418 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ June 9, 1863. 



VINES STAETED WITH A TEMPEEATUEE 

 TOO HIGH— FOECING STBAWBEEEIES. 



Ik the middle of March when my Vices were started, I 

 changed the kind of coal after a few days' firing. That last 

 adopted was considerably hotter than the other, and the water 

 in the boiler and pipes became overheated : consequently the ex- 

 pansion-chamber which stands at the end farthest from the 

 furnace boiled over and Bteamed the house. This happened 

 before the eyes had burst. They, however, rapidly developed 

 themselves within a few days, but subsequently to the shoots 

 attaining the length of from 4 to 6 inches, they have almost stood 

 still, and where bunches did show they have since shrunk and 

 dropped off 7 . Will you oblige me by stating whether you 

 consider this to be the effect of a scale, and what is the treat- 

 ment they should have now ? A few bunches remain at the top 

 of the house where the shoots are more vigorous and healthy. 



Will you also say when Strawberries for early forcing — say to 

 be ripe in March, should be struck in pots, ii thumb-pots are 

 best for this purpose, and if Carolina superba, British Queen, 

 and Sir Harry, are good for the purpose ? — D. P. B. 



[If we are not mistaken, your Vines are an example that all 

 such things as bursts and extra excitements, are seldom attended 

 with any ultimate advantage. We have heard people boasting 

 in how many days they would have Vines in bloom, from the 

 period of lighting the first fire, even in January, and the result 

 was a good deal similar to the case you state so clearly. Had 

 your Vines received similar treatment in January, it would 

 have been still more unfortunate for them, as the stored-up 

 juices of the plant would have been sooner exhausted. The 

 better the wood of Vines is ripened, the more time w ill they 

 require to break healthily, and that from heat rising very gra- 

 dually, beginning at 45°, and not going beyond 60°, until every 

 bud ha9 pushed 1 or 2 inches. If, as we gather from your state- 

 ment, the Vines were not beginning to move when they had 

 this hot steaming, then the injury would be the less, such as 

 you will get over next season. If the Vines had broken, though 

 only half an inch, the hot Bteaming might have settled them for 

 the season, and injured them for a year or two to come by de- 

 ranging the whole system of the plant. 



If the vinery was merely shut up, and the buds not beginning 

 to move, we do not think that the Vines should have suffered as 

 you state, from one or two of such steamings, and then we 

 Bhould conclude there was something in the roots, and in the 

 condition of the wood, to account for the standing-still of the 

 Vines. But if from your first-rate fuel there was much of the 

 boiliDg-over at the reservoirs or cistern, and the house was thus 

 frequently filled with hot vapour, then that alone would account 

 for the condition of the Vines. The buds through the stimulus 

 of the hot vapour would break prematurely, and would go on 

 pretty well, so long as they fed on the stored-up nourishment of 

 the stems, but when that waB not fallowed by a reciprocal root- 

 action, there would come by degrees a want of support, and the 

 shoots would stand still. In our young days we once saw the 

 working of some Vines in January, where a high temperature 

 was maintained inside, and the outside borders where the roots 

 were, were frozen, and the same stand-still took place, and the 

 Vines in bloom dropped their flowers, even though the gardener, 

 but too late, had the borders covered with spruce branches for 

 want of anything better. Much the same thing we suspect 

 happened with your Vines, though in a less degree ; the extra 

 excitement worked up the nourishment in the stems before there 

 was a reciprocal action between root3 and branches. 



Now, as to the remedies. Prevent over-heating by care and a 

 suitable damper ; no water in pipes ought to be near the boiling- 

 point, 180° or so is quite high enough. If there is anything 

 like danger from steaming, provide a larger reservoir to admit of 

 the necessary expansion ; and as to the Vines, water the border 

 with water at about 90°, if at all dry, and keep the house cooler 

 than usual, lessening the excitement. Erom 55° to 60° will be 

 high enough at night, with plenty of air in sunny days, so that 

 the heat should rise little above S0°, and if bright sun distresses 

 the Vines at all, throw a little water over the glass with a syringe, 

 the water being just coloured with whitening. In order to pro- 

 mote equal growth, stop the vigorous shoots near the top of the 

 house, and this will throw the vigour back into the weaker 

 shoots. If we understand your case, we think these measures 

 will make your Vines all right next year. 



The plants of Strawberries to have ripe fruit in March should 

 be laid in as runners in small pots — say 60's, as soon as you can 



obtain the runners. The small pot is filled with soil, set beside 

 the old plant, and a runner fastened into it, with a pebble or 

 anything else, and the soil is watered until the pot is filled with 

 roots, the runner in its pot is then detached from the mother 

 plant, set in a shady place for a few days, and then potted into a 

 six-inch pot. The future treatment has often been given. Good 

 established plants should be got into a house commanding fire 

 heat about Christmas, and the heat being gradually raised, you 

 may expect fruit in the first and second week of March. 



We do not think much of Carolina superba for such early 

 work, neither would we advise British Queen or Sir Harry, 

 unless the fruit was wanted in the end of March, or the be- 

 ginning of April. Keens' Seedling would be better, and a few 

 of the Black Prince would come in earlier still.] 



THE EEPLY TO "A GAEDENEE'S LOVE 

 LETTEE." * 



O, MY Sweet William, it quite gave my Heart-a-choke to hear 

 how your Love-lies-bleeding, cut up, as it were, by the Cissus of 

 Cupid, and all for me. And now it is my turn to confess that, 

 although Phlox of fellows have followed me before, and only 

 the other day there was a Gay-zany-here, who actually dashed 

 his Bachelors-buttons because I wouldn't have him, all of 

 them seem but Sickly-men and dwarf Dalliers compared with 

 Yew, William; and as for their love-letters, "La-burn-'em!" 

 says I to mother, as soon as ever I read your beautiful offer. 

 Pa-sly as usual, immediately inquired about your resources, 

 and seemed much pleased with what you said about being master 

 of the Mint ; and he then observed that he always preferred the 

 Gold and Silver-edged sorts as Bedders. He seems to have had 

 a presentiment that you would propose to me, as he remarked 

 to mother, " The first time he Cedar I knew he'd Aster." He 

 desires me to tell you that if Any-gal-is worth having, or any 

 Gal-hardier than another, you've Pick'd-her, and also that he 

 wishes us good luck in the nursery department. Please to send 

 me some more of your Lad's-love, and believe me to remain 

 until death (long may it be, my William, before I go out Bill- 

 burying with you), your Everlasting — Rose-Maey. 

 P.S. — Forget-me-not. 



[Since the above was received we have had another reply ; 

 but as its verses are not quite equal to those of Anacreon we 

 will only quote from it six lines, which will suffice to demon- 

 strate the writer's feelings are not forced. 



" Thou master of the Mint and Thyme, 

 Come now and make me Holly thine. 

 Come now, and do not be so Sloe, 

 For yon shall ne'er have cause to Rue. 

 Believing me for ever, deary, 

 Tour most affectionate — Rose-Mary."] 



CEOSS-BEEEDING STEA WBEEEIES — THE 

 AMEEICAN SPECIES. 



Most persons suppose that all Strawberries will hybridise 

 with each other, and there has not been any European or Ame- 

 rican author but what has inculcated this erroneous idea, until 

 I controverted the fiction in toto in the Horticulturist of January 

 last, a truism which I had very long since recognised, but had 

 not previously found time and a suitable opportunity to fully 

 enunciate. It is now two hundred and fifty years since the first 

 interchange of European and American Strawberries, and during 

 this entire period there has never been produced a single hybrid 

 between the species of the two hemispheres, nor between the 

 three species which are natives of Europe. The six North 

 American species blend sexually with each other, and the two 

 South American species blend sexually with each other, but these 

 two sections present a normal aversion to any hybridisation with 

 those of the Eastern hemisphere. Messrs. Hovey, of Boston, 

 attempted such hybridisations twenty-eight years ago ; Professor 

 Huntsman and myself have tested them for a similar period ; 

 neither could succeed. No such hybridised seedlings have been 

 presented in America, in France, or in England, and all pre- 

 tences of producing any such hybrids now are delusive notions 

 arising from an ignorance of normal facts. 



The characteristics of the six North American species are 

 acidity and great productiveness ; and the characteristics of the 

 Fragaria grandiflora and chilensis of South America are large 

 * See Journal of Horticulture, May 26. 



