NoVeulber 14, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
165 
which had been recently erected, and had it not 
happened to carry a fruit it would in all probability 
have been sacrificed, for the trees were becoming 
crowded and required revision, and as I was unacquainted 
with this sort and failed to find it noticed, it would 
perchance have been looked upon as having no par¬ 
ticular merit, and on that account would have had to 
give room to those known to be deserving. It may, 
however, be thought that I am taking up too much 
space with uninteresting matter, and I must admit 
that good Peaches are so numerous as to cause it to be 
almost unnecessary that any addition should be made 
to the already well-known varieties. 
Perhaps better service maybe rendered by condemning 
some few kinds which have proved to be unsatisfactory, 
and foremost amongst these rank Lord Palmerston and 
Stump the World, the latter an American variety. 
These in many respects are very similar to each other, 
in their blossoms, also in colour, flesh, size, and the 
quality of the fruit, as well as the season of ripening, and 
are both unworthy of space under glass, particularly so 
in late houses where they have to mature without the 
aid of artificial heat. Under such conditions they are 
dry and tough, and perfectly worthless except for kitchen 
purposes. Lady Palmerston and Princess of Wales are 
likewise unworthy of room, and although the latter— 
which is the best of the two—grows to an enormous 
size, and sometimes captivates judges at exhibitions, it 
is wanting in quality, and for that reason can easily be 
dispensed 'with. It may, however, be remarked, that all 
the above possess better flavour when ripened in or before 
August than at a later date. 
Having been disappointed with the varieties named, 
which were all more or less eulogized when they were 
distributed, I became wary, perhaps prejudiced with 
regard to the newer sorts, and have of late, with few 
exceptions, planted only old standard kinds. Of these 
few exceptions, Sea Eagle which has been frequently 
recommended for late use was one, and I may say that 
as far as my limited experience goes, I am more than 
pleased with it. The tree, a two years’ trained one, 
was purchased last autumn, and planted against an 
outside south wall, where it ripened five fine highly 
flavoured fruits, the largest of which measured nearly 
11 ins. round ; the tree has now displaced one of Lord 
Palmerston under glass. We have discarded Salway, 
the popular Walburton Admirable being the latest 
Peach we now grow, this gives during October a supply 
of large although pale fruits, the quality of which 
surpasses all that might reasonably be expected at so 
late a date.— C. 
-->X<-- 
THE SHALLOT. 
This is Allium ascalonicum ; it is a native of Pales¬ 
tine, found near Ascalon, hence the specific name. 
It njay be denominated as a mild form of the Garlic, 
as it does not possess its offensive odour, and it 
is mainly used in a raw state for flavouring steaks 
and chops ; also boiled in soups, stews, and some 
other dishes. It is said that the Shallot is not 
nearly so much grown as it used to be, but it be true 
that the culture of the root has declined in the south, it 
is yet much grown in the northern and midland districts, 
where esculents of this character are much more ap¬ 
preciated. In not a few parts of the country, prizes are 
offered at summer flower shows for Shallots, and we 
have occasionally seen very fine bulbs set up for 
competition. 
A highly successful cultivator of the Shallot grows it 
in this way. Finding that it succeeds best on a rather 
dry rich soil, this is dug over in November, and left in 
a rough state until the beginning of February, when 
equal quantities of salt, soot, and bone dust is spread 
over it, at the rate of five bushels to a quarter of an 
acre, and the soil afterwards levelled down with the 
spade. In this state it remains until the first week in 
March, when it is forked over to the depth of 6 ins., 
and broken fine, ltidges are then made in the soil 
about 1 in. high, 3 ins. wide, and 9 ins. apart, in 
which the bulbs are planted, 6 ins. distant from each 
other. Previous to planting the bulbs, they are 
divided, as far as practicable, into single bulbs, which 
are so planted as to let the crown of each bo visible 
above the soil. As soon as they are firmly rooted, the 
ridge is removed by loosening the soil, and pouring 
water on the bulbs ; in consequence of which they are 
quite out of the ground. If the months of May and 
June prove hot and dry, water is occasionally poured 
between the rows ; the best time for doing this is in 
the evening. 
The excellent character of the Shallots produced in 
this way justifies this method of culture. The growth 
of the plants in their early stage greatly resembles that 
of the common Onion ; so much so, as not to be 
readily distinguished from it, till the irregularity of 
form, resulting from the numerous germs within the 
bulb, become conspicuous. The bulbs, when fully 
formed, take a somewhat different shape to those 
which are grown in the usual manner, being much 
broader and shorter ; the crop is also much more 
abundant, and decidedly better in quality. In July 
or August, according to the state of the weather, when 
the leaves turn yellow, the bulbs are taken up, dried 
in the sun, and then roped in the same way as Onions ; 
or they are placed in a net, and hung up in a dry 
cool place.—A. D. 
-- 
WINTER DRESSING OP FRUIT 
TREES. 
Gardeners have got so much into the habit of 
dressing their Vines and Peach trees after they are 
pruned, that very few escape receiving some kind of 
application or other, in many instances more as a 
preventitive than from any actual need of it. I have a 
lively recollection of the mixture of clay, soot, sulphur, 
soft soap, and tobacco water, and the time it occupied in 
applying it to the trees, with, I fear, very doubtful 
results. At any rate I never had sufficient faith in its 
efficacy to induce me to prepare any for my own 
use, and for years I only washed the Peach trees and 
Vines with a strong solution of soft soap or Gishurst 
compound ; but when I took charge of scale and bug 
affected trees, I found even the Gishurst did not give the 
necessary relief. I found it, however, in turpentine and 
soapy water, and the interior surface of each house 
was syringed with it as well as the trees, which 
annually reduced the number of the pests. Turpentine 
is a dangerous insecticide, and I remember on one 
occasion destroying the tops of two vines so that they 
had to be cut down, but they threw up some excellent 
canes, which were easily kept clean compared with the 
corrugated bark of the old vines. 
I never could account for the escape of the others, 
whilst the two alluded to sustained so much injury, 
unless it was that two or three Syringefuls of the liquid 
were drawn before it was properly mixed. Just about the 
time this incident occured, the merits of paraffine as an 
insecticide became recognized, and I have used it for 
winter dresssing with satisfactory results ever since. 
Work that took days to accomplish in my early 
experience, can be more effectively performed now in as 
many minutes. 
As a preventitive, a lump of soft soap the size of a 
bantam’s egg, dissolved in a gallon of warm water, to 
which a wine-glassful of paraffin may be added, and 
applied with the syringe forcibly to the trees, will main¬ 
tain them in a cleanly state, and will also destroy all 
insects that are fully exposed. Old trees with rugged 
stems that may have been infested with scale or bug 
will need it stronger, or two wine-glassfuls to the 
gallon, so that the slightest touch of it may prove 
deadly to the insect; extra applications should also be 
given to the old wood at intervals of a week or two. 
The trees must be syringed from all directions to make 
sure that every portion is wetted, and the mixture can 
be kept sufficiently agitated by drawing one-fourth of 
the syringe full and forcing it back again, and then 
quickly dip the syringe well down into the vessel and 
draw it full as rapidly as possible. Scores of mishaps 
have occurred through simply skimming the surface 
with the syringe, whereby the oil is abstracted by the 
first two or three draws of the syringe and applied 
to the plants with disastrous results. 
Four years ago, an old tree that was siqrposed to 
have been well syringed with the view of ridding it of 
scale, became partially infested towards the following 
mid-summer, and in order to arrest its further progress, 
a man was set to work with a soft brush and the 
mixture, and in a couple of hours the infested parts had 
been dressed. Occasionally more scale made their 
appearance during the season, but by having a pan of 
mixture and a brush close at hand, only an odd one 
could be seen at pruning time. I may state here, that 
it is my practice to dress infected trees before they are 
pruned, for the obvious reason, that if shoots with insects 
on are cut and left on the border for any length of time 
—and some infected pieces may be entirely overlooked 
when clearing up is done—the insects travel from these 
—at any rate mealy bug does—and find a temporary 
lodgement, and in a short time they appear in sufficient 
Vanda Sanderiaxa. 
