392 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 25, 1818 
New Grape.— Will the correspondent who sent us a new white 
<Lirape oblige by writing us again, giving his name and postal address ? 
Chrysanthemums ( Berwickshire). —You had better arrange the 
plants in a light house at once, and carry out the proposals in your 
letter, which only arrived just in time for this brief reply. 
Royal Horticultural Society (TF. 21).—We have had pleasure in 
sending your letter to the Secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
who will no doubt advise you on the matter. 
New Varieties of Potatoes {Tester). —We have received your 
letter, and shall be glad to hear if you have any particular objection to 
our appending your name to it, if printed. There has evidentlv been a 
mistake somewhere. The question is where ? Is it not better to find 
out where the fault lies before pronouncing condemnation 1 
White Clove {D. IF.).—It is the habit of this variety to split at 
the calyx ; but it has done so to a very large extent this season, due 
undoubtedly to the wet season. From the description, you give wc 
should say you have the true variety. We do not know of one better 
suited for outdoor culture if you have the variety known as The Bride. 
It is free, a strong grower, and yields flowers abundantly. 
Propagating: Early-flowering Chrysanthemums {F. Par¬ 
tridge).—It is singular the last winter should have killed all your old 
plants in Cornwall. Everyone of ours passed through it safely in a 
•garden near London. As^ you say there are plenty of cuttings at the 
base of your plants now,'by all means strike some of them in a close 
cool frame, leaving them there through the winter. If you do not take 
the cuttings now they will perhaps be killed. You can strike more in 
spring if you wish by taking the tops off the young plants and rooting 
them in gentle heat. 
Grapes scalding (TF Simpson). — Lou ask if we will insert your 
■communication. We shall have great pleasure in doing so, also one 
we have in hand from Mr. W. Bardney, as soon as possible. The great 
pressure on our columns just now is only temporary. The subject 
of Grapes scalding is neither exhausted nor settled. We know of houses 
-of Lady Downe’s Grapes in which scalding is practically unknown; also 
•a house of Black Hamburghs in which it was not possible to prevent the 
-fruit of one Vine scald : ng by any method of ventilation, while not one 
injured berry was seen on the other Vines in the same house. Can those 
•of our correspondents who feel their mastery of the subject solve the 
problem in that case ? 
Petroleum and Tomato Houses {F. TF.).—We do not think 
the ordinary petroleum would do ; it is very volatile, and would answer 
the purpose only as long as the oil would last. We should not advise 
you to paint the woodwork of the houses with lime and petroleum. 
The latter would not add much to the adhering properties of the former. 
Paint the houses with pure petroleum for the fly, and then paint the 
woodwork with good white lead and boiled linseed oil, with a very 
little turpentine intermixed with much of the latter, or it will destroy 
the lead and be no better on your houses than ordinary whitewash. If 
painted every year with petroleum it would certainly prevent a large 
amount of moisture penetrating the wood, but we should prefer the 
paint. 
nxarechal Niel Rose ( C. IT. S.). —1 our plant was cankered, the 
fate of thousands, and a disease this variety is very subject to. When 
growth has ceased remove the side shoots and the unripe end of the 
main shoot, and it possibly will flower in the spring if the wood is 
■sufficiently ripened. If well ripened it may show flowers from most of 
the buds along the shoot ; if so, remove a portion of the flowers, and 
■only allow the plant to develope a certain number, say a dozen to a 
•dozen and a half. After the plant has flowered prune it well and 
•encourage it to make strong growths again from the base of this season’s 
growth. Train them sufficiently far apart, so that they will have a good 
chance to ripen. Top-dress or mulch with manure the border containing 
the roots if you think it needs assistance. 
Rhododendrons in Shade (TF. IT. M.).— We have seen Rhodo¬ 
dendrons flower very well, but not with equal freedom every year, in 
■shaded places in the south, but we are not able to give an assurance 
that they would do so in a sunless border in your northerly district. 
There would be no difficulty in procuring some that would flower 
freely the first year, but whether they would ripen their growth and 
set buds for floweiing the following season is doubtful. Your not distant 
neighbour, Mr. W illiam Thomson of Clovenfords, is competent to advise 
■on the matter, and we feel sure he would do so if requested. If you 
decide to make the experiment, and will either state the number of 
•shrubs you would like to plant or give the dimensions of the border, we 
will name some free-flowering varieties of compact habit, as we suspect 
you have not room for strong growers. 
. Tomato Plants! Diseased {IT. R. &).— The leaves sent are 
infested with the fungus so fatal to these plants, and is similar to the 
dreaded Potato disease, for which a cure is practically hopeless, therefore 
•efforts should bt‘ directed agrinst the spread of the disease. All tissue 
■or parts of the plants attacked should be burned. Damp and confined 
air favour the fungi, hence gentle heat to cause a circulation of air and 
rather free ventilation should be afforded. A firm soil, and not too rich 
so as to insure a sturdy growth, thoroughly solidified by full exposure 
of the foliage to light and air, and old mortar rubbish or road scrapings 
may be mixed with the soil in view of strengthening the plants, and so 
render them better able to resist the disease. Care should be taken to 
remove every particle of soil in which the plants are grown, not using it 
again ; indeed it should be burned, and seed saved only from perfectly 
healthy plants. 
Pipes for a Cucumber House {G. R.). —We advise you to use the 
same sized pipes for the mains as are used for the flow pipe in the house 
with which you wish to connect your pipes for your new structure. The 
quantity of piping required depends upon the height of the house, 
which you fail to give, as well as the length and width ; also whether 
you want Cucumbers early in the season or through the winter. For 
winter or early work it would be necessary to have four 4-inch pipes 
the whole length of the house—that is, two down the centre, one on 
each side of the path ; the other two, one on each side of the house 
near the outer walls, or between the outer walls and the wall intended 
for supporting the bed in which you will plant the Cucumbers. To do 
this two extra walls for forming the beds independent of the outer 
walls would be necessary. The soil in the beds could be kept many 
degrees warmer than if it came in contact with the outer walls. The 
extra walls are not necessary for planting early in April. You would 
also need two 4-inch pipes for bottom heat, one for each bed, which you 
should be careful not to bury too deeply. 
Celery Decaying- {James Percival). —It is indeed unfortunate 
that “ thousands of plants ” should decay at the neck as in the exam¬ 
ples you have sent. You say the “ plants were good when placed in the 
trenches early in June, and they never grew afterwards, the roots 
appearing to have rotted off.” The plants we received were certainly 
too large for transplanting successfully, and must have been forced on 
in some way to have attained their size early in June. In that case the 
check and change would arrest growth at the outset, from which they 
could scarcely be expected to recover except under the most favourable 
weather conditions. Constant sprinklings, either artificially or from 
light and frequent showers, keeping the ground very wet on the surface 
while it is drier below, are apt to cause decay; but in your case we in¬ 
cline to attribute the cause to the serious check such large plants must 
have received in removal, and the possible cold and inclement weather 
following. Some small millipedes were present, but these may have 
been the result of the decay, not the cause, though when numerous in 
the soil they often do much injury to plants and crops. 
Caterpillars Destroying Cabbages {Surrey). —The specimen 
sent is a caterpillar of Tryphasna pronubo, the great yellow underwing 
moth, about half-grown. Caterpillars of this species feed upon the roots 
and underground stems of many plants in the kitchen garden, being 
discoverable from August until May. They become more or less torpid 
durihg winter. It has been recommended to hunt down the moth in its 
season—viz., July and August, as it moves sluggishly by day, and is 
conspicuous owing to its yellow “ under wing3.” Frequently it flies to 
the lights in houses or public buildings. Amongst the Cabbage rows, 
where the insect is known or suspected to be doing mischief, the appli¬ 
cation of soot to the roots well dug in has been of proved utility. Some 
advise the careful application of gaslime which has been kept for a 
time ; but probably the best application at the present time would be a 
solution of petroleum, half a fluid ounce of the oil being dissolved in a 
gallon of weak soapsuds, a little of this being poured round the plants; 
it will not injure them provided they are established. Plants that are 
being planted should have their roots immersed in a puddle of soot and 
soil in equal quantities before insertion. 
Ham Green Favourite Tomato {G. A. Crocher). —We comply 
with your request in not publishing your letter, but when you say you 
“ wish nothing further printed on the matter ’’ of the above Tomato 
we must remind you it is grown in a public garden for a public purpose. 
We have never pretended to say the variety named is the best of all 
in the house at Chiswick. It is a strong grower and has borne good 
fruit. The words “ apparently a selection from Hathaway’s Excelsior” 
we will alter to “ apparently an improvement ” on that variety if you 
like, and both convey a favourable estimate. But all the same, Per¬ 
fection has afforded the finest fruits that have realised the highest price, 
while Horsford’s Prelude has produced the greatest number of rather too 
small fruits for market but of excellent quality, and proved decidedly the 
freest setter of any in the house. An official report will probably be 
published at the close of the season. We are obliged by the informa¬ 
tion that ‘‘ Ham Green Favourite is a Iona fide cross, though you did 
not carefully take note of the parents, but know one of them is not 
Hathaway’s Excelsior, as you did not grow it at the time.” Perhaps 
your seedling is a vigorous grandchild of Hathaway’s. There is certainly 
a resemblance between them, but this in no way detracts from the merit 
of the former. 
Grafting- Tea Roses {Ruga) — Grafting can be done at almost any 
time provided the stocks and scions are in suitable condition, but is 
generally delayed until after the turn of the year, as with increased 
light and heat from natural causes the plants then grow with vigour 
after the union is complete. Grafting usually commences in January, 
using wood in a dormant state or nearly so, and the. stocks must be in 
the same condition. It is not necessary that the plants from which 
sc'ons are taken should have flowered if you are certain that the 
varieties are true. The greatest success by a beginner would be attained 
by starting his plants from which the scions are to be taken in heat and 
the stocks also until the sap has commenced rising freely. The wood 
of the scion should be nearly half ripe; it should have at any rate a 
certain amount of solidity. It is not necessary to introduce the stocks 
into heat as early, the scions producing plants. Still, if you work any 
in a dormant state you may introduce the two together, and when the 
sap in both commences flowing grafting can be performed. One eye on 
