300 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 18, 1877. 



Tina one could hardly have anticipated, but as far as I have 

 been able to form a judgment it is so. Certainly no Rose has 

 come out so surprisingly as Francois Michelon. Wherever it 

 has been exhibited it has been shown grandly, and has gene- 

 rally b9en chosen out as one of the finest, if not the very 

 fiaest, blooms in the show. Other light Roses, such as Mons. 

 Noman, Princess Mary of Cambridge, Comtesse de Serenyi, 

 have done well, but it has exceeded them all; and it is one 

 of the mysteries of Rose-growing why in particular seasons 

 certain Roses seem to come out with Buch excellence. This is 

 certainly the Francois Michelon year. 



Such briefly is my record of the past season. Exceptional 

 it has been without doubt, but Rose-growers have shown that 

 no season thoroughly disappoints them, and when they can 

 note some points of excellence in their favourites they take 

 heart and go on with their culture in the firm hope in a good 

 sense that " to-morrow (next season) shall be as this, and 

 much more abundint." — D., Deal. 



PLANTING FRUIT TREES. 



Autotin has come again. Another season of growth is almost 

 ended. Soon will the latest fruits be gathered and the fast- 

 decaying foliage fallen ; then, and often only then, comes the 

 fruit-tree planter's opportunity before the soil, saturated by a 

 winter's rainfall, has become sodden and cold. Mark this 

 well, for success or failure in planting depends as much upon 

 the time as upon the manner in which it is done. " Plough- 

 boy" would seem to be aware of this, for he has come to us 

 now to assist him in finding a remedy, or rather a preventive, 

 for the failure of fruit trees. He says, "Last year I planted 

 in a marly soil a large quantity of fruit trees, and about half 

 of them are dead," adding in the true national spirit, "I 

 intend trying again." Well done, "Ploughboy!" "Try 

 again " is the motto which points to success, and gladly do 

 we come to your aid. 



Now there are two faults in a marly soil which require cor- 

 rection before it can become suitable for the growth of fruit, 

 and these are its poverty and its power of retaining super- 

 abundant moisture. The remedy for the first is a heavy dress- 

 ing of manure, and for the second drainage and a plentiful 

 supply of coarse gritty matter, such as road scrapings, coal 

 ashes, shattered bricks or stone chippirjgg thoroughly mixed 

 with the marl and manure, our object being to open up the 

 soil to the action of the air as well as to drain and enrich it. 

 It is of course desirable to treat the whole of the soil in this 

 manner ; but as this is a costly process it is customary to 

 prepare stations for the trees, and to improve the condition 

 of the remainder subsequently. Each station should be 6 feet 

 square and 2A feet deep, the bottom 6 inches being filled with 

 broken stones rammed hard, and the 2 feet above filled with 

 the prepared soil. 



Drains of common 2-inch pipes should be made 30 feet 

 apart and 4 feet deep, taking care to connect every station by 

 a branch drain with the main nearest to it ; for when stations 

 are prepared in clay, or any substance of a compact adhesive 

 nature, if they are undrained they become just so many death 

 traps for the roots, owing to the accumulation of stagnant 

 water. In my own practice I am not content to make a branch 

 drain to tho side of the station, but continue it right across 

 the bottom, laying the row of pipes upon the hard-rammed 

 stone. As a general rule it may be taken for granted, that 

 when the soil in which fruit trees grow rests upon a deep com- 

 pact subsoil drains will do good, but when the soil is shallow 

 and has a substratum of rock, chalk, or shattered stone im- 

 mediately beneath it (a natural drain), then of course artificial 

 drains are uncalled for, and would, indeed, prove injurious. 



Let the planting be done in November, pruning off all bruised 

 roots, and shortening all leading shoots to about 9 inches. 

 Do not bury the roots deeply, but keep them within G inches of 

 the surface, spreading every one of them out carefully to its 

 utmoBt length, treading the soil so that none of the roots lie 

 at all loose in it. Cover the entire surface of the station with 

 3 inches of rough half -decayed manure immediately after plant- 

 ing, and fasten the tree securely with wire and stumps so 

 that it may never be swayed by the wind, for if the roots and 

 stem become loosened in the soil the tree will not grow and 

 there is much risk of its dying. Always plant quiokly, or 

 cover the roots with soil when you receive them from the 

 nursery. The effect of exposing the roots to the air is so per- 

 nicious that many a tree has been lost through it. Take care 

 that the manure mixed with the soil is old and quite decayed, 



or it may contain the spawn of fungi, which is also found in 

 decaying wood and leaves, spreading thence over the roots of 

 the tree and killing them. 



Watch the trees carefully during the first season of growth 

 after the planting. See that they do not suffer from drought. 

 The surface-dressing of manure will act as a tolerable safe- 

 guard, but two or three thorough soakings of water or sewage 

 are of material assistance to the growth and health of the tree 

 in a dry season. See also that any fastenings of string or wire 

 are loosened in time to prevent harm to the bark, which swells 

 very fast upon a healthy strong-growing young tree. 



Given healthy trees and due attention to these hints there 

 ought not to be a single failure. Every point and detail 

 mentioned is, however, of equal importance with the rest ; and 

 I must insist upon no negligence in any respect, for failures 

 often arise from inattention to some matter apparently trivial 

 in itself but of vital importance in its influence upon other 

 things, and " Ploughboy" will probably find that his lament- 

 able failure was caused by inattention to some so-called trifle. 

 — Edwaed Luckhuest. 



STORING POTATOES. 



I thine wherever it is possible the plan advocated by Mr. 

 Luckhurst should be followed. I have proved the value of it, 

 and so will others who practise it. The following is the results 

 obtained here : — We will commence with the soil, which is very 

 stiff and heavy, with a clay subsoil, undrained. We prepare our 

 ground for Potatoes by rough digging or trenching in the winter, 

 working-in all the manure we can procure. The sets are 

 planted in drills 4 or 5 inches deep, 2J feet between the drills, 

 about the end of February or early in March. A mixture of 

 soot, lime, and guano mixed with fine dry soil is sprinkled 

 along the drills at the time of planting. The earlies are not 

 planted so deep or wide between the drills, and are kept 

 earthed-up as they appear above ground to protect from frost. 

 The late sorts are not earthed-up at all. We use the prong 

 hoe between the rows once, and keep clear of weeds. About 

 the first or second week in August we keep a sharp look-out 

 for the first appearance of the disease, and as soon as it is dis- 

 covered the haulm is all taken-up without delay and removed 

 off the ground. The crop is lifted as early as possible, ripe or 

 not ripe. A great many people, I know, object to lifting before 

 the skin is set, but if the ground is in good working order and 

 the tubers come out clean, then by all means out with them, 

 but be careful and not rub them more than you can help. We 

 place them in a dry airy shed as thin as room will permit, and 

 we always sprinkle a little slaked lime among them as they 

 are emptied-out of the baskets. Out of fifteen sacks grown 

 this season we have had only about one gallon diseased, and 

 last year and the year before we had scarcely a diseased Potato. 

 We grow Snowflake, Rivers' Early Ashleaf, Bresee's Prolific, 

 Regents, Berkshire Kidneys, and Oxfordshire Kidney (which is 

 the best late Potato I know), and Sutton's Red-skinned Flour- 

 ball.— H. Playdon, Bearsted Vicarage, Maidstone. 



THE ROSE ELECTION.— No. 3. 



VOTES IN ELECTION. 

 In the first seven returns the Roses are placed in the order 

 of merit — in twelve, twenty-four, and forty-eight varieties: — 



Rev. C. P. Peach, 



1. Marechal Niel 



2. Alfred Oolomb 



3. Marquise de Castellane 



4. Charles Lefebvre 



5. Marie Baimiarm 



6. La Franco 



13. Dr. Andry 



14. MisB Hassard 



15. Louis Van Houtte 



16. Emilie Hausburg 



17. John Hopper 



18. Due de Wellington 



25. Senateur Vaisso 



26. Marie Van Houtte 



27. Annie Laxton 



28. Belle Lyonnaise 



29. Souvenir d'un Ami 

 SO. Javier Olibo 



81. Mdlle. Therese Level 



82. Lord Maoanlay 

 S3. Abel Grand 



34. Gloire de Dijon 



35. General Jacqueminot 



36. Duchesae de Morny 



Appleton-le-Street. 



7. Baronne de Rothschild 



8. Mdlle. Marie Kady 



9. Etienne Levet 



10. Comtes6e d'Oxford 



11. Francois Michelon 



12. M. Eugenie Verdier 



19. Dupuy-Jamain 



20. Madame Victor Verdier 



21. Marguerite de St. Amund 



22. Princess Mary of Cambridge 



23. Maurice Bernardin 



24. Annie Wood 



37. Fisher Holmes 



38. Pierre Notting 



39. Thomas Methven 



40. Madame Vidot 



41. Viotor Verdier 



42. Madame Laeharme 



43. Madame Caillat 



44. Mons. Noman 



45. Wilson Saunders 



46. Celine Forestier 



47. Capitaiue Christy 



48. Edouard Morren 



