April U, 18M. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAUDENEE. 



287 



there no stock upon which Koses could be propagated 

 quicker than on the Briar ? ' 3Ir. Rivers immediately said 

 (the words are as fresh in my mind now as when he uttered 

 them), " Well, I have a stock recommended to uie called 

 Manetti, but I have not used it much, and therefore I can- 

 not say." We ordered 100 each : and then the third year 

 after this, when Hr. Rivers called again, he was utterly 

 astonished at the growth of the Roses on the Manetti. Mi-. 

 Appleby began to wi-ite about it, and sold a few dozens to 

 the trade. I tried to persuade him to keep quiet only for 

 four or five years, and we should both make a fortune, but 

 he would not wait. I kept propagating on till I had nearly 

 100,000 of it, besides sending out all m}' dwarf Roses upon 

 it. I may venture to say that I have made .£100 a-year by 

 the sale of this stock alone. I have sold it as low as 40s. 

 per 1000 ; bat this year I have sold none under SOs. per 1000 ; 

 ajid I could have sold 50,000 since I disposed of all I had 

 to spare. My stock next year will be immense. I keep two 

 boys cutting out all the eyes, to prevent suckers, except two 

 eyes at the top." 



I have never seen three dozen suckers from the roots in 

 my life. Briar Roses are very troublesome in this respect. 

 The Manetti suckers are from the stock. Before you plant 

 cut out the eyes, and tread the soil hard against the stock, 

 and you wiU not be troubled, certainly not after the first 

 year. — "W. F. Radcuffe, Tan-ant Eushton, Blandford. 



STEAWBEEUT CULTURE. 



The discussions which have been raised about La Con- 

 stante afford one more proof of the strange vagaries of the 

 Strawberry. Most persons agree that two of the very best 

 sorts are Rivers's Eliza and Carolina Superba. I have given 

 both these sorts ample trial. Of the quality of Eliza there 

 can be no question; but both in the open air and under 

 glass I found it a poor bearer, and so loth to put forth run- 

 ners that propagation became difficult. As to Carolina 

 Superba, it was inferior in every respect to both its reputed 

 parents — namely, British Queen and Old Pine. On the 

 other hand. Old Pine and Downton are usually considered 

 bad bearers, but I do not find much cause to complain of 

 them in this respect. 



I proposed to a wire manufacturer last year to make some 

 protection for Sti-awberries upon the principle of the Pea 

 protectors, lately brought out at a shilling per yard run. 

 He said they would be too expensive for general use. I wish 

 Mr. Wills, who has so cleverly made the curate's vinery to 

 fold up, would contrive something of the kind, made in wii'e, 

 for Stiawben'ies. The difficulty of stowing such things 

 away in winter is as great a drawback as iirst cost. 



I recommend Strawberries to be cultivated two rows in 

 each bed, the rows IS inches from each other, the plants 

 1 foot apart in each row. After the first year's fruiting 

 desti'oy each alternate plant, and fruit them one year more. 

 To cover such a bed the protectors need not exceed 3 feet 

 in width, and 15 inches in height over the crowns of the 

 plants would probably be sufficient. 



After the second year's fruiting I give my beds one year's 

 rest from Strawberry culture by planting them with late 

 Siberian Broccoli. These are oif the succeeding May, and 

 the beds are ready to receive either the earliest runners 

 that can be had in July, or any of the preceding autumnal 

 runners which have been planted in a reserve-bed. These 

 last, however, will require IS inches from plant to plant. 

 — Gr. S. 



P.S.— Allow me to ask if Mr. De Jonghe is correct when 

 he says (page 233 of your Journal), that Strawberries must 

 not be removed with a ball ? 



MT OECHAED-HOUSE Oj^ APEIL 7th. 



In giving a few words of record I have stated the date, 

 because I think it will be interesting to some of your 

 readers to know the periods of the blossoming of orchard- 

 house trees in different parts of the empire, and by-and-by 

 the periods of the ripening of the fruit — especially so, I 

 think, if Mr. Brehaut will add a date to Ms few pleasant 

 words. 



My Apricots, which have been masses of blossom these 

 ten days past, have now set their fruit in myriads. I am 



always at a loss to account for the failure of Apricots under 

 glass which I sometimes hear of, for here they cannot be 

 persuaded to fail, every tree, however small, setting quanti- 

 ties of fruit. 



I read in Mr. Fish's " Doings " of his painting his trees 

 with some not very agreeable composition, and of the 

 trouble he seems to be in with birds out of doors and 

 brown beetles within. I presume he means the common 

 brown Peach aphis (Aphis persicse), and I feel curious to 

 learn why he calls them beetles. I suffer but little from 

 them, for in my large house full of old tre^s, which is never 

 fumigated, not one is to be seen. The simple remedy used 

 here, 4 ozs. of quassia chips, and 4 ozs. of soft soap, to a 

 gallon of soft water, boiled ten minutes, is always kept 

 ready, and when applied with a brush never fails to kill 

 them. I dislike painting the trees, it so spoils the beauty 

 of their buds and blossoms. 



I used formerly to wash my trees in December with a 

 weak infusion of Gishurst, 4 ozs. to the gallon, but have 

 now ceased to do so. My Peach and Nectarine trees are 

 now in fuU bloom, and charming objects they are. It may 

 be that Mr. Fish's houses are old and confined, which is the 

 reason he is so troubled with insects. 



Birds abound here, and at one time gave me much trouble 

 by eating the buds of Plums, Cherries, and Gooseberries in 

 winter and spring, but since I have had white worsted 

 twisted round the ends of the twigs, so as to form a sort of 

 net, with meshes 2 or 3 feet in diameter, not a bud has been 

 touched. I should like Mr. F. to tell us if he has tried this 

 should-be preventive. Perhaps Bedfordshire birds are more 

 voracious than ours of Ilertfoidshire. 



I almost fear I must complain of the bees which throng 

 to my house in multitudes — for this reason, they are so 

 numerous and so active that by 11 a.m. all the pollen is 

 clean gathered from the anthers, and the little fellows are 

 off with their golden balls of dust attached to thefr thighs. 

 I searched yesterday about 12 for some poUen to fertilise 

 with, but all was gone — yet there are hundi'eds of Peach 

 and Nectarine trees in the house, and every tree crowded 

 with blossoms. My fear is that the pollen will be cleaned 

 off before it has done its office. Oddly enough, I do not 

 know of a single stock of bees in the neighbourhood. — T. E. 



LA COjSTSTANTE STBAWBEEEY. 



Having grown La Constante three years I may, perhaps, 

 be allowed to add a word or two to the discussion going on 

 in your pages as to the merits of this fine Strawberry. In 

 the first place I consider it thoroughly hardy. 



Mine is a cold soU, becoming sodden and sticky in wet 

 weather and very hard and dry in time of drought, but I 

 have not as yet found La Constante suffer from either heat 

 or cold. It is not a strong, but it is a healthy-growing 

 variety, and runs enough, and soon enough to satisfy me. 

 In this latter respect it would not, I dare say, satisfy a 

 nurseryman who wanted to obtain a large stock quickly. It 

 certainly is not soon over ; on the contrary, it continues a 

 long time in bearing. The fruit is not what I should call 

 large, but it is of a fafr size, and very handsome, and true to 

 what I may call its typical shape. 



As for flavour, in my humble opinion, no Strawberry 

 approaches it, even British Queen, and I am borne out in 

 this opinion by some friends who tasted it here when they 

 came to see my Roses last June. I do not, however, think 

 it can be called a heavy cropper. To sum up, I think that 



1. It is a variety of healthy, though moderate, growth. 



2. It is perfectly hardy. 



3. It runs sufficiently. 



4. It is fafr-sized and very handsome. 



5. It is unsurpassed in flavour. 



6. It lasts a long time in bearing ; but, . 



7. It is not a heavy cropper. 



Mr. Eadclyffe says it would be a good parent to raise seed- 

 lings from. Will he be so kind as to suggest which cross he 

 would prefer ? — the pollen of La Constante to President, or 

 vice vers'l. I made a number of crosses last year, araongst 

 others La Constante and Filbert Pine, using the latter as 

 the seed-bearer. I should be glad of any hints .on. this 

 subject. — P. 



