262 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
.December 27, 1890. 
adhering to it, but care was taken not to peel or skin 
the rods, merely the loose bark being rubbed off with 
the hand. This finished, they were dressed with 
Gishurst Compound, using it the full strength recom¬ 
mended for winter dressing, well brushing it in round 
the spurs, where the bugs congregate in numbers. 
When finished the Vines were left for a few days to 
dry, after which they received the final and principal 
dressing of gas-tar mixture, which had been pre¬ 
viously prepared as follows :—Small lumps of clay had 
been placed on a hot flue to bake ; this was after¬ 
wards pounded, and to a quart of this powder was 
added a quart of gas-tar, the whole being thoroughly 
mixed, and using a little more or a little of each, as 
the case might be, to bring it to the consistency of paint. 
The above mixture is best applied with a stumpy or 
two-thirds worn-down paint brush. To facilitate the 
working of the mixture, the vessel in which it is may 
be placed in a pail of hot water, but care should be 
taken that it acquires only a degree of warmth. Of 
course, the dry soil of the border also serves as a 
lurking place for the enemy, and should therefore 
have 1 in. or 2 ins. deep of the surface cleaned away, 
particularly next the walls, and these latter washed 
with strong lime-wash. 
After all has been done, and the greatest care exer¬ 
cised in the dressing of the Vines, a few bugs will be 
sure to have escaped, and when the Vines begin to 
swell, and the bark cracks open, out they will come 
and begin to cover the Vines with fresh colonies the 
next season. A sharp look-out should therefore be 
kept the whole season through, and every bug as it 
emerges from its hiding place must be pounced upon 
and destroyed. 
I have adopted and carried out the above measures 
for five consecutive seasons, and our Vines are now 
perfectly free from the pest. I can therefore 
strongly recommend the adoption of the same measures 
to “ One in a Difficulty,” and if he will only persevere 
with them for a few seasons, I can guarantee him the 
same freedom from this troublesome and annoying pest 
as we now rejoice in. 
Of course great care and discrimination must be 
exercised as to what plants are admitted into the 
vineries. The bug must have come from somewhere 
before it got on the Vines, and pot-plants are mostly 
the medium of its introduction there.— J. Kipling, 
Knebworth. 
-—-— 
NOT BEEP, BUT NUTS. 
1 think we are all wrong. Just at Christmas time, 
when we are all reckoning on feeding upon roast beef, 
turkey, sausage, and other flesh meats, doing due 
honour to the season in this way, and supplying the 
system with something calculated to fortify oneself 
against the old-fashioned Christmas weather we are 
passing through, there comes an entreaty from the Vege¬ 
tarian Society, which it must be admitted furthers the 
interest of gardeners, in beseeching us to give up our 
meat diet—beef, pudding, turkey, and all the good 
things—and go in for a fruit diet, andjespecially Nuts ! ' 
By so doing, it is said the greatest enjoyment may 
be got at a total cost of from 6 d. to Is. per head per 
day—say spending id. on fresh and dried fruits, and 
id. on nuts and cheese or milk. Of dried fruits—Figs, 
Dates, dried Plums, Raisins, Valencias, Dried Bananas, 
and Tamarinds, with Nuts, canned fruits, condensed 
milk, best Olive-oil, and such green fruits as can be 
had. Fancy asking one’s mother-in-law to dinner on 
Christmas Day with only such fare as the foregoing, 
giving her a nip of Olive-oil to keep out the cold, 
instead of the creamy gin of which the dear old lady 
is so fond ! 
We are told that all Nuts are very hearty concen¬ 
trated foods, and when taken without grain or starchy 
dishes, or bread, Nuts soon become easily digested. No 
old vintage port to wash the particles down the gullet; 
only Nuts and—nothing more ! If the teeth be bad, 
ground Cocoa-nut or Almond can be bought, or a bread- 
grater will grain a Cocoa-nut in a few minutes. The 
dried sweet fruits are far more nourishing than either 
bread, meat, or vegetables. From 12 oz. to 16 ozs. of 
dry food are needful daily to sustain nature. This 
can be done if one assimilates £ lb. of shelled Nuts, 
J lb. of any dried fruit, and 3 lbs. to 4 lbs. of ripe 
fruit, which would make an ample day’s bill of fare. 
After we get used to raw sweet foods, the dried fruits 
can be dispensed with in summer. The compiler of 
this adds : “ The foods can be divided into two or three 
meals. I prefer two, with \ lb. of fresh fruit, pre¬ 
ferably ripe, and 1 doz. "Walnuts between. At first 
starting, three or four meals may be better.” 
And how long may it take for any one who gives up 
a carnivorous fare to get accustomed to such a fruit 
diet: “It may take six months for most people to 
become thoroughly used to a fruit diet after so many 
ages of reckless living by our race. In the first stage 
using bread (or a little lean meat) once daily, and all 
foods cold : in the second using animal products— 
eggs, milk, or cheese, in moderation, with fruits and 
Nuts only : and in the third, when not overworked, in 
good health, and living under natural conditions, the 
fruit and Nuts alone, raw and full} 7 matured, will suffice 
for the most perfect health, strength, and enjoyment. 
All should strive to attain to these last conditions at 
once, as closely as possible.’’ 
And so farewell, all we have deemed essential—beef, 
mutton, soups, beer, wine, spirits, &c. ! With the 
thermometer showing 16° of frost, and a thick snow 
lying on the ground, one more Christmas Day after 
the old style, and then--!— Quis. 
-•**«-- 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 
The following arrangements have been made for next 
year’s meetings and lectures :— 
January 13th.—“Persian Cyclamen,” Mr. W. Warren. 
“ Hardy Cyclamen,” Rev. W. Wilks, M.A. 
February 10th.—Annual General Meeting at 117, 
Victoria Street, S.W. 
March 10th .—“ Snowdrops,” Mr. Janies Allen ; Mr. F. 
W. Burbidge, F.L.S. 
March 24th.—“The Cultivation of Hardy Bulbs and 
Plants,” Herr Max Leichtlin. 
April 14th.—“ Lachenalias,” Mr. F. W. Moore. Ex¬ 
hibition of Daffodils. 
April 21st.—“Cape Bulbs,” Mr. James O’Brien. 
Primula and Auricula Society’s Show. 
May 12th.—“Hybrid Rhododendrons,” Rev. Prof. 
Henslow, M.A., F.L.S. 
May 27th and 2Sth.—Great Show in the Inner Temple 
Gardens. 
June 9th.—“Alpine Plants,”Rev. C. Wolley-Dod, M.A. 
June 23rd.—“Tea Roses,” Mr. T. W. Girdlestone. 
National Rose Society’s First Show. Exhibition of 
Herbaceous Preonies. 
July 7th.—At Chiswick. Conference and Exhibition 
of Hardy Summer Perennials. 
July 8th.—At Chiswick. Conference and Exhibition 
of Varieties of Strawberries, Raspberries, Currants, 
and other Small Fruits, 
July 21st.—“ Early Peaches,” Mr. T. Francis Rivers. 
Carnation and I’icotee Society’s Exhibition. 
August 11th. “ Ornamental Stove and Greenhouse 
Plants,” Mr. J. Hudson. 
August 25th.—“Gladiolus,” Rev. H. H. D’Ombrain, 
M.A. Exhibition of Gladiolus. 
September 8th.—“Hardy Water and Bog Plants,”Mr. 
Geo. Paul. 
September 22nd.—“ Insect-Eating Plants—Nepenthes, 
Dionreas, Sarracenias, &c.,” Mr. R. Lindsay ; Mr. 
Lewis Castle. 
October 6th.—At Chiswick. Conference and Ex¬ 
hibition of Perennial Sunflowers and Michaelmas 
Daisies (Asters). 
October 7th.—At Chiswick. Conference and Exhibition 
of Conifers. 
October 27th. — “ Autumn Tints,” Mr. Harry J.Veitch 
November 10th.—“ Varieties of Soils,” Mr. W. Ingram 
December 8th,—“ Christmas Roses—Hellebores,” Rev. 
Canon Ellacombe, M.A. 
-- 
PARSLEY. 
We learn from the Folk-Lore Record that a gentleman 
living near Southampton told his gardener to sow some 
Parsley seed. The man, however, refused, saying it 
would be a bad day’s work to him if ever he brought 
Parsley seed to his house. He said that he would not 
mind bringing a plant or two, and throwing them 
down that his master might pick them up if he chose, 
but he would not bring them to him for anything. It 
was certainly a concession on the part of the gardener 
even to offer to bring some plants for his master’s use, 
seeing that it is quite as unlucky to move Parsley as it 
is to sow it. At Devonshire a dozen or so years ago it 
was stated that the clerk of a certain parish had been 
bed-ridden ever since the Parsley-mores (roots) were 
moved—a solemn warning to all never to interfere with 
the plant again. 
It is not difficult to trace the origin of this super¬ 
stitious veneration. The Greeks held Parsley in great 
reputation. Hercules is said to have selected Parsley 
to form the first garlands he wove. A crown of dried 
and withered Parsley was given to the victor at the 
Isthmian games in memory of the death of Archemorus, 
the infant son of Lycurgus, who, laid down by his 
nurse on a sprig of Parsley, was killed by a serpent. 
Parsley was in great request for decorating graves, 
and the Greeks were fond of strewing sprigs of the herb 
over the bodies of the dead. From these funereal and 
other associations the herb acquired an ominous 
significance ; and “ to be in need of Parsley” was a 
proverbial expression meaning to be on the point of 
death. 
In our own country to this day there is an old 
saying among the people of Surrey and Middlesex that 
“ where Parsley’s grown in the garden there’ll be a 
death before the year’s out.” The foregoing are but a 
few of the instances showing how a superstitious 
feeling has become associated with this homely and 
useful plant. To transplant it is held to be an offence 
to the spirit which is supposed to preside over Parsley 
beds, and entailing sure punishment either on the 
offender himself or some member of his family within 
a year. And this same feeling prevails among the 
negroes of the southern States of America, who consider 
it unlucky to transplant Parsley from an old home to 
a new one. The peasants of South Hampshire will on 
no account give away Parsley for fear of misfortune 
befalling them ; and in Suffolk there is an old belief 
that to ensure the herb coming up “double” Parsley 
seed must be sown on Good Friday. 
The common Parsley is Petroselinum sativum, and 
a well-known pot-herb. In the culinary department 
it is employed for garnishing dishes, for seasoning 
stuffings, soups, &c., and is the more valuable 
in proportion to the doubleness and curl or confusion 
of the leaf. It is not to be doubted that the 
most poor-looking Parsley that can be grown is pro¬ 
bably as good in flavour as that which is the most 
curled, but for garnishing it would be worse than use¬ 
less, because it would appear mean and ugly. The 
plain-leaved Parsley, from which have been derived 
the handsome curled-leaved types now found in gardens, 
is a native of Sardinia, from whence it was generally 
supposed it was brought to England about the middle 
of the sixteenth century. Parsley has been supposed 
to be an effectual cure for the rot in sheep, provided it 
be given to them in sufficient quantities. Attempts 
were made some years ago to promote its extensive 
culture in fields for this purpose, under the auspices of 
the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. It is 
said that this specific was tried in Hampshire with 
success, and Mortimer mentions the cultivation of 
Parsley, as a remedy against this destructive disease, 
being practised in (Buckinghamshire. Cattle, sheep, 
and horses are very fond of it, and it is said to impart 
to the flesh of sheep a very agreeable flavour. The 
seeds are sometimes sown in mixtures of grass seeds for 
permanent pastures where sheep are grazed. Hares 
and rabbits, we are told, will come for a great distance 
in order to indulge their taste for Parsley, and in 
countries where these animals abound, in no situation 
does their favourite herb escape from their depredations 
unless securely fenced. 
Enormous quantities of Parsley are grown in Bed¬ 
fordshire for market purposes, and it is packed in 
crates, and sent to Scotland and other places in the 
north as well as to London. The market gardeners 
treat the plants much the same as a farmer would 
Sainfoin, and though Parsley is practically a biennial, 
they make a perennial of it by carefully picking the 
flowering stems, and so turn the capacities of the plant 
to the production of leaves. They may be said to get 
their plants to their prime condition in three or four 
years, and the beds will last for five and six years. 
Parsley will grow in any good garden soil ; a good 
deep loam suits it well, and previous to sowing, the 
ground should be well manured. Some years ago 
a disease settled down upon the plantations of Parsley 
grown by the market gardeners round London, and killed 
the plants wholesale. It is now quite stamped out, 
measures having been taken to rid the soil of the fungus 
spores, which caused so much mischief. During a 
mild winter Parsley is plentiful, but frost and snow 
damage the crop considerably, and a great advance in 
price results with anything like an appearance of 
scarcity. 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons, in their excellent book on the 
Culture of Vegetables, say that “Parsley will teach 
those who have eyes exactly how it should be grown. 
There will appear here, there, and elsewhere in a 
garden stray or rogue Parsley plants. No matter how 
regularly the work of hoeing and weeding may be done, 
a stray Parsley plant will appear all alone, perhaps in 
the midst of Lettuces, or Cauliflowers, or Onion. When 
these rogues escape destruction, they become mag¬ 
nificent plants, and the prudent gardener leaves them 
