May 18, 1871. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEB AND COTTAGE GARDENEB. 



349 



queathed to his sister, Esther Pearson, an annuity of £50 out 

 of the rent of his house in Saville Street. To his servant and 

 others he left various small legacies and rings, but the larger 

 portion of his property evidently was divided among his 

 nephews and nieces, the Pearsons, whom he made his residuary 



There are four engraved portraits of Kent, the best being by 

 Eavenet, from a painting by Aikmau. They are his only me- 

 morials, for not one of his many patrons, nor one of those 

 whom he enriched, erected even a tablet of remembrance. We 

 sought in vain even for the vault in which he was deposited. 



THE CLUSTER alias CRITTENDEN DAMSON- 

 FRUIT CULTURE. 



In the pages of the Journal, if I remember correctly, my 

 friend Mr. Rjaeh Smith, of Strood, by R ichester (not Stroud as 

 there printed), has given some history of this Kentish Damson. 

 On reading Mr. Eobson's account of it I have very recently 

 troubled Mr. Smith to refresh my memory. He tells me that 

 the old tenant of the market garden beliind his house, and 

 belonging to him (Mr. Smith), found it many years ago growing 

 in his garden, and gave it to Mr. Crittenden. It should, there- 

 fore, be called Herbert's Damson, as he was its original pos- 

 sessor as far as can be known, but as he did not raise it from 

 seel the Cluster will clo. 



With regard to its productiveness, which Mr. Robson seems 

 to challenge the world to surpass, I have only to state that Mr. 

 Pearson, of Chilwell, has a Damson plantation of something 

 less than two acres, from which he has gathered in a productive 

 season six hundred bushels. This sort is the Prune Damson, 

 larger and superior in flavour to all others. It has downy 

 leaves, and like its congener the Dalrymple Damson, a Scotch 

 sort, is remarkable for its productiveness and superior flavour. 



With regard to the productiveness of Plams when planted 

 well and summer-pruned, I can state that from half an acre of 

 Early Rivers and Prolific Plums, pyramids, twenty-five years 

 old and 12 feet apart, I gathered ia 1869 150 bushels of fruit, 

 which were all sold by the 4th of August, commencing to send 

 to market on the 25ih of July; others made from 10s. to 14s. 

 per bushel, averaging 12s. per bushel. I have often regretted 

 that, instead of planting tbe trees 12 feet apart, I did not plant 

 them 6 feet apart, for I can now see how by summer-pruning 

 some Plums may be grown at that distance. I have a plantation 

 about eight years old of this kind of Plum planted 6 feet apart, 

 or 1200 to the acre. The trees are now from 9 to 10 feet high, 

 and the most perfect pyramids I ever saw ; they are covered 

 with fruit from " tip to toe," and are calculated to give half a 

 bushel per tree. This produce will reach that of the Kentish 

 Damsons ; and when the tree? are double their present age — 

 which I shall not see — they will be remarkable. They are 

 market-garden pruned in Jane and again in August. There 

 are a few other kinds of Plums that bear this summer-pruning 

 well, and among them one or two seedlings that have a pyra- 

 midal growth and productive nature. 



I should mention that in the plantation last mentioned the 

 trees are very luxuriant, and would make shoots (those nn- 

 pruned do so) from 5 to 7 feet long. But that summer-pruning 

 how efficient, and at present not comprehended, at least by 

 Kentish growers ! By the end of the century fruit will be cul- 

 tivated, not grown as at present. 



My Apples groion on old standards — the Dumelow's Seedling 

 — went to market in December, they rotted fast ; the same sort 

 cultivated on Paradise stocks 4 feet apart and summer-pruned, 

 is still sound and very beautiful. — Thos. Rivebs. 



THE CUCUMBER DISEASE. 

 I HAVE been growing Cucumbers for the last nine years, and 

 during that time the disease never troubled me but once. My 

 experience has been entirely with dung beds. I have always 

 had Cucumbers early in May, and it was in that month I noticed 

 the disease first — a scab on the fruit and the leaves spotted. 

 I was completely puzzled. It was my first year as gardener, 

 and I never heard of the disease before ; and to make the 

 matter worse, my employer wanted a Cucumber for a party on 

 the 15th of May. I sat down on the frame and began to think. 

 After a short time a thought struck me ; I stood up, rubbed 

 my eyes, took oS the lights, felt the top of the bed — it was too 

 damp. I then bared the roots and found them too dry and 

 hot. I scraped ofi as much of the sour soil as I could, picked 



off all the fruit and spotted leaves, put in some fresh soil, with 

 a little charcoal, gave a good watering, picked ofi all the flowers 

 as they appeared for three weeks, and layered all the shoots 

 except the very weak ones. At the end of the third week I had 

 fine healthy plants, and a good crop of fruit which lasted until 

 the end of November without one spotted leaf or fruit. I am 

 of opinion there are but two causes for the disease — namely, 

 too little water and air, with a high temperature, and too much 

 water and not enough of air when the heat falls. Such treat- 

 ment causes a canker in the roots, which, I am convinced, pro- 

 duces the spot in the leaves and scab on the fruit. — W. C, 

 BuEOHiLL, Gardener to Dr. Wheatley, Abbey View, Sligo. 



CROSS-BREEDING THE MIMULUS. 



The Mimulus has been one of my favourite flowers for the 

 past thirty years, during which period every species that could 

 be obtained has been carefully subjected to trial to ascertain 

 its capability of hybridising ; but as it is not important to enu- 

 merate my many failures, it suffices to say that the introduction 

 of Mimulus cupreus has enabled me to produce a great variety 

 of novelties, which, though still susceptible of considerable 

 iniprovement, are much in advance of those that are in general 

 cultivation. It is, therefore, my intention to show how easily 

 anyone who will observe the rules of isolation, preparation, 

 and registration may, with the assistance of a few minor in- 

 structions, not only ensure success but also run me a very 

 hard race. 



Discarding all consideration of the so-called double varieties 

 which are yet too imperfect to merit attention I will confine 

 my remarks to the old form, the flowers of which ought not to 

 be less than 2 inches in diameter, of thick substance in the 

 petals, and circular in outline. The combinations of colours 

 and markings are so infinite as to defy minute description. 

 Probably selfs, such as white, pearl, mauve, magenta, crimson, 

 rose, orange, scarlet, and bronze are amongst the most cfiective. 

 After five years of careful selection and crossing my labour has 

 been rewarded with carnation stripes and marks, which, with 

 a little more care, will probably soon introduce a handsome and 

 distinct strain. Other promising novelties are also being slowly 

 advanced. 



Wi'h the exception of selfs, light shades, and bordered varie- 

 ties, the lip of the Mimulus should be of a darker shade than 

 the other petals ; spotted and blotched varieties, including the 

 throat, ought to display four or five shades of colour. As a 

 rule it may be considered that seedlings have a tendency to 

 assume the colour of the male parent ; for instance, last year a 

 pod of seed was ripened on a variegated plant that had bronzy 

 orange flowers which had been fertilised with a mauve variety. 

 Fifteen plants were raised, all of which have variegated foliage,- 

 while their flowers are all either mauve or very light shades, 



I will now describe my practice, which, with more space and 

 conveniences than I can appropriate to this particular flower, 

 may be considerably improved by those who do not labour 

 under similar disadvantages. 



Last year about the third week in February the first sowing 

 of seed was made in 6 inch pots ; these were placed on a shelf 

 in a cold greenhouse. When the seedlings were large enough 

 to handle they were pricked into seed pans, allowing nearly 

 1 inch to each plant ; the pans were then arranged in an ordi- 

 nary cold two-light frame, which holds thirty pans, or 1500 

 plants. There they began to flower exactly twelve weeks from 

 the time of sowing, and by the end of June they (1200) had all 

 flowered. The inferior flowers were weeded out as soon as 

 they opened, while those that exhibited a decided improvement 

 were immediately potted off, and were without delay either 

 seeded or used for fertilising purposes. By adopting these 

 means, between the 25th of June and the 10th of July a crop 

 of seed was secured, which was sown as each pod was gathered, 

 the result being that the plants (1500) from this sowing began 

 to bloom in seven weeks and three days ; 1200 of these had 

 flowered by the end of October ; the remaining 300 were turned 

 into the border. Seed was ripened from the best of this batch, 

 and a selection made from established varieties, a part of which 

 was not gathered before the beginning of December. 



Though the middle of September is late enough to set seed 

 so as to ensure its ripening without much loss and trouble, it 

 is wise to keep plants ready prepared, so as to be able to fer- 

 tilise with seedlings that flower after that date. Under these 

 circumstances two or three pods may be impregnated, though 

 usually one good pod of seed of each cross is sufficient to pro- 

 duce 100 to 150 plants. 



