December 5, 1872. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



441 



are very handsome ; the first is large, the second smallish. 

 The latter is one of the best dark colours. 



Subject to what I have said, the selector cannot burn his 

 fingers. The best colours for foul weather are crimson, ma- 

 roon, and yellow. The light colours soil much in wet weather. 

 Instead of getting heaps of varieties (so called), find out what 

 are good and suitable to your situation, and accumulate those 

 sorts. I have only 1851 Boses here. They are all first-rate 

 and in good condition. One thousand Boses of good sorts, 

 well looked after, will afford more satisfaction than five thou- 

 sand picked at random and neglected. — W. F. Radclyefe. 



ELECTION OP STRAWBERRIES. 



[From Communications to the Rev. C. P. Peach.] 

 I send you the following, which according to my experience, 

 and from my ground, which is of a lightish deep soil on a 

 gravelly subsoil, are the best — viz. 



In a succession of twelve sorts for large gardens — 



Early Prolific, 



Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury, 



Sir Joseph Paxton, 



President, 



Scarlet Pine, 



Carolina Superba, 



In a succession of six, good croppers and to carry well, all 

 having good flavour' — 

 Early Prolific, 



Filbert Pine, 



British Queen, 



La Constante, 



Cockscomb, 



Frogmore Late Pine, 



Cutbill's Prince of Wales. 



President, 

 Scarlet Pine, 



La Constante, 

 Cockscomb, 

 Frogmore Late Pine. 



of mine, and not yet being 

 mentioned often, but it is 

 I hope, however, shortly to 



Early Prolific being a seedling 

 well known, will probably not be 

 quite the best early Strawberry. 



introduce a still earlier sort of first-rate quality, which I pro 

 pose to call Alpha, being as early as Black Prince, which is 

 now useless, except as an early forcer and to preserve. I keep 

 a few plants merely as a test of earliness. As to my new seed- 

 lings, then I have Semper Fidelis, a very large handsome 

 fruit, with a good deal of Queen blood, but very hardy, and an 

 immense cropper. This I calculate to entirely supersede all 

 others for main crop and market purposes. I have also En- 

 chantress, which is about a fortnight later than British Queen, 

 and — a great deal to say — better flavoured than that or any other 

 variety, including La Constante and Scarlet Pine. It is of 

 good size, beautiful in colour, and a good cropper. The above 

 have been under observation some four or five years, and I 

 hope next season to get time to go into the subject. I have 

 five or six others of great merit which I must keep back for the 

 present. Thanks to one of my seedlings, Excelsior, I have had 

 rip6 fruit in the open up to ten days ago. 



You will observe I have omitted Dr. Hogg from my lists. 

 For several years running I have found it to be very tender 

 in constitution, one-half the plants dying-off fast from cock- 

 chafer grub ; and the fruit, though of excellent quality, is so 

 defective in form, that I do not think it should be admitted 

 into any select list. — W. Bodes, Momingside, Kidderminster. 



I have resided twenty-two years in France, sixteen of them 

 in the neighbourhood of Fontainebleau, where I had to struggle 

 against soil and insects. My ground there was of a very light 

 hot nature, scarcely 1 foot deep, upon a limestone subsoil. Add 

 to this, scarcity of water, and, above all, the continual trouble 

 of the cockchafer grub, the greatest enemy to Strawberries, and 

 you can form an idea of my love of and perseverance in this 

 culture. I had, however, finally to give it up as a bad job, 

 and removed to Beauvais, where I took an old meadow with 

 alluvial soil, and partly stony and wet. Here my pets gave me 

 more satisfaction, inasmuch as I had water plentifully and no 

 grubs, and without that folly- — war, would very likely still be 

 there. I found it very uncomfortable to live in France after 

 peace was restored, people becoming more mad from day to 

 day, and resolved to return to my native city, where I now 

 am, and where Strawberry culture is still my favourite oc- 

 cupation. I have here a light sandy loam to the depth of 

 2 to 3 feet upon yellow sandy subsoil ; and in spite of the ex- 

 treme, drought of the past summer in this country, I am happy 

 to say that my pets thrive admirably. 



In making-up the enclosed list, I have taken as a rale to 

 give such sorts as have thus far given equal satisfaction both 

 in light and heavy land. I wish the time had arrived when 

 such valueless kinds as Black Prince, Keens' Seedling, Elton I 



Pine, and some others were no longer grown ; and I firmly 

 believe that a little good will on behalf of gardeners, an'd a 

 thorough knowledge of improved kinds, will ere long bring 

 about such desired result. It is true Keens' Seedling has some 

 merits, but I always found it deficient in size except at the 

 first picking, and when fully ripe it will not carry well. You 

 will see my list is not a long one. I might have added others 

 of great merit, but this will come by-and-by. 



I wish my friend Dr. Boden, of Kidderminster, would send 

 you a list ; he is one of the most competent and independent 

 judges, and grows Strawberries to perfection. In one of your 

 previous articles you mentioned Filbert Pine, once a great 

 favourite of mine, and it would still be such if I could grow 

 it in a proper soil. — Ferdinand Gloede, Eppendorf, Ham- 

 burgh. 



EABLY KINDS. 



No. 1 should be Early Prolific (Dr. Boden), unequalled as a 

 first early sort in every respect. 



Eclipse (Reeve). 



Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury, synonym of Prince Imperial, 

 and Marquise de Latour Maubourg. 



Gweniver (Mrs. Clements, the late wife of the Rev. Dalston 

 Clements). 



Sir Joseph Paxton (Bradley). — This ought to be at the head if 

 a little earlier; it is, however, quite a gem, and its raiser ought 

 to have a national reward. 



MIDDLE SEASON. 



Lucas (De Jonghe). 



La Constante (ditto). 



Carolina Superba (Kitley). 



James Veitch (Gloede). 



Her Majesty (Mrs. Clements). 



Empress Eugenie (Knevett), sometimes misnamed Black Bess. 



Sir Harry (Underbill), as an annual, a highly improved Keens' 

 Seedling. 



Sir Charles Napier (Smith). 



Souvenir de Kieff (De Jonghe). 



British Queen (Myatt), or in its place La Chalonnaise or Mr. 

 Radclyfie, which are of the same type. 



For a variety of colour, Bicton White Pine and LaReine, both 

 pinkish white. 



LATE KINDS. 



Belle de Paris, very large and late. A noble berry, though a 

 little soft. 



Cockscomb (Royal Gardens). 



Dr. Hogg, when well grown a grand Strawberry. 



Frogmore Late Pine, ditto. 



Aromatic, new fruit like Filbert, but plant healthier. 



Rifleman (Royal Gardens), this I should at any rate prefer to 

 Eleanor, which is handsome but sour. 



If quality is no objection I should grow Salter's Jucunda 

 instead of Eleanor, which is quite as late, of the noblest appear- 

 ance, and very large. 



My garden soil is light, and my selection gives those sorts 

 that like a light dry soil. Prince of Wales (Ingram), and La 

 Constante have spread from this place into all the large gar- 

 dens around me, succeed well in different soils, and are highly 

 valued. I do not care for Lucas ; unless it do better than it has 

 done for the last three years, the next season will be its last 

 here. Sir Joseph Paxton is large and fine, flavour excellent ; it 

 has a largo core, which is drawn out with difficulty, to the in- 

 jury of the fruit at times. I consider President the best of the 

 three. But for crop, flavour, hardiness, and continuance in 

 fruiting I decidedly prefer Prince of Wales (Ingram) ; it gives 

 an excellent crop from runners, and not one runner will fail 

 to fruit well. It is not oversweet and cloying, but sprightly, 

 fresh, juicy, with a pleasant Pine flavour — just the thing for a 

 hot summer's day; colour of flesh, bright red — just the thing 

 for preserving. I have taken friends around the garden tasting 

 my various sorts, and the vote has been given to Prince of 

 Wales as the best more than once. Mr. Dean, of the Bradford 

 Nurseries, Shipley, who was frequently engaged as a judge in 

 various shows, used every year to come here and taste the 

 various sorts, as every year I had, and have, some new kinds 

 on trial. On his last visit he said, " If I had your garden I 

 should grow Prince of Wales, Dr. Hogg, and La Constante, 

 and throw all the rest away." I fully agree with this choice 

 of three, but then they require special cultivation, particularly 

 the second and third, and it is only here and there that they 

 get it ; hence the cry of failure of Dr. Hogg, &e. I find no 

 failure, and gardeners do not like La Constante because it 

 does not grow great large leaves and look well ; yet it is the 

 best Strawberry in cultivation taken in all its points — hardy as 

 possible, never fails to fruit ; flowers on very short footstalks, 



