9 ° 
THE GARDENING WORLET 
February 8, 1908. 
Under favourable conditions this 
variety produces four flowers, on stout 
stems. The flowers are of large size, well 
formed in every respect, and of a beauti¬ 
ful blush shade. It is, therefore, one of 
those delicate or subtle colours which 
seem almost vanishing, and make the 
flowers suitable for a great variety of 
decorative purposes and in the home. 
Artificial light has the effect of showing 
up such light colours to advantage, es¬ 
pecially by contrast with green foliage. 
Being so pale, they also harmonise with 
the warm period of summer when light 
and bright colours are more suitable than 
at other periods of the year. Indeed, their 
delicate colouring is suggestive of cool¬ 
ness when set up on a dinner table or in 
any other part of the house during the 
heat of summer. We secured this photo¬ 
graph from Messrs. Baker’s, of Lichfield 
Street, Wolverhampton, during the first 
week of August. At that time there was 
every prospect of there being a suffi¬ 
ciently good harvest of seed for the variety 
to be sent out. Unfortunately, however, 
the season was altogether against it, so 
that this is only one of nine new varieties 
which have been held in check owing to 
the unfavourable character of 1907. It 
will be sown in quantity for this year’s 
harvesting, and readers should be able to 
secure it for sowing in 1909. 
Sweet Pea F. T. Beck. 
A New Eschscholtzia. 
E. erecta compacta Dainty Queen. 
Golden-yellow and orange are the more 
common colours of the Californian 
Poppy, but some of them are shaded with 
a different colour on the outside. Very 
frequently, however, the two faces of the 
petals are of different colours, but in 
Dainty Queen both sides are alike. This 
might be described as pale coral-pink, be¬ 
coming darker towards the edges of the 
petals, while the groundwork is of a deli¬ 
cate cream. At first sight it might seem 
to be immaterial whether the flowers are 
of two colours or not, but in bedding ar¬ 
rangements if any particular colour is 
desired, it can be had in this new variety 
whether the sun is shining or not. In 
certain of the varieties the colour appears 
quite different in sunshine from what it 
did during dull weather or in the early 
part of the day. Being quite hardy, this 
may be sown in the open air where it is 
to flower about the beginning of April. 
It can, of course, be sown at the begin¬ 
ning of August, to stand the winter and- 
bloom in spring. This dainty coloured 
novelty is being offered by Messrs. T. S. 
Ware, Ltd., Feltham, Middlesex. 
-- 
Matricaria inodora 
Bridal Robe. 
During the last twenty or thirty years 
one of our native wild weeds has been 
undergoing considerable improvement. 
The single white flowers with a yellow 
disc have given place to perfectly double 
and pure white florets, as in a China 
Aster or Chrysanthemum. Although 
these composites are described as double, 
the ray florets are merely increased in 
length or number, so that the faculty of 
seed protection is not hindered. For that 
reason many generations of seedlings 
have been raised during the time we men¬ 
tion, and every now and again varieties 
turn up which are a distinct improvement 
upon older ones. The above variety made 
its appearance at a meeting of the R.H.S. 
last year, where it was accorded an Award 
of Merit. It is being offered by Messrs. 
Daniels Bros., of Norwich. It is as easily 
raised from seeds as a Poppy. 
-- 
EXCELSIOR 
Iceland Poppies. 
The original colour of the Iceland 
Poppy (Papaver nudicaule) was clear yel¬ 
low, and as a Poppy this was much appre¬ 
ciated by those who grew it a decade or 
two ago. Even then at least two other 
colours were known, namely, pure white 
and deep orange. Several new colours 
have, however, been added to the strain, 
so that from a packet of seeds quite a 
variety of flowers may be obtained, as in 
the more widely cultivated Shirley Poppy. 
Besides the colours named, various deli¬ 
cate shades, including salmon-blush, 
salmon and light pink, may also be had. 
Some of them are also striped, while 
others are edged with yellow, or the white 
ones may be edged with pink. The seeds 
of Poppies are notoriously small, and 
people are liable to sow them too thickly 
as well as too deeply. If sown on the sur¬ 
face and lightly raked it will be sufficient 
covering, because seeds which are allowed 
to sow themselves germinate well, pro¬ 
ducing any number of plants when the 
autumn rains come. These Iceland Pop¬ 
pies may, however, be sown in March in 
pots, then transferred to boxes and the 
boxes placed in cold frames immediately 
after they have become established. Later 
sowings, of course, may be made in the 
open ground in April. If seeds are sown 
about the beginning of August they can 
be transplanted into their flowering posi¬ 
tions in autumn, after they have attained 
some size, and they will bloom early in 
summer. This fine strain is offered by 
Messrs. Dickson, Brown and Tait, 43 and 
45, Corporation Street,' Manchester. 
