116 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Febraa»y 9, 1893. 
(page 564, last vol.)iits management as regards manure clearly set forth, 
and the results in the health (and that means profitable production) of 
the fruit trees well defined. Wbat more does anyone want to know? 
Everyone undertaking to grow fruit for profit should know what the 
land—the raw material out of which fruit is intended to be manu¬ 
factured—contains. If the analysis is satisfactory, then we must look 
to the mechanical nature of the soiL If there is a plough pan or a pan 
within 2 feet of the surface that land will not grow Apples, Cherries, and 
Pears on free stocks satisfactorily; but“ Plums, Gooseberries, and Black 
and Red Currants do well,” because they are surface rooting, and have 
many more fibres than Apples, Cherries, and Pears on free stocks, which 
to obtain the food their massive heads require must have a soil their roots 
can penetrate freely and deeply. A soil with a pan within 2 feet of the 
surface will need trenching and the bottom loosened, and drains will be 
necessary. These things are generally neglected, and the outcry is the 
trees canker and gum when they should be coming to full profit. 
Apples on Paradise, Cherries on Mahaleb, Pears on Quince, or double- 
grafted (with Plums, Gooseberries, and Currants) should only be 
attempted on such soil, for it is not naturally fitted for auy other. 
Draining does much to correct the evils of a pan, if the drains 
are deep enough to draw the water away, and let the sun, air, and 
rain into the soil and through the pan. Clays are the same ; all soils 
may be made to grow anything the climate is fitted to produce, hut 
the cultivator must decide whether it will pay or not. If the soil is 
naturally of a porous nature, but retentive enough for the due conser¬ 
vation of moisture and the economy of manures, 3 or more feet deep, 
and not below that surcharged with water, but naturally well drained, 
yet not excessively so, that will cost next to nothing in preparation, and 
it will give the best returns for the cultures, whatever they may be.— 
G. Abbey. 
(To be continued.) 
DISCUSSION ON POTATOES. 
Quality in Potatoes. 
What a pity it is that Magnum Bonum is not of better flavour. It 
would be difficult to obtain a Potato equal to this for cropping, with¬ 
standing disease, and keeping plump and fresh over so long a season. 
Grown here, in our strong land. Magnum Bonum is almost devoid of 
that nutty flavour so much appreciated. Windsor Castle will, in my 
opinion, supersede this old favourite when it becomes better known. 
One hears much about The Bruce and the Dunbar Magnum Bonums, as 
well as Dunbar Regents. I presume, though, that these two varieties are 
simply grown at Dunbar, and differ in no other way from the ordinary 
strain. If tubers were sent from Cornwall to Dunbar, and grown there, 
they would, I suppose, be called by that name also ; hence a confusion 
of names takes place. Many persons in this neighbourhood who grow 
Potatoes for market, some on lighter soils than this, have tried The 
Bruce, which is, I suppose, a form of Magnum Bonum, but it does not 
meet with much favour. 
One of the best flavoured Potatoes that I have tasted was the old 
Scotch Rocks. Two points they possessed which were not favourable to 
the retention of this sort—deep eyes and yellow flesh. Many ladies, 
I find, think far more about the appearance of the Potatoes than their 
flavour ; therefore, if a variety is mealy and white, it is considered 
superior to one with a tinge of yellow in it. Before coming south I used 
to buy Potatoes in the Liverpool market direct from the ship. They 
were of German growth I believe, of kidney shape, and most excellent 
in quality and appearance ; 78. 6d. was the price paid per bushel, which 
is slightly different to that charged in these days, when quantities can 
be bought for Is. 3d. per bushel.—E. Molyneui, Scoanmore Parh, 
JSisho 2 >s Waltham. 
Stobing Potato Sets. 
A GOOD deal of the success or failure of a Potato crop depends on the 
method of selecting and storing the sets. In too many cases we see the 
sets taken in the spring from a pit where they have been kept all the 
winter, covered with long weakly growths which have to be rubbed off 
before they can be planted. That the growth of the plant must be 
weakened by the loss of energy in the set is apparent. The best time to 
select the sets is when the crop is being harvested, and in my opinion 
those that give the best returns are undersized tubers of good shape, 
which can be planted whole. After being well dried by exposure to 
sun and wind they should be taken to a cold structure where frost can 
be excluded during winter, and spread out thinly. When a spell of bad 
weather occurs and outside work is at a standstill they may be examined, 
all showing signs of disease being taken out, and the rest packed closely 
together on shelves. 
To facilitate work in spring it is a good plan to have shallow boxes 
made for the sets, so that being portable they can be taken to where the 
planting is being proceeded with. These boxes can be made to fit one 
above another, thus economising space by having square pieces of 
wood 8 inches high nailed to the corners, on the top of which another 
box can rest. Treated thus the sets are bristling with sturdy young 
growths at planting time, and they can be kept from making undue 
growth till well into the spring. I think late planting for main crops is 
advisable, as the soil being in better condition, and the weather warmer, 
they start unchecked, reducing the chances of blanks to a minimum. 
WiNDSOB, Eton and Distbict Chbysanthemum Society. 
We are informed that the Committee of the above Society have fixed 
the date of their second annual Exhibition, to be held at the Albert 
Institute, Windsor, for November 10th, 1893, 
Favebsham Chbysanthemum Society. 
This comparatively young Society is fast making headway in the dis¬ 
trict, The Committee announce their Show for this year to take place on 
the 15th and 16th November, and are sending out details of a new ven¬ 
ture somewhat on the lines of the N.C.S. challenge shield. It is to be 
called the Kent County competition, and is open to all Chrysanthemum 
and horticultural associations in the county of Kent. The class is for 
thirty-six blooms, to consist of twelve distinct flowers of each of the 
following varieties :—Incurved, Japanese, and Reflexed. Kent is noted 
for some of our best growers, and in the Faversham district we have seen 
very fine specimens of the reflexed class; still we are inclined to 
think that if the new class had been for, say, eighteen incurved and 
eighteen Japs, a more attractive display might be expected. The prizes 
are good, and Mr. C. E. Clinch of 3, St. Ann’s Road, Faversham, is the 
Hon. Sec, 
The N.C.S. Slips ”—Me. Godfeey’s Letteb—Toetious. 
May I venture to put you right on one point, and you have several 
times made the same slip in the course of this correspondence. You 
speak of Mr. Godfrey’s letter being in the hands of the Treasurer. I 
presume you mean Mr. Ballantine, who is Chairman of Committee, The 
Treasurer is Mr, Starling, and nothing short of a row about the reserve 
fund would draw him into print. I notice in my letter (page 97) your 
printer’s devil does not know how to spell “ tortious,” he is evidently 
not a lawyer,—G. S. A. 
[We desire to have all our “slips” corrected. It was not Mr. 
Staking, the Treasurer, but Mr. Ballantine, the Chairman of Committee, 
who was pleased to have Mr. Godfrey’s letter, and he very clearly inti¬ 
mated that it would be better to inquire into the subject at issue without 
the publication of the letter. In this we concurred, and on the under¬ 
standing that the inquiry would be as frank and fair as the majority of 
the members of the N.C.S. would naturally wish, the matter was left in 
his hands. 
Mr, Godfrey still rests under the reproach of making an untruthful 
statement respecting a member of the Floral Committee. If a genuine 
investigation had proved that Mr. Godfrey had no reasonable grounds 
for his statements we should have expressed our strong disapproval of 
his conduct, and apologised for having been made the medium in 
placing the matter in the hands of the Chairman of the N.C.S. 
We cannot do anything of the kind at present, as, confessedly, there 
has been no real investigation ; on the contrary, there appears to have 
been a tacit shielding of one of the parties in the case, and if the Chair¬ 
man has no objection we will publish what he said on a matter that 
evidently influenced him in this connection. 
In respect to the word “ tortious,” our P.D. is “ not a lawyer,” and 
we doubt if he will become a good one as taught by this discussion. 
The peculiar use of the word “libel,” which, like the sword of 
Damocles, has been held aloft, has not, however, frightened him, and he 
thinks “ tortuous ” (crooked or twisted) not an inappropriate term in 
this reference, though “tortious” (injurious, wrongful) ought to have 
appeared on the page cited by “ G. S. A.” The case of Godfrey and 
another will never be settled satisfactorily until the verdict goes forth 
that the complainant had or had not reasonable grounds for his allega¬ 
tions. That is the point, and we have no wish to publish anything 
beyond it,] 
Incbeased Size of Stands. 
I DO not think “ D.” (page 76) read my previous note carefully. In 
my remarks anent the increase in the size of the stands I distinctly say, 
“Let it be optional and with a provision as to the limit of the ex¬ 
tension.” Nothing could be plainer than this. Will “ D.” explain 
where it has already been so conclusively shown that there is no need 
whatever for the increased size of the stands ? If I mistake not he was 
one of the first to agitate for the increase that he now seeks to condemn. 
I think he will find when the audits appear that the large varieties were 
still conspicuous on the exhibition table 
There may be a slight alteration in the figures of some, but that is 
more owing to inability to produce them, consequent on an untoward 
season, than anything else. It will be many years before varieties like 
Viviand Morel, Etoile de Lyon, Boule d’Or, and Stanstead White are 
relegated to the rubbish heap, or even from the exhibition room, in 
favour of those of more refinement as suggested by “ D,” Could he name 
one possessing more of the latter quality than a well developed bloom of 
the first named ? This is one of the giants as I understand them, 
I fear Mr. Brown (page 76) also does not grasp the real advantage of 
an increase in the size of the stands. The object in having more space 
is to reveal the defects in the bloom, if there be any, so that each 
exhibitor may have justice done to them. Does Mr, Brown uphold the 
