166 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
r Ftbmary 28,1889. 
undo the work of the season. At the end of September they might 
sifely be placed in their largest pots without fear of evil con¬ 
sequences. But nothing is gained even by this course. I have 
potted at various times without observing in the end any advantage 
by early potting ; in fact early potting is a disadvantage. The 
plants take more room, and the soil is liable to become over-wet. 
If potted in September there is a large quantity of unoccupied 
soil about the plants for some time. I prefer potting any time 
during late autumn or winter, so that the plants need no watering 
until they are started into growth. For some time past we 
have been in the habit of potting them as they are started into 
growth. If good loam and one-seventh of manure are used and a 
little sand, very little feeding is needed afterwards. One or two 
applications of artificial manure to the surface of the soil is ample 
after the truss is as large as the palm of a man’s hand. The soil 
should be pressed firmly into the pots, and plants grown on a 
moisture-holding base as near to the glass as possible. 
The Hydrangea stands forcing well, and by introducing some 
at intervals of a month may be had in flower over a period of seven 
months. Plants started in the beginning of December in a 
temperature of 45° to 50° at night, and gradually increased 5°, 
according to the weather, will be showing their flower trusses by 
the middle or third week in January. When they reach this stage 
they should not be hurried. The old H. hortensis is still one of 
the best and produces perhaps the finest truss of all. With us it 
comes nearly all shades of colour—namely, white, pink, and various 
shades of blue. There are two forms of this—one with nearly all 
abortive or sterile flowers, and the other with but one row of these 
round the base of the truss. This is no good and should be dis¬ 
carded. The variety we have as II. hortensis Otaksa, although 
treated the same as H. hortensis, always produces pink or flesh- 
coloured flowers. It is also more difficult to keep dwarf ; for 
instance, if rooted on the some principle as II. hortensis it is 
certain in autumn when the flower bud is formed to be 4 inches 
high. It is difficult to pot it down to the base of the flower bud. 
It, however, flowers very freely, and with a little care can be well 
furnished with leaves to the base. Thos. Hogg is beautiful and 
exceedingly useful in a cut state when it comes pure white, but 
with us it has a tendency to come blue. It is one of the freest to 
flower. Soft cuttings of this appear to flower freely enough, 
although they run up tall.—W. Bardney. 
OIL AS A DESTROYER OF MILDEW. 
In the Journal of Horticulture for December 8th, 1887, is a 
communication from my friend Mr. A. Yeitch, of New Haven, 
Connecticut, which I laid aside, in order to supplement with some 
remarks of my own in the Gardeners' Monthly. The death of the 
publisher of that magazine, resulting in the cessation of the work, 
gave me no opportunity of doing this. The past year I have spent 
in going over materials collected during my thirty years of editor¬ 
ship, placing it where it will do most good, and reviewing much 
that I have done, and only to-day have I reached the communica¬ 
tion referred to. I think it of so much importance, that even at 
this late date I think it deserves further notice. 
As I read the paragraph there now, it might be inferred that I 
had taken away from Mr. Yeitch the credit of the discovery of the 
value of a paint of linseed oil and sulphur on hot-water pipes as a 
remedy against mildew. That it is a simple and certain remedy I 
can vouch for. I had no knowledge of the fact till Mr. Yeitch 
communicated it to the readers of the Gardeners' Monthly. I have 
seen it tried over and over again, and have no hesitation in saying 
that it not only prevents mildew from appearing in a plant house, 
but will speedily stop its progress after it commences its ravages. 
You know how editorial training leads one to he careful. No one 
knows better than an editor how easy it is to mistake coincidences 
for causes. When, therefore, I say that I am satisfied that Mr. 
Veitch’s remedy is certainly effectual, it means that I have made 
allowances for all possible objections that may be made in favour 
of the impression that after all the disappearance of the mildew in 
ctses under my observation may have been due to something else 
than the oil and sulphur. 
I suppose I must have said, what your extract in quotation 
marks represent me to have said, that “ research in chemical botany 
discovered that oil vapour is inimical to the lower forms of fungi 
but I did not mean to imply that the research was my own. I was 
referring to the labours of others. I cannot now place my hands 
on the original where these researches are recorded, but the follow¬ 
ing extract from Lindley’s “ Vegetable Kingdom,” page 40, shows 
that such has been the case :—“ It is a most remarkable ctcuib- 
stance, and one which deserves particular inquiry, that the growth 
of the minute fungi, which constitute what is termed mouldiness, is 
effectually prevented by any kind of perfume. It is known that 
books will not become mouldy in the rfeighbourhood of Russian 
leather—nor any substance, if placed within the influence of some 
essential oil.” 
This, of course, shows that the fact of the character of oil as a 
fungicide is not new ; but I have peculiar ideas about credits. I 
hold that the one who makes a bare scientific fact practically usefal 
deserves as much credit, if not more, than he who stumbled on the 
fact in its naked condition ; and, to my mind, plant growers cannot 
bestow too much gratitude on Mr. Yeitch as the discoverer of the 
practical value of oil in this connection, and for his generous 
announcement of this remedy for the benefit of his fellow cultiva¬ 
tors. —-Thomas Meehan, Germantown Nurseries, Philadelphia, 
United Stales. 
[We are obliged by this communication. Mr. Meehan is one of 
the most careful and assiduous workers in the cause of horticulture, 
and his literary productions have frequently enriched the pages of 
this Journal. The method described of preventing mildew in 
heated glass structures, and of destroying it when existent, we have 
heard has been found effectual in this country, and it will doubtless 
be still further tried after Mr. Meehan’s testimony of its safety and 
efficacy. His anxiety to give credit where credit is due is natural 
to men of his position and character.! 
EARLY KIDNEY BEANS. 
Much more labour is frequently expended in the production 
of early dishes of these than is necessary. With plenty of heat 
and room their culture is of the simplest character, and if they did 
not repay for the trouble taken with them none would be found in 
the markets. If instead of sowing the seed in inch pots, this 
necessitating a shift being given, the plan of raising the plants m 
the pots in which they are to be cropped is followed, a saving in 
labour will be effected, and, what is even more to the purpose, better 
crops will result. The only argument in favour of using small 
pots in the first instance, is the fact of these taking up less space 
for a time ; but this is a very doubtful gain. It not unfrequently 
happens the plants are kept in these small pots a few days too long, 
and once they become root bound and starved they do not recover 
sufficiently to be of real service. Even supposing they are re¬ 
potted at the right time, they rarely do so well as do those raised 
and grown, say, in 9-inch pots. Thirty pots of plants will usually 
yield more Beans than fifty grown in the manner I have objected 
to, and in the end, therefore, the plan of sowing direct into the large 
pots is the most economical in every way. 
Another time-honoured custom—viz., that of leaving sufficient 
space in the pots for top-dressings of rich soil, is also to be con¬ 
demned as being quite uncalled for. It is, in fact, so much wasted 
labour and of little or no benefit to the plants. I have to thank 
Mr. W. Taylor for first pointing out the uselessness of the practice, 
and no one grew better crops of Beans than he did when at Long- 
leat. In the majority of cases where top-dressings are given about 
the same time as stakes also are needed, few if any roots take pos¬ 
session of the fresh compost, and more often than not the latter 
greatly interferes with the process of watering. The top-dressing 
may be quite moist, while the old soil underneath, crowded probably 
with hungy roots, is quite dry—a serious check to, top growth and 
an attack of red spider being the consequence. What I hold to be 
the correct practice is to lightly drain the pots and partially and 
firmly fill these with good soil. About a dozen seeds are sown in 
each pot, these being covered with 2 inches of soil, the depth of 
the rim being left for watering purposes. If the compost is at all 
dry water is given at once, otherwise it is withheld for a few days. 
It is usually necessary to start some every fortnight, the pots being 
set on a gentle hotbed or staging in a forcing house. When from 
any cause it is desirable to hasten germination, the pots may be 
set direct on the hot-water pipes, this being the surest way of 
insuring the growth of old or not very sound seed. Before the 
seedlings become crowded a thinning out is given, these being 
reduced to about six in each pot, and before they are far advanced 
they are lightly supported either by sprays of birch, or stakes and 
mattings. At the outset water is rather sparingly given, but when 
the pots are well filled with roots, both water and liquid manure 
is freely applied. A brisk heat is necessary, and during the 
winter months especially the plants require a light position. 
