818 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 17, 1901. 
flower in the spring or summer according to the 
temperature maintained. 
After they have finished flowering is the best 
time to prune them if this is found necessary. 
Large plants are not always convenient for decora¬ 
tive purposes, but with one good large plant a stock 
of small ones is easily kept up. The old plant 
should be grown along in the ordinary manner, and 
when the shoots are fairly ripened those which are 
going to flower may be taken off and struck in small 
pots, placed in bottom heat, but with a cool moist 
atmosphere. They will soon root and can then be 
brought along as required during the spring and 
early summer. Always syringe daily when the 
weather will permit as black thrips evince a special 
liking for their leaves and green fly often infests the 
flower buds if neglected. 
-—- 
TRIALS AT MESSRS. WEBB & SONS’ 
SEED FARM. 
On Thursday, the 8th inst., a party of London and 
other men betook themselves to Stourbridge in 
readiness to inspect the trials at the great seed farm 
of Messrs Ed. Webb & Sons, Wordsley, Stour¬ 
bridge, on the following day. The offices and glass 
ranges of the firm are at Wordsley ; but the party 
was conveyed in machines direct to the seed farm at 
Kinver, some four or five miles from Stourbridge. 
At Kinver the land is undulated and hilly. Mr 
Edward Webb met the party at the old farm house, 
situated at a considerable elevation above the river 
Stour, and just round one of the shoulders of Kinver 
Edge, a steep escarpment overhanging the Stour. 
Kinver Church with its square tower is situated 
almost within stonethrow of the farm house. At 
this elevation the prospect was fine and the eye 
ranged for miles over the undulated landscape to the 
hills that made the horizon in the distance. 
The day was excessively warm, but the elevation 
insured a gentle breeze which tempered the heat and 
enabled the party to make a good journey on foot, 
without fatigue, over the extensive seed farms 
which consist, as might be expected, of land 
sloping to all of the cardinal and other' points. 
The exposure provides an excellent field for experi¬ 
menting, there being very few trees and nothing 
else to break the sweep of the wind when there is 
any at all. 
The soil everywhere overlies the red sandstone for¬ 
mation, and while well drained is fertile judging from 
the excellent crops of various garden and farm seeds 
which are taken off it. By far the larger area is 
devoted to farm seeds, which were most interesting 
to those concerned or to those connected in any way 
with agriculture. Flowers and vegetables for garden 
use or otherwise occupy a sunny sloping position on 
a fertile piece of land. 
Messrs. Webb & Sons’ seed farms are the largest 
in the Kingdom, and, respecting the trial grounds at 
Kinver, an idea may be formed of their extent and 
the exhaustive nature of the experiments from the 
following facts and figures of what is to be seen at 
Kinver this season. It must be understood that 
these trials vary every year according to require¬ 
ments, and what was a comprehensive test last year 
gives place to another subject this season. 
Flowers. 
Before descending to particulars, we may give a few 
general statistics. Of Sweet Peas there are eighty- 
seven varieties. The first sowings had finished 
flowering, but others were coming on, the blooms of 
which will no doubt be seen later on at the great 
Shrewsbury and other shows. 
Of Asters there are fifty-two trials, including 
Webbs' Snowflake, Peerless, and Ostrich Plume. 
Clarkias number twenty-five trials; Candytuft,, 
fifteen trials, including Webbs' Pink Pearl, &c.; 
Eschscholtzia, seventeen trials, which made a very 
showy effect ; Godetia, fifteen trials, not yet at their 
best ; Nasturtium, sixteer trials ; Chrysanthemum, 
eighteen trials; and Poppy, twenty-one trials, pre¬ 
senting a brilliant display ; besides a vast number of 
plots of other kinds of hardy flowers, such as Stocks, 
Phlox, Hollyhocks, Calliopsis, Mignonette, Carna¬ 
tions, &c., &c. 
Great attention is given to annuals, and all those 
sent out by the Wordsley firm and many others are 
here put to the test side by side, every year, so that 
anything possessed of merit may show itself by 
contrast and under equal conditions. The seeds 
annually distributed amongst their customers, are 
here tested by the firm; and before they attach their 
name to anything new they first test its merits 
thoroughly, so that when sent out everything may 
recommend themselves. 
On entering the grounds the first thing that caught 
our eye was a fine strain of Chrysanthemum inodo- 
rum plenissimum, which some of our readers may 
recognise better under the name of Matricaria 
inodora flore pleno. The plants are now in full 
bloom, and most of the flowers are perfectly double, 
and often finely formed. The plant varies from i ft. 
to ij ft. in height, and the flowers, with their finely 
cut foliage, are useful for cutting. 
Other annual Chrysanthemums in fine form here 
are C. coronarium and C. carinatum, with their 
beautiful single and double varieties, all the best of 
which are grown under name. The zoned or tricolor 
varieties of the latter are exceedingly handsome, and 
might more often be used for planting beds in the 
flower garden than they are. They are of the easiest 
culture, and flower profusely over a long period. 
C. carinatum atrococcineum is a good self crimson ; 
and the crimson and white C. burridgeanum is also 
particularly handsome. 
No sowing of annuals is flowering more freely than 
Bartonia aurea, the great golden flowers of which 
remind one of Hypericum calycinum, with its long 
stamens filling up the centre. Evidently this is a 
grand subject for a warm and dry season. Coreopsis 
Drummondi is also a good yellow subject of the 
easiest management. 
The Clarkias are a perfect picture at present, 
being now in full bloom after having made excellent 
growth, in spite of the dry season experienced in 
the Midlands. In this section the firm has two 
novelties, named New Double White and 
New Double Salmon respectively, the names 
indicating the colour and the character of the 
flowers. The salmon is a lovely shade, and makes a 
beautiful contrast with the white one. Even the 
older varieties named Purple King and Salmon 
Queen have reached a great state of perfection, the 
percentage of perfectly double flowers being full, 
the plants regularly even in growth, and only 
18 in. high this year. For beds and borders we can 
thoroughly recommend these two. 
Many gardeners prefer Clarkia pulchella on 
account of its dwarfer habit (i ft.) combined with its 
large and beautifully lobed flowers. Those of the 
type and C. p. flore pleno are rose coloured ; while 
C. p. alba is pure white ; and C. p. marginata, rose 
with the outer half of each lobe white. The latter 
has also a double variety. 
Poppies of many kinds have been flowering 
splendidly for some time past, including the Shirley 
Poppies, the delicate and bright shades of which 
are of indescribable beauty. Several varieties of 
the Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) are well 
worthy of singling out by reason of their decided 
and beautiful colours, which have been fixed by seed 
sowing and selection as in the case of all the other 
specialities grown here. A novelty for this year is 
Webb’s New Magnet, with double flowers, beauti¬ 
fully fringed, perfectly double, and variegated with 
crimson and white. Webb's White Swan is a pure 
white, fringed and double flower of great merit. In 
the Mikado, the fringing is carried to great excess, 
the petals being narrow, but forming a close mass of 
a beautiful rosy-salmon colour. Webb’s Rosette is 
a choice rosy-salmon variety of quite another type 
of flower and very handsome. Various others 
belonging to different species are also grown. 
The dry weather has retarded Phlox Drummondi,. 
which is just now commencing to bloom. Several, 
varieties are grown under name, including Webb’s 
New Fringed, a novelty for this year having fringed 
flowers in various colours. Another novelty is 
Webb's New Golden Bouquet Sunflower, a 
pyramidal plant of dwarf habit, producing flowers in 
profusion over a long period. 
Choice border annuals of recognised merit are 
Collinsia bicolor, C. b. alba, Asperula setosa 
caerulea (the blue Woodruff), Linum grandiflorum 
(crimson red), Helichrysum bracteatum, useful for 
drying as everlastings ; Helipterum annuum, blue and 
white; Zinnias, in great variety and now making a 
fine show, as are various others. It was curious to 
note the effects of the dry season upon Salpiglossis 
and Tom Thumb Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum minus). 
Some of the seeds germinated at the proper time, 
and the plants are now flowering; others waited till 
they got some rain, and others till the recent rains. 
so that the plants are of two or three ages, some of 
them only coming through the soil. 
Stocks are plentiful and good, the Ten Weeks 
Stocks now passing into seed. Four colour varieties 
of the Brompton Stock are now at their best, as are 
the Intermediate Stocks, but the side shoots will 
keep up a long succession. The China Asters are 
plentifully represented, but as they have only just 
commenced to open their first flowers, one cannot 
say much respecting them till the*season is more 
advanced. 
The annual Candytufts, varieties chiefly of Iberis 
umbellata and I. amara, have all done well, and are 
now in perfection. They are chiefly named accord¬ 
ing to colour, such as purple, crimson, rose, white 
rocket, carmine, &c. That named " fragrant ” has 
scented white flowers. Webbs’ Pink Pearl is a 
lovely and delicately coloured variety, not very old ; 
while Webbs' New Coronet, with showy rose-coloured 
flowers, is a novelty for this year. Webbs' New 
Midget is also a novelty, very dwarf in habit (4 in. 
to 6 in.), and forming a sheet of white flowers, 
making it suitable for small beds on the lawn. 
The varieties of Eschscholtzia californica and E, 
crocea are numerous and flowering grandly. We 
were much taken with Webb's Royal Rose, th6 
petals of which are rose outside and creamy-white 
internally. Webb’s New Buttercup has lovely 
golden yellow flowers and is a novelty for this year. 
A considerable area of ground is devoted to these 
Californian annuals, now revelling in the sunshine. 
Many varieties of Mignonette are grown, including 
several of special excellence, Webbs' New Golden 
Gem, of dwarf habit, with yellow flowers attracting 
our attention at a considerable distance away. 
Webb’s New Forcing is also of dwarf, compact 
habit, and has been proved highly suitable for pot 
culture. Both are fragrant and also equally well 
adapted for open-air sowings, as the cultures here 
amply demonstrate. 
Webb’s New Imperial Centaurea is a fine strain of 
Sweet Sultan, admirably adapted for cut flower 
purposes. The same may be said of Webb’s New 
Little Beauty Cosmea, a lovely pure white variety 
of C. bipinnata, growing about 1 ft. high. The 
foliage alone is very handsome, so that no ether 
setting is needed for the flowers when cut and 
placed in vases. 
Gaillardias in great variety have been flowering 
profusely for a longtime past,the light land here suit¬ 
ing them well. The early Sweet Peas have all gone 
to seed,but they made good growth and flowered pro¬ 
fusely. Some eighty-seven varieties of all the leading 
types are grown, including Mrs. Dugdale, Blanche 
Burpee, Blanche Ferry, Stanley, Venus, Hon. F. 
Bouverie, &c. 
Border Carnations are extensively grown from 
seed, the best varieties being selected, layered, and 
planted out in spring, to give flowers for cutting and 
for seed. They have made excellent growth, the 
clumps, carrying many flowering stems, being 2 ft. 
to 2\ ft. high, and still carrying many flowers of a 
high order of merit. The grass is wonderfully fine. 
Double Hollyhocks are also propagated from seed, 
the tall plants carrying handsome double flowers of 
fine siz9 and form, and in a great variety of colours. 
They were the first thing that caught the eye of the 
visitors as they approached the ground set apart for 
flowers and vegetables, on account of their height 
and telling colours. 
Vegetables. 
Time did not permit of a great deal of attention 
being given to these, as some of the many farm 
trials had to be inspected. Peas are very important 
at Kinver, and run to 158 trials, among them being 
several new varieties which Webb & Sons’ experts 
have raised by crossing. About a quarter of an acre 
of ground is devoted to a new Marrowfat Pea, of 
which we shall hear more anon when it is put into 
commerce, possibly next year. The baulm through¬ 
out the sowing is of the uniform height of 3 ft. 
Its wonderful productiveness is very apparent, as 
also is the length of pod, which contains an average 
of ten very large peas. 
Of Beans there are forty-eight trials; Onions, 
fifty-six trials; Cauliflower, twenty-four trials; 
Broccoli, forty-seven trials; Cabbage and Savoy, 
forty-two trials; Carrot, thirty-nine trials; Beet, 
fourteen trials; and Lettuce, twenty-five trials. 
Additional trials include Brussels Sprouts, Borecole, 
Parsnip, Parsley, and other vegetables. t . 
