450 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ December 12, 1867. 



should be neatly pointed in with a fork ; but for a distance of a foot 

 round ench stool the ground ought not to be stined, though the dressing 

 may be covered with a little soil in the process of forking over the spaces 

 between the rows. When the shouts appear iu summer and are from 

 1 to 1^ foot in height, make choice of half a doz^n of the strongest, and 

 pull up all the others by the roots. By this means we think you will 

 obtain strong cnnes for fruiting in the following year, and considerably 

 taller thnn the stakes When the canes have Iruited yon may cut them 

 away, by which more space will be allowed the canes for fruiting nest 

 year, and they will ripen their wood better from the gi'eater amomit of 

 light admitted. 



Damson Trees Unfeuitfui. {J. A.). — Your trees are probably in rich 

 ground, and their roots have penetrated into bad soil. Round each we 

 would dig out a trench 3 feet from the stem, and quite down to the roots 

 — indeed, dig out until below them. We would cut off all roots thicker 

 than a straw, and again fill up the trench. In this way you will, pro- 

 bably, find a difference in the growth in the year following, and ultimately 

 have abundance of fruit. 



Signs of Thrips (Idem).— The signs of thrips are minute white spots 

 on the leaves, and as the insect spreads the spots grow larger, ultimately 

 becoming large blotches, and the leaf falls off. 



Training Raspberries {7(fcm).~-The best treUia for training Rasp- 

 berry canes to is one made of wire, similar to those used for espalier fruit 

 trees. The wires (No. 10). should be 1 foot apart, and the first 1 foot from 

 the ground. Five wires are ample. You will require a straining-post and 

 stays at each end. and supports or uprights at every 12 feet, all with 

 holes in them at the required height. The straining-posts, stays, and up- 

 rights should be let into stones and leaded in, the stones being put in the 

 ground and covered with soil. All should be of iron ; though wood will 

 answer, it is neither so neat nor so durable. The trellises ought to be 

 6 feet apart, and the plants may be planted 2 feet apart. The trellis may 

 be put up at the time of planting, but twelve months afterwards will do. 



GoosEBERRy Cuttings [Idem). — Your cuttings struck this year will be 

 eligible for a fresh plantation, only it will be two or three years before 

 they will bear much fruit, and on that account it may be desirable to 

 procure plants that are larger. Your plants will answer well if you can 

 afford to %vait until the plants are grown. 



Train Oil for Destroying American Blight [A. E. C, H.). — The 



trees infested may be dressed with train oil, working it into every creyice. 

 Care should be taken to keep the oil fi-om the fruit buds. 



Pruning Apple, Cherry, and Plum Tree.s iIdem\—'So-w is a good 

 time to prnne them. The pruning should bo performed during mild 

 weather, and from the fall of the leaf to their starting into growth is a 

 good time. Pruning should be done before the buds swell in spring. 



STRAWBERRT-HorsE UsES (J. TF., ju7i.). — Wc adviso you to place the 

 pots of Strawben-ies on turf cut S or 4 inches thick, and the width of the 

 shelves ; but where there are troughs we prefer to fill these with a com- 

 post of equal parts of chopped turf and rotten manure. You may force 

 Asparagus in yom: house as you propose, but not upou the flue, as that 

 would no doubt be too hot and dry. You may havo the Asparagus under 

 the Strawberry pots where there is room, the roots being planted in ajiy 

 description of moderately rich light soil, and the crowns covered with 

 2 or 3 inches of hue soil. The soil should be kept moist. You may also 

 have roots of Rhubarb, which will force admirably ; likewise of Sea-kale, 

 the latter of which shoiild bo coveredwithpots to have the stalks blanched 

 or white. 



Acacia decurrens mollis not Flowering {E. W.).—'We think yotip 

 plant would flower more freely if you were to confine its roots more, and 

 not expose it in summer. It would bo the better of a cool house from 

 May to September, though you cannot give too much air, light, and room. 

 The wood would be all the better ripened if the plant were kept under 

 glass in summer, and the prospects of bloom would be greater. 



South American Seeds (J. £.).— We caunot undertake to name plants 

 unless we see the flowers. 



Cabbages (iJ. r.).— There are tonmauy varieties, mostly dependant upon 

 good cultivation, that are nearly " all heart," for us to distinguish that 

 which you mean. 



Names of Fruit (C. F.).— 1, Winter Hawthornden; 2, Beachamwell. 

 .-1 Subficrihcr). — Your Apple is Bedfordshire Foundling. {A. Y. Z.). — Yonr 

 (Ptar is Dunmore. (Ttcelir-years SubscHber). — 1, Beurre de Ranee; 

 2, Beurre Diel ; 3, Easter Beurre ; 4, Glou Mori;eau. 



Names of Plants {J. K.). — It is impossible for us to name plants 

 from such scraps of leaves. A work such as you mention will be published 

 at the beginning of nest year, (.-f I^oivr o/ jF/ou'eis).— The globose fas- 

 cicled ben-ies, Habrothamnus fasciculatus ; the obovate racemose ber- 

 ries, Habrothamnus elegans. (X. i'.).—l, Lophospermumvolubile; 2, Gly- 

 cine bimaculata. 



MKTEOROLOGICAIi OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of Londoa for the Week ending December 10th. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



JUDGING POULTRY— HEWITT TESTIMONLVL. 



As I find a communication from " Y. B. A. Z,," in which he 

 animailverts on my previous letter, I venture to trouble you 

 with a few remarks on some of bis statements. First, as 

 regards his mistaking Brown Keds for Black Beds, he attributes 

 his error to a mistake in the catalogue ; but one who assumes 

 the ex cathedra tone of your correspondent ought to be suiii- 

 ciently conversant with the difference between Black and Brown 

 Beds to render him independent of an erroneous description 

 in the printed lists. The catalogue did not, however, mislead 

 >iiTn when he pronounced the hen to be very dark, whereas 

 the reverse was the fact, and he is consequently discreetly silent 

 on that matter. Taking these circumstances in connection 

 with the fact, which he somewhat ostentatiously parades, that 

 he did not devote more than three hours and a half to the exa- 

 mination of the birds, it is evident to me that his investigation 

 ■was too hurriedly made to give his decisions the weight he 

 claims for them. And considering the injustice such strictures, 

 unless well grounded, are calculated to inflict on the judges, 

 the dissatisfaction they excite in the minds of the exhibitors, 

 and the consequent injury that results to the interests of such 

 exhibitions, it is much to be regretted that any one should 

 undertake to review the awards given by men whose qualifica- 

 tions and character are a sufficient guarantee for their fairness, 

 without a competent knowledge of the subject, or giving him- 

 self a suificient amount of time to avoid falling into the errors 

 of your correspondent. 



I quite agree with the remarks of Mr. Hewitt in his com- 



munication, as to the judges having their full time secured 

 them, and not being compelled to perform in one hour the 

 work of three. I also agree with him that it might be at- 

 tended with too great an expense to increase the number of the 

 judges. But this is not the question ; we have not to do with 

 what ought to be, but with the actual facts of the case. The 

 question is, X^Tiat is to be done where, as is too frequently the 

 case, the time for judging is iufriuged on through late arrivals ? 

 As an exhibitor, and taking an exhibitor's view of the matter, 

 I still feel it to be a serious injustice, both to those who per- 

 form the office of judge and those who exhibit, that either 

 through the fault of the former, or that of the committee, 

 adequate time should not be allowed for fully weighing the 

 respective claims of those who compete for the prizes ; and I 

 am still of opinion that it would be preferable to judge such 

 portion as the time admitted of well, even though it should 

 necessitate only a partial opening of the exhibition at the 

 time announced, to allow the satisfactory judging of the re- 

 mainder. 



Before I conclude, I must beg permission to express my 

 gratilicationat the satisfactory progress which has been made in 

 Mr. Hewitt's testimonial fund. When, however, in Birmingham 

 recently, I met with several exhibitors who had not yet sub- 

 scribed, assigning as their reason that it wore the appearance 

 of buying a prize. They intimated at the same time their 

 intention of subscribing before the subscription list was closed, 

 but should not do so in their own name. Now, any one who 

 knows Mr. Hewitt must be fully satisfied that he would not be 

 influenced by such consideration. It would be far better, and 

 more honourable both to Mr. Hewitt and themselves, to sub- 

 scribe in their own names, and thus openly show their appre- 

 ciation of his services, as one who has, perhaps, done more to 

 promote the interests of poultry exhibitions and improve the 



