November 8, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
391 
Messrs. AY. & G. Drover for a now Japanese variety of the Comte de Ger- 
miny pattern of form and p tal, very pale creamy lilac, Btriped and mar¬ 
gined with a deeper shade of rosy lilac. 
Mn W. Colche-ter had a stand of Icthemic guano, Ac ; Messrs. 
W. Wood & Sons, Wood Green, London, also had a stand of their Orchid 
peat, and artificial manures. Very fine specimens of Mangolds grown on 
the Portswood Sewage Farm were shown, and Messrs. R. Smith & Co., St. 
John s Nursery, Worcester, had 60 dishes of Apple’, !all the leading sorts, 
finely coloured, and of excellent quality. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOWS. 
The following are the dates of the principal shows to be held 
during the coming months,-at which Chrysanthemums will be the 
leading feature :—The figures following the name of the place at 
which the shows are to be held indicate the number of days 
devoted to the exhibitions, and it will be seen that a large majority 
are two-day shows. 
November. 
Thursday, 3rd 
Friday, 4th 
Monday, 7th 
Tuesday, 8th 
Wednesday, 9th 
Thursday, 10th... 
Friday, 11th ... 
Monday, 14th ... 
Tuesday, 15th ... 
Havant (2) 
Henlield (2) 
Leicester (2) 
Crystal Palace (2) 
Surrey (2) 
Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society 
Brighton (2) 
St. Neots 
Highgate (2) 
Kingston (2) 
Bath (2) 
Croydon 
Weston - super - 
Mare 
Westminster (2) 
Ascot (2) 
Cornwall (2) 
Portsmouth (2) 
Brixton (2) 
Walton 
Ipswich (2) 
AVeald of Kent (2) 
Dawlish 
Hitchin 
Canterbury (2) 
Huddersfield (2) 
Street (2) 
Lewisham (2) 
Sheffield & Hal- 
lamshire (2) 
Twickenham 
Southgate (2) 
Lincoln (2) 
Tuesday, 15th ... 
Wednesday, 16th 
Thursday, 17tli 
Friday, 18 th 
Saturday, 19:h... 
Monday, 21st ... 
AVatford (2) 
Finchley 
Southend (2) 
Winchester (2) 
Putney 
York (3) 
Birmingham (2) 
Faversham (2) 
Birkenhead 
Northampton (2) 
Ealing 
Dartford (2) 
People’s Palace 
( 4 ) 
Chelmsford 
Buiy St. Ed¬ 
munds (2) 
Chiswick 
Hull (2) 
Barnsley (2) 
Taunton 
Colches-ter 
Wimbledon 
Bolton (2) 
Sheffield & AYest 
Riding (2) 
Reading 
Chorley (2) 
Ramsbottom 
Wolverhampton 
( 2 ) 
Bedford (2) 
Eccles (2) 
Live 1 pool (2) 
Wednesday, 23rd 
Friday, 2oith ... 
Tuesday, 29th ... 
December. 
Thursday, 8tb, Alnwick. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Thu Weather and the Crops. —Until very recently the weather 
has remained dry with us. About the middle of October the water 
supply had sunk as low as it was in the warmest and driest part of the 
year, but vegetation did not suffer so much, and the cold dewy nights 
have kept plants fresh. Still, autumn crops have not grown as we have 
seen them, and an early winter would be much against many of them. 
Vegetables may yet be scarce, and any produce that is likely to go to 
waste should be used first, Brussels Sprouts are now well in, but there 
is little danger of their being spoiled, and although some might be in¬ 
clined to use them, they may be kept until other vegetables are used 
that may be destroyed by the winter. Only use the large leaves of 
Spinach and allow all half-grown ones to remain to gain size. 
Brussels Sprouts.-— The bottom leaves of these are decaying, and 
if allowed to remain on and hang down over the sprouts they will cause 
many of them to decay. It is therefore a good plan to examine them, 
taking all the dead and decaying leaves, but do not remove any of 
the green ones or the tops, as these assist greatly in shelteriag the 
sprouts. 
Kidney Beans. —AYe have been gathering many tender pods from a 
late sowing, but 8° of frost on October 25th blackened the plants, and 
our open air supply is over. Others in frames which have been covered 
at night are just beginning to bear, and those who took our advice some 
time ago and sowed seed iu their vacant frames will still have acceptable 
gatherings. Seed sown in pots have produced plants which are showing 
signs of flowering, and they will succeed those in the frames ; but damp 
is a great enemy to Kidney Beans at this season, and the foliage and 
flowers ought to be kept as dry as possible. Those in pots should he 
moved into a dry airy pit or house to form their pods. AYe never found 
Kidney Beans sown about this time a profitable crop, as they do not 
make much progress in December and January, and as the cook salted a 
large quantity of pods from the runners for midwinter use, we will not 
try to force more after our present supply is exhausted. 
Roots for Winter. — Nothing gives more satisfaction in the 
kitchen in winter than a good supply of Carrots, Turnips, Onions, 
Carrots, Beetroot, Salsafy, and Parsnips. Onions keep best in a dry 
cool place ; Carrots and Beetroot should be drawn up, and after cutting 
the leaves off pack them in moderately dry sand, leaf soil, or ashes, 
safe from wet and frost. They should only be stored when dry, and if 
packed in with the crowns protruding it will prevent many of them 
decaying. Turnips that are still growing may be left, but any large 
bulbs that might decay soon in the wet should be taken under cover. 
Do not bury them, but merely put them in a heap and throw a little 
straw over them. Parsnips and Salsafy are very hardy, and are better 
left in the ground. AYe only take up a quantity when we see indications 
of a long spell of frost. 
Late Peas. —These have not been very successful this season. We 
gathered what may be our last dish on October 24th. The variety was 
Ne Plus Ultra, but they were sown during the hot weather, and were 
much scorched before rain came. They have retained the marks of this 
until now, as the lower part of the haulm is quite brown and withered. 
Very early Peas are a more certain crop than very late ones, and those 
who wish to extend the Pea season as far as possible should give extra 
attention to the first crops. 
Old Vegetables. —At this time of the year there are always many 
decayed vegetables in the kitchen garden. Peas are mostly over, Kidney 
Beans quits past, and other vegetables have become useless. There is 
no gain in allowing them to remain, and the best plan is to, clear them 
all away. AYe do not approve of trenching this refuse in until it is par¬ 
tially decayed, and if it can be mixed with leaves and other refuse before 
retui ning it to the soil it will be all the better for the succeeding crops. 
Save the best of the Bean and Pea sticks, and burn the decayed ones, 
but do not clear away any green tops of Cabbages, as before very long 
every green vegetable may be in demand. 
Celery, —Although the season has not been one which is generally 
regarded as favourable to Celery this crop is good. The excessively dry 
weather did not cause many of the plants to bolt, but it prevented 
their making too luxuriant a growth, and the result is solid compact 
plants. The whole of the winter crop may now be earthed up another 
stage, and as this will be the last earthing for many rows it is a good 
plan to finish the top of the ridge and round the plants with finely sifted 
ashes, as these do not cause the plants to decay so much as soil in damp 
or frosty weather. It is early yet to begin to protect it from frost, 
but should it come very severe sprinkle a little fern or straw over the 
plants. 
Forcing Rhubarb. —Our next notes will be mainly devoted to 
forcin'-’', but as Rhubarb roots are the first to become ready for this 
operation they may be taken in hand at once. The leaves having died 
the most prominent crowns should be selected for the first crop. AYe 
do not advise their being lifted at this season, but if a cask with one 
end out, or a large box is turned upside down over the crown, and then 
form a good hotbed of fermenting manure of leaves over it and well 
round it, the young growths will spring up in a very short time. One 
good bed will force it to maturity, but the box or cask should not be 
completely shut in, as if the steam cannot escape from the interior it 
may cause the young growths to decay, and this should be avoided 
by having a little ventilation. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Figs.— Early-forced Trees in Pots. —If these have been placed in the 
open air they should be taken under cover to protect them from the cold 
autumn rains. It is presumed that the trees have been top-dressed, 
repotted, or had the drainage rectified, as advised in a former calendar. 
The trees should be placed in a rather dry well-ventilated house. Any 
thinning or shortening crowded attenuated growths should be attended 
to, and the trees dressed with an insecti :ide—8 ozs. softsoap to a gallon 
of water may be used for washing the trees, using a somewhat stiff 
brush, especially if scale has been present, following with the same, to 
which sulphur has been added, to bring it to the consistency of cream, 
being careful not to damage the points of the shoots and the embryo 
fruit. A dish of forced Figs early in the season is now considered a 
necessity in large establishments, and is not by any means difficult to 
obtain, hut a light well-ventilated house is necessary, with the command 
of plenty of heat, having pits containing fermenting materials to afford 
bottom heat to stimulate the roots. The Fig in pots requires abundance 
of liquid manure when growing, the trees being most prolific under 
limited root space. One of the great advantages of Fig culture in pots 
is the number of varieties that may be grown in a house of moderate 
dimensions, and which if forced early come in at a time when the 
dessert is not too varied. Brown Turkey is unquestionably the best Fig 
for general purposes, and the best white is AVkite Marseilles. The fol¬ 
lowing are also well suited for forcing and pot culture :—Osborne’s 
Prolific, Early Violet, Black Ischia, Brown Ischia, Violette de Bordeaux, 
Negro Largo, Angelique, AYhite'Ischia, Col di Signora Bianco, and Royal 
Vineyard. 
Vines. — Early forced Vines. —Those for affording ripe Grapes in 
April must now be started, whether they be in pots or planted out. 
Bottom heat in neither case is indispensable, though in all forcing 
