July 16, 1885. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
57 
Mushrooms Failing (T. W. S., Springfield). —Either the spawn or manure 
is weak, the soil poor and lacking firmness, or the house is too dry and 
warm. There are very few Mushroom houses in which good crops can be 
had in the summer. The beds should have the coolest possible position 
from May till September, and artificial heat is worse than useless when the 
temperature exceeds 55°. All you can do is to cover the beds with litter, 
and water this occasionally for percolating to the soil and keeping it cooi 
and moist: the house should also be kept damp and as cool as possible. If 
the beds are dry, give a good soaking of clear liquid manure, the colour of 
pale ale, nothing being better than the drainings from manure heaps. 
Grapes Scalded (A Lady). —We are very glad to hear that our advice 
proved useful. Your Vines appear now to be in good condition, but the 
berries you have sent are what is known as scalded. We suspect the 
night temperature of the house has been so low as to cause a conden¬ 
sation of moisture on the berries, and the ventilators have been thrown 
open too widely and too late on some particular morning, and the ex¬ 
cessive evaporation with the attendant cold has chilled the fruit and 
injured the tender skin of the variety. Do not allow the temperature 
to fall below 65°, do not damp the house late, leave the top ventilators 
slightly open on fine nights, and admit more air very early in the 
morning. 
Succulent Plant Unhealthy ( B. J. B.). —Your succulent plant, Semper- 
vivum arboreum, is not suffering by want of more heat, but by defective 
root-action. It has possibly been kept too wet in the winter and the soil 
was rendered sour. We should turn it out of the pot, remove a good portion 
of the old soil, say half to two-thirds of it, and place the plant in a clean 
well-drained pot, only just large enough to hold the roots conveniently, in 
fresh turfy loam with a slight addition of lime rubbish and wood ashes—a 
tenth part or so, and if watered judiciously it will recover. It will be 
better shaded for a few hours during the middle of the day till fresh growth 
commences, then it cannot have too much sun. Water must be given 
whenever the soil appears slightly dry, and only then. Very little water is 
required by these plants in the winter. Your Rose is perhaps the Red 
Damask and is very sweet. 
Jersey Lilies—Destroying Ants (_E. JET.).—Jersey Lilies are, we presume, 
the same as Guernsey Lilies, the botanical name of which is Nerine sar- 
niensis. As the ants infest the soil it will be little use trying to trap them, 
but we should do this, getting a coarse sponge and dipping it in honey or 
treacle, and then squeeze it almost dry. There will remain after this suffi¬ 
cient of the honey or treacle in the interior of the sponge to attract the 
ants, which will enter it, and the sponge may be dropped in a vessel con¬ 
taining boiling water. Wash out the sponge, repeat the bait, and persist 
in this for some little time, and you will get rid of the ants. The baits 
should be placed near their haunts. A more expeditious method is by the 
use of Fir tree oil, which may be applied to the soil, and with care is not 
injurious to the roots, but the instructions given must be carefully carried 
out. They are printed on each bottle of the insecticide. 
Pelargoniums Decaying ( J. B.). —Your plants are attacked most seriously 
with the small centipede, Julus guttatus. The decaying stems are crowded 
with the pest. Such plants cannot recover, and the centipedes inside the 
stems cannot be destroyed without destroying the plants. We should at 
once dig them up and bum them, and you will either have to remove the 
soil a spade deep, spreading a layer of lime before adding fresh soil, or 
plunge potted plants in the beds for effect this summer, changing the soil 
in the winter. There is presumably much decayed vegetable matter in the 
land, and a very heavy dressing of lime would be beneficial. In all pro¬ 
bability a small wineglassful of petroleum mixed in a gallon of soapsuds 
would be of service in extirpating the pest, and would also act as a manure 
for some kinds of plants and crops. You might try its effects on a few 
plants, and favour us with the results, increasing the petroleum so far as you 
find it safe to do so, if the lesser quantity does not destroy the centipedes. 
Tuberous Begonias—Florists’ Flowers (A. C. If.).—The varieties of 
Tuberous Begonias now so extensively grown for decorative purposes are as 
much florists’ flowers as Fuchsias, Pelargoniums, or Chrysanthemums are. 
All flowers are florists’ flowers that are raised from seed, and in that way 
improved by florists whether any particular standard or merit has been deter¬ 
mined or not. Primulas, Cinerarias, and Roses are as much florists’ flowers 
as Auriculas, Carnations, and Pinks are, because the origin of the varieties is 
due to the art of the florist in raising improved forms from seed and 
establishing them for increase by other methods of propagation. According 
to the strict reading of the schedule the Tuberous Begonia for which a 
prize was awarded was not eligible for competition, but as it was staged no 
doubt in pood faith, and as there is a difference of opinion among the 
members of your committee as to what constitutes a florists’ flower, hence 
no clear definition in the schedule, the fault is quite as much that of the 
committee as the exhibitor, and we should therefore let the latter retain the 
prize he won, and advise the committee to make the schedule clearer 
another year. 
Galls on Lime Leaves ( Hortus ).—The samples sent are what have been 
popularly called Lime Leaf Nail Galls, attributed to a gall mite named 
Phytoptus Tilite, though it is uncertain whether under this name more than 
one species may not be included. Upon their first appearance these galls 
are green, then they become yellow, this passes into red, next they are 
purplish, and finally brown. Their history is interesting, since the Lime was 
observed to be thus infected more than 150 years ago by the celebrated natural¬ 
ist Reaumur. He was, however, much puzzled by them, and discovering in 
some of them a solitary larva, he supposed they were produced by a kind of 
fly or beetle. If he was right in his observation such larvae could only have 
entered in order to prey upon the mites such galls may contain, for they are 
not attributable to other insects. So small and transparent are these mites 
that it is difficult to find them, and the plan generally adopted by naturalists 
is to wash them out with water, and then examine the liquid. On opening 
one of these galls it mostly appears to be full of hairs of a peculiar growth 
caused by the punctures of the mites. It cannot be said that the history of 
these galls is as yet properly elucidated, and it is maintained by some that 
the mites which they commonly contain are not the real parents of the 
galls, but “ inquilines,” or after tenants. Nor can we say how it is, that of 
two trees, seemingly growing under the same conditions, one will be found 
ewarmiDg with galls, and the other almost as entirely free from them. 
Judging Window Plants ( G. II., Chelsea ).—There are no rules of 
guidance for judging published anywhere to meet such circumstances as 
those to which you allude. We are of opinion that no one should accept 
the position as judge who is not practically acquainted with the culture of 
the plants on which he has to adjudicate, because of the great liability of 
such a person to err in a decision. Assuming a person is competent he will 
not have very much difficulty in his work if he acts on the principle that a 
plant, whatever it may be, must be good in itself and of its kind to be 
awarded a prize—that is to say, better than others in competition with it. 
Then, if two plants are equal in appearance, the prize should go to the one 
that ha3 been most difficult to cultivate. A well-grown plant of Mignon¬ 
ette may not be half so imposing as a second or third-rate Sunflower, but 
the prize should go to the former because of the immeasurably greater 
attention that must have been exercised in producing it, and so on through¬ 
out a show. We have seen injustice done to exhibitors by judges whose 
utmost desire was to be strictly accurate in their awards, hut who lacked 
the experience requisite to arrive at a correct decision. It is a great mis¬ 
take to think that it is easy to judge window plants and cottagers’ pro¬ 
duce. We know from much experience gained at the largest and richest of 
shows, and the smallest and most humble, that as much discrimination is 
needed in awarding the prizes at the latter as the former. As a rule it is 
safe to award the prizes to those plants that give the best evidence of 
cultural skill on the part of the exhibitor, regardless of the mere size of the 
“ specimens ” in competition. 
Names of Fruit (Campus Martins ).—Early Purple Gean ; the fruit of 
the other variety appears to be too small to be of any special value. 
Names of Plants.—We only undertake to name species of plants, not 
varieties that have originated from seed and termed florists’ flowers. 
Flowering specimens are necessary of flowering plants, and Fern fronds 
should contain spores. Specimens should arrive in a fresh state in firm 
boxes. Slightly damp moss or soft green leaves form the best packing, dry 
cotton wool the worst. Not more than six specimens can be named at once. 
{B. H.). —No. 1 is Pyrus salicifolius, the others we cannot name without 
flowers, though No. 3 may possibly be Shepherdia argentea. It is not un¬ 
common to find Cork Trees in this country. There is a much finer example 
in the Bishop of London’s garden at Fulham Palace than the one you 
mention. (J. M .).—You would perceive by our reply we were doubtful as 
to the name of your Fern. From the better specimen now to hand it is 
identified as Polystichum triangulare var. laxum, of which the imperfect 
scrap sent last week was in no way characteristic. It is only right that 
fair samples of plants should be supplied for purposes of identification. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— July 15th. 
Large supplies reaching us, with soft fruit well in. The London season 
being nearly over, hothouse goods are in less demand, and prices lower. 
FRUIT. 
s. 
d. 
8. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
8. 
d. 
Apples. 
£ sieve 
0 
0 
to 0 
0 
Lemons.. .. >, 
.. case 
15 
0 to 
21 
0 
Cherries .. .. 
^-sieve 
4 
0 
10 
0 
Oranges. 
8 
0 
12 
0 
Cobs, Kent .. per 
lUOlbs. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Peaches . 
perdoz. 
1 
6 
8 
0 
Currants, Red 
A sieve 
4 
0 
5 
0 
Pears, kitchen .. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
„ Black .. 
J sieve 
5 
0 
5 
6 
,, dessert 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
dozen 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Pine Apples English .. Ib. 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Gooseberries.. .. 
4 sieve 
i 
6 
2 
0 
Strawberries.. .. 
.. Ib. 
0 
3 
0 
9 
Grapes. 
i 
0 
2 
6 
St. Michael Pines 
..each 
3 
0 
7 
0 
VEGETABLES. 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d 
s. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
dozen 
i 
0 to 0 
0 
Lettuce . 
. dozen 
1 
0 to 2 
0 
Asparagus .. •. 
bundle 
2 
0 
5 
0 
Mushrooms .. . 
punnet 
0 
6 
1 
0 
Beans, Kidney 
lb. 
i 
0 
0 
0 
Mustard and Cress 
punnet 
0 
2 
0 
0 
dozen 
i 
0 
2 
0 
Onions. 
bunoh 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Broccoli. 
bundle 
0 
9 
1 
0 
Parsley .. dozen bunches 
2 
0 
s 
6 
Brussels Sprouts .. 
J sieve 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Parsnips. 
dozen 
i 
0 
2 
0 
Cabbage . 
dozen 
0 
0 
1 
0 
Potatoes. 
cwt. 
4 
0 
5 
0 
Capsicums .. .. 
100 
1 
6 
2 
0 
,, Kidney . 
cwt. 
4 
0 
5 
8 
bunch 
0 
s 
0 
4 
Rhubarb. 
bundle 
0 
4 
0 
0 
Cauliflowers .. .. 
dozen 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Salsafy. 
bundle 
i 
0 
0 
0 
bundle 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Scorzonera .. . 
bundle 
i 
6 
0 
0 
Coleworts dcz. bunches 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Seakale .. .. per basket 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Cucumbers .. .. 
each 
0 
3 
0 
6 
Shallots. 
.. it. 
0 
S 
0 
0 
Endive. 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Spinach . 
bushel 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Herbs . 
bunch 
0 
2 
0 
0 
Tomatoes .. .. 
.. lb. 
0 
4 
0 
5 
Leeks . 
bunch 
0 
S 
0 
4 
Turnips. 
bunch 
0 
6 
0 
0 
FARMS NEAR LARGE TOWNS. 
Speculative farming, rash ventures with crops hitherto 
untried upon a large scale, are an outcome of hard times 
which lands many a man upon the verge of bankruptcy. 
Among such undertakings the culture of Sugar Beet may he 
mentioned as having led to serious losses among farmers in 
the eastern counties. Flax is spoken of as another crop 
worthy of a trial; but can farmers generally afford to indulge 
in such attempts ? Home farmers have so much land upon 
