J ne 6, 1903, 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
493 
A Group of Carnations. 
Wild Finds of Ferns. 
Our illustration represents a group of Carnations taken in 
the nursery of Messrs. R. H. Hath, Ltd., The Floral Farms, 
Wisbech. They represented a group of the same varieties as 
shown at the recent Temple Show, and we may note a few of 
those that interested us. A new yellow ground Carnation, 
named Mrs. Torrens, was notable for its bright scarlet edge, 
and the numerous'lines of the same colour running over the 
petals. It is, practically speaking, a new one, and a. border 
variety. Most of their g T oup on this particular occasion con¬ 
sisted of Malmaison varieties, and several of them were re¬ 
markably dwarf. Mrs. de Sa.tge did not exceed 1 ft. in height. 
Very handsome was that named Lady Rose, 1 laving bright rose 
flowers of large size. Iolanthe was also of dwarf habit, with 
well-formed flowers of a bright rosy-red hue. All of these 
varieties were well furnished with foliage, showing them to be 
vigorous and capable of being propagated to any extent. A 
quantity of each of these varieties was exhibited. 
Cattleya Mossiae arnoldiana. 
With reference to the “ Editorial Note” under this heading 
in your issue of May lGtli, may I be permitted to point out 
that, however desirable it might be, theoretically, to leave such 
finds in situ for the subsequent delectation of Fern-loving 
visitors, practically it would not work at all to the desired 
end of the greatest happiness of the greatest number in the 
same way as my procedure certainly does', and I will give a 
few cogent reasons why. What I and other collectors of my 
persuasion do is this : Finding a varietal specimen, usually 
solitary, we carefully lift it, take it home, cultivate and pro¬ 
pagate it from its spores, and eventually distribute it, perhaps 
by the hundred, as in the special case cited of my Blechnum 
Spicant var. concinnum. 
Let us consider now the circumstances of that particular 
find as a typical one of many, and see how they bear on the 
question of the relative wisdom of leaving it alone or removing 
it, as described. In the first place, the spot where it was dis¬ 
covered is in a very remote part of Exmoor, many miles from 
the ordinary track, and only reached by me by means of a 
cart, a couple of guides, and considerable tramping over rough 
[See page 485.) 
The original of this variety was first exhi¬ 
bited in 1884 by the late R. P. Percival, Esq., 
of Southport. The essentials of it are that 
the sepals and petals should be nearly white, 
with a rose blotch extending from the apex 
nearly to the middle of the petals. The lip 
itself is very much in the way of C.M. reinec- 
kiana. The flowers which we represent by the 
illustration were those of a very fine variety, 
exhibited at the Drill Hall on the 19th ult. by 
Francis Wellesley, Esq. (gardener, Mr. J. Gil¬ 
bert), Westfield Common, near Woking. All 
parts of the flower were of handsome dimen¬ 
sions, and constituted a great improvement 
upon the original. 
Fruit Growing in Ireland. 
A correspondent to the £ ' Independent and 
Nation” says:—The Lord Lieutenant, when 
speaking at the opening of the Cork Exhibi¬ 
tion, wisely said that if the Irish people wish 
to create an industrial life in this country, 
they ought to give a preference to the products 
of their native land. Most of the fruit which 
is sold in the cities of Ireland is brought from 
abroad. The fruit growers of France, Canada, and the United 
States find it profitable to send fruit by ship and steamer over 
hundreds of miles of sea to our shores, whilst thousands of acres 
of Irish land which are eminently suitable for fruit growing- 
are either under grass or lying idle and uncultivated. Fruit 
growing, and especially Apple growing, is most profitable in 
other countries. Devonshire is not the least prosperous of 
English counties, and Devonshire fanners owe their wealth 
almost wholly to their orchards and their world-famed cider. 
An English fruit grower lately declared that he had realised 
£700 from 25 acres of fruit-growing land. Ireland formerly 
was a great Apple-growing country, and Irish cider was con¬ 
sidered to be the best in the world. In this matter, as in 
many others, Ireland, has suffered from want of education. It 
has been stated on good authority that tons of Irish Apples 
were sent to the English markets, and could not be sold because 
they were of an inferior quality. The best kinds of trees must 
be chosen, and they must be cultivated according to. modem 
scientific principles. Fruit culture and fruit, farms pay better 
than any other crop in other countries, and Iri§h farmers would 
act an abundant return for their labour by planting and rearing 
fruit trees, if only they had the requisite scientific knowledge. 
A Group of Carnations. 
(Taken at Messrs. Bath’s Nurseries.) 
country, which was not at all a good hunting ground. In the 
second place, the Fern, as found, was a tiny plant, embedded 
in a mass of normals, and only betraying its presence by a tiny 
top of one projecting frond, one of half a dozen barren ones, 
Much had to be extricated from the general tangle in which 
they were literally embedded. So small was the betraying 
tip, that my guide—himself an experienced Fern hunter—had 
overlooked it, and came back more chagrined than delighted 
when my shouts announced the discoveiy. Now, then,, on the 
theory of leaving it where it was, rvhat -would have been, the 
resulting benefit to Fern-lovers? 
In the first place-, again, to resume the point seriatim, I 
personally would never care to devote an entire day, as would 
be necessary, to say nothing of a journey from London to Devon 
to start with, in order to have another mere look at it, and if 
I were to> suggest a “ pilgrimage amongst the confraternity,” 
who are scattered all over the country, for a like purpose, I 
should certainly be deemed by them considerably more of a 
“ Fern maniac ” than I am even now. In the second place, the 
young plant was struggling fiercely for existence with its 
robuster normal neighbours, and it is extremely probable would 
have perished eventually “ without even a tombstone to its 
