April  28,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
365 
the  space.  No  other  crop  of  which  I  know  is  so  suitable  or  so 
profitable  for  this  purpose,  and  perhaps  it  is  owing  to  this  that  so 
many  Grapes  are  grown  and  prices  are  at  such  an  unprecedentedly  low 
figure. 
I  think  the  clearest  and  most  intelligible  way  I  can  lay  before  you 
the  most  important  points  in  connection  with  the  successful  culture 
of  these  two  fruits  is  to  give  the  details  of  practice  followed  in  a  house 
where  first  Tomatoes  and  then  Grapes  were. grown,  and  better  or 
more  profitable  crops  of  either  I  have  not  since  met  with.  This  plan 
will  at  least  have  the  merit  of  a  faithful  record  of  facts — not  theory. 
The  house  in  question  was  a  low  span-roofed  structure,  150  feet 
long  by  15  feet  wide.  The  ground  had  a  fall  from  both  ends  to  the 
centre,  and  the  house  was  built  to  this  rake,  which  made  the  water  in 
the  gutters  run  to  the  centre,  where  it  was  collected  in  a  large  tank 
running  across  the  full  width  of  the  house.  This  tank  was  3  feet 
broad  and  2  feet  deep,  and  was  made  by  excavating  the  soil  to  the 
required  depth,  the  surface  being  left  a  little  higher  than  the  level  of 
the  surrounding  soil.  A  4-inch  brick  wall  faced  with  cement  was  all 
that  was  necessary.  Being  a  wet  summer  this  tank  was  sufficient  for 
the  requirements  of  the  Tomatoes,  and  I  am  confident  had  not  a  little 
to  do  with  the  ultimate  success  of  the  crop.  Eain  water  is  the  best 
for  all  crops.  The  house  was  heated  by  a  flow  and  return  4-inch 
pipe  on  each  side,  or  four  rows  in  all,  and  ran  north  and  south — an 
aspect  I  consider  best  for  most  crops,  especially  in  Scotland.  It  was 
built  on  part  of  a  field  of  old  pasture.  The  soU  was  on  the  old  fed 
sandstone  formation,  with  a  hard  bottom.  It  was  of  good  quality,  but 
shallow— less  than  12  inches  brought  the  hard  red  till.  The  turf  was 
all  taken  off  the  inside  and  a  strip  outside  2  or  3  inches  thick,  as  it 
was  required  for  other  purposes. 
The  soil,  without  any  admixture  whatever,  was  simply  dug  over, 
but  not  deeply — 4  or  5  inches  at  most — and  the  Tomatoes  planted, 
These  were  brought  on  in  a  little  forcing  house,  built  to  one  end  of  the 
Tomato  house.  They  were  sown  in  the  ordinary  soil  of  the  field, 
with  a  little  leaf  mould  added.  As  soon  as  the  seedlings  were  through 
the  ground  they  were  placed  close  to  the  glass,  and  when  large 
enough  were  potted  singly  in  3-inch  pots.  For  this  and  the 
subsequent  shift  into  5-inch  pots,  nothing  was  used  but  loam.  As 
soon  as  they  took  to  the  3-inch  pots,  the  house  was  given  more  air 
and  kept  cooler,  and  the  plants  placed  as  near  the  glass  as  possible. 
When  ready  to  plant  out,  they  were  thick,  sturdy  plants,  with  dark 
green  leaves,  and  the  pots  a  perfect  network  of  roots.  A  little  fire 
heat,  but  only  a  little — pipes  never  allowed  to  be  hot — was  kept  on 
until  the  end  of  May,  when  it  was  discontinued  until  the  middle  of 
August.  Abundance  of  air  was  given  on  all  favourable  occasions,  and 
never  at  any  time  after  the  plants  were  established  was  the  top 
ventilator  quite  closed. 
The  growth  at  first  was  slow— so  slow,  in  fact,  that  it  was  feared 
the  soil  lacked  something  required  by  the  plant — but,  though  not 
gaining  much  in  height,  they  were  thickening  in  the  stems,  with 
broadening  leaves  of  a  rich,  dark  green  colour,  and  rooting  freely.  They 
were  so  sturdy  that  they  stood  .without  support  until  2  feet  high. 
Soon  the  first  trusses  began  to  set,  and  things  looked  brighter.  Up 
till  this  stage  no  stimulant  or  fertiliser  of  any  kind  had  been  given 
but  rain  water,  and  that  rather  sparingly.  Now  a  mulching  of  cow 
manure  was  laid  all  over  the  border,  given  a  good  watering,  and  covered 
about  2  inches  thick  with  fresh  soil,  and  made  firm.  In  a  few  weeks 
this  mulch  was  one  mass  of  roots,  which  spread  on  the  surface  in  some 
places  in  a  perfect  thicket.  Trusses  of  fruit  were  now  setting  thick 
and  fast,  and  so  close  were  they  together  that  in  many  cases  the  fruit 
of  the  one  overlapped  the  other,  many  of  the  bottom  trusses  having  to 
be  kept  oflf  the  ground  by  pieces  of  wood  or  stone.  Another  top¬ 
dressing  similar  to  the  first  one  was  given,  well  watered,  covered  with 
soil,  and  made  firm,  which  was  again  soon  filled  with  roots.  After¬ 
wards,  the  feeding  was  given  in  the  form  of  a  few  light  dressings  of 
Thomson’s  Vine  and  plant  manure,  and  abundance  of  w^ater  when 
required.  The  style  of  training  was  the  single  stem,  and  the  plants 
were  set  out  about  2  feet  6  inches  apart  each  way.  At  this  distance 
they  did  not  crowd,  so  no  leaves  were  shortened  or  removed  until  they 
showed  signs  of  decay  in  the  autumn. 
The  first  fruit  was  gathered  about  the  middle  of  July,  and  the  last 
the  middle  of  February,  a  period  of  seven  months.  There  was  not 
more  than  20  lbs.  small,  or  second  quality  fruit  in  the  whole  crop. 
They  were  considered  the  finest  Tomatoes  placed  in  the  market  they 
were  sent  to  up  to  that  time,  and  realised  an  average  of  lOd.  per  lb. 
wholesale.  The  average  weight  of  fruit  per  plant  was  a  little  over 
11  lbs.  This  is  one  way  of  growing  Tomatoes,  and  it  is  the  way  I 
would  strongly  advise  beginners  to  start  with. 
Another  way  is  to  grow  them  with  more  heat  and  richer  soil.  This 
to  a  certain  extent  must  be  adopted  to  get  early  crop4,  and  though 
heavy  crops  of  fine  fruit  are  often  got  in  this  way  the  risks  of  failure 
are  greater.  It  takes  more  experience  and  attention,  as  much  forcing 
does  not  agree  with  Tomatoes.  The  stronger,  quicker  made,  and 
weaker  growth  of  the  plant  under  this  system  renders  it  more  snscep- 
tible  to  the  attacks  of  disease  than  when  grown  in  the  hardier  and 
more  natural  way  I  have  indicated.  An  overdose  of  water  at  the  roots, 
or  the  temperature  allowed  to  fall  too  low — especially  at  night — will 
often  bring  on  some  of  the  many  troubles  to  which  this  plant  is 
subject. 
As  to  the  most  suitable  kinds  of  soil  for  Tomatoes,  they  have  been 
found  to  do  well  in  many,  but  a  heavy  stiff  loam  gives  the  best  results 
with  least  labour  and  expense,  and  the  worst  soil,  or  the  worst  rooting 
medium,  is  a  deep,  light  loose  soil,  which,  if  at  all  dry,  is  almost  sure 
to  end  in  failure. 
The  Tomato  delights  in  a  dry  airy  atmosphere,  and  it  is  a  good 
plan  to  mulch  early  with  manure.  Care  must  be  taken,  however, 
never  to  use  fresh  manure  charged  with  much  ammonia,  as  I  have 
known  several  cases  where  the  plants  lost  nearly  all  their  foliage  by 
this,  even  though  the  ventilators  were  left  open.  As  to  varieties,  I 
think  there  is  more  in  the  growing  than  in  any  particular  brand  or 
strain.  Often  the  same  kinds  will  come  quite  differently  in  the  various 
soils  and  systems  of  treatment.  I  have  seen  seeds  sown  from  a  perfectly 
Fig.  70. — Narcissus  White  Queen. 
smooth  round  fruit,  and  the  produce  as  rough  as  clinkers  from  a  furnace. 
I  may  state  that  the  variety  grown  in  the  house  I  have  described  was 
mostly  Sutton’s  Perfection,  and  for  cool  treatment  in  firm  fresh  soil  I 
know  of  no  sort  that  can  beat  this  for  a  heavy  crop.  It  is  not,  how¬ 
ever,  so  good  a  setter  in  older  soils  or  with  much  forcing.  The  best 
that  I  know  of  for  this  purpose  and  the  first  setter  I  know  is  Austin’s 
Eclipse.  Another  good  variety  is  Ham  Green  Favourite.  This  with 
Comet,  which  is  now  largely  grown  for  market,  is  a  sufficient  and 
reliable  selection  for  anyone  to  have. — D.  Buchanan. 
(To  be  continued.) 
NARCISSUS  WHITE  QUEEN. 
The  success  that  has  been  achieved  during  the  past  few  years  by  the 
Ilev.  G.  H.  Engleheart  as  a  hybridiser  of  Narcissi  has  been  well  main¬ 
tained  so  far  during  the  present  season.  At  the  Drill  Hall  on  the 
12th  inst.  he  annexed  the  only  three  first-class  certificates  given  by  the 
Narcissus  Committee,  and  two  out  of  the  four  awards  of  merit.  One  of 
the  handsomest  of  his  flowers  was  White  Queen,  of  which  we  give  an 
illustration  (fig.  70).  It  was  one  of  the  three  that  gained  the  higher 
honour.  As  may  be  seen,  it  is  much  in'the  character  of  the  well-known 
Sir  Watkin,  but  it  is  distinct  from  that  universal  favourite  in  colour  and 
slightly  in  form.  The  broad  perianth  segments  are  glistening  white,  and 
the  short,  broad  trumpet  pale  or  sulphur  yellow.  The  whole  flower  is  of 
great  weight  and  substance,  and  if  it  prove  as  good  as  Sir  Watkin  after 
longer  trial  anyone  will  be  safe  in  predicting  for  it  a  great  future. 
