October 15, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



335 



ADAPTING ONESELF TO CIBCUMSTANCES— 

 STEAWBEEEY CULTURE. 



ARDENING would be a veiy easy affair if 

 it could all be done by rule and line. If all 

 the soils, seasons, and climates were alike we 

 .should not need twenty or thirty years' ap- 

 prenticeship under various conditions to get 

 acquainted with the rudiments of our pro- 

 {(§ji-^ fession ; the merest tyro in possession of a 



^w'C^ well-written calendar of operations and a 



clear head would be nearly on a level with 

 the oldest practitioner. Certain work done 

 at certain times and in one particular manner would pro- 

 dace certain results on a day pre-arranged by the writer. 

 Whether we should be any better or happier if our 

 numerous little excitements and disappointments were all 

 removed I am not prepared to say ; but as things arc, it 

 is very plain that he is the best gardener who can best 

 adapt himself to circumstances. Read the calendars cer- 

 tainly. I read all, including those of villa and suburban 

 gardening, and although both villas and suburbs are far 

 away from me I always find some little hint that is likely 

 to be of service to me ; but in reading, one should know and 

 bear in mind the circumstances under which the writer is 

 placed, remembering that under different conditions if the 

 directions given are fuUy carried out the result will some- 

 times be utter failure, or, to say the least, labour will be 

 needlessly wasted. Mr. Douglas, for instance, than whom 

 a more painstaking calendar-writer could not exist, tells 

 us that Strawberries succeed best with him when the beds 

 are renewed every year ; and all who know Mr. Douglas 

 know that he would not recommend a thing to be done 

 in a manner he had not experimented on, and wliich he 

 did not think he had conclusively proved to be the best 

 plan. On the other hand, Dr. Roden, whom everybody 

 knows to be a successful raiser and grower of Strawber- 

 ries, says (a little too harshly, I think) that either Mr. 

 Douglas's cultivation or his soil is at fault. Now it is 

 very plain to me, and to all who read Mr. Douglas's 

 articles carefully, whore the fault is. It is in the soil, and 

 many a man with such a soil would give up the attempt 

 to grow Strawberries altogether. Such, however, is not 

 the policy of a good gardener : he battles against his dis- 

 advantages, overcomes seeming impossibilities, and not 

 only grows fruit, but actually grows it better than his 

 neighbours who have every possible advantage, and who, 

 consequently, do not bestow the same amount of care 

 and skiU. Tell an enthusiastic lover of his profession 

 that a thing is next to impossible, and you are certain to 

 have it done well. 



Now I have the advantage of commanding the best 

 Strawberry soil I ever saw— possibly Dr. Boden's soil is 

 somewhat similar — enormous crops of good fruit are 

 annually produced if no particular attention is bcotowed 

 on the plants ; but, of course, a little attention properly 

 given makes an improvement in quality. Like Mr. 

 Douglas, I find the finest fruit produced on one-year-old 

 plants, and if I had not a good Strawberry soil I should 



No. 707.-VOL. XXVK., New Series. 



be inclined to renew every year, but in my clayey loam 

 the fruit is much more abundant, although not quite so 

 large the second and third year. After the third or 

 fourth year the flavour begins to deteriorate, as well as 

 the size. The total weight of fruit, perhaps, increases as 

 the plants get older and larger, but we do not grow 

 Strawberries any more than Gooseberries solely for 

 weight. 



My practice is to plant some afresh every year, and 

 destroy all that can be spared of those that are three 

 years old. A great many forced plants are also utilised 

 and produce good results for a couple of years. 



A clayey soil where Strawberries have not been grown 

 before produces the best flavour as well as the finest 

 fruit. I have, however, found one exception to this. 

 There is one very popular Strawberry that I could not 

 get a respectable dish of fruit off for two or three years; 

 it grew tremendously, and produced leafstalks half a yard 

 long, but no fruit worth looking at — it was President. I 

 read in "our Journal" that it was a good variety for 

 forcing. I tried it, and the results were even worse than 

 those obtained out of doors. There is a patch of ground 

 at one corner of our garden which lies high above the 

 rest, and which at some time long ago has been made up 

 with a lot of sand and peaty soil for growing American 

 plants. The President was impeached and banished to 

 this sterile .spot, and the result was remarkable. Every 

 season it produces most abundantly, and keeps up a suc- 

 cession of prime fruit for fully three weeks. This last dry 

 summer was no exception, and the ground was never once 

 watered. I have tried other kinds along with it on the 

 light soil, but have not yet found another one succeed. I 

 think, therefore, I am quite safe in recommending those 

 whose soil is too light for other Strawberries to give Pre- 

 sident a trial. I do not know a Strawberry of better 

 quality. — WrLLiAM Tavloe. 



ABOUT MELONS. 



I SUSPECT many besides Mr. Meacock have foimd Melons 

 which answer their purpose better than the " everybody- 

 pleasing Victory of Dath." What is the pood of it to the 

 amateur with a cold frame or pit with a very limited sup- 

 ply of materials for heat, or none at all ? Will it grow 

 in a frame or pit upon a spent hotbed which has been 

 employed for striking cuttings and forwarding plants from 

 seed ? Will it set its fruit, grow to a good size, and ripen 

 perfectly without any heat afterwards bejond that afforded 

 by the sun ? Is it for those who have unlimited means 

 for heat, so free a setter, so early a ripener? Will it 

 swell so well late in autumn and winter, and keep for 

 so many days in good condition after being ripe, as the 

 Melon which Mr. Gilbert seeks to disparage— viz., Little 

 Heath, which, if not its equal in pleasing everybody with 

 its flavour, is more than its match in hardiness, free-bear^ 

 ing, appearance, and general usefulness ? " Everybody," 

 as I accept the term employed by Mr. Gilbert, represents 

 the greatest number, and not the greatest means. What 

 is the number of those growing Melons in frames or pits 



No. 1369.-VOL. LII., Old Sehies. 



