262 
3THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 26, 1891. 
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
Brussels Sprouts. 
Although I have picked many fair crops of useful 
Sprouts from spring sown plants raised in the open 
without protection, yet they were rarely so early, 
firm, and abundant as those from seed sown early in 
February under glass, then pricked off and grown 
on for several weeks under the influence of plenty of 
light and air. If the plants are pricked out in 
frames, the sashes should be removed as soon as 
free growth is apparent, and, if started in boxes 
placed in other cool structures, we afterwards turn 
them out at the foot of a wall or other place of 
shelter, where wire netting is placed over them for a 
time to ward off tresspaiing cats or other possible 
accidents. Here they must be well attended to with 
water, otherwise valuable time and labour already 
expended on them may be lost. Our earliest breadth 
of plants thus raised last spring were planted out 
with balls of soil about the middle of May, and, 
despite the untoward weather which has intervened, 
the crop in every respect has been perhaps the best 
we ever gathered. 
Successional plantations are fairly serviceable 
from seed sown in the open, but a batch of 200 
bought in plants, which we expected to come in 
autumn, sown early were very disappointing, fully 
50 per cent, of them having bolted. The remainder 
of them are bearing firm, if not very large Sprouts, 
which will afford a useful supply for a few weeks 
later in the season.— D. M., Ayrshire. 
Broccoli. 
A breadth of Sutton's Winter Mammoth was 
planted at the same time as our earliest Brussels 
Sprouts, the plants being raised in the same manner 
and which have rendered us good service. 
Some of the leading authorities on vegetable culture 
have indicated their approval of the practice of 
trenching the ground preparatory to the planting of 
Broccoli, but one of the most notable cultivators in 
the United Kingdom has recorded a contrary system 
as preferable and also productive of highly satis¬ 
factory results, His method consisted in making 
holes with a crowbar on land which had not been 
wrought with a spade for a considerable time pre¬ 
viously, and inserting the plants therein without fur¬ 
ther preparation than possibly a thorough hoeing. 
We adopt the system annually of planting our crops 
for spring cutting on ground from which some other 
crop has been newly cleared without digging, being 
of the opinion that the plants are safer during severe 
frost than if growing in comparatively loose soil. 
The position which plantations occupy is also im¬ 
portant. While a large percentage of plants on a 
south aspect were destroyed by last year's frost, a 
plantation occupying an eastern aspect, and shaded 
before midday by an adjacent tall plantation of 
trees, entirely escaped, and rendered us good service 
late in the spring. The action of strong sunshine on 
plants which have been frozen the previous night 
generally puts an end to them.— D. M., Ayrshire. 
THE TOMATO. 
The following remarks are condensed from a paper 
read by Mr. W. Rowland, at the meeting of the Exeter 
Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Association, on the 
16th inst.—" I intend, in this short paper, to give my 
own personal experience, both with regard to my 
successes and failures. It is well known in the fruit 
department a failure with the Grape crop is about the 
worst thing that can happen to a gardener ; the same I 
think can be said in the vegetable department with 
regard to the Tomato. One stands in amazement 
when he thinks of the rapid strides this vegetable has 
made in public estimation; forty years ago it was 
practically unknown to the general public, and plants 
were only to be found in a few private gardens, where, 
as a rule, they were grown as much for their orna¬ 
mental nature as for their use. Now every one knows 
the difference. The first Tomato plant I ever re¬ 
member seeing was growing uncared for in the moist 
bottom of a gravel pit. Apparently the seed had 
been carried there by a bird in the same manner as 
we see the Gooseberry bushes growing practically 
wild in the woods. I remember the plant had a 
splendid crop of fruit, also the first impression I had 
on tasting the fruit. Since I have become better 
acquainted with this plant the remembrance of see¬ 
ing it growing in such poor soil has shaped my own 
mode of cultivation to a certain extent. 
“Now I will try to explain my mode of treatment 
year by year, since I have taken a special interest in 
them, giving both the good and the bad results. 
About six years ago Mr. Brock had erected a span- 
roof house, and the thought struck me it would be a 
capital house for Tomatos. The house is 8 ft. high, 
with a 3 ft. path in the centre, and abed on each side 
4 ft. wide. The beds are not heated, but were filled 
up to within a foot of the top with soil that was taken 
out of the path. Having procured plants of the old 
large red variety and potted them in 5-in. pots and 
placed the pots on about 2 ins. of ashes in a line 
about 18 ins. apart, I covered the pots with a ridge 
of loam, top-dressing with loam. The result exceeded 
my most sanguine expectations. The plants began 
to fruit so low on the plant that they rested on the 
ground. As the fruit began to swell, I gave them 
plenty of liquid manure, the result being very little 
foliage to cut away and plenty of good fruit. For 
two years I kept to the plunging-in-pot system and 
had good results. I may add that I kept to the large 
red, selecting the best fruit for seed. After this the 
large red variety began to get too common, and I 
started with other sorts. At the same time I gave 
up the plunging-out system and planted out in the 
usual way. The result was that the plants grew so 
rapidly and made so much gross wood that I had to 
stop the copious waterings I had been in the habit 
of giving. Then it was I first became acquainted 
with the Tomato disease, which made its appearance 
directly I stopped the water supply. For the first 
time Tomato growing was a failure. 
“The following year I tried the planting out 
system ; again failure was the result. In the begin¬ 
ning of this year I thought failure the third time 
would never do. I must return to my first plan. So I 
started very carefully with four sorts, including Sut- 
ton’sEarliest of All,which I find very much like the old 
large red, Hathaway’s Excelsior, Dedham Favourite 
and a very fine variety I had from Winslade. Instead 
of one row of plants in each bed I planted two, taking 
care to plant the bed the north side of the house first, 
so that the plants gained the full light from the south, 
side. Atterwards I planted, or, rather, plunged out 
the pots on the south side of the house, taking care 
not to let the plants starve before plunging out. 
The thought of the dreadful Tomato disease came 
over me, so I determined to be very careful in airing. 
In fact, I left the ventilator open day and night; at 
night about £ in. at top, and the same at the sides, 
so that the air was kept fresh and moving. The 
plants started capitally, and began to set freely at the 
base. When the fruit got the size of marbles I began to 
feed and water freely. I also top-dressed, to make 
the soil level between ridge and ridge. The first 
manuring I gave was one of native guano, which I 
.scattered plentifully between the plants; then with 
the hose I gave them a perfect deluge of water. The 
next time I used Thomson’s vine manure, well drench¬ 
ing it in. The third and last manure I used was 
Peruvian guano, which I sprinkled about in the same 
manner as the other manures, but taking the pre¬ 
caution to have the hose running at the same time to 
prevent the guano burning the roots, which were by 
this time running luxuriantly. A friend coming in at 
the time exclaimed that I had ruined the house of 
plants, as all the roots must perish. Result—a better 
house of Tomatos I never saw, and all free from 
disease. 
“ Keep the plants in a perfect state of health by 
carefully looking after the airing and watering. 
Wherever the shutting up system is practised then the 
disease is invariably present, and since I have left 
the ventilators open a little night and day I have had 
no disease. 
“ My experience in open-air culture has not been 
great. Several years I planted out, but, I think owing 
to the lightness of our soil, I could do nothing with 
them. This year, for the first time, I tried plunging 
out in pots. The result was that I cut from the 
open by the middle of August and had a succession 
till October, not cutting a single Tomato :o ripen in 
heat, as many have done this sunless summer.” 
In the discussion which followed, Mr. Lansdale 
said he had tried a good many varieties of Tomatos 
for outdoor growing, but had always found the best 
to be “ The Challenger," which he had from 
Messrs. Veitch,—Mr. G. C. Crabbe endorsed Mr. 
Lansdale's remarks as to “ The Challenger ” variety. 
—Mr. Ebbutt (Winslade Gardens) said whatever 
variety of Tomato they grew the principal thing they 
would want was a firm, strong loam to grow them 
in. With regard to disease he said he believed it 
generally came from indifferent management. As 
to water and temperature, he believed they could 
deluge Tomatos and get fine fruit as long as they 
had a good firm soil to start with. The temperature 
should not be less than 50 0 , and should be between 
that and 6o°.—Mr. A. George (of Heavitree, and 
late of Bicton Gardens) said by growing the plants 
in 10-in. pots and placing these on a hard surface 
they would get sure growth.—Mr. P. C. M. Veitch 
spoke as to the cultivation of outdoor Tomatos. 
His method was to pot them hard from the first, 
and when they were planted out to plant in nothing 
but loam. This resulted in an extraordinary crop. 
There was not a sign of disease—he believed 
simply because the plants had no manure 
whatever about them. He thought under this 
system of growing the plants were very much less 
liable to disease out of doors. With regard to 
disease indoors, a good many had said it was due to 
stagnant air, and this was no doubt so to a certain 
extent; but he thought disease was also in a good 
many cases due to alternative temperatures at the 
roots. He had read of a method of curing Tomato 
disease. This consisted in putting the diseased 
plants into temperature of over 8o°.—Mr. Hope said 
he had not heard anyone say whether one variety 
was subject to disease more than another. As 
varieties of Potatos were thus subject, he thought it 
possible that the Tomato might be also. Mr. Hope 
referred to the old red Tomato, and remarked that 
it was unfortunate that there was a prejudice 
against it among fruiterers, on account of its cor¬ 
rugated form, as it was still one of the best varieties. 
The yellow Tomato was also one against which he 
believed there was a prejudice, but it was also a 
very good variety. 
THE PERILS OF THE 
WINTER. 
It is when the frost comes keen and piercing, as we 
are now experiencing it, that the troubles of the 
amateur who endeavours to grow a few half-tender 
plants in a cold house may be said to take a serious 
form. Let him neglect the watering pot for a time, 
and so endeavour to keep every plant as dry as pos¬ 
sible about the roots. The most tender things should 
have the warmest part of the house, or shall I say 
that portion of it farthest removed from the reach of 
frost. A spirit lamp burning by night, if not by day, 
will help to reduce the volume of frost if it does not 
exclude it; as a matter of course the great difficulty 
with lamps of this kind is to distribute the warmth, 
which gathers immediately about the lamp. That 
style of oil stove like Rippingill’s, which has pipes of 
water added, is decidedly advantageous, because the 
hot water can be sent a yard or two away from the 
stove; and as a handy protector newspapers are of 
great value, laid over the plants funnel wise, so that 
the sides of the papers can fall below the level of the 
bottoms of the pots. The protection is all the more 
secure if the tenderest subjects, often the most 
prized, can be entirely wrapped up in paper while 
the frost is keenest. Do not let anyone despise the 
homely newspaper as a protection for plants from 
frost. 
Let the amateur never forget that the roots of most 
plants form the most vulnerable point of attack. 
Many plants will come through a severe winter with 
success, though maimed and wounded in their 
branches, if frost can be kept from the roots. 
That is a point well worth remembering. Then 
Cocoa fibre refuse can be used with great advan¬ 
tage, by placing plants in small pots inside larger 
ones and filling up the space between the two pots 
with Cocoa fibre refuse. Or a number of plants can 
be stood in a box, and the space between the pots 
filled up with Cocoa fibre, thus making a dry and 
cosy bed. 
Above all things have the soil about the roots as 
dry as possible, consistent with maintaining the life 
of the plants. It is of no use starving a plant to 
death for lack of moisture in endeavouring to protect 
it from frost. 
I throw the foregoing out as suggestions of a sea¬ 
sonable character. Other precautions will suggest 
themselves to the attentive reader. I do find among 
lovers of plants generally this one dominant feeling, 
that they attach far more value to plants they have 
brought with safety through the perils of a winter, 
even though they bear traces of some injury received 
during the sharp tussle, than to those which may 
comeinto their possession in early spring, unharmed, 
fresh, and vigorous.— R. D. 
