Seiitember 23, 1973. ) 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



263 



season of the year in EDglancI, if a prize were offered for the 

 best collection of Melons, the Show wonld be inundated with 

 them, but here the class was vacant for want of competitors. 

 There were a few Melons exhibited in general collections, but 

 they appeared to be varieties of a common description — a sort 

 of Cantaloupe with the deep longitudinal furrows down their 

 side, and with the firm red flesh. We would commend the high 

 cultivation of the Melon to our Belgian friends, and advise them 

 to procure from England seed of such varieties as Beeohwood, 

 Golden Gem, Victory of Bath, Reed's Scarlet Flesh, Scarlet 

 Gem, Trentham Hybrid, and others, which would revolutionise 

 the culture of the Melon in Belgium ; and if a little attention 

 were paid to their cultivation, as has been done during the last 

 few years to the culture of Grapes under glass, our friends will 

 find that they have added another pleasure to their lives. 



The largest and best exhibition of miscellaneous fruits sent 

 by a private individual was that of Messrs. Baltet frcres of 

 Troyes. This occupied two very long tables, and contained 

 admirably grown specimens of numerous varieties of Apples 

 and Pears. The most remarkable specimen in this collection was 

 a fruit of the Apple Manascre, which measured 1 foot 7i inches 

 in circumference, and weighed upwards of 1 lb. 1 oz. A very 

 large and fine collection came from the Socicte Centrale d'Ar- 

 boriculture de Belgique of Brussels, among which were remark- 

 ably fine specimens. But it would be needless for us to go 

 farther into particulars than we have done. The Show is a very 

 extensive one, and the collections are necessarily very similar, 

 the classes varying only in the quantities which constitute 

 them ; and it will give some idea of the extent of the Exhibition 

 when we state that it embraces upwards of twelve thousand 

 dishes of fruit of all kinds. To specify in a report which must 

 necessarily be short any great number of these would be im- 

 possible and to a certain extent unprofitable, for, as we have 

 already said, the varieties exhibited are so often repeated in the 

 various classes, that to do so would be to go over the same ground 

 again and again. But before concluding we must notice a very 

 large collection of seedling Pears shown by that indefatigable 

 and successful raiser M. K. Grijgoire-Nelis of Jodoigne, and to 

 which the gold medal offered by the King was awarded. These 

 were all shown under numbers, and as no names were yet given 

 we cannot specify them. 



We shall now conclude this notice of the Show by giving an 

 outline of the schedule. It is divided into seven sections — First, 

 miscellaneous fruits, and the highest honours here fell to Messrs. 

 Baltet fieres of Troyes for the collection already noticed, and 

 to which the medal offered by the Royal Agricultural and 

 Botanic Society of Ghent was awarded ; the second, consisting 

 of a gold medal, falling to M. Hage Courtrai and M. de Ghellinck 

 de Walle of Wondelgem. The second section was for Pears ; 

 and for the largest collection of all kinds the gold medal, offered 

 by the Federation of the Horticultural Societies of Belgium, was 

 awarded to M. J. L. van Leekwyk of Antwerp. For the best 

 hundred varieties of dessert Pears the first prize was awarded 

 to M. V. Biebuyck, President of the Horticultural Society of 

 Courtrai; for the best seventy-five varieties to M. Struelens of 

 Grammont ; and for the best fifty varieties to Count de Kerc- 

 hove deDeuterghem, Burgomaster of Ghent. The third section 

 was for Apples, and for the largest collection the gold medal 

 offered by the Government was awarded to M. Hage of Courtrai. 

 The fourth section was for stone fruits, and as we have already 

 said the exhibition was in these so weak that we shall not fur- 

 ther remark upon this section. The fifth included Grapes, on 

 which we have already commented. The sixth for miscellaneous 

 other fruits brought no competitions ; and the seventh was for 

 various objects, including implements, itc, among which we 

 saw nothing differing from what one usually meets with on 

 similar occasions. 



Sept. 23. — At nine, sitting of the Congress. At two, visit to 

 the gardens of Meester do Ravensteia. At five banquet to 

 Members of Congress. At eight, a concert at the Eoyal Society 

 of Melomancs. 



Sept. 24 and 25. — Contiunation of the Congress and visits 

 to the bortioultaral establiehments of the city. 



OcciSioxs sr.eh aa these horticultural exhibitions wonld not 

 be complete in Belgium if the pleasure and comfort of the 

 visitors were neglected. The hospitality of onr neighbours, 

 which has become proverbial, was fully indulged on this occa- 

 sion, and a series of banquets and excursions were projected 

 and carried out, which contributed very much to the enjoy- 

 ment of the occasion. Here follows the programme, which is 

 enongh to satisfy the most craven appetite :— 



Sept. 19. — Nine o'clock, work of the .Jury. Twelve o'clock, 

 opening of the Exhibition. Two o'clock, banquet to the Jury. 

 Five, concert at the Zoological Garden. 



Sept. 20. — Reception of members of Congress at the Hotel 

 de Ville. Twelve, installation of the Congress at the Casino. 

 One, visit to the gardens of Count de Kerchove de Denterghem. 

 Five, Concert at the garden of the Casino. 



Sept. 21. — Nine, sitting of the Congress. Two, visit to the 

 gardens of the Baroness van Loo-Malfait and of M. J. de 

 Poorter. 



Sept. 22.— Nine, sitting of the Congress. Two, visit to the 

 gardens of M. Jules van Loo and of M. de Ghellinck de Walle. 



TAKING-UP AND STORING POTATOES. 



It is with much surprise that I have observed a general 

 tendency to revert to the obsolete and useless practice of 

 pulling the haulm from Potatoes to preserve them from 

 blight. The plan is utterly worthless, and is a mere com- 

 promise npon the part of those who will not be convinced 

 that the tubers may be taken up while the haulm is green 

 in perfect safety without suffering the slightest deterioration 

 in quality. The whole of my Potato crop has now been in 

 the storehouse for upwards of a mouth. In quantity it 

 amounts to about sixty sacks, and in quality is of more than 

 average excellence. There are the tubers now exhibiting a 

 little roughness upon the skin, it must be granted, but as 

 firm and plump as could be wished. Let it rain, say I, and 

 make the late-sown Turnips, Celery, and winter Greens grow, 

 the late autumnal fruit to attain the fullest perfection of size 

 and maturity, and an abundant herbage spring up in parks 

 and meadows for our flocks and herds. 



Those persons whose Potatoes are spoilt by rain this year 

 deserve to suffer, for never was there a more propitious season. 

 The crop sustained no check during its growth, frequent 

 showers maintaining it in fullest vigour. As it attained fall 

 growth dry weather ensued ; the ripening process went steadily 

 on, and when it was taken up the soil was literally dust-dry. 

 Much of the foliage was already of a dull brown and yellow 

 tinge, and the tubers parted freely from the haulm. But the 

 skin was much rubbed in the process of collecting and convey- 

 ing the Potatoes to the storehouse, and this is the rub — this 

 the stumbling block which Messrs. Dull and Dawdle cannot 

 get over. Let me assure them that those of us who have now 

 for several years adopted the early-lifting method, and thus 

 escaped the ravages of disease, can no more afford to indulge 

 in rash or speculative theories than they can. We are bound 

 to succeed where success is possible, and in order to do this 

 we strive to understand and avail ourselves of every advan- 

 tage placed in our way by nature or science, applying such 

 lessona with all due caution, but never hesitating to do so 

 thoroughly when experience proves us to be right. 



At the time of writing this (September 14th) I am fully 

 aware that in my own neighbourhood the greater part of the 

 Potato crop stUl remains in the ground. Almost all the 

 haulm i.s dead, glorious weather prevails, and yet nothing is 

 done. One can only conclude that those who so positively 

 court failure have no right to complain when it comes, and 

 to such I have nothing to say. Nor did I suppose it would 

 be necessary to repeat to really practical men former state- 

 ments in favour of the early-lifting process, when its immense 

 advantages must be so patent, and especially when such men 

 as "D., Deal," Mr. Wright, and many others, had also borne 

 testimony to its value ; but when it is gravely asserted that 

 the disease may be avoided by pulling the haulm from the 

 tubers, and leaving them in the soil, it becomes a positive 

 duty to speak out. 



As confirmatory evidence of the value of timely lifting I 

 append an extract from a letter received this morning : — 

 " The Potato yield is fine and abundant ; I have 120 sacks 

 housed, free from blight and in excellent condition." — Edward 



LUCKHUEST. 



CROPS IN NORTH LANCASHIRE. 

 With the exception of a heavy flood at the beginning of this 

 mouth we have bad glorious weather in the northern districts 

 during September, a second summer in fact, with a tempe- 

 rature ranging from 65' to 70' in the shade. This has done 

 splendidly for the ripening of fruit, and the memory of man 

 cannot reach back to a year of such plenitude of fine and well- 

 ripened fruit. Fruit which, in other years, would have afforded 

 matter for newspaper paragraphs is now completely unnoticed, 

 from the simple fact that such is grown in every garden or 

 orchard. Cabbage, Broccoli, in fact all garden produce, is 

 very plentiful and remarkably well grown. At the recent 

 Show of the Ulverston Horticultural Society, an old-established 

 one, the judges remarked that never before had they witnessed 



