September 22, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
259 
gardening is never learnt. I should mention that the soil is a deep 
rather dark sandy loam, and the position very little above the level of 
Southampton Water. 
While in the neighbourhood we make a call at The Firs, Bassett, the 
residence of Mrs. Pearce, whose gardener, Mr. Wills, is well known as 
an exhibitor of stove and greenhouse plants at Southampton and other 
south of England summer exhibitions, as well as of Chrysanthemums, 
both cut blooms and specimen plants in the autumn, and considering 
the facilities he has for growing them, his productions do him an 
immense amount of credit. He has about 400 plants of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums on the upright or natural system from 2 to 7 feet high, with 
plenty of substance to produce some good flowers. He has about 
fourteen specimen Chrysanthemum plants growing, well furnished, 
and looking very promising. The span-roofed house wherein he flowers 
them is now producing a splendid crop of Hackwood Park Tomatoes. 
Amongst his specimen stove and greenhouse plants we noticed a fine 
plant of Statice profusa; Clerodendron Balfourianum, splendidly 
flowered; some good Crotons, Warreni, Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria, 
and Disraeli. A fine specimen of Crossandra undulasfolia attracted our 
attention. It is a hardwooded stove plant with very striking buff- 
coloured flowers, reminding one of a Thunbergia. Overhead in one of 
the plant houses is trained a plant of Stephanotis floribunda full of 
flower, and bearing a green pod of fruit about the size of a large Lemon. 
There is a good collection of Orchids here, and Fuchsias and" Tuberous 
Begonias are also well done, besides the many other plants under the 
charge of Mr. Wills. After spending a very enjoyable day we return 
home via Winchester well pleased with our “ Holiday in the South.”— 
C, 0. 
WQKK.foiithe\x/EEK.. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Mushrooms. —Of late these have been very plentiful in the fields. 
There was no appearance of them so long as the weather kept dry, but 
immediately after the rain they came up thickly, and many secured 
large quantities of them ; but the field Mushroom season is short, and 
they are now scarcer than they were ten days ago. Some of them may 
be preserved in various ways, but these will never keep up the winter 
supply with any satisfaction, and beds should be formed as soon as 
possible for this purpose. Excellent crops may be secured from 
properly made beds in the open air, and those who cannot place faith in 
this system in winter may grow them in any cool shed, stable, cow¬ 
house, or, in short, an outhouse of any kind ; we prefer these to heated 
structures. Horse droppings should always form the bulk of the 
material for the beds, but they may be mixed with leaves or loam, or 
both, at the rate of one barrowload to three of droppings. Dry soil is 
first rate for mixing with the manure when it is rather damp, and leaves 
increase the bulk of the material to make a large bed.. It is an 
advantage when the droppings can be collected apart from the long 
straw manure, but we have made some good fruitful beds from the short 
material that was left over when the bulk of the manure was taken 
from the heap in the stable yard. Turn it and dry it until it is not 
spongy, then make up the bed in a compact form and very firm. Insert 
the spawn when the heat is at 90°, and soil over immediately afterwards. 
We have found it a good plan to sprinkle a little sand over the surface 
of the soil before making it firm and smooth with f,he back of the spade. 
Do not allow beds formed some time ago to become dry on the surface. 
A little damp hay placed over the surface will keep it moist. 
Autumn-sown Cabbage. —These do not grow very fast; we have 
seen them make more progress, and the slugs and snails are devouring 
many of them. The blanks should be filled as often as they occur, and 
sprinkle a little lime or soot amongst the plants frequently. In wet 
weather it is necessary to do this almost daily until the plants become 
a good size. A little sawdust placed round each will also save them. 
Plants that are very late in the seed bed may be supplied with guano 
water. The whole of the early spring Cabbages should be planted out 
before September is over. 
Cauliflowers. —Veitch’s Autumn Giant is now turning in capitally. 
It is the best of all from now until November. Clear away the old 
roots as soon as the heads are cut. Now is a good time to sow Cauli¬ 
flower seed to secure plants that will stand the winter and be planted 
out next spring. They are sometimes sown earlier than this, but we 
prefer small plants in winter to very large ones. When they are large 
they become so leggy during the short days, and they often flower pre¬ 
maturely in spring. Such plants, too, require much space during the 
winter, which is not a recommendation. Our plan is this : put a two- 
light frame down in a sunny spot in the kitchen garden, fill it to 
10 inches from the glass with good soil, and sow the seed here. Do not 
put the lights on, but allow the seed to germinate and the plants to grow 
without protection until frost comes. This will make them very hardy 
at the beginning, and when the lights are put on the plants will be so 
near the glass that they will not be drawn, but they will remain com¬ 
pact as seedlings in the seed bed all the winter, and be in fine condition 
for planting in the spiing. 
Parsley. —-Although many vegetables have been scraggy and grubby 
this season, Parsley, which suffers so often, is very good, and it is still 
abundant. It may go back when the bad weather comes, and it is 
always well to be prepared for this. Should some of the lower leaves 
be brown or jellow pull them off and send them to the kitchen to be 
dried for winter seasoning. It is better to depend on young green 
growths from now onwards than trust to those that are fully grown. 
Hoc.well between the rows, and if there is any danger of grubs be¬ 
coming troublesome dust it heavily with soot ; in fact, it is a good plan 
to apply this as a stimulant or fertiliser whether the grubs are there or 
not. 
Weeds. —Where weeds were allowed to seed during the hot weather 
the bad results of it are now being shown, as swarms are coming up, and 
late a.s it is they grow fast and will soon make the ground quite green. 
This is very undesirable and unprofitable, and the sooner they are de¬ 
stroyed the better. When the soil is moderately dry on the surface, run 
the Dutch hoe through them and root every one of them out. 
Surplus Plants. —Where Broccoli and Savoys are raised in beds 
the best of the plants are generally drawn out from time to time during 
the season to plant in the main quarters, but there are generally some 
left over, and there may be quantities now in the beds. They will do 
little good where they are, but if drawn up and planted in vacant 
ground, which is now plentiful, they are almost sure to gain a useful 
size, and all who are likely to be deficient of green stuff during the 
winter or next spring should attend to this. 
Mustard and Cress. —These do not grow freely in the open now, 
and where they are in demand the seed must be sown under glass. At 
this time of the year and on throughout the winter we always sow the. 
seed in shallow cutting boxes, which can be placed in corners here and 
there under glass, and the supply is always good and certain. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Vines. —Midseason Souses .—Vines from which the Grapes have 
been cleared should now be divested of their laterals down to the prin¬ 
cipal buds, which are to be retained for next year’s fruiting, doing so, 
however, without injury to the old leaves, as upon their preservation de¬ 
pends the maturation of the buds, which should be plump and well 
ripened. A free circulation of air is necessary, and in the case of young 
Vines, or where there is the least doubt about the thorough maturity of 
the wood, fire heat will be necessary. When the laterals have been re¬ 
moved the old mulching should be cleared off the borders and a top¬ 
dressing given of turfy loam with about a sixth of manure and a 
sprinkling of half-inch bones. If the roots have not penetrated the 
mulching remove the soil down to them and replace it with fresh com¬ 
post, but not covering them deeply ; 2 or 3 inches depth is quite suffi¬ 
cient. In the case of inside borders afford a moderate watering, and 
allow those outside to have the benefit of October rains, and instead of 
adding manure to the loam mulch the surface with 3 or 4 inches of fresh 
horse droppings, covering with dry litter or bracken by the end of 
October or early November. In the case of borders only partly made a 
breadth of 2 feet may be added to the front, choosing a dry day for the 
operation, mulching with horse droppings, and covering up as before 
advised. 
Late Muscats .—These will now be thoroughly ripe ; if not, continue 
rather sharp firing in the daytime with a free circulation of air, and 
enough at night to prevent the deposition of moisture on the berries. 
Continue this until the Grapes are thoroughly finished, when a gradual 
reduction of temperature must take place, about 50° at night being 
necessary for Muscats after they are thoroughly matured. Moisture 
must be kept down by a buoyant atmosphere, a pent up air with a 
sudden increase of warmth from sun being sure to induce moisture to 
condense on the berries, which will cause spot, and then the Grapes will 
speedily decay. The inside border should be covered with clean dry 
straw or matting to prevent moisture arising. 
Late Grapes .—These are liable to give evidence of finish that will 
bear a close scrutiny, therefore make sure that the berries are well 
finished quite up to the shank before ceasing the needful aid from 
fire heat. Alicante and Lady Downe’s invariably finish better than 
Mrs. Pince, Gros Guillaume, and Gros Colman, rather the latter require 
more time, as also do the white varieties, Syrian, Trebbiano, and Cala¬ 
brian Raisin; indeed all thick-skinned Grapes require a long time to- 
mature after being apparently ripe, consequently a temperature of 55° 
should be assured, with a rise of 5° to 10° by day, and a circulation of 
air until the foliage is giving indications of falling, when a temperature 
of 50° will be sufficient. The inside borders must not be allowed to 
become too dry. If necessary, water in the early part of a fine day, 
and cover with a dry mulch as a safeguard against damp and a repetition 
of the watering. Outside borders will be quite damp enough, and 
should be covered up with lights preferably, or some other means 
employed to throw off luavy rains. 
Late Hamburghs .—These colour and finish when it is hopeless to do 
anything more with the thick-skinned varieties. They should have a 
temperature of C0° to 65° at night, and 70° to 75° in the daytime, with a 
circulation of air constantly, not allowing the borders to become dry, 
but giving a good watering if they are only partially advanced in 
ripening, and mulch with rather short dry material. Only restrict the 
laterals to prevent overcrowding, but after the Grapes are finished avoid 
