306 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
September 27i 1834. 
2, The distance apart of the main rods and the fruiting laterals on them. 
3, The condition of the border, whether it is out or inside the house, or 
both. 4, The variety or varieties of Grapes. 5, The temperatures 
employed. 6, The method of ventilation pursued. There is something 
radically wrong, and information on those points might possibly reveal 
the origin of the evil. 
Iiocallty for Crowing Bulbs (6*. TF.).—The Channel Islands 
are well adapted for the growth of bulbs quite as well if not better than 
the south coast of England generally, but there are certain places in 
both districts thac are suitable for growing early produce. Thus, par¬ 
ticular spots in the Scilly Islands and along the coast here and there, 
being sheltered from every point but the south, and this with temporary 
protection enables growers to secure early produce. Certain parts of 
Cornwall are quite as well if not better than the Channel Islands for 
early production, especially the sunny sheltered nooks, which not only 
get all the sun but retain its heat, and are more favoured by the Gulf 
Stream than the Channel Islands. 
IMCusbroom Farming (J.. IF. II.'). —You should procure the 
seventh edition of “ Mushrooms for the Million.” It supersedes the 
others, the price remaining the same. You will find Mr. Barter’s 
present address on page 1, and on pp. 104-5, the best, next best and a 
bad time for commencing operations. Without the assistance of a man 
of proved competency in the work you are not advised to risk the 
outlay suggested under the circumstances. There is always a sale for 
good Mushrooms throughout the winter and spring months, the prices 
not infrequently being higher in populous provincial cities and towns 
than in London. Full crops (not half crops) of good Mushrooms properly 
marketed pay the growers well. We should be sorry to advise any 
inexperienced man to risk the whole of his savings in either this or any 
other particular crop. Sound knowledge of any undertaking we regard 
as absolutely necessary be ore “ launching out ” in that way. 
Ants on Fruit Trees (i!/. B.). — Ants are best extirpated by poison, 
and the arsenical solution given below is eflScacious. It is, however, 
extremely dangerous, and must be used with the utmost caution, as it is 
fatal to animal life. Place 1 oz. of ordinary arsenic in an old iron pot 
with a quart of water, and boil gently until it is reduced to about a 
pint, a little more rather than less, and to this liquid add half a pound 
of Demerara sugar, which will form a syrup. A little of this should be 
placed in saucers in the runs, around the nests or haunts of the ants. 
We repeat, this mixture must be used with the greatest possible care, 
not entrusting it to careless persons, or placing it where it is likely to 
be partaken of by any animal than that to be destroyed. To rid soil in 
pots or other places of ants dissolve a piece of camphor the size of a cob 
nut in 2 quarts of hot water, and when cool enough apply it, and the ants 
will be destroyed without prejudice to the roots or other parts of plants. 
Tomato Xioaves Diseased (J1 S. Upex). —The leaves are covered 
with a black mould—a fungus (Capnodium Footi)—and it is a conse¬ 
quence of the attacks of the “ white fly.” The white mould is also an 
after consequence—that of the decay of the leaf tissues, and is generally 
considered a saprophyte, living upon dead matter. It is Penicillium 
glaucum, and may possibly have been accelerated by the moisture. The 
attacks of the white fly are, however, really the beginning of the trouble. 
It is difficult to destroy by ordinary means, though repeated fumiga¬ 
tion and well damping the floor prior to each subdues it, or the fumes of 
sulphur, obtained by heating the hot-water pipes and painting them 
while hot with a cream formed of sulphur and skim milk, keeping the 
house close for a few hours, will kill it. The affection on the leaves will 
not do a great amount of harm, but by impeding the functions of the 
leaves it must impair their vitality. Eradicate the white fly, and you 
will not be troubled by the fungus. 
Iiearnlngr Gardening' (^Enquirer). —Plant-growing requires more 
forethought than fruit-growing inside, as there is a much greater 
variety, embracing plants from all the temperate and tropical 
regions that demand close attention so as to succeed with them. But 
there is a great difference between the two as regards consequences. 
A man may fail with plants and not receive nearly the same 
condemnation as would be lavished on a failure with fruits, as the 
results are more apparent and come to the knowledge of the proprietor 
more prominently than plants. For this reason it is most important to 
serve the kitchen, and that means the dining table, well ; hence a 
regular succession and an abundant supply of fruits and vegetables 
throughout the year are of primary consequence. At the same time the 
indoor department generally brings forth most appreciation when the 
other department is done well, and only then as the one adds to 
the charm or merits of the other. 
Seedling Gloxinias ((7. H .).—Seed of Gloxinias sown early in 
March, placed in a moderate heat, and kept moist, soon germinates, and 
the young plants make rapid progress, being soon furnished with a pair 
of leaves. When the seedlings are large enough to handle they should 
be carefully lifted with the point of a label and placed about an inch 
asunder in pans, the object being to secure a sturdy habit and free 
growth. Only the forwardest plants are treated in this way, the later 
plants being left in the seed pan a time longer, and then are subjected 
to like treatment. Before the seedlings become crowded place them 
singly in 3-inch pots, and grow near the glass. Transfer from these 
pots to 5-inch pots, which under good treatment may be effected by 
July, and the plants so grovn will flower finely in the autumn in a 
light, moist, and well heated house. After flowering they should be 
dried, and started in February or March, they making very fine plants 
the second year. Your plants appear to have been left to take care of 
themselves, and are only now as large as they might have been in June. 
The best thing to do with them is to leave them in the pans, keeping 
rather dry, and they will form fairly good bulbs, which started in spring 
will flower well next year. 
Peacb Tree Stems Infested with “ maggots ”( tr. A'.).—The 
“ maggots ” are the caterpillars or larvae of the Woeberian Tortrix moth 
(Tortrix or Semesia Wceberana), which are small and a dirty green 
colour, with a light brown or chestnut head, and possess three pairs cf 
legs. Unlike the larvae of most moths, it does not eat the leaves or 
shoots of fruit, but feeds on the inner bark of Plum, Apricot, and Peacb 
trees—indeed, all stone fruit trees, and burrows beneath the outer bark, 
so as to reach its food. It may, however, be detected by the small 
round holes it leaves in the bark, and the yellowish powder which falls 
from them. The caterpillars may be destroyed by brushing a little oil 
into the holes. When the caterpillar is full fed it passes into the 
chrysalis state within a cocoon, and the moth appears first in May. 
There is said to be a second brood towards the end of summer, and to 
prevent attack it has been advised to syringe the trees at intervals from 
May to September with soapsuds, or preferably petroleum emulsion, to 
prevent the moths laying eggs on the trees. We have found this 
effectual as a preventive, and good against other insect pests. The 
moths are hardly likely to have been introduced with the soil, unless the 
cocoons were in it, which adds another phase to the life history of the 
moth, but it requires confirmation. 
Cbrysanttaemum Diseased QH. C .).—The plant is infected by 
more than one fungus, but that causing the browning and destruction 
of the leaves is Macrosporium commune or the early form of Pleospora 
herbarum, which usually attacks the growing or extremity parts, causing 
the leaves to curl, which become yellowish green, growth being entirely 
retarded. Finally, brown spots appear, and after a time the whole 
stalk, with its leaves, withers and dies from the upper part downwards. 
This is the Pleospora stage, but the earliest to appear is the Macro¬ 
sporium, as a bluish or greenish grey coat of erect filaments, each bearing 
on or near the tip one or two conidia of a cylindrical or elliptical form, 
and entire or two-celled. The conidia germinate readily, and in suitable 
conditions of moisture and nourishment produce mycelium, which 
produces the fungus anew. Owing to the internal growth of the 
mycelium remedial measures are hardly procurable, but all diseased 
parts should be burned. The fungus is considered to be seldom, if ever, 
observed in plants of quite a healthy appearance, but it undoubtedly 
exerts its action some time before it is externally visible, and the sickly 
appearance is produced by the penetration of the tissues by the colour¬ 
less, branched mycelium. The variety, Golden Wedding, has come to 
grief in several places this season, as mentioned on another page of this 
issue, and in some cases of eelworm attack, in others of mildew, of which 
we found some spores on your plant, and though said to be induced by 
over-propagation, the evidence points to a plethoric habit, probably 
induced by the rather wet season, as favouring the disease. Spraying 
with Bordeaux mixture, half strength, will destroy the spores, and a 
rose-coloured solution of permanganate of potash or Condy’s fluid has 
been found useful. These are preventive, and should be used early in 
July, and repeated once or twice at intervals of three weeks. Frequent 
dustings of Anti-Blight powder—of which Mr. R. Fenn will have some¬ 
thing to say before long—have a similar effect. 
Heatlngr a Greenhouse and Stove (A. B .).—It will be necessary 
to have the stove next the boiler so as to save pipes, valves, and 
economise the heat or fuel. A check and saddle boiler would be the 
best for your purpose, as it will burn anything and requires ordinary 
stoking. Four rows of 4-inch hot-water pipes will be sufficient for the 
stove compartment, and may be fixed along the front, but clear of the 
front wall. We should have them on the flat, that is, the flow pipe 
from the boiler branching into two where it enters the stove, taking 
these on the same level to near the end of the stove, then brought 
together again, i.e., to one pipe by a two-way socket. Next this intro¬ 
duce an H piece, and then continue the one flow pipe through the green¬ 
house, returning with a syphon by another pipe immediately below, 
which will be sufficient for the greenhouse. The return pipe must be 
branched again in the stove so as to get two returns through it, 
diminishing to one just before leaving the house for the boiler. You 
will need a valve on the H piece between the flow and return pipes, 
which is provided with it for such purpose, and there must be one on 
the flow just within the greenhouse and another on the return at the 
same point. By opening the H piece valve, and closing the top and 
bottom valve on the greenhouse pipes, you can heat the stove separately 
or concentrate the heat upon it, and you will need heat there when it 
is not needed in the greenhouse. When you want heat in the green¬ 
house open the bottom valve full, and the top so much as necessary. In 
ordinary cases it will not be requisite to close the H piece valve, but 
it may be desirable to regulate it so as to cause a circulation in the green¬ 
house pipe, and when the weather is severe and more heat wanted in the 
greenhouses it may be closed altogether, but the valves in the greenhouse 
must have been opened. An air pipe will be required on the flow pipe 
of the stove just before reaching the H piece and another on the syphon 
at its higher point in the greenhouse. The pipes must rise from the 
boiler gradually, but half-inch in 9 feet length of piping is ample in 
the houses, and the return pipes must have a similar decline. 
N'ames of Fruits. — Notice .—We have pleasure in naming good 
typical fruits (when the names are discoverable) for the convenience of 
regular subscribers, who are the growers of such fruit, and not col¬ 
lectors of specimens from non-subscribers. This latter procedure is 
wholly irregular, and we trust that none of our readers will allow 
themselves to be made the mediums in infringing our rules. Special 
attention is directed to the following decision, the object of which is 
to discourage the growth of inferior and promote the culture of superior 
