866 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May r, 189i; 
minimum on the grass on the 1st, 15'2°. Mean temperature of the air, 
43'1°. Nights below 32°, in the shade, sixteen ; on the grass, twenty. 
Total duration of sunshine in the month, eighty-six hours, or 21 per 
cent, of possible duration; eight sunless days. Total rainfall, 1'39 inch. 
Eain fell on seventeen days. Average velocity of wind, 9‘7 miles per 
hour. Velocity exceeded 400 miles on two days, and fell short of 
100 miles on five days. Approximate averages for April : — Mean 
temperature, 4G'4°; sunshine, 123 hours ; rainfall, TCG inch. A dull, 
rather dry, and very cold month, with a great deal of N.E. wind. No 
April in the last sixteen years has been so cold, and only one of the 
last ten years has had less sunshine. The night temperatures were 
lower, and we had actually less sunshine than in March. A maximum 
of 60° was only reached on the last day. All vegetation is very late.— 
J. Mallendee. 
- The Black Cuerant Mite.—F rom the general distribution 
of the above mite I fear the task of extermination will be a difficult one. 
Picking off the buds as practised by Mr. Walter Kruse, especially when 
done by assistants, will not be effective. One bud dropped or not picked 
cleanly from the twig will render the labour abortive. Where a few 
buds are affected only it might be accomplished, but even that is not a 
desirable way, as no doubt the mites travel from exhausted swollen buds 
to healthy and unsuspected ones, and when these blossom the bees carry 
them from affected to healthy plants. Nothing but pruning closely 
and burning immediately they are cut will suffice, and this should be 
performed during December or January, keeping a strict watch there¬ 
after for every suspected bud. Experiments by syringing with petro¬ 
leum might assist in warding them off ; as it is the centre of the buds 
that the mites attack any arsenical or poisonous solution would not be 
likely to reach the parts the mites eat. Then every one should do some¬ 
thing, as one in a neighbourhood neglecting precautions will infect a 
wild area, through bees and other insects transmitting them.—W. T. 
- The Value of Flowers. —We sometimes see reports of the 
prices obtained by American florists for bouquets, &c., but in a recent 
case the evidence indicated that our own florists have not mirch to 
complain about in this matter. A London florist sued a customer for 
the recovery of £34 17s. 6d., declared to be owing for flowers. The 
defence was that the charges were excessive. The main opposition was 
that 5 guineas had twice been charged for bouquets, and 10 guineas for 
one supplied to him last Boxing Day. “ The reason, it was said, that 
10 guineas were charged was because of the time of year, and that two 
young ladies were occupied the whole of Bank Holiday upon this 
bouquet. For nine years defendant had dealt with the plaintiffs, and 
always paid similar sums to these for flowers. One of the plaintiffs said 
one of the items of 5 guineas was for a basket of flowers. The basket 
would be about 3 feet high, and cost about 17s. 6d. Then it was filled 
with pink Roses. The usual price for a buttonhole was Is. 6d., but 
sometimes defendant was charged 3s. Gd. because he had a very large 
one made. The actual cost of the bouquet was £8 15s. Gd. The balance 
was the profit. The defendant generally wore Carnations in his button¬ 
hole, and the usual charge for them was 3s. Gd. Judgment was given 
for plaintiffs for the amount claimed.” 
TOP-DRESSING POT PLANTS. 
The principal objection which Mr. Hugh Dale urges against this 
practice is one that carries considerable weight in certain cases ; but I 
believe those cases are exceptions rather than the rule. In the majority 
of instances wdien plants are top-dressed the roots are in a healthy con¬ 
dition, and root so quickly into the fresh soil that the difficulty about 
knowing when to water is really more imaginary than real. 
With the pots crammed full of roots and the whole mass thoroughly 
watered through a rose after top-dressing, those in charge of the plants 
ought not to be deceived or be in doubt as to when to give water, and it is 
surprising to see how quickly plants “pickup” after having been top- 
dressed ; this in itself should be a proof that the watering difficulty has 
been overcome. I do not advocate this practice instead of the highly 
beneficial one of dressing with artiGcial manures, but to be used in con¬ 
junction with it, for this reason, after repeated dressings with artificial 
manures the soil becomes close and sour on the surface. Then if this is 
removed and a suitable top-dressing given, young roots quickly push into 
it and are in the best possible condition to benefit from dressings of 
artificial manures, the value of which it would be difficult to over-esti¬ 
mate. 
CUTTIXG OFF THE ROOTS OF PALMS. 
I cannot help thinking that the Palms which Mr. Hugh Dale men¬ 
tions as being annually killed by the disrooting process must have been 
in a very unsatisfactory condition when that operation was performed, 
as I have never in a single instance failed to carry the plant through the 
ordeal satisfactorily when the operation was conducted under the con¬ 
ditions given in my previous artiele. My experience leads me to believe 
that the great loss that we sometimes see in Palms is due to the fact that 
they are disturbed at the roots at a time when their constitution is debi¬ 
litated by having been used for deeorative purposes in unfavourable posi¬ 
tions, anti by not taking the necessary precautions to keep them in a 
close moist house, where they are well shaded from sunshine for a few 
weeks after the roots have been curtailed.—D. 
PEACHES AND NECTARINES. 
Setting Fruits with the Syringe. 
I DO not for one moment suppose that Mr. H. Dunkin would feel 
flattered at my reply to his criticism ; at any rate, he seems to have 
extraordinary faith in his own opinions on the matter, but with all his 
arguments I fail to see how he has shattered my objection to syringing 
Peaches in bloom ; the facts remain indisputable. With respect to 
modifying my assertion, the word was merely altered to suit my 
fastidious opponent, not the meaning of it. I simply endeavoured to 
fix it so that there was no possibility of warping it into something else. 
If your correspondent can give me absolute proof of the efficacy of his 
system I shall only be too pleased, but having tried it a great many 
times, and also seen it tried by other experienced practical men with 
very meagre success, I have stamped it as doubtful, and I have yet to learn 
I am in error. Then our friend tries to draw a parallel between rich 
Vine borders and Peach blossom, which is a wide shot. The former are 
easily subjected to modification, but there can be no alteration in the 
structure of a Peach flower, and we must have made slow progress, com¬ 
paratively speaking, in the way of fertilising Peaches when we are still 
pursuing the same plan our forefathers did ; surely this fact alone 
proves the soundness of it. The success attained by syringing pointed 
out by your correspon'^ent was brought about in all probability by being 
performed in a house that had previously been kept far too dry in the 
flowering stage, and the sjwinging equalised matters and so brought 
about the desired state of things to ensure a good set. My opponent 
still finds fault with the brush, but it is not its inefficiency but the 
fault of imperfectly developed flowers. I presume the syringe would 
not put that right. 
Then Mr. H. Dunkin seems filled with a burning desire to know 
under what conditions I practised with the syringe. Out of numerous 
instances I will give him one of the most important—viz., a lofty lean-to 
vinery, containing Gros Colman, Lady Downe's, Alnwick Seedling, 
Alicante, and Golden Queen were syringed judiciously about midday 
drrring the flowering peiiod, at which time the weather was of the most 
brilliant description, and highly favourable to the success of the 
experiment. The Vines were not deluged, but syringed sufficiently to 
disperse the pollen, and I do not think in all my experience I ever saw 
a more miserable set. Then my adroit critic becomes exultant, for he is 
the first I ever heard of who was able to shatter pracGcal facts to such 
an extent as to be able to drive a carriage and pair through. “ What a 
grand avenue 1 ” this is, indeed, the height of fervent imagination. 
But, Mr. Editor, as I have already trespassed too much on your valuable 
space I will conclude, as I cannot see any matter of practical importance 
in my friend’s remarks to necessitate any further reply from me, washing 
him every success with the theory he so emphatically upholds, I will 
finally leave him to pirrsuc the error of his w'ays.—J. J. C. 
Few Roses obtain the coveted distinetion conveyed by the award of 
the National Rose Soeiety’s gold medal, and so much care is exercised in 
conferring this honour, that it is a reliable indication of exceptional 
merit. Messrs. Paul & Son of Cheshunt w^ere successful some time since 
in raising a series of seedlings from Madame Isaac Pereire, and by far 
the best of these which has yet come under our notice is that bearing the 
name of Mrs. Paul, and of which w'e are enabled to present an illustra¬ 
tion in fig. 67. This handsome Rose, one of the Bourbon type, was shown 
last year with much success, as besides seeuring the gold medal of the 
N.R.S. at the Crystal Palace, it w’as adjudged aw^ards of merit and certi¬ 
ficates by the Royal Horticultural Society, the Royal Botanic Society of 
London, at Manchester, and elsewdiere; it has quite a long record of 
distinctions in 'act. 
The flowers are notable for their great substance ; the petals broad, 
thick, and being well expanded at the outer part of the bloom give it a 
very imposing appearance. The icolour is a delicate rosy blush shade, 
becoming nearly white when fully open ; but the centre is alway^s of a 
clear pleasing pink tint. The plant is of good constitution and evidently 
well adapted for culture in po's and forcing, for Messrs. Paul & Son had 
a plant in flow'cr at one of the Drill Hall meetings early last month, and 
the flow'er w'as as fine as that depicted in the engraving. 
Roses from Cuttings. 
Where Roses are grown in pots to flower during April they afford a 
ready means of increasing the stock by cuttings. At no time of the 
