September 26, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
621 
;urs like myself. Could you inform me 
ow to treat Chrysanthemums that are in 
ud? They seem to be at a standstill. They 
nclude Ralph Curtis, Robbie Burns, Mme. 
lesgranges (white), Bronze Prince, Crimson 
lasse, and Horace Martin. (Heathen, Bir- 
lingham.) 
If your Chrysanthemums are planted in a 
anny position the buds will open all right 
resently. You should, therefore, exercise 
little patience. Indeed, if your garden 
; well exposed to sunshine and air Mme. C. 
lesgranges, Mme. Marie Masse and its 
rorts commence blooming in August in the 
auth of England, but in your inland dis- 
ict they would be somewhat later, but they 
rould presently bloom all right. The only 
ring you could apply would be water if 
le ground is dry, but we presume the 
round is now wet enough. More than that, 
-e think they have been held back by the 
nusually cold and wet weather, as well 
5 wind which we had in August and also 
uring the present month so far. If you ap- 
lied a stimulant it would merely make them 
0 into rampant growth, perhaps, and 
rereby delay flowering. By this time, some 
f the varieties would be in bloom in the 
rr north of Scotland, so that if they are 
ot getting into bloom by this time the 
eather and the situation of your garden 
ould be the cause. 
VEGETABLES. 
244. Forcing- Rhubarb. 
I have a large greenhouse, a pair of 4 in. 
ater pipes, a bench in the centre, 14 ft. by 
ft., and a ft. deep. I should be glad to 
now if it would profit me to force Rhubarb. 
£ so, should it be planted close to the pipes 
r under the centre benches upon which I 
n growling Tomatos? (Rhubarb, Kent.) 
If you intend to sell the Rhubarb j-ou 
lould first begin to make sure of a market, 
or instance, you could make inquiries in 
Dur immediate neighbourhood amongst the 
reengrocers as to the probable demand for 
hubarb at certain seasons of the year. We 
link that would be a better way than send- 
ig to Covent Garden Market, as the long 
mrney would make the freight rather ex- 
en9ive and so run away with the profits. 
£ you desire a local market, then the en- 
uiries would be as to the price, probable 
aantity required and the season. Your 
reenhouse, if kept gently heated, would en- 
fleyou to force Rhubarb easily. You could 
y some of it under the side benches close 
the hot-water pipes, where it would start 
to growth earlier. The roots could be laid 
1 rather thickly in the vicinity of the pipes 
id the spaces between and over the crowns 
mid be covered with leaf mould not very 
uch decayed. The Rhubarb would also be 
;tter by being kept in the dark, as it would 
len present a clean and blanched appear- 
lce with very small blades. It could be 
:pt in the dark possibly by placing a line 
: mats or sacks along the front of the bench 
darken the place. This might give vou 
1 the Rhubarb you require, but if not then 
iu could place some under the benches in 
ie centre of the greenhouse. Being much 
j>oler there the plants would be much later 
developing leaves than those against the 
pes. That, also, could be shaded in the 
me way as the rest. 
24S. Potatos with White and Brown 
Spots. 
"ill the Editor kindlv let me know what 
e soots on the enclosed Potato are? They 
e first white, then dark, and get large, 
aking the Potatos bad if left in the eround. 
be Potatos are watery when cooked. (N. 
.es, Lancs.) 
The Potato vou sent us is affected with 
■>tato scab, the soots being produced by a 
ngus named Sorosporium scabies. It 
generally means that the soil is dirty and 
wants cleaning. You should tiench it dur¬ 
ing winter and give it a good dressing of 
quicklime. Sulphur is also said to be valu¬ 
able, but you could use the sulphur in the 
springtime when planting the Potatos. The 
method of using it is to put a slight sprink¬ 
ling of it in the ground in the bottom of the 
drill where you put the Potato seed. Po¬ 
tatos are usually very floury that are at¬ 
tacked by the ordinary scab. We presume, 
therefore, that yours must have been grown 
in damp or heavy soil or where the Potatos 
are shaded by trees. It is also a late variety 
as the skin is not yet firm. If you are grow¬ 
ing Potatos in a garden you should get some 
good early variety such as Ringleader, Early 
Ashleaf, Myatt’s Ashleaf or Sir John Lle¬ 
wellyn. If the ground is damp you must till 
it well and use something that will lighten 
it. 
3246. Nut Amongst Potatos. 
Will the Editor kindly let me know the 
name of the peculiar nut which I send ? It 
was found amongst the Potatos. (N. Lees, 
Lancs.) 
The specimen you sent us is the fruit of 
the Potato and in different parts of the coun¬ 
try is named Potato Apple and Potato Plum. 
Botanically, it is a berry and contains seeds 
from which new varieties of Potatos may be 
raised. Some varieties of Potatos produce 
these berries plentifully, while other varie¬ 
ties may or may not flower, but not produce 
any berries. 
3 247. Globe Artichokes Not Flowering. 
Can you give me any hints as to the culti¬ 
vation of Globe Artichokes ? I have a dozen 
three-year-old plants in heavy soil in a bed 
bounded on the west side by a high-boarded 
fence. Last year they did well, but this year 
onty one flower has appeared. (H. A. An¬ 
derson, Herts.) 
We presume that your plants are now 
crowded, owing to their having made a lot 
of growth since they were planted. For one 
or two years they may be grown at 2 ft. apart 
each way, but if you allow them to grow 
into large clumps they should have 3 ft. 
between the clumps and 4 ft. between the 
lines. This is necessary to give them the 
proper amount of room to make vigorous 
growth and flower. That high-boarded fence 
is, no doubt, against them, but if they have 
got too crowded that is even worse. If your 
plants are crowded, lift a good many of the 
suckers in spring, so that only about three 
strong crowns are left at each stool. The 
suckers which you lift will have roots and 
with them you could n ake a fresh planta¬ 
tion if you require a greater number. An¬ 
other plan would be to lift strong suckers 
and plant them' at the distances we mention 
or plant them. at 2 ft. to 3 ft. apart each 
way with the idea of making a fresh planta¬ 
tion every year. If you do not desire to 
make a fresh plantation each year, then let 
them have the greater width to make their 
growth. 
FRUIT. 
3248. Pruning Gooseberries. 
■ have a fine, lot 'of Gooseberry bushes, but 
I have had very poor crops on them for' 
two or three years back, so last year I cut 
all well back, and this year I have all new 
wood on them. What I want to know is 
when it is "time for pruning? How much 
should I cut off the new wood to get a good 
crop next year ? (Constant Reader, Perth¬ 
shire.) 
We cannot quite see your reason for cut¬ 
ting hack the bushes, unless they were too 
large and therefore crowded. Gooseberries 
flower and fruit on the wood made during 
the previous year, and also on spurs of the 
old wood. Seeing that you have now got 
them well furnished with young wood, you 
should prune them any time between the fall 
of the leaf and the beginning of March. 
First go round the bushes and trim them into 
good shape, so that they will be round and 
bushy, not straggling. Then thin out some 
of the young shoots to prevent overcrowding. 
You should be able to get your hands in the 
bushes to gather the fruits readily, unless 
they are too crowded. The centre of the bush 
should be rather the thinnest. Make a point 
of cutting out shoots that are badly situated 
and those that are too weak to flower and 
fruit. You will then have a certain number 
of young shoots equally distributed over the 
bush. They may just have the tips shor¬ 
tened where weak or crooked, thus leaving 
the greater part of the length of the shoot. 
If any of the shoots are bending down upon 
the ground they should be cut entirely away. 
Likewise when shortening any of the shoots 
that are to be left prune to a bud that is 
pointing upwards in the case of those bushes 
that are inclined to droop. Some bushes are 
more erect naturally, and they should be 
pruned just the opposite ay, namely, to a 
bud pointing away from the centre of the 
bush to prevent crowding there. If you 
thin your bushes properly in after years it 
should not be necessary to cut them back, 
thus losing a crop for a season. 
3249. Season and Use of Apples. 
As a constant reader of your paper, The 
Gardening World, I would be obliged if 
you would tell me the names of these 
Apples; also, when they come into season, 
and whether they are cooking or dessert. 
(Chris. Hewitt, Co. Dublin.) 
The first list contains all the dessert varie¬ 
ties and the months placed after each indi¬ 
cate when they are in season. (3) Yellow In- 
gestre, September and October; (5) Irish 
Peach, August; (S and 14) Cox’s Orange 
Pippin, November to February; (13) Fearn’s 
Pippin, November to February; (16) King of 
the Pippins, October to January; (22) Lady 
Sudeley, August and September. The cook¬ 
ing varieties are (1) Lady Henniker, Octo¬ 
ber to February; (2) Sugar Loaf, season un¬ 
known to us; (4) Ecklinville Seedling, Oc¬ 
tober; (6 and 12) Cellini Pippin, October to 
November ; (7) Gold Medal, October to No¬ 
vember ; (9 and 11 ) Cat’s Head, October to 
December; (10, 20 and 21) Yorkshire Beauty, 
October to December; (15) Roj'al Nonsuch, 
October; (17) Mank’s Codlin, August to Oc¬ 
tober; (18) Hall Door, October to November; 
( 1 q) was too small to determine. 
3250. Melon Plant Turning Brown. 
I have a house here planted with Melons 
and Cucumbers. The Melons started to turn 
brown and decav up the stem as per 
the enclosed specimens just before the fruit 
started to ripen. I would be pleased to hear 
through your paper what the cause could be. 
(B. C. G., Banff.) 
The stems of the Melon you sent us are 
badly cankered by being attacked with a 
fungus. The brown, swollen portion is full 
of the threads or hyphae and spores of the 
fungus. It is impossible, therefore, to cure 
the plant once it has got affected to this ex¬ 
tent. You might have enabled your plants 
to avoid it by being careful with the water¬ 
ing pot not to water too near the plant. 
There is also the danger of cutting the 
stems or bruising them accidentally and al¬ 
lowing the spores to attack the wood. It is, 
of course, fostered by the warm, moist at¬ 
mosphere to which Melons are subjected 
while making their growth. If there is 
much sunless weather, the danger is even 
greater. When Melons are making their 
growth, you should frequentlv inspect them 
to see whether there are any bruises or evi¬ 
dence of canker. It might be possible, by 
cutting away and burning the cankered por¬ 
tion in the early stage, to save the plant. 
It would be necessary to cover the wound 
