October 27, 1888.1 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



483 



detected by the microscope, and distinguished from 

 the inorganic material of which printing ink is com- 

 posed. The excursions were, on the whole, entirely 

 successful, and a source of mingled astonishment 

 and pleasure to those who had thus made their first 

 experiment in fungus hunting. One of these was 

 induced to taste a morsel of the biting Lactarius 

 rufus, and found spitting a relief for some time 

 afterwards. Others made a more pleasant and 

 successful experiment with the Hedgehog Mushroom, 

 Hydnum repandum, cutting it in slices and eating 

 with their sandwiches, the prevailing opinion being 

 that it was a decided improvement. The two days 

 were mild, sunny, and thoroughly enjoyable ; in fact, 

 they were two as genial autumnal days as any 

 fungus-hunter could desire. M. C. C. 



Home Correspondence. 



Igg"- Correspondents will greatly oblige hy sending early 

 intelligence of local events likely to be of interest to 

 our readers, or of any matters which it is desirable to 

 bring under the notice of horticulturists. 



Photographs or drawings of gardens, or of remarkable 

 ■plants, trees, <fc, arc also solicited. 



HARDY HYBRID CRINUM POWELLI AND ITS 

 VARIETIES. — This really beautiful and free-blooming 

 perfectly hardy plant has been very fine in my 

 garden this summer, and has excited the admiration of 

 every one who has seen it. I planted one strong bulb 

 when it was first sent out by Messrs. Henderson (I 

 cannot exactly say how many years ago, but think it 

 must be about seven or eight), and this has been left 

 undisturbed in my garden border ever since, and has 

 now increased into a clump of from ten to twelve 

 strong bulbs, which sent up this summer no less than 

 eighteen fine tall flower-spikes averaging 4 feet in 

 height, though some of them were an inch or two taller, 

 and each bearing a bunch of from twelve to sixteen 

 beautiful deep rose-coloured flowers much more 

 tubular than those of its parent C. Moorei, and 

 closely resembling those of a Belladonna, only larger 

 in size, and a brighter shade of colour. Whether the 

 slugs have got tired of them or not I cannot 

 say ; but whereas in former years they used to 

 browse almost nightly on the buds just as they 

 were on the point of opening, this year, to my 

 great satisfaction, they did not come near them. 

 Of the other two varieties of this race of hybrids 

 one may be called intermedium for distinction's sak^, 

 as it is of a much paler shade of pink than the type 

 form, and though not so fully opened, is a more per- 

 fectly formed and evenly beautiful flower. Its steins 

 also do not rise nearly so high, seldom exceeding 

 from 2.', to 3 feet in height. Though I have quite 

 as fine a stock of this variety, which I broke up and 

 replanted two years ago, and which bloomed nicely 

 for me last year, this year, forreasans quite unknown 

 to me, it did not produce a single flower-spike, though 

 its foliage was almost as healthy and vigorous as the 

 others. The third variety, C. Powelli album, is, I 

 think, quite one of the most beautiful hardy bulbs 

 with which I am acquainted, as its shade 

 of colour is so absolutely pure and free from 

 any shade or tint of colour that it leaves nothing to 

 desire. The form of its flowers has also the same 

 evenness of perfection as exists in the pink variety, 

 which it also resembles in its moderate height of 

 flower-stem of about '1\ feet. It is unfortunately 

 still very scarce, and commands a high price at the 

 nurseries. My one bulb produced two fine spikes, 

 each bearing from twelve to fourteen fine flowers, 

 which were much admired. W. E. Gumblcton. 



THE HAY CROP. — The favourable growing period 

 experienced since the harvesting of the first crop of 

 hay has induced a larger growth of aftermath than is 

 usual in our meadows, and although the number of 

 working hours when hay could be made.has neces- 

 sarily been few, yet the splendid, bright, mid-day 

 sun of the present autumn has enabled much second- 

 crop hay of good quality to be secured. Sir J. li. 

 Lawes' twenty-four experimental grass-plots at 

 Kothamsted, have yielded very variable quantities of 

 aftermath, in accordance with their varying manurial 

 snpply, but in some cases as much as 3 tons of 

 second-crop hay per acre has been obtained. And 

 as the present season was unfavourable for the de- 

 velopment of stem-growth and seed formation in the 



first-crop, we find a correspondingly larger propor- 

 tion of flowering stems sent up by the aftermath. 

 This was more especially the case with Avena elatior 

 (Oat-like grass), and Holcus lanatus (soft woolly 

 grass), and among several of the Composite species 

 of the weedy plants. J. J. Willis, Harpendcn. 



HELIANTHUS L^ETILORUS.— Ill order that an 

 obvious error in plant names may not be perpetrated, 

 I again trouble you with a note. " C. 8." tells us on 

 p. 417 that "the Floral Committee evidently adopted 

 the nomenclature of the Kew authority in preference 

 to the name given by the Rev. Wolley Dod." But 

 who is this authority who says that a plant 

 which Asa Gray in September, 1887, named for Mr. 

 \V. Thompson, of Ipswich, Helianthus hctiflorus, is 

 now to be called llarpalium rigidum semiplenum 't 

 Surely the authority of Asa Gray, who spent a great 

 part of a long life in studying North American Com- 

 posites, is not already superseded in that class '; 

 Of the idendity of the species I have no doubt. 

 The plants I am now distributing, some of which 

 I gave to Mr. Ware, are part of the same stock from 

 which the specimen was sent to Asa Gray, when last 

 in England, and my plants answer to his description 

 in every character (see Flora of North America, vol. 

 i., part 2, p. 27.">>. II. loctiflorns has the disc 

 vellow, not dark purple ; it resembles tall forms of 

 H. rigidus ; it has the leaves thinner and more 

 acuminate at both ends ; it has the bracts of the 

 involucre lanceolate attenuate acute, not ovate 

 obtuse: they are imbricated in only two or three 

 series, not pluri-serially. These are Asa Gray's 

 characters of H. Uutiflorus contrasted with those of 

 II. rigidus, and, when compared by these, the plants 

 may be readily distinguished, There are other 

 differences not mentioned by Asa Gray. The young 

 buds of H. Icetiflorus have the disc quite covered by 

 the bracts, the points of which meet in the centre, 

 while those of 11. rigidus have the centre of the disc 

 uncovered. The outer bracts of H. Uctiflorus are 

 often spreading, whilst all the bracts of H. rigidus 

 are adpressed. The leaves of II. laitiflorus are all 

 more or less distinctly petioled, but those of rigidus 

 are nearly or quite sessile. C. Wolley Dod, Edge 

 Hall, Halpas. 



POTATO WORTHINGTON SMITH : REVERSION 

 TO ORIGINAL. — Amongst the Potatos in the collec- 

 tion of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, of Reading, is one 

 named Worthington Smith, raised about eighteen 

 vears ago, a cross between Early Coldstream and 

 "old Early Ashleaf. All the tubers produced by the 

 cross were kidneys except one example — a distinct 

 round, and this was preserved and named Worthing- 

 ton Smith. By the courtesy of Messrs. Sutton I have 

 been allowed to grow this excellent early round 

 Potato for the last four seasons, and the characters of 

 all the examples planted have hitherto been quite per- 

 manent, the globular form being always very marked. 

 A single plant has this year reverted and produced 

 all true kidneys instead of round Potatos. W. G. S. 



REMOVING THE HAULM OF POTATOS.— Has the 

 question of removing the haulm been worked out:-' 

 Some few years ago it was advised (I believe in the 

 Gardeners' Chronicle) to remove the haulm on or be- 

 fore the appearance of disease ; and by this pimple 

 plan the crop would certainly be secured. In conse- 

 quence of the garden here being wet and cold, and 

 the soil a tenacious clay, the growth of late Potatos 

 was long since abandoned. My remarks, therefore, 

 refer only to early and mid-season varieties. Before 

 disease has made any great advance the tops are 

 drawn clean out by hand, without disturbing the 

 tubers, which is effected by the men placing their 

 feet on each side of the haulm. The Potatos are 

 then left for the skins to get set before lifting, which 

 may be done at the convenience of the grower. 

 They will never take the disease so badly without the 

 haulm as if that be left on them. I drew the top of 

 Veitch's Ashleaf about the third week in July ; of 

 Beauty of Hebron and Early Rose the last week in 

 that month ; of Vicar of Laleham in the first week 

 in August. By the time the disease became general 

 I had not a leaf or stem of Potato in the garden, but 

 the crops when taken up consisted of fair-sized 

 tubers. Early pulling of the haulm enables the 

 gardener to put in his winter Kales, Savoys, Broccoli, 

 Sec, between the Potato rows in good time. My 

 neighbours predicted that the Potatos would not keop 

 well, some thinking they would take the disease, but 

 they are at present all right. I must admit that a 

 few are rotten — perhaps 1 per cent. I attribute this 

 to the fact that some of them were growing, or 

 rather lying in a saturated soil for some time before 



they were lifted. On p. 274 it is stated that the 

 farmers in Lincolnshire have good crops of Potatos, 

 also that mauy of them cut off the haulm : perhaps 

 their success may be due to this practice. Geo. Wall, 

 Breakspears, V.vbridge. 



DISEASE RESISTING POTATOS : THE TRUE 

 REMEDY. — Probably on no other subject of equal 

 importance can so many and so diverse views be 

 propounded, with the chance that — like the colour 

 of the chameleon — " all may be right and all may 

 be wrong." What might have been right last year — 

 one of the driest seasons on record — would indu- 

 bitably be quite wrong this year — one of the wettest, 

 during the critical months of June, July, and 

 August, for this crop. This applies to varieties, too ; 

 so I quite agree with Mr. A. Dean (p. 302), that it 

 may be injudicious to invite opinions as to what 

 kinds resisted disease best. Having so frequently 

 intruded on your columns on this subject — it is of 

 vital importance in Ireland — I will avoid reiteration, 

 and give my experience to prove the fact that other 

 circumstances than " variety " must be considered. 

 I had about thirty varieties from Messrs. Sutton, 

 Carter, Laxton, and others, most of them not yet in 

 commerce, in an experimental plot. Among the 

 number was Sutton's Abundance — probably one of 

 the most vigorous growers and heavy croppers in 

 existence ; three out of ten received from Mr. Lax- 

 ton, of Bedford, are similar; and the same vigour 

 and prolific qualities apply to Carter's King of the 

 Russets, Scottish Queen, and, of course, to the well- 

 known Champion. The soil of the plot was rich, 

 but I added some stable manure when planting, and 

 I had also the misfortune to plant a couple of drills 

 of Inglis' White Fortyfold, Victorias, and Regents. 

 Most people know those varieties are very prone to 

 disease in a moist season. Those varieties got 

 diseased after the Ashleaf Kidneys, and in a few 

 days every leaf was affected, and then the stems. 

 The disease rapidly spread to the aforementioned 

 (customary) disease registers, and they offered prac- 

 tically no resistance to the progress of the disease. 

 When dug up, not a tuber of the Fortyfold was 

 sound, and the Victorias were not much better. 

 Abundance, which had enormous stalks and foliage, 

 and which was perfectly free from disease last year, 

 had GO per cent, of the tubers rotten ; and other 

 reputed disease resisters were similarly affected. 

 Now, let us examine the field crop. In this field 

 there were many of the foregoing varieties also, but 

 the largest breadths were under Hero, Magnum 

 Bonnm, Scottish Queen, Beauty of Hebron, and 

 Scotch Champion. I have lifted roots here and 

 there of those, and up to the present — though the 

 stalks were diseased and withered more than a 

 month since — I have found but one diseased tuber. 

 This is, to my mind, very remarkable and suggestive. 

 There is hardly any difference of soil or situation 

 betwern the experimental plot and the farm, and, as 

 I said, the same varieties badly diseased in the 

 former are almost wholly free in the latter. I 

 attribute this result to a considerable extent to two 

 causes : — 1. Owing to an alteration I had to make in 

 my rotation of crops, the farm Potatos followed a 

 manured Tuinip crop — very unusual; but owing 

 to the persistent drought last year, I had hardly any 

 Turnips; instead, therefore, of manuring the same 

 field two years in succession, I had about a thousand 

 loads of compost — a considerable fraction of which 

 was lime — and this I used for the Potatos, with the 

 consequence of almost complete immunity from 

 Potato disease. This result seems exactly to con- 

 firm Mr. A. Dean's views (p. 302, Gardeners' 

 Chronicle): — "As is usually the case, the worst 

 evidences of disease are found in the highly manured 

 soils.'' 2. The bad results in the aforementioned 

 experimental plot I consider partly owing to the 

 manuring, but still more to the fact that this same 

 plot has been (owing to convenience) used for 

 Potatos several years successively, and it is more 

 than likely the spores of disease remained in the soil 

 awaiting only favourable circumstances to reappear, 

 moisture beingan indispensable agent. From this it 

 may be inferred that when manure is used for the 

 Potato crop it should be specially prepared, and, if of 

 rich quality, largely mixed with lime, loam, &c, to 

 avert in a measure too luxuriant sappy growth. 

 Another recommendation — and that I have called 

 the " true remedy " — struck me lately when visiting 

 Messrs. Dickson's, of Newtownards and Belfast, and 

 a large Potato grower in Scotland. It is now a 

 month since, and both had considerable stocks of 

 l'otatos then saved ; that is, they lifted and stored 

 them the second week in August. They found, as 

 most growers will, that such varieties as Beauty of 



