July 28, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
79 
request that no one will write privately to any of our correspon¬ 
dents, as doing so subjects them to unjustifiable trouble and 
expense. 
Correspondents should not mix up on the same sheet questions relat¬ 
ing to Gardening and those on Bee subjects, and should never 
send more than two or three questions at once. All articles in¬ 
tended for insertion should be written on one side of the paper 
only. We cannot reply to questions through the post, and we 
do not undertake to return rejected communications. 
Address ( Vectis ).—The address you require is the Thames Bank Iron 
Company, Upper Ground Street, London, S.E. 
Strawberries ( W. Lovel <]• Son ).—The fruits were of good size, but had 
suffered so much in transit, being much bruised, that we cannot speak 
favourably as to their condition or flavour. 
Imported Orchids (W., Beading ).—The book you mention does not 
include the culture of Orchids ; you will find ample instruction in Mr. B. S. 
Williams’ “ Orchid Manual.” The treatment you are adopting is correct 
and we can advise nothing better, but when the roots are growing you can 
place the plants in well-drained pots or baskets with moss and a small 
quantity of fibrous peat, growing them in a temperature which does not fall 
below 55° nor rise above 65°, until it can be decided what the plants are. 
Exhibiting Stocks (B. S., Balmoral ).—If the prize was offered for the 
best “blooms” of Stocks the award was, strictly speaking, right; but it is 
the duty of persons who offer prizes or prepare schedules to take care that 
the conditions are so clear that they cannot be mistaken. The flowers of 
Stocks taken from spikes are “blooms ” just as individual Roses are that are 
cut from a stem bearing many flowers. 
Strawberry Depredators ( Uxbridge). —Your Strawberries are “taken,” 
we suspect, by either rats or mice, and not by either toads, frogs, or birds, 
and you should destroy the vermin by traps or poison, but the latter should 
be used with care, as domestic animals or birds may be destroyed also. 
What is an Herbaceous Plant? ( Joseph Law). — We consider that all 
plants are herbaceous that lose their stems annually and Bpring up again 
from the roots. According to this definition your plants would be eligible 
for competition. The wording of the class is, however, very loose, and the 
judges might either understand that hardy plants were meant, or that the 
word “ distinct ” meant distinct kinds. Your plants were not distinct kinds. 
Still if we had been judging such a class we should not have disqualified 
you if the varieties were distinct, on the ground that an exhibitor should 
not be punished for any mistake in the published conditions. 
Aphides on Gardenias ( Subscriber ).—If all the shoots are infested like 
the one you have sent there is only one method of restoring the plants, and 
that is to cut them down, wash the stems with an insecticide, keep the 
plants in a very warm moist house to break, then repot, removing much of 
the old soil from their roots—in fact all that is loose, and encourage fresh 
growth in brisk heat, and keep the plants clean by daily syringings. The 
specimen is in a deplorable state, and nothing can possibly make such a 
shoot healthy. Aphides can be destroyed with Gishurst compound, Fir tree 
oil, nicotine soap, or softsoap and petroleum; but it is of no use wasting 
time and material on shoots in the state of the one before us, which should 
be cut off and burned. 
Apple Bess Pool (A.E .).—Your Apple is a good example of the above 
well-known late-keeping variety. Its origin is thus described in the “ Fruit 
Manual.” “This is a Nottinghamshire Apple. Mr. Pearson of Chilwell 
says, ‘ My father became so in love with the Bess Pool that he planted it 
largely. He used to tell how a girl named Bess Pool found in a wood the 
seedling tree full of ripe fruit; how, showing the Apples in her father’s 
house—he kept a village inn—the tree became known, and my grandfather 
procured grafts. He would then show the seven first-planted trees of the 
kind in one of our nurseries, tell how Loudon had been to see them and 
given an account of them in his Gardener's Magazine , make his visitors 
try to clasp round their boles, and measure the space covered by their 
branches. He would then boast how, one season, when Apples were very 
scarce, the fruit of these trees was sold at 7s. 6d. a peck, and made £70, or 
an average of £10 a tree. So far from thinking the Bess Pool a regular 
bearer, I believe it to be a very uncertain one, and anything but a profitable 
one to plant.’ ” 
Chrysanthemums for Exhibition ( Wordsworth ).—Successful exhibitors 
o blooms grow several plants each of what they consider reliable varieties, 
and they do not treat them all alike as to “ taking ” the buds, because they 
do not know what the weather will be in October and early November. 
What you term a “ summer ” bud (crown bud) developes a larger flower as a 
rule than a terminal bud does, and a side bud on a terminal growth produces 
a smaller flower than the end or central bud of the cluster. For your 
district we should set at least a number of summer or crown buds if they 
showed towards the end of the first week in August. That would probably 
be right for all except the early varieties, and the blooms even of some of 
these might keep if the season were late. As you cannot make buds form 
when you like you cannot do better than remove promptly all buds that 
form towards the end of the present month, and rely on the first buds that 
show afterwards, removing very carefully all growths and buds surrounding 
the most prominent at the end of each shoot as soon as this can be done 
with the point of a penknife ; but remember the buds retained must not be 
touched, as the smallest possible injury inflicted on them is certain to grow 
and spoil the blooms. Nearly all the largest blooms that are exhibited are 
from “crown” buds, and amongst the varieties likely to be too early if 
“ set ” during the first week in August are what are known as the Bundle 
trio, Prince Alfred, Lord Wolseley, Prince of Wales, Mr. Bunn, the 
Beverleys, White Globe, Lord Derby, St. Patrick, and Beethoven, and these 
would be safer taken a week or so later. But do not put all your eggs in 
one basket—that is, treat all the plants of a variety exactly alike. 
Pruning Roses in Summer {Kittle). —Climbing Roses that are permitted 
to extend to a great length when young, the shoots 6 feet long or more, 
and not shortened in winter, are almost certain to get naked at the base 
as the lower buds will either not start at all or grow weakly. It is 
better in the end to proceed rather slowly at the beginning by shortening at 
least some of the shoots to within 2 feet of the ground. It is by adopting 
a similar practice with Vines that they are furnished with growths quite as 
low down as is desired. In the case of the Gloire de Dijon, with a bare 
stem of 4 feet and a spreading growth above that height, with a luxuriant 
growth starting from near the ground to near 6 feet high ; there are two 
methods of dealing with the latter : top it now, and in winter shorten it to 
within 18 inches of the base, and in the spring it will push four or five 
growths that may be distributed over the lower part of the wall. 2, Let it 
extend through the season, and in winter bend it under the present branches 
and train it down the other side of the stem to the ground. By this plan you 
would have flowers next year on the lower part of the wall. We cannot say 
what the growth would be afterwards, as this depends entirely on the vigour 
of the tree. We may say that if the tree were ours we should have cut 6 
inches off the young shoot when it was 2 feet in height, and should now 
have young shoots—second growths—growing up the wall. This is, in fact, 
exactly the result in the case of a rampant shoot of Gloire de Dijon that we 
topped a month ago. We take off the tops now of strong sucker-like 
growths of dwarf Roses with the object of distributing the sap through 
others that are weaker, and thus secure an uniformity of growth. If the top 
part of the Rose is rather weak, we should not allow the strong shoot to 
proceed further. Your Clematis Flammula will not flower this year if you 
prune it now ; we cannot say whether it will do so if left alone, but as a rule 
the more it is pruned the more sparsely it will flower ; still the lower part 
of the wall has to be considered, and if persons were willing to wait for 
flowers a little longerltke lower parts of Roses, Clematises, and other climbers 
would be better furnished. 
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 iu 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. 
{D. C.). —1, Cynosurus cristatus ; 2, Festuca pratensis ; 4, Poa pratensis ; 
6, Festuca duriuscula ; 7, Medicago maculata ; 3 and 5 are unrecognisable. 
{G. B. B.). —Sollya heterophylla, a New Holland plant generally grown in a 
greenhouse in England. {Young Beginner). —Jasminum Sambac flore-pleno. 
{ A . B. C.). —1, Asclepias tuberosa ; 2, Achillea Ptarmica flore-pleno; 3, 
Hypericum perforatum ; 4, H. calycinum. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— July 22nd. 
Heavy supplies of soft fruit to hand, and prices lower with a brisk trade 
Vegetables unaltered. 
Annies. i sieve 
s. 
0 
d. s. 
0 to 0 
FRT 
d. 
0 
JIT. 
Lemons .. .. t. 
s. 
case 15 
d. s. 
0 to 21 
d- 
0 
Cherries .. .. 
4-sieve 
4 
0 
10 
0 
Oranges.. .. ,. 
8 
0 
12 
Cobs, Kent .. per 
100 lbs. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Peaches . 
perdoz. 
1 
6 
8 
Currants, Red 
h sieve 
3 
6 
4 
0 
Pears, kitchen .. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
„ Black .. 
| sieve 
4 
0 
4 
6 
,, dessert 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Figs . 
dozen 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Pine Apples English .. lb . 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Gooseberries.. .. 
1 sieve 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Strawberries.. 
.. lb. 
0 
3 
0 
Grapes .. .. .. 
1 
0 
2 
6 
St. Michael Pines 
..each 
3 
0 
7 
0 
Artichokes .. .. 
dozen 
s. 
1 
VEGE1 
d. s. d 
0 to 0 0 
ABLES. 
Lettuce. 
. dozen 
s. 
1 
d. s. 
0 to 2 
a. 
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 
Beet, Red .. .. 
dozen 
i 
0 
2 
0 
Onions. 
bunch 
0 
3 
0 
0 
Broccoli. 
bundle 
0 
9 
1 
0 
Parsley .. dozen bunches 
2 
0 
3 
6 
Brussels Sprouts .. 
4 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 
Carrots. 
bunch 
0 
s 
0 
4 
Rhubarb. 
bundle 
0 
4 
0 
0 
Cauliflowers .. .. 
dozen 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Salsafy. 
bundle 
1 
0 
0 
0 
Celery . 
bundle 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Scorzonera .. . 
bundle 
1 
6 
0 
0 
Coleworts dez. bunches 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Seakale .. .. per basket 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Cucumbers .. .. 
each 
0 
3 
0 
6 
Shallots .. .. . 
0 
3 
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 
THE CLERGYMAN’S FARM. 
“ No spiritual person licensed to perfonn the duties of 
any ecclesiastical office whatever shall take to farm, for oc¬ 
cupation by himself, any lands exceeding eighty acres in the 
whole for the purpose of cultivation.” So runs the Act 
1 and 2 Viet., with the obvious intention of keeping our 
spiritual pastors from becoming too much absorbed in things 
temporal; but we think an allowance of eighty acres by no 
means despicable, for it affords ample scope for the cultiva¬ 
tion of a bountiful supply of farm produce that should more 
than suffice for the requirements of a clergyman’s household. 
