December 31, 1904. 
THE HARDENING WORLD. 
107S 
Obituary 
Mr. William Vinson, J.P. 
At an early hour on the morning of the 17th inst. Mr. William 
Vinson, of Mayfield, Orpington, died with painful suddenness, 
to- the deep regret of his neighbours. He was well-known in 
the neighbourhood, having been a successful fruit-grower in 
the district. He, indeed, made his fortune in the cultivation 
of fruit. 
—o— 
Mr. F. M. Thompson. 
On the 19th inst. the remains of the- late Mr. F. M. Thomp¬ 
son, of Regent Square, Doncaster, were laid to rest. He was 
well known in the town, having carried on the business of seeds¬ 
man in Doncaster for many years. 
■—o— 
Mr. William Callishaw. 
Mr. W. Callishaw, a gardener of Hessle, Hull, died on the 
19th inst., at the age of 49. He succumbed while undergoing 
an operation for an abscess on the tongue. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
The Editor invites enquiries for repl'i in this column. These 
enquiries may cover any brunch oj gardening. Questions should be j rut 
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 
of their experience by sending supplementary replies. 
Replies cannot be sent by post, even if a stamped, addressed 
enve ope 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. 
Grape Golden Hamburgh. 
We have here two rods of white Grapes Golden Hamburgh. 
It is not suitable for our purpose, is of inferior quality, a bad 
setter, and of short keeping capability. What variety would 
you recommend to inarch on the stem? (Edin.) 
The Grape you mention is just of the quality which you 
state, and the fruits must be eaten soon after they are ripe, 
otherwise they soon become discoloured. It was said to be a 
cross between Stillward’s Sweetwater and Black Hamburgh, 
though there is doubt upon the point. It is really supposed to 
be of Italian origin, and was first- put into commerce in 1857. 
It succeeds best when grafted on Black Hamburgh, so we think 
that Black Hamburg would succeed if grafted upon Golden 
Hamburgh. If you desire a white variety instead, we should 
recommend Foster’s Seedling or Buckland Sweetwater, the 
former being, perhaps, the most desirable on account of its 
first-class quality and good keeping properties. Black Ham¬ 
burgh would, however, keep longer. 
The Plane Tree. 
A very large tree here- is said to be a Plane tree, but it is 
quite different from a figure of the Plane which I have seen. 
Are there more than one kind of Plane? (J. M. F.) 
There are several species of the true Plane, including the, 
London Plane, the Eastern Plane, and the Western Plane, but 
they are spec:e-s of Plata.nus. The name Plane, however, is 
nearly always applied to the common Maple in Scotland, 
namely, Acer Ps-eudo-platanus. From both points of view, 
therefore, there would be more than one kind of Plane, but 
the true Planes are species of Platanus. The so-called Plane of 
Scotland ought properly to be named the Sycamore. 
Young Growths of Privet. 
Will you please- certify whether these- Privets are young 
growths or not, to settle a dispute, in your paper ? (J. Over- 
end.) ' 
We have examined the shoots voir send us, about 6J* ft. lone, 
and, as far as we can make them out, they are of this year’s 
growth. If strong plants are cut down, they send up shoots 
that attain great length in a single season, and, under certain 
conditions, we see no reason why they should not be of the 
vigour indicated by the specimens you sent us. Their thinness 
in proportion to the length would seem to indicate that they 
had been grown in a shady position or a very much sheltered 
one, and thus rapidly drawn up. One of them was twisted as 
if it had been growing amongst stems of some other kind, and 
had to turn aside in order to get through the obstruction. If 
they had been of two seasons’ growth there would have been 
some evidence of a break in the continuity of the same,, because 
the end buds mostly always die if in any way improperly 
ripened. They seem, however, to have been suckers from the 
roots of a large plant. 
Soil for Maidenhair Ferns. 
Loam and peat in equal pr-oportions have been used here 
for many years in growing Maidenhair Ferns, but every yea 1- 
Adiantum farleyense and A. Santae Catherinae usually lose 
more than half their fronds before winter is over. I have been 
told that loam would answer the purpose better. A reply 
through the medium of The Gardening World would greatly 
oblige. (R-. W. D.) 
It used to be the custom to use peat largely in the cultivation 
of almost every species and type of Fern, but more recently 
growers think they attain even better success with Maidenhair 
Ferns by using fibrous loam with a small proportion of leaf 
soil and sufficient sand to render the whole porous and open. 
Besides the soil, you must take the temperature of the house 
into consideration in connection with the two Adiant.ums which 
you mention, as they are practically stove Ferns, though an 
-attempt is frequently made to keep them in a cool fernery. 
Under such conditions they are liable to lose their fronds during 
the winter, and very often they do not make a very satisfactory 
growth to begin with. In using fibrous loam for potting Maiden¬ 
hairs an important point to remember is to give small shifts, 
so that the soil will always be well occupied with roots. To¬ 
wards the end of the season much less shading should be given 
in order to thoroughly harden the fronds. 
Lilies Freezing. 
During the recent snowstorm the soil in the pots containing 
bulbs of Lilium auratum, L. speciosum rubrum, and L. s. album 
was frozen quite hard. Will this prevent them flowering in 
pots next summer ? (Lilium.) 
If the pots were thawed gradually there would be iittle 
chance of injury to the bulbs of the above species, as they are 
relatively hardy, and might be considered quite so if no growth 
above soil had been made previous to the freezing. If anything 
of the nature of bulbs get:-; frozen, the frames should be covered 
up with mats to prevent the sun thawing the soil rapidly. 
Apart from the latter, there- is nothing to prevent the bulbs 
from flowering as well as if nothing had happened. 
Fixing a Sport. 
Can anything be done to fix a sport from a Chrysanthemum ? 
A yellow 7 variety here gave rise to three blooms, one on each 
stem, with dark bronzy-gold flowers, which I should like- to 
propagate. (F. S.) 
We should entertain some considerable doubt as to the bronzy- 
gold flowers being a real sport. Very many yellow varieties 
giVe rise- to bronzy flowers, especially those produced late on 
terminal buds. I here- is- no absolute reason why the flowers 
you mention might not have been a definite and fixed sport, 
but that is a matter which has to be proved in connection with 
the variety itself. If it is liable to give rise- to'bronzy flowers 
under certain treatment, it simply means a certain condition or 
state- of the flowers, rather than a true sport. You should, 
however, prove- this, even if the- variety is strange to you, by 
taking cuttings from the stems that carried the bronzy flowers. 
Currant Bud Mite. 
Some Black Currant bushes are very badly affected with the 
mite, but, as the variety is a good one, and fruited very heavily 
two years ago, we- should like to save them, if possible. Is iI, 
possible to get them clear of this pest? (A. C’.) 
When not very badly infested, the usual plan is to carefully 
pick or cut off the swollen buds and burn them. In very bail 
cases, however, resort has been had to cutting down the bushes. 
By this process you lose one season’s crop, but it oft-ey happens 
in getting clean growth for the following season. I 'so deal 
ing with the bushes most of the mites are taken . ray and 
burnt at a season when it is almost certain they are inside the 
buds. If you resolve to cut them down, you might utilise some 
of the- young shoots for cuttings, in order to prepare for a fresh 
plantation on ground that has not been previously planted with 
Black Currants, at least for some years. We understand, how¬ 
ever, that Boskooji Giant is a variety that- is relatively free 
from the attacks of the mite, and, unless you have got this 
variety, you might secure some of it for making a fresh planta¬ 
tion. 
