January  14,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
39 
Question  2. — “  What  are  the  circumstances  which  should  regulate  the 
frequency  of  watering,  and  the  amount  of  water  to  be  given  to  plants 
in  pots  1  ” 
The  circumstances  regulating  the  frequency  of  watering  will  depend 
to  a  considerable  extent  upon  the  following  circumstances  : — 1,  The 
weather  ;  2,  The  season  of  the  year  ;  3,  The  soil  ;  and  4,  The  kind  of 
plants  to  which  water  is  to  be  given.  If  the  weather  be  windy,  sunny, 
or  hot  plants  will  require  more  water  than  if  it  (the  weather)  be  still, 
cloudy,  or  cold.  Plants  also  require  more  water  during  the  spring  and 
summer  months  than  they  do  during  the  autumn  and  winter.  Soils 
that  are  loose,  gravelly,  or  sandy  require  watering  more  frequently 
than  peaty  or  clayey  soils.  Some  plants  grow  more  vigorously  than 
others,  and  as  a  general  rule  the  former  require  a  greater  supply  of 
water. 
The  amount  of  water  to  be  given  to  plants  in  pots  varies  according 
to  the  extent  of  foliage  and  roots  they  (the  plants)  possess.  Plants  with 
few  roots  and  narrow  or  leathery  leaves,  do  not  require  so  much  water 
as  those  which  have  many  roots  and  broad  soft  foliage.  Plants  which 
have  been  recently  repotted  do  not  require  so  much  water  as  those  which 
are  established.  Time,  sixteen  minutes. 
Question  3. — “  Describe  the  most  suitable  soil,  and  method  of  culture, 
for  such  tap-rooted  vegetables  as  the  Carrot  and  Parsnip.” 
( a )  The  most  suitable  soil  for  crops  like  Carrots  and  Parsnips  would 
be  a  deep  rich  loam,  as  free  from  stones  as  possible.  (5)  The  land  for 
these  crops  should  be  trenched,  and  a  liberal  supply  of  decayed  manure 
added  during  the  autumn.  When  trenching  break  the  soil  up  as  small 
as  possible,  or  the  roots  will  become  forked.  In  March  dig  the  soil  over 
with  a  fork,  making  the  surface  as  level  as  possible.  The  Carrot  seed 
should  be  sown  towards  the  latter  end  of  March,  in  drills  9  inches  to 
1  foot  apart.  Hoe  the  surface  frequently,  and  thin  out  the  plants  until 
they  stand  9  inches  apart  in  the  row.  The  soil  for  the  Parsnip  seed 
should  be  prepared  in  February,  and  the  seed  sown  then,  on  land  pre¬ 
pared  in  the  same  way  as  for  Carrots.  Sow  in  shallow  drills  from  1  foot  to 
15  inches  apart,  and  thin  out  the  plants  until  they  stand  1  foot  apart  in 
the  row.  Time,  twelve  minutes. 
Question  5. — “  Give  the  names  of  the  best  varieties  of  Strawberries. 
What  is  the  most  suitable  soil  for  their  culture  1  Describe  the  culture 
in  detail  for  forcing  and  open  ground.” 
(a)  President,  Newton’s  Seedling,  Royal  Sovereign,  Sir  Joseph  Paxton, 
and  La  Grosse  Sucrde,  (b)  Deep  rich  loam,  overlying  gravel  or  chalk, 
forms  the  most  suitable  soil  for  Strawberry  growing. 
(o)  Forcing  plants  are  obtained  by  pegging  runners  into  3-inch  pots 
filled  with  rich  soil,  and  as  soon  as  rooted  shifted  into  their  fruiting  pots 
(32’s).  The  larger  pots  must  have  good  drainage,  and  the  soil  cannot 
well  be  rammed  too  hard.  The  soil  should  consist  of  a  mixture  of  three 
parts  fibrous  loam,  one  part  decayed  manure,  and  one-sixth  part  of  bone- 
meal.  The  runners  should  be  layered  as  early  as  possible. 
When  the  plants  are  potted  stand  them  on  asheB,  give  water  when 
needed,  and  place  them  in  a  cold  frame  as  soon  as  severe  frost  occur, 
removing  the  lights  on  every  favourable  occasion.  The  plants  should 
be  removed  into  the  houses  for  forcing  as  required.  They  will  require 
watering  carefully,  and  syringing  until  the  flower  buds  begin  to  expand.  As 
soon  as  the  fruit  is  set  weak  liquid  manure  should  be  given  frequently, 
and  when  the  fruit  begins  to  ripen  a  drier  atmosphere  and  more  air  is 
needed . 
The  culture  for  out  of  doors  consists  in  selecting  runners  as  early  in 
August  as  possible,  and  planting  them  in  prepared  ground  18  inches 
from  plant  to  plant,  and  3  feet  from  row  to  row.  When  planting  spread 
the  roots  out  in  a  natural  way,  and  do  not  get  the  crown  of  the  plant 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Remove  runners  as  fast  as  they 
appear,  and  hoe  the  land  to  keep  it  free  from  weeds.  Long  manure  or 
straw  should  be  placed  in  the  rows  about  the  time  the  plant  begins  to 
flower,  to  keep  the  fruit  clean.  If  the  weather  be  dry  give  water  and 
weak  liquid  manure  if  possible.  Time,  twenty-five  minutes. 
Nine  questions,  running  from  1  to  9,  were  set  last  year  on  “  Elementary 
Principles,”  and  nine  questions,  running  from  1  to  9,  on  “  Horti¬ 
cultural  Practice.”  Unfortunately  I  omitted  to  write  “  Elementary 
Principles  ”  at  the  heading  last  week. 
Before  I  finished  I  intended  giving  young  gardeners  a  few  words  of 
advice  on  the  exam,  but  my  answers  will  already  take  up  a  considerable 
space  in  the  “  Domain.”  With  the  Editor’s  permission  a  little  friendly 
lecture  will  be  given  another  week  by — A  Student. 
[Permission  is  readily  given  for  advice  that  may  be  useful  to  other 
young  gardeners.] 
VACCINIUM  ERYTHRINUM.  . 
Almost  any  plants  that  flower  at  this  time  of  year  are  welcome  in 
the  greenhouse,  and  that  of  which  a  small  bunch  is  shown  in  the 
engraving  (fig.  13),  though  not  remarkable  for  its  richness  of  colour,  is  well 
worthy  of  a  place  in  collections.  It  is  of  strong  habit,  producing  its 
flowers  freely  in  December  and  January,  and  can  be  readily  grown  under 
the  ordinary  treatment  afforded  to  greenhouse  plants.  The  flowers  are 
of  a  peculiar  dark  purplish  red  colour,  and  are  borne  in  racemes  at  the 
extremities  of  the  bunches.  It  has  long  been  an  occupant  of  British 
gardens,  but  appears  to  be  very  little  known. 
COUNTY  COUNCIL  TEACHING. 
If  your  readers  are  to  believe  all  they  see  stated  upon  the  above 
subject  they  must  think  that  either  some  teachers  are  incompetent  men, 
or  your  correspondents  are  not  endowed  with  a  superfluity  of  caution. 
I  happen  to  know  that  the  first  sentence  of  the  paragraph  on  page  422 
of  your  last  volume  is  untrue.  The  writer  of  it  sent  the  statement  to  you 
without  knowing  a  single  fact  of  the  case.  The  last  sentence  of  the  para¬ 
graph  I  know  nothing  of,  and  Mr.  Hughes  repudiates  all  knowledge  of  it. 
Your  correspondent  “  South  Wales,”  in  your  last  issue  (page  10) 
naturally  infers  that  the  paragraph  he  saw  was  a  fair  version^  of  facts, 
and  he  proceeds  to  give  another  instance  of  what  he  considers  wrong 
teaching.  His  statement  may  be  correct ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  may  be 
as  unfounded  as  the  sentence  to  which  I  have  referred.  When  a  person 
is  so  certain  that  a  public  teacher  is  giving  faulty  instruction  at  the 
expense  of  the  public,  surely  he  feels  sufficient  confidence  in  the 
righteousness  of  his  cause  to  enable  him  to  sign  his  name  to  his  protest, 
and  not  require  the  use  of  a  nom  cle  plume  ! 
It  is  foolish  to  suppose  that  men  who  for  years  have  held  prominent 
FIG.  13. — VACCINIUM  EEYTHEINUM, 
positions  in  the  front  rank  of  practitioners,  should  degenerate  into 
mediocrity  the  moment  they  devote  a  large  portion  of  their  time  to 
imparting  their  knowledge  to  others.  The  very  nature  of  their  new  and 
varied  work  produces  the  reverse  effect.  They  are  compelled  to  study 
harder  and  think  deeper,  and  take  broader — though  not  less  sound — 
views  than  ever  before,  if  they  are  to  fit  themselves,  and  keep  themselves 
fit,  for  their  work. 
Men  who  have  to  stand  cross-examination — by  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men — upon  the  subjects  treated,  and  to  stand  that  successfully  night 
after  night  and  year  after  year,  are  not  horticultural  weaklings. 
Possibly  there  may  be  here  and  there  men  who  are  not  best  fitted  for  the 
work  in  view,  and  these  may  have  been  engaged  on  the  principle  of — 
“  if  we  cannot  have  whom  we  would  like,  we  must  have  whom  we  can 
get.”  But  such  teachers  are  mainly  temporary.  The  majority  of 
“so-called  Technical  Instructors”  are  quite  up  to  their  work  as  such, 
and  doubtless  can  hold  their  own  in  practice  with  the  best  cultivators  in 
the  country,  but  they  do  not  lay  any  claim  to  infallibility. — J.  Udale. 
[The  paragraph  to  which  our  correspondent  first  refers  appeared  on 
October  29th,  1896  ;  his  correction  reached  us  on  January  9th,  1897,  so 
it  does  not  appear  in  his  view  to  have  been  very  urgent.  The  advice 
referred  to  in  the  same  paragraph,  and  which  Mr.  Udale  “  knows 
nothing  about,”  was  inserted  on  the  direct  authority  of  a  gentleman 
who  followed  the  advice  that  was  given  to  grow  Tomatoes  in  trenches 
prepared  as  for  Celery,  with  the  result  of  having  gross  stems  and  leafage, 
but  no  fruit.  We  fully  agree  that  the  majority  of  horticultural 
instructors  are  sound,  practical  men,  and  if  we  had  not  regarded  Mr. 
Udale  as  being  in  the  “  front  rank  ”  we  should  not  have  testified  to  that 
effect  long  ago,  as  we  did  with  pleasure  ;  but  he  knows  very  well  that 
all  are  not  equally  endowed  with  knowledge  and  the  gift  of  teaching.] 
