November 12, 1904. 
THE GARDEMNG WORLD 
923 
was seen what amount of money was likely to be available. It 
is desired to make the general committee as influential as pos¬ 
sible, so that the movement may become generally known and 
receive support, and as there are many in different parts of 
the country who would be glad of the information of what is to 
be done, I should be glad if you would publish this letter in 
your paper. I shall be glad to receive communications from any 
persons who would be willing to contribute to the memorial or 
who would desire further particulars sent to them.—F. F. 
Smith, Mayor of Rochester. 
* * * 
Drumhead Cabbage. —This is recorded as having been in 
existence in the time of George III., and that it greatly excited 
the farmer King’s interest. Any cottager in Windsor who suc¬ 
ceeded in raising a specimen of this variety as large as a kettle¬ 
drum head was rewarded with a guinea by the King. 
* * * 
A Fixe Strawberry Tree. —In a garden at the west end of 
Reigate, Surrey, is a splendid specimen of the Strawberry Tree 
(Arbutus Unedo). It is a large and well-developed bush, which 
has a spread equal to its height or more, and is well clothed 
with healthy, glossy foliage. It has been flowering for weeks 
past, and bears a quantity of fruit that does not seem to be- so 
ripe as it was this time last year. The gardens that possess such 
a specimen are few and far between ; nevertheless it is well worthy 
the attention of planters of town gardens, as the smooth leaves 
enable it to withstand smoke and soot- better than many things 
which enjoy greater popularity.—P. C. 
1 -^ [IElI! 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for repli\in this column, Th^se 
enquiries may cover any hr inch of ga'dcning. Questions should he put 
as briefly as possible, and written on one side of the paper only; a 
separate sheet of paper should he used for each question. 
Renders are also invited to give their fellow gardeners the benefit 
of their exper.ence by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped, addressed 
enve’ope is enclosed, and the return of sp:cimens 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. 
Hardiness of Bulbs in Pots. 
Would you kindly let me know if my bulbs in pots, such as 
Roman Hyacinths, named Hyacinths, Narcissi, Tulips, Freesias, 
etc., will be safe stood in cold frames for any length of time, 
or what amount of frost they will stand, as I have not much 
room inside the house for them? (Northern Star.) 
All the bulbs that you mention are perfectly hardy, with the 
exception of Freesias. As soon as the' weather threatens to be 
frosty we should advise you to take the Freesias into a green¬ 
house from which frost is excluded, and stand them on the 
shelves close to the glass, so that the foliage will have all the 
benefit of light and not get drawn, or any other house from 
which frost is excluded, such as a vinery or Peach house, which . 
may contain other plants, but in all cases the Freesias must 
be placed as near the glass as possible, and give plenty of ven¬ 
tilation on all favourable occasions. Concerning the other 
bulbs, they will be safe enough in the frame all the winter, but 
if severe frost were to set in the pots might get broken by the 
freezing of the soil in them. To prevent this the frames might 
be covered with dry bracken, mats, or heavy straw mats, made 
for the purpose. As soon as the frost goes, however, the cover¬ 
ings must be entirely removed and the sashes tilted up at .the 
back, so as to ventilate the frames. As soon as the leaves of 
those bulbs are above the soil they must not be left covered 
with ashes, otherwise the foliage will get unduly drawn. You 
should give the bulbs -the same light and ventilation as you 
would give Carnations, Pansies, and similar hardy subjects 
wintered in frames. 
Fern Leaves Going Wrong, 
Enclosed find Fern fronds. Could you give reason for them 
going wrong? (B. W.) 
llie Fern fr n 1 has evidently been punctured by insects, and 
gives every appearance of having been attacked by tlirips during 
the dry weather. You can do very little to remedy this now, 
as the fronds of deciduous Ferns will gradually die away. The 
Worst of them may be removed for the sake of appearance. 
The remainder may be syringed with a strong solution of soap¬ 
suds containing a little flowers of sulphur. It would, perhaps, 
be equally easy to dip the fronds into a pail containing the solu¬ 
tion, and to syringe them with clean water about two hours after¬ 
wards. Another year you should keep the Ferns in a house 
with a moist atmosphere, if possible, and if this cannot be con¬ 
veniently done in houses, you might accommodate the Ferns 
in cold frames until wanted. A heavy syringing now and again 
should, however, do much to keep down insect pests of this 
character. 
Compost for Begonia. 
Please give the most suitable soil for the culture of the 
Begonia enclosed. (Y. W.) 
A compost for the Begonia you sent us might be made up of 
good fibrous loam, with a third part of leaf mould and plenty of 
clean sharp sand. The amount of sand required will depend 
upon the character of the loam, and whether it is sandy or in¬ 
clined to be heavy. So long as the soil is made fairly rich, 
however, you can always use plenty of sand with this class of 
Begonia.. A little well-decayed cow manure might also he 
broken up finely and mixed with the soil. When the plants 
have been well established in the pots, and are making good 
growth, they can be assisted with weak liquid manure at alter¬ 
nate waterings- During winter it should be grown in a house 
with an intermedi.ute temperature, and kept well supplied with 
water after it is fully established, and while making its growth. 
During winter less water will he required, but the plants re¬ 
quire careful watching to see that they never become dry. 
Black Spots on Pears. 
Would you let me know through the medium of The Gariiex- 
ixg World what is the cause of the black spots on Pears, and 
if the spots cause them to be unshapely? Can anything be 
done to prevent it ? (B. W.) 
The dark-coloured blotches oni the skin are due to the pre¬ 
sence of a fungus named Cladosporium dendriticum pyrinum, 
this being the variety which attacks Pears. The ordinary form 
is the one which infests Ap-ples. On all trees the young leaves 
and shoots are often more or less attacked by this fungus, 
which spreads on to the fruits. If the latter are attacked in 
the early part of the season,, while the fruits are still hanging, 
the fungus so injures the skin as to prevent that from growing. 
The result is that the portions of the fruit affected, by ceasing 
to grow, form depressions or cavities, thus causing the fruits to 
be unshapely. If they are not attacked till late in the season 
the damage is not so great, as it is entirely confined to the skin, 
and the fruits being full grown, the skin is merely discoloured 
by the black patches. As this fungus continues to spread after 
the fruits have been placed in the fruit room, especially if the 
atmosphere is moist, you should keep all badly spotted fruits 
by themselves in some other building, so as to keep the atmo¬ 
sphere of the fruit room ?.s clean as possible. A good plan 
would be to commence early in the season and syringe the trees 
with sulphate of copper and lime, otherwise known as the Bor¬ 
deaux mixture. The preparation of this is 3 lb. of sulphate 
of copper, 2 lb. of fresh lime, and 25 gallons of water. The sul¬ 
phate should first be dissolved in water and the lime in another 
vessel. The two ingredients should be poured into one another 
through a bag of coarse sacking, in order to hold back any un- 
dissolved lumps of the ingredients just mentioned. When they 
have been thoroughly dissolved and mixed in this way add more 
water to make the mixture up to 25 gallons. With this you 
should syringe the trees at intervals during the course of the 
summer, commencing just as the young leaves are expanding, 
and continuing at intervals of a fortnight, more or less, accord¬ 
ing to the amount of rainfall, which washes off the fungicide. 
By this means you will check the spread of the fungus, and the 
fruits will be cleaner than if left to their own resources. 
Dwarf Shrubs for Rockeries. 
Please name some very dwarf-growing shrubs suitable for a 
rockery, both flowering and foliage. (D. G.) 
Very dwarf-growing subjects are Spiraea bullata, S. japonica 
alba,, Potentilla fruticosa, Pernettya, Deutzia gracilis, Erica, 
carnea, E. vagans, E. mediterranea, Yaccinium Vitis-idaea, and 
Y. corymbosa. All of the above are flowering shrubs. The first- 
named is very dwarf, and the second grows about 18 in. high, 
but might be kept down by pruning pretty hard in early spring. 
Deutzia could be pruned back after it has flowered, though it 
does not attain any great height in the open garden. The tallest 
plant amongst those named is the Potentilla, but even that 
could be kept within due bounds by pruning in early spring. 
Dwarf shrubs cf evergreen character are Retinospora ericoides, 
Cupressus obtusa pygmaea, C. o.p. aurea, Fatsia japonica, other- 
