240 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 18,18SOi 
distributed among the plants, this may prevent a serious spread 
of a fungoid disease that sometimes clears off the plants whole¬ 
sale. If the soil either about the roots or in the pits and frames 
is at all dry, a good watering ought to be given directly after 
the planting is completed, otherwise this may well be deferred 
for a few days, or left to the next fall of rain. Keeping the 
plants rather close for a few days will serve to re-establish them 
more quickly, but on no account should this coddling be long con¬ 
tinued or resorted to any time subsequently. From first to last 
Violets under glass require abundance of light and air, the lights 
being drawn clear off whenever the weather is mild and dry, and 
blocked up in the centre at other times, very frosty weather 
excepted. When an insufficiency of air is given, if this does not 
result in damping off, it will yet inevitably lead to an early and 
strong growth of the foliage, and with this there is certain to 
be a cessation of blooming. At the same time they must be 
well protected from severe frosts. 
The price for double Violets does not vary greatly. We get 
nearly or quite as much for them when they are very plentiful, or 
say in March or April, as we do when fewer are available. What 
florists like are fully developed blooms with long stems. The 
bunches usually contain about two dozen blooms, and for every 
dozen (13) bunches we get on an average 2s. Cd. clear. These 
bunches, even if not made up afresh, are retailed at not less than 
Gd. each, and those who take private orders may safely charge that 
sum for them. Much the same price is given for the white variety, 
and we find it nearly as floriferous as the Marie Louise. We expect 
to make about 12s. per light, and this sum is more often exceeded 
than not. It is a mistake to pick any before they are fully 
expanded, one fully blown Violet being equal to three half grown, 
or of the size they are too often gathered. Their own foliage sets 
them off well, but we cannot afford to weaken the plants by picking 
them constantly, and use neat or coloured Ivy leaves instead. 
Packed closely and tightly in either stiff cardboard or light wooden 
boxes, they can be sent any distance cheaply by post or rail.— 
I. M. H. 
GROWING AND SELLING FRUIT. 
The Apple. 
(Continued from page 19S.~) 
Insects and Diseases. —The Apple weevil is one of the worst 
pests the grower has to contend with. The female lays her eggs 
when the flowers are unfolding. These soon hatch into small 
maggots, and feed on the flowers and young fruit, eventually 
changing to the perfect insect, which feeds on the leaves, sometimes 
appearing in such large numbers as to almost strip the trees bare. 
In the case of small or young trees handpicking is the best remedy. 
In large orchards and on older trees this is impossible, but much 
good may be done by smearing a circle of Stockholm tar and grease 
round the stem of the tree about 4 inches broad. This will catch 
a large number of the adult females when they crawl up the stem 
in the spring to lay their eggs. It should be put on just before 
the sap begins to rise. Good cultivation and keeping the trees 
clean and healthy will also assist in keeping down insects. 
The grub or maggot of the Codlin Moth also does much damage 
by eating the young fruit, eventually causing them to drop from 
the tree, when the maggots leave the Apples and afterwards turn 
into a chrysalis for the winter, creeping into cracks of the bark, and 
similar places. This insect is also very difficult to destroy. Pick- 
ing up the fallen Apples and destroying them before the maggot 
escapes will kill some, and scrubbing the bark of the trees in winter 
with water containing 8 ozs. of softsoap to the gallon and a table¬ 
spoonful of carbolic acid will destroy a lot in their winter hiding 
places. Whitewashing the main stem and large branches with hot 
limewash will also be of benefit, and will cleanse the trees of moss 
and lichen at the same time. Stockholm tar and grease may also 
be put round the stems as above advised to catch some of the 
maggots when they are seeking winter quarters. 
American blight often infests old trees very much, and gives 
the places affected a white woolly appearance. It generally 
accompanies canker, and though not as a rule the cause of the 
disease, it must be got rid of before the cankered places will heal 
up again. Washing with softsoap and carbolic acid as I’ecom- 
mended, for the grub of the Codlin Moth will destroy the insects 
without injuring the trees. It should be well worked into the 
crevices with a stiff brush. 
Canker. —The cause of this disease is a much-debated point, 
and possibly it has various causes. If the roots of some kinds of 
Apples get into a cold and wet soil it will soon appear, while other 
varieties will not be aff acted. It is often caused by frost acting on 
the bark when green and tender, and rupturing the sap vessels. It 
first appears as a swelling with a few cracks in the bark, which 
keeps extending until a large piece of the branch becomes bare, and 
the wood proves to be dead. If the tree is very much affected it 
is best to grub it up, and to make sure the soil is in good order 
before planting another one near the place ; but if the tree is fairly 
vigorous it will, perhaps, do better if cut down and grafted with a 
more hardy sort. Any pieces of canker on the old stems that are 
left should be thoroughly scrubbed with the softsoap and carbolic 
acid solution as recommended for the Apple grub, and the rough 
places should be pared smooth with a sharp knife, then cover the 
wound with melted pitch, and it will gradually heal. 
Varieties of Apples. —As stated at the commencement of this- 
essay, it is impossible to give a selection of Apples that will suit 
every part of the country alike, and the intending planter should 
always seek advice in the locality before he commences plantings 
The following varieties are the most profitable, and the best croppers 
in the majority of places, among the older and well tried varieties. 
Several newer sorts also promise well, but require more testing 
before too much dependance is placed on them. They are, for this 
reason, not recommended here. It is a great mistake to grow many 
varieties with a view to profitable fruit culture ; a large quantity of 
one kind will pay better than a small quantity of many different 
sorts. But on the other hand it is not advisable to depend solely on 
one variety, as sometimes one sort will escape the spring frosts, 
while the crop on another, which may be a little earlier in flowering, 
will be spoiled. If the plantation is one acre or less in size four 
kinds will be ample, and if larger two early kinds, two midseason, 
and two late should be sufficient. 
Early Varieties .—Lord Suffield (tender, and apt to canker in 
some localities, in others one of the best), Keswick Codlin, Lord 
Grosvenor, Ecklinville, Manks Codlin. 
Midseason .—Golden Noble, Winter Hawthornden, Warner’s 
King, King of the Pipping. 
Late .—Blenheim Orange, Northern Greening, Wellington, 
Reinette de Canada, Barnack Beauty.—W. H. Divers. 
(To be continued.) 
HARDY FLOWER NOTES. 
With the early days of September summer seems to have come¬ 
at last, and our late flowers are enjoying the bright sunshine denied 
to their earlier companions. With gardens aglow with Dahlias and 
annuals of all forms and sizes, with tall spikes of Gladioli uprear- 
ing their magnificent flowers in beds and borders, the hardy flower 
has no light task to present its claims to the spectator’s eye. 
Difficult it may be, but it can be, and is done, and many plants now 
present themselves for notice. 
Good alpines in flower are by no means too plentiful, and one 
of the choicest which I saw the other day in a good collection was 
Cyananthus lobatus, which formed a beautiful carpet covered with 
splendid blue and white flowers. It was growing in a rockery in 
gritty soil, and was a pleasing picture to observe. In the same 
garden, and in similar soil, was Pratia angulata, a New Zealand 
plant, one of the Lobelia family, with white flowers, which are 
succeeded by purple berries. P. angulata is generally considered 
only half-hardy, but proves quite hardy with Mr. Latimer of Dum¬ 
fries. It is also grown in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, where I 
first saw it, but I could not ascertain whether it was hardy there. 
Many dwarf Campanulas are still in flower, but among the trailing 
species C. isophylla alba can hardly be surpassed. Like the Pratia, 
this Bellflower bears a doubtful reputation for hardiness, but is 
quite hardy with us in the south of Scotland if planted in a sunny, 
sheltered spot. Two neat Polygonums for the rock garden or 
flower border are P. Brunonis and P. vacciniifolium, the first of which 
is the taller and more attractive, but the latter has more of a 
trailing habit. Both of these are surpassed in brilliancy by the 
beautiful P. sphaarostachyon, w T hich grows about a foot high, and 
has bright crimson flowers, which bear a strong resemblance to a 
large Grape Hyacinth, but of a colour we would fain discover 
among the Muscaris. From the spikes of these dwarf Poly¬ 
gonums it seems a natural transition to think of the dwarf 
Tritomas, and from them to their taller congeners. T.MacOwani 
is a gem among the genus, growing from 12 to 18 inches in 
height, with beautiful orange scarlet flowers arranged in a sym¬ 
metrical manner along the spike. T. Uvaria nobilis is a giant 
among the various species, a large plant I saw the other day having 
