415 
May 14,1904 THE GARDENING WORLD. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for reply in this column. These 
•nuiries may cover any branch of gardening. Questions should be 
it as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only ; 
.separate sheet of paper should be used for each question. 
Readers are also invited to g ve their fellow gardeners the benefit 
their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped, addressed 
velope is enclosed, and the return of specimens cannot be undertaken. 
nonymous communications are treated in the usual editorial manner. 
Address letters: The Editor, “The Gardening World,” 37 and 
8, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
lantation of Raspberries. 
I have live acres of land I want to plant with Raspberries. 1 
ad a crop of hay on it last year. I intend to plough and clean 
thoroughly before planting. Can you tell me the probable 
ost per acre for canes alone ; also how many plants to the acie . 
1 If*your field was in grass last year it would scarcely be in good 
rim for planting with Raspberries before taking a crop of 
omething else off it, such as Corn or Potatos. We should say 
hat Corn would be the most suitable crop to prepare it for 
Raspberries, as you could not very well clean the land lmme- 
iiately after grass. If the land had been under Corn last year 
md put under Potatos this year, the ground would have been 
n excellent order for turning into a Raspberry plantation m the 
lutumn. You surely do not mean to plant Raspberries before 
lutuinn, as the plants are now nearly in blossom. W ith regard 
o the cost of the' canes, that would vary greatly according to 
he grad© or size of the canes themselves, and also according 
;o the variety planted. To give you some idea of the probable 
cost we may take canes of medium size, well rooted, but cer¬ 
tainly not the largest obtainable. If of the variety Superlative 
thev would cost about 20s. the hundred. The canes might be 
planted in rows 6 ft. apart and 3 ft. in the rows, this may 
seem wide at first, but the variety being a strong-growing one, 
and your climate being rather moist and suitable for xvasp- 
berries, the space will be profitably occupied at that distance. 
At that rate you would require 2,420 canes per acre to plant 
the ground, and that would run to £24 4s. for the canes, so that 
you can easily calculate the price for five acres. By taking such 
a large number, however, you can certainly get them at a 
cheaper rate by applying to any nurseryman of repute who grows 
Raspberries. You should be able to get special quotations for 
such a number. 
drapes Browned on the Skin. 
Would you please state wliy the berries on the enclosed bunch 
of Foster’s seedling have turned black ? After thinning the vines 
we watered with liquid manure made from sheep droppings, and 
the pipes were painted with sulphur of the consistency of thin 
milk. I notice the worst-marked bunch was the one imme¬ 
diately above the pipes on the warmest end of the house. 
(Thomas Bivunton.) 
The rust, of Grapes is due to various causes ; at least, that 
is the opinion held by many excellent fruit growers. When the 
berries are young the skin is thin, delicate, and easily injured. 
In our experience white-skinned Grapes are more easily injured 
than black ones. There is no need to enumerate the different 
things that will cause rust at this stage of growth, .as you very 
[clearly indicate the cause of it in your letter. It is just pos¬ 
sible that strong liquid manure might do damage if present as 
a steamy moisture in the atmosphere for a considerable length 
of time, but leaving that aside, you say that the hot water pipes 
were painted with sulphur and that the worst bunch was imme¬ 
diately above the pipes. This, then, is the explanation of the 
cause of rust. The fumes of the sulphur coming in contact with 
the delicate skin will readily cause rust. We presume that 
file sulphur was used in order to keep down red spider, but unless, 
the red spider was already present in quantity the sulphur might 
have been left over until later in the season, when the skin of 
the berries gets more hardened. At that time there would also 
be less beat in the pipes, and consequently the danger of rust 
by such means would be greatly reduced. Instead of using 
sulphur on the pipes at this early period of the year, you could 
keep down red spider by using the syringe freely until the 
berries are about to commence colouring. Even if compelled to 
leave off syringing, then a little sulphur on the pipes would do 
no harm, because the pipes are never heated to anv areat- extent. 
Flower of Lycaste. 
Tour opiniun c-n this flower of Lycaste would greatly oblige. 
(Pekth.) 
The flower sent was of good size and substance, while the red 
petals offer a beautiful contrast to the flesh-coloured sepals. 
\Vhile we might describe this as a good variety, it would not 
rank as anything special from a commercial point of view, be¬ 
cause many similar ones have already been obtained amongst 
importations in the species. It is simply a good average flower, 
and certainly worthy of cultivation. 
Yellow Banksian Rose. 
Is there any reason for the yellow Banksian Rose not flower¬ 
ing ? We have a large plant on a wall, but it shows only a truss 
or two. It was planted four years ago, and is now of large size. 
(Baxksiax.) 
As you say the plant is grown on a wall, it is probable 
that you have pruned away all the flowering wood. On a south 
aspect or an eastern one is a very good place for it, and the 
stems ought to be allowed to run up to a considerable height 
in order to let it exhaust itself, so to speak, in growing to 
flower well. It usually happens, however, that the Banksian 
Rose gets too much pruned to flower well on a wall. It takes 
three years practically to get the Rose into suitable condition 
for flowering. The first year strong stems are run up, and 
during the second year long side shoots are given off. The 
flowers are produced from these laterals during the third year of 
any given stem. If you pruned away these laterals in order to 
make the wall tidy that would explain why the Banksian Rose 
is not showing well for bloom. A number of these laterals 
should be allowed to remain full length and retained until a full 
crop of bloom has been obtained from them. In order to keep 
the wall tidy these long shoots might then be removed, and others 
allowed to take their place. These should flower next year if 
retained as advised. 
Vices not Showing Fruit. 
I shall be glad if you will tell me in your valuable paper the 
reason of some vines here showing fruit so tardily. The wood 
seemed to have ripened up well last autumn. The Vines are 
rather old, and a lot of plants are always grown in the house. 
They were allowed to break gently, and were certainly not over¬ 
cropped last year, but they are showing only very few bunches 
this year. The roots are all outside. (H. S.) 
You say that the Vines have been allowed to come along 
gently ; that is, we suppose, without the use of much fire heat. 
In that case the Vines would grow slowly, and at first the shoots 
would appear weak, but with the increase of sunshine we think 
they will overcome this later on, provided all other conditions 
are equally favourable. It would be difficult to say why they are 
not showing fruit. The Vines might have broken more strongly 
if they had been taken horizontally when you started the house. 
As soon as the shoots were three inches long you could then have 
tied up the rods again in their places. This expedient is often 
resorted to in order to make Vines break strongly, especially 
from the base. You speak about the roots being all outside this 
year. You do not mention whether you have lifted them recently, 
because that might account for their coming along tardily. 
Another suggestion we should make is that the outside border, if 
unprotected, would have been cold 1 and wet during the past 
winter, owing to the continued and heavy rainfall. If the roots 
had recently been lifted this, in conjunction with the cold, wet- 
soil, would account for a very slow growth at the commencement. 
If this is the true explanation the Vines should right themselves 
presently in the matter of vigour. If the crop is scanty this year 
you will'have to make the most of it, hoping to get a better next 
year, if the old Vines recuperate their vigour during the present 
season. Next year you might try the laying down of the rods pre¬ 
vious to breaking as above advised. 
Green Primroses. 
I would feel obliged if yon would kindly give me your opinion 
of enclosed Primroses in your next issue. I got a small plant 
sent me a few days ago by an amateur friend wishing to know if 
it was anything very unusual, and as I have never seen one quite 
the same your opinion would be valued. (P. D. R.) 
There are several forms of green Primroses and green Cowslips 
or Polyanthuses in gardens, but they are not very common, and 
after gardeners cease taking an interest in them they neglect 
them, and let them die away, even if they do not throw them 
out. Several of them are very old, and have received different 
names, such as “Pantaloons, “Jack in the Green, and 
“ Jackanapes.” Several of these are quite different fiom yours, 
and we think your particular variety is as uncommon as any. 
Usually it is the calyx which grows out into green leaves, some¬ 
times- an inch or two in length. In your case the corolla is 
about the usual size, and resembling small leaves. It is cer¬ 
tainly a curiosity, and as such as worthy as the green Rose, green 
Tulip, green Dahlia, and so forth, of cultivation. If you have a 
