474 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 27, 1897. 
foliage such as the purple Plum, with the garden 
Asparagus, makes a good effect at night; but wild 
flowers and grasses are the most effective, although 
a trouble to set up. Sunflowers with Coreopsis 
coronata make a splendid show. A very interesting 
table in hot weather is a water scene made by placing 
a looking glass flat on the table as representing the 
water, with two or three leaves and flowers of the 
white Water Lily, using different water plants and 
grass in the vases, the centre piece being a wire 
frame over the glass in the form of a bridge covered 
with wild Clematis. No class of flower is more 
pleasing and useful than the great variety of Sweet 
Peas in all their delicate shades of colour, “Ovid" 
and “ Princess Beatrice” being without a doubt the 
best for this class of work. These and La France 
Roses make a beautiful combination. The chief 
study should be to make the display as homely as 
possible, and different from those seen at public 
dinners, in shops, etc. 
Section 3, is generally carried out in winter when 
flowers are scarce, and the least few laid on the cloth 
look very pretty. Suitable for this work are the 
scarlet and crimson Pelargoniums (Henry Jacoby 
especially), small Pompon Chrysanthemums, Snow¬ 
drops, Salvias, Primulas, Azaleas, Scarlet Berries,etc. 
In these displays straight lines should be avoided. 
To illustrate this section Mr. Powell had made two 
designs, each about 4 ft. by 3 ft. for the inspection 
of the members, the first setting forth the record 
reign of H. M. the Queen. A crown was formed of 
scarlet Pelargoniums on a white ground with the 
letters V.R. underneath, the years 1837 and 1897 
being done in blue flowers. The other design was 
the Prince of Wales Plumes made up with Deutzia 
(white), on a scarlet cloth. This form of decoration 
was quite new to many of the members, and excited 
great admiration. A very interesting discussion 
took place in which Messrs. Neve, Turton, Stanton, 
Martin, Woolford, Lees, Dearlove, Tunbridge, 
Chamberlain and Fry took part. Many questions 
were asked and ably answered by the lecturer. A 
hearty vote of thanks brought an exceedingly 
pleasant meeting to a close. 
ENGLISH ORCHARDS.* 
Condition and Prospects. 
It would, I am fully persuaded.be not less gratifying 
to you than agreeable to myself were I in a 
position to speak this evening in terms of 
warm praise of the present condition of English 
orchards, and in a spirit of hopefulness with regard 
to their possibilities. It would also be extremely 
pleasant if I could, with strict regard to truth, de¬ 
scribe them as having no superiors in any part of the 
world, and as so rapidly increasing in productiveness 
as to justify the hope that the time is within a meas¬ 
urable distance when they will yield supplies 
sufficient to meet the large and increasing demand 
for fresh fruit. Still further, I should be glad to 
speak of them as so judiciously planned and skilfully 
managed that they might serve as models for the 
guidance of colonial and foreign fruit growers. It 
would not be less pleasant to dwell upon the glorious 
pictures the orchards present in spring when the 
trees are enwreathed with their snow-white or 
delicately-tinted blossoms ; and in autumn when the 
supple branches are bending beneath their precious 
burden of fruit, and also to refer to the profit their 
crops give their owners, and the satisfaction the fruit 
affords those who have to depend upon the markets 
for their supplies. Unhappily, most of these pleasures 
are for the present denied me. Instead of giving 
expression to feelings of satisfaction with what has 
been accomplished by owners of orchards, it is my 
duty to place before you facts, which to those not 
fully conversant with the subject, might well appear 
incredible in the light of the remarkable advance that 
has been made in all branches of industrial activity 
during the past half-century. I have, indeed, to 
bring before you a state of things in relation to the 
orchards of England, so grave as to deserve the most 
careful consideration of all who are interested, how¬ 
ever indirectly, in the prosperity of the owners and 
tillers of the land ; and I earnestly hope, as one result 
of this meeting, that attention will be aroused to the 
necessity of a drastic reform in orchard management. 
The question of fruit culture is one that has for 
many years received a large share of my attention, 
*Text of a lecture given by Mr. George Gordon before the 
Society of Arts on Wednesday, the 3rd inst, 
and I have endeavoured to keep it constantly to the 
front, not only in discussing its various aspects in 
the pages of the Gardeners' Magazine, for whose 
policy and management I am responsible, but, as far 
as my somewhat exacting professional duties will 
permit, by work in other directions Ten years ago 
I initiated a series of conferences at the Crystal Palace, 
which were held in conjunction with the autumn ex¬ 
hibitions of fruit, and at the gathering in the autumn 
of 1890 I submitted a report on the condition of fruit 
culture in Ireland, this report being founded on in¬ 
vestigations that I had made by myself, and at my 
own cost, in the course of the previous summer. 
The success of these conferences stimulated the Royal 
Horticultural Society, the Fruiterers’ Company, and 
several of the principal provincial horticultural 
associations into activity, and as the result of the 
combined efforts the area under fruit has been in¬ 
creased during the decade by 18,923 acres, and con¬ 
siderable improvements have been effected in methods 
of procedure so far as they relate to market-garden 
plantations. With the exception of the first-men¬ 
tioned society the several associations appear to have 
grown " weary of well doing" in the advancement of 
profitable fruit culture, and have returned to their 
old methods, and the Royal Horticultural Society has 
shrunk from grappling with the somewhat difficult 
question of the orchards. 
We are therefore?now in the position of having a 
continuously increasing demand for fruit in all our 
populous centres, with tens of thousands of acres of 
the finest land in England occupied by fruit trees in 
so dilapidated and wretched a condition that they 
cannot possibly pay even the rent of the ground, 
without one of the several hundreds of societies that 
ostensibly exist for the advancement of horticulture 
and agriculture being engaged in making a systematic 
endeavour to improve their condition. I regret also 
that, with some notable and praiseworthy exceptions, 
Technical Education Committees are not less oblivi¬ 
ous of their responsibilities in this matter than are the 
societies immediately concerned with the affairs of 
the farm and garden. In proof of this I have only 
to point to the fact that in counties where the 
orchards are in a terribly neglected state large sums 
of money are annually expended in teaching painting 
on china, music, dancing, and similar accomplish¬ 
ments, while not a penny, so far as I have been able 
to ascertain, has been spent on the education of the 
occupiers of orchards in their management and the 
utilisation of their products. I would submit that 
the chief object of societies that profess to foster 
horticulture and agriculture, and of education com¬ 
mittees in counties, should be to diffuse information 
upon matters having direct relation to the work of 
those engaged in the cultivation of the land, for not 
until the cultivator is well informed upon the prin¬ 
ciples and practice of his art, can he hope to obtain 
a full return for his labours. 
Unfortunately these public bodies do not, as a rule, 
hold the same views with regard to their duties as 
myself, and considering it to be utterly futile to expect 
them to take the initiative in the adoption of some 
means by which an improvement could be effected in 
the orchards, I carefully considered what could be 
accomplished by private effort. As the doctor must 
diagnose a disease before he can properly prescribe 
for his patient, it appeared to me that one of the first 
steps towards an amelioration of the condition of our 
orchards would be to direct attention to the state of 
neglect and decay into which they have fallen, by 
means of absolutely exact reports founded upon care¬ 
ful investigations. It was accordingly decided to 
investigate them on behalf of the Gardeners' Magazine 
and publish the results of the investigations. The 
task was one not to be lightly entered upon, and I 
confess that it gave me much anxiety. To be of value 
the investigations had necessarily to be made in a 
thorough manner by an expert possessed of keen 
powers of observation and also well versed in every 
phase of fruit culture, and full investigations carried 
out on these lines over the whole of England could 
hardly fail to prove very costly. Happily the pro¬ 
prietors of the journal readily consented to the heavy 
expenditure beiDg made, and I was fortunate in en¬ 
gaging as Special Commissioner an expert possessing 
in an eminent degree the qualities essential to the 
proper performance of the duties. The investiga¬ 
tions extended over nearly two years, and as the result 
of these inquiries I have been able to publish full 
reports upon twenty-four typical English counties. 
(To be continued.) 
MESSRS. LAINGS’ CLIVIAS. 
The large house in which the Clivias are located in 
the Stanstead Park Nursery of Messrs. John Laing 
& Sons, Forest Hill, is now gay with an ever- 
increasing quantity of this showy and useful spriDg- 
flowering subject. Some of the best varieties are 
crossed every year, so that novelties of value are 
always turning up amongst the seedlings, and being 
added to the general collection. The vigour of all 
the finer varieties is remarkable as compared with 
the old Ciivia introduced from South Africa. The 
stems or neck of the crown of leaves is as stout as a 
strong wrist,and the great breadth, leathery character, 
and dark green hue of the leaves as seen at Forest Hill, 
make the plants highly ornamental all the year round, 
whether in flower or not. There are some large 
plants of the older varieties which have a massive 
and telling effect when their huge trusses are in 
bloom. 
From amongst the large number of varieties we 
singled out a few of the best for comment. The 
flowers of Mrs. Joseph Broome are large, widely 
expanded, and of a soft orange. Those of Elegant- 
issima are of an intense orange, with a white throat, 
and of great length. The widely expanded rich 
orange flowers of Mrs. Davidson are produced on 
stout but dwarf scapes. The noted Lady Wolverton 
with its remaikably wide flowers is late compared 
with the above ; and the same might be said of Harry 
Laing, so that the two serve to keep up a succession. 
The Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain produces im¬ 
mense trusses of moderate-sized flowers of an intense 
orange. Orange Gem has long flowers of an intense 
orange-scarlet, the colour being continued to the base 
on the outer face. The rich orange flowers of 
Duchess of York are distinctly tinted with violet or 
purple towards the edges. The dark orange flowers 
of Fascination are funnel-shaped, and notable for 
their length. Duke of York contains a greater 
amount of white extending farther up the segments 
than any other variety we noticed. 
A plant of Patrick Davidson carried three huge 
trusses with very numerous flowers of a warm 
orange more or less tinted with rose. On the con¬ 
trary, those of Fairy Queen are of a soft orange 
tinted with rose. There are several which are par¬ 
ticularly noted for their intensity of colour, and 
amongst them Vesuvius holds a high position ; it is 
also very dwarf. A few Continental varieties, with 
a high reputation, find a place here, but Messrs. 
Laing need fear no foreign competition. One of 
the sorts is certainly very dark, but the segments are 
quite as narrow as those of the wild plant. Madame 
Charles Vermiere is exceedingly vigorous and very 
promising, but as yet, the flowers are unexpanded. 
The huge rich orange flowers of Mrs. John Laing 
are produced in immense trusses, and though a 
variety of some years standing will yet hold a place 
for many years to come. Magnet is another dark 
flower that still merits a place in this fine collection. 
Lord Rosebery is very vigorous, producing immense 
trusses of dark oraDge flowers, tinted with purple at 
the edges. The orange-crimson of Comet entitles it 
a place amongst the darkest, for the shade deepens 
as the flower gets older. Much the same might be 
said of Glow, which assumes a dark mahogany- 
orange hue; it is also a strong grower. 
The lighter colours are not neglected for they have 
a charm of their own when the flowers are large, and 
particularly in association with the dark sorts. The 
lighter and darker colours do, indeed, show one 
another off to advantage by contrast. One of the 
earliest to turn up was Sulphurea, and though 
several seedlings have been raised from it, none of 
them surpasses the parent in its own particular soft 
yellow hue. Bronze Beauty bears huge trusses of 
soft oraage flowers, somewhat tinted with bronze. 
Her Majesty has large orange flowers tinted with a 
shade of rose at the edges. Empress Eugenie comes 
into the same category, for the flowers are of a soft 
pinkish-orange. It is one of the lightest-coloured 
sorts, delicate and pleasing. The pinkish-orange of 
Sunrise is a shade or two darker. The Princess of 
Wales is very free, producing huge trusses of soft 
orange flowers. Serviceable as are these pale 
varieties, a white one yet remains a desideratum. 
Nevertheless the amount of clear white in some of 
them still encourages the hope that a pure white 
Ciivia may yet be a realisation. 
A showy group of new varieties is now very 
attractive by reason of their dwarf and sturdy habit 
together with the wide range of variation in the 
