October  22,  1903. 
JOURNAL  CF  HOR.TIGULTtJRE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
379 
though  over-sized  for  market  purposes,  and  are  a  type  sought 
after  in  the  North  by  gardeners  and  cottagers  whose  soil  is 
unsuitable  for  the  successful  growth  of  true  Onions,  such  as 
Ailsa  Craig,  Golden  Globe,  or  Cranston’s  Excelsior.  And,  while 
Onions  are  the  theme,  let  me  say  that  Golden  Globe  has  yielded 
a  goodly  crop  of  well  matured,  dry  .seeds  this  year,  and  the 
growths  had  been  very  robust.  One  ton  of  bulbs  were  planted 
last  year  for  seed  production,  which  shows  what  a  demand  there 
is  for  it. 
Not  very  many  Tomatoes  were  a  success  in  the  open  air  this 
year ;  but  in  Champion,  growers  must  surely  find  a  meritorious 
sort.  Both  indoors  and  out,  at  Orpington,  the  ijlants  have  well 
repaid  their  space.  Nine  nice  rounded  fruits  per  truss,  and  the 
fruits  evenly  coloured  all  over,  with  firm,  relishable  flesh,  are 
points  ordinarily  to  be  noted  in  Champion;  and  out  of  doors 
the  plants  were  three  feet  high,  clothed  all  their  length  with 
leaves  and  fruit,  and  as  they  were  planted  from  7-inch  pots  at 
the  end  of  May,  bearing  then  their  first  cluster  of  fruits,  they 
had  a  good  chance  to  make  the  best  of  the  season.  They  are 
planted  in  rows  2ft  apart  in  the  open  seed  ground,  but  a  little 
shelter  wa.s  given  at  first  by  placing  Bean  and  Pea  stakes  around 
the  outer  fringe  of  the  area.  The  seeds  from  this  Tomato  are 
now  being  obtained.  The  process  adopted  is  to  squeeze  the  fruits 
through  a  half-inch  sieve,  the  pulp  falling  into  a  tub.  Here  it 
The  new  purple  Beet,  too,  furntshes  a  fine  product,  the  roots 
being  of  medium  size,  smooth,  tapering  evenly,  with  a  dark 
blood-red  skin  and  flesh.  Most  growers  will  agree  that  the 
darker  the  flesh  the  better  is  the  Beet  liked,  and  in  that  point 
this  selection  is  perfect.  Parsley,  too,  must  be  had,  but  how 
often  we  are  content  with  the  coarser  kinds.  Without  fear  of 
any  contradiction,  I  may  say  that  the  Rothesay  firm’s  Selected 
Parsley  is  the  finest  (in  a  double  .sense)  on  the  market,  and  no 
further  commentary  is  necessary  when  I  state  that  its  culture, 
for  seed,  runs  into  «cres. 
These  observations  on  vegetable  crops  may  conclude  here,  and 
the  flowers  will  have  their  turn  at  another  time ;  but  I  must 
bear  testimony  to  the  extreme  care  on  the  manager’s  part  in 
selecting  only  the  finest  samples  of  the  firm’s  stock  for  seed 
purpo.ses,  and  his  unwearying  cultural  application,  from  sowing 
to  harvesting. — Wandering  Willie. 
Begonia,  Gloire  de  Sceaux. 
Presented  in  perfect  form  and  flower,  there  is  scarcely  another 
Begonia  that  possesses  .such  noble  characteristics  as  this  French- 
raised  variety  ;  even  the  now  familiar  Gloire  de  Lorraine  pales 
before  its  noble  grandeur.  There  is,  however,  scarcely  a  com- 
Apple,  Golden  5pire. 
remains  for  twenty-four  hours,  which  seems  to  make  the  washing 
easier,  and  washing  is  the  next  step.  The  pulp  being  placed 
in  portions  into  a  fine  sieve,  it  is  then  washed  through,  the  soft 
material,  of  course,  being  carried  away,  while  the  .seeds  remain. 
They  are  then  dried  and  looked  over,  preparatory  to  selling. 
A  good  frame  Melon  is  often  sought  for,  and  nothing  yet 
beats  Monro’s  Little  Heath,  and  the  Cantaloup,  both  of  which 
produce  splendid  dessert  fruits,  the  latter,  of  course,  much  the 
larger.  _ _ _ 
The  Golden  Ball  Turnip  was  much  admired  in  Bobbie’s  stand 
at  Chiswick,  and  though  yellow  fleshed  Turnips  are  not  in  favour 
southwards,  the  northerners  have  no  such  aversion,  and  no  less 
than  40  bushels  were  sent  this  year  to  Rothe.say.  The  firm  has 
a  new  early  Turnip  now  under  trial,  this  being  a  cross  between 
Early  Milan  and  Model  White.  Earliness  and  depth  of  flesh  are 
the  two  points  desired. 
Turning  to  culinary  Peas,  there  are  three  that  might  be 
remarked,  being  the  Gladstone,  which  is  undeservedly  overlooked 
at  times;  Alderman,  and  Glory  of  Devon.  The  latter  has  been 
far  more  liable  to  the  Pea  weevil  this  year,  and  to  mildew,  than 
either  of  the  others  at  Orpington.  Then  there  is  Bobbie’s  Cham¬ 
pion  Scarlet  Runner,  that  obtained  an  award  of  merit  this  year 
at  Chiswick  against  others.  It  is  a  heavy  cropper,  the  pods 
being  long  and  succulent  and  weighty.  Some  exhibitors  grow  it, 
I  believe,  on  poles  twelve  feet  long,  placed  diagonally  against 
each  other;  but  at  the  seed  grounds  here  the  plants  had  been 
pinched  at  three  feet  in  height. 
petition  between  these  two  kinds,  because  the  one  is  an  early 
winter  variety,  the  other  has  its  season  late  in  spring.  It 
would  seem  that  Gloire  de  Sceaux,  like  many  other  plants,  has 
what  may  not  be  inaptly  termed  “fads,”  for  in  some  gardens 
the  culture  of  a  plant  will  be  regarded  as  the  essence  of  simplicity, 
while  in  another  the  same  issues  are  reduced  to  quite  a  science. 
Remembering  the  many  attempts  one  has  seen  and  can  recall 
where  failure  predominates  rather  than  success,  it  was  not  a 
little  refreshing  to  come  upon  a  fine  batch  of  luxuriant  specimens 
quite  recently  in  one  of  the  warm  stoves  in  the  Leighton  Gardens, 
Westbury,  over  which  Mr.  George  Bound  so  ably  pre.sides.  They 
are  reproduced  annually  from  cuttings,  as  old  plants  are  neither 
safe  nor  sati.sfactory.  They  are  rooted  in  the  month  of  May,  and 
by  periodical  .shifts  attain  to  large  pi-oportions  in  G-inch  and 
7-inch  pots.  At  the  present  time,  while  .still  active  in  growth, 
they  stand  some  three  feet  from  the  ground  line,  and  some  of 
the  strongest  have  a  diameter  in  leaf  growth  of  about  the  same 
proportions.  What  they  seem  to  delight  in  is  plenty  of  moist 
heat,  without  resort  to  .syringing,  and,  at  the  ,^ame  time,  shade 
from  bright  sun.  They  do  not  make  the  needful  progre.'-s  when 
.stinted  of  fire  heat,  nor  do  they  revel  in  exposure  to  sunshine  ; 
but  even  with  these  items  studiously  remembered  and  acted  upon, 
this  Begonia  balties  the  efforts  of  some  gardeners  to  create  a  satis¬ 
factory  display  in  spring.  In  Mr.  Bound’s  collection  it  was 
plainly  indicated  what  influence  fresh  soil  and  periodic  repottings 
had  upon  the  growth  and  development.  For  the  warm  conser¬ 
vatory,  when  Lorraines  have  spent  themselves  in  spring,  Gloire 
de  Sceaux  replaces  them  excellently. — W.  S. 
