26 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



July 11, 1B67. 



flavour. While injurious in this respect, the practice, which 

 originates in ignorance, is otherwise quite unnecessary. In all 

 stages of its growth the skin and fibres are, when dressed, 

 quite tender, while in the process of preserving they are en- 

 tirely dissolved away.— Chables Mackie, Quarlcy Rectory, 

 Andover. 



POTATOES— EDGING FOR STRAWBERRIES. 



Seeing an article on Potatoes in your Journal last week 

 (June 27), can you inform me where Myatt's Kidney was raised, 

 as it has done well with us, though we have had severe frosts, 

 and been three weeks later than usual in planting ? The crop 

 has turned out well for all that, and I do not think there will 

 be many second early Potatoes in the ground after this week. 

 We have sold off our last lot at 2s. 9ii. per peck, which is a 

 good price so late in the year. 



We had round the garden a large amount of old Box-edging, 

 which I found harboured snails. We took it up, and in its 

 place planted our Strawberries round the walks, and then to 

 keep the soU, which is light, up to them, we procured some of 

 the very largest oyster shells we could find, and have stuck 

 them all round the edge — viz., a round one, and then a flat one, 

 with the white inside to the walk. Besides keeping the Straw- 

 berries clean and off the ground, they do better than anything 

 I have tried before, and look neat. — Index, Wallasey, Cheshire. 



THE YUCCA AS A HARDY DECORATIVE 

 PLANT. 



The Yuccas should never be planted in a bleak or exposed 

 situation — in such positions they will only exist as unsightly 

 fragments ; but give them shelter and deep soil, and we cannot 

 find more effective decorative plants. Wherever artistic arrange- 

 ment is attempted in the flower garden, the Yucca will prove 

 an invaluable plant. In the most beautiful villa garden I have 

 yet seen the Yucca forms a leading feature in the summer 

 decoration. In the panel system of planting borders — so 

 happily introduced at Archertield — the Yucca will come into 

 great account ; but it is iu the large flower garden that the 

 grand and diversified characteristics of the Yucca will be fully 

 appreciated, and there I will leave the Y'ucca to be arranged by 

 the correct taste of Mr. David Thomson, who is so charmingly 

 working out of chaos a system of flower gardening which will 

 raise the whole subject to a higher status of art and enjoyment. 

 I will here crave a word for the genus Yucca as rock-plants. 

 A clever writer in a contemporary some time ago wished the 

 Yucca put out of the list of rock plants as being unsuitable. I 

 fear the writer had never seen the Yucca on cultivated rock- 

 work ; had he seen the Y. glaucescens in the autumn months, 

 with its large pyramidal racemes of creamy white flowers rising 

 up through masses of quartz rock, he would have looked upon 

 it as a crowning beauty to rockwork. If any one set about 

 planting a Yucca on rockwork in a position only suitable for 

 Sedums or Saxifragas, a few flaccid leaves will be the result ; 

 but give proper depth of any adhesive soil with moderate 

 shelter, and I will engage that the Yucca will present features 

 bold and picturesque, with such outlines and pyramids of 

 blossom as have never been seen on rockwork in the British 

 Isles with any other genus of plants. The Yucca will thrive on 

 any soU, if deep, with a dry bottom ; the strong-growing sorts, 

 as Y. gloriosa, grow more robust on loam — the richer the better. 

 The fine graceful leaves of recurva, with the obtuse ribs de- 

 veloped, are highly ornamental when the plant is grown in rich 

 land. The varieties of filamentosa, I find, do best and flower 

 more abundantly in peat earth. The variegated variety of the 

 last named is a most charming plant, and when it can be bought 

 in quantity at a reasonable price will be a great acquisition 

 iu out-door decorative plants ; when grown in heat this elegant 

 plant has no rival in its style for dinner-table work. 



The propagating of the Yucca is simple and easy, but to wait 

 the natural iucrease of suckers from out-door culture is weary 

 work when quantity is required. In large nurseries the common 

 varieties can be purchased at moderate cost ; there are, however, 

 many who love such things, but are necessitated to rely upon 

 home resources, and it may interest some if we state here that, 

 with a common frame with a little bottom heat, a nice stock of 

 Yuccas can bo got up. If suckers can be got they will quickly 

 root, and are at once cfi'ectivo plants. The knaurs will also 

 make good plants, although not so quickly ; these will be found 

 growing on the stem and roots underground upon old plants ; 



they should be cut carefully off and potted — much like Vine 

 eyes — in any light rich earth, covering them about 2 inches, 

 and making the soil rather firm in the pot. Very little water 

 will be required until the green leaves appear above the surface, 

 when plenty should be given. 



A word more on winter protection. In districts where much 

 snow falls the large sorts must be lifted, or protected by wooden 

 screens. I have seen conical hoods made of strong wiUowa 

 which have lasted years, and protected a fine collection of 

 Yuccas. The shelter of any open shed will be the best of 

 quarters if the plants are put in earth and not too close together. 



We give no protection to Yuccas here (Kilkenny), as very 

 little snow falls. When snow does fall in any quantity it is 

 carefully shaken off the plants with switches. The past severe 

 winter did not in the slightest injure Yuccas here, with the ex- 

 ception of some young plants of species unknown as to name. 

 — Chas. M'Donald (in Gardener.) 



DUTY-FREE TOBACCO. 



The question of duty-free tobacco is meeting with the 

 attention it deserves, and the readers of The Journal of 

 HoRTicuLTOEE are under an obligation to the Editors for their 

 kindness in opening their columns to the discussion of a sub- 

 ject of so much importance to the gardening and agricultural 

 world. Numerous as are the patent powders, washes, anij 

 fumigators annually introduced to the pubUc, it is generally 

 admitted that tobacco has advantages as a wash and for fumi- 

 gating which nothing else possesses. In fact, its only disad- 

 vantage hitherto has been the high price, owing to the very 

 heavy duty levied upon it. It may appear to some that the 

 Government has been too restrictive in this matter ; but when 

 the enormous revenue derived from tobacco is considered, it 

 will be evident that the Lords of the Treasury have a serious 

 trust to guard, and that they may not without extreme risk of 

 fraud permit any departure from the beaten track. Still, the 

 Government has not been averse to granting concessions when 

 it could safely do so ; and when it was suggested that tobacco 

 juice would prove of value to the farmer and stock-breeder, as 

 a dip or dressing for sheep, the Lords of the Treasury sanc- 

 tioned the use of tobacco for that purpose, provided certain 

 ingredients were added to protect the revenue against fraud. 

 The consequence has been that tobacco juice for sheep-wash is 

 now a recognised article of commerce, and large quantities are 

 used in this country, whilst it is also a considerable article of 

 export. 



Somewhat later an agitation, promoted by Mr. Bannerman, 

 of Staplehurst, and Professor Voelcker, of the Royal Agricul- 

 tural College, secured for Hop- growers the further permission 

 to use duty-free tobacco juice as a Hop-wash ; but as the in- 

 gredients added to the sheep-wash tobacco juice rendered it 

 unfit for Hops or plants, the protection of the revenue in the 

 use of the Hop- wash had to be attained by staining the tobacco 

 juice with extract of logwood, and this Hop-wash so stained or 

 adulterated with logwood is now widely used. 



At this point the Richmond Cavendish Company took up the 

 question, with a view to obtaining the sanction of the Treasury 

 to manufacture tobacco specially for fumigating. Forms of 

 petition were distributed throughout the British Isles, and I 

 have no doubt many of your readers will remember aiding the 

 Company by their signatures. The opinion of the Government 

 chemist, Professor PhUlips, however, was against the form of 

 our proposal, so that the attempt to get duty-free tobacco 

 failed in that instance. 



The next and successful application to the Government was 

 made by Dr. Newington, a gentleman described by your corre- 

 spondent, " Obsehvek," as " tlie inventor of the ground and 

 cylinder vineries." This was to prepare what is now termed 

 " ground tobacco," consisting, according to the Government 

 formula, of seventy-five parts of finely powdered tobacco, 

 twenty-five parts of sulphur, and five parts of assafcetida. 

 This preparation of tobacco is chiefly designed to dust the 

 Hop-bine, but it may be used in almost every form, whether 

 in or out of doors, both as a powder and as a wash. The 

 smell of the gum assafa-tida is very offensive to most persons. 

 However, that is a minor evil when compared with the ravages 

 caused by the insect hfe the powder is calculated to exterminate ; 

 and although the ground tobacco is unsuitable for fumigating, 

 owing to the presence of the sulphur, it cannot fail to be of 

 great service to gardeners and farmers for general purposes. 

 Mr. Tyerman, the Curator of the Liverpool Botanic Gardens, 



