388 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October £0, 1884. 
rooting solely in an outside border, the soil of which is of a 
very heavy nature, and a great difficulty was experienced in 
preventing cracking till the Elvaston plan of allowing one 
or more laterals beyond the bunches to extend freely was 
adopted. A Muscat temperature, in my opinion, consider¬ 
ably improves the quality of Madresfield Court, and the 
berries colour extremely well without greatly lowering the 
temperature of the house.—W. Iggulden. 
(To be continued.) 
GLiDIOLUS NOTES. 
This Las been a gi-and season for the Gladiolus, a season 
which it is to be hoped will be the first of a series of the same 
kind. Gladiolus have been practically under a cloud since 1875, 
some seasons being good, some bad, but in no one first-rate like 
the present, the lowest depth being reached in 1879, when we 
had to lift and flower a very large number under glass, the con¬ 
sequence being that many of the corms were only half grown 
and badly ripened. From what I can see of the corms this season 
they are likely to be large, fu’l gi’own, and well ripened, though 
it will be only safe to lift any green plants and ripen them off 
under glass. The disease as a disease I am glad to know nothing 
about. A few years ago among a lot of bought-in corms were 
over a dozen which either did not grow or made the weakest 
attempt possible. Last winter some more were bought. Remem¬ 
bering the experience of the past these were all examined, and 
some dead corms were found. These our seedsman changed, and 
this season there has been no cause for further complaint. Of 
course I do not mean to insinuate that others may not have a 
disease among their stock. My own difficulty with home-grown 
Gladiolus has been, that in order to get fine spikes and large 
flowers, too much manure has been given the plants for their 
welfare. In order to produce fine corms treatment suitable for 
Potatoes is exactly what the Gladiolus want ; but then it is the 
tubers of the Potatoes we want, not the flowers, while with the 
Gladiolus exactly the opposite is the case. I find the greatest 
difficulty in keeping the tubers of strongly grown Dahlias. The 
better they are grown the less of tuber as a rule there is to keep. 
Strong-grown Hollyhocks are also more difficult to winter than 
those which have been left to their own resources. I know it 
was the case with a nursery firm who a few years ago produced 
and exhibited very fine spikes, under a strong manurial system, 
that they found the corms were so small as to be worthless. 
The practical question is. How are fine spikes to be produced 
unless we apply manure heavily ? I think we shall have to change 
our system entirely, doing away with fresh manure in the soil, 
and trusting to chemical manures under ground solely for a food 
supply. I imagine we also plant rather deeply. Some of ours 
were planted almost close to the surface this spring and after¬ 
wards earthed up, and the results are such as to encourage a 
more extended planting on that system another year. A slight 
mulching of fresh horse droppings when the spikes begin to appear 
is advantageous. I do not think it is beneficial to be always 
pouring water into the plants. They like a damp and dull 
climate in order to produce the finest examples, as the many fine 
spikes exhibited in this and past years from the west of Scotland 
show, and as anyone who has grown Gladiolus will have found 
out, a few dull days elongating the spikes and adding size to 
flower with an intensity in their colouring which no artificial 
means can produce. 
This spring I saw in the garden of an enthusiastic lover of 
flowers a failure through trying to bring them on too rapidly. 
Planted out in the bordei-s, owing to the lateness of the district 
they failed to bear flowei’s, and the good results following the 
starting of the plants in pots by a neighbour induced him to go 
and do li ewise; but he had planted out too early, and a frost 
cut off at once his Gladiolus and his hopes. It is quite early 
enough to plant from pots towards the middle of May where it 
is found necessary to give the plants an early start, for it must 
not be forgotten that plants are much more susceptible to frost 
in spring than they are in autumn, more especially when they 
have been tenderly nursed before having to meet the “cauld 
blast.” A point worth considering in very late districts would 
be the advisability of gro'^ing early varieties only. I have had 
Shakspeare flowering since the middle of July, and I really do 
not know that any great advantage, or an advantage at all, would 
have been reaped by having a dozen varieties of much the same 
colour blooming through these three months instead of that one 
varipty. Of course where growers exhibit they like to have a 
large variety; but here as with many, perhaps all, the pi’oducts 
of our gardens a selected number is more reliable than growing 
too many. Exhibitors must also note that any variety will not 
do for taking prizes. I have seen more than one case during the 
past season where first prizes were lost through small-flowered 
though long-spiked varieties being staged. Judges are to be 
gained more by fine individual flowers than by mere numbers 
without regard to quality. This should be well noted by would- 
be prizetakers. At the same time it is not advisable to buy up 
expensive or new varieties. Some of the best are stil those 
which were grown a dozen or more years ago, while new untried 
varieties are more likely to give disappointment than yield any 
help towards making up a good stand. The poores" sorts I had 
this year were new and dear varieties, some of them costing as 
much for one corm as would have purchased a score of some tried 
old variety. 
Though it is not yet fhe time to purchase I will attach a list 
of sorts which give good spikes and fine flowers. The first twelve 
are cheap and really good. Colbert, Zenobia, Brennus, Picturatus, 
Penelope, Velleda, Rosea Perfecta, Belladonna, HomG-e, Celi- 
mene, Madame Basseville, Adolphe Brongniart, Horace Yernef, 
Murillo, Caprice, Sylvie, Lady Bridport, Ondine, Orphee, Le 
Phare, Andre Leroy, Madame Desportes (rather uncertain), 
Shakspeare, Panorama, Aivhduchesse Marie Christine (a very 
grand variety). Carnation, Camille, Jupiter, Leander, L’Unique, 
Violet, Ambroise Verschaffelt, Psyche, Mabel, Baroness Burdett 
Coutts (very fine), De Mirbel, Amalthee, Anna, Canova, Gigan- 
teus, Le Vesuve. When well grown brenchleyensis is good 
immeasurably superior to other very cheap kinds, such as Le 
Poussin. 
Before closing these notes I may add that I do not think it 
would be an extravagance to purchase a supply of new corms 
every year in cases where it is found to be too much trouble to 
look after the old ones. A five-pound note will purchase from 
100 to 200 corms in a few good sorts, and for what is really the 
most beautiful of autumn flowers that is not much of an outlay. 
—R. P. B. 
APPLES AND PEARS. 
Good dessert Apples are appreciated by most people, but 
those of handsome appearance with good flavour combined are 
the varieties most appreciated on their tables. It will repay 
any cultivator, when the supply mainly depends on a few old 
trees, to plant at once a few cordons of the best varieties in any 
vacant spaces about the walls, as these will supply some very 
handsome fruits for any special occasion. Small trees could also 
be grown as bushes in the open; these come into beainng w’ell 
the second year after planting, and we have gathered many fruits 
from these small trees the first season after they were planted. 
The fruits should also be thinned early in the season when they 
have set too thickly. These small trees are very interesting 
when in fruit, as a good selection of varieties may be grown in a 
limited space. Many gardeners do not approve the idea of grow¬ 
ing a good selection of Apples on small trees, and point to large 
old standards loaded with fruit as the trees they prefer. ^ This 
is very well, but many gentlemen, and we may say the majority, 
like to see a change on their table, especially when there is much 
company, and these small trees supply the want without waiting 
above a year for some results. The following selection of varie¬ 
ties would be appi'eciated on a gentleman’s table:—Mr. Glad¬ 
stone, Margaret, Red Astrachan, Kerry Pippin, King of the 
Pippins, Pine Golden Pippin, American Mother, Margil, Cox’s 
Orange Pippin, Mannington’s Pearmain, Golden Russet, Ribston 
Pippin, Melon, Scarlet Nonpareil, Duke of Devonshire, Lodge- 
more Nonpareil, Court Pendu Plat, Lord Burghley, and Brad- 
dick’s Nonpareil. There are many more excellent varieties, but 
the above are all handsome when well grown. 
The planting season will soon be here, and young head gai’- 
denei'3 probably are considering what are the best varieties of 
Pears to plant so as to give a succession of useful good-flavoured 
fruits. Many Pear trees are undoubtedly planted by gardeners 
which are not worth the space, large showy varieties seen on the 
exhibition table being often selected. Triomphe de Jodoigne, 
General Todtleben, and Beurre Clairgeau are amongst the worth¬ 
less varieties. The latter may be of fair flavour in some districts, 
but not generally. Doyenne Boussoch is a very handsome melt¬ 
ing Pear, but it must be taken just at the right time, and it may 
be termed an unreliable variety. Duchesse d’Angouleme is a 
well-known Pear, but it is not often melting in this country. 
The only time I ever tasted it melting was this season, and_ it 
occurred in the following manner. I noticed some fine-looking 
samples in a fruiterer’s window the first week in September. 
They were very green and apparently unripe, but I was informed 
they were quite ripe, and was given one to try. To my surprise 
, it was quite melting. They had been grown in the open near 
