HI 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



r January 23, 1666. 



abort time than working on stocks. With new kinds I fear 

 lliat wc mii-t for .some time put up with the inconvenience, 

 hill the «.>oner that can he remedieJ the helter, as I expect 

 that ill ft (cw yearn the majority of Itonos will he (,'rown on their 

 own roots where tlie soil is suitable ; and when good old varie- 

 ties become so well known and proved as to bo preferred to 

 untried new ones, we may expect to find the class of Roses 

 here spoken of as plentiful as beds of Tom Thumb, Golden 

 Chain, and <.ther old favourite Geraniums, which retain their 

 place in sj ite of the scores of newer kinds said to surpass 

 them. Roses, however, are far from lieini„' well known, or 

 rather many of them have not been tried, in the way I recom- 

 mend, and until that bo done, and while the demand always 

 runs in the direction of new kind^:, wo must expect to have 

 to yontond against briar and Mauotti suckers, and the other 

 evils that fiUow in their train. 



Although roeommeuding R<ises to he grown more extensively 

 on their own roots. I am by no means certain tlmt success will 

 in all cases attend the experiment, but even the want of it 

 enables us to come to the proper conclusion in the matter. On 

 this head I should like Mr. Radclyfle to ngain enlighten us ; and 

 if he wiU say what success ho has had with the best class of 

 Tea Roses on their own roots I shall be obliged, for I confess 

 that my experience in this direction is very limited. Other 

 growers will, perhaps, be kind enough also to state their expe- 

 rience ; for if Roses can be made to do well without the clumsy 

 process of being supported by something else, they will be all 

 the better servants. — J. Robson. 



JIORE ABOUT POTATOES. 



" Arrah, then, boys, wouldn't ye be contint," I once knew 



an agent of Lord Anglesea's C propeity saying to some of 



the " finest pisantry in the world," " with pace and plinty 

 staring you in the face, and the barings rowling agin the shores ? 

 So here's Praties galore and Erin-go-bragh 1 " Now, that 

 same toast I can cordially re-echo ; notwithstanding Fenianism 

 overshadowing the land, I love ould Ireland and many an one 

 in her ; and I can also cordially say I Uke " Praties galore," 

 only let the plenty not be obtained at the expense of quality. 



Hdving a very decided opinion that no Potato except a 

 Kidney is tit food for a connoisseur — for all round Potatoes 

 have, I think, more or less of that earthy flavour which to my 

 mind destroys the delicacy of this useful esculent — I determined 

 this year to try whether I could not begin, go on, and end with 

 some sort of Kidney ; and in accordance with the recommen- 

 dation of. I think, " Upwards and 0swai:ds," I obtained from 

 Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, and so from a source on 

 which I could rely, good sound seed of the following : — 



1. Sutton's Racehorse, 4. Lapstone, 



2. Myatt's .ishleaf, ,5. King of Potatoes, 



3. Rivers' Royal Ashleaf, 



and now give my experience of them. I should say that I do 

 not think ray garden is a favourable one for the growth of 

 Potatoes. The soil is vei-y rich, and hence they are apt to be 

 waxy — a thing which I abominate. I must also add that the 

 disease attacked Potatoes with a virulence in this neighbour- 

 hood that I have not seen for years, whole fields belonging to 

 a neighbour of mine being left undng, as they were not worth 

 the trouble or expense of taking up. 



I intended the Lapstone for a main crop, hoping that they 

 would last me until late in the spring, when No. 5 would have 

 helped me on, I hoped, till the new Potatoes were at hand. 

 Sutton's Racehorse I found to be a few days earlier than the 

 Ashleaf, but I do not think so good, and I should prefer relying 

 on the latter for my first crop for another year. Of the Ash- 

 leaf I need say nothing ; it suited my garden, and is a good 

 and delicate-flavoured Potato. Rivers's Ashleaf disappointed 

 me. I had heard many speak so well of it, that I quite hoped 

 that it would prove a valuable second Potato ; but with me it 

 did not do so. It was waxy— deficient, therefore, in flavour, 

 and not a good cropper. The Lapstone is a gem. Doubtless 

 it is a delicate Potato and liable to the attacks of the disease 

 more than others, but what a delicious Potato it is ! Nothing 

 could have been more beautiful than the even graceful growth 

 of the haulm ; and nothing more wofiU than to see the " rin- 

 derpest '• attacking it, the skins becoming spotted, and then 

 the stalks rotting. 'When I dug the Lapstoncs out there was 

 a large quantity of diseased ones, but they were unlike any 

 diseased Potatoes I had ever seen. Insteadof that brown dry 

 spot which so soon spreads over the entire root, the whole tissue 



seemed to be destroyed, and the tuber to be one mass of mor- 

 tified matter, ^^'hen tboy were honsed I found them rapidly 

 going. I then took some quicklime, slaked it, and shook it 

 over them, and from that time had no more deaths ; whether 

 owing to the lime or not I cannot say, all I know is the Potatoes 

 kept well. This is to my mind the premier Potato. I know 

 none to equal it for flavour. It steams well, and is very floury ; 

 and although I lost so much of it last year, I shall rely on it 

 for my main crop for next season. 



With the King of Potatoes I was also greatly disappointed. 

 I have tried it both baked and steamed ; but there is a very 

 disagreeable sweet flavour about it — at least, and this is all I 

 can say, when grown in my garden. The soil may not suit it, 

 and there are things we can only gain by experience. This is 

 a point one cannot too much insist on — that soil, situation, 

 and cUmate do exercise a very material effect on fruits, roots, 

 and flowers, and my experience may not be that of many of 

 your readers. 



■^Tien at Gloucester in the autumn Messrs. Wlieeler, the 

 well-known seed merchants, showed me, and, indeed, gave me 

 to eat, a Potato called Milky ^Vllite — a Kidney, of very excellent 

 quality, floury, and beautifully white. They also spoke very 

 highly of one which I see advertised extensively, called Mona's 

 Pride, an early Ashleaf variety. 



As to cooking Potatoes, I thoroughly and entirely endorse 

 what my friend Mr. RadclyfTe says, that the only way to cook 

 them is to steam them, and to send them up to table Tith 

 their jackets on. Poor Power, I remember, in my younger 

 days used to say, when detailing his adventures in England, 

 " Them's a barbarous people — they peels their praties afore 

 they biles them ! " .\nd how any one can imagine a Potato 

 can be properly dressed, or the flavour properly secured, by 

 adopting such a method I cannot say. Let no one think it a 

 very vulgar way to send them up to table. I have seen them so 

 at some of the best houses not only in Ireland but in England. 



As I have mentioned Mr. Radclyffe's name, I am sure his 

 many friends wiU be glad to learn that he has found a resting 

 place. He has obtained a house not very far from Blandiord, 

 belonging to Lord Rivers. It is at a place called Fitzpaine 

 Okeford (we shall have to drop the first when we come to write 

 about him) ; the land is of first-rate quality, very different 

 from Rushton, and consists of four acres and a quarter, includ- 

 ing two gardens, an orchard, and a field of fine grass land, a 

 greenhouse, but no walls. The latter want I dare say can be re- 

 medied. The late tenant was a good gardener, and very fond 

 of Strawberr\--growing. The nearest station is Shillingstone, 

 about a mile and a half distant. Wo'n't there be a flitting 

 there by-and-by when all the new Roses from Rawston find their 

 way there ! and shall we not hear, if our lives are spared, some- 

 thing from this said garden ! And I am sure the hearty wish 

 of aU rosarians and fragarians will be. Long may he live to 

 enjoy the ntiwii cum diijniliitc. 



And now as to this year. I have determined to try, if pos- 

 sible, to obtain a small piece of ground where there is not so 

 much rich stuff, and to give Potatoes a fair trial. Mr. Rad- 

 clyffe has sent me a few Red Ashleafs, Salmon Kidney, and the 

 Hybrid Lapstone. I have also the Milky White and Mona's 

 Pride, and may possibly try a few others ; but if one can hit 

 upon four good kinds — early, second early, main crop, and late, 

 I do not see what we need more. The Salmon Kidney which 

 Mr. Radclyffe sent me is very like one that used to be grown 

 in this neighbourhood and called the Deune Hill Kidney, or 

 " Parson's Kidney." I shall look to the Lapstone for my main 

 crop. Regarding Peterson's Potatoes, I must fully endorse 

 Mr. Whiting's views of them in a contemporarj— they are fit 

 for the field, good for pigs, but I do not like them for eating, 

 being coarse and earthy. The same I would say of the Fluke 

 and its allies. It is a handsome Potato, boils well, very little 

 waste, but there is no flavour in it. It does capitally for 

 London eating-houses, but I should be thankful to have some- 

 thing better at the time when it comes in. The best way to 

 treat it is to make pommes de terre frita of it : — Cut it in thin 

 slices raw, and then throw them into boUing oil or lard, and fry 

 them of a light brown, as one gets them at Paris restaurants. 



I have had my little say, and can only end with the agent's 

 toasts, " Praties galore I" and " Erin-go-bragh ! " — D., Deal. 



Testimoxiai, to the Rev. S. Retkolds Hole. — We have 

 been requested to state that the subscription list must shortly 

 close. 



