186 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ August 27, 1874. 



form, or damping the floor and walls. The same care must be 

 attended to in giving air as in a pit ; but here comes the ad- 

 vanta^o of a place to which heat can be applied : you can give 

 just a little air at the top every day, so as to sweeten the air in 

 the house ; and in cold muggy weather you can put on a little 

 fire, which will enable you to give such an amount of air as will 

 make a little breeze in the house, and even cause the cold fogs 

 to disperse, by changing visible clouds into invisible vapour. 



CAKKER IN TREES. 



There is as much difference of opinion on this subject as on 

 the Potato disease. It is variously ascribed to bad or wet soil 

 and subsoil; exposure to cold bleak winds, in high situations 

 particularly ; black frost in spring checking the circulation of 

 the sap, external injuries of different kinds ; insects lodging in 

 the cracks and under the old bark ; the infirmities of old age in 

 those varieties long cultivated in England ; improper stocks 

 or improper grafting. Though others seem to be of a different 

 opinion, yet I think that no topical application will do any 

 good, and that the disease is not of the bark, but of the wood ; 

 and I am inclined to believe that this may frequently be the 

 case, for on removing cankered branches I have often remarked 

 fa at the very heart was infected and discoloured, and the wood 

 under all the three different barks rotten or diseased. That 

 canker often proceeds from the old age of those varieties long 

 cultivated in England I am also convinced, from its being so 

 very destructive to young trees in new gardens, in many of 

 which it is very prevalent where these old kinds are found. — 

 J. H., Bickloj, Kent. 



certificate. 'Wlien I say that Mr. Coleman, gardener to Lord 

 Feversham (whose Grapes have attained so great a character), 

 and Mr. Pragnell, gardener to Mr. Digby, of Sherborne Castle, 

 were amongst the exhibitors of fruit and vegetables, it will be 

 seen that fruit was staged worthy of any exhibition, and cer- 

 tainly the Stirling Castle Peaches, the Muscat and Hamburgh 

 Grapes, were grand examples of culture. 



I last year commented somewhat severely on the table deco- 

 rations, and am glad to say that this year two very excellenfi 

 tables were set up. There were faults in each, aud I hope if 

 either of the ladies who exhibited them read my notes they will 

 pardon the freedom with which I criticise them. That which 

 obtained the first prize was too crowded. Had those abomina- 

 tions the shallow trays sprawling about the table been removed 

 it would have been a very excellent example. The faults of the 

 second were that the garniture of the table was too scanty, the 

 " couverts " con.si3tiug only of a knife and fork — no second fork 

 or spoons. This made it look meagre, while the centrepiece 

 was too heavy and obstructing the view. The flowers on this 

 table were very prettily arranged and good, but these faults 

 counterbalanced its excellencies. I cannot say that the combi- 

 nation of specimen glass and napkin-holder on the first-prize 

 table struck me as anything but vxilgar. 



It remains but for me to add that the same courtesy aud con- 

 sideration I have ever met with from the good folks of Tauntou 

 were freely given this year, and that among the red-letter days 

 of 1874 must be marked in my calendar the day of the annual 

 Show of the Taunton Horticultural Society.— D., Deal. 



TAUNTON DEANE HORTICULTUBAL SHOW. 



It is not recorded of the illustrious Mr. Mark Tapley that ho 

 was ever the secretary, or even the member of a committee, of 

 a horticultural society, and I think it was an oversight of the 

 author not to have put him into that position; for, as in that 

 experience the morning of the exhibition day opening under a 

 gale of wind with heavy rain and a tent blown to tatters is not 

 an unusual thing, to have been jolly under such circumstances 

 would have been more creditable than in any of the positions in 

 which he has been placed. Such was the case at Taunton on 

 the 13th, and things looked gloomy indeed. But yet there was 

 no sign of despair. Hope was the order of the day ; and the 

 Secretary and Committee alike seemed to have heard the 

 word of 



" Hope is a lover's staff ; walk home with that, 

 And manage it against despaiiing thoughts." 



And their hopefulness was rewarded. The sun broke through ; 

 soon the crowds from the neighbouring places thronged in, and 

 the clean comely town wore quite a holiday aspect, for the 

 flower-show day is t]tc day of the year. The streets were one 

 huge fair; and as one surveyed the delicacies offered to the 

 strangers, the thought crossed me. Have these people such a 

 thing as digestion ? The grounds were soon filled with the elite 

 of the neighbourhood, and as I left the multitude was pouring , 

 in; and although the attendance could not have equalled that 

 of former years, still it must have been large. 



I do not think that it is very interesting to enter into the 

 details of the various exhibits at these provincial exhibitions, 

 but to notice those things which are well done, and from whicli 

 those who are in the habit of visiting onr metropolitan shows 

 might gain a lesson : and seme such were to be here. Zonal 

 Pelargoniums are among the plants one very seldom sees "done 

 well" in or about London. The plants are either overgrown, and 

 then they are legpy and sticky, or else they are miserably small. 

 But those exhibited by Mr. Hoekin and Mr. Woodhouse were 

 models of plants — plants of medium size, with about two dozen 

 trusses of bloom standing up well above the foliage, good in 

 quality and sturdy in growth. Then never did I see such Balsams 

 as those exhibited by Mr. Woodhousc. There was one especi- 

 ally, a lilac one, which was more like an enormous Brompton 

 Stock than anything else. 1 was not singular in my opinion, 

 for Mr. Turner, who was with me, expressed the same opinion. 

 Gladioli were exhibited by Mr. Kelway, and as they were close 

 at home it may well be imagined of what character they were. 

 A more beautiful stand it was impossible to imagine than his 

 twenty-four, and, as usual, nearly all his own seedlings. Two 

 new ones were marked for first-class certificates — Kriemhilda 

 and Mrs. Dombrain, the latter a very lovely light flower. A 

 very good stand was exhibited by Mr. Sampson, of Yeovil ; most 

 of them being also Mr. Kelway's seedlings. Mr. Dobree exhi- 

 bited some very gcod ones including Ondiue and De Mirbel, two 

 of the new French varieties of this season, the latter a very fine 

 flower. Roses and Dahlias were shown bj' Mr. Keynes, a suffi- 

 cient guarantee of their excellence. The latter were especially 

 good for the season, and one. Mis. Harris, received a first-class 



EARLY AND LATE STRAWBERRIES. 



Under this head " D. F. J. K.," page 113 of " our Journal," 

 asks whether there exist any Strawberries to beat Elton and 

 Oscar for lateness, and Black Prince for earliness. The idea 

 strikes me first that " D. F. J. K." does not possess either 

 Oscar or Cockscomb true to name. Oscar is one of the earliest 

 Strawberries we have, ripening frequently its first berries to- 

 gether with Black Prince if planted near each other, whilst 

 Cockscomb is decidedly one of the largest kinds ever sent out ; 

 this latter is mostly of irregular and cockscomb shape, whence 

 its name very properly given. It is quite as late as Elton and 

 Eleanor (both sour), to both of which as regards quality it is 

 greatly superior. The sort sent out many years ago by an 

 Exeter firm under the name of Nimrod, proved to be nothing 

 else than Myatt's Eleanor. I had my plants at the time direct 

 from the advertisers through one of the leading London nur- 

 serymen, and can, therefore, speak of it with gcod authority. 

 Frogmore Late Pine, though lipening the first berries at the 

 medium season, continues in bearing quite as long as Elton 

 and Eleanor, not to speak of its superior flavour. 



Now as to early Strawberries. It is quite useless now-a- 

 days to propagate such kinds as Black Prince when we possess, 

 thanks to Dr. Roden, the beautiful Early Prolific, which if 

 planted s-ide by side with Black Prince is quite as early. Then 

 we are going to have from the same raiser (Dr. Eoden) Alpha, 

 which bids fair to be earlier still ; in fact as early as we may 

 expect to gather Strawberries in our northern climate. Her© 

 the strong April and May frosts destroyed the better part of 

 the bloom ; nevertheless I had Early Prolific, Duke of Edin- 

 burgh, Vicomtesse Hcricart de Thury, Oscar, Marguerite, &0.,. 

 ripe simultaneously with Black Prince. 



Speaking of Strawberries, I cannot help alluding to another 

 small article on the subject, headed " Notes on Strawberries." 

 This note was signed "A. P., Germaitij," but I think the 

 author, my friend Mr. Edmund Nebelsieck, the able head 

 gardener at Villa Albertina in my neighbourhood, will not 

 feel hurt in his modesty if I divulge his name. He speaks of 

 my new seedling Unser Fritz in very flattering terms, and he 

 is a good judge, growing at his employer's, the Consul Schcin,. 

 a large number of the best varieties. I hope that — several 

 parties in England having obtained from me plants of Unser 

 Fritx — it will there likewise become a favourite, which it has 

 become with all who possess it in this country. It begins to 

 ripen at the medium season, and bears plentifully until all the 

 known late sorts are over. The day before yesterday (August 14) 

 I still had some very nice berries. As regards the quality, I 

 leave the parties who have Unser Fritz under cultivation to be 

 the judges. 



In conclusion, I may add that there is still a very good late 

 Strawberry "D.F.J. K." does not seem to be aware of — I 

 mean liifleman , raised at Frogmore. This is likewise decidedly 

 a very late kind, and an enormous bearer.— Ferdisakd Gloedb, 

 Eppendorf, Ilainhiirg. 



Is reply to the queries of " D. F. J. K." (page 143), 1 beg to 



