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JOURNAL OP HOETICULTUEE AND COPTAGE GARDENER. 



[ March 21, 18S5. 



features being that tliey are moveable. Now is the time to 

 make a proper use of the centre stage by placing plants 

 upon it, relieving the other houses, and enabling the culti- 

 vator to have finer plants in all. The advantages of fig. 1 

 ■are, it is an excellent Strawberry-house for six months, and 

 an excellent late vinery during the remaining six, its pro- 

 duce being two crops of Strawberries at a time vrhen Grapes 

 axe raisins, stone fruits rave. Pears scarce, and Pines deficient 

 in flavour, the only fruit then at its best being the Apple. 

 "Two crops of Strawben-ies would bo worth something even 

 in Covent Garden during the height of the London season, 

 and the Grapes surely pay for the extra outlay in providing 

 the shelves for the Strawberries. 



" J. K." introduces us to a house of his own, one that he 

 has seen (I tried mine), the chief features of, which are that 

 the plants are provided with a stage " only 3 feet fi-om 

 the glass," and the vacancy under the stage is filled with 

 fermenting material " in the first instance to stimulate a 

 root-action in the Strawben-y plants, and afterwards Sea-kale 

 and Rhubarb placed on it for forcing." It was some years 

 ago when "J. K." saw this Strawberry-house, reminding 

 me that it is now some years since I assisted at the turning 

 of fermenting materials in a vinery, not tliinking at the 

 time that it was done expressly to stimulate root-action in 

 the Vines which ■were in an outside border, which it was as 

 likely to do as stimulate root-action in Strawberry-plants 

 on a stage with a bed of fermenting materials under it; 

 and also to destroy every leaf of the Strawberries, the 

 young trusses, and the crop, if the steam were at all rank. 

 Well, the house was 30 feet long, and held 400 plants, 

 enough, says " J. K.," for a single batch ; but what of the 

 fruit? " J. K." forgets to tell how the house answered. This 

 liouse is, I presume, given as a comparison. Granted the 

 house Jig. 1 is 30 feet long, it would hold 1500 plants, in 

 4i-inch pots for fruiting early in March, and 1000 in six-inch 

 pots to fiiiit in April and May, or 2D00 plants in all. They 

 are not 3 feet from the glass, but in that good position for 

 Vines, Peaches, all fruits, and all plants, especially those of 

 low growth, 15 inches from the glass, and I have proved 

 that the fruit is then more plentiful, finer, and better- 

 flavoured than when grown on plants at a greater distance 

 from the glass. In "J. K.'s " house he places the plants in 

 the worst position, and occupies the best hi in self, increasing 

 the difficulty of attending to the plants. 



Fig. 2. — This shows one of those houses known as an 

 early vinery, which might be furnished with shelves for the 

 forcing of Strawberries, and thus obviate the necessity of 

 erecting a house on purpose, the house answering all the 

 pui-poses of a late vineiy. The shelves in this house are 

 as easily reached as those in fig. 1, by using the stage to 

 stand upon. We have exactly accommodatlo;: for the same 

 number of plants as in "J. K.'s" house — viz., 400, or forty 

 on a thirty-foot shelf, and two crops may be had from this 

 house by May, and a crop of late Grapes as well. 



Fig. 3. — This will commend itself to many as a span- 

 roofed Peach-house, it not being intended for an orchard- 

 house, but a Strawberry-house ; I being the last to admit 

 that a house having four i-ows of hot-water pipes is an 

 orchard-house. Fig. 1, I quite agree with "J. K.," would 

 make a better orchard-house, and, being 24 foet wide, and 

 15 feet high in the centre, allowing for a raised border, and 

 a corresponding length, would be something deserving the 

 name of orchard-house ; but it is very questionable whether 

 it would produce more, finer, and better-flavoured Peaches 

 than fig. '■>, which is only 12 feet wide, furnished with a 

 trellis at V> inches (not 3 feet) from the glass, and the trees 

 trained ao as to produce the fruit on young wood of tho 

 previous year, instead of on spurs, as in the case of orchard- 

 house Peach trees closely pinched-in. Perhaps " J. K." will 

 tell us whether he finds trees trained so as to produce their 

 fruit year after year on spurs, or those bearing on tho young 

 wood of the prcvioua year, considerably shortened at the 

 winter pruning, give the most, the finest, and best-flavoured 

 fruit 'e also, which trees arc the least liable to the attacks of 

 insects, and which remain in a bearing state the longest, 

 and are in every way the healthiest and longest-lived trees? 



I may observe, with regard to fii/. 3, that it admits of 

 shclvcH on both sides, and accommodates sixteen shelves 

 and eighteen rows of Strawberries. The irons to support 

 the shelves go through to tho rafter upwards, and to them , 



outwards, being fastened in both places with screws. The 

 reason they are not so represented in the figure is, the 

 upright part of the iron passes through the shelves, and 

 cannot be seen fi-om the floor, and so ai'e those in fig. 4. 

 Tho roofs of these sti-uctures being steeper, carry the 

 shelves very well, the rafters being properly supported with 

 tie rods. Five of the shelves, and six rows of jjlauts, can 

 bo watered from the floor, and the remaining three by 

 placing a plank across the tie-rods at 6 feet from tho floor, a 

 boy handing up the water ; or a step-ladder can bo employed, 

 and half a dozen plants watered at the same time. This 

 house would give two crops of Strawberries by May, when 

 the shelves could be taken down, or they might remain, and 

 numbers of Primulas. Cinerarias, Calceolarias, and other 

 plants be forwarded thereon. The shelves being taken down, 

 and Vines in pots at hand, these would be trained one to 

 each raftei', they having been previously accommodated in 

 a cool house. Between them space will bo found for young 

 plants raised in January from eyes, and these, if then trans- 

 ferred into theii- fruiting pots (the turves from the shelves 

 being the m.aterial for them, the Strawberries for another 

 season's forcing also liking the same), will form strong 

 canes to fruit in the place of those now fruiting. Thus we 

 have a crop of Grapes in October up to Christmas, and two 

 crops of Strawberries, besides Vines for fruiting another 

 year. 



Fig. 4. — This is, ordinarDy, a lean-to Peach-house, now 

 converted into a Strawberry-house, wherein' " J. K." wOl 

 see one of his " time-honoured and tried back shelves," and 

 eight more on the roof. It is simplj' one-half of fig. 3, and, 

 like it, could be employed for Vines after forcing Straw- 

 berries, as a Fig or Melon-house, or be used for plants, as 

 thought proper. — G. Abbey.] 



[We have, as we invariably do, omitted, as much as 

 possible, all sarcasms and all ridicule from this attack and 

 defence. It is extraordinary that men cannot search for 

 truth without endeavouring to wound those who are devoted 

 to the same research. — Eds.] 



THE EAELY TEN- WEEK POTATO. 



Some twenty — aye, or more — years ago, I received from a 

 Mr. Chatwin, a Potato merchant at Hungerford Market, near 

 Charing Cross, a list of different varieties of Potatoes. I was 

 quite astonished to find such a long list of names, as I then 

 thought there were but very few sorts of Potatoes known. I 

 remember being struck with tho name " Early Ten-week," 

 for I thought it must be something new and good. I there- 

 fore ordered a peck, for which I paid some 10s. or 12s. They 

 were carefiiUy planted and attended to, but to my great 

 disappointment a great portion of them proved twenty-week 

 rather than ten-week ; in other words, they were dreadfully 

 mixed with some late sort. Some few, however, were really 

 the true thing, as theywero dwarf and very early, reminding 

 mo of a very old sort that had been here for generations, 

 and called the Early Betsy. I mention this because wo 

 have, I think, had for many, many yeai's some dwai-f early 

 kind of Potato under different names — almost a species in 

 character. Well, my selected Ten- weeks proved better, or we 

 thought so, than Betsy, and she, poor old gu'l, was dropped. 

 Many old friends have in like manner been dropped, only , 

 because new ones have sprung up. A truce, however, with 

 moralising. I hate essay-reading and trite moralisms. What 

 a number of moral sermons ha% e I heard from our old pulpit ! 

 They were, I suppose, fashioniiblo when I was a youth ; I 

 know they were very common. Wliat a delight it was to 

 hear "Lastly, my brethren !" and how we bolted fr'om the 

 dear old church on a fine summer's day ! 



Well, "too far h.ave 1 got," as a young German fr-om 

 Vienna, who was coming to stay with me, wrote on a large 

 card and held it before tho old coachman's eyes when ho 

 saw my house, which he guessed was mine from the doEcrip- 

 tion of it given to him. Alas, poor old Gibby ! how full of 

 fat and I'un he was ! " ' 'i\io far have I got.' What does ha 

 mean, .lolm?" (to his guard). "I'm blowed if I knows," 

 says John. Again the card wasijushed before Gibby's nose. 

 "'I'oo far have I got?" this time with a cote of interro- 

 gation ; but coachoe did not know tho " littlo crooked thing." 

 A shake of the head and a whip of tho horses, and the coach 



I 



