142 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  17.  1898. 
necessary,  and  the  finest  crops  are  obtained  from  undisturbed  plants. 
It  is  always  well,  however,  to  be  prepared  for  emergencies,  and  one  of 
the  ways  of  protection  is  to  heel  in  the  plants  on  the  approach  of 
severe  weather,  with  heads  to  the  n^rth,  disturbing  the  roots  as  little 
as  possible.  By  commencing  at  the  north  end  of  a  row,  and  following 
the  plants  in  succession,  they  assist  to  protect  each  other,  and  the 
work  is  completed  without  disturbing  the  roots  to  any  great  extent. 
Some  growers  adopt  other  methods,  such  as  taking  up  the  plants  and 
storing  them  in  sheds  and  cold  frames. 
The  principles  of  culture  applied  to  Broccoli  are  also  suitable  for 
Cauliflower,  though  being  of  a  tenderer  nature  greater  care  is  required 
in  protection.  In  order  to  maintain  a  succession  two,  and  in  some 
cases  three,  sowings  are  necessary.  The  first  should  be  made  in 
February,  and  the  seedlings  from  this  one  require  some  attention  to 
prepare  them  for  transplanting.  Sow  the  seeds  in  boxes  over  gentle 
bottom  heat,  and  when  the  plants  begin  to  crowd  each  other  they 
should  be  pricked  into  a  frame  in  a  bed  prepared  of  old  potting  soil 
with  a  little  spent  Mushroom  bed  refuse  added.  The  idea  is  to  grow 
the  plants  sturdy,  yet  without  a  check,  as  this  frequently  causes 
“  buttoning.”  By  adding  the  manure  from  a  spent  Mushroom  bed  to 
the  soil  the  plants  lift  with  good  balls,  and  when  thoroughly  hardened 
and  large  enough  they  should  be  finally  planted  on  well  prepared  and 
manured  ground.  Water  applied  during  dry  weather  will  assist  the 
plants  considerably,  as  also  does  an  occasional  surface  dressing  of  a 
chemical  fertiliser.  Good  varieties  for  early  sowing  are  Extra  Early 
Forcing,  Snowball,  and  Early  London. 
The  second  sowing  should  take  place  about  the  middle  of  April, 
this  time  in  a  sheltered  bed  outdoors.  No  overcrowding  must  be 
allowed,  and  the  plants  ought  to  be  pricked  out  once  before  being 
finally  transplanted.  Ground  as  it  becomes  vacant  from  early  summer 
crops  is  suitable  for  autumn  Cauliflowers,  of  which  Autumn  Giant 
has  no  superior.  Eclipse  and  Walcheren  are  also  excellent  varieties 
suitable  for  table  or  exhibition.  Some  growers  make  a  third  sowing 
in  September,  but  with  an  adequate  supply  of  Broccoli  coming  on  this 
is  not  really  necessary,  as  by  sowing  an  early  variety  in  January  or 
February  there  is  very  little  time  lost.  Autumn-sown  plants  will  keep 
well  through  such  a  season  as  the  present,  but  in  a  severe  winter  the 
matter  is  more  difficult.  The  plants  are  often  potted  and  stood  in 
frames  or  cool  vineries,  and  planted  in  their  permanent  quarters  in  the 
spring.  There  are  certainly  some  advantages  gained  if  good  autumn- 
raised  plants  can  be  safely  kept  through  the  winter,  as  under  favourable 
conditions  the  heads  turn  in  early,  to  be  followed  in  succession  by  the 
spring-sown  plants. 
The  Cauliflower  is  a  favoured  vegetable  on  the  exhibition  hoard, 
anfi.  when  in  season  no  large  collection  could  be  considered  complete 
without  them.  The  season  of  a  Cauliflower’s  perfection  is  short,  as 
a  good  specimen  to-day,  especially  in  the  summer,  is  over  to-morrow. 
Would-be  exhibitors  should  always  cut  the  close  heads  early  in  the 
morning  before  the  dew  has  evaporated  from  them,  when  they  will 
be  fresh  and  white.  A  moderate-sized,  firm,  white  and  crisp  head  is 
the  best  for  the  purpose,  and  as  they  are  invariably  shown  in  pairs, 
these  should  be  as  even  in  character  as  possible.  Outer  leaves  are 
better  removed,  but  beyond  this  too  much  trimming  is  not  recom¬ 
mended.  Quick  unchecked  growth  is  the  secret  of  success  with  this 
plant,  buttoning  and  other  failings  being  the  result  of  stoppage  or 
wrong  treatment.  Surface  culture  of  the  soil  is  an  important  point 
that  should  never  be  overlooked,  and  during  dry  weather  applications 
of  liquid  manure  are  of  valuable  assistance  in  stimulating  growth  and 
building  up  the  plants.  Always  remember  that  it  is  the  best-grown 
plants  that  produce  the  choicest  heads,  and  these  are  obtained  through 
no  newly-found  theory,  hut  by  doing  everything  thoroughly  and  at 
the  proper  time  with  the  indispensable  aid  of  the  kindly  conditions  of 
Dame  Nature. — Grower  and  Judge. 
DIGGING  AND  TRENCHING. 
Spring  versus  Winter. 
Your  correspondent,  Mr.  W.  Pea,  “  confounds  things  that  differ.”  If 
he  will  look  at  my  remarks  in  the  Journal  of  .January  20th  he  will  read, 
“  After  a  long  and  varied  experience  my  conviction  is  that  the  season  to 
be  recommended  for  this  work,  in  order  to  realise  the  object  named, 
depends  entirely  on  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  subsoil,  as  well  as  on  the 
rainfall  of  the  district.”  I  have  no  intention  of  entering  any  further  on  a 
wordy  and  rhetorical  argument  or  controversy  on  this  subject.  I  have 
given  instances  in  which  my  contention  has  been  proved  beyond  dispute 
by  others  whose  experience  and  success  has  been  well  acknowledged,  and 
this  experience  tallies  with  the  laws  that  govern  material  things,  which 
Mr.  Pea  seems  to  treat  very  lightly.  I  have  had  to  deal  with  soils  where 
the  workmen  had  to  dip  their  tools  in  a  pail  of  water  to  make  the  next 
spadeful  slip  off  it.  It  had  been  frosted  and  tumbled  about  for  years  to 
no  purpose.  It  was  turned  into  a  tillage  that  would  grow  almost  every¬ 
thing  well,  and  was  easily  cropped,  but  by  quite  another  agency. 
Mr.  Pea  is  quite  correct  when  he  says  that  soil  holding  more  water  in 
suspension  has  a  greater  shattering  power  exerted  on  it  when  frozen  than 
has  one  with  less  water  in  it.  This  is  strong  proof  that  my  contention  is 
right.  The  fact  that  the  soil  is  thus  rendered  more  porous  gives  it  an 
increased  capacity  to  hold  the  moisture.  Hence  you  have  prepared  for 
yourself  an  aggravated  condition  of  puddle  to  deal  with,  because  after  the 
melting  of  the  ice  the  excess  of  water  remains,  and  the  greater  the 
amount  the  longer  the  land  of  necessity  remains  unworkable. 
Mr.  .John  Poberts,  Tanybwlch  Gardens,  in  Wales,  in  writing  in  the 
“Garden”  quite  recently,  under  the  heading  of  “Vegetable  Growing 
Under  Difficulties,”  says,  “  The  operations  of  digging  and  trenching  are 
left  till  early  spring,  and  I  wish  to  emphasise  this,  for  so  convinced  am  I 
of  the  advantage  accruing  from  the  practice  where  the  rainfall  is 
generally  heavy,  that  I  have  adopted  it  for  many  years  ;  ”  and  he  goes  on 
to  say  that  such  labour  in  winter,  owing  to  the  wet  climate,  would  be 
worse  than  useless,  whereas  he  finds  if  the  work  be  left  till  spring  the 
ground  is  more  friable  and  workable.  I  have  before  me  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Pettigrew  of  Cardiff  Castle  Gardens,  in  which  he  remarks,  “  I  have 
read  your  paper  on  ‘  Digging  and  Trenching.’  I  quite  agree  with  what 
you  say.  I  have  experienced  it  at  Dumfries  House,  and  Mr.  Murdock, 
who,  for  forty  years,  was  my  predecessor,  had  the  same  experience.” 
This  was  in  a  wet  climate  and  on  heavy  ground.  Another  correspondent, 
in  a  letter  received  this  morning,  writes,  “  I  have  known  scores  of 
working  men  on  strong  land  who  would  allow  no  one  to  dig  it  for  them 
in  winter  if  the  work  were  done  for  nothing.” 
It  rather  startles  one  in  these  days  of  technical  teaching  to  be  told 
that  “  philosophy  (in  other  words  the  laws  of  Nature)  is  one  of  those 
c'^eerful  things  which  do  useful  fair  weather  duty,  but  comes  to  grief 
under  stress  of  circumstances.”  Will  Mr.  Pea  tell  us  one  of  these 
circumstances  under  which  these  laws  have  been  proved  to  be  inoperative  ? 
He  may  depend  upon  it  they  are  “  inexorable  ”  in  fair  weather  and  in 
foul,  and  let  man  do  his  utmost  he  cannot  ignore  them  with  impunity. 
They  will —speaking  figuratively— lay  him  in  a  trench  if  he  attempts  it.  — 
David  Thomson. 
THE  SHERWOOD  £10  10s.  SILVER  CUP  FOR 
ANNUALS  AND  BIENNIALS. 
N.  N.  Sherwood,  Esq.,  Master  of  the  Worshipful  Company  of 
Gardeners,  having  signified  his  intention  of  giving  a  silver  cup  annually 
of  the  value  of  £10  lUs.,  and  having  left  to  the  Council  of  the  Eoyal 
Horticultural  Society  the  decision  as  to  what  it  shall  be  given  for,  it  has 
been  decided  to  offer  it  in  1898  as  follows 
The  Sherwood  silver  cup,  value  £10  10s.,  will  be  given  to  the  exhibitor 
who  shall  obtain  the  highest  total  number  of  marks  at  the  meetings  in 
June,  July,  August,  and  September  6th  of  the  present  year  for  collections 
illustrating  the  suitability  of  annuals  and  biennials  as  cut  flowers  for 
decorative  purposes. 
The  attention  of  intending  exhibitors  is  particularly  directed  to  the 
Society’s  “  Rules  for  Judging,”  sections  160,  161,  169,  &c. 
Exhibitors  may  exhibit  at  any  one  or  more  or  at  all  of  the  meetings 
during  the  months  named.  Marks  will  be  given  at  each  meeting,  and  the 
total  announced  after  September  6th. 
The  contents  of  each  tube  (section  169)  must  consist  of  one  variety 
only,  but  in  addition  to  the  flowers  shown  in  tubes  an  exhibitor  may  set 
up  at  each  or  any  of  the  meetings  not  more  than  three  plain  glass  vases 
containing  an  assortment  of  varieties  and  kinds  arranged  for  effect — all 
stalks  touching  the  water  or  sand.  The  vases  must  be  provided  by  the 
exhibitor,  and  must  not  exceed  6  inches  in  diameter,  and  may  be  filled 
with  water  or  with  wet  sand  at  exhibitor’s  pleasure,  always  remembering 
that  the  clearness  of  both  water  and  glass  is  a  distinct  point  of  advantage 
in  decorative  vases. 
Notice  of  intention  to  compete,  and  space  required,  must  be  sent  to 
the  R.H.S.  Secretary,  117,  Victoria  Street,  at  least  the  Thursday  before 
each  meeting. 
The  details  given  on  page  48  of  the  Society’s  “Arrangements,  1898  ” 
(above  quoted),  do  not  appear  to  some  people  sufficient,  and  various 
applicants  have  asked  the  following  questions,  which,  with  their  answers, 
the  President  and  Council  would  be  greatly  obliged  by  your  kindness  in 
publishing  for  the  information  of  others. 
Q,  “  The  contents  of  each  tube  must  consist  of  one  variety  only.” 
Am  I  to  understand  that  Coreopsis  grandiflora  and  C.  Drummondi,  or 
Nasturtium  Cloth  of  Gold  and  N.  Crimson  King,  and  so  on,  may  not  be 
exhibited  in  the  same  tube  ?  A.  They  may  not. 
Q.  Are  the  tubes  “  not  to  exceed  3  inches  diameter  at  the  top  side  ?  ” 
A.  They  must  not  exceed. 
Q.  “  The  vases  must  be  provided  by  exhibitors,  and  must  not  exceed 
6  inches  in  diameter  inside.”  Does  this  apply  to  the  “plain  glass  vases  ”  only  ? 
A.  Yes.  The  tubes  must  not  exceed  3  inches  nor  the  vases  6  inches. 
Q,  Who  provides  the  tubes  ?  A.  Exhibitor,  unless  he  is  content  with 
the  stoneware  jars  the  Society  provides  at  all  times. 
Q.  Will  Regulation  XI.  be  enforced?  “All  specimens  must  be  tbe 
bondjide  property  of  and  grown  by  exhibitor.”  A,  Yes 
Q,  Must  each  exhibitor  stage — i.e.,  arrange — his  own  exhibit,  or  may 
he  call  in  professional  help  ?  A.  iV  special  person  may  not  be  procured 
for  this  special  purpose.  The  exhibitor  or  his  gardener,  or  some  member 
of  the  family  of  either,  must  arrange  the  exhibit. 
Q.  Can  the  exhibit  be  repeated  ?  A.  Yes. 
Will  other  foliage  be  allowed  ?  A.  Only  the  foliage  of  the  variety  itself. 
Q.  May  Grasses  be  mingled  with  flowers?  A.  No. 
[We  hope  all  is  clear  now,  and  some  charming  exhibits  may  be 
expected.] 
