142 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
[ February 18, 1886. 
from the soil; if they have been grown in pots and planted without any 
material disturbance of the roots the shoots may be cut to about half their 
length. 
Amaryllis Belladonna (St. Edmunds ).—You could not very well have 
made a greater mistake than keeping the bulbs in paper bags till the pre¬ 
sent time. You had better plant them in gritty soil 5 or 6 inches deep, 
close to a wall facing the south, and let them remain there permanently. If 
you wish to flower this Amaryllis in pots procure some strong bulbs in 
summer, pot them in sandy loam, and they will soon throw up flower spikes. 
They must be placed on a shelf near the glass in a warm greenhouse, after¬ 
wards to make good foliage, and when the foliage dies down the pots may 
be stood on a base impervious to worms, near a wall facing the south till 
September, then remove some of the old soil, add fresh, and take them in 
for flowering. We find them succeed and flower better planted out as sug¬ 
gested than in pots, but strong fresh bulbs flower very well. You ought to 
have potted or planted your bulbs in August or early September. 
Eucharises ( T. B .).—Your plants appear to be infested with the 
destructive mite that appears to be spreading very rapidly, and unless it is 
destroyed the plants cannot flourish. As you are a new subscriber you 
probably did not see what was published a few weeks ago on well washing 
the bulbs in a solution of softsoap and petroleum, 2 ozs. of softsoap with a 
little soda being dissolved in a gallon of boiling water, and stirring in very 
briskly while hot a small wineglassful of common petroleum, applying this 
as hot as the hand can be borne in it, rubbing it into every crevice with the 
aid of a soft brush. That has answered in the case of some infested bulbs, 
another cultivator having found a similar mixture of Gishurst compound 
and Fir tree oil efficacious, except when the insects eat quite into the bulbs. 
In that state they are beyond cure, aud should be burned. Place them in 
rather small well-drained pots in turfy loam, adding sand and crushed 
charcoal to keep it sweet and porous, placing some of the latter in contact 
with the bulbs. Plunge the pots in a bottom heat of 80° to 85°, if con¬ 
venient in a stove or pit having a night temperature of 65°, applying water 
cautiously and judiciously. When the plants are established they require 
copious supplies of water when flower stems are visible, liquid manure to 
support good foliage, and when this is fully developed a gradual reduction 
of water and a rest of six weeks or so. Then, when placed in heat, they 
throw up another series of spikes. Good plants well managed flower freely 
three times in twelve months. 
Sheep’s Nose Apple ( Sir Henry Allsopp). —The specimens you have sent 
are of this variety, which is described as follows in the new edition of the 
“ Fruit Manual—Fruit, medium sized, 2f inches wide and the same high; 
distinctly angular, broad at the base and tapering to two-thirds of its height, 
where it forms a contracted waist, and thence it narrows to the crown, 
where it terminates in five prominent knobs. Skin, bright crimson, striped 
with broken stripes of rich yellow, except where it is shaded, and there it 
is either yellow or marked with faint streaks. Eye, closed, with long erect 
segments, set in a very angular and plaited basin. Stamens, marginal; tube, 
long conical. Stalk, a quart r of an inch long, inserted in a wide and fur¬ 
rowed cavity. Flesh, tender, juicy, sweet, and with a mild acidity. Cells, 
ovate ; abaxile. A Somersetshire cider Apple, and also good for cooking; 
in use during October and November. It is a very handsome-looking Apple, 
and of remarkable shape. Fruit often keeps till this season of the year. 
Starting Vines ( F. J .).—You may start the Vines now; in fact, we 
gather from your letter that they are starting, and their growth must be 
steadily maintained. It is not too early for them, but if you have no 
frames into which you can remove the bedding plants by-and-by they will 
become drawn and tender by the heat to which they will be subjected. 
Fire must be employed for the Vines in accordance with the weather and 
the condition of their growth. At present, and until the growths are half 
an inch long, a minimum night temperature of 50° will suffice, or say 55° at 
about 9 o’clock at night, as there may be a fall of 5° before morning. When 
leaves commence unfolding the minimum night temperature may be raised 
to 55°, increasing to 60° when the leaves are as large as your hand and the 
bunches advancing, and when flowering the temperature may be 65° or 
thereabouts. These are all night temperatures. When there is no sun 
whatever in the daytime let the temperature be raised from the pipes 5° or 
6°, not more ; but with sun it may be quite 15° above the night temperature 
re ipectively. Do not employ fire when you can obtain sun heat, this being 
by far the better and cheaper. Close early in the afternoons, syringing the 
Vines till they are fairly started, also damping the house on bright days ; 
by early closing we mean so as to retain the maximum sun heat as long as 
possible ; but do not allow the temperature to fall to the night figures before 
the fire is started, as it will certainly fall lower in spite of vigorous efforts to 
prevent it. The pipes should be warmed in the afternoon to meet the 
declining temperature, the weather being the guide as to the time and extent 
of the fire heat to afford. But do not “ play with fire ” and have your house 
warmer at night than in the day, or you will fail in your object. A little 
air should be admitted at the top of the house as soon as the temperature 
rises 5° above the night minimum, increasing the ventilation as the heat 
increases, not letting the house get too hot then, and throw open the sashes 
to cool it. It is by committing that mistake that many fail. This informa¬ 
tion has been given in articles and answers repeatedly, but you appear to 
have overlooked it; we do not begrudge its repetition, as it will be of service 
to inexperienced amateurs generally and new readers particularly at this 
period of the year. The thermometer should be shaded from the sun. April 
is soon enough for starting Begonias for planting in beds. 
Gooseberry Branches Dying (Somerset). —It is a long time since we saw 
more ungenial soil than the samples you have sent. There is no wonder 
that you have failures. The wonder is that Gooseberries grow at all. It is 
close, cold, and wet. Certainly it should be drained, as that would result in 
an admission of air and an increase of temperature. Then lime, ashes, saw¬ 
dust, and gritty matter of any kind should be added freely, and manure 
containing much straw should be dug in in the autumn, or when the surface 
is dry, as such land sheuld never be worked when wet. The proper method 
of draining would be to form drains 7 yards apart and 3 feet deep, provided 
—and this is important—a depth of 18 inches of ballast or rubble is placed 
in for the free percolation of water to the pipes. It would be of little use 
covering the pipes 3 feet deep with clay. In the absence of hard material 
drain from 18 inches to 2 feet deep, covering the pipes with brushwood or 
the branches of prunings of trees and hedges. Mind that the pipes are placed 
on a firm base, and level, as if some sink below the others labour will be 
wasted. Such soil should not be trenched. It is, no doubt, of the same 
character as that to which Mr. Iggulden alluded when he denounced 
trenching some months ago. It is sufficiently retentive to hold the neces¬ 
sary nutriment for crops in a foot in depth, and we should break up the sub¬ 
soil and leave it, not bring it to the surface. We do not analyse soils, but 
should not be surprised to find iron in the heavy inert mass. The Currant 
spray is infested with the bud mite. Raise a clean stock as far as pos¬ 
sible from the infested bushes, and these burn as soon as you can spare 
them. 
Market Gardening (A.).—There is a good deal in the books you name, 
the truth of which you will be extremely fortunate if you realise in practice. 
The best advice we can give you is to consult with some respectable green¬ 
grocers, and ascertain from them the vegetables most in demand. You must 
rely on local custom, and not think of sending produce to Covent Garden ; 
neither must you base your calculations on the published prices, for though 
they are realised it by no means follows that you can rely on obtaining them 
whenever you may happen to have produce for sale. As you appear to be 
without experience in market gardening you will have to work very hard to 
make any such nrofits as you appear to anticipate, unless you get posses¬ 
sion of extraordinarily good land at a very low rent. As to fruit culture, 
some few years must necessarily elapse before it can be profitable if you 
have to plant trees to begin with. Strawberries and Raspberries would 
give the quickest return, always provided the soil be favourable. Early 
Potatoes, such as Myatt’s Prolific and Beauty of Hebron, may be grown, a3 
Brussels Sprouts, Savoys, Yeitch’s Autumn Giant Cauliflower, and spring 
Broccolis can be grown between them. By all means try Shallots and 
Parsnips, but do not expect to make a fortune from them. Good Asparagus 
plantations pay well in four years from sowing seed, or two after planting 
crowns. Early Lettuces and Cabbages pay well, but they must be early, for 
if late in the market they are of little worth. It is the same with most 
things. The person who is first in the market gets the best prices. Ellam’s 
Early Cabbage and the Paris White Cos Lettuce are good varieties. Onions 
pay very well in some soils, so do early Turnips and Carrots ; whereas in 
others the crops are not remunerative. Celery, such as the Leicester Red, 
well grown, gives a good profit in the hands of some persons ; and if you 
have a certain market for Peas as soon as they are ready they may be 
grown, but they quickly spoil if not gathered. Prizetaker is a free-bearing 
and good market variety. Dwarf Kidney Beans pay fairly well sometimes. 
Scarlet Runners better. You can readily find out by experience the 
crops that will answer best in the soil and district. Market gardening is 
not by any means the easy calling it is represented in certain books, and you 
must make up your mind to have produce to sell at times for which you 
cannot find a ready market. Some persons succeed admirably, others fail 
completely, so much depending on the judgment, aptitude, and industry of 
individuals. The quantity of coke requisite for a given extent of piping de¬ 
pends entirely on the w rather and the temperature maintained in a house. 
If yours is merely a greenhouse we think the quantity you name is more 
than we should be content to burn, and possibly we would manage with less, 
so much depending on the stoker. 
Names of Fruits.—The names and addresses of senders of fruit to 
be named must in all cases be enclosed with the specimens, whether 
letters referring to the fruit are sent by post or not. The names are 
not necessarily required for publication, initials sufficing tor that. 
(J. K.). —We can only name 5, which is Minchull Crab. All the rest were 
so bruised and discoloured it was impossible to make anything of them. 
They had no packing. (IV. H.). —The labels were all off the fruit sent, so 
we cannot refer to them by numbers. The Pear iB Chaumontel. The green 
Apple is Winter Greening, and the red one we do not know. (W. H. B.). — 
Formosa Nonpareil. (H. Hewat Craw). —Your Apple is certainly neither 
Court of Wick nor Golden Harvey. It most of all resembles Kerry Pippin 
or Barcelona Pearmain, and we should have considered it to be the former 
were it not that the season of that variety is long past. We shall endeavour 
to discover the name, and meanwhile will thank you to inform us whether 
the oval or the round, specimens of which you sent examples, is the more 
prevalent. 
Names of Plants.—We only undertake to name species of plants, no 
varieties that have originated from seed and termed florists’ flowers. 
Flowering specimens are necessary of flowering plants, aud Fern fronds 
should bear 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. 
(N. 3.).— No. 4, Escallonia rubra; 5, Aucuba japonica variegata ; 6, Euony- 
mus japonicus variegatus. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— February 17th. 
Market has been very dull. A slig it improvement in Grapes. Large 
consignments of Nova Scotia Apples to hand. 
VEGETABLES. 
Artichokes .. 
, dozen 
s. 
1 
d. 
0 
s. 
to 0 
d 
0 
Lettuce .. .. 
s. 
1 
d. 
0 to 
s. 
1 
d. 
6 
Asparagus 
. bundle 
a 
0 
8 
0 
Mushrooms .. 
.. punnet 
0 
6 
i 
0 
Beans, Kidney 
lb. 
0 
6 
1 
0 
Mustard and Cress punnet 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Beet, Red 
. dozen 
i 
0 
2 
0 
Onions .. .. 
0 
3 
0 
a 
Broccoli .. .. 
. bundle 
0 
9 
i 
0 
Parsley .. dozen bunches 
2 
0 
s 
0 
Brussels Sprouts 
. i sieve 
2 
6 
3 
0 
Parsnips .. .. 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Cabbage .. .. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Potatoes.. .. 
4 
0 
5 
0 
Capsicums 
. 100 
1 
6 
2 
0 
,, Kidney 
.. cwt. 
4 
0 
6 
0 
Carrots .. .. 
. bunch 
0 
s 
0 
4 
Rhubarb.. .. 
0 
2 
0 
4 
Cauliflowers .. 
. dozen 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Salsafy .. .. 
1 
0 
0 
0 
Celery .. .. 
. bundle 
1 
6 
2 
0 
Scorzonera .. 
.. bundle 
1 
6 
0 
0 
Coleworts dcz 
bunches 
a 
0 
4 
0 
Seakale .. .. 
per basket 
2 
0 
2 
6 
Cucumbers .. 
. each 
0 
6 
0 
9 
Shallots .. .. 
0 
s 
0 
6 
Endive .. .. 
l 
0 
a 
0 
Spinach .. .. 
2 
0 
4 
0 
Herbs .. .. 
0 
2 
0 
0 
Tomatoes 
0 
9 
1 
6 
Leeks .. .. 
0 
s 
0 
1 
Turnips .. 
s, bunch 
0 
4 
0 
