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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  31.  1900. 
cuttings  should  now  be  taken,  avoiding  all  pithy  growth  and  choosing 
the  small-sized  shoots  which  come  up  at  the  base  of  the  plant.  It 
will  be  well,  however,  where  much  increase  is  desired,  to  cut  off  all  the 
flowtring  stems  which  engender  mildew,  and  trust  to  the  {>lant 
throw  ing  up  shoots  which  will  become  young  plants  by-and-by. 
Pinks. 
The  attempt  to  restore  these  once  favourite  florist  flowers  to 
popularity  has  not  met  with  any  success,  but  those  who  still  grow' 
them  will  now  be  thinking  ol  propagation.  They  are  somewhat 
difficult  because  they  are  so  apt  to  damp  off,  and  pipings,  as  they 
are  called,  as  soon  as  they  are  firm  enough,  may  be  taken  off  and 
plaeed  under  bell-glasses  in  some  shady  position.  The  glass  ought 
not  to  be  removed  for  some  time,  and  should  any  of  the  pipings  damp 
off  they  should  be  removed  lest  any  of  the  others  be  affected. 
Ranunculus. 
I  am  afraid  this  is  another  trying  season  for  these  beautiful  tubers. 
They  love  moisture,  and  they  have  had  but  little  of  it  lately.  Should 
rain  not  speedily  come  the  beds  must  be  well  watered,  giving  them 
a  thoroughly  good  soaking,  applying  water  between  the  rows  and  not 
over  the  bed.  Here  again  one  has  to  mourn  over  the  lack  of 
appreciation  of  these  beautilul  flowers,  and  the  beds  which  I  used 
to  see  in  my  boyhood  and  early  manhood  have  to  be  looked  for 
in  vain. 
Roses. 
We  are  likely,  I  think,  to  have  a  very  late  flowering  season,  and 
the  cold  biting  easterly  winds  which  we  are  now  experiencing  are 
likely  to  exercise  an  injurious  effect  on  them.  The  beds  should  be 
carefully  gone  over  every  second  day  and  the  maggot  carefully  hunted 
out  and  destroyed.  If  this  maggot  gets  into  close  quarters  with  the 
bud  it  is  sure  to  be  spoiled.  I  have  not  as  yet  seen  any  green  fly,  but 
when  it  does  come  the  plants  should  be  syringed  with  water  contain¬ 
ing  Gishurst  compound  or  some  other  insecticide,  and  after  this 
syringed  with  pure  water.  Those  who  wish  to  have  really  good 
flowers  will  now  also  disbud  their  plants,  leaving  only  one  bud 
to  a  shoot.  It  is  necessary  also  to  place  sticks  to  any  rapidly  growing 
shoots  to  prevent  their  being  shaken  by  the  wind.  Our  exhibi  ions 
begin  next  month,  and  their  prospects  are  not  at  present  favourable, 
but  everything  will  depend  on  the  next  three  or  four  weeks.  In  the 
meantime  let  us  hope  that  more  favourable  weather  will  follow  this 
cold  sirell. — D.,  Deal. 
- t  t - 
Rhododendron  Forsteriannm. 
The  greup  of  hybrid  Rhododendrons  which  has  originated  through 
crossing  such  lovely  species  as  R.  Edgeworthi,  Veitchi,  and  furmosum 
contains  a  large  percentage  of  high-class  plants,  all  of  which  are 
W'ell  worthy  of  extended  cultivation,  making  as  they  do  delightful 
pictures  of  grace  and  beau  y  for  the  greenhouse 'or  conservatory  in 
spring.  The  title  ol  Queen  of  this  beautiful  group  may  well  be 
accorded  to  the  one  under  notice,  for  it  quite  eclipses  any  other 
variety  in  .size,  form,  and  beauty.  It  is  a  hybrid  between  R.  Edge¬ 
worthi  and  R.  Veitchi,  and  appears  to  be  very  tcarce,  though  it 
has  been  cultivated  in  a  few  places  for  a  number  of  years.  The 
leaves  are  intermediate  be  ween  ti  e  two  parents,  though  bearing  no 
very  striking  resemblance  to  either,  the  well-m.rked  nerves  of  Edge¬ 
worthi  being  present,  but  very  little  signs  of  the  brown  felt  on  youi.g 
wood  and  the  under  sides  of  the  leaves  which  is  characteristic  of  that 
species;  in  this  respect  the  Veitchi  pareiitage  can  be  traced. 
The  flowers  are  upwards  of  5^  inches  across,  usually  borne  in 
trusses  of  three  or  four  flowers  each,  or  sometimes  six  on  an  extra 
strong  shoot.  The  tube  is  very  short,  the  petals  spreading  almost 
from  the  base.  They  are  pure  white  with  a  lemon  mark  at  the  base 
of  the  upper  petal.  The  margins  are  very  )  rettily  undulated,  which  adds 
greatly  to  their  beauty.  When  seen  from  a  distance  the  wide  flowers 
with  their  prettily  fringed  margins  are  suggestive  of  the  fully 
expanded  blossoms  of  a  Lily.  An  additional  recommendation  for  this 
plant  is  the  delicious  perfume  which  accom;  anies  the  flowers,  a  few 
blos.^'orns  scenting  a  large  house.  When  growing  it  should  be  kept 
tied  in,  as  the  growth  is  apt  to 'become  straggly.  As  it  is  a  very  free 
flovverer  the  buds  should  be  thinned  or  the  plant  will  soon  become 
enfeebled. — W.  D. 
- - 
American  Apple  Outlook. — From  advices  to  the  “American 
Agriculturist  ”  in  response  to  special  inquiries  sent  out,  it  appears 
that  the  prospect  for  the  coming  Apple  crop  is  good  in  most  leading 
sections.  The  blooming  period  has  brought  much  promise,  and  so  far 
as  conditions  at  this  early  stage  amount  to  anything,  prpspects  are 
favourable  for  a  liberal  set  of  fruit. 
Potato  Culture. 
Mr.  Molyneux  is  quite  correct  in  saying  there  is  no  excuse  for 
growing  inferior  Potatoes  when  there  is  such  a  wealth  of  variety  from 
which  to  select.  Inferior  quality,  however,  comes  even  from  good 
varieties,  when  these  are  planted  on  land  that  does  not  suit  them.  As 
an  illustration  I  might  mention  that  these  gardens  once  possessed  a 
very  poor  character  for  Potatoes,  their  quality  in  the  main  being  such 
that  no  one  could  eat  them  without  complaining.  This  was  attributed 
to  the  heavy  manuring  given  the  soil  for  growing  them  and  other 
vegetables.  When  I  took  charge  there  were  some  forty  sorts  in  stock, 
some  of  them  very  good  in  quality,  but  the  maincrop  forms  grown  in 
the  greater  bulk— Windsor  Castle,  Sutton’s  Seedling,  Satisfaction,  and 
Abundance— were  those  of  which  complaint  was  made  the  most  freely. 
Obviously  the  lemedy  applied  for — a  better  standard  of  quality  was  a 
rigid  selection  of  those  that  were  found  to  suit  the  land,  as  proved  by 
the  cooking  test,  and  the  discontinuance  of  the  growth  of  those  that 
did  not  please.  The  question,  at  the  present,  of  quality  is  never- 
contested,  or  complaint  made;  indeed,  the  Potato  has  a  character  as 
good  now  as  it  was  bad  under  the  old  order,  which  is,  and  must  be, 
satisfactory  to  all  concerned. 
My  mainstay  is  Snowdrop,  with  a  few  Beauty  of  Hebron,  both  of 
which  are  as  good  as  can  be  found,  and  I  do  not  think  it  possible  to 
make  the  ground  too  rich  for  them,  at  any  rate  not  with  decayed  horse 
manure.  In  a  good  Potato  season  I  have  lifted  over  a  sack  from  each 
perch— lug  it  is  called  in  the  West— good  sound  produce  from  Si  owdrop 
seed.  The  same  variety  is  much  favoured  by  cottagers,  and  this  as  well 
as  Beauty  of  Hebron,  form,  in  some  cases,  their  main,  as  well  as  their 
late  crops,  and  they  keep  soundly  until  late  in  spring  when  carefully 
stored.  My  latest  introduction  into  the  main  crop  or  garden  section  is 
Syon  House  Prolific,  and  this  promises  bf  th  in  point  of  quantity  and 
quality  to  hold  a  favourable  place.  In  the  field  Snowdrop  fails  because 
the  culture  is  not  sufficiently  good  for  its  constitution.  The  plough  does 
not  break  the  soil  deeply  enough,  and  the  farmers’  methods  emnot  be 
expected  to  equal  spade  work  in  the  garden.  Maincrop  I  have  found  to 
do  best,  being  good  alike  in  quality,  free  from  disease,  heavy  cropping, 
and  the  tubers  of  a  most  serviceable  size.  During  the  whole  winter  I 
did  not  find  a  single  diseased  Potato,  a  fact  that  contributed  largely  to 
the  extension  of  the  supply  and  reduced  labour. 
In  gardening  as  in  every  other  vocation  men  have  methods  differing 
in  detail  one  from  another,  and  in  Potato  planting  this  often  apolies. 
While  Mr.  Molyneux  will  adopt  a  dividing  space  of  13  inches  by  2  feet 
3  inches,  others  will  go  to  3  feet  between  the  rows  and  from  16  to 
18  inches  between  the  sets  for  maincrops.  I  have  seen  Snowdrops 
planted  at  the  latter  distance  which  completely  hid  the  ground,  and 
smothered  Brussels  Sprouts  put  out  between  them,. and  the  crop,  it  need, 
scarcely  be  said,  was  proportionate  to  their  giowth.  1  have  not  been 
able  to  compare  artificial  with  natural  manures  so  favourably  spoken 
of  by  Mr.  Molyneux  for  Potatoes,  but  I  can  point  to  land  that  has  had 
neither  for  many  years  except  that  procured  by  burning  up  all  garden 
accumulations,  and  the  ashes  and  decayed  vegetable  matter  spread  over 
the  ground  at  digging  and  planting  time,  and  this  not  a  heavy  dressing 
by  any  means.  I  Lave  found  under  ordinary  farm  planting  that  the 
rows  are  better  with  less  space  between  them,  bi- cause  when  subject,  as 
they  often  are  to  periods  of  drought,  the  soil  dries  rapidly  when  expused 
to  the  sun  ;  with  closer  rows  the  sun  is  kept  out  from  the  shade  afforded, 
by  the  haulms. 
Among  early  sorts  I  find  Ringleader,  Sharpe’s  Victor,  Carter’s  First 
Crop,  Sutton’s  Harbinger,  The  Sirdar,  and  Feitch’s  Ashleaf,  are  all 
good  and  reliable,  and  a  greater  range  of  variety  among  the  first  earlies 
is  both  iuteresiing  and  instructive.  Some  are  hardier  than  others  in 
their  foliage,  suffering  less  from  frost  visifa,  1  have  seen  a  border 
planted  with  several  early  sorts,  which  after  a  late  frost  distinctly 
showed  how  varied  was  their  resistance.  While  some  would  be  badly- 
damaged  another  would  have  almost  escaped  unhurt— that  is,  of  course, 
after  a  moderate  frost. 
Seed-saving  of  these  first  earlies  often  presents  some  difficulty  in 
getting  sufficient  stock  for  the  next  year’s  planting.  1  ant  able  to  get 
over  this  quite  easily  by  allottitig  a  portion  of  the  border  for  planting 
the  small  tubers  left.  These  will  give  tubers  of  a  good  size,  which  are 
stored  as  they  are  dug,  and  thus  the  trouble  of  selecting  from  thi'se  in. 
daily  use  is  entirely  ov-treome,  and  all  anxiety  for  the  future  removed. 
The  ground  is  not  manured  for  these  unless  it  be  very  poor.  There  is 
always  a  proportion  of  small  ones  remaining  after  the  selection  of 
planting  tubers  has  been  made,  and  by  setting  these  aside  for  the 
purpose  more  than  one  object  is  fulfilled,  each  of  a  useful  kind.  It 
sometimes  happens  when  dependence  is  placed  on  sm til  ones  selected 
from  the  everyday  digging  that  the  seed  stock  falls  short  of  the 
requirements  of  the  garden.  It  is,  therefore,  good  policy  to  provide - 
against  such  contingencies,  and  plant  the  small,  which  would  otherwise 
be  thrown  away  as  useless. — W.  Strognell,  Rood  Ashton. 
