184 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
November 19, 1898. 
Mr. Thomas Paul. 
Mr. Thomas Paul, of Donegall Place, Belfast, is the 
honorary secretary of the Ulster Horticultural 
Society, whose annual grand show of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums in the St. George’s Market has carried the 
society into the very front rank of its compeers. 
A man of middle life, Mr. Paul controls a 
considerable business establishment in the city 
Mr. Thomas Paul. 
of Belfast, and brings with him in his capacity 
of hon. secretary an experience which is always 
welcome and useful in the management of a large 
society like this. Quoting from the ninth annual 
report, Mr. Paul tells us that the receipts last year 
were some £66o; the expenditure of the society 
reached £642 ; and the total balance in hand was 
£75 odd, out of which various donations to 
several charitable purposes were offered in com¬ 
memoration of the Victorian Jubilee year.— Gyp. 
ints for Amateurs. 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page 
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 ol their letters. 
Six Japanese Chrysanthemums. - Cycle : For your 
stand of six Japanese Chrysanthemums at your 
forthcoming show our selection would be Madame 
Carnot, Chas. Davis, Viviand Morel, Phoebus, M. 
Chenon de Leche and Edwin Molyneux. The last- 
named variety is not a sure doer, but if you can stage 
a good flower of it it will carry a lot of points. In 
a stand of six one white should be sufficient, 
although, of course, more would be admissible. 
Mrs. J. Lewis would make a capital second white, as 
it represents a totally different type of bloom from 
Madame Carnot. Lady Hanham is a fine flower as 
you say, and it is distinct from either Chas. Davis or 
Viviand Morel, from which latter variety it originated 
as a sport. Hairy Wonder is one of the very best 
hairy varieties for exhibition purposes, but you must 
take into consideration the probable opinions of the 
judge, and be guided thereby as to its inclusion or 
otherwise. 
Erythrina Crista-galli not flowering.— T. 
Probably your plant did not flower for one or two 
reasons. First of all you certainly did not start it 
into growth soon enough in the spring, and it did not 
have time to make sufficiently strong growth to 
flower. Then, from what you say, the corner, you 
gave it during the summer was not sufficiently warm, 
not enough exposed to the direct rays of the sun. 
The plant is a sun-loving subject, and unless it is 
suited in this respect it will not flower, or, at least, 
only in very shy fashion. 
Varieties of Apples.—Would you tell me if the 
Apples Catshead and Mere de Menage are generally 
good croppers, whether young trees fruit early, and 
whether they are considered profitable to grow ?— 
J. B. Davis. 
Mere de Menage does best as a standard planted 
out in orchards. It does not commence to bear 
fruit very early in its life, but once it does begin, 
which it does when it is about twenty years old, it is 
a regular and reliable cropper. It is a very profit¬ 
able variety to grow for market, for the fruit, besides 
being of fine quality, has a showy appearance from 
its high colour. Catshead is an old variety that has 
little to recommend it besides size. The fruit is of 
fair quality and the tree is a moderate bearer. We 
should thus not recommend it as a profitable 
variety for growing for market. You would 
find Bramley’s Seedling far superior to it. Like 
Mere de Menage it does best as a standard in 
an orchard. For cropping whilst the trees are 
yet small and young there is nothing to beat 
Bismarck, and for market purposes this would 
be our first selection. It does well as an orchard 
tree or as a dwarf bush or pyramid upon the 
Paradise stock. 
Peaches.—I have lately come into possession of a 
Peach house. It is span-roofed, with two rows of 
4-in. pipes round it and heated with a boiler stove 
outside. As I do not know much about peaches, I 
should be pleased if you could give me a few hints as 
to their cultivation. I shall not want to force them 
at all, so about what temperature should I keep the 
house during the winter ? Is it necessary to dress 
the trees with anything to kill insects, and if so what 
can you recommend ? There appears to be a bit of 
brown scale and red spider on the trees. I suppose 
I caD prune and tie the trees any time now that the 
leaves are off ? Should I put a mulch of rotten 
manure on the borders in the springtime, cr would 
a dressing of Thomson’s Vine Manure be better ? 
Could you recommend me a good book on Peach 
culture ?— W. H. 
As long as you keep the frost out of the house 
during the winter that is all you need trouble about, 
unless, of course, there are other plants in the house 
that require a little more heat. In that case about 
40° Fabr., ora little over, by night will be a good 
temperature. You must wash the trees with some 
insecticide to get rid of the scale and red spider. 
A little Gishurst Compound dissolved in tepid water 
and applied with a soft brush is the best thing to use. 
It is both safe and effectual. Work the wash well 
into the crevices of the bark but beware of injuring 
the buds. You may prune and tie at any time after 
the leaves have fallen and before the buds burst in 
the spring. Until we know what condition your 
border is in we cannot advise the use of chemical 
manures. A dressing of good loam after the cleaning, 
pruning, and tying of the trees are done will be the 
safest course to follow. With regard to a book on 
Peach culture you will find “ The Orchard House, 
the Cultivation of Fruit Trees under Glass,” by T. 
Rivers, published by Longmans, Green & Co., at 5s.; 
and “ Fruit Culture under Glass,” by D. Thomson, 
published by W. Blackwood & Sons, at 7s. 6d., both 
good books. Rex will have something to say upon 
the subject very shortly in " Hints for Amateurs.” 
Treatment of the Hoya carnosa.—C. N. Your 
Hoya will need no water during the winter months. 
The pale green, sickly look of the leaves has probably 
been brought about by over-watering. A warm 
greenhouse temperature is what the plant likes best, 
but it will also do well enough in a cooler green¬ 
house. 
Tree Carnations.— Contra: We do not think it at 
all likely that your Carnations will flower until late 
next spring. The cuttings were struck too late in 
the season, and the plants are too small and weak. 
You must remember that strong, healthy plants only 
will flower during the winter, and that if you do not 
get these you cannot expect flowers. 
Pollarded Italian Willows.— Erie: We do not 
think you have any reason to fear for your Willows, 
even although the soil was heaped up round the 
stems to a depth of 2 ft. above what it originally 
was. Even if some of the lower roots die, which is 
not at all certain, new ones will be thrown out above 
the level of the old soil, and the new soil, if there is 
any goodness in it at all, will act as a top-dressing, 
and probably cause an increase in the vigour of 
growth next spring. 
Eating Diseased Tomatos .-.—Crypt : As it is not 
at all likely that an attempt would be made to eat 
Tomatos that were badly diseased we assume your 
question only applies to those fruits which have only 
been slightly touched. We should not consider it 
injurious to eat these if the fungus-affected parts 
were cut out first, and if the fruits were cooked. 
Raw fruits we should certainly advise you to steer 
clear of if they are affected in any way, although 
even in this case harm might not follow. The case 
is rather different to that of animal food that is in 
some of the early stages of rottenness, for the tissue 
of such food has undergone a chemical change that 
renders it unfit for human food. The same rule 
applies to the eating of game which has become 
"high,” although the degree of danger is not so 
great. 
APPLE JAMES GRIEVE. 
The Apple, now well known under this name, was 
raised by Mr. James Grieve, of the firm of Messrs. 
James Grieve & Sons, Redbraes Nurseries, Brough¬ 
ton Road, Edinburgh, while manager to Messrs. 
Dicksons & Co. It will occur to many that Mr. 
Grieve is known as the father of the modern race of 
Violas; but though he then gave and now gives 
much attention to that useful race of garden flowers, 
he laboured to improve various other garden sub¬ 
jects, including Apples, of which he raised nearly a 
thousand seedlings. Several of them have proved to 
be highly meritorious, after fruiting and being tested 
for a number of years, including James Grieve, 
Bailie Neilson, P. W. Fairgrieve, James Welsh, 
William Robinson, Dr. Robertson, &c. The first 
two were shown in fine form in the exhibit sent by 
Her Majesty the Queen (gardener, Mr. Owen 
Thomas) to the Edinburgh show in September. We 
have several times seen Apple James Grieve, which 
is a dessert variety of large size, conical in outline 
and attractively neat in appearance. It was a seed¬ 
ling from Pott’s Seedling, and has proved a very 
hardy and prolific bearer, its fertility being scarcely 
surpassed. The habit of the tree is quite a model 
pyramid. On the paradise stock it bears the second 
year from the bud, the large fruits being produced in 
bunches. The colour is a rich golden yellow, 
streaked and spotted with scarlet. It is in season 
from September to March, a lengthy period that 
cannot be otherwise than in its favour. The tree 
can ba produced as far north as Apples will grow. 
For exhibition it is indispensable. James Grieve 
Apple was one selected from hundreds of seedlings, 
which have practically been a life work to the raiser. 
We think none of our readers who grow this splendid 
Apple will think we have praised it too highly. The 
flesh is yellow, richly flavoured and in every way 
excellent. The accompanying illustration gives a 
good idea of the outline of the fruit, and is from the 
pen ol Mr. Nath. Bryson, who takes great delight in 
portraying flowers and fruits. He is well known in 
connection with the Royal Caledonian Horticultural 
Society. 
CHHYSflHTHBinuni NOTES. 
MESSRS. H. CANNELL & SONS. 
Amongst the various popular flowers which Messrs. 
H. Cannell & Sons have taken in hand at their 
compact and well-ordered establishment at Swanley, 
Chrysanthemums hold a foremost position. No 
fewer than three thousand plants are grown to pro¬ 
duce large flowers, and the collection comprises all 
the test continental, colonial and American varieties, 
as well as those which have been raised at home; 
and, indeed, it is one of the most completely up-to- 
date and representative collections in existence. 
This season the display of bloom is well up to the 
standard of former years; indeed, in our opinion 
there are more large and really good flowers to be 
seen than there were last year. The plants are, as 
usual, accommodated in a long, roomy, span-roofed 
bouse, situated in one of the most elevated parts of 
the nursery. 
The Australian novelties form a prominent feature 
