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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  11,  1898. 
York,  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  elsewhere.  A  working  man  recently 
observed,  “  It  was  the  best  thing  that  ever  happened  to  this  place 
when  we  started  our  Society  a  few  years  ago.  Before  then  no  one- 
troubled  about  seeds  and  varieties  of  vegetables — the  men  saved  their 
own.  After  the  first  show  they  were  quick  to  see  that  they  must 
have  the  best  varieties,  and  now,  if  anything  good  comes  out,  oui 
men  are  not  long  before  they  have  it.” — A  Secretary. 
WINTER  SPINACH. 
In  the  forties  of  the  present  century  I  first  made  acquaintance 
with  the  growing  of  this  much  esteemed  vegetable,  and  of  an  old 
gardener  who  had  grown  it  on  the  same  soil — a  stiffish  loam  over 
clay — for  over  half  a  century.  This  veteran  averred  that  there  were 
but  two  sorts— Bound  or  Summer,  and  Prickly  or  Winter  ;  that  the 
first  named  was  a  tender  plant,  and  the  last  mentioned  a  much  hardier 
form.  The  “  old  hand  ”  always  saved  his  own  seed  of  the  Prickly  or 
Winter,  and  on  the  principle  of  “natural  selection” — that  is,  the 
plants  that  had  stood  the  winter  the  best,  had  given  the  largest  and 
most  fleshy  leaves,  and  thus  the  hardiest  and  sturdiest  in  constitution, 
were  saved  for  seed.  This  procedure  had  been  carried  on  for  half  a 
century. 
In  calendars  it  is  advised  to  commence  sowing  Winter  Spinach  in 
July,  and  continue  at  intervals  until  the  end  of  September,  or  later  in 
warm  districts.  I  do  not  know  whether  anybody  has  ever  practised 
the  doctrine  set  forth  or  Dot,  but  I  have  demonstrated  that  the  best  and 
only  necessary  time  to  sow  Prickly  Spinach  is  from  the  5th  to  the  10th  of 
August.  Early  sown,1, 1  admit,  gives  an  early  autumn  supply,  and  tin- 
plants  bolt  in  the  spring  before  the  warm  border-sown  Round  comes 
into  use.  In  warm  localities  and  situations  the  late  sown  Prickly 
may  live  over  the  winter,  and  supply  a  cutting  in  the  early  spring 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  having  Bound  from  June  to  October  inclusive, 
and  one  sowing  of  Prickly  at  the  time  named  will  meet  the  require¬ 
ments  for  either  home  use  or  market  for  the  remainder  of  the  year. 
This  must  be  taken  relative  to  locality.  North  of  the  Thames  the 
middle  of  August  is  quite  late  enough  to  sow  Prickly  Spinach,  and 
neither  the  Flanders  nor  the  Lettuce-leaved  forms  of  the  Round- 
seeded  are  always  reliable.  South  of  the  Thames,  and  in  warm  locali¬ 
ties  there,  only  Winter  Spinach  may  be  sown  as  late  as  the  middle 
of  September ;  but  I  have  not  had  personal  experience  in  this 
district. 
Winter  Spinach  requires  a  favoured  situation,  both  as  regards 
shelter  and  relative  dryness  of  soil.  A  south  border  is  the  most 
suitable  position,  and  Spinach  is  hardy  or  otherwise  as  the  soil  and 
culture  promotes  the  one  or  the  other.  In  most  cases  Winter  Spinach 
is  taken  after  an  early  summer  crop,  such  as  early  Potatoes,  Peas,  cr 
Beans.  These  offer  good  rotations.  Pea  land  is  often  very  dry  after 
clearance,  and  Summer  Spinach  may  have  been  taken  between  the 
rows.  I  do  not  use  such  for  Winter  Spinach,  but  if  no  Summer 
Spinach  has  been  grown,  I  usually  manure  with  Mushroom  bed  refuse, 
and  dig  or  rather  fork  in  some  time  in  advance  of  sowing.  This  gives 
the  land  a  chance  to  mellow  and  become  moistened  as  well  as  mode¬ 
rately  firm.  Ground  from  which  Cabbages  have  been  cleared  is 
treated  similarly.  If  following  Potatoes  I  merely  point  over  to  get 
cleanliness  and  a  good  surface  tilth  for  sowing.  Light  soil  must  be 
firmed  before  sowing  ;  well  tilled  loam  or  clayey  land  usually  becomes 
close  enough,  and  if  it  has  a  suitable  surface  for  sowing  on  need 
not  be  firmed.  On  light  ground  I  give  a  dressing  of  kainit  shortly 
before  sowing,  about  If  lb.  per  rod,  partly  to  quiet  slugs  and  make 
the  plants  grow  stiff  and  hard,  while  on  heavy  land  I  use  quicklime, 
1  st,  per  rod.  The  rows  may  be  18  inches  apart,  and  about  an 
inch  from  seed  to  seed,  and  that  depth,  rolling  afterwards.  I  usually 
sprinkle  the  seeds  with  a  little  petroleum,  and  work  in  so  as  to  moisten, 
or  red-lead  them  before  sowing.  Birds — tbe  finch  tribe — do  not  then 
take  the  seeds.  If  dry,  water  the  drills  before  sowing  the  seeds,  this 
being  needed  on  dry  borders. 
The  after  management  is  very  simple,  the  hoe  being  “run”  as 
soon  as  the  plants  are  peiceptible  in  the  rows,  and  the  singling 
effected  shortly  after  coming  into  the  second  leaf,  allowing  4  inches 
disiance.  This  allows  for  casualties  and  for  early  gathering.  In 
September  the  supeinumeraries  may  be  plucked  from  or  withdrawn 
altogether  by  the  early  part  of  October,  leaving  the  best  plants  as 
near  as  may  be  a  foot  apa-t.  I  use  a  dressing  of  soot,  about  a  peck  per 
rod,  at  the  final  setting  out,  and  keep  it  from  the  hearts  of  the  plants. 
That  puts  colour  into  the  leaves,  and  so  also  does  guano,  but  not  more 
than  if- lb.  per  rod  must  be  used,  as  too  much  makes. the  leaves  tender. 
The  leaves  are  large  enough  for  anything  after  the  middle  of  October, 
and  in  picking  the  largest  should  be  selected  during  the  winter  and 
early  spring. 
The  Spinach  grower’s  troubles  commence  with  the  seed  sowing. 
L  nless  precautions  are  taken  against  birds  these  will  have  some  of  the 
seeds,  and  slugs  are  particularly  fond"of'  the  seedlings.  TheS6~nTO~ 
easier  prevented  than  cured,  dressings  of  lime,  or  soot,  or  kainit,  or 
nitrate  of  soda  being  far  more  effective  in  a  dry  time  than  genial 
weather,  therefore  use  before  sowing  as  a  safeguard.  The  plants  also 
are  liable  to  mildew  whilst  quite  small.  The  young  leaves  begin 
twisting  upwards  and  show  a  white  mould — the  fungus  called 
Peronospora  effusa,  but  a  little  air-slaked  lime  dusted  ou  the  plants 
from  time  to  time,  holding  the  hand  well  down  so  as  to  get  on  tie 
under  side  of  the  leaves,  and  working  both  ways  so  as  to  reach  all 
parts,  soon  causes  the  parasite  to  take  its  departure.  A  sort  of  canker 
also  bothers  growers,  but  liming  the  land  before  sowing,  and  givii  g 
the  plants  plenty  of  room  from  the  start,  usually  prevents  much 
damage  being  done.  Then  a  certain  grub  takes  a  fancy  to  some 
Winter  Spinach  plants  when  they  have  got  two  or  three  rough  leaves, 
and  eats  the  root  stem  through  just  beneath  or  on  a  level  with  the 
soil,  for  which  I  have  found  unearthing  to  be  the  best  remedy.  I 
have  also  used  gas  liquor  diluted  with  six  times  the  quantity  of  wrater, 
keeping  it  from  the  leaves,  effectively. — Experimentalist. 
SCALDED  GRAPES. 
Old  notions  die  hard,  especially,  perhaps,  in  matters  horticultural 
and  its  allied  sciences.  The  so-called  scalding  of  Grapes  is  a  case  in 
point,  and  notwithstanding  the  formidable  army  of  my  esteemed 
scientific  and  practical  friends  arrayed  against  me,  I  will  once  more 
say,  and  that  with  more  emphasis  than  ever,  that  they  are  entirely 
wrong.  One  of  these,  a  friend  of  more  than  forty  years,  whom  I  both 
love  and  honour,  says,  as  quoted  on  page  63,  scalding  “  is  caused 
through  late  or  imperfect  ventilation  on  some  bright  sunny  morn, 
whilst  the  atmosphere,  and  even  the  berries,  are  saturated  with 
moisture.” 
Now,  have  your  readers  never  heard  of  cultivators  who  keep  up”a 
night  temperature  of  about  70°  with  ventilation  at  the  same  time,  and 
yet  have  scalded  berries  ?  There  certainly  is  not  much  chance  for 
dew  to  form  on  the  berries  under  these  conditions. 
I  once  had  some  berries  of  Gros  Colman  scalded,  and  this  is  howr 
it  happened.  Painters  were  at  wrork  on  the  roof  of  the  house  during  a 
hot  summer  day,  and  in  the  afternoon,  without  my  knowledge,  four 
top  ventilators,  worked  by  a  lever,  were  closed,  and  remained  so  for 
the  purpose  of  shifting  the  ladder  along,  and  the  mischief  was  not 
long  in  showing  itself. 
No ;  scalding  is  not  caused  by  moisture  on  the  berry,  neither  is  it 
caused  in  the  morning  unless  under  gross  mismanagement,  and,  finally, 
I  question  if  scalding,  or  even  chilling,  are  proper  names  for  it.  The 
evil  is  simply  caused  by  too  high  a  temperature  at  a  certain  period  of 
the  Grapes’  progress. 
During  the  first  three  weeks  from  setting  the  growth  of  the  berries- 
on  a  vigorous  Vine  enlarge  at  the  rate  of  part  of  an  inch  every 
twenty-four  hours.  After  this  the  measurable  growth  is  less  and  less 
till  we  approach  the  period  when  the  stone  becomes  quite  hard,  and 
no  enlargement  at  all  can  be  detected,  the  berries  rather  seem  to 
diminish  in  size. 
This  is  the  critical  time.  Do  what  you  will  in  the  way  of  encourag¬ 
ing  growth,  you  apparently  get  nothing  for  your  pains  ;  even  the  leaf 
growth  is  affected.  Why,  then,  attempt  the  impossible?  Depend 
upon  it  there  is  some  reason  for  this  apparent  stagnation. 
If  you  do  not  allow  the  temperature  to  rise  higher  than  80°,  and 
that  is  quite  high  enough  for  this  stage,  you  will  have  no  scalding.  Let 
it  keep  up  to  95°,  or  higher,  for  some  hours  by  either  artificial  or  natural 
means,  and  you  will  have  a  rupture  of  seme  of  the  cells  of  the  berries, 
whether  they  are  moist  on  the  surface  or  not.  This  critical  period 
only  lasts  a  few  days,  after  it  is  over  you  may  force  to  your  heart’s 
content. 
Why  one  berry  should  be  injured,  and  another  not  so,  can  probably 
be  explained  by  the  savant  who  can  tell  us  why  one  Potato  gets  killed 
by  the  frost,  and  another  one  close  to  it  is  uninjured. — Wm.  Taylor. 
Erythrina  Humei. — A  specimen  of  this  showy  South  African  plant 
can  now  be  seen  in  flower  in  the  temperate  house  at  Kew.  The 
plant  is  8  feet  in  height,  with  a  small  bushy  head.  Naturally  it  assumes 
the  proportions  of  a  small  tree.  The  flowers  are  produced  in  stout 
upright  racemes,  1  to  2J  feet  in  length,  from  most  of  the  nodes  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  current  season’s  growth,  one  branch  carrying  eleven 
racemes.  The  individual  flowers  are  2£  inches  long,  scarlet,  and 
pendulous,  and  rather  densely  arranged  on  the  upper  half  of  the  raceme. 
The  foliage  is  decidedly  ornamental  ;  the  leaves  are  ternate,  9  inches  to 
1  foot  in  length,  bright  green,  with  occasional  prickles  on  the  petioles 
and  midribs.  It  can  be  grown  and  flowered  successfully  as  a  pot  plant, 
but  does  much  better  if  planted  in  a  border  in  fairly  rich  loamy  soil. 
Being  deciduous  very  little  water  is  required  after  the  growth  is  com¬ 
pleted,  and  during  the  winter  months  it  should  be  kept  quite  dry.  An 
intermediate  tempeiature  will  be  found  most  suitable  for  the  growing 
season,  keeping  a  little  cooler  during  the  resting  period. — W.  D. 
