774 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 4, 1900. 
CANTERBURY BELLS. 
No delay should take place in sowing seed of these 
useful Campanulas, whether for indoor decoration or 
the herbaceous border. I prefer the cup and saucer 
one (Calycanthema), getting the seed from a reliable 
house, and sowing thinly in large pans or boxes, 
similar to those used for Pelargonium cuttings. A 
mixture of loam, leaf soil, and a little sand is a 
good compost, prepared in the usual way. Water 
the soil before sowing, covering lightly with fine soil, 
and place in a north frame, putting large pieces of 
slate over the box. This prevents the soil from 
drying so quickly. As soon as the little plants 
appear remove the covering, keeping fairly moist, 
and pricking off 2 in. to 3 in. asunder in similar 
boxes, guarding against damping and their worst 
enemy, the slug. Before crowding takes place plant 
them out in a well prepared plot about 9 in. asunder 
each way. Keep well watered if necessary and the 
flat hoe plied among them occasionally. Towards 
the end of October they should be lilted with nice 
balls of soil and roots, and placed in 6 in. and 7 in. 
pots. Put in cold frame, and keep near the glass 
with an abundance of air after the first week, re¬ 
moving the lights on favourable occasions. They 
can be had ic flower toward the end of May, but the 
less coddling they get better the results. Feed with 
a stimulant from March onwards. — J. Mayne. 
HERBACEOUS PHLOXES. 
This summer, like the two or three preceding ones, 
has been very unfavourable to the Phloxes, which, 
to bring them to perfection, must have a wet season ; 
but where time can be found to water them, a fairly 
good display may be expected. Nothing, I think, 
can look more effective when in flower than a border 
of these. Perhaps the best position is one facing 
west, about 50 yds. long and 12 ft. wide. The dis¬ 
tance between the plants should be 4 ft., and from 
row to row 3 ft. They should be taken up and 
divided every three or four years, as they quickly 
exhaust the soil. Another way to propagate them is 
by cuttings, taken in the autumn and wintered in a 
greenhouse or fiame. These, if planted out in the 
spring, will produce very fine spikes of bloom the 
second year. A neat stake is required, and the 
plants tied loosely to it, but care must be taken not 
to tie them tightly as each spike should be separate 
to show its beauty to perfection. They delight 
and revel in a strong loam well enriched with good 
farmyard manure. The ground should be well 
trenched, and the quality of the flower and size of 
the spike will be greatly improved if the plants are 
thoroughly mulched with half-decayed stable litter 
early in July, and thorough soakings of water given 
in dry weather.— A. Thatcher, Aldcnham, Elstree. 
--—s»-- 
ACACIAS. 
This is a family of handsome shrubs, some, indeed, 
attaining the dimensions of large trees, belonging to 
the order Leguminosae. Independently of their 
beauty, the genus claims our attention from a com¬ 
mercial point of view, as some of the species yield 
valuable drugs, &c. Many yield a valuable tanning 
material largely used in the preparation of leather, 
whilst from the seeds of some kinds the Indians of 
South America produce an intoxicating liquor. Most 
of the varieties produce an abundance of beautiful 
flowers during the spring and early summer months, 
which entitles them to take first rank amongst 
greenhouse shrubs. They are amongst the most 
desirable for greenhouse and conservatory decoration, 
and are plants of easy culture. For soil they prefer 
about equal parts of loam and peat, or loam and leaf 
mould, with a little sand added to keep the mould 
open and porous Acacias require an abundant 
supply of water, and the pots in which they are 
growing should be well drained, for bad drainage is 
as inimical to plant as to animal life. Sometimes 
they become infested with a small white scale, which, 
if allowed to increase without checking, will not only 
disfigure the plant, but will speedily affect the health 
of the victim. Whenever this insect makes its 
appearance, the plants should be syringed with a 
solution of hot water, soft soap, and a little paraffin 
oil added, but care must be exercised in its applica¬ 
tion, and by no means should it be allowed to reach 
the roots. — W. Hogarth, Norton Gardens, Ratho, 
Midlothian. 
FUCHSIAS. 
Owing to their easy culture and beautiful flowers, 
Fuchsias are favourites everywhere, and when grown 
in a basket are quite as effective as any basket plant 
grown The method is simple and well repays for 
the little attention required. The cuttings may be 
struck in autumn or spring, and when about 4 in. 
high should be pinched. Very probably three or 
four breaks will result from this first pinching ; if 
not pinch again. The young growths should be 
trained as required, in fact, very little training is 
necessary, only the leading growth need be tied close 
to the basket, leaving the lateral growths more or 
less free. They succeed well in a compost of two- 
thirds good fibrous loam, and one-third manure, with 
a little sand. A temperature of 6o° with a rise by 
sun heat is one most suitable, and when growing 
freely a good supply of water should be given with a 
syringe in the afternoon. Plenty of ventilation and 
a slight shading are necessary in summer, especially 
when flowering. Any free-flowering varieties are 
suitable for baskets. When growing pyramid 
plants, the cuttings should be struck in autumn and 
kept growing through the winter, potting on as re¬ 
quired. Do not pinch but keep one straight stem, 
for when given plenty of room the side branches 
develop and form fine specimens. If required for 
another season, water should be partially withheld 
during October and November. Prune hard, start¬ 
ing them again early in spring.— C. P. Cretchley, The 
Honeys, Twyford, Berks. 
'■ 1 . 
PEOPLE WE HAVE MET. 
Rev. W. T. Hutchins. 
By this time many of our readers will have heard of 
the name of the Rev. W. T. Hutchins, the Sweet Pea 
specialist, of Indian Orchard, Massachussetts, U.S.A. 
Some may, indeed, remember our review of his little 
book, entitled, Sweet Peas Up-to-Date. It is with pe¬ 
culiar pleasure that we again refer to the reverend 
gentleman, and at the same time place his portrait 
before our readers. 
He is known in the United States, quite exten¬ 
sively, as " the Sweet Pea Minister,” a title at which 
he is not likely to take umbrage, seeing that it is 
so suggestive of many pleasing associations in various 
parts of the world. He has written several small 
books, including that mentioned above, and an earlier 
one, indeed the first, on the subject, entitled All About 
Sweet Peas. 
In 1894, Mr. Hutchins visited California at the 
invitation of Messrs. C. C. Morse & Co., the largest 
seed growers, to assist in setting them right on the 
true type and the names of the varieties. The fame 
of the Sweet Pea had previously made itself felt on 
this side of the Atlantic, and accordingly we find him 
making his next journey or pilgrimage in the follow¬ 
ing year (1895) to see the veteran, Mr. Henry Eck- 
ford, at Wem, Shropshire, a visit in which Messrs. 
W. Atlee Burpee & Co ,of Philaielphia, and Messrs. 
C. C. Morse & Co. were interested, so that we see 
the title of “ the Sweet Pea Minister ” is not an empty 
one, but takes real and tangible shape in practical 
utility. First we find him admiring Sweet Peas, then 
conceiving the idea of getting a collection together, 
and becoming an ardent and enthusiastic cultivator. 
Success crowned his efforts, and he vowed that the 
Sweet Peas should be missionaries, and his friends 
of the Congregational Home Missionary Society 
spoke of them as the “ Missionary Sweet Peas.” He 
himself may be regarded as the prime mover in their 
missionary work. Then he set about doing some 
pioneer work in creating a literature for the flower, 
producing in succession the books above mentioned. 
Mr. Hutchins is otherwise connected with horti¬ 
culture, for he has been president of the Springfield 
Amateur Horticultural Society, in his native town of 
Springfield, a society that has flourished for ten years. 
He has also been an exhibitor for the last eight years 
at the Sweet Pea shows, at Boston, Worcester, 
Springfield, Hartford and Eltenhere. He has also 
read papers before the Massachussetts Horticultural 
Society at Boston, the Rhode Island State Society, 
the Connecticut State Society, and many other places. 
As a judge at these shows be is frequently called upon 
to act as a judge Thus we see that there is an ample 
outlet for his great enthusiasm concerning one beau¬ 
tiful and popular flower—too great, perhaps, when 
one considers the vast amount of expense which his 
hobby must entail, not merely in money, but in time 
and labour it involves in the preparation of papers, 
articles, the writing of books and the buying of others, 
besides the journeys in connection with the subject 
(he has been twice to Europe purely in the interest 
of the popular flower), and above all in the endless 
correspondence which must be conducted with others 
of a kindred spirit in various parts of the world. 
Rev. W. T, Hutchins. 
Mr. Hutchins considers his thirteen years of 
special work on the Sweet Pea as simply that of a 
"promoter.” He has simply found "a pearl of 
great price,” and wishes others to participate in the 
delight and rejoicing over his discovery. He was 
led to the cultivation and study of the Sweet Pea 
by having suffered a serious nervous breakdown, 
from which he suffered for a period of five years, and 
on regaining sufficient health he made this his " diver¬ 
sion ” as a means of out-door life. He has now 
become a missionary and a minister in the cause, for 
do we not read that he preaches floriculture as a 
hobby to the business men of his native country, or 
of the world for the matter of that, who are in 
danger of suicidal application to business. 
Mr. Hutchins was born at Springfield, Mass., 
U.S.A., on January 20th, 1849, is a graduate of the 
theological department of Yale University, and was 
ordained as a congregational clergyman in 1876. At 
the present time he is pastor of the " Evangelical 
Church,” Indian Orchard, Mass., a suburban ward 
of Springfield. He has one son, a senior in Yale 
College. 
We have one evidence of the simple devotion he 
pays to the Sweet Pea in the pride he takes in the 
naming of the variety "Lottie Hutchins” in com¬ 
pliment to his wife by the raiser, Mr. Burpee, of 
Philadelphia. It is a delicately coloured and pretty 
variety, of a creamy hue, pencilled or streaked with 
pink on the standard, and is fast becoming a 
favourite with cultivators and admirers everywhere. 
It defies classification according to the ordinary and 
popular canons of colour, so that it has been placed in 
a special creation—the fancy class—and we hope 
that, like many other delicately lovely flowers, 
it has come to stay. It was much in evidence at the 
Sweet Pea Bi-centenary Celebration recently, where 
Mr. Hutchins, also in evidence, did much useful 
work on the classification committee, and by reading 
a paper upon "The Sweet Pea in America." He is 
courteous and communicative to a degree, and we 
should like to meet many such congenial 
" foreigners.” (He himself seems to regard the 
word " foreigners ” as a singular misapplication of 
terms when applied to one speaking the same 
language as ourselves.) We first met him at 
Windsor, when on his first pilgrimage to this coun¬ 
try in connection with the Sweet Pea in 1895, and 
were struck with his affable demeanour and enthu¬ 
siasm for a flower. He is now paying a visit to the 
Scottish capital before returning home. We hope 
he will long be spared to preach from the pulpit and 
the garden. 
