Ap:il U. 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
297 
The flowers are mo>t symmetrical, the petals crimson in the centre, mar¬ 
gined with white. One of the b<st of its type. 
Cineraria Alexander Warwick (Gordon & Sons, Haymarket, Edin¬ 
burgh).—Quite a novel departure amoDgst Cinerarias, and one that was 
much admired by the members of the Committee. The florets are of an 
extremely rich crimson hne, quil'ed at tli; base, where they are also lighter 
in colour, imparting a curious appearance to the blooms. 
Adiantnm cnneatnm Gordon’s Tassellcd (Gordon & Sons).—One of the 
■grsudioeps typ’, and considered by some judges to be inferior to that when 
well grown. The tips of the fronds are much divided, their we : ght causing 
the fronds to droop gracefully. 
Cineraria William rratt (\V. Pratt, Longleat Gardens, Warminster).— 
A df u le variety, with v ry large globular purple blooms. A good type of 
double Cinerarii. the heads bring borne well above the foliage. 
Hose minutifolia alba (R.Bennett,Shepperton).—Described as a pedigree 
seedling from Rosa polyantba. v ry dwarf, about 6 inches, with very small 
leaves, and neat white double flowr rs. A pretty miniatur e Rose. 
Hose Golden Fairy (H. Bennett).—Another of the same type as the pre¬ 
ceding, and a rcod companion for it, though slightlv etronger in habit. The 
flowers are small, of a bronzy yellow hue, not unlike a diminutive William 
ATen Richardson. 
Violet Victoria (J. Chambers, Isleworth).—A double dark blue form of 
good shape, and free in habit. 
Cyclamen Queen of Crimsons'J. Odell.Hd'ingdon).—Flowers well formed, 
■with broad rounded petals, of an exceedingly rich crimson, one of the bert 
.coloured varieties. 
Auriculi Abbe Lizst (J. Doaglis, TheGar’ens, Great Gearie 3 , Ilford).— 
A beautiful green-edge variety with symmetrical pips, edge, paste, and tube 
well proportioned and even, the tube rf good colour and paste pure. 
Auiicula Sir William Hewitt (J. Douglas).—A self with large flowers, 
rich maroon body colour, paste dense and pure, but rather narrow. 
Narcissus cyclamineus (Barr A Sou, King Street, Covent Garden).— V 
most interesting and graceful Narciss with a long straight golden corona 
notched at the margin, the petals lighter and slightly greenish in colour, 
nar or, and strongly reflexing. It is somewhat suggestive in form of a 
Cyclamen, or the flowers individually have some resemb’ance to single 
flowers of the larger yellow Lachenalias such as L. pendula aurea. An 
illustration of this species is given on page 287, this issue, together with 
some particu'ars of its history. 
WORK.^theWEEKJ 
w 
THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 
Strawberries. —Many delay mulching their established beds of 
these until near flowering time, but, according to our experience, it had 
better be done much earlier. Too little moisture at the roots is the 
most frequent cause of a partial failure to mature good crops of fruit, 
■and if a good mulching of rough strawy manure is applied at the 
present time the best jiortion will be washed in by April rains, while the 
covering will greatly check loss of moisture by evaporation. The rains 
will clean the straw and render the surface fit for the fruit to rest upon, 
-or it may be faced with clean material just before the flowers open. 
Poverty at the roots also causes some failures. No matter how well the 
ground has been manured and otherwise prepared for this crop, it soon 
becomes exhausted of much of its fertility, the Strawberry being of 
gross feeding habit. Liquid manure may be given with advantage any 
time during the winter and spring months or up to the fruiting period, 
sewage water being especially beneficial. In too many instances there 
is no provision made for collecting any kind of liquid manure, and 
recourse must be had to artificial manure. A great number of these 
manures are now advertised, and it is our belief that any one of them 
will greatly assist the Strawberries. It should be applied soon at the 
rate recommended by the vendors, and lightly stirred into the surface 
with the aid of a flat hoc. The rains will do the rest. Where slugs are 
troublesome it is advisable to take some precautionary measures against 
these. The flat or Dutch hoe is their greatest enemy, and prior 
to mulching the rows of plants, should be freely or repeatedly employed 
around them. If wood ashes are plentiful these may also be hoed into 
the surface, or a good dusting of newly slaked lime be given in either 
■case before the mulching is applied. Never use the spade among Straw¬ 
berry plants, this destroying many valuable surface roots, and besides 
the most fruitful plants are always rooting in firm ground. 
Nefr Plantations .—It is not absolutely necessary to trench ground 
for Straw'berries, but unless it is well manured and deeply dug they soon 
become exhausted and unprofitable. Nor do the plants so soon suffer 
by want of moisture if they have the benefit of a deep and congenial 
root-run. In many gardens there is no time to be spared for the 
laborious work of trenching, but Celery trenches are formed everywhere, 
and these are bound to improve the depth and fertility of the soil. Let 
the Strawberries follow the Celery, and this is really the best time of 
year for planting. It is true many prefer forming new beds early in the 
autumn, but unless strong well rooted plants are available and the work 
generally well done they do not make much progress. If there are no 
rooted runners left on the old beds, plenty can be bought at a cheap 
rate, and these being planted out firmly will, with very little further 
trouble beyond picking off the bloom as it forms and keeping the ground 
clean, grow into fine plants capable of perfecting heavy crops the follow¬ 
ing year. We do not advise giving up the ground solely to the Straw¬ 
berries, but if the latter are planted as they ought to be, in rows 3<> 
inches apart, 2 feet dividing the plants in the row, the intervening 
spaces can be profitably cropped with either autumn or spring-sown 
Onions, Kidney Beans, Lettuces, or Spinach. Autumn-planted Straw¬ 
berries, unless they made good progress and have stout crowns, ought 
not to be allowed to fruit this season. It is better by far to pinch out 
all the blooms and crop between them as just advised. 
Selection, of Varieties .—When well grown the old Keen’s Seedling 
is yet one of the best for the early supplies. A batch of this sort may 
well be grown on an early border. Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury is very 
vigorous and hardy, and in many gardens is grown for affording early 
fruit. La Grosse Sucree crops'heavily, the fruits are fine and of fairly 
good quality. It is a second early variety,and is closely followed by the 
ever popular Sir Joseph I’axton. The latter is a robust, prolific sort, the 
fruit large, firm, and good in quality. President succeeds this, and alto¬ 
gether may be said to be one of the best varieties in cultivation. Auguste 
Nicaise promises to become equally as popular, and will be found a very 
profitable variety. Sir Charles Napier is not hardy enough for many 
gardens. Where it succeeds it crops heavily, the fruit are large and hand¬ 
some and of a brisk or rather acid flavour. Dr. Hogg ought to be tried 
in every garden. It is of sturdy growth, crops well, the fruits are large 
and of the best quality. British Queen is very fickle, but where it can 
be grown it is preferred to any other variety. Oxonian and Loxford 
Hall Seedling are valuable late sorts, both possessing a good constitution 
and crop heavily. We prefer the last named in point of quality. A 
loose rich soil suits none of them, this tending to produce luxuriant 
foliage at the expense of the bloom. Therefore always plant on well 
levelled and trampled ground. 
FRUIT FORCING. 
Vines —Farly Houses .—In the earliest house if hard forcing has 
been practised red spider may be expected. Upon its first appearance 
paint the return hot-water pipes with sulphur mixed with milk. Where 
the Grapes have commenced colouring give the border a thorough 
watering, mulching afterwards. This refers to the inside borders. The 
water or liquid manure should be applied early in the day, so that surplus 
moisture may pass off before closing time. Early Grapes do not always 
colour well, the defect arising from hard forcing, and is only avoidable 
by a constant supply of dry warm air and a moderately low night tem¬ 
perature. Where Grapes are fully ripe only afford sufficient heat to 
prevent the temperature falling below fiO°. A moderate moisture should 
be maintained for the benefit of the foliage, it will not injure the Grapes 
provided free ventilation is afforded. 
Succession Houses .—Attend to thinning the bunches and berries. 
Stop and remove laterals gradually, as a large reduction of foliage at 
one time results in a check, very often inducing shanking at a later 
period. See that the borders have plenty of water, and weakly Vines 
will be benefited by tepid liquid manure. Where Grapes are swelling 
the inside borders should have a thorough soaking of liquid manure or 
water, and it is a good plan to give the liquid rather thick and follo w at 
once with tepid water. Supply it early in the day, mulching afterwards, 
and ventilating freely to allow any superfluous moisture to escape. A 
full crop of Grapes is a great strain on the energies of the Vines, and 
though perfection in colour is not always attainable with a full crop, 
much may be done by a liberal and constant circulation of warm rather 
dry air, combined with a moderately low night temperature. Vines 
swelling their fruit should have a moist atmosphere, damping the house 
two or three times a day, particularly at closing time, and if a little 
guano be added to the water it will improve the Vines and act as a 
check to red spider ; 1 oz. guano to a gallon of water is ample, at which 
strength it may be used for filling the evaporation troughs. Syringing 
the foliage, except for special reasons, after the Grapes are set must not 
be practised. Admit air early, maintain through the day a good tem¬ 
perature (80° to 85°) from sun heat, and close early so as to rise to 90° 
or more, and admit a litt le air at the top of the house before nightfall, 
which will prevent the deposition of moisture on the berries through the 
night, and is a safeguard against scorching. 
Late Houses .—The Vines will now be making rapid progress. Disbud 
and tie out as they require it. Close the houses early in the afternoon with 
sun heat, and maintain plenty of atmospheric moisture by frequently 
damping the house, syringing the Vines at closing time, but not after 
the bunches show. Examine late Grapes hanging in the fruit room at 
least twice weekly for decayed berries, and the bottles must be duly 
replenished with water. 
Young Vines planted last spring will now be breaking naturally, and 
when the buds have grown about half an inch a little fire heat will 
prove beneficial, especially on cold days. Remove all buds except one 
at each break, retaining the strongest, and crop lightly, but su, er- 
numeraries may be heavily fruited. Leave the shoots on the permanent 
Vines about 18 inches apart on both sides of the cane. 
Planting Vines .—This is the best time for planting young canes. 
The borders, we presume, have been made some time, if not they may 
yet be formed. We prefer the borders partly within and partly outside, 
planting the Vines inside where practicable. Except for very early 
forcing we do not advocate confining the roots to inside borders. The 
border should be concreted at the bottom, unless it has a substratum of 
gravel or other porous substance. Place on the rubble 1 foot thick on 
the concrete, and proper drains and outlets must be provided. Three 
feet depth of soil is ample. Turf 3 inches thick taken off loam, light 
