July 31, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
759 
At this time last year they were half root-pruned, and 
rather poor loam mixed with a goodly portion of Thom¬ 
son’s vine manure, and lime rubbish was rammed as 
firmly as possible, which appears to suit them admir¬ 
ably. Among vines one cannot shut our eyes to the fact 
that Black Grapes invariably colour very densely under 
a good canopy of foliage, while in the same house one 
may notice bunches with a brownish hue where they 
are well exposed to the light, and it is a fact that after 
black Grapes are ripened and they are kept for late use 
they soon lose their colour, and solidity too, when left 
exposed to the light. For late keeping darkness (for 
black kinds) is very desirable. On the contrary, light 
coloured Grapes attain the colour desired when well 
exposed to the sun, and when they have had full ex¬ 
posure from their earliest stages, we never saw them in¬ 
jured by the full glare of sun. Last year a few small 
bunches of Duke of Buccleugh were left close to the glass, 
fully exposed to the sun—the vine being a mere twig, and 
the bunches not being considered worth any trouble— 
but at the end of July the Grapes were transparent, deep 
yellow, not a spot to be seen, and the berries of great 
size. While we advise abundance of air as well as 
light, excellence, can only be attained when root action 
is equal.— M. T. 
-- 
ON THE MANAGEMENT OP THE 
CHRYSANTHEMUM IN VIEW OF 
COMPETITION.— IV. 
A few hints may be necessary as to the best means 
of protecting the plants from high winds, so prevalent 
in the early autumn, and which often cause much 
anxiety to the grower. If a sheltered position cannot 
be secured, it is safest for small growers to lay all the 
plants flat on the ground until the wind goes down. 
They will be much safer in this position than an erect 
one, however securely they may seem to be tied ; but 
it is not well to leave them lying longer than is neces¬ 
sary, as the extremities of the branches have a tendency 
to curl up in order to get to the light. I have on more 
than one occasion got up in the dead of the night, 
when the wind has suddenly risen, and laid every plant 
carefully down on the grass-plot, after which I retraced 
my steps to bed without any misgiving as to any 
damage the plants might sustain, and next morning I 
invariably found them perfectly safe, which v T ell repaid 
me for my nocturnal disturbance, and for the short 
time in which I might be said to have been “dwelling 
among the tombs.” 
The show came on a few weeks later, and in every 
exhibit of cut blooms staged, and with one exception, 
in twelve plants, I was placed first. Probably, some 
of my opponents’ plants lost an arm or two that night 
for the want of a little kindly attention on the part of 
their master, or some favourite crown had come to 
grief on account of an act of self-indulgence on the 
part of the cultivator. 
The safest plan for an exhibitor to act on, while 
preparing for the exhibition table, is that of “ Equalled 
but not beaten,” which, in other words, means 
"Know the right thing to do, and do it.” No one 
can beat this—they may equal it. All the knowledge 
in the world will suffice nothing unless it be carried 
out, and competition is worthless unless it make the 
object for which you are striving to be difficult to secure. 
I will now give the names of each of the five sections 
of Chrysanthemums, and endeavour to single out, to 
the best of my knowledge, some of the most serviceable 
kinds for an amateur to try his hand on ; for much 
depends in competition on a careful selection of names. 
I do not hesitate to state that sixty plants skilfully 
selected will produce greater results to the grower on 
the day of exhibition, than three times that number, 
gathered from any source, hand over head ; and 
another mistake often made by small growers is, that 
they wish to possess a great many varieties, which is 
not wise for anyone who has only limited convenience. 
I would rather have under hand sixty plants in twenty 
first-class varieties, three of each, than the same number 
in sixty varieties, where the kinds were not so choice. 
The advantage in the twenty varieties would be, that 
I should have three plants of each, from which to select 
my blooms ; and twenty varieties are mostly as many 
as an amateur will be called upon to stage. The evil 
of only having one plant of a kind is, that if from any 
accident or otherwise, that plant fails you, there is not 
another of the kind to fall back upon. I always like 
to have three of what I consider the real best kinds. 
The five sections into which Chrysanthemums have 
been divided are the following :—Incurved, Japanese, 
reflexed, Pompon, and Anemone-flowered, everyone of 
which possesses attractions, and may be selected accord¬ 
ing to the taste of the grower. 
The incurved, perhaps, as a florists’ flower, has the 
pre-eminence, and the name incurved has been con¬ 
ferred on it from its habit of turning the petals of the 
flower inwards, or from the circumference to the centre ; 
it is undoubtedly the most massive, and possesses the 
greatest uniformity of construction, some of the blooms 
almost resembling mountains of flower. In this section 
may be mentioned as suitable for selection, Empress of 
India, Queen of England, Golden Queen, Emily Dale, 
John Salter, Barbara, Mr. Bunn, White Globe, White 
Beverley, Golden Beverley, Mrs. G. Crossfield, Mrs. 
Geo. Rundle, Bendigo, Jeanne d’Are, Plenipo, Princess 
Teck, and Alfred Salter. 
The Japanese section, the flowers of which possess 
considerable attractions, are, nevertheless, devoid of 
that compactness which so distinguishes the incurved 
varieties, being of a sort of fly-away character, if I 
may so term it—a kind of phantom flower ; but in 
many cases they are exceedingly pretty and fantastic, 
and when several varieties are grouped together, they 
produce a very telling effect. One peculiarity in this 
section is the remarkable habit which some kinds have 
of twisting their petals one across the other, presenting 
somewhat the appearance of a knot; such, for example, 
is Lady Selborne. 
Some of the best and most useful kinds in this section 
are Elaine, Fair Maid of Guernsey, Comte de Germiny, 
Madame C. Audiguier, Boule d’Or, Dr. Macary, 
Duchess of Albany, Mr. John Laing, Meg Merrilies, 
Monsieur Tarin, Peter the Great, Rosa Bonheur, Soleil 
Levant, Thunberg, and Triomphe de la Rue dea 
Chatelets.— Geo. Kidson, Hull. 
" -- 
Scottish Gardening. 
_ B +- l r 
Layering Strawberries. —At the present time 
this is, in some places, a very formidable operation. 
The layering of the plants is no easy matter where 
ground is scarce and the stock, perhaps, thousands 
have to be taken from the fruiting plants. Young 
plants planted soon, and established sufficiently to 
stand the winter, send out by far the finest runners for 
next year’s forcing plants. Some depend on the forced 
plants planted out the same season ; we have seen 
these do fairly 'well, but not equal to young established 
plants which have never fruited. One of the most im¬ 
portant points in Strawberry forcing is to secure strong 
unchecked runners, though we have heard from a few 
northern writers (we discussed the matter with a veteran 
of this school the other day, who now heartily agrees 
with us) that collecting the young plants formed in 
autumn, and attending to them during the winter and 
spring, potting early and resting long is the best 
method of growing in the north. We have never seen 
such a practice supported by complete success, and 
some of those who advocated it may sympathise with 
the favourite old Scotch sentiment, “Contented wie 
little, but canty wie mair.” To realise the last desire, 
we would say grow from young runners which have 
sprung from the parent plants during early summer. 
The runners should be rooted in small pots, or in their 
permanent ones, if preferred, as early during July as 
they can be got, and potted before the month is out. 
For fruiting early in March, the plants may be potted 
in June with advantage ; Black Prince, though small, 
is one of the best for a few early pickings. The profit¬ 
less craze of having Strawberries during January and 
February is not common now. I remember, while 
an underling, being driven first to gather in February, 
then January, and the third year at Christmas. The 
labour and value of securing such items does not prompt 
us now to do much of this work, which brings in the 
crop before the middle of March. Our kinds this year 
are Yicomtesse Hericart de Thury and President. We 
hope to have all potted and in the full sun this week 
(last week of July). The soil used is ordinary loam, 
clean and sweet, mixed with a little soot and Thom¬ 
son’s Yine and Plant Manure ; firm potting is of great 
moment. 
Vermin, &c.—This season seems to match any of 
its predecessors for the destructive proclivities of vermin, 
andmuch labour we have had watching andbattlingwith 
slugs and grubs, soot and lime mixed with fine ashes from 
the stoke-hole, sifted, is the best agent we have used ; 
and sundry waterings at the root with guano water, in 
which is a little soot, wards off the enemies from the 
roots. Looking over the brassica kinds, there seems to 
be few blanks, and all are now considered safe till the 
time of Pigeons. A free use of the hoe over all surfaces 
among growing crops compensates labour well, besides 
the keeping of the ground free from weeds—weeds, 
green moss covered surfaces, decaying leaves, seeding 
vegetables are unpleasant sights at this season of the 
year, when all should be neat, orderly and clean. 
Coleworts or any young plants placed into the ground 
now may have their roots dipped in’ a mixture of cow 
manure, soil and soot well up their stems, this, with 
some of the mixture of ashes, soot and lime placed 
round their collars, will defy most of the “prowlers” 
which seek their food at the roots. Onions and Carrots 
(if the enemies are not settled at their roots) are helped 
much by liberal dustings among them while they are 
finishing their growth. Seeds of Onions, Carrots, 
Turnips, Prickly Spinach, Cabbage, Endive, Lettuce, 
Parsley, Radishes sown now or coming up, may have a 
coating of lime, soot and ashes. 
Seed Saving. —The present time is favourable to 
collecting seeds, when the weather is dry, birds soon 
find them out, and such is their favourite food ; netting 
or other means of protection should be used. When 
gathered the seed should be kept dry, spread out on a 
smooth surface (strong paper does for small lots), moved 
about occasionally till the seed is ripe, then it may be 
cleaned and put into drawers (dry and cool), folded in 
papers, named and dated. Most northerners know 
something of the storing of green Kale and Leek seed, 
but we notice that the stock is often taken too early 
and parched in hot kitchens or similar quarters. 
Onion and Leek seed stands a good deal of drying when 
it is sufficiently matured, but it should not be hurried 
too severely—much of this kiln drying is the cause of 
so many disappointments during the time of cropping. 
The Pleasure Ground.— In the ornamental 
department many things are coming to their best, and 
timely attention to pricking off flower stems—mulching 
with old rotted tan or cocoa-nut fibre—topping to 
regulate appearances, and staking is now of extra 
importance, also water given in dry positions—manure 
water (where the soil is sandy) is excellent for aiding 
flowering plants at present—but in cool or shady posi¬ 
tions such is not required. It is well to take the 
earliest opportunity in getting a start with the propa¬ 
gation of bedding plants—Bronze Pelargoniums and 
any kind of tender growth is better to be rooted and 
stored in good time—nights are now becoming cool and 
days shortening rapidly, reminding one that time should 
be improved.— M. T. 
-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Just as the Roses are waning, or, at least, when their 
numbers are being reduced, w r e have a beautiful class 
of plants to succeed them, however, and to prolong 
the charms of the flower garden in the Carnations, 
Picotees, and Pinks. Our garden is now gay with these 
flowers, and by the time these notes appear in print, 
the National Society will have held their annual festival 
at Kensington, when there is such a gathering of these 
charming flowers in their best attire. Now is the time 
for amateurs to make their selections where they medi¬ 
tate adding a collection of Carnations to their border 
flowers, or to obtain any fresh or desirable varieties to 
increase their stock. The choicer sorts are rather ex¬ 
pensive, and when once a number has been purchased 
to start with, it is not always convenient to increase 
the stock by procuring fresh plants, and resort must, 
therefore, be had to the propagation by layers, cuttings, 
or pipings. The Carnations and Picotees can be in¬ 
creased in the two former ways, and Pinks very readily 
by the last named ; Carnations are, however, chiefly 
propagated by layers, which is a surer mode than 
cuttings. 
Layering is a simple operation and very easily per¬ 
formed, some sifted soil is placed round the old plant 
and over the base of the stems, then the young growths 
are spread out evenly all round, and all those most 
conveniently placed are selected for layers. A few 
leaves are cut from the base of the shoot, and a joint 
selected where the stem is moderately firm, then with 
a sharp knife make an incision just below this joint on 
