132 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 31, 1891. 
TRADE CULTURE OF 
PALMS. 
A Hint to European Growers. 
In an interview with a representative of The 
American Florist, Mr. Robert Craig, of Philadelphia, 
is reported to have said :—“ We have adopted a new 
method of Palm growing. We find that planted out 
on the benches from thumb pots they grow as fast 
again as when kept constantly in pots. We got the 
idea from Belgium, where some of the largest growers 
are doing it entirely this way. We all know the 
difference in growth of Roses or Chrysanthemums 
when planted out as compared with those growm in 
pots, and I find that with Kentias and other Palms 
the difference is fully as great. When the plants are 
large enough we put them in 5-in. pots, and they do 
not suffer in the least from the lifting. Our Phila¬ 
delphia Palm growers are coming to the conclusion 
that we cannot in the future profitably import Palms 
from Europe. The plants they send over here are 
badly drawn up. They should be given more room 
from their earliest stages until sold. Dealers over 
there seem to think that anything is good enough for 
us, but their stuff is not well enough grown for the 
American trade. We have all had enough of it, and 
we have about done importing. 
“ The same story applies to Araucarias. We have 
a lot of Araucaria excelsa that were recently imported. 
They are all seedlings, and consequently imperfect 
and irregular at the bottom. Over there they could 
not sell such plants, but they expect us to be satis¬ 
fied with them. We shall soon grow our own. This 
will open up a new field, and American florists will 
soon find that home-grown plants will do better every 
time than imported ones. If some enterprising seeds¬ 
men will undertake to supply us with first-class fresh 
Palm and Araucaria seed we will support them 
heartily, and they will find a good demand. Foreign 
houses which are now loading up with Palms for the 
American trade will certainly be disappointed. It 
should be generally known that Araucaria seed to be 
good should be imported only in cones. They come 
from Australia and the adjacent islands, and if 
shelled out they dry up too much and will not ger¬ 
minate.” 
AN AYRSHIRE GARDEN. 
Seafield, the residence of Sir William Arrol, of 
Forth Bridge fame, is situated in close proximity to 
the town of ” Auld Ayr.” Although it is only a few 
years since Sir William became proprietor of this fine 
old place, great improvements have already been 
effected. A new and elegant mansion has been built, 
together with a spacious conservatory adjoining it. 
The lawn is of considerable extent, and is maintained 
in the best of order. The planting of trees and 
shrubs has also been proceeded with, and in this 
work free use of Picea Nordmanniana has been 
made, but the cultivation of most trees and shrubs in 
this locality is often attended with but indifferent 
success, owing to the light sandy nature of the soil, 
and also to the injurious effects of the sea-spray 
which is frequently driven in upon them. 
My attention was specially directed, on a recent 
visit, to a couple of fine specimens of Auracaria 
imbricata in a sheltered position, one of which is 
said to have been the first specimen in Scotland to 
produce cones, and on which several were seen at the 
time of my visit on the 29th September. 
Turning to the glass department the conservatory, 
as before stated, is a spacious structure, octagon in 
form. It is devoid of stages, theplants being plunged 
in their pots in the borders and beds constructed on 
the floor. The two large beds forming the centre of 
the house are occupied principally with foliage 
plants, such as Tree Ferns, Palms and Dracaenas, a 
very noticeable plant among the latter being one of 
D. Veitchii. The narrow border round the side was 
still gay with Pelargoniums and Begonias, and other 
mixed subjects, all of which indicated high culture. 
A beautiful fountain occupied a position in the 
centre, and the structure is lighted with the electric 
1 ght when required. 
Proceeding to the frame ground busy hands were 
seen to be engaged in plunging a portion of a large 
consignment of Dutch Bulbs which had just been 
potted. A number of frames were well occupied with 
healthy batches of Primulas, Cyclamens and Ciner¬ 
arias, while in an enclosed yard an extensive stock of 
Chrysanthemums, vigorous and well-clothed with 
green foliage, and a number of them bristling 
with flower buds, were shortly to be drafted to the 
conservatory. 
On entering the kitchen garden I was much grati¬ 
fied to see such a fine display of Dahlias, including 
the large flowering Pompon and Cactus sections. 
In the herbaceous borders a number of clumps of 
Michaelmas Daisies were an interesting feature— 
some of them, and in particular Aster Ammellus 
Bessarabica, presented a large and compact surface 
of infloresence. Grape culture at present is on a 
limited scale, but I was informed that the erection of 
a new range for the above purpose is in contempla¬ 
tion. In the present houses the early Grapes were 
all cut, but a nice crop of Lady Downes’ Seedling 
was hanging in the late vinery. In another house 
which we entered Tomatos were trained over the 
roof, and were carrying a good crop of fruits, while 
on a stage I noticed a very fine lot of Azaleas, which, 
together with a line of grand plants of Rhododendron 
Nobleanum, planted out of doors, will do much to 
enrich the conservatory display later on. 
On leaving the garden I observed a Clematis 
Jackmannii, covering a considerable portion of the 
north aspect of the wall, and which was literally 
covered with flowers. Much credit is due to the 
spirited proprietor of this beautiful domain, and also 
to his energetic gardener, Mr. McArtney, for the per¬ 
fect order observable in every department.— D. M. 
- ^ 
THE POTATO DISEASE. 
The results of the experiments with the Bordeaux 
mixture made by Messrs. Robert Veitch & Son, of 
Exeter, as recently recorded in our columns—so 
different as they were to those made by the Messrs. 
Sutton-—being decidedly in favour of the French 
remedy, the question arose as to whether any traces 
of the salts of copper were left in the tubers, in 
sufficient quantity to affect them for table use. 
To set this matter at rest the Messrs. Veitch had 
some of the tubers cooked, and they proved excellent 
in every way, being all that could be desired as 
regards flavour. They also submitted samples for 
analysis to Mr. Bernard Dyer, the Analyst to the 
Devon County Agricultural Society, whose report is 
so satisfactory that we have much pleasure in giving 
it wide publicity. 
Laboratory, 
17, Great Tower Street, E.C., 
ijth October, 1891. 
Messrs. Robert Veitch & Son, Exeter. 
Dear Sirs,—I have carefully tested the Potatos you 
sent me, for copper. Practically speaking, they are 
free from copper, that is to say, there is less than 
one-hundredth of a grain of copper in 1 lb. of Potatos. 
Since I find practically the same quantity in both sets 
of Potatos, viz., both in the dressed and in the 
undressed ones, it appears clear that the small trace 
that is to be detected must be regarded as normal to 
Potatos grown in this field, and not as due to the 
dressing.' But, even if it were, the quantity is to be 
regarded as infinitessimal. 
Yours faithfully, 
Bernard Dyer. 
DULWICH PARK 
About three years ago, or even more recently, this 
park was simply a piece of waste ground, and 
although it might have been looked upon as an open 
space with a few large trees in it, yet from a public 
point of view it was simply a waste, calling for redress. 
Last year it was opened to the public, after being 
tastefully laid out. The park consists of an oblong 
piece of ground, almost a parallelogram, occupying 
a vale or hollow, on either side of which the ground 
gently rises. There are large iron gates at either 
end, connected by a broad walk or roadway along 
the centre, and around one side by which light 
vehicles conveying sightseers may drive through the 
whole length of the park. At one end is a pond or 
lake with a waterfall, close by which is a rustic and 
somewhat picturesque bridge, having the appearance 
of being several years old. 
On the rising ground on either side of the walks 
are broad banks of shrubbery including Rhododen¬ 
drons. which, of course, are only beginning to get 
established. The herbaceous plants in front of them 
add considerably to the appearance of the whole ; 
and at present the most conspicuous of them are the 
perennial Asters or Michaelmas Daisies. The finer 
forms of A. Novi-Belgii are very numerous, and their 
varied tints of light blue are attractive by reason of 
the size and great number of the flower iheadg, 
Novae-Angliae and its forms are also useful and con¬ 
spicuous subjects for the margins of shrubberies in 
public parks, more especially if by reason of their 
height the flowering branches just overtop the shrubs 
around and behind them. 
The ground widens somewhat at one end of the 
park, and the broad pathway leads round a large 
central mass of Rhododendrons edged with dwarf 
Chinese Roses of various colours. They well merit 
the name of Monthly Roses applied to them by 
various cultivators, both here and on the Continent, 
for they flower not only monthly but almost continu¬ 
ously till cut down by frost or rendered leafless. 
At present they are so floriferous as to be noticeable 
from a considerable distance. 
-■*-- 
LATE GRAPES. 
The following method may be practised in growing 
and keeping late Grapes with a certainty of success. 
After the vines have been pruned let the house be 
properly cleaned out—the walls whitewashed with 
hot lime, the woodwork and glass washed with soap 
and water, and the vines, after taking off any loose 
bark, washed with a mixture of soft soap, sulphur, 
and tobacco-water. The borders should be carefully 
forked up, and then spread on the surface some old 
lime rubbish and burnt vegetable ashes or charcoal, 
a sprinkling of crushed bones, and a coat of well- 
decayed cow manure two inches thick, covered in with 
one inch of good fibrous loam. 
The outside border should also be covered with 
six inches of manure with the litter on the top, for 
the complete exclusion of frost. About the first 
week in March the vinery may be regularly heated, 
starting at a temperature of 48° to 50° for the first 
week, and not exceeding 55 0 until every bud in the 
house has begun to swell. From the time the house 
is first shut up, the syringe should be freely used 
twice a day, say by eight o’clock in the morning and 
again when the house is closed in the afternoon. The 
stems and larger branches should be well moistened, 
by which means the bark will be softened and the 
rise of the sap facilitated. After the buds have begun 
to push freely, the temperature should be raised a 
few degrees at a time until it reaches 65° by night. 
It is most necessary to have a change of air daily, 
and it should be admitted freely, according to the 
state of the weather ; this will strengthen the young 
buds as they are developed, and keep the house at 
an equable temperature. 
As soon as the vines come into bloom the tem¬ 
perature should be increased, and the syringing of 
the leaves abandoned, but continue to damp the 
house thoroughly, keeping it in a moist rather than 
a dry state. The inside borders should be supplied with 
plenty of water, with liquid manure occasionally, or a 
sprinkling of guano on the border before watering. 
If dry weather should prevail in summer the outside 
border will require one or two good waterings. The 
bunches require to be well thinned, and care should 
be taken to cut the stalks quite close, for if left in 
the bunch they become hard like wire, and when 
the berries are quite ripe they will penetrate the skin 
and cause decay. Manure water may be used occa¬ 
sionally to damp the house in the afternoons during 
the time the berries are swelling. 
After the Grapes begin to colour as much air as 
possible should be admitted into the house, keeping 
a little on all night. The inside border should have 
a good watering, as it should be withheld after this 
time. As soon as the Grapes are quite ripe the 
night temperature should be lowered to 50° by night 
till the leaves ripen, then it should be kept regular, 
as near 45 0 as possible. The inside borders should be 
covered with mats, and keep the house closed during 
damp weather. Mats should be fastened to the 
rafters outside the glass over part of the house ; if a 
span-roof running north to south, the west side and 
end facing south should be fastened up. Towards 
the end of February the Grapes should be cut, cut¬ 
ting part of the branch with the bunch on, and taken 
to the Grape room, and the end of the branches 
stuck in bottles, or what is better troughs filled with 
water two or three inches deep by four wide, with a 
piece of thick wire from end to end along the centre. 
A few pieces of charcoal should be put in the water. 
The branches can be stuck under the wire into the 
water, the bunches to hang over the side of the 
trough. I have seen Grapes hanging in this way at 
the end of April quite firm, and looking as fresh as 
t}iey did in October.—^. W., CHetton. e .■’ I 
