July 13, 1876. ) 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE ANL COTTAGE GARDENER. 



33 



Cultivators amateur and professional know well the advan- 

 tage of a moist atmosphere for the maintenance of flowers in 

 beauty, for when the atmosphere ia dry the evaporation is 

 excessive and the petals soon drop ; hence the shading of 

 plants in flower, which lessens evaporation and secures moiat- 

 ness in the atmosphere without resorting to sprinklings, which 

 are destructive of the beauty of flowers. An overmoist atmo- 

 sphere is equally disastrous to flowers as syringing overhead, 

 the flowers of most plants in a close moist atmosphere spotting 

 and not unfrequently decaying. Everybody knows that flowers 

 are damaged by rain and impaired by bright sun, hence 

 syringing is avoided ; shade is given, making up for any lack 

 of moisture by more liberal waterings at the roots. Of course 

 this does not apply to the ripening of seed, a flower expected 

 to seed requiring light, air, and moderate moisture. 



The growth of foliage and fruit demands moisture, and it is 

 a mistake to leave off the sprinklings which have been recom- 

 mended when the fruit commences ripening. The ripening of 

 fruit cannot be satisfactorily accomplished without moisture, 

 and any danger of injury therefrom may be avoided by freer 

 air-giving. In cool houses less moisture will of course be re- 

 quired than when much artificial heat is used, but in all in- 

 stances moderate atmospheric moisture is essential to well- 

 swelled juicy fruit. Exception must be had to fruit such as 

 the Melon, whioh does not during ripening increase in size. 

 If the moisture be too great the flavour will be insipid, the fruit 

 not unfrequently cracking. 



Moisture must in the case of Peaches be continued after the 

 fruiting. The wood for future bearing requires to be matured 

 and the buds to be fed. After the fruit is gathered I again 

 resort to syringing, and do not leave it off until the leaves 

 show that their office is drawing to a close. Peach trees devoid 

 of moisture after the fruit is ripe will become infested with 

 red spider, and the flower buds will certainly drop in the spring. 



Plants making fresh growth require a moist atmosphere ; 

 indeed, at most seasons of the year moisture is necessary, 

 though considerably less is needed when the plants are at rest. 

 As a rule stoves require from February to October damping 

 and sprinkling three times a-day — morning, noon, and when 

 the house is closed or shortly afterwards. Syringing overhead 

 I do not consider advisable at noon ; the main point to be 

 attended to is to afford moisture available for evaporation. 

 Greenhouses will not require any damping during winter, and 

 in summer from April to September damping may be practised 

 in the evening or afternoon from 5 to 6 p.m. Plants liable to 

 insects or in a growing state may be syringed overhead twice 

 a-day — morning and evening, especially the latter ; but the 

 ventilation should be good, or the sun falling powerfully upon 

 the leaves whilst wet will cause them to spot. Pelargoniums 

 are so liable to spot, that unless thoroughly ventilated water 

 should not be given overhead, and is best omitted at least after 

 March, avoiding condensation by ventilation at night. Houses 

 in which a high temperature is maintained, as Cucumber and 

 Melon houses, require considerably more moisture than those 

 kept at a lessened temperature, and those in which the tem- 

 perature is maintained by hot-water pipes will need fully three 

 times as much moisture as those in which heat is maintained 

 by fermenting materials. 



As the correct supply of moisture is one of the most im- 

 portant elements required for successful culture, I have come 

 to a few deductions which may be of service. They are as 

 follows : — The leaves of all plants ought to be dry by the time 

 the sun's rays are powerful. If the leaves are wet from the 

 condensation of moisture during the night, air should be early 

 admitted so as to prevent the water from being so highly 

 heated as to scald the leaves, or shade should be given. The 

 principal moisture should be at night, and the foliage of all 

 plants (except the Filmy Ferns, Ac.) should be dry for the 

 most part of the day. There is greater need of moisture over- 

 head when growth is being made than when it is mature, but 

 moderate moisture only ought to be given when the foliage or 

 growths are tender. It is usual to insist upon the water which 

 is employed for syringing being of the temperature of the 

 house. This is only important when the growths are tender. 

 Peaches, Strawberries, and Roses have hard-textured leaves, 

 and are prone to attacks of red spider. These after the leaveB 

 are full-sized may with impunity be syringed with water 20° 

 less than the temperature of the atmosphere. I have noted 

 the beneficial effects of syringing trees against walls, especially 

 Peaches and Roses, with water in some instances as much as 

 30° below the temperature of the air. Are we not to attribute 

 the cleansing of the foliage of plants to the lower temperature 



of the rain to that of the atmosphere ? All moisture — dew 

 and rain, is at a lower temperature in summer than the mean 

 of the atmosphere. — G. Abbey. 



THE SIR J. PAXTON STRAWBERRY. 

 " J. J.'s " experience of Sir J. Paxton is identical with mine. 

 In March, 1875, we took a garden (Ryde, Isle of Wight) desti- 

 tute of Strawberries, and immediately obtained from a famous 

 nurseryman two hundred strong plants in pots of Sir J. Paxton, 

 hoping to obtain little fruit from them that year. The plantB 

 grew most vigorously, but not half flowered, and those that did 

 hardly produced any fruit. A friend advised the destruction 

 of all the non-flowering plants, but they looked so strong and 

 healthy we thought we would give them a further trial. In 

 August we moved about half, thinking they were too closely 

 planted, and at the same time put in young plants of all the 

 best kinds of Strawberries — Sir C. Napier, Dr. Hogg, Margaret, 

 Constante, President, Mr. Radolyffe, &c. These young plants 

 are now bearing quantities of the finest fruit. It is impossible 

 to say which kind succeeds best, all are so good. Sir J. Paxton 

 (though double their Bize and growing side by side with them) 

 is a complete failure. Half the plants again did not flower at 

 all, and have been thrown away. The remainder flowered 

 feebly, but have produced little fruit, and that very small. 

 Yet the plants are of great size, with splendid large leaves 

 and strong runners. We are now removing Sir J. Paxton 

 entirely. Our soil is light but good.— W. 



" J. T." (see page 12) must mow down the leaves of Sir 

 J. Paxton, and give the plants neither water nor manure, and 

 next year they will bear. Some years ago Trollope's Victoria 

 served me the same. The plants were all leaves, as high as Rape. 

 I treated them as above and succeeded. — W. F. Radclyffe. 



THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



In a very few weeks the Royal Horticultural Society will have 

 to be reconstituted. Those who have the charge of this work 

 might, I think, take some useful hints from the Volunteer 

 Rifle Association , which goes on and prospers. The higher and 

 richer classes naturally take the lead, but the association and 

 rifle corps movement embrace all classes, the qualification 

 being the taking an interest in the object. The subscription 

 is one guinea. I believe that if those interested in horticulture 

 and the improvement of flowers, fruit, and vegetables would 

 now all pull together, would join the amended Society them- 

 selves and canvass their friends in their districts, we should 

 soon have a strong representative society. 



The leading nurserymen have influence. If they will send 

 out with their catalogues and invoices, and back-up a short 

 statement showing how much good work the Society does at 

 its Committee meetings and by its experiments at Chiswiok, 

 and pointing out that its work is essentially distinct from that 

 of all local societies however influential, and ending with a 

 strong appeal to all lovers of their gardens to lend a helping 

 hand at once ; and if the powerful gardening press will circu- 

 late slips with their papers, I believe that such a list of suitable 

 Fellows would come in as would very soon put the Society 

 firmly on its legs. It would, of course, be necessary to prove 

 that the liability of Fellows is absolutely limited to the amount 

 of their guinea subscription. As in the case of the Rifle 

 Association we should be associated with the local societies, 

 and perhaps have one great annual field day, to which repre- 

 sentatives would come from all parts of the country. — 

 Geokge F. Wilson. 



THE OLD MARKET GARDENS and NURSERIES 

 OP LONDON.— No. 10. 

 In referring to the nursery of the Messrs. Loddige I should 

 have noted that a publication took its name from that establish- 

 ment, entitled " Loddige's Botanical Cabinet," which was in 

 course of publication between the years 1817 and 1831, extend- 

 ing to the respectable length of thirty-four volumes. Tho 

 firm was also remarkable for its dexterity in packing plants so 

 as to enable them to keep their vitality during a long sea voy- 

 age, by suspending their natural growth till they reached the 

 climate for which they were intended. This plan seems to 

 have occasioned some wonderment forty or fifty years ago, and 

 was frequently tried successfully with Camellias and allied 

 plants. These were placed in layers and well packed with an 



