November 15, 1977. ] 



JOURNAL OF a)RTlCULTOSE AND COTTAGE GABDENErt. 



331 



excellent. In this class Earl Ducie was first, and Messrs. J. C. 

 Wheeler & Son second. It is worth remarking, again, that in 

 these as in the dessert Apples, where these two competitors 

 were also successful, there was not a variety that was wrongly 

 named. Tbere was a special class for Blenheim Orange, and 

 the first-prize fruit of Mr. Mayo of Base Court were of a veiy 

 brilliant colour, and of fine size and form. For culinary Apples 

 (not Blenheim) Mr. Phelps of Tibbeiton was first with Alfriston, 

 and Earl Ducie second with Warner's King. 



A soil and climate that can produce such fruit as the Ash- 

 mead's Kernels, the Golden Harveys, the Bibstons, and the 

 Blenheims that took first prizes in their classes ought, we think, 

 to be used to better purpose than tbey are, if we may judge 

 fsrom the state of the orchards which one finds, not only in this 

 but in the adjoining counties of "Worcester and Hereford. Per- 

 haps we ought to except Worcester, for during the past twenty 

 or twentv-five years great progress has beeu made, particularly 

 in the Vale of Evesham, by the introduction of the modern 

 system of fruit-growing; but still with that exception all three 

 of these fruit-producing counties do not yield anything like the 

 return they ought to do if a better system of orcharding were 

 practised. With the facilities of railway communication with 

 which they all are served they ought to producj a great supply 

 of far superior fruit to the leading centres of consumption than 

 they do. 



We were pleased to see among the collections of cider Apples 

 so many of the famed old varieties still in existence — the Bed 

 and Yellow Styres, Hagloe Crab, Bedstreak, Cowarne Bed, and 

 Skyrme's Kernel. Thess of themselves if widely planted aud 

 properly cultivated would bring wealth in the quality of the 

 cider they produce. How is it, then, that in the collections of 

 cider Apples that were exhibited we found so many that were 

 no better than trash, without names and without character? 

 And how is it that orchardists will grow such trash when they 

 know them to be so ? It must be indifference to or ignorance 

 ef their own interests that is the cause of it. A valuable Apple 

 occupies no more space and requires no more care than a wild- 

 ing does ; and when farmers are so careful to improve the breeds 

 of their cattle, knowing that a high-bred animal eats no more 

 and perhaps not so much as one of a baser breed, it surprises 

 lis that orchardists have still to learn that there is as much 

 method, skill, and science in good orcharding as there is in 

 cattle-breeding. The cider which the district round Gloucester 

 produces, when produced as the prize sample exhibited by Mr. 

 Organ, is so superior to the wretched stuff that is sometimes 

 met with under the names of hock and claret, that if it were to 

 be introduced pure upon the market it would displace all of 

 these, and the public would possess a wholesome palatable 

 beverage while the producers would become enriched for their 

 pains. We do hope that this Gloucestershire Society — working 

 in its own district, while the Woolhope Club is working in the 

 same direction in the neighbouring county of Hereford — will be 

 successful in opening the eyes of the orchardists to the pursuit 

 of their own interests, and that the landowners of these counties 

 will also see that by encouraging the development of this in- 

 dustry they are adding vastly to the value of the fee simple of 

 their estates, at the same time that the public are benefited by 

 a large addition of wholesome food and wholesome beverags. 



JOTTINGS ABOUT VEGETABLES. 



To account for the many diversified opinions — say for 

 instance in the cultivation of Grapes — I have concluded that a 

 generally industrious person may indulge in any particular 

 hobby of his own ; if it be the most whimsical or even detri- 

 mental his other good properties outweigh this one mischief, 

 and he succeeds. In the growing of vegetables the man who 

 manures well may indulge in whole group of whims. " Muck's 

 the man which makes this mare to go." But this assertion 

 even requires qualifying. When an old garden has been 

 manured and cropped, and cropped and manured, for perhaps 

 a time further back than of which anyone has any remem- 

 brance, then this garden has probably become " muck-sick " — 

 its continuous repetition of the same kind. Vegetables refuse 

 to feed longer on one diet in infinitum, they require change. 

 New life is needsd. Everything burnable, even to the very 

 soil, wants burning. Lime is much needed, and roadside 

 scrapings or Eoil from wherever obtainable, and soft burnt clay 

 from a brickyard is desirable. 



BegardiDg manuring land in " good heart " and with a good 

 ■clay bottom you may place the manure where you like, your 

 vegetables will find it. A gravelly bottom is Eiinply an in- 

 satiable devourer ; it takes unreasonably, and still craves for 

 more. To bury manure deep iu a gravelly bottom is simply 

 giving the gravel all the chances of firBt swallowing the lion's 

 share. By surface manuring or mulching all the while it is 

 gradually penetrating, say through the first 18 inches, every 



hungry root is gobbling it up as fast as every root can. The 

 thinking gardener never manures regardlessly ; he puts every 

 shovelful where he judges his crop will be most benefited. I 

 will speak of Cabbages firBt. Having seven thousand to plant 

 last autumn, in good time I secured all the noveltieB I could 

 lay hands on, also common market varieties, and having 

 regard for an old favourite of one whose gardening days are 

 long since ended I planted a few Early Yorks. Of the latter a 

 buyer remarked, " The women folk never lay them long- 

 hearted Cabbage down again." The fact is the Early York, 

 in proportion to bulk, is the heaviest Cabbage we have. I 

 was sadly annoyed at the seed generally being so mixed. 

 Daniel's Defianca was the exception. It is a noble market 

 marrow Cabbage, and, what I like, requires no earthing-up. 

 I had a fine square of summer Cauliflowers from seed of 

 my own sowing, though hereabouts the rain of this very wet 

 season for Cauliflowers was some ten days too long in coming, 

 and I spoiled the lot, or at least all the best of them. For 

 exhibition I have tied-up Cauliflowers for years, but perhap3 

 never previously till the hearts were two-thirds grown. In 

 this instance I tied them up when they were little larger than 

 buttons, and before I noticed the evil the iuside leaves had 

 turned yellow and the hearts were bursting through between. 

 Of Autumn Giant I had twelve hundred from an eighteen- 

 penny packet of seed, and not a dozen wentblind. Bat nearly 

 the first two hundred " went" for all that — they went to the 

 pigs. They came green aud seeded. The remainder, however, 

 were beautiful, and I have one in the vinery now seeding that 

 was 11 inches across. I have a fancy that uuripe seed is the 

 cause of so many of this noble Cauliflower having no heart, 

 and perhaps these green ones are attributable to carelessness 

 in selecting the stock. Mr. Stickley, who took Euch pains 

 in selecting his Bed Cabbage and who grew them so well, was 

 for many years a near neighbour, hence in this neighbourhood 

 we boast of our Bsd Cabbage; sow them all iu the spring with 

 the Cauliflowers under glass or nearly so, and by the middle 

 of August they average in weight some 8 or 9 lbr., and I have 

 seen our cottagers exhibit some this autumn really a remark- 

 able size. 



The Onion maggot is a peet. I rather fancied our Editors 

 were incredulous when a while ago I- recommended " boiling " 

 the crop: Now the fact is Onions will stand having water 

 poured over them when little off the boil, and maggot life 

 can stalrd nothing of the kind. If taken in time hot water 

 poured over the bed will prevent the maggot going further by 

 simply killing them, but if the maggot haB got so far as to 

 have eaten itself overhead, then do what you like the crop is 

 done for. 



It may or may not be news, but the fact is our colliers down 

 here are possessed of quite a craze after Leeks. I know of even 

 2d. a-piecs being offered for some, when in the seed pan, and 

 every village has, independent of other shows, its Leek show. 

 When criticised by our London dailies the poor pitman is 

 alwayB accompanied by his fighting dog. It is a libel. As a 

 specimen of these shows I should be so glad would you copy 

 the following report from our local paper ; I think it will prove 

 that the Durham pitman's taste lies in quite a commendable 

 direction. Just to finish, pray allow me to state that consider- 

 ing my remarks on manuring at the commencement of my 

 jottings I have avoided particularising about the separate cul- 

 tivation of the vegetables spoken of. In the report I wish it 

 to be particularly noticed that all the prizes are comprised of 

 useful household articles, which I like ; every time you see 

 them they create pleasure. Somehow you lose Bight oi money ; 

 it has wings, and ere you are aware it is flown.— J. Withek- 

 spoon, Bed Base Vineries, Chester-le-Street. 



P.S. — Pelton Fell Leek Show. — A Leek Show was held at 

 the house of Mr. Thomas Mason's, Hot Hills, Pelton Fell, when 

 a number of prizes were offered for competition. There was a 

 good number of entries, and the Leeks Bhown received high 

 commendation from all the visitors, as well as the professional 

 gentlemen who judged them. The following were the success- 

 ful competitors, and the prizes awarded to each :— For best 

 three Leeks, Thomas Batey, a cruet stand ; 2nd, John Fergu- 

 son, a coffee pot ; 3rd, John Studham, a teapot; 4th, Bobert 

 Appleton, a teapot; 5th, William Wishart, a cruet Btand ; 

 6th, John JohnBon, half dozen knives and forks; 7th, John 

 Barker, half-dozen table spoons ; 8th, George Amain, pair of 

 salts ; 9th, Thomas Mason, jun., pair of candlesticks; 10th, 

 Luke MaBon, pair of butter knives ; 11th, Joseph Wranguam, 

 bread board and knife; 12th, James Dixon, pair of candle- 

 sticks; 13 h, John English, a pocket knife; 11, Matthew Wass, 



