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JOURKAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 



[ March 25, 1875. 



cared for they will well rf pay any extra lalonr bestowed upon 

 them by their beanty through the Bummer. — Veritas. 



FOECING RHUBARB. 



I AM BO stranger to the putting of long dung on the top of 

 Rhubarb roots in November, having covered np some scores of 

 acres in my time, and have a vivid recollection of puUiug it in 

 the locality of Woolwich on cold frosty mornings. But this kind 

 of forcing is beside the question ; yet I may add that this very 

 season I covered up a largo bed here, which is now 5 inches long, 

 March Ifith. Mr. Saunders may say I have not the early variety, 

 but mine is Champion, from the best Rhubarb-growerin London, 

 Mr. W. Myatt. The question is simply. Is Rhubarb best grown 

 in cellars or forced under tubs with leaves ? My experience 

 tells me that the latter is a long way the best ; in fact, the 

 two compared together is best described by using a Covent 

 Garden Market term : — cellar Rhubarb is "thirds," or what is 

 put in the middle of the "firsts" when being tied up for 

 market. I may add, in conclusion, that Asparagus, Seakale, 

 Rhubarb are all best forced without being lifted, and that at 

 all seasons. — R. Gilbeet, Burghhy. 



NOTES RELATIVE TO THE POTATO. 



In yonr Journal, No. 7"26, page 157, X read with interest 

 " Notes Relative to the Potato " from Mr. Luckburst, and, as 

 he suggests, willingly contribute my practice, and also that of 

 my employer, whose experience has extended over forty years. 



He Eays, previous to 1847, the year of the great failure, as 

 they call it, in this country (Ireland), that degeneration wag 

 very rapid ; it was scarcely possible to have Potatoes for a very 

 few years. Sets taken from the same lot of Potatoes and grown 

 in the same ground were most decided in their degeneration, 

 and only about half of them would grow satisfactorily. 



Now in this district (Ulster) this degeneration has entirely 

 disappeared, and Potatoes having proper care never fail to 

 grow. Our reasons for this are, the blight comes on before 

 the tubers are quite matured, and make better and surer- 

 growing sets, as has been proven by myself, by lifting the 

 tubers long before ripe. Mr. Luckhurst says he does not 

 believe in blight-proof Potatoes. I think most people must 

 agree with him ; the nearest we can come to prevent it is suit- 

 able soil, dry situation, which the Potato is very fond of, and 

 lift the crop as soon as possible. 



I admit the tubers are often affected after being stored, but 

 not so much so as when left in the ground exposed to autumn 

 showers and fogs, the latter being very injurious to them. 

 The soils best suited to their culture here are light loams and 

 sandy soils mixed with peat. The manures are farmyard and 

 common seaweed in equal quantities ; but better still is Wrack 

 (Zostera marina). I believe the Potato is very fond of potash, 

 and the latter is possessed of a large proportion of it. 



I hope to hear soon from more able pens the experience of 

 long practice, which would be highly acceptable to amateurs 

 on this most important matter. — James Kennedy, Gardener, 

 Cornier, Co. Doicn. 



SOIL-mXING FOE POTTING PURPOSES. 



The remarks on mixing soil by " A Pkactical Gaehenek" 

 are good and to the point, and are made at a very opportune 

 time. Oae can hardly say too much in favour of the plan 

 recommended. I daresay that many gardeners have often felt 

 the need of such a preparation as that described on page 155, 

 when a little of this and a little of that has to bo collected, 

 perhaps some being soddened with wet or frozen to such an 

 extent so as to be really unsuitable for immediate use. How 

 often I have felt the necessity of such a store ia hard to say, 

 but more times than I care to mention. 



I will mention another good plan — that is, whenever any 

 alterations are going on, such as relaying turf, save every 

 shovelful and pack it away. I would also take the parings of 

 walks wherever the soil ia of a loamy nature and would pack 

 it up in fquare heaps, as follows : First begin with a layer 

 of turf, then have some well-rotted manure and make alternate 

 layers of turf and manure, of course having a less quantity of 

 the latter, after the fashion of preparing sandwiches. On 

 completing the heap there would be no need to protect the 

 sides from the weather, but the top might be made weather- 

 proof according to the taste of the builder. If such a heap 

 is put together at the present time it would be in fine con- 

 dition in a year hence, or in less time if needed. 



Many of us know that in well-ordered gardens provision is 

 made for all these necessaries — viz , a compost yard where 

 such matters are carried on in a systematic order; but every 

 gardener cannot boast of such a place, hence the difl'iculty 

 arises where to make these stores. Now thero is more import- 

 ance attached to this than many people imagine, and I think 

 a word or two on that point will not be out of place. 



I have seen similar preparations carried on in some out- 

 of-the-way place under large trees ; but I say advisedly. Avoid 

 such situations it possible, and for this reason — that the store 

 in question would act as a magnet to the roots of surrounding 

 trees, which would be sure to eat up the sandwiches. I have 

 so suffered through not giving the subject any forethought. 



When such a heap is iu a fit state to use there is no need to 

 take the soil from off the top of the heap, but merely begin at 

 the end or side as the case may be. A sharp spade will chop 

 it down in slices keeping a perpendicular face, when all will 

 blend nicely together, and would form such rich food that 

 the queen herself — the Rose — would not object to the fare. — 

 G. R. Allis. 



ROSE TREES AND FROST. 

 As " P." wishes the experience of others on this matter, I 

 write mine. My experience and treatment of Roses that have 

 suffered from intense cold is precisely the same as his. I do 

 not, however, cut away old wood unless it is injured. I ob- 

 served what he has stated — namely, that the old wood suffered, 

 and not the new twigs, in the spring of 1851. I wrote to Mr. 

 Henry Taylor, of Fencote, Bedale, Yorkshire, an experienced 

 rosarian, for an explanation of this, and nearly as I can re- 

 collect he replied, " Sap is a non-conductor of both cold and 

 heat. It is certainly a non-conductor of heat : hence the iron- 

 smelters stir the liquid with green wood and branches, and not 

 with dead wood." The Roses here have suffered but little 

 this winter ; but wherever there is injury it is in the old wood 

 and not in the new twigs, which are only injured at their ex- 

 treme points. — W. F. Radcltffe, Okeford Fitzpaine, Dorset. 



I DO not think that your correspondent " P." is correct in 

 attributing the death of the older wood of his Rose trees to 

 the effect of the frost alone. There are two ways of growing 

 Roses. One, that which is described by " P." — viz., the encou- 

 ragement of young wood from the base and the annual cutting 

 away of the old at pruning time ; the other, the preservation 

 of the main shoots and the removing of all buds from the base 

 as soon as they show themselves. These two methods can- 

 not be combined in the same plant. If the first be followed 

 and gross shoots are allowed to grow from the base, the older 

 wood above the point from which those shoots proceed will 

 gradually become unhealthy, the bark will lose its fresh colour, 

 the buds will break the first year unwillingly and produce 

 weak shoots ; if left another season they probably will not 

 break at all, and the wood will gradually become quite dead. 

 This will take place whether the winters be severe or the 

 reverse. 



The cause of it is not the temperature to which the plants 

 are exposed, but the diverting of the main stream of sap from 

 the older into the younger and more vigorous growth. The 

 old wood dies, not because the sap in it is frozen, but because 

 it has not been able during the preceding autumn to store up 

 a supply of vigour sufficient to enable it to withstand a winter 

 temperature; and any unusually severe weather only hastens 

 what has already become inevitable. 



Now if " P." will select a dozen of his plants and carefully 

 cut-off every shoot proceeding from the base as soon as it 

 shows itself, the main stock may be kept in perfect health and 

 sufficiently hardy to withstand severe frost for almost any 

 number of years. I have plants which have been so treated 

 for seven or eight years, and the old stumps produce clean 

 and vigorous shoots and perfect flowers every season. This 

 latter method must be followed if you wish for specimen plants. 

 When you have got your head into shape, the only way to 

 keep it so and to preserve its health and vigour, is to prevent 

 gross shoots from pushing from the base. The moment one 

 of these is allowed to grow (and they are always the most 

 vigorous), that moment the health of all above is impaired, 

 and decay commences. 



There is nothing, then, extraordinary in the fact that these 

 strong, green, robber shoots, which are usually twice as thick 

 and twice as long as any other on the tree, should be able to 

 withstand the cold better than the half-starved older wood. 



