1^' 



' JOUBNAL OF HOBTICOLTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



[ Febnuiy Sg, 186T. 



evoiything bere, inclnding Cottager's Kale, which is about the 

 hardiest ' Ireen we have. 



Ot Celery I have tried most kinds, bnt find nothing to equal 

 one of my own, selected from some that stood very late one 

 reason without running, and which still maintains its cha- 

 racter, as I can have it in good condition some weeks after all 

 other varieties have run to seed. WiUiams's Matchless I con- 

 sider the next best Celery in cultivation. 



Nuneham Park Onion, I think, will be good, though I cannot 

 apeak with certainty till I have grown it another season, bnt I 

 cftn say that it is quite distinct from Beading, Trebon, or White 

 Spanish, with which it was said by some to be the same or 

 nearly allied. 



In the way of Lettuce, I find nothing so good as Wheeler's 

 Imperial and Victoria for winter, and Neapolitan Cabbage and 

 Paris White Cos for summer. 



, The Digswell Prize Endive is another valuable addition to 

 our list of salads. — E. Welch, Palace Gardens, Ai-niagh. 



As the Fearnought Cabbage and hybrid varieties of Brussels 

 Sprouts sent out by us are likely to be more appreciated in 

 future than they have yet been, owing to their extreme hardi- 

 ness, having stood the late severe frosts without the slightest 

 injury, while many of the other Brassicas have been utterly 

 destroyed, we would venture to throw out a hint which may 

 prove advantageous to such of your readers as may wish to 

 grow them. In many cases new vegetables are grown at great 

 disadvantage, particularly the first year of their introduction, 

 owing to the cultivator not being acquainted with the treat- 

 ment they require, and are often discarded as being useless 

 ajid unworthy of a place in the garden without further trial. 



The Fearnought Cabbage if not sown early will produce 

 heads as open as Coleworts, but if sown in the first or second 

 week of March, and planted out in due time, it will have nice 

 firm heads before the winter sets in, and will keep longer with- 

 out bursting than any other of the Brassica tribe, remaining 

 perfectly sound till the early summer Cabbage comes in. Al- 

 though when growing its appearance is coarse, the flavour is 

 much superior to that of the early dwarf Cabbages. 



The Dalmeny Sprouts should also be sown as early as possible, 

 pr as soon as the ground will admit ; if delayed too long they 

 vpill not form the Cabbage heads on the top. The same treat- 

 ment is also requisite for the successful cultivation of the 

 Albert Sprouts and New Dwarf Sprouting Ulm Savoy. — STUAiti 

 AND, Meik, Kelso, N.B. 



WHAT IS A GOOD CROP OF STRAWBERRIES ? 



Tms is the inquiry of your correspondent " S. E. T.," who 

 then goes on to say that had I stated the distance between the 

 rows and the plants my article would have been much more valu- 

 able. Now, if your correspondent will again read the article in 

 question r\''ol. X., p. 213), he will find there the required par- 

 ticulars. For the infoi-mation, however, of those who may 

 wish to know what room was occupied by the plants from which 

 I gathered the 96 lbs. of fruit, I may state that they were 

 planted on a piece of ground 17 yards long by 14 feet 6 inches 

 wide, allowing a space of 1 foot 4J inches outside all the plants, 

 which could not be occupied by any other crop. This is the 

 regular distance at which I plant all my main crops of Straw- 

 berries, and I find them succeed better in this way than in any 

 other which I have tried, and I have tried several. 



About eight years ago I was living in the neighbourhood of 

 the great Strawberry district — Twickenham, Isleworth, and 

 Brentford, in Middlesex. There I saw many modes of culture 

 and many good crops, some of which, I think, had they been 

 fairly weighed, would have averaged nearly as great a weight 

 as that described. 



" S. E. T." quotes my crop as a standard to test others by. 

 This was far from my idea when I wrote, as I think that many 

 of the Strawberry-beds in the country could be made to bear 

 ^ven a larger crop than that described if better modes of culture 

 were adopted. 



I should have stated that the land on which this crop grew 

 was three years previously enclosed from an open field, and 

 was afterwards very heavily manured every year for other 

 crops up to the time of the Strawberries being planted. This, 

 I have no doubt, greatly conduced to the production of a heavy 

 crop. 



_" S. E. T." remarks that a degree of looseness of statement 

 with respect to weights, &c., is prevalent, thereby making it 



appear that he is doubtful if my figures are correct. Let me 

 assure " S. E. T." that the weights and scales by which the 

 produce was weighed were corrected by the standard ; and that 

 I weighed all the fruit myself, in the presence of two other 

 persons, in 141b. lots, giving quite half a pound over each 

 time. This I was very careful about; and I should be ex- 

 tremely sorry to send anything to you for publication, no 

 matter how trifling, without first correcting any statement I 

 may have made from notes taken a* tJie time. — John Mat, 

 Westfield. 



METEOROLOGICAL NOTES IN 1866 AT LINTON 

 PARK, KENT. 



The past year, unlike its successor, was deficient in the one 

 extreme of temperature, which was heard of or felt by every 

 one in the south of England. It was also in no way remark- 

 able for attaining the other extreme ; in fact, 1866 may be 

 summed up as having had a mild winter, a rather late spring, 

 a moist but not ungenial summer, and a very mild autumn. 

 Considerably more than the average amount of rain fell ; and 

 following as it did the copious downfall of 1865, 1 find the total 

 amount in the two years is 4} inches more than in 1855, 1857, 

 and 1858 collectively. The rainfall, however, in 1865 and 1866 

 having been better distributed than in 1860, these years have 

 escaped being called wet, which the latter will be remembered 

 as, although at this place more rain fell in 1865 than in 1860. 



The following notes on 1866 will show some of its leading 

 meteorological features : — 



From the above it wiU be perceived that the frosts here were 

 fewer last year than in any preceding one in the table, with the 

 exception of 1863. This, and probably the great amount of 

 rainfall, are due to the prevalence of south, south-west, and 

 west winds ; for in noting the wind at noon each day, and re- 

 garding only the eight cardinal points, I find the wind from the 

 above quarters on 214 days in 1866, but only on 122 days in 

 1855, whilst it blew from the north-east on 115 days against 

 31 last year. The wind is from the east on a less number of 

 days than from any other direction ; even in an unfavourable 

 year thirty-four is the highest number I have recorded, last 

 year the number of days was sixteen. 



As an instance of the mildness of the autumn, I may state 

 that on December 30th two conical pillars of Pelargoniums, 

 7 feet high or more, in quite an open space where there was no 

 shelter so high as themselves within 100 feet, were almost as 

 fresh as in October. Some rather sharp frosts in November 

 had injured the plants, but they recovered, and were quite in 

 a growing condition. Their elevation above the surface pre- 

 vented damp injuring them so much as it did those elsewhere ; 

 and I need hardly say that Verbenas and similar plants were 

 also uninjured. 



By way of an appendix to the foregoing notes of 1866, it 

 would be as well to report upon the changes which its successor 

 has brought. The frost, commencing with the last day of 

 1806, has proved to be one of those special cases of severity 

 which only after a cycle of years we are wont to look for, and 

 as each visitation differs from its predecessor, so has that of 

 1867 had its peculiarities. 



