October 30, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
135 
portant items of work which, cannot he passed by with 
impunity. During the dull season—and this is extra 
dull in the North—one ought to do all in his power to 
facilitate ripening of wood preparatory for next year’s 
service. Young growths on vigorous dwarf trees should 
he topped back ; on walls, where the leaves are yellow, 
it is well to free them from the trees, which can he 
dona by the aid of a light Birch broom ; large leaves 
in full vigour may be reduced to let in air to the wood. 
On gross-growing Peaches we have often practised leaf- 
reducing with great advantage. Rather than lose a 
.season for root pruning, we would do it now. Cutting 
off downward-growing roots clean, and ramming a firm 
bottom of old lime rubbish mixed with soil underneath, 
may be all that is necessary to put the trees into a free- 
bearing condition. Planters should now prepare for 
such important work, and select their trees at the 
nurseries.— M. T. 
Auchendrain, the seat of Sir Peter Coats, which 
is situated on the banks of the river Doon, about seven 
miles from Ayr, is w'ell known as one of the finest 
establishments in the west of Scotland. Under the 
able and practical skill of Mr. Currie, who has been 
head-gardener here for over twenty years, the garden 
has long been known as one of the best-kept in the 
county ; and it is with a strong feeling of regret that 
we learn he is about to leave for America, to join his 
sons in their increasing florist trade. His brother 
gardeners in the district will miss him much, for his 
practical knowledge of gardening and amiable dispo¬ 
sition made him always a welcome visitor, and gained 
him friends wherever he went, and I am sure that all 
who had the pleasure of knowing him will cordially 
join with me in wishing him every success in his new 
undertaking. Though we lose such a good friend as 
Mr. Currie, we are gratified to learn that Sir Peter has 
secured the services of an able substitute in Mr. James 
Thompson, who is at present gardener to Samuel Boyd, 
Esq., Marchmont, Dumfries, and for some years 
previous foreman under Mr. Murray, the able head- 
gardener at Culzean Castle, Maybole. Under his 
management we are well assured the high reputation of 
the place will be maintained.— J. 
Quality of Grapes, &c. —Under this heading, 
at p. 103 of October 16th, your correspondent “M. T.” 
gives an opinion upon a collection of fruit staged at a 
recent show which I cannot allow to pass unchallenged. 
To the first part of your correspondent’s remarks I have 
nothing to say, but the following quotation I do call 
in question :— 
After touching upon the quality of Pines, your corre¬ 
spondent says :—“ And yet we saw much dissatisfaction 
by an exhibitor who tabled a Queen Pine, If lbs. in 
weight, and another kind—green as grass, also small— 
which was quite worthless, while his opponent had a 
pair of excellent fruits, which were of more value than 
all that was in the unsuccessful exhibitors’ collection. 
The Grapes, too, in the successful lot, were made up 
with such grand kinds as fine Dukes, Hamburghs and 
Marocs, all excellent. A fourth lot, perfectly sound 
iu berry, but stale, were cancelled, all balancing at six 
to four against the fair samples, which had to give way. ” 
These remarks refer, I take it, to the first and second 
collections of twelve dishes of fruit, staged at the Royal 
Caledonian Horticultural Society’s Exhibition held at 
Edinburgh last September, and seems to me to be in¬ 
tended to convey the impression that the second-prize 
lot was comparatively worthless. Four collections were 
staged, and since, in the estimation of “M. T.,” the 
second lot was comparatively worthless, what would 
be his estimation of the tw T o remaining lots ? Good for 
nothing, I suppose. According to your correspondent, 
the second-prize lot contained a Queen Pine, 1J lbs. in 
weight. This is incorrect; the exhibitor of this col¬ 
lection tabled no Pine of that weight at the above show, 
and probably has never done so at any exhibition. Had 
your correspondent placed the Pine at twice that weight 
he would have been nearer the mark. The other Pine 
which your correspondent calls “another kind,” was 
not “ quite worthless,” nor w r as it as “ green as grass.” 
It was not ripe I admit, and was just about half 
coloured ; but surely there is a difference between a 
half-coloured Pine and one as “green as grass” ; and 
as for being “quite worthless,” some prefer to eat the 
Pine in question when at this stage than when fully 
ripe, considering the flavour much brisker. The two 
Pines in the first collection were superior fruits I admit, 
though but ordinary fruits after all; and as for their 
being of “more value than all that w r as in the unsuc¬ 
cessful exhibitors’ collections,” is a mere matter of 
opinion, and not a fact. Pines must stand very high 
in value with your correspondent. Some years ago I 
sold seven as fine Queen Pines as, probably, ever graced 
an exhibition table. They were exhibited at one of 
the first fruit shows in Britain, and received a special 
award ; but all the money they brought me was 2s. 6d. 
per lb., and I do not think Pines have risen at all in 
value since. 
Now for the Grapes. To compare those in the first- 
prize lot w T ith those in the second, is a proceeding I 
could scarcely credit. Why, sir, out of a show of over 
400 bunches it was the general opinion that the 
Grapes in the second collection were the finest finished 
in the exhibition. Black Hamburgh was the only 
kind that formed a first-class dish in the first col¬ 
lection. The Dukes were comparatively green, and 
Gros Maroc, though well shown, was scarcely fit for 
any gentleman’s table. This your correspondent surely 
knows, as the gist of his whole article is quality. 
On the other hand, of the six bunches which formed the 
Grapes in the second lot, every bunch was perfect in 
finish, and what was of equal importance, the varieties 
were good dessert ones. I will strike out the Pine 
which appeared to be so green, and challenge your 
correspondent to point out one single dish in the second 
prize collection which was not perfectly ripe and fit to 
place before a prince. I do not wish to be understood 
as questioning the decision of the judges in this com¬ 
petition—with that I have nothing to do, as I was 
neither a judge nor an exhibitor at the show in 
question ; but I may meution the fact that their decision 
in this case, as regards the award of the first and second 
prizes, was the cause of a considerable amount of 
unfavourable comment; many practical men, including 
some of the best fruit growers in Scotland, considering 
that the awards ought to have been reversed. Let me 
add, in conclusion, that it is only about five years 
since the exhibitor of the fruit your correspondent 
evidently alludes to entered the list of exhibitors, but 
in that time he has proved himself one of our best 
fruit growlers, and probably has done as much in that 
time as anyone to uphold the honour and reputation of 
Scotland.— Fairplay, Oct. 25th, 1886. 
The Criticising of Fruit Shown at Exhi¬ 
bitions, when done by experienced fruit growers who 
have no other object in view but that of advancing the 
art of fruit cultivation, is, I consider, very interesting 
and instructive, besides affording encouragement to 
competitors, and giving credit to all connected with 
such meetings ; but when one competitor only is singled 
out, and gets his fruit criticised in the manner adopted 
by “M. T.” at p. 103, I think that competitor has just 
cause of complaint against the treatment accorded to 
him. I am, besides, at a loss to know what good can 
be derived from such remarks, w T hich only have a 
tendency to do harm. “M. T.” compares the different 
varieties of Pine Apples, pointing out the merits of one 
variety as compared with another, such as that a Queen, 
although much lighter in weight, is equal to a Smooth 
Cayenne, and I quite agree wdth him on this point, 
but the comparison only holds good during the summer 
months. From the end of October till the month of 
May, I would prefer a Smooth Cayenne to a Queen, 
although they were equal in weight, provided the first- 
named was not over ripe.— D. II. C. 
-- 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
THE GREENHOUSE, 
Though we employ but little artificial heat in this 
house, our Chrysanthemums have expanded fast since 
they were placed under cover, and the Japanese varieties 
are making a bright show. To keep these flowers as 
long as possible and in their best condition, it is 
necessary to protect them from damp as much as 
possible, to ensure which, amateurs frequently resort to 
increased artificial heat. But extremes in that direction 
are apt to prove as injurious as the other ; the plants 
become weakly, the flowers lose substance, their colours 
become faint, and altogether their beauty is soon 
completely spoiled. A moderate amount of heat with 
free ventilation is the means of preserving the blooms, 
and it is better to open the ventilators at the lower 
part of the house, as when the roof lights are opened 
early or late in the day, the damp settles on the blooms. 
When the weather is bright and dry at mid-day, the 
roof ventilators can be advantageously opened for a 
time, but otherwise we prefer to keep them closed. 
There maybe some who have grown Chrysanthemums 
with the view of obtaining blooms for exhibition, and 
with ordinary good culture it is not difficult to secure 
half-a-dozen or a dozen blooms fit for competition in 
amateurs classes. Less uncertainty will be experienced 
■with the Japanese in this respect, than with the in¬ 
curved, particularly as the latter often need “ dressing” 
by an experienced exhibitor to render them suitable for 
the stand. When it is intended to cut for exhibition, 
the blooms should be selected and marked on the 
previous night, choosing blooms distinguished by their 
smoothness, even development and size, depth being a 
strong point in a show bloom. Select varieties as 
distinct in colour as possible, well proportioning the 
light and dark shades, so that there is not a prepon¬ 
derance of any one tint, and arrange the blooms in the 
stand with the largest at the back, carefully placing 
good effective blooms at the corners, as this adds much 
to the appearance of the stand. When Chrysanthemum 
blooms are cut for decorating vases, &c., in the house, 
take them with a convenient length of stem to allow of 
subsequent trimming, as the blooms will last for a 
long time in water if the end of the stems are cut off 
occasionally, and fresh water supplied. 
The earliest Camellias are now coming on, but it is 
best to let them expand gradually, or trouble will be 
experienced in falling buds. Forcing these plants is an 
unsatisfactory process, and leads to more failures than 
anything in their treatment. It is a critical stage now 
with many; a sudden increase of temperature, and once 
allowing the soil to become dry at the roots, is sufficient 
to ruin all prospect of flowers this season. If kept in 
the greenhouse they can be placed in the warmest part 
of the structure, aud if carefully attended to with -water, 
they will advance quite quickly enough. 
Many of the climbing plants trained up the rafters 
of the house, require attention in thinning and 
regulating the growths, and if it is necessary to take 
them down for this purpose, it will afford a good oppor¬ 
tunity to clean them of insects, mealy-bug usually being 
very abundant. Give the plants a good washing or 
syringing with soft-soap and -water, or if scale be present, 
remove it with a small brush.— Scolytus. 
-- 
AUTUMN FLOWERS. 
The end of the month of October invariably leaves 
the hardy plant garden with very little in the way of 
flowers. True, we have single and double Dahlias in 
plenty yet, but dare not prophecy that they will be 
with us on the morro-w, for frost may come at any 
moment now, and strip the garden of these very showy 
and most useful of flowers ; gay with almost every 
conceivable shade of colour, they have this season 
played their full part in the embellishment of our 
gardens, and contributed their utmost with their many 
resplendent forms; so that when the frost arrives, 
which we may nightly expect, we must, seeing the 
flowering is done, turn our thoughts to preserving the 
tubers which in due time will come out again. It will 
not be advisable to lift these and store them away 
immediately on their being cut down, as at this time 
the tubers are quite green and iu anything but a fit 
condition ; rather gather the tops and place them over 
the crown of the plant to preserve them from frost, or, 
better still, some light litter till they are ready for 
removal, which they will be in about three weeks. 
Apart from Dahlias, we have 
Summer-flowering Chrysanthemums in the open 
ground, still giving plenty of showy flowers, and which 
are really valuable at this season of the year. Fore¬ 
most among these arc Madame C. Desgrange and 
G. Wermig, the former the well-known and most 
useful white, and the latter its golden sport, which 
proves to be a most valuable addition to our border 
flowers. It is a good golden, shaded with light Canary 
at the tips, out of doors ; under glass, no doubt, it will 
come much lighter, as is the case -with the first-named. 
Flora is an extremely good and useful yellow, very 
freely flowered. Casson is a good rosy lilac, very 
dwarf— i.c., 1 ft. high ; and of similar height, though 
somewhat earlier, is the white-flowered Mdlle. Jolivart. 
Lyon is a deep rosy purple ; Nanum is a good silvery 
white ; and we have also white in Souvenir d’un Ami, 
and a very useful one also. These are only a few out of 
the many of this exceedingly useful group. Turning, 
