June 13, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
511 
Market Gardening in Lancashire. 
Less than two years ago Mr. Winder, who, apparently, has 
only just emerged out of his teens, ventured to pitch his tent 
at Howick, about two miles south of Preston, near the West 
Lancashire Station. Mr. Seekings, the manager, is a much 
older man, and hailed formerly from one of the Bexley Heath 
establishments, which is some guarantee that he knows soune- 
thino- about growing stuff for market. Five acres of land have 
been secured, on which several glass structures have been 
already erected and stocked. Three of them, 160 ft. by 2 5 ft. 
each, contained Tomatos, planted thickly in borders 15 in. deep 
They were extra vigorous; them walking stick-like stems were 
clothed with large leathery leaves, and the setting fruit nearly 
touching the soil. The varieties were Comet and Listers 
Favourite, the latter being the best. There was one bunch of 
flowers on whicli 100 had been counted, and another with 
fifty-three flowers, which would be a-crop in itself if they all 
set and matured. Mr. Seekings admitted that lie never had 
better success. 
Three houses, 160 ft. by 15 ft., containing Cucumbers were 
in this block, planted on the sides and trained up part of the 
roof with Tomatos in 8-in. pots in the centre, ripening their 
fruit, picking having commenced the second week in May. The 
varieties of Tomatos were Up-to»-Date, Improved, and Holmes’ 
Latest of All, and they were like the proverbial rope of Onions. 
The first lot of Cucumbers was cut at Easter. These six 
houses are heated by three 3 ft. 6 in. saddle boilers, but they 
were not powerful enough, and have since been fitted with 
economisers, which have made a saving of 45 per cent, in fuel 
with efficiency. Tire most economic fuel appears to be a 
mixture of coal and coke. 
The three houses containing Tomatos are intended for Vines, 
and are built on pillars, except the outside walls, SO' that the 
borders will be continuous. The Vines, which are already 
three parts grown, are standing in 8-in. pots amongst the 
Tomatos. Black Hambro’ and Diamond Jubilee will be planted 
alternately, and the one that proves the best will be retained. 
Gros Colmar and Muscat of Alexandria will be similarly 
arranged and dealt with. In two hip-span houses, 100 ft. by 
20 ft., at present filled with Cucumber plants up the roof and 
trained vertically up the back wall and the centre, 4 ines will 
be planted next year. The varieties are Rochford, Covent 
Garden Favourite, and a variety that came with it, from 
which seeds were saved ; and Mr. Seeking thinks he will like 
it better than the Rochford. There are two travelling houses, 
100 ft. by 25 ft., that have covered Spinach, and grand stuff 
it looked, but now they are: covering Strawberry plants of 
Royal Sovereign, planted twelve months last September, 18 in. 
by 12 in., the fruit partly set on the date of my visit (May 
25th). Next year every other row and every other plant in 
the rows will be cut out. There are 300 ft. of space that can 
be covered with these movable houses. This kind of house, if 
only on a small scale, would be a boon in many a garden, and 
would soon pay for itself in a season like the present, when 
all the Strawberry blooms are said to be destroyed in many 
gardens. Eight men can move one of Mr. Winder’s houses, 
and their next move will, I presume, be to cover Chrysanthe¬ 
mums. Mr. Winder finds a. better market north of Preston 
than south for some of his produce. Two tons of Mushrooms 
went north, but Southport and Blackburn are supplied from 
this establishment, and sometimes Manchester. 
Mr. Winder has built his manager an excellent and commo¬ 
dious dwelling-house, with modern conveniences. The houses 
have been built by the Horticulture Constructing Travelling 
House Company, and are more substantial than the usual run 
of market gardening glass structures. The ventilators are 
worked by a lever at one end attached to wires running on 
pulleys. , W. P. R. (Preston). 
Fungi for Leeds Museum.— Mr. W. N. Cheesman, a Selby 
botanist, is preparing for the local museum a group of fungi 
from Staynor Wood which includes some exceptionally beau¬ 
tiful specimens. 
Salicylic Acid in Strawberries. 
The Strawberry season is at hand, and this delicious fruit 
is not without its advocation as to its advantage in rheumatism. 
Indeed, some have gone the length to state that Strawberries 
may not only be taken with impunity by the rheumatic and 
gouty, but with distinct advantage, if not relief, according to 
the “ Lancet.” It is a somewhat curious coincidence, there¬ 
fore, that in the Strawberry the presence of salicylic acid, which 
is a specific in acute rheumatism, has been definitely estab¬ 
lished. As a matter of fact, salicylic acid would appear to be 
a normal constituent of most fruits. At any rate, the acid has 
been found not only in the Strawberry, but in (drapes, Apples, 
Plums, Oranges, and Cherries, although the amount is probably 
less than one helligramme (one-sixty-fourth of a grain) per bilo- 
Tulira Greigi. (See p. 509.) 
gramme (2 lb.) of fruit. It is hardly possible, therefore, that 
the Strawberry should have any specific medicinal effect attri¬ 
butable to the salicylic acid present. The fact, however, that 
salicylic acid exists normally in fruits is of interest in connec¬ 
tion with the use of salicylic acid as a preservative in jams. 
It is possible that some magistrates may regard this natural 
occurrence of the acid in fruits as a plausible defence in those 
cases in which proceedings are taken for the addition of small 
quantities of the preservative. 
Saxifraga rotundifolia. 
The above may be compared to S. umbrosa, but the leaves 
are nearly orbicular, softer in tissue, sharply toothed and freely 
produced all up the stem of the plant. In the case of S. 
umbrosa, the leaves are mostly confined to rosettes at the 
base of the stem. The flowers of the plant under notice are 
white, spotted with red. The plant blooms early, produces 
seeds in great abundance, and sows itself thickly if tlm seed¬ 
lings are in a position where they are likely to remain un¬ 
disturbed. 
