Jonoary Iti, 1868. 1 



JOURNAL Oli' HORTIOUIiTUflE AND COTTAGE QAEDENEB. 



47 



with the best resnlts ; it is drawn by bullocks, and he Bays the 

 work done is quite as good as by the hoe, and the expense 

 trifling. I have four sons in Assam, three of whom are Tea 

 planters. I am a (jreat believer in the cultivation of Tea in 

 India. — Oesf.isvkii. 



SHRUBS FOR GA.ME COVKRTS. 



Refkkking to the inquiries relative to Game coverts and 

 injury to plants, I can state from twenty-five years' experience, 

 and with game of all sorts np to my doors, that hares and 

 rabbits will destroy any sort of trees or shrubs when young, 

 except the Rhododendron, Box, Privet, and Bramble ; that I 

 can now rear a yonng plantation on any part of my property 

 only by sunounding it with wire netting, and cannot enclose a 

 field escept with timber or wire fencing ; and that I have fre- 

 quently known Ash trees as thick as a man's thigh totally 

 ruined in spring by the hares and rabbits, though a com field 

 was in braird cloee to the covert, they appearing not to feed 

 upon the bark, but to do the mischief merely for amusement's 

 sake. 



The plants mentioned I have had well tested, and never saw 

 them injured ; and no shrubs form a better or more beautiful 

 covert, or grow more freely on fairly good, rather dry, loamy 

 soil. 



The Bramble will gi-ow under trees, close along the ground, 

 or as high as a man's knee, retaining its leaves all winter ; the 

 Rhododendron will grow close to the ground, affording an ex- 

 cellent low cover, and seldom rising above 8 feet, flowering 

 beautifully every summer ; the Privet will shoot np to 10 feet, 

 keep its green leaves far into spring, and flower very sweetly 

 in summer ; whilst the Box will grow 2.j feet high, is very 

 beautiful, and the wood of great value. 



If a friend were to ask me how to make a game covert in his 

 park, I would recommend him cither of the following two 

 methods : — 



1st, Plough all parts possible in September or October ; sow 

 and harrow-in early in spring plenty of Bramble seed. 

 Barley, or Beans (the two latter for winged game in autumn) ; 

 plant on the same ground Silver and Scotch Fir, Oak, Hazel, 

 and Privet, in equal portions, 4 feet apart ; surround the whole 

 for six years with wire netting, and thin-out liberally every 

 three years. 



2nd, Plant and sow as above mentioned, with the exception 

 of the Bramble ; and plant early in spring on the same ground 

 Box, Rhododendron, and Privet, but no trees or rabbit net 

 required. 



Of course all must be well fenced from cattle, and rides may 

 be left, or cut out afterwards. The plants should not be much 

 dug about, as their roots are tender ; but the grass in July 

 should be torn np round them to prevent smothering. 



Any one who has in his park five or six such coverts, of 

 about five acres each, is much to be envied, and he will find it 

 pay much better than deer. — W. G. 



GRAFTING AND INARCHING VINES, 

 I CAN fully confirm what Mr. Douglas says (page 25), about the 

 inutility of inarching the Red Frontignan on the Black Ham- 

 burgh. A branch in my vinery so treated shanked this year 

 even more than the parent plant. 



As to the Chasselas MusquC-, I fear that no stock will prevent 

 its cracking, for this cracking seems to arise from the texture 

 of the flesh and skin, which are impatient of moisture during 

 the final swelling-off, particularly if the temperature be low. 

 The same takes place in Green Gages against a wall when a 

 wet and cold August succeeds a dry July. The Chasselas Mns- 

 qufi is so unequalled in point of flavour, unless, perhaps, by 

 an unusually well-ripened Muscat of Alexandria, that one is 

 loth to dismiss it from one's collection. It has been recom- 

 mended to thin the Grapes severely ; but as the effect of thin- 

 ning is to increase the size of the berries, and as the largest 

 berries are always the first to split, I should rather recommend 

 that this variety be thinned less than others. If the roots 

 were so confined that they could not obtain any water except 

 at the will of the cultivator, if moisture were liberally sup- 

 plied during the growing season, and withheld during the 

 ripening period, with sufficient air and warmth I think few 

 berries, if any, would crack. 

 I wish I could hit upon any plan which would, with any | 



probability of success, prevent the shanking of Frontignane. 

 Is it true that they never shank against an open wall ?^Cx. S. 



POTATO PRODUCE— INFLUENCE OF THE 

 SETS. 



The following are the results obtained by Mr. May, of 

 Benthall, near Broscley, from experiments made in the year 

 186.5 on 129 trial plots. He endeavoured to ascertain — 



Firstly, The influence of the size of the set on the economic 

 results of the crop — i.e., whether any incre.ise, and to what 

 extent, ;.=! obtained over and above the extra weight of the set, 

 in the planting of large, in lieu of small, sets. 



Secondly, The influence on the crop of the distance at which 

 the sets are planted ; or the results of close and wide planting 

 of various sized Potatoes. 



Thirdly, The comparative results from planting similar 

 weights of large and of small Potatoes per acre. 



Fourthly, The relative advantages of cut and whole sets. 



Fifthly, The influence of thick and thin planting, and of the 

 size of the set on the proportion borne between the weights of 

 the sets and the weight of the crop, and the rate of increase 

 under various conditions. 



Sixthly, The relative productiveness of different varieties of 

 Potato. 



Much diversity of opinion seems to prevail in these points, 

 which are of economical importance in relation to both the 

 farm and garden cultivation of the crop. 



The selection of the Potato sets appears commonly to be 

 more a matter of present expediency than prospective profit. 

 The general course is to appropriate the large.st for use, the 

 very smallest for pig-feeding, the tubers of intermediate size- 

 being preserved for replanting ; this method of assortment 

 results in the use of sets of from 2 to 3 ozs. in weight, and a 

 set of less than 2 ozs. is as often planted as one exceeding 3 or 

 4 ozs. 



Our primary question is, whether an increase in the size of 

 the set win produce an excess above the extra weight of the 

 sets planted ; such extra weight going to increase the strength 

 of the individual sets without increasing their number. 



The unequivocal results in favour of largo sets, obtained 

 from my experiments carried out in 18G4, as well as from those 

 which form the subject of this report, induce me to describe 

 carefully the conditions under which the experiments were 

 conducted. 



Every precaution was taken to ensure the most perfect uni- 

 formity in the conditions under which the various experiments 

 were made. The manure was separately weighed out, and 

 distributed on each 20 superficial feet of ground. The distance 

 (2 feet) between the rows was the same throughout the trial 

 ground ; and to counteract the influence of any slight variations 

 in the character of the soil, the particular experiments that 

 would he brought into immediate comparison were placed as 

 nearly as possible in juxtaposition. External rows were 

 rejected for the experiments, and planted with part of the 

 ordinary crop ; and every individual set was separately weighed 

 and selected to the specified size, and planted to measure, at 

 precise distances. 



The gross average return per acre of numerous varieties 



was from — 



Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. 



loz.sets 10 19 3 17 



2 oz. sets 12 15 2 15 



4 oz. sets 18 9 2 



6 oz. sets 16 13 1 16 



8oz. sets IR 11 16 



The following are the amounts of nett profit per acre for 

 each ounce in the increase in the weight of the sets from 1 oz. 

 up to 8 ozs. (each ounce in the weight of the set occupying 

 2 square feet, being equivalent to 12 cwt. 17j Ibb. per acre) of 

 seed : — 



Tons. cwts. qrs. Ibfl. 



Fromlto2oz 1 13 2 71 



„ 2 to 4 oz. for each extra oz 18 3 14 



„ 4to6oz. „ 1 12 21 



„ 6to8oz. „ 18 3 14 



The average of a number of experiments with different 

 varieties planted 9 inches apart in rows gave very similarresnlts. 

 as follows : — 



GROSS RETtTRNS PER ACRE. 



Tons. cwts. qrs. lbs. ozs. 



loz.sets 10 12 23 or 14.21 per s«t. 



2oz. sets 15 2 2 11 or 18.45 „ 



4cz.Bets 17 17 3 12 or 21.99 „ 



