March 27, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
255 
as before to prevent evaporation from the surface. If the covering is too 
thick, and the surface of the bed kept too warm—approaching 70°—the 
spawn will probably soon be too “palpable” on the surface, its presence 
there in large quantity not indicating a productive and long-lasting bed. 
Warm water is not, as a rule, used by market gardeners in watering Mush¬ 
room beds, except it is warmed by exposure to the sun in tubs or tanks. 
Under good management they do not need watering in cold weather, as if 
the manure and soil are properly moist when used, sufficient moisture can 
be conserved by the coverings and damping the litter as may be needed. 
Syringing Vine3 (J. T. S.). —No rule-of-thumb practice such as syring¬ 
ing twice a day, or once a day, can be laid down. Many persons grow excel¬ 
lent Grapes without syringing at all, others produce them by indulging 
freely in the use of the syringe. It is safe until the growth has fairly started 
to syringe the rods once or twice a day according to the brightness of the 
weather, the afternoon syringing always being done soon enough for the 
Vines to dry before night. On dull days Vines do not need syringing, nor 
do they after the foliage expands if a moist yet buoyant atmosphere is 
maintained. Systematically syringing Vines with water that contains much 
lime is in our opinion decidedly more injurious than beneficial. 
Heating Melon House {Idem ).—Three rows of hot-water pipes enclosed 
under the bed are excessive—that is, if the water circulates properly and is 
heated sufficiently for affording the requisite top heat from the pipe along 
the front of the bed; and if the water does not circulate freely there has 
been a mistake somewhere in arranging the pipes or setting the boiler. The 
distance of the pipes from the bed is not material, but so far as we under¬ 
stand your case we should certainly have apertures in the side of the 
chamber for allowing quite half the heat from the pipes to warm the atmo¬ 
sphere of the house. If you have placed the whole thickness of 12 to 
14 inches of soil in the bed at once you have acted contrary to the practice of 
all good gardeners and their teachings in this Journal. A thin layer of soil 
is all that is needed at first, say 2 to 3 inches. Mounds are then formed 
containing half a bushel of soil or little more at suitable intervals for 
planting. In this way the soil is soon warmed, but by placing in the whole 
bulk at once the heating of it must necessarily be a much slower process. 
As the roots of the plants protrude through the mounds they are covered 
with inch layers of warmed soil until the prescribed space is occupied, and 
with otherwise good management the plants grow with great rapidity. 
Names of Plants {II. B .).—Scilla bifolia alba. (G. C. S.). —The yellow 
Sower is Doronicum caucasicum, the Caucasian Leopard’s-Bane. The other 
is Saxifraga ciliata. {E. M. P.). —The plant is a fungus known botanically 
as Cyathus vernicosus. {J. B.). —1, Asplenium cicutarium; 2, Too much 
withered; 3, Dendrobium Pierardi. {J.McN .).—Comparettia falcata. {II. T.). 
—Andromeda floribunda. {A Constant Reader). —1, Zephyranthes Treatise ; 
2, Gasteria variegata ; 3, Asplenium bulbiferum; 4, Pteris tremula ; 5, Ne- 
phrodium molle. {R. B.). —1, Narcissus pseudo-Narcissus ; 2, Narcissus 
odorus; 3, Narcissus incomparabilis flore-pleno. We have received some 
other flowers, which, being unaccompanied by the name of the sender, cannot 
be named. {E. S.). —1, Asplenium marinum ; 2, Adiantum ethiopicum ; 3, 
Pteris argyrea ; 4, Davallia canariensis. (TV. W.K .).— 1, Cheiranthus Mar- 
shalli; 2, Erica Cavendishiana ; 3, Maranta zebrina. {X. R.). —1, a fine 
variety of Dendrobium nobile ; 2, Dendrobium Wardianum ; 3, Odonto- 
glossum vexillarium ; 4, Masdevallia Lindeni, 5, Phalsenopsis Schilleriana. 
(R. S. T.). —Aubrietia deltoidea Hendersoni. 
Flowers for Bees (.4 Subscriber ).—The following are amongst the best 
for affording honey and pollen :—Crocuses, Hyacinths, Mignonette, Wall¬ 
flowers, Sweet Alyssum, Candytuft, Beans, Melilot (Melilotus leucantha), 
Epilobium angustifolium, and Borage, the last three being excellent. The 
Scabious and Nepeta Mussini are also very good. Eruit blossoms of all 
kinds yield much honey, as do such wild plants as Clover, Mustard, and 
Heather. The only reply we are able to give to your second inquiry is that 
fowls of all kinds are advertised in Poultry , which is issued weekly, price Id. 
We never recommend dealers. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— March 26th. 
No alteration to quote from last week, with the exception of Strawberries, which 
with a g»l supply and little demand are reduced in value. Grapes also inclined to go 
back. 
FRUIT. 
s. 
d. 
S. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
s. 
Apples .. .. 
4 sieve 
1 
6 
to 5 
0 
Nectarines .. .. 
dozen 
0 
0 
to 0 
„ . . .. 
per barrel 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Oranges. 
6 
0 
10 
Apricots 
. 
box 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Peaches. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
Chestnuts .. 
• 
bushel 
10 
0 
0 
0 
Pears, kitchen ,. 
dozen 
1 
0 
1 
Figs .. .. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
,, dessert 
dozen 
1 
0 
5 
Filberts.. .. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Pine Apples English .. H>. 
2 
0 
3 
Cobs .. .. 
per lb. 
1 
3 
1 
6 
Plums and Damsons .. 
0 
0 
0 
Grapes .. .. 
5 
0 
10 
0 
Strawberries.. 
4 
0 
10 
Lemon .. .. 
,. ca3e 
15 
0 
21 
0 
St. Michael Pines 
..each 
2 
0 
8 
VEGETABLES 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
Artichokes .. 
dozen 
2 
0 
to 4 
0 
Mushrooms . 
punnet 
i 
0 
to 1 
Beans, Kidney 
100 
2 
6 
0 
0 
Mustard and Cress 
punnet 
0 
2 
0 
Beet, Red 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Onions . 
bushel 
2 
6 
3 
Broccoli .. .. 
bundle 
0 
9 
1 
0 
Parsley .. dozen bunches 
2 
0 
3 
Brussels Sprouts 
. k sieve 
1 
S 
2 
6 
Parsnips. 
dozen 
i 
0 
2 
Cabbage .. .. 
dozen 
0 
s 
1 
0 
Potatoes. 
cwt. 
4 
0 
5 
Capsicums 
100 
1 
s 
2 
0 
,, Kidney .. 
cwt. 
4 
0 
5 
Carrots .. .. 
bunch 
0 
3 
0 
4 
Rhubarb. 
bundle 
0 
4 
0 
Cauliflowers .. 
dozen 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Salsafy. 
bundle 
1 
0 
0 
Celery .. .. 
bundle 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Scorzonera .. .. 
bundle 
1 
6 
o 
‘Coleworts doz. 
bunches 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Seakale. 
basket 
1 
0 
1 
Cucumbers 
each 
0 
6 
0 
9 
Shallots. 
0 
3 
o 
Endive .. .. 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Spinach. 
bushel 
2 
S 
3 
Herbs .. .. 
. bunch 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Tomatoes .. .. 
2 
0 
2 
Leeks .. .. 
. bunch 
0 
3 
0 
4 
Turnips. 
bunch 
0 
3 
0 
Lettuce .. .. 
. dozen 
I 
0 
1 
6 
MILDEW IN WHEAT CROPS. 
This subject is extremely interesting and important to the home 
farmer, and whatever we may have learned during our connection 
with practical farming, yet scientific men in their pursuits have 
proved so observant and persevering that they have been enabled to 
give us information upon the subject which it was not easy for us 
to obtain without them. Mildew in Wheat is a very serious impedi¬ 
ment in farming, and although it is a question of seasons and weather, 
yet it may to some extent be mitigate! by certain modes of cropping, 
manuring, and cultivating the land. On some soils in certain 
climates Wheat suffers more than in others. It is also known that 
the rotations of cropping have an influence which is not yet under¬ 
stood by the majority of farmers. It is owing to these circumstances 
that the very excellent essay published in the Royal Agricultural 
Society of England’s Journal, Part ii., for the year 1883, furnished 
by Mr. W. C. Little of Stag’s Holt, March, Cambridgeshire, will 
prove such a valuable and timely addition to our agricultural literature. 
In the course of this essay the author writes as follows :—“Among 
the numerous diseases which affect the cultivated crops of this 
country there is probably not one which is more disastrous to the 
farmer than Wheat mildew. Potato blight and Hop mould may 
sometimes destroy crops which are more costly, and potentially much 
more valuable than a crop of Wheat; but growers of these crops 
have generally some compensation for their losses. Occasionally 
they make large profits, and with them the part is often greater than 
the whole, for not unfrequently a deficient crop realises more money 
than a full crop would have done, because the price has risen in 
consequence of the short crop. But the grower of Wheat has no 
handsome profits to fall back upon, aud the foreign supply prevents 
that advance in price which might in some degree make up for a 
diminished yield. The yield of his crop may be reduced 75 per cent, 
by mildew, and what remains is scarcely saleable. Widely spread as 
this disease is, and great as is the damage done by it, there would 
seem to be many farmers who have never suffered serious injury 
from it, and some who do not even know what it is. It may there¬ 
fore be desirable to give some idea of what a mildew year means in 
the east of England. In 1881 nearly all the white corn crops in the 
low lands of Cambs, Hunts, Lincoln, Norfolk, and Suffolk were more 
or less mildewed. Many crops of Wheat were almost entirely 
destroyed, the Oats were greatly diminished in yield and quality, and 
in some cases the Barley was considerably injured. The district most 
severely injured may be defined roughly by the following boundary : 
From Cambridge, N.E., to Mildenhall, thence north to Stoke Ferry, 
thence W. by Downham Market to Wisbech, thence N.W. to 
Spalding, thence S. by Peterborough to Huntingdon, and S.E. to 
Cambridge again. This area comprises at least 600,000 acres of 
land, a large proportion of which is under the plough, and Wheat 
is the staple crop. Probably 25 per cent, of the total area, or 
150,000 acres of Wheat, are harvested every year in the district 
described. In the middle of the month of July, 1881, there was on 
all the best Wheat lands of this district the promise of a fine crop, 
which seemed within the grasp of the farmer. Then an attack of 
mildew came, and the consequence was that the crop of that year 
was one of the most wretched ever gathered. At harvest many of 
the best of those crops, which would under more favourable circum¬ 
stances have yielded from 40 to 48 bushels to the acre, produced only 
20 bushels, and some of the very best land yielded only 12 bushels 
of Wheat, which weighed only 43 lbs. a bushel.’' 
We have seen such visitations as the above in various districts, 
but particularly in 1853, 1860, and 1879, with others at a more 
remote period, and if we tell the truth of our own crops in these 
years Mr. Little’s statement would as nearly represent our own as 
possible. Physicians, when they have to study disorders which affect 
mankind or the live stock of the farm, do not content themselves 
with a diagnosis of the disease ; they proceed to ascertain what are the 
conditions under which the disease is generated or propagated, and 
they further inquire whether any habits of life, any inherited pre¬ 
disposition, any accidental causes, either spread the disease or make 
it more destructive in its character. Why should not the same plan 
be employed in the case of plant diseases ? In answer to this 
question let us refer to those scientific men who are capable of reply, 
and in doing this we must notice Mr. Carruthers’ paper on the subject 
contained in last year’s Journal of R.A.S.E., vol. xviii, pp. 495-503, 
1882 ; and also of a paper contributed to the Gardeners’ Chronicle 
