608 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 29,' 1905. 
The sportive character of Countess Spencer 
was never more amply illustrated than in the 
small sowing of it which we here observed. 
Amongst the plants we noticed seedlings 
bearing rose, pink, white, and orange 
colours, many of them representing various 
named varieties, but in Countess Spencer 
form. Some of the colours, we admit, were 
very handsome indeed, and if they can be 
fixed they will no doubt find their way into 
commerce, and secure a large number of ad¬ 
mirers. The large flower and wavy standard 
are very handsome when seen in distinct and 
pleasing colours. A new variety named 
Early-flowering Yellow may be described aa 
something in the way of Mont Blanc, and is 
characterised by dwarf habit and earliness. 
A very handsome variety was that named 
Queen of Pinks, which might be described 
as a salmon-pink Miss Willmott, but a 
more vigorous grower. These selections un¬ 
doubtedly have their uses, and by their 
means the vigour and constitution of the 
various types can be best maintained. 
That named Delicate Rose might be de¬ 
scribed as consisting of a soft shade of creamy 
rose, more easy to admire when seen than to 
describe the subtle blending of colour. This 
is one of the giant-flowered* strain. Another 
named Cream Flaked Pink is beautifully 
flaked along the centre of the standard. 
Primrose Yellow is another of this fine strain, 
notable for the size of its blooms. Scarlet 
Stripe is another of the large forms, and re¬ 
presents the best of the scarlet stripes such 
as is seen in America. Other very handsome 
giants are those named Maroon and Purple 
and Carmine and White. Very fine effects 
are produced by the mixing of all these 
colours of the giant strain in suitable pro-, 
portions previous to sowing them. When 
they come into bloom there is then a wonder¬ 
ful blending of pleasing colours running 
through the strain, and those who like Sweet 
Peas in mixture could desire no better strain. 
A good selection of the Cupid Sweet Peas 
is grown, and we may say that to avoid con¬ 
fusion of names they are simply offered in 
twelve varieties under names that simply in¬ 
dicate the colours. Many growers have a 
difficulty with this race of Sweet Peas owing 
to the dropping of the buds before they 
open. The collection looked very handsome 
on the occasion of our visit, and we noticed 
that the rows had been'earthed up after being 
mulched with manure. Possibly in the near 
future strains of Cupid Sweet Peas will be 
raised and put into commerce more adapted 
to our climate, and therefore suitable for the 
requirements and conditions of British 
gardens. 
At the time of our visit the Sweet Peas 
had been in bloom for a fortnight. They 
were still laden with bloom, notwithstanding 
the hot weather which had prevailed for some 
time previously. The soil at Reading is light 
and gravelly, so that, all things considered, 
the Sweet Peas have been a great success this 
year, and more so than in previous years, 
when the end of July in hot weather saw the 
Sweet Peas completely dried up. We may 
also state that the seed pods had been allowed 
to develop simply as they grew ; nevertheless 
the quantity of bloom was still remarkable, 
indicating good cultivation in light soil and 
under adverse conditions. In the course of 
another week we intend to speak of three new 
varieties which merit a place in collections on 
account of their distinctness and merits in 
many aspects. 
Mr. H. T. Pitt was the only amateur ex¬ 
hibitor of Orchids at the Royal Botanic 
Society’s Show. 
( - ON THE EDITOR'S TABLE .0 
SWEET PEAS 
FRO/A 
Cavenhaa Park. 
“ T am sending you just over a hundred 
spikes of Sutton s Giant mixed Sweet Peas 
which have been grown entirely in the open. 
The seeds were sown on October 10, and the 
plants protected with - netting, during the 
winter months. Culinary Peas sown beside 
them were completely killed before Christ¬ 
inas, but hardly a plant of the Sweet Peas was 
mjuied. The plants are a mass of bloom, and 
over 4 ft. in height, whereas seeds sown the 
first week in March are not yet 18 in. in 
height. I think this shows the advantage of 
sowing in autumn.”— G. Hatch. 
Referring to the above, we may say that 
Mr. Hatch, gardener to A. Goldschmidt, Esq., 
Cavenham Dark, Mnldenhall, Suffolk, sent us 
a box of Sweet Peas in grand condition, and 
although we cannot refer to them by name, 
as they are merely sent out under tne name 
of Sutton’s Giant-flowered Sweet Peas, we 
may state that the mixture was d splendid one 
indeed, and no doubt represented the ten 
t arieties which are put in the mixed packets. 
Each of the bunches sent represented first- 
class flowers of blue varieties, also lavender, 
white, rose, crimson, maroon, striped, ancl 
other intermediate shades of colour. Other 
bunches contained most of these varieties, 
together with buff, orange, yellow, and bi- 
coloured varieties. Those who* merely require 
cut flowers in mixture could rest perfectly 
satisfied with mixed packets of Sweet Peas 
which give all the colours that one could 
reasonably desire for garden or indoor decora¬ 
tion. 
Those who are exhibitors like to sow varie¬ 
ties separately, because they are convenient 
for collecting, and also because they are 
usually, if not always, required to be named 
for exhibition purposes. The chief lesson 
here, however, is the fact that the seeds were 
sown in the second week of October, and 
passed through the winter unharmed in an 
eastern county where the temperature is 
nearly always lower and certainly always drier 
than it is on the west coast. 
Garden Peas under the same conditions en¬ 
tirely failed before Christmas. The flowers 
of the Sweet Peas, on the other hand, were as 
large as one could possibly expect, and cer¬ 
tainly we have seen prizes taken by blooms 
which were neither larger nor better in colour. 
They were also deliciously scented. Rela¬ 
tively few gardeners sow Sweet Peas in the 
autumn for the purpose of standing the 
winter, but we here have good evidence that 
it is not risky to commit seeds even of choice 
Sweet Peas to the open ground in autumn. 
At a recent exhibition we saw some which 
had been sown in September, and the flower, 
were certainly no better and very little, if 
any, earlier. We have also seen a good crop 
of Sweet Peas which hail been sown in Novem¬ 
ber. These facts are evidence that Sweet Peas 
may profitably be sown in the autumn with 
the prospect of getting a good return from 
them in cut flowers. Seeing that this can be 
done, it should save much trouble in sowing 
Sweet Peas in pots for the purpose of planting 
out when the weather becomes fine. At least 
two sowings in different stages may be made 
in autumn and the rest in early spring. 
AVe do not believe in sowing Sweet Peas 
very late in spring, as thev are liable to be 
crippled should hot weather set in before 
they get thoroughly established. Some flower 
stems sent by Mr. Hatch were about 4T ft 
long, in the perfection of health and fur 
nished with large leaves showing that coo 
moist weather is more beneficial to the wel 
fare of Sweet Peas than hot and dry weather 
which soon tells upon plants and flowers. 
Mesembryanthemum edule. 
I send herewith a flower of Mesembrv- 
anthemum grandiflorum, which is flowering 
here pretty freely in the open air. The 
original plants were brought from Cornwall 
some years ago, and as they cannot stand the 
frost I have perpetuated them each year by 
means of cuttings taken in the autumn, and 
kept in a frost-proof frame. Is it not rather 
uncommon for this plant to flower on first- 
year cuttings in this part of England ? It is 
planted on a rocky bed in the full sun. 
This place is about 315ft. above the sea level 
in Mid-Sussex. H. F. Richardsox, 
Gardener to W. E. Hubbard, Esq., 
Selehurst, Horsham. 
[The specimens sent us were those of M. 
edule, which is nearly hardy in dry sunnv 
spots in the southern counties of England. 
In the Channel Islands it is more frequently 
planted than in England, and has a fine effect 
when planted in soil on the top of retaining 
walls in gardens, so that the long trailing 
stems may hang down and cover the face of 
the wall. It is the usual custom to p>er- 
petuate this species by means of cuttings, but 
we were unaware that it could be flowering so 
freely in the space of one year from cuttings. 
No doubt this depends upon treatment and 
the amount of exposure to sunshine it gets 
during the period that elapses from the time 
the cuttings are struck until midsummer. 
Evidently the conditions given it by our corre- 
spondent-. are suitable for a plant which is 
comparatively seldom seen in gardens except 
in the South of England and the Channel 
Islands. —Ed.] 
THE . . . 
Annual Daisy. 
(Beilis annua.) 
With the perennial Daisy every one is 
familiar, but the annual Daisy is a scarce 
plant in gardens. It is very similar to the 
common Daisy, and differs chiefly in beina 
only of annual duration. The flowers are 
rather smaller, and in the specimens flowering 
on the rockery at Kew the rays are pure 
white, so that Burns’ “ Wee. modest, crimson- 
tipped flower ” would not apply here. The 
whole plant is only H in. to 3 in. high, and 
the slightly-toothed leaves are very similar 
to those of the common Daisy. It is a native 
of the Mediterranean region, and seeds of it 
came from Palermo, and are now flowering 
for the first time. It seems to us a form of 
Daisy that can bloom at the cool period of the 
year and ripen seeds before the warm weather 
becomes too much for it in its native country. 
In any case, cur Daisy delights in the cool 
periods of the year, or in the more moist 
northern parts of the country. In the south 
it blooms chiefly in the spring, though flowers 
make their appearance during every cool 
month of the year. 
Glut or Raspberries.— A big glut of Rasp¬ 
berries is reported from various parts of the 
kingdom. Many Kentish growers will have 
more than a three-tons-per-acre average. 
Scottish farmers anticipate harvesting three 
to four tons per acre. Irish growers expect a 
three-tons-per-acre output. 
