1844.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



637 



Home CorresDondence. 



rrnriicultural Society of London.-! see by the list of 

 • tored bv this Society for next year, as advertised 



P?T ;« the Chronicle, that although the prizes given 

 lately m q( , tg havebeen j ust l y raised in value, 



** ttiotTal befn LTToIhe 'fSTSiS in the 



£° wnweri' class, at which, considering the competi- 



Fruit-growers 



tioB 



that has taken place of late, and the great interest 

 St" on the subject by all the growers of fruit, I have con- 



A with on the subject, I am much surprised. It 

 Te .- *w the Horticultural Society are placing the 



8PP !^Ho7cing "gardeners in a lower class than that of 



P v™ nt , rowers. I hope that exhibitors of fruit at the 



nUwEk Shows will not rest satisfied until their exer- 



n* are as handsomely rewarded as those of the growers 



f stove and greenhouse plants. I shall say no more at 



Vent but hope my brother-exhibitors will endeavour to 



Smuade the Council of the Horticultural Society to place 



them on the same footing as the two other classes for 



which the large gold medal is awarded.— An Exhibitor of 



Fruit at CMsivick. [The best answer to this letter is, 



Siit there teas not one single letter sent by a fruit- 



arower to the Vice-Secretary for the consideration of the 



Committee ; the conclusion from which was, that the 



fruit-growers were satisfied.] . . • . 



Gathering of Fruit.— Thepropertime for gathering fruit 

 differs with almost every variety; but, generally speaking, 

 there are only two periods for gathering, viz., summer and 

 winter— the former for such kinds as drop from the trees 

 between midsummer and the middle of October, and 

 the latter for such sorts as hang upon the trees until 

 frost brings them down. The proper time for gathering 

 the first sorts is indicated by their colour, or more cer- 

 tainW by their beginning to fall ; when you see a few 

 down go to work, and, looking over the tree, pick off all 

 the ripest, which always come down first, leaving the 

 others on the tree until they in their turn show symp- 

 toms of being easily detached from the bough when 

 ■lightly grasped by the hand ; or, as before, take them 

 when they begin to tumble to the ground. The next 

 operation is to lay them out carefully, one by one — not 

 placing them one upon another — in some place that is 

 fully exposed to the sun's rays during the whole day. In 

 a week you will see a wonderful alteration in the appear- 

 ance of them, and in three weeks they will be in a fit 

 state for storing. By this method they acquire a very 

 superior flavour and appearance. The advantage of ex- 

 posing them to the sun is, that every individual Apple 

 sweats itself dry, which renders it fit for keeping for a 

 length of time. Early on the second or third morning 

 of exposure, they will be found to be bathed in sweat, 

 and thus their acid qualities are expelled and their sac- 

 charine matter is concentrated. Of second or late sorts 

 which show no symptoms of ripening on the tree, of 

 course they cannot have the same advantage of the sun's 

 rays as the summer varieties ; when frost is expected they 

 should be gathered, and, if possible, exposed in Melon-pits 

 or frames in which air circulates freely ; they should be 

 treated as nearly like the others as the season will admit. 

 The next thing to be considered is the storing of them, and 

 this is of some importance. How creditable it is to have 

 a good Ribston Pippin, for example, fit for table in April 

 or May, instead of its being unfit for use in January, as 

 is generally the case ! My Apple-room was at one time 

 fitted all round with racks ; the bars of wood were two 

 inches thick, with a space of one inch between them. 

 The Apples were laid singly upon a layer of Wheat- 

 straw, but I found that this did not answer; for when 

 the door and window were shut, the fruit became covered 

 with mould and damp ; and if I gave air, they were sure 

 to shrivel. I could find no medium between these evils 

 until I had my room fitted upon its present plan. It has 



a northern aspect, and is covered with a good thickness 

 of thatch. This answers better than slates, as it keeps 

 the cold and frost out in winter, and also the heats in 



summer. Inside I have it fitted up all round with 



drawers 8 inches deep, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet long. 

 P * are wade to fit tightly. Each drawer has the name 



oj the fruit which it contains labelled on the outside. 



inese drawers are half-filled with fine paper-shavings, and 



the fruit is carefully packed therein ; or, in the abs .nee 



« paper-shavings, I find clean Oat-chaff to answer 



equally well, each fruit being first wrapped in silk paper. 



*>Y this method I can have good fruit during the greater 



Part of the : year.— Jam es IVilson. 



n ater \\agtail.— The reading the remarks on the 



water wagtail last year, p. 392, revived in my memory 

 c ! rc " ,nstan ce which occurred in my youth, that I shall 



F„t , j ver for get. The subject being again lately 

 ntrouueed, induces me now to offer the anecdote :— In 



«« autumn of 1830, we had the house full of company. 



j7' Dg ti j e el <*est son, and occupying one of the best bed- 



slent'' WaS rec l uestea to turn out ; I did so, and 

 p m a room in the roof. Some of my young friends 



«hn^ arr i a , ngin S an earJ y start the following morning to 

 omV f With the bed-candle in my hand, on the 



LJ °, f firing, I volunteered to join the party. I was 

 "Hguea at and told they should be back again before I 

 thpV P% 1 offered t0 bet them a shilling each I would be 

 w7« , UP / Xt ^as readily taken. About 5 o'clock I 

 ouirp aW • y a dact y l ra P- l started, and thought it was 

 anri P WUh m y shillings, when I heard it repeated; 

 ■^presently I perceived it was done by a Wagtail 

 of m T'n? 0W ' l felt somewhat easier for the fate 

 ODenh* u g8 ' Which feelin & was not decreased on 

 no « the d °or, and hearing nothing but most so- 



ttv fril 8 ? Und8 al1 throu S h the gallery. I soon roused 

 notes to tl' * h ° m * re J° iced to find performing similar 

 mv ♦., company's servants above. It was now 



I formed this kind office just before sunrise every morning 

 during the fortnight I occupied the room. I generally 

 took its gentle hint, astonished all the family, and almost 

 established a character for early rising. Opening the 

 window seemed to disappoint my little friend and pet 

 very much, which led me to suppose he came purposely 

 to admire himself in the glass. Your correspondent says, 

 in his case this could not have been so, as there was no 

 blind to the window ; nor was there always in my case. 

 Neither do I think a blind absolutely necessary to pro- 

 duce reflection ; the interior of a house being darker 

 than the exterior, the window-glass will generally reflect 

 exterior objects as well, or even more p? rfectly, without it. 

 I have inquired, but cannot learn that the bird visits any 

 other window in the house. Servants, unless super- 

 stitious, seldom regard such a matter. My housekeeper, 

 who has occupied this room for the last five years, says 

 every year during the summer she is frequently awoke by 

 a bird tapping at the window. It had not occurred for 

 a month or more. She does not exactly know what bird 

 it is, but thinks it is the Dishwasher, which I imagine 

 must be the Water Wagtail, though probably not the 

 same kind as your correspondent's M Boarula ;" for his 

 friend, I observe, visits him only during; winter, whereas 

 we have the yellow and another here all the year round. 

 The former is larger, and I think a rather more graceful 

 bird. — B. Chilo., North Devon. 



Dog Rose. — Does the old name of Canker, or Canker- 

 rose remain in use amongst the vulgar (the most 

 enduring repositories of the vernacular), in any part of 

 the kingdom ? It must have been in familiar use in 



Shakspeare's day : — 



D.John. I had rather be a Canker in a hedge, than a Rose 

 in his grace.— Much ado about Nothing. 



Hot. To put down Richard, that sweet love 1 .)' Rose, 

 And to plant this thorn, this Canker Bolingbroke.— A'. Hen. IV. 



And yet it is curious that Gerard does not mention 

 it in his account of the plant ; although it is, I suppose, 

 erroneously introduced into his Index, thus — " Canker- 

 rose, t. e. Poppy," for it is not to be found in his 



" History of the Poppy and his kinds." Gerard did not 

 live in the country, properly speaking, and dealt more 

 with Dioscorides and Theophrastus, Mathiolus and Lo- 

 belius, than with the wits of his time, and therefore 

 probably never met with the country name of Canker. I 

 am puzzled to know why it was called the Canker-rose. 

 The commentators on Shakspeare quote a contempora- 

 neous authority or two in illustration of the use of the 

 word, but afford no other light on the subject. Johnson 

 goes no farther than the definition. Booth, to whose 

 " Analytical Dictionary," (1835), I often refer with great 

 satisfaction, under the head Dog-rose, says it was called 

 Canker-rose because of its hairy galls. This is not very 

 satisfactory, and does not carry us near enough, I sus- 

 pect, to the original appropriation of the term. Is there 

 any authority for such a German compound as kanker- 

 gallen, or gallapfelen— spider-gall ? and has it been ap- 

 plied to the excrescence in question % If so, then one's 

 mind is led to think of a Gothic or Celtic original for 

 canker, cancer, Kayxpvs, sea and land spiders, and other 

 rough things, and such like pleasant etymological 



reveries. — P.P. 



Pelargoniums.— I am pleased to see that L.e beautiful 



Cape Pelargoniums are likely to coir.e into fashion again. 

 A favourite plant with me is P. echinatum. A few 

 cuttings, struck at three times in the year^ will keep up 

 a succession actually all the year round, 

 freely under almost any circumstance 

 state, and thrives in loam, peat, and white sand. My 

 large plant has now fourteen trusses, and looks like a cloud 

 of "white butterflies with pink spots on their wings.— 



Mickleicell. 



Hints to Botanical Collectors.— -Much unnecessary 



Suppose two plants were brought from Mexico, one from 

 the plains, the other from a mountain several thousand 

 feet above the level of the sea, and the only guide to their 

 cultivation given was, that they were natives of Mexico 

 — the consequence would be, both would be subjected to 

 the same treatment — probably a hot one ; in which, while 

 one may luxuriate, the other — it may be the more valu- 

 able specimen — would perish. In a word, gardeners in 

 general should study the physical as well as geographical 

 situation of plants, as a means of rendering their labours 

 more easy, and as pointing out a shorter way to the 

 attainment of the desired end, viz. successful cultivation. 

 — Walter JVakr field. 



Flower Gardens.— Will some of your correspondents 

 point out the best method of ornamenting the flower- 

 garden at this time of the year, with those beautiful plants, 

 the improved varieties of the Pelargonium ! I have one 

 w in the open border, which was I hardly treated 

 during the wiuter, and did not bloom ring, which is 



blossoming as well as if it were in Mr. l h's green- 



house. They will probably not la- as loo* ... Nossora 

 as the scarlets, but they would be n > betuuf '<r a 

 considerable time. They seem, l : ke i grow 



and blossom, and blossom and h row. 1 -• 



possibly be made the most b- wers, 



by a little delaying munageme. V show f« 



deners attend so exclusively to ig 'O 



totally neglect the autumnal ? I am « ty i 

 to think it is because of the London mark* 

 should recollect that the same affluent le wh 



London in the spring, live in the country in aw i, and 

 are as vain of their gardens as peacocks of their 

 they happen to have them in tolerably showy ordc 

 Au'umnus. 



Monstrosities. — Wby do Vines, Fuchsias, &c, put 

 out roots frequently at their joints? Even Pelargoniums, 

 in small pots and a feeding atmosphere do this, as do 

 also Melons and Cucumbers, even with full scope for 

 their roots. Potatoes show the same inclination ; and 

 the stem in some instances thicken*, which growth 

 certainly arises from the tuber not having a sufficient 

 supply of moisture to induce it to throw out roots to in- 

 crease its kind in the way natural to it ; and, taking 

 advantage of all its leaves can collect, and the parent 

 tuber supply, what would be leaves and young side- 

 shoots are converted into tubers. The should-be-eyes 

 for the same purpose throw out small leaves, no stems, 

 and again Potatoes (green Potatoes) instead of green 

 leaves and stems are produced. Of this I had a beauti- 

 ful exemplification last year on my Pansy border ; the 

 ground the previous year had been planted with Potatoes, 

 (the Early American and Blue Laurel) ; some of these 

 being left in the soil grew. The ground had been double- 

 dug, in order to prepare it for the flowers, and the 

 tubers were cast too deep to be got up without injury 

 to several plants ; the spot where they grew became the 

 regular path, trodden and baked hard. The stems grew, 

 as I have stated, and were borne down by the weight of 

 tubers, which increased rapidly ; I laid weeds, a few at 

 a time, upon some of them; they thus lost a little of their 

 deep green appearance. I then put a compost consist- 

 ing chiefly of decayed leaves over the weeds, slightly 

 earthing them; after a time some of these tubers pro- 

 truded, that part acquiring the colour of all exposed 

 P« f *fnp«. th«t covered bfibf white ; the eyes of one part 



Potatoes, that covered 



r*M£5 ^wnile t,e green had the *£^2R* 



s, while in a growing the uncovered ones on the stems. The part I t neu i-is 

 ?a -m*. on* \\l upon was the middle of the stem, and 1 covereu rather 



more than £ of it. The stem retained its verdure much 

 longer than the others, but from lying on the ground 

 many of the tuberous excrescences were entirely eaten by 

 snails. One plant that was dug for, had not one Pota- 



, . » i tnp a t tt»P rnnr • the others were covered with straw and 



anxiety might be spared those to «hose care newl, toe at the t00 , be otuen ^ 



introduced plants and seeds are consigned ,f co lecto.s ~" h - ™ " e « "L™~ . , ? as Lious to see whit 



would attach some memoranda to them, not only con- 

 cerning the soil in which the plants delight, with some 

 cursory remarks on their habit, which is, in many cases, 

 all the directions given by which the cultivator is to be 

 guided in their treatment, but also the climate, the 

 degree of temperature at various periods of the year if 

 possible, and above all, the situation in which they grow. 

 When I speak of collectors, I do not refer to persons 

 whose sole object in exploring distant regions, is col- 

 lecting not only the productions of various climes, but 

 also giving an account of their habits, &c. ; I allude to 

 persons who, by some cause either of business or plea- 

 sure, are induced to visit distant climes, and being for 

 the most part entirely ignorant of botany and gardening 

 and, consequently, their knowledge of plants in general 

 being limited, collect indiscriminately everything which 

 comes in their way, thinking, because they had never 

 previously seen them, they must be unknown in this 

 country. In this way a host of rubbish is constantly 

 being introduced, to be a trouble and anxiety for, per- 

 haps, two or three years, and then to be cast away. 

 But supposing that there should be one plant out of the 

 many worthy of cultivation, how are we to be guided as 

 to its treatment? Many a beautiful plant has undoubt- 

 edly died in its infancy solely from a want of proper 

 treatment, arising from the above causes. 1 he only 

 guide which those collectors deign to give, is something 

 after this manner :-" A beautiful blue flower from _>ew 

 Holland;" " Liliaceous plant ;" » A shrub resembling a 

 Svmphoria;" and such-like vague descriptions, from 

 which nothing of any importance relative to the proper 

 treatment of the plant can be gathered. A plant may 

 be a native of a very warm country, and yet, growing on 

 elevated situations, would require a temperature very 

 opposite to what would be supposed from the mere 



ever, lost or thrown away 



they would do when cultivated this year.— ./. // . 



JVasps.—l am sorry to learn from" H. P." that he has 

 not succeeded in destroying a wasp's nest by means of 

 spirits of turpentine. It must be borne in mind that the 

 nest of wasps is seldom perpendicularly under the en- 

 trance ; the instinct of the animal, no doubt, directs a 

 different arrangement, as a security against wet I have 

 found that after the wasps enter the hole, they proceed 

 for a few inches in a line almost horizontal, «*<* then 

 take a more perpendicular route to the "est which will 

 be at some distance from the entrance. Ihe bottle con- 

 taining the spirits of turpentine is here of great value, 

 because you can insert the neck m the direction of the 

 horizontal passage, and then the turpentine will go direct 

 to the nest ; if these conditions are observed, and all air 

 eluded by means of mud or clay round the top, it is 

 ^possible that the wasps inside can escape destruction. 

 Although a small quantity of turpentine may be sufficient, 

 yet as it is a cheap article I would recommend about a 

 quarter of a pint for each operation. — Jasper Stokes, 

 Birmingham. Another correspondent, signing him- 

 self " A. K." says, '* I tried the experiment of destroy- 

 ing wasps' nests by turpentine in a bottle, on two nests ; 

 in one which was not deep in the ground it completely 

 succeeded; in the other, which was much deeper, it k ,,ed * 

 My gardener then poured hot Stockholm tar into the hole, 

 and this answered perfectly ; all the wasps were destroyed. 

 He has since destroyed another in the me way. 

 Rouoham remarks that "an easy, cheap, and l ettec- 

 tualway of destroving a wasp's nest and the swarm is to 

 Dour a nint of eas-'tar into the hole, or if the ^Je is la ge 



tly for pouring, stuff into it a wisp 



ex 



im 



m ytura to laugh. The elegant little creature per- ■ knowledge of its coming from 



pour a pint or ga 



and placed inconveniently tor pouring, »-« .«- •• — —r 



of straw dipped in gas-tar. No wasp c« ™J ~[ }° 



such and such a country. 1 caught and disabled on his return home. 



