July  25,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER , 
85 
Carnation  Duchess  of  Roxbubghe 
them,  are  among;  the  most  choice.  Queen  Bess,  rosy  lilac  on  apricot 
ground,  is  charming;  so  is  Perseus,  vellow,  red  and  lilac.  Cardinal 
Wolsey  is  a  distinct  kind  now  well  kaown ;  Guinevere,  rose  on  buff 
ground,  is  especially  rich  and  distinct.  Primrose  League,  Sam,  and 
Janira  are  all  good,  but  not  the  strongest  of  growers ;  Lady  Ardilaun, 
but  for'  a  rough  edge,  would  be  highly  esteemed.  Excellent  is  a 
■seedling  raised  by  Mr.  Wellesley  named  Miss  Laura  Webb.  It  is  not 
yet  fully  open,  but  the  deep  rose  on  buff  ground  is  b-ing  produced  in 
the  manner  that  gained  it  so  many  admirers  last  year. 
The  last  division  is  the  self-coloured.  Among  pure  white 
Carnations  Mrs.  Eric  Hambro  takes 
first  place  in  the  Honeypote 
collection.  This  is  fine.  Trojan, 
Wild  Swan,  and  others  come  in 
the  rear  as  being  less  pure  and 
well  formed.  As  yet  the  finest 
crimson  is  Uncle  Tom,  but  the 
newer  ones,  such  as  Barras,  Tabley, 
Agnes  Sorrel,  Mancunian,  Sir  Bevys 
are  fine.  All  the  dark-coloured 
ones  seem  an  easy  prey  to  thrip ; 
in  fact  every  pest  to  prevent  them 
opening  clean  of  petal.  In  apricot 
shades  Benbow  is  perfectly  formed  ; 
Midas  less  fine  in  quality,  but 
large;  Mrs.  Colby  Sharpin  rich  in 
colour,  but  the  plant  weakly.  A 
really  good  blush-coloured  sort  has 
yet  to  be  raised.  The  best  are 
Seagull  and  Her  Grace.  Exile  has 
pretty  rose-coloured  flowers,  and  the 
bloom  is  well  formed.  A  bright- 
rose  kind  is  Mrs.  Gascoin,  raised 
by  Mr.  T.  Lord  ;  this  is  fine,  and 
should  assist  in  adding  brightness 
to  the  stands  of  flowers  which  will 
shortly  leave  the  collection  under 
notice.  The  leading  kinds  in  salmon 
pink  or  light  scarlet  shades  are 
Mrs.  Ja°.  Douglas,  Endymion, 
Enchantress,  all  of  which  are 
represented  by  fine  blooms.  In  rich 
scarlets  nothing  to  our  mind  ap- 
pr  aches  Lady  Hindlip  ;  the  diffi¬ 
culty  with  this  is  to  prevent  it  from 
scalding  in  hot  weather.  Germania, 
Regina,  and  Britannia,  furnish  the 
finest  yellows ;  and  a  pretty  flower 
is  Lady  Jane  Grey,  a  heliotrope 
shade,  deep  and  clear. 
Tne  above  named  does  not  in¬ 
clude  all,  only  the  more  striking 
among  the  flowers  in  Mr.  Wellesley’s 
display.  What  these  flowers  will  do 
at  the  forthcoming  exhibitions  the 
Journal  will  record,  as  the  plants 
are  grown  with  the  object  of  com¬ 
petition.  In  Mr.  Gilbert  the  owner 
has  a  gardener  not  less  enthusiastic 
than  himself,  and  one  exceedingly 
painstaking.  With  such  a  well 
ordered  collection  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  careful  hybridising  will  have 
some  thought,  and  by  so  doing  try 
to  improve  these  charoiing  flowers 
in  directions  that  may  suggest 
themselves.  Florists  should  never 
rest.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
half  a  century  and  more  has  passed  in  bringing  the  Carnation  to  its 
present  state  of  perfection. — H.  S. 
[From  oar  report  of  the  National  Carnation  Show  held  at  the 
Crystal  Palace  on  Friday  last,  it  will  b9  seen  that  Mr.  Wellessley  won 
all  the  first  prizes  in  the  classes  for  a  dozen  blooms  in  the  different 
sections,  viz.,  Bizarres,  Piootees,  yellow-ground  Picotees,  Fancies,  and 
Selfs.— Ed.]  _ 
year  than  a  bloom  of  J.  Helderly,  which  will,  however,  be  past 
before  the  show  at  the  Palace.  Master  Fred  and  Lord  Salisbury  are 
other  very  rich  things,  toe  latter  grand  in  colour,  but  with  too  many 
petals  to  please  the  fastidious.  Nothing  can  beat  Wm.  Skirving  and 
Sarah  Payne  in  pink  and  purple  bizarres,  the  last-named  being 
regarded  the  finest  Carnatiofi  in  existence  when  at  its  best.  It  is  a 
flower  on  which  the  eye  can  never  tire,  so  delicate  and  pure  are  its 
■markings.  In  purple  flakes  there  are  but  two  really  fine  sorts — 
namely,  Gordon  Lewis  and  George  Melville.  The  first  is  to  us  most 
beautiful.  Tnese  lovely  flowers  have  become  famous  since  the  death 
of  the  raiser,  the  late  Mr.  Dodwell, 
who  also  gave  us  the  finest  rose 
flake  Carnation  in  Merton  ;  this, 
Thalia,  and  Mrs.  Rowan,  are  the 
leading  kinds. 
Among  Picotees  one  hardly  knows 
which  to  admire  most.  The  wire- 
edge  on  a  white  ground  are  chaste 
.  iadeed,  like  Thomas  William,  and 
vet  there  is  something  remarkably 
•handsome  in  the  heavy  edge  blooms, 
like  John  Smith  or  Amy  Robsart. 
The  three  crimson  varieties  with 
heavy  edge  of  colour  a  e  John  Smith, 
Ganymede  and  Brunette ;  but  not 
tar  behind  them  is  Isabel  Lakin.  In 
light-edged  red  there  are  Thomas 
William,  Mrs.  Gorton,  Acme.  This 
last  is  splendid  on  the  plant,  but 
curiously  fails  as  a  show  flower 
when  staged.  Heavy  scarlet-edged 
flowers  are  represented  by  Mrs. 
Sharp,  Clio,  Mrs.  Barron  ;  and 
lightly  edged  of  the  same  shade  by 
Favourite,  Fortrose.  Grace  Dirling 
is  a  new  variety  of  this  class  that  is 
exceedingly  pretty. 
The  purple  -  edged  kinds  are 
prominent ;  Amy  Robsart  and  Fanny 
Tett  are  fine,  the  first  named  being 
to  our  mind  better  than  Muriel, 
which  has  for  years  been  the  premier 
of  its  division.  A  trio  of  purples 
of  a  light  marking  are  Somerhill, 
Harry  Kenyon,  and  Pride  of  Leyton  ; 
.  a  very  useful  flower  being  Esther. 
In  heavy  rose  edges  Little  Phil  is 
charming  ;  Lady  Louisa  and  Mrs. 
Beswick  are  two  sorts  nearly  distinct 
and  fine;  Mrs.  Foster  is  a  new 
kind  of  excellent  properties,  but  too 
early,  at  least  for  growers  in  the 
south.  Our  notes  take  us  to  that 
lovely  section  of  modern  production, 
the  Picotees  with  yellow  ground. 
Mr.  Wellesley’s  collection  is  truly 
rich  in  these.  My  own  choice  falls 
to  Lady  St.  Oswald,  as  being  the 
most  beautiful  on  account  of  its  rich 
deep  shade  of  yellow.  In  Lauzan, 
a  variety  with  a  distinct  purple 
edge,  there  is  one  scarcely  less 
fine  ;  Helodorus,  too,  is  handsome. 
■  These  are  the  newer  kinds.  Among 
better-known  sorts  are  Onda,  grand 
in  size;  Heather  Bell,  Lady  Bristol, 
Duke  of  Alva,  Hvgeia,  bright  rose 
edge ;  Dervish,  light  rose  edge 
and  pretty.  Mrs.  Douglas  and  Mrs.  Robert  Sydenham,  two  older 
kinds,  not  surpassed  in  refinement  if  beaten  in  size. 
Mr.  Nigel,  a  variety  with  heavy  dark  crimson  edge,  will  probably 
soon  be  classed  as  a  Fancy.  Although  very  rich  it  looks  not  delicate 
enough  to  be  placed  with  yellow  grounds  proper.  The  same  remark 
applies  to  H  Falkland  and  Mrs.  Tremayne,  two  showy  sorts.  Fancies 
include  some  grand  blossoms.  This  class  is  possibly  the  most  liked 
by  the  ordinary  visitor  at  a  show  ;  they  are  richly  marked,  large,  and 
vary  in  colour  to  a  remarkable  degree.  Voltaire  and  Eldorado,  now 
comparatively  old,  are-  still  among  the  best  in  the  lighter  shades.  To 
name  the  best  Fancy  would  be  difficult.  Mr.  Wellesley  is  part  cularly 
strong  with  Monarch,  a  variety  that  does  not  succeed  well  with 
everyone.  It  is  not  easy  to  admire  even  the  grand  Hidalgo  more  than 
this ;  both,  however,  are  grand  in  size  and  colouring.  Each  has  deep 
yellow  and  maroon  its  predominant  shades.  Czarina  and  Chas.  Martel, 
scarlet  and  yellow,  are  exceedingly  rich,  and  when  seen  as  we  noted 
Carnation  Duchess  of  Rosburghe. — On  page  12  of  the  Journal 
of  Horticulture  for  July  4th,  1901,  we  referred  to  blooms  of  this 
Carnation,  which  had  reached  us  from  Messrs.  Laing  &  Mather, 
Kelso-on-Tweed.  It  received  an  award  of  merit  from  the  Floral 
Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  on  June  18oh,  when  it 
was  shown  by  Mr.  James  Douglas,  Great  Bookham.  “  The  ground 
colour  of  the  flower  is  a  beautiful  rich  primrose,  striped  with  a  lovely 
shade  of  terra  cotta  and  heliotrope.  , 
