March 7, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
207 
Market Gardening in Lancashire. 
There are hundreds of acres devoted to this industry in Lan- 
Lashire, and travellers by rail (Lancashire and Yorkshire to 
Liverpool) see on either side scores of acres planted with crops 
usually grown in gardens, and better crops still are grown on 
Marton Moss, near Blackpool, but for variety perhaps no dis¬ 
trict comes up to Walton-le-Dale in the valley of the Ribble, 
near Preston. Walton-le-Dale is in a veritable valley, and those 
who wish to journey out. of it north or south have to ascend 
The Best Flowering Plants at Kew. 
“ There are more flowers in the gar den than ye wot of.” 
Phaius tuberculosus. 
A handsome Orchid, possessing erect spikes of 4 in. to 6 in. 
showy flowers, sepals and petals snow white; large lateral lobes 
of lip, yellowish, with brownish blotches and middle lobe white 
with mauve marginal blotches. Native of Madagascar. 
o o 
Dendrobium nobile var. virginale. 
.steep hills. 
Descending the hill from Preston, we come to the. entrance 
of Mr. Trough ton’s nursery at the bottom, with its broad, sweep¬ 
ing carriage way, with wide borders on either side planted with 
.choice shrubs and hardy flowers. Wending our way southwards 
■we pass acres of market gardens. The soil is alluvial and 
.easily worked. The holdings are not large, and here is a 
typical one. . 
' Mr. J. Cross has 6 acres, or rather more, which, with the 
help of his son and a labourer, he manages to keep in perfect 
•order. The principal crops grown are 
'Cauliflowers, Lettuce, Onions, Rhubarb, 
Herbs, Strawberries, a few bush and top 
fruit trees. The two first are raised 
under glass frames, and at the time of my 
visit (the 17th of last month) the lights 
had been moved from them, and both 
Cabbage and Cos Lettuce looked remark¬ 
ably well. The winter Onions are not 
left in the seed bed, but dibbled out 
thickly. They are not left to mature, all 
being pulled green. 
Rhubarb is extensively grown for 
forcing, in sheds constructed for the. pur¬ 
pose. Mr. Cross has one near his en¬ 
trance, 15 yards long, 4 yards wide and 
:2 yards high at the ridge, and about 4 ft. 
at the sides, heated with 3-in. piping run¬ 
ning round 3 ft, from the ground. He 
lias another on the other side of the 
ground (so* as to shorten the wheeling 
■distance) 20 yards long and 3J yards 
wide, heated by 2-in. piping. Both sheds 
.are span-roofed, closely boarded and 
•covered with felt. There are two side 
beds and a centre one with a narrow path 
round this. When the Rhubarb roots 
.are lifted all the soil is.shaken from them, 
.and they are packed close together and 
;are well watered. The earliest of the 
third and last batches was nearly ready, 
and the latest 1 ft. high. Some hun¬ 
dreds of roots that had been forced were 
planted out, and other quick maturing 
.crops planted between. 
Two-year-old roots.are used for forcing, 
and Mr. Cross seems to be very well satisfied with the result of 
his method of forcing. In a rather large span-roofed green¬ 
house Lettuce and Cauliflowers were sown in beds, filling the 
place. Later on, Tomatos will be planted in this structure. 
Other crops grown in the valley are French Beans, Broad 
Beans, Brussels Sprouts, Red Cabbage, Leeks, herbs of all kinds, 
especially Pennyroyal and Horehound. Mr. Cross has the 
credit of having one of the cleanest and best-kept gardens in 
the. district, weeds being almost a stranger ; at any rate, they 
are destroyed as soon as they make their appearance. 
W. P. R. 
A chaste, pure-white form of this favourite species, meriting 
extended culture, and most desirable. 
Brunfelsia calycina. 
This species, known in gardens under so many names, now 
varietal, which we give in hope of aiding cultivators in nomen¬ 
clature—namely, Franciscea calycina, eximia, angusta, confer- 
tiflora, lindeniana, macrantha, pauciflora, and violacea. Its 
flowers are amongst the only blue ones which are effective as 
personal decorations under artificial light. Stove. Brazil. 
A cash prize of one guinea will be awarded to the person who sends 
the greatest n unbar of original news items, particulars of trade ancl 
professional changes, notices of novelties, etc, durin the quarter 
ending March 31s£, 1903. Letters marked “News ’ should be 
addressed to The Editor a' early in the week as possible. 
Odontoglossuji ceispum Grace Ruby (see page 205). 
Coleus thyrsoideus. 
A soft-wooded perennial plant growing to a height of 4 ft. to 
5 ft., producing large, erect panicled racemes of gentian-blue 
flowers at the extremity of the branches. Racemes from 7 in. 
to 10 in. long, 3 in. broad. The branchlets are dense, flowered 
dichotomous cymes of 12 to 15 flowers. Though a native 
of Tropical Africa, where it occurs at elevations of 6,000 ft. to 
7,000 ft,, it is essentially a greenhouse plant, where arranged in 
bold masses, it has been amongst the most effective plants 
during the past five weeks. 
Darwinia hookeriana (syns. D. fuchsioides Genityllis macrostegia 
A hard-wooded greenhouse plant, attaining a height of 2J ft. 
to 3 ft. The red stems and branches are clothed with small 
linear leaves, and terminate in a head of five to seven small 
flowers, enclosed in a large campanulate, petaloid involucre. 
This involucre, which is brick-red, is the conspicuous part of 
the plant, and so persistent that the plant may be said to be 
in flower for four to five months. Australia. 
