August 12, 1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 135 
in resisting frost to many other varieties. Excellent, too, hut 
scarcely so hardy was Yeitch's Self-protecting. In many of the 
gardens around Knight’s Protecting and Dilcock’s Bride are still 
preferred for early spring use. A most important point in plant¬ 
ing Broccoli now is that the ground, instead of being forked over 
and made loose and friable, should rather be tramped and left 
level after the Potato crop is removed. If fine heads and less 
foliage is desired the ground must be firm. This was recently 
pointed out in the Journal by Mr. Wright.—W. J. M., Clonmel. 
BRIGHOUSE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
A predecessor of mine once bought some famous (as he 
thought) Devonshire cider in bottles, which he brought home in 
triumph. It fizzed and creamed like champagne, and he gave 
a glass of it to an old gardener w T ho had lived on rough Dorset 
cider all his life, “Well, sir,” said he in reply to the question 
how he liked it, “ I don’t believe there is an Apple in a hogshead 
of it.” I am afraid that much the same sort of thing may be said 
of these remarks. I sit down to write a description of a Yorkshire 
flower show, but I am afraid that very little will or can be said 
about what should be the most important part of such an exhi¬ 
bition, and that is the flowers. 
There were flowers much as there is sawdust at a circus, but 
they bore about the same relation to the rest of the entertainment 
as the former does to the daring riders who jump through hoops 
and all the fun of the show. We had horses, dogs, cows, pony 
racing, horse racing, horses in traps, and roadsters, agricultural 
horses, and every kind of quadruped except donkeys. 
The flowers were, alas ! very poor. But what can one expect 
after the weather we have had ? If you want to know what the 
winter has been come to the West Riding of Yorkshire ; here you 
will see Conifers killed, such shrubs as the Aucubas and Euonymus 
as brown and withered as if they had been burnt with an iron. 
The weather, too, during the so-called summer has been fearful. 
Nearly every day till this last week we have had heavy downfalls 
of rain, and there has never been really hot sunshine. 
A man who lives on the moors told me the other day, that up 
there they had “ nine months of winter and three of cauld weather,” 
and he never spoke truer words. Last year another man who 
keeps an inn at the entrance to the moor which crosses Blackstone 
Edge told me they only had one fine day, and that was on the 
12th of August. There is great humour in these Yorkshire tykes, 
and no end of fun to be derived from going among them. You 
may see this from some of the signs at the public houses. One 
that I found in a narrow bye street at Halifax may be mentioned. 
There was written up in gold letters “ Good ale given away here 
to-morrow, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” A 
very common name in this district for a public house is “ The 
Fleece.” How this must amuse a teetotaller ; it is so very appro¬ 
priate here, where hard drinking is so prevalent. 
The only flowers that struck me as worth noticing at the Show 
at Brighouse were the Fuchsias. There is here a family called 
Kershaw who are noted for being good gardener’s. They all keep 
nursery gardens, and are enthusiastic growers of plants. One of 
these, the son of the founder of the family, J. H. Kershaw, showed 
some magnificent Fuchsias, the best of which was the Earl of 
Beaconsfield. 
The cut flowers were very poor. The Roses made one roar with 
laughter. “They look, Jack,” said a witty brother of mine, “as 
if they had crossed the Channel and been mastheaded for insub¬ 
ordination.” The Asters were about the size of Pinks. The herba¬ 
ceous Phloxes appeared to have shared the bed of the owner, or 
to have been the battle ground of all his neighbours’ cats. But 
they all took prizes. The Judges were very merciful, and I am 
glad I was not one of them. 
The trotting and leaping were first-rate, and so was the music. 
But why, can anyone tell me, why does the band here always 
play the Hallelujah Chorus during the racing ? Surely poor 
Handel never intended his divine strains to furnish inspiring 
music for horses to trot or gallop to ; yet for years I have heard 
this grand Chorus played at the same time. It does sound so very 
droll. A reason may be why so much sacred music is introduced, 
that the field is next to the church. If so, the compliment is a 
very delicate one indeed.— Wyld Savage. 
some accident it is brought near the surface, when probably a 
small proportion of the seeds may start. The surface of the soil 
must not be allowed to become dry, or the seedlings will perish ; 
whilst, on the contrary, if kept too wet the plants are liable to 
damp off, or canker will commence in the young rootlets. 
My plan of sowing the seed is as follows :—I procure light boxes 
about 15 inches long by 12 wide, and not more than 3 inches deep 
inside. I bore a number of holes half an inch in diameter through 
the bottom of the boxes ; I then place a drainage of potsherds in 
the box fully an inch deep, and on this a layer of dead leaves (not 
decomposed). In the absence of leaves I employ short straw, old 
thatch, or any substance that will prevent the soil from stopping 
the drainage. The boxes are then ready for the compost, which 
consists of the following substance :—Two parts good strong turfy 
loam free from peat or sand, two parts manure—decayed cow or 
horse dung two years old, free from worms or insects ; and two 
parts leaf soil, silver sand, charcoal, or burnt refuse in equal pro¬ 
portions. The sand should be as coarse as it can be obtained, and 
the charcoal in lumps about the size of peas. This compost requires 
passing through a half-inch riddle. The boxes must be filled within 
half an inch of the top, pressing the soil firmly down, and on the 
surface a thin layer of finely sifted compost containing a good 
proportion of silver sand. I level the surface with a trowel. The seed 
is mixed with dried silver sand, and then sown thinly and evenly. 
After sowing the seed the soil is moistened with water from a very 
finely perforated rose, allowing the water to descend on the box 
in fine spray until the whole of the compost is thoroughly supplied. 
The boxes are covered until the seed germinates, when I sprinkle 
over the seed a small quantity of the finely sifted compost just 
sufficient to cover the seed. When the plants appear they must 
be gradually inured to the light, carefully shading them from sun 
or drying winds. A frame facing northward is very useful at 
this time. 
When the plants have produced their second leaves I dibble 
them out inch apart in other boxes in a similar compost, but 
not containing so much silver sand. There the seedlings remain 
until they become crowded, when they are again planted 3 to 
4 inches apart, where they remain until they bloom. At all times 
carefully remove dead foliage, keep the plants free from dust, and 
constantly watch for the aphides, which are very troublesome. The 
best mode of destroying them is to damp the plants with a 
decoction of Gishurst compound or soft soap in the proportion of 
2 ozs. to a gallon of water. I set the boxes on a stand or table, 
and then syringe under the leaves as well as over the plants, and 
allow it to dry on them. 
After the seedlings are planted out of the seed box it will be 
a good plan to stir the surface of the soil, sprinkle a little fine 
compost over it, water and shade again, when it is possible another 
crop of seedlings may appear. This I have never known to occur 
when the seed has been sown as I have directed ; but no doubt 
when the seed is sown too deeply stirring the soil, or even lifting 
the plants, will bring the seed so near the surface that it will 
commence growth. 
Carefully watch for slugs, which are very destructive amongst 
young plants. I take a lantern after dark and hunt for them. 
Do not at any time place the boxes on the ground permanently, as 
the worms are sure to prove troublesome. Either place them on a 
bed of ashes or on boards raised a few inches above the soil; and 
I also nail a narrow piece of wood about an inch wide and half an 
inch thick across each end underneath the box to prevent the 
drainage of the boxes becoming stopped. At no time for plants 
in boxes do 1 employ a greater depth of compost than 2 inches, 
whilst for seed when sown 1^ inch is ample.— Geo. Rudd. 
SUGGESTIONS FOR CHECKING THE POTATO 
DISEASE. 
Mr. G. H. With, F.R.A.S., Agricultural and Sanitary Chemist 
to the Hereford Society for Aiding the Industrious, writes as 
follows respecting the checking of Potato disease :— 
The yearly destruction of our Potato crop, and the great loss of 
food which follows, render it absolutely necessary that some plan 
for checking, and if possible exterminating, the disease should be 
tried without delay. After giving much attention to the subject 
I offer these suggestions, with the full belief that if they are care¬ 
fully followed results will be obtained which will far more than 
repay the trouble. 
The Potato disease is owing to the destructive action of two 
kinds of mildew ; and it starts afresh every year from 6eeds, or 
spores as they are called, which have rested during the previous 
autumn andjwinter in the ground, the Potato tubers, or the manure 
heap. 
1, Bum the haulm and all waste Potatoes, parings, &c., not 
AURICULAS FROM SEED. 
As the seed of these beautiful flowers is now ripe and sowing 
must now commence, I propose, in answer to several inquiries, 
to give particulars of my mode of sowing and after-management of 
the seedlings. The following points must be particularly attended 
to : —Never sow the seed deeply, or it will not germinate until by 
