August 18,1881.] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 147 
size pots and supported by strong upright stakes. Where there 
are houses specially arranged for Melon-growing—that is to say, 
with enclosed bottom heat and good top heat, the Tomatoes may 
occupy the positions previously filled by the Melons. In this case 
all that will be necessary will be to mix a little good decayed 
manure with the loam in which the Melons previously grew. In 
whatever fashion the plants are to be grown no time should be 
lost in preparing them for the start. If sturdy and tolerably well 
seasoned young shoots can be had, these may be made into cut¬ 
tings and struck, either by placing them thinly round the sides of 
6-inch pots or singly in 3-inch pots. A light sandy soil should be 
employed, and the pots of cuttings be placed in heat and shaded ; 
but if they be kept very close and damp they will fail. The cut¬ 
tings obtained in the open will this season be much too succulent 
to strike well, and, where available, cuttings should be taken from 
house-grown plants. Seedlings I find succeed equally as well as 
plants from cuttings, but they are rather more trouble and more 
liable to become drawn and weakly. This is to be guarded against 
in either case. The seed will germinate freely with or without 
heat, and should be sown thinly in light soil. Cover with glass 
and shade till the seed has germinated, then remove both shading 
and glass, and elevate them to near glass in a frame or on a shelf 
in house. When the rough leaves are formed pot off the plants 
singly, burying the stems up to the seed leaves in either 5 or 
6-inch pots, and keep them rather close till established. After¬ 
wards give abundance of air on all favourable occasions ; and 
before the plants become much rootbound shift into the fruiting 
pots, or plant in the fruiting quarters. The treatment of the 
plants in cutting pots to be the same as advised for the seedlings. 
The soil recommended consists of two parts of turfy loam to one 
of sifted decomposed manure. It should be broken somewhat 
finely for the first potting, but for the final potting it ought to be 
employed in a much rougher state. Failing turfy loam add a little 
bone manure and a few broken bricks, which will serve to keep 
the whole porous, and the former is, besides, a good fertiliser. 
In all cases it is recommended that the plants be grown to a 
single stem, all side shoots being kept closely rubbed out. This 
strengthening the plant results in the formation of much larger 
bunches of bloom than would otherwise be the case ; and what 
is of still greater importance is a good preventive of crowding, 
than which nothing is more injurious. When growing among 
other plants the Tomatoes should be disposed at least 2 feet 
apart, and where the undergrowth has not to be studied they may 
be placed about 18 inches apart. The fruits do not always set 
well in a moist heat, and for this reason my aim has been to 
have the plants well established in the pots with the first strong 
bunch of fruit set prior to transferring to the winter quarters 
about the middle of September. If any difficulty is experienced 
in setting a crop, maintain for a time a warmer temperature and 
give air freely. In this manner a drier atmosphere will result, 
and this will admit of the pollen being distributed with a 
camel’s-hair brush. It is not advisable to syringe the plants over¬ 
head at any time, at the same time a moist atmosphere nppears 
to favour the growth. A temperature ranging from 60° by night 
or 70° by day will suit them well, but no harm will result at 
occasional lower temperatures. 
An occasional top-dressing of equal parts turfy loam and 
manure will benefit them, and for this reason it is a good plan 
to only about three parts fill the pots when finally potting. The 
first top-dressing may be given the plants or pots when the 
fruits are swelling. The soil for top-dressing should be warmed, 
and the soil in the pots be watered if required prior to top¬ 
dressing. When watering do not be misled by the fact of the 
new soil being in a moist state, but carefully examine the old 
soil, as dryness at the roots induces premature ripening. As 
they are gross feeders, liquid manure ought often to be admin¬ 
istered. Stop the leading stems one joint beyond the third 
developed bunch of bloom. In the case of plants in pots three 
heavy bunches of fruit will be a sufficient crop ; and as a rule the 
plants, when they have perfected these, may be thrown away, it 
being more profitable to raise more plants in September and grow 
for succession. Where the plants have a good bed of soil to root 
in, they, after the stopping beyond the third bunch, may be 
allowed to form a fresh leader, and one of the many shoots that 
are constantly springing up from near the base of the plant may 
be laid in. The old foliage need not be retained after the fruits 
are ripe. If the haulm be occasionally thinned and fresh growth 
laid in, as well as giving top-dressings and carefully watering 
at the roots, plants may be maintained in full bearing for years. 
In this case a few widely disposed plants only should be grown. 
I prefer younger and more vigorous plants. 
Taken on the whole I consider Earley’s Defiance the most pro¬ 
fitable variety to grow, and I find others are of the same opinion. 
Conqueror is equally as heavy-cropping, but the colour, a rich 
glossy vermilion, is against it. Both have corrugated fruit, and 
are not so liable to crack as the round-fruited kinds. Fruit that 
has a tendency to crack should be cut when changing colour, and 
be ripened on a dry shelf in the house where grown, or in other 
warm structures.—W. Iggulden. 
PLANTING HOLLY. 
Perhaps no time in the whole year is more suitable for plant¬ 
ing or removing Hollies than the month of August. It is even 
more suitable than the month of May, which is considered one of 
the best of the year in which to carry out the operation. When 
large specimens have to be replanted there can be no doubt that 
the present month is preferable. Hollies have completed their 
first growth, and can be removed with success and with much 
less labour than if lifted during May. When lifting is practised 
during this month, unless the weather is very hot and dry, the 
specimens require but little attention afterwards in the way of 
watering. If the soil be dry when carrying out the operation a 
good soaking of water should be given, and again when placed in 
their positions. This in the majority of cases will prove sufficient, 
but in May much labour is often occasioned if the weather proves 
hot and dry. After the first growth is completed the roots are 
active and soon take to the soil after removal, and become par¬ 
tially established before winter. Lifting after the first growth 
often prevents a second being made, and this is rather an ad¬ 
vantage than otherwise. Second growth in Hollies is not very 
desirable at any time in the northern counties, as seldom in the 
most favourable seasons is the growth thoroughly matured to 
withstand the severity of our winters. In many instances the 
growths when made late not only lose all their foliage, but are 
frequently killed back to the wood made early in the season. I 
do not wish to convey the idea that Hollies cannot be lifted with 
marked success during any other month of the year than August, 
as I have long since concluded that the majority of evergreens 
can safely be removed any time during the year providing they 
are lifted and replanted immediately. The case is very different 
if the plants have to be sent from a distance. I would much 
rather remove evergreens from the middle of July onwards to the 
end of September than during the winter months, when the roots 
are inactive and the plants have no chance of taking to the soil 
before being subject to severe weather. I am perfectly aware 
that more shrubs of different kinds are removed and replanted 
from the end of October through the winter than at any other 
time, and from many reasons that appears the most convenient 
time. This undoubtedly has become the practice, and shrubs in 
consequence are often planted when the ground is in a very un¬ 
satisfactory state. Death in many cases is the result, which is 
too frequently attributed to any but the right cause. I have from 
time to time been engaged in removing evergreens when "most 
gardeners and cultivators would not have considered the time 
judicious. The results were always satisfactory, and I think the 
lifting of large Hollies and Rhododendrons cannot be performed 
at a better time than the present, nor with a greater degree of cer¬ 
tainty and success. 
A short time ago I had the pleasure of seeing some noble speci¬ 
mens of Ilex Hodginsii, and was much struck with the rapid 
growth the plants had made. Only a very few years ago they 
were comparatively small, planted as single specimens on grass, 
and pruned-in to keep them in shape as they grew. They are now 
noble plants, varying from 10 to 12 feet high, and perfect pyra¬ 
mids. The lower branches rest upon the turf, and are as far 
through at the base as the plants are high. They have grown very 
thick, so that it is almost impossible to see through them, and 
their fine dark foliage is beautiful. This I consider the finest 
dark-green-leaved Holly that can be grown, and hope in future it 
will be planted in greater numbers. It is very hardy, for last 
winter was sufficient to test it, and although cut a little in very ex¬ 
posed places, the plants now look none the worse.—W. Bardney. 
CABBAGE LETTUCE. 
I WISH to thank Mr. Iggulden for his reply to my inquiry on 
this subject. I did not question what he had written, as I have 
always found his writings on kitchen garden subjects reliable. 
Cos varieties are not appreciated here, and in consequence good 
Cabbage kinds have to be grown. Hardy Hammersmith I have 
discarded, as it so quickly runs to seed with me early in the 
season. I have grown Commodore Nutt, or what was sold me 
for that variety, first in 1880, and again this year. The seed of it 
and Tom Thumb were sown together on a warm border early both 
seasons side by side, in order to test the superior quality of the 
