464 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  December  15,  \m. 
tive,  so  far  as  I  know,  save  by  liming  the  affected  land  and  the 
immersion  of  tainted  sets  in  mercuric  chloride  or  corrosive  sublimate 
solution,  1  part  in  1000  parts  water,  or  1  oz  to  65  gallons  of  water  for 
an  hour  and  a  half,  This  is  poisonous,  not  harmful,  however,  unless 
taken  into  the  stomach.  It  kills  slime-fungus,  even  Pseudocommis 
vitis.  .  So  also  does  gas  lime,  not  by  the  sulphur,  but  the  cyanogen 
■or  poisonous  matter  it  contains,  and  the  lime  aids  in  keeping  the 
•enemy  off  afterwards. 
Ibis  pest  I  have  personal  record  of  in  1844  and  since  on  Potatoes, 
and  on  "V  ine  roots  in  1886 — the  laterals  browned  ;  even  strong  young 
shoots  were  blackened  at  the  ends,  and  a  fungus  followed.  A  good 
dressing  of  lime  on  the  border  stopped  the  evil.  It  was  the  worst  on  Vines 
in  pots,  and  attacked  Tomatoes,  Cucumbers,  and  Melons,  causing  the 
points  of  the  shoots  to  blacken  and  die.  It  was  considered  to  come 
from  the.  beds  of  leaves  in  the  pits  of  the  structures,  but  that  was 
mere  conjecture.  Prevention  by  destroying  the  germs  is  the  only  sure 
way  to  avoid  diseases. 
To  destroy  the  other  pests,  immediately  after  the  lime  has  been 
■forked,  in  apply  7  lbs.  of  kainit  per  rod,  and  leave  it  on  the  surface  for 
the  rains  to  wash  in.  On  a. Urge  scale,  for  Potatoes,  I  should  in  bad 
-cases  dress  with  10  tons  of  lime  and  10  cwt.  of  kainit  per  acre  in  the 
autumn,  applying  the  lime  first,  ploughing  in,  and  then  supply  the 
kainit  on  the  upturned  soil,  following  in  the  spring  with  1  ton  of  basic 
slag. and  5  cwt.  of  rape  seed  meal  per  acre  on  rather  strong  land,  but 
on  light  use  the  same  quantity  of  bonemeal  as  of  rape  dust,  instead  of 
the. basic  slag.  When  tne  land  is  not  badly  infested  half  the  amount 
of  lime  and  kainit  may  be  used  per  area  quoted. — G.  Abbey. 
THE  YOUNG  GARDENERS’  DOMAIN. 
Oxalis  crenata— The  Oka  Plant. 
Is  it  that  the  British  epicure  is  less  inclined  for  vegetable  novelties  at 
vJ8  o^nner  or  is  it  because  there  are  fewer  epicures  on  this  side  of 
the  Channel  that  cur  French  triends  use  a  greater  variety,  arid  are  ahead 
ot  us.  in  the  cooking  and  cultivation  of  many  choice  vegetables  ?  How¬ 
ever  it.  may  be,  we  probably  do  not  suffer  thereby,  for  a  simple  whole¬ 
some  diet  has  always  proved  more  conducive  to  health  and  loiw  life  than 
a  luxurious  one.  Nevertheless,  we  should  be  ready  to  give  a  fair  trial 
to  a  new  or  uncommon  article  of  food  whose  worth  has  been  tested. 
Oxadis  crenata  is  a  plant  of  the  same  natural  order  as  the  common 
Wood  Sorrel  (Oxalis  acetosella).  It  is  a  native  of  South  America— the 
same  country  as  the  Potato— and  is  as  susceptible  as  that  vegetable  to 
injury  from  frost. .  The  leaves  are  trifoliate,  as  usual  in  this  genus,  but 
icy  are  thicker  in  substance  than  most  of  the  species.  The  stems  are 
succulent  and  prostrate  ;  they  vary  in  length  from  1  to  2  feet,  and  are 
about  one-third  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
The  tubers  at  the  root  are  the  edible  portion  of  the  plant.  With  us 
they  attained  a  length  of  about  2^  inches  and  a  breadth  of  U  inch, 
i  hey  are  of  a  reddish  colour,  but  I  believe  there  is  grown  in  France  a 
variety  which  produces  yellow  tubers.  In  form  they  resemble  small 
Jerusalem  Artichokes,  but  are  more  elonga'ed. 
The  natives  of  Peru  and  Bolivia  use  them  largely  as  food,  previously 
exposing  them  to  the  sun  to  rid  them  of  their  acid  properties  We  have 
tried  boiling  them  in  water  for  about  half  an  hour,  and  although  they 
still  had  a  slight  acid  taste  it  seemed  to  us  rather  a  favour  than  a  fault 
—at  least,  for  the  palate.  Some  say,  however,  that  in  great  quantity 
t  iej  might  be  injurious  a3  a  food  if  the  acid  (oxalic  acid)  were  not 
neutralised. 
They  may  be  grown  in  a  similar  way  to  Jerusalem  Artichokes  — in 
rows  j  feet  apart  and  about  2  feet  between  the  plants  in  each  row.  As 
they  require  a  long  growing  season  they  should  be  planted  in  the  open 
ground  as  early  as  possible  to  be  safe  from  much  frost.  If  a  hotbed  could 
be  spared  they  might  be  started  therein  in  March  and  planted  outside  in 
should  be  lifted  in  November,  or  just  after  the  stems  have 
suffered  from  frost  and  the  leaves  got  blackened.  Ti  e  leaves  and  youn" 
■stems  have  been  used  as  a  salad. — X.  L.  C.  R.  ° 
Bouvardias. 
In  continuing  (from  page  308)  my  remarks  on  these  useful  plants,  I 
would  say  that  the  young  plants  will  soon  fill  the  3-inch  pots  with  roots, 
and  will  then  require  more  root  room,  and  pots  sufficiently  large  to 
^arry  the  plants  through  their  flowering  season  ought  to  be  employed. 
Jive  and  6-inch  will  probably  be  found  suitable,  for  if  Bouvardias  are 
over-potted  bad  results  are  certain  to  ensue.  A  compost  consisting  of 
fibrous  loam  two  parts,  leaf  soil  one  part,  a  sprinkling  of  coarse  silver 
sand,  a  little  dry  stable  manure,  or  some  well  proved  plant  manure, 
thoroughly  incorporated,  can  be  used.  When  the  potting  is  completed 
place  the  plants  in  a  cool  house  near  the  glass,  and  admit  abundance  of 
air  on  warm  days. 
About  the  second  week  in  Juno  the  plants  may  bo  moved  outside  into 
a  cool  pit  where  they  can  have  room  to  develop,  for  if  crowded  they 
become  drawn  and  produce  weak  growths,  but  a  little  shading  should  be 
used  to  keep  the  sun  from  burning  the  leaves.  To  insure  well-ripened 
wood  for  flowering  air  must  be  given  the  plants  at  all  suitable  times,  and 
great  care  must  bo  exercised  in  watering.  Weak  liquid  manure  can  be 
applied  when  the  pots  are  full  of  roots.  Syringing  is  beneficial  to  the 
plants,  ana  should  be  earned  out  both  morning  and  evening  on  all  bright 
warm  days.  Keep  the  growths  well  pinched  until  the  end  of  July.  At 
the  first  sign  of  frost  the  plants  should  be  placed  in  a  cool  house,  where 
some  will  soon  begin  to  flower,  and  by  placing  a  few  plants  at  intervals 
in  a  house  with  a  higher  temperature  a  succession  can  be  had  from 
October  until  February. 
Bouvardias  are  subject  to  the  attacks  of  red  spider  and  green  fly.  By 
the  frequent  use  of  the  syringe  the  former  has  a  poor  chance  to  survive, ' 
and  with  an  occasional  fumigating  the  latter  can  easily  be  dispersed. — 
A  Journeyman. 
WORK  foiithb  WEEK.. 
ES 
FRUIT  FORCING. 
Cherry  House. — Houses  that  are  to  be  employed  for  supplying  ripe 
Cherries  from  the  middle  of  April  and  onwards  must  now  be  closed.  Be 
sparing  of  fire  heat  at  the  commencement,  not  employing  it  unless 
absolutely  necessary  to  maintain  the  temperature  at  from  33°  to  40°  at 
night,  and  40°  to  45°  by  day,  ventilating  when  the  temperature  rises  to 
50°,  above  which  admit  air  fully,  but  not  so  as  to  cause  a  decline  below 
that  heat,  and  close  the  house  at  50°.  Early  closing,  however,  must  not 
be  practised  to  the  extent  of  raising  the  temperature  to  a  high  degree,  5° 
being  the  extreme  at  this  stage,  as  Cherries  are  very  susceptible  ot  undue 
excitement,  and  failure  is  the  consequence.  Syringe  the  trees,  paths,  and 
walls  earl}-  on  fine  afternoons,  so  as  to  admit  of  the  buds  becoming  dry 
before  nightfall.  The  border  will  be  sufficiently  moist  for  some  time 
through  the  removal  of  the  roof-lights,  if  not  it  must  have  water  to  bring 
it  into  an  even  and  thorough  state  of  moisture.  Trees  in  pots,  if  dry,  will 
require  repeated  supplies  of  water  to  secure  the  thorough  moistening  of 
the  soil  down  to  the  drainage. 
Figs.— Early  Forc:d  Trees  in  Pols. — Very  early  Figs  are  best  secured 
from  trees  in  pots,  and  where  they  can  be  given  a  slight  warmth  at  the 
roots  to  accelerate  root  action  and  maintain  a  stead}'  progressive  growth. 
Early  Violet,  St.  John’s,  Brown  Turkey,  and  Pingo  de  Mel  have  proved 
the  most  reliable  varieties  with  us  for  producing  first- crop  Figs  under  a 
forcing  regime  or  when  brought  on  s  radually  and  not  subjected  to  too 
much  heat  in  the  early  stages.  This  is  apt  to  occur  with  too  much  bottom 
heat,  which  unduly  excites  growth  and  the  swelling  of  the  embryo  Figs, 
with  the  result  that  they  are  often  cast.  To  avoid  such  disaster  the  heat 
at  the  base  of  the  pots  should  not  exceed  70°  until  the  leaves  are  unfolding, 
then  it  may  be  increased  to  75°  or  SO"1.  That  is  quite  sufficient,  the 
fermenting  material  being  added  to  as  required  to  maintain  the  heat 
regularly. 
The  top  heat  should  commence  with  50°  to  55°,  and  should  be 
gradually  increased  to  G0°  at  night,  G5°  by  day  by  artificial  means  in 
severe  weather,  and  70c  to  75°  with  sun  heat  and  moderate  ventilation, 
closing  at  73°.  In  mild  weather  admit  a  little  air  between  G0°  and  65°, 
just  a  ‘‘crack  ”  at  the  top  of  the  hourc  to  let  out  any  pent-up  moisture 
and  insure  circulation.  In  cold  weather  the  pipes  radiating  beat  will 
keep  up  a  circulation,  and  the  moisture  will  be  condensed  on  the  glasa, 
therefore  ventilation  is  not  then  required.  Afford  water  whenever  neces¬ 
sary,  always  in  a  tepid  state.  Syringe  tho  trees  in  the  morning  and 
early  afternoon,  so  as  to  have  the  foliage  dry  before  nightfall,  but  avoid 
excessive  moisture,  damping  the  house  only  in  dull  weather. 
Vines. — Early  Fo'ccd  in  Pots. — If  tho  pots  are  placed  on  pillars  in 
the  pits  the  fermenting  materials  will  need  frequent  additions  as  the 
heat  declines,  bringing  the  material  up  about  the  pots  so  as  to  main¬ 
tain  a  steady  bottom  heat  of  70°  to  75°.  This  gentle  warmth  accele¬ 
rates  root  activity  and  admits  of  better  progress  than  when  the  roots 
are  not  thus  incited.  The  temperature  of  the  house  will  have  been 
gradually  raised  so  as  to  have  it  60°  to  05°  at  night  by  the  time  the 
Vices  were  coming  into  leaf,  and  70°  to  73°  by  day,  admitting  a  little 
air  at  70°  without  lowering  the  temperature  or  causing  an  inrush  of 
cold  sharp  air,  and  close  early  in  tho  afternoon.  Disbud  as  soon  as 
the  bunches  can  be  detected,  reserving  the  most  promising.  Stop  the 
growths  about  two  joints  beyond  the  bunches,  and  remove  the  laterals 
up  to  these,  and  allow  those  beyond  to  extend  as  space  permits  without 
crowding,  it  being  important  that  the  foliage  have  full  exposure  to 
light.  Two  or  three  joints  of  lateral  extension  are  sufficient  for  Vines 
in  pots,  the  crop  preventing  much  further  extension.  If  ihe  Vines  show 
two  or  more  bunches  on  a  shoot  remove  the  least  promising  before 
they  flower,  and  do  not  allow  more  to  remain  than  will  be  necessary 
for  the  crop.  Damp  the  floors  and  walls  in  the  morning  and  afternoon, 
and  charge  the  evaporation  troughs  with  liquid  manure. 
Early  Forced  Planted-out  Vines. — When  the  eyes  break  the  temperature 
will  need  to  be  increased  to  G0°  at  night  in  mild  weather,  and  55°  when 
severe,  gradually  increas:ng  it  so  as  to  have  it  G0°  at  night  when  the 
Vines  are  in  leaf,  and  from  65’  to  75°  by  day,  with  moderate  ventilation. 
Sprinkle  the  floors  and  surfaces  of  borders  two  or  three  times  a  day  in 
clear  weather,  avoiding  too  damp  or  too  dry  an  atmosphere.  The 
borders  must  be  watered  as  required  to  maintain  an  even  moisture,  hut 
avoid  making  the  soil  sodden. 
House  to  Afford  Fruit  in  Uday. — The  house  to  afford  Grapes  fit  for  table 
at  the  time  must  be  started  without  delay.  A  bed  of  leaves  and  litter 
