Jane 22, 1871. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



435 



beads medium-sized, compact, and white. With me it will not 

 stand an ordinary winter. In a warm situation I have no 

 doubt it is excellent. In use early in March, sometimes in 

 February. Sow at the beginning of April. 



*3Iammoth. — Habit dwarf, the stem being short ; heads very 

 large and compact ; plant very hardy. In use in April and 

 May. Sow early in April. There is now an improved kind of 

 this hardy Broccoli, said to be equally hardy, and surpassing it 

 in size and quality. It is named EUetson's Surprise. 



Melville's Dalmeny May .—B.a.'oit dwarf, hardy : heads large, 

 compact, white. It comes into use in May, and when true — 

 but it is difficult to procure it so — it is a capital hardy kind. 

 Sow at the beginning of April. 



*Wilcove Late T!7jite.— Habit dwarf; leaves closely set; 

 heads large, very fine, even, firm, and white, coming in at the 

 close of May, earlier or later according to the season. It is not 

 very hardy, but is for quality the finest late Broccoli in culti- 

 vation. Messrs. Yeitch's Wilcove Improved is an excellent 

 true stock of this most desirable kind. Its only fault is its not 

 being snfiieiently hardy for cold situations, though it succeeds 

 in all but very severe winters. Sow in April. 



"Lauder's Superb Late Goschen. — Habit dwarf ; leaves broad, 

 closely set, and well protecting the head, which is very large, 

 close, and firm, white and excellent. It is hardy, not having 

 been injured by last winter's frost ; commences to head about 

 the middle of May, and continues until the middle of June. 

 It is the hardiest and beat of all the late Broccolies, being 

 little if at all inferior to Cauliflower. It deserves extensive cul- 

 tivation. 1 intend to plant under a north wall or on a north 

 border, and hope to have heads late in June, which is about 

 the time I can have Cauliflowers in these northern parts under 

 the best of treatment. Sow in April. 



There are many other kinds of Broccoli, but I have named 

 those which I have found best. If there are any better I shall 

 be glad to hear of them. 



The times of sowing are given in noticing the different varie- 

 ties, but much must be allowed for seasons. As a rule I sow 

 the spring kinds about the second week of April ; but if the 

 weather be then cold and the ground very wet, I consider it 

 preferable to wait a few days rather than sow under these circum- 

 stances. This sowing, late as it may appear, is in every way 

 better than very early sowing, as the plants from the latter 

 very often become stunted, and do not make a growth equal to 

 plants sown later and grown without check. Besides, if the 

 weather should be genial, the plants from early sowings make 

 a very strong growth, attain a considerable length of stem, and 

 they seldom survive a severe winter. This season, owing to 

 the late spring, I did not sow until the beginning of May. In 

 an ordinary spring I sow about the lOlh of April. 



The soil for the seed beds should be light and moderately rich, 

 and choice should be made of a piece of ground not for some 

 time occupied by any of the Cabbage tribe. It should also be 

 open. The seed should be sown rather thinly and covered 

 lightly with fine soil, raking even. Water will be necessary, but 

 it need not be given if the beds were watered before sowing. 

 There is generally enough moisture in the soil for these plants 

 in a young state. — G. Abbey. 



THE CUCUMBER DISEASE. 



It is with great diffidence that I approach this subject, see- 

 ing that so many excellent growers have failed in finding a 

 remedy for the disease, and, moreover, have anticipated and 

 repudiated all probable suggestions. Bat, as I have a triumph 

 to record, I hope it will prove not without interest to your 

 readers, and that it may assist in solving this knotty question. 

 I have, as far as I am concerned, no great experience of the 

 disease, nor do I wish to have, although several years ago it 

 made its appearance in a house of which I had the charge. This 

 took place towards the end of the season, consequently no 

 great eiiorts were made to get rid of the evil, and in the following 

 year I was not there to use the preventives I thought neces- 

 sary. My opinion at the time as to the cause was that there 

 was too much moisture both in the soil and atmosphere, and 

 insufiioient ventilation, especially in the morning. I am aware 

 that the contraiy rule to this has been acted upon and failed 

 as a remedy, but I have not yet seen it proved to my satis- 

 faction that those which I have named have not been the first 

 causes. 



It has been stated that this disease is similar to the Potato 

 disease, and I believe at least that both are caused by the 

 same agency. We all know that the Potato disease is most 



prevalent in wet soils and in wet summers. Both the Potato 

 and Cucumber are what may be termed succulent plants, and 

 both by their roots and leaves absorb a great amount of mois- 

 ture. We must, however, also bear in mind that they exhale 

 a great amount of vapour, and unless there is suificieut dry- 

 ness and ventilation to carry it off they must re-absorb it, and, 

 as in the case of animals, disease will be the result. As Cu- 

 cumbers flourish in heat and moisture, I believe these condi- 

 tions may be, and often are, carried too far without due regard 

 to ventilation, and in my osn opinion they are the cause of the 

 disease, and no after-treatment, however careful, can stop it, 

 unless, indeed, like the cattle plague, it be stamped out. 



I suppose the question that all wish to come to is. How to 

 stamp it out when it has set in ? I cannot illustrate that 

 better than by reciting a case which has come under my own 

 observation, where, I beUeve, the disease has been thoroughly 

 stamped out. A friend of mine, Mr. Black, gardener to W. 

 Clongh, Esq., Clifton House, York, on entering the gardens about 

 eighteen months ago, found the disease prevailed very much 

 in the Cucumber houses. During last winter he had every 

 particle of soil and dust removed ; every rafter and all the 

 walls and floors well scraped, washed clean, painted, 

 whitewashed, and strongly fumigated with sulphur. The 

 plants were started gently, not at all strongly fed nor excited 

 into rank growth at first ; and now he has a house of Tele- 

 graph Cucumbers that is a sight worth seeing, they being in 

 beautiful health, and exhibiting not the least sign of disease. 

 It may be urged that it is too soon to form a decision ; the 

 disease may yet appear, but I do not think it will. I believe 

 he has conquered it. If it should prove otherwise I shall be 

 moat happy to correct my hasty conclusion. 



The question suggests itself to me. Why cannot this disease 

 be got rid of ? I believe that it is so infectious that the germs 

 may lurk about in every nook and cranny, and where Cucum- 

 bers have to be grown all the year round, summer and wiLter, 

 it would be impossible to escape it. But let there be an entire 

 cessation for a time to stamp it out. Do any of those who are 

 baffled by the disease mean to assert that if they had a new 

 house away from the scene of their former disasters, fresh soil, 

 aud fresh plants, the disease would follow them ? It would be 

 curious indeed if it did. Well, as they may not be able to 

 afford that proceeding, the best plan would be to renovate the 

 old structures, paint them well outside and inside ; scour, 

 scrape, and whitewash, and well fumigate with sulphur. I 

 think then, like my friend Mr. Black, they might reasonably 

 expect a prevention of the disease. — A Yoekey. 



ARAUCARIA IMBRICATA AT BIOTON. 



A box has been sent to the olfiee of The Jouenal or HoKii- 

 CULTUEE in hopes that some account of the contents may be of 

 interest to your readers. It will be perceived that one of the 

 specimens is an example of the male catkins and female cones 

 of Araucaria imbricata on the same branch. The tree from 

 which the branch was taken has still about thirty catkins and 

 twenty- five cones upon it. The present is not the first time I 

 have observed a similar phenomenon, having witnessed both 

 sexes on one tree in the Earl of Shannon's pinetum at Castle 

 Martyr, near Cork, in the spring of 1867, when I concluded 

 that the tree is not diceeious, as has been generally supposed, 

 but is moEceeious, and only requires time and proper treatment 

 to develope its true character. 



In the former of those instances the subsoil was removed 

 from under the roots of the tree in the previous autumn, and 

 proper drainage and soil substituted ; in the latter case the 

 trees in the Araucaria avenue at Bicton were heavily top- 

 dressed with suitable soil last autumn. Soon afterwards 

 twenty of them showed an immense number of catkins, and 

 throughout the winter and spring months they have been truly 

 beautiful, the trees being equally studded over with pale lemon- 

 coloured catkins in clusters of from two to six. One of the 

 clusters sent can only give a slight idea of the trees when seen 

 properly furnished in their winter garb, and now, when the 

 catkins have changed to pale cinnamon, the contrast ia no less 

 striking and beautifu'. 



I hope, as time goes on, to see other trees producing the sesea 

 in company. Meanwhile it would prove interesting to readers 

 of The Jouenaii of Hoeiiccliuee to hear of trees in other 

 places which miy be producing catkins and cones together. At 

 present there are here sixteen trees which are producing cones 

 only, each to the number of from 20 to 160, one tree only car- 

 rying the latter number. It is strange that all these|coues 



