246 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ March 26, 1885. 
assistance may be afforded beginners in thinning if they notic e 
the footstalks of the berries; when long as many more 
berries may be left, as they rise up when they swell. Short- 
stalked stiff kinds, such as Lady Downe’s, require to be thinned 
so that they look thinner than Black Hamburghs require to do, 
as the latter are long-stalked and can make room for themselves, 
while the Lady Downe’s would just become quite crowded. Of 
course it is of use to remember that Lady Downe’s and Muscats 
are liable to lose a few berries by scalding, as a little allowance 
may be made for that, but with cool treatment during the scald¬ 
ing period very few need be lost that way. Close attention is 
needed when thinning Grapes, so that some other bunch many 
not be getting polished by contact with the head or arm. 
Gros Colman, Duke of Buccleuch, and Canon Hall, when it 
is properly set—a not very frequent occurrence unfortunately— 
all require to be thinned to an extent that hardly any beginner 
can bring himself to do at first, consequently they have often to 
be gone over again, until room for their noble berries is obtained. 
Muscats should not be thinned until fully larger than other kinds 
require to be, as it is sometimes difficult to determine which are 
the properly set berries. A good syringing the night before com¬ 
mencing to thin, especially with such varieties as Lady Downe’s 
and Alicante, is a great help, as it clears away the remains of 
the flowers. 
Great care, patience, and perseverance are required in thin¬ 
ning; but practice makes perfect with it as with other opera¬ 
tions.—X. 
TRENCHING GROUND. 
I have read with great pleasure, and I hope some profit, the various 
opinions on this important operation which have of late appeared in your 
valuable Journal. I have been an enthusiast in trenching land for many 
and various crops, but for Strawberries more particularly. A few years back 
I was induced, very reluctantly, through pressure of work, to dig the land 
deeply and plant a break of Strawberries. After being planted in August 
they grew most luxuriantly, and when they came to perfection they were 
wonderfully productive. This put me to the blush, and I thought of the 
labour I had wasted and the time taken up in a very busy season. I have 
now lived to learn better, and am quite with Mr. Iggulden in all he says 
except one thing—that is, he tells your readers the gardens at Burghley 
are so productive that we have only “ to tickle the surface.” There he 
is in error. It is quite true that I dig less than most gardeners, generally 
preferring to cultivate the land with a tool we call a cultivator. Mr. 
Iggulden tells us that his garden is 4 acres, and that he has served one, 
and sometimes two families. Here our gardens are 14 acres, and I have 
all this winter supplied eight noblemen and gentlemen’s kitchens, so that 
this “ tickling ” business is not the ridiculous thing that Mr. Iggulden 
appears to make it. 
I may add that trenching for spring Broccoli is a most dangerous 
system, but bear in mind I have never done this for twenty years° past, 
always preferring late planting in firm land on the crowbar system.— 
R. Gilbert, Burgley. 
It is not my desire to take up valuable space in the Journal with 
anything further associated with the good old practice of trenching than 
merely to elucidate the benefits of deep tilth for vegetables, which has, 
according to my observation, at all times given a substantial reward. It 
is true I did not add Beet to the many other crops which do well in deep 
cultivated land. I now do so, aDd by sowing about two months later on 
soil similar to what the Parsnips did so well in then these roots were 
excellent, with clean growth, not thick, quite free from fibre, and with 
none of the objectionable “stringiness” so common to roots sown in 
shallow soil. Three roots to one could not be grown on the same space 
as those referred to on the fresh but comparatively poor bottom spit of 
soil turned to the surface. The crops were not thinned so much as the 
(at first) more vigorous crops on the richer surface, and we had length of 
roots more tender, free from forking, which were much admired by an ex¬ 
perienced French cook. So were the Cabbages, Potatoes, Leeks, Lettuces, 
kc., on the deep newly turned-up soil. I have, for special purposes, trenched 
three spades deep, and never regretted doing so except once, about twenty 
years ago, when some inert soil was inadvertently brought to the surface, 
which was objectionable for a season. The cost of the experiment has 
also been of moment to me, and often having to do my labour by the piece I 
at no time had reason to regret any extra manipulation which gave deep 
tilth. I never considered it a waste of time and means, but quite the 
reverse. 
• f great men being radically wrong, I do not believe in the 
infallibility of the greatest of men. Like our preceptor I, also, had fair 
opportunities of contrasting the practices of growers. While being 
employed when a youth in London market grounds it seemed a matter 
quim free from mystery that cultivators who dealt liberally with their 
ground were the men who reaped the highest reward, and in some of these 
highly cultivated vegetable farms one might push a spade down nearly 
.1 feet into rich mellow soil. All marketmen with whom I have been 
acquainted place much value on deep land. 
. 1 bat Broccoli crops are often destroyed in private and not in market gardens 
is no exaggeration, and I here admit that I often have put Broccoli into 
the ground with an iron red because of the hardness of the soil, and the 
Broccoli has, by its sturdy habit, resisted the severest frosts known in this 
country. Still, that is no reason why we should not trench deeply for 
vegetables which have to resist drought in summer. Then the question 
about fruit trees. If I wished free succulent growth and bulk in timber 
I would also trench deeply for them ; but to secure abundance of healthy 
blossom, to set well and give a good harvest of fruit, I would drain well, 
and probably make the ground as firm as possible, and keep the roots 
near the surface. However, the size cf trees required, altitude, nature of 
soil, and latitude would direct in a great measure my procedure when 
planting and treating these to secure a fruitful habit. When I wish to 
save seeds of vegetables I do not aim at deep tilth, but place them in a 
warm dry position, and prefer, as a rule, shallow and firm soil. It is not 
always in the power of cultivators to expend more labour on and add the 
various materials recommended by me, and some are kept very short of 
manure; but if they adopt a system of deep cultivation difficulties are 
often met and conquered. Here ends my reply to Mr. Iggulden’s remarks 
Fig. 41-Stylidium amcenttm. 
on what I have adduced as a remunerative and satisfactory system of 
manipulating soil for vegetables.—M. Temple. 
[Another article on this subject is crowded out.] 
STYL1DIUM AMCENUM. 
This plant is one of several species of the same genus from the Swan 
River colony, and was, we believe, collected by Mr. Drummond, who 
sent over so many of the fine plants of that country which now ornament 
our greenhouses and conservatories. The Stylidium amoenum, without 
the gaiety of some New Holland shrubs, is decidedly pretty, and must 
be a desirable addition to this class of plants. It blooms in June. The 
Stylidium nudum of Lindley is considered to be synonymous with it. 
It is a perennial herb, having at the surface of the soil a rosulate 
