314 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Detober 24, 1878. 
will deteriorate rather than improve if left in the ground now 
that the plants are nearly divested of their foliage. The un- 
usual destructiveness of the fly is attributable to the remark- 
ably dry weather that has so long prevailed. 
In the “ Gardener” “ ALBION” asserts that the laying 
of short grass between the rows of Carrots is a sure preventive 
against the CARROT GRUB. The system was adopted, writes 
“ ALBION,” “ twenty years ago with the best results, the Carrot 
grub being unknown in the gardens where I was apprenticed. 
In a large garden in Banffshire, where the soil is light and 
poor, and the grub a continual pest among the Carrots, I 
advised the use of short grass between the rows, and a splendid 
lot of clean straight Carrots was the result. Since I have had 
the charge of a garden it has always been my practice to mulch 
51.—Erica colorans (see page 315). 
Fig. 
heavily with short grass between the rows of Carrots as soon 
as the young plants are large enough not to be smothered with 
it, and I have always been able to store a clean lot. This year 
no grub has yet been seen, and some Carrots that Ihave pulled 
were quite 18 inches long. The Early Horns under the same 
treatment are clean and as good as anyone can wish. J am 
of the opinion that the grass keeps the ground moist, prevents 
the ingress of air, and makes the ground unsuitable for the 
grub to live; and the strong growth the Carrots themselves 
make under this treatment supplies a permanent shade, so that 
the soil about them can never get dry.” 
DOES THE MANETTI STOCK THROW UP SUCKERS? 
Ix the notes on Slough by “ WYLD SAVAGE” Mr. Gayter is 
reported to say that seedling Briars are worse for suckers than 
Manettis. I will again issue a challenge I gaye one evening 
to some rosarians at the time of the Bath Royal Horticultural] 
Show. I will venture to say a Manetti neyer produced a true 
sucker, and that in all cases so-called suckers are merely eyes 
left in the cutting of the Manetti stock, The Manetti, in short, 
does not produce, like the Dog Rose, suckers from under- 
ground; roots coming up like fresh plants from the end of 
other roots, as we see in Plums, Peaches, &c., grafted on the 
Plum stock. Currants and Gooseberries, again, are supposed 
to make suckers, but my experience is they are invariably 
from buds under ground in the stock, and not like Raspberries, 
which form true suckers. I haye never yet seen a true Ma- 
netti sucker, though J have seen plenty of underground shoots 
from the stem. When anyone will send me a root sucker E 
shall be willing to give up the point. I make this distinction :: 
a sucker is like the wild growth of the Dog Rose, the Snow- 
berry, or Berberis aquifolium. &c., a shoot rising from a root. 
pushed from the parent plant, and not a shoot from the stem.. 
I baye seen suckers from a standard Rose coming up 4 fee& 
from the stem with an intermediate underground root. E 
haye seen Plum stocks send up shoots 8 to 10 feet from the 
stock; these are true suckers. Manetti suckers so-called, 
otherwise Manetti shoots, arise from mere oversight, or care— 
lessness, or ignorance, or all three. I once saw in a noble- 
man’s garden a bed of Géant des Batailles which 1 was called: 
upon to admire for its growth, but asked why it did not bloom. 
I asked my noble lord if I might have a strong pair of scissors 
and a knife, and after cutting show him how much Géant des 
Batailles there was left. This was before breakfast one cricket- 
ing morning. I reduced the bed to Géant des Batailles, and 
the gardener’s face was long and woebegone after breakfast. 
This is, I am afraid, an old tale, but literally more than 
three-fourths of the bed, and of course the strongest shoots, 
were Manetti, because the eyes had neyer been cut out nor the- 
stems buried. I once again saw twelve named Roses sent to a 
neighbour, a baronet’s gardener, who showed them me in glee. 
as fine novelties to bud. Ten out of the twelve were cut from 
Manetti stock. The gardener would not believe me, but I 
told him to strike them instead, and not waste his stocks upon 
them ; and next year he was obliged to allow they were very 
good stocks to bud on. I happened to see the Roses fronz 
which these presented cuttings to bud from were taken, and. 
I found them a very healthy forest of Manetti. But these are. 
days gone by, and very few gardeners are now taken in by 
Manetti shoots, though plenty are still taken in by the seed- 
ling Briar.—C. P. PEACH. 
MELONS. 
“ \ READER” wishes to have the names of the twelve besé- 
Melons, new or old, as to quality, and the names of the- 
winning varieties of the year, particularly those at the CrystaP 
Palace Show, September 24th and 25th, and also desires to- 
know what a good Melon should be. 
In reply it is necessary to premise that Melons are judged 
solely by flavour; size, weight, and appearance go for little; 
and what constitutes a good Melon can only be known to each 
individual, inasmuch as the palate differs in the same person: 
from day to day; therefore, we can only say that Melon-- 
judging is like tea-tasting, it requires adepts to detect high 
flavour—superiority of quality. There is, however, means of 
arriving at the quality of Melons by a comparison of them: 
with varieties known to be of approved excellence, the flavour’ 
of which once implanted on the palate is so impressed on the: 
memory as to be capable of detection whenever it recurs. 
Judging Melons by flavour is not, as some allege, a farce ; but 
as appearance and superiority of cultivation have no influence: 
in determining their merits, the person or persons adjudicating: 
might as well make the awards blindfold. The ordeal of haying 
to test the quality of three or more dozens of fruit when a glance. 
at the exhibits would satisfy an experienced grower that first,. 
second, and third rested with half a dozen fruit is simply 
needless. Quality by frequent and extensive testing enables 
the palate to estimate the values of the varieties subjected to. 
it according to an admitted standard. For instance, Green. 
Gage in Plums, Moor Park in Apricots, Noblesse in Peaches, 
May Duke in Cherries, Seckle in Pears, Ribston Pippin in 
Apples, Muscat of Alexandria in Grapes, and Queen in Pine 
Apples, have left their several impressions upon the palate, 
and by which other varieties may be judged by the standard 
there implanted. 
It is similar with Melons. Richness of flavour is implanted 
on the palate by comparative testing and Iongusage. Anyone, 
therefore, to judge Melons or other fruit by flavour must haye 
passed in review old as well as kinds at present cultivated, or 
he will not be in a position to pronounce a correct verdict. 
A selection of the best dozen Melons ——Searletjlesh : Read's 
