Jaaiarj'21, 189o. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
71 
year would not wish to begrudge the praise he received for such a fine 
exhibit, particularly the bunches of Madresfield Court and Mrs. Pearson ; 
and further, the fine condition in which they arrived after such a long 
journey was very notable ; but, given the convenience, there is no 
reason why equally good Grapes should not be grown in Kent. I think 
the finest young Vines in fruiting condition I ever saw were 
at Lambton Castle, about the year 1872, under the care of Mr. 
Hunter—the same Vines which a few years after produced the record 
bunch of Black Hamburgh Grapes. A year or two later I paid a visit 
to Mr. Johnson of Bayham Abbey, where Kent and Sussex join, and his 
Vines were equally good as at Lambton. I am pleased to record that 
both those gardeners are still in the same charge. They are both kind 
and genial men, given to hospitality. I did not ask them from which 
side of the Tweed they came from, but both are alike good representatives 
of British gardeners.—B. M., Newbury. 
ZONAL PELARGONIUMS IN THE WINTER. 
Most growers experience some difficulty with Zonal Pelargoniums 
in the depth of the winter, for there are obstacles in the way neither 
iew nor insignificant; the want of a suitable house, for instance, is 
often a great source of trouble and anxiety, and even when that is at 
command it is in request for so many other purposes that the Zonals fail 
to secure the necessary attention and special treatment they require. 
Provided there is a house where the plants can be kept near the 
glass, and where the other occupants do not require a moist atmosphere, 
for that the Zonal Pelargonium dislikes extremely, where the night 
temperature ranges from 60° to 65°, and air can be freely admitted on 
bright days, these will flourish and nothing will surpass them for 
brightness and beauty during the dull time through which we are now 
passing. 
There are many excellent single varieties, but they are not so useful 
for cutting, nor do they last so long as the double and semi-double 
forms. Perhaps they are more floriferous, but of that I will say a few 
words later. I prefer to grow both, but the semi-doubles in the greater 
proportion. 
For a really flrst-class variety, that is to say the one that combines 
utility with beauty, and a vigorous habit with floriferousness and 
dazzling colour, there are not many to choose from. I can well remember 
when Wonderful held the place of honour, but it was ousted by a rival 
with which it could not compete, and gave place to E. V. Raspail. For 
winter-flowering this Pelargonium is specially adapted, as also is it for 
bouquet making. The colour is a vivid crimson-scarlet, and when 
bunching for market the dazzling effect on the eyes of the operator is 
very marked. The trusses of bloom are borne on strong stalks, and the 
pips are a fair size, and in a suitable temperature it is perpetually in 
flower. The market growers have selected it as their principal, and in 
a majority of cases their only variety for winter flowering. Since they 
find it profitable there is little need for apology in calling attention to 
its merits and pushing its claims on the private grower. 
To keep Zonal Pelargoniums at their best in severe weather is a 
formidable task. Fog, I find, is their worst enemy, as it covers the glass 
with a dirty film which must be washed off continually, or the effect is 
quickly seen on the blooms. I water the plants about three times a 
week, once with liquid manure, and ventilate whenever I have a chance, 
if only for half an hour, to dispel the dampness in the house. But the 
superb display of E. V. Raspail in 10-inch pots a mass of bloom is 
worth an even greater amount of trouble, for it is the brightest gem 
we possess to illumine the dark days after Christmas.— Enfieldian. 
LIME. 
I AM most grateful to “W.D.”forhis information, and am also looking 
eagerly forward for the promised article on this subject. But though 
your correspondent is so ready to correct my suggestion that slaked 
lime and chalk are, to all intents and purposes, one and the same thing, 
be virtually admits this fact later on his letter. Indeed, it is well known 
to be so, and in confirmation I may just quote “ Miller’s Elements of 
Chemistry,” part II., p. 507, where is the following :—” Lime when 
exposed to air slowly attracts both water and carbonic anhydride, and 
as the result of this action is falls to powder and becomes what is 
termed air-slaked ; in this case a compound is gradually formed, which 
is by some chemists regarded as a combination of a molecule of calcic 
carbonate with one of hydrate (CaCOg, CaH202).” 
“Watts’ Dictionary of Chemistry,” 1802 edition, also says of calcium 
carbonate (chalk) :—“Formed when hydrated or anhydrous CaO (lime) 
is exposed to moist air, but not by the action of CO 2 ” (carbonic dioxide) 
on dry CaO. Thus we see the difference between atmospherically 
slaked lime and chalk is so slight as to be observable only in the 
laboratory, if even there. 
I must, however, plead guilty to loose writing when I called the 
nitrifying bacteria “ insects,” though my argument is not affected 
thereby, as the former must be quite as delicate as the latter, and there¬ 
fore likely to be exterminated by the use of lime, my view being that 
what is commonly spoken of as the “ burning of the soil,” is really 
sterilisation. 
If calcium monoxide “decomposes the organic matter” in the soil 
as “ W. D.” assumes, is that a desirable result? I doubt it. Let us 
take for example a Strawberry bed at the present lime. Would a 
dressing of lime between the rows be beneficial ? because according to 
“ W. D.” that application could not effect the destruction of the slugs 
and other vermin which will undoubtedly infest the buds later on. 
I may here just remark on the silence of many writers who have 
constantly urged in the gardening Press the use of lime as an insecti¬ 
cide. Even “ W. I.,” whose note on “Garden Refuse” called forth 
my original inquiry, is dumb I This rather tends to confirm my 
suspicions that advocates of lime are not practical men, for I have 
never yet succeeded in discovering one garden or farm where lime is 
regularly or even casually applied to the soil. 
“ W. D.” thinks my reading “ has not been of a very scientific 
nature,” as I do not seem well versed in the dictums of most writers and 
teachers of agriculture. I must admit the soft impeachment. I have 
something else to do—the ex cathedra utterances of these aforesaid 
teachers and writers having hitherto failed to command the respect and 
confidence of agriculturists and horticulturists, because their dogmas 
and theories are usually too academic to stand the test of trial by 
practical men.—I nquirer. 
[Most of the best practical gardeners and successful cultivators in 
the kingdom use lime. We hope to publish a communication from 
“W. D.” next week.] 
The Weather in London. —After a week or more of mild dry, 
spring-like weather, a sudden change occurred, and nearly 3 inches of 
snow fell on Tuesday morning—the heaviest fall of the winter—but 
it soon commenced disappearing. On Wednesday morning there was 
for a short time a combination of lightning, thunder, hail, rain, snow, 
and fog, making everybody miserable for the time, but the weather 
improved as the day advanced. 
-Weather in the North.—A n imperfect thaw has prevailed 
during great part of the week ending the 22nd inst. The snow dis¬ 
appeared from the low grounds ; occasional showers, fog, and cold 
easterly winds made an unwelcome change, even from the severe 
weather that preceded. On the morning of the 19th 5° of frost, which 
gave way early, were registered ; on those of the 21st and 22nd, 8° and 
5° respectively; but Tuesday morning looked as if thaw were again 
impending.—B. D., S. Perthshire. 
- Horticultural Club. —At the last monthly dinner and 
conversazione there was a good attendance of members. The chair was 
occupied by Mr. Harry J. Veitch, and there were present the Rev. 
W. Wilks, Rev. J. H. Pemberton, Messrs. H. J. Pearson, 0. E. Shea, 
Self e-Leonard, Cockett, Mawley, C. E. Pearson, Monro, Webber, and 
others. The subject for discussion was rules for judging, which was 
opened by the Secretary, and a long and very interesting discussion 
followed, in which nearly all those present took part. 
- The Earl of Annesley, Hon. Walter Rothschild, and Mr. C. J. 
Lucas retire from the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society. The 
Fellows recommended by the Council to fill the vacancies caused by 
their retirement are Mr. Sydney Courtauld, Mr. Henry Williams, and 
Mr. Thomas Statter. 
- The Hollyhock’s Disease.— I should like to try and dispel 
an erroneous idea in relation to seedling Hollyhocks withstanding 
attacks of the disease better than named sorts. As a successful grower 
of named Hollyhocks for the last fifteen years I say emphatically that 
in my experience the named sorts withstand the attacks of disease in 
exactly the same degree that seedlings do; if the fungus comes in 
contact with either they will take the contagion, if not they will keep 
clean.— Geo. Finlay, East Layton Ilall. Darlington. 
-American Apples. —The Baldwin is the great commercial 
Apple grown in southern New England, with the Rhode Island Green¬ 
ing and Northern Spy following at a considerable distance. In some 
parts of Maine, however, especially near the banks of the rivers, the 
Yellow Bellflower, according to the “ Vermont Farmers’ Advocate,” is 
a great success. The fruit from a Bellflower orchard at South Gardiner, 
Maine, rarely brings less than 5 dollars a barrel for the first quality, 
which is scarcely less than prices for extra Newtown Pippins. Large, 
highly coloured Baldwins from the same region bring much smaller 
prices. 
