486 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 18, 1891. 
e]|ual to the appearance of the root«, and I daresay this was gene¬ 
rally found to be the case. 
There does not seem to be a vegetable more generally grown 
around Paris, and it is a well-known fact that our market gardeners 
indtei excel in its culture. It may, theref' re, interest some of 
your readers to know which are the principal conditions required 
to produce such exquisite Ra'^ishes instead of the coarse, stringy, 
hollow, ill-flavoured roots which are still too often met with not a 
g eit di-itance from Paris. 
The Radish culture, as practised by our market growers, com¬ 
prises several succssional “ se.asons,” to use their own expression. 
For the first crop they make up, in the course of December, a hot¬ 
bed as described previously, put on the top of this 5 to 6 inches of 
compost, and then the frames with the lights on to induce it to 
heat quickly. During a spell of frosty weather it may be necessary 
to cover with straw ma's. As soon as the heat is in suitable con¬ 
dition the soil is made level, the seed sown rather thinly, and in 
such a manner that the plants will not stand less than 1 inch apart, 
be ng then covered with half an inch of mould, and the lights 
placed on it at once. In a very few days the seedlings will appear, 
and itisthen necessary tojadmit abundance of air on every favourable 
occasion, using, of course, every available means to exclude frost. 
Under that treatment the Radishes may be gathered in thirty-five 
to forty days, acmrding to the variety sown. 
Frame culture towards the end of December is, however, not 
without difficulties, particularly in the beginning. To avoid the 
Radishes becoming drawn and spindly air must be admitted to 
the frame whenever possible. Radishes when grown in frames 
always succeed better a^one than associated with other early crops. 
However, it is not always within the means of gardeners to devote a 
whole hotbed to their culture, in which case it would be advisable to 
grow them with plants like them that require much ventilation, 
such as the “ fine early white ” spring Lettuces and Carrots. For 
mixed culture the Turnip, and Olive-shaped Scarlet, Deep Scarlet, 
and white sorts being more hardy than the Olive-shaped White- 
tipped and other forcing Radishes, are to be preferred. The 
majoiity of our growers, owing to the difficulties attending Radish 
forcing in December, prefer to start towards January 15th, 
when lights are not required. The operation in that case is as 
follows :— 
A hotbed, 12 to 15 inches deep and 4 feet wide, is formed as if 
it were to receive frames with lights ; about G inches of good 
compost or soil is placed upon it, and the bed covered with straw 
mats, which are left until it is well warmed through—viz., three or 
four days. After that time the mats are removed, the soil gently 
pressed down, and the surface pulverised to render it level. The 
seed is then sown at the rate of about one third of an ounce per 
square metre (9 square feet), taking great care to distribute it as 
uniformly as p s^ible, pressed down firmly with a p’ece of wood to 
^PP^y if exactly upon the soil ; the bed is then surfaced with 
a little over 1 inch of good soil, watered if necessary, and the whole 
covered with straw mats until the s edlings are well up. Then the 
mats are rensoved during the day, weather permitting, and replaced 
every evening. Six weeks to two months later—that is, in the 
course of March—the whole cr. p, or a portion of it, is pulled at a 
time. The ground when cleared is slightly tilled, surfaced with 
about 4 inches of new soil, hoed, pressed down, and sown again. 
The straw mats may this time be dispensed with, but the applica¬ 
tions of water should be more frequent to prevent the soil becoming 
dry. This second crop is fit for sale in about one month from the 
time of sowing. The same hotbed may thus produce from January 
to June as many as four succesdonal crops if it is surfaced each 
time with some new compost or mould. It goes without saying 
that the supplies of water must be more liberal in proportion as 
the season advances. 
To produce Radishes rf the best quality it is essential that 
the plants be grown steadily avithout a check. Fiona the time of 
sowing until the roots are pulled they are never allowed to suffer 
frorn want of water or nourishment. This is indispensable, 
particularly with the earlier, quicker growing varieties, such as 
Turnip Extra Early Scarlet White - tipped Forcing, Scarlet 
Forcing, and Deep Scarlet Forcing; also the Olive-shaped 
Scarlet White-tipped (French Breakfast), which are the sorts 
usually grown by the French market gardeners. It is also 
necessary to prevent the seed being sown too thickly or too thinly, 
in order to induce a uniform growth, and although the plants 
develop with but a very moderate heat, they should never suffer 
enough from cold to arrest their growth. 
To sum up the above notes, I may say that the principal 
points to success are the following :—Sow on a firm good compost, 
afford a regular heat and a constantly moist atmosphere, grow the 
plants steadily and without a check, otherwi e the roots instead of 
being crisp and tender will be coarse and stringy. That rule applies 
to all Radishes, particularly to the improved early soris already 
ment'oned. These sorts can be grown in the best possible condition 
only in places or near cities with frequent, regular markets, where 
the roots may be delivered on the day they are fit for sale, for if 
it is possible to grow them quickly they as speedily become hollow 
at the centre. 
For piivate gardeners, and in places where the markets are 
held but once or twice a week, the hardier and less rapid growing 
varieties, such as the Turnip Scarlet and Early Scarlet, Olive-shaped 
Scarlet, Deep Scarlet and Purple White-tipped are to be given the 
preference. These may be grown in ordinary garden soil, but will 
succeed b.tter if the soil has been mixed with some leaf mould. 
The Scarlet White-tipped Turnip, whether grown on a hotbed, under 
frame, or in the open ground, requires the same attention as the 
Olive-shaped White-tipped, which is the kind most grown in 
February on hotbeds without any other protection than that of 
straw mats as described ; but to give the best result the soil wherein 
the former or White-tipped Turnip is grown should be trodden 
over or pressed down more firmly before sowing, and the seed 
should be covered with hardly half inch of mould. The open air 
culture, from April onwards, supplies roots until November, and 
even la^er ; after that time come in the Radishes obtained from 
sowings made in October in the open ground under cold frames or 
bellglasses. 
Where uninterrupted supplies are to be taken to the market 
during summer a sowing should be made every two days, or even 
every day in a firm, rich, cool soil. All our market growers 
proceed in that way, and it would be well if private gardeners did 
the same. 
It is through not following the above simple rules, and by 
trying to grow the earliest and less hardy kinds as they grew the 
older sorts (sowing them in ordinary garden soil too wide apart),, 
that people so often complain of the result they obtain with im¬ 
proved forcing and French Breakfast Radishes.— E. Schaettel, 
Paris. 
It is now the busy season, when constant attention is necessary to 
Koses, thinning out all w'eakly shoots, and looking closely after the 
Rose grub. The severe winter has had no effect in diminishing this pest, 
as they are plentiful enough now. We pinch them between the thumb 
and finger, at the same time pulling the leaf off. When we left 
them on after pinching them w^e could not tell as readily afterwards 
the live ones from the dead without unrolling the leaves. The spittle- 
fly should also le destioj’ed, although it is not so destructive as the 
grub. Any traces of the orange fungus should be carefully removed 
and burnt. It is surprising how rapidly it spreads when once it 
commences. Softsoap will kill it, but it is difficult to syringe the under 
side of leaves of dwarf Roses. The season is very backward, and 
unless the weather becomes hot there will not be many Roses before. 
July. 
Tea Roses a’-e quite a fortnight later than last year. Here in the 
Midlands, on June lOth, not a Eose was early enough for disbudding, 
excepting Marguerite de St. Amand, which is always ready long before 
any other. I like to disbud as soon as they can be safely handled, so- 
that the sap can all flow into the central bud. 
The Roses still show the effects of the Whitsuntide frost, the leaves-' 
that were young then being quite shrivelled up. I always thought Her 
Majesty a faiily hardy Rose, but we have lost above half of our stock, 
this winter.— Alma. 
Rose Peospects. 
Of course by this I mean the prospects of Rrise showing, which is- 
always at this time of the year a matter much talked about in that little 
world over which Queen Rosa leigns supreme, and many and varied are,, 
according to the seasons, the expressions of hopelessness and despair. I do 
not think that in my long experience as a sort of chamberlain in the 
court of her majesty I have ever heard .such wails of despair, such 
pessimistic views, as many of our exhibitors are daily sending me ; a 
very chorus of Jeremiahs, whose tale is nothing but mourning, lamentation, 
and woe, and more especially is this the case with growers of Tea Roses, 
They have been, in fact we all have, persuading ourselves that they 
Were as hardy as H.P.’s, and this rude shock to our senses has come from, 
the terribly severe weather of 1890-91. As far as my experience gaen 
the sharp fr st of Whit-Sunday has not done much, if any, harm to- 
Roses in this neighbourhood, and it is to the ravages of the winter frosts, 
that we owe the desolation which reigns in many a garden now. 
As far as I can gather from reports which I have from all parts and 
from my own observations, the East Anglians have had the roughest time 
of it. That noble army of persons who hail from there will probably con¬ 
sider that they deserve to be ca'led “a noble army of martyrs.” One 
friend, whese heart was too full I suppose to write a letter, sends a 
