February a, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
73 
vith other colours, good novelties of this 
ihade are seldom seen, Horace Wright 
Should be specially appreciated. 
Queen of Spain is one of the most beau- 
iful of'all Sweet Peas, but its compara¬ 
bly small size will probably deter some 
rom growing it. It is a most lovely shade 
>f flesh pink. 
Agnes Eckford is a very beautiful and 
efined shade of pale pink, hooded in 
orm. It is certainly a good variety, but 
do not think that it can touch the mag- 
lificent Mrs. Hardcastle Sykes. 
Earl Cromer is quite unique in colour, 
>eing crimson lake, shaded with a bluish 
Jint. It is a well-expanded flower of fair 
ilizc 
A remarkable fact about the 1907 Sweet 
Pea novelties is that no less than eleven 
bf them are of the Gladys Unwin type, 
vith waved standards. Each of them re¬ 
liables that variety in that they produce 
i very large number of their flowers four 
in a stem. The first six that I shall men- 
ion are all from Mr. W. J. Unwin, of 
Tiston, Cambridgeshire (who raised the 
amous Gladys Unwin), and of these, the 
irst four are on sale by almost all seeds- 
nen. They can all be said to be fixed. 
This I can testify, having seen them grow- 
ng at Histon. . 
Nora Unwin is the result of a cross be- 
ween Dorothy Eckford and Gladys Un- 
vin, and it is as pure a white as is found 
n the Sweet Pea. It is of good substance, 
in actual size it is very little larger than 
Dorothy Eckford, but, owing to the better 
ixpansion of its standard, it appears 
arger than that variety. Everything con¬ 
sidered, I think it may be said to be rather 
setter than Dorothy Eckford. It will pro¬ 
bably be as widely grown as any 1907 
novelty. At the National Sweet Pea So- 
riety’s London show, several firms ex¬ 
hibited bunches labelled Nora Unwin, but 
in some cases the flowers were slightly 
shaded with pink, or the calyces were 
shaded with deep red. The true Nora 
Unwin has none of these defects, but is 
1 white-seeded variety. 
E. J. Castle is a giant flower belonging 
to the Rose class, and the only way in 
which to estimate its value is to compare 
it with John Ingman. There is no doubt 
that it does somewhat resemble that 
variety, but the two are certainly not 
synonymous, for although, in form and 
size, there is little between them, in colour 
E. J. Castle differs from the other variety 
,in having more of a salmon shade in it. 
In vigour of growth and length of stem it 
is highly satisfactory. In small collec¬ 
tions this variety and John Ingman are 
not both wanted, although, of course, one 
of them must be grown. Personally I 
would almost as soon have the one as the 
other. 
Until now, Lady Grizel Hamilton, in 
spite of its comparatively small size, has 
maintained the premier position in the 
lavender section, but there is no doubt that 
in 1907 it-will have to yield to Frank 
Dolby, a variety which in shape, size and 
everything except colour, resembles 
Gladys Unwin. In colour it is practically 
the same as Lady Grizel Hamilton. It is 
a great advance, and it should be grown 
by every up-to-date Sweet Pea grower. 
Mrs. Alfred Watkins is a larger, paler 
Form of Gladys Unwin, but although it is 
tertainlv a fine flower, the competition is 
io keen among the pinks that it is doubt¬ 
ful whether it will ever- 1»« requi»e 4 by 
small growers. It is said, however, to be 
a fine variety for market gardeners. 
Mrs. Walter Wright, by reason of its 
beautiful colour, has many admirers, and 
A. J. Cook has the same colour, with the 
waved form of Gladys Unwin. It is 
hardly larger than its hooded prototype, 
but its expanded standard displays its size 
better. This variety can be very highly 
recommended. 
Pink Pearl is described as an improved 
Gladys Unwin, but besides being larger, 
it is much deeper in colour. It is hardly 
equal to some of the Countess Spencer 
pinks, but it may be expected to prove 
paore fixed. In price, also, it is very 
reasonable. 
Much that has been said of Pink Pearl 
applies to Lady Pollock, a large waved 
flower of a very delicate shade of pink. 
It is from Messrs. Gilbert and Son, Dyke, 
Bourne, Lines. 
[R. Eckfard. 
Sweet Pea Horace Wrlgrht. 
Blush Queen is a pale blush variation 
from Gladys Unwin, which should sur¬ 
pass Duchess of Sutherland, Modesty, and 
others of that class. It is being distri¬ 
buted by the well-known firm of Messrs. 
Dobbie and Co., Rothesay, N.B. 
The same firm is also bringing out a 
new white variety named Albatross. It is 
of good size, form and substance, and of 
pure white, but it is on account of its free- 
blooming qualities that it is being distri¬ 
buted. The raisers e'xpect it to be much 
appreciated for garden decoration and 
cutting. 
Much has alreadv been said about Mrs. 
Charles Foster, and opinions seem to differ 
as to its merits. This, however, is pro¬ 
bably due to the fact that the flowers on 
which adverse criticism has been passed 
have not been the true variety. Mrs. 
Charles Foster, as purchased from Mr. 
Bolton by Mr. Sydenham, Tenby Street, 
Birmingham (who is distributing it), was 
really a lavender form of Countess Spen¬ 
cer, but like the latter variety, it has 
proved sportive, producing many unwaVed 
forms. It is not properly fixed yet, and 
is being distributed on the understanding 
that it is inclined to sport. Some critic's 
think that this variety is not such a good 
colour as Lady Grizel Hamilton. 1 be¬ 
lieve that the true Mrs. Charles Foster is 
superior to Frank Dolby, but I fully ex¬ 
pect the latter to prove the best lavender 
for 1907. 
Messrs. Bakers, of Wolverhampton, 
also, are distributing Mrs. Charles Foster. 
Most of their stock has been grown with 
that of Mr. Sydenham, but a small quan¬ 
tity that they grew and carefully rogued 
themselves they are charging rather more 
for. 
The same firm are also distributing Mrs. 
Charles Mander, a large magenta-coloured 
variety of the true Countess Spencer form. 
The firm think that it is pretty well fixed, 
although it may be expected to sport a 
little. The seeds are spotted, similar to 
those of the lavender varieties. This 
novelty seems well worth a trial, and is 
recommended. 
Mrs. Collier is the cream sport from 
Dorothy Eckford. It was found in the 
grounds of quite a number of growers, 
and has been exhibited under several dif¬ 
ferent names. Most of the leading Sweet 
Pea firms are offering a stock of this 
variety. If Mrs. Collier proves equal to 
Dorothy Eckford, it will be an acquisi¬ 
tion indeed. A friend who has grown it, 
however, speaks of it as coming with only 
twos and threes on a stem. 
Nevertheless, it is very possible that it 
will supersede Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon. 
In addition to Mrs. Charles Foster, Mr. 
Sydenham is distributing Paradise, a 
sport from Countess Spencer, which it re¬ 
sembles in form and surpasses in size. A 
friend who has grown it says he measured 
flowers three inches across. In colour it 
is a deep rosy pink considerably darker 
than Countess Spencer. Mr. Sydenham 
says that, so far as he knows, this variety 
is perfectly fixed. He has one hundred 
pounds of seed, and is distributing it at 
such a low price as to form a welcome re¬ 
cord for a really first-class novelty. 
Mr. Robert Bolton, Warton, Carnforth, 
who last year distributed Mrs. Hardcastle 
Sykes, is this year sending out Olive Bol¬ 
ton, another magnificent giant variety of 
the true Countess Spencer form. This is 
a very deep shade of rosy pink. It is 
understood that, unfortunately, the stock 
of this variety is very small, so intending 
purchasers should take early steps, as the 
history of Airs. Hardcastle Sykes, which 
was sold out after having been on the mar¬ 
ket for only a week or two, may be re¬ 
peated. 
It has been stated that Mrs. R. F. Fel¬ 
ton is identical with Mrs. Collier, but Mr. 
Bolton, who is this year distributing the 
former, states that he considers it to. be 
superior to the latter, for Mrs. R. F. 
Felton has an upright, open standard, 
while Mrs. Collier is inclined to be hooded. 
That it is a good variety is evidenced by 
the fact that Mr. Jones included it in his 
stand, for which he was awarded the Eck¬ 
ford Cup. It might be added that Mr. 
Bolton is offering, also, a stock of Mrs. 
Collier. 
Hetty Green, another novelty from the 
same source, is described as a large va¬ 
riety coming three and four on. a stem. 
