254 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 15, 190C. 
Geo. Paul, V.M.H., seconded the proposition which 
was carried with accord. 
The last of the proposed alterations was put for¬ 
ward by Rev. A. Foster-Melliar, re judging at Rose 
shows. He moved that definition 5 be altered to read 
as follows :—•* Size shall imply that the bloom does 
NOT IN THIS RESPECT FALL BELOW THE STANDARD OF 
the class being judged.” Thus if there was a 
large and good bloom o. a certain variety in the back 
row of a set, that bloom would act as the standard 
by which the stand would be judged. Mr. Burrell 
seconded the proposition, which, however, only 
received four votes. 
This terminated the business. 
In the evening the 24th annual dinner was held, 
Mr. Geo. Gordon, V.M H., being in the chair. 
SIZE versus FLAVOUR. 
In the growth of our fruits, be they Strawberries, 
Plums, Apricots or anything else, is there not a 
mistake made when we feed them so liberally, blowing 
them out, filling their structures with juice, which, 
like new wine, requires time to become mellowed, 
changed and enriched ? We hear of people arguing 
the •' liberal use of liquid manure, mulchings, sur¬ 
face dressings and so on; but we find no qualifying 
notes, or at most a scanty generalisation when 
remarking on the conditions upon which such 
instructions ought to be adopted. I have known 
gardeners who could show massive fruits, a mighty 
size and weighty, too, but the fruits, Peaches they 
were, had no colour, or very little, proving that they 
enjoyed scant sunshine. This would bring in the 
objection that the Peach-houses were badly situated, 
or that the sunshine for the season was meagre. 
Well, the houses were in a poor posture, for from 
two o'clock in the afternoon the sun was off them. 
Considering the other argument about a want of sun 
on favourably placed houses, it may happen that in 
some parts the late fruit houses may not get enough 
of that sunshine which “ ripens " and develops the 
true properties and worth of our fruits. Therefore, 
according to the amount of hot sunny weather, the 
quantity of liquid or other manurial feeding should 
more largely be regulated. No one would advocate 
the starving of fruit trees which are swelling crops, 
but the idea, which so often is forgotten when 
nourishing a swelling crop, should be not how large 
can we make the fruits, but how much substance 
caD we store into them and secure it thoroughly 
developed, ripened and sweet; in a word, how can 
we get the highest flavour in them ? Poor or bur¬ 
dened trees will never yield sweet, tasty, sappy 
fruits, nor will overfed trees do so. Perhaps in the 
feeding of Vines the reason, or a large part of it, 
why the colouring is so poor in many cases 
is because the abundance of ” food" in the 
berries has not had time to develop and change to 
perfection. Medium fruits are generally free from 
any reproach against their flavour. Vegetables are 
another case in point where mildness and purity and 
that appreciable piquancy sought for, is more 
generally found in the rationally-cultivated and fed, 
medium crops. So these observations would direct 
us that to secure flavour and decent size, but more 
especially the flavour, without which we might as 
well be eating raw Turnips, we must follow that ever 
safe path, the middle path, and only apply so much 
nourishing matter as we may reasonably suppose 
will have time to “ digest ” and mature under the 
action of heat and light.— T. Grove. 
LEGAL NOTES. 
Mushroom Growing in Cellars. 
In the Sheriff Court at Leith, Edinburgh, on Tues¬ 
day, nth inst., Sheriff-Substitute Maconochie gave 
judgment in a case raised by the local authority of 
the Burgh of Leith against William McRobbie. The 
local authority alleged that McRobbie was using 
certain cellars in various parts of the town for Mush¬ 
room growing, that the cellars were in proximity to 
and below the level of dwelling-houses, and contained 
accumulations varying in quantity from time to time 
of stable manure, which persistently polluted the 
atmosphere with gases due to fermentation and the 
soil with decomposing organic refuse, and that the 
process of Mushroom growing as carried cn was a 
nuisance or injurious or dangerous to heaith within 
the meaning of the Public Health (Scotland)IAct. 
1897. 
On November 13th, the Sheriff-Substitute refused 
McRobbie a proof, and remitted the matter to Sir 
Henry D. Littlejohn, M'.D., Medical Officer of 
Health of Edinburgh, for examination and report, 
Having examined the place where the manure- is 
prepared or “ sweetened " at a considerable distance 
from dwelling-houses, and the three cellars where 
the buisness is carried on, he reported that the vaults 
appeared to him to be well suited for the purpose ; 
that he could detect no objectional odour, either 
within or without the respective premises ; that 
he had since his first examination inspected the 
localities from time to time, and made enquiries at 
the neighbouring tenants whether they had to com¬ 
plain of any odour from the Mushroom beds; that 
he failed to detect any himself in his subsequent 
visits, and that the various tenants assured him they 
had no cause to complain. Further, he reported, 
that under these circumstances he considered that 
the trade of Mushroom growing in the three locali¬ 
ties complained of was carried on in a wholesome 
manner and did not create a nuisance as alleged. 
Sheriff Maconochie has now granted absolvitor to 
McRobbie with expenses. The matter has excited 
considerable local interest, and McRobbie's defence 
has been conducted by B. Murray Thomson, S.S.G., 
Edinburgh, secretary of the Royal Caledonian 
Horticultural Society. 
——. — 
READ THIS. 
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news upon passing events likely to interest horticult¬ 
urists at large ; hints containing suggestive facts of 
practical interest to gardeners or growers of plants, 
fruits, or flowers ; successful methods of propagating 
plants usually considered difficult ; or any other 
tobic coming within the sphere of gardening proper. 
The articles in question should not exceed 250 words, 
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judgment must be considered final. The communi¬ 
cations for each week should be posted not later 
than Monday night. 
The prize last week was awarded to Mr. Henry 
H. Gibson, The Gardens, Glencairn, Belfast, for his 
article on ” Penzance Sweet Briers,” p. 229. 
-- »#» --— 
QUG$T10n$ ADD AnSHUGI®. 
Rusted Ferrt Fronds.— C. B G.: We carefully 
examined all the fronds sent us but failed to find 
any evidence of rust or other fungoid diseases upon 
or in them. By holding the Scolopendrium fronds 
against a bright light you can practically see through 
them by the unaided eye. A lens fails to show 
anything more, and even a microscope of high 
power reveals nothing in the way of rust as usually 
understood, and which is the result of the Uredo 
stage of various species of Puccinia. In the case of 
this fungus in any stage whatever, when fruiting, 
there is no manner of doubt about its presence, as 
you can detect masses of spores with the naked eye, 
and even scrape them off the surface of plants 
affected. It seems to us merely a case of premature 
maturing, or, in other words, decay, owing probably 
to too much shading in summer. If the blinds are 
let down earlier in the morning than necessary, and 
left down too late in the afternoon, the fronds 
never do nor can acquire that rigidity or substance 
characteristic of Scolopeodriums grown fully 
exposed in the open air Of course, under glass the 
shade and atmospheric moisture will cause rapid 
and handsome growth, but the fronds are always 
thinner and shorter lived than those grown in full 
exposure. Even in this case we may not have 
probed the secret of the early decay to the bottom, 
but there is no rust present nor auy other filamen¬ 
tous, that is, mycelial fungus present ; and as far as 
we can see there isnothing that can spread from one 
plant to another. 
Grafting Seedling Apple Trees. — D. W. D. : 
Your best plan would he to visit some gardens in 
your neighbourhood and ascertain what varieties do 
well. Get some shoots of these in February or 
March and heel them into soil in a shady position 
till you want to use them. Cut down the Seedling 
Apples about the same time to where you want to 
graft them. About the end of March, or, better, 
about the beginning of April, you may graft them. 
Get some clay and work it up till it becomes very 
plastic ; then get some hay, cut it up fine with the 
garden shears and mix it thoroughly with toe 
clay. Get some matting and have your pruning 
knife thoroughly sharpened. When thus prepared, 
cut off a sloping piece of the stem of the stock (seed¬ 
ling Apple to be grafted). Prepare some of the 
Apple shoots so as to fit the cut you have made on 
the stock. Be sure that the edges of the bark 
exactly fit the edges of the stock, otherwise they will 
not join. A tongue made on the graft, so as to fit 
into a slit in the stock, will prevent the former from 
slipping down until a union has formed. Now 
place the two in position and tie them firmly with 
matting. Take a piece of the clay and work it all 
round the graft so as to exclude the air. Finish up 
by tying some moss over the clay to keep in the 
moisture. Only one stock and one graft should be 
prepared at one time, then proceed to do the next 
tree in the same way. We should advise you to 
practise with pieces of green wood so as to get a 
litt'e experience at the art before trying the Apple 
trees and perhaps spoiling them. For a method of 
budding the trees, see next week’s issue. 
Evergreens for Beds on the Grass.— D. W. D. : 
H lilies live and thrive in very exposed positions so 
that we should think you would have no difficulty 
with them in the beds on the lawn you mention, see¬ 
ing that they are sheltered from the east. You 
wou'd not require a great many plants for each bed, 
seeiog that you intend to plant bedding subjects 
between them in summer. Golden Queen Holly 
would make a beautiful subject for one bed, and 
Silver Queen for another, the leaves being variegated 
with yellow and silvery-white respectively. Golden. 
Irish Yews might be planted in another. Like the 
Hollies they grow slowly, and can be kept down to 
any convenient size by pruning or cutting in with the 
knife. The golden-leaved Privet (Ligustrum ovali- 
folium aureum) would make a handsome subject if 
sufficiently hardy, and not being costly you might 
well give it a trial. Andromeda polifolia has narrow 
leaves, white flowers, and grows only 12 in. to 18 in. 
high. A. floribunda is taller and flowers more pro¬ 
fusely, but might not prove quite so hardy. Some 
varieties of the Box are very handsome, and we 
believe would do well under the circumstances you 
mention. Buxus sempervirens myrtifolia has large 
leaves; B. s. rosmarinifolia, narrow leaves; and 
there are gold and silver variegated forms you might 
try. Cotoneaster Simonsii is very hardy and bears 
red berries in autumn and winter. 
Plants for Cut Flowers for Market Work.— 
Scotch Gardener: Gladiolus The Bride is certainly 
a good item, and you should be ready to plant out 
the corms iu February or even earlier, as your 
district near the seaboard is relatively mild and 
open. You should also have a good breadth under 
Daffodils, including such white varieties as 
Narcissus bicolor Horsfieldi, Empress, Grandee, and 
the later flowering varieties of N. poeticus, single 
and double, the latter keeping up a succession till 
June. Yellow Daffodils you ought to have are 
Emperor, Golden Spur, Henry Irving, Scoticus, 
P. R. Barr, Princeps, and other bold varieties. 
Single and double varieties of N. incomparabilis 
would also be useful. If you have only a small 
amount of stock to commence with you can increase 
it annually. Irises should not be forgotten, includ¬ 
ing fine varieties of Iris germacica, I. pallida, and 
Spanish and English Irises to keep up a succession. 
Single and double Pyrethrums will be found useful. 
Other useful flowers are Eryngium giganteum 
(biennial) and E. alpinum, E. oliverianum, and E. 
planum (perennial); also Chrysanthemum maximum, 
C. m. Mrs. Head, Helianthus Miss Meilish, H. 
Daniel Dewar, Anemone japonica alba, Gladioli of 
the gandavensis type, Montbretias of various colours 
in named varieties, Lilies in variety, and early 
flowering Chrysanthemums, such as M. Gustave 
Grunnerwald, Mdme. Marie Masse, Mytchett White, 
and a host of others, which you will find described 
in catalogues. Do not omit a good sowing of Sweet 
Peas. If you desire more annuals than the last 
named please let us know. 
Names of Plants.— -H. J.\ 1, Viburnum Tinus; 
2, Berberis Aquifolium ; 3, Chimonanthus fragrans ; 
4, Crataegus Pyracantha; 5, Cornus sibirica.— 
Western : t, Veronica Traversii ; 2, Veronicapingui- 
folia ; 3, Gaultheria procumbens.— A. M.\ 1, 
Odontoglossum andersonianum var; 2, Odonto- 
glossum Pescatorei ; 3. Cypripedium villosum 
Boxallii.— A. K .: 1, Ligustrum ovalifolium aureum ; 
2, Fhillyrea decora; 3, Prumnopitys elegans; 4, 
Retinospora obtusa; 5, Thuya orientalis elegau- 
tissima; 6, Thuyopsis dolobrata.— -J. W. A. : 1, 
Onychium japonicum ; 2, Doodia caudata ; 3, Blech- 
num occidentale : 4, Begonia semperflorens var. 
Names of Fruits.— J. Mayne : It is either Bed- 
fordsnire Foundling or Brabant Bellafleur, as far as 
shape goes, but the colour was too far gone to be 
certain. In other words the variety is out of charac¬ 
ter.— D. W.: 1, Apple Dumelow's Seedling; 2, King 
of the Pippins ; 3, Cox's Orange Pippin. 
-* 2 *-. 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
Theodore Turner, Begonia Nurseries, Great 
Sutton, Chester.—Special Cheap Offer of Roses, 
Begonias, Gladioli, Roses, Shrubs, Lilies, Fruit 
Trees, &c. 
H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, Kent.—Complete 
Catalogue of Golden Seeds. 
