426 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 6, 1886. 
SOME RELIABLE VEGETABLES. 
With Cultural Notes. 
At the present time, when gardeners and amateurs 
are making out their seed lists, The Gardening 
World which finds its way into the hands of both, in 
every part of Great Britain and Ireland, cannot do its 
readers a greater service than in publishing the ex¬ 
perience of its correspondents under this heading. I 
cannot do more than briefly allude to the subject, giving 
my own exqierience and that of many practical gar¬ 
deners. 
Cauliflowers. —Hitherto I have, either in a cold 
frame or a bed against a south wall, sown some seed in 
the late autumn for transplanting at this time. The year 
past I allowed the weak plants of Dwarf Mammoth to 
remain in the seed bed, with the view of lifting with 
balls of earth in March, and transplanting into richly- 
manured drills. They are now in fine condition, but 
the state of the weather is against moving anything at 
present. The earliest and quickest Cauliflower in 
maturing, and, so far as I know, the most tender and 
delicate flavoured, is Carter’s Extra Early Defiance. 
Waleheren is later, very certain, and should always be 
grown where Cauliflowers are required in succession. 
The difficulty is to get it true. If further variety is 
necessary, say dwarf and large-growing, there is nothing 
better than Beading Favourite and Autumn Giant. 
Onions. —As soon as the present spell of bad weather 
has gone, the ground will be got ready for the spring 
crop. We prefer sowing them in beds 3 ft. .wide, in 
lines ; this facilitates thinning and weeding. A very 
delicate flavoured variety is Golden Queen, sent out by 
Messrs. Carter, that I had last year for the first time, 
and that should be sown at once. We grow largely 
Strasburgli and Deptford, but one is often sold for the 
other. For autumn sowing the best exhibition Tripoli - 
would probably be Golden Globe. 
Cabbages. —Various correspondents to whom I re¬ 
commended Early Heartwell, in my garden rambles 
some years since, assure me that still they can get 
nothing superior in arriving early at maturity, ten¬ 
derness of flavour, or size of head in proportion to 
outside leaves. In this locality the market gardeners 
give a preference to an excellent strain of Early York 
called Wellington, that they maintain the purity of by 
keeping their own seed. It resembles Mammoth Beef- 
heart or Improved Early York, but is distinct. 
Broccoli.— Being much hardier than Cauliflower, 
and succeeding with rougher treatment, Broccoli must 
ever be an important crop. Waleheren and Carter’s 
Mammoth Spring White may be got in now, as soon as 
a warm seed-bed can be got ready, one to succeed the 
other. I am never without Snow’s Winter White, but 
many complain they cannot get it time. If a late kind 
is desired to come in a year or so hence, try Champion 
or Cattell’s Eclipse. The white or purple sprouting 
varieties take up much space, but some desire them. 
Parsnips. —When the Potato failed in this country, 
benevolent doctrinaires recommended parsnips as a 
substitute ; but, notwithstanding analysis and their 
vaunted suitability, they will never be very largely 
grown. I am afraid the best table varieties are not 
always got; and I am not surprised, with imperfect 
cooking, the Hollow Crown, and other field varieties, 
become objectionable. The flavour of the Early Maltese 
is quite a different thing, or Improved Jersey. 
Garden Turnips. —I must confess I like best the 
golden or yellow-fleshed varieties. They are firmer and 
sweeter, and of more delicious flavour—for instance, 
Carter’s Golden Bose ; but if a fairly solid white- 
fleshed variety is preferred, I know nothing better than 
Jersey Lily. Chirk Castle is still the best of the 
coloured kinds, and Orange Jelly comes in late. 
Peas and Potatos. —I merely mention those two 
most important garden vegetables, to refer your readers 
to notes of mine, a few weeks since, in connection with 
starting them into growth, preliminary to transplant¬ 
ing, published in your columns, and to which varieties 
I have nothing now to add. I received several private 
communications, generally agreeing witli the selections 
named, and the method of treatment indicated ; and I 
believe you got more than the pressure on your space 
permitted you publish. 
French Beans and Scarlet Bunners. —Though 
very different in habit, these are of a class. The former 
is generally started in pots, under glass, any time from 
Christmas, and in the open border towards the end of 
April. Canadian Wonder, though prolific, has not yet 
succeeded in displacing Carter’s White Advancer. As 
to the latter, Carter’s Champion Scarlet, and Sutton’s 
Giant White, for exhibition or private use, will answer 
every purpose. Neither being hardy, they cannot 
safely come through the ground until danger from 
frost is past. I should, perhaps, not have parted from 
Beans, without recommending the Broad Bean for 
general culture. Few garden vegetables are richer in 
nitrogenous and flesh-forming constituents, and when 
used with savoury gravy are delicious. Green Windsor 
is my favourite ; but those exhibiting will give a pre¬ 
ference to the monster-growing Leviathan Longpod. 
Celery. —Do all your readers know that Celery is 
the best antidote to acute rheumatism ? If you pub¬ 
lished this in some corner of The Gardening World 
in every issue, you would make some of your readers 
your debtors for life. Many cannot use Celery 
raw, but stewed. I am not an authority, but I am 
afraid, for the purposes stated, much of the anti- 
rheumatic properties is thus eliminated. Would some 
of your readers give their opinions or experience ? It 
must be understood that Celery is a preventative, and 
will not, of course, all at once remove rheumatism from 
the muscles, once it has unfortunately taken possession 
of them. I am at present using Henderson’s White 
Plume. It must have a little straw or hay thrown 
over it, as a protection against frost. Ivery’s Solid 
White is hardier, while Incomparable Crimson Red is 
quite hardy. — JV. J. Murphy, Clonmel. 
-—>3C<-—- 
PARSLEY AND ONIONS. 
A good deal of interest appears to have been excited 
by Mr. Ward’s note (p. 358) relative to these crops, and I 
must corroborate what he there says as to the use of 
soot as a fertiliser as well as an insecticide in the 
kitchen garden. I always endeavour to secure as 
much of it as I possibly can, and find it to be very 
beneficial for nearly all crops. Our Onion ground in 
particular has always a good dressing before sowing, as 
well as one or tivo top-dressings during their growth, 
applied on damp mornings ; were it not for this I am 
certain we could not secure half a supply from the space 
available for them. Potato ground has always a 
sprinkling applied in the drills when planting, and no 
crop derives more advantage from it than this, the 
tubers turning out perfectly clean and spotless. Cab¬ 
bages and all plants of the Brassica tribe are well 
puddled in a mixture of soot and earth previous to 
planting, and we find this saves us a very great amount 
of time and labour in beating up plantations. 
In a note of mine, at p. 299, vol. i., I mentioned our 
difficulties in regard to Carrots and Parsley, the 
remedies I had tried without success, and stating that 
I intended to try another method with the latter. I 
will now give your readers the benefit of the results, 
and would advise those finding the same difficulty with 
their supply of Parsley, to give the plan a trial. There 
are more benefits than one I have got from it, and one 
is that not a fourth of the ground will be necessary in 
future, as quite three-fourths of our sowing has this 
season never been gathered from at all. At sowing 
time I had holes made with a large-sized Potato dibber, 
about 14 ins. apart each way, and filled them up level 
with wood-ashes, sowing a few seeds on the top of the 
ashes, and covering with the same. The result has 
been very much beyond expectations, a grand crop of 
strong and healthy Parsley, such as I have not had the 
pleasure of seeing since I undertook charge of the place. 
Although requiring a little more trouble when sowing, 
it has turned out so satisfactory that I have fully made 
up my mind never to do otherwise in the future. I 
have yet to find a remedy for the Carrot grub ; but by 
trenching and mixing with a good supply of roadside 
scrapings, that crop has not been so poor as usual this 
season. 
I think I noticed some time ago an enquiry as to the 
use of sawdust as a remedy, and its subsequent effects 
on the soil. I have seen this applied in goodly quantity 
for a season or two—the sawdust being procured from 
the mill on the estate where all kinds of timber was 
cut—but I must say it was not an effectual remedy, 
and its use was, therefore, discontinued. What it 
might have been had the sawdust been from trees of the 
Fir tribe alone, I cannot say ; but from the limited 
trial, I saw no ill effects on the soil. Perhaps, followed 
out year after year for some time, it might be different. 
Speaking of sawdust, I am reminded of a circumstance 
that occurred when I first came here that fully bears out 
what has been advocated by Mr. Thomson, of Drum- 
lanrig. That gentleman, while editor of The Gardener, 
some years ago, conducted some experiments with saw¬ 
dust, and strongly advocated the use of it from hard- 
wooded deciduous trees as being a first-class rooting 
medium for different plants, and also as a restorative 
means for others not in a healthy condition by planting 
them in it for a time in place of soil. When I took 
charge here, I found an old plantation which had lately 
been cut down, and I determined on planting up a part 
of it for the purpose of sheltering the garden, and used 
for that purpose a number of strong Spruce trees from 
another plantation which had been planted for about 
eight or nine years. In the old plantation the wood 
had been cut up on the spot by a traction sawmill, and 
a large heap of sawdust was left ; in this I thought 
I would try a few trees before proceeding to remove it. 
I accordingly did so, planting in the pure sawdust, and 
those trees that season throughout were the freshest of 
the lot, at once taking the lead of the others, which 
lead they have kept since, so much so, that there 
appears to be a difference in size of several years between 
them and the others in the ordinary soil.— R. Stevens, 
Paston, Northumberland. 
-- 
BULWELL HALL, ‘NOTTINGHAM. 
This delightful residence, now in the occupation of 
the owner, Percy Cooper, Esq., J.P., is situated in the 
western division of the recently extended borough of 
Nottingham, and is distant about four miles from the 
heart of the great lace manufacturing town. It was 
for many years well known to many members of the 
horticultural fraternity (when in the possession of the 
late Rev. Mr. Padley) for its extensive and choice 
collection of British Ferns, many of which occupied most 
prominent positions at some of the shows of the Royal 
Horticultural Society. Mr. Nisbett, the enthusiastic 
gardener here, has for many years made a special study 
of the Chinese Primula, and is now in possession of a 
remarkably fine strain of these useful and beautiful 
plants. A delightful sight it is to gaze upon two or 
three hundred well-grown plants in twenty or thirty 
varieties judiciously arranged upon the side stages of 
an old-fashioned conservatory. Many of the individual 
flowers measure considerably over 2 ins. across, and are 
borne upon stout stems carrying two and three rows of 
flowers, forming large pyramidal bunches of the most 
exquisitely coloured blossoms. Mr. Nisbett is to be 
congratulated upon his success as a liybridiser and cul¬ 
tivator, and all who have had the pleasure of seeing his 
productions will unite with me in saying “ Continue in 
thy good work.” In addition to his own hybrids a 
goodly number of named doubles are grown, Marquis 
of Exeter and Snowflake being very good. 
The centre of the conservatory above-mentioned is 
occupied by large Palms and tree Ferns, amongst them 
being good examples of Latania borbonica, Seaforthia 
elegans, Dicksonia antartica, &c. Another large house 
is devoted to Camellias, which are evidently in the best 
of health. They are planted out, and many of them 
are literally covered with bloom ; such varieties as Alba- 
plena, Bealii rosea, Donckelaarii, Fimbriata alba, Jubilee, 
Reine des Fleurs, &c., being excellent. A large 
Marechal Niel Rose, showing quantities of flower, 
occupies the roof on one side of the house, whilst at one 
end of the same house there is a remarkable plant of 
Lapageria alba planted upon a raised embankment, and 
which is putting out large quantities of air roots, whilst 
Lapageria rosea, planted in the same bed, is quite 
devoid of anything of the kind. This is owing, I have 
no doubt, to the extreme dampness of the wall which 
it has to traverse before reaching the roof. Many 
thriving young plants have been taken off, and many 
more remain to supply future needs. 
The stoves contain a fair representative collection of 
plants, but unfortunately are much darkened by the 
overhanging of large trees, which are considered of too 
much importance to be molested. However, with the 
assistance of several small forcing-pits a good stock of 
table plants is kept up, and much taste shown in their 
arrangement. Adiantum cuneatum, A. gracilimum, 
Pandanus Yeitchii, Cocos Weddeliana, Croton TTarenni, 
C. Lord “Volseley, Draeama nigro-rubro, D. Ernestii, 
and many others are grown. Asparagus plumosus 
nanus is well grown, and is much sought after for 
cutting purposes. There are numerous other glass 
structures and a quantity of frames devoted to Violets, 
from which large quantities are daily gathered. Several 
