January  15,  1905. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
53 
The  Vegetable  Seed  Order, 
The  span  of  a  year  seems  but  a  brief  space  when  thoughts 
are  turned  to  tlie  past  seed  order,  and  the  necessity  for  con¬ 
centration  of  thought  on  the  next.  One  well-known 
gardening  friend,  and  one  whose  charge,  it  may  be  said,  is 
no  small  one,  tells  me  that  Boxing  Day — one  so  universally 
set  apart  for  seasonable  enjoyment — is  devoted  to  the  seed 
order,  which,  even  to  a  man  who  has  written  out  so  many, 
finds  a  relief  when  the  packet  is  in  the  hands  of  the  post¬ 
man,  and  his  thoughts  for  the  time  being  ax’e  set  at  rest  as 
regards  the  seed  list  for  the  current  year.  Every  gardener 
cannot,  even  if  he  were  so  disposed,  deal  with  this 
cumbrous  question  so  early  or  so  speedily  as  my  friend, 
because  so  few  catalogues  are  issued  at  so  early  a  date. 
The  seed  order  may  be  pleasant  work  to  compile,  or  it 
may  just  as  easily  be  otherwise.  Tt  undoubtedly  is  a  duty 
that  gives  luse  to  anxiety.  There  is  one  particular  reason, 
if  not  more  than  one,  to  account  for  this,  and  that  is  the 
desire  for  novelty,  which  must  be  restrained,  because  of 
the  extent  to  which  investment  is  permitted  in  them. 
There  are  some  so  favoured  that  the  desire  for  the  “  im¬ 
proved  ”  may  be  easily  gratified  ;  thei’e  are  a  greater 
number  who  must  “  feel  their  way,”  to  use  a  popular  phrase, 
in  choosing  or  substituting  new  names  for  old  ones. 
Potatoes, 
though  they  are  not  always  given  the  prominence  they  de¬ 
serve  in  catalogues,  are  none  the  less  the  most  important 
vegetable.  An  investment  in  Potatoes,  however,  is  not 
a  matter  requiring  the  same  thought  as  that  of  Peas.  It  is 
not  a  little  remarkable  that,  despite  the  legion  of  Potato 
names,  there  are  yearly  additions  made  by  those  expert 
and  patient  in  the  art  of  Potato  breeding.  To  the  exhibi¬ 
tor,  more  than  the  one  who  only  “  serves  the  kitchen,”  the 
craze  for  novelty  appeals  more  usefully.  At  the  same 
time,  a  change  of  seed  is  said  always  to  pay,  and  when  a 
change  is  necessary  by  all  means  try  some  which  science 
has  endeavoured  to  make  better  than  the  old.  All  seeds¬ 
men  make  an  aim  of  placing  the  best  before  their 
patrons,  and  when  this  is  remembered  it  is  scarcely  neces¬ 
sary  to  individualise.  It  would  be  well  to  remember  in 
the  trial  of  fresh  stock  that  the  ideal  of  one’s  expectation 
-may  not  be  realised  in  the  first  trial ;  indeed,  this  seldom 
happens  in  Potatoes. 
Peas 
occupy  a  foremost  place  instinctively  in  the  minds  of  most 
gardeners ;  the  one  concerned  for  home  supplies,  the 
market,  or  the  summer  show,  are  all  devoutly  given  to 
choose  what  to  individual  opinion  is  the  best  for  his  pur¬ 
pose.  Early  Giant,  Early  Monx,  Weston  Early,  Acme, 
Veitch’s  Earliest  Marrow,  Gradus,  Daisy,  Chelsea  Gem, 
May  Queen,  and  Harbinger  are  a  few  names  that  are 
familiar  among  good  early  sorts.  Alderman,  Holloway 
Rival,  Eclwin  Beckett,  Thomas  Laxton,  The  Duchess, 
Sharpe’s  Triumph,  Carter’s  Anticipation,  Commonwealth, 
Stratagem,  Telephone,  Duchess  of  York,  and  Sutton’s  Cen¬ 
tenary  are  some  main  crops,  good  both  for  the  table  and 
exhibition.  Autocrat,  Late  Queen,  and  Sutton’s  Latest  of 
All  are  a  trio  of  good  sorts  for  late  summer  and  autumn 
purposes.  No  summer  vegetable  is  perhaps  more  uncer¬ 
tain,  or  more  sought  for,  especially  in  August,  than 
Cauliflowees, 
and,  uixfoi-tunately,  though  there  are  a  good  array  of  names, 
there  are  none  so  resisting  of  summer  drought  as  to  give 
close,  milk-white  heads,  without  a  deal  of  labour  in  water¬ 
ing.  On  the  exhibition  table  Cauliflowers  often  give  a 
casting  vote  in  deciding  the  merits  of  competitive  vegetable 
collections,  and  wuthout  them  there  is  a  conspicuous  loss  to 
the  exhibit,  good  it  may  be  in  all  other  kinds.  Carter’s 
Defiance.  Veitch’s  Extra  Early,  Snowball,  Magnum  Bonum, 
Erfurt  Mammoth  and  First  Crop  are  some  from  which  a 
choice  may  be  made  for  early  use  ;  Mont  Blanc,  Extra 
Early  Autumn  Giant,  Sutton’s  Autumn,  Mammoth  Pearl, 
and  Veitch’s  Autumn  Giant  are  dependable  for  later 
cutting. 
Spinach  and  Turnips 
are  vegetables  that  afford  the  first  crons  of  spring,  and  for¬ 
tunately  there  is  not  that  interminable  mass  of  names  to 
wuade  through  to  get  at  those  one  needs — the  best.  White 
and  Red  Milans  are  still  first  favourites,  and  of  oblong 
shapes  preferred  by  some.  White  Gem,  Early  White  \erit'i3, 
and  Paris  White  Market  comprise  a  trio  that  should 
plea^  ;  Snowball,  Dobbie’s  Model,  Red  Globe,  Jersey  Lily, 
and  Green-top  Six-weeks  for  maincrop  are  excellent.  Vic¬ 
toria,  Long  Standing,  The  Carter,  and  Market  Favourite 
are  all  modern  and  good  Spinaches. 
French  and  Runner  Beans 
still  make  progress  in  the  matter  of  variety.  There  is 
much  to  admire  in  long,  shapely,  deep-green  pods  afforded 
by  3-  good  type  of  Ne  plus  tJltra,  Carter’s  Jubilee,  Best  of 
All,  Hill’s  Prize,  Giant  White-seeded,  Prizewinner,  or 
Elephant  Runners.  Some  prefer  the  Climbing  French  ; 
these  should  find  their  ideal  in  Excelsior,  Earliest  of  All, 
Veitch’s  Climbing,  or  Sutton’s  Epicure.  Everbearing, 
Sion  House,  Ne  plus  Ultra,  Veitch’s  Progress,  Carter’s 
Stringless,  Canadian  Wonder,  and  Williams’  Earliest  of  All 
are  good  dw'arf  kinds  for  forcing  or  outdoor  growth. 
Broccoli 
are  so  influenced  by  severe  wintry  weather,  that  resolutions 
sometimes  change  from  one  year  to  anothei*.  There  are 
some,  however,  that  cannot  be  dispensed  with,  no  matter 
what  the  weather  may  be,  and  among  these  must  be  placed 
the  inevitable  Self  Protecting.  Winter  Mammoth,  usually 
so  good,  has  this  season  disappointed.  Spring  White,  too, 
has  suffered  more  than  usual.  Neither,  however,  must  be 
struck  out  because  of  this.  Snow’s,  Cooling’s  Matchless, 
Flower  of  Spring,  Veitch’s  Maincrop,  Model,  Late  Queen, 
Ledsham’s  Latest,  Leamington,  Sutton’s  Perfection,  and 
Dickson’s  June  King  are  a  selection  that  is  almost  indis¬ 
pensable.  It  is  unwise  to  restrict  oneself  too  much  in  the 
matter  of  variety,  for  the  rigour  of  winter  does  not  affect  all 
alike,  for,  while  some  may  be  destroyed  outright,  others 
will  have  a  percentage  of  survivors  that  will  save  the  gar¬ 
dener’s  credit  in  times  of  vegetable  scarcity.  In 
Borecoles  and  Brussels  Sprouts 
a  mistake  can  scarcely  be  made,  for  being  of  hardy  natures 
it  resolves  itself  in  choosing  for  quality  rather  than  hardiness. 
It  may,  however,  be  said  of  these  that  restriction  should  not 
Chrysanthemum,  Terra-cotta. 
be  too  rigorously  adopted  in  making  up  the  year’s  selection. 
All  do  not  succeed  alike,  and  it  is  always  well  to  be  pre¬ 
pared  with  “two  strings  to  the  bow.  ’  Many  confine  them¬ 
selves  to  one  variety  of 
Cabbage, 
which  may  or  may  not  be  a  good  rule.  I  prefer  niore  than 
one,  and  choose  Ellam's,  Sutton  April,  Wheeler  s  Imperial, 
