November 28, 1878. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
O1 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
Da; Day Average +, | Clock | Day 
NOV. 28— i 78. Sun Sun Moon | Moon | Moon’s 
Month wees NOV e128 DEC sA,gL 878 Tem Prat neat | Rises. | Sets Rises Sets. | Age. petor C yer 
Day. Night. Mean.| h. m.} h. m.| h. m.| h. m| Days m. §. 
28 | TH | Antiquarian Society, at 8.30 P.M. 48.1 | 33.9 | 41.0 % (37. 3 57/11 35/|] 8 7 4 11 51] 332 
29 F 51.3 | 33.8 | 42.5 7 39 3 56/11 56 9 24 5 11° 30 | 3533 
30 |S Royal Society at 8.30 P.M. 48.0 | 34.5 | 41.3 7 40} 3 55] Oal2!/10 38 6 DI 8334 
1 SUN | 1 SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 48.5 | 34.9 | 41.7 7 42 3 55 0 26/11 48 » 10 46-| 335 
2 M London Institution at 5 Pt. 47.4 | 33.7 | 40.5 7 43 3 54 0 38 | Morn. 8 10 23 | 336 
3 Tu Zoological Society at 4 P.M. 47.0 | 35.8 | 41.4 7 45 3 53 0 6 0 57 9 9 59 | 337 
AS aN) Society of Arts at § P.M. 48.1 | 364 | 42.2 7 46 3 53 ree, 2 5 10 9 35 | 338 
| 
From observations taken near London during forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 46.99; and its night temperature 
4°. 
NOTES ON VEGETABLES. 
N some respects the summer just passed has 
been a remarkable one in the vegetable 
garden. There has been something myste- 
rious about the Cauliflower crop in many 
places. The heads produced in spring from 
autamn-sown plants were all that could be 
ose desired ; but successional summer crops, 
x “i although produced in some instances from the 
same packet of seed, were very unsatisfactory. 
Such has been the case here, but the autumn crop of 
Veitch’s Autumn Giant is splendid. It has yet to be 
seen how the autumn Broccoli, a very important crop, 
will turn out ; at present it promises well. 
Carrots with me have been good, but there are complaints 
about them in some places. I think most people sow 
Carrots too early; there is no necessity for sowing the 
main crop before the beginning of May. For my part I 
have no main crop, but sow successions outside from the 
beginning of April till the middle of July, the later sowing 
succeeding Ashleaf Potatoes. Carrots are comparatively 
hardy ; those sown late will stand outdoors till February 
if we have no severer winter than we have had for several 
years, and they are of far better quality when taken fresh 
from the ground. The Early Nantes, a comparatively new 
variety, is the best I know for quality ; it is about the size 
of the French Horn, and ends abruptly instead of tapering, 
consequently there is no waste. Those who have carefully 
tested the difference in quality between the small varie- 
ties and the larger will never grow the latter except for 
cattle. I find many people have made up their minds they 
do not like Carrots as a vegetable simply because they have 
never had them sufficiently cooked. To be good they should 
be boiled fully two hours, so that when put into the mouth 
they melt like a well-cooked Vegetable Marrow. 
Celery I have planted for the first time on the flat, manur- 
ing and digging the whole ground alike,'and planting the 
tows about 5 feet apart, with a couple of rows of Lettuce 
between, to the manifest advantage of both crops. Our soil 
being very shallow as well as heavy it is decidedly mischiey- 
ous to trench and lay aside the friable sweetened portion 
and plant in the comparatively sour and sterile stuff at the 
bottom of the trench. It is true the plants have generally 
grown tolerably well, owing to the large quantity of strong 
manure placed in the trench, but the roots were confined 
to the trench and had no chance of ramifying a yard on each 
side as they have when planted on the flat, and consequently 
wanted more attention in the way of watering. Some of 
the roots now are cut in earthing-up ; but as this happens 
in autumn when the weather is not often dry they are not 
likely to suffer much from this, and as the drainage is more 
perfect through the winter we may fairly expect it to have 
a favourable effect on the keeping. I think, however, the 
rows should not be nearer than 6 feet on shallow soils, as 
with the present arrangement I have but barely suflicient 
friable soil for earthing-up. We are obliged to place burnt 
clay or something gritty round the stems when earthing-up 
to keep away the slugs, and it is done in this way : we rear 
No. 922.—VOL, XXXY., NEW SERIES, 
and secure a board up on each side of the row about an 
inch from the stems, fill the space between the two boards 
| with burnt clay, and then bank up with the ordinary soil 
outside of the boards before removing them. I consider 
Major Clarke’s, or Leicester Red, the best Celery when it 
can be had, but it is of no use for the winter except in the 
most favoured localities. Williams’s Matchless is perhaps 
one of the next best in quality, and will stand the winter. 
I must again praise the Improved Round-leaved Batavian 
Endive (not Fraser’s, mind ; that is coarse and not nearly 
equal to the old Batayian, but the one sent out by the Messrs. 
Veitch a few years ago, and figured in their catalogue). I 
have given up growing Lettuces for salad in autumn and 
winter in favour of this Endive, for when once the warm 
weather is gone the Lettuce grows slowly and blanches 
imperfectly, and this Endive is then decidedly the best, for 
it hearts well, blanches easily, is quite as sweet as Lettuce 
is at this time of year, and many people do not know it 
from a good Lettuce in the salad bowl. With sliced 
Tomato and a little really good oil it makes, in my estima- 
tion, a perfect salad. But I have lost my Tomatoes. I 
was, like some of your other correspondents, under the 
happy delusion that glass was a safe barrier against Perono- 
spora; the untimely end of the Tomatoes has taught me 
differently —WILLIAM TAYLOR. 
THE ROSE ELECTION AND THE TEAS. 
I HAVE received a letter couched in courteous language 
asking me, Would it be too much labour to have an exhi- 
bition Tea Rose election? There are various rcasons 
against this—firstly, my time; next, that at this season 
when the nurserymen are all so occupied with executing 
orders they cannot give the time to such matters really out- 
side their everyday duties, already sufliciently onerous ; and 
lastly, that I think that we ought to get a fair approxima- 
tion to the best exhibition Tea Roses from the general 
election itself. That election was an exhibition election, 
and I presume that the Tea and Noisette Roses named in 
that list ought to come out at the head, even in an election 
confined exclusively to Teas and Noisettes. If, therefore, 
I state all the votes given to this class of Roses in the 
general election, it may serve as an assistance to some 
amongst the readers of our Journal. ; 
Altogether there are twenty-five Roses of this class named. 
Nine of these have been already mentioned in the list of 
seventy-two—viz., Maréchal Niel, 39 votes from 41 voters ; 
Catherine Mermet, 27 ; Souvenir d’Elise, 21 ; Souvenir d'un 
Ami, 20 ; Marie Van Houtte, 18 ; Devoniensis, 18 ; Niphetos, 
11; Gloire de Dijon, 11; Belle Lyonnaise, 8 : these were 
all named in the list of seventy-two best exhibition Roses. 
Next to them comes the Madame Bravy-Alba Rosea Rose with 
6 votes ; Madame Willermoz and Souvenir de Paul Neyron 
obtain 4 votes each ; and Triomphe de Rennes, Jean Ducher, 
and Marie L. Pernet are nominated three times ; then fol- 
low Comtesse de Nadaillac, Céline Forestier, Madame Mar- 
gottin, Perle des Jardins, Rubens, Anna Ollivier, La Boule 
d’Or, Jean Pernet, and Madame Caroline Kuster ; while one 
Tea has a solitary vote—viz., Bouquet d'Or. 
No. 1574,—VOL. LX., OLD SERIES. 
