January  25,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
71 
LATE  SPRING  PLANTING. 
I  CAN  aesure  Mr.  Pearson  that  I  am  fully  aliA^e  to  the  difficulties  he 
speaks  of  on  page  24  as  to  getting  all  planting  done  at  the  most  suit- 
able  time,  and  not  once,  but  many  times  have  I  used  the  very  argu¬ 
ments  he  has  when  my  employer  has  asked  me  to  write  and  “hurry 
up  The  nurserymen  who  were  entrusted  with  his  orders;  and  there 
has  not  been  a  week  since  last  October  that  I  have  not  been  planting 
more  or  less  when  the  weather  has  been  open.  I  have  planted  some 
scores  of  acres  within  the  last  four  years  with  a  rather  small  staff  of 
men,  and  Mr.  Pearson  knows,  and  so  do  I  to  my  cost,  that  this  cannot 
be  done  in  a  few  weeks  ;  but  I  say,  as  I  did  before,  that  the  two  seasons 
I  mentioned  are  the  best  of  all  for  the  purpose,  and  can  with  perfect 
assurance  advise  anyone  who  is  planting  to  make  the  utmost  use  of 
them.  It  was  no  hobby  that  I  vsas  riding,  and  it  is  not  yet  ridden  to 
death. 
I  should  like  to  say,  too,  that  the  very  trees  and  shrubs  I  mentioned 
were  sent  more  than  fifty  miles  by  rail,  and  not  shifted  from  one  part 
of  the  garden  to  another.  This,  I  think,  quite  refutes  your  corre¬ 
spondent’s  argument  that  “this” — i.e.,  spring  planting — “  is  of  no  use 
to  the  ordinary  planter,  who  has  to  procure  his  plants  from  a  distance.” 
But  I  could  give  many  such  instances  if  need  be,  and  can  pomt  out  to  a 
single  row  in  certain  places  where  planting  has  been  done  in  the  same 
field  at  correct  and  incorrect  times. 
I  quite  agree  with  all  Mr.  Pearson  says  respecting  the  proper  culti¬ 
vation  of  the  ground  both  before  and  after  planting ;  and  here  again  I 
could,  if  need  be,  a  tale  unfold.  But  the  fact  still  remains  that  the 
best  of  all  times  for  planting  are  those  named,  be  the  nurseryman 
never  so  busy. — H.  K.  R.  _ 
I  THINK  it  is  generally  understood  that  autumn  planting,  say  as 
soon  as  the  leaves  have  fallen,  is  the  best  time  for  fruit  trees  and 
Roses.  As  Mr.  Pearson  points  out,  however,  it  is  not  so  imperative 
to  plant  early  as  some  growers  would  have  us  believe.  As  Mr.  Pearson 
rightly  states,  the  future  growth  and  ultimate  success  of  fruit  trees 
is  almost  entirely  a  matter  of  management,  first  in  planting  when  the 
soil  is  in  proper  condition,  then  how  they  are  planted  and  of  what 
the  after  care  consists. 
To  insure  success  the  planting  and  after  management  must  go 
hand  in  hand.  It  would  be  useless  to  plant  well  and  be  inattentive 
to  the  wants  of  the  trees  afterwards.  Neglect  of  the  retention  of 
moisture  in  the  soil  by  mulchings,  or  simply  stirring  the  surface  soil 
and  allowing  it  to  crack,  are  the  points  which  would  hamper  the 
progress  of  any  tree,  no  matter  how  well  ft  might  have  been  originally 
planted.  Personally  I  should  prefer  to  plant  an  Apple  tree  as  late  as 
the  first  week  in  April  rather  than  not  at  all  that  season.  With 
intelligent  care  abundance  of  new  roots  would  be  made,  and  the  tree 
should  be  thoroughly  established  by  the  following  November,  even  if 
it  did  not  make  much  growth. 
My  aim  with  newly  planted  Apple  trees,  for  instance,  is  to  manage 
them  in  such  a  way  that  when  November  again  comes  round  many  of 
the  newly  made  shoots  require  2  feet  of  growth  pruning  away.  Such 
trees  have  without  doubt  a  sufficiency  of  the  right  sort  of  roots  and 
vigour,  and  it  would  not  be  unreasonable  to  look  for  a  crop  of  frnit 
in  one  and  a  half  year  from  the  time  of  planting. — E.  Molyneux. 
APPLES  AND  FROZEN  WATER  PIPES 
SPLITTING. 
It  is  rather  amusing  to  ordinary  mortals  to  read  the  conflicting 
remarks  on  the  above  subject  of  “A.  D.”  and  “ H.  Richards,”  two 
correspondents  who  contribute  largely  to  the  literary  food  of 
your  readers.  I  do  not  profess  to  belong  to  the  angelic  host  to  which 
“  A.  D.”  refers  on  page  34,  nor  is  it  necessary  for  me  to  attempt  to 
render  any  assistance  to  “  A.D.,”  as  his  position  in  this  matter  is 
beyond  dispute. 
My  object  in  penning  these  notes  is  to  record  an  incident  that 
happened  in  the  winter  of  1874,  and,  which  I  think  substantiates  the 
view  or  “  suggestion  ”  of  “  A.  D.”  in  relation  to  the  splitting  of  Apples. 
In  the  year  referred  to  there  was  a  quantity  of  Apples  stored  in  a  room 
over  a  coach  house  facing  due  north.  On  one  night  the  thermometer 
registered  24°  of  frost,  and,  as  there  was  not  sufficient  means  for  ex¬ 
cluding  the  cold  air,  the  whole  of  the  fruit  was  frozen  quite  hard. 
So  long  as  the  frost  continued  the  skins  did  not  present  a  ruptured 
appearance,  but  shortly  after  the  thaw  set  in  the  largest  fruits  burst 
their  skins,  and  the  whole  of  the  frozen  fruit  was  utterly  spoiled.  The 
water  in  a  number  of  bottles  that  were  used  for  bottling  Grapes  in  the 
same  room  was  frozen  into  solid  lumps  of  ice,  with  the  result  that 
every  bottle  was  burst.  The  damage,  however,  was  not  caused  in  either 
case  by  the  thaw  but  by  the  expansion  of  the  frozen  water.  Frozen 
water  is  lighter  than  water  in  a  liquid  state,  otherwise  how  could  it 
float  on  the  surface  ? 
I  would  suggest  to  “  H.  Richards”  to  make  the  following  simple 
experiment.  Fill  a  jar,  such  as  is  used  for  holding  marmalade,  up  to  the 
brim  with  water,  and  expose  it  to  15°  or  16°  of  frost,  when  if  the  result 
is  similar  to  what  I  have  had,  he  will  find  the  frozen  water  has  risen 
considerably  above  the  top  of  the  jar,  and  in  addition  he  will  discover. 
when  the  thaw  sets  in,  that  the  jar  has  been  split  and  the  bottom  forced 
out,  which  I  think  is  sufficient  proof  that  frozen  water  increases  in  bulk. 
— W.  N.,  Holmes  Chapel.  _ 
I  CANNOT  say  that  I  was  pleased  with  “  A.  D.”  when  I  read  his 
remarks  on  page  34.  But  let  that  pass.  By  a  printer’s  error,  or  from 
some  other  reason,  “  cold  ”  was  printed  instead  of  “  cooledj”  and 
despite  the  allusion  to  the  Polar  regions  I  must,  with  all  deference  to 
“  A.  D.,”  maintain  that  I  was  right.  I  know  well  enough  that  ice  will 
break  pipes,  but  I  also  know  that  heat  applied  to  a  frozen  pipe  has  the 
same  effect  though  that  pipe  has  been  frozen  for  weeks  without  bursting. 
But  really  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  Apples  splitting  in  “  A.  D.’s” 
case,  as  the  room  in  which  he  kept  them  he  describes  as  cool,  and 
simply  fo  prove  that  his  theory  was  not  the  correct  one  I  sent  the  note 
referred  to.  “A.  D.’s  ”  question  as  to  whether  I  have  seen  pipes  burst 
by  having:  the  contained  water  heated  is  altogether  wide  of  the  mark. 
Engineers  always  leave  vent  for  expansion,  but  if  it  interests  “  A.  D.” 
to  know  it  I  havm  seen  the  water  run  over  the  top  of  a  feed  cistern  when 
only  very  slightly  heated,  and  that  is  quite  proof  enough  for  me  that 
water  does  expand  when  heated  and  contracts  when  cooled,  no  matter 
what  it  does  when  it  freezes,  and  ceases  to  be  water  in  a  mechanical 
sense.  To  cavil,  however,  at  such  a  simple  matter  is  only  to  confuse 
the  issue.  At  all  events,  such  a  homely  instance  as  the  baking  of  a 
thin-skinned  Apple  such  as  “  A.  D.”  describes  will  show  whether  the 
said  Apple  will  split  under  the  influence  of  heat  or  not.  I  think  I  have 
seen  them  do  so. 
“  Ret  Raill  ”  is  really  a  very  funny  man  when  he  likes,  and  the 
game  of  filling  bottles  and  freezing  them  is  an  excellent  one  but  slow. 
Bothy  men  have  played  it  in  their  young  days,  so  doubtless  have 
college  students,  and  personally  I  may  say  that  if  ever  I  meet  “  Ret 
Raill  ”  I  can  show  him  the  results  of  the  fun  upon  my  own  person. 
And  now  may  I  suggest  a  little  experiment  to  “  Ret  Raill  ?  ”  Let 
him  fill  a  common  fish  or  tobacco  tin  with  cold  water  and  place  it  in 
quite  a  level  position  over  a  gas  jet.  Light  the  gas  and  keep  the 
surface  tension  of  the  water  broken  by  means  of  a  pin  or  a  pencil,  and 
note  how  long  it  will  be  before  the  heated  water  runs  out.  This  will 
not  endanger  life  or  limb. — H.  Richards. 
THE  SALE  OF  POISONS. 
Is  an  Agent  a  Seller? 
In  the  Queen’s  Bench  Division  on  Wednesday,  January  16th,  before 
Justices  Grantham  and  Channell,  the  appeal.  Pharmaceutical  Society  v. 
White,  was  heard.  It  was  an  appeal  by  the  Pharmaceutical  Society 
from  the  decision  of  the  County  Court  Judge  of  Worcester.  Mr. 
Crump,  Q.C.,  and  Mr.  Grey  appeared  for  the  Society,  and  Mr.  Cavanagh 
appeared  for  the  respondent. 
Mr.  Crump  said  this  was  an  appeal  from  the  learned  County  Court 
Judge  by  way  of  an  appeal  in  an  action  brought  to  recover  a  penalty 
under  the  Pharmacy  Acts  of  1852  and  1868.  The  action  to  recover 
the  penalty  was  brought  in  the  Worcester  County  Court,  and  the  Judge 
decided  in  favour  of  the  defendant,  that  he  had  not  been  guilty  of  an 
offence  under  the  Acts.  Section  15  of  the  Act  of  1852  provided  that 
any  person,  not  a  duly  qualified  chemist,  who  should  compound  or  sell 
any  poison  should  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  £5, 
The  respondent,  Mr.  White,  was  a  florist  carrying  on  business  at 
Worcester,  and  he  sold  a  weed  killer  containing  arsenic,  which  was  one 
of  the  poisons  mentioned  in  the  first  schedule  of  the  Pharmacy  Act. 
Mr.  White  admitted  that  he  sold  the  weed  killer,  he  admitted  it  con¬ 
tained  one  of  the  scheduled  poisons,  but  said  that  in  selling  the  weed 
killer  he  was  acting  as  the  agent  of  the  Boundary  Chemical  Company, 
which  carried  on  its  business  in  Liverpool.  He  would  take  the  order,  take 
the  money,  and  give  a  receipt,  but  he  did  not  keep  the  poison  in  stock. 
When  he  received  the  money  he  sent  the  order  on  to  the  Boundary 
Chemical  Company  at  Liverpool  for  them  to  execute,  and  the  company 
would  deliver  the  weed  killer  to  the  purchasers  from  White.  Mr. 
White  made  a  profit  in  the  transaction.  The  learned  County  Court 
Judge  found  that  Mr.  White  was  not  the  seller,  that  he  was  selliog  as 
agent  for  the  company  in  Liverpool,  and  not  for  himself,  and  con- 
sequently  he  was  not  a  person  within  the  meaning  of  the  section  of  the 
Act.  He  (Mr.  Crump)  submitted  that  Mr.  White  was  as  plainly  as 
as  possible  the  seller  of  this  particular  poison.  The  Act  was  for  the 
protection  of  the  public. 
Mr.  Justice  Grantham,  without  calling  upon  the  other  side,  said  he 
had  no  doubt  that  in  this  case  the  County  Court  Judge  was  right. 
White  was  not  the  person  who  was  managing  the  sale  ;  he  was  merely 
the  conduit  pipe  to  introduce  the  buyer  to  the  seller.  Mr.  Justice 
Channell  concurred,  and  the  appeal  was  therefore  dismissed. 
Mr.  Crump  asked  for  leave  to  appeal,  as  the  case  was  very 
important  to  the  Pharmaceutical  Society.  They  considered  there  was 
a  new  means  of  selling  poisons  without  incurring  liability. 
Leave  was  given  to  appeal  on  certain  terms. 
Seed  Distribution  in  America.. — The  Department  of  Agricultuie 
began  its  distribution  of  seeds  a  little  earlier  this  year  than  last, 
forwarding  them  south  at  the  beginning  of  January.  This  year 
the  seeds  for  distribution  to  all  parts  of  the  country  will  consist  of 
13,000,000  packets  of  vegetable  seeds,  1,560,000  of  flower  seeds,  besides 
field  and  lawn  grass  seeds. — (“  Washington  Post.”) 
