September 22, 1870. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAKDENER. 



231 



on the level ground. The most forward may be tied to blanch 

 them thoroughly ; but for this purpose early in autumn nothing 

 is better than placing a slate or tile over the plants, or even 

 setting a pot firmly over them, and closing the hole securely 

 in the reversed bottom. Endive looks well in the salad bowl, 

 but for crispness and sweetness we never think it equal to 

 Lettuce. 



Cucumbers. — The beds made, as stated last spring, with 

 rather fresh dung, with a layer of sweet dung and loaves over 

 it, have yielded plentifully all the season, and witli little more 

 attention than air-giviDg, watering, and fumigation with to- 

 bacco paper 1 twice or thrice. To make the plants fruit a little 

 longer the front of the bed outside the frame was dug out, and 

 fresh hot dung put in as a lining, the back of the frame being 

 merely banked up to the top of the frame. The hack may be 

 turned over in a Bimilar way afterwards if deemed necessary. 

 A rough spout in front of the frame kept the rains which run 

 down the glass from passing into and decomposing the bed. 



The plants turned out for the first crop in a hot-water pit 

 have succeeded equally well, and are doing so well now tbRt we 

 let them remain, though properly a part should be replenished. 

 These have very little earth to grow in, and that we curtailed 

 by planting them out in largish pots. No pots, however, have 

 been seen for a long time, as the frequent slight rich top-dress- 

 ings have concealed them from view. The pots are chiefly 

 useful for securing early produce, and even afterwards they do 

 something to secure fertility and prevent the growth of large 

 parasol-like leaves — a matter of no importance, but rather to 

 be desired in large span-roofed or even lean-to-roofed Cucumber 

 houses, but to be avoided in small lean-to pits, where such 

 vigorous growth would occupy more room than is desirable. 

 We have grown some rather large kinds this season, but in 

 general they are not profitable where the room is narrow. We 

 were told, however, lately that a very long kind which our 

 neighbour Mr. Cadger has in his Cucumber house, and from 

 which fine crisp fruit upwards of 3 feet in length has been cut, 

 does almost as well in an unheated pit in summer. Large 

 Cucumbers, however, are turned from by many people just 

 as they turn away from a large Melon. They will scarcely 

 believe that the one is not old and that the other does not 

 partake of the Gourd. Those who like Cucumbers will do well 

 to eat them when crisp and young. We like them to be not 

 more than from three-quarters to 1 inch in diameter. 



We are glad to say that we have here Eeen nothing of the 

 Cucumber disease for a number of years. Some Cucumber 

 growers have it still, and cannot get rid of it. Very often 

 a road or a field will make all the difference between having 

 the disease and being without it. As we have frequently 

 stated, we now repeat, that after more lengthened observation, 

 we are still quite ignorant of the causes that brought the dis- 

 ease to us for years, and we are quite as ignorant as to the 

 causes of its leaving us. After trying all kinds, and having 

 seeds from all quarters — after using all kinds of compost, from 

 fresh loam, fresh peat, or heath soil, and almost every con- 

 ceivable mixture — it mattered not, the only relief we found 

 was to be almost constantly sowing and constantly planting, 

 for frequently the plants would only produce a few fruit before 

 the disease assailed them. All washings of the house and pits 

 even with boiling water, all washings of the plants, were 

 quite ineffectual. It mattered not where we grew them — in 

 places heated by hot water, in dung frames, in cold pits and 

 frames without artificial heat, in ridges under hand-lights, in 

 the open air without hand-lights, trained against fences or 

 walls, and with plants from seeds sent from healthy plants 

 hundreds of miles apart — the result was the same. No sooner 

 did the seeming healthy plants begin to bear than the spot in 

 the leaf, or gangrene of the fruit appeared ; then all was over 

 with them, nothing would restore them to health again. 



During several years that the Cucumber suffered we never 

 had Melons more healthy. Several who felt inclined to make 

 a joke over our trouble have felt it was no joking matter when 

 they themselves were involved, and felt their thorough help- 

 lessness to get out of the difficulty. We mention this more 

 prominently, as we understand there are employers determined 

 on having plenty of healthy Cucumbers, however frequently 

 they should change their gardeners. They may succeed in so 

 doing. There may be something like fortunate men in gar- 

 dening. Singularly enough there are men whose handiwork 

 hardly ever turns out successful. We have little faith, how- 

 ever, in a change of management getting rid of the Cucumber 

 disease. All that we can do is to sympathise with those who 

 are the sufferers. We feel quite unable to tell them how to 



conquer and get rid of it. To us it is a greater mystery than 

 the Potato disease, because it is so partial, and continuous 

 for a time in its local manifestations. We have known cases 

 of neighbours equally successful in growing Cucumbers, and 

 whose practical routine was as much as possible alike, and 

 yet the one without altering in the least his practice will 

 have the disease for years, and his neighbour not have a trace 

 of it ; whilst when the first has got rid of the disease without 

 knowing how, his neighbour afterwards will have to regret the 

 presence of the malady. Perhaps when we know more of 

 atomic vital organisms we may be in a way to find out the 

 cause of the malady. At present our observations and expe- 

 rience point to the conclusion that the beBt Cucumber-growers 

 in the kingdom may get the disease among their plants without 

 knowing how, and be as powerless to free their plants of it as 

 the young amateur who grows a bed of Cucumbers for the firBt 

 time. 



FKUIT GAEDEN. 



We have had several inquiries as regards gathering Fears. 

 Just as in the case of Apples, early Pears should be gathered 

 before they are quite ripe, and later kinds when the seeds are 

 coloured, instead of being softish and whitish. We like all to 

 be gathered before they are touched much by frost ; but late 

 kinds that keep well, if gathered too soon, will be apt to shrivel 

 before becoming sweet and mellow, though juicy. 



We shall here advert to two sets of inquiries, How are we to 

 make the most of early Pears, and also secure their best fla- 

 vour ? The first was alluded to last week, such as gathering 

 the most forward of the earliest kinds, and even giving them 

 extra heat without the chance of losing or evaporating their 

 juices. Fine flavour is often lost by laying early fruit on dirty 

 shelves, on straw or hay not thoroughly sweet, or even on brown 

 paper. As the fruit ripens it absorbs a scent or aroma from 

 the surroundings. Few plans are more Bimple than placing 

 clean packing paper or foolscap on clean well-seasoned boards 

 from which all scent of the wood has gone. On that paper 

 place the fruit singly, and cover it with paper to prevent the 

 evaporation of the juices, and along with them a portion of the 

 aroma of the fruit. Open shelves or platformB answer very 

 well, but Euch things as shallow boxes or drawers do better 

 treated as above ; the latter with just a slip of an opening to 

 let any moist air out. We have known the finest fruit greatly 

 injured by being laid on straw or hay not thoroughly dry, and 

 not perfectly sweet, or liable to become damp from the moisture 

 exhaled from the fruit. Late fruit may be treated less ceremo- 

 niously by being placed carefully in greater heaps instead of 

 being laid singly, though the latter mode would be the better 

 whore room could be given ; but as the most forward of these 

 approach maturity they will be improved by being placed singly 

 some time before using, and in many cases will be improved 

 by being kept a little warmer, but not bo much so as to sacri- 

 fice juiciness and flavour to mellowness. 



The second inquiry has reference chiefly to a fertile source 

 of disappointment at country shows. " Junius " asks our help 

 to unravel the mystery. He Bays, "I showed splendid large 

 round Potatoes, but was beaten by kidneys of half the size; 

 large Cabbages, but was beaten by smaller ones. I showed 

 large Pears of Williams's Bon Chretien rather ripe, Louise 

 Bonne, and Beurre Bosc, and was beaten with small Bergamots 

 not bigger than eggs ; and in the same way my Cellini and fine 

 Alexander Apples were beaten by small Kerry Pippins, and 

 huge fruit of Victoria and Washington Plums were walked over 

 by Green Gages anything but remarkable." The suitable reply 

 is that most judges without specific directions award according 

 to quality rather than bulk and quantity. We saw a man very 

 wroth because huge round Potatoes with eyes nearly an inch 

 deep, and therefore involving great loss if judged necessary to 

 pare them, passed over, and the preference given to fine Mona 

 Kidneys scarcely showing in their outline where an eye was 

 placed. The remedy in such cases is to show in classes, such 

 as round and kidney, white, and red, and other colours. The 

 second remedy as to fruit is also to show in classes, such asfor 

 dessert, cooking, and even weight. For dessert nothing will 

 beat Green Gage Plums if good, except fruit equally well ripened 

 of Ooe's Golden Drop. Fine specimens of such a dark rich 

 Plum as Kirke's would run hard a dish of Green Gages if fault 

 could be found with them. For table the Victoria and Wash- 

 ington would have no chance with them. Again, as to Pears, 

 few kinds take so many prizes in autumn as the Bon Chretien, 

 but we have often seen it, when over-mellow and mealy, beaten 

 by small fruit of the rich Bergamot just when in its prime, and 

 both beaten by the Louise Bonne of Jersey when at its best, 



