92 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October, 9, 1886. 
ARDENING IflSCELLANY. 
Madresfield Court Grape Cracking.—I 
strongly object to the “ gimlet ” practice described by 
“ Wales,” at p. 75, going forth unchallenged, especially 
as his experiments are so incomplete. Had “Wales” 
bored all shoots with bunches on one Vine, and not 
bored any shoots on its neighbour with circumstances 
equal, the result should have been a definite one—viz., 
all cracking on the one Vine and none at all on the 
other. Moreover, till such results are reported I, for 
one, shall have little faith in the operation. An 
eminent gardener of my acquaintance is considerably 
baffled with this vexatious cracking, in spite of his 
most earnest and skilful attention, but whom, I am 
pleased to notice, intends continued perseverance. He, 
too, spoke favourably months ago of this boring 
business ; but somehow his faith in the real success 
therefrom is not strong enough to warrant him pub¬ 
lishing the results. I cannot agree that boring is the 
true panacea for prevention of cracking, neither that 
the remedy will be found at the roots (the cracking of 
Plums, to wit, corroborates this, and close observation 
when and what the meteorological circumstances are 
at the time). My conclusions, arrived at from ex¬ 
perience, are that the cause is simply atmospheric, and 
that the worst cases are found in mixed houses. When 
the first berry shows signs of colour, do not again close 
the Vinery, but begin at on.ce to gradually diminish the 
atmospheric moisture ; extend the amount of air and 
fire-heat ; always (excepting during sunshine) maintain 
warmth in the pipes according to the weather. Extra 
caution during moist, muggy, thundery weather will, 
if carried out thoroughly, make boring unnecessary, 
and the cracking of the berries of this grandest of all 
black Grapes will be obviated. I may add that it is 
advisable that the borders should be sufficiently watered 
previous to the colouring period to carry them safely 
over the critical time.— W. Crump, Madresfield Court. 
Curing Tobacco. — I should be obliged if some 
of your readers would inform me how to prepare home¬ 
grown Tobacco in a small way. Some leaves taken off 
and dried in an open shed are not satisfactory. This 
week I intend to take up the plants and suspend them in 
an open shed. What more should I do ?— Inquisitor. 
Parsley.—Many, like myself, have a lively recol¬ 
lection of the difficulties they experienced last year, 
and, maybe, a few years previous, in maintaining a 
supply of this herb. Soils, aspects or climates did not 
assist some of us, and with all our laboured efforts, 
many gardens were soon after this date last year with¬ 
out a handful of Parsley. This season matters are 
different, and I have not witnessed any failure or heard 
a word of complaint. Here I have not seen such a 
healthy lot of Parsley for five years, and some of it on 
ground occupied by it last year, the plants having been 
allowed to seed, which remained in the soil all the 
winter, and germinated early this year. Seeds saved 
from the same, as well as bought ones, did well in 
different parts of the garden. Probably, your corre¬ 
spondent Mr. G. Tyler’s success (see p. 75) is only in 
common with that of others this season. — W. P. R. 
Carrots. —I have sown Carrots for the last four 
years, but as soon as the young plants were about lialf- 
an-inch thick they all “grubbed off.” Last spring I 
was recommended by a gardener to sow a few Onion 
seeds along with the Carrots, and this autumn I have 
a nice lot to lift, and have not found one root touched 
by the grubs. I state my experience so that it may 
be useful to some other amateur.— J. F. 
Ne Plus Ultra Dwarf Bean.— Your corres¬ 
pondent “A. D.,” in his notes on Beans at p. 70, 
mentions Ne Plus Ultra as a very promising sort, and 
includes it amongst the runner Beans. I have grown, 
this-season, a dwarf variety under the name of Ne Plus 
Ultra, but as the Beans somewhat resemble those 
described by “A. D.,” I am desirous of knowing if it 
can be the same. The plant is of very robust habit, 
growing from 12 ins. to 18 ins. high ; the leaves are of 
good substance, and it is a good bearer of pods, of fine 
size, fleshy, and of good flavour. Its free-setting 
qualities will gain for it a place in every garden where 
French Beans are a speciality. With me it has been 
in every point better than the Canadian Wonder, which 
I have grown for many years past. I do not know’ who 
the raiser is, but I can recommend it as something good 
and worthy of the name. — B. L. 
Late Gooseberries. —“ Con.” asks for the names 
of a few of the latest Gooseberries, but there are not 
many later than the old Warrington or Ashton Red. 
If “Con.” can get good fruit of these in the second 
week in September, he might rest and be thankfuL 
Having at one time had charge of a three-acre plot of 
Gooseberries, I name those which we found the latest. 
Reds : Henson’s Seedling, Rifleman, and Lord of the 
Manor. Green : Jolly Angler, Perfection, and Green 
Gage. Yellow: Mount Pleasant, Yellow Ball, and 
Drill. White: White Lion, Crystal, and Newlands. 
If “Con.” is not already acquainted with any of these, 
he will find them about the best for late gathering.— 
B. L. 
The Largest White Celery.— Will some reader 
who knows the different varieties w’ell, be so good as to 
tell me which is the largest white sort in cultivation. 
One variety is described as “the largest grown”; 
another as “the largest in cultivation”; and yet a 
third as “the largest kind known.” Which is the 
largest ?— J. R. 
Begonia Flowers Dropping. —Could you give 
me any information as to the cause of my Begonia 
flowers dropping as soon as they open, and sometimes 
in the bud state. I have them in -good turfy loam 
with a little leaf-soil and sand, and in an airy part of 
the greenhouse. I have never given them a great deal 
of water.— J. S. [They have evidently not had water 
enough.—E d.] 
Pelargonium Volunte Nationals alba.— 
This is one of the very best decorative or regal Pelar¬ 
goniums I have ever met with. It was sent out by 
Mr. Fred Perkins, of Leamington, who obtained it as a 
sport from the well-known Volunte Nationale. It has 
a good free habit, and is a most profuse bloomer, the 
trusses being large, with as many as fourteen pips in a 
truss, which are pure white with a very slight dash of 
rose on the upper petals. To the bouquetist it is in¬ 
valuable, and is, undoubtedly, the very best white 
decorative Pelargonium I have seen. It is now flowering 
in his nurseries in great profusion, and I can strongly 
recommend it to all in search of a good plant for the 
purpose named.— A. Outram. 
Berberis vulgaris. —This is now one of the 
most beautiful shrubs we have, the large bushes of it 
being literally covered with graceful sprays of coral¬ 
like fruits. The common Pyrethrum uliginosum, 
which is now in flower everywhere, is another great 
beauty, and sprays of the large white flowers placed in 
a suitable vase, with a few of the above-mentioned 
scarlet-berried Berberis round it, forms one of the most 
attractive of flower ornaments for indoors I know of.— 
M. A., Carnb. 
Lilium auratum. — Fasciated stems are of 
common occurrence in gardens, and are never regarded 
as particularly beautiful, indeed, quite the contrary 
as a rule. Like your correspondent “J.”I would 
much rather see clean round stems with a quarter of 
the number of flowers fully developed on them. Some 
beautiful examples of this fine Lily have been seen in 
this district during the past summer. One that came 
under my notice was shown last August at a local 
show at Elland, and was pronounced by the judges to 
be the finest single specimen that they had ever seen. 
It stood about 9 ft. high, and on a fine round natural 
stem bore forty-two beautifully developed flowers of 
grand size and substance. I doubt not but that it had 
carried more, as there were a few thin places, giving 
one the idea that some of its older flowers had been 
cut out. This, however, has been completely eclipsed 
by one grown in the neighbourhood of Bradford, but I 
am unable to give the exact number of flowers at 
present.— B. L., Huddersfield. 
As your Welsh correspondent, Mr. Tyler, wishes to 
know if any of your readers have seen or grown more 
than seventy-two blooms of Lilium Auratum on one 
single stem, he may be interested to hear of a remark¬ 
able specimen which I flowered last year, and which was 
exhibited at Keighley show, and greatly admired by all 
who saw it. The bulb threw out four perfect stems, 
5 ft. in height. Two of the stems bore twenty-two 
flowers each, and the other two nineteen each ; making 
a total of eighty-two noble blossoms, which measured 
10 ins. and 10£ ins. across, and were beautifully rayed. 
It was a shilling bulb, purchased from Mr. Charles 
Kershaw, Slead Syke Nurseries, Brighouse, in the 
autumn of 1880. My mode of cultivation was as 
follows :—The compost used was made up of two parts 
of fibrous loam, one part of leaf soil, one part of peat, 
and a good sprinkling of sand, with a dash of charcoal. 
The pot was then plunged in ashes and left to remain 
until the shoots showed through the ashes, giving no 
water whatever. It was then stood out in the open 
in a suitable position during the summer, and carefully 
attended to in the matter of watering. The four stems 
were tied out fan shape, and when it commenced to 
show its flowers occasional doses of weak liquid manure 
were given it, and continued up to the expansion of the 
blooms. I always pot Lilies, as soon as the stems have 
died down after flowering, once every two years.— 
Thomas Sanderson, Keighley. 
-- 
The Gardeners’ Calendar. 
♦. 
THE PLANT HOUSES. 
It will now be advisable to place all the Chrysanthe¬ 
mums under cover, placing them, if possible, in the 
position in which they are to flower ; before doing so, 
the finishing touch should be given in the way of 
tying, staking, &c.; let all the pots as they are lifted 
from the plunging bed be washed, so that everything 
about the plants is clean, there will then be little 
excuse for mildew. The early Vineries and Peach- 
houses, where the inside border is of any extent, make 
excellent places for staging in masses, and if all the 
varieties are known as to colour, the arrangement can 
be carried out equally the same as though they were 
in flower ; keep all well supplied with water at the 
roots ; but the damping overhead, unless the weather 
is very dry, had better be discontinued. It will 
probably be found necessary to turn the plants round 
once or twice a week to prevent them drawing towards 
the light. 
Arrangements had better now be made for the 
housing of all kinds of-plants which have been growing 
out of doors, care being taken that they are thoroughly 
clean before storing. Camellias should have the flower 
buds thinned down if thickly set, as if all are left it 
will probably be found that the greater part will fall 
off; ventilate as freely as possible, and keep a rather dry 
atmosphere, avoiding afternoon syringings at this season. 
If by any means the stock of bedding Pelargoniums 
is not satisfactory, more cuttings should be at once put 
in, remembering that they must be placed in some 
favourable position to strike; it will be useless to 
expect them to do so unless well taken care of, but with 
a little extra care they will make far better plants 
than spring-struck cuttings. A good open airy position 
should now be found for storing the stock ; a temporary 
stage erected in one of the succession Vineries will 
suit them admirably, and if nicely arranged they are 
not at all unsightly. AVe have lifted and potted our 
stock of Callas and Solanums, placing them in a heated 
pit, and shading closely until they become established, 
after which they will be removed to cool quarters, and 
the Callas be placed in a forcing house as required for 
early flowering. 
We have also placed the frame and lights over the 
bed of Helleborus niger, and by ventilating rather 
sparingly, we gather blooms much earlier than from 
out-of-doors, added to which they are kept quite clean ; 
an occasional dose of liquid manure greatly adds to the 
size of the flowers, and when liberally treated it is 
astonishing what a quantity of flowers a single stool 
will give. Ours are planted in a thoroughly open 
exposed situation, and during the summer months 
occasionally receive a good soaking of water, this, in 
addition to keeping free from weeds, being all the 
attention they require. Let the store pots of Lobelia 
be placed on some airy shelf near the glass, and be 
kept moderately dry. 
THE FRUIT HOUSES. 
We are now cutting some very useful fruit from our 
late batch of Melons. It will hardly be necessary to 
say that the bottom heat must not be renewed when 
the fruits are near ripening, or they will be sure to 
crack and be spoiled. After this, Melons are seldom 
worth the trouble taken in their culture. We have 
thoroughly cleansed and painted the house ready for 
winter Cucumbers, which we hope to plant forthwith ; 
the bottom heat being sweet the plants will start 
quickly. At this season we always find training the 
centre or main growth on the serpentine system pre¬ 
ferable to stopping, and also tending to a more equal 
growth. Be very careful that no more fruit than is 
