December 19, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
787 
Best Pir?k 
Sweet Peas. 
” +++ ^ 
A Letter to the Editor. 
Dear Sir, 
Question No. 3390 on your Enquire 
Within page raises some interesting 
points. Of light pink Sweet Peas, the 
three varieties named are certainly equal 
to any, and are so much alike that few 
growers could tell the difference. Mrs. 
Hardcastle Sykes is as good a one to 
grow as any, and is fixed. 
Countess Spencer is excellent as a 
medium pink, as also is Constance Oliver, 
which might best be described as Countess 
Spencer on a cream ground. Both should 
come true if obtained from a good source, 
but Constance Oliver is considerably 
more expensive than the other ; personally 
I consider the cream ground the more 
beautiful of the two. 
The term “danc pink - ’ is indefinite. 
Some might take it to include John 
Ingman, in which case that variety or 
Marjorie Willis should be grown. The 
latter is a better colour, but hardly so 
large as the former; both should come 
true. Helen Lewis, although generally 
classed as an orange, might be said to be 
a deep pink. It is certainly a grand 
variety in every respect. 
If neither of the varieties mentioned is 
looked upon as deep pink, then there will 
be difficult)' in finding* a satisfactory 
variety, unless one that is unfixed is 
chosen. Three magnificent varieties are 
Audrey Crier, Olive Ruffell, and Olive 
Bolton, but to make sure of being able 
to exhibit them a good many extra plants 
should be grown, as neither of them seems 
to have a ptospect of becoming fixed. 
The untrue plants thrown by these three 
varieties, however, are well worth grow¬ 
ing, as the truest stocks of Audrey Crier 
only throw as rogues Mrs. H. Sykes and 
Helen Lewis. Olive Ruffell throws Con¬ 
stance Oliver and Paradise Carmine 
(which is practically the same as John 
Ingmanl and Olive Bolton throws Coun¬ 
tess Spencer and John Ingman. 
Audrev Crier might be classed by some 
as a medium pink. When true it is the 
best of its colour. 
Olive Ruffell is Olive Bolton on a 
cream ground, and I should call both 
deep pinks. They are most lovely but 
fickle. 
I speak of Olive Bolton as a deep pink 
and as distinct from Countess Spencer 
advisedly, in spite of the fact that the 
N.S.P.S. has ruled it otherwise. Not 
that I wish to discredit that Society— 
which all must respect—but the fact is 
that when Olive Bolton was grown at 
Reading it chanced that most of the 
plants came Countess Spencer, and the 
Committee naturally bracketed it with 
that variety. As a matter of fact it is 
much deeper in colour and is, I believe, 
the same as Horace Skipper and M. A. 
Linzee and others.—all unfixed. I am 
fairly certain of my facts, as I have dis¬ 
cussed the matter with Mr. Bolton and 
others. 
This letter on pink Sweet Peas of the 
waved type covers rather a large space, 
but the information given will serve as a 
guide to others besides the correspondent 
who first mooted the question. There are 
no varieties superior to those recom¬ 
mended. G. F. Drayson. 
Cypripedium Dreadnought. 
The above was obtained by crossing C. 
Troilus with C. insigne Harefield Hall. 
The result is a very handsome variety 
with a nearly round upper sepal of a 
light yellow r -green, spotted with brownish 
purple all over except on the bread white 
border. The other parts of the flower are 
glossy and shaded with brown. A First- 
class Certificate w 7 as awarded by the 
R.H.S. when shown by Messrs. F. Sander 
and Sons, St. Albans. 
+++ 
Thrips 
Description and 
Remedies. 
These are wonderfully destructive to 
plants, by reason of their absorption of 
the juices contained therein. They are 
small winged insects, somewhat elongated 
in form, which seem to have a liking for 
markings. 
appearing on the underside of the leaves 
of the infested plant. The effect of their 
depredations on a Cyclamen leaf is shown 
in Fig 1. By reference again to Fig. 2, 
another effect will be observed, this on 
a Begonia Gloire de Lorraine. Here it 
will be observed the stem or stalk of the 
leaf has been attacked. Also the pro¬ 
nounced appearance of the ribs in the 
leaf indicates the same having been de¬ 
stroyed. The sap having been with¬ 
drawn, they take on a brown colour, 
decay sets in and the leaf is lost. 
Remedies should be applied immedi¬ 
ately their presence is discovered. Fre¬ 
quent fumigation will destroy the pest, 
as also will regular syringing. A more 
sure method is the dipping or sponging 
of the affected plants with one or other 
of the advertised insecticides, using the 
same according to the directions sup¬ 
plied. The maintaining of a moist at¬ 
mosphere is a great preventive against 
their entry into any house, as also is 
cleanliness in culture. 
G. D. R. 
-- 
Odontoglossum Groganae. 
The above is a hybrid produced be¬ 
tween O. L T ro-skinneri and O. Edwardi. 
The result is a peculiar combination of 
colours, as the parents are uncommon in 
that respect. The sepals and petals are 
dark port wine colour, while the trowel 
shaped lip is purple with a crimson 
centre. Award of Merit by the R.H.S. 
when shown by J. Hubert Grogan, Esq. 
(gardener, Mr. Skinner), Slaney Pt., 
Baltinglan, co. Wicklow 7 , Ireland. 
Wargrave Gardeners. 
There rvas a large gathering of mem¬ 
bers at the last meeting of the Wargrave- 
and District Gardeners' Association, when 
“ Competition for Prizes ” was the sub¬ 
ject on the programme. The first com¬ 
petition was for head and single-handed 
gardeners and foremen, and twenty., 
minutes w 7 as allowed for arranging a 
table decoration with five vases. In the 
second competition, for journeymen only, 
competitors had to arrange a large vase 
for effect within fifteen minutes. 
nearly every plant grown under glass. 
Lender a microscope they appear as shown 
in the illustration, Fig. 2 A, and vary 
in colour, some being white, others yel¬ 
low 7 and broAvn, according to their age. 
Their presence can soon be detected by 
the markings, reddish or brown in colour, 
Fig 2.—Begonia leaf showing the effect 
of thrips on stalk, also on ribs -plainly visible 
from face of leaf. A, thrips greatly en¬ 
larged; B, more natural size. 
Travel Facilities for Yuletide. 
Christmas at home is essentially an 
English institution with its holly, mistle¬ 
toe, and Yulelog, and in these days of 
cheap and comfortable travel the icy blast 
of winter should not deter any who may- 
wish to complete the family circle on this 
festive occasion. We notice that in a 
worthy spirit of enterprise the Great 
Central Railway Company are catering 
handsomely for the Christmas traffic. 
Most extensive arrangements have been* 
made for the running of express trains, 
with Buffet Car accommodation, at cheap 
fares, from Marylebone on Sunday 7 , 
December 20th, Thursday (Christmas 
Eve), and Saturday (Bank Holiday) to 
over 300 of the principal towms and holi¬ 
day resorts in the Midlands, Yorkshire, 
Lancashire, Lincolnshire, and the genera? 
districts of the North. 
Full particulars of these arrangements 
are contained in an A.B.C. Excursion 
Programme, which can be obtained free 
at Marylebone Station, or any 7 of the Com¬ 
pany's Town Offices and Agencies, or 
post-free from Publicity Department, 216, 
Marylebone Road, London, N.W. 
