132 
THE FLORIST AND FOMOLOGIST. 
[ Sl'.PTEMBEU, 
the best time. When established, these plants 
greatly dislike to be disturbed, and they take a 
long time to re-establish themselves, especially 
if they are moved in hot weather. They should 
not, at any rate, be allowed to get dry, neither 
should they be kept sopping wet, but the sphag¬ 
num in which they are growing should always 
be kept healthy-looking; thus in order to meet 
their requirements, they should be looked over 
three or four times a day, so as to let them 
have water just when they require it, so as 
neither to keep them waiting nor to give it 
before they do want it. When the outside 
temperature is 55° or above, the Odontoglossim 
in question, as well as all the others, requires 
plenty of air, night as well as day. If the 
above points are attended to, insects will give 
very little trouble. A light, careful syring¬ 
ing with soapy water occasionally is all that 
will be recjuired.—W m. Denning, Coombe Lane, 
Kingston-on-Thames. 
THE BEST STEAWBERRIES. 
f ills important crop has probably been 
heavier this season than for many years, 
as we know of old, neglected beds 
which have been heavily laden with fruit, though 
they have not previously had a berry on them 
for years. It is a question of importance to 
decide which are the kinds of greatest usefulness 
when such cold wet seasons like the present are 
experienced. With ourselves we would putVicom- 
tosse Ileiicart de Thury first and foremost. It 
began to bear among the first, carried immense 
crops—on some plants about 200 fine fruit were 
counted—stood the wet better than any, and 
lasted in fruit-bearing to the middle of August. 
Sir Joseph Paxton has been very fine and 
abundant, standing well against the wet. Sir 
Harry has done capitally, having also stood the 
wet extra well. Deeply-trenched land and 
plenty of distance between the plants are 
primary conditions of success.—M. T. 
THE MULBERRY. 
S ms free-bearing fruit-tree seems to be 
altogether lost sight of by the gardeners 
of our time. We nowhere see Mulberries 
forming a dish among collections of fruits, and 
seldom hear their name mentioned as belong¬ 
ing, in any way, to the garden. The genera¬ 
tions which have gone before, had evidently 
been at great pains to get Mulberries intro¬ 
duced into England, for we read of the trees 
preserved in the gardens and pleasure-grounds 
of the religious houses before the dissolution of 
the Monasteries, in the sixteenth century. 
Forsyth, who 'wrote his book on Fruit-trees 
about 1803, says there were then four large 
Mulberry trees standing in the pleasure-ground 
at Syon House. In my time, in 1837, there 
was only one of these left, and that was propped 
up to keep it from falling, but still it bore 
heavy crops of excellent fruit. Forsyth states 
that the Duke of Northumberland reckoned these 
Mulberry trees at Syon House to be 300 years 
old, and that was nearly 100 years since. The 
Priory, Stanmore, formerly a religious house, 
had also some ancient Mulberry trees; and 
John Browning, Esq., of Olielsea, is named as 
possessing one of the largest Mulberry trees 
that Forsyth had ever seen. Gerard is quoted 
as stating that Mulberry trees grew in sundry 
gardens in England in 1597, and on the lawn 
in front of the house of John Grove, Esq., at 
Little Chelsea, Forsyth operated upon four old 
Mulberry trees, by trimming them and applying 
his composition, and thus getting them into a 
bearing state the second year. 
It is therefore evident that the Mulberry 
was duly cultivated in various localities, and 
especially within the grounds of the religious 
houses ; and as these seats of learning com¬ 
municated with each other, the knowledge of 
such an important article as a Mulberry tree, 
bearing heavy crops of delicious fruit, would 
not be hid. The cultivation and preservation 
of fruit certainly came within the spirit of 
the monastic institution, for wo have the dried 
apples of Norfolk (Norfolk Beauhns) still to 
be seen and tasted ; and when I visited the 
Monastery of Grace Dieu,in Lincolnshire, I was 
shown their fruit garden, and was told that 
they cultivated, fruit zealously for the use of 
the house, and they thankfully received some 
Strawberry plants which I sent them from 
Alton Towers, to improve the breed of that 
useful fruit. They had one brother who at¬ 
tended to the garden. 
There are few of the blessings that we have 
received from a kind Providence so delicious to 
the taste as the fruit of tlie Black Mulberry, 
and that seems to be the only species of any 
use for dessert. Under the flat of creation, the 
