316 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 7, 1886. 
Some correspondent has, on page 249, hit the right nail on the head 
n respect to the Wilson Junior Blackberry, fruit of which was shown so 
large and plants sent out so small. The sentence worth remembering by 
introducers of new fruits is this, “ Miserable bits, that are scarcely the 
weight of the price in silver given for them, is not the way to send 
anything out.” Whatever the fruit may eventually prove, the plants 
distributed were very small juniors indeed, and it is no wonder so many 
have failed to give satisfaction. The Parsley-leaved Bramble is yet the 
largest and the best I have seen in this country, and the plants, well 
grown, bear magnificent fruit bountifully. 
Dennett s Champion Black CurranUappears to be going through the 
“ small sieve,” as all new fruits must do sooner or later, whatever they 
are, and come whence they may. This is only right, and criticism 
is apt to begin the sooner and be the keener in respect to anything sent 
out with a great flourish of its transcendental qualities. It is just possible 
that some disappointed growers of what is new to them do not wait quite 
long enough. They do not give plants time to get established and in 
condition to develop their fruit. I have measured berries of the variety 
in question with callipers, and found them quite as large as the catalogue 
representation, but have measured others, notably of the Baldwin, equally 
large. This obviously does not prove the Champion inferior. The truth 
is, that both these varieties, indeed all varieties, are small on weak plants 
and in some soil, the berries being as large again on strong plants in 
better land. Some persons appear to think that if a particular kind of 
fruit is produced and exhibited of unusual size that it will retain its 
gigantic character everywhere. It will do nothing of the kind, and it is 
® gigantic fallacy to assume that it will. Whether the Champion Currant 
is distinct from all others I am not able to say, but I have never seen 
heavier crops and finer fruit on three-year-old trees of any other variety. 
Mr. John Bunn is quite right; it is a thoughtless condition to stipulate 
for Black Currants to be shown on bunches, because the finest ripens first 
and almost invariably falls before the smaller and later, near the points of 
the bunches, is ripe. Still judges must “follow the schedule,” however 
ridiculous their awards may appear. 
But these mental wanderings must be curbed. The wee small hours 
of the morning call me away ; the flickering lamp is a silent monitor of 
fleeting life. I must begone. Let anyone jot down his thoughts just as 
they come fresh from the fountain, without any pretence at order and 
systematic arrangement, and he will not be surprised at these erratic 
jottings of—A Thinker. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
The time is at hand when the plants which have rendered the 
beds in the flower garden attractive during the last few months will 
have to make way for the spring-flowering plants. As soon as the 
summer plants have been nipped by frost they should be removed to 
the rubbish heap, except those required for use another year. These 
should have the roots and tops reduced, and be stored away in boxes 
about 30 inches long, 10 inches wide, and 4 inches deep, packing the 
plants closely together therein in light mould, and keeping them on 
the dry side at the roots and in an airy house out of the reach of 
frost during the winter months. The beds thus cleared should be 
manured if necessary, dug, and then planted with bulbs and other 
spring-flowering plants. 
Collections of bulbs, ranging in price from one guinea to five, to 
meet the requirements of gardens, may be had from any of the 
metropolitan and provincial nurserymen. These collections consist 
of proportionate quantities of Hyacinths in variety, Polyanthus 
and other Narcissi in variety, single and double Daffodils, Tulips, 
Crocufeus, Snowdrops, Anemones, Ranunculuses, Jonquils, Scilla 
sibirica, Irises, Crown Imperials, Winter Aconites, Lilium candidum, 
and Star of Bethlehem. The above when planted at from 6 to 
8 inches apart, mixed or in masses arranged according to their colour* 
make a very effective floral display in early spring. If the soil be 
of a heavy and consequently adhesive nature it will be advisable to 
put a little fine sand under and over each bulb ; in planting in light 
dry soil this is not necessary. 
Iu Alyssum saxatile compactum, Viola Golden Queen, and 
Oheiranthus (Wallflower), Marshalli, and common Primrose we have 
good yellow-flowering plants. Beilis alba (Double White Daisy), and 
Arabis albida supply us with white flowers, while light purple* and 
shades of blue are represented by Aubrietia Campbelli, Viola 
u ® Perfectlon > an(1 Forget-me-nots (Myosotis dissitiflora) ; and in 
Wallflower Harbinger we have a profusion of dark red, sweet-scented 
ever-welcome flowers. Silene pendula ruberrima and Saponaria 
calabrica (plants of these two should be raised from seed sown at 
the middle of July) are two charming pink-flowering plants close 
to the ground. To this list of suitable spring-flowering hardy plants 
might be added red and white Virginian Stocks, seed of which should 
have been sown early in August, and Saxifraga urabrosa (London 
Bride), and many others, including single and double red Daisies. 
But we have enumerated the names of a sufficient number of easily 
obtained fr. e-flowering spring plants to serve the purpose of those of 
youi readers who, perhaps for the first time, contemplate securing a 
floral display in their gardens in spring. As to the distance to be 
allowed between the plants no hard-and-fast line can be drawn, 
seeing that the number of plants necessary to cover a given space 
must be determined by their size. However, assuming the plants to 
be of medium size, we would recommend giving Wallflowers a space 
of 1 foot apart, Daisies, Arabis, and Primroses 6 inches each way, 
and all the others about 9 inches from centre to centre of the indi¬ 
vidual plants. The latter should be taken up carefully with the soil 
adhering to the roots, and be planted with a garden trowel about the 
same depth in the ground as they were before, making the soil 
moderately firm about the roots as the work proceeds. Plants of 
Forget-me-nots which were “laid in” in rows about 18 inches 
apart towards the middle or end of May last will now be surrounded 
by a numerous offspring of seedling fplants, which should, as indi¬ 
cated, be taken with care and transferred to the beds. A square 
yard of Aubrietias or Arabises may be divided so as to plant several 
good-sized beds with them. Planes of the Primrose are easily raised 
by sowing a packet of seed in spring, and afterwards pricking the 
seedlings out in nursery beds and attending to them in the way of 
watering them at the roots and keeping them free from weeds. 
Wallflowers raised from seed sown in May should be treated in the 
same way.—H. W. Ward, Longford Castle. 
TRENCHED v. UNTRENCHED SOIL. 
Holiday-making and an overwhelming amount of work have untilnow 
prevented an acknowledgment of my indebtedness to Mr. Iggulden for, 
as he frankly states, so pleasantly endeavouring to “crack the nut” I 
offered him on the subject of trenching a short time ago. I am sorry to 
say, though, that much as I appreciate his kindness in that respect, I cannot 
yet see that he has adduced any fresh evidence in support of his theory of 
shallow cultivation. It is quite true, as he states, that in his first article 
on the subject he mentions that one class of soil may be benefited by 
trenching, but if we follow him into the next paragraph we shall find this 
statement qualified by the assertion {that more harm than good is the 
result of trenching, and, in fact, that (t > use his own words) “ the whole 
business has been overdone ; ” indeed, it is no undue exaggeration to state 
that from first to last Mr. Iggulden has been opposed to speak to trenching 
in any form. Now, no one has a right to dictate to your correspondent 
the particular mode by which he is to cultivate the soil under his charge, 
and if he can command for a given time excellent or fairly good crops by 
adopting a shallow system of cultivation, then by all means lot him do so, 
as it is a matter with which he alone is personally concerned; but it is 
quite a different matter when the latter steps beyond the boundary of his 
own domain to teach others that a locally tried system of shallow cultiva¬ 
tion is henceforth the most rational method for general adoption. Such 
a theory as this cannot be upheld. It is opposed even to the most recent 
scientific teaching, as well as to the experience of the majority of practical 
gardeners, as the many interesting communications which appeared after 
your correspondent’s article abundantly testified. 
Shallow cultivation had, previous to the invention and introduction of 
the steam plough, proved the bane of successful farming, tending to the 
impoverishment of the surface of the land ; but when improved knowledge, 
capital, and steam power were brought into play, with a determination to 
unearth the riches that had for centuries lain locked up a foot or so lower, 
then did farmers begin to be awake to the fact that if you want first-class 
crops and permanent fertility in the soil something more than the mere 
“ tickliDg of the surface ” must he resorted to ; that, in fact, a deep tilth 
was the grand secret of successful cultivation, and as with farmers so is it 
with gardeners and their land and crops. Perhaps Mr. Iggulden will say, 
What has farming to do with gardening ? I say it has a very great deal 
to do with it, for the same general principles govern both subjects, and 
especially in regard to soil, and therefore if the “surface tickling” of 
ante-steam-plough days has been abandoned by farmers for deep cultiva¬ 
tion with excellent results, surely horticulturists will not attempt such a 
retrograde movement as abandoning trenching for the ancient worn-out 
shallow surface cultivation of our forefathers. We are told that only 
light gravelly soil is benefited by trenching, and even the propriety of 
doing that is questioned, and that all of a clayey nature is the better for 
not being subject to that process. The Marston soil is of a heavy texture, 
not more than 18 inches deep, with an underlying stiff clay subsoil. This, 
or a portion of it, we are as-ured has been trenched, but the results have 
been anything but satisfactory, and why ? because, as your correspondent 
tells us, he cannot afford the time or his employer the means to properly 
trench and drain it. Assuming for a moment that a considerable amount 
of labour and expenditure is involved in properly trenching soils of the 
Marston type, what about the corresponding items for mulching and the 
additional food required to replenish the surface soil which on account 
of the constant drain upon its resources must become frequently 
exhausted ? 
The theory that trenching soils of this type is wrong is a mistake, that 
has and can be proved over and. over again—the fault lies not with the 
principle, but with the way in which it is carried out. Hence, to trench 
a soil of this kind more than ordinary care and judgment is necessary. 
Chemistry teaches us that clay soils absorb and retain a greater amount 
of moisture than any other soil, and that the denser the soil the slower 
does the evap nation take place, consequently the greater part of the heat 
which should warm the land is expended in evaporating the m nature, and 
thus close, compact, retentive soils are naturally cold. On the other 
