Leeks and Celery should then be planted in single 
file about 12 in, apart, and given a thorough soaking 
of water. After they have begun to grow the Leeks 
should be carefully looked after, and strict notice 
taken that no soil reaches the heart of them. 
Strips of paper should be put round the Leeks in the 
form of a collar, and every fortnight this should be 
pulled up slightly and the soil added till the blanched 
part reaches 12 in. or 14 in., when plenty of water 
and liquid manure should be given. The Celery 
should have all side and useless growths removed as 
soon as possible, and strips of brown paper also 
placed round them, but not too tightly. About four 
weeks before the show, the paper should be increased 
to the full height that it is desired to have the 
blanched part, and no soil at all added. By this 
means few if any worm-marks are visible, and a 
purer blanched head is the result. The best Leek 
to grow is undoubtedly the Lyon if you can secure 
it true. Dobbie’s Champion may be said to be the 
most reliable as it is a well selected strain and easily 
blanched. Of white Celery, Sutton’s Solid, and of 
Red, Standard Bearer, are two of the best. 
I should have liked to have touched on Tomatos and 
Cucumbers, but as these would lengthen my paper 
too much, I shall draw to a close with a few remarks 
on staging. It must not be assumed that when the 
vegetables are grown that everything is completed ; 
for here one grower may have as good and even 
better vegetables and yet lose the honours by lack 
of taste in their arrangement, on the show table. 
This, of course, may seem a small matter, and no 
doubt to some it is, but to the majority it is often the 
perishing rock. I have no hesitation in saying that 
to those who are not proficient in this point, that it 
can easily be acquired by a little timely forethought 
and study. If he would picture to himself even with 
the help of a slate and pencil for an hour or two on a 
leisure evening, the difficulties would soon vanish, 
and his method of arrangement improved. Parsley 
I might say is quite indispensible, and a select strain 
should be grown for the purpose. 
The whole thing may be summed up in a few 
words. Each dish should be arranged separately 
and placed so as to appear to the greatest advantage 
when first looked upon There should always be a 
back ground to each collection and this can easily 
be tormed by such vegetables as Cauliflowers, 
Celery, Leeks or anything else suitable. The dishes 
should not be divided otherwise the weight of each 
seems lost and a scattered appearance given, As a 
closing point I might say that after a whole season’s 
toil and care, it may seem somewhat hard to get 
defeated ; but if so, no effort should be spared to 
achieve a higher position; and if these efforts are 
put together in a proper manner, success and that 
which the grower deserves, assuredly lies before him. 
—James Gibson, Devonhurst, Chiswick. 
-•**- 
PRODUCTS OF ORANGE BLOSSOMS. 
In their natural state the products of the blossoms of 
the Orange tree serve to flavour drinks, sweetmeats, 
&c. When distilled they yield two very much 
esteemed products in Italy, the orange flower water, 
or acqua nanfa, and an essential oil, called meroli. 
Moreover, when candied, they form a very delicious 
sweet, much in vogue in some regions in Sicily. 
The orange flower water is made of equal portions in 
weight of blossom and water, which yield, on an 
average, about one-fifth of the combined weight of 
water and flowers, and acqua nanfa, plusabout six or 
seven decigrammes per 100 kilogrammes of essential 
oil, that is, from 0006 or -0007 per cent. Notwith¬ 
standing the abundance and excellent quality of the 
raw material, the best manufacturers of orange 
flower water are to be found outside Italy. In 
France great quantities of this water are manu¬ 
factured, as well as a spirit called petit grain, which is 
produced by a distillation of the leaves As to 
candied sweets, made out of the blossom, these are 
said to be more wholesome, as well as more palat¬ 
able, than many other productions of the con¬ 
fectioners' art. The flowers are, in the first place, 
selected with care, weighed, and immerted in cold 
water for twenty-four hours, after which they are 
dipped simply in cold water, re-washed in cold, 
and finally spread out on a linen cloth or sheet 
to dry. When completely dry, they are laid out in 
low, wide dishes, each flower separate from its 
fellow, and are then sprinkled with double their 
weight in sugar, administered at intervals during a 
period of eight days. During this same period the 
flowers are frequently moved and kept in the shade, 
and, at the expiration of the term, they are once 
more placed in the sun, whose rays dry them com¬ 
pletely.— Journal of the Society of A rts. 
--— 
Hardening §§iscellany. 
VIOLET PRINCESS OF WALES. 
Is Christmas at hand ? If not, the Princess of Wales 
Violet seems making an effort to antedate that time, 
Nor do the flowers seem at all timid, whatever the 
season may be, for they are rising up boldly on 
stalks 6 in. to 7 in. long, so that the bouquet maker 
should have no difficulty in making them into posies 
even of considerable size. These long stalks should 
also be very convenient for those who wish to place 
a bunch of the sweet-smelling flowers in glasses of 
water to be stood about on the tables in dwelling 
rooms. The flowers themselves are large and of a light, 
bright blue, and therefore more attractive than those 
that are of a dull, dark violet. The outer face of the 
flowers is a shade or two darker than the inner one,and 
therefore as attractive unless we wish to admire the 
dark blotch at the base of the lip, and the dark lines on 
the lateral petals, as if the Violet intended in the near 
future to become a rival of the Pansy in that respect. 
These early flowers seem to be reversing the seasons. 
Already the Primroses seem to be waking up from 
their summer sleep. These thoughts have been 
wakened in us by the receipt of a bunch of flowers of 
Violet Princess of Wales from Messrs. H. Cannell & 
Sons, Swanley. 
MARIE LOUISE VIOLET. 
A fine bunch of this useful and popular old Violet 
comes to us from Mr. A. Pentney, gardener to A. J. 
Howard, Esq., Worton Hall, Isleworth. The clear 
light blue flowers, with a white centre only partly 
concealed by the numerous small petals, were 
sweetly scented and well developed for this early 
part of the year. The stalks were 4 in. to 5 in. long. 
In the letter accompanying them Mr. Pentney says, 
"I have been repeatedly told, since living in the 
neighbourhood of London that Violets cannot be 
