JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 6, 1882.] 
21 
keepers’ Association, and subsequently before the annual meeting 
of the members, I may perhaps be permitted to say that the 
importance of this matter has not been overlooked by the Asso¬ 
ciation, and that as soon as an opportunity occurs another effort 
will be made to secure some such an appointment as Mr. Petti¬ 
grew desires. Both the Committee and the annual meeting gave 
their cordial support to the proposition when laid before them 
two years ago, but the Lord President of the Council of Educa¬ 
tion, although much interested in the facts that we placed before 
him, did not think that the time had arrived for an appoint¬ 
ment to be made. The authorities at South Kensington invited 
Mr. Cheshire to lecture before some of their students, and I hope 
with Mr. Pettigrew that the time may soon come when still 
greater encouragement will be given us. He may rest assured 
that the British Bee-keepers’ Association will do all they can to 
forward the object he has in view.—E. Bartrum, BerMampstead, 
Herts. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
E. H. Krelage it Son, Haarlem.— Who'exile Catalogue of Plants. 
S. Bolton, Nelson, New Zealand .—Catalogue of Trees and Slirahs. 
_ f 
'WilrrmjtthWIi 
TO CORRESPONDENTS.) 
liSii 
*** All correspondence should be directed either to “The Editor” 
or to “ The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Dr. Hogg or 
members of the staff often remain unopened unavoidably. We 
request that no one will write privately to any of our correspon¬ 
dents, as doing so subjects them to unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions relat¬ 
ing to Gardening and those on Poultry and Bee subjects, and 
should never send more than two or three questions at once. All 
articles intended for insertion should be written on one side of 
the paper only. We cannot reply to questions through the post, 
and we do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Sempervivums Decaying (C. A. ./.).—The plants need a position where 
they can have more sun, as at present the leaves are unable to elaborate and 
assimilate the moisture that is supplied by the roots. 
Vines Unfruitful (ir. A. £.). —All you can do is to so stop the growths 
and regulate the lateials so that the foliage is directly exposed to the light, 
admitting air freely yet judiciously, and employing fire heat in the autumn, if 
that is needed, for ripening the wood. 
Orange Culture in the Tropics (E. Holland).—We know of no work 
which gives better information on Orange culture, “ as practised on a large 
6cale in those countries suitable for the growth of the trees ” and ripening 
of the fruit than Simmonds’ “ Tropical Agriculture.” Spon, Charing Cross, 
price 21 s. 
Climbers and Plants for Conservatory (Essex). — The climbers 
being required for pillars the following are advised :—Rhynchospermum jasmin- 
oides, Lapageria rosea. L. alba, Plumbago capensis, Clianthus magnificus, 
Proustea pyrifolia, Habrothamnus elegans, Sollya heterophylla, Jasminum 
de Poiteau, and Acacia Riceana. These will take more time to cover the pillars 
and arches than rapid-growing climbers, such as Passiflora Comte Nesselrode, 
P. Empress Eugenie, Tacsonia insignis, T. Van-Volxemi," Bignonia Chirere, 
B. jasminoides, Clematis indivisa, C. indivisa lobata, and such Roses as Gloire de 
Dijon, Mar6chal Niel, &c. We give the two lists, but recommend the first. Of 
plants for the beds, in addition to two Camellias and the Tree Pern, we should 
have another Pern to match the one you have, few doing better than Dicksonia 
antarctica, with Dracaena australis and D. indivisa, Chamaerops Fortunei, Sea- 
forthia elegans, Phoenix reclinata, Corypha australis, and two or more Camellias, 
or Rhododendron Nuttali, R. Countess of Haddington, and R. formosum. 
Vines not Satisfactory (Inquirer ).—The Grapes sent are not shanked 
but in a state of decay, induced unquestionably by the imperfect elaboration of 
the sap, consequent on the roots being in a wet and rich border, and the tempe¬ 
rature of the house being kept too low, with a deficiency in the ventilation. 
Probably the heavy cold rains have increased the injury. For the present we 
advise a little ventilation night and day at the top of the house, to be increased 
when the weather is favourable early in the day, maintaining the temperature 
at 70° to 76° by artificial means, falling 5° at night, allowing an advance from 
sun heat to 86° or 90°, keeping the atmosphere dry and the laterals closely 
pinched. In the autumn examine the drainage, and if imperfect rectify' it and 
give a good dressing of lime, and point in as deeply as the roots admit. If the 
roots are deep remove the surface soil, lift them, and lay them in fresh material 
nearer the surface. 
London Market Gardena (C. B .).—You do not sufficiently explain your 
object. Mr. Warren of Isleworth, as has recently been published in the Journal, 
grows fruit and vegetables largely. Mr. Steel of Fulham is also a great 
vegetable grower. Mr. Ladds of Bexley Heath grows plants extensively ; so do, 
amongst others, Messrs Hayes of Edmonton, Reeves of Acton, and Hawkins 
and Bennett of Twickenham. We know of no method of gaining admittance 
to the experimental farm to which you allude otherwise than by writing to the 
manager. 
Spiraea japonica (P. C .).—We are not surprised that you are disappointed 
by the disqualification of such an excellently cultivated and effective plant; and 
in all probability had it been permitted to rank as a greenhouse plant, as it had 
been grown in a pot under glass, and the collection of which it formed a. part 
had won a prize, the award would not have been seriously questioned. Still as 
the plant is as hardy as a Delphinium or a Pyrethrum the judges were justified 
in their decision, against which you raise no objection, but were simply taken 
by surprise. This Spiraea being perfectly hardy cannot be properly classed as 
either a stove or a greenhouse plant, although it does good service in a 
conservatory. 
Melons not Setting (J. K. I ).).—There is no doubt the soil has been too 
moist at the roots of the plants, and the atmosphere excessively moist and 
cold, with probably a too crowded condition of the growths. The remedy is to 
cease watering, or only give sufficient to prevent flagging, and be careful to 
wet the surface of the bed and the foliage of the plants as little as possible. If 
the growth is crowded thin it well. Keep the bottom heat at 80° to 85°, and 
the top heat 70° to 75° at night, with 10° to 15° rise in the daytime from sun 
heat. Allow a little ventilation constantly day and night, and ventilate freely 
when the weather is favourable. When half a dozen blossoms on a plant are 
fully expanded fertilise them, and continue daily to impregnate the fresh 
blossoms as they expand, stopping the shoots bearing the blossoms one joint 
above the fruit at the time of impregnation. When four to six fruit on a plant 
are set and swelling freely remove the others and earth-up the roots, supplying 
water copiously and as often as needed, creating a genial condition of the 
atmosphere by damping on warm afternoons, and close early. 
Various (F. J.). —It is not easy to give a categorical reply to your first 
question. We can only say that for the majority of plants we should prefer slate 
to open latticework stages. The former are more durable than the latter, and 
the plants are less liable to suffer from over-dryness in summer than on dry 
open stages. In such matters, however, very much depends on management— 
that is to say, some cultivators grow plants much better on wood stages than 
others do on slate slabs, and if cost is no object you may safely adopt these. 
Loam may be stored in the open air, provided it is prevented being saturated by 
rain on the one hand or unduly dried by the sun on the other; but do not store 
it under trees, or it will be permeated with their roots and impoverished. 
Bouvardias are well adapted for a cool conservatory after they have been well 
grown in a light structure, having an intermediate temperature in winter and 
spring—viz., S0° to 55°. Cool frames are suitable in summer. The plants can¬ 
not be well grown in a house in which they are some distance from the glass or 
shaded by larger plants. A compost of two-thirds loam, the remaining third 
peat, leaf soil and wood ashes, with sand to keep the soil porous, will be suitable 
for most softwooded greenhouse plants; but for many, indeed we may say most, 
that are naturally of free growth, such as Pelargoniums and Chrysanthemums, 
peat is not needed. 
Vine Leaves Scorched (Lincoln). —The foliage indicates that the house 
has been kept closed too long in the morning of a bright day, and then the 
ventilators opened too wide at once to lower the temperature. In such a case 
the evaporation from the foliage is always great, and tender leaves are browned 
at the edges—scorched or chilled. If sulphur has not been burnt in the house, 
the above is, we think, the cause of injury. 
Determining the Solidity of Conical Heaps (An Old Gardener ).— 
If the heap you wish to measure is a true cone, the following method will be 
applicable :—Multiply the area of the base by one-third part of the perpendicular 
height, and the product will be the solidity. But if, as your diagram seems to 
indicate, it is the frustum or basal portion of a cone, you can find the contents 
in this way : To the product of the diameters of the two ends add the sum of 
their squares ; then this sum being multiplied by the height and again by 
0-2618 will give the solidity. Another method to obtain the same result is the 
following—Multiply the areas of the two ends together, and to the square root of 
the product add the two areas; that sum multiplied by one-third of the per¬ 
pendicular height will be the solidity of the frustum. 
Nectarines Unsatisfactory (H. D. Hunt).—It the trees are in the open 
air we believe the fruit sustained injury by frost. The sap vessels and tissue 
were ruptured, and it is not unlikely they will commence growing as the fruit 
approaches maturity. The Shallots have been attacked with the maggot. There 
is no cure now. Next year you must plant on another site, dressing the ground 
liberally with soot and lime previously. 
The Onion Maggot (J. Webster). —In our experience the Onion maggot 
may be to a great extent prevented, but when once the grubs have penetrated 
into the centres of the plants, they cannot be destroyed without destroying the 
crop also. Preventive measures are twofold—using soot, lime, and salt freely 
just before sowing the seed, and then sowing in drills which have been made 
3 inches deep and nearly filled with wood ashes, covering the seed also with this 
material. In gardens where the Onion fly abounds it is wise to adopt the above 
precautions, and especially to have the Onion bed as far distant as possible from 
the site on where a previous crop has been injured. The next, and we con¬ 
sider the most effectual means of saving the crop, is when the plants are grow¬ 
ing, and immediately they are attacked with the fly. Close observation and 
prompt action are requisite in this matter. Had you examined the plants 
closely during the morning of bright days in May and early June, you would 
have seen a number of white specks on them like particles of pollen, and if you 
had examined these through a good pocket magnifier you would have found 
they were clusters of eggs, which would, as seen, resemble ants’ eggs, but more 
pointed. The Onion fly, Anthomyia ceparum, deposits these in thousands, and 
from these the maggots emerge that destroy the crop. As these eggs, as we 
have carefully observed, do not adhere to the leaves by any glutinous substance 
they are easily washed off. In fact they may be shaken off or blown off if 
needed, but the best plan is to dislodge them with the syringe and forcible appli¬ 
cations of paraffin and soapsuds— a small wineglassful of the former well mixed 
in a gallon of the latter. One good syringing daily so long as the eggs are being 
deposited will, as we have proved to our own satisfaction, save a crop of Onions. 
If application of paraffin and soapsuds are not effectual in your case now, you 
may conclude you did not write to us soon enough for information. We know 
of no better remedy, but shall be glad to publish the experience of those who 
have been successful in extirpating the destructive pest in question. 
Empress Eugenie Strawberry (J. S. G.).— The examples you have 
sent of trusses with fruit in various stages, also foliage, enable us to say that 
the above name is correct, and it follows that the variety which you grow under 
the same name, the fruit of which “differs materially” in character, is not 
Empress Eugenie. It is probably letter, as we do not consider Empress Eugdnie 
remarkable for good quality. If you compare fruit with the following descrip¬ 
tion of this Strawberry in the “ Fruit Manual ” you will be satisfied the name is 
correct:—“ Fruit very large, irregular, angular, furrowed, and uneven ; skin of 
a deep red colour, becoming almost black when highly ripened ; seeds small, not 
deeply embedded ; flesh red throughout, hollow at the core, tender, very juicy, 
and briskly flavoured.” 
