March 14, 1*S9 J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
211 
10 per cent, as oxides ; and excellent Wheat land of Midlothian, 
according to Dr. Anderson, more than 5 per cent.; while on the 
other hand a sample of the most sterile soil in Bavaria contained 
only 1-64 per cent., and part of that was alumina. A deficiency of 
iron makes soil containing every other fertilising ingredient sterile, 
as healthy growth is not possible without it. Such being the case,, 
is it not possible that when canker attacks a plant growing in a soil 
containing iron it may be due to the absence of some other neces¬ 
sary ingredient rather than the presence of the iron ? 
Mr. Brotherston asks me to explain three cases, which he states 
barely and without details—1, Apple trees of the same variety two 
years from the bud, growing side by side, one of them developing 
canker while the others remain free from the disease. A case of 
the kind has not come under my notice, but it is not impossible 
that the limited area within which the roots of a two-year-old 
Apple would extend might, by accident, have escaped the appli¬ 
cation of manure which made the other trees healthy. 2, Root- 
pruned trees becoming free from canker. Before I can properly 
Teply to this case, it is necessary that the exact circumstances be 
stated, such as, Were the root-pruned trees replanted in the same 
soil without any change or top-dressing, and without any pruning 
'of the heads, &c. ? And 3, This apparently relates to a case where 
the whole of the head of the tree was cut off. The recovery from 
canker in this case may be cited as evidence of the truth of my 
theory. The soil did not contain sufficient to maintain in health a 
large tree, but ample to support for a time the reduced head formed 
by the young growth. An infant will thrive on food which is 
utterly insufficient to support a full grown man. — Edmund Tonks. 
NOTES FROM A HERTS GARDEN. 
More about Onions. —We generally have our ground trenched 
for this crop, and prefer to follow Ceiery. No manure is applied 
in this case, but where, as sometimes happens, we are obliged to 
follow with root crops after Peas a dressing of manure is applied 
between the spits instead of at the bottom of the trenches. The 
trenching is done in autumn or as early in winter as practicable in 
the latter case, but following Celery it cannot be done before 
February. We like it done so that the ground is exposed to frost 
before sowing soon after the middle of March, but as the soil is 
strong this cannot always be effected. With due exposure to 
atmospheric influences it has a fine “ floury ” surface, needing only 
to be trodden well, raked, and the drills drawn. We have the 
■drills 9 inches apart, and leave out every sixth drill so as to form 
beds of five rows. The drills are drawn an inch deep with a 
triangle hoe, and the seed is disposed evenly and not too thick. 
The seed is covered— i.e., the drills filled level with wood ashes or 
ihe burned refuse passed through a half-inch sieve, making it level 
by a light raking. We have no further bother. Slugs and grubs 
leave the Onions alone, and we have double the weight of Onions 
■that we did when the ground was simply dug, as we lost half the 
crop from slugs and grubs, or from being small if dry or thickened 
if the season was wet. The crop is thinned to 3 or 4 inches, and 
weeds are not allowed, hoeing commencing as soon as the crop 
is discernible. After trying nearly all sorts we prefer Reading—- 
the improved forms, such as Banbury Improved, having less flat or 
more raised crowns—and Bedfordshire Champion. 
Potatoes. —Except the early varieties, in fact we only had one 
variety that was really good—viz., Veitch’s Ashleaf, of which we 
had a larger breadth than usual, and we wish it had been more ex¬ 
tensive, for to have “ lumps of wax” after September as apologies 
for Potatoes is no joke. Our ground being heavy may not suit the 
Tioble tuber, but there is much difference in Potatoes; indeed, 
Potato shows have almost ruined their useful properties. That 
misnomer, International, so fine in appearance as to carry all before 
it as an exhibition variety, is a delusion. Where the many new 
varieties ihat have figured of late years have gone to nobody seems 
to know except exhibitors ; at least, they are not conspicuous in the 
markets, where as food products they meet with unbiassed 
judgment. To ignore the fact that Potatoes are grown to eat is 
ridiculous. International in kidneys and Excelsior in round 
varieties represent what a Potato should be as prizewinners, what 
they should not be for use. Last year was very unfavourable ; 
■even our favourite for quality—viz., Lapstone, was more like 
eobbler’s wax than the customary Lapstone Potato—i.e., mealy 
and well flavoured when cooked. Singularly, it was not nearly so 
badly diseased as some ordinarily free from disease. Coles’ 
Favourite cropped well, its handsome tubers corked next best to 
Ashleaf, and we are so satisfied with it that we have made pro¬ 
vision for growing it this season to double the extent of the Ash¬ 
leaf. It is a second early kidney. Our Magnum Bonum, our 
sheet anchor for late use, went wrong last year. We had some 
fresh seed, which made double the amount of top of th'se fiom 
our own seed, but there was no great difference in the crop, only 
the former were a little better in quantity and freedom from 
disease, yet the crop was altogether smaller than usual, very much 
“ worm ” eaten (as the cooks put it), nearly half decayed when 
lifted. Early Rose does capitally as a second early in our soil, and 
though not so good in quality as usual it was not amiss, our only 
regret being that we had not a greater breadth of it, which will be 
rectified this season, as it comes in a much fuller crop after Ash¬ 
leaf, and keeps useable up to March. Snowflake cropped in¬ 
differently, and though not particularly diseased returned little for 
the “ potindeed, we shall only grow a limited number this year, 
as we find some sorts that are not satisfactory for a year or two 
return to their wonted vigour and crop after a time, perhaps due 
to a more careful selection of seed and change of ground. We dis¬ 
carded Beauty of Hebron, and yet it was the most satisfactory in 
crop and quality of the autumn and winter users grown in this 
locality last year, consequently we are going to grow it this year. 
The most disappointing of all the varieties grown last year was 
Chiswick Favourite. Fully half the sets collapsed, nat appearing 
to make any growth for the most part, they had manifestly taken 
“ dry rot,” others came up very weakly, had disease spots in the 
leaves at an early stage, and dried up without forming tuber-. 
Those that did grow were strong enough, and formed a number of 
large tubers of no use use except for baking ; but fully tavo-thirds 
were diseased, and half the sound ones have developed the disease 
since lifted. Certificated Potatoes, like prizewinning Potatoes, are 
often unsatisfactory. The Doctor came to grief in degree less 
severe only to Chiswick Favourite, the most remarkable tbinz 
about them being that they were fresh seeds. I hear such good 
reports of Abundance and Snowdrop that we are going to make a 
tiial of them. 
Peach Buds Falling. —Peach buds fall sometimes with the 
best of cultivators, but it is seldom trouble is taken to record the 
fact. We have only 200 feet run of Peach houses, in three com¬ 
partments, to give a supply of fruit from late May or early June 
up to the middle October, and seldom have any buds fall, but 
last winter the trees in the early house cast their buds. The 
season 1888 was so exceptionally sunless, wet, and cold, that we 
decided to keep on the roof lights, having recourse to full venti¬ 
lation instead. The trees were remarkably well furnished with 
buds, plump and promising, the wood being stout, short-jointed, 
and firm. There was no lack of moisture in the border, nor is 
much wanted during the resting period, as our soil is retentive—a 
good Peach soil. The varieties are Hale’s Early, Royal George, 
and Elruge Nectarine. Of Hale’s Early fully two-thirds of the buds 
fell, of Royal George about a fourth, and of Elruge Nectarine 
none. Now there was not the slightest difference in the treatment, 
therefore there must be some reason for the divergence in the buds 
falling. In the midseason succession house the lights were removed, 
and singularly not a bud has fallen. The buds, it must be under¬ 
stood, were not nearly so prominent as those of the trees in the 
early house. The wood was firm, short-jointed, well budded, 
through not nearly so well plumped as those in the early house. 
The trees in the later house scarcely showed any bloom buds in 
early autumn, when we became anxious as to their fruiting in 1889, 
and at once decided to dig a trench round each tree at a distance of 
one-third from the stem the trees covered of trellis, and detach all 
roots outside the radius down to the drainage, and the lights were 
kept over the trees contrary to the usual custom of removing them 
as soon as the leaves fell. Here the buds now (March 4th) are 
swelling rapidly, the trees on the whole being well furnished, and 
there is no evidence of any falling. Nothing is therefore due as 
regards the buds falling in the early house to not removing the roof 
lights, except that their retention tended to further development of 
the buds, already too highly developed, and it is to this cause alone 
—viz., over-development of the buds, that their being cast is attri¬ 
buted. On no other hypothesis can we account for the buds not 
being cast in the succession house, whilst in the later house the 
presence of bloom buds in cropping force is attributed to the de 
velopment by the retention of the lights, further accelerated by the 
cutting off, or limiting the supply of sap, whereby the leaves’ power 
of elaboration would be increased corresponding to the diminished 
supply of aliment. 
This premature ripening of the wood and buds is the greatest 
bane of trees subjected to early forcing consecutively for a number 
of years, the over-development consequent on the prolonged season 
of growth or activity being, in most instances, the chief cause of 
Peach buds falling, it being most marked in the large-flowered 
varieties, of which this is another case in point, as Hale’s Early has 
large flowers, those of Royal George and Elruge Nectarine are 
smaller. To clench the argument, it may be noted that the buds 
at the base of the shoots, as a rule, have much smaller leaves, so 
much less, in some instances, as to be capable of forming wood 
buds only through the assimilable power of the leaf surface, where 
