212 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
f September 6, 188?. 
found better, tied up firmly in moss ; they should then be treated as 
described for cuttings. 
Having secured a good stock of young plants the old ones may 
be thrown away, and if the beds are to be planted with Carnations 
in spring they may be prepared at once. Carnations are very fond 
of maiden loam, fibrous and sandy, and about half decayed, so that 
after removing about 9 inches of the old soil, it being refilled with 
new as above, good results will follow ; but such soil can very seldom 
be spared for such a purpose, neither is it essential to good Carna¬ 
tion culture. If the beds are wet and heavy lay on 2 inches of 
quicklime, and if to hand G inches of fine ballast. This should not 
be merely dug in the usual way, but it must be thoroughly mixed 
with the soil through its entire depth. In February it should be 
again turned over, and this time work in a good quantity of soot, 
bone meal, leaf mould, and Mushroom-bed manure. If the soil is 
light and in good workable condition it will only be necessary to 
work in a good quantity of half-decayed manure, and leave it to the 
action of the weather all the winter. The first week in April is 
quite early enough for planting out Carnations in cold districts, and 
if the plants have been properly attended 'to all the winter they 
will be strong and stocky, such as will not fail to repay the culti¬ 
vator for the extra pains taken. If a thick mass of flowers be 
wanted they must be planted thickly, G inches by 4 inches will not 
be too thick, but to give them a chance to grow and room to layer 
them they had better be planted 12 inches by 9 inches. Planting 
should always be done when the soil is moderately dry, for the best 
of composts may be spoiled by working on it when it is too wet. 
If new loam be used a sharp look out must be kept for wire worms, 
for a few of these will soon ruin a bed of Carnations. 
An occasional hoeing and a good mulching of Mushroom bed 
refuse in June, is all the attention the plants require until the 
flowers appear, when they must be neatly staked. Should it be 
very dry weather an occasional soaking of water will be beneficial, 
but a good thick mulching is much better, especially on heavy soil, 
as if much water be used on such soil it runs together and cracks 
badly.—J. H. W. 
GRAPES SCALDING. 
I can fully corroborate what Mr. Wm. Baraney states as to the 
scalding of Lady Downe’s Grape not being constitutional, but it 
must entirely be a “ fancy ” on his part when he states that the 
berries of Black Hamburgh will “ scald ” as badly as Lady Downe’s 
if the “ necessary precautions are not taken.” It must be very 
bad management indeed for the Black Hamburgh to “ scald,” even 
at midsummer. We have not had any Lady Downe’s scald this 
seas m, but then we took ordinary precautions. To prevent the 
berries of Lady Downe’s from scalding, no moisture must be 
allowed to settle on them, as it will do very quickly if faulty 
ventilation is allowed, or even the pipes permitted to become too 
cool. It is false economy to allow the pipes to become cold, and I 
believe it is through this, and then keeping the house too close, so as 
to allow the temperature to rise, that causes the scalding. We have 
no fixed temperature, but work by the “feel” of the pipes, which are 
kept comfortably warm. About 2 inches of ventilation is left on 
the top, and about the same at the front, or even more, but we regu¬ 
late so as not to cause a draught. At 6 a.m. more air is given 
if the morning will allow, and before the temperature increases. 
We like the inside temperature to rise with the outside. If 
sufficient air is not on, the least glimpse of sun will cause the 
moisture to condense rapidly on the berries. Probably the reason 
why the scalding of Lady Downe’s is so prevalent this season is 
because those in charge have not been on the alert quick enough 
after a heavy storm of rain, which has necessitated the drawing up 
of the top lights even as often as five or six times during a day.— 
A. Young, Abbcrlcy Hall Gardens. 
FAILURES WITH TOMATOES AND MUSHROOMS. 
I was pleased to see a chapter on “ Failures ” by “ K. G.” Like 
him I cannot see how gardeners can get along and be successful 
without having failures. Last year I tried to grow Tomatoes in 
winter and failed, because planted too late. The plants made good 
growth but set badly, the result of the short day and little sun¬ 
shine. This year I am going to try again, but plant earlier, and 
by the time this is in print our plants will be in their winter 
quarters—viz., a span-roofed house from which Melons have been 
cleared. Half the Melon soil will be removed, and the Tomatoes 
planted in what is left. Two or three shoots will be taken from 
each plant and tied to the wires as they grow, and if we are 
favoured with a moderate amount of sunshine during the next two 
months I hope to have some fruit set which will hang through the 
winter and ripen early in spring. By this mode I expect to have 
Tomatoes nearly all the year round. Last year we were only two 
months—February and March—without ripe fruits, and as they 
are much appreciated here I want if possible to have a good supply 
in early spring. The variety I am growing is Sutton's Earliest 
of All. We had it for our earliest crop last spring, and was 
greatly pleased with it. It fruited immensely and is of good 
flavour. 
Another crop I have failed with here is Mushrooms, and I am' 
most anxious to overcome this, but up to the present have been 
unable to do so. I have tried them in a heated Mushroom house, 
and also in an open shed, and have failed in both—that is, I have- 
not had anything like satisfactory crops. I have had the manure- 
from different sources, also the spawn, but with no better results. 
As my employer is very fond of Mushrooms I am naturally anxious 
to get a supply, and it is very disheartening when bed after bed 
fails. The only comfort is that I am told it was the same in my 
predecessor’s time. 
I know a good Mushroom grower who says he can grow them 
anywhere and in any house provided he has the right manure. I 
wish he would come and put up a bed here—I would gladly be his 
apprentice, and if he succeeded I would willingly own I was the 
cause of failure, but at present am not quite prepared to do so.— 
G. HrLTON, Smithills Hall Gardens, Lancashi e. 
DAHLIAS AS DECORATIVE FLOWERS. 
Taking last season and the present one as types of extremes in 
summer weather, the one very hot and very dry, the other cold 
and very wet, Dahlias of all classes have come through the ordeal 
as well as any flowers we know. Last year they flowered early 
and continued late ; this year they have been later coming into 
bloom, though we have been cutting all sections of the flowers, 
singles, doubles, and Cactus since the beginning of August, and 
how late they will continue is a question of early or late frosts. 
But at any rate no flowers are standing the continued wet better 
than these, nor do any stand when cut better, a point of importance 
when so many flowers are so damaged by heavy rains that one day 
in the season renders them unsightly. 
All varieties of doubles, whether seifs or fancies, are suitable 
for using as cut flowers. They are cut with long stalks and with 
buds and foliage, and use for furnishing large vases. The way we 
propagate these now is to break up the old tubers in spring after 
they have been slightly started, in order that no waste may be 
made through keeping tubers which are wanting living bud growths. 
These do capitally planted out in cold frames till wanted. The 
advantages of employing old roots are found in the plants flowering 
earlier and more abundantly, and in the greatly lessened risk of 
losing the tubers during winter. Cactus Dahlias are treated in the 
same manner, and in the matter of kinds wanted and quantities, 
cuttings are rooted in spring and kept in pots plunged deeply in 
soil through the summer months, these making fine plants the next 
year. In a season like the present young plants will hardly get 
into flower before winter, whereas from old plants treated as above, 
and old pot roots, we have an abundant supply now, and have had 
a good many throughout August. 
Though it would be saying too much if it were stated that 
single Dahlias like a wet season, at the same time it may be safely 
said that they so little dislike it in comparison with many other 
plants, that a good supply of these is a feature of some importance 
in a season like this. They are easily propagated by division in 
the same way as the other sections, but after having had a very 
large number of named sorts through hand, I care to keep very few 
of these. The old white, alba ; Canary, yellow ; and Chilwell 
Beauty are the only named varieties grown in quantities. Care¬ 
fully saved seed yields a very fine lot of plants with flowers quite 
as good as the majority of named varieties. The trouble of getting 
up a few hundred or even thousand plants is very slight—merely to 
sow the seeds in boxes in spring, when large enough to prick the 
seedlings into beds in cold frames, and thence to their flowering 
quarters at the end of May. A few flowers are sent indicative of 
the strain we have from selected seed. 
Gladioli. —Since writing last week there are the following 
varieties to note in flower—viz.: 13 Shakespeare. 4 Bicolor; a 
fine variety, salmon, with the lower petals creamy white. 2 Horace 
Vernet. 7 Caprice. 4 Opale ; a beautiful light sort. 1 Eugene 
Ramy ; slaty purple, a good variety. 2 Arsinoe. 1 Mabel ; light 
variety, fine long spike. 2 M. A. Brongniart. 2 Archduchess 
M. Christine. 12 Panorama. 2 Diamant. Of Lemoine’s varieties : 
1 Etoile. 2 Marquis de Saporta ; scarlet. 1 Emile Lemoine ; a 
very pretty sort, with small dark flowers. 1 Sceptre d'Or ; straw- 
coloured and yellow flowers, very small, but pretty. 1 Bossuet ; 
shining, suffused scarlet, very fine. 1 A. Chenier ; small flowered 
