February 6, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
359 
men who have supported the Society for years ? It is 
true he was not elected a Fellow a week or two ago, 
for I find he has been a subscriber since the 9th of 
June last ; and it is equally true that as Permanent 
Secretary of H. M. Office of Works, he has a certain 
amount of control over the London Parks, which, I 
understand, he exercises with great amiability, but he 
is in no sense of the word a horticulturist, he is not a 
botanist, and I have never heard any one claim for him 
the possession of a scientific knowledge of anything—■ 
then in the name of common sense I ask again what 
are his qualifications for a seat on the Council of the 
R. H. S.? 
It is in the highest degree unfortunate, that in dis¬ 
cussing questions of this character, one cannot well 
speak plainly without appearing to tar all the members 
of the council with the same brush ; yet, I would say 
there are several gentlemen among that body for whom 
I, and all warm supporters of the society, entertain 
nothing but feelings of the greatest respect and esteem. 
I need not mention their names, they are well known 
to all frequenters of the South Kensington Gardens as 
life-long supporters of horticulture in its widest sense ; 
but there is no disguising the fact that their position 
is not a happy one, and I should like to see it altered 
and improved. 
The annual general meeting of the society takes 
place next Wednesday, and it is rumoured that it will 
be of more than usual interest ; but be that as it may, 
I do hope that every lover of gardening will take up 
arms, and see if something cannot be done—and done 
soon—on the lines indicated in my last, to raise the 
society from the Slough of Despond it is now in.— 
A Fellow. 
-—>:t<—- 
Scottish Gardening. 
Bush Fruits. —Winter Treatment of Black 
Currants. —Black Currants are of the greatest value 
to all classes of the community, and a most wholesome 
fruit; but for preserving purposes its uses can hardly 
be surpassed. Among the w r orking classes of Scotland, 
in country districts, there are few who do not aim at 
having a few bushes, and these if in good health and 
well managed produce great quantities of large fruits. 
The finest black Currants which I have ever seen were 
at cottagers’ shows. Last year I noted some samples 
like small Grapes—certainly as large as black Grapes 
I have often seen cultivated on buildings and ends of 
dwelling-houses in southern parts. The cheap rate at 
which preserves can now be purchased (and of excellent 
quality too) places them within the reach of the majority 
of the working classes. The impetus given to this trade 
of late years is very commendable. The demand must 
be great, if we are to be guided in our calculations by 
the quantities which are to be seen in the grocers’ shops. 
The use of fruit of every description is greatly on 
the increase among the working classes, and I wish 
some qualified person would give instructions as to 
the cooking and proper preserving of the various 
kinds of fruits. I would, for one, make an endeavour 
to have the same transferred to some of the rural 
newspapers. All Scotch households have their daily 
or weekly newspapers, and we know how readily in¬ 
formation on domestic economy is read. The cultural 
remarks on Black Currants is of a necessity very dis¬ 
tinct from the red and white kinds. They do best in 
a deep, cool and somewhat rich soil, and after they 
have been in that position for a few years, the bushes 
are greatly improved by being carefully lifted, re¬ 
planted in rich soil, and well mulched. They then 
make stiff wood and shorter growths, necessitating less 
thinning ; and the roots being near the surface, getting 
abundant supplies of food, they become a dense mass 
of fibre. Fruit is thus increased in size and flavour. 
When I was an under-gardener I asked my superior to 
allow me to lift and replant a number of Black Cur¬ 
rants ; the scheme being approved of, we lifted them, 
carefully prepared the soil, turning the same over and 
enriching it as the work progressed. The first year an 
improvement was noticeable in the appearance of the 
bushes, and they continued to improve ; and though 
many years have passed since this operation, I think 
the bushes are still standing and doing well. I have 
a distinct recollection, when a boy, of gathering Black 
Currants from a north stone wall, which yielded exeel- 
crops of very fine fruit. The bushes were of great age ; 
a walk over the roots seemed to do no harm, and the 
shade of a row of Filbert trees was within a few feet of 
the walk. Though these fruits do well in many 
positions which seem untoward, I would always like 
to give them a good part of the garden, allowing a fair 
exposure. A plot which we planted three years ago 
have not had the knife applied to them yet; they bore 
excellent crops during the past year of Lee’s Prolific, as 
fine in appearance and flavour as ever I saw that 
kind. ■ The weight of the fruit seemed to pull the 
branches into proper position, and only a few shoots 
will be trimmed this season to clear the bush from the 
ground. 
I prefer strong cuttings to make plants, and though 
the system of growing the bushes from a bunch of 
suckers is advocated by some, I prefer a stem 9 in. to 
a foot high from the ground, and always keeping the 
growth upwards as much as I can ; thinned out 
regular (no forming of artificial spurs), allowing sun 
and air to go down through the bush, cutting out, as 
may seem necessary, a few older branches, allowing the 
strongest and best growths to take their place. The 
bush is thus always kept in vigorous condition, which 
is conducive to the production of an abundance of fruit 
of the best quality. Sometimes shortening at the top 
is necessary to keep the bush within reach of those 
who gather the fruit. I know where there are some 
splendid brakes of black currants ruined by the let 
alone system, the branches being allowed to trail along 
the ground, root, and become a kind of jungle. Much 
of the fine fruit is lost by being allowed to lie among 
the dirt. This undue spreading can easily be avoided 
by a little skilful cutting during the leafless season. 
Always cut close to the wood to prevent forks, and 
natural spurs may always be retained where they do 
not crowd. 
If planting or lifting to re-plant has to be done this 
season, it is best to do it this month or next, so that 
the soil may be relieved of its moisture, after the 
heavy snows which seem to be general everywhere. 
If planting against walls is to be performed, it is well 
to examine the soil so that the trees may not suffer 
from drought or extreme wet. The young shoots may 
be trained vertically about a foot apart, and from these, 
when they are well established, the after pruning is 
like that recommended for Morello Cherries.— M. T. 
Shrubby Calceolarias, for spring and early 
summer flowering, do not have the attention which 
their merits deserve. For more than twenty years I 
have aimed at having a few dozens of the best plants 
lifted in autumn, when flowering seems to be at an end, 
potted firmly into good loam with a little sand in it, 
using pots which will not hold more than the roots of 
the plants with a coating of soil all round them. They 
are put into a frame or pit, kept close and sprinkled 
for a week or so, and afterwards allowed plenty of air 
and water. The pots are soon filled with roots, and at 
the turn of the year, or later, the plants, when in fairly 
moist condition at their roots, may have a liberal shift 
into larger pots, using rich loam (I find Thomson’s Vine 
and plant manure excellent for such purposes by mixing 
a quantity in the soil) and potting firmly as before, not 
disturbing the ball. The firm potting counteracts any¬ 
thing objectionable likely to result from the solid mass 
being placed in the new soil. A good bit of room left 
for surfacing the roots when the plants come into 
flower is of great moment by keeping them cool and 
free from drought. Calceolarias are always free-rooting 
and gross-feeding plants, but very impatient of a drying 
atmosphere or neglect of watering at their roots. I 
have grown a number of the well-known kinds of 
shrubby Calceolarias for cutting and for conservatory 
purposes, and this year our stock promises well. — M. T. 
-->*<-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
In the southern portion of the kingdom the snow has 
happily taken its departure, but in many places it has 
left the soil so saturated that it is impossible at present 
to do anything with it in the way of digging or pre¬ 
paration for spring. In the more favoured districts, 
rather more elevated or with good natural drainage, 
the ground is in a suitable condition for such -work, 
though, unless urgent, it had better be deferred some¬ 
what later. Where there are extensive borders of 
herbaceous plants, some of which flower early, it is 
important to have the ground prepared as soon as 
possible, for if left too late the plants are often 
advancing in growth, both roots and shoots being 
injured in the operation of digging ; further, if no 
mulching or manure was applied in late autumn there 
will be little time for it to produce its proper effects 
if not given before the plants are growing. 
If bulbs have been planted and are intended to form 
an important part of the display, the ground should 
have been suitably prepared previous to planting, and 
then nothing more will be needed now; while, if 
there are permanent clumps of Lilies and other bulbs, 
unless their positions have been clearly marked with 
small sticks, it will be best to wait until a little growth 
shows their situations, so as to avoid injuring them. 
Borders are sometimes dug and dressed in autumn after 
the plants have died down, and as many roots and 
bulbs can be planted, the time is seasonable, and to be 
recommended. We, however, usually give our borders 
similar attention in early spring, and find that many 
of their occupants succeed more satisfactorily when 
transplanted then than before winter, provided the soil 
is not excessively wet ; and the principal reason in 
favour of autumn planting is that the ground is usually 
drier then than in February. 
If a border requires a thorough digging, the best 
plan is to lift the roots of as large a portion as can be 
done at one time, then give a good dressing of old 
leaves, well-decayed manure—such as that from an 
exhausted Mushroom-bed—and dig this in ; form a 
small trench, and turn the soil one spade deep, loosen¬ 
ing the soil below that without bringing it to the 
surface, and if it can be conveniently done it is well to 
plant as the work proceeds, as that avoids the after 
trampling rendered necessary if the planting is deferred 
until the digging is completed. Arrange the plants so 
that the tallest are at the back, but do not let them be 
too formally arranged, or much of the good effect other¬ 
wise obtainable will be lost ; and it is surprising what 
good effects can be produced by the exercise of taste in 
this matter, the success of the border being as much 
dependent upon that as upon the plants employed. 
There is also another matter of much importance, 
namely, the selection of plants, for those should be 
chosen that flower in different seasons, thus maintaining 
a supply of blooms throughout as long a period as pos¬ 
sible. Nothing has tended so much to render people 
dissatisfied with herbaceous borders as carelessness or 
ignorance in the selection of plants, for a beautiful 
effect may be obtained at one time, while lor the rest 
of the year it is a dreary uninteresting waste. The 
chief attraction of this portion of the flow T er garden 
should rest in the continuance of interest, and it is in 
that it is so distinct from the more formal beds of 
Pelargoniums or carpet designs, brilliant though they 
be. Commencing with the Christmas Roses, the 
Daffodils, the little Winter Aconite, and numerous 
early-flowering bulbs like the Snowdrops, we have 
plenty to follow then. Amongst the ordinary bulbs, 
such as Hyacinths, Crocuses, and Tulips, Primroses of 
many colours, Alpine Auriculas; then, from April 
onwards, we have a multitude of plants to select from, 
closing the season with the early Chrysanthemums 
Michaelmas Daisies, single and double Dahlias, and 
the ordinary late Chrysanthemums, from which we get 
our latest outdoor flowers. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
Some portions of this department will now be cleared 
of green vegetables, and should be prepared for early 
Peas and other crops by digging it well and applying a 
dressing of manure. For early Peas a sheltered warm 
position must be chosen, preferably on a border sloping 
to the south at the foot of a wall, and in any case let 
the soil be rich and thoroughly pulverised. If es¬ 
pecially fine crops are required, make trenches about a 
foot deep, throwing up the soil in ridges on each side, 
then three parts fill the trench with good manure 
pressed down firmly, over this place a layer of fine 
sifted soil 3 ins. or 4 ins. deep, and sow thinly seeds of 
any early varieties, such as those recently recom¬ 
mended, covering with the fine soil, and then some 
cinders to keep slugs away. Watch for the young 
plants appearing through the soil, and give a good 
dusting of soot or quicklime, as the tender young shoots 
are the favourite food of such depredators as slugs. 
Birds alsojare rather troublesome, and a few pieces of 
string may be stretched along the rows to keep them 
away, while, when the plants are a few inches high 
small sticks must be placed to them in a slanting 
position, and so that they cross those on the opposite 
side. For a continuance of supply, sowings should be 
made about every fortnight, but these will be referred 
to in future calendars, and the principal work besides 
that named, will be clearing the ground of exhausted 
crops. —Scolytus 
