March 19, 1898. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



and nights ; this will be found better for the plants than trying to keep up to the 

 maximum temperature by means of excessive heat in the pipes. — J. Tunnington, 



Ritlev Castle Gardens. 



Af KITCHEN GARDEN. 



In the southern counties and in warm situations it will be necessary to 

 commence putting out plants that have been protected in frames through the 

 winter or have been raised under glass. Cauliflowers should be the first to 

 command attention, as most of the plants raised from seed sown in the autumn 

 have grown large ; great care must be exercised in transferring them to the open 

 quarters, removing them with balls of earth attached if possible, for should they 

 flag to any considerable extent in all probability bolting will take place. If potted 

 as previously advised they may be planted out without any fear of their suffering 

 through disturbance, but when planted from the open frame protection of some 

 kind must be afforded until the roots are running in the soil. Should the 

 weather be showery at the time of planting, this may be dispensed with, but if 

 the sun is bright in the daytime an inverted flower-pot put over each plant will 

 materially check evaporation. Plants raised from seed sown in January should be 

 thoroughly hardened off before being planted out, otherwise they will suffer con- 

 siderably. Lettuces that have been afforded the protection of a cold frame, and 

 those that were pricked out on the open borders in the autumn should now be 

 planted out, while plants raised from seed that was sown in heat should be 

 hardened off that they may be ready whenever a favourable opportunity occurs for 

 planting. Where new plantations of Globe Artichokes have to be made, the present 

 is a favourable time to perform the work. In all private establishments a portion 

 of the stock should betaken up and replanted each year. This will not only keep 

 the plants in a healthy condition, but will prolong the season of this useful 

 vegetable. The present winter has been favourable to this vegetable, the 

 young growths being well advanced at the present time. Those springing from 

 the old stems near the surface should be discarded, as these seldom produce fine 

 fleshy heads ; rather choose those that start the lowest, as such will grow away 

 more freely and send up stronger flower stalks. If these are planted in rows 

 three feet apart and kept well watered until roots are formed, the plants will then 

 take care of themselves. A dwarf crop of some kind may be taken from between 

 the rows, such as turnips or lettuce. Artichokes like good ground, in fact it 

 cannot be well too rich ; and for this reason, when it is of a questionable character, 

 give a good top-dressing of thoroughly decayed manure. 



Jerusalem artichokes may now be planted, choosing medium-sized sets, and 

 planting them in an open place. Often the crop of these is unsatisfactory, as 

 they are planted too much in the shade, and not allowing sufficient room. 

 Though artichokes will grow almost anywhere, far better results will be obtained 

 if a sunny spot is chosen for them, and a distance of two feet six inches or three 

 feet allowed between the rows, and half that distance between the sets. Horse 

 radish is also another neglected vegetable, being often put out in any out-of-the- 

 way place, instead of cultivated in rows properly. The whole of the old bed 

 should be taken up, selecting those roots that are large enough for use, and laying 

 them in by themselves. Those about the thickness of a man's finger ought to be 

 selected for sets, and after rubbing off all the small rootlets, plant in rows two 

 feet apart, allowing a distance of nine inches between the plants. The ground for 

 this crop cannot be too rich, therefore, previous to planting, it should be liberally 

 manured and deeply trenched. Those who have not yet planted their seakale 

 sets should lose no time in doing so ; for, though they will not start into growth 

 until the soil is warmer, roots will commence to form, and growth will be more 

 rapid later on. There is much art in getting large well-matured crowns for early 

 forcing, particularly on poor ground, and unless a good start is made, there is not 

 time for growth to mature. Asparagus beds ought to have the surface slightly 

 loosened, that the sun's rays may the more readily warm the soil and encourage 

 the growths. Whenever the soil is sufficiently dry on the surface, run the hoe 

 through all growing crops, such as spinach, cabbage, parsley, onions, &c. If 

 these are afterwards dressed with artificial manure, they will grow away far more 

 rapidly. Attend to sowing small seeds, such as spinach, lettuce, radishes, 

 brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, and parsnips, whenever the weather is 

 favourable.— H. C. Prinsep, Buxted Park Gardens. 



FRUITS UNDER GLASS. 



Peach trees in all stages of growth will require considerable attention as to 

 the manipulation of both wood and fruits, early trees having had the fruits thinned 

 and shoots disbudded down to the number requisite for a crop, and growths laid 

 in to furnish a supply of bearing wood for next year. The latter will require 

 tying in carefully, so that it may be evenly distributed over the trees and in a 

 proper direction to preserve the general trend of the branches outward. Mis- 

 placed growths which have been left on to draw sap to any fruits left at their 

 bases should be kept rigorously pinched in. Personally, I rarely find it necessary, 

 except in the case of very shy bearing varieties, to preserve any of such shoots. 

 As regards thinning the fruits, past experience will be the best guide as to whether 

 they may be safely reduced to the number needed for a crop, before stoning, or 

 whether a certain percentage must be allowed for dropping during that process ; 

 in some gardens no such reserve is necessary, while in others it would be unwise 

 not to leave it. During stoning there should be no raising of the temperature, 

 this being the best means of counteracting any tendency to dropping ; 55 degrees 

 as a maximum night temperature may be considered safe. See that the roots are 

 kept sufficiently^ moist, and that the trees are syringed freely when the weather 

 is favourable, this being the best means of keeping down red spider. Mid-season 

 trees should have the surplus shoots removed by degrees until disbudding is 

 finished, but I do not recommend great hurry in this work, but prefer to spread 

 the work over several weeks. The main point to bear in mind when disbudding 

 peach trees is to carefully reserve a well- placed shoot near the base of last year's 

 growth and another near the end of such growth, though it may be necessary 

 tor fully furnishing the trees to allow also a few intermediate shoots to form, but 

 no shoots shoiild be retained eventually without a definite reason for their reten- 

 tion, as crowding the trees with surplus growths is very bad management, 

 resulting in weak and badly ripened wood. Trees in cold houses will now be in 

 bloom, or just passing out of that stage, and with these the work of thinning may 

 be begun at once, and soon brought to a close, first of all removing all embryo 

 lrmts from the under sides of the shoots, and then those worst placed on the upper 

 portions, keeping an eye to having the crop evenly distributed over the trees, at 

 about one foot apart. During the bitter east winds prevalent in March it is no 

 U f COI ??™ on thin g to find > in ^ese cold and oftimes draughty houses, that an attack 

 01 mildew has set in almost before the trees have begun to grow, and this necessi- 

 a j S -rf ^ w atch being kept on the tiny shoots of such varieties as Royal George 

 and Red Magdalen, which are peculiarly liable to mildew, and an application of 

 nowers of sulphur made to all shoots affected ; early attention to this will 

 prevent bad attacks. 



Where it isjintended to inarch new sorts of grapes on old stocks, it is best to 

 ave the new ones in the form of strone canes in pots ; these should be brought 



into the vinery and stood in position a week or two after the house is started, as 

 it is weU to have the stock in a slightly advanced stage of growth to that of the 

 scion. Piace the pot in such a position that the shoot selected can be easily 

 brought into connexion with a well-placed shoot on the stock, and when the 

 growth of both has advanced to a semi-hardened condition, take a corresponding 

 slice off the sides of either, taking care not to cut too deeply ; then bring the two 

 cut surfaces together, and bind tightly with raffia. In about a month the stock 

 shoot may be cut back to within three or four leaves of the junction, and from 

 that time all the force will go to perfect the growth of the scion, so that it is 

 possible to grow quite a strong cane the first year. Where pot vines can be 

 spared for the work it will be found that inarching is far superior to grafting for 

 vines. Forward pine suckers may now be removed by twisting them out at the 

 point of union with the parent stem, and after having a few of the smallest leaves 

 stripped off, a small portion of the stem should be removed, when the sucker will 

 be ready for potting up.— J. C. Tallack, Livermere Park Gardens. 



The Struggle of Plants for Existence. 



In an able lecture given at the Ipswich Museum on the above subject, Mr. W. E. 

 Watkins, secretary of the Technical Education Committee, stated that food was 

 the first necessity of all living things, animal or vegetable, and the means employed 

 in obtaining that food gave rise to the greater part of the variety of life, or the 

 struggle for existence. Taking a twig of pine and burning it they would find that 

 the residue was a fine ash, which was all that remained of what the tree had 

 obtained from the soil. The rest of the wood had disappeared in smoke and gas 

 into the air. It was from the air that plants derived most of their food, taking it 

 in by the stomas, or leaf mouths ; after entrance the air circulated through a great 

 number of little cells, each of which was a microscopic chemical laboratory, where 

 the plant manufactured from the air its sugar, gum, starch, and cellulose. It was 

 the carbonic acid gas in the air that the plant utilised, and of this ingredient there 

 were only four parts in every ten thousand. Yet out of that their great forests and 

 fruitful cornfields were formed. During sunlight each of the little plane cells was 

 actively at work, using up the carbon, and allowing the oxygen to return to the 

 air. So while the plant was absorbing a gas that was very harmful to animal life, 

 it was giving back oxygen for animal consumption. The lecturer demonstrated by 

 experiment the process of absorption and manufacture alluded to, showing the 

 immense importance of air space for plants, and the necessity of avoiding crowding, 

 or weed aggression, that both rob the soil and air at the expense of the plant in 

 cultivation. So tiue was this that at Bramford crops of wheat and barley had 

 been grown for five years successively on unmanured land, and had produced 

 larger crops than elsewhere in the neighbourhood by simply keeping the land 

 clean and free from weeds, and enabling the plant to have a chance of getting the 

 cheapest of all foods — air. 



Mr. Watkins then turning to the fungi and bacteria, said that the mushroom 

 and the mould on jams were both true plants ; so also were bacteria. They were 

 totally unlike the green flowering plants, which were homely in their tastes, and 

 were content with water, air, and soil. The fungi and bacteria required highly 

 organised food stuffs. They fed upon the gums, sugar, &c, of the green plants, 

 and some particularly fastidious required even the blood of man for their susten- 

 ance. Throwing a succession of examples on the screen, their characteristics and 

 habitat were discussed. The cholera and anthrax bacteria were among the most 

 interesting. These plants were inconceivably small, and yet their work for good 

 or evil was inestimable. It had been observed that a single bacterium would split 

 itself into two bacteria in twenty minutes, and, if in a suitable medium, in eight 

 hours they would become upwards of sixteen millions. Each microbe worked 

 upon the blood as a ferment, splitting up the chemical components round it to 

 make food for itself. In its struggle for existence it attacked the life blood of the 

 animal, and the functions of the organs were disturbed. But there were other 

 bacteria that were useful to man, such, for example, as the microbe that curdled 

 the milk and enabled them to make cheese, and the fungi utilised for the pre- 

 paration of a green cheese. There was a generally prevalent idea that in some 

 cheeses the green streaks were caused by the use of copper wire. This was not 

 so ; the copper wire was used to make holes through the cheese, and the air in- 

 troduced the pencillium microbe that at once began to grow. It was precisely the 

 same kind of microbe as attached itself to damp boots, and the reason for the 

 mould on boots was because the blacking employed contained sugar. The white 

 fungus sometimes found on cheese was dung fungus, and indicated that the pro- 

 ducers of the cheese were not sufficiently clean and careful in their dairy work. 

 Very much allied to the bacteria were the yeast plants, which had been used so 

 long by man to produce a leavened loaf. These plants required oxygen, and to 

 obtain it they split up the sugar, and converted it into carbonic acid gas and 

 alcohol. The gas escaped from the vat, the alcohol mixed with the wort and con- 

 verted it into beer. 



Turning to parasitic plants, a variety were thrown upon the screen showing 

 how insidiously they worked and sapped the life of the plants to which they 

 attached themselves. Among these he enumerated the familiar u witches broom - 

 on cherry trees. The vine fungus and the means to combat it were also dealt with, 

 and a most interesting lecture concluded with some curious lantern slides exhibiting 

 the action of certain fungi, carnivorous plants, &c. 



Pruning Newly planted Fruit Trees.— Every year the question crops 



up Should newly-planted fruit trees be hard pruned or not? This inquiry 

 probably arises from the fact that fresh people are constantly taking to fruit culture, 

 and hardly know which course is the best to take. When at the Cobham vineries, 

 to which I recently referred, the manager said, 11 No matter how^strong the rods of 

 the newly-planted vines, I cut them hard back to the ground line, and let them 

 make entirely new rods." The result is strong root action also, so that the roots and 

 wood react upon each other to each other's best production. Precisely the same 

 thing occurs in newly-planted trees. If wanted to bear fruit immediately, without 

 consideration for their future welfare, then leave the wood growths alone after 

 planting. Very poor root action corresponds with poor wood growth, and 

 the buds generally are converted into fruit buds, which the following year carry 

 bloom, though much of it may be infertile ; but generally a crop results, and the 

 tree in consequence receives a check from which it is long recovering. Especially 

 in the case of standard trees, but the application is general, it being wisest to 

 cut back, say to one third their length, the heads as received from the nursery. 

 Thus the' new branches are fairly stout and well leaved, creating strong sap action, 

 which aids strong root action also. It is of the highest importance to secure strong 

 growth both top and bottom at first, even if, a few years later, lifting or rod pruning 

 be needful to check wood development. The wood must be first secured in any 

 case and if later found to be too luxuriant, root check will soon bring fruitfulness. 

 Into the culture of fruit trees for any purposes, much that seems to be artificial 

 treatment must inevitably be applied ; but whilst Nature's chief aim seems to be the 



wood 



A. D. 



