July 1, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
691 
Watering Vegetables. 
Watering must still receive constant attention, 
notwithstanding that we have had a little rain, 
which, with the aid of a few dull days, has done 
some good ; but as it has only moistened about an 
inch of the surface soil, the rough wind since is fast 
drying the ground. One is apt to stop watering 
when a little rain falls and the weather is dull, but 
that is the time when a good soaking artifically does 
the most good, and there does not appear to be any 
prospect just yet of any large quantity of rain 
falling. A large sowing of late Carrots has with me 
nearly all been killed when about an inch high 
through the dryness of the soil and the great heat of 
the sun. Peas of the later sowing are not growing 
to any great length, although they have been well 
watered and mulched.— G. H. S. 
Tomatos out of doors. 
Tomato plants out of doors, whether against walls 
or in the open, should be kept regularly pinched to 
one stem, and securely staked or nailed as the case 
may be. If in a dry place give water, and a top¬ 
dressing. I have a nice crop on some plants planted 
against a west wall in April, and the first fruits are 
just beginning to colour.— G. H. S. 
General Work. 
Keep the hoe going among all growing crops ; it is a 
great help this dry weather, as even if there are no 
weeds to kill it keeps the soil in a far better con¬ 
dition for the plants. Get out as many winter 
Greens as possible, and water the plants well as they 
are planted. Plant out late Celery as soon as large 
enough. Clear away early Peas and get the ground 
dug ready for late Broccoli or Coleworts. Where 
Carrots have missed or gone off, sow again, as there 
is plenty of time to grow useful roots yet. Keep 
Vegetable Marrows well watered, or the fruits will 
not set. Cucumbers in the frames or house require 
constant attention as to stopping and regulating the 
growths. Strawberry layering can be got on with ; 
place the pots as much together as possible to make 
the watering easier.— G. H. S. 
A Good Winter Green. 
One of the best winter Greens that I know of is 
Carter's Phoenix Kale. It is very hardy, and will 
grow under the shade of trees as well as in the open. 
It passed through 25 0 of frost last year, and we were 
cutting from it something like three months. It is 
one of the best Kales grown, and the flavour is 
everything that is required.— Thos. Cockerill, The 
Gate House, Wirksworth. 
Pea American Wonder Re-selected. 
We gathered our first dish of Carter’s Re-selected 
American Wonder on the 17th of June. I think it a 
great improvement on the old stock. It is a much 
heavier cropper, and has larger pods, eight or nine 
Peas in a pod of superior flavour. Several gardeners 
who have seen it remarked that they never saw 
such a crop before.— T. Cockerill, The Gate House, 
Wirksworth. 
Vegetables for Cottagers. 
In an instructive practical lecture on the cultivation 
of allotments and cottage gardens, recently delivered 
at Wickham Market, Mr. Andrews, gardener at 
Ashe High House, recommended his hearers to com¬ 
mence preparing the ground for Onions in October 
by manuring and ridging the soil so as to well expose 
it to'winter frosts. This would tend to rid the soil 
of grubs and pulverise the land. To further eradi¬ 
cate the noisome maggot sprinkle well with soot, 
lime, or wood ashes. The best variety for the 
cottager to grow was the Giant Rocca'sown in July, 
or the Giant Zittau or Brown Globe for spring 
sowing. Sutton’s Giant Lettuce sown in February 
was the best, and for Celery Major Clarke’s Solid 
Red or the Standard Bearer. It was a mistake to 
use deep trenches, as the plants had then only the 
poor subsoil to thrive upon. In regard to Cabbages 
he said it was a mistake to sow all the seed at once. 
Make two or three sowings so as to have a succession. 
For Carrots he would recommend Sutton’s New 
Red Intermediate or Daniel’s Scarlet. To prevent 
the wireworm winter cultivation was necessary. 
Leeks were easy to grow and should find a place in 
every’ cottage garden ; the best varieties were the 
' Giant or the Lyon. In planting Potatos it was better 
to wait till the first week in April before doing so. 
Then if the Potatos were exposed beforehand, 
hardened, and commenced sprouting, a crop would 
be ready to lift in six weeks. The succession should 
be Early Kidney, Early Rose, Snowdrop, and 
Magnum Bonum. He concluded with some prac¬ 
tical remarks on the cultivation of Horse Radish 
and Tomatos. 
-- 
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Science 
Movements of Water in Plants.—A weekly 
paper mostly devoted to scientific subjects, in an 
article entitled “ How Plants are Fed,” says that it 
has been definitely ascertained that the current of 
water to supply the evaporation that takes place 
from the leaves of trees moves chiefly “ in the 
cavities af the elements of the wood.” In the first 
place we suppose the writer means transpiration, 
which is quite a different process from evaporation 
pure and simple. Then we do not believe that the 
sap travels through the cavities of the fibres and 
ducts of the wood, because it has been determined 
by the highest authorities on the physiology of plant 
life that the cavities of both these elements are filled 
with air chiefly when the trees are losing moisture 
rapidly during the day under the influence of sun¬ 
light. This theory then breaks down, because the 
trees continue to transpire while the cavities of the 
wood fibres and ducts are devoid of water. On the 
contrary, it has been proved by competent authorities, 
and is now matter of common knowledge, that the 
water of the transpiration current travels in the 
lignified walls of the wood fibres and ducts, not in 
their cavities. 
The Height to which Water may be Carried. 
—The case of the giant Eucalyptus trees in Australia 
is brought forward as an instance of the height to 
which water ma/be carried by the stems and trees. 
Some of them grow from 2co ft. to 470 ft. in height. 
The theories of capillary attraction and atmospheric 
pressure may well be laid aside in accounting for 
this phenomenon. We must not forget, however, 
that root pressure is a great factor, and that the 
organic acids and acid salts which saturate the 
walls of the roots, also saturate the younger cells of 
the wood in other parts of the tree. Whenever the 
latter lose moisture by transpiration from the leaves, 
they are ready again to make up for the loss by 
absorbing moisture from the cells immediately below 
them. Each separate cell must exercise some hold¬ 
ing power upon the water which it possesses. Water 
at a height of 400 ft. is not so heavy, so to speak, as 
the same quantity at sea level. One might well 
conceive that each separate cell or its walls in the 
upper part of the tree having some holding power 
upon water would also assist in its being raised to a 
higher level. In the case of the living protoplasm 
itself, we know that it has a considerable holding 
power upon the water which it can appropriate, and 
retains it till it filters out under considerable 
pressure. This tension holds good at the tops of 
the highest trees. Nor must it be forgotten that we 
are dealing to a considerable extent with living, not 
dead, matter in speaking of the ascent of sap. 
The Bleeding of Trees.—The case of the Sugar 
Maple is brought forward by the same journal as an 
instance of two different kinds of bleedings. The 
trees are tapped, it is said, at a time when the 
ground is still frozen, and the roots cannot therefore 
absorb. If they did not just then absorb the sap 
with which the trunk and branches are saturated, 
they did so at some previous time. We can only 
conceive of roots ceasing to absorb when all the 
tissues, including the interior of the cavities of the 
wood fibres, ducts and vessels, are saturated to 
repletion after the leaves have fallen, or the ground 
is frozen to the depths of the lowest roots. In our 
climate, certainly, anyone may satisfy himself that 
roots are active at various times during our winter. 
In the case of the Sugar Maple it is not merely water 
which is forced out at the openings made in the tree, 
but carbo-hydrates, chiefly sugar, as well as ash 
materials. Before the trees were tapped these 
matters existed in the trees, holding the cells of the 
same in a state of tension. All this was the result 
of root pressure ; and in spring it is true this be¬ 
comes more active. 
Bleeding of Grass.—Our contemporary states 
that the skin of the leaves of grass is nearly always 
ruptured, and as a consequence, little drops of water 
exude there at nightfall, when the air is chilled and 
evaporation is diminished, while the roots in the still 
warm soil are actively absorbing moisture from it. If 
the skin of the leaves of grass is ruptured as so 
stated, then the handiworks of Nature are very im¬ 
perfect. On the contrary, there are natural openings 
at the tips of grass leaves, and at the edges of 
other leaves, and of definite shape, according to the 
species, to permit of the excess of moisture, pumped 
into the tissues by root-pressure during the night 
when transpiration has ceased, to escape. These 
water pores, as they are termed, are in close connec¬ 
tion with water glands situated close by, but in the 
interior of the tissues. Those glands are situated at 
the ends of the vessels of the vascular tissue of the 
leaves. When transpiration ceases in the absence of 
sunlight, the tissues of plants get gorged with 
water, and then the neighbouring vessels get filled 
with sap by infiltration under pressure, through the 
weaker and thin portions of their walls. In this way 
the sap finds its way to the water pores during the 
night. This same thing happens in winter, when the 
trees are leafless. The tissues get gorged, and if the 
stem is cut, bleeding ensues. No bleeding would 
occur if the leaves were transpiring, for there would 
be no sap in the vessels to cause it. 
-- 
SOCIETIES. 
Royal Botanic, June 21st. —This was the occasion of 
the Children's Floral Parade, which was commenced 
a few years ago as a tentative experiment, but has 
now become an annual fixture. The occasion was 
favoured by cool but dry weather, and as the Duke 
and Duchess of Teck with Princess May had 
promised to attend, and the Duchess to distribute 
the prizes to the successful children, something like 
7,000 to 8,000 people visited the gardens to witness 
the spectacle. The latter was considered to be a 
decided success over previous attempts. From a 
horticultural point of view it was not an ordinary 
flower show, nor intended to be one, but a number 
of well-known exhibitors came forward to grace the 
occasion, and arranged their exhibits on the sloping 
grass terraces protected by the large marquee where 
the summer flower shows are held. 
One of the four central banks in this marquee 
was occupied by a fine group of Palms, Dracaenas, 
and Ferns, enlivened by Crotons, variegated 
Dracaenas, Caladiums, Orchids, and a selection 
of the newer and finer types of tuberous Begonias 
in various shades of crimson, scarlet, rose - pink, 
salmon, orange-yellow, and white ; the Countess of 
Craven was a fine type of the latter. Sir John 
Lennard was a handsome rosy-scarlet sort. Messrs. 
John Laing & Sons vere the exhib’tors of this group, 
and were accorded a small Silver-gilt Medal. 
Opposite to this was an attractive group of 
Caladiums, small in leaf, but very diversified in 
colour and pleasing. The front of the group was 
set off with a broad band of double flowers of 
Begonia, done up in trusses with Fern fronds. 
This was exhibited by Mr. John R. Box, Croydon, 
who was accorded a large Silver Medal. A similar 
award was made to Mr. R. Scott, gardener to Miss 
Foster, The Holme, Regent’s Park, for a large group' 
of Palms, Ferns, Caladiums, and Dracaenas, 
enlivened with flowering plants. A Silver Medal 
was accorded to Mr. J. R. Chard, Stoke Newington, 
for some elegant floral decorations, the flowers used 
being Iceland Poppies, pink Cornflowers, pink Sweet 
Peas, yellow Aquilegias, etc. A similar award was 
made to Mr. C. Turner, Slough, for a group of 
blush and pink Malmaison Carnations and Turner’s 
Crimson Rambler Rose, all set amongst Ferns. One 
of the central banks was occupied with Roses in 
pots, and also cut blooms shown by Messrs. Wm. 
Paul & Son, Waltham Cross. Baskets of W. Allen 
Richardson, Spenser, and L’Ideal were very attrac¬ 
tive, and the exhibit secured a small Silver-gilt 
Medal. A Silver Medal was accorded to Mr. Frank 
Cant, Braiswick, Colchester, for a fine display of cut 
Roses in boxes, including stands entirely filled-with 
one sort in each of Souvenir d'Elise Vardon, Ernest 
Metz, Marie Baumaunn, and Victor Hugo. Mr. Geo. 
Mount, Canterbury, had a similar award for Roses 
arranged in the same way, including a box of Teas 
in the bud state, as well as handsome blooms of 
Madame Cusin, The Bride, Souvenir d’Un Ami, 
Souvenir d’Elise Vardon, Innocente Pirola, and 
others in splendid condition. A large Bronze Medal 
was awarded to Mr. H. O. Garford, Stoke Newing¬ 
ton, for window boxes filled with various Pelar¬ 
goniums, Antirrhinums, Tradescantia, variegated 
Maize, etc., arranged in attractive fashion. 
