?70 THE GARDENING WORLD. August 4, 1894. 
STRAWBERRIES. 
As to sowing, for spring use Mr. Johnson recom¬ 
mends sowing the last week in July or early in 
August, and in March and April for summer and 
autumn use. In planting out he recommends that 
the rows be two feet apart, and the Cabbages a foot 
to fifteen inches apart in the row. 
It is the practice of some who grow Cabbages for 
seed, to drill their seeds, and the seed taken from 
small plants that run to seed without hearting. Not 
so Mr. Johnson. He plants out larger batches of 
Cabbages from select stock beds, till many acres 
are covered, and as they turn in all the earliest and 
most perfect types are marked by placing a stake in 
the ground. The Cabbages are cut in due course, 
and only the stumps remain. It is from these stumps 
that seed is taken, and Mr. Johnson holds the opinion 
formed after long experience, that by growing stumps 
for seed not only are the finest strains of seed 
secured, but the practice is an actual preventive of 
■' bolting.” It is found in practice that this is so. 
All these marked stumps are carefully dug up and 
laid by in the ground, where if they have not 
already done so, they put forth two or three or more 
strong Shoots. At the end of October or November, 
the stumps are planted for seed, taking care to bury 
the entire stump, and three or four inches of the 
stems of the sprouts, which ensure safety from 
frost. These stems bloom in the spring, ripen their 
seed in the summer, and it is then, if the grower 
be favoured by a good season, harvested in good con¬ 
dition, and not only does this method of growing for 
seed operate to prevent bolting, but it is obvious as 
only selected stumps are employed, that it also 
ensures fine quality in the stock. 
Ihere is something else to be said. Mr. Johnson 
devotes considerable breadth of land to experimental 
purposes. The visitor, if he be fairly observant and 
intelligent, sees at once that the very choicest stocks 
of seeds are grown here, only the very best types 
devoted to the production of seed, and in this way 
high quality is maintained. The general gardening 
public know little or nothing of the expense and 
labour of maintaining these experimental grounds. 
They appear to think seeds are produced in a hap¬ 
hazard manner, and not by the most systematic and 
scientific methods. A seed grower like Mr. Johnson 
spares no expense in obtaining and selecting the very 
best possible stocks of seed. Let these be my closing 
words, and in writing them I am doing but simple 
justice to this highly-popular Lincolnshire firm of 
seedgrowers and seedsmen.— RD. 
- 
POTENTILLAS. 
There is hardly a genus of plants more desirable 
for the herbaceous border than the Potentilla 
(Cinquefoil). It is remarkable considering their 
ornamental character, their profusion of bloom and 
lasting qualities, that they are not more frequently 
met with in gardens. The mode of culture is so 
simple, all they seem to require is an abundance of 
sun, an ordinary soil, the more sand the better. 
The Potentilla has many advantages over its com¬ 
peers. The plants form compact bushes from ft. 
to 2^ ft. high, and are covered for some considerable 
time with hundreds of showy double flowers, and in 
almost all shades of colour. They are most telling 
as a cut flower for vases, with their own Strawberry 
leaved like foliage. Another advantage is, they last 
in perfection for a long time, and every bud opens 
perfectly in water. 
Mention may be made of a few of the most showy. 
Hamlet, a dark velvety-crimson, large, and full 
double; Le Vesuve, a vermillion, flushed and 
blotched yellow, very double ; Vase d’or, a beautiful 
soft yellow; William Rollisson, a rich scarlet shading 
off to orange-yellow, strong and very free ; Vulcan, 
a rich deep crimson; Melpomene, a bright yellow, 
shaded orange, very large and double ; Don Quixote^ 
a very pretty soft yellow, splashed scarlet; Madam 
Rouillard, a soft velvety-scarlet, edged golden, very 
free. All the Potentillas are of vigorous growth, and 
the flowers of a rich velvety texture. 
Among the Alpine single species, all of which are 
most showy and indispensable for the rockery, 
are alba, white; atrosanguinea, dark crimson; 
rupestris, large white; nana multiflora, orange, 
shaded scarlet; formosa, salmon-rose ; Tormentilla, 
white, very dwarf; nepalensis, rose coloured, 
prostrate; Harlequin, yellow, striped scarlet. It 
should be remembered that early autumn or spring 
is the best time to transplant the Potentillas.—IV.L. 
Apropos of your reply to a correspondent anent his 
Strawberry plantation (p. 745.) perhaps you will allow 
me to supplement those remarks with a few words 
relating to my own experience. Harking back some 
twenty years, when I was employed in a large garden 
in Sussex, the gardener found the Strawberry beds 
in bad condition, some had occupied their position 
for years, and those that had been recently planted did 
not look at all promising. So soon as they had per¬ 
fected their crop—if I may call it so—they were 
chopped off with a hoe, and with the litter they were 
mulched with, burned on the ground. 
We had previously secured some runners from the 
best of them, and obtained some from another source, 
as we required a few hundreds for forcing, the 
varieties being Keen’s Seedling, Viscomtesse Heri- 
cart de Thury, Sir Jos. Paxton, and Trollope’s 
Victoria, the latter variety being discarded after the 
first season, the other varieties being greatly superior, 
and doing very well in that soil. A fresh plot of 
ground was selected, trenched and plenty of good 
rotten manure worked in as the work proceeded. 
The runners having been rooted in 60 size pots were 
planted in September in rows 2 ft. 6 in. apart, and 
2 ft. from plant to plant, they were put in very firm, 
as Strawberries do not thrive in a loose soil, they 
like something of a holding nature ; on light sandy 
soils they are a prey to red spider, in dry seasons. 
Some years ago I was looking round the fine 
kitchen garden at Lockinge, with Mr. D. Williams, 
now of Buncombe, and I there noticed the Straw¬ 
berries badly attacked by red spider, I was told the 
sub-soil was chalk, and the Peach trees on the walls 
show'ed the effects off it, some varieties more so than 
others, the foliage assuming quite a yellow tone. In 
that Sussex garden before mentioned, the soil was 
chalky—being close to the South Downs, but it was 
stiff, or as the natives termed it ■' bungy ” ; but what 
with trenching, plenty of manure worked in, no 
digging between the rows, merely keeping them clear 
of weeds by hoeing and hand weeding, mulching 
about November with rotten manure, and again with 
Stable litter just before they came into flower, they 
produced fruit both worth looking at and eating. 
After the fruit was gathered they were cleared of 
runners, which were raked off with the old mulching 
material and burned. A fresh piece was planted 
yearly, and the oldest done away with, as they were 
only allowed to fruit three seasons, which is quite 
long enough even on the best soils. 
Your remarks "that alight rich soil causes the 
plants to go to leaves, is borne out by the Straw¬ 
berries here : last year I am told they produced next 
to nothing, so this spring they gave them a dressing 
of guano. The soil is not light but what one would 
term “ hungry,” it is stiff underneath—clayey loam. 
My opinion is that it requires ” moving,” if not 
trenching, at least, double digging, but some 
wiseacres tell me that I should "turn the old 
man up to the top,” and that one of my 
predecessors did that and spoiled the crops 
for that year—and I think—the next! But Mr. 
Editor I know what double digging is, also that it 
fits the collar pretty tight, it is not so easy as spud- 
ling the surface over with a spade pretty well worn. 
Also I am aware what stiff soil is. having had to do 
with Dulwich clay, any of your readers gardening in 
that locality, know what that soil is, and that it is 
not a kindly one to work. In conclusion I may say 
procure your plants or runners from a reliable source, 
they will be true to name.— Pathfinder, July 2^th. 
-- 
ROSE NOTES FROM 
SCOTLAND. 
In northern districts the Rose season is remarkable 
for the quantity of bloom, but only on dwarfs of the 
latter class can they be said to be of great excellence. 
Many of the whites or light coloured varieties are 
unusually fine. Miss Ingram, Gloire Lyonaise, and 
Gloire d’ Dijon: are unusually fine everywhere. 
Many of the climbing varieties are flowering remark¬ 
ably well; Madame d’Arblay, splendens. Climbing 
Eduard Morren; Blarii No. 2, climbing Chas Lawson ; 
Coupe d’Hebe, Madame Plantier, and Paul Verdier 
in their various classes are masses of bloom. A more 
beautiful boquet of Roses than a stem of Madame 
d’Arblay, with over 40 open and opening white 
flowers I never saw. On arches, pillars and walls we 
put great value on this beautiful sort; and all 
Ayshire Roses do their part admirably in beautifying 
shrubberies. At present the common wild Rose 
planted among yews, portugal and round leaved 
laurels with other evergreens is doing capital service 
in giving variety among the evergreens. Paul’s single 
Rose hanging from arches is conspicuous for its 
peculiar infloresence hanging among the more formal 
hybrid perpetuals. The densemasses of Scotch Roses 
are worthy of a place, where scarcely anything else 
will grow .—Stirling 
——*•- 
SOWING CAULIFLOWERS 
IN AUTUMN. 
The main crop intended for use next season should 
be sown in the southern districts from the 21st to 
the 25th of August, and in the more northern parts 
of England and in Scotland ten or twelve days 
earlier. This is a general rule which admits of some 
variation according to the mildness or otherwise of 
various localities. We prefer sowing in the open. 
We have sometimes sown in open pits or frames, 
but have found that autumn sowings made in the 
open borders have done the best. Well dig and 
pulverise the soil, which if in pretty good heart is 
best left without adding fresh manure. Should the 
soil be dry give a good watering previous to sowing 
the seed, and sow rather thinly in order that as little 
thinning out as possible will be required, and that 
the young plants will have ample room to grow away 
sturdily from the first. If from any cause this sow¬ 
ing should be a failure, sow again as soon as 
possible. When the plants have come up, thin them 
out to 3 in. apart, and loosen the surface with a 
small hoe, as this helps to encourage a sturdy habit 
in the plants. 
If any are bedded out previous to being finally 
placed in their winter quarters, let it be done late in 
the day if the' weather is dry, because they will 
suffer less. About the middle of October a cold 
frame should be made ready for them with a layer 
of well-mellowed soil filled in to within about 10 in. 
of the glass at from 4 in. to 6 in. apart. This last 
distance will be best if the space can be afforded. 
We have sometimes potted them into large 6o’s, and 
would always do so if circumstances permitted, 
because when planting out time arrives they do not 
receive so great a check as the plants lifted from 
frames do. For a few days after they are planted 
in the fames or potted up, the lights must be kept on 
and a slight shading be applied when the weather is 
sunny ; but leave it off as soon as the plants have 
taken a good root hold, and give them the freest 
exposure possible in open weather. During very 
wet weather it is as well to shelter them from exces¬ 
sive rain, and during severe frost the glass should be 
covered up during the night and removed during the 
daytime and a little air given. 
Mildew is sometimes troublesome, and to guard 
against this give a dusting of wood ashes or sulphur, 
and a slight coating of fine old mortar rubbish 
among the plants is helpful in keeping the soil sweet. 
Those having hand-lights may plant out under them 
in October from the seed bed, or leave the doing of 
it till February, when those wintered in frames are 
available. The soil should be well manured and 
deeply dug for these, and take care in lifting the 
plants to injure the roots as little as possible. Place 
the hand-lights at a suflicient distance apart to 
admit of a covering of short litter around them to 
keep the soil warm, and during sharp frosts the 
lights ought to be covered over. Admit air by either 
tilting up or removing the tops of the hand-lights, 
and when the plants require more head room raise 
them up on bricks, and if necessary exclude the air 
by drawing the earth or litter around the lights. 
From March till nearly ready for cutting occasional 
w'aterings with liquid manure will help them con¬ 
siderably. For some time we have confined our¬ 
selves to two varieties for autumn sowing, viz., the 
Early London and the Early Dwarf Erfurt, and we 
like the last-named the best as it comes in before the 
Early London, but there is this advantage in having 
some of each that the season is somewhat prolonged, 
and in private establishments this is often a matter 
of some importance.—IF. B. G. 
Vines and Vine Cultui-e.—The best book on Grapes. By 
Archibald F. Barron, Superintendent of the Royal Horticultural 
Society’s Gardens, Chiswick; Secretary of the Fruit Com¬ 
mittee. Demy 8vo., Handsomely bound in Cloth. Price, 5s.; 
post free, 5s. 3d. Publisher, Gardening World, i, Clement’s 
Inn, Strand, W.C. 
