September  9,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
241 
the  cuttings  in  small  pots,  and  shifting  them  into  larger  ones  as  required, 
they  insert  them  in  the  pots  in  which  they  are  intended  to  bloom,  and 
thus  save  the  time  necessary  in  repotting.  The  majority  of  the  plants 
sent  to  market  are  only  one  year  old. — G. 
BEGONIAS  AT  YEOVIL. 
“  Can  you  direct  me  to  Mr.  Davis’s  nursery  1  ”  I  asked  of  a  Yeovil 
rustic  the  other  day,  when  a  little  uncertain  as  to  which  turning  to  take. 
“Do’ee  mean  the  ‘’Gonia’  man,  zur?”  said  he.  “Yes,”  I  replied. 
“  Then,”  said  my  informant,  “  go  down  there,  and  jest  up  the  hill,  an’ 
you’ll  see  his  place,  an’  they  be  purty  viewers,  too,  zur,  he  grows.  Why 
zome  be  as  big  as  zaacers,  the  zingles  and  ther  dooble  be  loike  girt  cups 
opside  doon,  an’  sich  ‘coolers.’  ”  “  Yes,”  I  remarked,  “  I  have  seen  them 
at  the  great  shows,  and  now  I  am  going  to  see  them  growing.”  I  thanked 
my  friend,  and  wended  my  way  to  the  nursery. 
It  is  Mr.  Davis’s  fortune  not  only  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  a  great 
coimtry  business  town,  but  also  to  have  his  nursery  situated  beside  a  fine 
and  much-frequented  highway,  so  that  large  numbers  of  persons  are 
attracted  to  the  Begonia  show,  under  glass  and  outside,  so  liberally 
furnished,  and  which  can  be  seen  from  the  road,  or  may  be  more  closely 
seen  by  visiting  the  place,  as  it  is  freely  open  to  inspection  by  all 
persons. 
I  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  this  energetic  and  highly  intelligent 
Somersetshire  florist  at  home,  and  in  his  company  examined  the  huge 
stock  of  Begonias  growing.  A  cursory  inspection  reveals  the  fact, 
absolutely  undoubted,  that  the  quality  of  the  Yeovil  strains,  whether 
single  or  double,  is  equal  in  every  respect  to  the  best  of  the  metropolitan 
or  other  provincial  strains,  if  not  in  some  respects  better.  This  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Davis  is  a  Begonia  enthusiast,  does  his  own  fertilisation, 
intercrossing,  and  selecting  ;  hence  he  not  only  knows  what  he  wants, 
but  works  exactly  to  that  end,  and  results  amply  justif}'  that  personal 
action  ;  for  whilst  his  strains  have  in  colour  a  marvellous  variety,  the 
quality  is  indeed  splendid. 
With  such  superior  excellence  no  wonder  the  title  of  “Yeovil” 
Begonias  has  become  of  world-wide  knowledge,  for  Mr.  Davis  has 
customers  all  the  world  over,  and  the  good  Somerset  town  has  gained 
through  our  florist  friend  some  acceptable  notoriety  also.  At  this  late 
period  of  the  summer,  although  there  were  thousands  of  fine  plants 
blooming  in  the  honses,  yet  the  chief  centre  of  interest  was  found  in  the 
fine  seedlings  blooming  in  beds  outdoors.  The  site  of  the  nursery 
is  on  the  north-eastern  slope  of  a  hill,  and  fully  exposed  in  spring  to 
very  cold  winds,  that  render  growth  rather  late  ;  and  still  farther,  the 
excessive  dryness  of  the  soil  so  long  in  the  summer  did  not  help  growth 
either.  But  this  now  is  fine  indeed,  almost  luxuriant.  None  the  less,  it  is 
not  aimed  to  make  the  soil  too  rich.  The  same  sites  have  to  be  utilised 
year  after  year,  and  have  worked  into  them  leaf  soil  or  well-decayed 
manure  ;  but  still  the  object  is  to  produce  not  the  biggest,  but  the 
firmest  and  most  perfectly  matured  tubers  for  storing  in  the  winter  and 
ordinary  sale.  Such  tubers  not  only,  if  needed,  give  the  best  cuttings 
that  endure,  but  also  produce  by  far  the  best  flowering  plants. 
Then  ample  evidence  of  the  admirable  capacity  of  the  Begonia  to 
withstand  storms  and  bloom  under  adverse  weather  conditions,  for 
but  three  days  previous  to  my  visit  there  had  passed  over  the  locality 
a  fierce  wind  and  rain  storm,  generally  to  fragile  flowers  and  plants 
most  destructive,  but  the  Begonias  seemed  not  only  unharmed,  but  bore 
few  evidences  of  injury.  They  were  in  flower  and  foliage  superbly  fresh 
and  beautiful.  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  singles  or  doubles  exhibit 
the  greatest  variety  of  colour.  I  noted  in  both  white,  lemon,  yellow, 
orange,  apricot,  pink,  carmine,  cerise,  salmon,  scarlet,  magenta,  and 
crimson ;  indeed  there  seems  to  be  every  possible  self  hue  found  except 
the  blue  shades,  and  whilst  Begonia  growers  would  like  to  obtain  these, 
I  hardly  share  that  wish.  Then  there  are  even  of  these  mentioned  so 
many  diverse  tints,  and  of  edged,  or  flushed,  or  shaded  flowers,  others  in 
great  abundance.  Without  doubt  the  Begonia  has  given  to  us  shades 
and  combinations  in  colour  no  other  flowers  produce. 
AVhilst  in  the  singles  we  see  in  all  directions  thick  petals  of  fine 
rounded  form  associated  with  great  size,  we  see  in  the  doubles  much 
departure  from  those  crowded-petalled  Hollyhock-like  masses,  more  of 
the  broad  flat  shell  petal  of  the  Camellia  and  Eose.  To  obtain  these  Mr. 
Davis  has  worked  specially,  realising  that  they  present  features  that  are 
so  much  to  be  admired.  Pretty  crumpled  edges  also  are  here  and  there 
reminding  one  of  goffered  frills,  as  once  such  popular  wear,  and  this 
break  will  be  woi'ked  upon  doubtless  with  good  results.  Of  course  there 
are  Picotee  edged  flowers,  and  some  show  broad  margins  of  colour  on 
white  that  lead  to  the  impression  a  fine-margined  strain  may  be  ultimately 
produced. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  single  seedlings  not  only  come  very  true  to 
variety,  but  they  never  seem  to  diverge  from  the  single  character,  excejjt 
specially  fertilised  to  that  end.  Doubles,  on  the  other  hand,  do  show  in 
seedlings  a  small  percentage  of  singles,  as  all  who  purchase  seed  know. 
Those  who,  rather  than  bother  with  uncertain  seedlings,  prefer  to  purchase 
a  dozen  or  more  of  selected  doubles  or  singles  as  now  marked  in  the 
seed  beds,  not  only  get  all  of  different  colours,  but  all  are  true  to  form  as 
desired.  Seedling  tubers  the  following  year  make  fine  pot  plants,  and 
once  obtained  may  be  grown  on  indefinitely.  Mr.  Davis  has  worked 
hard  also  to  secure  the  best  possible  stocks  of  small-flovvered,  erect- 
blooming  varieties  of  rich  or  striking  colours  for  bedding,  and  these 
are  so  employed,  thinly  planted  on  some  neutral  coloured  carpet,  are 
singularly  beautiful. — A.  D. 
Weathbe  in  London. — Though  we  have  had  two  or  three  fine 
days  during  the  past  week  a  considerable  amount  of  rain  has  fallen. 
This  was  particularly  the  case  on  Sunday,  when  it  rained  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  day.  On  Tuesday,  again,  there  were  heavy  showers. 
Wednesday  was  fine. 
-  PhotooRAPHS. — We  inadvertently  omitted  to  state  that  the 
excellent  photographs  sent  to  us  last  week  of  the  Shrewsbury  medals 
and  presentation  epergne  wei’e  taken  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Naunton,  one  of 
the  Secretaries  of  the  Shropshire  Horticultural  Society,  who  is  an  expert 
in  such  work.  The  photographs  in  the  preceding  issue  were  by  Mr. 
Bartlett,  Shrewsbury. 
_  Gardening  Appointments. — Mr.  Kichard  Chubb  has  been 
appointed  head  gardener  at  Earmingwoods  Hall,  Thrapston,  Northants. 
Mr.  William  Coomber,  who  had  to  relin(iuish  the  charge  of  Lilford  Hall 
Gardens  through  the  death  of  his  employer,  the  late  Lord  Lilford,  has 
been  appointed  gardener  to  Lord  Grey  de  Wilton  at  Houghton  Hall, 
Swaffham,  Norfolk.  Mr.  David  .Johnston,  for  the  past  four  years  general 
foreman  at  Strathfieldsaye,  has  been  appointed  head  gardener  to  H.R.H. 
Prince  Hatzfeldt  at  Draycot  Cerne,  Chippenham,  Wiltshire.  Mr.  G. 
Gurney,  late  head  gardener  to  Mrs.  Powell,  Maesgwynne,  Carmarthenshire, 
as  head  gardener  to  Viscount  Eaincliffe,  Blankney  Hall,  Lincoln. 
_  Lilium  auratum  at  Logan  House,  Wigtonshire. — Mrs. 
McDowall  of  Logan  is  an  enthusiastic  cultivator  of  Oriental  Ijilies.  She 
is  specially  successful  with  Lilium  auratum,  which  attains  to  an  unusual 
height  and  strength.  One  of  the  finest  specimens  of  this  noble  Lily  I 
have  ever  seen  is  7  feet  8  inches  high,  while  the  stem  is  fully  5  inches  in 
circumference.  The  number  of  flowers,  twenty-one,  is  by  no  means  very 
unusual,  but  they  are,  on  the  other  hand,  of  more  than  average  size, 
being  in  most  instances  nearly  12  inches  across.  L.  auratum  rubro- 
vittatum  is  unfortunately  not  largely  grown,  as  I  am  sure  it  would  be 
found  highly  ornamental.  I  do  not  find  it,  however,  so  vigorous  as  its 
contemporaries,  nor  is  it  so  floriferous. — David  E.  Williamson. 
_  Gathering  Perfume  from  Living  Plants. — It  is  said 
that  a  method  of  gathering  the  scent  of  flowers  as  the  plant  is  growing 
has  been  discovered  by  a  Captain  Smee.  He  takes  a  glass  funnel,  and 
heats  the  thin  end  over  a  spirit  lamp.  He  then  draws  out  the  stem  to  a 
fine  point.  This  accomplished,  the  funnel  is  filled  with  ice  and  placed 
on  a  retort  stand,  the  pointed  end  being  placed  in  a  small  glass  bottle, 
without  touching  it.  After  this,  the  stand  and  the  funnel  are  placed  in 
a  greenhouse,  among  the  flowers  whose  odours  it  is  desired  to  collect. 
Gradually  the  vapour  rises  from  the  flowers,  and  in  meeting  the  colder 
surface  of  the  funnel  condenses  into  drops  on  the  outside  of  the  glass. 
From  the  point  of  condensation  it  trickles  down  until  it  drops  into  the 
bottle.  In  a  surprisingly  short  time  a  large  amount  of  perfume  is 
collected,  and  it  is  claimed  that  90  per  cent,  of  the  contents  of  the  bottle 
is  perfume  ;  the  rest  is  water.  Strange  to  say,  this  essence  of  the  flower 
needs  to  be  adulterated  with  spirits  of  wine,  otherwise  it  would  become 
sour  and  useless. 
_  Hero  of  Lockinge  Melon.— Taking  all  points  into  con¬ 
sideration  I  question  if  this  grand  variety  has  yet  been  surpassed.  The 
colour  and  netting  are  perfect  when  the  fruit  is  well  grown  ;  the  flavour 
too,  is  quite  first  rate,  and  I  know  of  no  variety  which  produces  a  heaviei 
fruit  in  proportion  to  its  size.  At  the  present  time  I  have  a  small  house 
filled  with  plants  of  this  well  known  Hero.  The  majority  of  the  fruits 
have  just  completed  the  netting  process,  and  a  very  pretty  lot  they  are^ 
none  of  them  being  large,  but  all  must  be  deep  fleshed,  for  they^  are 
heavy  and  solid,  no  hollow  sound  being  given  out  when  the  fruit  is 
tapped  with  the  knuckles.  They  have  been  grown  entirely  in  a  rather 
light  loam,  weak  liquid  manure  being  occasionally  given.  Melons  growing 
in  a  liberally  manured  compost  often  produced  very  large  specimens,  but 
as  a  rule  they  lack  depth  of  flesh,  and  do  not  satisfy  a  critical  judge,  who 
tests  them  by  trying  their  weight.  And  it  is  seldom,  indeed,  that  these 
large  fruits  bear  favourable  comparison  with  smaller  ones  in  ])oint  of 
flavour.  ( )ne  does  not  often  meet  with  the  true  form  of  Hero  of  Lockinge 
now,  for  when  more  than  one  variety  is  grown  in  a  house  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  obtain  seed  true  to  name.  D.  AY. 
