February  3,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OP  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
103 
Protecting  Pears. — The  protection  by  cotton  bags  of 
growing  fruit  recommended  by  “A.  D.’  a  few  weeks  ago  would 
probably  interfere  too  much  with  the  maturity,  perfection,  and 
colouring  of  the  fruit.  I  tried  successfully  some  years  ago  the  use  of 
similar  bags,  made  of  cotton  in  very  transparent  open  net,  useful  as 
mosquito  netting.  It  admits  plenty  of  light  and  air,  thoroughly  excludes 
all  insects,  and  repels  birds,  and  I  know  of  nothing  better  for  the  purpose. 
— H.  H.  R.,  Forest  Hill. 
-  Indian  Shade  Trees  and  the  Coffee  Plantations  in 
^«YASALAND. — A  proposal  was  made  some  time  ago  for  the  introduction 
of  the  seeds  of  certain  trees  from  India  and  Ceylon  into  British  Central 
Africa,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  shade  for  the  (  oflee  plants  in  the 
numerous  plantations  which  are  now  being  opened  up  in  the  protectorate. 
The  suggestion  was  referred  home  by  the  Commissioner,  and  the  Foreign 
Office  requested  Mr.  Thiselton  Dyer,  the  Director  of  Kew  Gardens,  to 
report  on  the  subject.  As  a  result  of  Mr.  Thiselton  Dyer’s  reports,  her 
Majesty’s  Commissioner  has  determined  rigidly  to  enforce  the  I’egulations 
for  the  prevention  of  Coffee  disease  in  Central  Africa,  which  prohibit  the 
importation  of  seeds  from  India  and  Ceylon.  In  his  report  Mr.  Thiselton 
Dyer  says  :  -  ‘'The  Coffee  disease  was  introduced  into  Fiji  through  the 
instrumentality  of  Tea  seeds  from  Ceylon.  Notwithstanding  the  splendid 
attempts  made  by  Sir  William  MacGregor  to  stamp  it  out,  it  ultimately 
completely  destroyed  the  Coffee  industry,  which  was  the  most  promising 
planting  enterprise  in  the  colony.  The  Germans,  by  some  unknown 
means,  have  succeeded  in  introducing  the  disease  into  their  African 
territories.  In  the  face  of  these  undoubted  facts,  it  vi'ould,  in  my  opinion, 
be  the  height  of  folly  to  run  the  smallest  risk  of  introducing  the  disease 
into  British  Central  Africa,  where  its  presence  would  be  an  irreparable 
disaster.  Knoiving  the  mechanical  way  in  which  such  work  is  carried 
out  by  native  officials  in  India,  I  do  not  think  that  any  stipulation  as  to 
locality  is  of  the  smallest  value.  Whatever  was  stated  to  the  contrary, 
the  first  parcel  of  seed  would,  in  all  probability,  come  from  a  plantation 
reeking  with  disease.  The  present  request  is  the  more  unnecessary,  as 
according  to  a  Coffee  planter  in  Nyasaland,  who  is  well  acquainted  with 
Coffee  cultivation  in  Ceylon,  a  local  African  tree,  Albizza  fastigiata,  is 
admirably  adapted  for  a  shade  tree  for  Coffee.  If  this  is  not  sufficient,  the 
Kain  Tree,  or  Pithecolobium  saman,  might  be  tried.  The  seed  can  be 
obtained  in  abundance  from  Jamaica,  and  this  would  be  perfectly  safe.’’ 
— Times.”) 
- -  Gardens  in  England  and  Italy. — At  the  galleries  of  the 
Fine  Art  Society  in  New  Bond  Street  may  be  viewed  a  new  series  of 
water-colour  drawings  of  gardens  by  Mr.  George  S.  Elgood,  who  has 
for  so  many  years  enjoyed  popularity  as  an  artistic  authority  on  those 
combined  efforts  of  Nature  and  the  hand  of  man  that  go  to  the  making 
of  beautiful  gardens.  Hitherto  Mr.  Elgood  has  loyally  chosen  as 
subjects  for  brush  and  pencil  the  gardens  of  England,  but  for  this 
occasion  h&  has  been  working  chiefly  in  a  sunnier  part  of  the  world. 
In  the  gardens  of  Italy,  he  reminds  us,  we  are  to  seek  the  origin  of  our 
more  formal  phases  of  horticulture,  especially  the  occasional  introduction 
of  statuary  sometimes  ventured  upon  by  owners  of  picturesque  seats 
sufficiently  distant  from  the  grime  of  London  fog  and  smoke.  At 
Pompeii  were  found  the  roots  of  the  Box  borders  dear  to  our  grand¬ 
parents,  and  at  La  Cava  the  square-clipped  hedges  and  topiary  wor^,  the 
prototypes  of  our  seventeenth  century  gardens.  Palermo  provided  the 
artist  with  a  little  mine  of  wealth  from  the  pictorial  standpoint,  both  in 
private  and  public  grounds,  where  lovely  surroundings  form  a  setting  for 
the  more  conventional  results  of  special  design.  For  the  Yew-clipped 
hedges  and  elaborately  cut  devices  which  still  border  many  a  pleasant 
walk,  whose  well-swept,  tyrannical  order  repels  the  lover  of  wayward 
picturesqueness,  Mr.  Elgood  has  an  affection  that  belongs  to  historical 
association.  The  more  formal  subjects  are  clothed  in  the  glamour  of  Old 
World  peace,  while  on  the  other  hand  there  are  many  in  which  the  studied 
skill  of  the  gardener  is  modified  by  the  bold  growth  of  blossoms  out¬ 
growing  the  restrictions  of  space  ;  and  when  this  happens  unler  artistic 
direction,  the  contrast  between  festooned  arches  and  the  patches  of  free 
luxuriance  has  not  less  but  a  different  sort  of  charm.  Illustrations  of  this 
will  be  found  in  some  of  the  gardens  at  home,  to  which  we  may  return 
after  appreciating  the  grounds  of  ancient  monasteries,  the  Lemon  groves 
of  Palermo,  and  the  flowers  and  Olives  of  Florence.  Profuse  in  beauty 
is  the  Rose  garden  of  Newlands,  Hampshire,  belonging  to  Colonel  Corn¬ 
wallis  West ;  and  a  combination  of  graceful  formality  and  freedom  will  be 
seen  in  several  drawings  of  Great  Tangley,  where  Mr.  Wickham  Flower 
helps  to  keep  up  the  reputation  of  Surrey  for  a  soil  that  is  so  generous  to 
floriculture.  Once  again,  too,  Mr.  Elgood  has  painted  such  famous  spots 
as  Hardwick  and  Easton  Park,  and  the  delightful  Deanery  Garden  at 
Rochester. — (“  Daily  News.”) 
-  Hoeing. — The  gardener  will  always  find  abundant  success  'f 
he  will  not  neglect  the  use  of  the  hoe.  It  is  wonderful  what  tillage 
will  bring  out  of  the  soil.  Most  men  must  till  to  keep  down  weeds. 
They  do  not  realise  that  the  benefits  of  this  work  are  far  above  any  mere 
weed  killing.  Bv  persistent  cultivation  we  get  the  soil  loose  and  mellow, 
porous  and  light,  so  that  air  can  enter  and  roots  freely  branch,  and 
distribute  themselves  throughout  the  entire  mass  of  earth  within  their 
reach.  Furthermore,  tillage  is  a  breaking-up  process,  particles  of  rock 
and  organic  matter  being  reduced  in  size  and  made  available  for  the 
nutrition  of  crops.  Then  there  is,  says  a  writer  in  an  American  con¬ 
temporary,  the  immeasurable  effect  of  shallow  surface  cultivation  in 
forming  a  mulch  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground,  a  thin  layer  of  loose, 
dry  earth  to  cut  off  the  rise  of  moisture  to  the  surface,  and  its  subsequent 
evaporation  and  loss  to  the  use  of  the  growing  plants.  Water  in  a 
drought  is  a  priceless  boon  to  vegetables,  and  conserving  the  supplies  of 
moisture  is  one  of  the  most  vital  subjects  with  which  the  cultivator 
has  to  deal.  Tillage  is  to  a  certain  degree  manure,  as  was  claimed  by 
Jethro  Tull  of  old. 
-  Watering  House  Plants. — I  am  satisfied  that  not  one  person 
in  twenty  is  aware  that  too  much  water  is  more  dangerous  to  the  plants 
than  too  little.  Seme  gardeners  seem  to  have  the  idea  that  to  take  a 
watering  pot  in  hand  to  supply  the  needs  of  plants  is  an  easy  duty,  and 
that  to  give  a  dash  here  and  to  soak  the  soil  there  is  all  that  is  needed. 
One  thing  is  to  be  observed  ;  All  plants  under  all  circumstances,  nor 
indeed  the  same  plants  under  different  circumstances,  require  the  same 
amount  of  water.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  study  the  nature  and 
habits  of  kinds,  so  that  each  may  be  treated  according  to  its  needs. 
A  vigorous  blooming  plant,  say  a  Fuchsia  or  Pelargonium,  might  be  said 
to  represent  the  maximum  need  of  water  ;  the  same  when  in  a  state  of 
rest,  in  cool  damp  weather,  the  minimum  requirement  as  to  this.  There¬ 
fore,  to  give  exactly  the  same  quantity  of  water  in  both  conditions  named 
would  be  to  cause  harm  by  not  giving  enough  water  to  some  and  too 
much  to  others.  One  safe  rule  is  to  wait  until  the  ball  of  earth  begins  to 
got  rather  dry,  and  then  to  give  enough  water  to  moisten  the  soil  through 
and  through.  Then  do  not  water  again  until  the  former  state  of  dryness 
is  reached,  be  that  time  six  hours  or  six  days. — (“Vick’s  Magazine.”) 
— —  Peat  Soil. — Everyone  knows  that  there  are  many  plants  which 
prefer  to  grow  in  peat  soil  rather  than  in  earth  as  we  are  generally 
accustomed  to'  meet  with  it.  Plants  which  have  this  preference  are 
usually  those  which  produce  an  enormous  number  of  very  fine  hair-like 
rootlets.  It  ,is  not  that  there  is  anything  peculiar  in  the  soil  itself 
which  leads  to  this  preference,  but  from  the  often  verified  fact  that 
rootlets  need  air  just  as  much  as  do  leaves.  It  is  impossible  for  the 
plant  to  live  without  some  proportion  of  air  being  absorbed  by  the  roots. 
A  growing  plant  soon  dies  when  the  roots  are  immersed  in  water.  It  is, 
in  fact,  smothered  for  want  of  air.  Roots  of  comparative  strength  can 
force  their  way  through  the  compact  soil,  so  as  to  reach  the  air  confined 
in  the  various  pores  ;  but  the  hair-like  roots  cannot  do  this.  They  have 
not  the  vigour  necessary  to  force  their  way.  Soil,  therefore,  which  is  at 
once  moist  and  penetrated  by  atmospheric  air,  as  peat  is  known  to  be, 
gives  these  plants  an  opportunity  to  readily  make  their  way,  a  privilege 
of  which  they  would  be  deprived  in  heavier  soil.  So  it  follows  that  the 
point  of  the  superior  value  of  peat  soil  for  some  plants  is  a  question  of 
atmospheric  air,  rather  than  the  chemical  condition  of  the  soil. — 
(“  Meehan’s  Monthly.”) 
-  Many  Varieties  on  the  Same  Tree. — It  has  always 
seemed  a  good  idea  for  anyone  fond  of  variety,  with  a  limited  amount 
of  space,  to  have  a  number  of  kinds  grafted  on  the  same  tree.  In  this 
way  an  Apple,  Pear,  Peach,  or  Plum  could  be  made  to  produce  a  varied 
collection  ;  but  the  theory  has  not  worked  out  in  practice,  for  the  reason 
that  some  varieties  are  constitutionally  more  vigorous  than  others,  and 
the  stronger  growing  varieties  soon  take  all  of  the  food  to  themselves  and 
starve  out  the  weaker  ones.  With  a  little  good  judgment  in  selecting 
varieties  of  uniform  character,  the  idea  may  be  worked  out  (says 
“  Meehan’s  Monthly  ”)  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion,  or  weaker  varieties 
may  be  given  a  position  at  the  top  of  the  tree,  for  there  is  always  more 
strength  and  vigour  to  be  obtained  in  that  position  than  in  the  lower 
portions  of  the  tree.  When  there  is  little  difference  in  the  constitutional 
vigour  of  varieties,  the  plan  may  be  worked  put  to  a  greater  satisfaction. 
In  the  Peach,  for  instance,  there  is  very  little  difference  in  the 
characteristic  noted.  Nearly  all  Peach  trees  have  about  the  same  ratio  of 
growth,  and,’  moreover,  the  Peach  is  inclined  to  be  a  round-headed  tree, 
with  about  as  much  vigour  in  the  lower  branches  as  in  the  upper  ones. 
There  ought  to  be  more  success  in  this  line  of  experiment  with  the 
Peach  tree  than  with  any  other  class  of  fruits. 
