42 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
January 9. 1904. 
Tiie Fruit Trade of 1903.—The summer of 1903 will be re¬ 
membered as one of the most disastrous seasons ever experienced 
in the fruit trade. With the solitary exception of Strawberries, 
the English crops were a complete failure. It is true there was 
about a fifth of an average crop of Cherries, but even those were 
completely destroyed by a two days’ deluge of rain just as they 
were in prime condition for gathering. Other crops, such as 
Plums, Damsons, Gages, Currants, Gooseberries, Apples, Pears, 
etc., were practically non-existent. As an illustration of this, 
it is' averred that Messrs. Knowles and Sons’ orchards in Kent 
did not yield as much fruit for the entire season as the firm had 
last year in a single heavy shipment. 1 here were fewer pounds 
of tlie old-fashioned but popular Hazel Pears sold this year 
than there were hundredweights last year, and as for preserving 
fruits, such as Plums, Greengages, Damsons, Black Currants, it 
is scarcely necessary to recall the fact that these were hardly ob¬ 
tainable at any price. The position was aggravated by the fact 
that the famine was not confined to this country, but was general 
ri°ht along the great fruit-growing zone on the Continent. 
French Pears realised more per Pear than they are usually sold 
at per pound, and French Gages, which are usually retailed at 
4d to 6d. per lb., were never below 10cL, and mostly Is., through¬ 
out the season. The unusual scarcity in these lines led to an 
enormous demand for that ever increasingly popular fruit the 
Banana, although even in regard to these fate seemed deter¬ 
mined to show its unkindness, for just when the demand was 
at. the keenest the plantations of Jamaica were devastated by a 
storm which practically swept everything before it. So com¬ 
plete was the ruin that shipments ceased entirely for the. time 
being, and Messrs. Elder, Dempster and Co. discontinued 
running their boats from Kingston to Bristol for some time, 
but were -able to continue the service from Costa Rica to 
.Manchester. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
enquiries may coves- any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
put as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; 
a separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
o+ their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped , addressed 
envelope is enclosed, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken. 
Anonymous communications are treated in the usual editorial manner . 
Address letters: The Editor, "The Gardening World.” 37 and 
38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
Windmills for Gardens. 
Can you inform me of the address of any firm who erect wind¬ 
mills for water pumping ? (W. Murray.) 
You may apply to Messrs. .J. S. Millar and Sons, engineers, 
of Annan, Dumfries, N.B., who make a speciality of windmills 
for pumping and storing of water for use in gardens, etc. 
Flowering Shrubs for Forcing. 
Would you please name.a few flowering shrubs that would do 
well for potting to force in the early spring? (W. M.) 
Several varieties of the Japanese Cherry (Prunus Pseudo- 
cerasus), including James H. Veitch, the darkest of all, are 
very useful. Another very handsome subject is Prunus triloba 
fl. pi., with rosy pink flowers produced in great profusion. Tt, 
does not last a very long time, however. More durable would 
be the numerous fine varieties of Azalea mollis and its hybrids, 
with A. sinensis, correctly termed Rhododendrons, but best 
known as Azaleas.’ Yon should not omit the common Laburnum, 
which lasts well under cool conditions. The Snowball tree is 
also a very suitable subject for forcing, and will give variety 
with its masses of white flowers. Very useful also is the 
Japanese Crab, Pyrus floribunda, which will prove as handsome 
in the half-opened state as when fully expanded, on account 
of its rosy crimson petals. Any of the Lilacs, single or double, 
would also be suitable for bringing into bloom before the natural 
time. The white Spanish Broom (Oytisus albus) and the yellow 
one, Cytisus praecox, better known in gardens as Genista 
praecox, flower profusely. Several others might be mentioned, 
though you will find the above very suitable foi the purpose 
and productive of a great amount of variety- The purple-leavecl 
Plum might, however, be. included, namely, that popularly 
known as Prunus Pisardii. 
Publication of Names and Addresses. (Rye Laconic.) 
The question is really outside our province, otherwise we 
should have been very pleased to help you. We are quite well 
aware that the names and addresses are not all given in the 
publication, nor are they always correct; but the same thing 
might be said of several other publications of a similar nature. 
It is sometimes due to the carelessness of the gardener, though 
there are, no doubt, many exceptions to the rule. The best 
plan would be to communicate directly with the publisher of 
the book in question. 
Vines and Mealy Bug. 
I have two Vines with Mealy Bug. If I left a good space 
between, them and the clean ones—tire infested ones are at the 
end of the house—and keep the foliage from meeting all the 
summer, would it keep them from spreading or do they run 
the wires and woodwork ? I noticed last summer that the little 
ants kept working where there was a bug, and by that means 
I killed a good few. Do ants carry them about? I have heard 
so-, but have never seen them attempt it. (W. M.) 
Tlie young bugs are those most given to running about, and 
possibly they would crawl from one Vine to another if the dis¬ 
tance was not great. There are other means, however, by which 
they are transported from- one place or one plant to another, 
and you mention one instance yourself. The ants do carry them 
about and place them in suitable positions for their convenience. 
Tt is just possible that other insects would carry about the 
young ones, more especially by accident. Young or old ones 
may also be carried about by the clothes of people working 
amongst the plants. Rats, mice, or birds might also be tne 
means of carrying them about accidentally or involuntarily as 
it were- In any case, it would be unsafe to have clean and in¬ 
fested Vines in the same houses, thinking it would be pos¬ 
sible to maintain the clean ones in that condition. We should 
advise you to omit no opportunity for eradicating the mealy bug 
on the infested Vines. Remember always that the first appear¬ 
ance of a colony of bug or any other insect is the'best time to 
attack it, and if you keep an eye upon the Vines from time to 
time as their young ones make their appearance, you will be able 
to thoroughly clean the Vines during the course of the season. 
Carnation Rust. 
What reason can he given for the rust spreading so much on 
the leaves of Carnations ? I have never been so much troubled 
before ; how can it be checked? (E. A. S.) 
The wet summer and autumn favoured the grubs of the fungus, 
particularly in the early stages, because when there is moisture 
upon the leaves the spores are able to germinate, and if the 
fungus gets inside it is practically independent of weather. 
You should keep the atmosphere of the house cool and dry, 
with plenty of fresh air on all favourable occasions, so as to 
keep the plants strong and sturdy. Whenever you can detect 
blistered leaves, indicating the presence of the fungus, you 
should pick them off and burn them before the spores get 
scattered about the house. Spraying the plants with Bordeaux 
mixture at intervals would not destroy the fungus in the tissues, 
but it would destroy all the spores that become exposed on the 
surface, and even after they have found a resting place on other 
healthy leaves. Spraying would thus act as a preventive by 
killing the spores before they .germinate on clean plants. 
Gray Streaks on Cineraria Leaves. 
Can you say what causes the leaves of Cinerarias to become 
disfigured like the enclosed, and can it he got rid of? (W. D.) 
The tunnels in the leaves of Cinerarias are caused by the grubs 
of a small black fly similar to that which tunnels the leaves of 
Chrysanthemums, but particularly the annual species. It is, 
in fact, a Phytomyza, and possibly the same one. If taken m 
time, they can never become so troublesome to the leaves of 
Cinerarias as in the case of Chrysanthemums. Owing to the 
large size of the leaves of Cinerarias, it would be unwise to 
remove many of them, if, indeed, you could remove one without 
disfiguring the plant. Instead of removing them, a better plan 
would be to watch the plants closely at various stages of growth, 
and whenever you can detect the commencement of a tunnel 
you should squeeze it between the finger and thumb so as to 
crush the larva or grub that is doing the mischief. If you can 
succeed in locating it, there will be no difficulty in crushing it 
without much injury to the leaf, and thus stay the depreda¬ 
tions. In case the pest might at any time prove very trouble¬ 
some, a good plan would be to take preventive measures by 
fumigating the houses lightly on a few separate occasions, as for 
green fly. This would be the means of destroying any perfect 
flies of the leaf miner which may be about. 
Best Time to Plant Lilium lancifolium. 
It is usual to pot up all Dutch bulbs in the autumn, hut 1 
intend making a bed or two of the above, and our soil is very 
stiff, so that there might be blanks in the beds next summer. 
What would be the best plan, to adopt? (A. L.) 
