10 



JOITRXAL OF HORTICULTITRE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEK. 



[ January S, 186S. 



other results of English efforts, prove that in our ill-adapted 

 climate we can equal even the French in Kose-g^rowin<;f. We 

 have dona what other nations said we never could, and 

 L'Ht'raut's assertion that " we shall never grow as fine 

 Asparagus in England as they do in France,'" may be classed 

 as one of those impossibilities. We have grown as fine As- 

 paragus in England as was ever gi-own in France, if that 

 named by Mr. Watson be the heaviest grown there, and 

 Englishmen can grow fine Asparagus without worn-out vine- 

 yards. — G. A. 



EOSES IX THE NOETH OF ERELAXD. 



I FiTLLT agree with the remarts of your -reverend coitc- 

 spondent in your Number of December 20th regarding 

 Koses on the ilanetti stock. The result of my observations 

 and practice leads me to fully corroborate your correspon- 

 dent's article. I found Roses generally do far better and 

 bloom more profusely on the Manetti stock than the Briar. 

 Eoses budded on the Dog Kose were very subject to moss 

 on the stocks, the result being a sickly plant and premature 

 death : whereas Eoses worked low on the Manetti escaped, 

 and gi-ew luxuriantly. As regards kinds adapted for the 

 north of Ireland, all kinds which thrive well in the midland 

 counties of England would, I think, do well, even in the 

 north of Ireland. The winters are not there so severe and 

 fatal to Eoses as in some parts of England. When such 

 things as Linum flavum will stand out of doors unscathed, I 

 think the generality of the Eose tribe will not be injured. 

 I can only say that while I was in Ireland I never met with 

 a death resulting from fi'ost. — John Edlington, Wrotham 

 Pari:, Bamet. 



MANAGEMENT OF FLO WEE SHOWS. 



In the locality from which I write we have had for the 

 last six years a very successful flower show, but I am afraid 

 its days will be short if some alterations are not made in 

 the rules and committee of management. 



In the first place, exhibitors are allowed to purchase any 

 plant eight weeks previous to the exhibitions. This is quite 

 long enough, and where a collection may casually happen to 

 lose a plant it is quite right that a short time should be 

 allowed to fill its place up. This I do not complain of; 

 but when a person purchases an entire collection to compete 

 for the prize just eight weeks before the show, thus prevent- 

 ing or taking the place of one who has grown his plants from 

 mere cuttings, and has cultivated them as many years as 

 his more wealthy neighbour has done weeks, this seems to 

 me unfair. By such a proceeding many old and first-class 

 cultivators will cease to exhibit against a rich man, and I, 

 for one, think very properly so too. 



In the second place, there is a committee of about twenty 

 in number, and two of them are the most determined of the 

 prizetakers. The remainder of the committee care not who 

 get the prizes, all they desire is a good exhibition and large 

 company. In such a case it will not bo difficult to demon- 

 strate that the power of these two exhibitors predominates 

 in the committee, and the unequal schedule of prizes will 

 clearly show that its compilers are interested in competing 

 for the prizes. 



Another, and by far the greatest mismanagement, is in 

 the choice of judges. Complaints against their decisions are 

 nnmerous. Two judges are chosen in each department, 

 ■with a referee in cases of collections being in their opinion 

 of equal merit. This referee ought, as well as the judges, 

 to be, as far as can be, a stranger, and more so to the plants ; 

 but I have too often heard that they only decide in favour of 

 those collections with which they are acquainted when two 

 are so eqaal that it is difficult to say which is the better ; 

 irhich diiHculty often occurs. Under such judges the stranger 

 has but a poor chance of winning many first prizes. Are 

 there no means of leaving the selection of the judges to the 

 exhibitors ? How are they selected at the great I/ondon 

 sIiowE ? At all events, let the names of the judges bo known, 

 and then exhibitors may use their own discretion as to 

 placing their productions before them. 



I am also of opinion that it is much better that all these 

 horticaltoral stows sbonld be managed without the exhi- 



bitors being on the committee. I shall feel greatly obliged 

 by a small space for these notes in your columns, in order to 

 elicit the opinions of some of your correspondents, as they 

 may be of great service to the managers of many provincial 

 shows, which is my object in writing. — E. F., Thirsk, Yorkshire. 



DEESSING THE STEMS OF EOSE TEEES. 



I AM purposing to scour the stems of my standard Eoses 

 with Gishui-st compound, in the course of next month 

 (January), in the same way that I have found so beneficial 

 to the stems of fruit trees. Would you recommend half a 

 pound of the compound dissolved in a gallon of water as 

 about the right strength ? I suppose it would be all the 

 more efficient if applied warm — say at a temperature of 

 IW. Should I be in danger of doing mischief if I were 

 to syi-inge the heads of the trees at the same time with the 

 same solution ? The scrubbing, I conclude, should be done 

 in the absence of frost. I suppose any temperature above 

 36" would be suitable. — Coustkt Cukate. 



[Perform the operation in mild weather, and treat the 

 tops, with a brush or syringe, with the mixture not so strong 

 as for the stems.] 



POTATO PEODUCE. 



" Agbicola " having doubted the results of the experi- 

 ments of "W. W. H., Prcscoi, Lancashire," with Paterson's 

 Blue Potato, I am induced to offer a few remarks on the 

 growth of this root. 



First. I beg to notice that in neither of the communications 

 of "W. W. H.," nor of " -iowcoLA," and "Upwards and 

 Onwabds," is mention made of the distance apart at which 

 the sets were planted. " Agkicola," however, calculates 

 the produce per acre, according to the produce obtained by 

 " W. W. H.," from 14 lbs. of sets, to be upwards of 50 tons 

 per acre. " The quantity of seed for an acre at the ordinary 

 distance," continues " Agbicola," " with rows 3 feet apart, 

 &c." Now, what the ordinary distance may be is the 

 question of which we are left in total ignorance, and this is 

 one of the gi'eatest points in computing the produce per 

 acre, for it does not follow that sets 1 foot 6 inches apart 

 will yield as much per acre as those at 2 feet apart, or at 

 3 feet apart. Nor do any of them give the weight of the 

 sets. These might weigh i ozs. (a large set), or 2 ozs. each, 

 and the ground being planted with the larger size in rows 

 3 feet apart, and 18 inches asunder, 9680 sets would be re- 

 quired to plant an acre, and there being 56 sets in a stone, 

 each weighing 4 ozs., the return per acre would, at forty-four 

 times the weight of the sets, be a little over -iTi tons ; but 

 were the sets only 2 ozs. each, the produce per acre would be 

 only 23J tons. 



Experiments of this kind are apt to lead to an incoiTect 

 conclusion when the produce per acre is calculated by the 

 produce of a certain weight of sets without stating the 

 extent of ground occupied by them. We do not want to 

 know what kind of Potato gives the gi'eatest yield from the 

 least seed, but the Potato that affords the heaviest crop from 

 the least extent of ground. We want to make two blades 

 of grass grow where one only grew formerly. Potatoes 

 affording a large return per root require a large amount of 

 room for their shrub-like haulra, whilst those with smaller 

 haulm can be grown in one-half, or a proportionately less 

 space, so that with two kinds the results may be very dif- 

 ferent, and tliis through planting at improper distances. 

 Suppose we plant the Scotch Regent in rows 2 feet apart, 

 and only 1 foot from set to set in tho row, the return would 

 not equal that of the .\sh-Ieaf Kidney, for the distance would 

 suit tho latter, but be insufficient for the requirements of 

 the former ; yet plant the Scotch Regents in rows 3 feet 

 apart, with tho sets from IS inches to 3 feet apart, and they 

 would give nearly double the produce of the Ash-leaf Kidney 

 though planted at a much greater distance. 



Incredible as the return of I'aterson's Blue Potato, as 

 given by "W. W. II.," may seem to " Aokicola," i may 

 state that for 14 lbs. of sets to yield 618 lbs. of tubers, is not 

 at all extraordinary. There being 56 4 ozs. sets in 14 lbs., 

 the yield per root is only 11 Ib.-j., no great weight that, it 



