200 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
November 27, 1897. 
||ints for ||mateurs. 
Correspondence. 
Questions ashed by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this paee. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
" Amateurs' Page " on the top of their letters. 
Newly-Planted Wall Trees.— F. C.: You must on 
no account permanently nail the trees to the wall 
yet, for no matter bow firmly you have trodden the 
ground, it will be sure to sink to some extent 
during the next two or three months. The 
branches would then be strangled by the ties, and 
the roots would be disturbed in the ground. You 
may untie the branches from the ' bunched” state 
in which they have been placed by those who 
packed them, and you must give the tree some 
support to prevent it being twisted at the collar by 
the wind. You may either loop the main branches 
loosely to the wall, or drive a stout stake into the 
ground on either side of the central stem of the tree 
and tie a few of the branches to that. 
Planting Boses —I have received a small consign¬ 
ment of Roses from the nurseryman. They are 
lightly covered with earth, waiting to be planted. 
Would you advise me to plant now, or let them 
wait as they are until spring ?—F C. 
Plant them at once, by all means. You gain 
nothing by leaving them where they are. 
Roses.—Please say when is the best time to make 
a Rose border, and the best way. — Reader. 
As you make no mention of glass, we assume that 
you mean an out-of-door Rose border. In making 
such a border the first tbiDg to do is to see that the 
soil is well drained. If this is not so naturally, then 
drains must be put in to carry off the surplus water. 
If the soil is a loam of medium texture varying to 
heavy you will do well to trench to a depth of about 
2 ft., throwing the surface soil loosely up for the 
frosts of winter to break up and sweeten. If, on the 
other hand, the soil is inclined to be poor and 
gravelly, the lower strata should be loosened, but 
not brought up to the surface—in other words the 
ground should be double dug. A liberal dressing of 
good rotten stable manure should be worked in. For 
very heavy soils a dressing of burnt earth, charcoal, 
or wood ashes would be very serviceable. You may 
set about the digging and trenching at once, the 
sooner the better, as the soil is now in a favourable 
condition for working, and this part of the operation 
should be completed before winter sets in. In the 
spring all you have to do is to level the soil down and 
plant. A bed or border prepared in this way will 
suit the Hybrid Perpetuals well. For the more 
delicate Tea Roses, on the other hand, a little more 
care must be exercised. A warm south border is the 
best for them, and the greatest care must be taken 
to see that the soil is well drained and that it is 
mellow and friable. 
Crocuses. —Amateur: Crocuses will grow and 
produce capital flowers without any soil whatever. 
Place the corms close together in a saucer or shallow 
dish containing a little water. All you have to do is 
to keep the water supply constant. An ordinary 
dwelling-room will suffice for accomodation. These 
saucers of Crocuses form a very pretty ornament for 
a room, and the wonder is that more people do not 
try to grow this pretty spring flower in this way. 
You need not be afraid of the corms rotting off if you 
do not put in too much water. We were quite 
prepared to hear you suggest that they would rot, 
however, when treated in the way suggested, but give 
the matter a trial, and then you will be convinced. 
Lobelia cardinalis. — S. Young: Lift the plants, 
place them in shallow boxes with a little soil, and 
house them in a cold frame. Divide the roots in 
spring if you wish to propagate. 
Nepenthes.— W. Squires-. You have not a suffi¬ 
ciency of heat to grow the Pitcher Plants properly, 
although your house might be warm enough through 
the summer. Through the winter months the tem¬ 
perature should not fall below 6o° Fahr., or at the 
very lowest 58°. 
Strawberry.— Robert R. : We are afraid, from 
what you say, that the Strawberry crowns are too 
weak to be of much use for forcing purposes. Still 
apparently weak crowns will occasionally give good 
results. Have you no practical man in the neigh¬ 
bourhood to whom you may show the plants and 
whose advice you may seek. It is impossible for us 
to say definitely without a look at the plants. 
Muscat of Alexandria Grapes.— Y.: The Grapes 
may be allowed to stay on the vines until the sap 
begins to move in the spring, after which they must 
be removed and bottled if you wish to keep them 
longer. Meanwhile the house should be kept as cool 
as possible and fairly dry. A little fire-heat may be 
required during cold and damp weather, but it must 
not be overdone. 
Winter Cucumbers. — J. Reeves : There are not 
very many growers in the vicinity of London that 
make very great attempts with winter Cucumbers. 
The plants grow well enough up to a certain point, 
but when late autumn and winter come with dense 
fogs they make but little headway ; indeed, it is a 
great question whether they pay at all. Now you 
have your plants started, however, you must make 
the best of things. Do not do too much stopping or 
pinching, for vigorous growth is wanted, acd the 
plants will have all that they can do to make suffi¬ 
cient growth during the dull months. A temperature 
of from 6o° to 65° Fahr. will be required, the former 
temperature being maintained during the night. 
-—i-- 
A VISIT TO MR. PETER COCKBURN’S 
VINEYARD, DRUMCHAPEL. 
About the beginning of August I paid my annual 
visit to the above vineyard, and I was amply paid 
for my trouble. The houses are five in number, 
each 150 ft. long, except one which is 70 ft., span- 
roofed,and standing on iron pillars, of the very newest 
design. One of these houses is planted with Vines 
about two-thirds of which are Gros Colman, and the 
remainder Alicante; and to get a sight of it is worth 
going many miles to see. The Vines were planted 
green in the month of June, 1895, allowed to run 
over the house for the first year, and the canes being 
strong they were cut back to about 6 ft., and in the 
following year, 1896, Mr. Cockburn exhibited both 
Gros Colman and Alicante Grapes cut from Vines 
two years old. They were the admiration of every¬ 
one who saw them, and he was told by a good 
number of growers that he would have to be content 
the next year with a good deal less; but instead of 
that there is a crop of Grapes hanging at Drum- 
chapel just now that could not beaten in all Scot¬ 
land, which any gardener can prove by going and 
seeing for himself. At the time of my visit 
Gros Colman was beginning to colour, and some of 
the berries were almost as large as a penny. He 
begins to send away Gros Colman about Christmas, 
and can always command a good price for them. 
I next visited the Tomato houses, which are four 
in number.' Three of them, each 150 ft. long, are 
planted with Mr. Cockburn’s own seedling, a 
beautiful, smooth-skinned Tomato of a delicious 
flavour. One other house, 70 ft. long, is also 
planted with Tomatos, but whichever house you go 
into the same excellence is observable. Plants are 
laden with fruit from the first joint right up to the 
top, and some of the bunches are over 3 lbs. in 
weight. He will put between five and six tons in 
the market this year. I may state that the Glasgow 
water has been laid all over the house, and by a 
patent system of his own, Mr. Cockburn can at all 
times draw either hot or cold water in all parts of 
his houses. 
Mr. Peter Cockburn's name as a Grape grower is 
known all over Scotland. The first time we heard of 
him was in 1878 ; he was then gardener to D. T. 
Stewart, Esq., of Ba r assie, who took a great interest 
in his gardener as a Grape grower, and allowed him 
everything he required to produce the best Grapes 
procurable; nor was he disappointed. As a proof of 
this some of the Grapes that were sent to London 
drew the handsome sum of 18s. per lb., a price never 
realised by any other grower in the country, and 
which was commented on by the London press. 
In the year 1888 or 1889 Mr. Cockburn was 
appointed head gardener to the Right Hon. Lord 
Blantyre, Erskine House, where he had great scope 
to test his ability as a fruit grower, which he took 
full advantage of by making Erskine famous for its 
fruit. 
In 1892 he started for himself, and is now fast add¬ 
ing to his fame by his straightforward and honest 
dealing in all his business matters. I understand 
that he has lately brought out a manure for Grape 
and Tomato growing, and the crops produced by it 
at Drumcbapel are ample proof of its virtue.— A 
Scotch Grape Grower. 
-- 
THE HORTICULTURAL CLUB. 
The usual monthly dinner and conversazione took 
place at the rooms of the Club, Hotel Windsor, on 
November gth. The chair w as occupied by the Rev. 
W. Wilks, and notwithstanding the attractions of the 
Chrysanthemums elsewhere, there was a good attend¬ 
ance of members, amongst whom were Messrs. Shea, 
Selfe-Leonard, C. E. Pearson, A. H. Pearson, G. 
Bunyard, George Nicholson, G. Massee, James H. 
Veitch, and the secretary. 
The discussion was opened by Mr. G. Massee, 
president of the Mycological Society, who gave a 
very interesting address on " Lilies and their 
Diseases,” and a very instructive and practical con¬ 
versation followed, in which most of the members 
present joined. A cordial vote of thanks was ac¬ 
corded to Mr. Massee for his valuable address. We 
give an outline of it, which, however, only gives a 
very faint idea of its value and importance. 
Among the various fungoid diseases to which 
Lilies are subject, three kinds require special notice, 
on account of the wholesale destruction caused by 
their presence. One of these, unfortunately too well 
known in this country, especially during damp 
seasons, first appears under the form of small, 
yellowish spots on the leaves and flower-buds ; these 
spots soon change to a dark olive green colour, and 
if a fragment of the fungus taken from one of these 
spots is examined under the microscope, it is seen to 
consist of a number of dark coloured threads, each 
bearing two or three clusters of fruit or conidianear 
the tip. These conidia are produced in rapid suc- 
cesion during the summer months, and are capable 
of germination the moment they are ripe. The conidia 
are readily distributed by wind, insects, or rain, 
which carries them from diseased to healthy leaves. 
All conidia alighting on the damp surface of a Lily 
leaf or flower germinate at once, enter the tissues cf 
the plant, and form new centres of disease, which 
quickly produce conidia. From the above account, 
it will be readily understood how easy, and also 
certain, it is for the disease to spread rapidly after it 
has once gained a foothold in a bed of Lilies. At 
this stage spraying with a fungicide is of great service 
in presenting the spread of the disease, as all ger¬ 
minating conidia are destroyed. A solution of potas¬ 
sium sulphide, in the proportion of one ounce of the 
sulphide dissolved in three gallons of water, serves 
the purpose. During the summer the mycelium of 
the fungus becomes aggregated into numerous 
minute, compact, black lumps, in the tissues of the 
leavespstem, and often also in the outermost bufb- 
scales. As the leaves and stems decay during the 
winter, the sclerotia are liberated and lie on the 
ground,where they remain in an unchanged condition 
until the following spring,when they produce conidia, 
which find their way on to the 'eaves or flowers of 
Lilies, and the disease commences its life-cycle 
anew. From what has been said, it is scarcely 
necessary to indicate the importance of not allowing 
leaves and stems of diseased plants to decay on the 
ground; all such should be collected and burned. 
All bulb-scales showing the minute black sclerotia 
imbedded in their tissue should be removed before the 
bulbs are planted. The conidial form of this fungus 
is called Botrytis ; it is probably a stage in the life- 
cycle of a higher form called Sclerotinia, but this 
has not yet been definitely proved. 
A second disease, caused by a fuDgus called Pbyl- 
losticta liliicola causes the appearance of reddish 
patches on the stems and leaves of Lilies, followed 
by a bronzing of the leaves ; the flowers of such 
plants are usually distorted, or not infrequently fall 
in the bud stages. Promptitude in spraying on the 
first appearance of the disease would check its 
spread, and the burning of all diseased stems and 
