April 16, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
517 
CANNELL’S VIOLETS. 
It is said no variety that we have so long and 
often recommended has ever given such complete 
satisfaction as Princess of Wales. We have the 
largest, most complete, and best kept stock of any 
in England. We shall be glad to quote special 
price for large quantities. 
Catalogues free to coming customers. 
SWANLEY, KENT. 
1898. 
CATALOGU E 
1898. 
(Over 150 Pages. 
Nearly 150 Illustrations.) 
of Florists’ Flowers and Hardy Border Plants 
Is got up regardless of trouble or expense, with the result that 
it is by unanimous consent pronounced the most comprehen¬ 
sive, most acourate, most reliable, most complete and best 
extant. 
It gives full and aocurate descriptions of everything in the 
way of Florists' Flowers, also oolour, height, time of 
flowering, and prloe of all the best Hardy Border Plants, 
together with then English or Common Names, and a mass of 
other Valuable Information that cannot be had else¬ 
where. 
It is In fact a veritable reference-book, invaluable to all 
growers of these plants, and should be in the bands of all 
intending purchasers. Free on application. 
JOHN FORBES, 
ESTABLISHED 1870. 
Nurseryman, Hawick, Scotland. 
ORCHIDS. 
Clean Healthy Plants at Low Prlees. 
Always worth a visit of inspection. Kindly send for Calalogur, 
JAMES CYPHER, 
Exotic Nurseries, CHELTENHAM. 
LAIRD’S 
“DEMOTIC” 
FERTILIZER 
STANDS 
UNRIVALLED. 
Every Gardener should give 
it a trial. 
PRICE 17/6 per cwt., Carriage Paid. 
R. B. LAIRD & SONS, 
SEED MERCHANTS, 
17a, South Frederick Street, 
EDINBURGH. 
H ollyhocks.—a large collection of 
fine named Hollyhocks in strong plants. Absolutely 
free from disease. 
ULE-TIDE is the grandest scarlet per- 
petual Carnation extant; has been awarded nine F.C.C. 
and Silver Floral Medal by the R.H.S. Catalogues on appli¬ 
cation. 
JOHN FORBES, Nurserymar, Hawick, Scotland. 
HARDY CLIMBERS. 
FINE COLLECTION. 
FOR PILLARS, ARCHES, WALLS, 
PERGOLAS, TREES, &c. 
GEO. BUNYARD & CO. 
given good crops season by season for 16 
years past, and varieties remaining in good 
condition till May, which are as follows :— 
Beginning with Kitchen sorts, say during 
August, we have Lord Suffield (rather sub¬ 
ject to canker in the wood), Keswick 
Codlin, Golden Spire, Lord Grosvenor, 
Eclinville Seedling, Stirling Castle, War¬ 
ner’s King, Seaton House (the most certain 
cropper we have seen, lasting in use from 
October to Aprilfi Dumelow’s Seedling, 
Northern Greening and Yorkshire Greening. 
They are kept dark and rather close, and 
newspapers are spread over the fruits which 
are in layers of 3 or 4 deep. The soil is wet, 
heavy, and below the surface of the sea.— 
M.T., Carr on. 
Beg to say their List of the above may now 
be had free, from 
THE ROYAL NURSERIES, MAIDSTONE. 
NEW DOUBLE VIOLET, 
MRS. J. J. ASTOR. 
This beautiful Violet, of a deep rosy-heliotrope is 
meeting with a most cordial reception, and as the 
stock is getting very limited, and we have already 
many orders booked for April and May, we beg all 
intending purchasers will please apply at once to 
prevent disappointment. 
The Managers, Hood Gardens, Totnes. 
f(4 
Edited by J. FRASER, F.L.S. 
SATURDAY , APRIL 16th, 1898. 
NEXT WEEK'S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Friday, April 22nd.—Sale of Imported and Established 
Orchids by Messrs. Protheroe & Morris. 
IMpples from August to May.— The 
* subject of hardy fruits, generally, 
seems never to lack interest ; and it would 
appear that the consumption of Apples as 
part of our diet (in North Britain at any 
rate) is greatly on the increase. Very 
often we read of great success by culti¬ 
vators in districts wide apart, but seldom 
are details sufficient to encourage beginners 
to embark largely in Apple culture. It is 
pitiable to see so many old orchards through¬ 
out England, as well as in Scotland, in the 
last stage of decay. In our district 
(Stirlingshire) many old orchards, which 
had been famous for producing fine crops 
of fruit, have of late years, been cleared 
right away and are now useful pasture. 
Seldom do we see or hear of any new 
orchards being formed. When reports of 
successful Apple culture are given it would 
be well to note at the same time the ele¬ 
vation of the position, latitude, nature of 
soil, subsoil, drainage, and the varieties 
which succeed year after year without fail. 
We find it is not necessary to go out of 
a county to see great diversity of results 
from orchards and fruit gardens, while the 
culture in each case is identical ; but soil, 
drainage and exposure generally settle the 
matter. Large collections, instead of 
“ Suitable Collections for the Situation,” too 
often defeat the aspiration of cultivators. 
W r e have carefully noted sorts which have 
Should soil get tired of one kind of 
^ crop ?—-To agriculturijts it is a matter 
of common observation and experience 
that Clover crops cannot be obtained from 
the same land consecutively for more than 
a few years. Science may yet be able in 
the near future to explain the reasons why 
the agriculturist should fail to secure a 
Clover crop annually from the same piece of 
ground. As far as we can at present 
determine, the species of Clover have 
peculiarities in this respect, that until they 
are more fully understood, cannot be sur¬ 
mounted. Other crops belonging to the 
same family do not seem to have given the 
same amount of trouble. The garden Pea 
has given successive crops from the same 
land for a period of fifty years without 
failure. Nevertheless it possesses the same 
peculiar faculties of collecting nitrogen 
from the surrounding soil, and of fixing 
the free nitrogen of the atmosphere as 
Clovers have. The inference furnishes no 
clue to the difference, which must, there¬ 
fore, be sought for elsewhere. There can 
be little doubt that proper tillage and an 
intelligent use of the various animal and 
artificial manures to soils would help 
largely to overcome difficulties in the mat¬ 
ter of continuous cropping. The more of 
any given crop that is conveyed off the 
land, the more the necessity for returning 
an equivalent in applied fertilisers. The 
soil is, indeed, an exhaustless store of plant 
food, but good crops taken off the land 
always deplete the latter of certain mineral 
and other ingredients at a greater rate than 
the forces of Nature can replenish the same 
in a condition that can be absorbed by 
plants. This is more particularly the case 
where land is badly tilled or not tilled at 
all. Air, rain, and frost are renovators of 
the soil’s ferlility; and the sun may also be 
placed in the same category, in the case of 
summer tillage at least. In India, the soil 
is dug up purposely so that the sun may 
pulverise it and otherwise restore its fertility. 
Moreover, tillage certainly hastens the solu¬ 
bility of plant food, while in a state of nature 
these operations proceed more closely. 
For many years almost the sole crop of 
any importance grown in the Scilly Islands 
was early Potatos. At length these 
became unremunerative owing to the com¬ 
petition coming from the Channel Islands, 
aided by the better climatic advantages. 
About thirty years ago, the Scillonians 
commenced Daffodil culture as a means of 
utilising their land, and affording them a 
living. In course of time Daffodils com¬ 
pletely supplanted the Potatos, from which 
we should infer that the crop was propor¬ 
tionately remunerative. This year, how¬ 
ever, the islanders are complaining that the 
bulbs have failed to produce a remunerative 
crop of flowers. The same ground is con¬ 
tinually cropped with Narcissi, which 
are lifted at intervals of three years or 
thereby, merely for the purpose of thinning 
out the bulbs and giving them more room. 
