42 



TEE GABDENEBiS' GHBONIGLE. 



[July 14, 1888. 



Advertisers are specially requested to note, that, 

 under no circumstances whatever, can any 

 particular position in the paper be guaran- 

 teed for advertisements occupying less space 

 than an entire column. 



SUBSCRIBERS TO 



J HE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 

 who experience any difficulty in obtaining 

 their Copies regularly, are particularly requested 

 to communicate with the Publisher (in cases of 

 delay in the delivery by post, the cover should be 

 forwarded with complaint). 



W. RICHARDS, 41, Wellington Street, 

 Strand, W.C. 



APPOINTMENTS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. 



SHOWS. 



MONDAY, July 16 -i 



TUESDAY, July 17— Leek and Ulverstone. 



WEDNESDAY, July 18— Birkenhead. 



July 20— National Rose, at Darlington. 

 SALES. 



T 17 J Imported and Established Orchids, 



J ULY 11 -j at p rotneroe Sc Morris' Booms. 



,' The remaining Portion of the Col- 



I lection of Orchids formed by the 

 late John Day, Esq., also Water 

 Colour Drawings of Orchids, Her- 



I barium Specimens,&c. , at Stevens' 



\ Booms. 



i Valuable Established Orchids, from 

 Mr. F. Sander, Orchids in Flower, 

 &c, at Stevens' Booms. 

 (Established Orchids from the Col- 

 lection of the late H. Littleton 

 july zvi Esq., by order of the Executors; 

 1 Imported Orchids, at Protheroe 

 V & Morris' Booms. 



WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 



A shobt time since we received 



Barren complaints that a Mulberry tree 



Strawberries. * ■> 



which usually produced fruits was 



this year covered with male blossoms only. 

 Every year complaints of similar character reach 

 us with reference to Melons, Cucumbers, or some 

 other plant, and, indeed, the facts are so common, 

 and the inferences from them now so generally 

 admitted, that it is a matter of surprise that 

 practical gardeners have not yet discovered the 

 means of so regulating the conditions of growth 

 as to ensure the required fertility of the blossom 

 in a large proportion of the cases. In some in- 

 stances, indeed, matters are beyond our control, but 

 with forced Strawberries or Melons there ought 

 to be no great difficulty. Had we a properly 

 organised experimental garden, a series of well- 

 considered experiments carried on for two or 

 three seasons would probably suffice to show 

 what we could do and what we could not do, and 

 ensure the grower, to a large extent, against 

 failure. 



Some Strawberries naturally bear male blos- 

 soms on one plant, female on another (dioecious), 

 and the same plant that bore fruit one year may, 

 under altered conditions, produce male flowers 

 only in another. The original Strawberry, it is 

 assumed, was dioecious, it subsequently developed 

 stamens and pistils in the same flower, as in 

 most of our European varieties, or remained in 

 its dioecious state, as in some of the American 

 sorts. "We quote from Dabwin's Variation of 

 Animals and Plants, vol. i., 1868, p. 353. the fol- 

 lowing summary of facts gleaned by our great 

 naturalist from the horticultural journals of this 

 country and America : — 



" Much has been written on the seeds of Straw- 

 berries ; the true Hautbois properly bears the male 

 and female organs on separate plants, and was con- 



sequently named by Duchesne, dioiea ; but it 

 frequently produces hermaphrodites ; and Lindley, 

 by propagating such plants by runners, at the same 

 time destroying the males, soon raised a self 

 prolific stock. The other species often show a 

 tendency towards an imperfect separation of the 

 sexes, as I have noticed with plants forced in a hot- 

 house. Several English varieties, which in this 

 country are free from any such tendency, when cul- 

 tivated in rich soil under the climate of North 

 America, commonly produce plants with separate 

 sexes ; thus a whole acre of Keen's Seedlings in the 

 United States has been observed to be almost sterile 

 from the absence of male flowers ; but the more 

 general rule is, that the male plants overrun the 

 female. Some members of the Cincinnati Horticul- 

 tural Society, especially appointed to investigate this 

 subject, report that ' few varieties had the flowers 

 perfect in both sexual organs,' &c. The most suc- 

 cessful cultivators in Ohio plant for every seven 

 rows of ' pistillata,' or female plants, one row of her- 

 maphrodites, which afford pollen for both kinds ; 

 but the hermaphrodites, owing to their expenditure 

 in the production of pollen, bear less fruit than the 

 female plants." 



There are some physiologists who maintain 

 that these phenomena are indications of a par- 

 ticular inherited tendency or constitution and 

 which is not affected by external conditions, and 

 if so it would not be influenced by any cultural 

 proceedings. To whatsoever extent this may be 

 true, it certainly is not absolutely so. In illustration 

 of this we cite a letter from a well-known Straw- 

 berry grower, which we commend to the notice 

 of our readers : — 



" Tour correspondent on p. 18 touches on a subject 

 just now of special interest, and a few more remarks 

 may be appropriate. One of the chief causes of 

 barrenness in plants is immaturity of crown, conse- 

 quent on a dry soil, such as we had last season, 

 where the roots are prevented from obtaining the 

 amount of nutriment which is necessary to the pro- 

 duction of fruit-buds. This immaturity may be 

 brought about by poverty of soil, and the scarcity of 

 root-fibre which this occasions also materially affects 

 the productive powers of the plant. Again, undue 

 lengthening of the roots in search of food is a source 

 of failure, as food within short reach economises the 

 work of the plant, and maturity is sooner attained. 

 Strawberries especially require liberal mulching, as 

 by means of this a continual growth of surface-root 

 is secured. Transplanting also favours the growth 

 of root, the growing points being broken by removal, 

 fresh ones shoot in greater numbers to take their 

 place, and forming the fibre-roots which are so 

 essential to the production of berries. 



" There are some varieties which cannot be induced 

 to form fruit-buds under any circumstances. These 

 probably have a tendency to propagate their kind 

 solely by runners, and the tendency is intensified by 

 the eager horticulturist, who, desirous of securing 

 early and robust plants, neglects those varieties with 

 comparatively few runners, and distributes the former 

 wholesale to his friends forthwith, and may himself 

 even plant a bed of them, only to find out too late 

 their unsuitability. As an instance of productive- 

 ness we have Filbert Pine, which, until the fruit crop 

 is gathered, produces no runners, the whole force of 

 the plant seemingly being spent in the production of 

 berries. Where varieties with this character are 

 cultivated, and the fruit buds can be sacrificed, these 

 latter should be taken out before layering the 

 runners, and by this means favouring the growth of 

 the plants. If a variety which may be easily fruited 

 is by drought, poverty of soil, or other causes, 

 prevented from bearing a full crop, or any crop, 

 lor a season, there is no reason why the plants 

 should got be brought again into fruitfulness 

 by judicious and careful cultivation ; but if they are 

 more than two years old it is preferable generally to 

 make a new bed with runners obtained from trust- 

 worthy varieties. One of the best is Vicomtesse 



Hericart de Thury, whilst two of the more uncertain 

 bearers are British Queen and Sir Charles Napier. 

 Soil and situation have a great influence on the more 

 delicate kinds of Strawberries, whereas Black Prince 

 or the Vicomtesse are sufficiently hardy to thrive 

 almost anywhere. 



" Anoth&r cause of barrenness is the layering of 

 runners too late in the season, those layered in 

 September being very open to this fault if not 

 removed very early from the parent plants and from 

 the bed where rooted. If, however, they are trans- 

 planted into a well prepared bed they seldom fail to 

 fruit profusely. There are other causes of blindness 

 in the plants such as overcrowding, and the shutting 

 out of light and air by surrounding crops, bushes, 

 and trees. Severe checks to growth, as the breaking 

 and blackening of leaves by the wind, frost, or 

 snow, will lead to failure in Strawberry growing, the 

 plants by such disasters being often so weakened 

 thereby that a full crop of fruit becomes impossible. 

 Most nearly connected with the failures of the 

 present season is the drought of last summer alluded 

 to previously, although other causes may partly be 

 accountable for them. Nearly everything in Straw- 

 berry culture depends on the maturing of the crown 

 itself, the result of a healthy leaf and root develop- 

 ment, early layering of stock, and this obtained from 

 prolific plants. John Lovel, Driffield." 



The Royal Horticultural Society.— The 



fortnightly meeting in the Drill Hall on Tuesday 

 was remarkable for the interest, excellence, and 

 variety, of the plants exhibited. Detailed notice is 

 given elsewhere, but we cannot avoid special mention 

 of the noble new Campanula-like plant exhibited 

 from Central Asia by Messrs. Veitch, a hardy pe- 

 rennial, the worst feature of which, to English growers, 

 will be its name — Ostrowskya. The Kew collection 

 was again most interesting ; the same may be said of 

 the illustrations of ornamental trees and shrubs 

 exhibited by Messrs. Paul & Son and Messrs. 

 Veitch, of the alpines and herbaceous plants of 

 Messrs. Ware and Paul, the Delphiniums of Messrs. 

 Kelway, the Begonias of Messrs. Laing, and others. 

 The interest of these fortnightly meetings, which 

 has always been great, has become more than ever 

 so of late ; so that connoisseurs and plant-lovers 

 should make a point of seeing these exhibitions, and 

 of lending their support to the Society. 



Council Meeting. — In consequence of the great 

 success of the last Apple and Pear Conferences, and 

 in order to correct and bring up the reports then 

 published to the present date, the Council of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society has decided to hold 

 another Apple and Pear Conference at the gardens 

 at Chiswick, from the 11th to the 18th of October. 

 Anyone desiring information in reference thereto is 

 requested to communicate with Mr. A. P. Barron, 

 Superintendent of the Royal Horticultural Society's 

 Gardens, Chiswick. 



Gardeners' Orphan Fund. — Mr. A. F. Bar- 

 ron, the Hon. Secretary, requests . us to state that 

 the paragraph in our last issue, in reference to the 

 Gardeners' Orphan Fund election, is incorrect, and 

 was forwarded to the Press without the authority or 

 knowledge of the committee. 



Mr. E. R. CUTLER. — The friends of this gentle- 

 man and the well-wishers to the Gardeners' Royal 

 Benevolent Institution will hear, with regret, of a 

 painful accident which has occurred to their energetic 

 and zealous Secretary. Mr. Cutler fell in the street 

 a few days since, and has so severely injured his arm 

 that it is feared several weeks must elapse before he 

 can regain the use of it. We are asked to mention 

 the fact, in explanation of any possible delay in con- 

 ducting the correspondence of the Institution. 



United Horticultural Benefit and Pro- 

 vident SOCIETY. — The quarterly meeting of this 

 Society was held at the Caledonian Hotel, Robert 

 Street, Adelphi Terrace, Strand, on Monday even- 



