January 22 , I39i. ] 
JOURNAL OF HOnriCULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
61 
the conditions named will suit it exactly, and if it is once established 
some trouble will be experienced in expelling it again. Bath as a 
preventive and as a cure hot soapy water freely and repeatedly 
syringed over the foliage and stems is perhaps as good as anything. 
Red spider and thrips follow a check from lack of moisture at root. 
<Both are difficult to eradicate, and continued sponging is alone safe. 
Sponging is not a tedious process if properly undertaken. Most 
people now employ some favourite insecticide, and my method is to 
moisten a sponge with the mixture, squeeze most of the water 
out, and then draw the sponge over one leaf after another. It is a 
good plan to syringe the plant with soapy water a few minutes 
before sponging. In any case the foliage should have a moist 
sponge drawn over it from time to time during the season of 
growth. 
The last point I have to note is that of good feeding. It may 
be accepted as a good rule that animal manure as a part of the 
compost of pot plants grown in a high moist temperature is produc¬ 
tive of no good effect. On that account manure is as well left out 
of the compost employed for Crotons ; but, at the same time, 
'Crotons enjoy a strong diet just as much as the Leek or Cabbage. 
With the Croton we want neither flowers nor fruit, simply leaves, 
and therefore the importance of feeding to develope the foliage to 
its greatest limits. Liquid manure and soot often applied or weekly 
applications of superphosphate and nitrate of soda are means to this 
end. If the other conditions are fairly attended to it will be 
difficult to be too liberal with manures. I do not know any plant 
which is capable of absorbing a greater supply and thriving on it 
like this. Not only does this treatment produce foliage of good 
size, it moreover produces foliage of the best colour, which is the 
great desideratum. 
For the benefit of those who are unacquainted with Crotons I 
name the following as useful varieties—Lady Zetland, a fine hardy 
red-leaved variety, good for decoration ; Wiesmanni, still one of 
the best; aneitieniensis, in the way of the above, well worth 
■growing ; Johannis, wery fine drooping foliage ; Sinnitzianus, also 
a fine drooping sort; Countess, an invaluable variety ; Mrs. 
.Dorman, deep orange, narrow foliage, extra good, very hardy ; 
aigburthensis, cream, narrow, fine ; angustifolius, deeper shade 
■than above, very fine ; interruptus aureus, blight yellow, capital 
for room work ; Queen Victoria, still one of the best ; Evansianus, 
-one of the best for room work, broad leaved, fine. 
I have purposely omitted all twisted leaved sorts, as beginners 
-will find them somewhat difficult to keep clean ; also those of a 
rather tender nature, such as Hawkeri, Flambeau, and others. 
^Anyone with two pairs in different sizes of those named to begin 
•a winter campaign will find themselves very well placed indeed. 
Jt may be added that Croton foliage is of much value when cut for 
vase furnishing, but, of course we like to have a large plant or two 
io cut from. Specimen plants, it may be added, are most easily 
grown by keeping them in almost continuous growth. Two years 
will produce a fairly good specimen.—B. 
POTATOES FOR IRELAND. 
There is no gainsaying the fact that the Potato crop was a 
■great failure in some parts of Ireland, and how best to tide over 
present difficulties and to avoid a recurrence of the same are ques¬ 
tions exercising the minds of many well-wishers to the poor Irish 
peasantry. It has been decided—and very wisely, too, I think— 
not on this occasion to ship over so many tons of seed Potatoes 
•for unscrupulous and improvident persons to do just what they 
..please with, but rather to place at the disposal of competent autho¬ 
rities means whereby the requisite supplies of planting tubers can 
•be had at a nominal outlay by all desiring the same. Presumably, 
.every effort will be made to completely revolutionise the present 
very faulty systems of culture in vogue in the worst affected dis 
tricts, it having been proved that the best of the disease-resisting 
.varieties completely fail under what is known as the “lazy bed” 
method of cropping the ground. The ground in many instances, 
doubtless, is of an unsuitable character for Potato culture ; but I 
‘hold that land that cannot be made to grow this crop is unfit for 
anything else. Nor does fairly good ground so soon become 
“Potato sick ” as many would have us believe, one single crop in 
a year removing very little more from the ground than can be very 
cheaply restored each season—at least, such is my experience. We 
have now almost perforce grown Potatoes for ten years in suc¬ 
cession on the same plot of ground, this being about one-half an 
acre in extent, and to all appearances the crop lifted last October 
was as good as any yet dug from this quarter. No fault can be 
found with either the weight or quality of the crop, yet the same 
varieties and nearly the same stock has been kept from the 
first. All the manure the ground has is a thin coating of decayed 
.and charred garden rubbish, either soot or superphosphate of lime 
being thinly sown in the drills when the Potatoes are planted. 
The position is very low, or almost on a level wuth a lake of water 
facing south-east, sunshine falling on much of it during the early 
part of the day only, while the subsoil is a cold solid clay. As a 
proof of the coldness and dampness of this position I have only to 
add that snow lies much longer on it than almost any other part of 
the garden, water weeds also flouiishing on it. 
Now if Potatoes can be had good year after year from this 
piece of ground, and we have never had a failure yet, surely equally 
good results ought to attend well directed efforts in the greater 
part of Ireland. I must repeat “ well directed efforts,” for if all 
accounts are true, or even only partially so, the methods adopted 
by only too many poor Irishmen are not worthy of being termed 
efforts. The mere act, therefore, of placing abundance of plant¬ 
ing Potatoes within their reach is only one step in the right direc¬ 
tion. They want instruction, and should have ic too if I had my 
way. It is generally admitted that Irish labourers work well under 
skilled foremen in this country, and in all probability would be 
equally amenable to a little instruction and guidance in their own 
homes. Nor need the providing of a staff of men competent to 
instruct the Irish labourer in the art of growing Potatoes be such 
an expensive or serious matter as might at first sight appear. The 
Government or other duly accredited authorities have only to 
announce the fact, and hundreds of British gardeners would most 
probably present themselves for employment. At the present 
time, and in fact at all times, it is only too true that there are large 
numbers of experienced gardeners out of permanent employ¬ 
ment who would be very glad of an engagement in Ireland, sa.y 
for a whole year. Allot certain districts to each man engaged, 
allow him reasonable expenses, pay him well, and depend 
upon it money would never be better spent. It is not merely 
at planting time when his services would be required, but he 
could be doing much good at all other times. Advice is greatly 
needed on the preparation of the ground, which ought to have 
commenced ere this. Then there is much that might be told those 
needing the information concerning the advisability of taking more 
care of the manure made on the place, as well as the ashes from 
the peat fires. The instructor could likewise try various experi¬ 
ments with special manure, and give good advice cn the use of the 
same. Practical lessons on planting would naturally be a strong 
point in the educational process, and on the instructor would de¬ 
volve the selection of suitable v.arieties for the purpose. Summer 
culture would follow in due course, and in the autumn good advice 
as to the selection and storage of both planting and eating tubers 
could be given, this being particularly needed. 
Neither ought Potato culture be the only subject taken in 
hand by the instructor. By all accounts few of the poorer classes 
in Ireland think of growing any other vegetables, but I venture to 
think it would be much better for their health, and perhaps for 
their pockets, if they turned their attention to the cultivation of 
the same class of vegetables to be seen during the year in most 
c.'ttagers’ gardens on this side of the Irish Channel. With proper 
instruction, and a little further assistance in the way of seeds, 
plants, and bushes, the Irish might yet be equally as well situated 
as their more fortunate contemporaries in this country. In some 
instances, notably as regards climate, they have the advantage, and 
ought really to be in a position to supply our large towns with 
many early vegetables. This and much of what I have just 
advanced may be thought of a visionary character, but in reality is 
far less so than many much more expensive schemes tried in former 
years of scarcity, and which have completely failed to accomplish 
the good contemplated. 
As before hinted, nothing has been decided upon as regards the 
best varieties for planting in Ireland, and upon this portion of the 
subject at any rate there is good room for a discussion. It is not 
merely reputed disease resisters that are required, it being alto¬ 
gether unwise to rely exclusively upon these. Scotch Champion 
was principally sent to Ireland in 1880, but though this suits them 
well as far as quality is concerned, containing as it does a greater 
per-centage of starch than most other varieties, it does not appear 
to be an unqualified success. It even failed under well conducted 
experiments in Ireland last y«ar, and, all things considered, it is 
advisable to rely far less exclusively on the Champion than 
hitherto. Laxton’s Reward, obtained by crossing Scotch Champion 
with Magnum Bonum, is a great improvement on the former. 
In its habit of growth and disease resisting properties it 
much resembles it, but the tubers are of much better form, the 
eyes being shallow, while the quality is excellent. The flesh is 
somewhat too yellow to please many people, but there is no mis¬ 
take about its satisfying properties. Magnum Bonum is still a 
great favourite with us, and we had a capital crop on our low 
ground. The quality is good, and this Potato I would also 
strongly recommend for planting in Ireland. Sutton’s Abundance 
again is admirably adapted for the same purpose, this being of 
