450 
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
weight of fruit produced by the different varieties under ordinary 
good cultivation. Such loose statements as “ good croppers,” 
“ moderate croppers,” and “poor croppers” no louger suffice, 
and should be carefully avoided in future by all experimen¬ 
talists. 
Information equally valuable would be obtained from the 
cultivation of type collections of vegetables, as they would serve 
the purpose of object lessons and as standards of comparison 
with new forms. 
The scope for scientific investigations in horticulture far 
exceeds that which is generally considered necessary, and there 
are questions awaiting solution that would fully occupy the 
staff of a properly equipped station for, say, ten years. We are 
in great need of more exact information on the use of artificial 
and natural manures in the cultivation of the various fruit and 
vegetable crops on the different soils, and until this is forth¬ 
coming there must continue to be much waste. Not less 
necessary is it that the various remedies for insecj; pests should 
be fully investigated under a diversity of conditions ; and in 
view of the importance of the Onion crop as a commercial 
product it is desirable that it should be determined by systematic 
experiment whether the Onion-fly, whose grubs do damage to 
the extent of some thousands of pounds sterling annually, can 
be checkmated by autumn and winter sowings. If this question 
be decided in the affirmative it will be necessary to ascertain on 
what soils the change in the time of sowing can be successfully 
made, and the difference in point of time that the produce of 
autumn, winter, and spring sowings can be had in usable 
conditions. Then if we turn to the diseases of other crops it 
will be generally acknowledged that it is time a serious attempt 
be made to grapple with that terrible scourge popularly known 
as club-root, and other evils which involve heavy losses 
annually. 
These and some other experiments to be thoroughly success¬ 
ful must be conducted on definite lines by a central body in 
widely different districts, and consequently under varying con¬ 
ditions of soil and climate. It is for this reason that I strongly 
advise co-operation amongst experimentalists, or where that is not 
practicable of arranging for experiments to be made under proper 
supervision in different districts. When trials of manure are made 
