July  11,  1895. 
JOUR^^AL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
31 
From  here  we  made  our  way  with  the  aid  of  a  pony  and  trap  to 
Langley,  where  the  firm  has  a  large  piece  of  nursery  ground  covering 
about  50  acres.  As  we  were  thus  making  progress  3lr.  Turner  gave  his 
opinions  on  the  best  stock  for  the  Kambler,  and  was  of  opinion  that 
there  was  none  to  equal  the  Manetti,  as  with  some  others  it  completely 
outgrew  them.  The  training  must  of  course  depend  almost  entirely  on 
the  position  of  the  plants,  but  grown  as  they  are  at  Slough  the  shoots  are 
simply  tied  down  with  string,  thus  being  made  to  cover  a  piece  of 
ground  very  quickly.  Of  course  plants  may  be  trained  to  walls  or 
fences,  for  which  purpose  no  Roses  are  better  adapted,  while  the 
Rambler  is  certainly  equally  as  useful  for  the  adornment  of  summer 
houses.  The  variety  is,  moreover,  a  good  doer,  and  rarely  fails  to 
become  established  if  only  ordinary  care  is  bestowed  on  it  after  planting. 
The  first  plot  of  Rambler  that  wc  came  to  in  this  nursery  was  one 
several  rods  in  extent,  and  which  is  now  a  perfect  mass  of  flowers  and 
beautiful  rich  green  foliage.  We  were  rather  surprised  to  see  such  a 
number,  and  learnt  on  inquiry  that  they  had  all  been  ordered,  but  the 
weather  at  the  time  had  been  so  adverse  to  planting  that  it  had  been 
deemed  advisable  to  let  the  orders  wait  until  another  season.  These 
plants  were  three  years  old  from  the  bud,  and  many  of  them  had  attained 
to  a  height  of  between  5  and  6  feet,  while  several  of  the  growths  that 
have  been  made  this  year  are  almost,  if  not  quite,  8  feet  high  and  are  of 
extraordinary  thickness.  A  little  distance  away  we  came  to  another 
stretch,  in  which  case  the  plants  were  flowering  even  more  profusely 
and  developing  a  much  richer  colour,  due  in  all  probability  to  the 
manure  with  which  each  row  had  been  well  mulched.  This  showed  that 
Crimson  Rambler,  like  all  other  plants,  appreciates  and  well  repays  any 
little  attentions  that  may  be  bestowed  on  it  from  time  to  time. 
Besides  these  big  plants  there  were  hundreds  smaller  ready  for 
sending  out  when  the  proper  time  arrives,  and  in  addition  to  these 
propagation  is  being  carried  on  in  every  possible  way  and  at  all 
suitable  times.  From  curiosity  the  number  of  blooms  on  one  truss  was 
counted,  and  it  reached  the  extraordinary  total  of  175.  Surely  more 
need  not  be  said  as  to  its  blooming  proclivities.  It  is  a  Rose,  too, 
that  one  might  call  clean,  as  the  petals  do  not  fall  and  cause  a 
litter  as  is  the  case  with  the  majority  of  the  other  Roses  belonging  to 
this  section.  Still  one  other  good  point  is  found  in  the  long  time 
that  the  flowers  retain  their  rich  crimson  colour,  not  fading  as  the 
Polyanthas  usually  do.  As  only  slight  conception  of  the  glorious  beauty 
of  the  Crimson  Rambler  at  home  can  possibly  be  gleaned  from  these 
notes,  we  would  repeat  the  advice  given  in  the  first  paragraph,  to 
make  an  early  pilgrimage  to  Slough  to  see  and  judge  as  to  the  merits 
and  demerits  of  the  Rose,  and  we  are  sure  all  who  do  so  will  find 
themselves  amply  repaid  for  time,  trouble,  and  expense. — Nomad. 
BEDFORD  STRAWBERRIES. 
Hoeticultxjrally  Bedford  has  become  renowned  as  the  birth¬ 
place  of  some  of  the  finest  Strawberries  in  cultivation,  for  both  at 
Girtford  and  in  the  Kimbolton  Road  Nursery  the  late  Mr.  Thomas 
Laxton  carried  out  an  extensive  series  of  experiments  in  these  fruits. 
Over  thirty  years’  keen  and  skilful  attention  to  general  hybridising 
resulted  in  the  production  of  many  valuable  additions  to  the  lists  of 
garden  plants,  and  amongst  them  came  Strawberry  Noble,  which  in  the 
character  of  size,  form,  productiveness,  and  earliness  was  the  greatest 
break  from  old  types  that  had  been  obtained.  Utilising  this  as  a  parent 
for  crossing  with  others  to  combine  the  qualities  already  secured  with 
improved  flavour,  Mr.  Laxton  soon  succeeded  in  obtaining  good  results, 
while  his  sons,  Messrs.  Laxton  Brothers,  who  carry  on  the  business,  and 
this  very  important  work,  have  extended  the  number  of  distinct  crosses 
to  over  200  with  astonishing  and  highly  satisfactory  results.  It  is  not 
mere  haphazard  work,  but  every  cross  has  some  definite  object  in  view. 
Careful  records  are  kept  of  the  parentage,  the  seedlings  are  tried  for 
several  years  before  an  opinion  is  pronounced  regarding  them,  and  a 
most  rigorous  selection  is  made  to  determine  which  are  worthy  of  being 
placed  in  commerce. 
Following  the  lines  indicated  one  of  the  most  distinct  and  useful 
varieties  of  the  Noble  type  was  Royal  Sovereign,  obtained  from  a  cross 
with  the  variety  named  and  King  of  the  Earlies,  which  was  itself  raised 
from  Vicomtesse  H.  de  Thury  crossed  with  Black  Prince.  How  many 
certificates  and  medals  have  been  awarded  for  Royal  Sovereign  within 
the  past  two  years  it  would  be  difficult  to  say,  but  the  fact  remains  that 
it  is  a  Strawberry  of  great  merit,  vigorous  in  habit,  prolific,  the  fruit 
large,  firm,  of  a  beautiful  scarlet  colour,  and  the  flavour  is  very  satisfac¬ 
tory  when  the  fruit  is  well  developed  and  ripened.  The  value  of  such 
a  variety  as  a  parent  in  crossing  was  at  once  apparent,  and  the  number 
of  experiments  made  with  this  already  show  wonderful  results  in  the 
seedling  quarters  at  the  Kimbolton  Road  Nurseries. 
To  enumerate  all  the  notable  seedlings  would  be  a  formidable  task, 
but  it  may  be  remarked  that  most  promising  forms  have  been  secured 
from  combinations  of  Royal  Sovereign  with  Latest  of  All,  Commander, 
John  Ruskin,  May  Queen,  and  Sensation.  Few  persons  in  the  trade 
would  hesitate  to  put  the  whole  of  these  into  commerce,  but  it  is 
desired  to  retain  the  good  reputation  gained,  and  to  proceed  cautiously, 
though  there  are  several  which  may  be  seen  exhibited  another  season. 
James  Veitch  and  Captain  (Crown  Prince  x  Forman’s  Excelsior)  have 
yielded  some  handsome  seedlings,  one  in  particular  showing  a  combina¬ 
tion  of  the  colour  of  Captain  with  the  great  size  and  form  of  J.  Veitch, 
the  flesh  solid  and  finely  flavoured  ;  indeed  it  is  one  of  the  best  of  the 
wedge-shaped  type  that  has  yet  been  raised,  and  it  may  be  expected  to 
take  a  high  place  amongst  the  large-fruited  varieties. 
One  of  the  greatest  recent  successes  that  has  been  deemed  worthy  of 
a  name  is  Monarch,  which  was  derived  from  a  cross  between  Latest  of 
All  and  Captain.  It  is  a  particularly  handsome  fruit  well  deserving  its 
title,  for  in  shape,  size,  and  colour  it  is  unique  amongst  outdoor  Straw¬ 
berries.  A  large  quarter  devoted  to  the  variety  shows  the  vigorous  and 
prolific  habit  to  be  remarkably  uniform,  the  foliage  being  broad  and 
thick  without  a  sign  of  mildev/,  although  some  other  varieties  with 
thinner  leaves  are  attacked  in  its  vicinity.  The  flesh  is  solid,  and  the 
flavour  brisk  and  agreeable.  It  seems  destined  to  take  a  foremost  place 
amongst  the  best  Strawberries  for  outdoor  cultivation. 
A  German  variety  little  known  in  this  country,  the  name  of  which 
has  been  shortened  from  Konig  Albert  Von  Sucksen  to  “The  Albert” 
as  more  convenient  for  English  tongues,  is  being  utilised  for  crossing, 
not  on  account  of  its  size  or  form,  for  it  is  second  or  third-rate  in  these 
respects  ;  it  is  also  very  light  coloured,  and  extremely  soft.  It  possesses, 
however,  a  most  distinct  pleasant  aromatic  flavour,  and  may  be  expected 
to  give  rise  to  a  new  type.  It  is  said  to  be  a  seedling  from  Unser  Fritz, 
a  late,  free,  large-fruited  variety  of  Continental  origin.  One  cross  be¬ 
tween  The  Albert  and  Sensation  seems  to  have  accomplished  a  great 
part  of  what  is  being  striven  for,  as  the  fruit  has  considerable  size  like 
the  latter  variety  and  a  share  of  the  flavour  of  the  former.  Notice 
must  not  be  omitted  of  that  useful  new  forcing  Strawberry  Leader, 
which  resulted  from  a  cross  between  Noble  and  Latest  of  All.  Though 
it  would  not  be  specially  recommended  as  an  outdoor  variety,  it  is 
unquestionably  valuable  for  forcing  purposes,  its  qualities  generally 
entitling  it  to  a  high  place  amongst  those  adapted  for  such  work.  These 
are,  however,  only  a  few  of  the  “  Laxton  Strawberries,”  but  all  horti¬ 
culturists  who  have  occasion  to  grow  this  important  fruit  for  home  use 
or  sale  owe  much  to  the  efforts  that  have  been  made,  with  so  large  a 
share  of  success,  to  effect  improvements  of  a  marked  character. 
Though  no  attempt  will  now  be  made  to  deal  with  the  numberless 
other  plants  taken  in  hand  by  Messrs.  Laxton  for  cross-breeding,  it  may 
be  remembered  that  Peas  are  receiving  special  attention  as  they  did  in 
the  time  of  Mr.  T.  Laxton,  and  two  deserve  a  line  of  notice.  One  of 
these  is  an  early  Pea,  very  prolific,  dwarf,  with  well  filled  pods,  the 
quality  excellent  for  an  early  variety.  It  was  raised  from  Gradus 
crossed  with  Earliest  of  All,  and  is  fully  as  early  as  the  last  named. 
The  other  is  one  of  the  Ne  Plus  Ultra  type,  but  much  dwarfer,  very 
compact,  of  good  constitution,  and  extremely  prolific.  It  is  named 
John  Howard,  and  received  three  marks  in  one  of  the  Chiswick  trials. 
Any  Pea  that  is  healthy,  and  crops  well  in  such  a  dry  season  as  the 
present  without  special  treatment  must  at  least  possess  a  good  con¬ 
stitution. 
These  hurried  notes  cannot  be  concluded  without  a  word  of  thanks 
to  Mr.  William  and  Mr.  Edward  Laxton,  the  two  intelligent,  energetic 
young  men  who  are  so  closely  engaged  in  such  useful  work  and  in 
developing  a  substantial  business. 
DO  PLANTS  ABSORB  NITROGEN  ? 
No  doubt  many  will  at  once  answer  in  the  negative  ;  also,  perhaps, 
thinking  that  I  have  never  studied  a  text  book  on  plant  physiology  or 
agricultural  chemistry.  To  make  this  point  clear  I  may  say  that  I  am 
perfectly  familiar  with  the  words  of  most  of  the  professors  who  say 
that  “  plants  take  up  their  nitrogen  as  nitrates  ;  ”  but  I  find  a  difficulty 
in  accepting  this  as  being  correct,  because  I  cannot  account  for  all  the 
nitrogen  found  in  plants  if  it  was  only  taken  up  in  this  form.  Taking 
it  for  granted  that  it  is  so,  then  should  not  the  base  which  took  the 
nitric  acid  into  the  plant  be  also  there  1  We  are  told  that  most  of  the 
nitrogen  is  taken  up  by  plants  as  nitrate  of  lime,  then  what  becomes  of 
the  lime  ?  It  cannot  be  that  after  the  nitrate  of  lime  has  once  entered 
the  plant  and  given  up  its  nitrogen  that  it  is  turned  out  of  the  plant 
again.  That  would  be  against  the  teaching  of  modern  science.  We 
should  expect  then  to  find  in  the  ash  of  plants  equivalent  proportions  of 
lime  to  nitrogen.  Is  that  so  I 
I  am  taking  for  an  example  the  analysis  of  a  crop  of  Wheat  as  given 
by  Warrington  in  his  “Chemistry  of  the  Farm.”  He  says  a  certain 
crop  of  Wheat  at  harvest  weighed  4958  lbs.,  i.o.,  1800  lbs.  of  grain,  and 
3158  lbs.  of  straw.  This  crop  contained  48  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  28  8  lbs.  of 
potash,  2 '6  lbs.  of  soda,  and  9‘2  lbs.  of  lime.  The  9'2  lbs.  of  lime,  if 
taken  up  as  a  nitrate  of  lime  (Ca  2NO3  411^0),  would  only  carry  I'OTlbs. 
of  nitrogen  into  the  plant.  IE  the  potash  and  soda  were  taken  up  as 
nitrates,  the  former  would  only  carry  3'98  lbs.  and  the  latter  0'4  lbs.  of 
nitrogen  into  the  plant.  Total  5  o5  lbs.,  against  48  lbs.  found,  leaves 
42'45  lbs.  to  be  accounted  for.  The  difficulty  of  making  this  agree  with 
the  teaching  that  “  plants  take  up  their  nitrogen  as  nitrates  ”  is  so  great 
that  I  shall  be  glad  to  get  the  opinion  of  some  of  your  scientific  readers 
on  this  question, — StudejS’t. 
EYES  OR  NO  EYES. 
Strollixg  sometimes  through  the  gardens  of  friends  I  am  often 
surprised  to  see  the  number  of  apparently  unobserved  or  unnoticed 
Briars  rising  rampant  from  the  roots  of  Proses,  or  rioting  amongst  the 
foliage  and  blooms  of  standards.  Of  course  very  soon  neither  leaf  nor 
flower  of  the  original  Rose  tree  would  survive.  Only  recently  I  saw 
a  striking  example  of  ignorance  of  this  very  elementary,  but  most 
essential,  knowledge  connected  with  successful  Rose  culture.  Asked  by 
a  lover,  and  to  some  extent  cultivator  of  her  garden,  to  name  a  Rose 
which  was  enriching  an  arbour,  or  rather  a  dowdy  arch  leading  into  the 
