746 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 25th, 1885. 
flora in fine health. Passing into the open air we 
next enter a lean-too Peach-house planted three years 
ago, and now every bit of trellis is taken up and all in 
full bearing. Amongst the Peaches are some good 
examples of Boyal George, Bivers’ Early York, Bar¬ 
rington, and Noblesse, and amongst the Nectarines are 
Pine-apple, Violette Hative, and Pitmaston Orange. 
A recently erected house is used as a feeder for 
the greenhouse and conservatory, and at the present 
time is filled with Zonals, to take the place of the 
show Pelargoniums, and the Zonals will be followed 
by a fine batch of Cinerarias and Primulas, at present 
in the cold frames. In the same house is also a fine 
lot of Tea Boses just coming into bloom, and many 
other useful things. Another house contains a mixed 
collection of plants and Orchids requiring a high 
temperature, amongst the latter being fine plants of 
Phalamopsis amabilis, P. grandiflora, P. Sanderiana, 
P. Schilleriana, P. Stuartiana, P. violacea, and others ; 
Cypripedium Spieerianum, C. concolor, C. Haynaldi- 
anum, and others; Vanda Hookerii, V. Sanderiana, 
V. Lowii, Angra:cum eburneum, A. Ellisii, A. sesqui- 
pedale, and many others too numerous to mention. 
The next and last house is a span-roofed Melon- 
house, but only one side is devoted to the Melon, the 
other being filled with a miscellaneous lot of table 
plants, amongst them being some finely-coloured 
Crotons Chelsoni, C. Thomsoni, and C. Princess of 
Wales, and a batch of seedling Gloxinias of the 
spotted strain, showing some flowers equal to any 
of the named sorts. 
Vegetables are not largely grown, but what there is 
are well done. The same applies to bedding; there 
is no flower garden proper. Surrounding the lawns 
are well-arranged borders of shrubs and herbaceous 
plants, and mixed flower-beds on the terrace fronting 
the park; the arrangement of the whole shows that 
a master hand has been at work. The potting-shed 
is commodious and well equipped, and a look into 
the stokehole, where two large terminal-end boilers 
have been recently set up, also bespeaks tidiness. The 
visitors to Salisbury Green will not proceed far in 
their inspection before they learn for themselves 
that Mr. Laing’s gardening motto is “a place for 
everything, and everything in its place.”— E. C. F. 
o _ . - -1 - - - - - 
Fruit Culture under Glass. — Peaches : In order 
to assist the trees in late houses to swell large fine 
fruits they should be kept well supplied with liquid 
manure at the roots every eight or ten days until the 
fruit commence colouring, when supplies of clear water 
will be sufficient. The shoots should be kept tied up 
to the trellis, and all lateral growths be pinched clean 
out, and in tying the young and best-placed shoots in 
their proper position to the trellis, those of last year’s 
growth which have no fruit on them, and which in the 
ordinary way would be cut out at the winter pruning, 
may, with advantage to the tree, be removed forthwith 
with a sharp knife. 
Anything approaching crowding of the shoots should 
be avoided, otherwise the very object which most 
gardeners have in view, the production of good well- 
ripened wood preparatory to bearing crops of fine 
large fruit, will be defeated. Houses in which the 
fruits are ripe and ripening should have a sufficient 
thickness of soft dry grass laid on the bed underneath 
the individual trees to prevent any of the fruits which 
may happen to fall from being bruised. Grass cut 
from under trees and partly made into hay is the best 
for this purpose, being, unlike the upland hay, soft. 
This is better than looping a piece of garden netting 
underneath the trees, unless it be fastened pretty 
close to the latter, and be made of some soft material, 
otherwise the ripe fruit would sustain injury in the 
fall by coming in contact with the net. These houses, 
almost needless to say, should have abundance of 
fresh air admitted to them day and night; and the 
trees, notwithstanding the fact of the fruit being ripe, 
should not be allowed to suffer for want of water at 
the roots—a condition which would cause them to 
drop their fruit sooner than they otherwise would do, 
and their leaves to become infested with red-spider. 
Bearing this in mind, the border (if indoors) should 
be thoroughly watered prior to putting the material 
indicated above on it, and again as soon as the fruit 
has been gathered, and once during the interval 
should the weather be hot at the time, and the trees 
should be well syringed overhead morning and after¬ 
noon after the crop has been taken. 
Fig-tbees swelling their fruit should, in order that 
the latter may attain to large dimensions, have occa¬ 
sional waterings of liquid manure at the roots, and 
the points of strong-growing shoots should be pinched 
out prior to tying them in to the trellis, and all 
superfluous growths be removed forthwith. Syringe 
the trees and house generally morning and afternoon 
at shutting-up time—about half-past four o’clock, 
when the temperature may be run up to 90 degs.— 
II. IF. Ward, Longford Castle. 
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Unripe Grapes. —It is to be desired that judges 
should in all cases set their faces against the giving of 
awards to Grapes that are distinctly unripe. Perhaps 
it is difficult to induce some men who for the time 
may be placed in the post of honour to carry out 
so drastic a rule, because they may under diverse 
conditions be offenders themselves. Still we may 
well hope that there exists sufficient virtue and 
courage in the general body of judges to take a course 
that is so obviously demanded. Our contention in 
this respect may apply with equal force to other 
fruits, but than in none other, perhaps (Pines 
excepted), is there such sacrifice made as when some 
two or three good bunches of Muscats, for instance, 
weighing in all some 5 lbs. or 6 lbs., are cut and 
staged whilst still so unripe that they cannot be 
further utilized. The only course judges should take 
when they find such exhibits before them is to refrain 
from awarding any prize, let the merits of the bunches 
otherwise be what they may, and also mark the 
exhibits as “ unripe.” Such a course would by thus 
publicly condemning the act of the exhibitor soon 
prevent that which so much deserves condemnation. 
The evil is chiefly found in our summer sh ows 
In the autumn, Grapes are, as a rule, ripe, although, 
a glaring instance of staging not only badly finished 
but very unripe fruit is sometimes seen. To cut such 
bunches merely that a prize may be snapped up is too 
bad, and gardeners materially damage not only their 
employers’ interests, but their own also, in so doing. 
There is still very much more diversity of opinion 
between judges than should be as to what should 
constitute merit in prize Grapes. Big bunches have 
their admirers, and big bunches if of high-class merit 
all round must win. But bad big bunches are some¬ 
times placed before high-class small ones, and thus 
injury is done to good culture. We should very much 
like to hear from some of our Grape-growing readers 
their views on Grape judging, and what they may 
think to be the proper points of prize bunches. 
Fungoid Diseases in Fruit Trees. —At the 
last meeting of the Scientific Committee, a communi¬ 
cation was received from Mr. T. Kirk, Wellington, New 
Zealand, asking for advice as to remedial measures. 
In some districts the fruit trees are being destroyed by 
the mycelium of a ground fungus—a small Puffball— 
though the author suspects that several Agarics affect 
them. When the ravages are most serious the repro¬ 
ductive state is but rarely developed. It first appears 
as a circular patch, in which all vegetation (as in fruit 
trees, Oaks, Walnuts, Grass, Sorrel, Strawberries, 
&c.) is more or less “blighted,” the plants exhibiting 
a withered appearance, the leaves becoming slightly 
curled, droop and fall long before their time, and the 
plant dies. The roots are more or less covered with 
mycelium. The effects extend in a most singular 
fashion, travelling half-way across a garden or 
orchard from one side only, at others extending 
in all directions. It is most fatal to fruit 
trees. It is almost exclusively confined to light 
soils, on which Fern (Pteris aquilina) has grown. 
Damp or dry soils have no attractions for 
it. It occurs abundantly in the decaying rhizomes 
of the Fern, transferring its attentions to fruit trees 
whenever the opportunity is afforded. The first parts 
on which the affection shows itself is the juncture of 
root and stem. The bark becomes absolutely rotten 
when permeated by the mycelium, and emits a 
nauseous odour. Plum trees usually show but little 
mycelium as compared with Apples, but the trunk 
is more obviously affected, and exudes gum freely. 
Experiments are being carried out in the following 
directions :—(1) Soaking the soil with tar-water and 
dressing the affected parts with the same ; (2) dress¬ 
ing the soil with soot ; (3) with sulphur ; (4) with 
mild brine washes, both for trees and soil. So far the 
tar-water seemed the most effective, but the author 
. was inclined to think that sulphur will have the most 
permanent effect. 
Peach Blight.— The author adds, that in all parts 
of the country the Peach is dying wholesale, but the 
cause is most obscure. The trees appear to flower 
with their accustomed luxuriance,’ and the fruit to set 
as usual. If a sudden change of temperature, or a 
severe frost, has been experienced during the flowering 
time, the fruit does not swell, the leaves make their 
appearance readily and fall quickly—minute orange- 
coloured blotches are seen on the twigs. These 
become confluent and black, and then the buds decay. 
At this stage the plant may die, or if the season prove 
favourable, a weak autumn growth may be made, and 
new leaves developed, tassel-like, at the tips of the 
branches; but a renewed attack the following spring 
proves fatal, and the plant dies. Plants one year 
from the seed are attacked as readily as the oldest. 
Occasionally a tree partially sheltered has suffered 
less than its neighbour or has escaped entirely; while 
two kinds appear to resist the disease more than 
others, viz., Cornet and Salway, but they are cer¬ 
tainly not blight-proof by any means. 
Kew Fruits Certificated. —At a meeting of the 
Fruit Committee, held at Chiswick on the 10th inst., 
the following Strawberries and Melon were certificated: 
—Waterloo (Mr. Bone, Latimers, Chesham), fruit 
large, cockscombed, very dark in colour, and of good 
quality, distinct; A. F. Barron (Mr. T. Laxton), a 
beautiful variety with even conical fruits of a bright 
scarlet colour, very firm and of good flavour, possess¬ 
ing a pleasant acidity. This was formerly named 
Admiral. Melon Longleat Perfection (Mr. Pratt, 
gardener, Longleat, Warminster), fruit large, round, 
smooth, pale greenish-yellow; flesh white, very 
melting, sweet. It is a seedling from Cashmere, 
which it much resembles. 
Work in the Plant-houses. —A point of great 
importance in connection with the plant-house at this 
season of the year, when so many opportunities 
occur, is making selections of the best and most 
useful varieties of the various classes of plants grown. 
We do not recommend the discarding of old and well 
tried sorts for new varieties that have not been fairly 
tested, yet it is a good plan to make a few additions 
every season. At the same time note should be taken 
of the inferior sorts, so that they may be discarded 
after their flowering season is over. We know from 
experience that it goes hard with some to discard old 
favourites, yet, to keep up a standard of excellence, it 
is absolutely necessary that some sacrifice should be 
made in this way. 
Gloxinias. —The best varieties should be selected 
from the seedlings, and these should be labelled, and 
if there is anything special among them, a few leaves 
should be taken for propagating. Tuberous Begonias 
should also be gone through in the same way, though 
cuttings put in now require care to keep them through 
the winter, as they will not have time to form but 
very small conns. In sowing seed either from 
Gloxinias or Begonias, care should be taken that it is 
collected only from the best varieties. To ensure 
success it is a good plan to select a few of the best 
varieties and set them aside especialy for the purpose, 
and these should be fertilized by the aid of a camel’s- 
hair brush ; in making crosses, the pollen should be 
taken from the brightest colours and applied to 
flowers of superior form and substance. It is a great 
mistake to make haphazard crosses, that is, to cross 
the colours indiscriminately. We recommend to take 
any particular colour, say reds; perhaps a plant 
may be found with very bright-coloured flowers, but of 
inferior habit of growth, and another of good habit of 
growth but not so bright in colour. If the pollen is 
taken from the former and applied to the latter we 
shall probably get the good points combined in the 
seedlings obtained. 
