892 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 24, 1903. 
they will, so as to keep up the vigour of the Vine. It may serve 
to give some' idea of its strength when we state that from the 
18th to the 23rd of June last it was noted that one of these 
young rods grew 12 in. in length in five days. During the 
past season 3,235 bunches were cut off in. thinning, leaving 
450 to come to maturity, making a total of 3,685. It may 
give some idea, of the prolific nature of a Vine when we state 
that from 1879 to 1903 inclusive 63,116 bunches were cut off 
in thinning, and 14,469 bunches came to maturity, making a 
total of 77,585 in that period of time. The health and condi¬ 
tion of the Vine at the present day are something to be proud 
of. Taking the bunches at an average of If lb. each, those 
that matured would aggregate 11 tons 6 cwt. 0 qr. 8| lb. of 
produce from the Vine in twenty-five years. 
Out of Doors. 
In the middle of September border Carnations were flower¬ 
ing freely and in considerable quantity. A large number of 
them are grown, but we took the name of only one of them— 
namely, Redbra.es, a variety with a heavy crimson edge, and 
which is grown in quantity. Various other good varieties were 
wonderfully free, and still quite* fresh, notwithstanding the 
cold and wet summer. East Lothian. Stocks were abundant* 
and flowering splendidly. Early flowering Chrysanthemums 
occupied the back line in borders of the kitchen garden, and 
were coming into bloom abundantly, particularly the variety 
Marie Masse, which was* very floriferous*. Late flowering 
Phloxes were* also abundant and good. Cryptomeria japonica 
elegans, a slender-leaved Japanese Conifer, seems to* be hardy 
here. Another handsome Conifer was Cupressusi pisifera. 
plumosa aurea, forming a handsome conical specimen about 
8 ft. high. 
As in most* other gardens this year, the* Apples, have been 
a complete failure. Two trees of the Morello Cherry trained 
upon. a. wall facing the north-west, matured a splendid crop. 
Gooseberries also, carried a. heavy crop. 
Sweet Peas in 1903. 
It is generally conceded that the annual under notice lias not 
been a success this year. Nevertheless there have been, one 
or two periods when the flowers were everything desirable. 
At the time* of the National Sweet Pea. Society’s Show in 
July bright weather allowed the* vines to* do* their best for a 
few days, and, like the easy-going annual that it is, Lathyrua 
odoratus came up smiling. Again, at the great Shrewsbury 
Fete, despite the bad weather previously, Sweet Peas were right 
in the leading van, and as* one who journeyed thither I can 
say that the majority were high class. 
The continuous supplies of water have saved the necessity 
of artificial aid, and now, end of September, the vines stand 
some 10 ft, in height, and are flowering profusely. A look back 
suffices to show wliat varieties withstood the' untoward season 
best, and, with respect to novelties, Dorothy Eckford, King 
Edward, and Agnes Johnston have been superb. 
The first-named especially has successfully combated with 
the wet, and shows less tendency to spot than other whites, and 
even now is simply grand. 
Agnes Johnston, however, is suffering from the fogs and 
heavy dews that sweep over' East Kent. 
Mrs. Walter Wright when in form is a fine* thing, but it 
cannot stand a. lot of wet. 
Dainty is another variety that evidently requires better 
weather than we could give it, and it lias not been a general 
success. 
Golden Rose is free, but decidedly poor, possessing shock¬ 
ingly formed wings, whilst its colour is. too indistinct. I 1 urtlier, 
its fixity is doubtful, as it runs from pure primrose through 
pink flushings and stripes* to* pure rose. 
Sue Earl cannot hope to win favour here*, as* it* is bad in 
form and washy in colour, with a tendency to producing mis¬ 
shapen blooms. 
Janet Scott is certainly a good thing, being of great size and 
fine in colour. It is well worth retaining. 
The many flowered white, so-called, is extremely disappoint¬ 
ing, as it is not so large as Blanche Burpee, comes crimped 
frequently, never more than four-flowered, and generally 
double. The latter characteristic has, to my mind, always 
been a fault, but. this variety is decidedly an advance in the 
direction, and somewhat resembles the illustrations of double 
flowers as sketched by American artists. Jessie Cuthbertson 
is a. very fine cream-flaked variety, and to my mind is the finest 
of all. 
Among the general stock, none have flowered so well as 
Senator. This is a colour that does not find favour with every¬ 
one, and particularly do I notice it s.o* among refined persons. 
The general or ordinary class are usually attracted by the 
flakes, and I know people who rave over Senator. But among 
the upper class it* isi greatly objected to, and on no account 
would I advise it to be placed in a. stand of twelve or eighteen 
bunches, 
Hon. Mrs. Kenyon has done well, although not equalling 
Navy Blue and Duke of Westminster. Respecting Navy Blue, 
it is inadvisable to feed this too strongly, as it takes on too 
much purple. The second runner-up in Eckford’s Cup compe¬ 
tition at Shrewsbury showed blooms that were merging into 
maroon, and this fact may have helped to upset him. I and 
several experts dwelt* upon the point at the time. 
Lady Grisel Hamilton has done exceedingly well, as has 
Aurora, but. Gorgeous has been fretful. Salvation Lass aud 
the Snapdragon types are not to be grown among ordinary 
sorts ; indeed, I would discard the former once and for all, 
as its colour is worse than its shape. 
Prima Donna in no way minds wet, and Othello* breathes 
defiance even, now. 
I am loth to confess that the so-called new President Roose¬ 
velt is none other than Othello, or, at the most, merely a selec¬ 
tion. 
Rough Rider may or may not be brilliant*—certainly I should 
say doi not buy it; and Columbia is too shifty, both in colour 
and form. It may be the same a.s* Daybreak ; still, it hints at 
a red, white, and blue, and careful selecting may bring such. 
Of course, all readers are familiar with Scarlet* Gem, if only 
by name, and certainly no* grower can do without it. Readers 
need not be under any apprehension as to its vigour, as I have 
seen it growing in quantity. Moreover, I would say, keep an, 
eye on Mrs, Knight Smith, a, fine pink ; Marchioness of Chol- 
mondeley, a giant pink and cream ; and Rompollo*, Piazani, 
a beautiful blue. Naturally they are Eckford’s, and further, I 
have seen them growing. 
Finally, I send the Editor two shades that may cause a 
comment, although, of course, they are* out of character now, 
the size having diminished greatly. '[The flowers were too* 
much faded a.nd out of character to judge properly of them.— 
Ed.] The pink is, when right, of large size and of grand form. 
Seed sowing has been, more than difficult, owing to rotting, 
and one big grower at Shrewsbury informed me that he had 
utterly failed to save* any at that time. I am therefore dis¬ 
posed to think that seed will not be any too plentiful next 
“Pit” 
season. a al. 
Chrysaxtiii.mums at Liverpool.— The Chrysanthemum exhi¬ 
bition at the Botanic Gardens, Liverpool, promises to be quite 
up to its predecessors, both as regards the number and general 
excellence of the blooms. In fact, despite the wretched weather 
which has prevailed, the attention and care bestowed upon the 
plants by the curator (Mr. Guttridge) and his staff have resulted 
in the blooms reaching an advanced stage sooner than is gene¬ 
rally the case. This has been noticed by Alderman J. Ball 
(the chairman of the Parks and Gardens Committee), who, as i ■ 
well known, takes the deepest interest in these periodical clis-* 
plays, and, in fact, in everything connected with the open space- 
in the city, and he therefore arranged that the exhibition should 
be thrown open to the citizens on the 17th inst., so that they 
may at the earliest moment have the opportunity of enjoying 
the beauties of this, the premier display provided at the Edge 
Lane Gardens. 
