452 
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
to improve tlie Blackberry—whether by selection or intercrossing 
with the large fruited varieties, such as Bubus laciniatus, I leave 
to the experimentalists. We know that it will thrive on land 
not well suited for other crops, and that a good market has 
already been obtained for its fruit. 
To improve the records of experimental horticulture is even 
more important than an extension of the work ; for unless these 
are full and exact the experiments are shorn of much of their 
usefulness. When we read the records of a trial of vegetables 
we are naturally desirous of knowing, with some degree of 
exactitude, the chief points of difference between the varieties 
forming the trial; and this is usually a matter of difficulty, 
whether the report be a record of the trials at Chiswick or else¬ 
where. If we turn, for example, to the particulars of a new 
variety of Potato grown in a trial,* we shall learn something 
about its habit; whether it belongs to the early, mid-season, or 
late section; also whether it is a light, medium, or heavy 
cropper; whether it has tall haulm or short. But such general 
statements are of no great service to anyone, and should no 
longer have a place in a record of scientific investigations. 
Still taking the Potato as an example, we should in the case of 
a new variety have information as to the date of planting, the 
length of row, the number of sets in a row, the date on which 
the tubers were fit to lift, when the crop was ripe for lifting, and 
the weight of crop obtained from a given length of row, accom¬ 
panied by the same particulars of the standard variety grown 
alongside for comparison. In trials of well-known varieties these 
particulars should also, of course, be given. And what is said with 
regard to Potatos will apply mutatis nmtajidis to everything else. 
In the case of fruits full information should be given as to the 
weight or number of fruits produced in a given area, the exact 
time during which the produce is available ; and the best varieties 
in the several periods of the season should be clearly indicated. 
In the current issue of the Society’s Journal, for example, there 
are reports on the collections of Peaches and Raspberries, and 
embodied in them is much valuable information ; but the reports 
are less valuable than they would have been had the varieties 
been grouped according to their respective seasons, and carefully 
prepared selections given, to show at a glance the best varieties 
for maintaining a successional supply, and thus furnished exactly 
