210 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  15.  1898. 
is  obtained  from  the  periodical  garden  literature.  Papers  relating  to 
gardening  are  now  very  numerous,  and.  in  view  of  their  reduced  prices, 
the  illustrations  and  information  they  contain  compare  favourably  with 
those  of  earlier  horticultural  journals.  Their  circulation  is  in  consequence 
very  much  wider  than  that  of  older  publications,  which  appealed  only  to 
scientific  readers. 
Horticulture  has  been  making  steady  progress  in  every  direction,  and 
the  nineteenth  century  is  closing  on  a  system  of  gardening  more  perfect 
than  has  ever  been  seen  before.  With  all  the  means  of  advancing,  and 
all  the  advantages  now  in  their  possession,  gardeners  must  not  be  con¬ 
tent  to  rest  on  their  laurels.  There  is  still  as  much  to  be  done  in  the 
future  as  there  has  been  in  the  past.  Knowledge  is  the  sure  road  to 
further  knowledge.  Who  can  prophesy  what  there  is  still  hidden  in 
Nature  reserved  for  some  careful  searcher  to  discover,  or  who  can  tell 
what  possibilities  are  within  reach  of  the  hard-working,  deep- thinking, 
and  far-sighted  modern  gardener  ? 
A  HOLIDAY  TOUR. 
( Concluded  from  page  184.) 
From  Swanley  to  London,  and  thence  to  Chelmsford  early  in  the 
evening,  where  I  had  the  pleasure  of  inspecting  the  chemical  and  botanical 
laboratories  connected  with  the  Essex  County  Council,  and  the  3  acres 
of  land  secured  for  teaching  purposes,  brought  a  long  but  thoroughly 
enjoyable  day  to  a  close.  I  much  regretted  the  absence  of  the  members 
of  the  teaching  staff,  who  had  gone  on  their  holidays,  but  the  Curator 
took  the  greatest  interest  in  my  visit,  and  showed  me  the  secrets  of  their 
success,  which  latter  is  known  to  all  interested  in  technical  education. 
The  report  upon  the  Essex  field  experiments  for  1896-7  is  elaborate,  and 
cannot  fail  to  be  of  great  practical  utility  to  the  farmers  in  the  county. 
The  Journal  of  the  Essex  Technical  Laboratories,  which  is  a  quarterly 
publication,  edited  by  the  staff  biologist,  Mr.  D.  Houston,  F.L.S.,  is 
invaluable  to  students  and  others.  The  articles  are  original,  and  have  a 
special  bearing  on  the  work  done  in  the  county.  The  success  of  the 
horticultural  students  at  the  recent  Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  exami¬ 
nation  is  sufficient  evidence  of  a  thoroughly  scientific  and  practical 
training,  which  will  be  even  more  complete  when  the  experimental 
grounds  are  fully  laid  out  and  in  working  order.  The  horticultural 
lectures  are  copiously  illustrated  with  lantern  slides,  and  must  eventually 
bear  good  fruit. 
Early  on  the  following  morning  I  returned  to  London  to  visit  the 
fortnightly  exhibition  of  the  R  H.S.  It  is  so  rarely  one  living  at  a  great 
distance,  as  I  do,  has  the  pleasure  of  visiting  these  exhibitions  and 
meetings  that  an  opportunity  such  as  I  had  on  this  occasion  could  not  be 
missed.  I  am  aware  that  the  above  meeting  has  been  fully  reported  in 
the  Journal,  but  I  should  like  to  mention  at  least  one  of  the  many  exhibits 
staged,  and  I  feel  that  it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  country 
Fellows  of  the  R.H.S.  cannot  have  more  opportunities  of  visiting  these 
exhibitions,  w  hich  I  am  sure  they  would  appreciate  and  benefit  from. 
The  exhibit  in  question  was  the  collection  of  fruit  staged  by  Messrs. 
J.  Yeitch  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  which  was  really  a  miniature  exhibition  in  itself 
and  of  a  standard  of  excellence  for  all  fruit  growers  to  aim  at.  The 
hundred  and  six  varieties  of  Gooseberries  interested  me  very  much,  as  I 
happen  to  have  been  “  cradled  ”  in  a  Gooseberry  district  and  where 
Gooseberry  shows  are  held  in  profusion  during  the  season. 
Ridgmont. 
After  carefully  inspecting  the  other  exhibits  and  making  a  few  notes  I 
turned  towards  Euston  en  route  for  the  Duke  of  Bedford’s  Experimental 
Farm  at  Ridgmont  On  reaching  Ridgmont  I  met  Mr.  Lewis  Castle,  the 
genial  manager  of  this,  to  my  mind,  ideal  experimental  fruit  farm.  Here 
are  20  acres  of  land  devoted  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  at  his  sole  expense, 
to  experimental  purposes  for  the  benefit,  not  only  of  the  people  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Ridgmont,  or  in  the  county  of  Bedfordshire,  but  for 
the  people  of  the  kingdom. 
It  may  interest  your  readers  to  know  what  experiments  were  most 
conspicuous  to  me,  and  of  the  greatest  practical  benefit  to  fruit  growers. 
In  the  root  treatment  of  Apple  trees  I  observed  that  where  root-pruning 
was  annually  done  the  trees  had  no  crops,  and  were  dwarf  and  puny 
compared  with  those  trees  which  were  root  pruned  as  required.  Then, 
again,  there  was  a  marked  contrast  in  the  vigour  and  fruitfulness  of  trees 
which  were  planted  and  treated  normally  compared  to  the  trees 
surrounded  by  grass,  and  where  the  mowings  were  left  on  the  ground,  or 
even  where  the  weeds  were  allowed  to  grow.  The  stunted  appearance 
of  the  trees  proved  that  the  growth  of  grass  or  weeds  along  with  fruit 
trees  is  against  the  cultivation  of  high-class  fruits. 
Trees  which  were  planted  carelessly,  grossly  neglected,  and  not 
manured  showed  a  marked  difference  from  those  trees  which  had  been 
so  planted,  but  after  the  first  year  had  been  well  treated,  showing  the 
results  of  good  cultivation  with  badly'  planted  and  neglected  trees. 
The  results  of  the  experiments  in  Strawberry  culture  up  to  the  present 
with  eighty-six  varieties,  show  that  the  two-year-old  plants  give  a  much 
larger  yield  than  those  of  one  year,  though  the  latter  produce  larger 
individual  berries  than  when  the  plants  get  older.  The  longest  period 
of  fruit-gathering  is  eighty  days  from  the  variety  Red  Alpine,  whilst  the 
earliest  fruits  were  gathered  on  June  3rd  from  Laxton’s  No.  1,  and  the 
latest  from  Red  Alpine  on  August  31st.  From  the  report  we  read  that 
the  fruiting  of  the  one-year-old  plants  was  l-66  day  earlier  than  the 
two-year-old  plants,  though  the  latter  continued  in  bearing  3'38  days 
longer  on  the  average,  and  that  the  watering  and  feeding  with  various 
liquid  manures  after  the  fruit  was  set  had  no  apparent  effect  as  regards 
an  increase  of  crop,  but  rather  that  the  ripening  process  was  retarded. 
The  results  of  the  innumerable  other  experiments  which  are  in  vogue 
will  be  awaited  with  great  interest  by  the  people  in  general.  My  thanks 
are  due  to  Mr.  Castle  for  his  kindness  on  the  occasion  of  my  enjoyable 
visit. 
Droitwich. 
Leaving  Bedford  station  early  in  the  evening  I  made  for  Droitwich  to 
visit  the  Worcestershire  County  Council  Gardens,  which  are  under  the 
management  of  Mr.  James  Udale,  the  chief  horticultural  instructor  for 
the  county,  and  the  author  of  an  excellent  manual  for  gardeners  termed 
“  Gardening  for  All.”  This  ground  is  about  2  acres  in  extent,  sloping  to 
and  facing  practically  due  north.  The  upper  soil  is  a  dark  sandy  loam, 
with  a  subsoil  of  gravelly  marl,  and  is  therefore  generally  warm  and  dry 
and  can  be  worked  at  almost  any  time.  The  most  serious  drawback  is 
that  in  a  dry  season  the  vegetable  crops  in  particular  are  liable  to 
suffer  by  the  want  of  moisture,  but  the  difficulty  is  greatly  minimised  by 
deep  and  thorough  cultivation. 
Apples,  Pears,  and  Plums  are  grown  in  quantity,  and  are  subject  to 
various  methods  of  training  and  pruning.  With  Currants  I  observed  a 
marked  difference  in  the  health,  vigour,  and  fruitfulness  of  the  red 
varieties,  which  had  been  properly  pruned  and  those  which  had  been  been 
left  to  grow  at  Nature’s  own  sweet  will.  Raspberries  are  largely  grown 
on  the  east  and  west  borders  adjoining  the  boundary  fence.  The  varieties 
in  order  of  merit  as  grown  in  these  gardens  are  Superlative,  Prince  of 
Wales,  Semper  Fidelis,  Surprise  d’Automne,  Red  Perpetual,  Worcester¬ 
shire  Prolific,  White  Globe,  Fastolf,  Carter’s  Prolific,  and  Baumforth’s 
Seedling.  The  two  latter  are  practically  a  failure  in  this  garden.  The 
importance  of  cutting  back  the  single  canes  is  fully  demonstrated  ;  the 
stools  not  only  become  thoroughly  established  but  strong,  healthy 
canes  are  developed,  with  every  prospect  of  a  good  crop  of  fruit  the 
following  year. 
In  the  Strawberry  trials  Royal  Sovereign  commenced  to  ripen  on 
June  12th;  Scarlet  Queen,  June  14th;  Dr.  Hogg  and  Garibaldi, 
June  15th  ;  Sensation  and  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  June  19th  ;  McMahon. 
Captain,  and  Monarch,  June  22nd;  and  The  Countess,  June  26th.  For 
cropping  qualities  McMahon  led  the  way,  followed  by  Sensation, 
Monarch,  The  Countess,  Royal  Sovereign,  Garibaldi,  Scarlet  Queen,  Sir 
Joseph  Paxton,  Dr.  Hogg,  and  Captain  ;  whilst  for  flavour  Dr.  Hogg  and 
McMahon  were  very  good,  with  Captain,  Garibaldi,  Scarlet  Queen,  Sen¬ 
sation,  Monarch,  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  and  Royal  Sovereign  good,  The 
Countess  being  only  moderate. 
There  were  two  fruit  trees  which  had  been  syringed  for  the  purpose  of 
destroying  insects  and  mildew  respectively,  the  former  with  carbolic  soap 
and  the  latter  with  sulphide  of  potassium  ;  the  solution  in  each  case  being 
too  strong  had  resulted  not  only  in  destroying  the  foliage,  but  in  entirely 
checking  the  growth  of  the  plants  and  arresting  the  swelling  of  the 
fruit.  These  were  object  lessons  of  great  practical  utility  to  all  classes 
of  gardeners,  and  in  which  personal  y  I  was  much  interested.  The  timely 
summer  pruning  of  the  Apple  trees  showed  a  marked  effect,  resulting  in 
clean  healthy  wood,  large  leathery-like  leaves  of  a  deep  green  colour,  the 
development  of  fruit  spurs,  and  the  production  of  high-class  fruits. 
A  few  stocks  of  Potatoes  were  lifted  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  and  gave 
evidence  of  fairly  good  yields  considering  the  season.  The  following  is 
the  order  in  which  we  adjudged  them  Reliance,  Supreme,  Nineiy told, 
and  Windsor  Castle.  In  the  vegetable  department,  which  is  managed  on 
the  best  principles,  I  wish  to  refer  only  to  Carrots  and  Onions,  the  former 
on  account  of  being  severely  attacked  with  wireworm,  and  the  latter  with 
the  Onion  maggot.  In  each  case  the  most  effectual  remedy  was  a  dressing 
of  homco  rapemeal  manure.  As  to  the  Carrots,  Mr.  Udale  says  in  his 
1897  report  that  “  The  wireworm  attacked  this  crop  with  great  virulence, 
and  at  one  time  it  seemed  as  though  it  would  bo  entirely  destroyed.  A 
dressing  of  mustard  dross  was  applied  to  certain  rows,  but  it  was  quite 
useless.  Baits  of  broken  rape  cake  were  set  about  among  the  rows,  but 
the  wireworms  scorned  the  supposed  toothsome  and  seductive  morsels. 
Meanwhile  the  plarts  were  decimated,  and  the  crop  was  in  a  rapid  state 
of  “  consumption.”  Through  the  recommendation  of  Messrs.  J.  P. 
Harvey  &  Co.  the  homco  rapemeal  manure  was  given  a  trial.  The 
application  of  1  cwt.  of  the  manure  to  thirty-nine  rows,  each  63  feet  long, 
was  made  on  the  26th  June,  “allowing  it  to  fall  over  the  leaves  ol  the 
Carrots  and  on  the  ground  until  the  latter  was  just  covered  with  the 
manure.”  Mr.  Udale  goes  on  to  say,  “From  that  day  the  crop  com¬ 
menced  to  prosper,  and  in  due  time  it  became  quite  as  good  as  an 
ordinary  crop  of  Carrots  is  expected  to  be.’’  At  the  time  of  my  visit  I 
saw  the  wonderful  effects  of  this  manure  on  a  crop  of  Carrots  that  had 
been  similarly  attacked  with  the  wireworm.  As  regards  the  Onion 
maggot  Mr.  Udale  says,  “Baits  of  the  rapemeal  manure  were  set,  and  as 
many  as  thirty-two  Onion  maggots  were  found  in  one  bait  at  one  time.” 
In  addition  to  lecturing  and  the  management  or  this  garden,  Mr. 
Udale  does  a  good  work  in  the  inspection  of  the  allotments  in  the  county^ 
having  t  the  present  over  ninety  centres,  which  are  visited  and  classified 
according  to  their  merits,  the  results  being  printed  and  circulated 
throughout  the  county.  This,  my  first  visit  to  Droitwich,  I  greatly 
enjoyed,  and  felt  some  little  reluctance  in  taking  leave  of  mv  host,  who 
accompanied  me  to  the  station,  and  who  had  entertained  me  most 
admirably,  and  given  me  the  benefit  of  his  long  and  wide  experience, 
which  I  shall  ever  appreciate. 
Cheltenham  and  Warminster. 
From  Droitwich  I  hastened  to  Cheltenham,  where  I  spent  an  hour  in 
the  nurseries  of  that  well-known  exhibitor  and  horticulturist,  Mr.  James 
