142 
.JOURNAL  ON  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAR E  HARDENER. 
August  17,  1899. 
me,’ and  brought  ino  to  your  very  doors.  In  England  you  may  have 
plants  and  bulbs  that  have  been  collected  from  all  these  lands.  I  am 
not  dear  to  buy  ;  I  am  not  costly  or  difficult  to  cultivate.  For 
a  few  pence  the  poor  cottager  may  possess  me,  and  when  once  1  am 
established  1  ne\er  leave  his  garden.  No  costly  stove  iB  wanted  for 
me,  no  rich  manure  from  the  coast  of  Peru.  Only  a  little  soil,  only  a 
little  of  God's  sunshine,  only  a  little  love  and  a  little  care — that  is  all 
I  ask.  Plant  mo  where  the  sun  can  shine  on  me  most  of  the  day, 
protect  me  if  you  can  from  the  heavy  rains  of  summer,  give  me  rest 
when  my  flowering  season  is  over,  and  I  will  repay  you  by  giving  you 
year  by  year  some  of  the  sweetest  flowers  that  bloom  on  Ood’s  earth.” 
— J.  B.  M.  Gamm. 
ClIKYBANTHHMUMH  AT  ltKlUATE. 
So  far  as  I  have;  seen  several  fine  collections  of  Chrysanthemums, 
I  have  not  observed  that  these  plants  seem  to  have  suffered  in  anv 
way  from  the  season.  Because  grown  in  pots  and  kept  well  watered, 
with  plenty  of  light  and  air,  they  appear  to  care  little  for  the  heat,  and 
certainly  the  wood  may  be  unusually  well  matured,  for  all  of  it  has 
now  assumed  that  high  coloured  tint  which  shows  that  it  is  ripe,  and 
that  as  a  result  blooming  may  be  accelerated,  perhaps  a  week  or  so, 
when  the  flowering  season  arrives. 
A  few  days  since  I  was  looking  over  the  fine  collection  grown  by 
Mr.  0.  J.  Salter  at  Woodhatch  for  T.  B.  Haywood,  Esq.  The  plants 
were  all  in  the  most,  perfect  health,  and  I  heard  not  a  word  as  to  the 
rust  bogey.  The  plants  there  were  not  in  such  large  pots  as  is 
commonly  seen ;  certainly  they  seem  to  be  an  inch  less  in  diameter. 
Bo  far,  too,  very  little  of  any  description  of  stimulant  has  been  given 
them.  Mr.  Salter  likes  to  see  the  buds  fairly  in  evidence  before 
applying  manure,  dry  or  liquid.  Too  much  haste  in  applying  manures 
brings  so  many  otherwise  fine  plants  to  grief.  No  doubt  growers 
get  over-persuaded  to  try  this  or  that  wonderful  stimulant,  and  begin 
far  too  early  in  the  season. 
The  ordinarily  tall  varieties  seem  almost  taller  than  usual  this 
season,  but  that  may,  of  course,  be  fancy.  It  is,  however,  satisfactory 
to  find  that  raisers  seem  working  to  obtain  dwarfer  habits,  and  there 
is  no  more  striking  example  of  that  than  is  seen  in  Mrs.  Barkley,  which, 
whilst  not  more  than  2  feet  9  inches  from  the  pot,  is  wonderfully  short 
jointed  and  finely  leaved.  I  saw  this  recently  in  Mr.  Hunt’s  great 
collection  at  Ashtead  1  ark  also  showing  juBt  the  same  character. 
Judging  by  what  so  far  has  been  seen,  there  seoms  to  be  every 
probability  that  the  Surrey  growers  will  not  be  lacking  in  ability  to 
competo  at  shows  during  the  autumn. — Wanderer. 
PEACHES  AND  NECTARINES  AS  ST  AN  DA]  tl)S. 
I  read  with  interest  the  notes  by  “  W.  S.,  Wilts,"  on  page  53,  and 
as  I  am  at  present  in  charge  of  the  Peach  house  referred  to,  it  may 
be  of  interest,  to  others  of  your  readers  for  me  to  make  a  few  remarks 
Iho  bouse  in  question  was  built  some  twenty-six  years  ago  and 
planted  with  the  best  known  Peaches  and  Nectarines.  After  ahipseof 
eight  years  it  was  found  necessary  to  heat  this  structure  with  hot-water 
pipes,  and  at  the  same  time  an  addition  was  built  at  right  amdes  to 
the  mam  house,  and  facing  south,  giving  the  building  a  much  better 
?PP?ar«r.  J  w0  °f  ,lie  rows  of  trees  in  the  centre  bed  referred  to  by 
‘  W.  b.  were  removed  some  years  ago,  and  only  the  centre  row 
retained,  this  covering  the  whole  space,  and  nearly  reaches  the  ton  of 
the  house.  here  is  no  doubt  that  more  fruits  can  be  produced  on 
good  standard  trees  than  by  any  other  system  of  training.  Last  year 
ga  hered  nearly  200  fruits  from  one  tree,  and  a  good  percentage  of 
these  were  as  well  coloured  as  those  on  trees  trained  on  the  trellis  at 
each  side  of  the  house.  The  Peach  that  does  best  here  on  the  pyramid 
”  1{°yal  George,  following  which  come  Noblesse  and  Princess  of 
Wales.  Standard  Nectarines  do  not  colour  so  well  as  those  grown 
on  the  trellis,  but  in  other  respects  there  is  no  fault  to  find  with  them 
both  as  to  quantity  and  quality  of  the  fruits. 
Last  autumn  the  house  was  put  in  thorough  repair,  both  inside 
and  out,  anu  I  am  sorry  to  say  a  few  of  the  best  trees  were  spoiled 
and  had  to  be  removed.  When  the  man  was  spoken  to  about  the 
damage  done  he  coolly  asked,  “  Won’t  they  grow  again  ?  ”  What  could 
anyone  say  to  that  ?  It  was  a  true  case  of  “  ignorance  being  bliss  ” 
I  mention  this,  as  it  may  serve  to  keep  others  from  employing  men 
who  are  not  accustomed  to  painting  fruit  houses. 
The  method  of  pruning  standard  trees  here  is  simple.  In  June  we 
cut  back  all  growl bs  to  about  4  inches,  though  some  may  be  allowed  a 
little  longer.  In  this  respect  we  are  governed  by  the  strength  of  the 
shoots.  The  second  break  prrxluces  the  fruiting  wood  for  the  following 
season’s  crop.  No  camel’s-hair  brush  is  used  for  distributing  the 
pollen ;  a  mere  “  tap  ”  to  each  tree  at  noon  on  a  sunny  day  is  all  they 
get,  and  they  never  fail  to  produce  good  crops. 
The  gieatest  pest  we  have  to  contend  with  is  the  ant.  They  are 
bo  partial  to  Lord  Napier  Nectarine,  that  for  the  past  two  years  I  have 
not  pulled  one  whole  fruit.  I  was  recommended  to  try  Keating’s 
powder  to  prevent  them  getting  up  the  stem  of  the  tree,  but  to  no 
purpose.  They  shifted  their  run  a  few  yards,  went  up  one  of  the  main 
ribs  of  the  house  and  along  the  wires  to  finish  their  work  of  destruction. 
I  have  no  doubt  Keating’s  powder  could  Ixi  used  in  smaller  houses  with 
success. — R.  Stewart,  Sneyd  Park. 
ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 
DRILL  HALL.— August  15th. 
Once  again  it  has  to  he  recorded  that  the  exhibits  on  Tuesday  were 
more  numerous  than  could  be  accommodated  in  the  Drill  Hall  without 
the  undue  crowdin  '  which  so  prejudices  the  general  effect.  Every  table 
was  full  to  overflowing,  and  some  of  the  products  had  to  find  a  less 
conspicuous  place  beneath  the  stages.  The  floral  exhibits  were  splendid, 
and  comprised  practically  all  types  of  seasonable  flowers.  Fruit,  too, 
was  admirably  shown  ;  but  Orchids  were  comparatively  scarce,  as  is 
usually  the  case  at  this  season  of  the  year. 
Fruit  Committee.—  Present:  P.  Crowley,  Esq.  (in  the  chair)  ;  with 
Messrs.  .J.  Cheat,  J.  II.  Veitch,  M.  Gleeson,  W.  Pope,  A.  Dean, 
S.  Mortimer,  W.  Farr,  J.  W.  Bates,  W.  J.  Empson,  F.  Q.  Lane, 
G.  Reynolds,  G.  Norman,  and  G.  Bunyard. 
Messrs,  j.  Veitch  &  Sons  were  represented  in  the  fruit  section  by  a 
collection  of  Apples  and  Pears,  with  Morello  Cherries.  La  Versaillaise 
Red  Currants,  and  Lee’s  Prolific  Black  Currants,  with  a  Basplierry- 
Blackberry  hybrid.  The  best  of  the  Apples  were  Lord  Grosvenor, 
Ecklinville  Seedling,  White  Transparent,  Red  Astrachan,  Stirling  Castle, 
Dutch  Codlin,  Potts’  Seedling,  I  levonshir^,  Quarrenden,  Duchess  of 
Oldenburg,  Beauty  of  Bath,  Lord  Suflfield,  Domino,  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
(silver  Knightian  medal).  Messrs.  Bunyard  &  Co.,  Maidstone,  showed 
some  grand  Apples,  including  Gold  Medal,  Beauty  of  Bath,  Grenadier, 
Mr.  Gladstone,  Potts’  Seedling,  Lady  Sudeley,  Lord  Kuffield,  Peter  the 
Great,  Lord  Grosvenor,  Duchess  of  Oldenburgh,  The  Queen,  Worcester 
Pcarmain,  Ringer,  Ecklinville  Seedling,  Red  Quarrenden,  and  Irish  Peach 
(silver  Ki  ightian  medal). 
Mr.  Walters,  gardener  to  Lord  Gerrard,  Eastwell  Park,  Ashford, 
showed  Black  Hamburgh  and  Foster’s  Seedling  Grapes, Peaches,  Nectarines, 
Melons,  all  in  most  creditable  condition  (silver  Knightian  medal).  Messrs. 
S.  Spooner  &  Son,  Hounslow,  contributed  some  Apples  in  capital  con¬ 
dition,  and  representing  all  the  varieties  now  in  season  (silver  Bank  Jan 
medal).  Mr.  .1.  Miller,  gardener  to  Lord  Foley,  Esher,  was  represented  by 
Apples,  Pears,  Cherries,  Melons,  Peaches,  Nectarines,  Plums,  and  Goose¬ 
berries  (silver  Knightian  medal).  Mr.  S.  C.  Lamb  sent  grand  Oranges, 
and  other  exhibitors  showed  Currants,  Apples,  and  Pears. 
A  most  excellent  collection  of  fruit  was  shown  by  Mr.  G.  Keif, 
gardener  to  Mrs.  Abbott,  Regent’s  Park.  It  comprised  good  Buckland 
Sweetwater  and  Black  Hamburgh  Grapes,  Perfection  and  other  Tomatoes, 
with  Melons,  Plums,  Apples,  and  handsome  Barrington  Peaches  (silver- 
gilt  Banksian  medal).  Mr.  A.  II.  Gibson,  gardener  to  J.  Rickett,  Esq., 
Pinner,  sent  Tomato  A.  II.  Gibson,  while  Mr.  E.  S.  Wiles,  gardener  to 
the  lion.  E.  Hubbard,  Down,  Kent,  sent  three  Melon*. 
Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons  exhibited  three  dwarf  Beans,  named  respec¬ 
tively  Veitch’s  Progress,  Early  Wonder,  and  Veitch’s  Hybrid.  The 
latter  resulted  from  a  cross  between  the  Scarlet  Runner  and  a  dwarf 
French  Bean.  It  grows  about  15  inches  high,  and  is  a  splendid  cropper. 
Floral  Committee. — Present :  W.  Marshall,  Esq.  (in  the  chair)  ; 
with  Messrs.  II.  B.  May,  It.  Dean,  J.  II.  Fitt,  W.  Ilowe,  J.  T.  McLeod, 
C.  E.  Pearson,  J.  Walker,  E.  II.  Jenkins,  II.  J.  Cutbush,  E.  T.  Cook, 
II.  Turner,  C.  T.  Druery,  G.  Paul,  H.  S.  Leonard,  and  J.  Fraser  (Kew). 
Messrs.  W.  Paul  &  Son,  Waltham  Cross,  staged  one  of  the  most 
attractive  exhibits  in  the  Show.  The  baskets  of  Phloxes  and  Roses 
constituted  the  chief  display  ;  in  the  former  were  Meteor,  Etna,  Kaust, 
Fiancde,  and  Iris  — all  very  fine  varieties.  The  Roses  were  excellent 
for  the  season  :  Souvenir  de  Catherine  Guillot,  Empress  Alexandra  of 
Russia,  Mardchal  Niel  (splendid  blooms  from  the  open  air),  Duke  of 
York,  and  White  Maman  Cochet  (silver  Flora  medal).  Messrs.  ,Jas. 
Veitch  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  Chelsea,  staged  a  capital  display  of  Pentstemons, 
in  which  the  colours  were  bright  and  varied.  The  same  firm  also 
exhibited  some  specimen  trees,  which  included  a  grand  branch  of  Clero- 
dendron  trichotomum,  covered  with  its  sweetly  scented  flowers  ;  Clematis 
Davidiana,  with  its  pale  blue  flowers  ;  the  variegated  Vine,  Vitis  hetero- 
phylla  variegata  ;  and  Andromeda  arborea. 
A  group  of  plants  was  arranged  by  Purnell  Purnell,  Esq.,  Streatham 
Hill,  consisting  of  Begonias  both  double  and  single.  Fuchsias,  in  which 
the  Countess  of  Aberdeen  was  conspicuous.  Ferns,  Palms,  and  Crotons 
in  variety  (bronze  Banksian  medal).  From  Messrs.  T.  S.  Ware,  Ltd., 
Tottenham,  came  a  display  of  Cactus  and  Pompon  Dahlias,  witn  a 
general  display  of  hardy  flowers.  The  best  Dahlias  in  the  Cactus  section 
were  Britannia,  Starfish,  Capstan,  Mrs.  Turner,  and  Mrs.  W.  Noble. 
The  l’ompons  were  bright  and  effective.  Also  a  display  of  single  and 
