108 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ August S, 1872. 



Liudley has stated, is rich scarlet, melting into golden yellow, 

 both at base and apex ; the calyx is about half an inch deep, 

 and of an intensely vivid green. Just imagine what the effect 

 of a well-grown specimen of this plant would be ; I cannot 

 imagine anything that I know in the vegetable kingdom which 

 "would be more enchanting. 



Lisianthus princeps belongs to the order Gentianaeeaa, and 

 is a native of New Grenada, where it grows at some 10-11,000 

 feet above the level of the sea, and consequently in a somewhat 

 cool atmosphere ; therefore it must not under cultivation be 

 subjected to excessive heat, but a sheltered and cool place in 

 an intermediate house will be found to suit it well. The soil 

 should be composed of loam, peat, and sand in about equal 

 parts, and the pots must be well drained. These plants in 

 general do not like large shifts, but rather prefer repotting 

 three or four times in the course of the season. During the 

 early part of summer water abundantly, but as autumn ap- 

 proaches gradually withhold the supply, whilst during the 

 winter months it must be administered very sparingly ; at the 

 same time care and discretion must be exercised to prevent 

 the plant suffering and becoming unsightly. The growth com- 

 mences as soon as the flowers fall, and during the early part 

 of the growing season water should be given freely. 



I hope soon to see this plant again in cultivation, for although 

 I am fully aware it will require attention to develope its beau- 

 ties, yet these are so great and rare that I am equally certain 

 it will become a general favourite when known. If we can 

 only persuade a Baines, a Cole, or a Ward to become its cham- 

 pion, there will be no fear of its being lost again to our collec- 

 tions, and we shall have a novelty indeed for our exhibition 

 tents. — Expeeto Cbede. 



STRAWBERRIES ON A LIGHT SOIL. 



As my method of treating Strawberries in a light soil differs 

 somewhat from that of Mr. Douglas, and as I have been very 

 successful since I have followed the plan which I now pursue, 

 in having both fine fruit and large crops, I venture to add a 

 few more notes to those that have already appeared in your 

 columns. 



I begin by stating that my soil is a light sandy loam, with- 

 out a particle of clay, on a sandy subsoil. There is a fair 

 depth of garden loam before getting to the sand, and the sand 

 below is a deep bed of pure and very fine sand from 15 to 

 18 feet in thickness, which, without being wet, is yet retentive 

 of moisture ; the consequence is, the upper soil does not burn 

 up or erack'so much as if it were on a gravelly subsoil. I am 

 particular in stating the nature of the soil, as the whole 

 method of treating Strawberries entirely depends upon the 

 quality both of the soil and subsoil, and I do not think there 

 is any soil whatever that may not be made to grow good 

 Strawberries, provided the proper treatment is adopted.. 



My plan on my own soil is this : I either select runners and 

 peg them in 4-inch pots plunged in the beds, and do not cut 

 them off the parent plants till they are well rooted ; or, if I 

 am getting fresh sorts from nurserymen or elsewhere, I plant 

 them out for a short time under a frame, keeping them rather 

 close and well watered till they make fresh roots, and then ex- 

 posing them fully to the air previous to transplanting. I 

 prepare my beds by digging-in well-decomposed manure only 

 one spit deep, not two, as I do not wish the roots to go deep 

 down, and then I roR or tread the beds previous to planting, 

 as if for sowing Onions. 



I never attempt to get a crop the first year after planting, 

 and I do not plant-out till the end of August or the beginning 

 of September, when the young plants are not so liable to suffer 

 from bright sun and flagging leaves, with the usual accompani- 

 ment of red spider. The plants, being either planted-out from 

 pots or ball-planted from the frames, do not require much 

 further attention, and on the approach of winter I mulch the 

 beds over with short manure. This I rake off in April, so as 

 to allow all the sun and air I can in the spring months, but I 

 do not fork the beds over. The first year I always have a few 

 fruit, not many, but I depend on my crops for the second and 

 third years. I follow the same system of mulching with short 

 manure, and taking it off the following spring, with all beds 

 whatever their age, care being taken each autumn after fruit- 

 ing to take all the runners off the plants, and to separate them 

 again to single plants. 



If the weather is dry during the flowering season I give the 

 beds a good soaking of water, and then cover with a coating of 

 ■ chopped straw to prevent evaporation ; it is also a very clean 



material for the Strawberries to fruit on, and prevents slugs and 

 snails working amongst it, especially if some barley chaff be 

 mixed among the straw. I merely chop the straw through an 

 ordinary chaff-cutter set to cut rather long, and it will be 

 found much easier to put among the plants than long straw, as 

 there is not the same chance of breaking off the flowering 

 shoots, for it can easily be shaken in among the leaves ; it 

 is much better than the short grass from lawns, as it does 

 not turn damp and mouldy. It is better to put it on while the 

 plants are in flower, as it saves the green fruit from being 

 splashed with dirt in heavy showers. 



By adopting this method of treatment I have fruited beds 

 four years in succession without any apparent diminution of 

 crop. This year I could see no difference between two, three, 

 and four-year-old beds. I have one bed which I have kept on 

 now for seven years in succession to test the system, and 

 though the plants are getting rather worn-out in one place, 

 yet over the greater part of the bed the crops were very good 

 indeed. I counted 92, 87, 95 fruit all fully developed on three 

 plants in succession on this old bed. 



I have said nothing as yet about the distance between the 

 plants. I plant in beds, three rows in abed, 2 feet between 

 the rows, and 20 inches between the plants. 



I have had twenty sorts fruiting this year — namely, Sir J. 

 Paxton, Rivers's Eliza, Carolina Superba, Eleanor, President, 

 Black Bess, Progmore Late Pine, Mr. Badclyffe, Dr. Hogg, 

 British Queen, La Constante, Fairy Queen, Cockscomb, Ananas 

 Perpetuel, Bonne Bouche, John Powell, Triomphe de Paris, 

 Princess Dagmar, Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury, Lucas, and 

 Filbert Pine. 



Of these the best for general cropping are Sir J. Paxton, 

 Rivers's Eliza, Carolina Superba, Lucas, Filbert Pine, Dr. 

 Hogg, Bonne Bouche. I do not care about Vicomtesse Heri- 

 cart de Thury ; it is good for early bearing and preserving, but 

 only indifferent in point of flavour. Frogmore Late Pine is 

 with me too hard in the flesh, and takes too long to ripen ; 

 Ananas Perpetuel no use ; and La Constante too small. Mr. 

 Radclyffe is almost identical with Dr. Hogg. Cockscomb has 

 been enormous in point of size with me, but a very coarse, 

 ugly-looking fruit ; it is, however, a good-flavoured variety. 

 Bonne Bouche is also a free bearer, and a fine quality of fruit. 

 But to my mind nothing beats Lucas ; it is a fine-flavoured 

 fruit, good in shape, and a good cropper. The same may be 

 said for Filbert Pine, but the colour of the Strawberry is not 

 so good. For general utility no Strawberry beats Sir J. Paxton. 

 It is a good preserver, a firm fruit that carries well, and a very- 

 sure bearer, and no handsomer fruit is grown either for size, 

 shape, or colour; it is not, however, so fine a flavoured fruit 

 as Lucas or British Queen. Princess Dagmar is a small firm 

 fruit, with a slight touch of Hautbois flavour in it. Triomphe 

 de Paris is also a high-flavoured fruit ; so is Fairy Queen, but 

 both are small when compared with such fruit as Sir J. Paxton 

 or Dr. Hogg. 



To sum up. Those who wish to succeed with Strawberries 

 on a light soil may do so by keeping the soil firm about the 

 roots, mulching with manure in winter, never forking or digging 

 among the plants, but hoeing or hand-weeding to keep the weeds 

 down. Separate the plants by removing all runners immedi- 

 ately after the fruiting season is over, and allow sun and air to 

 play among them in May and June up to the flowering season, 

 then mulch with the chopped straw. 



I quite agree with " J. W.'s" remarks (page 91), that the 

 Strawberry season is too short. Myatt's Eleanor is the latest 

 here, but the quality is only second-rate ; it is, however, to my 

 mind, much superior to either Frogmore Late Pine or Black 

 Bess, but it is very likely the last two do not suit my soil. — 

 C. P. Peach, Appleton-le-Strect, Malton, Yorkshire. 



Lakge Westekn Plane. — As the great Western Plane (Pla- 

 tanus occidentalis) is yearly becoming a greater favourite with 

 planters, and as some of your readers may not be aware of 

 the magnitude to which under favourable circumstances these 

 trees attain, the dimensions of one now growing in these gar- 

 dens may be interesting. Height, 94 feet ; spread of branches, 

 60 feet each way from trunk ; size of bole at 1 foot from the 

 ground, 22 feet 6 inches ; at 14 feet, 19 feet 4 inches. Here 

 this great tree brauches out into four distinct trunks, the 

 smallest S and the largest 9 feet 6 inches in circumference. 

 The tree is in excellent health, and to lovers of fine trees well 

 worth a journey to see. Perhaps some of your readers having 

 large Planes will give then' dimensions, as I fancy this is tko 



