544 
Supplementary 
Replies 
BY OUR READERS 
To Answers in the “ G. W.” Enquire Within. 
American Blight on Apple Trees. 
I am afraid if “ A. E. M.” has American 
blight on young Apple trees he has seme 
“ canker,”, or early stages of it, on his tree 
also. Healthy young trees “ without ” any 
signs of canker are invariably free from blight, 
but as soon as Apples show the least sign of 
canker, generally splitting of the bark, then 
the foothold for blight is established at the 
same time. During the summer the best 
course to take for keeping the pest in check is 
to syringe some good insecticide, aS' “ Abol ” 
or “ Gishurst,” well into the cracks and rough 
places on the bark where the blight, mainly 
settles. A good strong jet of clear water from 
the garden hose every week will do a deal of 
good in dislodging the blight, and at the same 
time refreshing and stimulating the young 
growths. The way in which I have practically 
“ wiped out ” the pest from some very old and. 
cankered espalier Apples was, in the early 
winter, as soon as the leaf had fallen, to tho¬ 
roughly scrape away all loose bark in and 
around the canker wounds, and thoroughly 
wash out with paraffin and soft soap mix¬ 
ture worked in with a stiff brush. Then, 
have ready a thick paint or plaster, made 
as follows: Three parts fine sifted yellow 
loam, one part soot, one part slack lime, two 
parts fresh cow dung, and a good sprinkle of 
fine and short-chopped hay to assist in binding 
the whole together. This should be well 
“ pounded ” together to make a good plaster, 
mixing to the proper thickness with soft-soap 
water. The mixture is then well pressed into 
all cracks and crevices, finally filling the 
cavity up, making all “ flush ” with the 
original outline of branches or stem. If this 
remedy is well performed, the haunts of the 
blight will be effectively removed, and very 
little, if anv, blight will appear the following 
summer. The parts under the piaster, being 
preserved against the ravages of the blight, 
soon callus, make new bark and heal up, much 
to the benefit of the trees. —Herbert H. 
Morris. 
Strawberry Culture. 
Strawberries may be grown both on light 
and heavy soils, but while all varieties may 
be grown easily in the latter, others, such 
as British Queen, Dr. Hogg, Yeitch’s Perfec¬ 
tion, are not always a success in the former. 
Even with the best kind of soil—a heavy, re¬ 
tentive loam—much may be done by pre¬ 
paration. Choose ground that has been 
deeply dug and thoroughly manured last 
autumn, say for early Potatos. The culti¬ 
vation given to these in the dry spring months 
renders the soil friable and in capital con¬ 
dition to receive the young plants. Many 
good growers, including the late Mr. Win. 
Carmichael, favour a distance of 3 ft. be¬ 
tween the rows and 2 ft. between the plants. 
This, in my opinion, is none too much for 
strong-growing kinds. There are two reasons 
why some gardeners prefer to plant three in 
a group, destroying two of them after they 
have fruited. First, by this means a crop 
equal to that from an established bed is 
obtained the first season, enabling the cul¬ 
tivator to economise space and netting. 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
Seoondly, a good plant to each station is 
assured. After planting, water if the 
weather is dry, and mulch lightly with horse- 
droppings, using the Dutch hoe frequently 
in dry weather to keep the surface open. 
J. C. 
I give the following r£ply to S. Howell’s 
question on the culture of Strawberries in 
The Gardening World. The preparation 
for a new plantation should he made a con¬ 
siderable time before planting, so as to give 
the soil time to settle. At first the soil 
should be dug at least 18in. or 2ft. deep, 
working in two good layers of manure with 
burnt earth, one layer at the bottom of 
trench and another between the first and 
second spit. If the soil is prepared at once 
it should be in a fit state by the time your 
layers are ready, that is about 'September. 
Strawberries require very firm soil. Royal 
Sovereign makes a very good early variety, 
with British Queen as a late. These two are 
found very useful in most establishments. 
Plant about 18 in. from plant to plant and 
21 ft. between rows. There are plenty of 
other varieties, such as Fillbasket, Waterloo, 
Monarch, and others. Year-old runners, 
after forcing, if planted out early, give abun¬ 
dant supplies of fruit for the ensuing seasons. 
When planting add a little hone-meal with 
the soil. J. 
Black Currant Mite. 
If a crop of Black Currants is a necessity 
next season, save the young wood of .the ex¬ 
isting plantation to produce it. If, however, 
tlie fruit can be obtained cheaply in your 
neighbourhood, by all means burn the trees. 
In October, or as soon as the nlants .can be 
obtained, make a new plantation as far re¬ 
moved as possible from the present site, 
planting Boskoop Giant. This is a strong, 
free-growing variety, with an especially long 
raceme of fruit (some we have gathered this 
season having as many as 13 or 14 large 
berries in a bunch) of rather an acid flavour. 
During the winter and early spring look over 
the young trees, removing and burning all 
suspicious-looking buds. 
Having previously suffered from the 
ravages of the mite, a plantation of Boskoop 
Giant and Lees Prolific, the latter a sweet 
variety, was planted and treated in this 
garden as advised above. The result well 
exemplifies the old adage “ A stitch in time 
saves nine,” for now the trees have attained 
a size impossible when such care is imprac¬ 
ticable : they no longer need it, being quite 
clear of the pest. J. C. 
In answer to S. Howell in The Gardening 
World Enquire Within regarding the mite 
on his Black Cuirant bushes, I am convinced 
he will never be able to eradicate the pest. 
He may help them to keep up their vigour a 
few years longer, and also to get a fair 
amount of fruit off the most healthy branches, 
by giving them a good mulching of oow 
manure, say 8 in. thick and 2 ft. all round 
from the neck of the plants. I have had a 
good deal of experience with the pest in dif¬ 
ferent gardens, and if one can procure healthy 
vonng plants free of the disease they can 
be kept , clean and vigorous by giving them 
regular mulchings of rich manure. I would 
advise “ S. H.” to get cuttings from a healthy 
stock in October and put them in, or, better 
still, buy the quantity he requires of Bos¬ 
koop Giant, and treat them as T have re¬ 
commended, John 0. Dicks. 
August 12, 1905. 
Tomato Growing. 
During the last few years I have known 
two or three instances of capital being sunk 
and lost in the endeavour to make Tomato- 
growing the chief source of income, and be¬ 
lieving it to he every man’s duty to warn a 
fellow of possible danger, I venture to sound 
the note of warning to “ D. O.and would 
advise him to abandon the idea of taking up 
this branch of horticulture on a large scale. 
Tomatos may undoubtedly he grown to profit, 
but that is a very different thing from making 
a living, or even the larger part of a living, 
by Tomato-growing. The market gardener 
who grows a houseful of Tomatos together 
with other produce can generally dispose of 
the whole of the fruit at a fair and remunera¬ 
tive price, but when a large quantity are 
grown they must be sold at wholesale rates, 
and very probably the bulk of the crop will 
be fit just when the markets are overloaded, 
and that means such a reduction in nrices 
that for a while no margin of profit will re¬ 
main after expenses are met. There is still 
plenty of room in the land for good market- 
gardens, hut these can only be successfully 
run by men of practical knowledge and ex¬ 
perience ; but even for the experienced man 
there is small hope of building up a successful 
business at Tomato-growing only. 
Heather Bell. 
ST. BERNARD'S LILY. 
A Hybrid Anthericum. 
The St. Bernard’s Lily (Anthericum 
Liliago) is a well-known favourite among old- 
fashioned hardy perennials, and is ot a~- 
siderable value both as a decorative subject 
and for cutting purposes. Tire enlarged form 
known under the name of A. Liliago majoi 
is distinctlv better than the type, and that 
variet.v is one of the narents of a fine new 
hvbrid, A. Liliastrum being the other parent. 
The new comer is named A. Arethusa, and 
it certainly is a. valuable addition to t.hif 
familv, being tall, somewhat slender (and 
therefore extremely graceful), and hearing 
flowers of satiny whiteness, composed of 
thick, substantial segments, which render 
them very serviceable for c.ut-flower work 
The first-named parent has given height am 
strength to the stems and substance to th< 
blooms, while grace and elegance were evi 
dentlv contributed bv the other parent 
During the month of -Line we saw some fim 
pieces of this new hybrid, and are confiden 
that if kept true it will find manv admirer; 
and become extensively grown. It is nnfor 
tunatelv only too true that ofttimes the dif 
ferent. forms and varieties of Anthericums an 
substituted one for another bv some vendors 
consequently manv people have the idea tha 
there G no real distinction between tho« 
variously named, and to this we a.tfrihut 
the fact that one rarely sees any of the bet.te 
=orts in private gardens. We trust- the pp> 
hybrid will not suffer by reason of careless 1 
ness of this kind. Heather Bell. 
A Great Potato Year.— The reports fron 
Scotch, Irish. Welsh, and English Potat 
fields agree that the harvest of 1905 will L 
much above the average of recent years. I, 
addition, the qualitv and flavour of the tuber 
are e.xoelle' n +. An immense export trade wi 
he done with new Potatos from the South < 
Ireland. Lincolnshire still devotes more acre 
to Potatos than any other county, whib 
Scotch Potatos command the highest prices. 
