August 4, 1900. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
115 
OUR COMING FRUIT CROP. 
As there are several large fruit growers within a few 
miles of this village, I made up my mind to have a 
good look round, not particularly from a market 
point, but to get an idea of what the crops look like. 
Apples are in abundance, far too many for the older 
trees to finish. Some of the smaller sorts hang five 
and six in a bunch. The branches of the younger 
trees are already beginning to feel the weight of the 
heavy crop, and unless the fruits are thinned the 
crop will be inferior. The scorching sun, with smart 
drying winds, is already begining to tell tales. 
Plums are a heavy crop. I noticed the young 
branches of the Victoria drooping with their weight 
of fruit. Damsons are heavy. Pears are a fair crop. 
Gooseberries will hardly pay for gathering ; in fact 
the report comes from Ely in Cambridgeshire that 
they will not pay for gathering. Currants are plenti¬ 
ful, Red and White. Why not grow more Black ? 
The disease could be fought by raising young stocks, 
destroying the old trees as soon as the mite affects 
them. This I find is the best remedy. Let the trees 
have plenty of room, and crop between the rows with 
early Potatos or Strawberries, taking care to keep the 
runners from under the trees. There is always a 
ready demand for Black Currants at a good price. 
Peaches, Apricots, Nectarines, and Figs in private 
gardens are carrying good crops.— J. Wallace, King's 
Lynn. 
KitcQen G arden Calendar. 
Spring Cabbage. —To ensure early crops of these a 
sowing should now be made, if not already done, of 
some kind such as Ellam's Early. In late districts 
it is advisable to make the first sowing during the 
last week in July, but in the south the first week in 
August will be soon enough. A second sowing should 
be made about the middle of the month of such 
kinds as Flower of Spring and Main Crop. Every 
attention must be given after sowing in the way of 
protecting the seed from birds, watering and afford¬ 
ing shade during hot weather. If the soil is kept 
moist the seed will soon germinate and come up 
regularly, but when baked by the sun but few plants 
will appear and these will be of a stunted nature. 
Keep the plants free from weeds and prick out 
about 4-in. apart when they have made the fourth 
leaf. 
Autumn Onions should now be sown As the 
seed of these is much longer in germinating than that 
of Cabbage, take every precaution to have the 
ground thoroughly moistened previous to sowing, 
and do not allow it to get dry afterwards or failure 
will be the result. 
Lettuce and Endive. —Sowings of these should 
now be made for winter use. The Brown Cos and 
Hick’s Hardy Green are best, as these being more 
hardy than the summer varieties are not so liable to 
be injured by frost. If plants from this sowing are 
planted in beds where protection can be afforded 
they will give a supply till well on in the winter. 
Endive when large enough ought to be planted out 
from a foot to 15-in. apart according to the variety 
grown. 
Tomatos. —Plants on walls and against fences wiil 
have grown apace during the recent hot weather; 
this being so, take care that all growths are securely 
fastened to prevent them being blown off by the 
wind. Water must be afforded to prevent the 
plants from flagging; but it is not advisable 
to over-water as this induces the plants to 
make a sappy growth. When sufficient fruits 
are set that there is any prospect of ripening, 
pinch the points out of the leading shoots, so as to 
cause the sap to develop the fruit more quickly. 
Watering all winter crops must receive attention, 
for unless these are got forward before the days are 
too short the growth made will be sappy and there¬ 
fore more liable to be injured by trost. 
Celery. —The latest batch of this should now be 
planted, for unless a fair growth is made before frost 
sets in, late plantings will be of little value. Late 
Celery ought not to be earthed till about six weeks 
before it is required for use. Many are of opinion 
that Celery is a tender plant liable to be injured by 
frost; this however is not the case unless it is 
blanched, for being a native plant it will withstand 
the most severe of our winters, uninjured, if left to 
grow naturally; but if the stems are blanched they 
become tender, therefore liable to injury. The most 
forward lots should now be blanched as Celery is 
often in request early in September. For these early 
batches collars made of brown paper are most use¬ 
ful as the plants can be watered with safety when 
these are used, without fear of injury to the hearts 
of the plants. 
Peas.— A sowing of these should now be made in 
a sheltered position where protection could be 
afforded in the autumn. Dwarf varieties are best 
for these late sowings, as they will admit of a tempor¬ 
ary frame being put over them when there are signs 
of frost approaching. We have before pointed out 
the necessity of having plenty of winter greens put 
out, and have also drawn attention to the advantage 
of sowing a good breadth of Turnips for winter use ; 
but repeat the warning here in case some of your 
readers may have neglected to make preparations. 
Turnips are one of the most important winter crops 
we have, and if sowings are made once a week for the 
next three weeks, ample sweet crisp roots may be 
had till late in the spring. Late Broccoli is also an 
important vegetable, and should be planted largely. 
Carter’s Universal is one of the best for this use. 
Winter Spinach. —This ought not by any means to 
be neglected, as it is in great demand through the 
winter. It is well to make a couple of sowings, one 
early in the month and the other towards the end, 
the late sowing will be found most useful in spring. 
— F.W.J. 
* 
Vines in the Open Air. —Vines on south walls,so far 
as I have observedjthis season, are promising remark¬ 
ably well. The growths which surround the bunches 
are best left uncut until the fruits are swelling up. 
By leaving them some slight protection is given, and 
this is beneficial in cold seasons. But once the 
bunches are observed to be developing the shoots 
should be spurred back in some cases, headed in in 
the case of those bearing bunches, and others may 
be nailed to the wall. Remove bunches where there 
are thick clusters. Thinning of the berries may or 
may not be done. The roots in dry weather should 
be thoroughly watered, and the foliage may be 
syringed at least once a day, early evening prefer¬ 
ably. 
Pruning Fruit Trees. —A great deal more 
summer pinching and pruning ought to be done. 
The cry is that we do not get our fruits to colour 
highly enough, yet where the precaution is taken to 
prune early and to expose the fruits to the influence 
of the sun, a splendid tone can generally be secured 
in all fruits grown in southern districts. The small 
and weakly growths found in the central parts of 
trees should be entirely removed. And about the 
time that the earliest budding was started the first 
summer pruning was performed. So that now the 
wood is thickening and firming as its further growth 
continues. By thus pinching after a goodly supply 
of wood growth is furnished, a great deal more of the 
existing sap with nutriment is transmitted directly 
to the crop at a time when it needs it most. Young 
trees being formed and enlarged will, of course, need 
less pruning or pinching than an older tree whose 
structure is already well formed. 
Peaches and Nectarines on walls should have 
their shoots lightly nailed to the wall. Any leaves 
which may cover the fruits should be removed. In¬ 
sect pests should be kept under as much as possible 
by frequent syringings. Artificial manure waterings 
to trees about to finish their crops should be given. 
Budding in the north may still be performed. 
Strawberry layers should be lifted and planted out 
in nursery rows, to be again transplanted later. Or 
those in pots may be shifted on into the fruiting size 
and placed out on an open path. Late layers may 
still be pegged down.— D. K. 
--S'-- 
©leanings ftgmt ffje HDutrlb 
nf Science. 
The undermentioned subjects were brought before 
the Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, on July 17th. 
Carnation leaves injured.—Leaves were re¬ 
ceived from Scarborough, upon which Mr. Douglas 
reported as follows —■ 
“ The three leaves seem to be scalded, but this 
might not have happened if the leaves had been 
healthy. They are not. The weather has been un¬ 
favourable to Carnations in some places. These may 
have been badly cultivated. Probably they had too 
much water, or insufficient ventilation. With ample 
ventilation, and the plants healthy, scalding does not 
take place. The eruption or raised process on the 
single leaf, is similar to what occurs on Vine leaves 
when the atmospherical conditions are bad—viz., too 
much moisture and too little ventilation. No plants 
suffer so much from insufficient ventilation as Car¬ 
nations, and a moderately moist atmosphere is in¬ 
jurious. This may account for both the ailments in 
question.” 
Apple tree attacked by caterpillars.—Speci¬ 
mens were received from Mr. Abbey, Avery Hill, 
Eltham, upon which Mr. McLachlan reports as 
follows:— 
" I only found one larva in the Apple shoots, and 
that appears to be some kind of tortrix. It is often 
hard to name these things without seeing the insects 
they produce. Apple trees just now are infested with 
larvae of various kinds, and not the least destructive 
is that of the Winter Moth, but I do not see it in the 
box. Hand-picking is all very well in its way, but I 
should strongly recommend spraying the trees, if not 
too large, with some of the insecticides recommended 
in the gardening papers. It is late, but even now it 
might do good. As a rule two or three applications 
at intervals of a fortnight or so are necessary, and it 
should be done in dry weather. The solutions used 
in spraying are generally poisonous, but they do no 
harm to the fruit when in a young state, and they 
render the foliage deadly to insects hatching up from 
eggs laid on the trees. It soon disappears, but has 
done its work in the meantime. Spraying is used 
enormously in America; less so here. Of course some 
ordinary common sense care should be exercised, as 
with any poison.” 
Strawberry leaves diseased. —Mr. G. Lee sent 
some leaves attacked by the fungus Sphaerella 
fragariae, " Strawberry leaf blight.” It Is a very de¬ 
structive disease recorded from all parts of the United 
States (illustrated in " Diseases of Plants,” Tubeuf & 
Smith, p. 215). 
Dahlia synanthic sport.— Mr. Evan Davies, 
Talsarn, Bromley, Kent, sent a remarkable specimen 
of twin Dahlia blossoms united back to back on co¬ 
herent flower stalks. One blossom was yellow with 
crimson centre, the other entirely crimson. Which 
was the sport was Dot stated, but probably the latter. 
Aster seedling disease.—The following report 
was received from Dr. W. G. Synith on samples sent 
by Mr. Basham, Fairoak Nurseries, Bassaleg, New¬ 
port, May 7th ;— 
“ This disease begins at the neck of the plant or 
below the ground, and travels upwards through the 
plant, producing as it goes discoloration and soften¬ 
ing of the tissues. There is fungus growth on all 
discoloured parts, aad I believe the mycelium is the 
cause of disease; it can be observed at the limit be¬ 
tween discoloured and still green parts. Spores are 
produced of an oval form and colourless, a form which 
gives little assistance in identification. Nematode 
eelworms were also observed, but it is not easy to say 
what part they play ; I should say they lived on the de¬ 
caying parts. It should be mentioned that the Rev. 
Mr. Friend (Gardener's Chronicle, August 14th, 1897) 
ascribes the Aster disease to a type of parasitic 
worm, but I did not observe this form. The cause 
of this Aster disease has not yet been satisfactorily 
cleared up in any papers I know.” 
Tulips diseased.—Bulbs received from Mr. 
Maine, Penhill Close, Cardiff, were forwarded to Dr. 
Smith, who now reports as follows upon them :— 
“The plants received are infected with the Tulip 
Botrytis disease. The black bodies embedded in the 
bulb scales and dead leaves are the resting stages of 
a fungus which in its active stage has the form of re¬ 
productive organs known as Botrytis. It is a common 
disease, and this year I have reported on several 
cases, especially on Narcissus. On June 2nd, in 
Gardener's Chronicle, I recommended a somewhat 
similar treatment to that found successful by your 
correspondent—namely, to lift the bulbs after the 
flowering season, keep them in a dry place, or in some 
mixture of lime or sulphur, and to treat with sulphur 
before replanting. There seems to be no other way 
open to deal with this type of fungus. The disease 
evidently occurs on certain kinds of soil, but exactly 
what kind I cannot say yet.” 
