482 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
t December 1, 1887. 
0 C C ' All correspondence should be directed either to “ The 
Editor” or to “ The Publisher.” Letters addressed to Dr. 
Hogg or members of the staff often remain unopened un¬ 
avoidably. We request that no one will write privately 
to any of our correspondents, as doing so subjects them to 
unjustifiable trouble and expense. 
Cyperus alternifolius ( J, H. IF.).—Thanks for yonr notes. By all 
means try again. It is creditable for the first attempt, and you will 
improve with practice. It is an advantage to any man to be able to express 
hia ideas lucidly, either in writing or speaking. Do not be in a hurry with 
the “ripening off” process, as you term it; secure a good development 
first. 
Expelling Worms from Pots (S. 8.). —Lime water we never knew fail 
to expel worms, provided the solution was strong enough and the hole 
in the pots stopped with clay, so as to thoroughly saturate the soil with 
the water. One pound of quicklime to three gallons of water, stirred 
well, allowed to stand forty-eight hours, and then used {i.e., the clear 
lime-water) will expel or kill the worms, the pots being flooded for a few 
hours. It is saf-r than corrosive snblimate, which, however, is more 
•effectual in expelling worms. If you use it be careful not to give too much. 
Pruning Vines (A. B .).—Judging by the wood, which is stout and 
well ripened, the Vines will be capable of carrying a moderate crop of 
"Grapes—say three to five bunches each, being guided as to number by the 
Bize of the bunches, not taking more than abont 5 lbs. of Grapes from 
•each Vine. The Vines should be piuned as soon as the leaves have fallen, 
cutting the canes back, so as to leave about 18 inches of good cane from 
the bottom of the rafter or trellis. Cover the outside border with a layer 
of leaves or short littery manure as a protection from frost. If leaves are 
used a little long litter over them will be necessary to prevent the leaves 
being blown about. 
Time to Plant Vines ( F. A.). —The Vines should be pruned or cut 
back now to the length required, and kept in the pots in a cool airy house 
with the soil rather dry until spring, which is the best time for planting 
Vines that have been allowed to become leafless. When they are com¬ 
mencing to grow is the proper time to plant, the roots being disentangled 
and spread out evenly before covering with soil, which should be pressed 
rather firmly about them, watering moderately after planting to settle the 
soil about the roots, using tepid water, and mulching with short material 
about a couple of inches thick. 
House for Tomatoes (Old Subscriber ).—The house would be a very 
suitable one for the growth of Tomatoes, the plants will do very well in the 
centre bed. They should not be planted too close, and nothing must be 
trained to the roof, or not high enough to shade them. The rows of 
Tomato plants must not be too close. You may have double rows— 
i. e., 18 inches apart, leaving every third row out for convenience of attend¬ 
ing to the plants. Your sketch chows no provision for ventilation. It 
will be necessary to have side ventilation. Hinged boards will answer 
very well running the whole length of the house, also top ventdation 
•will be necessary the whole length of the house, preferably lantern fashion, 
■an opening of not less than 1 foot wide. We consider Acme the best, but 
Hackwood Park is excellent, and for early use Earliest of All (Sutton’s). 
Barbarossa and Alicante Grapes for Planting in the Same House 
with Black Hamburghs (IF. A. P.).—We have had the varieties named 
succeed fairly well with Black Hamburghs, but Barbarossa (Gros Guil¬ 
laume) requires a much longer time to perfect its fruit, and for that reason 
Is best grown in a house with others that require a longer season of 
growth than is necessary for Black Hamburghs. Alicante, not requiring so 
long a period, does fairly well in the same house as the latter ; indeed, we 
had it this year in the same house in which it perfected well about three 
weeks after the Hamburghs. It forms a good succession to Black Ham¬ 
burghs when grown in the same house. It is besides much better in 
quality than Gr's Colman and some others of the class, the only recom¬ 
mendation of which is size. Alicante is the onlv Grape, except West’s 
St. Peter's, that has the sprightliness of the Black Hamburgh amongst thick- 
skinned Grapes, and it invariably colours well. 
Nutmeg Pippin (IP. Paxton). —The variety of which you speak so highly 
under the above name is Cockle’s Pippin, and it is thus described in the 
“ Bruit Manual : ”—“ Fruit medium sized, conical or ovate, and slightly 
angular on the s’des. Skin greeni-h yellow, changing as it ripens to 
deeper yellow, dotted with small grey dots, and covered all over the 
base with delicate pa’e brown rus-et. Eye small, and slightly closed, 
set in an irregular and somewhat angular basin. Stamens marginal or 
median ; tube funnel-shaped. Stalk an inch long, rather slender, 
obliquely inserted in a round and deep cavity, which is lined with russet. 
FJe-li yellowish, firm, tender, crisp, juicy, and sugary, with a pleasant 
aromatic flavour. O ils ellipt’cal, axile, open. An excellent dessert Apple 
of the finest qua'ity ; in use from January to April. This was raised in 
Sussex by a person of the name of Cockle, and it is extensively grown in 
this as well as the adjoining county of Surrey. It is mentioned by Forsyth 
in a MS. memorandum book as a Sussex Apple.” 
Apples and Plums for Market (IF. R. S .).—You will find Damsons 
profitable fruit, and we should plant those in the hedgerow, leaving the 
meadow for the standard Apples. The Barleigh or Crittenden and the 
Prune are the be-t Damsons for market. The new large Budace is useful, 
coming in after the chief crop. Early Apples as standards will pay you 
b:tt. Gool show T y Apples must be provided to suit the market, such as 
Worcester Pearmain, Ecklinville Seedling, Lord Suffield, Cox’s Pomona, 
Cellini, King of the Pippins, Small's Admirable, Stirling Castle, and Duchess 
of Old nburgh. If an}- of them succeed in your locality better than others 
vou Bhould plant those in quantity. You will, however, succeed much 
better on the cultivated ground. Plums and Apples succeed well together 
as dwarfs, the Apples on the Paradise stock. Plant in alternate rows 8 feet 
apart, with Gooseberries between, which pay well if gathered green. The 
following App’es do well as dwarfs, supplementing those enumerated 
above :—Iri-h Pescb, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Warner’s King, Ribston Pippin, 
Dumelow’s Seedling, Betty Geeson, and Mannington Pearmain. The last 
four are late varieties, but well worth growing. The following Plums do 
well as dwarfs :—Rivers’ Early Prolific, Belle de Septembra, Prince Engle- 
bert, Prince of Wales, The Czar, Sultan, and Victoria, all of them being 
good for market. E irly Prolific comes in before the market is glutted, and 
Belle de Septembre after. 
Culture of Vallota purpurea ( R. S ).—An experienced grower has 
described the following successful practice in thess pages :—The compost 
employed should consist of turfy loam with a little decayed manure and 
leaf soil, with sufficient coarse sand to keep the soil open. In potting place 
three bulls in a well-drained G-inch pot; if bulbs are scarce have one in a 
3-inch pot, but I recommend the tormer practice where possible, as the 
plants will flower profusely and make a beautiful display. In potting place 
some of tho rou hest of the compost over the drainage, then three parts 
fill the pots with soil, and press it down gently to prevent it sinking too 
much. If 6-in'h pots are used pi ice the bulbs a little distance apart to 
allow the growth of offsets. Tie the bulbs to a small stick to keep them 
steady, give a good watering through the rose of a watering can, and 
transfer the pots to the greenhouse, assigning them a position near the 
glass, and the bulbs will soon commence growing. Never permit them to 
be insufficiently supplied with water, and in the summer months they 
should be sprinkled overhead. When the pots are qui’e full of roots and 
the flower stems appearing weak guano water may be given twice a week. 
After flowering remove the flower stems, as they exhaust the bulb; the 
pots can then be placed in any sunny part of the greenhouse, so as to have 
the bulbs well ripened. The soil must not be allowed to become dust-dry 
at any time, not even in the winter months. The Vallota is increased by 
offsets. The small bulbs can be taken in the spring, and are ei her potted 
Bingly in snail well-drained pots or placed in pans in a compost of half 
loam and leif soil with a little smd, and if placel in a warm part of the 
greenhouse they will soon produce roots. To flower the plants well they 
must be rootbound, and three bulbs in a G-inch pot will not require a larger 
pot for three or four years, providing the drainage is open. 
Ranunculuses (B. M.). —The tubers may be saf ly stored in a mixture 
of sawdust and cocoa-nut fibre refuse, quite dry, or in dry sand. Tne best 
season for planting is in the early spring, as soon as the most severe frosts 
have passed and the ground has become tolerably dry. Some time abont 
the end of February or the first week in March rake the surface of the 
bed in tie morning of the day previous to that fixed upon for planting. 
Supposing, then, that the weather is propitious, and all things prepared, 
commence by drawing with a hoe a drill across the end of the bed 
inch deep ; if deeper the roots will be weakened the succeeding 
year by fomiing a kind of stem neares the surface ; and if shallower, the 
plants are more liable to be struck with drought. The drill being drawn 
the right depth, plant the whole of No. 1, and press each tuber slightly 
down iQto the ground. Plant them, if large, 4 inches apart in the row ; if 
small, 3J inches will be a sufficient distance. Draw a Becond drill 5 inches 
from the fi st, and so on until the bed is finished. Cover the crowns of 
each tuber with fine sand. This will cause the tubers, when they are taken 
up in July, to come out of the ground quite clean for keeping. Then with 
a short-toolhed rake draw the soil over the tubers, and when it is level, 
with the head of the rake gently press the soil pretty closely upon them. 
The soil Bhould be retentive of moisture. The best kind is the virgin 
mould of some alluvial soil on the banks of a river or some lowland pasture. 
It should be of a rathor close texture, without any small stonee or sand 
amongst it. If the situation is low, with a wet subsoil, it must be well 
drained ; but if the subsoil is dry there is no necessity for drainage. If the 
soil should be thought too poor a small addition of decayed cowdung will 
be advisable, but it must be so decomposed as to appear like a black 
powder. Let it be thoroughly mixed with the soil at the present time, and 
again forked over in the spring before q>la.nting. 
Names of Fruits.—The names and addresses of senders of fruit to be 
named must in all cases be enclosed with the specimens, whether letters 
referring to the fruit are sent by post or not. The names are not neces¬ 
sarily required for publication, initials sufficing for that. Only six specimens 
can be named at once, and any beyond that number cannot be preserved. 
(IF. A. K.). —1, Certainly not Newtown Pippin, merely a wilding; 2, Curl 
Tail; 3, Brabant Bellefleur; 4, Pinner Seedling; 5, Cellini; G, Leather 
Coat. (IF. JR.). —1, White Nonpareil ; 2, Golden Pearmain; 3, Hughes’ 
Golden Pippin ; 4, Fearn’s Pippin ; 5, Court of Wick ; G, King of the 
Pippins. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— November 30th. 
Market still very dull. Large supplies of Canadian Apples to hand. 
PLANTS IN POTS. 
s. 
a. 
8. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
8. 
a 
Aralia Sieboldi, dozen .. 
6 
0 to 12 
0 
Fuchsia, dozen.0 
0 
to 0 
0 
Arbor vitEe(golden) dozen 
6 
0 
9 
0 
Geranium (Ivy), dozen .. 0 
0 
0 
0 
„ (common), dozen.. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
„ Tricolor, dozen 0 
0 
0 
0 
Asterg, dozen pots .. .. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Hydrangea, dozen .. .. 0 
0 
0 
0 
Azalea, dozen. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Lilies Valley, dozen .. 0 
0 
0 
0 
Begonias, dozen .. .. 
4 
0 
9 
0 
Lilinm lancifolium, doz. 0 
0 
0 
0 
Capsicums, dozen .. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
,, longiflorum, doz. 0 
0 
0 
0 
Chrysanthemums, dozen 
4 
0 
12 
0 
Marguerite Daisy, dozen 6 
0 
12 
0 
Cineraria, dozen .. .. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Mignonette, dozen .. .. 0 
0 
0 
0 
Dracasna terminalis, doz. 
30 
0 
60 
0 
Musk, dozen .0 
0 
0 
0 
„ viridis, dozen.. 
12 
0 
24 
0 
Myrtles, dozen.6 
0 
12 
0 
Erica, various, dozen .. 
y 
0 
18 
0 
Palms, in var.,each .. 2 
6 
21 
0 
Euonymus, invar.,dozen 
6 
0 
18 
0 
Pelargoniums, dozen .. 0 
0 
0 
0 
Evergreens, in var., dozen 
6 
0 
24 
0 
,, scarlet, doz. 3 
0 
9 
0 
Ferns, in variety, dozen 
i 
0 
18 
0 
Poinsettia, dozen .. .. 12 
0 
15 
0 
Ficus elastica, each 
i 
s 
7 
0 
Solanum, dozen .. .. 9 
0 
12 
0 
Foliage Plants, var., each 
2 
0 
10 
0 
Spireea, dozen.0 
0 
0 
0 
