398 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ November 22, 1877. 



H. orientalia, blrab ; H. atrc-rubens, purple reel; andH. olym- 

 piens, white and red, tre all suitable. — A. 



GEOS COLMAN GKAPE. 



With reference to your note at page 387 of last week's 

 issue, c _I beg to say that Gros Colman is a somewhat stubborn 

 Grape'^to deal with, and more especially to colour well, but for 

 the laBt four years we have had no difficulty in this respect, 

 and to accomplish which we have simply allowed the lateral 

 shoots to extend themselves as much as possible a week or two 

 previous to colouring, and when colouring had commenced 

 never removing a lateral from the Vine. This coupled with a 

 reasonable amount of fire heat I believe to have conduced to 

 perfect finish. Gros Colman is essentially the market grower's 

 Grape, being extraordinarily prolific, of grand appearance, and 

 when fully ripened a long way above second-rate in flavour. 

 We have had it in fine condition up to the end of January, and 

 hope to keep it much longer this season. — W. Wildshith, 

 Heclfield. 



AURICULA NOTES. 



I have now been a grower of Auriculas on and off for upwards 

 of forty years, for I began their culture very early, but I have 

 never gone through such an experience as this year. I have 

 grown them on a windy bank overlooking the sea, in the back 

 garden of a town house, and in other places quite favourable 

 to success. My collection at time3 has only amounted to a few 

 dozen, at others it has filled several frames ; but all through 

 those long years, as I look back on them and remember grate- 

 fully the pleasure I have derived from them (like all pleasures, 

 bringing their troubles with them), never have the trouble, 

 worry, and I033 been so great as this year. I have already 

 recounted my woes, but as the experience I have gained may 

 be of use to others I may be excused if I refer to them again 

 while stating their present condition, for I am not one of those 

 favoured individuals that never have anything go wrong with 

 them. One thing I do happen to know, and that is that others 

 have suffered in some degree like myself, and that therefore 

 there may be more to whom my experience may be a warning. 



I began my winter Beason this time last year with about the 

 best collection of Auriculas I ever possessed both as to quantity 

 and quality ; but as the weeks wont on I noticed with a great 

 many that set appearance which Mr. Horner speaks of, and of 

 which I did not then know the cause. They made no signs 

 of growth, and yet I could see no mark of drip or over-wetness 

 which one might have naturally expected in such a season as 

 last winter, and it was not until my attention was directed to 

 the remarks about the woolly aphis in the Journal that I sus- 

 pected what was really the matter. I hurried down to my 

 frames and turned a pot out, and there sure enough was the 

 «nemy, or rather the signs of his presence, for I had not yet 

 detected the aphis itself. I hardly knew what to do. The 

 time of year was most dangerous for turning them out and 

 repotting, and as I found by examination that all were not 

 affected I hoped that the peBt might not spread ; nor do I 

 4hink it did. Those already affected were apparently past 

 hope : I therefore left them until early in May, when I repotted. 

 This I did very carefully as I imagined, shaking the roots well 

 out and washing them in Gishurst and water aa I had been 

 recommended ; they were then placed in their summer quarters 

 and I hoped were safe. My horror was great, on examining 

 one or two of the pots in July, to find that the aphis was 

 present in the most abnndant and flourishing manner. My 

 determination was soon made, and every one of the plants was 

 turned out and potted again. This time I resorted to no 

 half measures which I had proved to be so ineffective, and 

 separately washed all the roots and the collars of the plants 

 in the creases of which the aphides might find a home, and 

 again placed them in their summer quarters. This was a ven- 

 turesome proceeding, the question naturally occurring, Would 

 the plants have the power of throwing out a sufficient quantity 

 of roots to nourish the plants after the effort they had made 

 to establish themselves after the first potting ? I am now 

 (November 10th) tolerably well satisfied with the result. I do 

 not mean to say either that my collection looks as well as it 

 ought to do or as well as I have seen it in other years, but still, 

 after all it has undergone I am contented. 



One thing this misfortune has led me to do, and the only 

 wonder to me now is that I have never done it before, and that 

 is to build a low house for my plants, so that I can get into it 



in all weathers and give air without any danger of rain beating 

 in. For a few pounds I managed to convert my old pit into 

 this new one, and look forward, if I am spared, to enjoying my 

 Auriculas as I have never done before. Moreover, thoBe who 

 come to see them will have the opportunity of doing so with 

 greater ease and comfort than when they were on the ordinary 

 stage on which I have heretofore bloomed them. 



Another result of this twofold potting is, that I have had 

 no autumn blooming ; with the exception of a couple of General 

 Neill and the same of Unique, which are always prone to do 

 this, there have been none. But then the question is, What 

 spring blooming shall I have ? and it is of no use to say any- 

 thing of the effect of this double potting until the bloom next 

 year is over. — D., Deal. 



THE POTATO CEOP. 



This garden was filled with diseased Potatoes in 1876, and 

 I trenched it and applied ashes mixed with paraffin, and dusted 

 the ground with lime, and used sometimes refuse from the 

 fowl houses and a little stable manure. I planted a peck of 

 Snowflake from Carter's (cut) on March 22nd, and took up 

 180 lbs. of large Potatoes, 120 lbs. of seed, and 30 lbs. of small 

 on August 6th. There were ten diseased Potatoes among them. 

 They are keeping splendidly, and when cooked they are as 

 balls of flour. I planted Ashleaf Kidney March 12th, and 

 took up a good crop on August 2nd ; planted York Regents 

 March 22od, and took up a fair crop August 8th. Altogether 

 we had 60 lbs. of diseased tubers and about a ton of eating 

 Potatoes and seed. 



The disease began in the tops on August 1st, and though 

 the Potatoes were not then ripe we set to work and lifted at 

 once, spreading them out thinly with a sprinkling of coal ashes. 

 They are all keeping excellently, and the quality is first-rate. 

 One of my neighbours who also trenched his garden had 

 hardly any disease. Everyone else suffered terribly in the 

 neighbourhood of Bath. — H. H. 



MR. EICHA.RD SMITH'S NURSERY AT 



ST. JOHN'S, WORCESTER. 



Pakt II.— THE FBUIT QUABTEB AND THE WOECE3TEK PEABMAIN. 



Let the truth be told. I had come to Worcester especially 

 to see the fruit trees, for being an ardent pomologist both as 

 regards the literature and practice of that science I wanted to 

 see the best example of the latter that it was possible for me 

 to set eyes on. When, therefore, Cox said to his master, 

 " Shall we go, sir, to the fruit quarter now?" and the master 

 said, " Yes, by all means," I own I pricked up my ears and 

 hastened my steps. 



There are at -St. John's 50 acres of fruit trees. " Think of 

 that, Hal ! think of that !" Then the climate is very suitable, 

 and as to the soil it seems to be made for growing fruit trees. 

 The wood of the trees is throughout the nursery clean and 

 bright as to bark, the wood of the year of extraordinary length, 

 sometimes 8 feet and more, also thick and hard to the feel, 

 being well ripened. The trees are like healthy well-fed 

 children, who, of course, make the healthiest and strongest 

 men and women. I never saw such an enormous growth for 

 one year, and as was the growth of the Apples so of the Apri- 

 cots, Peaches, and the rest. I walked round several patches 

 of trees to Bee if there was any admixture, because if mixed 

 they do not, of course, come " true to name," and then buyers 

 are disappointed ; but I could not find a "rogue " or a Judas 

 among them. I can only liken each patch to a regiment of 

 foot soldiers placed in a square. You walk round such a regi- 

 ment, you see that all the uniforms are the same and the 

 " facings " the same. If a soldier of another regiment were 

 present you would detect his presence at a glance. So of eaoh 

 fruit-tree patch. Say, for example, if they be Lord Suffields, 

 I notice wood, growth, habit, leaf ; I should see one of another 

 variety if it were there, but it was not. Three times a-year 

 the trees are carefully inspected, so as to find out any possible 

 mistake, and it is this care, added to the healthiness of the 

 trees from St. John's (and, as said above, if a child is healthy 

 as a child it will be healthy as a man), that is one great reason 

 of Mr. Smith's success and of the vast sale of his trees. Aa 

 I have given a dozen of the best Roses as seen at St. John's, 

 so I would name a few of the best Apples. 



Early Dessert — White Transparent ; Early Margaret, pretty 

 on the dish and pleasing to the palate ; Irish Peach, Al among 

 August Apples. Early Kitohen — Worcester Pearmain, bitohen 



