706 
June 29 , i 901 . 
THE 
GARDENING WORLD. 
interesting of its kind at this season of the year. No¬ 
where is it more at home than when planted on a 
Sloping part of the rockery, where the dense mass of 
shoots and gray foliage may creep over the surface 
and droop over the ledge in front of it. The rosy- 
pink flowers are neat in form, merely toothed at the 
edges, of appreciable size, and produced in sufficient 
numbers to arrest the attention of the casual 
observer. The soft gray setting of foliage gives the 
flowers additional attraction. A position fully 
exposed to the sun is the best place for it. 
Bulbinella Hookeri. 
A glance at this plant when in bloom recalls our 
native Bog Asphodel, though a closer inspection will 
show differences in the foliage and flowers, the former 
being narrower and not flattened like those of a 
miniature Iris; while the stamens are not bearded 
like those o'! the Asphodel. The Bulbinella also 
grows taller, say from 12 in. to 18 in. according to 
the strength of the plants, and bears a conical 
raceme of golden yellow flowers at the top. It 
comes from New Zealand, and should be planted in 
slightly peaty soil in a cool position somewhere 
about the base of the rockery, where it will be 
shaded from the long afternoon sun. It loves 
moisture during the growing season like other allied 
plants of the Lily family. 
Dianthus callizonus. 
The habit of this handsome Pink is not nearly so 
dense as that of the Cheddar Pink, and it is slightly 
taller, say 6 in. to 8 in. The flowers are much 
larger, however, rose coloured, and marked with a 
broad zone of crimson spots round the centre. It is 
a Continental species, being a native of Transyl¬ 
vania, but is not so often seen in collections as its 
merits deserve. The flowers would cover a florin 
when produced by vigorous plants. The florists 
might well take it hand for the purpose of giving us 
varieties, though they could scarcely improve it, 
otherwise than by intensifying the colour as in the 
case of the blue Cornflower. 
Silene alpestris. 
The species of Catchfly are very numerous, though 
many of them are of little value for garden decora¬ 
tion. That under notice is quite exceptional amongst 
perennial species, its leading features being neatness, 
dwarf habit, and a profusion of pure white flowers, 
small individually, but collectively very handsome 
when a good patch of it is seen upon the rockery. 
It is well adapted for this purpose, being a native of 
the Alps ; and while it may be grown in a fairly dry, 
exposed position, it well repays a little attention in 
the matter of watering during the flowering period 
in dry weather. The conditions this summer have 
been very propitious to it, aud for some time it will 
remain very attractive. The plant may readily be 
increased by division in spring, and by cuttings of 
the flowerless shoots when they may be had. — 
Alchemilla. 
BEST TWELVE KINDS OF VEGETABLES 
FOR COMPETITION. 
The best twelve kinds of vegetables to grow for 
purposes of competition are :— Carrots, Cauliflowers 
Celery, Cucumbers, Leeks, Onions, Parsnips, Peas, 
Potatos, Runner Beans, Tomatos and Turnips. 
But even apart from any intention of exhibiting, 
every gardener ought to be able to grow the vege¬ 
tables just mentioned thoroughly well, and be able, 
if required, to have them fit for his employer's table 
before such things can be obtained in the open 
market at ordinary prices. The first and last con¬ 
sideration is quality. Size is not to be disregarded, 
but it must never be considered as in any way an 
equivalent of high quality. Such a list as I have 
given contains not only useful, but, I might safely 
say, indispensable vegetables, and the very marked 
interest taken at flower shows in the exhibits for 
competition in the vegetable tent should teach every 
gardener that whatever else he may or may not excel 
in growing, the cultivation of the leading vegetables 
should be a branch of his profession to be mastered. 
Then after he has succeeded in growing vegetables 
to perfection, he must also be able to show them to 
advantage. 
Many a time has a first prize been missed by 
well-grown specimens being badly shown, and he 
who would succeed as an exhibitor must not only 
A paper read before the Devon and Exeter Gardeners’ 
Association by Mr. W. R. Baker, gardener to Lady Duckworth, 
Knightleys, Exeter, on February 13th. 1901. 
himself attend to every little detail in the prepar¬ 
ation of his specimens, but be must closely wa'ch 
and copy the methods adopted by those who come 
to the front in close competition at the leading 
exhibitions. He must also be careful always to 
comply with the conditions of the schedule, and 
before he finally leaves bis exhibits to await the 
judges' award, see that in each case the required 
number of each article be staged, the name of the 
variety legibly written and properly affixed, and 
other details of arrangement carefully made with 
neatness and care. 
Although I have given the list of twelve kinds in 
alphabetical order on the first page, I will now deal 
with them according to what I estimate their relative 
importance in the list. First, then, as to 
Cauliflowers. 
I consider Cauliflowers are the most important to 
any one exhibiting in a class for twelve kinds at a 
show in August or September, but especially in 
August, for, in a collection, the three heads of 
Cauliflower make a fine effect and help to make 
the exhibit massive looking. For show purposes I 
have never found anything better than Veitch’s 
Autumn Giant of the true type. In preparing the 
ground for Cauliflower I trench deeply, at the same 
time digging in a liberal supply of well rotted manure 
—the more the better. The trenching should be 
done in the autumn, or at all events in early spring, 
leaving the ground in a rough state, the better to be 
effected by any frost which may come and which 
does so much good by pulverising and letting the 
air into the soil. Before putting out the plants, say 
a week before, give the ground a good coating of 
soot, forking it well in, after which it is ready to 
take the plants. 
In preparing for a show on a fixed date in August, 
it is well to make two sowings of seed, the first in the 
beginning of February, and the second about the 
last week of that month. If circumstances compel 
you to depend upon but one sowing, then let it be 
about the 12th of February. Sow the seed in a 
store-pan and keep it in a cold house, such as a 
Peach house, but, if you have no such accommoda¬ 
tion, put the seed pan in a close frame well up to the 
glass to prevent drawing. As soon as the plants 
show their third leaf, prick them off into boxes at a 
distance of i£ in. to 2 in. apart from plant to plant. 
Put them back into the frame and keep them close 
for a day or two, after which give air according to 
how the weather allows of it. When the plants are 
about 3 in. high, they must be given more room, and 
the best plan is then to pot them off singly into pots 
of about 4$ in. diameter, but if this cannot be done, 
they must be shifted into larger boxes to give them 
more room. When the weather permits, keep the 
frames uncovered until they are so hardened that 
you can keep the lights off altogether. Keep the 
plants growing and do not let them suffer for want 
of water. By the end of April or the beginning of 
May, the plants will be ready for planting out, but, 
of course, you must be guided by the weather. Let 
the rows be 3 ft. apart and the plants 2^ ft. from 
each other in the row. If the ground is limited, 
2^ ft. between the rows would do, but 3 ft. is better. 
Celery. 
In twelve kinds of vegetables I would place Celery 
as the second in importance. To be of any use for 
exhibition it must be very well grown. I sow about 
the 12th of February in 6-in. pots, generally sowiog 
two pots of it, and the kinds I have found to answer 
best are Wright's Giant White, Dobbie’s Invincible 
White, Standard Bearer Red and Dobbie’s Giant 
Red. After sowing, place the pots in a warm green¬ 
house with a piece of glass over the pots. As soon 
as the seedlings are large enough to handle, pot them 
off into small thumb-pots or put four or five in a 5-in. 
pot. Next time they should be shifted into 3j-m. 
pots, always keeping them near the glass. When 
the plants have made such progress as to fill the pots 
with roots, give them their final shift, this time into 
5-in. pots, picking out the best plants to grow on for 
exhibition. Do not select many more than you 
actually require. The soil I use for the first potting 
is two parts loam and one part leaf mould, sand, and 
good rotten manure, all well mixed together. When 
the plants are potted off, they should be put in a 
cold frame and kept close for the first day and after¬ 
wards given air according to the weather. The 
plants must be well hardened before putting them 
into the trench. The trench should be about 20 in, 
wide and 20 in. deep. Put in some good cow manure 
to the depth of about 10 in., then give the 
manure a dusting of soot, covering it over with a 
little soil, so that you may get on it to tread it nice 
and firm. Put on the top of this about 6 in. soil 
leaving the trench about 4 in. deep. Place the 
plants about 20 in. apart from each other and give them 
a good soaking with water. An excellent plan for 
blanching is, if you can conveniently get them, to 
put a 12-in. diameter drain-pipe over each plant. 
This keeps the cold from them and helps to keep 
the leaves compact and draws them up straight. 
Pipes of a smaller diameter than a foot spoil the plant. 
If you cannot get drain-pipes, make open boxes of a 
foot square as substitutes, raising the box as the -. 
plant gets taller. About five weeks before the show, 
take a piece of brown paper, 6 in. wide and about 24 
in. in length, and wrap it round the plant at the base. 
A fortnight afterwards, put on another similar piece 
of brown paper, but let it be wider, say 9 in , tying 
it round with a piece of raffia or matting, but see 
that it is not tied in too tightly. Abundance of 
water is necessary at this stage. 
Carrots. 
A good dish of Intermediate, well-grown, is indis¬ 
pensable in a selection of twelve kinds. Choose a 
sheltered position for your seed-row and sow as early 
in March as the weather will admit of it. Get the 
ground trenched as early as you can, and if you put 
in any manure with the seed it must be in the 
bottom of the trench, 20 in. to 24 in. deep. Make 
the line, then take a large dibble, or better still, a 
good crowbar, and with It make holes 2 ft. deep, 
carrot-shaped, and about 7 in. from hole to hole. 
The rows should be 15 in. apart. The holes must 
be filled up with a specially-prepared compost, and 
for the purpose there is nothing better than the 
soil in which Cucumbers or Melons have been 
grown the previous year. It should be passed 
through a £-in. sieve or riddle to remove all stones 
or hard substances. Then add a little more sand and 
mix well together. A very little artificial manure, of 
any of the garden manures supplied by seedsmen, 
may be added to the compost, but very little must 
be given. As you put this prepared soil in the holes, 
gently press it down with a stick. When this is 
done, sow three or four seeds in the centre of each 
hole, then lightly cover the seeds over. When the 
plants are large enough to handle, reduce the num¬ 
ber in each hole to two plants for a week or ten 
days, after which go over the rows again and make 
a final selection, leaving one plant in each hole to be 
grown on for exhibition. The rows must be kept 
perfectly clean, and if the weather is dry give plenty 
of water. The soit I have found best for show pur¬ 
poses is Veitch’s New Intermediate. When well 
grown, no other can beat it. Three dozen Carrots 
would be quite enough to grow to select from. 
Parsnips. 
For this crop the same kind of preparation is 
required as for Carrots, making holes in lines, filling 
them with prepared soil, and so on, but for Parsnips, 
the holes must be 3 ft. deep and 5 in. across at, the 
top. The seed must be sown not later than the first 
week in February if the weather is dry and no frost 
in the ground. For two dishes, fifty or sixty holes 
would be ample to provide enough to select from. 
Elcombe’s, or Student, or Tender and True are good 
sorts, but nearly every seedsman has an improved 
variety that will answer well enough, the growing of 
the crop being the main consideration, there not 
being much difference in the varieties of Parsnips. 
Onions. 
For exhibition, the seed must be sown in the first 
week of January. They may either be sown in small 
pots, or store-pans, or even a shallow box will do. 
Give a good watering after sowing. Stand the pans 
or box in a greenhouse or vinery, or any similar 
house where the temperature can be regulated to 
about 40°. Be careful not to give too much water 
before the seeds have germinated, as there is the 
danger of damping off. When large enough to 
handle, the plants should be pricked off into boxes or 
thumb pots, and at the next shift into 4J in. pots if 
you have room to accommodate them. Or you can 
use boxes 6 in. deep, with drainage at the bottom, 
and a thin layer of manure at the bottom just over 
the drainage, as the fibrous roots always seek down¬ 
wards. The soil I use is loam, leaf mould, a little 
well-rotted manure and sand, all well mixed 
together. The soil should be firmly pressed in the 
boxes, and the Onion plants pricked in 3 in. apart 
