42 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Sept. 20th, 1884. 
Late Strawberries. —A supply of these as early 
and as late as possible is now-a-days a common 
requirement, and although we possess a very 
numerous list of good sterling kinds for ordinary use, 
we have nevertheless but very few varieties that are 
especially suitable for this purpose. That ancient 
variety the Elton Pine, so generally well known in 
this respect as not to need any comment more than to 
say that it still ranks as one of the best, though in my 
opinion it is much inferior to Oxonian. This sort for 
late work is undoubtedly the best of all, more 
especially so if we take all its merits into considera¬ 
tion, as it is good in quality, fine in shape, a free 
bearer, of robust habit, and with its glossy, hand¬ 
some appearance when well grown, is unsurpassed at 
the present time, either for late use, for the dessert, 
or on the exhibition table. In order to grow it well, 
rich soil in the highest state of cultivation is 
essentially necessary. Eor late purposes give it a 
north border, let the rows run from south to north 
3 ft. 6 in. apart, and the plants in the rows should be 
at least 18 in. asunder. This space admits of a free 
course of air and light about the plants, which is very 
necessary at a late period.— G. T. Miles, Wycombe 
Abbey Gardens. 
To make new plantations or beds, the runners should 
have been pricked out and kept well watered, and if 
so, they will now be in fine condition for planting. 
In preparing the ground, it is necessary to manure 
well and to dig deep, after which it should be levelled 
and trodden firm, and the plants carefully lifted with 
good balls, when they may at once be put in rows a 
foot apart and 18 in. or 20 in. asunder. This wide 
space between admits full sun and air on to the fruit, 
and allows plenty of room to get along for the gather¬ 
ing. The sorts I would recommend are Yicomtesse 
Hericart de Thury, Sir J. Paxton, British Queen, 
and Elton, which are the cream, although all, except 
the first-named, are old kinds, and they give a good 
long succession.— Alpha. 
A New Melon.—We learn from The Irish Farm, 
Forest and Garden, that at the last fortnightly 
meeting of the Council of the Boyal Horticultural 
Society of Ireland, a seedling hybrid scarlet flesh 
Melon was exhibited from the gardens, Stradbally 
Hall, Queen’s County, where it was raised by Mr. 
Taylor, gardener to Captain Cosby, D.L. It was con¬ 
sidered, both as regards size, appearance, and flavour, 
to be of very high merit, and was unanimously 
awarded a first-class certificate, and also the Society’s 
bronze medal. 
Strawberries for Forcing. —Strawberries in pots 
should be kept well supplied atthe roots with weakliquid 
manure, and the plants be well exposed to the influence 
of the sun. The young runners must also be persist¬ 
ently removed, so as to concentrate the strength of the 
plants in the formation and consolidation of plump 
fruitful “crowns,” upon the size and firmness of 
which by the end of the present month depend in a 
great measure the character of the crop of fruit which 
the plants will produce next spring. About the middip, 
of next month the pots should be removed to a dry 
sheltered situation, having a south aspect, and be 
stood on and plunged to the rims in sifted coal ashes, 
working a little of the latter over the balls of earth 
and roots as the process of plunging is proceeded 
with. Thus treated, the plants will be perfectly safe 
from the eflects of frost, but in the event of its being 
every severe, it will be advisable to put on a slight 
covering of dry fern. This, however, must be put on 
and taken off according to circumstances, to prevent 
any anxiety being experienced by the cultivator on 
the score of the plants or pots sustaining injury from 
frost. 
-iHjH- 
Raspberries. —There is nothing like light and air 
for the young canes of these, which ought now to be 
thinned by having all weakly ones, and those not 
wanted, removed, either by cutting out or digging up, 
the latter being necessary when they stand away from 
the old shoots or crowns, or by-and-bye they will 
throw a new crop around them. The number of 
canes to leave is from three to five, which are quite 
enough, as there is nothing gained by having them 
crowded. It is the practice with some to fork up the 
ground among their Baspberries, but it cannot be too 
strongly condemned, as the plants are surface-rooters, 
and to have their fresh young feeders destroyed must 
weaken them seriously, although they make others 
again. The proper plan to pursue, after the autumn 
pruning, staking, and tying, is to hoe, and clear off 
all weeds by raking, so as to make the surface smooth 
and neat, and then top dress with any old rich soil or 
short dung, leaving the same on to act as a mulching, 
and if this is done year after year the plants will 
always break strong, and bear fine crops of fruit.— 
Alpha. 
Strawberries. —It is the same with Strawberries, 
the treatment of which is often even more barbarous 
than that of Baspberries, for how often at this time of 
year, as before, do we not see them denuded of foliage, 
which many cut off with the runners, when, instead 
of perfecting and ripening their crowns, the plants 
are forced into growth again, and make a lot of young 
leaves. The trimming and cleaning is all very well 
and quite proper, but the old foliage should all be 
preserved intact and a top dressing of rich soil given, 
the same as advised for the Baspberries, and the 
Strawberries will then root afresh from the crowns. 
The Orang-e Trade. —The head-quarters of the 
Orange trade is Pudding Lane, Lower Thames Street, 
where, during the height of the season, the chief 
brokers hold sales three or four times a week. Pud¬ 
ding Lane, where the Great Fire of London is said 
to have begun, is not exactly an Orange grove, but 
the fruit trade makes it about as busy a spot as any 
in the City ; and if any unwary passenger happens to 
get in the way of the “fellowship” porters carrying 
along it, without intermission, the wooden packages 
of Oranges, he is not unlikely to become the object of 
some Billingsgate vernacular. The trade in Oranges 
and other fruits has now become so enormous, that 
Lower Thames Street and its vicinity is all too small 
to accommodate it, even if the fish trade were removed. 
There are many things more unlikely than that this 
may be eventually the case, and that the more sweetly- 
smelling fruit trade may one day occupy the historical 
market of Billingsgate itself. A large quantity of the 
Oranges'sold in Pudding Lane afterwards finds its way 
to Duke’s Place, a quarter of the Hebrew region on 
the west of Houndsditeh, where it is re-sold to shop¬ 
keepers and costermongers. This locality is redolent 
of Oranges, and it is no exaggeration to say that, 
in wet weather, you may walk literally ankle-deep 
in orange pulp and peel, mixed with cocoa-nut 
fibre. The appetite for Oranges among the masses 
in London seems almost insatiable, and it is said 
that nearly half the retail trade in them is done by 
the itinerant street vendors. A package of Oranges 
contains, on an average, 400; and in the season of 
1881-2, nearly a million packages were landed in 
London; and not far short of that number were 
landed in Liverpool. Glasgow receives a large, and 
each year an increasing supply; while Bristol and 
Hull account for many thousands. Altogether it was 
computed that in the season of 1881-82, two-and-a- 
half million packages were imported into this country, 
which would represent something like 1,000,000,000 
of Oranges for home consumption. This season will 
show a still greater advance, as in most Orange- 
growing districts the supply is plentiful; and the 
market value of the total importation, including 
lemons, will represent something not far short of 
two millions sterling, first hand. The increase in 
the trade is due not only to increased facilities of 
transport, but to the abolition of the duty on the 
fruit. Formerly, 2s. 6 d. per package was the impost; 
in 1853 it was reduced to 8 d. ; and was altogether 
abolished in 1861. Happily, the Orange is a very 
harmless, if not a decidedly wholesome, fruit._ 
Society of Arts Journal. 
-- 
Kaempferia Roscoeana is a Scitamineous plant 
now in flower at Kew. It is anative of Birma. The 
leaves are Maranta-like, of a very dark dull green with 
large whitish-green blotches. The flowers are pure 
white and rather under 1 in. in diameter. It is 
figured in The Botanical Magazine, t. 5600. 
Disbudding 1 Chrysanthemums. —As success in 
the blooming of this indispensable winter flowering 
plant largely depends on a judicious system of “ dis¬ 
budding,” a few remarks on this important operation 
may be of service to those who have not before given 
the subject the attention which it deserves. Of course, 
where plants grown in a perfectly natural way are 
desired, disbudding i3 not needed; but those who, like 
myself, prefer one good flower on a shoot to a number 
of small ones, will find that a little attention now will 
in a short time be amply rewarded Chrysanthemums, 
when left to themselves, produce three distinct sets of 
buds. The first makes its appearance early in July, 
when the plants are in vigorous growth, but young 
shoots speedily spring from its base, and the bud 
gradually disappears. The next one, which is known 
as the “crown bud,” generally makes its appearance 
from the beginning of August to the present time, 
some varieties showing it much earlier than others, 
and it is from this bud that some of the finest flowers 
are produced. But the bud must be well formed, and 
the young shoots which will be seen springing from 
its base be removed with a pen-knife as soon as 
they are visible. A good deal of judgment, however, 
is required in selecting this bud, as it is apt to go 
blind or become malformed if the young shoots are 
not removed as soon as possible. By taking this 
bud for the late varieties, and the “terminal bud” 
(of which I shall presently speak) for the early ones, 
they can both be had in flower at the same time, 
which is no mean advantage when the flowers are 
wanted for exhibition. On referring to my note-book 
I find that on July 23rd of this year I took the 
buds of a few late varieties, such as Grandiflorum, 
Bronze Jardin des Plantes, and Progne, and they are 
all swelling up in a very promising manner. When 
the crown bud is not taken, one of the shoots 
springing from its base should be selected, the others 
being removed. The shoot left will produce what is 
called the “terminal” bud, which generally has a 
number of smaller ones clustering around it; these 
should be removed, retaining only the central one. 
This bud can always be depended on to form well¬ 
shaped flowers, but, as a rule, they are not so large 
as those grown from the “ crown ” bud.— II. D. 
Primula japonica as a Bog Plant.— If any of 
your readers have a bog or damp place near a drive or 
walk, let them try a few plants in it of Primula 
japonica. It will grow with its roots in water—indeed 
mud seems all it wants to perfect its growth and 
flowers. The finest plants and the most perfect flowers 
I have seen were grown under such circumstances as 
I have described. The seeds will germinate freelv, 
and a few plants will soon increase into thousands in 
such a spot. Fringing ponds, watercourses, any¬ 
where where moisture is to be had, seems to suit it 
best. It will do under trees, and will stand freezing. 
Although the leaves are tender, the “ crown ” and the 
roots seem very hardy. The plants when in flower 
under such circumstances as described are something 
worth looking at, and very different to those grown in 
a drier situation.— H. M. 
-- 
TJroslmmera spectabiHs is a very pretty 
G esneraceous plant now flowering in the stove. The 
leaves are elliptic-oblong, 4 in. to 5 in. long, crenate and 
pale green, and the flowers, which are arranged in a 
dense, one-sided, eighteen to twenty flowered raceme, 
are an inch long by three-quarters broad, and lilac 
coloured with a white throat, giving a very pretty 
effect. 
Calceolarias.—The present is a good time to see 
about getting in the necessary number of cuttings of 
the bedding varieties of Calceolarias, of which the old 
Amplexicaulis is the best and most reliable variety. 
It is a good grower and a free flowerer, the flowers 
being large and of a beautiful soft yellow colour. 
Good cuttings consisting of three joints, and having 
the lower pair of leaves removed with a sharp knife, 
inserted about three or four inches apart every wav, 
in two or three inches deep of waste soil with a 
surfacing of sand, placed on a hard bottom in a cold 
