January  25,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
77 
cannot  be  successfully  performed  under  various  conditions,  except  by 
those  who  study  the  matter  and  act  upon  the  experience  thus  gained. 
Alter  pruning  Roses  which  are  planted  out  the  border  should 
receive  some  attention,  and  if  roots  are  plentiful — as  they  ought  to  be 
— remove  a  little  of  the  surface  soil,  dress  with  chemical  manure,  then 
add  a  thin  layer  of  loam  and  a  coating  of  manure,  if  the  position  is 
one  in  which  the  latter  will  not  be  objectionable  in  appearance ;  should 
it  be  so  place  the  manure  on  first  and  cover  with  soil. 
Trees  which  are  not  thriving  satisfactorily  ought  to  have  some  of 
the  soil  removed,  and  good  loam  with  a  third  of  manure  and  a  little 
soot  added,  substituted  for  the  old  soil.  As  long  as  one  finds  the 
borders  packed  with  roots,  an  annual  top-dressing  and  liberal  feeding 
will  secure  good  results ;  but  whenever  roots  are  scarce  and  the  soil 
sour,  the  golden  rule  to  observe  is — remove  and  replace  it  by  sound 
sweet  compost.  After  the  borders  have  been  thus  dealt  with,  and  the 
soil  has  been  found  fairly  dry,  water  thoroughly  with  tepid  water,  but 
when  the  soil  is  wet,  or  roots  not  plentiful,  defer  watering  for  a  time. 
—  Rosaeian. 
COMMERCIAL  GARDENING,— No,  2, 
A  Catch  Crop — French  Beans. 
In  the  early  spring  days  Cucumber  growing  is  founil  very 
expensive,  on  account  of  the  large  quantity  of  fuel  burnt  to  keep  up 
fiufficient  heat.  When,  a  few  years  ago,  the  price  of  early  Cucumbers 
fell  from  12s.  to  Gs.  a  dozen,  growers  had  to  look  round  and  see  what 
they  could  grow  in  the  houses  to  help  to  pay  for  the  fuel.  The  catch 
■crop  grown  in  the  small  (12  feet)  Cucumber  houses  must  be  one  that 
will  not  take  up  much  room,  and  will  come  to  maturity  early  ;  and 
nothing  has  been  found  more  suitable  for  this  purpose  than  French  Beans. 
When  to  Sow. 
The  Bean  seed  should  be  sown  a  fortnight  after  the  Cucumber 
seed,  in  shallow  boxes,  uhose  used  for  Tomato  seeds  and  Chrys¬ 
anthemum  cuttings  being  the  kind  frequently  employed.  In  case 
any  readers  do  not  know  the  sort  referred  to,  it  may  be  said  they  are 
about  7  inches  wide,  12  inches  in  length,  and  II  inch  deep.  These 
boxes  each  hold  forty  beans.  The  soil  used  for  sowing  is  any  ordinary 
soil,  that  in  which  Chrysanthemums  have  been  growing  being  very 
suitable.  Be  careful,  however,  not  to  use  any  that  may  contain  any 
pest  or  disease  harmful  to  Cucumbers,  for  although  our  friend  Mr. 
■“  A.  D.”  may  make  light  of  our  old  enemy  the  eelworm,  he  would  find 
it  no  easy  matter  to  deal  with  if  he  were  a  market  grower. 
When  the  seeds  are  sown  place  the  boxes  in  the  house  in  which  the 
Cucumbers  are  being  raised.  The  seeds  will,  if  given  plenty  of 
water,  germinate  very  rapidly,  and  the  boxes  should  be  removed  to  a 
cooler  situation  as  soon  as  the  plants  appear.  The  successful  Bean 
grower  always  has  dwarf  sturdy  young  plants,  and  plants  them  out  as 
soon  as  the  first  two  leaves  are  half  developed.  The  secret  of  a  good 
crop  of  Beans  is  the  planting  out  just  at  the  time  named. 
Preparing  for  Planting. 
The  Cucumber  houses  should  be  whitewashed  and  painted,  and  the 
soil  put  into  heaps  ready  for  the  “  Cue  ”  plants.  Most  Cucumber 
houses  have  two  flow  pipes  and  two  returns  in  each  house. '  The 
former  run  along  the  back,  an<i  the  latter  are  put  more  or  less  down 
the  middle  of  the  house,  generally  from  3  to  4  feet  from  the  flow 
pipes.  The  Beans  are  planted  in  rows,  one  on  each  side  of  the  return 
pij  es.  By  this  means  we  get  four  rows  of  Beans  in  each  house. 
Knowing  now  where  the  Beans  are  to  be  planted,  a  layer  of 
manure  should  be  spread  along  where  the  rows  will  come,  and  if  a 
little  basic  slag  and  kainit  is  spread  on  the  manure,  the  Btans  and 
“Cues”  will  be  all  the  better  for  it,  and  will  repay  the  grower  for  his 
thoughtfulness.  We  generally  spread  about  3  lbs.  of  the  former  and 
2  lbs.  of  the  latter  to  every  100  feet  of  row.  Dig  in  the  manure, 
taking  care  to  mix  it  well  with  the  soil. 
Planting. 
The  Beans  should  be  ready  to  plant  at  the  same  time  as  the 
Cucumbers.  Stretch  a  line  along  a  foot. or  15  inches  from  the  pipes, 
and  dib  in  the  Beans  4  inches  apart.  Give  them  a  good  watering 
as  soon  as  the  planting  is  finished,  and  then  only  water  when 
necessary.  When  the  Beans  are  6  inches  in  height  put  a  few  small 
stakes  on  each  side,  and  a  row  of  string  to  keep  the  plants  from 
falling  about. 
As  soon  as  they  commence  flowering  give  them  a  little  weak 
stimulant  in  the  form  cf  liquid  manure.  The  latter  is  not  always 
available,  but  what  is  even  better  than  this  is  a  mixture  of  one  part 
of  nitrate  of  soda  and  two  parts  of  superphosphate,  1  oz.  in  a  gallon 
of  water.  Give  alternate  waterings,  first  with  clear  water  and  then 
with  the  liquid  manure. 
It  is  hoped  none  of  your  readers  will  be  surprised  at  this  recom¬ 
mendation  of  nitrate  of  soda  for  a  leguminous  plant.  Writers  of 
horticultural  science  may  tell  us  that  this  class  of  plant  can  obtain  its 
nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere.  The  fact  is  not  disputed,  but  we 
cannot  wait  while  the  moving  air  brings  sufficient  of  this  food  to  our 
plants,  so  we  give  them  nitrate  at  the  root,  and  find  it  pays. 
Picking  and  Packing. 
About  a  month  from  the  time  of  planting  the  Beans  will  be  ready 
for  picking.  Do  not  pick  them  too  soon  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  do 
not  keep  them  too  long.  A  little  judgment  is  necessary.  Some 
growers  pack  the  Beans  in  boxes,  which  will  hold  about  6  lbs.  each, 
but  the  majority  put  them  in  overhandle  baskets.  Line  the  baskets 
with  paper,  and  as  the  Beans  are  picked  lay  them  in  neatly  and 
evenly,  cover  with  paper,  and  tie  them  down  with  plenty  of  raffia. 
Varieties. 
We  have  never  grown  more  than  the  two  following  varieties  of 
Dwarf  Kidney  Beans — viz.,  Ne  Plus  Ultra  and  Osborne’s  Forcing. 
There  is  not  much  to  choose  between  these  two,  but  if  we  had  a 
casting  vote  we  should  give  it  in  favour  of  the  last  named. 
Return  for  Outlay. 
Beans  in  the  spring  sell  readily.  In  a  mild  winter  they  may  not 
fetch  more  than  lOd.  per  pound  wholesale,  but  when  other  vegetables 
are  scarce  they  will  often  sell  from  Is.  6d.  to  2s.  6d.  per  jiound.  We 
have  managed  to  get  from  houses  100  feet  long  100  lbs.  of  Beans, 
and  our  average  price  was  Is.  per  pound. — Tom  Slowman. 
FRUIT  TREE  TRAINING. 
It  is  evident  that  in  some  establishments  the  art  of  tree  training  is 
not  strongly  in  evidence.  It  is  very  pleasing  to  see  the  whole  space 
on  walls  closely  covered  with  well-trained  fruit  trees  laden  with  luscious 
fruit.  Very  often  large  empty  spaces  are  noticeable,  and  trees  may 
be  seen  cut  so  clumsily  that  large  decaying  snags  are  much  in  evidence  ; 
these  eat  into  the  permanent  branches,  and  in  due  time  are  the  fore¬ 
runners  of  canker  and  death.  Pruning  should  be  done  on  every  species 
of  tree  or  shrub  in  a  manner  so  that  there  is  nothing  left  to  do  mischief. 
There  should  be  no  long  sloping  cuts,  but  manipulated  with  a  twist 
close  to  the  bud,  which  leaves  nothing  to  die  back,  so  that  in  the 
course  of  time  (a  season  or  two  at  most)  the  wounds  are  healed,  and 
the  bark  has  concealed  the  cut. 
Such  was  the  practice  of  the  late  Mr.  Pitman,  foreman  in  the 
grounds  of  the  late  Messrs.  Osborn  &  Sons  at  Fulham  Nurseries.  Many 
practitioners  of  the  art  of  tree  raising  at  the  present  time  claim  to  hav-e 
been  under  Pitman,  and  received  tuition  from  him.  They  may  have 
been  ;  but  in  some  cases  I  have  seen  of  late  years  the  pupils  had  not 
been  very  apt  disciples,  as  the  trees  passed  through  their  hands 
are  as  unlike  Pitman’s  as  a  Clydesdale  horse  is  to  a  well  cared  for 
thoroughbred. 
A  mistake  is  very  general,  and  that  is  the  young  growths  are  not 
trained  into  form  as  soon  as  they  are  made,  but  left  to  grow  as  they 
may  ;  then  such  cannot  be  formed  into  handsome  shoots.  A  well- 
managed  shoot  should  be  as  clean  and  straight  from  the  stem  as  a 
gun  barrel.  Such  was  Mr.  Pitman’s  practice.  I  watched  his  work 
carefully  while  I  was  under  him  for  nine  months.  1  never  see  any  trees 
like  them  now.  If  trees  are  not  well  started  at  first,  they  are  always 
faulty  afterwards. — M.  Temple,  Carron,  X.B. 
STEM  ROT  OF  CARNATIONS. 
Messrs.  Chard  &  Adams  of  the  Rhode  Island  Experiment  Station 
have  been  making  quite  extensive  experiments  in  this  little  understood 
disease,  which  at  tue  present  time  has  perhaps  more  terrors  for  the 
American  Carnation  grower  than  any  of  the  other  numerous  ills  to  which 
the  plant  is  subject.  The  experiments  were  designed  to  show  the 
influence  of  clean  sand  versus  old  sand  for  propagating  vigorous  as  against 
diseased  cuttings,  and  manure  versus  chemical  fertilisers  as  influencing 
the  prevalence  of  disease.  Tests  were  also  made  of  the  use  of  Bor¬ 
deaux  mixture.  The  experiments  were  begun  in  the  spring  of  1899, 
some  1500  cuttings  of  the  variety  Flora  Kill  being  used.  A  part 
of  these  were  obtained  from  plants  among  which  stem  rot  had  been 
very  prevalent,  while  the  others  were  from  healthy  stock. 
Although  the  experiments  have  not,  says  “  Gardening  ”  (America), 
progressed  far  enough  to  be  regarded  as  conclusive,  certain  indications 
are  pointed  out  as  well  worthy  of  note.  The  most  marked  is  the  great 
importance  of  using  fresh  sand  for  propagating,  some  of  those  propa¬ 
gated  in  old  sand  showing  losses  of  over  one-half  from  stem  rot.  It 
is  unsafe  to  dip  the  cuttings  in  Bordeaux  mixture,  and  no  special 
beneflts  seem  to  result  from  it.  The  experiments  do  not  show  any 
increase  of  the  disease  in  soil  fertilised  with  stable  manure. 
One  of  the  fungi  causing  the  disease  is  thought  to  be  the  same  as 
that  causing  the  rot  of  sugar  Beets  and  the  damping-off  in  other 
plants.  It  would  seem  safer,  therefore,  to  avoid  soil  in  which  Beets 
have  been  grown,  and  not  to  use  sand  in  which  cuttings  of  any  kind 
have  been  rooted — that  is,  use  a  new  clean  sand  for  each  stock  of 
cuttings.  The  conclusions  in  regard  to  propagating  sand  are  in  accord 
wi^h  the  practice  of  many  of  our  best  commercial  growers,  and  should 
be  heeded  by  all.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  these  gentlemen  may  be  able 
to  continue  and  complete  their  experiments. 
