JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
252 
[ March 31, 1881, 
white brow. Smooth, of good substance and constant. John Currie. 
—Rich bronzy crimson edged with light yellow ; dark purple 
blotch ; back petals veined with purple and white. John Young. 
Fiery maroon blotches, edged with carmine and yellow. Jubilee. 
Bright golden yellow self ; fine eye, large solid black blotch. 
Marquis of Bute. —Cream self, very large blue blotches. Major 
Molesworth. —Rich amaranth self, with solid violet purple blotches; 
fine eye, white brow. Miss Horn. —Large dark blotches, edged 
pure white ; upper petals white and lilac. Mrs. Crawley. —Dark 
rosy purple, with a clear margin of pure white. Miss Darling .— 
Solid maroon blotches ; neat eye; upper petals and margin of 
under petals yellow, with puce margin round upper petals. Mrs. 
Ilubbard. —Violet purple blotches shaded with deep rosy lilac, 
edged all round with pure white. Mrs. Longjield. —Yellow and 
crimson, edged with white. Mrs. Scott Plummer. —Bronze and 
yellow ; large crimson maroon blotches. Mrs. Jamison. —Deep 
golden yellow self ; solid blotch. Mrs. B. H. Wood. —A beauti¬ 
ful deep orange, edged with rosy purple. Miss M. Methven. — 
Rosy crimson ; light purplish blotch, edged with pure white. 
Pollic. —Solid dark blotches ; violet purple margin, edged round 
the petals with white. Robert Cowan. —Exceedingly large brown 
blotches, edged with bright yellow. Rev. Archie Bell. —Very 
dark blotches edged with cream ; upper petals veined with bright 
purple and cream. Thomas Grainger'. —Very rich crimson, with 
black blotches on the side and under petals. The Bride. —Pure 
white self ; large dark velvety blotches. W. II. O'Shanhey. —Dark 
blotch ; reddish crimson margin. Smooth and of good substance. 
W. M. Welsh. —Maroon blotch ; upper petals shaded with crimson 
lake. Wm. Melville. —Back petals rosy purple ; fine dark blotch 
edged with yellow. Waverley. —Rich bright crimson self; large 
dark blotches ; solid eye. 
Of the above the best twelve for exhibition purposes, having 
regard to evenness of size and dissimilarity, are Attraction, Capt. 
Tomlin, Duchess of Edinburgh, F. W. Leland, George Rodgers, 
J. T. D. Llewelyn, Miss Minnie Methven, Major Molesworth, 
Mrs. Crawley, Mrs. Jamison, Mrs. E. H. Wood, and Wm. Melville. 
These are all good growers, and may be depended upon for bloom 
from May until the end of September. 
Before concluding I should like to express the hope that before 
long an attempt may be made to bring Fancy Pansies into classes. 
The high position they have so rapidly attained, not only as 
exhibition flowers but as bedders—(for I know of no prettier sight 
than a bed of Fancies where their beautiful and varied colours are 
grouped for effect)—claims for them this attention, and the rapid 
improvement of certain types will in a short time render Ihe task 
less difficult than it appears at first sight. We have now a charm¬ 
ing variety of seifs, broad and narrow, white, crimson, and yellow- 
edged, and Picotee-edged, and it appears necessary that certain 
well-defined rules should be laid down or the family will run 
wild beyond redemption. Unless something be done the question 
will soon prominently arise as to what is a Fancy and what is not. 
I have already seen in different catalogues the same flower classed 
as a Show and as a Fancy. This has arisen solely because there 
is no authoritative decision as to the size of the blotch, and until 
this is arrived at there will be confusion. A large bold blotch is 
essential in a Fancy, and no limit can be placed upon its size ; 
but in a Show there must be a limit, or the flower loses its dis¬ 
tinctiveness.—M. H. Millek, Leelt. 
MULCHING FRUIT TREES. 
Gabdenebs and fruit-tree growers generally are well aware of 
the advantage of mulching the ground over fruit-tree roots, but 
the time of doing it is not so well settled ; consequently some 
mulch early in spring, others at midsummer, and many not until 
the fruit is gaining size and maturing in autumn. In my opinion 
the matter is of too much importance to be carried out in this 
indefinite manner, and it would be well if we could all agree as 
to the best time to mulch and act accordingly. Giving my ex¬ 
perience and opinion towards this, I may say that all our principal 
fruit trees, especially those against walls, are always mulched 
before the buds begin swelling in spring, and of all the times I 
have seen tried that appears to be the best. The trees have the 
full benefit of the nourishment from the manure throughout the 
whole season of their growth, and they need this as much when 
the fruit is forming and the young growths starting as they do 
in autumn. In fact, inducing any tree to start freely into growth 
in spring is of more advantage in autumn than any little extra 
attention just at that time. Light straw manure is of no use for 
mulching, as it neither keeps the soil moist in dry weather nor 
affords nourishment. For mulching I prefer good cow dung 
before it is much decayed, and always employ it in this state. 
The manure need not usually be spread more than 4 feet from the 
stem of the tree, and in some instances less than this will do. 
When applied in spring to last all summer it should not be less 
than 4 inches thick, and it is a good plan to previously break up 
the surface of the soil over the roots with a fork.—M. 
THE TULIP. 
Having read with great interest your report of Mr. Shirley 
Hibberd’s lecture on the Tulip in last week’s Journal of Horti¬ 
culture, I send you the following passages from the “ Life and 
Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq,” just published by Kegan, 
Paul, & Co. De Busbecq started for Constantinople Nov. 3rd, 
1554. At the beginning of the ‘‘Life,” vol. i., page 69, the 
author says: “ A tradition still lingers at Bousbecque of the 
beautitul garden which he formed, and the Lilacs, Tulips, and 
other new plants with which he filled it;” and in vol. i., on 
page 62, the author says, speaking of Vienna in 1572-3 : “ Here he 
received parcels of Tulip bulbs and other rare plants from Con¬ 
stantinople;” and on page 107 of vol. i. of the “Letters” De 
Busbecq says: “After stopping one day at Adrianople we set out 
to finish the last stage of our journey to Constantinople, which is 
not far distant. As we passed through these districts we were 
presented with large nosegays of flowers, the Narcissus, the 
Hyacinth, and the Tulipan (as the Turks call this last). We were 
very much surprised to see them blooming in midwinter, a season 
which does not suit flowers at all. There is a great abundance of 
the Narcissus and Hyacinth in Greece. Their fragrance is perfectly 
wonderful; so much so, that when in great profusion they affect 
the heads of those who are unaccustomed to the scent. The Tulip 
has little or no smell; its recommendation is the variety and 
beauty of the colouring.” See also in the “ Life” vol. i., page 3: 
“We cannot turn to our gardens without seeing the flowers of 
Busbecq around us ; the Lilac, the Tulip, the Syringa. So much 
was the first of these associated with the man who first introduced 
it to the West, that Bernadin de St. Pierre proposed to change its 
name from Lilac to Busbequia.”— San Juan. 
STRAWBERRY FARMING. 
{Continued'from page 152.') 
Marheting .—Until within the last few years the great bulk of 
the Strawberry crop found its way in a fresh state to the dessert 
table, and the demand, though steady, was limited and subject to 
much fluctuation. At the commencement and close of the season 
prices ruled high, but during the height of the gathering the 
markets were frequently glutted, and prices consequently fell to 
a low figure. The rapid growth of the trade in preserved fruits 
has now, however, opened an outlet for almost any quantity of 
Strawberries. Although the price of Strawberry jam is con¬ 
siderably higher than that of most other small fruits, it is so 
much esteemed that stocks of it in makers’ hands are generally 
first exhausted. The probability is that for years to come the 
demand for this fruit will be practically unlimited. Fortunately 
for growers there is small chance of foreign competition doing 
much harm, as the fruit is too perishable to be imported from any 
great distance in a fresh state, and the quality of foreign-made 
preserves is not likely to take the taste of the British public. 
Large growers ought to provide the means of taking advantage 
of either the home or foreign market as prices may tempt. Growers 
in this quarter were for several years entirely at the mercy of a 
few leading local confectioners, who made the prices to suit them¬ 
selves, and frequently by refusing fruit in the very height of the 
season created such a panic that prices suddenly fell 50 per cent., 
and then they bought all they could get. Latterly, however, the 
district has been visited by buyers from Dublin, Liverpool, &c., 
and, under the influence of this competition, and the opening of 
markets for fresh fruit, prices have risen to a steady figure of 
£28 to £32 per ton. 
There is considerable advantage in having at least part of the 
crop purchased by a confectioner. The cost of picking is consider¬ 
ably less than when gathering for table use, no selecting being 
necessary; and as the fruit may be taken before quite ripe, twice 
a week instead of thrice is often enough to go over the ground. 
In rainy weather and when the fruit is soiled much would be lost 
were it not for the confectioner ; thus a few shillings less per 
cwt. may be more than made up by the greater economy in wages 
and waste. For preserving purposes the fruit is always sent out 
in small barrels. Empty butter casks are very often used for 
this purpose after being thoroughly cleaned, re-hooped with iron, 
and fitted with hinged lid, hasp, and handles. As the railway 
rate for empties are comparatively trifling these barrels are usually 
made strong enough to last several seasons. Of course the fruit 
is first gathered in baskets without the husks, and all soiled fruit 
