Nov. 29th, 1884. 
THE GAEDENING WOELD. 
195 
“ Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man.”—B acon. 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29m, 1884. 
Obchabd Teee-Peuning. —Tlie leaves are now 
down, and in not a few cases gathered up for 
winter use. Work in all other departments owing 
to the wonderfully long continued drought is so 
well forward, and the soil remains so hard and 
dry, that it is now a most tempting labour to 
clamber into the tall orchard trees and thin them 
out. How fast the heads fill up ! how soon they 
become thick and dense ! so fast, indeed, that 
the work of thinning should always be done once 
in three years, and in any large orchard or 
market garden, at least one-third of the trees 
should be properly pruned each year, so that 
work and pruning are equalized. To a genuine 
lover of pruning, there is something very enticing 
in the labour of thinning out tree-heads that 
have become too dense. If the operator pro¬ 
ceeds somewhat drastically and thins hard, he 
will find his reward in finer and more valuable 
fruit, and the more robust growth the trees will 
make in the summer. It is strange that whilst 
bush fruits are always well cared for and duly 
thinned, and even trees of bush or pyramid form 
get due attention; the tall standards too often 
are sadly neglected, we presume because some¬ 
what out of reach. Too often, also, when the 
work is performed, it is when frosts are severe 
and north winds blow keenly. Then such work 
is neither pleasant or desirable, and is perhaps 
owing to the danger incidental to numbness of 
the hands through cold, somewhat dangerous. 
If such weather as now prevails however bo 
taken advantage of for the performance of the 
labour, not only is it pleasant, but it may be 
accomplished so as to permit of ground opera¬ 
tions being carried out in due course. 
Wintee Blooming Plants.— At a very pretty 
show held at Twickenham the other day there 
was to be seen a meritorious effort to introduce 
certain plants that will bloom well in winter, and 
yet are not commonly met with at autumn flower 
shows. Thus a class was published for six 
Bouvardias, and, although only two lots were 
sent in, of which one was indifferent, the best lot, 
which came from Mr. Munro, of Cambridge 
House Gardens, Twickenham, were fine plants 
some 3 ft. in height and full of bloom. Such 
plants were not only a pleasing feature in the 
show, but must have been of exceeding value at 
home for the production of flowers for cutting. 
It would be well if, in this respect, other shows 
were found having a similar class. Again, 
another novelty was seen in a class for six plants 
of Epiphyllum truncatum, and, though the 
plants placed in competition were too dwarf 
habited, they were in charming flower. Those 
too came from Mr. Munro. But much better 
than these were some eight plants sent by a 
market gardener at Plumstead, Kent, who 
evidently can turn out Epiphyllums in fine form. 
These were grafted plants about 12 ins. in height, 
having fairly large heads, beautifully bloomed. 
They were two years’ worked plants. Then there 
was also a class for six scarlet Pelargoniums in 
pots not exceeding 6 ins; in diameter, Half a 
dozen of that grand scarlet Henry Jacoby, sent 
by Mr. Parsons, of Twickenham, were superbly 
flowered and equal to anything that could be seen 
in the summer from such small pots. Classes 
like these are worth copying. 
The Populabity of the Tomato as a market 
subject is remarkable, having regard to the fact 
that but a few years ago the fruit was looked 
upon almost as a luxury, available only for the 
rich, and at the same time an article that needed 
a cultivated taste to enable it to be fully appre¬ 
ciated. How matters are so far changed that 
not only do we find those having glass-houses 
discarding many plants that now seem to be 
unprofitable and utilizing the space for the cul¬ 
ture of Tomatos, as being the more profitable, but 
we even hear of growers of Chrysanthemums for 
the production of cut flowers,this season lamenting 
that they have burthened themselves with things 
that afford no equivalent return, whilst in Tomatos 
there is a subject that always finds a ready and a 
profitable sale. Even now in almost the meanest 
of vegetable and fruit shops in our large towns 
we see foreign-grown Tomatos, always very 
tempting to be sure, but still on sale at exceed¬ 
ingly low prices, thus showing that a taste for 
this fruit has grown up amongst the poorer 
classes. Happily the Tomato is one of the most 
wholesome of all fruits, and once it is cooked 
with judgment, and served up tastefully, it is 
exceedingly pleasant and enjoyable. Some day, 
perhaps, when by persistent effort some addi¬ 
tional piquancy has been given to the flavour 
of the fruit, we shall see it in universal consump¬ 
tion in a raw state. Even now those who like 
raw fruit find in them elements of enjoyment 
which those lacking appreciation for them can 
hardly understand or realize. There can be no 
doubt but that there is a great future open for 
the Tomato in this country, and that in a few 
years we shall see it almost as universally 
consumed as Potatos are. Happily, too, owing 
to our largely available heating force and ample 
glass space, Tomatos may be had nearly all the 
year round. 
- - >%< — 
Winteeing Gaeden Boots. —With a series 
of very open winters it is found a matter of 
no small difficulty to keep roots of all kinds, 
whether tuberous, tapering, or bulbous, from 
pushing growth long before the usual period of 
rest has expired. The result simply follows from 
the impossibility of providing conditions of 
temperature sufficiently low to ensure rest 
whilst in any close place, and in an atmosphere 
that is almost certain to become more or less 
loaded with moisture, growdh is almost accelerated 
rather than retarded. Thus we find Potatos will 
push growth in a pit or store if the winter be 
open, very early ; so early, in fact, as to present 
exceeding difficulty in keeping them sound, either 
for planting or eating. On the other hand, tubers 
left in the ground, of course not in bulk, but 
singly, as many are, will keep dormant and fresh, 
just because the temperature is even, and light is 
fully excluded. It is found, especially during an 
open winter, an excellent plan to lift tapering 
roots, such as Beet, Parsnips, and Carrots—roots 
that should always remain in the places where 
grown till December comes in at least—and to 
lay them in thickly in loose dry suit beneath the 
shelter of overhanging trees. Of course, where 
vermin is about, care must be taken to protect 
the roots from their depredations, but that should 
not be a matter of difficulty. It is an excellent 
plan in thus laying in roots, to make a selection 
of the best and place these together more thinly, 
of course, burying them well above the crowns, 
in rows some 12 ins. apart. The overhanging 
boughs give great shelter in ordinary frosty 
weather, and should it come very severe, some 
straw or fern will soon make all secure. If 
wintered thus these roots keep sound, fresh, and 
long; and are far more sweet and palatable than 
when stored in cellars in sand. 
The Potato Disease. —The recent publication 
of the results of the trial of the Jensenian system 
of protective earthing of Potatos, for the pre¬ 
vention of disease, which took place at Chiswick 
during the past summer, makes the knowledge 
thus acquired common property. Certainly we 
are not much the wiser now, but still a really 
honest effort was made to test a system that has 
been credited with valuable results, and if the 
test has failed, it is rather due to the season than 
to lack of attention on the part of the observers. 
The real fact is, that seasons now are dis¬ 
counting the Potato Disease entirely, and in the 
presence of sunshine, warmth and comparative 
dryness, the fungus is almost harmless. We saw 
at Chiswick, which is very unhappily a spot 
in which the disease does run rampant, when 
seasons are favourable to its growth, numerous 
sorts new and old, though chiefly new, growing 
under ordinary conditions of culture, and only in 
a very few cases were there evidences of disease. 
The plants specially prepared for the members 
of the Scientific Committee of the Boyal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, and earthed in various ways 
though chiefly protectively a la Jensen , gave 
about the same results ; so that nothing is gained 
this season, and we are about as wise as to the 
value of protective moulding as before. 
There is hope that the Committee will continue 
its observations next year, but that instead of 
selecting a hard and usually disease-resisting 
kind like Adirondack, such sorts as Woodstock 
Kidney, Grampian, and Begent, will be secured 
and planted, as these in disease years generally 
suffer badly, and if a system is to be tested, it 
can only be with kinds that are less disease- 
resisting than others. To protectively earth 
such kinds as Magnum Bonum, and many similar 
strong-growing sorts is a work of labour. It is 
the soft-fleshed and assumed thin-skinned kinds 
such as the Begent, which we want to save. 
Judged by appearances, protective earthing is a 
waste of labour in this country, because Potatos 
are so plentiful that only the simplest system of 
cultivation will prove profitable. At present 
protective earthing would add 20 per cent, to 
the cost of growing a crop of Potatos, and the 
only chance just now of securing a paying crop 
is to be able to obtain it at some 20 per cent, 
less, than is the average cost of culture. But we 
may ere long find a series of cold wet seasons 
prevalent, and then with the disease again 
rampant, the value of Potatos will soon rise to 
double, or more than what it is at the present 
time. Then protective earthing, if found really 
successful in preventing the operation of the 
disease, would pay. It is not a fair weather 
project, but rather one for foul seasons. It will 
be a comfort if we can trust to such a system to 
keep our Potato crops safe when we have gloomy 
times upon us. 
It is more interesting than satisfactory to find 
how varied are the phases of knowledge respecting 
the action of the Potato Disease with which we 
are from time to time presented. Our difficulty 
is in knowing where we are. Even now the scien¬ 
tists have changed the common designation of the 
fungus from Peronospora, the nomenclature of 
the earlier fungologists, to Phytophthora infes- 
tans, but it seems still to mean the same thing. 
Then there is division of opinion as to whether 
the fungus operates to the destruction of the 
tubers most through the haulm and stems, 
entering the tubers through the sap vessels, or 
whether the spores carried by moisture into the 
aoil operate upon the skill of epidermis of young 
