Septtiiiler 4 , 
JOURNAL OF HORTICLLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
229 
evil. The error has not been one of watering at all, but of imperfect ventila¬ 
tion ; and the subsequent overheating to which you refer would impair the 
keeping properties of the Grapes. Your Vines appear to have been the 
victinis of accidents. No matter how good the borders may be, careful the 
watering and accurate the pruning and dressing, failure must occur if any 
serious mistakes are made in ventilation, and the work of a season may be 
spoiled by one hour of neglect in ventilating the houses, or ventilating them 
improperly. 
Dimensions of Pit {J. M.). —The height of the back wall should be 
C feet, or 2 feet G inches below ground, and the front wall 4 feet 6 inches 
altogether, and the same depth in the ground as the back wall, which will 
give a fall of 18 inches in the 6 feet; but if you have 9-inch walls it would 
be too sharp a pitch, and we should, therefore, lower the back wall G inches, 
and in that case the width of the pit outside to outside will need to be 
5 feet 9 inches, and the length of course 24 feet, adding the distance taken 
up by the parting pieces between the lights and at the ends, or about 
IG inches. We should have the arrangement set out before you begin to 
build by a carpenter on the spot. 
Free-blooming Boses {Idem). —La France, Fisher Holmes, Gloire de 
Bourg-la-Eeine, Madame Victor Verdier, Magna Charta, Brightness of 
Cheshunt, Charles Lefebvre, Duke of Connaught, A. K. Williams, Boule de 
Neige, Duke of Edinburgh, Emily Laxton, J, B. M. Camm, Marquise de 
Castellane, John Hopper, Reynolds Hole, Princess Mary of Cambridge, and 
Sanateur Vaisse. 
Celery Fly {A. S. D.). —It is not at all certain that the plants are free 
from attack now ; but, on the contrary, they are often attacked virulently 
in September. We have seen some very fine rows of Celery this year from 
which the fly has been banished by syringing the plants wflth a mixture of 
petroleum and water once or twice a week, according to the judgment of 
the gardener, and the maggots in the leaves ’were killed by the application. 
About an ounce of iDetroleum, or half a wineglassful, was mixed with a 
gallon of water. Applied in the evening it did not injure the plants in the 
slightest degree, but rather appears to have benefited them. In another 
column Mr. Henderson describes his success in destroying the maggot with 
tobacco water. 
Keeping Grapes (D., Dean). —There is no doubt that it is a mistake to 
allow Vine borders to get “ quite dry ” when the Grapes are ripe. On this 
point Mr. Barron writes emphatically in his sound work, “ Vines and Vine 
Culture.” He says :—“ All Grapes that are required for late use should be 
ripened by the month of September. Grapes that have to be ripened after 
this period never keep so well. Although when the fruit becomes ripe the 
most active period of the growth of the Vine is past, it is not well, although 
it is a very old custom, to keep the borders and the roots dry. The artificial 
drought is injurious to the roots, which are still in action, and not beneficial 
to the fruit, for the longer the foliage can be maintained fresh and green 
the better the Grapes will keep. Mr. Taylor does not hesitate to water his 
inside borders on wet days whilst the Vines are laden with ripe fruit; he has 
no fear of damp or mould arising in that way, and he is right. His trust is 
in thorough ventilation by day and by night, and the maintenance by fire 
heat of an equable temperature, ranging as near 45° as may be possible. 
Constant daily supervision is necessary, and great care should be taken to 
remove any decaying berries. Ripe Grapes may be kept in good condition 
on the Vines until the end of February or until the rise of the sap ; but if 
allowed to hang to so late a period the operation of pruning is likely to be 
injurious to the Vines. All fruit should, if possible, be removed from the 
Vines, so that they may be pruned by the end of January.” That is equally 
our experience, and if you differ seriously from that system of management 
you will make a mistake. If you think differently, adopt both methods and 
note the results. 
The Seckle Pear {Fancier). —You are quite right as the high quality 
of this Pear, as few, if any, surpass it in richness; but you are totally in 
error in regarding it as an “ old English ” Pear. The Seckle Pear is of 
American origin, and is first noticed by Coxe, an American pomologist 
in his “ View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees.” It was sent to this 
country in 1819 by Dr. Hosack of Philadelphia, along with several other 
fruits, to the garden of the Horticultural Society. The original tree is 
still in existence, and is growing in a meadow in Passyunk township, about 
a quarter of a mile from the Delaware, opposite League Island, and about 
three miles and a half from Philadelphia. It is over a hundred years old, 
and about 30 feet high. The diameter of the trunk, at a foot from the 
ground, is 6 feet ; and 5 feet from the ground it is 4 feet 9 inches. The 
trunk is hollow and very much decayed ; the bark, half way round, 
to the height of G feet, is entirely gone ; and so far has the progress of 
decay advanced, that, it is feared, in a few more years the tree will have 
ceased to exist. There are, however, young suckers growing from the 
root, by which the original stock will be preserved. The property on 
which the tree stands belonged in 1817, according to Coxe, to Mr. Seckle 
(not Seckel) of Philadelphia, and hence the origin of the name. Downing 
says, “ The precise origin of the Seckel Pear is unknown. The following 
morceau of its history may be relied on as authentic, it having been related 
by the late venerable Bishop White, whose tenacity of memory is well 
known. About 17G5, when the Bishop was a lad, there was a well-known 
sportsman and cattle-dealer in Philadelphia, who was familiarly known as 
‘ Dutch Jacob.’ Every season, early in the autumn, on returning from his 
shooting excursion, Dutch Jacob regaled his neighbours with Pears of an 
unusually delicious flavour, the secret of whose place of growth, however, he 
would never satisfy their curiosity by divulging. At length, the Holland 
Land Company, owning a considerable tract south of the city, disposed of it 
in parcels, and Dutch Jacob then secured the ground on which his favourite 
Pear tree stood—a fine strip of land near the Delaware. Not long afterwards 
it became the farm of Mr. Seckel, who introduced this remarkable fruit to 
public notice, and it received his name.” 
Passifloras (J5. Jordan). —The following are good and will probably 
succeed in your rather w’arm and lofty greenhouse ;—Cserulea racemosa. 
—Growth rather slender but very free, and the plant does well in a green¬ 
house, which is more than can be said of the majority of the Passifloras 
enumerated in catalogues as suitable for the temperature of such a structure. 
The flowers are reddish purple, produced in great profusion in May, June, and 
throughout the summer, followed by an egg-like fruit, pale yellow when ripe, 
and of the size of a bantam’s egg. Prune in spring before growth, cutting 
out the old worn-out wood, and shortening the shoots flowered last year to 
within two eyes of the old wood. Keep the shoots moderately thin and 
neatly tied up. ^ Water abundantly in summer when growing, and in winter 
keep dry, thinning out the shoots in autumn after flowering. Propagate by 
cuttings of the young shoots in summer, best the short stubby shoots taken 
off close to the stem, inserting in sand under a glass, and placed in a gentle 
bottom heat. Two parts light loam, and one part each peat and leaf soil, 
with some sharp sand. P. .Imperatrice Eugenie, with red, white, and blue 
flowers, is also free in growth. P. Countess Giuglini has fine large white 
and blue flowers, and is one of the finest of the Passion-flowers, but in a 
greenhouse it requires time ; indeed, according to our experience, though 
many of the Passifloras succeed after some time tolerably well in a green¬ 
house, yet from the late growths that are made, and the consequent impei'- 
fect ripening of the wood, they are there precarious subjects. They do best 
in a cool stove or a warm greenhouse. The Passifloras thrive in a compost of 
two parts light fibrous loam, one part sandy peat, and one part leaf soil, with 
a free admixture of sharp sand. The best mode of training is, perhaps, to 
allov? one shoot or rod to each wire, to permit it to grow to the extent 
required without stopping, and the side shoots to grow at will; as they do so 
in a hanging or drooping manner, the effect when in flower is very pleasing. 
In autumn the side shoots should be cut back to about a foot in length, and in 
spring, when they begin to grow, cut them back to within an inch of the rod 
or shoot whence they proceed. It may be necessary for a year or two, at the 
spring pruning, to shorten the principal shoots to the firm or ripe wood, as 
their points, from being made late in summer, are not ripened, and they not 
unfrequently die back in winter. Another shoot as leader will, of course, 
need be trained in their place. Allow the shoots to grow freely, only if they 
do not show flowers at a foot or 18 inches in length, take out their points. 
Beyond the shortening of the shoots in autumn, essential to afford light to 
the plants beneath, and the spurring-in during February, no other pruning is 
given. When any of the rods become worn out they may be cut clean out, 
and in their places other shoots trained from the base. From October to 
March they require to be kept rather dry at the roots, and throughout the 
summer abundant supplies of water are required, affording top-dressings of 
rich compost, or about an inch of short manure in May, and again about the 
middle of June. 
Names of Fruit {Dickson, Drown, cj- Tait). —The Pear is not ripe. The 
fruit resembles Beurre de Capiaumont, and if the tree is a close and upright 
grower it is no doubt that variety. {J. Bamsay). —Spring Grove Codlin. 
{A. S. D.).—Reinette de Canada. 
Names of Plants {J. J., Lancashire). —The Masdevallia is infracta, the 
Oncidium is 0. Schlimi. The flowers of 0. Lanceanum differ slightly from 
the ordinary form, but there are several similar variations. The Dendrobium 
formosum giganteum flower is very fine, one of the best we have seen. 
{F. T. Arnold). —Hieracium aurantiacum. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— September 3rd. 
Prices lower all round, with large consignments from abroad. 
FRUIT. 
s. 
d. 
S. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
Apples .. .. 
4 sieve 
2 
6 
to 4 
6 
Oranges. 
8 
0 to 12 
0 
Cherries.. .. 
i sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Peaches . 
perdoz. 
1 
0 
6 
0 
Chestnuts .. 
bushel 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Pears, kitchen .. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Currants, Red 
i sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
„ dessert 
dozen 
1 
0 
3 
0 
„ Black 
J sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Pine Apples English .. Ih. 
4 
0 
6 
0 
Figs . 
dozen 
0 
6 
1 
0 
Plums . 
A sieve 
4 
0 
7 
0 
Grapes. 
0 
6 
2 
6 
Strawberries.. 
,. ft. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Lemons .. .. , 
., case 
15 
0 
21 
0 
St. Michael Pines 
. .each 
0 
0 
0 
0 
VEGETABLES 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
8. 
d. 
s. 
a. 
Artichokes . . 
. dozen 
2 
0 to 4 
0 
Lettuce. 
dozen 
1 
0 to 
1 
6 
Beans, Kidney 
Ih. 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Mushrooms .. 
punnet 
0 
0 
1 
6 
Beet, Red 
, dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Mustard and Cress 
punnet 
0 
2 
0 
0 
Broccoli .. .. 
. bundle 
0 
9 
1 
0 
Onions . 
bushel 
2 
6 
3 
0 
Brussels Sprouts 
. i sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Parsley .. dozen bunches 
2 
0 
8 
0 
Cabbage .. ,. 
0 
0 
1 
0 
Parsnips . 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Capsicums 
. 100 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Potatoes . 
cwt. 
4 
0 
5 
0 
Carrots .. 
. bunch 
0 
8 
0 
4 
,, Kidney . 
cwt. 
4 
0 
5 
0 
Cauliflowers .. 
. dozen 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Rhubarb. 
bundle 
0 
4 
0 
0 
Celery 
. bundle 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Salsafy. 
bundle 
1 
0 
0 
s 
Coleworts dez 
bunches 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Scorzonera .. .. 
bundle 
1 
6 
0 
0 
Cucumbers 
. each 
0 
2 
0 
4 
Shallots. 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Eudive .. 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Spinach. 
bushel 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Herbs 
0 
2 
0 
0 
Tomatoes 
.. ft. 
0 
6 
0 
0 
Leeks 
0 
3 
0 
4 
Turnips. 
bunch 
0 
4 
0 
6 
LAND TILLAGE AFTEE HAEVEST. 
{Continued from page 20G.) 
That cleanliness of the land is the main test of good farming 
has been repeatedly insisted upon by clever practical men, but we 
cannot rest content to apply that test alone. It seldom answei’s 
to base an argument upon the experience gained upon a single 
farm. Ta'<e, for example, the farmer of a stony soil resting upon 
a substratum of gravel. To him mechanical division and drainage 
are as an idle tale, while clean land in a due condition of fertility 
is undoubtedly a safe test. But such favoured mortals ought 
not to forget that it is by no means uncommon to hear a man 
say that his land is too stiff and wet for winter folding. Why ? 
