January 9 > 1909 THE HARDENING WORLD. 
ill make a hole at least 3 in. wide and 
j- ft. deep. These holes may be made in 
nes at 12 in. to 15 in. apart and then filled 
ith a compost consisting of sifted soil 
om the potting benches, which should be 
lirly rich. You should, however, add some 
one meal and a good quantity of wood 
,hes to it as well as plenty of sand. Mix 
.ese well together, fill the holes and press 
e material down firmly. The centre of 
ese holes should be marked with a peg, 
■ that you may sow Carrots only where the 
oles have been. Place three or four seeds 
each hole. When the seedlings have at- 
ined some size, leave the best and pull 
it all the others. The roots of these find- 
g no impediment in the way will grow 
raight downwards and thus produce good 
ots. The same method of treatment may 
given to Parsnips, and Eeet may also be 
rved in the same way, though the holes 
ed not be so large or deep. 
FRUIT. 
329. Grape Gros Colmar. 
Could a Gros Colmar (or Colman) Grape 
ne be successfully grown in a cool green- 
>use? (Novice, Middlesex.) 
We fear you would not be very successful 
growing this Grape in a cool greenhouse, 
it requires a long growing season and the 
me high temperature that is required for 
uscat of Alexandria to give satisfactory 
suits. The result of a low temperature 
iuld be that the berries would remain half 
een when they ought to be black with a 
irple bloom on them. The flavour of such 
rapes is also poor, being of an earthy, 
fiery flavour. No doubt you are highly at- 
icted by the large size and fine appearance 
this Grape, but it requires the conditions 
■ name in order to get either size or 
lour. If you wish to make experiments 
■u could do so, but we cannot guarantee 
y satisfactory results. If you wish a 
ape that will be good-looking, even al- 
ough not very large but of good flavour, 
sn you should get Black Hamburgh. There 
another variety that succeeds well under 
ol conditions, namely, Reine Olga, but as 
is of a dull reddish hue you would pos- 
>ly not feel satisfied witji it for table 
rposes. White Grapes of good size that 
iuld grow and give fair satisfaction under 
ose conditions are Buckland Sweetwater 
d Foster’s Seedling. 
>30. Fruit for a Wooden Fence. 
What fruit trees would you advise me to 
ant against a wooden fence 5 ft. high?, 
gets plenty of sun as it faces south, or 
arly so, and gets very warm in summer, 
would like to cover the fence with some- 
ing and fruit trees of some size would be 
: >re profitable and better than Ivy or other 
' mbing plants. (Fruit, Sussex.) 
I here are many varieties of fruit trees 
;fi could be grown on a wooden fence 5 ft. 
:;h if you understand pruning and 
lining, and get them upon the proper 
icks that will have a restraining or 
"arfing effect upon them. Red or White 
irrants and Gooseberries would be easily 
mageable and would ripen earlier on that 
• ithern aspect than they would in the open. 
, l f. v > of course, require training and regu- 
yiiig in the matter of pinning, so that 
Vf® will be just a sufficient number of up- 
•;ht 9tems to cover the fence without crowd- 
p' Plums could be grown on that fence 
> d Greengage would make a good dessert 
I r «*y. while Victoria is usually con- 
ered a cooking variety, but may also be 
’id for dessert. It fruits freely and is a 
I intable Plum for a small garden. Many 
' 0 1 Apples could be grown if trained 
1 the shape of a fan and spur-pruned every 
- j 1 : ln winter. Two Very good varieties for 
' 11 s or fences are Ribston Pippin and Cox’s 
Change Pippin. If you would like an early 
variety, either Mr. Gladstone or Beauty of 
Bath are worth growing, the latter being the 
most handsome. You should take care to 
have the Apple trees grafted or budded upon 
the Paradise stock. Pears that could be 
tiained upon that fence are Williams’ Bon 
Chretien, Doyenne du Comice and Louise 
Bonne of Jersey. They should be grafted or 
budded on the Quince stock, which has a 
dwarfing effect and causes them to come into 
fruit bearing earlier. You can get a greater 
length of branch for the Pears, either by 
training them horizontally along the fence 
or growing them as single oblique cordons. 
The trees are planted about 18 in. apart, but 
instead of the stems being taken straight up 
to the top of the fence they are nailed 
obliquely—say, at an angle of 45 degs. with 
the ground. This bending of the stem re¬ 
strains any gross vigour they are likely to 
make and causes them to make a more equal 
growth all along the stem than if they were 
planted perfectly upright. In the latter case 
single cordons would make the most of their 
growth on the top and that would, of course, 
mean that the most of growth would be 
above the fence every year and the trees, in 
all probability, would not flower freely. 
GARDEN ENEMIES. 
3531. Worms in the Soil. 
In digging over a large bed for Roses I 
found the ground full of large worms, with 
here and there nests of small white worms 
with some larger ones of a slatey colour. 
Can you let me know how I can destroy them 
if you think them harmful? (P. C. Duncan, 
Surrey.) 
The large worms you mention are evi¬ 
dently earthworms, which are quite harmless 
as far as most plants are concerned, and 
quite so in the case of Roses. They are bene¬ 
ficial rather than otherwise, inasmuch as 
they keep the ground well aerated and 
drained by their burrows. The small white 
ones are very probably some harmless insect 
living on decaying vegetable matter, such 
as leaves or farmyard manure. The slatey 
coloured ones may possibly be Daddy-Long- 
Legs, and if so they are very harmful to the 
roots and stems of quite a variety of plants, 
cutting them across either below the ground 
or just where they enter the ground. Later 
on in spring you can give the ground a 
good dressing of “ Kilogrub ” or “ Alphol,” 
digging it in, as the fumes rise up through 
the soil, and in doing so they destroy in¬ 
sects of a great variety of kinds. 
3532. Big- Buds on a Filbert. 
Is this the same as the big bud on the 
Black Currant when attacked with the mite, 
and do you think they come off the Currant 
bushes in someone else’s garden? (A. R. M., 
Herts.) 
We do not consider that the mite that at¬ 
tacks Filberts and Nuts to be the same as the 
mite which attacks the Black Currant. They 
are related, but bushes of the one kind 
would not be attacked by the mites off the 
other. The mite which attacks the Filbert is 
Phytoptus Avellanae. You should at the 
present time destroy as many mites as pos¬ 
sible by cutting off all buds that are unduly 
swollen, being careful not to cut away those 
that may be plump looking buds but only of 
moderate size. Such buds bear the nuts, 
whereas the buds that are affected by this 
mite are distinctly larger than an}r of the 
normal or ordinary ones. Cut off all those 
that are unduly swollen and burn them to 
destroy the mites in them. Then during 
April, May and June, to make sure of de¬ 
stroying any that may still be upon the bush, 
dust it with a mixture of two parts flowers 
of sulphur mixed with one part lime. The 
mites change from the old buds to the new 
ones in spring and early summer, and that 
is the reason for giving the application at 
25 
A Lucky 
Sixpence. 
This tells you how for sixpence 
You can put yourself in the way 
Of preventing mental worry ana physical strain. 
If you fear a breakdown in health 
Spend the sixpence and be convinced. 
Sir James Crichton-Browne has pointed 
out that one of the main causes of such 
physical and mental degeneracy as exists 
amongst us is bad or insufficient food. 
This is unfortunately but too true, as the 
proprietors of Vi-Cocoa have been pointing 
out for years, and now food faddism has 
reached a point at which it is seriously 
affecting the health of the community. The 
craze for getting thin is on a par with 
race suicide. 
Vi-Cocoais the most perfect flesh-forming 
food beverage ever placed before the public. 
It not only possesses highly nutritious and 
sustaining properties, but it is also soothing, 
acts as a tonic, and considerably assists 
weak digestions. 
Vi-Cocoa — a packet of 
which can be obtained 
everywhere for the small 
sum of sixpence—is in a 
great measure self-digest¬ 
ing, and exceeds tenfold in 
nutrient and sustenant 
power any other food bever¬ 
age, and it will steadily build up your body 
to a healthy condition if taken regularly 
night and morning. 
You can try it free of expense. Write to 
Vi-Cocoa, i2, Henry Street, London, W.C., 
for a dainty sample tin of Dr. Tibbies’ 
Vi-Cocoa free and post paid. It is a plain, 
honest, straightforward offer. It is done 
to introduce the merits of Vi-Cocoa into 
every home. 
that time. At present they are securely 
sheltered inside tightly closed buds. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
3533. Renovating! a Muddy Path. 
The path from the front door down the 
middle of the garden to the gate always gets 
muddy when it rains, although I have re¬ 
peatedly given it a coating of ashes without 
much good effect after a few days’ rain with 
much walking on it. I have seen good, drv 
paths made of coal ashes, and would be 
pleased to know how it is done. (T. Med- 
land, Suffolk.) 
The foundation of your walk must be 
faulty in some way. There may be dips in 
the ground, or there may be layers of clay or 
heavy soil down below retaining the water 
for an undue length of time after rain. 
Your best plan would be to take up the path 
entirely and practically make a new one. 
Take out the material to the depth of 15 in., 
then shape the bottom of the walk so that the 
centre will be slightly higher than the sides. 
This causes any water there may be to run 
towards the sides, thus leaving the material 
of the walk dry. Then place a layer of 
9 in. of rubble stone, brickbats or lumps of 
chalk, whichever you can get most readily 
in your neighbourhood. By means of a log 
of wood these stones or other material should 
be beaten down firmly. Then on the top of 
