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September  28,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
A  GREAT  TOMATO  TRIAL  AT  READING. 
On  my  way  home  from  Shrewsbury  I  was  taken,  at  my  special  desire, 
up  to  the  Messrs.  Sutton  fit  Sons’  well-known  seed  farm  at  Reading  to  see 
a  great  trial  of  Tomatoes  in  the  open  air.  It  was  a  distinct  privilege 
thus  to  see  what  was  there  pre.-ented,  for  it  was  without  exception  the 
finest  and  most  perfect,  as  well  as  extensive,  trial  of  these  interest  ng 
plants  in  the  open  air  I,  or  perh  ips  anyone  else,  has  seer.  There  were  on 
the  ground  first  eighty-two  reputed  varieties,  represented  by  210  rows 
■of  ten  plants  in  a  row,  and  therefore  a  total  of  2100  plants  altogether. 
With  one  or  two  exceptions,  wh<  re  the  plant  habit  was  dwarfer,  every 
plant  had  been  stopp'd  at  3J-  feet  from  the  ground.  The  rows  were 
3  feet  apart,  and  the  plants  in  the  rows  about  14  inches  asunder. 
Every  plant  was  kept  to  a  single  stem,  and  was  supported  by  a  strM 
stake.  Generally  the  soil  was  exceedingly  dry,  a3  little  or  no  water  had 
4)een  given,  and  there  was  not  a  vestige  of  mulch.  In  a  remarkable  degree 
the  trial  evidenced  the  appreciation  the  Tomato  haa  for  comparative 
aridity,  both  of  soil  and  atmosphere,  for  no  plants  anywhere  could  have 
been  more  health}’,  have  looked  better,  or  have  carried  heavier  crops. 
Indeed  the  cropping  throughout  was  a  marvellous  feature.  The  lower 
leaveB  having  been  removed,  it  was  possible  to  see  the  masses  of  fruit 
brilliant  in  scarlet  or  yellow  colouring,  in  a  way  I  had  never  previously 
seen,  and  it  occurred  to  me  that  those  who  wished  to  introduce  novelties 
in  bedding  effects  might  do  worse  than  to  employ  some  of  these 
brilliant  coloured  and  heavy  fruited  Tomatoes,  as  they  were  here  remark¬ 
ably  effective. 
Now  the  trial  demonstrated  fully  that  during  such  seasons  as  the 
present  there  are  few  varieties  that  will  not  do  pretty  well  outdoors  under 
the  form  of  culture  given  at  Reading.  But  the  Messrs.  Sutton  &  Sons 
■have  been  labouring  specially  to  obtain  for  outdoor  culture  precocious  and 
heavy  cropping  varieties,  particularly  for  market  purposes,  and  these 
varieties  are  now  universally  grown  in  this  way.  It  may  fie  desirable  to 
mention  that  the  seeds  of  every  variety  were  sown  in  warmth  on  tho 
20th  of  February,  and  the  plants,  then  well  rooted  in  5-inch  pots,  put 
out  where  grown  during  the  first  week  in  June,  even  then  a  rather 
■cold  time. 
Laston’s  Open  Air  is  the  first  to  notice,  fairly  well  fruited,  and  that  is 
■followed  by  the  firm’s  Earliest  of  All,  admittedly  the  best  cropper.  This 
was  carrying  great  clusters  of  fully  ripe  fruit.  Magnum  Bonum  is  cf 
the  same  type,  two  or  three  days  later  in  ripening,  but  a  heavier  cropper, 
“for  both  fruits  and  trusses  are  larger.  This  is  one  of  the  very  best  out¬ 
door  varieties,  especially  for  market  purposes.  This  is  followed  by  the 
■old  Large  Red,  or  Powell’s  Early,  a  very  good  stock,  but  not  up  to  the 
character  of  the  preceding.  None  others  seem  to  exhibit  such  irregular 
fruits  as  this  old  variety  does. 
Vesuvius  has  rather  smoother  fruits  than  those  named,  crop  very 
heavy,  nnd  rather  higher  up  the  stems.  Peerless  has  quite  distinct 
•dark  foliage,  and  carries  medium  sized  smooth  fruits  on  quite  long 
Tacemes,  a  heavy  cropper,  and  valuable  for  any  form  of  culture.  Princess 
of  Wales  has  fruits  rather  larger,  very  round  and  handsome,  produced 
freely  in  large  clusters.  Abundance  is  well  named,  for  it  is  a  heavy 
cropper,  fruits  are  of  medium  size  and  handsome,  as  also  rich  in  colour. 
It  is  a  trifle  taller  than  most  other  varieties  ;  one  of  the  very  best.  The 
well-known  Conference  is  here,  but  does  not  carry  a  heavy  crop.  A 
seedling  from  Best  of  All  is  found,  whilst  resembling  that  good  variety, 
t )  ripen  its  fruits  rather  earlier. 
Main  Crop  is  also  a  huge  cropper.  The  fruits  are  of  good  size,  borne 
in  great  clusters,  and  fully  justifies  the  varietal  name.  Close  by  is  a  row 
of  this  variety  from  seed  saved  from  the  plant  grafted  on  the  Victoria 
Potato  in  1895,  which  fruiting  seed  was  saved  and  sown  the  following 
year,  and  the  present  plants  were,  of  course,  the  third  season’s  offspring. 
Yet  there  is  still  seen  the  same  marked  divergence  produced  the  first 
year  of  growth,  for  the  plants  are  rather  dwarfer,  fruits  a  trifle  smaller, 
produced  in  marvellous  quantity,  and  ripening  rather  earlier.  An  un¬ 
named  and  most  distinct  variety  is  one  earryii  g  huge  clusters  of  fruits, 
deep  red  in  colour,  and  about  the  size  of  small  oval  Plums.  There  were 
from  forty  to  fifty  ripe  and  green  fruits  on  a  single  cluster,  the  crop  being 
a  marvellous  one. 
Close  by  was  the  old  Pear  shaped,  but  it  does  not  crop  like  the 
preceding  one.  Suttons’  Cluster  is  well  named,  as  the  rich  red  handsome 
fruit  of  medium  size  are  thickly  borne  on  racemes  10  inches  long. 
Sutton  s  Red  Dessert  is  a  variety  that  is  widely  grown.  The  fruits  are 
smallish,  oval  in  shape,  borne  in  great  profusion,  and  give  the  best 
flavour  found  in  any  red  variety.  The  old  Chiswick  Red,  or  King 
Humbert,  is  here  also  ;  so  also  are  such  old  varieties  as  Hathaway’s 
Excelsior  and  Vick  s  Criterion  ;  but  these  come  in  cropping  and  earliness 
much  below  newer  varieties.  Of  varieties  generally  grown  under  glass, 
there  are  yet  here  fruiting  very  finely  Sutton’s  Eciipse,  <  ne  of  the  finest 
of  the  Perfection  type  ;  Al,  the  fruits  Apple  shaped  and  very  solid  ; 
Erogmore  Selected,  Polegate,  Duke  of  York,  and  not  least  Sutton’s  Best 
of  All,  a  first-rate  stock  for  house  woik.  The  Mikado  is  an  old  American 
stock,  and  has  little  merit. 
_  Tender  and  True  is  a  fine  product  from  the  Red  Peach,  that  variety 
being  greatly  improved.  It  is  e.-sentially  a  house  variety.  Peachblow 
■*s  of  this  character  also.  Sunbeam  and  Golden  Nugget  are  two  of  the 
finest  flavoured  yellows  for  dessert  purposes.  Both  fruit  superbly  out¬ 
doors,  the  latter  particularly  so.  Prince  of  Wales  is  a  rich  yellow  fruited 
variety,  and  Golden  Perfection  has  fruits  of  a  pale  straw  yellow.  Gold'  n 
Queen  is  another  yellow  variety,  and  all  three  ripen  fruits  admirably 
outdoors.  Golden  Jubilee  is  here  so  late  that  hardly  a  fruit  is  ripe. 
There  are  many  others  besides  those  mentioned,  but  those  named  are 
the  best.  The  firm  is  to  be  congratu'ated  not  only  in  having  thus 
afforded  such  a  splendid  outdoor  trial,  but  also  in  having  furnished  so 
many  fine  and  remarkable  cropping  varieties. — K. 
LIVERPOOL  NOTES. 
PltUNUS  PlSSARDI. 
PEOrLE  who  can  plai  t  extensively,  and  who  do  not  as  yet  know  this 
handsome  ornamental  trep,  would  do  well  to  bear  it  in  mind,  for  given  a 
suitable  position  it  will  shine  most  conspicuously  in  the  forefront  of  any 
plantation.  Not  that  I  wi  uld  recommend  it  particularly  for  its  perfect 
or  compact  habit  of  growth,  as  that  is  somewhat  peculiar,  but  (hire  is  no 
mistaking  those  glossy  black  twigs  and  the  intense  reddish  crimson  large 
oval  leairs,  especially  when  seen  from  a  distance.  In  a  summer  like  the 
one  which  is  all  too  soon  departing,  the  colouration  has  been  perfec’,  the 
sunlight  bringing  out  the  tints  in  a  manner  not  readily  forgotten. 
Apple  Milecross. 
This  is  an  Irish  Apple  which  orginated  in  the  grounds  attached  to 
Messrs.  Alex.  Dickson  &  So;  s,  and  is  of  great  excellence.  Having,  in 
company  with  a  gardening  friend,  had  an  opportunity  of  inspecting  some 
a  res  of  the  finest  varieties  under  cultivation,  we  were  taken  to  see 
the  original,  and  found  it  in  better  condition  (if  possible)  than  the 
younger  trees,  which  is  saying  a  good  deal.  Somewhat  straggling  in 
growth  the  shoots  were  “roped ’’with  fruit,  and  props  could  have  been 
advantageously  requisitioned.  A  large  conical  shaped  green  fruit,  with 
a  flush  of  colour  on  the  sunny  side,  we  put  it  down  as  a  fine  culinary 
variety,  and  began  to  have  doubts  when  told  that  it  was  an  excellent 
dessert  variety  also,  and  would  command  the  best  price  in  the  Irish 
market.  After  sampling  ib  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  we  had  got 
good  quality,  and  mire  important  still,  quantity  with  it.  Ils  condition  is 
sound  from  now  over  Christmas. 
Cattleya  Harrisoni.e. 
From  an  importation  of  plants  of  this  variety  we  have  had  a  long 
succession  of  flower,  such  as  we  could  scarcely  have  obtained  from  any 
other.  The  first  flowers  opened  early  in  July,  and  have  been  continuous 
up  to  the  present,  with  prospects  of  yet  another  two  or  three  weeks’ 
display.  It  is  almost  of  a  shade  of  <olour  by  itself,  and  ladies  take  an 
especial  interest  in  it  on  account  of  the  beautiful  soft  tints  of  rose  which  are 
so  often  apparent  amongst  imported  plants.  There  is  also  much  variation 
in  the  formation  of  the  flowers,  which  are  freely  produced  if  the  plants 
are  kept  in  a  stove  or  intermediate  temperature  and  are  freely  supplied 
with  water  during  the  summer  months.  The  variety  violecea  is  very  fine, 
the  large  flowers,  with  lemon  tipped  lip,  being  quite  elegant.  If  kept  in 
a  cooler  temprrature  whin  in  flower  the  flowers  will  last  for  several 
weeks.  As  a  buttonhole  flower  it  will  hold  its  own  against  all  comers. 
Spiraea  Anthony  Waterer. 
I  first  made  the  acquaintance  of  this  richly  coloured  Spiraea  at  the 
Manchester  Show  a  few  seasons  back,  and  felt-  ai  the  time  it  was  destined 
to  take  a  foremost  place  in  collections  of  hardy  plunts.  It  is  one  of  those 
good  things  that  will  repay  thorough  cultivation,  some  loam,  leaf  mould, 
sand,  and  a  little  decayed  manure  making  a  compost  that  will  give 
abundance  of  fine  folisge,  as  well  as  a  profusion  of  flowers.  As  an 
August  and  early  September  variety  it  will  take  high  rank,  and  only 
requires  to  be  better  known  to  be  largely  cultivated. 
Roby  Mount. 
Although  not  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word  an  extensive  estate, 
this  is  one  of  those  beautiful  suburban  residences  with  which  Liverpool 
abounds.  Its  owner,  John  Farrington,  Esq  ,  is  a  model  tmployer,  delighting 
in  his  garden  (so  ably  presided  over  by  Mr.  T.  Eaton)  and  entering  fully 
into  the  delights  wh  c’l  it  affords  to  Mrs.  Farrington  and  family,  who  are 
ever  ready  to  do  all  in  their  power  for  the  goed  and  welfare  of  the  parish, 
and  particularly  are  the  allotment  holders  indebted  to  them  for  the 
handsome  prize  given  each  season. 
Some  years  ago,  when  Blackberry  culture  was  only  developing,  I 
spoke  of  a  plant  of  the  old  common  sort  planted  against  (he  railway 
embankment  wa'l,  and  from  which  a  few  quarts  of  fruit  hud  been 
gathered.  Encouraged  by  success  the  Parsley-leaved  was  introduced, 
hut  in  point  of  quality  and  quantity  it  will  not  hold  its  own.  Now  the 
p'ants  occupy  a  space  of  80  feet,  and  since  August  Bank  Holiday  forty- 
five  quarts  of  the  finest  flavoured  fruit  has  been  gathered,  and  judging 
from  the  huge  bunches  of  ripening  fruit,  one  would  almost  fancy  as  many 
more  will  yet  be  gathered. 
In  tho  vineries  the  last  of  the  good  Ilamburghs  were  just  being  cut. 
Muscats  were  richly  coloured  and  fine  in  berry,  but  although  not  a  largo 
house  the  one  occupied  by  Lady  Downe’s  was  perfect.  Beautiful  in  bunch, 
berry,  and  colour,  they  were  worthy  of  the  highest  possible  praise.  The 
plant  house  was  rich  with  flowering  plants  ot  Begonias,  Fuchsias,  Zonal 
‘•Geraniums,'’  and  Petunias,  the  front  stage  being  occupied  with  capital 
Tomatoes  in  pots.  In  the  stove  Cattleya  aurea,  an  odd  Cattle}  a  labiata, 
and  Dendrobium  phalrenopsis  were  in  bloom,  with  labiatas  sheathing  in 
abundance.  Crotons  ana  other  foliage  plants  cave  great  promise.  A 
pretty  fernery  and  a  cool  Orchid  house  were  not  the  least  interesting,  and 
Peach  houses  indicated  good  culture. 
The  vegetable  quarters  woie  well  filled  with  every  requisite,  and  the 
pleasure  grounds  were  kept  in  perfect  order,  herbaceous  plants  being 
evidently  a  special  feature.  Chrysanthmums  promise  well,  and  every¬ 
thing  is  more  than  creditable  to  Mr.  Eaton’s  able  management. — R.  P.  R. 
