January 31,1867. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



85 



it may prove liarJy in the southern [not western] parts of 

 England," and adds that it is capable of bearing some degree of 

 cold. 



" oh. wad some pow'r tho giftie die us, 

 To see oursels as others see us." 



" R-\DDii," however, seems to have but little opinion of nur- 

 serymen in general, as he says again in reference to Psidiums. 

 " No dependance is to be placed on purchasing them true." 

 Surely this is rather hard ; and I hope " E:Uipii " will not 

 only adhere to his own excellent sentiments, but also be less 

 disposed to join in the foolish cry that is too often "raised 

 against nurserymen for their glowing descriptions. — D., Deal. 



P.S. — May I add here in reference to Mr. Scott's remarks 

 with respect to Potatoes, that I thought I Ji^d mentioned the 

 character of my soil, which, as lie conjectures,, is rich ? 



HARDY FLOWERS IN JA>^UARY. 



Seeing your request for a list of flowers in each month, I 

 ventured to begin on the l^t of this month, ajjd then had 

 gathered for me good specimens of the following : — Violets, 

 abundant ; Hepatica ; Anemone (iilac) ; Aconite ; coloured 

 Primroses. 



After being five weeks a prisoner in the house, I this day, 

 January 2ith, have been all round my garden and am delighted 

 to find but little damage seems done, as all shrubs look well. 

 Honeysuckles, Tartarian Honeysuckles, leaves opening ; Eibes 

 buds swollen ; Mezereon buds quite pink ; and if this genial 

 weather continue the garden will soon be gay.— Mrs. F. Mdnn, 

 l\ouiiliam,IJuri/St.IuJmutids,SuJ'oik. „,, ; 



PEARS AND PERPLEXITY. 



A FRIENDLY collision between Messrs. " T. R.," G. Abbey, 

 and others, is like that between flint and steel, and the lookers- 

 on are benefited by the sparks, which afford amateur fruit- 

 growers Uke myself some little light to guide us through the 

 too-of ten conflicting theories, assertions, and practices of various 

 authors. We rise from the study of Dn Breuil's excellent 

 work convinced that a single vertical cordon is so simple, so 

 effective, and beautiful, that we wonder we never thought of it 

 before. We at once try the method, and painfully realise the 

 difference between an English and French climate. Mr. Fish, 

 enthusiastic on the subject, seems to anticipate the time when 

 every cottage garden will boast its comely generous cordons; 

 but Jlr. Brehaut, the most experienced, perhaps, and successful 

 in this his peculiar system, gives a stern caution — It must be 

 done in one way only ; the shoots must be pinched at the right 

 moment ; walls so high must have so many leaders, the grosser- 

 growing varieties more, the weaker fewer ; — leading to the in- 

 evitable conclusion that, however beautiful and productive the 

 system may be, there is no inconsiderable amount of care and 

 observation to be exercised ; and we rise from the contem- 

 plation of many publications with the feeling that in tlie mul- 

 titude of books there is perplexity. 



This perplexity has been increased just recently. In the 

 spring of last year a long and able controveisy seemed to decide 

 that Pears on the Quince should not be allowed to emit roots 

 from above the graft, .\gain we are in doubt. We are told to 

 plant up to the graft, but not to cover it, and our trees came 

 from a first-class nurseryman grafted 6 and 8 inches above the 

 roots. What is to be done ? for we must not on any account 

 bury the roots bo deep. Thus ordered to perform an impossible 

 operation, we conclude such trees are improperly worked. In 

 the case of some Jargonelle Pears I kept the roots near the 

 surface ; in two years thp scion was twice the size of the stock, 

 and the tree unhealthy ; now the roots are buried, so in any 

 case I am wrong, but see no help for it. Will " T. E.," or 

 Mr. G. Abbey, or some other authority, increase our obli- 

 gations by stating the limit of distance between graft and roots, 

 whether such trees as I have described should be rejected, or 

 whether the roots should be buried, or the stock hidebound as 

 the alternative "> 



Another qtuc^tio j'c.ni/a^wlfether Pears on their own roots, 

 and Apples on the Crab, are not better than on the Quince and 

 Paradise, appears determinable by the size they are intended 

 to attain and the soil they are to grow in, the latter being a 

 fruitful source of differing opinions. For instance, in the 

 garden of a friend there is a long row of bush Pear trees 

 upwards of twenty years old ; all those on the Quince are healthy 

 and productive, all on the Pear cankered and decaying. His 



gardener advised me to plant nothing but trees on the Quince ; 

 within a month I was advised by another, who cultivated an 

 opposite .description of soil, to plant nothing but trees on the 

 Pear. 



Whilst thanking Messrs. " T. E." and G. Abbey for their 

 recent articles, let me express a hope, that the discussion may 

 be continued, so that we may have the promised experience ef 

 Mr. Abbey on the different results of budding and grafting, and 

 other hints which are of much interest and benefit to such 

 ardent »Qvioe3.as—:C.C E..1 .,;j.. 



, . :l. , - J>- .it VI-.-)} r,r- ■:] i 



bu£ ,oll>« -nl -rJV/,Q5^p;p;jj TURF. 



I TniNK "Forwards" has drawn largely on his imagination 

 as to the cause of the iujui-y his trees received in the turf soil. 

 The larvaj of the cim l>i;hafer will eat the roots of trees, as the 

 Surrey nurserymen ..ow to their cost; but who ever heard of 

 them iu uumLcib s;.::icient to account for the havoc described, 

 excqpt in -yery light sandy or peaty soils? I, certainly, never 

 met with them in large numbers in such soil as a Vine-grower 

 would he Ukely to select. Then, again, would such larvee if 

 present be likely to be overlooked, great conspicuous fellows as 

 thick as a man's finger? and if overlooked, how many would 

 escape the paring and chopping of the turf, &-c. ? Those who 

 know anything ql these marauders know how easUy they are 

 injured. , , ,, 



With regard to the larva? of Tipula;, I h^ve seen the roots of 

 thloses and herbaceous Pseonies eaten by them, and seen rooks 

 tusy pulling grass up to find the larva; of Tipulie feeding on 

 the roots, but I have yet to learn that these larvae ever eat the 

 roots of trees ; they may do so, but I have never found any 

 injury of the kind I could trace to them; and I can assure 

 " FoBw.iRDs " that, though our " fine green turf " is not full of 

 the grub^ of tlie.,fiookcl)afer, we have plenty of "daddylong- 

 legs." ,^ .'[^ .' ,,, ,,..,,, (., >, 



As to, wir^v^ornt^,, like most farmers, I have suffered enough 

 by their attacks to make me study their habits. Com of all 

 kinds and the Grasses in general they will eat, boring into 

 their sterns jifst below the ground, and eating their way up- 

 wards. Mangold Wurtzel in a young state. Turnips, Potatoes, 

 and Carrots are eaten by them. In the garden, Pinks, Carna- 

 tions, Daisies, Polyanthuses, and Primroses suffer from their 

 attacks ; b^t I never saw one at a tree root in the act of feeding, 

 nor do X believe any one can prove they ever eat the roots of 

 trees. , , 



As is y,ery well known, 1 have a good many acres of orchards, 

 many of them fif'y years old, and all but one are in grass. So 

 plentiful are wireworms in the turf of these orchards that a 

 sweet Pear, which has lain on the ground some days, may be 

 often found with ten or a dozen wireworms in it : how is it 

 they have not killed all the trees by eating the roots ? Yet 

 these trees look pretty well, at any rate a ladder of fifty staves 

 will not reach the tops of some of them. 



But, supposing wireworms injurious to Vines and trees in 

 general, wUl leaving the turf some time cut on the ground, and 

 then stacking it a year, get rid of them ? I leave any gardener 

 to answer the question. 



When I write in " our Journal " it is with a sincere wish to 

 add my njite to the general stock of information, thinking the 

 readers ought to consider themselves as a mutual improve- 

 ment society. I have seldom answered objections, leaving to 

 others to discuss what I have advanced, being more anxious to 

 lead others to think than anxious to force my opinions on them 

 as incontrovertible truth. The Editors will bear me out in 

 saying, that when I have taken exception to what others have 

 written I have always signed my name in full. — J. E. Pearson, 

 Ckibcell. ■ ' ' - 



> '< '- ill. -.liUl. 1 



THE PRINCE OF WALES POTATO. 



We most' of us admit, that we should speak of a man as we 

 find him, and I dp not sep why we should not do the same of 

 the Potato, ., ,, '.\^ 



Living ill a neighbourhood where there are at least five 

 hundred acres of Potatoes grown annually, being a grower 

 myself, and taking great interest in having the best sorts, I 

 bought some of the Prince of Wales in 1865, for I saw this 

 Potato advertised, certainly with a wonderful character. 



I have not found it so good in flavour as I should like, nor 

 is it a second early ; but it is well up in all other points. 



I planted it, as I have said, in 1865, had a heavy crop, but 



