August 4, 1888.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



135 



I still retain the old Vesuvius, Monarch, Sedeni, &c, 

 on account of their floriferousness. D. Kl/.ins, Trcws- 

 bury House, Cirencester. 



THE POTATO DISEASE. — As a lady's postscript 

 is said to contain the most important item in her 

 letter, so must the postscript to my recent report on 

 the condition of the Potato crops in this district be of 

 more importance than the report itself, for since 

 that was penned, and especially during the past 

 few days, the ordinary form of disease has shown 

 itself in a rampant state in our Potato breadths, 

 und in all directions, in some cases the leafage 

 being already quite blackened. That such should 

 be the case is hardly to be wondered at, for 

 the downpours of rain are so frequent and so 

 heavy, the sky is so clouded, and the average tem- 

 perature so low, that the weather conditions are 

 those of November rather than of July. In reten- 

 tive soils the water has converted the earth into the 

 consistency of brick clay, the tubers existing literally 

 in water. AA'ith such surroundings, there is now too 

 much reason to fear that the Potato disease will 

 this year present itself in its very worst form of 

 Potato rot. A. Dean, Bedfont, July 26. 



CABBAGES. — I would like to ask " A. D." in what 

 way Sutton's Early Gem Cabbage differs from Little 

 Pixie ? In the summer of 1887 I grew both 

 varieties on the same border, sown and planted on 

 the same day ; neither in form, earliness, nor colour, 

 could I detect the slightest difference. As to flavour 

 I will not speak, I have always found Little Pixie 

 A 1 in that respect, but it is essentially a summer 

 or early autumn Cabbage. To stand the winter I 

 prefer Webb's Emperor, a variety that has never 

 failed me. John Wilkes, Crewell Hall Gardens, Staf- 

 ford. 



WHICH IS THE EARLIEST PEA?— When autho- 

 rities differ, who shall decide ? We gardeners 

 naturally look to the horticultural writers to keep us 

 aufait with the best varieties of vegetables required 

 for the different purposes. As one of the old school, 

 I was much disappointed in reading such a meagre 

 account of early Peas in the report of the trial 

 grounds of a large London seed firm by "It. D." I 

 know it used to be a rule among London houses to 

 prove the various kinds in their different classes side 

 by side for comparison, and still belitve it to be so. 

 Now the question that naturally arises is, Where are 

 the Ringleader, First Crop, and the thousand and 

 one novelties which have been dinned in our ears for 

 years past as being so much earlier than the old 

 Dillestone's Prolific and Improved Sangster's No. 1 ? 

 I for one cannot understand how these old varieties 

 should come to the fore again if the descriptions 

 given of the later introductions were correct and 

 true. Surely it must be a mistake to write Veitch's 

 First Early. Harrison's New Early Eclipse, and the 

 other round blue-seeded named, as being forms of 

 Sangster's No. 1. They have always appeared tome 

 different in height, habit, shape of pod, and colour, 

 in every stage of growth ; certainly they are of the 

 form, but it is only in the shape of the 1'ea in its dry 

 state, both being round, Besides, in the catalogue 

 of the firm in question, they are described as being 

 much shorter in the haulm. The writer favours 

 us with the information that the Scimitar is a 

 desirable variety, with a tendency to run to a tall 

 type. Is this a new early variety or another version 

 of the lamented death of Queen Anne? If so, it is 

 surely out of place in a report on early Peas. We 

 know it is not always advisable for one firm to push 

 into notoriety the introductions of other firms, and I 

 cannot help thinking the reporter in this instance 

 has withheld some of the most interesting parts of his 

 observations, as there are so many leading varieties 

 in commerce not noted. An Old Gardener. [We drew 

 attention to the discrepancy here noted. Ed.] 



THE LIFTING OF DAFFODILS— Having read 

 ■with interest the remarks of Mr. J. Walker and Mr. 

 E. Jenkins on the annual lifting of Daffodils, I 

 would add my mite for the benefit of the readers of 

 the Gardeners' Chronicle. Both gentlemen maybe 

 right in a certain sense. I fully concur with Mr. 

 W. Burbidge that " the best plan in practice is to 

 find out the best course to pursue in one's soil.' No 

 hard and fast lines can be laid down respecting 

 either the planting or lifting of Daffodils — soil, 

 climate, and situation must he taken into con- 

 sideration; deep planting is by some recommended, 

 but my experience in the Isles of Scilly is on the 

 contrary. We seldom plant deeper than 2 inches, 

 and in some cases not so deep as that. I 



consider that but few Daffodils require to be 

 lifted within three years ; X. pallidus precox 

 and Mary Anderson may be excepted. If 

 flowers be the main object in growing, they would 

 produce a greater quantity of flowers during that 

 time than if lifted annually, and the offsets taken 

 off and planted singly ; as the offsets flower sooner 

 by being left on to the parent bulb than by being 

 removed. But if marketable bulbs are required, then 

 I would say lift annually, and remove the offsets. I 

 cannot endorse the statement of Mr. Walker, that 

 for general purposes bulbs and flowers are all the 

 better for being lifted annually ; nor can I that of 

 Mr. Jenkins as to leaving in the ground for more 

 than three years Poeticus ornatus and P. plenus : 

 my experience with these two varieties is that if left 

 for longer than that time the flowers deteriorate, 

 and many are apt to come blind ; but I may not 

 be right for all soils and situations. With us the 

 soil is light and the climate mild, so mild that from 

 the open ground we cut Soleil d'Or the first week in 

 January, and other Polyanthus varieties soon follow; 

 In the trumpet section pallidus prsecox, Ard Righ, 

 or Irish King, and obvallaris the second week in 

 February ; and about the latter part of the month 

 Golden Spur, Scoticus, princeps, Henry Irving, 

 variformis, spurius, and several others. J. C. 

 Vomkin, Isles of Scilly. 



FIG. 15. — CRATE AND BOXES FOlt THE TKAXSIT OF 

 9TBAWBEHBIES AM> CHEKRIES. (.SEE P. 180.) 



CARNATIONS. — The season of the Rose is not 

 at an end. and we have that of the Carnation and 

 its near ally, the Picotee, upon us ; but the flowers 

 we observe on the stands at special exhibitions of 

 that flower are not the flowers of our borders or the 

 cottage garden, but the produce of plants grown in 

 pots from first to last. The flowers are very pretty, 

 very refined, the colours regularly distributed over 

 the flower, and the form rendered still more so by 

 the art of the exhibitor : but the " cut and come 

 again " plants in the border of stout Clove 

 Carnations — selfs like Alice Ann Mary, Dandy Din- 

 mont, Dora, J. Arthur Wellington, and Mrs. Huson 

 Morris, or fancies, like Adonis, Satellite, Touchstone, 

 and Mrs. Champneys — scarlet bizarres, pink and 

 purple bizarres, and flakes in purple, scarlet, and 

 rose — are flowers which every one should grow, and 

 in quantity. The Picotee i~ a weaker-growing plant 

 in some soils than is the Carnation, but by proper 

 atteution to drainage and to giving them and the 

 Carnation also a warm position, the former will grow- 

 quite satisfactorily. Warmth and thorough drainage 

 at the root being essentials is one reason that the 

 florists grow their show flowers on plants in pots. 



The Italians and Tyrolese, who are great admirers of 

 the selfs, especially of selfs of the crimson and red 

 shades, which assort so well with their rich red- 

 brown skin tints, grow the Carnation in their 

 windows and balconies, and the flower in its 

 season can be found in cottage and villa alike. 

 But in one respect they widely differ in their manner 

 of treatment— they do not try to make the flower- 

 stems, which naturally droop as the flower-buds get 

 heavier, stand upright by means of sticks, as we in 

 our stupidity do, but they let the flowers fall about in 

 negligee profusion, hanging over the sides of the 

 quaint pots and below the window sill. Let our 

 gardeners try their hand at growing the plants in 

 quantity in pots for window-boxes and open-air 

 stages, employing only vigorous growers and those 

 with powerful perfume, and their employers will 

 greatly appreciate their endeavours. M. W. 



BROCCOLI GILBERT'S VICTORIA.— I can assure 

 your correspondent " J. H., "that the reason I did not 

 again refer to this variety was not in the least owing 

 to disappointment, as the opposite was the case. The 

 breadth of plants which I mention in my notes, Gar- 

 deners' Chronicle, June last, as looking so very pro- 

 mising not only turned in well, but supplied us with fine 

 heads fully a fortnight after ali others were finished. 

 The lateness, and very mild flavour of the Victoria, 

 are favourable points. This Broccoli andDean's Snow- 

 ball Cauliflower have filled up what would have been 

 a long break in the supply of these vegetables. Of 

 the latter I made a sowing in heat early in March, 

 planting out in the quarters in April. The weather 

 was not favourable to growth, but notwithstanding 

 the heads turned in well, supplying us with beautifully 

 compact white heads, not large, but firm. Another ex- 

 cellent point in favour of this variety is that, owing 

 to its making but little leafage, it may be very closely 

 planted ; not more than a foot apart is quite suffi- 

 cient. H. Markham. 



DISEASE OF ORNITHOGALUM.— Re the Orni- 

 thogalum fungus, figured some time since, a peculiar 

 feature should be recorded, that is, that the leaves 

 only are affected. After they have been quite de- 

 stroyed the flower-scapes develope in a perfect 

 manner. So far as I have seen, only 0. nutans is 

 affected by it. T. Smith, Daisy HUl Nursery, [This 

 disease, as caused bv Heterosporium ornithogali (see 

 Gardeners' Chronicle, May 26, 1888, p. 658, and 

 June 23, 1888, p. 781) is, as a correspondent informs 

 us, confined to the leaves. At least, it is so in our 

 correspondent's case, for he informs us that after the 

 leaves " have been quite destroyed the flower-scapes 

 develope in a perfect manner." W. G. S.~\ 



Societies. 



ROYAL, HORTICULTURAL. 



Scientific Committee. 



July 24. — Dr. H. Scott in the chair. Present: 

 Messrs. Pascoe, W. G. Smith, G. F. Wilson, J. 

 O'Brien, D. Morris, Dr. Hogg, and Dr. Masters. 



HeteroiciS'/t in Fungi. — Mr. Plowright, in acknow- 

 ledging the letter of thanks addressed to him some 

 time since by the chairman, on behalf of the com- 

 mittee, made the following remarks ; — " It was my 

 hope when I began my cultures that the general 

 outcome would tend to a lessening of the number of 

 the species of the Uredineaj. This, however, is not 

 the case ; on the contrary, I feel convinced that 

 physiological investigation will show that these para- 

 sitic fungi are much more numerous than we at 

 present imagine. To take one instance only, that 

 of the Uromyces, which occurs upon Beans. It is 

 now generally thought that one species is common 

 to most of the Leguminosa;. I have made a number 

 of cultures on this point, and find that when L T . 

 fab;c from the common Bean haulms is placed on 

 young plants of Bean, Pea, Vieia cracca, V. sativa, 

 Lathyrus pratensis, and Ervuni hirsutum .Eeidia 

 are only produced on the Bean and Pea ; and further, 

 that the Uromyces on Ervum hirsutum applied to 

 the same host plants produced its ^Ecidium on 

 Ervum only. In the same way the Puccinia which 

 occurs upon the Composite is, I find, not one species, 

 as is generally supposed, but that Uredospores from 

 Centaurea nigra, for instance, will not affect Tarax- 

 acum officinale, neither will the L'redospores of T. 

 officinale infect Apargia autumnalis nor Lapsana 

 communis. Before the true affinities of these species 

 can be satisfactorily determined numerous and long- 



