336 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[September 22, 1888. 



Peas will also cause many of the Peas in the pods to 

 crack owing to such excessive moisture and lack of 

 ripening heat. As the seed crop will certainly be a 

 moderate one, and the elimination of the split Peas 

 later may reduce that crop, 30 per cent., would it not 

 be well ere such hand-picking takes place, were the 

 germinating properties of these split or cracked Peas 

 tested, as it would be a misfortune, if so much good 

 seed should be rejected simply because skins were 

 split. In addition to the troubles stated new 

 growth is being made by Peas also, so that the pro- 

 spects of harvesting the crop readily, seems very re- 

 mote. One market grower has found the present one 

 a very good season for him, as his breadths have held 

 out to the very last, indeed Runner Beans are find- 

 ing late Peas still formidable competitors in the 

 market. However the Beans are not so very abun- 

 dant yet, but because of the cool temperature bloom 

 is setting very profusely, and the crop should be a 

 heavy one later. With respect to the question as to 

 which is the earliest Pea, it seems probable, judging 

 by the recent trial at Chiswick, that Mr. Laxton will 

 settle that point by the introduction of his new early 

 wrinkled variety Gradus ; which, of some 3 feet in 

 height, a good cropper, and of superior quality, seems 

 to be quite as earl}' as the old early rounds — whether 

 it may prove hardy enough for field sowing in large 

 breadths remains to be seen, but only very hardy 

 Peas will pay to sow in the fields in February, and so 

 far none seem better than a good stock of Sangster's 

 No. I. A. D. 



THE HEDGEHOG'S CRY (p. 189). — Mr. P. W. 

 Burbidge writes, " Pretty and harmless little ani- 

 mals," &c. I demur to the term harmless. This 

 year a Prench partridge made its nest in a bed of 

 outdoor Hyacinths in my garden ; eighteen eggs 

 were laid ; the bird sat on them ; one morning 

 fourteen of the eggs were gone, the shells scat- 

 tered about over a space of several yards. The 

 next morning the other four eggs had been destroyed. 

 I had some blackbird's eggs put into the nest, round 

 which several rat-traps were placed. A large hedge- 

 hog was detained by them during the next night. In 

 a field about 1 J mile off four partridges' nests were 

 destroyed this year, and from the manner in which 

 the egg-shells were scattered about it is nearly certain 

 that hedgehogs were the culprits. As several of them 

 had been killed by a fox terrier in the spring, it is 

 clear that they were plentiful in the neighbourhood ; 

 I therefore demur to their being harmless animals. 

 The author of English Birds says: — "A duck laid 

 eggs under a lot of brushwood, some were taken, 

 contents eaten, and shells found some yards off the 

 nest. I set a steel trap. About 11 p.m. I heard a 

 sharp cry — went to see ; found a hedgehog in trap ; 

 killed it ; set it up again — soon another hedgehog was 

 caught. Again, on another occasion my man told 

 me of a pheasant's nest being visited by something ; 

 went to see for myself. Three eggs only left out of 

 many. I took these three eggs home, and made a 

 small puncture in each, and inserted some strychnine 

 in each, sealed up the holes with sealing-wax, placed 

 them in nest, and waited for morning, when behold a 

 large hedgehog lay dead close by the nest — two of 

 the eggs had been eaten." Sobert Warner. 



I once heard the cry of a hedgehog under the 



circumstances related below. I had been disturbed 

 several nights by hearing a great commotion among 

 the fowls, but on getting up could find no apparent 

 cause for their alarm. However, on counting the 

 young chicken (there were several broods in the yard), 

 one or two were missing on each occasion, and others 

 had been bitten by some creature on the head or 

 neck. No trace of the missing ones could be found. 

 I attributed the mischief to rats, and accordingly 

 placed three traps, carefully concealed, in front of 

 one of the hen-coops, blocking the chickens in so 

 that they could not stray into the traps. I was 

 awakened in the night by hearing some loud screams, 

 apparently proceeding from some creature in an 

 agony of terror and rage. It was different from the 

 cry of any other animal I have ever heard, and I know 

 not how to describe it, except as a shrill scream. On 

 hastening to my traps, where the sound proceeded 

 from, I found in it a fine hedgehog, caught by its 

 leg, and screaming horribly. Need 1 say I soon put 

 it out of its misery. I lost no more chickens after 

 the death of the little animal, so am forced to the 

 conclusion that the hedgehog was the robber. Can 

 any of your readers inform me if there are other 

 instances of hedgehogs attacking fowls ? W. H. W. 



STOCKS FOR APPLES. —Whenever the pro- 

 gramme for the ensuing Apple and Pear Congress is 

 arranged, it is to be hoped that some capable authority 



will have undertaken to deal with the interesting 

 topic of stocks for Apples. Prior to the introduction 

 of the Paradise, Doucin, and similar French stocks 

 our Apples had to be worked upon such stocks as 

 locality placed at the nurseryman's disposal, and all 

 were of the class now termed free. This term, not so 

 many years since, would, if then applied to stocks, 

 have needed some explanation, because then the 

 dwarfing — and by some termed "cramping" — stocks 

 were unknown. With the introduction of the 

 Prench Doucin and Paradise came the need for 

 defining terms, and the old Crab, or Apple stock, was 

 termed free in contradistinction to the dwarfing stock, 

 which certainly does contract to some considerable 

 extent the ordinary growth of Apples. But of late ' 

 we have heard more of the English or broad-leaved 

 Paradise, a variety of stock, by-the-by, which seems 

 to have an anomalous designation, as reputably the 

 chief bulk of the stocks seems to come from the Con- 

 tinent. However, we have over and over again been 

 told by eminent growers that the French Paradise 

 shows a tendency to cramp or contract the tree ; it 

 bears unduly, and that whilst later producing smaller 

 fruits, the tree has its life contracted also : hence 

 the greater value of the English Paradise stock, 

 as that, whilst ensuring absolute fruitfulness, also 

 restricted growth within due bounds, yet not 

 such as to prevent robust growth and longevity. 

 The present season has certainly been a remark- 

 able one, and not least amongst its sins is the very 

 wide contraction of our Apple crop ; indeed, the 

 average crop of the present season seems to be one 

 of the lowest for several years. When, therefore, 

 we find comparative sterility in Apples all around, 

 and yet see in the Royal Horticultural Gardens at 

 Chiswick on dwarf trees what can but be regarded 

 as a capital crop of fruits, it is difficult to avoid 

 inquiry as to what special conditions affect these 

 trees so favourably. The sorts are many, and repre- 

 sentative of both dessert and kitchen kinds, 

 curiously enough, they are all worked on the depre- 

 cated French Paradise, as well as on the Doucin 

 stocks. Pity it is that the Congress referred to was 

 not just now, or at least early next month, to be 

 held, as the Apple crops on these bush trees would 

 serve admirably to the reader of a paper on Apple 

 stocks the wherewith to point a moral and to adorn a 

 tale, In how many gardens this year where the 

 cultivation bestowed is greater than can be afforded 

 at almost impoverished Chiswick, may there be seen 

 numerous bush Apple trees worked on the English 

 Paradise, and on which trees there is but a miser- 

 able crop indeed ? The season past or present may 

 be to blame, but it is very evident that what has 

 affected injuriously the favoured stock has been 

 good for the comparatively rejected stock ; thus 

 showing that, even in the matter of Apple stocks, 

 every dog has his day, and certainly at Chis- 

 wick a capital day has this cramping French 

 Paradise proved to be. It will be well also if, in 

 dealing with the subject of stocks, some very satis- 

 factory information for the enlightenment of sceptical 

 gardeners be afforded as to the methods of propaga- 

 tion adopted, so as insure correctness and uniformity. 

 A tradition seems to exist in some quarters that after 

 all the broad-leaved Paradise, so-called, is a myth, 

 and that the stocks so named are simply the pip- 

 seedlings of dwarf-habited free-fruiting Apples. It 

 will be wise that the reader of a paper on this sub- 

 ject, should take his hearers into his confidence fully, 

 and whilst striving to disabuse them of wrong notions, 

 also make clear not only what various stocks really 

 are, but how increased or propagated. Possibly he 

 may go a little farther and deal with the question as 

 to what kinds of Apples may prosper or generally 

 thrive best upon the English or the French Paradise, 

 or the Doucin ; also as to the best stock for espaliers 

 and cordons, although it is very evident that for 

 dwarfing stocks the bush or semi-pyramid will ever 

 be the favourite form of tree produced on them. 

 There can be no doubt but the future of Apple cul- 

 tivation in this country is largely bound up with the 

 nature, not only of the stock upon which worked, 

 but also with dwarf or bush trees, and the ex- 

 ample referred to and now so noticeable at Chiswick 

 evidences that fact in a practical degree. A. D. 



DAFFODILS AND MANURES.— In the very inter- 

 esting and instructive article by Mr. F. W. Bur- 

 bidge in a recent issue there are some obser- 

 vations which appear to require an answer 

 from myself. Mr. Burbidge seems to have be- 

 come impressed with the idea that I regard 

 the " mother, or breeder-roots," as the producers of 

 the finest flowers, but the contrary is both my expe- 

 rience and belief. I believe in the " solid, well- 



ripened globular bulbs " to produce the best blooms, 

 such as the sample of Tenby Daffodils which I pre- 

 sented at the office of this paper a week or two back, 

 and which were noticed by the Editor. The bulbs 

 in question, though a very good sample, were not 

 excessively large, but were noteworthy on account 

 of their solidity and fine form ; and I maintain that, 

 if you get weight in medium-sized bulbs — say from 

 1J to If inch diameter, and weighing from 1J- to 

 2 oz., regardless of how that weight and solidity are 

 produced (i.e., with or without manures), you will be 

 sure of fine flowers as the result. In " rich meadow 

 loam " manure is quite unnecessary, for in such you 

 have a most suitable soil for the free growth of the 

 majority of Daffodils, and, indeed, many other things 

 besides. Perhaps Mr. Burbidge will have a better idea 

 of the hungry state of my soil when I say that three 

 or four years ago even strong growing herbaceous 

 perennials did little more than exist in it, and this 

 notwithstanding that it had been trenched through- 

 out, and from this fact I could only draw one con- 

 clusion, which was, that it needed well working and 

 enriching. I quite endorse Mr. Burbidge respecting 

 the growing of Daffodils on suitable soil without 

 manure. But if any one, amateur or nurseryman 

 alike, has to deal with a soil hungry and impoverished 

 he must manure it to bring it into suitable condition, 

 and by doing so it does not follow that he has done 

 wrong, or that the bulbs have imbibed the greater 

 part of the strength of the manure, since the soil 

 itself is continually extracting from the same source. 

 For various crops here, apart from bulbous plants, I 

 have manured heavily, and at the end of a year not 

 a vestige of manure could be seen. Much of my bulb 

 land is in excellent condition now, and will grow 

 bulbs well without adding fresh manure at present ; 

 but it cannot be expected to yield a good crop year 

 by year unless stimulants be given in some form or 

 other. In conclusion, I may say I should be very 

 pleased to exchange samples of Tenby Daffodils with 

 Mr. Burbidge, and see the difference arising from 

 bulbs grown under totally different conditions, 

 though I would prefer bulbs of as nearly equal size 

 and weight as was possible. E. Jenkins, Waterloo 

 Villa, Hampton. 



Societies. 



BRIGHTON AND SUSSEX. 



September 12 and 13. — As in former years, the 

 exhibition was held in the Royal Pavilion and on the 

 eastern lawn adjoining. The competition in the 

 plant classes was perceptibly less than usual, but 

 nevertheless some noteworty examples were staged, 

 especially in the classes for flowering plants. 



For six stove and greenhouse specimens in bloom, 

 Messrs. Knight & Co., nurserymen, Hastings, staged 

 an even, fresh, and freely flowered set, Lapageria 

 alba, of large dimensions ; Erica Aitoniana Turn- 

 bulli, very fine and densely covered with bloom ; E. 

 cerinthoides coronata, likewise in capital condition ; 

 and a good example of Allamanda nobilis ; Mr. 

 Meachen, gr. to Mrs. Armstrong, Woodslee, Brigton, 

 being 2nd to the above with Pimelea decussata of 

 huge size, and Allamanda Hendersoni, freely flowered, 

 amongst others. 



In a small class for four plants, Mr. Townshend, 

 The Den, Dyke Road, was awarded 1st prize, Ixora 

 Williamsii and Azalea Narcissseflora, being capital 

 examples of medium size ; Mr. Meache again taking 

 2nd place ; and the premier position with Allamanda 

 nobilis as a specimen plant. 



An excellent set of six Ericas were shown by 

 Messrs. Knight & Co., such as it is a treat to see 

 nowadays when the best of the hard-wooded kinds 

 are rarely met with ; E. ampullacea Scottiana, E. 

 retorta major, E. Marnockiana, E. Macnabiana, E. 

 cerinthoides coronata, and E. tricolor vera were the 

 sorts here shown. 



Groups of miscellaneous plants arranged for effect 

 were attractive features at each end of the marquee, 

 Mr. Turner, gr.to Major Way, Wick Hall, Hove, being 

 an easy 1st, with suitable subjects arranged in a 

 light and informal manner; Mr. Meachen was 2nd, 

 and Messrs Stringer & Co., Hove, 3rd, both of whose 

 groups showed the common error of overcrowding. 



A group of Ferns arranged for effect, to which was 

 worthily awarded the 1st prize in its class, was sent 

 from the nurseries of Mr. W. Miles, West Brighton, 

 and contained, among other good things, a first-rate 

 specimen of Nephrolepis davallioides furcans. Zonal 

 Pelargoniums, smaller than usual but in capital con- 

 dition, were shown by Messrs. Meachen and Towns- 



