626 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 5, 1905. 
Doubtless one or two readers have tested 
British Premier, and have proved it to be 
good ; but, alack! it is only a case of syno- 
nymism. British Premier is Epicure, and 
Epicure is a variety that Scotchmen are grow¬ 
ing largely in place of Puritan and the like. 
It is a very quick grower, and extremely 
vigorous, and bears cutting like a Trojan, 
which few earlies will stand. The quality is 
very good, and in January is as good as 
many maincrops. For bulk. Epicure is good 
for market men or gardeners, and the above 
two varieties, together with the newer Re¬ 
corder, Pearl, and Quick Lunch and Queen 
of the Earth, will indeed have to show very 
special features before they can send Epicure 
to the right-about. Among second earlies, 
last season again proved the value of Duke 
of Rothesay, a superb kidney for cooking or 
for exhibition; whilst for maincrops Factor 
and Lord Dundonald must necessarily be 
grown ere the newer sorts are nl anted largely. 
Among the latter are some really great things, 
and a second season should enable us to 
settle any doubts. 
Provost, from Dobbie’s. an elegant white 
round, Fidler’s Record, Diamond, Conquer¬ 
ing Kero, and Duchess of Cornwall are all 
superb cookers from our heavy soil, and, as 
for Vermont Gold Coin, I have the highest 
praise in that respect. 
I was fortunate to secure this a season 
ahead of the general public, and therefore 
can claim more than a passing acquaintance. 
Ground was in the best possible condition a f 
planting time, and seed, through careful 
selection, will do its best, for I am no advo¬ 
cate of planting on chance. Every tuber has 
to show strong signs of growth, and a back¬ 
ward set ouickly has its tail cut off. A stain 
there visible is sufficient to cause its con¬ 
demnation. 
Bacteria and Fusarium are ton serious 
diseases to allow the possibility of further in¬ 
fection. Nothing is more maddening than 
to find great gaps in the rows, and strongly- 
sprouted sets remove such a possibility. 
Supplementary 
Replies 
BY OUR READERS 
To Answers in the “ G. W.” Enquire Within. 
Canon Hall Muscat. 
The Grape now grown under this name, 
which is totally different from that known by 
the same name forty years ago, has been a. 
puzzle to me, as well as to many others ; but 
my observations tend to prove that your 
answer states the true cause of so many 
failures, viz., non-ripening of its growths. 
But the fault is with the roots as much as 
with the top. If you can manage to get an 
abundance of small fibrous roots which will 
ripen instead of rotting, as the very thick 
fleshy ones are apt to do, the growths above 
.ground will be comparatively small and firm, 
the eyes will ripen, and fertilisation of the 
flowers will be almost assured. 
In some situations this Grape appears to 
be remarkably easy to grow. I remember 
seeing a large span-roofed house at Mr. Deter 
Kay’s establishment at Finchley filled with 
thousands of moderate-sized bunches of this 
variety, which bad apparently set as thick 
as Hamburghs. The rods were very close to¬ 
gether. and the growths were only of medium 
size. It is also grown well, and in large quan¬ 
tities, at Messrs. Quertier’s establishment, 
Fordingbridge, near Salisbury. 
Some ten or a dozen years ago I fruited two 
plants in large pots, perhaps 18 in. in dia¬ 
meter, part of the produce of which was good 
enough to be placed first for “ Any other 
white” at the Crystal Palace, and to be de¬ 
scribed in the “ Gardeners’ Chronicle ” as the 
finest Grapes in the show. 
In an ordinary border I obtained very large 
berries, but very few perfectly-furnished 
bunches. From the lessons thus gained, a 
portion of border was concreted at bottom 
and bricked at the sides, allowing a space, of 
3 ft. by 3 ft, and 2 ft. deep, but, unfor¬ 
tunately, I left before . the experiment was 
finished. ,, 
I would suggest very gritty soil, such as road- 
sweepings and old mortar, to be largely used 
in making a new border, and in an established 
border, such as that of your correspondent. 
If the Canon Hall should happen to be at one 
end of the house, I would cut a trench within 
4 ft, or 5 ft, of the stem during September, 
and fill in with such material. 
Another suggestion is that, where the 
growths of the two varieties are conveniently 
placed side by side, the Canon Hall might 
be inarched on to the Muscat of Alexandria. 
This might probably be done now with green 
growing shoots. 
The most frequent cause of rust was given 
on p. 517, June 24t,h. Wm. Taylor. 
The Onion Maggot. 
I conclude that Mr. H. Morris (see p. 591, 
Gardening World) cannot be acquainted with 
the habits of this pest, or he would not take 
the trouble to scatter soot around his Onions, 
and advise others to. do so. The parent of 
the maggot deposits its eggs in the shank of 
the young plant, and, when, hatched, the grub 
works its way downwards inwardly. Did 
the grub enter at the base of the bulb the 
soot might be some deterrent whilst dry, 
but it certainly would not destroy it. for I 
have placed it on a flagstone and poured 
paraffin over it, and it has wriggled out of 
it uninjured. So it is all nonsense for writers 
to recommend any insecticides for its destruc¬ 
tion. I know of no other insect pest in our 
gardens that paraffin will not destroy, except 
woodlice. I have laid vegetable refuse, or 
anything likely to encoUrage cockroaches 
and crickets, and gone round at night, one 
holding the lamp and moving the refuse, the 
other syringing the pests with paraffin and 
soapy water, which destroys every one it 
touches, but woodlice escape. _ The only way 
that I can secure a crop of Onions is by 
raising the plants under glass. In this way 
the plants get too advanced for the insect to 
nuncture them so readily. Autumn-sown 
Onions, for that reason, are never attacked 
by the grub. ^■ R ' 
Preston. 
London’s Private Gardens.— The London, 
correspondent of an American paper has a 
great deal to say about the gardens attached 
to the houses in the older suburbs^ of the 
metropolis. It is no uncommon thing, he 
declares, to get a £50 house on the south side 
of the river (say in the neighbourhood of Dul¬ 
wich or Denmark Hill) with a vast garden. 
London working-men take great pride in their 
gardens, spending the summer evenings and 
the Sundays there. Unfortunately, he adds, 
the builders who are now making Loudon 
spread in all directions, are depaiting from 
the good old fashion of giving each house a 
goodly garden, and in some suburbs little or 
no ground is given with the hideous “ semi- 
detacheds.” 
Letters 
TO THE 
Editor. 
The Heart’s-ease. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, —As poetry is quite a feature in The 
Gardening World now, I venture to send the 
following, culled from a very old magazine : — 
THE HEART’S-EASE. 
(From “The Village Magazine.”) 
There is a little flower that’s found 
In almost eveiy garden ground ; 
’Tis lowly, but ’tis sweet. 
And if its name express its power, 
Upon this earth a choicer flower 
You’ll never, never meet. 
Ko, not the wealth of Chili’s mine, 
Dear flow’ret, may compare with thine— 
For thee I’d give it all! 
But if the wealthy will not bear 
Thy modest charms in their parterre, 
Grow ’neath my garden wall. 
I said, “ In every garden ground,” 
Perhaps in Eden ’twas not found, 
For there it was not wanted ; 
But soon as sin and sorrow came, 
Thy flower received its gladdening name, 
By Mercy’s angel planted. 
He took its azure from the sky— 
It is the hue of constancy, 
And constant should our faith be. 
With that he mingled splendid gold, 
To show that, if our faith we hold, 
We shall be crowned with glory. 
Mary, if God within our bower 
Should plant this lovely little flower. 
To tend it be our duty ; 
Then, should there be a smile or tear. 
So it be mutual, it will rear, 
And maturate its beauty. 
—Ren. 
Tying Dahlias. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir, —I have to thank your correspondent 
“ Heather Bell ” for his sympathetic criticism 
of my recommendation to tie the flowering 
shoots of Dahlias with tar-twine. It will be 
readily understood that I recommended tar- 
twine in preference to raffia solely on account 
of its greater strength to withstand the effects 
of the autumn winds. I have used it fer 
this purpose, and also for tying stronger- 
growing varieties of hardy herbaceous plants, 
for many years without any mishap save an 
occasional accident. As far as I know, Arch¬ 
angel tar is the chief, if not the only, ingre¬ 
dient used in the preparation of the twine, 
and, this being a harmless vegetable pro¬ 
duct, I am of opinion that “ Heather Bell’s ’ 
adverse experiences in this direction have 
been clue to friction between the stem and 
the comparatively thin and b a rd ligament 
rather than to the nature of the “pickling.” 
I can. quite appreciate his preference for the 
softer - string used by the farmers on their 
“ effif-binders.” I thank him for the hint, and 
will take advantage of it for the class of 
plants under consideration, but am doubtful 
as to its durability for tving such permanent 
subjects as Roses on pillars and arches. 
C. C. 
