246 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Decehiber 20, 1890. 
and six home varieties. The French and German 
sorts were practically failures, while the home kinds 
were very successful, and the net result was that 
Champions held their own against all comers. The 
highest return in yield was 11 tons 14 cwt. per acre 
from a lot of Scotch Champions imported from Glasgow. 
In Table 3 of the experiments at the Munster 
Model Farm, the percentage of the gross crop of the 
principal varieties found diseased is given in thirteen 
varieties. The lowest percentage is placed to Cham¬ 
pions, which is given as 0 - 3. Magnum Bonum stands 
at0’5; "White Rocks, 6‘5 ; Regents, 19’1 ; and Reading 
Abbey, 33 "6. In the accompanying remarks upon 
these results it is stated of another experiment:— 
“Mr. Dobbin reports 60 per cent, of Reading Abbey 
and Fenn’s International to have been diseased. In 
his experiments the Champions on the whole resisted 
the disease best.” 
The question arises, then, is the Champion wearing 
out ? Such a thing has happened before with many 
good sorts cultivated long ago. One of the best varie¬ 
ties grown in the South of Ireland, before the year 
1847, was the Black Apple, which is now nearly as 
extinct as the dodo. The Irish Cup was another 
popular variety, and that sort is now lost. There 
are few Potatos of better flavour than Champions, and 
in this country (Great Britain) it is still immensely 
popular as a field Potato. I should not therefore like 
to see a scare against it because of its failing so 
absolutely in Donegal, for, after all is said and done, 
that interesting but unhappy district is not quite a 
Garden of Eden. 
At the Smithfield Cattle Show the other day one of 
the leading seed firms was exhibiting some fine dishes 
of Potatos, and along with them a printed extract from 
the official report of the Board of Agriculture, giving a 
very short list of Potatos notable for their disease- 
resisting properties, and amongst those mentioned was 
the Champion. Mr. Balfour would have done well, 
when he imported so many Potatos. not to have 
“placed all his eggs in one basket,” to use a rather 
Hibernian expression. Some of the American sorts, 
such as Beauty of Hebron, or the recently-introduced 
Early Puritan, would probably do well, as they are 
excellent croppers and not prone to disease. There 
was not a little of Scotch “ wut ” (shrewd humour) in 
his saying that it would be a risky proceeding on the 
part of the Government to shoulder the responsibility 
of selecting the kinds of seed Potatos for the purpose 
mentioned in his excellent Bill.— A. H. 
-- 
CONCERNING- SEA-WEEDS. 
Ix a recent lecture delivered at Ipswich, Dr. Taylor 
said some of the largest, and possibly the largest, of all 
plants in the whole world lived in the sea as Sea-weeds, 
for there was one Sea-weed living off the coast of South 
America which had a length of stem exceeding any of 
the Yosemite Sequoias or Gipsland Gum trees. The Sea¬ 
weeds were the oldest kinds of vegetation they were 
acquainted with in geological history, and it was just 
possible that all the existing terrestrial vegetation had 1 
descended from them. Dr. Taylor described the 
structures of Sea-weeds ; the wonderful way in which 
they were fecundated, and the difference between the 
red and the green and the dark kinds, until to-day it 
was thought that in the world of waters under the sea 
there was a botanical life going on, and a struggle for 
existence, of which they had but little thought. 
Sea-weeds belonged to the lowest group of the 
vegetable kingdom, and even to the lowest group of the 
flowerless part of that kingdom, and passing on to 
speak of the higher group of plants, he drew attention 
to actual flowering plants which lived both at the 
bottom of the sea, in creeks and bays, and along the 
floors of rivers and lakes. These produced flowers that 
were absolutely perfect and splendidly adapted to their 
exceptional conditions. Fie showed how their fructifi¬ 
cation went on, and pointed out that just below Pin 
Mill, in the estuary of the Orwell, on the Chelmon- 
diston side, there was, at a depth of two or three 
fathoms, a real flower bed formed of plants which 
could not flower on the land, but which could flower 
at the bottom of a salt water estuary. These plants 
not only flowered there, but most people must have 
seen about September time, in going down to Harwich, 
how the surface of the water was sometimes packed 
thickly with what appeared to be long blades of green 
grass. These were nothing more than the detached 
leaves of this sub-marine ' flowering plant, Zostera, 
which not only lived there, but which lived there 
years before its leaves were detached. It had stored 
up a sufficient quantity of nutritive material about the 
size of an Acorn, to form a kind of bulb embedded in 
the mud, which during the following year would 
sprout up into a new Zostera, or grass-like plant. If 
they examined the stomachs of the wild geese, or duck 
more particularly, they would find that the reason 
these birds came to our estuaries during the winter was 
to grope for these buried, delicate, but nutritious morsels. 
SEEDLING SUGAR CANES. 
The sugar industry is one of such vast importance that 
a few remarks respecting its latest development may 
be interesting. 
From time immemorial the cane has been propagated 
by suckers, and by suckers only, as it was held to be a 
botanical article of faith that the plant produced no 
fertile seed. It was known that the plant was liable 
to sport and produce variations, and that many 
varieties forming different characteristics were in culti¬ 
vation. In all respects, however, it was treated as a 
child of nature not capable of improvement by the 
hand of man. 
However, Dr. Soltwedel, the director of the experi¬ 
mental station at Samarang, in Java, pointed out that 
the cane did produce fertile seed, in spite of all reports 
to the contrary, and he raised seeds to prove his 
position. The knowledge of this fact was almost 
entirely forgotten however, though some few planters 
made experiments in a dilettante fashion ; but no 
results of any importance followed until Dr. Franz 
Benecke, of Java, communicated the above information 
to Messrs. Harrison k, Bovell, in Barbadoes. These 
gentlemen, impressed with the importance of the in¬ 
formation, instituted a number of experiments, which, 
as time went on, developed under their hands, and it 
became known that something important was being 
done in Barbadoes with seedling sugar canes. 
At this point the Kew authorities, ever watchful, 
obtained from Barbadoes some fertile seed, and a few 
seedlings were raised at Kew, which may be seen in 
verification of the facts mentioned. 
But the matter did not end here. The Government 
botanist of Demerara, G. S. Jenman, F.L.S., having 
ample opportunities for doing so, offered his services, 
and the experiments now were carried out on a more 
extensive scale in both places. Great results have 
followed. An immense number of seedlings have been 
raised. Some undoubted new varieties have been 
produced in the direction of improvement, and it is no 
longer a dogma that the sugar cane produces no fertile 
seed, though the fact remains that the plant produces 
very little, and the seedlings are extremely fragile in 
their early stages.— S. J. Mclntire. 
--**>$««- 
TRUCK-GARDENING IN CALI¬ 
FORNIA. 
A TRUCK-FARMER near Oroville has lately printed a 
statement of his operations. He employs fourteen men 
on forty acres, planted in orchard and vegetables. 
The crop of 1S89 was as follows : 
“Reaches, 80 tons ; Apples, 12 tons ; Pears, 3 tons ; 
Apricots, 10 tons ; Nectarines, 10 tons ; Plums, 4 tons; 
Blackberries, 10 tons ; Raspberries, 14 tons ; Straw¬ 
berries, 2h tons ; Grapes, 20 tons ; Quinces, 24 tons ; 
Cherries, 2 tons; Figs, 1 ton ; Potatos, 30 tons ; 
Onions, 25 tons ; Cabbage, 20 tons ; Cauliflower, 14 
tons ; Carrots, 5 tons ; Parsnips, 5 tons ; Beets, 3 tons ; 
Sweet Potatos, 4 tons; Water Melons, 100 tons ; 
Musk Melons, 25 tons ; Cucumbers, 24 tons ; Peas, 
3 tons ; Beans, 4 tons ; Turnips, 7 tons ; Rutabagas, 
2 tons ; Green Corn, 10 tons ; Squash and Pumpkins, 
4 tons ; Tomatos, 40 tons ; Green Peppers and Okra, 
J ton; Lettuce, Spinach, Radishes, Celery, Asparagus, 
and Artichokes, 10 tons in all. 
The most noted truck-gardening ever done in Cali¬ 
fornia was in pioneer days, when one man made 840,000 
in one season out of Water Melons, and another cleared 
8160,000 on Potatos, Corn, Beans, Cabbages, &c., which 
brought enormous prices in the mines. Potatos being 
worth S50 a sack, every valley farmer planted them the 
next year, and thousands of sackfuls rotted in the 
field, not being worth the digging. The largest crops 
of Potatos now grown in California come from the 
reclaimed tule lands. The best in point of quality are 
from the rich mountain valleys. As high as 250 sacks, 
weighing about 13 tons, are sometimes obtained 
from an acre. In Humboldt County, last year, 490 tons 
were dug from forty-five acres of bottom land that had 
not been cropped for years, and had never received any 
fertilizers whatever. The Colorado Potato-beetle has 
never been seen in California, and Potato rot is extremely 
rare. The only disease known, and that at long 
intervals and on limited areas, is the Potato blight. 
Of late years, the “early districts ” are being planted 
extensively to “new Potatos,” which are more and 
more in demand. In Alameda County, last year, a 
Portuguese truck-farmer rented hill land at 85 an acre, 
and cleared, I am told, 8200 an acre in “ early Potatos.” 
The experiment of shipping to New York will probably 
be tried next year. 
Beans are becoming one of the most notable of 
California crops. It takes 1,400 freight cars to carry 
the Bean surplus east, and the State undoubtedly 
leads all others in the Union, not merely in the famous 
Lima Bean, but in all other kinds also. The “Bean- 
belt ” begins in the warmer portions of Alameda and 
Santa Clara, and becomes important in Monterey ; but 
San Luis Obispo, Yentura and Santa Barbara are the 
centres of the industry. The total Bean output of the 
State is about 40,000,000 lbs., worth fully a million 
dollars in the field. The requisites of a Bean farm are 
a rich soil, and a climate that ripens the Beans up 
evenly, so as to get the largest possible crop. Lima 
Beans last year paid the grower from slOO to 8250 
per acre, and as a Santa Paula correspondent recently 
wrote of the Yentura country : “ Bean planters, Bean 
hoes, Bean cutters, Bean pullers, Bean threshers, Bean 
cleaners, Bean buyers, Bean experts. Bean agents, and 
Bean patch mashers —mighty is Bean down this way ! 
The Bean industry in this section has reached pro¬ 
portions little expected a few years ago, and to-day 
your correspondent finds families comfortably situated 
and well-to-do, who came here only yesterday, as it 
were, flat broke, and they have demonstrated that any 
industrious family can ‘ get -there ’ on a small farm by 
cultivating Beans.”— American Garden. 
-- 
ON THE CULTIVATED RACES 
OF THE CABBAGE. 
The number of species of Brassica, including Cabbages, 
Mustard, and Turnips, varies, according to different 
authors, from SO to 150. It will be sufficient for 
present purposes to confine my remarks entirely to the 
Wild Cabbage, Brassica oleracea, and its cultivated 
forms or races which have been innumerable for ages 
past. The name “ Cabbage ” is derived from the Latin 
caput, the head, and referred more particularly to 
the close or round-headed Cabbage than any other 
form, although now used in a general sense. The 
French Chou, and Chou Cabus, show the intermediate 
’’forms between the Latin caput, and the English 
word, Cabbage. All authors are agreed that it 
is a native of the western and southern coasts 
of Europe, but of its origin as a cultivated plant 
there seems to be no record. Habitats in the British 
Isles are the sea cliffs of Kent, Cornwall, Wales, 
and Ireland ; Yorkshire is also mentioned by M. 
de Candolle. I have specimens collected on the 
coasts of Kent and Pembroke. Brassica is the old 
Latin name, and is derived from brcsic, the Celtic for 
Cabbage, and oleracea refers to the extraction of oil 
from the seeds of some varieties, although several 
others of the Crucifers are more important in this 
respect. The Cabbage was a culinary vegetable of 
high repute amongst the Romans, and it is not impro¬ 
bable that they introduced its cultivation amongst the 
inhabitants of those countries which they conquered, 
including the ancient Britons. This probably occurred 
before the dawn of the Christian era. There is some 
plausibility in this supposition, from the fact that many 
of the commonest names now in use came directly or 
indirectly from the Latin. The words Cole, Colewort, 
vulgarly termed Collard ; Kail, Kale, Borecole, Cauli¬ 
flower, and probably Broccoli as well as Kohl-Rabi all 
contain the root of the Latin caulis, a stem, in reference 
to the most characteristic feature of the open-headed 
Cabbages, namely, their tall stout stem. The French 
Cavalier or Tall Cabbage, and the Anglo-Saxon cal 
and cawl, as well as the Danish and Icelandic fcaal, 
the Spanish col, the kohl of the Germans, and the 
Jcool of the Dutch, all come from caulis, a stem. The 
cultivated Cabbages I shall classify under five different 
forms or races. 
Opek-heajded Cabbages (Brassica oleracea acephala). 
The varieties to be grouped under this name are very 
numerous, but much less so than the names applied to 
them. Kale and Borecole are general names that may 
be applied to the whole of them. The Thousand- 
headed Cabbage or Branching Kale (B. o. acephala 
ramosa) differs chiefly from the wild Cabbage in its 
more robust and branching habit. It is grown chiefly 
for sheep and cattle, but the tender side shoots are 
good when cooked, and the variety might therefore be 
grown to advantage by cottagers. The same might be 
