460 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
f June 7,18«8. 
for the cultivator, as it appears there is no certainty when it will 
take place, or what form it will take. Offsets from “ breeders ” 
have been known to produce both flamed and feathered flowers, but 
when once the “ rectification ” has occurred the characters are fixed 
with extremely few exceptions, and all offsets produced are true 
to the parent that yielded them. There is something extremely 
strange in this alteration of character in seedlings after the lapse 
of perhaps six or eight years from the time the seed was sown, and 
so far the determining causes have not been ascertained, though 
change of soil has been thought to have an influence in the matter. 
Tliis peculiarity has a bearing, how'ever, upon another subject, 
which is worth a few moments’ consideration, though the ideas here 
stated must be regarded more as queries than any attempt to settle 
a difficult point. Many so-called wild Tulips have been introduced 
in recent years and received names as distinct species, probably 
from a botanical point of view upon adequate groun Is, but I have 
seen several of these that possess a remarkably close resemblance to 
the “ Breeder ” Tulip of the florist. Has it ever occurred to those 
who collect and describe “wild” Tulips, that it is possible the 
phenomenon of “breaking” might also occur in a state of nature, 
and have the newly found species been sufficiently proved as fixed 
types ? This was brought rather forcibly to mind recently by a 
comparison of some “ Breeders ” received from Holland with the 
Tulips at Kew, one of the latter named T. platystigma being 
exactly like one of the Dutch Breeder forms in all characters. 
The subject is well worth investigation, and is only one of 
numberless points which render Tulips such interesting garden 
plants.— Recorder. 
A CHAPTER ON WATERING. 
I DO not intend dealing with increasing the water supply in 
cases where it is deficient. As to whether this can be done or not 
depends entirely on circumstances of which I have no knowledge, 
but as to the application of water in times of drought much may 
be said. It is not always where the water is most plentiful that 
the plants are best watered ; indeed it is not a question of mere 
quantity, but the secret of successful watering lies in doing it well 
and at the proper time. It is almost impossible to make a mistake 
in watering a plant that has so many roots as to fill the soil and 
pot in which it is growing. If too much is given it will simply 
run through the pot and do no harm to the roots, but such plants 
suffer terribly from neglect in watering. It is rsin to Heaths, 
Azaleas, and other hardwooded plants, and all others suffer. One 
may be very careful in watering for a week or a month, but let 
thern become dry once so much as to cause the foliage to fall, the 
evil is done, and all previous benefits from careful watering are lost. 
Amateurs, especially, who may water their plants in the morning 
before going to business, and not see them agiin until the next 
morning, should place saucers beneath every one of such plants, 
and fill them with water every morning, when all danger of their 
suffering will be obviated. In gardens where young men are daily 
employed to water the plants this plan may be superfluous, as no 
plant should suffer that is examined twice a day, but where hands 
are short in large gardens the saucer plan will save much labour. 
Now we come to another class of plants—namely, those that have 
plenty of soil and root room but few roots, which very quickly 
test the ability of the attendant, as over-watering soon causes the 
soil to become boggy, and then the plants will fail. Many are 
killed or kept in permanent bad health from this cause, and I find 
it a most difficult matter to get young gardeners or amateurs to 
understand that a plant with few roots does not require so much 
water as those with abundance of roots. The system of general 
watering is a bad one—that is, going into a house and watering 
every plant, whether it is needed or not. This is often done in the 
moriiing under the impression that if some of the plants do not 
require water then they may do so before the day is over, but 
this indiscriminate watering will soon lead to many of them 
becoming unwell, and if I found a man acting thus he 
would not fail to be corrected. Sometimes soil appears dry on the 
surface when it is really damp beneath. Where there are any 
doubts watering should not be done by sight only. If each pot is 
rapped sharply with the knuckles those in which the soil is dry will 
give a hollow sound, while those in which the soil is sufficiently 
moist will have a dead sound. By giving a little attention to this 
it is astonishing how expert anyone may become at watering plants 
in pots. 
l]*' l|Ooe of the best methods of preventing plants in pots suffering 
from drought is to plunge them In good plant-growing establish¬ 
ments plunging, both under glass and in the open air, is largely 
resorted to. It saves labour in watering, as plunged plants do not 
require water so often as those with the pots exposed to the sun- 
and air, and while the pots may become so hot and dry in the latter 
case as to injure the roots which come in contact with them, this 
never occurs with plunged plants. As a rule we plunge all our 
Chrysanthemums. Last year for some reason we did not do so,, 
and the result was the poorest we ever had. Few plants suffer 
more from having their pots exposed than Azaleas, but when, 
plunged they may be kept healthy without any difficulty. It is 
not always possible to plunge pots in greenhouses andi on shelves in 
houses, but if a board or some screen is put up to shade the pots 
from the sun it will prove a great advantage. 
When once the soil becomes thoroughly dry no ordinary water¬ 
ing will rectify the mistake, as three or four applications of water 
will pass through the pot without wetting the soil in the centre. 
The only perfect mode of watering over-dry plants is to plunge the 
pots over the top in a bucket or tank of water, and allow them to 
remain there for an hour or more. The water then penetrates the 
whole of the soil, and there is no difficulty in watering them in the 
ordinary way afterwards. In syringing it is generally the foliage 
only that is moistened, but it is an excellent plan to syringe the 
pots once or twice a day in hot dry weather, as they absorb- 
much of the moisture and are cool for the roots. The soil in pots 
that are syringed does not dry quickly. 
In dealing with Vine, Peach, and other borders under glass 
surface dribblings must be rigidly avoided. Nothing short of a 
thorough soaking will prove beneficial, and where the drainage is 
good a copious supply must be given. We hear much of Peach 
flowers and fruits falling. In many cases it is caused by a too dry 
subsoil and nothing else. I never knew a Peach tree that was. 
properly watered behave very badly. A panful or two of water is 
a delusion, but a deluge “ sets them up ” for the season. Some say 
“We will not water until we see how they are going on.” This 
a mistake. By the time that fruit trees show, whether they want 
water or not, the mischief has been done, as a check will have been 
given from which they will not quite recover for that season. The 
better way is to j edge by the state of the weather and the soil if 
they are likely to require water. Anticipate it, and apply water 
thorouglily before the condition of the tree indicates want. Straw¬ 
berries will take any amount of water in May and June, but many 
of them do not receive any until the fruit begins ripening, then it 
is seen they are small, and all of a hurry water is applied ; but it is 
labour in vain, as unless they are quite wet at the roots when the 
fruit is forming after attentions are useless. 
Vegetables are sometimes watered, but it is generally applied 
with the object of “ finishing them off,” whereas if it were given to 
them during the early stages of their growth to make them develop© 
the “ finisliing off ” would follow as a natural certainty. We have 
watered Peas in flower, and also long before they came in bloom, 
and the latter invariably proved superior. This applies to all vege • 
tables. Timely application is the secret of successful watering. AH 
trees planted during the last twelve months will be apt to droop 
should warm dry weather occur, and their chances of existing will 
be greatly increased if they receive a thorough watering at the roots 
before they suffer. Grass seed sown during April or May, or turf 
placed down in the spring, would grow better and form a finer lawn 
if watered so as to prevent the drought checking the growth of the 
grass. Extensive lawns might not easily be watered, but small 
ones could readily be attended to, and it is always important that 
they should be in good order.—A Kitchen Gardener. 
THE PEAR-GNAT OR MIDGES. 
We learn from the “Entomologist” that this tiny insect, the 
identification of which has presented some difficulty to naturalists, 
has been verified by Dr. Riley, the American State Entomologist. 
The species appears to have been first observed in Connecticut 
about seven years ago. Dr. Riley infers that it was imported from 
France with some Pear stocks. It has been known in England for 
a longer period, but owing to its occurring only sparsely, and con¬ 
fining itself to a few varieties of the Pear, little notice has been 
taken of its habits hitherto. Previous names being doubtful. Dr. 
Riley has now called the species Diplosis pyrivora. It is probably 
the same as that to which some naturalists gave the name of 
Cecidomyia nigra. That the insect is wddely diffused is shown by 
Miss Ormerod's letter from a gentleman in Wales, who says, “I 
have sent some specimens of Marie Louise Pears, of which there 
was a splendid promise of a crop, but they are all attacked by grubs 
within. The same thing happened last year, causing the destruction 
of a crop, as well as in addition having destroyed a fine crop of 
Beurre Bachelier. I observe that the winter Pears have entirely 
escaped.” 
