Angnst 2, 1877. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



89 



The soil then becomes friable and, as it is locally termed, 

 "mouldy" by the planting time arrives, and the plants be- 

 come established the more quiokly on account of the care that 

 has been exeroised in preparing the soil. In this strong and 

 also good soil, where the plants continue fruitful for at leaBt 

 three years, it is found necessary to have the rows of Straw- 

 berries much wider apart than in the light-soil garden, where 

 the plants are only allowed to remain two years at the longest. 

 Where they grow luxuriantly — when they do start — and con- 

 tinue for three, four, or more years, I have found the best re- 

 sults by having the rows 3 feet apart. There is no waste of 

 ground by that wide system of planting, for a fine crop of 

 Lettuces is grown between the Strawberries the first year, and 

 an equally good crop of winter Onions the second. After 

 these — indeed before — the Strawberry crop is always worthy 

 of the ground which the plants occupy, and if sold would give 

 a better return than I think any other crop ocoupying the 

 same area of ground in the garden. 



Thus the mode of culture that is adopted by a given crop 

 must be determined by circumstances. The plan of growing 

 Strawberries in light soil — namely, planting early and rather 

 closely and taking only one, or at the most two, crops is only 

 suitable for that soil, and if it is tried on soil of a strong 

 heavy nature disappointment will probably result. On the 

 other hand, planting thinly in a light and dry soil and permit- 

 ting the plants to occupy the same ground for several years is 

 not the most profitable mode of culture in such a soil. In 

 many gardens — and the plan is especially applicable to the 

 small enclosures of amateurs— valuable crops of Strawberries 

 may be produced by planting marginal lines of them by the 

 sides of walks or borders. Such lines have a neat appearance, 

 and usually yield fine crops of fruit. The plants when grown 

 in that way in single rows need not be more than a foot apart, 

 and they should be planted now. 



As to sorts I find President the most profitable for light, 

 and Sir Joseph Paxton for heavy soil. Vicomtesse Hfiricart de 

 Thury is a good early variety for any soil. Dr. Hogg and British 

 Queen are not yet surpassed for high quality, and Elton and 

 Eleanor are the best late sorts. — W. S. P. 



PACKING.— No. 2. 



Floweb boxes are 24 inches by 16 outside, and 8 inches 

 deep inside, for packing Roses and other flowers which will 

 not bear much pressure. Stands are made to fit in the boxes in 

 the following way : — A half-inch board about an eighth of an 

 inch less in length and breadth than the inside of the box, 

 and pierced at regular distances with twenty-four holes, is 

 fixed to four legs 8 inches long in such a way that when placed 

 in the box it will stand firmly about midway between the 

 bottom and the lid, and the lid when nailed down will just 

 touch the tops of the legs and hold all securely in its place. 

 Roses must be selected according to the weather and the in- 

 terval between gathering and UBing, but generally speaking 

 they may be about half blown, and they must be cut while the 

 dew is on them, either late in the evening or before five o'clock 

 in the morning. It is better to cut them even three days 

 before they are required for use, if done at the proper time of 

 day and kept in a cool place, than to cut them in the hot sun 

 for immediate use. 



A boy carries one of the above stands to the plants, and a 

 qualified lad or man selects the Roses and places two or three 

 blooms in each hole, keeping half an inch clear all round the 

 Bides so that when placed in the box they cannot possibly rub 

 against it. When filled the stand containing four to six dozen 

 blooms is taken to the packing shed, examined, and any faulty 

 blooms removed to be replaced with others more perfect. It 

 is now turned-up edgeways on the bench with the stems of 

 the flowers pointing to the operator, who takes hold of each 

 bunch with his left hand, pulls it in close to the board, and 

 with the right hand insertB a wedge of elder or other eoft 

 wood so firmly that the flowers cannot possibly Bhift till the 

 wedge is withdrawn. 



When all are firmly wedged-in the stand is placed on the 

 bench with the stalks of the flowers uppermost, and when ex- 

 amined underneath a clear space of half an inch at least must 

 be Been between every flower and the bench. When it iB seen 

 that it is impossible for any flower to touch either the side s or 

 the bottom of the box, the stand, which will fit any one of a 

 number of boxeB for this purpose, is placed in position with 

 the flowers upside down. If it can move about at all in the 

 box a wedge or two will make all safe. Any stalks which will 



be likely to touch the lid are now shortened, and the space 

 which is now about two-fifths of the box is filled carefully with 

 long loose flowers, the stalks of the Roses sticking-up between 

 them and preventing them rubbing and crushing. A piece of 

 soft paper is placed over all, and the lid is nailed down and 

 completed. We send seven to ten of such boxes as I have 

 described at a time, and some of the spaoes between the Rose 

 stems are filled with moss or salading according to what is 

 required. 



Now, I suppose I shall be expected to say what kinds of 

 Roses I find the best suited to my purpose. But although I 

 pack in such large quantities, my experience with different 

 kinds is rather limited, and necessarily so, it being expected 

 that I should send one oolour only at a time, and if possible 

 only one kind. Well, then, how many plants do your readers 

 suppose it would take of Charles Lefebvre or Capitaine Christy 

 to furnish five hundred half-expanded blooms on a certain 

 day ? I should be afraid to gueBs, but I think I should have 

 little room left for growing Cabbages. No, H.P.'s are not tho 

 Roses to cut in quantity. You may have, if your plants are 

 large, 3 or 4 feet through, and on their own roots as mine are, 

 on an average, perhaps, three blooms from six plants, but if 

 you want quantity as well as fair quality you must go to the 

 Bourbons and Teas. 



Paul Verdier never has an imperfect flower, and is a model 

 of a Rose for exhibition or any other purpose. It is nothing 

 uncommon to cut a dozen perfect blooms at a time from one 

 medium-sized plant, and its scent is delicious. It is rather 

 late in flowering, and consequently all the more valuable to 

 me. Coupe d'Hfibe lacks a little in substance, but in oolour 

 and shape it is not yet beaten, while for quantity of good blooms 

 it beats everything I have seen excepting the one named above. 

 Its shape is formal without being stiff ; some of the much- 

 belauded newer Roses look too much as if they had been 

 clipped into shape. Paul Ricaut is not quite bright enough, 

 but I was glad to use it extensively before I raised a stock of 

 Paul Verdier. 



Gloire de Dijon, of course, is the first and last of the season, 

 and every bit of wall where nothing else will grow a Gloire 

 de Dijon should be planted. It is, however, best on its own 

 roots in a northern aspect, and I have nearly made up my 

 mind that this is the only way to grow Tea Roses properly. 

 They neither like much frost, much sun, nor much coddling- 

 up. But I must leave the results of my experiments with this 

 most beautiful class till another time, and Binoe I have run 

 away from my subject of packing, I must also leave the other 

 items for a future paper. — Wiixiam Taylob. 



WHOLE veesds CUT POTATOES FOR PLANTING. 

 DISEASE. 



Xou are quite right, Messrs. Editors ; I did not advise the 

 cutting of kidney Potatoes for the simple reaeon that I never 

 cut them because they have not sufficiently numerous bold 

 eyes, and I never recommend any practice that I do not adopt. 

 I do not for a moment dispute the excellence of the crops of 

 "A Kitchen Gabdeneb" from suoh seed tubers as he has 

 planted, for the sufficient reason that I have had many good 

 crops from tubers of the same nature. The usefulness of such 

 sets is admitted, but the prejudice against cut sets is not quite 

 eradicated. On this point I think "A Kitchen Gabdeneb" 

 is not quite competent to speak with authority ; at any rate 

 his experience of this Eeason alone does not enable him to do 

 so, for he says, " every one of the tubers were planted whole." 

 He has thus really had no means of comparison, and yet he 

 decides in favour of whole tubers. Let him next year fairly 

 try cut sets of large Potatoes, each set having at the least two 

 bold eyes, and he will find such growth stronger than that 

 from small seed tubers planted whole, and I strongly suspect 

 that he will find the produce of greater value also. 



But I do not regard the eets employed by " A Kitchen Gab- 

 deneb" as being small in the sense that I had in view; but I 

 deBired to denounce the tons of trash which are annually sold 

 in the markets as Beed, which seed is bought and planted, and 

 trashy crops follow. It is by that bad practice in conjunction 

 with another common practice which is equally reprehensible, 

 of allowing the tubers to remain to grow into matted heaps 

 before being planted, when the sprouts have to be rubbed off : 

 such treatment impaired the constitution of the Potato, and 

 rendered it additionally liable to dieease. I do not suggest 

 that "A Kitchen Gabdeneb" adopts such a system; he 



