58 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t July 23, 1370. 



any means closely, and there ia a span-roof 30 feet by 15 made 

 in an hour. By varying the length of the pegs, it could be 

 aa&da higher if required. 



The bed was made close to a walk 6 feet wide, so that in 

 3howery weather the lights could be taken off, which was done 

 tiree or four times during April ; they could be taken off and 

 3>iled on the walk in less than five minutes by two men, and 

 put on in the same time. I know well enough many gar- 

 sisnera are not so fortunate as to have lights to spare for a 

 purpose of the kind. Were I to have the choice of the various 

 patent plant-protectors, about which so much ha3 been said, I 

 should still prefer glas3 lights. These lights, of which there 

 aze upwards of seventy for covering Vine and Peach borders, 

 answer extremely well for Vegetable Marrows and Tomatoes, 

 by driving into the ground two stakes, such as are used for 

 Bahlias, and resting two lights against them, as a child who was 

 about to build a house of cards would do. Then rest each 

 light on two bricks laid flat, and drive down a peg to each light 

 to prevent its slipping off the bricks. Of coarse, the plants are 

 put in first, four under each span. By these means I secure 

 an abundance of Vegetable Marrows and Tomatoes. The latter 

 have plenty of fruit, some just showing colour, and the Vege- 

 table Marrows I commenced to eat in the last week in June. 



To return to the Strawberries. The lights were elevated on 

 bricks laid fiat as the plants began to grow and show flower, after 

 another week they were put on edge, and by the time the plant3 

 were in full bloom they were put on end, two lights resting on 

 one biick. The lights were entirely removed by the 15th of 

 May. I only U3ed twenty bricks, as there were eighteen lights. 

 A few fruit were ripe during the last two days of May, and I 

 gathered from the bed up to June 30th, 931 lbs. of good fruit, 

 some of Lucas 5 inches in circumference. I have since 

 gathered 81 lbs., making 101 lbs. There must have been fully 

 5 lbs. lost by birds and damp. The bed was never netted, and 

 aiter the main crop was ready, which was June 25th, little 

 ssotiee was taken of the bed. The smallest quantity gathered 

 at one time was half a pound. June 15th, 8.4 lbs.; June 

 16th, 7£ lbs. ; and June 21st, 15 lbs., were the largest quantities 

 at one time. The sorts grown were — Black Prince, four rows ; 

 Filbert Pine, four rows; President, two rows; British Queen, 

 one row ; Lucas, one row ; La Constante, one row; and Rivera's 

 Eliza, one row. This was an experimental bed. The bed I am 

 about to plant for early next year will consist of four rows 

 of Filbert Pine, four of President, four of Lucas, two of Black 

 Frince, and another of Dr. Hogg, British Queen, and President, 

 with, perhaps, two rows of Lucas. This will be covered a 

 month later than the first bed, which I hope to gather from by 

 she middle of next May. 



I will now add a few remarks respecting varieties, but only as 

 Tegards my own experience, as they differ so much aocording 

 lo soil, situation, &c. I shall first name Lucas, President, Dr. 

 Hogg, and Cockscomb. These four I procured two years ago 

 next September, owing to the Rev. W. F. Radclyffe's having 

 spoken so highly of them in the Journal. When I received the 

 manners, fifty of each sort, they were very small and got beauti- 

 Jolly le3s, till by spring I had only seven plants of Dr. Hogg, 

 and not many of any of the others. I only had a few fruit 

 Jest year, making runners the chief point. I obtained a good 

 anmber of Dr. Hogg, many from President and Lucas, but 

 Cockscomb was very shy, as it is this year also. Lucas has 

 scceeeded very well indeed under glass, the fruit being very 

 S»rge, fine-flavoured, and early, as it likewise was out of doors. 

 It ha3 one fault at present, which I hope to get rid of next 

 year — I have had to pull out one-fifth of the plants on account 

 of their being barren. President has proved a fir3t-rate er^pper, 

 very large, of good flavour, and with no barren plants. Dr. 

 Hogg has been very fine, producing many fruit, very large, and 

 of" first-rate flavour, but it has not borne so heavily a3 British 

 Queen does on what might be called the trench system. Cocks- 

 eomb I do not think so fine-flavoured as either of the others. 

 With me it is not in full work yet, nearly half the plants I had 

 being not true or barren. The largest fruit I had from it was 

 51 inches in circumference. It is late. In addition to the 

 above I have British Queen, Wonderful, Wizard of the North, 

 filbert Pine, Black Prince, Sir Charles Napier, La Constante, 

 sad Rivera's Eliza. British Queen is the best flavoured of the 

 tot, produces splendid fruit and plenty of it, especially on the 

 young plants. Berries 5| inches in circumference are the 

 Wgest I have had from it, but there were many of that size. 

 Wonderful is a good cropper, many of the fruit being very 

 3arge, particularly on the young plants. It does best in a wet 

 -reason, and is of good flavour. Wizard of the North is a cer- 



tain cropper; many of the plants planted last September must 

 Lave borne more than a pound of fruit. It would take the 

 place of Black Prince for kitchen purposes ; the fruit is much 

 finer, has a peculiar flavour, and i3 rather acid. Black Prince 

 is too well known to need description, and i3 a sure cropper. 

 Filbert Pine cannot be spoken of too highly ; it comes into 

 bearing as soon as Black Prince, is as prolific, continues bearing 

 longer, and many of the fruit are very large ; it is of first-rate 

 flavour, and a certain cropper. I have grown it eight or nine 

 years j and never knew it fail to pioduce a good crop ; it is very 

 robust, and make3 plenty of runners. With it I superseded 

 Keens' Seedling two years since, as it i3 in every respect supe- 

 rior to that well-known sort. La Constante, I think, is not 

 true with me ; the fruit is not large, as I sometimes hear of its 

 being; it is only second-rate as regards crop, but is good 

 flavoured. It did tolerably well under glass. Rivers's Eliza 

 has never succeeded well here ; I am doubtful if it ia true. I 

 shall only keep it another season if it do not improve, I am 

 loath to part with it, as I see it is spoken very highly of at 

 times. Sir Charles Napier is bearing well this year ; it baa 

 been very barren. It ia valuable for its lateness, only just 

 coming into use ; it is much like British Queen, but more acid. 

 Sir Harry I grew two or three years, I could get nothing but 

 leaves from it, and I have discarded it. — J. T. Creed, Gardener 

 to F. Swanwick, Esq., TThittinnton House, near Chesterfield. 



AMONG THE SHOW ROSES. 



Glad was I when 



" The storms of wintry time had passed, 

 And one unbounded spring encircled all," 



for I purposed, though with fear and trembling, that the next 

 Birmingham Exhibition of Ro3es should fiDd me an exhibitor, 

 and I knew that nothing but the hardest work and the closest 

 attention would bring me the glory of success ; and who would 

 not strive for success in such a cause ? So with a right good 

 will I set my rosery in order, removed all superfluous wood, 

 turned over all the soil, pruned where I thought the knife was 

 needed, and, above all, manured heavily with thoroughly de- 

 cayed horse dung. How I watched with growing anxiety day 

 after day for the dreaded east wind, which, I gratefully add, 

 never came, or came so lightly as to do no damage ! How I 

 looked forward with apprehension for the storms which usually 

 visit our neighbourhood with levelling power each spring, and 

 they al3o did not come ! Then an anxious period, when the 

 grubs were expected, and though they sprang into existence 

 like magic, yet almost aa suddenly did they disappear. 



So far all was inspiring — no blighting winds scorching tha 

 foliage, no galea tearing the leave3 from the wood and the 

 wood from the stem ; no insects to check the healthy growth of 

 buds and foliage. From the beginning, therefore, until the 

 drought checked the growth and forced the buds, circumstances 

 stimulated me to labour with a cheerful heart from " early 

 morn to dewy eve." But I had bedding stock to attend to as 

 well aa Roaes, and my business likewise. So I overstrained my 

 powers and fell sick. To recruit I went into Yorkshire, and 

 then came the tropical heat of the latter part of June, filling me 

 with anxiety about my Roses, as I feared they would be pre- 

 maturely forced into flower. When I returned home ten day3 

 before the show, to my chagrin I found the Roses in full bloom 

 — a heavy disappointment ; it seemed that all my time and 

 labour had been thrown away, for had I not trained for a race 

 I could not enter ? However, courage soon revived when the 

 glorious rain came, soaking deeply iuto the earth, and fresh 

 buds made their appearance everywhere. 



Our show was on Thursday, July 7th, and the Tuesday pre- 

 ceding it waa a day which Mark Tapley might have pronounced 

 jolly, but to me it was simply and downright miserable. The 

 rain came down steadily and persistently for twelve hours, 

 spoiling nearly all the expanded blooms upon which I was 

 reckoning, besides spoiling my Moss hunt, which I had pro- 

 mised myself should be a kind of happy prelude to the show. 



Well, I wandered through Sutton Park till drenched to the 

 skin, but I obtained a stock of pretty, compact Moss. The next 

 day was hot and clear, and the rapidity with which buds ex- 

 panded was marvellous. The eve of the show was spent in 

 arranging the boxes, getting ready the labels, and taking careful 

 stock of the beat blooma. 



The morning of the show, and of my first competition, I 

 shall never forget. The days of my boyhood were back again 

 with all their freshness and delight. The rising sun wa3 



