620 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 29, 1897. 
finer condition than we have ever before seen them. 
Many of the finest varieties both old and new 
were named, a plan pursued because the method of 
propagating them by means of leaves enables the 
finest varieties to be perpetuated true to colour. 
Many of the older plants were of considerable size, 
and while the fleshy foliage of all was good, the large 
plants were most profusely flowered, some of them 
having three crowns from the tuber. Gomer, a 
purple-flowered sort, with white edges, carried about 
120 flowers and buds. The flowers of the chaste 
white Virginalis hang on till they wither. Most 
charming was Cygnet with white flowers, with a 
double band of violet and light blue respectively 
round the margin. The rosy-scarlet flowers of Ecla- 
tante have a white tube, the white extending into the 
scarlet in the form of five rays. Those of Josephine 
are of an intense violet-purple. The scarlet flowers 
of Duchess of Connaught have a distinctive and 
broad white margin. Monarch is well known to be 
one of the brightest crimsons. A striking contrast 
was afforded to the latter by the white flowers of 
Modesty, traversed by a rosy band across the centre. 
The white flowers of Adela have a soft, rosy edge, in 
contrast to the usual arrangement of colours. The 
darker shade, however, may now be at the base, 
middle or edges of Gloxinia flowers, as these varieties 
demonstrate. The huge violet flowers of Orphee 
have a crimson shading which makes them distinct 
and attractive. Claudia, on the other hand, is crim¬ 
son, with a blue edge ; and the way in which the 
segments overlap makes the variety distinct and 
handsome. The intense, fiery crimson of Hebe 
makes the variety the best we have seen of this 
colour. Self colours are very popular with Messrs. 
Veitch and the public, but the spotted varieties are 
not neglected. One of the finest we noted was 
Jeanette, having large, regular flowers, finely spotted 
with violet on a white ground. Sunbeam rejoices 
in scarlet with a rosy throat. Another grand variety 
is Cicely having purple flowers with a black band 
next to the well defined white margin Rosalia is a 
huge soft rosy flower, spotted with red in the tube. 
Muriel is quite new, and has huge scarlet flowers 
fading to rose at the edges after the style of an alpine 
Auricula. Like many others we noted in the collec¬ 
tion, the flowers of this variety consist of seven 
broad and closely overlapping segments. 
Messrs. Veitch & Sons, also proved that their 
original successes with Streptocarpus are being 
followed up, inasmuch as they staged no less than 
five distinct races or strains of Streptocarpus. The 
oldest, of course, is known as Veitch’s choice hybrids, 
and now displays infinite variety in colour and 
markings. The flowers were larger than formerly. 
A quantity of a white variety was very fine indeed. 
All of the plants were very floriferous. Amongst the 
most notable of the new races was that named Mrs. 
Heal, a strain obtained by crossing S. Wendlandii 
with Veitch’s hybrids. The flowers were large and 
of a deep blue. Whatever the public may think of 
the Gratus strain, it is certainly one of the most dis¬ 
tinct, and this quality is due to the influence of. the 
remarkable species S Dunnii. The progeny is 
intermediate in character both in leaf and flower. 
Numerous scapes arise, as it were, from the base of 
the large leaf and each scape carries from twenty to 
fifty tubular flowers of various red, purple and other 
hues. A fourth strain is Pulchellus produced 
between Veitch’s hybrids, and S. Fanninii, the 
latter being the pollen bearer. The leaves are 
narrow and pointed, while the slender graceful 
scapes bear from twenty to thirty flowers that vary 
from blue and violet to white, blotched in the long, 
curved tube. The fifth strain was that recently 
certificated under the name of S. achimeniflorus, and 
raised from a white variety of Veitch’s hj brids, and 
S. polyanthus, the latter being the seed parent. The 
strain has the leaves of the former, and the flowers 
of the latter several times enlarged. The species S. 
polyanthus has soft blue flowers with a white eye. 
The most fastidious should now find something to 
their taste amongst the five hybrid races above 
named. 
Cacti in general find but a limited number of 
admirers, but there is no doubt that the effect of the 
huge flowers, of the varieties of Phyllocactus shown 
by Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Ltd., had an irresist- 
able fascination in the ej es of the flower-loving 
public. This is due no less to the gigantic size of 
the flowers, than to the gorgeous colours, 'their 
subtle tin is and combinations, and their irridescence 
according to the incidence of the light. Neverthe¬ 
less, they are not seen to best advantage in a tent, 
owing to the dim or greatly subdued state of the 
light. This grand collection of the finest varieties 
consisted of something between 200 and 300 plants, 
including many new and superb hybrids flowering 
for the first time. The brilliant orange-scarlet of 
Excellent had a crimson shading towards the margin. 
The rich scarlet flowers of Niobe on the contrary 
were purple towards the base. A new variety 
named Niobe bad flowers of moderate size of a 
lovely rose hue; and the satiny pink of Delicatus, 
with slightly darker shades in La Reine and Jessica, 
supplied delicacy of colouring difficult to rival in 
other flowers, owing to their glossy smoothness and 
refinement. Very rich scarlet were the huge flowers 
of Eurasian and Elatior, contrasting strongly with 
the white Vesta. Grand Monarch, Homer, Olivette, 
Speciosissima and Agatha represent varieties for 
which it was difficult to find adjectives to properly 
describe them. 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, occupied about 
80 ft. run of table space in the centre of tent No. 3, 
and it must be admitted that their Gloxinias produced 
a splendid effect The plants were large and the 
flowers massive and far in advance of anything we 
have seen the firm produce at any previous Temple 
Show. They, together with the fibrous-rooted Be¬ 
gonias and a large group of Sutton’s Giant Mignonette 
had an enlivening effect upcn the whole of the tent. 
The Mignonette was splendidly grown, in fact, never 
has been better in so small pots. Around the pillars 
of the tent, and along the centre of the table were 
Cocos and other Palms with clumps of splendidly 
grown Lilium Harrisii. 
The Reading strain of Gloxinias is now getting 
well-known all over the country. Messrs. Sutton & 
Sons consistently perpetuate the finest of their 
acquisitions to which they give special names by 
which they may be recognised and noted down for 
future reference. A mixed packet of seed will fur¬ 
nish an infinite variety of colours, of which the des¬ 
cription of the leading and most distiact colours would 
be a formidable task owing to the remarkable variation 
and combination of rich and lively colours with which 
they abound. The large and pure white variety, 
Her Majesty, still remains to be beaten. The plants 
were finer than usual, the huge, fleshy leaves hang¬ 
ing over the sides of the pots, especially in this and 
other sorts exhibiting the crassifolia type of foliage. 
The popular Duke of York has rich crimson flowers, 
with a broad white margin, and its counterpart and 
companion, Duchess of York, differs chiefly in the 
dark purple ground colour. Equally conspicuous in 
its way was Sutton's Purple, a dark self of great 
size and substance. A lovely variety is that named 
Azure Blue, in which the colour indicated is the 
most prominent and the first to catch the eye of the 
beholder. Reading Scarlet is a variety of great 
brilliancy, and an acquisition for any collection. We 
understand it comes quite true from seed, which 
would mean that it has been perpetuated in that way 
for a number of generations, causing it to become 
fixed and constant. 
One of the most novel and interesting, as well as 
the prettiest feature of Messrs. Sutton & Sons' ex¬ 
tensive exhibit was their collection of named varieties 
of fibrous-rooted Begonias, which they have been 
improving for several years past with admirable 
results. These Begonias belong to B. semperflorens 
of which they are valuable improvements, and equally 
useful for outdoor bedding as for pot culture. The 
flowers are produced in the greatest profusion all the 
summer, and the glossy, dark green leaves always 
look clean. Sutton's Reading Snowflake is of snowy 
purity, contrasting in a remarkable manner with 
Crimson Gem, which has flowers of the richest dark 
red and foliage of a glossy metallic red, especially 
when grown in the open. The flowers of Sutton's 
Coral Gem are of a soft rosy tint, very pleasing to the 
eye and popular with many. Those of Duchess of 
Edinburgh are white, with a rosy margin, and cer¬ 
tainly lovely. The plants exhibited were all raised 
from seed sown in January last. Indeed, so easily, 
quickly and successfully may they be brought to 
perfection, that they will be largely grown by the 
amateur in the near future. 
Messrs. J. Laing & Sons exhibited a group of 
Streptocarpus of a large flowered strain, in which 
different shades of blue were very conspicuous. For 
instance we noted such hues as bright blue, lavender, 
deep sky blue, and violet. In another direction the 
flowers varied through lilac, pink, rose, purple, and 
violet-purple. There were also white varieties in 
the group, but the almost inevitable purple and 
violet bands traversed the lower side of the tubs 
longitudinally, showing themselves on the base 
of the lower lip. The plants were grown in 32 and 
48-sized pots. Messrs. Laing consider that rela- 
latively young plants are preferable to old ones 
because they flower more freely, and are therefore 
of much greater decorative value. 
A group of Gloxinias was also shewn by Messrs. J. 
Laing & Sons, of the erect flowering strain. For 
some years past they have been improving their 
collection of Gloxinias, both iu the size of the plants, 
the flowers and their colours, all the leading of 
which are represented by some shade or other. 
Commencing with white we noted such colours as 
rose, purple, crimson, maroon-violet, and violet- 
purple. Fancy coloured varieties were also repre¬ 
sented by violet and purple flowers, having a broad 
outer margin of white to the segments Spotted 
varieties were also shown so as to meet the taste of 
those who fancy this arrangement of colour. No 
attempt is made of naming them, it being considered 
sufficient to select the finest of the seedlings as they 
come into blocm, and to improve the whole strain 
by saving seed of the best. There are few establish¬ 
ments where these showy hothouse plants are not 
grown in greater or less quantity. 
Messrs. J. Carter & Co, High Holborn, London, 
exhibited a large and beautiful group of Calceolarias, 
which were notable for the relatively dwarf habit of 
the plants, and the handsome size of the flowers. 
The latter might be compared to the fruits of Presi¬ 
dent or some similar Strawberry which has com¬ 
pressed fruits, though rounded and blunt at the 
edges. The flowers were also notable for the great 
variety of colouring which they presented. Some 
were glowing crimson, others crimson above and 
creamy beneath, or richly spotted with crimson on a 
yellow ground, while the margins and the under side 
were coppery orange. Cloth of Gold is a rich yellow 
variety, from which others differed in being lemon- 
yellow, yellow with a crimson throat, or crimson 
above with all the rest yellow, like a red-cheeked 
Cherry. Variations of another type were diffused 
crimson, and yello 1 beneath marbled with crimson, 
glowing crimson and marbled with yellow in various 
patterns. Some of the darkest we noted were 
maroon-crimson. Then again some were equally 
marb'ed with crimson and yellow, crimson in front 
and marbled elsewhere. The spotted flowers were 
indeed endlessly varied in the arrangements of 
colour. A creamy sort had starry crimson mark¬ 
ings like hieroglyphical characters. We noted a 
variety with crimson markings on yellow in various 
patterns upon the same plant. Then again there 
was crimson marbling on a pale buff-purple ground, 
or purple spotting on a rose ground. Some of the 
marbled varieties were notable for the huge size of 
the blooms, which must be many times the size of 
the originals. Another variation was crimson with a 
broad, rose band round the front. Very fine also 
was a velvety purple variety. The Victoria Prize 
Calceolarias, as well as other plants, were arranged 
in tiers so as to relieve or obviate the monotony of a 
flat surface. They culminated in the centre in a 
dome artistically furnished with leafy growth and 
floral decorations surmounted by a crown of flowers, 
and also a floral "V.R.” in keeping with the 
Diamond Jubillee year. 
The same firm also exhibited some of their strain 
of Petunias on which they have been working for 
many years. The double flowered sorts were varied 
in colour, some of them being very attractive. A 
finely frilled white variety was very pretty in its way, 
and should prove useful for decorative work in the 
greenhouse and conservatory. Other double varie¬ 
ties were purple, blue-purple, and lavender, lined 
with violet along the course of the veins in a very 
characteristic manner. 
Messrs. F. Sander & Co.’s exhibit of new plants was 
an exceedingly gay and varied group and contained 
very many novelties and subjects of interest. Petunia 
Mrs. Fred Sander was staged in a large clump, and 
the huge very double rosy pink flowers were much 
admired. Davallia hirta, a ne.v and very pretty 
Davallia was represented by a superb specimen. 
Dracaena godseffiana, D. sanderiana, Anthurium 
bogotense, Caladium'speciosum, and C.albanense were 
other notable plants that must become great favour¬ 
ites when they are better known. Rhipsalis salicor- 
