December 19, 1878. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
463 
they will do freely in August. Those planted out should be 
lifted by the end of that month with good balls and placed in 
pots. After potting they are best placed in frames, kept 
close, well syringed and watered until they are established. 
When root-action has again commenced they should have 
plenty of air. The plants that were partially shaken out 
and placed in pots can remain outside until the end of Sep- 
tember if the weather is favourable. It is best to place them 
inside after that date on vinery or Peach house shelves, as 
close to the glass as possible ; there they will continue to 
bloom and set abundance of fruit, which should be thinned if 
large fruits are required. 
The forwardest of these plants can be introduced into the 
Strawberry house, or where it is intended to fruit them. It is 
not advisable to introduce too many, because they will not 
afterwards stand retarding. The house should not be kept 
more than 60° at night to commence with, abundance of air 
being given on all favourable occasions. Care must be exer- 
cised that the internal atmosphere of the house is kept rather 
dry, which adds to the flavour of the fruit. If the weather is 
bright through October and November the flayour will be 
excellent. Other batches should be introduced as required. 
The plants intended to fruit in January should be kept in a 
temperature of 50° to 55° at night, according to the external 
atmosphere, avoiding cold draughts. The flavour is not quite 
so good towards the close of December, especially if there is 
no sun. The small sample sent for your inspection were 
gathered December 11th; variety Underhill’s Sir Harry. We 
have been gathering such fruit for some time past, and shall 
continue for some time to come, although during the past 
fortnight we have scarcely had an hour’s bright sun. We 
would recommend anyone not in possession of this valuable 
variety to lose no time in obtaining it—W,. BARDNEY, Norris 
Green. 
[The fruit received was perfectly ripe, of high colour and 
good flavour. The largest fruit was 43 inches in circumference, 
and the smallest 3}inches. Such fruit at this season is highly 
creditable to the cultivator.—EDs. | 
FROST AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 
THAT is a somewhat singular heading, yet I think there is a 
meaning in it—at least I thought there was once when I so 
managed it as to save a valuable store of early Potatoes. When 
injury is done by frost it is generally in the early part of the 
winter before we are alive to its full severity, or before every- 
thing has been prepared for a term of arctic weather. It was 
in November that my Potatoes were frozen. I thought they 
were safe, but was alarmed one morning to find them when 
moved “rattle like nuts,” as my man remarked. It was a 
choice stock, and much esteemed both by my employer and 
myself. With these Potatoes I tried some experiments. Some 
of them I left unmoved and covered them with straw, but the 
frost increased and that lot was lost. Others I placed in cold 
water, and the ice formed on their surfaces immediately, and 
a great portion of the tubers “turned soft” and were valueless. 
The others, and just half of the bulk, I simply buried'in the 
garden ; not ina large heap nor deeply covered, but spread in a 
layer 2 or 3 inches thick and well beneath the surface. Here 
they remained until spring, when to my surprise and gratification 
nearly every tuber was sound, and grew as if they had never 
been frozen. That is what I call managing frost. I borrowed 
the idea from Nature, remembering that I had often dug up 
sound Potatoes which had accidentally been left in the ground 
all the winter, and which had not been covered more than an 
inchdeep. Those tubers must have been frozen and recovered. 
In fact I had often seen—as others must have seen—a tuber 
partially embedded in the soil, the upper portion of the Potato 
exposed being frozen, the lower half in the ground sound. 
Twenty years have elapsed since I managed the frost in the 
manner described—managed to extract it from the Potatoes. 
In the memorable winter of 1860 the frost, in spite of all 
precautions, found its way into the fruit room and turned half 
a ton of Apples as hard as stones. The Onions also were 
equally hard. Of the latter I had not much fear, but I felt 
certain the frost would ruin the fruit unless it was carefully 
managed. All the best of the Apples were buried the same as 
the Potatoes, and two months afterwards were dug up fresh 
and sound, They lost much of their flavour, but still they 
were of much service, and all were used for culinary purposes. 
Those left in the room—the smaller part—were utterly de- 
stroyed. A portion of the Onions was also buried, and all 
turned out sound ; but then only a very few were injured of 
those left in the room, which proved to my satisfaction how 
hardy Onions are when they have been well harvested and are 
kept dry. 
As to the management of frost in the case of plants over- 
taken by it—I mean such as Geraniums and plants of a similar 
nature—I can only advise them being kept cool and dark until 
the frost is over and a general thaw has succeeded. I believe 
in the case of frosted plants that no better plan could be adopted 
than to dig a square hole in the earth, place a hurdle over it and 
cover it with soil, and then leave these cool dark quarters and 
leave the rest to Nature. Ihave had plants frozen and covered 
up in dark pits for six weeks together, and after the thaw they 
have been as green as when they were first covered up. 
The above are a few instances of managing frost in a manner 
that was as valuable as it was successful ; and I mention my 
experience now, when seyere weather appears imminent, in 
case it may prove useful to others who may be placed in the 
same unwelcome position that I found myself in 1857 and 
1860,—AN OLD STAGER. 
ROSE RETROSPECTS. 
As retrospects are in process I will venture to add my quota 
and cast one more pebble on the cairn of the old year. I do 
not think it will be remembered with much affection. It was 
a signal example of the impossibility of predicting. An early 
season may all at once become late, or a late season suddenly 
be transformed into an early one. Inthis year upon June 22nd, 
here in sunny Surrey there was hardly an exhibition Rose open 
in the garden, while in another week’s time the whole Rose 
season was more than half over. The red Roses were over- 
powered by the tropical heat ; the white Roses and Teas always 
take things more philosophically. To continue my observa- 
tions: A bed of a hundred on Manettis, which had been over- 
excited at pruning time and afterwards went back greatly, 
now came to the front, and much strong and fresh new wood 
showed appreciation of the forcing weather. A showery 
summer materially assisted this, also a wet August was very 
favourable to budding. Far more buds started into little heads 
than usual. This, however, is a thing I by no means desire. 
I much prefer a bud waiting to shoot up into a strong single 
branch in the spring time. 
From Briar cuttings this has been one of the best seasons I 
ever remember. I never saw the hedges so full of tall waving 
10 and 15-feet shoots. And to my mind the Briar cutting is 
the coming stock. The stem is always straight ; the roots it 
makes are wonderful. It takes one-fourth of the time to get 
into use of the seedling Briar, and it is infinitely more abun- 
dant than the Briar stock. Indeed so frequent have been the 
briarman’s visits to hedges hereabouts that Rosa canina is in 
danger in some parts of disappearing. 
With regard to Roses of the year—and every year has its 
Rose—Marie Baumann, as the election shows, queened it alto- 
gether. Of seedlings those two glorious Roses of Mr. W. Paul 
are certainly those which most dwell on my memory—Countess 
of Rosebery and Duchess of Bedford.—A. C. 
THE STRAWBERRY—SYSTEMS OF CULTIVATION. 
UNDER the above heading I detailed last June, on page 443, 
four systems of rooting runners for planting. Ireferred approv- 
ingly to the plan of rooting them in turves. I have made it 
my business to specially note plants grown in this way side 
by side with those grown by the other method, and the plants 
propagated from were in each instance the same, yet the dis- 
parity between them was most remarkable. Those former 
that had been raised in turves had splendid large healthy 
crowns with fine foliage, and will for a certainty produce some 
splendid fruit next season. The contrast with the lines put 
down from trowel-lifted young plants was most conspicuous. 
These plants being small and cannot bear a good crop of fruit 
for two seasons—a material consideration for those growers 
who pay so dearly for ground and want an immediate return. 
W. J. M., Clonmel. 
PETROLEUM AS AN INSECT KILLER. 
I CAN corroborate Mr. Taylor as to the efficacy of this agent 
in destroying insects and not injuring plants. Nothing looks 
worse in the houses in a gentleman’s garden than to see the 
axils and under side of the leayes covered with mealy bug or 
the young growths infested by red spider, or the leaves al 
