October 2, 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
303 
I have many times impressed upon gardeners how desirable it is 
that they should note any particular varieties of fruit that do well in 
their sep irate districts. Here, too, with increased experience, 1 have 
been the more convinced as to the value of such observations. The diversity 
of influences that affect the fruit crop is surprising, and the diversity of 
constitutions of the several varieties of even the same fruit is equally sur¬ 
prising. Of our protected fruits, where more notice is taken of Grapes, 
you will see ripe fruit on unripe wood, and, particularly with the Gros 
Colman, you will have fine ripe wood, whilst the fruit is still green. 
Mind, I am not going to enter into an argument with any that may cry 
“ Question.” This I hold to be sufficiently a fact for my purpose. We 
have varieties of Apples so favourably constituted that you may have a 
full crop of fruit and a full crop of perfectly matured fruit buds the same 
season. On the contrary, here in the north, even with our very fine 
seasons, the wood and buds of some varieties are still unmatured. Now, 
how do unmatured fruit buds affect the future ?— Joseph Withek- 
SPOON. 
GIVING LIQUID MANURE. 
Ip “ Thinker ” can tolerate frank as well as friendly criticism, which 
he sets store by, he will no doubt excuse me doubting his teachings 
concerning the application of liquid manure and saying so as well, “ Liquid 
manure should never be given when the soil is dry, even if the plants need 
extra support,” says “ Thinker,” and the statement is so explicit and 
definite as to admit of no after qualification. Now, what would f.armers 
and garleners do on many occasions if they were to abide by this mile, or 
if it were true ? I have known some of the most noted and scientific Mid¬ 
lothian farmers wait for a shower of rain or a wet day to apply guano, 
nitrate of soda, and other manure to Potatoes and grass and other crops, 
and apply them the moment the rain began falling, although the soil was 
in as parched a condition through drought as it could well be, and not a 
blade suffers, but great benefit results in a short time. This is common 
practice among farmers, and if it is not exactly the same as giving liquid 
manure to plants “when the soil is dry” I should like to know wherein 
the dififereuce lies. This season the rain did not come, and I applied 
Bee-on’s manure full strength to Potatoes when the drought had really 
begun to arrest their growth, and I washed it in at once wnth water from 
a leather hose. Result—quick and most beneficial growth, no roots or 
tops damaged in any way. I could furnish you with abundance of other 
and similar examples, both in the case of pot plants and crops. “ Thinker ” 
brings iq^ the analogous case of a “ famishing man,” but the comparison 
is not a fair one. To make the two parallel I should put it this way— 
“ Never give liquid manure to a plant when the sod is dry, and never give 
food to a man when he is famishing.” “ Thinker” does not mean this, I 
daresay ; but it is what his advice about dry soils undoubtedly amounts to. 
I do not often water Peas, but in dry seasons I have had to do it. and as 
it is as easy to give liquid manure at such times as water I have poured 
farmyard manure, full strength, along the rows clear of the haulm, and 
then washed it in with the hose. The Peas were drooping w'ith the 
drought when this was done, and the result was accelerated and better 
growth. I agree with all “ Thinker ” says about the danger of giving 
manure too strong; but in regard to dry soils I am, provided the manure 
is of the proper strength a —Non-Believer. 
THE PAST ROSE SEASON—COMMENTS. 
Whoever heard of an “empress” who could have been in her first 
“blooming youth ” anything but a “maiden?” Or who in the world 
would venture to liken a girl-queen to a heifer ? 
Your corresfiondent, “ Y. B. A. Z.,” talks of the Rose as “the loveliest 
queen or empress of flowers,” and then, almost in the same breath, advo¬ 
cates “A. F. M.’s” suggestion of stigmatising the royal princess in her 
glowing girlhood as a “yearling 1” Should not our fairest flower be 
associated with the fairest names and similes ? And if we must go to 
the farmyard for an important adjunct to our Rose gardens we need not 
have recourse to the stud book for our Rose epithets. 
In cricket an “ over ” is called a “ maiden ” when no fault can be 
found with it—when, in fact, it is too good for everything. And if this be 
the meaning of the word it could surely not be better applied than to our 
empress-queen in the glory of her triumphant debut. And even if her 
charms be not fully displayed on the occasion of her first drawing-room, 
is not a retiring modesty more characteristic of the “ maiden with the shy 
and eager face,” than of the long-legged, inquisitive, carrot-loving, 
quadruped-proprietor of the stud-farm-appellation suggested by 
“ A. F. M. ?” 
Canon Hole has voted “Old Cabbage” to the pigs ; and the young 
hopefuls of horned and hoofed may well remain in undisturbed possession 
of their thoroughbred (but not royal) indication of juvenility. It may be 
hinted that Mar6chal Ntel and General Jacqueminot and such dis¬ 
tinguished warriors object to being called “girls;” but it would be a 
greater insult to a general (or a peer—“ a this year’s duke !”) to have 
attention called to the recentness of his promotion ; so that they may 
well be content to accept the feminine distinction as a compliment to 
their graceful deportment, though ordinary loyalty be inducement 
enough, at least during the reign of “Empress” Alfred K. Williams. 
At the Croydon Horticultural Show this year Mr. Claxton of Liver¬ 
pool exhibited among other Teas seven blooms of Madame Cusin (hardly 
inferior, I think, to the grand flowers of Comtesse de Nadaillac referred 
to by “ A. F. M.” last week, except in the unsurpassed colour of the latter 
variety), which, had “ Y. B. A. Z.” seen them, must have induced him to 
give Madame Cusin a very generous trial before discarding her. 
The suggestion that the shrivelling of Roses when cut is due to the 
“ conditiou of the atmosphere” at the time, and is not an imperial 
idiosyncrasy of A. K. Williams, appears to be the correct one, for I have 
noticed that all kinds of Roses, in whatever state of developmenr, if cut 
in a drying, especially a hot drying wind, shrink away and become 
“ floppy ” within an hour or two of their being put in water. Why does 
nc't “Y. B. A. Z.” disbud the secondary buds of Madame La’harme 
which always appear round the central flower if exhibition blooms are 
required ? Another R ise with a similar habit of growth is that best of 
autumnals, H.P. Jules Finger. 
Etoile de Lyon here had ihe early shoots too much injured by the late 
April frosts to entirely fulfil its vernal promise ; but the plants broke 
afresh, and gave fine well-shaped flowers as large as Perle des Jardiua, 
but slightly paler yellow, with petals thinner but m ore numerous, while 
the plant is a very good grower and free-blooming. 
All Rose-growers owe “A Thinker” a vote of thanks for his very 
valuable and c mcisely expressed “thoughts” on the subject of liquid 
manure for Roses. If gardeners who do not think for them'^elves would 
have thoughts like these stereotyped in gold letters all over their watering 
pots there would be fewer wailings over invalid Rose trees or the funerals 
thereof.—T. W. G. 
SEASONABLE VEGETABLES AT SOUTH KENSINGTON. 
In the excellent report you give of the Show at South Kensington on 
June 23rd, you say Mr. Miles was first for the collection of eight kinds of 
vegetables, showing amongst other things a dish of Brussels Sprouts. 
In the prize list it is stated that the vegetables shown in this collection 
must be “in season,” and I am of o[)inion that Brussels Sprouts are not 
in season in September when Peas and Kidney Beans and others of our 
best summer vegetables are still good and plentiful. Had I been com¬ 
peting in the class in question I certainly woul 1 not have felt satisfied 
with the Judges in placing Brussels Sprouts at the top of the list of 
seasonable vegetables, and in my opinion the less successful exhibitors 
have cause to feel dissatisfied with such work. There are very few 
gardens in which Brussels Sprouts are ready for use at the pres'^nt time; 
nor is this to be regretted, as few would care to dine off them now, being 
of o[)inion that they may have plenty of them from the beginning of 
November until the end of March. It has often occurred to me that the 
judging at South Kensington must be remarkably accurate, as I never at 
any time or in any paper see a word said against an award, and for aught 
I know there may be no occasion for it, but, in justice to all, I do think 
they ought to have some regard for the wording of the prize list.— 
A Kitchen Gardener. 
AUTUMN FLOWERS. 
We often hear the remark that there are few flowers in 
autumn except Composites, and those are yellow, and it is certain 
that the class mentioned is decidedly predominant; but there 
are many others, amongst them the following three plants, which 
are not nearly as often grown as they deserve to be. 
Aconitum authmnale —This plant is one of a genus, the 
members of which are usually, and not without reason either, 
regarded with suspicion, owing to their extremely poisonous 
nature, which is due to the presence of an alkaloid named aconi¬ 
tine, said to be the most powerful vegetable poison kn .)wn. The 
juice of one species —viz., A. ferox, is used by some of the Hill 
tribes of India for poisoning their arrows, and is called Bikh 
poison. The present species is a very stately plant, well suited 
for a position at the back of the herbaceous border, where its 
rich purplish-blue flowers are very effective; and if examined 
individually, will be found to possess many points of interest — 
notably the curious helmet-shaped calyX) and the two upper 
petals, which are hollow and horn-like; these, however, are 
partially concealed beneath the helmet or hood previously 
mentioned. This plant must not be confounded with A. japoni- 
cum, the flowers of which are deeper in colour, and the whole 
plant dwarfer. It is not by any means fastidious as to soil or 
aspect, and may be easily progagated by division of the roots, 
or more correctly, by young tubers, which form at the side of the 
older ones, 
Phygelius capensis. —A most beautiful and interesting 
plant when seen at its best, for which it requires a warm 
situation in a rich light sandy loam, containing a fair propor¬ 
tion of decayed vegetable matter. In many parts of this country 
it can never be seen in good condition unless planted at the foot 
of a south wall, in which position the rich tubular Howmrs and 
the dark green leaves are seen to grvat advantage. It is a 
native of the Cape of Good Hope, and is one of the handsomest 
members of the Figwort family (Scrophulariaceje) forming a 
half-shrnbby plant from 2 to 3 feet in height, with dark, oval, 
lanceolate leaves, notched at the margin. The flowers, which are 
very numerous, ai’e tubular, curved, the limb divided into five 
roundish lobes; colour a rich vermilion tinged with yellow in 
the throat. It may be easily propagated by cuttings, layers, or 
division, also by seed when procurable. 
