Sept, 13th, 1854. 
“ Gardening is Hie purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man.” — B acon, 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th, 1884. 
Gardener’s Troubles. —These, alas, are 
proverbial, though some gardeners, perhaps, 
and in spite of unlooked for troubles, not unduly 
merit the appellation bestowed for generations 
upon farmers, of being confirmed grumblers. 
But really gardeners have no inconsiderable 
cause for complaint that in the pursuit of their 
vocation they have more difficulties, not of their 
own seeking, to contend with than falls to the 
lot of most people. There is the present season 
in illustration, for who could have foreseen such 
a general disaster to the fruit crop which resulted 
from the intense cold of April last, or the 
remarkably dry summer which has followed. 
Whilst the frost rendered the fruit crop one of 
the most meagre kind, the drought promoted 
maggot in the apples to an unusual degree, 
hence in the autumn the quantity of sound fruit 
to be found is exasperatingly small. Then the 
heat propagated wasps enormously, and these 
pests have been unusually ravenous, and in¬ 
jurious to the fruit. Even the birds, owing also 
to the drought, have been unusually troublesome, 
and have committed great depredation. The 
drought brought in its train many ills, specially 
injuring the pea crop, and materially affecting 
many others, whilst rendering watering some¬ 
thing more onerous than a labour of love. In 
many gardens the dry state bf the soil has 
tended to an unusually early fall of the leaf , and 
thus created work of a very annoying kind, for 
the leaf fall season will be unduly prolonged. 
It has been most difficult further, to get a good 
stock of winter greens established, whilst many 
a crop that is of the first importance for winter 
use is small. These are but a few of the troubles 
which cluster round gardening, and they need 
not only well instructed, industrious men, but 
almost trained philosophers to contend with 
them. Happily there are some compensations, 
but those who make gardening a means of liveli¬ 
hood know only too well that the vocation is not 
all “beer and skittles.” 
Mildew on Vines. —Prior to the year 1847, 
mildew was unknown on vines in Britain; it 
first appeared at Margate, and Mr. Tucker an 
admirable gardener of that place, was one of the 
first to apply sulphur as a remedy; on that 
account, the mildew was named by the Rev. 
M. J.Berkeley, in commemoration of Mr. Tucker’s 
name,—Oidium Tuckeri. The fungus, like the 
fungus of the potato disease, came to us from 
America and, in a bad form, at about the same 
time. In 1853, a second species of Oidium was 
observed m Britain on Mullein, and proved very 
destructive to Strawberries in 1854. This second 
mildew also turned out to be a new species. It 
was first noticed in Milan by an observer named 
Balsamo, and Dr. Montagne named the pest 
Oidium Balsamii in commemoration of this 
gentleman’s name. Since 1854 the latter mildew 
has spread in this country with great rapidity, 
and has badly attacked turnips, cabbages, and 
sainfoin. It is without doubt one of the most 
offensive, pestilential, and obnoxious fungi 
hitherto recorded. Its growth is often so profuse 
that it gives the attacked plants the appearance 
of being thickly whitewashed. When it attacks 
cabbages and turnips, no one can walk in the 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
fields without getting their boots and clothes 
whitened as if they had been in a flour mill. 
When sainfoin is harvested, the men complain 
of being half choked by the filthy mildew which 
is set free in the air. We greatly regret to see 
that this pest has now attacked gourds and 
vines at Chiswick. Mr W. G. Smith in a letter 
published in last week’s Gardener's Chronicle, 
describes the appearances presented in two 
vineries at that place. It is probable that 
Balsamo originally saw his plant on vines in 
Milan, as he forwarded examples of the mildew 
to Europe under the name of Oidium Tuckeri. 
Every gardener knows only too well what havoc 
O. Tuckeri often makes ivitli both in-door and 
out-door vines, and all will hear with regret that 
a still more obnoxious pest is in the country, and 
able to invade vines as well as gourds. O. 
Balsamii seems at present to attack the fruit 
stems rather than the foliage and the fruit. The 
fungus causes the stem to swell in a gouty 
manner, and upon these gouty places the mildew 
flourishes. Instead of one mildew of the vine, 
gardener’s null probably soon have two to 
contend with. Sulphuring, which is so effectual 
in destroying 0. Tuckeri should be tried with 
O. Balsamii. 
Colour in the Garden. —Whilst during 
the summer heat, with its intense garish sun¬ 
shine, we felt that bright colours in the garden 
were almost painful to gaze upon, no sooner 
does the change come from sunshine to cool 
cloudy skies than we at once find colour no 
matter how rich, to be most welcome. But, alas, 
the heavy rains have beaten to pieces the rich 
red and scarlet masses found hitherto in the beds 
of Pelargoniums, and the brilliant yellow of the 
Calceolarias, the deep blues of the Lobelias, and 
the varied colours of the Petunias, so that but 
for the softer hues found in the foliage and 
carpet beds, colour would for the rest of 
the autumn hardly exist in flower gardens. 
And yet we have seen, and constantly see, 
glorious masses of colour in some plants that 
are perhaps not acknowledged bedders, but are 
none the less of the very best for the production 
of gay autumn hues. There is the compact 
Tropaeolum, not the fugitive forms known 
under the general name of King of Tom 
Thumb, but the true compactum forms, which 
bloom superbly right up to the end of Octo¬ 
ber. What, for the production of a superb 
mass of crimson scarlet, can, after the recent 
heavy rains, compare with Tropfeolum Lustrous, 
or w T ith T. compactum aureum, for the giving of a 
mass of yellow ? Or, again, there are the African 
and Dwarf French Marigolds, literally weather 
proof, the African orange, and golden forms 
especially so, and giving, even amidst the heavily 
falling rain, a grand mass of the most welcome 
colour. Late planted Asters, and especially 
quilled ones, are blooming superbly; so also 
are the rich hued Chinese Dianthus, such 
a kin I as the crimson scarlet Brilliant, creating 
a glorious effect. What again, can compare in 
the production of a mass of pure white flowers 
with Anemone Japomca alba all through the 
autumn? Really we have a lot of grand autumn 
blooming plants if we did but employ them. 
Show Gardens. —We fear that lovers of 
gardening have not much to be thankful for in 
the recent opening of certain parks and gardens, 
usually closed to the public, for political pur¬ 
poses. From a party point of view, no doubt 
the move was an excellent one, but it was un¬ 
fortunate that what was meant for mankind 
should have been given up to party. Still 
farther it is to be feared, that those who visited 
these gardens, hardly went in a spirit to admire 
nature’s beauties, or to appreciate the gardener’s 
art; perhaps, in some places, there was not 
19 
much of either to admire. Very different indeed 
from these spasmodic openings, is the annual 
opening to the public of such a place as Heck- 
field gardens, the which, through the kindness 
of Yiscount Eversley, have been visited by 
several hundreds of persons during the past 
week, not prompted by some political or party 
object, but rather by a genuine love for trees, 
flowers, and garden beauty, and these delights 
may be enjoyed to the full at Heckfield. We 
could wish that very many of the owners of 
beautiful gardens would follow in Lord Evers- 
ley’s footsteps in this matter, because the million 
are not only shut out from any participation in 
the joys that spring from the survey of beautiful 
gardens in many localities, but the owners should 
find in thus admitting freely their numerous 
though poorer neighbours to their domains, that 
they too have in their gardens greater pleasure 
and reward. More than that, we may well expect 
that the occasional visit to a good garden, will 
stimulate a taste for gardening in the locality 
of the place visited. To have seen certain good 
work or culture, as performed by my Lord’s 
gardener, is to observant people like to the 
reading of a book, yet both more instructive 
and stimulating. Apart from these considera¬ 
tions, however, it is more generous, in those 
having wealth, to permit poorer people to share 
in the blessings it bestows, than to be selfish. 
Exhibition Plants. —Reports often to hand 
of grand shows of plants in the great towns and 
cities of the Continent, may well cause us to 
enquire how it is that so great a decadence of 
plant exhibitions has of late taken place in the 
metropolis of this kingdom. So much has the 
culture of specimen plants fallen off of late, 
chiefly, ive presume, through lack of encourage¬ 
ment given to them, that were an International 
Horticultural Show to be promoted in London, 
it is greatly to be feared that no such display 
of noble plants as was seen in 1866 could now be 
presented. It may be true that gardening in its 
widest sense has not suffered because fewer 
specimen plants are now grown, but still every 
lover of good plants must regret that the skill of 
the gardener is now so little directed to the cul¬ 
tivation of fine examples of our best stove and 
green-house denizens. It is possible that we 
could make a good display of palms, ferns, and 
some other easily grown foliage plants, because 
they are in suitable houses mere weeds; but when 
we come to the myriads of beautiful flowering 
plants, of which old growers know so much and 
too many modern gardeners know so little, it 
may be safely asserted that our display would 
be poor indeed. Ho doubt in some districts 
flowering plants are fairly well presented, but 
even then if we were to eliminate such easily 
grown things as Clerodendrons, Allamandas, 
Bougainvilleas, and Ericas, what would be left? 
The reflection is not a pleasant one, and we may 
hope for a revival of the taste for good old 
flowering plants well and largely gi own, and 
showing in their production a degiee of skill, 
such as is now too much wanting. It may be 
that the prevalent fashion of dishing up plant 
effects by means of groups at exhibitions, has had 
something to do with the decline of high-class 
plant culture. In any case, however, the most 
indifferent plant grower may, with a little taste 
in arranging, succeed in carrying off the leading 
honours. 
Costermongers Plants. —A very interest¬ 
ing place, indeed, is one of those subuiban 
nurseries devoted to the raising of plants foi 
sale by costermongers. There we see Pansies 
in several colours, and some of the finest showy 
blotched forms that can be obtained, propagated 
by thousands. Daisies of some two or three 
colours; Pinks, the same, in immense numbers ; 
