Sept. 



1855.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



581 





.^TfT^i^iTTolni^on^ere the disease which is 

 l L?*t*l to Vines in many parts of France and other 

 ^ntinental districts known under the name of couture, 



r the premature fall of the inflorescence. This arises 

 gently from spring frosts, but it is also caused by 

 ^vertv o£ sap, as is proved by the fact that removing a 

 *7 \ J ^^ a few days before the expansion of the 

 £o£er entirely prevents the calamity, provided the 

 temperature and other climatic conditions be favour- 



ble The fall of the fruit is known by the same 

 aam'e but in the Vine this can scarcely take place, 

 except at a very early period of growth or when it is 

 fully ripe. The fall of fruit in other cases may arise 

 from anything which checks growth, and where the crop 

 is too abundant, some privileged individuals appropriate 

 the nourishment, and the others fall. iLT. J. B. 



NOTES ON TRANSPLANTING.— No. L 

 Autumn is at hand, and planting will soon be com- 

 menced. A considerable experience as a landscape 

 gardener assures me that good practical knowledge on 

 *he subject does not generally obtain among those most 

 interested in the results. If this, and the succeeding 

 papers which I purpose writing on the subject, should 

 in any way remedy that, I shall be pleased. 



Professional men are, I believe, pretty well agreed as 

 to the best time and mode of transplanting ; and there 

 are many excellent treatises from which, as far as prin- 

 ciples are concerned, the amateur may glean the best 

 advice, but while principles alone are of the highest 

 yalue to the initiated, they often prove stumbling-blocks 

 to the mere novice. To benefit him those principles 

 .must be illustrated both in the rule and in the excep- 

 tion. I hope to do that 

 As a general rule the best season in which to trans- 



plant trees and shrubs 

 week in September till 



f 



is the autumn, from the last 

 the same period in November. 

 Evergreens especially should, if possible, be removed 

 then. Of course they may be safely planted at other 

 periods ; in fact, there is scarcely a month in the year 

 in which evergreens, under certain conditions, may not 

 be transplanted with perfect success : but as a general 

 rule, and in ail operations of magnitude, some time 

 ■between the periods named above should be chosen. 



Deciduous plants should be removed between the 

 decay of the leaf in autumn and the swelling of the bud 

 in spring. So soon as the leaf begins to fade, is, how- 

 ever, the best time for the operation ; but, as in the 

 case of evergreens, the rule admits of many exceptions. 

 These will be noticed in due course. 



Of the comparative advantage of different periods of 

 ihe year for removing evergreens, the following will 

 furnish good examples. A year or two since a large 

 cumber of shrubs and trees, principally evergreens, 

 was removed under my directions. Circumstances 

 which I had no influence over rendered it imperative 

 that the operation of transplanting should be tardily 

 proceeded with. In fact the work was begun in the 

 middle of August and was hardly finished in the suc- 

 ceeding May. Evt-ry week during this long period, 

 ttben the weather would allow, some shrubs were trans- 

 planted. I watched the results of these proceedings 

 with great interest, and I confess to have gleaned some 

 valuable information from them. 



I should observe that the kinds of shrubs were prin- 

 cipally Portugal Laurels, Laurestines, Arbutus, varie- 

 gated Hollies, Sweet Bays, and Aucubas. Those moved 

 w August suffered considerably in the loss of their 

 leaves, especially the Laurestines, and assumed generally 

 * yellow sickly hue. Others transplanted during the 

 first 10 days of September succeeded little better ; 

 while those removed during the latter part of the same 

 month, and in October and November, hardly indicated 

 Any effects of the operation. The weather, from the 

 commencement of the work up to the beginning of 

 November, was upon the whole dry. After this heavy 

 rains set in and continued till the middle of January. 

 I he plants removed during that time did not start so 

 ireely into growth in the following spring as those 

 ™ n8 plf nted in October and the early part of November. 

 } . soil, it maybe observed, was a stiff loam, and, from 

 ^mg newly trenched, was rendered by the digging and 

 reading, consequent on the planting, . any thing but 

 favourable for the roots. To this cause may undoubt 

 i v °e attributed the comparative ill success of the 

 Plants removed then. 



towards the close of January frost set in and planting 



and ?JJ 8pended for a month ; but during part of February 

 a tn e whole of March and April the work was carried 

 j and, as the succeeding summer showed, with vary- 



wh ? Uccess * ^hose removed in March, however, on the 

 k r offered most, many of them, especially some 

 j£ge Portugal Laurels, died back to within a foot or 



branch e 8round » otner s lost the greater part of their 

 frrou 6 - 8 ' ^ nese on being cut back made vigorous 

 j ? wth in the following year. Of all the plants removed 



° not think more than half a dozen died outright. 

 s ^ n ? e °f the shrubs transplanted in April deserve a 

 LaT i notice - 0f these several wer2 large Portugal 

 ttent i- quirin 8 the united assistance of eight or ten 

 Posh ^ 3 tne y were P^ced in very important 



carefT 8 eVer ^ care was taken to ensure success by 

 Plant l re !? ova '» an( * eft ch was well watered when 

 plaep * he on 'y "^cation of their having changed 



No! W3 f the Ca8tin S of a few of the older leaves, 

 varvii U nding 1he few Shires, and the otherwise 



J'Hgsuccess, the result of the work on the whole 



ticnLr con8ldep ed as satisfactory. Two points in par- 

 1 con tributed to this success. The ground to be 



planted, from being trenched previously, had become 

 thoroughly settled, and the plants themselves having to be 

 carried but short distances received no material injury 

 from being kept out of the ground. Whenever planting 

 is to be extensively undertaken, much of the success 

 will depend on timely preliminaries being carried out. 

 It is too much the practice to procrastinate in this, and 

 to defer the preparation of the soil till it is time to plant 

 the trees. 



Supposing the soil to require both draining and 

 trenching, and in all new grounds these operations may 

 be calculated on, by all means let them be finished in 

 the summer preceding the planting season. If the soil 

 is very stiff and unfavourable, a year's cultivation pre- 

 vious to planting would be of immense advantage ; but 

 under any circumstances trenching should precede 

 planting at least several weeks if possible. The soil 

 then becomes settled, and, from the action of the 

 weather, well pulverised, and will be, in fact, in an 

 excellent condition to receive the plants. The difference 

 in the success of shrubs planted in a nicely pulverised and 

 otherwise well prepared soil, and in one newly-trenched, 

 stiff, and full of unbroken clods, is very great. In soils 

 which require preparation much of the success of the 

 shrubs to be planted in it will depend on its being timely 

 and efficiently performed. 



Two years ago I made plans for a new garden in the 

 neighbourhood of London ; the proprietor of the ground 

 superintended their execution, and, with the exception 

 of a preliminary visit at the commencement of the work, 

 I did not see the gardens until the ensuing spring, when 

 I was consulted as to the cause of the almost general 

 failure of the shrubs. This was at once evident. The 

 soil was very stiff — clay, in fact, and as it was trenched 

 in the autumn and winter, and the plants immediately 

 placed in it, it is easily imagined what kind of medium 

 the roots enjoyed. The soil was in fact but a collection 

 of lumps of clay with nothing to fill the interstices ; 

 nevertheless attempts had been made at planting — it 

 would be libellous to say that it was really performed. 

 The winds of March, assisted by the sun, had con- 

 verted the lumps of clay into brick, and robbed the ill- 

 covered roots of every particle of moisture : the plants 

 were of course dead or dying, and no art could save 



them then. 



In this case an early preparation of the soil was not 

 only advisable but imperative, if anything like success 

 with the shrubs was to be hoped for. Such a soil should 

 be broken up a year before planting, and well worked 

 at intervals to bring it into a proper condition. All soils 

 will vield to well-directed labcur : the end to be 



attained is merely a question of time, labour, and ex- 



Those who are unfortunate enough to have an I 

 unfavourable soil to deal with must incur all that if the 

 best results are to be obtained. 0. W. L. 



pense 



GARDENING IN SOMERSETSHIRE. 



I send you the accompanying design from a cooper's 

 garden in this county from a neighbourhood singularly 

 devoid of gardening or other taste ; it is a Pyracantha 

 in very full flower ; every spray must have been watched 



But first to the facts I wish to narrate. In the parish 

 named may now be seen two adjoining Hop grounds 

 belonging to two different growers. The variety of 

 Hop is the Canterbury White Lime. Up to a month 

 from this date, they were each in a similar state of 

 health, when suddenly the mouldappeared simultaneously 

 upon each. 



At this time the plants were not in blossom, although 

 they were in each case nearly so. One of the growers 

 commenced with sulphur, the other allowed the disease 

 to range unmolested. A mere low hedge parts the 

 grounds, and now to see the difference between the one 

 and the other, even to the rows that nearly meet, would 

 astonish and ought to convince the most sceptical, for 

 in one ground of 5 acres there is every appearance of 

 being 15 cwt. per acre, and in the other, the owner will 

 probably not put a basket into the ground. Here, then, 

 the experiment is conclusive as to the use of sulphur; 

 and now let us look into the expense that has been the 

 means of this success. The mineral cost DL only, and the 

 labour of twice dusting the plauts over the 5 acres was 

 less than 3£, but say 12Z. for the extreme outlay. Then, 

 whether we have 4 tons of clean good Hops to market, 

 or whether we have our year's expenses and no produce, 

 in this case is clearly whether we think it advisable 

 to expend 12J. The argument upon expenditure is, 

 therefore, put at rest. Next, the difficulty ^ of 

 the application. This need be no bar, seeing 

 that the expense is less than 3J. ; nor need we be 

 alarmed at the difficulty, when we know that all that is 

 required is a dredge or duster of tin capable of holding 

 14 pints, and that it must be made to hold a stick or 

 handle long enough to go over the top of the Hops. It 

 must not be filled, and is better to have about one pint, 

 which will then leave space to allow of shaking, which 

 is essential to the operation. A slight jerk or a blow 

 on the handle will scatter the dust over the top, and 

 similar treatment will cover the leaves by going round 

 the stool. In this manner, when the whole ground had 

 been attended to, and every plant dusted over, it was 

 observed that the whiteness of the mould had turned to 

 a violet colour — a sure sign of the decay of the mould ; 

 but to prevent any chance of missing the infected 

 branches and leaves, the same operation was again per- 

 formed. From that time to the present the Hops have 

 flourished— flowering as if nothing had occurred, and 

 now presenting that peculiar beauty that a healthy 

 ground is proverbial for. 



Having disposed of the two first objections let us 

 consider the third — namely, the grounds for the Hop 

 factors' manifesto. It relates that certain growers, by 

 the use of sulphur last year, grew Hops, and that the 

 brewer using them spoilt the beer, and therefore they 

 state that they will not buy Hops without a certificate 

 that no sulphur has been u^ed in the culture. Let us 

 see how this doctrine would apply to our present case. 

 Of course they would not buy the growth because 

 sulphur has been used. Is not this the height of absur- 

 dity, for the sulphur was used before the plants were in 

 flower, and consequently the Hop could not in any way 

 be affected by it ? 



The gentleman who drew up this manifesto evidently 

 supposes that sulphur would pass into the pores of the 

 plaut, and thus find its way into the Hop from the 

 leaves and stems. This every physiologist knows to be 

 a thing impossible, and consequently any deduction from 

 it is simply absurd. It is now only necessary for me to 

 conclude by stating that I possess a branch from each 

 ground, and shall be happy to show them to any inter- 

 ested upon the question. William Masters, Exotic 

 Nursery, Canterbury, August 29. 



CIRCULAR ADDRESSED TO THE HOP- 

 GROWERS OF KENT AND SUSSEX. 



The very serious losses which brewers have sus- 

 tained from the application of sulphur to the growing 

 crop of Hops, with the view of checking the spread of 

 mould, render it our duty to call the attention of the 

 Hop-growers generally to the subject, and we would 

 hope that it will only be necessary to make them 

 acquainted with the disastrous results of the practice to 

 ensure its discontinuance. 



It has now been practically ascertained, beyond all 

 question, that Hops grown under such treatment im- 

 part so obnoxious a smell and flavour to the beer 

 brewed from them as to render it unsaleable, and, 



multiply instances of losses 

 I Z^zlzII ILL* *ui a /.ana* tft the extent of thousand 



weekly. Cheiranthus Marshall! in marly soil makes 

 an admirable bedding plant. Flowers are very pale 

 this season, and fade very quickly, Laburnum unusually 

 so. 'Somerset. 



HOP DISEASE. 



For years past I have urged my Hop growing friends 

 when the mould attacks the leaves to dress them with 

 sulphur, for I felt convinced that the mould would be as 

 rapidly destroyed by its action as similar parasites are 

 upon plants in our cultivation. The usual objections 

 started have been the expense, the difficulty of applica- 

 tion, and lastly, the resolution of certain Hop factors 

 not to buy, except the grower would certify that no 

 sulphur had been used in their culture. 



* In giving the history of what has occurred in the 

 parish of Basschild, near Sittingbourne, in this county, 

 I propose to say a few words on each of the objections. 



unhappily, we could 

 arising from this cause, 

 pounds. 



It would appear that while sulphur, in moderation, 

 applied in vapour during the process of drying Hops, 

 produces no deleterious effects, when actually incor- 

 porated into the pknt by its application during its 

 growth, it impregnates the beer with its flavour to such 

 an extent as to render it undrinkable. 



As large purchasers of Hops we shall feel bound, for 

 the protection of our customers, to require some guaran- 

 tee from those of whom we buy them that any lots 

 offered to us for sale have not been sulphured while on 

 the poles ; and without obtaining such an assurance, we 

 shall be obliged to decline their purchase. 



This subject, however, appears to us to be of the most 

 vital importance to the growers of Hops themselves, as 

 the practice, if not abandoned, must encourage the con- 

 umers in the use of foreign Hops, which have already 

 been so extensively introduced and found favour; for as 

 mould is comparatively unknown abroad, the brewers 





